Southern Song Dynasty Life Consultant

Chapter 41

On this day, the women seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meeting on the Magpie Bridge to learn from the Weaver Girl and become more skillful. On this day, Cheng San Niang brought her sewing kit to find Xiao Yuan and asked her how she planned to pray for skill: "Sister-in-law, if you want to pray for skill in needlework, I have double-holed needles and seven-holed needles here."

Cheng Mutian chuckled to himself. His wife had only ever embroidered one handkerchief in her entire life: a "Spring River Warmth" design. She probably didn't even know what a double-holed needle or a seven-holed needle was. He laughed, but he wouldn't allow anyone to embarrass his wife. So he put on a stern face and said to Cheng Sanniang, "Your sister-in-law has to manage the household and look after Wu-ge. Where does she find the time? I think catching a few spiders to pray for good fortune would be better."

Xiao Yuan looked up and gave him a grateful smile, which made him blush. He then used the excuse of catching a spider for her to lift the curtain and go out. Seeing that her sister-in-law had no intention of threading the needle for the skill test, Cheng San Niang also got up to take her leave.

The Qixi Festival is also known as the "Children's Festival." Li Wuniang brought new clothes for Wu Ge to wear on the festival well in advance. Master Cheng even built a magnificent Qiqiao Tower in the courtyard. As night fell, he laid out writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone before the shrine of the Cowherd God and wrote: "Wu Ge, pray for wisdom."

That evening, Xiao Yuan took Wu Ge to the garden to celebrate the festival. Madam Qian and Ji Liu Niang were sitting together listening to a Buddhist discourse. The speaker was extremely clever. Hearing a child's voice from behind a screen, he brought out a small clay Buddha figure called "Mohe Le." He then told a Buddhist story—this "Mohe Le," also known as "Mahou Luo," was one of the eight classes of celestial beings. It is said that he was once a king, but fell into hell for his sins. After 60,000 years of cultivation, he was able to be reborn. After another 60,000 years, he was born. After another six years, he became a Buddha, named Mohe Le. People revered this Buddha and sculpted clay figures in his likeness, hoping to have a child like him.

Having received a gift and heard the story, Xiao Yuan hurriedly ordered someone to give her a reward. She laughed, "I only knew that we should buy 'Mohe Le' for Qixi Festival, but I didn't know there was such a story. Today, thanks to my mother, I've learned something new." Everyone loves to hear kind words. And it was a festival again. Qian Fu...

She gave her daughter-in-law a hard time. She also brought out a "Mohe Le" toy adorned with gold beads. Ji Liu Niang, soon to be a mother herself, adored the little boy. She picked out a "Qiao Guo" (a type of pastry) covered in sesame seeds and handed it to Wu Ge. Xiao Yuan took the fruit for her son and only then noticed that she was wearing a bright red silk robe. She couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.

Aunt Ding noticed her expression and said, "I told Aunt Ji that her clothes weren't in accordance with regulations, but she wouldn't believe me. Young Madam, please judge who's right and who's wrong." She spoke to Xiao Yuan, but her eyes were on Madam Qian. Madam Qian said, "I've advised her countless times, but she just won't listen. I can't do anything about it." After saying that, she urged Ji Liu Niang to go back to her room: "You're someone else's concubine now, I can't control you. Go back to your room, lest it get to your eldest sister's ears and she comes looking for trouble with me again." Seeing that she wasn't on Aunt Ding's side, Ji Liu Niang could only pout and go to the courtyard, feeling wronged.

Xiao Yuan, having witnessed this scene, understood perfectly well that Ji Liu Niang, relying on her pregnancy with a son and a family background no less than Cheng Da Jie's, wanted to seize the position of the principal wife. Unfortunately, as Jin Jiu Shao's principal wife, she received no benefit whatsoever from Madam Qian, and therefore refused to help her.

After listening to the sermon, Madam Qian said she wanted to pray for skill in needlework. Xiao Yuan hurriedly ordered people to set out in the courtyard auspicious items such as mortar and pestle, flowers, fruits, wine, roasted meat, writing brush, inkstone, needle and thread, and burn incense and offer prayers.

After she returned to her room after celebrating the festival with Madam Qian, she saw that Cheng Mutian had already put the little spider he had caught into a brocade box. He was about to place it by her pillow when she hurriedly said, "Put it on the table. What if it crawls out at night?" Cheng Mutian looked at the box. It was sealed tightly, and the spider definitely couldn't crawl out. But to put her mind at ease, he still moved it to the table as she suggested.

