Han hugged Xiaocao's shoulders and continued, "When discussing marriage for Yang'er, there were countless princesses and county ladies from noble families, aristocratic families, and even royal families. It's not that we want to marry them, but they want to marry us.
There is no need to mention the upright families, but as for the aristocratic families, they value Yang'er's future more, perhaps because they believe that he can become famous all over the world. The reputation of the nobles is not very good. Most people think of them as warriors, nouveau riche, and peasants, especially those sour scholars who think that the nobles' families are mostly filled with scum and playboys, which is not the case. Although there are some who have not had a good background for several generations, they are actually only a minority. Yang'er plays an important role in helping them wash away their stigma. As for the royal relatives, there are very few who can hold real power, so there are reasons from all aspects.
Apart from these, for a woman, having a husband who is famous in the imperial city and whose talent and knowledge surpass countless others, to put it bluntly, can be said to be a very face-saving thing in the outside world.
I'm not saying this, but Miss Meng doesn't like going out. Otherwise, just because she is Yang'er's fiancée, I'm afraid many people would target her and criticize and despise her.
Because of Mr. Meng, the girls of the Meng family are really good at finding a good match. However, for the grandchildren, they still have to look at their fathers. After all, Mr. Meng is so old. If he is gone, how many of his connections will be passed on to the younger generation? It would be good to have one or two. The truly powerful people will not take the Meng family seriously. Most of the men of marriageable age who go to the Meng family are from humble backgrounds or have no restrictions on family background. Among ten, nine out of ten have a desire for power. I am not bragging. These people, no matter from which aspect, are far inferior to Yang'er. "
Xiaocao had lived a simple life before and had never encountered these things, so naturally she would never think about it. Now after hearing what her mother said, she understood everything. In her eyes, her own Xiao Si was "good for nothing", but in fact, there were too many attractive qualities about him. If his parents wanted to use him for marriage, the Wenren family could really marry into a noble family. However, Wenren Taibo and Han both loved their sons.
Ah, it's simply a disaster.
"So, we came to the Meng family because of Miss Meng San's guidance?"
"Yes, you see, given Miss Meng's situation, what would someone who is completely ignorant of the situation think? To be honest, based on Mrs. Meng's intention to cover up, I have thought about canceling the engagement. That Third Miss Meng wants to destroy my sister and replace her. Even if she succeeds, she doesn't even think about whether I look down on her or not." Han said with sarcasm.
Among so many candidates for daughter-in-law, she chose Meng Xinlan alone. Naturally, it was because she felt that Meng Xinlan was suitable for her son. Meng Xinyao was nothing. Without Meng Xinlan, she would definitely not be the one.
"Mrs. Meng's original intention was to keep the matter a secret. Miss Meng San knew the true situation of her cousin. She brought her mother here at this time. Isn't she afraid of any unexpected events? Isn't the correct approach to wait until Miss Meng's face is disfigured and the dust has settled before exposing the matter? It's not like someone so brainless to plan such a thing."
"Maybe her marriage is about to be decided, and she can't wait. Who knows the details? After all, it is the Meng family's family affair and has nothing to do with us." Han was nonchalant. Even if it was Meng Xinlan, who did not marry into the Wen family and was not a member of the Wen family, even if her conspiracy was successful this time, she would not care a bit.
It has to be said that Han is definitely a big shot in the harem. She can see through many things at a glance, and she has basically guessed what Meng Xinyao did.
Xiaocao can actually feel her mother's indifference to the outside world to some extent, but if you think about it carefully, this seems to be human nature, and it is believed that family disgrace should not be made public. If you want to show more concern, others may think you are meddling in other people's business and laughing at them, which may make them angry and embarrassed, especially someone like Mr. Meng, who has been noble all his life and cares more about his reputation than ordinary people.
Xiaocao narrowed her eyes slightly. She didn't think her mother did anything wrong, so perhaps her nature was also cold. She cared about Meng Xinlan, and she really loved her mother and her family.
Because it was a bite from a poisonous insect, the prescription was written all at once, so there was no need to make another trip.
I slowly returned to Wenren's house. It was not early anymore, already mid-afternoon.
