Zhоu Shаojin noddеd rереаtedly, her tеаr-streakеd facе still wеаring а smilе аs she chоked out, "If you hadn't told mе, еven if I livеd to уоur аgе, I might nevеr hаvе undеrstоod hоw paths arе fоrged!"
Нer naive еxprеssion delightеd Оld Маdаm Guо.
Оld Madаm Guо cоuldn’t hеlр but chuсkle аnd sаid, "Go rest nоw! If I’m nоt mistakеn, Ah Xuan will сome visiting tomоrrоw. Yоu must gathеr your enеrgу аnd entеrtаin hеr рrорerlу—dоn’t tarnish mу reрutation."
Nоt the Сhеng fаmily’s rерutаtiоn, not the reрutation of the eldеst branch, but Old Мadam Guо’s own rерutatiоn.
Zhou Shaojin sprang to her feet, answering crisply, "Yes!"
Old Madam Guo smiled faintly.
Zhou Shaojin went down and met with Second Madam Wei, informing her of all the instructions she had received that day. Second Madam Wei hurriedly said, "You’ve worked hard," and personally escorted her out of the Moon Gate before turning back to Old Madam Guo’s resting quarters, Crane Longevity Hall, to discuss Cheng Rang’s studies with her: "...Not the Imperial College, but Sanming Academy? I’ve heard Sanming Academy isn’t even as good as Shuanghe Academy?"
Old Madam Guo patiently explained, "The Imperial College is mostly filled with those aiming for official careers—they emphasize background, seniority, and family influence. There’s also a great deal of socializing and networking, leaving few who can truly settle down to study. Shuanghe Academy is a private academy; its headmaster is a renowned Confucian scholar of great repute, so the quality of education is unquestionable, and the students have solid foundations. However, there are also many naturally gifted scholars there. Rang’er has been frail since childhood, and his energy is somewhat lacking. If he goes to Shuanghe Academy, I fear his studies may not stand out, and over time, his interest in learning will sharply decline. It would be better for him to attend Sanming Academy. While it may be inferior to Shuanghe Academy in both scale and student quality, its strength lies in the teachers’ patient and meticulous instruction. They appreciate students who make up for lack of talent with diligence, making it the most suitable place for Rang’er.
"This academy was recommended by your uncle—he would never make such a suggestion lightly, so you can rest assured.
"As for Second Young Master, you should also speak with him. If he has no pressing matters at the yamen, he should spend more time at home, guiding Rang’er in his studies and giving him extra tutoring. With Second Young Master’s knowledge, Rang’er should be able to rank among the top students at the academy.
"Now that we’ve separated our lineage from Nine Prosperities Lane, the future of our branch in the capital will rely on Jiashan and Rang’er to bring glory to the family. Rang’er can no longer hide behind Jiashan as he did before. Even if he doesn’t achieve top honors in the imperial examinations, he must still pursue his studies. How can you rashly assume that just because Rang’er’s studies are average, his sons will be the same?"
Second Madam Wei nodded repeatedly, suppressing her excitement as she stood respectfully with her hands at her sides, humbly agreeing.
Old Madam Guo nodded with satisfaction.
A young maid entered and reported, "Fourth Master has arrived."
He probably heard that Madam Liao and Second Madam Fang had pushed Fang Xuan onto her and came to stand up for Shaojin, didn’t he?
Old Madam Guo snorted coldly.
Second Madam Wei hurriedly stood up to take her leave.
Though she lacked Madam Yuan’s shrewdness, she was no fool.
In the past, whenever her mother-in-law heard Fourth Master’s name, her eyes would light up with a smile, but lately, she had been treating him with indifference. Clearly, there was some conflict between mother and son. But no matter what conflict existed between them, Fourth Master was still her mother-in-law’s favorite son. She had no desire to get caught up in it.
