Volume 1 Chapter 57 Whisper (Pink Ticket 180)

  "We're not very familiar with their family. The third wife said, "However, the Western teacher they hired is a nephew of one of my husband's students, surnamed Zhao, who is very knowledgeable and that's why I went. To say it, the Tang family is arrogant and not easy to get along with. Mr. Zhao also went because he was embarrassed by his friend's face. He plans to resign after finishing teaching this year. I heard that the annual salary is 15 taels of silver, four sets of seasonal clothes, and a servant boy. It's also planned to discuss with Master whether we can afford such expenses, why not invite him to our home to teach Kai Ge and Yu Ge exclusively."

  The lady was shocked: "Fifteen taels of silver for a tutor, four sets of clothes for each season, and a servant to boot. This is too...". She trailed off, then said thoughtfully, "Third Brother's idea is good. If it's really like this, we might as well invite him home. We can be lenient with everything else, but the children's studies cannot be neglected. Besides, we haven't divided the family property yet, so let's just take the money from the common fund!"

  Third Madame was taken aback and hastily said: "How can this be..."

  The lady had already taken the hand of the third lady: "A family does not speak two families' words." She also said, "Since Mr. Zhao wants to resign from his position, it seems he is dissatisfied with the East House. I think we should increase his salary to twenty taels per year, provide him with two sets of clothes for each season, and assign a young servant to attend to him. I see that there is still a small courtyard in the back, why not allocate it specifically for Mr. Zhao's use?"

  The third aunt wanted to decline, but the eldest aunt had already smiled and said: "I am your elder sister-in-law, you have to listen to me."

  At this time, the Liu family was in decline. As for human feelings and worldly affairs, Third Madame was more sensitive than usual. The things that Eldest Madame had promised were not expensive, and Third Master could afford them, but Eldest Madame's words made Third Madame very grateful.

  She grasped Madame's hand, her eyes slightly moist, and nodded heavily.

  The old lady looked at the five mothers, ten mothers and eleven mothers sitting quietly in front of them and smiled: "We adults talk about family affairs, you listen to it is also boring. There are two pear trees behind your three aunts' house, which should be blooming now. Let mom take you around the yard to avoid feeling uncomfortable."

  Third Mistress heard the sound and knew that Eldest Mistress was going to have a heart-to-heart talk with her daughters. She smiled and said, "Why don't we sit under the pear blossom tree and have some tea? It's more pleasant there!" Then she called for her personal maid to take a few people to stroll around in the backyard.

  The three of them came to their senses, bent their knees to pay respects to the first and third wives, then followed their mother into the courtyard.

  The elder lady sighed and gazed at the third lady with a bitter smile: "Three are generally long or short. It's really exhausting."

  The third wife gave a signal with her eyes to the maids beside her, and they retreated silently.

  "She smiled and said: 'When they become mothers themselves, they will naturally understand your good intentions.'"

  "I hope that day will come." The old lady responded with a sigh. Then she straightened up and asked the third lady, "By the way, do you know any eligible young masters? Speaking of which, Wu Niang and Shi Niang are not getting any younger either. You also know that they are born out of wedlock. We may look down on others, but others may not look down on us. It's really worrying me to death."

  So it was for this matter!

  Third Madame thought of some rumors she had heard while mourning in Yuhang... and couldn't help but smile: "If it were the past, I could ask my mother, and she would always find a few suitable ones. But now..." her face full of apology.

  "Look at me. Talking and talking, I've touched on your sore spot again." The mistress said self-reproachingly.

  "It's none of your business." The third wife's eyes reddened, "I just can't think straight myself."

  The big wife comforted the third wife a few words, then sighed and turned the topic back: "I don't dare to think about anything else, as long as he is of good character and comes from a decent family, that's all!"

  Third Aunt saw her being so persistent, and could only say: "Elder sister, rest assured, I will help keep an eye on things."

  The old lady nodded and was about to say something when a young maid came in and reported: "The two young masters are back from school!"

  Third Aunt's face was all smiles: "Quickly come in, your great aunt has arrived."

  The lady saw this and knew that her wishes had been dashed.

  Coming out from San Tai Tai's place, Da Tai Tai looked a bit dazed.

  Lu Zhenxing saw it with his own eyes.

  Back home, he had a heart-to-heart talk with his mother: “...How did you suddenly think of going to the Temple of National Protection today? And then went all the way to Third Uncle's house without even resting?”

  The old master went out early and hasn't returned yet. In addition, today's trip to the third wife didn't go as planned, so she was a bit unhappy in her heart. She also wanted to talk to someone, so she told her son about it: "If the eleventh daughter-in-law's matter is settled, the fifth and tenth daughters will have to hurry up and get married. I think Mrs. Jiang is quite satisfied with this, but there's still one that hasn't been settled yet?"

  Luo Zhenxing had heard his wife mention it vaguely before, but at the time he just thought it was a woman's absurd talk. Now that he heard his mother say it with his own ears, he couldn't help but frown: "Mother, Eldest Sister is still doing well, how can you... Wouldn't that make people sad!"

  "What do you know?" The old lady saw that her usually filial son was actually talking back to her, and thought that if her daughter left, her grandson would still have this uncle to rely on. If her son were to develop a grudge over this matter, it wouldn't be good. She also thought that perhaps because of this matter, she could let her son experience the difficulties of life. So she said, "When people leave, tea becomes cold; when people die, lamps are extinguished. Even if Lord Hou still remembers old times, he'll still be smiling at new people every day. Anyone would become infatuated, even if they were made of iron. Who knows what kind of trouble will arise later? If we don't make plans now, do you think it's okay to wait until Brother Yun has problems and then try to scheme? Don't forget, he has a grandmother above him and a father below him; no matter how close we are, we're still outsiders. Even if we have good intentions, I'm afraid that by the time something happens, it will be too late."

