Even though Wang Xifeng didn’t understand, she still obediently went to the Lin family.
After brief consideration, the old lady and Lin Ruhai understood—this was Grandmother Jia worrying that they would use such methods to retaliate against the Jia family.
What was laughable was that despite having such worries, what she thought of wasn’t how to make amends for past wrongs, but rather sending him gifts, hoping he could overlook the Jia family.
Lin Ruhai felt this was very tragic. The Four Princes and Eight Dukes had all fought together to conquer the realm, which was why they were enfeoffed with titles—they were all meritorious officials. If they all failed to pass on their legacy, it would inevitably leave an evaluation in the history books that His Majesty was harsh and ungrateful. For this reason, His Majesty often showed leniency.
During His Majesty’s reign, it wasn’t that there were no times when he relied on them. As long as they posed no threat to imperial authority and didn’t cross the line in their actions, His Majesty wouldn’t do anything to them. For example, the old Duke—when he was alive, how illustrious was the Jia family?
His Majesty treated nobles and princes of different surnames separately.
Now the Jia family still hung the sign of the Mansion of Honored State, which could be said to be because the Duke’s wife was still alive. But next door, the Mansion of Peaceful State had long since changed generations. Jia Zhen’s title was that of a third-rank general. They still hung the sign of the Mansion of Peaceful State—they should have changed the plaque long ago, but he never did, and His Majesty didn’t pursue it, just let them keep hanging it. Occasionally there were impeachments, but those memorials could only gather dust at the bottom of a box. From this alone, one could see His Majesty’s attitude.
Moreover, compared to the fate of the Prince of Nan’an’s manor where masters either died or were exiled, the wrongs committed by the Jia family hadn’t reached that point. And even if he hated the Jia family, he wouldn’t frame them. If they conducted themselves properly, even if they offended him, they needn’t worry—or rather, even if censors impeached them, they needn’t worry.
The old lady looked at those gifts and just laughed. Among these items were quite a few treasures that could serve as family heirlooms—definitely good items collected during the chaos of conquest.
If the Jia family’s silver ran into problems, selling one piece could cover expenses for quite a while.
But would they sell them?
Most likely these were taken from Grandmother Jia’s private treasury.
Even if they wanted to sell them, they couldn’t.
The old lady accepted them and turned around to add them to Daiyu’s dowry.
She accepted them without any guilt. It was impossible to write off past grievances with one stroke. The Mansion of Honored State owed the Lin family and hadn’t repaid the debt. She had also reminded Jia Jing and preserved the Jia family’s sacrificial fields. The Jia family owed her even more.
Moreover, having this deterrent was also good for them—they wouldn’t dare be too unrestrained. In the future when held accountable, the charges would be fewer.
Wang Xifeng came confused and left confused.
As for the old lady’s and Minister Lin’s indifferent attitudes, this wasn’t the first time she’d seen them. In any case, their Jia family should be the party at fault, otherwise it wouldn’t be like this.
This was enough for her to cautiously accompany them with smiles on her face.
After returning, she sat down heavily. Jia Lian also came over heavily.
He had been staying home recently. The fall of the Prince of Nan’an’s manor had quite an impact on him. Going out, even the atmosphere felt wrong, so he simply stayed home to avoid things.
Seeing his wife had returned, he asked: “How was it? Did the Lin family accept the gifts?”
Wang Xifeng smiled bitterly. “The gifts were accepted, but the old ancestor’s purpose probably wasn’t achieved.”
She sighed softly, covering her chest: “You don’t know how much my heart aches.” What was sent out was quite a substantial lavish gift!
Jia Lian smiled bitterly: “Was there an explanation?”
Wang Xifeng: “No. Oh, the old ancestor said we should all be careful recently and cause less trouble.”
Jia Lian sighed: “I’m not even going out anymore—what trouble could I cause? I was thinking of going out to relax.”
Wang Xifeng laughed coldly: “Which little vixen at the pleasure house made you so reluctant to part?”
Jia Lian said awkwardly: “Your vinegar smell is really strong enough. Outside I’m just playing along. Which man isn’t like this? In my heart, the most important is still my Second Mistress.”
