Mingyu smiled and said, "She has always had this temper, petty and arrogant, but she is not a bad person. When I was sick last time, she was the only one in the whole mansion who came to see me sincerely."
Mingyu always remembers those who are good to her and wants to repay them.
"Second Madam, you have been so good to her. You put so much effort into writing such a good play for her. If the eldest lady is chosen by some official's wife and they marry her, you must thank me very much!" Lixiang also smiled. She did not have any opinion about Sima Lian, but she just couldn't stand the fact that Sima Lian did not know how to be grateful to Mingyu, and she felt sorry for Mingyu.
Mingyu shook her head. She didn't think that far ahead, nor did she expect Sima Lian to help her. How could a woman be as free as she was in her parents' home after getting married? She had to look at the faces of her parents-in-law outside and her husband's face when she returned home. If she gave birth to a son, she could be proud of it. But if she gave birth to a daughter, she had to keep her tail between her legs and pray to God for a son in her next pregnancy, as if she had committed a heinous crime and cut off the incense of her husband's family.
On the second day, Sima Lian was busy with "rehearsal", Miao and Luo Lingxiu were busy with the final preparations for the birthday banquet, and the servants in the whole mansion were also busy. Miao even skipped the daily greetings. At first glance, Mingyu and the old lady were the only two idle people in the whole Anxi Marquis Mansion.
Mingyu went to pay her respects to the old lady, chatted with her for a while, and made her happy. Then she returned to Yiqing Courtyard and practiced calligraphy as usual. Perhaps she had told Master Bao about her idea of divorce yesterday, which really pissed off the overbearing Master Bao. For the whole day, Mingyu did not see Master Bao come to her again, which was a good opportunity for her to have some peace and quiet.
In the evening, Lixiang went to the kitchen to get dinner for Mingyu, and happened to see those out-of-town officials who could not make it to Tianshui giving gifts to the old lady. A row of servants were carrying heavy birthday gifts tied with bright red silk, and the shoulder poles were bent under the weight. They followed the servant who led the way and went to other courtyards in a line. Lixiang stood and watched from a distance for a while, but she didn't see the servants carrying the gifts come in, which really shocked her.
When Lixiang came back, she was still in a state of amazement. She told Mingyu what she had just seen and heard with gestures. Nanny Tan served Mingyu dinner and said with a smile, "This happens every year. I have seen it so many times that it is not surprising. Who among those officials in the counties and prefectures in the northwest does not want to curry favor with our Marquis? It's just that our Marquis usually doesn't accept their money, so they can only give it in different ways, and each one gives more than the other."
At this point, Nanny Tan lowered her voice and smiled mysteriously, "Otherwise, why would Madam not even hold a Mid-Autumn Festival, but would she want to organize a birthday banquet for the old lady?"
Mingyu smiled slightly. So that's it! She didn't understand the intricacies of these wealthy families and thought that Miao was just being filial. It turned out that she was very shrewd and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune. What she received was a birthday gift, not a bribe. It was really safe and clean.
Li Xiang opened her mouth in surprise, and after a long while she said, "How much money do you have to pay? I saw that the gift-giving team seemed to have no end."
Nanny Tan smiled and stretched out a palm, waving it in front of Mingyu and Lixiang's eyes, and said in a low voice, "It will definitely not be less than this number."
"Five thousand taels?!" Lixiang gasped with her eyes wide open. Oh my God, that's a lot of silver. Can this small living room in Yiqingyuan hold it all
Nanny Tan was so disappointed that she stamped her feet and said, "Fifty thousand taels! Oh, my little ancestor, if there were only five thousand taels, why would Madam go to so much trouble to arrange it?"
Mingyu laughed so hard that it took her a long time to stop laughing. She waved her hand at Lixiang, who was blushing, and said, "I told you not to talk nonsense. Look, you are so ignorant that you are being laughed at by the nanny!"
Li Xiang smiled awkwardly. Can you blame her? The most money she had ever seen was when she went to collect Mingyu's monthly allowance at the beginning of each month. It wasn't much, just five taels. It was good enough to be able to associate five taels with five thousand taels.
When it was time to go to bed at night, Lixiang blew out the candle and lay down beside Mingyu. However, Mingyu was not sleepy at all. She looked at the bright moonlight outside the window. The silver collected for the birthday gift alone was no less than 50,000 taels. She was shocked when she first heard it. No wonder Miao looked down on her background. To use Madam Cuihua's words, she was just a small family with no vision!
The next morning, Mingyu was called up. Lixiang took great pains to comb Mingyu's hair into an intricate bun, took out several of Mingyu's jewelry and put them on Mingyu one by one. She also put some rouge on Mingyu. Nanny Tan took out new clothes that had been made a few days ago and put them on Mingyu. After getting dressed up, Mingyu went out to pay her respects to the old lady.
The old lady was very happy to see the pretty Mingyu. She took Mingyu aside and talked to her for a while. Then she heard Mother Zhao come to report that someone had come to celebrate the birthday and wanted to meet the old lady.
When Mingyu heard this, she hurriedly tried to get down from the couch and go back. The old lady held her back and said with a smile, "The guests here are all ladies and young ladies, and there are no outsiders. You can just sit here with me and stay quiet."
