Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 743: Have a baby soon...
The Duke of Zhao's Mansion did not specifically publicize the news of the Queen Mother's personal visit, and of course, it did not deliberately conceal it - otherwise, Qin, who regarded herself as Zhu Tingfang's aunt, and her mother, daughter, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, would never have been able to come out of Xuanji Courtyard intact just because they had offended the Queen Mother.
However, even if Qin didn't want to publicize this matter, after all, it was embarrassing for her, but it added icing on the cake to the already prosperous and lively Zhaoguo Mansion. But she didn't say it because there were too many ladies who had seen the empress dowager in Qing'an Hall before.
When the servant informed Zhu Jing and his two sons, he did not avoid the people sitting at the same table. For a time, the news that the Queen Mother was in person at the wedding banquet spread everywhere, and countless people were envious.
Zhu Jing and Zhu Tingfang, who had originally planned to pay their respects to the empress dowager, learned that she had gone to the bridal chamber and that it would be inappropriate for them to chase after her. So after some discussion, they decided to wait for the empress dowager to return to Qing'an Hall from the bridal chamber before paying their respects. Zhu Jing was a little worried about whether his eldest daughter-in-law would be too nervous or cautious when facing the empress dowager, but Zhu Tingfang was very calm.
Just based on what Zhang said when he left, it was enough to show that Zhang was smart and decent, and would not make mistakes because of the tension of a new marriage. In this case, even if the queen mother was a picky person, she would not be picky about this grandson's nephew's wife.
However, just as everyone at the wedding banquet was discussing the Empress Dowager's presence, another piece of news suddenly came, which was a gift from the palace. The person who came to present the gift on behalf of the emperor was not someone from the Imperial Household Department, but Chen Yongshou, the manager of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. The gifts he brought were a pair of vases with the pattern of wealth and honor, written in the emperor's own handwriting, and the last item was unexpected.
Because it was a bag of food. Facing the confused groom, Chen Yongshou smiled and repeated the emperor's words: "This bag contains red dates, longans, lotus seeds, etc. The emperor personally ordered the imperial kitchen to carefully select them and specially give them to the newlyweds. He said it would bring good luck."
Everyone knew that the Duke of Zhao's mansion would not be short of such things, so they were all confused as to what the emperor meant by this reward. When Zhang Shou saw Zhu Tingfang solemnly accept it, and then because he had to personally send Chen Yongshou off, he handed the bag to Zhu Er next to him, he couldn't help but touch his chin thoughtfully, and then his face became very strange.
Seeing that everyone was talking about it, he asked, "Besides red dates, longans and lotus seeds, what else is in this bag? Are there any peanuts?"
"Uh..." Zhu Er was slightly stunned, stretched out his hand to take a look in the small bag, and then immediately raised his head, "There are indeed quite a lot of peanuts. It seems that this thing is not grown in the capital. The existing ones should be brought back from Shandong. They are more precious than red dates, longans and lotus seeds. By the way, how did you know there were peanuts? Did the emperor discuss this reward with you in advance?"
Zhang Shou pretended not to notice the suspicious looks around him and laughed, "Your Majesty doesn't need to inform me. I just heard Eunuch Chen say to ask for a good omen, and I also heard that there were red dates, longans and lotus seeds in the bag, so I guessed what your Majesty meant."
"Red dates, peanuts, longans, lotus seeds... put together, wouldn't that mean having a baby sooner rather than later?"
Because peanuts, an American crop, had not yet been popularized, the four things that were often sprinkled on the wedding bed to bring good luck in later generations were no longer a must-have for the wedding bed. However, when Zhang Shou revealed the simple homophonic meaning, a burst of good-natured laughter suddenly broke out from all around.
The only person who could tease Zhu Tingfang with rewards so unscrupulously, apart from the elders of the Zhu family, was the emperor! For a moment, someone started to shout, "If that's the case, then hurry up and throw these red dates, peanuts, longans and lotus seeds on the beds of the newlyweds. That will be worthy of the emperor's efforts, right?"
However, this person did not wait for others to agree, but waited for Zhu Er's faint voice: "Since you said so, then why don't you throw this bag of 'Have a baby soon'?"
Zhu Er said this, but sneered in his heart. What a joke, just because I made a foolish joke and ridicule before, Zhu Tingfang was angry and embarrassed. That "teaching" is really unforgettable. However, Ah Liu's words "early birth of a son" were sincere words from the bottom of his heart. The emperor's "early birth of a son" reward was a joke as an elder. If you say such words in front of my eldest brother, how about others?
Sure enough, with Zhu Er's irony, the guy who had just started the noise disappeared immediately, and the others just laughed dryly and made a few jokes before dispersing. As the initiator of this revelation, Zhang Shou thought of what Zhu Ying had told him, that when it came to the issue of grandchildren, the elders of the Zhu family were going to let nature take its course, and he couldn't help but think that the emperor's move was quite interesting.