The next morning, Xiao Yuan was afraid to open the box because she was afraid of insects. Cheng Mutian helped her lift the lid and saw that there wasn't a single spider web. "A dense spider web is a sign of skillful hands," Xiao Yuan said angrily. "You must have caught the wrong kind." Cheng Mutian laughed and said, "Nonsense, what spider doesn't spin a web? They must not know how to sew, so they don't want to cheat."

After the two laughed and joked in the room for a while, Cheng Mutian said, "Let's go to the dock." Xiao Yuan summoned the head housekeeper to arrange the day's affairs. Once everything was settled, Aunt Qin, who managed the garden, stayed behind and whispered in his ear, "Young Madam, last night the maids were all praying for skill under the moon, but I saw Aunt Ji from the Jin family secretly hiding behind a tree with a man wearing a crown..."

Xiao Yuan was startled and quickly sent the others away before signaling her to continue. Aunt Qin continued, "I thought to myself, before Aunt Ji got married, she lived in our house and was a restless woman who had seduced our young master. So I secretly hid to the side and took a closer look. What I saw was shocking. That man was touching Aunt Ji's body, touching her head and then her arms, touching her all over."

Xiao Yuan tapped the table and asked, "What else do you know about this matter?" Aunt Qin said, "I was afraid that if word got out, it would damage our family's reputation, so I made a special trip yesterday, and no one else saw it." She then added, "I thought it was because I hadn't guarded the garden properly and a thief had sneaked in, so I waited until they separated and then secretly followed that man all the way. Young Madam, do you think it was him? It turns out to be the gossip that Madam invited. He must have finished his lecture in the garden and then hooked up with Ji Liu Niang, who had secretly returned. Or perhaps they already knew each other and this was just a rekindling of their old flame."

Xiao Yuan continued slamming her hands on the table, and Aunt Qin hurriedly knelt down, saying, "It was my fault for not keeping a close watch, and the person who told me to wander off." Xiao Yuan then stopped and said, "Everyone who was watching the garden yesterday will have half of their monthly wages deducted. As for you, considering that you came to report the news, I will not dismiss you for now, but for the next three months, you will only receive the monthly wages of a deputy manager." Although the deputy manager's monthly wages were not small, being demoted by one rank was extremely humiliating. Aunt Qin deeply regretted her carelessness last night, kowtowed, and accepted the punishment without mentioning it.

Cailian brought over the tea and said, "Our family has always been upright, but it's all because of Ji Liuniang's meddling." Xiaoyuan rubbed her temples, feeling a deep headache. If it were just her having an affair, that would be fine, but the man she was meeting in secret was the very person that Madam Qian had invited to speak. Was there a deeper meaning or a hidden story behind this?

A multitude of thoughts rushed through her mind. It was unlikely that her mother and the speaker were strangers; who would seduce someone while pregnant? Didn't she feel ashamed? If it was an old flame, it was probably more of a coincidence that Madam Qian invited him over. After all, such a thing was both immoral and of no benefit to her.

“If it’s just a coincidence, why should I worry? I have no reason to concern myself with someone else’s concubine.” Xiao Yuan figured it out and gave a self-deprecating smile. Cai Lian hesitated for a moment, then said, “Young Madam, it would be best to inform Eldest Sister about this. I heard that the person who spoke has never been to Quanzhou. How did he know Aunt Ji? Could the child in her belly not be surnamed Jin?”

Chapter 119 Aunt Ji

The child in Sixth Sister's belly doesn't bear the surname Jin? Xiao Yuan thought about it carefully, and realized that Sixth Sister's child might actually be Jin. Whether it's a large or small family, offspring and bloodlines are of paramount importance. If something went wrong, who knows how the Jin family would blame her for not reporting it? Thinking of this, she broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly ordered someone to invite Sister Cheng. She also pulled Cai Lian aside and expressed her gratitude, thankful that she had such a clever person by her side.

When Sister Cheng arrived and heard about Ji Liu Niang's secret meeting with the person who spoke to her, she was immediately enraged and wanted to drag her over and beat her to death to avoid disgracing the family. Xiao Yuan desperately pulled her back, saying, "Let's find out the truth first. What if she's carrying Jin Jiu Shao's child? Won't you regret it?"

After listening to the advice, Sister Cheng stopped mentioning killing him, but refused to go home and ask again. She only said, "Find out here. If she is carrying an illegitimate child, then return her to her stepmother."

