The day after Zhang Shi and the master had discussed the matter, she summoned Wang Yiniang and Liu Qinghuan to the Zheng courtyard.
Seated at the head of the room, Zhang Shi came straight to the point: “Since Sister Wu has married, it’s time to arrange a marriage for her elder sister, Sister Huan.”
She paused briefly before continuing: “I called you here today to discuss the candidates your father and I have selected.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Yiniang and Liu Qinghuan immediately grew tense as they looked toward the matriarch/principal wife.
“First candidate: Zhang He, the eldest son of Dali Temple Minister Lord Zhang. Although he is born of a concubine, he is highly regarded by Lord Zhang. He is diligent and currently holds the position of Langzhong in the Ministry of Justice.”
“Second candidate: Lü Wen, this year’s newly appointed scholar. His parents are merchants, and he is the second legitimate son of the Lü Family. The Lü parents are open-minded – the family business will be inherited by the eldest legitimate son, while Lü Wen focuses on his official career. Though his current position is modest, the Lü family is quite wealthy and Lü Wen is hardworking. After you marry, your father can provide some promotion support, so his future prospects are promising.”
When Wang Yiniang and her daughter heard these two candidates, their expressions immediately soured. The gap compared to Liu Qingwu’s match was too great, and Liu Qinghuan’s face in particular turned even more unpleasant.
Zhang Shi took a sip of tea and said leisurely: “Regarding Zhang He, I’ve written to have Third Sister and Huaijin inquire about him. Zhang He conducts himself steadily in his office, and his superiors have taken note. As long as he doesn’t make major mistakes, he could very well achieve great things in the future.”
When Liu Qinghuan heard that the principal wife had even written to Hou Manor to ask Liu Qingwu for information, she completely lost her composure.
Both candidates came from families inferior even to the Liu Estate. As a daughter quite favored by Liu Shangshu, she looked down upon them entirely.
Moreover, they had even sought information from Liu Qingwu – this was adding insult to injury, humiliating her before Liu Qingwu herself.
Seeing her daughter’s expression collapse, Wang Yiniang quickly tugged at her sleeve.
She bowed respectfully to Zhang Shi and said: “Thank you for your efforts, Madam. However, since this concerns Sister Huan’s entire future, might we have some time to discuss this before giving you our response?”
Zhang Shi watched the mother and daughter’s varied expressions without showing any reaction, nodding faintly: This was Wang Yiniang’s cleverness – even if extremely displeased, she showed nothing on her face and instead expressed gratitude respectfully. No wonder she had remained favored all these years.
“It’s good for you two to discuss this together. Just let me know once you’ve decided.”
“I have nothing else for now. You may leave if there’s nothing more.”
Liu Qinghuan, brought back to reality by the tugging, thanked Zhang Shi together with Wang Yiniang before withdrawing from the Zheng courtyard.
“These two really don’t know what’s good for them,” Mudan complained with a pout.
Shaoyao added: “Exactly! Madam went through considerable effort to select husbands for Second Young Lady, yet they’re still dissatisfied!”
As personal maids who witnessed everything, they knew how much effort Madam had expended – attending numerous banquets and making many inquiries to find suitable matches for Second Young Lady. Yet these two showed no appreciation, their displeasure so obvious anyone could see it!
Zhang Shi didn’t blame the two maids, waving her hand to indicate they shouldn’t discuss the matter further.
She didn’t want to deal with this troublesome business either. Given the temperaments of Wang Yiniang and her daughter, there would surely be more complications ahead.
Ah, but such was her duty as matriarch of the Liu Estate.
At times like this, she suddenly missed Liu Qingwu dearly. That girl knew how to pretend to be obedient, and even when problems arose, they remained within controllable limits – much less troublesome than Wang Yiniang and her daughter.
Zhang Shi’s long-awaited Liu Qingwu was currently bringing Hao Ge’er to pay respects at the Zheng courtyard of Hou Manor.