Perhaps, the emperor's reward was just pure ridicule. After all, the words "May you have a son soon" were not written on the handwritten reward scroll. Perhaps, the emperor was depressed because of the affairs of the eldest and second princes. Therefore, even when facing the wedding of the Zhu family, whom he had always trusted and relied on, he could not help but bring up some trouble and gloated over it.
But the emperor's mood is understandable. It is said that a man's lifelong pursuit is to sleep with a beautiful woman while drunk and to have the power to kill when awake... But even if he is powerful, if his descendants are not good and there is no successor, then his later years will be either bleak or lonely. After all, the emperor who is completely a dictator and doesn't care about his wife, children, relatives, friends and subordinates is only exposed in times of crisis, at least not the current emperor.
Sure enough, after Zhu Tingfang sent Chen Yongshou away and came back, he heard about the origin of the emperor's reward. He couldn't help but laugh and cry, but he couldn't blame Zhang Shou for revealing this point - after all, such a simple homophonic word, people only need to figure out what is in the bag, and they can decipher it in a short time. At that time, it will also be circulated in private endlessly.
Moreover, if the news of today's reward spreads, perhaps the wedding customs of the entire capital and even the whole world will have to be added in the future... He doesn't know whether he should feel happy or helpless.
Because the Queen Mother came in person and the Emperor granted the wedding banquet, the wedding banquet at the Duke of Zhao's mansion that night was naturally a complete success, and the guests returned with great pleasure. After the guests left, the servants who had been busy for several days received generous rewards, and they naturally had a lot of energy when they cleaned up. Everyone felt that they were proud of the Duke of Zhao's mansion's honor today.
When Zhang Shou went to Qing'an Hall to pick up Wu, he learned that the empress dowager sat in Qing'an Hall for a while after coming out of the bridal chamber. After learning that the emperor had bestowed the honor, the most noble woman in the world hurried back to the palace without staying for long.
It was as if she had left the palace just to join in the excitement of Zhu Tingfang's wedding - after all, no one thought she had come to see the bride on purpose. As the empress dowager, if she wanted to see any of the ladies in the inner and outer court, couldn't she just say a word to get it done?
Zhang Shou had been busy at the Zhu family for quite some time today and was already tired. After saying goodbye to everyone in the Zhu family, he and Wu went out and got into the car. He couldn't help but lean on the pillow and close his eyes to pretend to be asleep. Even when Wu told him that the empress dowager had run into the farce of Qin, a relative of the Zhu family, and her group outside the bridal chamber, as well as the conversation with Zhang, he was not too surprised.
Copying books is a job that takes 365 days a year. If he did it for eight or ten years, the accumulated number could even add ten or eight loads to his dowry. It really takes perseverance and is a testament to his character.
But she was his eldest brother-in-law's wife, and the woman he would call sister-in-law in the future. It was not his place to judge whether she was good or not.
However, when Wu changed the subject and mentioned that Zhu Ying claimed that she didn't need him to practice calligraphy, and that she would help copy if he needed to write something in the future, Zhang Shou's sleepiness suddenly disappeared. He could understand and tolerate the young lady, and he liked her personality, but her fiery feelings, which she did not hide in front of others, always made him feel that she gave more.
It is the most difficult to appreciate the kindness of a beautiful woman. Fortunately, in just a few days, he will be able to marry her!
Just as Zhu Tingfang said to his subordinates, the next morning, he spent only half a day with his newlywed wife to pay respects to his parents and elders, and to the ancestral temple, and then went to the government office in high spirits. Zhang was ready to serve her grandmother-in-law and mother-in-law, but she had not yet experienced the rules of the Zhu family, and was stunned by the heavy burden that fell on her head.
The Madam Tai and Jiu Niang agreed that since she, the eldest daughter-in-law, had already married, the responsibility of managing the household affairs of the Duke of Zhao's mansion would be handed over to her. In addition to a box of various keys, she was also given a list of all the servants inside and outside the Duke of Zhao's mansion. As for whether she should go to the accounting office to check the accounts or what to do next, it was all up to her.
Even though her father had said countless times before that the Zhu family of Duke Zhao's Mansion was a good family that never treated their daughters-in-law harshly, and Zhang had told herself countless times that Zhu Tingfang was just a little cold and aloof, and the rest of him was impeccable, she had experienced too many surprises from last night to today - and too many surprises turned into shocks.
Finally, after she repeatedly stated that the burden was too heavy, the lady lent her Jiang Mama, and Jiu Niang also assigned her a maid named Yun Que, and Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief. But the next sentence the lady uttered made her feel stressed again.