Xiao Yuan didn't want to get involved in her relatives' family affairs, especially such shameful matters, but she couldn't do anything about Sister Cheng. So she had to send someone to Madam Qian's place to invite Ji Liu Niang over. Last time, Sister Cheng had used the "silver letter" to suppress Ji Liu Niang, and since she couldn't get Madam Qian's help, she didn't dare to "rely on her child to be arrogant" anymore. Even though she was heavily pregnant and had difficulty bowing, she didn't dare to ask the maid for help.

Sister Cheng stared at her stomach for a long time with a complicated expression before gritting her teeth and asking her which man she had hooked up with on Qixi Festival.

Ji Liuniang cried out in protest: "That was a person my aunt invited to speak for me. I have never had any connection with him."

"No connection? I've touched you all over and you still say no connection?" Sister Cheng was furious. She broke free from Xiao Yuan's hand and slapped Ji Liu Niang across the face before she felt a little calmer.

Ji Liuniang covered her face, trying not to cry, and explained, "He said he knew how to feel bones, so I asked him to feel my bones, and that was all."

The Song people were extremely fond of divination and fortune telling, which was indeed a new category created at that time. Sister Cheng was unwilling to lose her son easily, so she temporarily believed her. Xiao Yuan went to find the storyteller from the night of Qixi Festival to confront him. The storyteller was invited by Madam Qian. When she heard the news, she was afraid of being implicated by Ji Liu Niang, so she sent someone to ask. She took the initiative to send Xiao Tongqian to report the storyteller's name, where he lived, and so on. It turned out that the storyteller's nickname was "Sai Shan Ren" and he was a famous storyteller in Beiwa who often performed at fixed venues.

Having a reputation, and not just hunting in the wild, they should be able to find him easily. Although Sister Cheng and Sister Ji had different thoughts, they both breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Yuan, being more cunning, ordered the servant to tell them that the Cheng family had heard of his lectures and loved them so much that they invited him to speak.

Madam Qian invited Sai Shanren to the Qixi Festival. The reward was extremely generous, so when he heard that the Cheng family had invited him again, he abandoned the guests and went with his servant. Upon arriving at the small round room, he first handed out a slip of paper through the screen, saying, "This is from Consort Ji of the mansion, who asked me to perform a divination for her. Please take a look first."

Xiao Yuan took the note and glanced at it. A few words were written on it in a flamboyant style. The gist was: I've boiled chicken eggs and killed chickens to take their bones, and both times I received a very auspicious divination. She could read, but didn't understand the meaning. She quickly handed it to Sister Cheng for a closer look. Sister Cheng took it, glanced at it, and laughed, "This is divination. It uses chicken eggs and bones to seek good fortune in officialdom, wealth, pregnancy, and marriage. It seems what she said is true. But divination has always been a blind person's profession; I never thought that a talker would take its place."

Sai Shanren said with a forced smile, "I'm just trying to make a living. Ladies, please don't take offense at me. But my divination is always accurate. Would you ladies like to give it a try?"

Sister Cheng glanced at the note again. She asked, "Is it still auspicious? What divination did you use to determine the burial site for her? Tell us. If it's accurate, we'll all give you face."

Sai Shanren was overjoyed to hear there was extra business to be done. He was about to answer when he suddenly remembered Ji Liuniang's repeated instructions not to reveal the secret. He quickly swallowed back the words that were already on the tip of his tongue and changed his tune: "Aunt Ji wants to know whether the baby will be a boy or a girl. I congratulate you, Madam. Your household is about to welcome another new member."

The doctor had already determined that Ji Liuniang was carrying a son, so why would she need to consult a fortune teller? Besides, if she wanted to know the sex of her baby, she should have a midwife feel her belly, not a fortune teller feel her bones. Sai Shanren's words couldn't fool Sister Cheng. She threw a slip of paper with "auspicious" written on it at Ji Liuniang's face, demanding to know what divination she had performed. Ji Liuniang, however, preferred to cover her belly and endure the slaps rather than say anything. Sister Cheng then went to ask Sai Shanren. Sai Shanren, hearing the sound of slaps behind the screen, was terrified. Fearing that telling the truth would lead to the woman being beaten to death, he insisted that he had only performed a divination to determine the sex of the baby.

When Sister Cheng found that she couldn't get any answers from the note, she asked, "Can bone reading determine whether a child will be a boy or a girl?" This was common knowledge that everyone knew, so Sai Shanren didn't dare to lie and honestly replied, "No." When Sister Cheng asked him what divination he had performed on Ji Liu Niang's bones, he remained silent.

Sister Cheng, enraged, laughed. She put on a tight veil, pulled Ji Liu Niang behind the screen, and said to Sai Shanren, "Since you can't tell the difference, why are you still touching her? It's clear that it's not divination, but rather a secret affair. I'm not a cruel person, and I'm willing to grant your wish. You may take her away."