Wang Xifeng glanced at him sideways, not believing a single word in her heart.
Jia Lian came over with a smiling face to massage her shoulders, then kissed her: “What I’m saying is of course true. Second Mistress has really worked hard recently. I’ll stay home and keep you company more.”
Wang Xifeng huffed but didn’t move, just letting him massage her shoulders. She also felt she’d been busy recently. Previously, Jia Rong from the Mansion of Peaceful State and Qin Keqing had returned to Jinling together, and then she learned that their Jia family’s sacrificial fields had actually been secretly sold off in part by her aunt!
They were far away, and people there had been paid off, so the news couldn’t reach them.
If it weren’t for the previous clan leader having Jia Rong and his wife return to inspect the sacrificial fields and ancestral graves, they wouldn’t have discovered it.
It was still the Wang family who stepped forward to secretly buy back those sacrificial fields, and they compensated some silver to get past this matter.
Even so, only the old ancestor, her aunt, and herself knew about this.
None of the men in the Mansion of Honored State knew. The Mansion of Peaceful State side had already received silver and would act as if nothing had happened.
This left Wang Xifeng with very complicated feelings. This aunt of hers had much more nerve than she did.
Sacrificial fields—she still didn’t dare touch those now.
However, it wasn’t completely without good news. Her other aunt had married the head of the Xue family. Now the head of the Xue family had passed away, and the mourning period had ended. She planned to come to the capital. Because her uncle was away on assignment, she would stay at the Mansion of Honored State. Wang Xifeng had already prepared a suitable courtyard to accommodate them.
The Xue family was an Imperial Merchant family.
Although now much of the family business had been divided among the various branches of the Xue family, her cousin was still the Xue family head, and the hat of Imperial Merchant hadn’t been lost. After all, although her cousin was young, he still had the Wang family and Jia family behind him.
Speaking of the Xue family, Jia Lian also raised his eyebrows with a smile: “Having many family relatives is a good thing.” He recalled rumors he’d heard before—supposedly this cousin had a generous and free-spending temperament.
—
Yun Shuyao stood in the courtyard watering several pots of orchids. At a glance, one could tell these orchids had been carefully tended—the leaves were full and glossy, the buds trembling delicately. Yun Shuyao looked and nodded with satisfaction, transmitting one final infusion of her ability, then had people carefully move them away.
There were six pots here in total, and their destinations were already determined.
Two pots would be sent to the Fourth Beile’s manor. Because the situation was rather sensitive, Yun Shuyao hadn’t gone to see her daughter in some time. Even sending things was done quietly.
Two pots would be sent to the Yun family. The last two pots Lin Ruhai had already claimed in advance—he would give them to others.
Beside them was a peony in bloom. Yun Shuyao said: “Send it to the First Mistress.” Her daughter-in-law hadn’t said she liked them, but every time she came here, she would look at the peonies a few extra times.
After Tang Wanxin received it, her face couldn’t help but smile. Her personal senior maid also smiled: “First Mistress, Lady Yun treats First Mistress so well.”
Before marrying in, they had been somewhat worried about how to get along with the Lin family members. Fortunately, after arriving, they discovered their previous worries had been excessive.
Whether it was the old lady or others, everyone was easy to get along with.
The old lady, like Lady Yun, wouldn’t send maids to the masters, nor would she interfere with their affairs.
Tang Wanxin smiled in agreement. After she married in, all matters in their courtyard had been handed over to her.
After she became somewhat familiar, Lady Yun would also call her over when handling household matters, having her listen from the side and learn.
Listening from the side, Tang Wanxin discovered that Lady Yun managed the household very quickly. It wasn’t that her speech was particularly rapid—she spoke normally—but she could clearly remember which matters were whose responsibility.
If something happened somewhere, just find the person responsible.
Normally when there were no issues, there wasn’t much to manage—everything had established precedents. She rarely needed to disturb Lady Yun in her courtyard as she practiced calligraphy and painting, or tended flowers and plants.