"We are relieved that Dalang has you now, but there are two more weddings to be held in the family. One is Yingying and A Shou's wedding, which will be held in the next few days. Although it is marrying a daughter instead of marrying a wife, you know that this is more important than Dalang's wedding. The second is Erlang's wedding next year. He is not as worry-free as Dalang, so as the eldest sister-in-law, you might as well give him more advice."
Even though she was often the housekeeper at home, as soon as she got married, she had to help arrange the marriages of her younger sister-in-law and younger brother-in-law, and was also entrusted with the power of housekeeper. Zhang only expected the first half, but not the second half, because this is trust, but also pressure... Therefore, after agreeing and returning to the room, she naturally left Mother Jiang to start cramming the Zhu family's personnel and various precedents.
When she learned that Zhu Ying's monthly allowance was said to be the same as that of the Lady Dowager, both of which were twenty strings of cash a month, but in fact there was no upper limit at all, no matter what Miss Zhu wanted, the Lady Dowager would pay for it, and there were generous rewards during festivals in the palace, and Zhu Jing had always been extremely generous to his daughter, she couldn't help but be amazed.
In comparison, until last year, the monthly allowance of the second son Zhu Tingjie was just a pitiful two strings of silver for pocket money and two strings of silver for books and writing materials… Despite such pampering, Zhu Ying was only a little spoiled and willful, and it was really not easy for her not to be spoiled!
While looking through the old rules and asking questions, Zhang was familiar with the various rules of the Zhu family. She couldn't help but ask how Zhu Ying's wedding dress was being prepared. Mother Jiang was naturally very happy to answer such a question.
"The eldest lady's wedding dress was tailored by Madam Lai herself, the best tailor in the capital, and the material was prepared by the Madam long ago." When saying this, Mother Jiang knew that it would definitely reveal the Madam's clear inclination. After all, Zhu Jing had just returned to formally sign the marriage certificate, but the Madam had already prepared the material for the wedding dress. But it didn't matter now.
"Young Miss has never been interested in needlework since she was young, and Madam Wu has long expressed that she doesn't care about these customs, so Young Miss doesn't need to worry about the wedding dress. The clothes, shoes and socks given to Uncle and Auntie and to Mr. Shou were all made by Young Lady herself. If the eldest young mistress wants to give Young Miss something to add to the box, it will be fine as long as it is not needlework."
Zhang nodded gratefully at Jiang's mother . Her needlework skills were not that outstanding, especially the embroidery needle. It took a lot of effort to embroider a pattern... Fortunately, she was still competent at sewing clothes, so she was very attentive to the clothes and shoes she gave to her great-grandmother and mother-in-law. But now it seems that they don't care whether they are made by hand...
Of course, it is hard to say whether it is one requirement for Zhu Ying and another requirement for her as the eldest daughter-in-law.
This round of understanding and popularizing family affairs lasted until almost dusk. When Zhang was about to ask where the dinner was, whether she should serve her mother-in-law or grandmother-in-law, or wait for Zhu Tingfang to come back to eat together, Jiang Mama kindly reminded her: "The master and the eldest son are busy with official duties and often can't come back for dinner, so the family usually has dinner in Qing'an Hall."
"Madam and the second young master usually go to accompany the old lady, and the eldest young mistress can go too. There are not so many rules for dinner, and the old lady doesn't like the whole family to stand and sit. Although most people don't talk during the meal to avoid choking or food accumulation, it is common for the eldest lady or the second young master to tell jokes occasionally."
"Oh, by the way, the eldest lady has been busy running around outside these days, and sometimes she doesn't even have time to come home for dinner, so the lady often tells the lady that she hopes you and the future second young lady will come home soon, so that they won't be left at home, which is really boring."
Zhang keenly understood what Jiang's mother meant. Zhu Ying was not at home during the day, but often went out to "work", which was normal. After all, she also heard that Zhu Ying was even busier than Princess Yongping in the affairs of the girls' school, and had invited many people, some of whom had even participated in the selection of concubines and passed the re-selection. However, Zhu Ying did not even have time to come back for dinner, which was a different matter.
If you don’t go home for dinner, where do you eat?
Judging from what Zhu Ying said in front of the Empress Dowager today, there is probably only one answer - this sister-in-law, who is famous in the capital and is known for her own way, really loves her fiancé Zhang Shou to the core. Because Zhang Shou is too busy during the day, he only has some free time in the evening when he returns from the public school, so Zhu Ying must have gone to Zhang Garden to meet her ideal husband.
She couldn't help but chuckle: "I wonder if my sister will be back tonight?"
Mother Jiang couldn't help but sigh: "The eldest lady went to the palace today. If she doesn't come back now, she probably won't come back for dinner either."