After sitting down and taking two sips of tea to moisten his throat, someone came into Han's yard in a threatening manner.
Xiaocao listened and realized it was the voice of their fourth aunt Ge. This fourth aunt usually spoke in a sarcastic tone from time to time, but she still had some qualities of a lady. But now, she was making a lot of noise and her voice was so loud that it seemed to overturn the whole yard. It was really the first time, and the noise came to the main courtyard of the eldest house, accompanied by "Sister-in-law, what do you mean?", which was obviously directed at her mother. Xiaocao's eyes showed confusion, and she turned her head to glance at Han.
Han was calm and composed, even showing a sense of understanding, as if she was waiting for the other party to come.
Han looked at Xiao Cao and smiled, "The monthly allowance was distributed today."
The monthly allowance naturally includes not only the monthly salary but also a variety of other things.
So, this month's allowance is different from previous ones. Is it because it's less or what
Ge had already rushed in without any obstruction, and stood in front of Han, like an angry lioness, with anger in her eyes, so don't even expect her to meet her politely.
"What's wrong with you, Fourth Sister-in-law? You're so angry. Who has offended you? If you have anything to say, please speak slowly. - Someone, bring tea."
"No need! Sister-in-law, I just want to ask you, why is there so much less in the monthly allowance? And the things are all inferior goods. You are in charge of the central cabinet and the mistress of the house, but you are so stingy with things from other rooms. Are you worthy of the old lady's trust?" Ge was furious, but also revealed an unstoppable excitement, as if she had finally caught Han's handle.
You have to know that not long after Han married into the Wen family, she took control of the imperial power. The sisters-in-law who married in later had nothing to do with it. Ge jumped around for a while at first, but not only did she not get any benefits, she also got the old lady's favor and dared not do anything afterwards. The other people were not like her. They might have had some ideas in their minds at first, but with Ge as the vanguard, they could see the situation clearly from behind.
"Oh, this is what Fourth Sister-in-law is talking about. The monthly allowance is not reduced. It is based on the original old rules of the Wen family."
"Sister-in-law is quite good at telling lies with open eyes."
"How could that be? Think about it, Fourth Sister-in-law. When you first got married, wasn't the monthly allowance about the same as it is now? Over the past ten or twenty years, things have remained basically the same price, so how could the monthly allowance be less? It's the same." Han held the tea and took a sip slowly.
Mrs. Ge couldn't quite remember how much stuff there was back then. "How can we compare now with the past? Sister-in-law is still talking about the old almanac from many years ago. Who are you trying to fool?"
Han smiled and said, "But the extra money that came later was all from my own pocket. If Fourth Sister-in-law doesn't believe me, you can check the account book. Over the years, it's clear which ones were paid by the public treasury and which ones were paid by me. It's just that I don't have that much money now, so I changed the monthly allowance to the old one."
Han was rich. When she first married into the Wen family, her personal property was not much less than that of the entire Wen family. In addition, she was good at business. Over the past 20 years, she had spent countless money on her husband and children, but her private property had increased instead of decreased. She did not value money very much, because they lived under the same roof. If only the eldest branch lived too well, there would inevitably be trouble. So Han did not mind loosening her fingers and giving more things to other branches. However, some people took her things and were not grateful. Instead, they framed her daughter. She was sorry, and she was not willing to give them anything now.
Mrs. Ge was like a duck with its neck strangled. She was silent for a moment. After a long while, she spoke in disbelief, "Is what my sister-in-law said true?" Was this woman really so generous as to use her own things to subsidize the whole family
"Ah, the account book is here. You may not know how much the Wen family's public property is, but Old Four knows a little bit."
Ge naturally believed it. Han had always done things without any mistakes. How could she suddenly make such a big mistake? Was there really such a fool as her? Her eyes were red with jealousy. This eldest sister-in-law's illegitimate children might be more than expected. She had so many, but she only gave out so little. Now she wanted to take back even this little thing, saying that she was not well-off. She was lying!
She pretended to be generous, but now her true colors are exposed. How can such a hypocritical and pretentious woman be worthy of being the head of the Wen family? She should continue to be generous if she can!