Tang Wanxin made a comparison. The Lin family didn’t have many masters, but the total number of people wasn’t small. Because residing in the Lin manor, aside from the masters, there were also Father’s advisors and their families, her husband’s and the young mistresses’ tutors, governess matrons, and such. Adding the servants, the number wasn’t small.
The Tang family had more masters in population. Adding it all up, the total numbers were similar. Comparing them, the Tang family wasn’t as convenient to manage.
Moreover, Lady Yun was gradually teaching her how to do things. The meaning in her words was also like this—so when she took over, she wouldn’t be flustered and disorganized.
Up to now, she was already managing part of the household. Lady Yun truly had no intention of holding onto household management authority.
This was her husband’s birth mother, who also held an imperial patent. Before marrying in, Mother had worried herself sick about the proper boundaries in their relationship. In reality, she was an extremely easy person to get along with.
Thinking of this, Tang Wanxin couldn’t help but smile. But then the maid said: “If First Mistress could conceive a young master, that would be even better.”
Hearing these words, Tang Wanxin’s brows unknowingly furrowed.
She had also been in the household for half a year. Every month, the old lady would ask if her monthly courses were normal. Inevitably, this gave her considerable pressure.
Fortunately, she hadn’t mentioned having others bear children, which made Tang Wanxin breathe a sigh of relief.
If possible, who wouldn’t want to monopolize their man?
The maids by her husband’s side were simply maids who served his daily needs—there was no other meaning. Before her, there had been no other women. After marrying in, the couple was affectionate, making others envious.
Tang Wanxin also knew her husband wanted legitimate sons, which was why he hadn’t thought about taking in maids. But no news was no news—what could she do about it?
“Doctor Zhou said both our bodies are fine. No need to worry.” The more anxious one was, the later the child might come.
The maid realized she had misspoken. Saying this would only make the mistress feel worse: “First Mistress, don’t worry. Having one is good, but not having one is also common. How many new brides are lucky enough to conceive right after entering the household? You’ve been married less than a year. First Young Mistress married out three years ago and still hasn’t had good news, yet First Young Master still loves and values First Young Mistress.”
Tang Wanxin shook her head but said no more.
The Xilin Gioro family and First Young Master’s situation weren’t the same thing. If First Young Mistress still had no good news, the Xilin Gioro family would be another matter. Concubine Mei had burned much incense and prayed to Buddha over this.
Especially compared to Second Young Mistress—they married out one after the other. One still hadn’t conceived, while the other’s child would be walking in a few months. Concubine Mei was already searching everywhere for fertility secret recipes.
She had even come to Lady Yun for help.
Yun Shuyao had also taken Ying Yu’s pulse when she returned. There was nothing wrong with her body, and her age wasn’t old either. Actually, there really was no need to be so anxious.
At the end of the day, it was still this wicked world that made things difficult for women.
Yun Shuyao also gave her a talisman she had drawn, hoping it could have some effect.
The Lin family was currently concerned with these issues. Outside, however, things weren’t peaceful, because this year was a selection year.
During the last selection, Ying Yu and Luo Yu had married out. This year, Daiyu was only ten years old, not yet of age to participate in the selection. The Lin family naturally closed their doors and lived their own lives.
However, though it had nothing to do with them, it still had something to do with the Jia family.
Jia Yingchun was exactly thirteen years old this year and was on the selection list.
For this, the entire Jia household mobilized. If she could enter the palace and help her elder sister bear children, it would be a great fortune.
If Yuan Chun had good news, of course it would be better if Yuan Chun could conceive a child herself. But news from the palace was that His Majesty hadn’t visited Yuan Chun in quite a while. Without His Majesty, how could she conceive a dragon son?
Yuan Chun needed someone to help her compete for favor. Yingchun was perfect—decent-looking, low status, and with an easy-to-control temperament. For this, Grandmother Jia specially hired people to teach palace etiquette, and spent considerable silver on arrangements. She grasped her hand and earnestly instructed: “The Jia family is one body. Your elder sister is striving in the palace. When you go, help her establish herself in the palace. When your elder sister gains favor, she’ll definitely give you a hand too. You’re both daughters of the Jia family—helping each other is only natural. If you both can bear dragon sons, that would be even better.”