  "Master Hou is not that kind of person!" Luo Zhenxing told his mother about Xu Lingyi secretly visiting the Guozijian Jiaofeng, "He could have boasted to me about it. But he didn't tell me anything! If Jiaofeng hadn't mentioned it in front of me, I might never have known."

  "What kind of person is Master Hou? Who would know better than your elder sister!" The old lady seemed unconvinced, "I've been busy running around these past few days and didn't have time to talk to you. I see that you're quite different from when you were in Yuhang, what's happened?"

  Luo Zhenxing was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected his mother to ask him this, and he didn't understand what she meant either.

  "Is it that after entering the Imperial Academy, you suddenly realized that before this, you were just a frog at the bottom of a well?" The old lady didn't wait for her son to respond and coldly smiled. "You still have many things to learn! If Marquis Hou came to the Imperial Academy to give you an introduction, even if you were a jiaofu (a high-ranking official), I'm afraid you would also try to curry favor with him?"

  Lu Zhenxing's face turned slightly pale. He thought of when he first entered the Imperial Academy, being humble and cautious, someone asked him about his family matters, he often evaded with vague words, as a result, he was ridiculed and sneered at. Later, he inadvertently revealed his relationship with the Yongping Marquis' manor, everyone suddenly became close to him... Let him deeply experience the world's warmth and coldness.

  The lady saw that her son was silent, and knew that her words had taken effect. She lowered her voice and said slowly: "This Lord Hou is a man of extraordinary talent, but he has a soft ear root, is timid and weak in the face of things, and is indecisive. Not to mention other things. When your older sister first married into their household, she wanted to live separately with him. Lord Hou agreed in front of her, but when he faced his mother, Lady Tai, he immediately changed his mind. Your sister was resentful, and he changed his mind again, saying that he would talk to Lady Tai after a few days. He went back and forth like this, without any firm decision. Later, when he inherited the title, it only caused more trouble for your sister.

  Marquis Hou is the emperor's brother-in-law, according to the law, he should have been granted a title. But Marquis Hou was afraid of the emperor's suspicion and insisted on submitting his resignation. What is there to be afraid of? Is it that our dynasty only has one imperial uncle like him? Or are all the imperial uncles who received titles not living out their natural lifespan? Oh, it seems that everyone else is not afraid, but he is! Your elder sister hasn't stopped scolding him for this matter.

  The lady got somewhat excited.

  "Afterwards, when the northern rebellion was pacified, His Majesty again brought up the matter of conferring a noble title upon you, Marquis."

  At that time, Ruan Ge had already shown signs of intelligence and everyone praised his cleverness. However, Ruan Ge was still young and had some shortcomings, so relatives would say things like "In the future, this family will rely on Ruan Ge to hold it up." Some foolish people even went to curry favor with Qin Niang. Your elder sister wanted to have Ruan Ge adopted under the name of the second branch of the family. However, this matter required the agreement of both Tai Fu Ren and Er Fu Ren, as well as the clan's approval, which was quite difficult. Just as they were worrying about it, they learned that Hou Ye had been granted another noble title, and their hearts were filled with joy. They thought, "This title can be bestowed upon Ruan Ge." On one hand, this would resolve Ruan Ge's difficulties, and on the other hand, your elder sister would also gain face. Who knew that Hou Ye would resign again? Not only did he not discuss it with your elder sister beforehand, but she also learned about it from someone else after the fact. This time, your elder sister was so angry... From then on, she developed a chronic coughing up blood condition.

  As she spoke, Madame couldn't help but tear up.

  "Marquis Hou doesn't care about your sister at all. The title of the outer relative is only granted to the individual and will be gone once they're gone. But this title obtained through military merit is a hereditary one, passed down through generations. Think about it, when your sister was still around, he was already like this. If she weren't around anymore, would Rong'er even have a way to survive? Don't forget, the Xu family has many children who call you uncle, but only Rong'er is your sister's flesh and blood, and only he and you are connected by unbroken tendons!"

  Lu Zhenxing was perplexed: "But I heard that when Master Hou pacified the Miao rebels, the Miao people pretended to surrender and offered him beautiful women and silk fabrics. Master Hou remained unmoved and killed the Miao leader on the spot, forcing them to make their fake surrender real. This led to the seven victories in the subsequent battles and the merit of pacifying the Miao rebels... How could he be 'timid and weak-willed, hesitant and indecisive'? Did you hear it wrong?"

  "Do you know something?" The old lady sneered, "In the past, Old Master Hou spent all his family's wealth to help the Emperor ascend to the throne. Otherwise, how would the Yangzhou Wen family have gotten involved with the Hou Manor? Later, after the Emperor ascended to the throne, he was determined to give the Empress a long face. Despite the opposition of several high-ranking officials, he insisted on making Master Hou, who had never led troops or fought in battles, the General-in-Chief of Ping Miao. The people in the Ministry of War understood the Emperor's intention and knew that this battle would be won with plenty of food and men. As long as they were victorious, being promoted to a high rank and enfeoffed as a marquis was inevitable. Therefore, many famous generals at the time served under Master Hou as deputy generals or brigade commanders. If he couldn't even win such a battle, he would be a useless burden!"

  Luo Zhenxing was speechless.

  With so many famous and renowned generals under his command, it's not easy to get them to listen to orders, is it?

  But this is what I said, but mother does not understand...

  Updated as usual tomorrow. Hehe......