Volume 1 Chapter 139: Three Steps Forward, Three Steps Back (3)

  Chapter 139: Three Steps Forward, Three Steps Back (Three)

  "You want me to take care of Hong Yu Valley?" Mozi was originally blowing wood shavings on the Jiuchu Bridge, but after hearing Qiu Sanniang's words, he turned his head and stared at her.

  Qiu San Niang smiled and nodded, "How is it? Are you very happy? Few words"

  "Is Grandma joking with me or being serious?" Mu Zi's face didn't have a smile, "If it's just casual talk, that would be best. Same as before, I'll take it as you praising me."

  "Mozi, aren't you happy? I thought I understood you, and you shouldn't like being stuck in this small courtyard, unable to move. Now that I'm giving you the opportunity, why are you unwilling?" Mozi furrowed her brow, while Qiu San Niang raised an eyebrow.

  "Grandma, if you want me to take over the management of Wang Qiulou, I'd be happy. Hong Xun Gou? Nowadays, there's nothing there, and the weeds are taller than people. Although we have a permit to operate a shipyard, it has been abandoned for nearly a hundred years, and starting from scratch is not easy. The shipping industry is not like other industries, requiring high technical skills in shipbuilding, and it's not something that can be done by just calculating accounts, hiring some workers, and starting work. Producing one substandard ship means the lives of an entire crew are at risk." Mo Zi spoke bluntly, refusing the offer while also offering advice, "Grandma, if you want to operate a shipyard, why not find someone with experience?"

  "Let's not talk about whether people are willing to work for a woman, even if there are experienced ones everywhere, I don't know if I can trust them, and it's not good for me to always be watching. Although I don't expect to make any money from that boat business, I still can't afford to lose money. "Jiang San Niang put down the small lotus-picking boat,"You do your thing, I haven't thought it through yet, but just feeling that a piece of land is left idle and growing weeds, might as well use it for something."

  "Grandma, the top priority is still the opening of Wang Qiulou. Anyway, no investment is needed, so there's no need to worry about making a profit or not." Mozi said to Qiu San Niang who was already walking out of the woodwork room.

  Qiu Sanniang turned her head, as if to confirm that Mozi had a few true intentions, and finally smiled, "These words are not wrong. I've been idle lately, so I naturally think more."

  Mozhi murmured in agreement and continued to work on the second and third folds of the Jiǔ Qū Bridge.

  Qiu Sanniang's gaze lingered on Mozi for a moment, her expression thoughtful, before she turned and walked out. Mozi had spoken the truth, without investment there would be no losses. However, the more she thought about what her fortune-telling husband had said, the more credible it seemed to her.

  The Qiu family has been wealthy for a hundred years, but they can't become extremely rich and noble, and have no connection with the imperial court, not even producing a single scholar. Not to mention that they couldn't produce any educated people, their business skills have also declined with each generation. As a daughter, she doesn't count. But Qiu San and Qiu Si are really not good materials. The Qiu family has long fallen from its peak, and by this generation, it's likely to slide to the bottom. Hong Yu Valley is the place where the Qiu family originated, but it was abandoned by later generations, could this also be the reason why the Qiu family's luck has always been insufficient? Now that this land has been passed down to her, she can't take a step forward, with many restrictions. It seems that leaving this land barren is absolutely not allowed. She may not understand fate, but she knows about Feng Shui.

  The next day was Wei Qiong's birthday, and Mozi accompanied Qiang Sanniang to attend.

  For the first time in front of the masters of the Wang Mansion, Mo Zi was very careful not to draw attention to herself. With her head bowed humbly and obediently, she let Bai He Hong Mei take the lead in the "front line", and then relied on Xiao Yi's tall stature to stand in the shadows. Almost no one gave a second glance at the new third young madam's second-rate maid.

  The wine feast was set up in Wei Qiong Yu's courtyard, mostly with women from the second house.

