Xia Lu's family rested for a while at the Sakura Temple in Ningguo Province. They changed their clothes and had a simple lunch at the Sakura Temple.
"Later, Jing 'er will take us to Xi Province to visit Duke Rongguo. Duke Rongguo's children are more prosperous than those in Ningguo Province. He has his eldest son, second son, legitimate daughter, and three concubine daughters. The three concubine daughters have married far away, so you definitely won't be able to see them later. The legitimate daughter is the youngest. Her mother-in-law passed away, so she's in mourning and won't be coming back. The only ones left are Madam Duke Rongguo and the wives of his eldest son and second son." Xia Fu told Xia Lu's mother and Xia Lu about the situation of the women in the harem in Rongguo Province.
"Rongguo Province? The eldest son, second son, legitimate daughter, and three concubine daughters? " Xia Lu felt that something was wrong. Then she thought of Ningguo Province. Xia Lu was enlightened and asked, "Is Duke Rongguo's surname Jia?"
"Yes, Duke Rongguo, Jia Daishan, and Ning Guogong's Jia Daihua are cousins. The old Duke Rongguo and Duke Ning followed the late emperor in the uprising. Unfortunately, when the world was just settled, the late emperor, Duke Ning, and the old Duke Rongguo passed away one after another. The current emperor succeeded the throne, and Ning Guogong and Duke Rongguo inherited the titles of Duke Ning and the old Duke Rongguo. They followed the current emperor and completely pacified the world. Therefore, this family of two dukes is envied by many families." Xia Fu's eyes were full of longing, as if he had returned to the time when he accompanied Ning Guogong in the war.
Xia Lu was dumbfounded. She thought that she had been reborn in a certain dynasty in Chinese history. It turned out that she had been reborn in a book, and a book that had been destroyed. God, are you kidding me?
Although the first eighty chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber were written by Cao Xueqin, and the ending was written by Gao E, even if the story of Dream of the Red Chamber was not as tragic as Gao E's, the ending of the first eighty chapters was not much better. Even if it did not reach the stage where the vast expanse of whiteness was truly clean, it was not far off.
"What's wrong?" Xia Xiaofu's mother sensed that something was wrong with her daughter and hurriedly asked with concern.
"It's nothing." It was just that she couldn't take the blow. If she were to get involved with the Jia Family like this, would it implicate her in the end? In an instant, Xia Lu thought of many things.
"That's good." Xia Xiaofu's mother carefully observed her daughter and found that she was indeed fine, so she was relieved.
After noon, a manservant came over to inform Xia Lu's family that the sedan chair was ready and they could set off for Rongguo Province.
Actually, Ningguo Province and Rongguo Province had a side gate that led directly to each other's residence. However, since it was the first time that Xia Fu had come to visit the Duke Rongguo, they had to go through the main gate. Although the two residences were neighbors, it would still take a lot of time to go through the main gate, so they had to take a sedan chair.
Xia Fu and Xia Ji followed Jia Jing through the main gate of Rongguo Province and went directly to see Jia Daishan. Xia Xiaofu's mother and Xia Lu followed Jia He Shi through the side gate and went directly to visit Jia Daishan's mother.
"Old Madam, how have you been? I haven't seen you for a few days and you've become healthier." When they arrived at Rongqing Hall, where Jia Daishan's mother lived, Jia He Shi gave a slight bow. In fact, according to etiquette, she didn't need to bow. Ning Guogong had already passed away and Jia Jing had inherited the title, so she was the matron of the Jia family. According to etiquette, she could even control Jia Daishan's mother. However, looking at it from another perspective, she was a junior and her husband had only inherited the title of Count. She was only the Countess, and Jia Daishan's mother's rank was the same as the Duke Rongguo's. Therefore, when she came to see Jia Daishan's mother, she would take the initiative to bow.
"You little monkey, is your mouth smeared with honey?" Jia Daishan's mother was all smiles. She was clearly in an extremely good mood after hearing Jia He Shi's words.
