The Lu family is not in Beijing, and the Xie family is the closest to Lu Xiujie.
Mrs. Xie was thinking about her niece from her natal family, but a talented woman had no right to summon anyone into the palace, and a concubine from outside the palace could not pass a card into the palace to ask to see a concubine below the fourth rank.
After much thought, Mrs. Xie thought of Jiang Changning, so she asked Xie Baoyin to send a visiting card to Prince Jin's Mansion.
After receiving the visiting card from the Xie family, Jiang Changning frowned slightly and said, "Reply to Miss Xie and tell her that I'm free tomorrow."
The next day, Xie Baoyin came to the Prince of Jin's mansion. After a few polite words, she got straight to the point, "Talent must be very sad to lose her son. My mother is worried about her health. I would like to ask Sister Ning to take me to the palace and bring some supplements to see her."
Jiang Changning was not surprised to hear Xie Baoyin's words. He had expected that she came for this. He smiled faintly and said, "I am in mourning now, so it is not convenient for me to enter the palace."
Qiao was the eldest sister-in-law. According to the etiquette of this dynasty, Jiang Changning had to wear linen mourning clothes for three months, which meant observing mourning for three months.
Jiang Changning's reason for refusal was very reasonable.
Xie Baoyin did not give up, "Sister Ning knows a lot of people, please find someone to take me into the palace."
Jiang Changning smiled so hard that his eyes did not reach the bottom of his eyes. "Actually, there is no need to trouble others. You will be married in a few days. Your marriage was arranged by the imperial decree. The day after the wedding, you will go to the palace to express your gratitude. At that time, you can visit the talented person by the way."
"There is no time left. After I thank you, I have to hurry back to the palace to offer tea to my parents-in-law." Xie Baoyin said.
Jiang Changning was stunned and started laughing. She really had misjudged him.
I thought this person could be a close friend, but now it seems he is just another master of disguise who can deceive everyone.
Jiang Changning was very disappointed with Xie Baoyin and didn't want to talk to her any more.
"Miss Xie, I can't do anything about this matter. Miss Xie, please seek help from someone else." Jiang Changning suddenly felt fortunate that he had never brought Xie Baoyin to the banquet. "Show her away."
Only then did Xie Baoyin realize that Jiang Changning had never called her "Sister Yin" from beginning to end, and now he called her "Miss Xie".
"Sister Ning, I cared too much about the talented person's affairs and didn't think it through. If I did something inappropriate, don't blame me." Xie Baoyin defended.
Jiang Changning smiled without saying anything and drank the cup of tea.
"Thank you, Miss. You're welcome." Xiulan made an gesture to see the guest off.
Xie Baoyin wanted to say something but stopped herself, then got up and left. When she returned home, she was told that her grandmother had punished her mother by making her kneel in the small ancestral hall.
She hurried to see her grandmother, Old Lady Xie. When Old Lady Xie saw her, she asked, "Are you back from the Prince of Jin's Mansion?"
"Yes, Grandmother."
"Will Princess Jin agree to take you into the palace?"
Xie Baoyin shook her head, "No."
"Are you feeling resentful towards Princess Jin?"
"My granddaughter didn't." Xie Baoyin paused, "I'm just a little disappointed."
"Disappointed?" Old Madam Xie sneered, "The ones who should be disappointed are Princess Jin and me."
Xie Baoyin defended herself, "Grandma, I just can't bear to see my mother worry."
"Baoyin, I always thought you were a smart child, like me. But now it seems that you are still as stupid as your mother." Old Mrs. Xie said bluntly.
Xie Baoyin looked at her aggrievedly, "Grandma."
"Aren't married women not allowed to help their parents' home? Isn't the help your mother has given to the Lu family enough?" Old Mrs. Xie asked with a sneer.
Xie Baoyin lowered her head. She knew that her grandmother was very dissatisfied with her mother for always supporting the Lu family.
