Volume 1 Chapter 82: You Want Another One?

  Chapter 82: One More Thing

  Recently, the Qiu Mansion has not been very peaceful. Although the day of Qiu San Niang's departure is approaching day by day, there are actually only a few people who are truly busy because of this. Just then, Zhang Shi had something on her mind that was even more troublesome than Qiu San Niang's marriage.

  "Mother, just agree." Qiu Wu sat beside Zhang Shi, tugging on his mother's cloud-patterned sleeve.

  Zhang's face lengthened, he rolled up his sleeves and hummed heavily, "How many times have I said it? Can't agree."

  "Mother, my wife has agreed, why haven't you? It's just a little girl. You said if I liked her, I could have her." Qiu Wu refused to give up.

  "I've said it before. Haven't you had enough of being spoiled by your mother? Fine, one person wants to hit and the other wants to be hit. But this time, you're going after the people in that house. Are you pretending not to know who your mother dislikes the most in this family?" Zhang saw her second son come over to pester her, and she raised a finger, pushing against his forehead, feigning disgust. "Stay away from me, old lady. How old are you, still acting like a young boy."

  "I know who Mother is most annoyed with, but isn't she getting married? A daughter who's married out is like water that's been splashed out - what's there to be annoyed about anymore? Besides, I've gotten rid of one of her loyal maidservants for you, and Mother can't even replace her own people. The things that go on in the Rong Manor are all within your grasp now, isn't that great? Mother has been treating her extremely well these past few days, also for our future plans." Qiu Wu was shameless and willing to use his brain for his own gain.

  "You know your mother is enduring for the sake of you two brothers. However, let's not mention that she's a formidable character and can't tolerate me bringing someone to her side... Zhang thought that wanting one person to leave was already inappropriate, how could they want another? But fearing that Ju Wu would make more trouble, she softened her tone to coax him, "Her temper is prickly all over, and the girls under her are also not easy to get along with. You go look elsewhere, if you find someone you like, mother will definitely take charge for you."

  "Mother, you're so unfair." Qiu Wu pouted and jumped off the soft couch, staring at his mother. "You helped my brother get a wife, but not me. You scolded me every day, treating him like a precious gem. My sister-in-law said that you treat fourth aunt better than her too. I endured all this because my brother is more capable than me. We came from the same womb, and I'm naturally inferior to him in every way, it's not your fault."

  Mrs. Zhang was afraid that Qiu Wu would say such things, and as a result, she poured all her affection onto Qiu Si. She felt wronged, as if she were the only one in the world who understood him. Thinking about how her youngest son, although not very capable, knew how to make her happy, her expression softened, and she coaxed him with gentle words.

  "Listen, I'm telling you the truth. I care about your brother just as much as I care about you. If I didn't, would I have let you get away with all this nonsense for two years? And another thing, that maid in your household is always causing trouble, making a big fuss over nothing, and even disrespecting your wife. If it weren't for me smoothing things over and helping out, who knows what would happen? When has your brother ever taken a liking to any of the maids in our household? His wife came to talk to me about it, but I wasn't willing at first. However, he only has one wife and one maid, so when he took a liking to her, I had no choice but to agree. And because of this, I even had to put on a smile and pretend to be happy in front of your mother-in-law. Your temper is always changing, hot one day and cold the next. Why do you have to insist on that particular maid? Besides, how can I bring it up with your mother-in-law? She's leaving soon, and all the dowry and gifts are already prepared. Now we want to ask for another maid? The four maids who came with her as part of the dowry will be left with only two. How can she agree to that? She's holding onto the contract of that maid, and no one can force her to give it up. Honestly, your brother wants to take in that maid, but even your fourth sister-in-law hasn't given her consent yet."

  "I don't care about the one my brother likes, anyway they're not the same person. I want Bai He. Mother, if you won't speak up for me, I'll have my wife talk to San Niang. What's wrong with the dowry? Fourth Aunt gave silver as a dowry for her daughter-in-law, and my wife can also give some." His wife had a lot of private savings, and Qiu Wu was very pleased with this little calculation.

  "Who told you that Si Wai is taking out silver?" Zhang Shi was taken aback, feeling displeased in her heart. Jiang Su had never mentioned this matter to her before.

  "Which one was it, I don't remember." Jiuwu casually made something up, "Mother, I'm just considering you, so I asked for your permission first. Otherwise, spending a hundred or two hundred taels to buy the girl from San Niang would have been beyond your control."

  "A hundred or two?" Zhang's wife spat in front of her son, "You think it's easy to get rid of San Niang, not even a thousand or two, no way she'll let go."

  "Thousand... two?" Qiu Wu was stunned for a moment, "Ordinary little maids can be bought by the dozens."

  "It's not possible. Don't think about it anymore. If you really want to buy a house, I'll help you find one." Zhang Shi took the opportunity to persuade her son to give up the idea.

  "No, no way, I want Bai He." Qiu Wu suddenly woke up like a spirit, not giving in an inch. "A thousand taels is just a thousand taels." As long as he thought of that delicate and charming face, and the weak but elegant figure, he was willing to part with his silver. He fell in love with one person after another, but before getting what he wanted, he would never give up.

  "You're a good-for-nothing!" Zhang's anger was so great that she slapped Qiu Wu's arm.

  "Anyway, you won't let me have Bai He, so you can't let Ge want that either. Otherwise, no one will be able to live in peace." Qiu Wu said harshly and turned to leave with a flick of his sleeve.