Sai Shanren was about to explain when he saw Ji Liuniang secretly wink at him. He had given her a lot of money and felt sorry for her, so he changed his tune, thanked her, kowtowed to Sister Cheng, and left with Ji Liuniang.

Sister Cheng was shocked. It took her a while to come to her senses. She beat her chest and stamped her feet, saying, "We finally got a child, but it's a bastard. It's both unlucky and a disgrace to the family."

Xiao Yuan initially thought she was deliberately provoking her, but she never expected that Ji Liu Niang would actually admit to her affair and go with Sai Shan Ren. Unable to fathom Ji Liu Niang's thoughts, she could only pat Sister Cheng's back and comfort her, saying, "With so many concubines in your family, any child born to any of them will be your son. Besides, it's not like you can't have children yourself. Just wait until the time is right and have one yourself; that would be closer."

Sister Cheng was heartbroken and angry for a while, but then she suddenly remembered that Jin Jiu Shao was still hoping to have his eldest son. Now that no one was going back, she was afraid she would have a hard time explaining it to him. So she quickly sent someone back on horseback to tell him that Ji Liu Niang was carrying an illegitimate child and had voluntarily gone with her lover.

Now, let's talk about Ji Liuniang. Her feet were bound to a mere three inches. She had stood before Sister Cheng, heavily pregnant, for a long time, enduring several slaps. By the time she left the Cheng residence, she was too exhausted to walk, one hand supporting her back, the other against the wall, barely able to breathe. Sai Shanren asked, "I've taken the blame for you, do you have any ideas?" Ji Liuniang leaned against him, habitually throwing him a flirtatious wink, and said, "I divined for the position of the principal wife. If that tigress had found out, would I still be alive? Help me home to find my husband. He promised me long ago that if I give birth to a son, I will be his principal wife."

Sai Shanren made her weigh down half of her body, his pity long gone. He pushed her away, asked her for a banknote as compensation, and then left her behind.

Ji Liuniang couldn't stop him, so she had to hobble her bound feet to the alley entrance, hire a sedan chair to go home, find Jin Jiushao, hug him and cry, "My lord, I wanted to know if I was destined to be your principal wife, so I asked a fortune teller to tell my fortune. But Sister Cheng insisted on accusing me of having an affair with him. I dared not tell the fortune teller, but for the sake of the principal wife position, I confessed to the crime."

Jin Jiushao didn't push her away because of her pregnancy, but he couldn't hide his disgust on his face: "Why did you have to do such a divination? You just asked for a beating. Luckily, I guessed there was something going on and didn't believe my older sister, otherwise you wouldn't even be able to get in the door right now."

Ji Liuniang was stunned. "My lord, didn't you promise to divorce my elder sister and make me your principal wife if I gave birth to a son?" It was true that Jin Jiushao had said such a thing, but it was just a joke he used to coax women. He never expected Ji Liuniang to take it seriously. He stammered for a moment, then turned and ordered someone to prepare the other courtyard, intending to send her to live elsewhere. Ji Liuniang held him back, crying out, "My lord, didn't you believe me? I'm carrying your only son!"

Jin Jiushao thought to himself, "If I weren't certain that you're carrying my child, you probably wouldn't even have a place to stay in the villa." As he pried Ji Liuniang's hand away, he coaxed her, "Many people think you're having an affair with that person. Even though I know you're carrying my child, I can't guarantee that others won't laugh at me behind my back. I have to save face."

Ji Liuniang threw herself at him and cried out, "I'm just like the Second Sister in 'The Wrongful Execution of Cui Ning,' I'm so wronged!" Jin Jiushao and Sister Cheng were indeed a couple, and they said the same thing: "You didn't behave yourself, so who can you blame?" After saying that, they called in several strong old women, who grabbed the crying Ji Liuniang by the arms and legs, and carried her to another courtyard to keep her under close guard.

When the news reached the Cheng family, the eldest sister of the Cheng family had not yet left. Xiao Yuan was furious and rushed home to confront Jin Jiu Shao. However, she smiled smugly and said, "I was just worried about what to do with Ji Liu Niang after she gave birth to a son. But my husband is going to solve this problem for me."