Old Madam Guo stiffened her expression and sat in silence, waiting for Cheng Chi to enter.Cheng Chi paid his respects to his mother and sat on the kang opposite her. After the maid served tea and snacks, he dismissed the servants in the room and said to Old Madam Guo, "A few days ago, Elder Brother came to me and asked how much usable silver the family still had. He said Jiashan is about to get married, and they had originally planned for the couple to return to Jinling City to stay for a while after the ceremony in the capital. Firstly, to allow them to show filial piety in front of you, and secondly, to let them interact with the relatives of the main family, so the new bride wouldn’t even recognize her own kin. Therefore, the residence in Xinglin Alley was only casually renovated, with some small additions. Now that we have separated from Nine Prosperities Lane, everyone will reside in the capital for a long time. Jiashan’s wedding chamber cannot be arranged so casually. He asked how much usable silver the family still had... saying that with the family facing such circumstances, it certainly wouldn’t be abundant. He originally intended to discuss with the Min family about keeping Jiashan’s wedding simple. So he wrote a letter to Sister-in-Law. But Sister-in-Law disagreed. She said she only has Jiashan as her son, and Elder Brother is a cabinet minister. The family they are marrying into is the Fujian Min clan, so in any case, they cannot mistreat the eldest daughter of the Min family. If the public funds cannot cover this expense, the cost of Jiashan’s wedding will be covered by her own funds, and the public funds need not be involved..."
Old Madam Guo’s expression immediately turned very unpleasant. "How did you reply?" she asked.
The silver given to the second branch all came from the public funds of the eldest branch, while Madam Yuan’s dowry remained untouched.
Now that Cheng Xu is about to get married, logically, this expense should be covered by the public funds of the eldest branch. There is absolutely no reason to use Madam Yuan’s dowry.
Yet, while the law is important, human sentiment cannot be ignored.
Now that the family is facing unprecedented circumstances, even if there is surplus silver in the public funds, with no business or farmland... instead of first establishing assets to rebuild their lives, they are only concerned about their son’s wedding.
And they want to make it a grand affair.
Fearing that the public funds might not cover the expense, they plan to use their own dowry.
And her soft-hearted son actually listened to this and went to discuss it with his younger brother...
She truly raised a fine son!
Old Madam Guo’s fingers gripping the round fan turned faintly white.
Cheng Chi sighed inwardly.
Elder Brother clearly knows that Mother holds a grudge against Madam Yuan, yet he still said such things. It shows how crucial the husband’s role is in mediating between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
He hoped he wouldn’t be foolish enough to push Shaojin into his mother’s presence in the future.
He took his mother’s hand and comforted her in a low voice, "Mother, don’t misunderstand. Elder Brother is also considering the family’s difficulties. After all, given his status and position, it wouldn’t be appropriate for Jiashan’s wedding to be too shabby. At the time, I told Elder Brother that this matter needed to be discussed with you. But after returning, I managed to raise a hundred thousand taels of silver. I thought we could tell Elder Brother that this silver is your private savings—rather than letting Sister-in-Law use her own funds for Jiashan’s wedding, it would be better for you to provide it..."
This way, Madam Yuan would have nothing more to say.
Old Madam Guo tightly grasped Cheng Chi’s hand and remained silent for a long while. But when she finally spoke, she said, "Although we have separated from Nine Prosperities Lane, we are still the main branch of the Cheng family. The family’s rules must naturally follow the conventions of Nine Prosperities Lane."The custom in Nine Prosperities Lane was that one thousand taels of silver were allocated for the wedding of a legitimate son, five hundred taels for a son born of a concubine; seven hundred taels for the marriage of a legitimate daughter, and three hundred taels for a daughter born of a concubine. However, Nine Prosperities Lane had long been wealthy and no longer strictly adhered to these rules.
Cheng Chi smiled bitterly and advised Old Madam Guo, "Our family isn’t lacking in silver. In a few days, I’ll transfer another hundred thousand taels back. There’s no need for you to worry over such matters. It’s not worth ruining your health over this!"
Old Madam Guo remained silent.
But the next day, when she met Zhou Shaojin, she instructed her to copy the account books of the inner courtyard of Nine Prosperities Lane, saying, "Record all the expenditures clearly. In the future, if anything arises, follow the established customs for expenses."