  As I turned the corner, I saw Jiang Suxin standing under the corridor for who knows how long. Qiu Wuyi's face lit up with a smile and said, "Sister-in-law, did you hear that? Can you help me persuade my mother? Both hands are made of flesh, one person has one, this is fair, isn't it?"

  The old woman quietly urged, "Young master, it's better to say less, the mistress is in the outer room."

  Don't think you can be so arrogant, who can control you, turned around and kicked An's waist with a fierce kick, "My business, let you old thing manage? Get out of here."

  After finishing speaking, he huffed and puffed, went out of the corridor, and slammed the door shut.

  Zhang heard a noise in the house and sent Ai out to take a look.

  Ai Qiu saw An Pozi's pale face fall to the ground and couldn't get up, so Fourth Granny told the little maids to hurry and help her up. She then asked what had happened. Upon hearing that it was caused by Qiu Wu, she was startled. One was an old woman who served beside the mistress, and the other was the mistress's own son - she didn't know how to report this back to the mistress either.

  "Fourth Granny, what's going on here?" She, being a servant girl without any idea, asked her master.

  "Master Wu's foot is not measured, afraid of kicking too hard, first help An's mother back home to rest, and then give some silver to let the doctor take a look. If asked, don't tell the truth, just say Master Wu had drunk wine and didn't notice people carefully. Remember, if any unpleasant words are spread out from this courtyard, you will not be allowed to stay in the mansion anymore." Jiang Suxin found two strong women and also instructed the maids and servant girls in the courtyard like this.

  Send these people away from the main house, lest they hear something again. Jiang Suxin followed Ai Xiang into the house to see Zhang Shi.

  Zhang heard the general idea inside, on the one hand secretly praising Jiang Suxin for handling it properly, on the other hand thinking of her giving silver to San Niang, and for a moment her face was unpredictable.

  In the end, her mother-in-law's sharp tongue took over, speaking with a tone of indignation, "It was all your fault from the start. I didn't agree to taking in Mozi as a concubine back then, but you still wanted to let her be one. A mere servant girl, and you're lavishing money on her. In the past when the household finances were tight, we never saw such generosity from you."

  Jiang Suxin was also annoyed when she heard this, thinking that Mu Zi wasn't even a concubine of the Qu family, so why did she take the Qu family's eldest daughter, a perfectly good maid, as her own husband's concubine? It would be more reasonable to have a proper sedan chair brought in. But since Zhang Shi was being stubborn, Jiang Suxin had no choice but to go along with it and disrupt the rules. She gave San Niang silver, not wanting people to think she was as unreasonable as Zhang Shi. Although she couldn't give her a good title, at least she could be generous with money. Besides, it was her own private silver, and she could use it however she wanted. The family's finances were tight, but she had also taken out quite a bit of silver - so why was she being called stingy?

  Although she was good at understanding people's intentions, after all, she came from a wealthy and noble background, with a bottom line for tolerance. Her expression gradually became cold and calm, without saying a word.

  Mrs. Zhang saw that her four daughters-in-law were not speaking, their faces expressionless, and knew she had spoken too heavily. She felt some regret in her heart, but due to her status, she couldn't lower her head to her daughters-in-law either. Stiffly, she instructed Ai Xing and Ai Tao to serve tea, and asked Jiang Suixin to sit down.

  "I'm not blaming you either." This mistress is not easy to serve, coaxing one after another. "It's just that you're still young and don't understand some things. You take a step back, others can move forward ten steps. In this house, I have the final say in everything. As long as Third Daughter hasn't married, she has to call me Mother. Although her maid's contract is not in my hands, if I ask Master for it, can she refuse to hand it over? Do you need to spend money on it? If you give Third Daughter money, aren't you already showing weakness and humility to her? Her maid enters your quarters, won't she be running all over you in the future? I'm also thinking of you."

  “……” was clearly heartbroken, Jiang Su's mind was clear, but since her mother-in-law had changed her tone, she couldn't show her displeasure anymore. She obediently replied, "Madam is right, it's the daughter-in-law who owes an apology. However, this silver, San Niang hasn't taken a single cent."

  "Didn't she want it?" The silver painting of numbers drawn by Mrs. Zhang all became empty.

  In her opinion, San Niang should be happy to have added a dowry of silver. The old master said that he would prepare eighty boxes of dowry, but she did not sincerely help this daughter pack the trunk, hastily putting together forty boxes of worthless things. Good things must be left for her Ninth Girl. As for the face of Qiu San Niang's family, she didn't care at all, and it couldn't be because of the poor dowry that the marriage would be returned, could it?

  "San Niang didn't want it. When I went there, she hadn't even told Mozi about this matter yet." Jiang Suxin shook her head.

  "It's been a long time, and you still haven't said anything?" Zhang Shi and Qiu San Niang had been fighting for a long time, and she felt that something was not right.

  "It was five or six days ago. Yesterday, I went to see San Niang's dowry list and asked about this matter. San Niang said she had already told Mo Zi. Mo Zi was a bit hesitant, and it just so happened that her relative outside the city sent someone to deliver a message saying she was ill, so San Niang let her take time off to visit relatives and clear her mind." Jiang Su's expression was calm and straightforward, revealing no emotions.

  "There's nothing to be puzzled about. The little chicken is entering the golden nest, wearing brocade and eating jade, with people serving her, such a life of luxury is within sight, who wouldn't be delighted? But she's just pretending to be elegant, don't worry, wait patiently for her to come and flatter you. At that time, you can forget about mentioning money again." Zhang Shi looked down on the little maid.

  Jiang Suxin responded softly, then asked, "Madam, regarding the matter of Fifth Brother wanting to take in Bai He, what do you think?"

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  Chapter 82: One More Thing

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