Mingyu had no choice but to sit next to the old lady and wait for the guests to come in.
The old lady actually had her own plan. Didn't the mistress openly or secretly complain that the daughter-in-law she hired was not presentable? Whether it was visiting other ladies or going out to visit guests, Miao never brought Mingyu with her. She just felt uncomfortable and didn't want to admit that she had such a second daughter-in-law.
To the extent that until now, none of the ladies in Tianshui have ever seen Mingyu, the second wife of the Marquis' Mansion. Many who have only recently arrived in Tianshui don't even know that Baoger is married. They just take this opportunity to let Mingyu show up.
The granddaughter-in-law she chose, oh no, it should be the granddaughter-in-law chosen by the old marquis, is pretty and has a good temper, how can she be inferior to that sarcastic Luo Lingxiu
Mingyu had never thought about this level. She had been here for more than half a year, and the only stranger she had met was the old lady's distant relative Lu Hao. Thinking of the ladies and young ladies she was going to meet, she was a little overwhelmed with etiquette.
The old lady had guessed Mingyu's thoughts long ago. She patted Mingyu's hands and whispered, "Don't be afraid. They will kneel before you! You just need to sit next to me."
The first person to come in was a woman in her forties, with a bun on her head and two shining golden flowers on her temples. Next to her was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, who was also dressed in rich clothes and had two sparkling pearl earrings on her ears, which were obviously worth a lot of money.
After the woman and the young lady came in, they knelt down respectfully and kowtowed to the old lady. "Greetings to the old lady. I wish you good fortune as vast as the East Sea and a long life as great as the Southern Mountains!"
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Mother Zhao whispered in the old lady's ear: "This is the wife of Xu Tongpan and his little girl." The old lady nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Hurry up, the ground is cold, don't let the child get cold."
The wife of the magistrate quickly stood up with her daughter. When she saw Mingyu in front of the old lady, Mrs. Xu hesitated for a moment, looked at Mingyu who looked about twelve or thirteen years old, then reacted and smiled at Mingyu in a familiar way, "This is the eldest daughter, right? She is really beautiful, and looks very elegant. The Marquis' Mansion is a good place. The daughters raised there are always better than those of other families!"
The old lady was happier to hear her praise Mingyu than to hear her praise the real Sima Lian. She hugged Mingyu affectionately. Others praised Mingyu, which showed that she had good taste and chose such a good granddaughter-in-law. Mother Zhao lowered her head and smiled, "Madam, you are wrong. This is my second grandmother, not the eldest daughter."
The magistrate's wife then realized that she had made a mistake and said with a smile: "It's my fault. I didn't recognize such a noble person! Second Madam is really pretty. She outshines all the children in my family!" She took off a white jade bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Mother Zhao respectfully, saying with a smile: "This is my first time meeting Second Madam. I was in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare anything. I'll give this bracelet to her as a filial gift."
Mother Zhao took the bracelet from the magistrate's wife and handed it to Mingyu. Mingyu looked at the old lady, who nodded slightly. Mingyu accepted it and smiled at the magistrate's wife, saying softly, "Thank you, madam."
A simple thank you made the wife of the magistrate smile and was overjoyed. She said quickly, "No, no, no, as long as the Second Madam likes it!"
Mingyu smiled shyly, thinking that the position of Tongpan was not high compared to the Marquis's Mansion, and accepting her gift seemed to be a compliment to her. This Tongpan's wife was really a smooth talker, and she was really likable.
The whole morning passed like this. Mingyu sat there with the old lady, watching the ladies and young ladies who came to celebrate her birthday kowtow to her and wish her a happy birthday. Their faces were stiff from smiling. The old lady was even more tired. She leaned on Mingyu, looking lazy and listless.
Mingyu noticed that some of the noble ladies who came to pay their respects gave her gifts in a fawning manner, while others simply bowed. Their husbands had different positions, and their attitudes towards them were also different. Those who did not give gifts must have husbands with higher positions. But those who did not give gifts were a minority after all. In the whole morning, Mingyu received seven or eight bracelets alone, in addition to jewelry such as flower ornaments and gold hairpins.
No wonder those noble ladies dress up gorgeously and wear lots of pearls and jade when they go out to visit friends. It is convenient for giving gifts! When you meet someone you want to give a gift to, you can just pull one off your hand or pluck one off your head. They are all good gifts!
It was almost noon when the old lady finished receiving the female guests who came to celebrate her birthday. She ordered Mother Zhao to find a box and put all the gifts Mingyu had received in it. She asked Mingyu to take it back, wash up a little, and then come out to attend the birthday banquet at noon.
Mingyu and Lixiang had just returned to Yiqing Courtyard when they saw Sima Lian waiting anxiously at the gate of Yiqing Courtyard. After seeing Mingyu from a distance, Sima Lian walked over in two steps, her face full of anxiety, and pulled Mingyu and said, "Second sister-in-law, the actress who played my maid suddenly vomited and had diarrhea, and couldn't go on stage!"
It’s not easy to find a replacement when the performance is about to start. Mingyu also frowned.
"Second sister-in-law, you take charge of the show!" Sima Lian had already thought of a countermeasure.
"Me?!" Mingyu pointed at herself in astonishment. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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