  When Mo Zi saw the old queen also appear, she thought that Wei Yi's wife was indeed very capable, from old to young, seemingly close to her. Looking at the queen again, she was even more affectionate, calling her "sister", and said that because of the birthday person being the most important, two main seats were arranged, with Wei Qiong Yu sitting together, giving enough face.

  Being able to be like Wei Qiong Yu is the highest state for a concubine.

  In addition to these three, there were two more aunts of the king, Chen and Zhang. Bai He whispered to Mo Zi, saying that among them, Zhang was the youngest, about thirty-five years old.

  As for the younger generation, Xiao Da and Nai Fangshi, as well as Qiu Sanniang, held the highest positions. This was because Wang Fei only gave birth to sons and had no eldest daughter. Wei Qiongyu had no children, Chen Shi had one son and two daughters, and Zhang Shi had one son and one daughter. The children of concubines were far inferior to those of the legitimate wives.

  However, for a family like the Jing Wang Fu, the treatment of illegitimate daughters is slightly better than that of illegitimate sons. The existence of an illegitimate son poses a threat to the legitimate son, but the marriage of an illegitimate daughter can bring benefits to the family. The illegitimate daughters of the Jing Wang Fu are completely different from those like Qiu Liu Niang and Qiu Qi Niang. In their daily lives, they enjoy the same luxuries as the young ladies of wealthy families, being pampered and spoiled, and are personally taught by the princess how to manage household chores and do needlework.

  Fourth Sister Xiao Wanrou is nineteen years old, Fifth Sister Xiao Mingrou is seventeen years old, and Eighth Sister Xiao Fengrou is sixteen years old. Currently, the princess is looking for a suitable marriage for Xiao Wanrou.

  Mozi looked at the three girls behind her, each with a good appearance, among whom Xiao Mingrou's looks were the most outstanding. A small melon face, embedded with a pair of bright pearl-like beautiful eyes, a delicate nose tip, lips like cherry blossoms, smiling without showing teeth, soft expression, and a very warm temperament, making people feel close to her.

  There was also a young lady, Wei Liu's daughter. It was unclear whether it was because she hadn't been seen for too long or the nourishment of Jing Wang Fu's food, but she had become even more refined and elegant than before. However, her temperament remained cold and aloof.

  However, what Mozi found most intriguing was the fact that Wei Qiongyu had no children. Especially when she heard that Wei Qiongyu was still the king's most beloved woman, she couldn't help but feel a certain way. It wasn't that Wei Qiongyu couldn't bear children, but rather that she chose not to in order to live a peaceful life in this large estate. Without any offspring, she wouldn't have to compete with the queen for favor and could gain the queen's "sisterly love". Wei Qiongyu had given up on using her children as a future reliance and instead bound herself tightly to the queen. Your child is my child, your happiness is my happiness. On the boat, it was clear that Wei Qiongyu treated Xiao Erlang like her own son, and it seemed that her efforts hadn't gone to waste - the three legitimate sons of the Xiao family were extremely respectful and loving towards this "Yu aunt". But if Mozi's guess was correct, then she not only admired Wei Qiongyu but also felt sympathy for her. In this era, how much determination did a woman need to have in order to give up on becoming a mother?

  The masters of the Wang Mansion didn't come to drink, saying they wanted their wives and daughters to have a good time, and would come over after dinner to watch the play. So there were only two tables set up. One table for the elders, one table for the younger generation.

  After dinner, they chatted and laughed while presenting gifts. Old Princess Wang gave a pair of jade Ruyi. The princess presented a large emerald pearl headdress. Among the younger generation, Qiu San Niang's gift was the simplest. She knew Wei Qiong Yu believed in Buddhism, so she chose a small Guanyin statue from her dowry box.

  Xiao Da* smiled with a hint of disdain, "Everyone says that our Third Granny is wealthy and noble, with eighty trunks of dowry, it was dazzling to everyone back then. Although Yu Niangniang is devout in Buddhism, this small Guanyin statue isn't even worthy of worship."

