Jiang Changning stayed in Lingyin Temple for a total of one and a half hours, and wrote a piece of calligraphy at Xu Shang's request.
I will always remember the West Mountain, the three Zhus in front of Lingyin Temple and the Lengquan Pavilion where I used to visit. The dog days of summer seem like a clear autumn.
"Amitabha, your calligraphy is elegant in style, majestic yet subtle and beautiful." Xu Shang praised.
Jiang Changning put down his pen and said with a smile, "Master, you are too kind."
Xu Shang said seriously: "Monks do not tell lies."
Jiang Changning stopped being modest and waited for Master Xu to lead the monks to escort her out of the mountain gate. She turned around and said politely, "Master, please stay. Thank you for your hospitality today."
"Amitabha, take care, little friend."
Jiang Changning smiled slightly and clasped his hands together, "Master, take care. Masters, take care."
The monks returned the greeting, "Take care, Madam."
After Jiang Changning left Lingyin Temple, he did not rush back to the palace, but took the wives of the officials to a teahouse by the West Lake.
Although she did not need the wives of officials to accompany her to Lingyin Temple, she had to express her gratitude since they did.
If you want to compare the West Lake to Xi Shi, good tea has always been like a beautiful woman, so inviting them to drink tea is the most appropriate thing.
"What kind of tea would you like to drink?" Jiang Changning asked amiably.
"Reply to your Majesty."
"Don't be so reserved, relax and let's chat casually." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
Although Jiang Changning is approachable, her status is there and no one dares to be rude in front of her.
I ordered three pots of tea, Longjing, Jingshan and Yunlu.
We ordered eight plates of snacks: lotus cake, osmanthus chestnut cake, butter cake, crispy water chestnut cake, tea cake, frozen rice candy, minced fruit cake, and amber candied dates.
The refreshments were served, just as wonderful as Jiang Changning remembered.
Lotus crisps are in the shape of lotus flowers, delicious and crisp, with a sweet taste that is memorable.
The butter cake is known as the best in Wushan. It is pointed on the top and round on the bottom, shaped like a golden mountain.
Drinking tea and eating snacks, the wives of officials seemed much more relaxed than before.
As he relaxed, he talked a lot about other people's backyard affairs.
"The second wife of the Jiang family, He, came from Beijing. I heard that she was a daughter of a wealthy family before, but her family fell into poverty and she could only be a concubine. How pitiful."
"Why should she be pitiful? Mrs. Jiang has no children, and she relied on the fact that she gave birth to a son to squeeze Mrs. Jiang so much that she almost had no place to stand."
"She was the one who came to the last tea party and said that Mrs. Jiang was too sick to get up. I don't believe that."
"Speaking of the tea-drying party, I get angry. She actually puts us, the wives of the principal wife, on an equal footing with a concubine. It's really too much."
"By the way, she didn't come the last time I met the queen. Why didn't she come this time?"
When this question was asked, the other wives of officials all frowned. Is this man stupid? Or is he doing this on purpose
The Queen Mother is here, how dare Mrs. Jiang come
"Is this Mrs. Jiang you are talking about from the prefect's family?" Jiang Changning asked.
"It's the prefect's family." An official's wife, who sympathized with Mrs. Jiang, immediately told Jiang Changning about the Jiang family in detail.
Mrs. Jiang married Mr. Jiang when he was young. She wove cloth to support his studies and gave birth to two daughters for him.
Since she had no children, she had no confidence to stop Lord Jiang from taking a concubine.
But unexpectedly, Lord Jiang directly married a second wife.
Although there is no rule for officials in the Qin Dynasty to marry a concubine, Lord Jiang ignored his wife, married the second wife, and gave her the same treatment as his wife.
Jiang Changning was very angry after hearing this, but she remained calm. She did not think that these wives of officials were talking about the Jiang family just to stand up for Mrs. Jiang. She was afraid that they wanted to take the opportunity to bring down Mr. Jiang.
"Mrs. Jiang couldn't bear to sue Mr. Jiang for the sake of her two daughters."
Jiang Changning picked up the cup and took a sip of the tea. The tea tasted a little astringent at first, but had a mellow aftertaste. If you tasted it carefully, you could find a slight bitterness.
"It's difficult for an honest official to settle family affairs, let alone this matter. Officials won't investigate unless the people sue them. Let's not talk about it anymore." Jiang Changning glanced at the wives of the officials.
The Empress did not want to hear about the Jiang family, and the wives of the officials did not dare to go against her will, so they changed the subject and talked about other things.
"If we talk about the most beautiful garden in Hangzhou, it has to be the Du family's Huifang Garden."
"The prodigal son of the Du family has no intention of pursuing a career in government or doing business. Instead, he keeps a group of scholars and hangs out in the garden all day long."
"The Du family you are talking about, is it the Yuhang Du family?" Jiang Changning asked.
"Yes, it's the Du family that once controlled half of the city."
The reason Jiang Changning paid attention to the Du family was simply because her grandmother's surname was Du.
But her grandmother was not from the direct line, but from a side branch.
The wives of the officials talked about the Du family all at once, and finally concluded, "The Du family has been selling off their ancestral property, and sooner or later they will sell Huifang Garden."
"The Du family has been wealthy for a hundred years, but now they have a prodigal son. This is the retribution for the Du family's lack of virtue." said the wife of the official who knew the inside story.
"What do you mean?" Jiang Changning asked.
Seeing that the Empress was somewhat interested, the official's wife said, "I also heard from the old servants at home that the current branch was not the direct bloodline, but an adopted son from a side branch."
"This adopted son acted very well at first, coaxing Master Du into not caring about his own daughter and leaving all the family property to him."
"As soon as Master Du died, he kicked Mrs. Du out of the Du family, brought his biological parents in to live with him, and changed the family tree. He would no longer be the successor."
"What a heartless person, he actually ate up the entire family."
Jiang Changning frowned. This Du man was so hateful, why didn’t her grandfather take back the property for her grandmother
Although she didn't know why her grandfather didn't help her grandmother get the property back, now that she knew it, she would help her grandmother get the property back and would never allow that prodigal son to squander the Du family's wealth.
She made up her mind but said nothing.
After sitting in the teahouse for half an hour and listening to a lot of messy gossip, Jiang Changning left and returned to the palace.
When Chang Youzhong saw her after returning to the palace, he trotted over and said, "My queen, you are finally back."
"What's wrong? Is your majesty looking for me?"
"I'm not looking for you. I've asked you eight or nine times. If you don't come back, I'll have to send someone out to look for you."
Jiang Changning smiled, "I'll go see His Majesty."
When Emperor Xuanzhi saw her coming in, he threw the book in his hand and said sadly, "Madam, you have been gone for a whole day. You had so much fun that you forgot that someone was waiting for you at home."
"No, I just went for tea with those wives of officials and chatted so much that I forgot the time." Jiang Changning stepped forward and took his arm.
"What are you talking about so enthusiastically?" Emperor Xuanzhi asked with a smile.
"It's not speculation, I just found out about an old story." Jiang Changning smiled, "It's about my grandmother's family."
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Changning simply stated the matter, "I want to take back the Du family's property."
"Just go ahead and do it. If you need manpower, let Cao Jiang arrange it."
Jiang Changning did not thank him verbally, but gave him a kiss, and Emperor Xuanzhi seized the opportunity to deepen the kiss.
(End of this chapter)