Obviously, Ge had forgotten that she had been enjoying the benefits given by Han, but she knew nothing about it. If Han was pretending, would he not let her know? On the one hand, she thought that the person was a fool, and on the other hand, she wanted him to take out everything. What a thing.
It was impossible for Ge to ask about Han's private property. If Han refused to give it up, Ge would naturally be helpless. Even if she made a fuss to the old lady, she would be the only one to suffer the consequences. After all, no matter who Han took away, the old lady would not take away anything. Moreover, the old lady was not so materialistic. She never asked about the Wen family's financial problems, which indirectly proved that Han had never made any mistakes.
“Even if that’s the case, the quantity is not right.”
"How can it be wrong? The masters of each room, the concubines with titles, and the servants within the quota, everyone has a share. As for those who are not within the quota, according to the old rules, each room should support them with its own money. I am short of money and cannot support you, so the remaining people in the future will have to be supported by yourselves." Han smiled gently, but there was no apology at all.
However, Mrs. Ge's face became extremely ugly. Her husband was a womanizer. He had many concubines who had given birth to children and were entitled to status. As for the number of people serving them, it was basically more than the quota. It was actually self-evident what these extra people were doing.
As the saying goes, a son resembles his father. Wenren Jili's sons also had some problems in this regard. Although it was not very obvious due to the family tradition, people around them who were not part of the family naturally had the same problems.
Mrs. Ge herself was also a person who loved to enjoy life. Perhaps because she didn't have anything, she didn't want to lose face, so she was very particular and liked pomp and circumstance. The number of people serving her exceeded the limit, and there were more than one or two of them.
This amount adds up to -
Ge immediately decided that after returning, she would immediately send away those who exceeded the quota around others and send them all to the farm. At that time, these people would not be under her control. As for her own people, she had never thought of laying off people. It was just a matter of monthly salary. The first-class was reduced to the second-class, and the second-class was reduced to the third-class, so the cost would be less. Even so, thinking of what the second room got today, Ge's face was still terribly gloomy, "Sister-in-law, you are really good!"
Han's smile remained unchanged, and she nodded as a matter of course, "As your sister-in-law, I naturally have to treat you well."
Mrs. Ge was so angry that she threw her sleeves and left.
But Han's smile became more and more genuine.
Comparing the Han family and the Ge family, their fighting power is really not at the same level. Xiaocao silently shifted his eyes away. The blanket on the ground was very beautiful.
Seeing Xiaocao's expression, Han smiled and said, "Xuan'er, why don't you ask mother why her menstrual period has been reduced?"
"Mother naturally has her own reasons for doing this. You are the mistress of the family, so you have the final say." In matters like this, he would naturally stand on his mother's side without a doubt.
"Xuan'er is right, you don't have to worry about these things." She would be heartbroken if anyone dared to make up stories about her daughter.
The other families soon found out about what the Ge family had done, or rather, they had been waiting for it for a long time and had expected this to happen when they received the monthly allowance.
The second and fifth houses did not react much. Mrs. Du of the second house was also rich, although much less than Mrs. Han, but the subsidy from Mrs. Han was dispensable to them and had no impact at all. It would remain the same in the future as before. As for the fifth house, there were few people and the number of servants was not even the fixed number, but the monthly allowance was paid according to the fixed number. Although Mrs. Yan's private property was not abundant, it was not thin either, so there would be no impact either.
The two sisters-in-law sighed and said that this was indeed the eldest sister-in-law's style. She could deal with people without bloodshed.
As for the third room, the situation was not much different from that of the fourth room except for the fixed number of people. However, compared with Ge, Zhang was not so particular and would not swell her head and spread herself too much. She was very thrifty. In the past, there was still a lot left over from the monthly allowance. Now, if she spent carefully, there could still be some surplus. Therefore, Zhang just sighed and told people to distribute the things, without revealing what she was thinking at all.
In comparison, the more Mrs. Ge saw the things sent to the fourth room, the more she disliked them. She was almost furious, but she endured it again and again and did not smash anything. The last time she smashed things, she paid a small part of it out of her own pocket because her husband had a big tantrum. The rest was originally expected to be slowly replenished from the public fund, but now, it would take at least two years to make up for it. If she smashed things again, the house would be in a disgrace.