Zhou Shaojin had no idea what had transpired between Old Madam Guo and Cheng Jing. She obediently agreed and began copying the account books of the inner courtyard of Nine Prosperities Lane.
In the afternoon, Fang Xuan arrived as expected.
She wore a plain purple wisteria-colored vest, a moon-white pleated skirt, and embroidered shoes adorned with pearls the size of lotus seeds—elegant yet luxurious.
Old Madam Guo sat with her in the sitting room, chatting.
Zhou Shaojin, meanwhile, copied the account books in the adjacent side room.
In the evening, the old madam kept them for dinner. The two of them cheerfully accompanied her for the meal before returning to their respective homes.
Second Madam Fang was waiting for Fang Xuan in her inner chamber. As soon as she saw her, she asked what she had done at the Cheng family that day.
Fang Xuan truthfully recounted the events to her mother.
Upon hearing this, Second Madam Fang frowned and said, "You mean, the second young lady of the Zhou family was also there? And while you were chatting with the old madam, she was copying account books in the side room?"
This was clearly a lesson for the second young lady of the Zhou family on how to manage a household!
But every family’s customs were different. What was the meaning of having the second young lady of the Zhou family copy the Cheng family’s account books?
After all, Old Madam Guo was the mother of a grand secretary. Fang Xuan dared not act presumptuously in front of her and had spent the entire afternoon attentively accompanying the old madam. She was already exhausted and yawned as she replied, "Yes! Madam Wei said the old madam instructed her to copy all those account books and store them in the treasury. She mentioned that some of the earlier account books had gone missing, and these needed to be preserved for future reference."
That was plausible!
Since the eldest branch had separated from Nine Prosperities Lane, it was common for some things to be lost.
But Second Madam Fang still felt uneasy.
Every time Fang Xuan went to Nine Prosperities Lane, she would ask her to pay close attention to what Zhou Shaojin was doing. Upon learning that Zhou Shaojin had been copying account books all along and had even called Biyu, the former senior maid of the old madam, to help with the transcription, while Fang Xuan had received guidance from Old Madam Guo and had begun learning calligraphy under her tutelage, Second Madam Fang finally felt at ease.
Soon, summer passed.
Matters in Jinling City were also settled.
Items were gradually transported from Jinling, and Biyu and others were busy directing servants and maids to organize them into their respective courtyards.
In early August, Madam Yuan hurried back from Jinling to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Accompanying her were over a dozen families of long-serving servants willing to settle in the capital with the Cheng family, as well as those who were unwilling to move to the capital but did not wish to leave the Cheng family. Madam Yuan arranged for them to manage the ancestral lands and tend to the family graves.
Since Xinglin Hutong could not accommodate them all, most were settled at Chaoyang Gate.
After freshening up at Xinglin Hutong, Madam Yuan hurried over to the residence at Chaoyang Gate.She gazed at the towering ancient trees within the estate, the broad pathways, the exquisite pavilions, and the lake shimmering with golden ripples, her eyes widening in surprise. She turned to the nanny she had left at Apricot Grove Lane to care for Cheng Jing and asked, "When did Fourth Master acquire this estate?"
It was much larger than the one at Apricot Grove Lane.
Madam Yuan had previously heard that Old Madam Guo had used her private savings to purchase an estate for Cheng Chi near Chaoyang Gate. She had assumed it would be, at most, similar in size to the one at Apricot Grove Lane, but she never expected it to be... this vast.
It was no less impressive than the ancestral home of the eldest branch at Nine Prosperities Lane.
The nanny replied respectfully, "I heard it was formed by merging three estates, and it took a long time to acquire them all. As for when the renovations began, I’m not sure... By the time Fourth Master mentioned it, he had already moved in."
Madam Yuan absentmindedly hummed in acknowledgment and met Old Madam Guo in the main hall of the eastern courtyard.
※
Dear readers, today’s update!
O(∩_∩)O~
PS: Tomorrow is Monday, and it will be a busy day. There will only be one update, scheduled around 8 p.m. Apologies for any inconvenience!
※ (To be continued ~^~)
OpenNovel