"Baoyin, you must remember that a woman's parents' family is her foundation, but her husband's family is her root. You cannot harm your husband's family to support your parents' family. When you marry into the Qin family in the future, you must remember that you are a daughter of the Xie family, but even more so a wife of the Qin family. If one day the Xie and Qin families come into conflict, you should stand on the side of the Qin family, not the Xie family." Old Mrs. Xie said earnestly.
"Grandma." Xie Baoyin's eyes were filled with fear. She couldn't dare to imagine that situation.
"Baoyin, remember, a hundred years from now, you will be buried in the Qin family's ancestral tomb. Your descendants will have the surname Qin. During Qingming Festival, it is your descendants who will worship you. The Qin family is your home. Do you understand?"
This is also the reason why, after knowing that the Zhuang family was not doing things properly, Mrs. Xie advised them twice, but when the Zhuang family did not change, Mrs. Xie stopped advising them.
"Granddaughter understands."
"I hope you really understand, not just understand verbally. Don't be like your mother, who appears smart but is confused mentally." Old Mrs. Xie pressed her forehead.
Marrying an unvirtuous wife will indeed bring disaster to three generations.
The daughter-in-law is chosen by the mother-in-law and she has no say in the matter.
Now, she must choose her eldest grandson's wife carefully, and she must choose someone who is smart and capable.
"Okay, tell me about your meeting with Princess Jin." Old Mrs. Xie frowned.
Xie Baoyin told the story of her meeting with Jiang Changning truthfully.
Old Madam Xie stared at her for a long time before she said, "Baoyin, think carefully before you do anything in the future. When you have a chance another day, you should apologize to Princess Jin."
After all, she is her beloved granddaughter, so Mrs. Xie couldn't bear to say harsh words.
"My granddaughter knows."
"Go back to your room and rest."
"Yes, granddaughter will take her leave." Xie Baoyin knelt down and saluted, then walked out.
The next day, Princess Yirao decided on a concubine for her husband, who was Zhuang Qingmei, the fifth daughter of the Zhuang family.
It was decided that Zhuang Qingmei would marry into the family three days later.
The banker happily sent someone to the Prince of Jin's mansion to invite Jiang Changning, not to invite him for a drink, but to announce the good news.
"Being someone's concubine is also a happy thing?" Jiang Changning threw the post aside and said with disgust.
When Mrs. Xie learned about this, she was heartbroken. "Why did the Zhuang family come to this? Why did it come to this? The Zhuang family's century-old reputation is completely ruined. It's completely ruined."
Due to anger, anxiety and rage, Mrs. Xie, who was already in poor health, fell ill again. She had wanted to keep her granddaughter by her side and teach her, but now she was powerless.
Time flies, and it is February 20th, the auspicious day for Qin Zhaoxi and Xie Baoyin to get married.
Once again, the Prince of Jin's Mansion received gifts but no one showed up. However, this time Jiang Changning asked Chang Youzhong to deliver the gift, which showed the respect that the Prince of Jin's Mansion had for the Duke of Xingzhou's Mansion.
The wedding went smoothly without any mistakes.
The next day, Qin Zhaoxi brought Xie Baoyin to the palace to express his gratitude.
Xie Baoyin did not go to visit Lu Xiujie, so Jiang Changning's spy in the palace reported the matter back to Prince Jin's Mansion.
Jiang Changning said coldly, "Don't accept any more messages from Xie Baoyin in the future."
Old Mrs. Xie, who was bedridden, had no idea that her granddaughter had done something stupid again, otherwise she would have been so angry that she would have vomited blood.
In the evening, the Prince of Jin returned home. While having dinner with the Concubine Dowager, the Prince of Jin suddenly thought of something and said, "There will be a solar eclipse in a few days."
The concubine turned pale and said in horror: "The sun is eclipsed by the heavenly dog! What should we do? When is it?"
In the eyes of people who have no knowledge of astronomy, a solar eclipse is accompanied by bad luck.
Seeing how frightened she was, Prince Jin swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth and changed his words: "It will be the day after tomorrow, you just need to hide away then."
"Don't walk around rashly, go back into the house early." The concubine advised.
Prince Jin took a bite of the food and avoided her instructions.
(End of this chapter)