Xiao Yuan was secretly alarmed and dared not ask her how the problem would be solved. That evening, she sighed to Cheng Mutian, "Everyone says I'm hard-hearted and refuse to let my husband take a concubine. I think those who have taken concubines are the truly hard-hearted ones." Cheng Mutian looked tired, but still put on a smile, "That's right. We should be good people, so we don't take concubines." After saying that, he told her about what he had seen outside. He said that at a social gathering today, there was a high-ranking official who kept wiping his sweat because it was a bit hot in the room and he was fat. Unexpectedly, he wiped his hair and hat off because he used too much force. When everyone saw that he was a monk with a few dots on his head, they realized that his hair was fake. It was so realistic that no one could tell.

"This monk probably wants to eat meat and embrace women, so he pretends to be a layman. It's a good thing he has such a realistic wig." Xiao Yuan replied, gently stroking his slightly furrowed brow: "Er Lang, is something troubling you?"

Chapter 120 Pretending to be Poor (Part 1)

Cheng Mutian took her hand and kissed it, saying, "It's nothing serious. It's just that the court is again forcing wealthy families to buy official positions. We have a reputation for being rich, so we probably can't escape it." No one was forcing Old Man He to buy an official position; he himself would have to spend money to get one. It really wasn't a big deal. Xiao Yuan asked, puzzled, "It's an order from the court, so there's nothing we can do. We can just pay to avoid trouble. Why are you looking so worried?"

Cheng Mutian smiled bitterly, "Father has already bought official positions before, and he wants to buy more this time. I heard that for a family like ours, he has to buy a Right Xuan Lang for 60,000 guan; I also have to buy a Right Xiu Wu Lang for 23,000 guan." Xiao Yuan's eyes widened in surprise, "It will cost a total of 83,000 guan? Is this selling official positions or robbing people?" Cheng Mutian said, "Isn't this just finding an excuse to make money?"

Seeing his brows furrowed again, Xiao Yuan joked, "It's a good thing you have several sisters; if you had brothers, the expenses would be even greater." Cheng Mutian, reminded, said, "This is just the news; it hasn't spread outside yet. You should inform your relatives when you have time and tell them to prepare in advance."

Xiao Yuan responded, but thought to herself, what's the point of informing them? Should she tell them to prepare the money earlier? It wasn't until the next day when Master Cheng summoned the whole family to the study for a meeting that she understood the deeper meaning of his words—Master Cheng said, "Eighty-three thousand strings of cash is no small amount. It's money we've worked hard to earn, and I don't want to give it away for nothing. Why don't we ask our relatives if they'd like to pretend to be poor together?"

These relatives in Lin'an all have businesses connected, so their fortunes are intertwined and they can't all suffer if one of them fails. Therefore, if they want to pretend to be poor, they all have to do it together. Xiao Yuan understands this principle, so she said, "Most of our relatives have already bought their way into official positions, so they probably don't want to waste money again. But how do we pretend to be poor?"

Master Cheng stroked his beard and said, "I have already decided that we will move into the apartment building for the time being, and then move back after the decree forcing wealthy families to buy official positions is over."

Madam Qian, being a woman of great refinement, did not understand the difference between multi-story houses and single-story houses. She asked, "Don't we have attics in our garden? Living up there will prevent us from buying official positions?" Master Cheng laughed and said, "I was referring to multi-story houses that poor people rent."

Lin'an was a land of high value; only one or two out of ten thousand families could afford to buy a house. Many poor people could only rent rooms, with dozens of people crammed into a single corner, unbearably crowded. When Xiao Yuan was expelled from the mansion years ago, she had lived in such a wooden building for a few days, so she knew the details after Master Cheng explained it to Madam Qian in detail.

Upon hearing that several people were crammed into such a large house, with no distinction between hall, bedroom, steps, and door, the rich man said, "I can't stand living in such a house for even a day. Pretending to be poor doesn't have to be like this. Let's get on the cart and go to the village on the mountain where my wife lives."

Master Cheng was a man of principle. No matter how much he loved money, he didn't want to move to his daughter-in-law's dowry estate and become a laughingstock. He angrily said, "This is none of your business. You have to go, whether you like it or not." Madam Qian retorted angrily, "I can't bear that hardship. Let me go back to my parents' home." Her angry words reminded Master Cheng, and he quickly changed his expression to a smile, comforting her, "We're not really poor. Once we find an apartment, how about you have a whole floor by yourself?" Madam Qian was calculating the difference between a floor and a single room. Master Cheng added, "Your family is wealthy and well-known. Why don't you move with us to an apartment to avoid attracting the attention of the imperial court?"

Madam Qian finally understood his intentions and wanted to object. However, he was only trying to save money for his in-laws, which was still a good intention. So she could only stammer, "I need to ask my parents' opinion first." Master Cheng was determined to have her way and wouldn't let her ask. He immediately sent someone to deliver a letter to the Qian family in her name, inviting the two elders of the Qian family to come and pretend to be poor.

