Chapter 483: Training
Chapter 483: Chapter 483: Training
Bai Suihe looked up at the sky, speechless. They were either pedantic scholars or superstitious fools. Birds of a feather truly flocked together.
"Those two families are quite a well-matched pair," Bai Suihe murmured.
"But the Xiao family is a bit different. Aside from Mr. Xiao, neither his wife nor his sons share his views. They all feel that being content with a modest fortune is better, and that they should just focus on managing their own lives well.
"When the eldest Xiao son came of age, Old Madam Xiao betrothed him to her own niece, who is the eldest young madam of the Xiao family sitting opposite us. Later, when the second son reached marriageable age, they were also looking for a suitable match. Mrs. Xiao wanted her own cousin’s daughter to marry in. Who knew Mr. Xiao would beat them to the punch and directly arrange a marriage with Scholar Zhu’s daughter?
"At that time, the three women of the Xiao family were on the verge of a breakdown. Living in the same city, who didn’t know about the Zhu family’s situation? But they were, after all, women of the inner courtyard. Since Mr. Xiao had already exchanged tokens of betrothal with the other party, they could only grit their teeth and accept it.
"Ever since this Xiao family daughter-in-law married in, the three generations of mothers and daughters-in-law made up their minds to change her. Whenever there was a banquet, the three of them took turns bringing her out, hoping to broaden her horizons and uproot the pedantic thoughts from her mind. Look at her behavior today, and you’ll know they have a long, arduous road ahead. Their acquaintances are also helping out."
Bai Suihe opened her mouth but ultimately didn’t say anything to spoil the mood.
"I think it’s highly unlikely to work," Mrs. Jiang shook her head. "These are beliefs carved into her mind since childhood. Changing them will likely be difficult."
Bai Suihe shared the same thought. Even if she changed, it would probably only be on the surface.
"There’s nothing else they can do," Mrs. Qian said, harboring similar thoughts. "Anyway, those three Xiao women will definitely have a backup plan. I’m afraid this second young madam of the Xiao family won’t be allowed to raise her own children in the future."
The ladies fell silent. It sounded somewhat cruel to say out loud, but if they were in the Xiao family’s position, they would likely do the same.
While they were chatting, the banquet was nearing its end. Aunt Ma finally came out after changing her clothes. Although her face had been washed clean, it was dark and swollen. Aunt Ma was likely doing it on purpose; she didn’t apply any makeup to cover it up and just paraded around the banquet like that.
"She truly comes from the countryside; her etiquette is completely unacceptable." Those who saw her shook their heads. To think that Mrs. Lin couldn’t handle someone like this before, and was even angered to the point of returning to the city and falling gravely ill—no one knew what she was thinking.
Bai Suihe then looked at Aunt Yu. At some point, she had already started following respectfully behind Mrs. Lin. The difference in their caliber was instantly apparent.
She thought to herself, "A woman like this is far from simple. Who knows what kind of trouble she might cause in the future?"
Thinking about how Mrs. Lin had essentially shielded her from disaster earlier, her mind was already spinning with ideas on how to secure a way out for her. Relying on others was never as good as relying on oneself. She decided to brainstorm some good business ventures when she got back and find a way to secretly present them to her.
Looking at the banquet on the table, she suddenly thought of soy products for some reason. Tofu existed in this era, but there weren’t many derivative products. For example, dried tofu and tofu skin—those would actually work.
With the matters here settled and the banquet finished, making any more of a fuss would be unseemly. Therefore, everyone began to take their leave. Hu Waner’s mother and her two brothers’ wives also left at this time. After all, the issue had been resolved, and it was no longer appropriate for them to stay.
Although Lin Dali was anxious to head to the backyard, he forced himself to hold back and accompanied Mrs. Lin to see the guests off. He also breathed a sigh of relief. He had assumed that with so many esteemed guests arriving today, there would definitely be domestic upheaval. It seemed he had judged her too harshly before; no matter what, his wife still had the family’s best interests at heart.
As for the two beauties beside him, he suddenly found Ma Mingli somewhat repulsive. It was she who had been whispering nonsense in his ear earlier, causing him to offend his wife. And looking at this face, why did he suddenly feel a bit sick of it? The moment he remembered she was a widow, his disgust deepened even further.
Hu Yuzhu noticed the shifts in his expression but remained outwardly unperturbed. Although she was only a courtesan, she had fully mastered the art of reading people. It seemed her days ahead wouldn’t be too difficult.
She thought, "With the sheer incompetence of these two, I can manipulate them with ease."
Once the carriages slowly pulled away, Mrs. Lin gave a superficial smile and addressed the clan elders, "Thank you all for gracing us with your presence today. It’s getting late, so let’s not delay my husband’s auspicious hour."
The clan elders were tactful. They had realized that Hu Waner would still be the one calling the shots in the Lin family from now on. It was just a pity about the promises Widow Ma had made to them earlier. They cupped their hands in farewell and left together. Lin Dali, however, started to feel a bit uncomfortable at this moment.
"Madam, I was previously deceived by this wid—this Aunt Ma, and I misunderstood you. I will definitely change my ways from now on."
He was quite sensible. For all these years, he had the lust but lacked the courage, partly out of fear of the Yue Family, and partly due to their affection as a couple who married young. It was only because the Hu Family had been accompanying the children to study in the county town these years, causing them to spend little time together, that his wandering thoughts were stirred.
"What are you saying, my lord? It was all my fault before. I was only thinking about properly raising our children and forgot that you would also get lonely.
"But it’s all good now. With two concubines by your side to serve you, I can rest easy in the future."
"Thank you for your understanding, Madam," Xu Dali said, looking at the beauty beside him with even greater guilt. "Our eldest son is grown now, and he should have some property of his own. I’ll transfer one of the manors into his name later."
"You can decide on these matters yourself," Hu Waner said after a moment of thought. "However, the rules in our manor truly need to be properly straightened out. There will be major changes ahead, and I hope you will bear with me."
The butler, who had been standing to the side serving them, felt his chest tighten. He groaned inwardly; what was meant to come had finally arrived.
Lin Dali was only thinking about embracing the beauties and completely missed the butler’s frequent winks. "That is only right. You have the final say in all household matters, Madam."
Hu Waner smiled warmly and said to Aunt Yu, "Since you just arrived today, you are not yet familiar with our family. Let the master show you around so you can get properly acquainted, and he can arrange your living quarters along the way."
Hu Yuzhu bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your consideration, Madam. I will trouble you, my lord."
Lin Dali immediately smiled and helped her up. He took her hand and walked toward the backyard, saying as they went, "We are all family, so there’s no need to be polite. I’ll take you for a stroll. There are a few nice courtyards in the back, and I’ll help you pick a good one."
Unwilling to be left behind, Ma Mingli tried to follow but was stopped by two older servant women. "Aunt Ma, Madam has not given you any orders yet."
"Madam, I am not very familiar with the backyard either."
Hu Waner shot her a glance, and a servant woman standing nearby directly slapped her across the face. "How unruly! You should refer to yourself as this lowly concubine, or this humble concubine..."