"Old Madam, you've become healthier and healthier. I'm not wrong about that." Jia He Shi smiled and gave her enough respect.
"Those beside you are your father-in-law's former personal guards, the womenfolk of the Xia Family Guards, right?" After Mother Jia and Madam Jia exchanged greetings, she turned her gaze to Mother Xia and Xia Lu, who were standing respectfully beside Madam Jia.
"Old Madam, you have good eyesight. You can tell at a glance." Jia He Shi was all smiles.
"I still have an impression of that Guard Xia. At that time, he saved your father-in-law's life more than once. He even saved my husband's life. At that time, your father-in-law and my husband had already arranged a position for Guard Xia in the capital. However, he was stubborn and refused to stay in the capital. After he got married, he brought his wife back to the border." Jia Daishan's mother shook her head, expressing her pity.
"Old Madam, my husband is a rough man. He is not used to living in the capital, a place where nobles gather. He also misses his brothers at the border. Therefore, he begged Ning Guogong to get him an idle position at the border," Xia Lu's mother said softly.
"Well, I almost forgot. Yuan Yang, go and bring three chairs for the guests to sit." Jia Daishan's mother looked at Jia He Shi apologetically and said, "I'm old and muddle-headed. My memory is not good. These maids are the same."
"Old Madam, the maids in your courtyard are all excellent." Jia He Shi's face was still full of smiles. She praised very sensibly, but in fact, she was very disdainful in her heart. She was just taking advantage of her high status to deliberately make things difficult. What did she mean by old and bad memory? Since she knew that she was old, she should know what it meant to cultivate one's moral character. At such an old age, she still wanted to seize the power of being in charge of the household and hold the second son's wife against the eldest son's wife. If it were not for the uncle of Xi Province, how could this person give up the power of being in charge of the household? Thinking about it, her mother-in-law had already given the power of being in charge of the household to her.
Thinking about it, Marquess En's wife was really unlucky to have such a mother-in-law. Originally, when the old Duke Rongguo's wife was still alive, life was not so difficult. In the early years, the old Duke Rongguo's wife also passed away. This Duke Rongguo's wife's face was completely revealed.
Xia Lu really wanted to raise her head and take a look at the ancestor who later held the 'fake jade' in the palm of his hand. However, she always kept in mind her own image. A virtuous lady, a virtuous lady. It was extremely impolite to stare at an elder.
After a while, three maids brought the chairs over. Jia He Shi led Xia Lu and her daughter to sit down. When Xia Lu sat down, she saw Jia Daishan's mother's appearance. Her face was from her heart. She did not feel like a kind old lady, but she had taken good care of herself. It was just that the drooping corners of her eyes added a sense of fierceness to her.
"Old Madam, Second Young Mistress is here. Should we let her in now?" The maid guarding the door came in to report.
"Let her in," Jia Daishan said.
After Jia Daishan's mother gave the order, the maid went out. After a while, footsteps came from the door. Xia Lu looked at the door and saw a woman in her twenties walk in. She was wearing a bright red dress and all kinds of jewelry on her head that Xia Lu could not name. There was a necklace around her neck. Looking at her bright and beautiful appearance, Xia Lu almost blurted out 'Sister Feng'.
"Madam, if I had known that an important guest would be here, I would have come earlier. Unfortunately, Zhi 'er's health is not good and he can't leave me. I just coaxed him to sleep and hurried over," the woman said.
"Zheng's daughter-in-law, how is Zhi 'er?" Jia Daishan's mother quickly asked.
"He woke up early and craved the cool air. He has a headache now. He has already taken the imperial physician's prescription and is asleep now," the Jia Wang Clan member said.
"Mm. Yuan Yang, bring a chair for Zheng's daughter-in-law." Jia Daishan's mother nodded.
The Jia Wang Clan member looked around and did not see her eldest sister-in-law. She asked, "Why don't I see eldest sister-in-law?"
"She is a very busy person now. She received orders from Master to take care of the household. How could she have the time to come here?" Jia Daishan's mother pursed her lips. She did not like her eldest daughter-in-law from the bottom of her heart. Even in front of outsiders, she did not plan to give her any face.