Their daughter invited them, and they were naturally willing. However, Old Master Qian was too old to move. When Master Cheng received the news, he was also afraid that the sudden change in circumstances might cause an accident for the old man. So he could only beat his chest and stomp his feet in regret for the Cheng family's future income and say goodbye again. Although the two elders of the Qian family did not pretend to be poor together, they also refused to let their daughter return to her parents' home, saying that leaving because her husband's family was down on their luck would not sound good. Madam Qian felt that they had a point, so she stopped arguing and went back to her room to pack her valuables and luggage.

In truth, Cheng Mutian was also reluctant to live in the slums. But he dared not argue with his father-in-law, so he kept a blank face and remained silent from head to toe. His silence was justified; with their parents present, how could their children have the right to interrupt? Master Cheng hadn't even considered asking his son and daughter-in-law's opinion. He had only summoned them to give instructions: "Second son, in the next few days, change the names of the shops, estates, and maritime businesses. Also, find a few suitable buildings; daughter-in-law, have someone inform the relatives and ask for their opinions."

The two nodded in agreement and returned to their room. Xiao Yuan sent someone to ask their relatives. Apart from the He family, who were not considered wealthy and therefore not a concern, and the Cheng family, who were also willing to come and pretend to be poor, the Cheng family had many sons and did not want to move to the village alone. The Jin family only had one son, Jin Jiushao, so naturally it was up to Sister Cheng to decide. Therefore, she asked Xiao Yuan to include the Jin family when renting the apartment.

Living in an apartment building was now a done deal, and Cheng Mutian always had a stern face: "I wonder if an apartment building is better than the thatched huts on your estate?" Xiao Yuan flipped through the catalog of utensils and teased him, saying that he was a young master from a wealthy family who couldn't endure hardship. Cheng Mutian couldn't stand others saying that he was spoiled, so he picked up Wu Ge and said, "Our son is still young. The wooden building is probably damp and narrow, and there are stairs. What if he falls down?"

Xiao Yuan glanced around the room; with a large group of wet nurses, maids, and servants, how could he possibly fall? She chuckled inwardly and ordered someone to fetch Aunt Chen. Cheng Mutian stopped her, saying, "Although your aunt has some money, the Xue family is not wealthy; they have no chance of buying an official position."

Xiao Yuan smiled without saying a word, and insisted on inviting Aunt Chen over, asking her, "Aunt, are the three buildings I left you when I got married living in any of them?" Aunt Chen replied, "Yes, they are rented to some poor people. Why are you asking about this?" Xiao Yuan told her about Master Cheng's pretense of poverty to avoid buying an official position, and then said, "Aunt, I don't want to live in someone else's building. Please help me."

She still acted coquettishly like a child, which pleased Aunt Chen greatly. She put one arm around Wu Ge and the other around her, and laughed, "That's no problem at all. I'll waive their rent for this month and vacate all three buildings for you." Xiao Yuan glanced at Cheng Mutian, who was beginning to smile, and said, "Aunt, you suffered a loss by waiving the rent. I'll have Erlang compensate you." Cheng Mutian hurriedly said, "It should be compensated. Take it along with the rent we paid when we lived here."

Those buildings were built before Xiaoyuan got married, and Aunt Chen was unwilling to accept their money. But then she thought that her daughter still had her father-in-law and mother-in-law, and she couldn't let them think that their daughter-in-law was easy to take advantage of. So she nodded and smiled and said, "Okay, I will charge double the rent."

Although they would still have to live in an apartment building, the feeling of living at his aunt's house and living at someone else's house was very different. Cheng Mutian became interested and discussed with Xiao Yuan that the young couple, along with Wu Ge, wanted to live alone in the entire building downstairs where there was a cake shop. Xiao Yuan smiled and said, "Thank you for thinking of that, but that cake shop has already moved to Yujie Street. How can you make money if it's located in a place where poor people live?"

Cheng Mutian was about to ask her to temporarily move the cake shop back when he suddenly remembered that Cailian knew how to make cakes and it wouldn't interfere with Wu Ge's cake-eating. So he put the matter aside and went to change the appearance of the shop, estate, real estate, and even the maritime business. He claimed that the Cheng family's business had failed and the property had changed hands. Fortunately, in the business world, it's common to change owners but not employees. He only needed to change the signboard and tamper with the property deeds to deceive everyone.