Following Jiang Yueheng’s suggestion, Liu Qingwu had come to seek advice from Hou Furen after her afternoon nap the next day.
She had also brought along chubby Hao Ge’er, planning to let him charm his grandmother with his cuteness.
Hou Furen had just woken from her nap when her maid informed her that Shizi Furen had brought the young master to the Zheng courtyard and was waiting in the pavilion.
Stepping outside, Hou Furen immediately spotted the mother and child playing happily in the pavilion—or more accurately, Liu Qingwu playing with the child unilaterally.
She watched as Liu Qingwu gently tickled the little one under his arms, making him giggle uncontrollably until he was breathless with laughter.
Once the child caught his breath, Liu Qingwu would tickle him again, eliciting another round of gleeful giggles.
Hou Furen: …
The sight of her grandson’s unreserved delight was almost too much to bear.
Though she thought this, her actions betrayed her true feelings.
Hou Furen quickly entered the pavilion and joined in the baby-play session.
After both had their fill of amusement, the little one lay sprawled on the table with flushed cheeks and limp limbs, completely exhausted.
This scene provoked another round of laughter from everyone present.
Sitting down to catch her breath, Hou Furen took a leisurely sip of tea. “What brings you here today?”
It had been nearly two months since Liu Qingwu entered the manor, and Hou Furen had gained some understanding of her character.
It could be summarized in four words: lazy and gluttonous.
Aside from visiting the Zheng courtyard frequently right after her marriage to familiarize herself with Hao Ge’er, she was rarely seen at other times.
Fortunately, she wasn’t a bad person—she cared for Hao Ge’er conscientiously and maintained harmonious relations with Huaijin.
Remembering the various new health preservation recipes that had recently appeared in her courtyard, Hou Furen sighed inwardly. Well, she never had high expectations anyway, and this was perfectly fine.
Liu Qingwu remained unaware of the myriad thoughts flashing through Hou Furen’s mind in that moment.
Adopting a casual conversational tone, she said, “Mother, Hao Ge’er will be four months old in just a few days. The wet nurse says babies start teething around four months.”
A flicker of nostalgia passed through Hou Furen’s eyes. “Already four months? Time flies.”
Liu Qingwu nodded, glancing at her unexpectedly good son. With his chubby physique, no one would believe he had been a difficult birth.
Following her gaze, Hou Furen said contentedly, “Hao Ge’er should indeed be growing milk teeth now.”
“Yesterday while chatting with my husband, we thought about preparing a teether for Hao Ge’er, but we couldn’t remember what material it should be made from. I only vaguely recall it being some kind of wood.”
Liu Qingwu inquired humbly, “My husband said you’ve seen much of the world and might know. That’s why I’ve come to seek your advice today, Mother.”
Hou Furen’s thoughts instantly returned to when her own two sons were teething—tiny figures clutching teethers, drooling copiously, looking utterly endearing. Then she thought of her eldest son’s current stoic expression. Time was indeed cruel—he’d really grown up poorly, alas.
“Wood? Commoners often use wood for teethers, but noble families prefer jade.”
“Jade?” Liu Qingwu blurted out in surprise. “But jade would only be suitable for spring and autumn, wouldn’t it? It would be too hot in summer and too cold in winter.”
Hou Furen: …
She really needed to broaden this girl’s horizons.
Maintaining a composed expression, Hou Furen stated calmly, “Never mind summer—for winter, we can use warm jade to make teethers.”
Liu Qingwu: Am I seeing things? Did I just see Mother roll her eyes at me? No, that can’t be real. Mother is the Chang Princess of the Da Qin Dynasty, the very model of womanhood in this world!
Ignoring the slight unease in her heart, Liu Qingwu began to think about whether there was any warm jade in her treasury.
After careful consideration, it seemed there was only the jade pendant given by Hou Furen when she first entered the household, but that couldn’t be used.
She wondered if there was any in her husband’s private treasury. She would ask him when he returned from his duties.