  Xiao Dai was the eldest granddaughter of Fang Yuan, a great general. However, the Fang family's descendants were not good at managing finances and were skilled at squandering their wealth, so they appeared to be wealthy on the surface but were actually empty inside. After she married into the royal family, she took advantage of her position as the manager of the household to embezzle a large sum of silver to pay off debts for her natal family's father and brothers. When the queen found out, Xiao Dai fell out of favor with both her mother-in-law and husband from then on.

  Later, when choosing a wife for Xiao San, the princess would consider not only the quality of the woman but also her family background.

  Actually, Xiao San got rid of two legitimate wives, and Xiao Da's mother was somewhat pleased. She thought to herself, "Fine, you look down on my family for being poor, but we have money too, yet we can't become the wife of this royal mansion." Originally, she had heard that this time they were marrying a merchant's daughter, which made her even more amused. Who would have thought that the eighty sedan chairs full of dowry entering the Wang Mansion would be accompanied by Qiu San Niang looking as beautiful as a fairy? Her anger was now unbearable, and seeing such a shabby gift was just what she needed to vent.

  Qiu San Niang had been in the Wang Fu, Xiao Da Niang often coldly ridiculed her, making her feel disgusted. Usually she endured it, but today Xiao Da Niang was being sarcastic and eccentric in front of so many people, Qiu San Niang sneered and was about to retort.

  Hongmei had been with Qiu San Niang for a short time and didn't quite understand the meaning of her laughter, so she hadn't thought to block it.

  "Old Lady, Princess Wang, Madame Yu, this Guanyin is carved from the pure stone of Nan De Hua Peak Cliff. It's not worth much in terms of value. However, within a palm-sized Guanyin statue, there are one hundred small Guanyins intricately carved, each with a different appearance, symbolizing good fortune and longevity, as well as compassion and universal salvation. This gift, in terms of value, cannot be compared to those given by Old Lady and Princess Wang, so it's better to consider the thought behind it." The speaker was none other than Mo Zi, but she cleverly lowered her head and avoided most people's line of sight.

  The women couldn't see her face clearly and thought she was just a maid anyway, so they didn't pay much attention to her.

  Qiu San Niang listened and her heart was calm, following Mo Zi's words, her tone became relaxed, and she said with a smile, "If Aunt Yu doesn't like this gift, I'll take it back?"

  "A gift given to me, how can it be taken back? It's better to admit that you couldn't bear to give such a good thing to me, so take it out and let me covet it." Wei Qiong Yu joked, handing the small Guanyin statue over for the old lady and the princess to see.

  "Old lady, sister, you say I still owe three niang?"

  A master of harmonious atmosphere. Mozi sighed, feeling inferior to her. She might be able to talk and persuade, but she couldn't do it with the same willingness as Wei Qiong Yu. She helped Juu Sangniang because they shared honor and shame together, which was also a way to protect herself.

  "How can I return it to her? Such a good thing." The queen looked at it and smiled warmly with appreciation in her eyes.

  "What's wrong with that? This girl has so many good things, and she's still being petty about one thing?" Old Princess Wang also took a look and nodded in agreement. The gift was indeed sent with sincerity. As for the value, Fang Shi didn't know any better.

  "Third daughter, I was born in July. You, find something that others think is not worthy of me, and I'll wait." Old Princess Wang showed her wisdom by indirectly blaming her eldest grandson's wife with these words.

  "Old lady, are you teasing me or pitying me?" Qiu San Niang covered her mouth and smiled.

  All the girls burst out laughing.

  Xiao Da's smile was stiff.

  After unwrapping the gifts, everyone went to the Qingyun Garden's building to listen to the opera.

  Mozhī didn't expect that a big thing would happen while he was listening to the opera.

  Chapter 139: Three Steps Forward, Three Steps Back (Three)

  Chapter 139: Three Steps Forward, Three Steps Back (Three)