Compared to Cheng Mutian, Xiaoyuan was much busier. The gold and silver in the house were always buried underground, so she didn't have to worry about them. However, there were many household items and valuables. Some were hidden, some were put away, some were sold, and some were given away. The whole family worked together, and it took several days to completely sort them out.

Looking at the still densely packed catalog of utensils, she said with a sigh, "The house is too small to fit all these things. I might as well sell them all or give them away."

The third aunt, who came to help, comforted her, saying, "You'll be coming back to live here, so selling it or giving it away isn't appropriate. If you trust us, sister-in-law, why not let it stay with us? We have three courtyards, and two of them are empty."

Xiao Yuan quickly devised a plan, brought out a thank-you gift, and solemnly expressed her gratitude. She then asked, "The Gan family is also wealthy. I wonder if Master Gan needs to buy an official position?" Cheng San Niang replied, "Quanzhou is a long way away, and the news has not yet arrived. However, I think he will most likely need to buy one." After saying that, she laughed and said, "You all pretend to be poor so that you won't buy an official position. I have no money, but I want to buy one for you, sir."

Gan Shier hadn't told her the truth yet. Xiao Yuan was speechless for a long time, but still spoke up for him: "Gan Shier still wants to take the imperial examination, why are you in such a hurry?" Cheng San Niang insisted that she would buy it sooner or later, and insisted on her own opinion. Xiao Yuan was too busy to persuade her, so she had to put it aside for the time being. She called people to move all the valuable items that she couldn't take with her to Gan Shier's house, and left dozens of young and strong guards to watch over them.

With the issue of belongings resolved, she began to worry about the servants she couldn't take with her. This improved team of four departments and six bureaus was something money couldn't buy, let alone someone so loyal to her. Cailian smiled and offered a suggestion: "Madam also mentioned wanting to stay at the young mistress's estate. I think the people from the four departments and six bureaus could stay there for a while."

Xiao Yuan clapped his hands and laughed: "I have many wise men by my side." That day, a fast horse galloped into the mountains and ordered Tian Da to clean up the servants' quarters in the new villa; then he hitched up several large oxcarts and transported all the servants that he could not take with him.

Sister Cheng was also struggling with these matters. Hearing that Xiao Yuan had solved the problem, she rushed over to ask for advice, inquiring about where the person had been placed. Xiao Yuan asked in surprise, "You only ask about the person? Have you already hidden your belongings?" Sister Cheng laughed and said, "What's there to hide? We just took everything to the pawnshop and pawned it. That way, everyone outside will know that we're down on our luck. When we bring it back, we can redeem it."

Chapter 121 Pretending to be Poor (Part 2)

Xiao Yuan was both impressed and regretful: "I didn't know moving could be so simple. I've been worrying these past few days, selling and giving away so many things for nothing." Sister Cheng comforted her, "There's still time. You can also take the things you moved to Gan Shier's house to the pawnshop, which will save you a few guards." Xiao Yuan shook her head, "Third Sister is meticulous. If she does it like that, I won't trust her anymore."

Sister Cheng knew that Third Sister Cheng was a sensitive person, so she didn't bring it up again, and instead asked her about how to settle the servants. Xiao Yuan asked curiously, "Besides your mother-in-law who eats vegetarian food and chants Buddhist prayers, there are only the two of you in your family. How many servants can you have?" Sister Cheng replied, "Besides Sixth Sister Ji, there are seven concubines with official titles, and a group of concubines as well. There are probably twelve or fifteen of them."

Xiao Yuan seemed to be listening to a foreign language and asked in confusion, "You are the head mistress and the principal wife, yet you don't know how many concubines your husband has?" Sister Cheng laughed and said, "They are just a bunch of house maids. They are called out to accompany guests when they come to drink. I don't have time to deal with them."

She spoke with ease, but Xiao Yuan secretly made up her mind to live separately from the Jin family in the two buildings at opposite ends, with a separate building in between, so as not to let Jin Jiu Shao lead Cheng Mutian astray. She told Sister Cheng that the building had already been rented, saying, "Your family can have a building all to yourself, which should be enough for those seven concubines, but it's better to send the concubines to the estate. After we become 'poor,' we won't have any guests to drink with."

Sister Cheng thought the idea was good, but she changed it and sent her concubines to the farm to work. She couldn't help but laugh when she thought of those delicate beauties who used to lean on her husband's arms and kiss him, now wearing coarse clothes and doing farm work.

