Chapter 748 - 750: Mrs. Hou Li
Chapter 748: Chapter 750: Mrs. Hou Li
The older servant woman looked startled and tried to advise her. "Madam, this is inappropriate. If Miss Hou finds out, she will say you are meddling again."
Mrs. Wu waved her hand dismissively. "It’s not the first time she’s talked about me behind my back. I only let it slide out of respect for my mother and brother. No matter how much she hates me, what can she do? At worst, we’ll just wait until..."
The older servant lowered her head. They all understood the Madam’s meaning, but they couldn’t help feeling somewhat sorry for Master Hou.
"The marriage has already been arranged. If she had any decency, she would take Tian’er under her wing and teach her how to manage a household.
"But look at how much time has passed. The old madam has brought it up privately several times, yet she just plays deaf and dumb. She doesn’t even consider that when this girl marries out, she represents the dignity of the Hou Family.
"Just now, when Mrs. Gu asked what Tian’er does at home, if I hadn’t been there to smooth things over, were we supposed to tell them she only knows how to copy scriptures and do a bit of needlework? If you ask me, she doesn’t want to form an alliance through marriage; she wants to forge an enmity. I really don’t know what my older brother sees in her, letting her mistreat his legitimate daughter like this."
"Madam, it is inappropriate for a married daughter to interfere too much in her maiden family’s affairs. Take my advice: when we should turn a blind eye, we really should."
"Hmph. Have I turned a blind eye any less over the years?" Mrs. Wu turned her head away, her tone softening slightly. "My mother is getting old, and I made a promise to my late sister-in-law. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even want to get involved in their mess.
"Forget it. An old servant like you will definitely face difficulties if you go to their estate later. I’ll make the trip myself."
Today, no matter what, she had to take Hou Tian’er away. The wedding was less than a year away, and the girl needed to start learning basic household management.
「Meanwhile.」
Jin Qianqian sat in the reception hall, also thinking about Miss Hou.
They had looked into it at the time and were aware of some internal conflicts within the Hou Family. She just hadn’t expected the Hou Family’s current mistress to be so short-sighted. The eldest legitimate daughter’s marriage had already been settled, yet she wasn’t being properly educated. Jin Qianqian couldn’t fathom what kind of personal grudge would make someone target a young girl like that.
"I wonder if we made the right choice with this marriage alliance," Jin Qianqian sighed. "The girl herself is quite nice, but it’s a pity she doesn’t have a supportive maiden family."
Did they really think she couldn’t tell that Lady Wu was covering for her earlier?
"Madam, she can just as easily learn some of these things when she joins our household." Ming Shi felt that it might be better if she hadn’t learned anything; it would save them the trouble of having to correct bad habits later.
"I’m well aware of that, but it’s a matter of attitude," Jin Qianqian replied. "I’m just a bit annoyed with Miss Hou. Even if being a stepmother is difficult, she should take up any grievances directly with the father. What’s the point of taking it out on a child?"
"Well..." Ming Shi scratched her head, unsure of how to respond. Having been an orphan since childhood, she genuinely couldn’t understand issues regarding parents.
"Forget it. We’ll leave these matters for Gu Yi to agonize over. Earlier, didn’t I hear that Master Hou wants to purchase soap from the Soap Workshop to sell in other counties and towns?"
There were actually many people who had this idea. Some had even approached Minghai. Jin Qianqian had heard passing mentions of it, but it was only today’s visit from the Hou Family’s aunt and niece that reminded her.
"A few days ago, Shopkeeper Minghai came over and brought this up," Ming Shi said. "However, since our Soap Workshop currently can’t supply that much inventory, you had Shopkeeper Minghai turn him down."
Jin Qianqian had underestimated the spending power of Yi Province. Everyone was extremely enthusiastic about this novelty called soap, going from initial curiosity to scrambling to buy it. The originally established workshop now seemed a bit too small. It was currently on a limited daily supply and still in high demand.
"I’ve already instructed Minghai to go to the brokerage and buy some sturdy servant women. It will take a few days for them to get the hang of the work," Jin Qianqian said. "However, we truly can’t monopolize this business, or else someone will start playing dirty tricks."
Thinking of the complex, intertwined relationships here, Jin Qianqian felt it was even thornier than Shangjing. In Shangjing, people at least cared about face and maintained a superficial peace. But the aristocratic families in this territory were not easy to negotiate with. Having just arrived, Gu Wenheng currently couldn’t find a pretext to make them restrain themselves, so he could only take things slowly.
However, the Hou Family, which had taken the initiative to draw closer, was a good target to win over. Now, it just depended on whether the other party knew how to play along. It was just that the mistress of his backyard didn’t seem very smart, and she wondered if she would drag them down in the process.
「That night.」
When Hou Cunjin returned to the estate at night, he found out that his younger sister had taken his daughter away. With a dark expression, he went straight to Mrs. Hou Li’s courtyard.
"Didn’t I tell you earlier to properly guide the eldest girl? You’ve completely ignored my words."
Mrs. Hou Li already had an excuse prepared and hastily cried injustice. "It’s the end of the year, and there’s so much daily social etiquette to handle. How could I possibly manage everything at once? It’s just the eldest sister making a mountain out of a molehill. What does it matter if we delay it a little? Did she really have to whisk the eldest girl away in such a rush? I’m feeling quite frustrated myself. Who can I complain to?"
"If you’re too busy, that’s exactly why you should have the eldest girl follow you and help out. You’d better rein in those petty schemes of yours. If you dare ruin the family’s affairs this time, you can pack up and stay at your maiden home for a while." At this moment, Hou Cunjin felt some regret; he had been too indulgent in the past. "Yao’er is so young, yet you keep her by your side and teach her hand in hand. Tian’er is also your daughter. Do you really think I don’t know you’ve been treating them differently all these years? If you can’t be a good mistress, then step down and let someone capable take over."
Over the years, Hou Cunjin hadn’t been entirely ignorant of the inner courtyard’s affairs, especially with his mother and sister whispering in his ear from time to time. He was just too lazy to manage these trivial matters and chose to smooth things over in the middle.
But this time, it was a critical juncture. He was counting on this marital alliance to obtain soap from the Soap Workshop to sell in various regions. His business had stabilized over the years, and with this novelty item, it might just boost the sales across all his shops.
"Husband!" Having been favored for so many years and having borne two legitimate children to expand the Hou Family’s lineage, Mrs. Hou Li couldn’t swallow this anger. She immediately shrieked, "I admit I have my own selfish motives, but the eldest girl didn’t come from my belly! I can’t be too harsh, nor can I be too lenient. Besides, hasn’t she always been personally raised by the old madam?
"She is already a grown woman about to be married. Her habits are deeply ingrained. Even if I wanted to teach her, I wouldn’t be able to do a good job.
"Since your sister, as her aunt, thinks she is more capable than me, and since she’s an official’s wife, isn’t it more fitting that she’s willing to take the eldest girl under her wing?"
"Since you think my sister is so good at educating people," Hou Cunjin said, "then we will send Yao’er over as well."
"Yao’er is still young..."
"She’s not that young anymore." Hou Cunjin had his own plans. "If we only send the eldest girl, people who don’t know the truth will think that you, as her stepmother, are unwilling to teach her. Sending both girls over is perfect; outsiders won’t be able to criticize."