Seeing that her mother-in-law did not like her, the Jia Wang Clan member smiled proudly. Humph, so what if she was from a scholarly family? She was still not liked by her mother-in-law. She usually liked to put on a noble and virtuous appearance. Not only did she look indifferent, even her clothes and jewelry were indifferent. She was really petty. But in the end, she was from a noble family and her family background was shallow. How could she compare to the Wang family?
"Second Young Mistress." Yuan Yang brought a chair over and placed it beside the Jia Wang Clan member. He indicated that they could sit.
The Jia Wang Clan member had just sat down when the servant who came in to report came in again. He said, "Eldest Young Mistress is here."
"Let her in." Similarly, Jia Daishan's mother was much more amiable to the Jia Wang Clan member. This time, it was the Jia Chang Clan member. Jia Daishan's mother was cold.
Xia Lu looked at the door and saw an elegant woman walk in. Compared to the Jia Wang Clan member, one was like a peony, while the other was like an orchid in an empty valley. "Madam."
"Eldest Young Mistress is a very busy person. You can't easily see her. Your sister-in-law's courtyard is so remote, yet Eldest Young Mistress has only just arrived. She's not a very busy person." Jia Daishan's mother did not give face and directly pointed out that the Jia Chang Clan member was late.
"It's daughter-in-law who is lazy. Please forgive me, Madam." The Jia Chang Clan member did not explain. She knew that her mother-in-law had always disliked her and wanted to find an excuse to scold her. If she refuted her mother-in-law's words in front of the guests, it would leave a bad impression on others. It would create an image of a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in Rongguo Province. Moreover, her mother-in-law had only said a few words and would not lose a piece of flesh.
Seeing that the Jia Chang Clan member directly said that it was her fault, Jia Daishan's mother choked. In fact, she was very clear that she was looking for trouble. Recently, the manor had been receiving the monthly allowance, and the family business was big. Her daughter-in-law had only been in charge of the household for a year and was not particularly familiar with it. Now was a busy time. However, she would not admit that she was wrong. Nevertheless, her attitude softened and she said, "Yuan Yang, go and bring a chair for Eldest Young Mistress."
When Xia Lu saw this scene, she felt that noble families were indeed profound. Today, she had completely seen how terrifying these women in the harem were.
"These two are the womenfolk of Eldest Uncle's Wei Family in the East Province, right?" The Jia Chang Clan member saw Jia Daishan's mother and Xia Lu sitting beside Jia Daishan and asked.
"Yes, this is Xia Xiaowei's wife. The one beside her is the Summer Girl." Jia Daishan introduced.
"What does the Summer Girl like to do on a daily basis?" The Jia Chang Clan member's expression was very gentle.
She liked to practice martial arts and beat people up. Obviously, she could not answer this question. She was now a virtuous lady. Thus, Xia Lu pinched her throat and pretended to be shy. She said, "If she likes to do it, then she does it as a maid. I'm not interested in it."
Seeing her daughter like this, Xia Xiaowei's mother raised her eyebrows. En, her acting was not bad. As long as she maintained this, her daughter would not have to worry about not being able to find a husband.
"Then the Summer Girl's maid must be very good." The Jia Chang Clan member said warmly.
Xia Lu covered her mouth with a handkerchief and smiled shyly. Hehe, 'the maid must be very good.' What the hell? Being a maid required talent. Obviously, she was very good at using swords, spears, swords, and halberds. However, for a small embroidery needle, hehe, from the moment she picked it up and started counting the time, at most five minutes, her hands were full of blood from being poked by the needle.
When the people present saw this, it meant that Xia Lu had tacitly agreed that the maid was indeed good. Jia Daishan watched from the side and was very satisfied in her heart. It was good that the maid was good. This way, Zheng 'er could wear clothes made by his wife. Thinking about his previous wife, she did not do any household chores and did not even embroider a purse for Zheng' er.
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