Xiao Yuan, remembering her eighth concubine, asked, "Sixth Sister Ji is nearing her due date; wouldn't it be better if she moved with us?" Sister Cheng replied, "Her belly is too big for her to travel by carriage to the estate; she'll have to move to an apartment building." Xiao Yuan kindly suggested, "Why don't you have her stay in a separate courtyard? Just say it's part of your dowry. The court forces wealthy families to buy official positions; they certainly won't include women's dowry properties." Sister Cheng sneered, "How can the principal wife live in an apartment building while the concubine lives in a mansion? Besides, her affair with Sai Shanren, whether true or not, has already ruined her reputation. My husband told me to only give her a servant's room."

Ji Liuniang had only herself to blame. Xiao Yuan only spoke up for her out of consideration for the child, but seeing that Sister Cheng was determined not to allow it, she stopped trying to persuade her. Two or three days later, all the preparations for the two families were complete, and they were just waiting for a date to move.

Cheng Mutian led the advance team to inspect the three buildings, then returned to discuss with Xiaoyuan: "Wife, those buildings are arranged in a row, one in front of the other. The one facing the street will be brighter, so we can live in the middle one, and leave the last one for the Jin family, how about that?"

"They want to live next to Jin Jiu Shao?" Yuanman was unwilling, but Cheng Mutian's words made a lot of sense, so she couldn't refute them. She could only compromise and let Jin Jiu Shao live closer to Master Cheng, so that he would restrain himself for his father-in-law's sake and not lead his husband astray. Thinking of this, she said, "The Jin family also has elderly people. How can we let them live in the last building? We should live there." Cheng Mutian was unaware of her little scheme and praised her for respecting the elderly as if they were his own, saying she was a filial and good daughter-in-law. He said, "I see that the bottom floor of the building facing the street still has small shops. Why don't we pay for them to choose another location?"

He was worried about the women in his family being seen. Truly poor people go out to earn money and support themselves. They don't have these kinds of customs; they're really just "pretending" to be poor. He should have realized this sooner. With Master Cheng and Cheng Mutian, these two old-fashioned men, even living in an apartment building doesn't guarantee freedom of movement. Xiao Yuan flicked the glass bead that Wu Ge had been playing with a long way to inform Aunt Chen, asking her to arrange things according to Cheng Mutian's wishes.

On moving day, they discovered that Madam Qian had far too much stuff. One building simply couldn't hold it all. Xiao Yuan advised her, "Mother, why don't we pawn the things we don't need right now? We can redeem them when we get back." Madam Qian looked unhappy. "These are all things I need regularly. What will I use if I pawn them?" Xiao Yuan glanced at the chests still being moved in her yard. One chest was labeled with gold and silver jewelry. Another chest was labeled with clothes for all four seasons. It seemed she was going on vacation, not pretending to be poor.

Little Copper Coin directed the servant to move out a few more boxes. With a pained expression, he said, "Madam, someone outside reported that our building is simply too full." Madam Qian glanced at Little Round and said, "There are fewer people in my daughter-in-law's building. Put them there."

Xiao Yuan dared not refuse. She quickly and loudly answered, then went out to instruct her servants in the basement to clear out a few rooms for Madam Qian. A-Yun, who was already complaining about the cramped apartment and how little stuff it held, jumped up and exclaimed upon hearing that Madam Qian was to have a few rooms given to her. "They are two mistresses with a young mistress. Aren't we? Why doesn't the young mistress refuse?"

Xiao Yuan said helplessly, "To be accused of being unfilial for such a small matter is a terrible waste." Cai Lian sighed, "Madam's words are not simple. She said we have too few people. She's probably implying that the young mistress hasn't arranged for the young master to take a concubine. There aren't enough people in the house." Xiao Yuan smiled upon hearing this. She had also understood this implication. That's why she readily agreed to her mother-in-law's request. She couldn't let her lose out on both sides.

He could tolerate it all. But Cheng Mutian was furious. The reason was simple: it was because of the Qian family's house. It had left Wu Ge with nowhere to put his dozen or so boxes of stuff.

Xiao Yuan laughed at him and said, "I think you and your stepmother are the same kind of people. We're going there pretending to be poor, not to enjoy a life of luxury."

Cheng Mutian angrily kicked the stool and table, saying, "Living in an apartment is already a luxury, do you think the imperial court will come and see what we eat and wear?" Xiaoyuan saw that he was wearing silk shoes and was afraid that he would hurt his feet, so she stepped forward and hugged him, saying, "Brother Wu, you have such a loving father, what more could you want?" Cheng Mutian thought of how she had lost her father and suffered everywhere since she was a child, and how she still had to endure her mother-in-law's temper after marrying into her husband's family. His heart ached, and he turned around and hugged her, saying, "I'll just bring two sets of clothes to change into, and make room for you to put your jewelry."