Rong Shu accompanied Xie Shi to meet with some of the shop managers in the east courtyard.
When she first arrived, her mother-in-law said a few words to her.
The gist of it is that she is too timid and doesn’t know how to rebuke her sister-in-law for what she said.
She simply kept her head down and listened to the reprimand, constantly responding and agreeing with the words.
She knew in her heart that even if she had come to terms with some things, even if she had experienced those three years in the Song family in her previous life and knew Shen Ying’s shortcomings.
She couldn’t just retaliate by cursing back at those people.
How could someone who has always been timid, taciturn, and cowardly change their temperament so drastically in a short period of time?
Moreover, she has always been mild-mannered and could not possibly do that.
“Take it slow,” she thought.
She was no longer willing to endure everything with the same forbearance and complacency as she had in her previous life, but it would take some time.
Fortunately, Xie didn’t make things too difficult for her this time, and even asked if her injuries had healed.
Afterwards, Rong Shu followed Xie Shi and watched her handle the affairs of the shop.
She had seen these things countless times in her previous life, and had even managed some of them for the Xie family. Now, experiencing them again, she no longer found them difficult to understand.
After the stewards left, Madam Xie asked her one or two questions, which she answered one by one.
Mrs. Xie was very satisfied with this and invited her to stay for dinner.
Master Song went to Miancheng early this morning and won’t be back for a few days, so the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had dinner early.
Just as they finished their meal, and it was getting dark, an old woman from Songtao Garden came over.
“Madam, Third Master has returned and asked me to come and inform you.”
After rinsing her mouth, Xie took the handkerchief Rong Shu handed her and wiped the corners of her lips.
She said with a smile in her eyes, “Now that Yan Qing is back, you should go back.”
Rong Shu was still somewhat stunned.
If you said you were delayed by something yesterday and didn’t go to the academy, what about today?
Song Wenjing really said he was going to the academy today, so why did he come back?
She was surprised that someone who was usually so self-disciplined and meticulous would break the routine for two consecutive days.
She bowed to Madam Xie and said, “Mother, I’ll take my leave now.”
Madam Xie waved her hand, “Go ahead.”
Rong Shu was about to turn and leave when Xie called her back.
A short while later, Granny Zeng brought over a small box, about the size of a palm.
Rong Shu looked puzzled: “Mother, what is this?”
Madam Xie stood up, took the box, and handed it to her personally, saying, “Lanwuxiang, didn’t you find it quite good the other day?”
Rong Shu’s face flushed red instantly.
She didn’t say it was good…
She even suffered terribly that night!
“Mother, Mother, perhaps this is unnecessary…”
Seeing her awkwardness and shyness, Xie still stuffed the box into her arms, saying, “Take it. My son is not one to see things clearly. Look, he came home for three days in a row after that.”
Rong Shu’s heart sank a little. She thought that it couldn’t be because of that. Perhaps he had something that forced him to come back.
She couldn’t believe that someone who had always been cold to her would suddenly change because of that one night of intimacy.
But if Xie insisted that she take it, she was afraid that refusing too much would displease her mother-in-law.
She held the box with her head down. Xie thought she was still shy and waved her away.
“Go back, giving me a grandson as soon as possible is better than anything else.”
“My daughter-in-law knows.”
…
After Rong Shu left, Granny Zeng served tea.
“You have truly thought a lot about the Third Madam.”
Over the years, Granny Zeng had never seen Madam Xie care so much about any of her daughters-in-law.
Madam Xie took a sip of tea and sighed, “After all, this is the one who is truly my biological child, and besides, this child has had a hard life before.”
Granny Zeng said, “I think the Third Madam herself doesn’t know.”
Madam Xie sneered: “It’s better that she doesn’t know. Madam Jiang is mild-mannered and dull-witted. She’ll be more at ease if she doesn’t know.”
But whether they can handle it after learning it from her is another matter entirely.
Granny Zeng said, “The Third Madam is lucky to have such a kind-hearted mother-in-law like you. If she had encountered a shrewd one, she would probably have been completely controlled by her for the rest of her life.”
Actually, Granny Zeng had another unpleasant thing to say that she didn’t say.
If it weren’t for the verbal agreement between Master Song and the Jiang family, the Third Madam would probably have been sent to be a concubine long ago, given her circumstances.
How could she possibly be worthy of being called Madam Song’s Third Wife?
In the year or so since she entered the household, judging from the Third Madam’s timid nature, she is indeed much the same as what Xie Shi sent people to investigate back then.
The third wife’s mother never properly raised her.
A person’s nature is half innate and half nurtured by their parents and elders in their childhood.
When Rong Shu was a child, Master Jiang was the magistrate of Zhao County.
At that time, Rong Shu was clearly a daughter of an official, but for no reason, she was raised to be so incapable of taking responsibility.
Madam Jiang was quite formidable in her youth, as both Madam Xie and Granny Zeng had witnessed.
Therefore, it is not hard to guess that Madam Jiang did it on purpose.
They didn’t know the reasons, but there are people in this world who don’t love their children.
At this moment, only the two of them, mistress and servant, were in the room.
Xie, with her fiery and impulsive nature, was now willing to exchange a few familiar words with Granny Zeng.
“When she brought that half-piece of jade to our door, my husband and I were really troubled. Yan Qing had just passed the imperial examination, and his future prospects were much brighter. There was no need to rush into a decision…”
In fact, Master Song had long forgotten about the marriage that had been arranged years ago.
It was only when Rong Shu brought the token that she remembered.
Master Song did not immediately agree, but instead asked Madam Xie to settle Rong Shu first, while they sent people to Zhao County to investigate.
The letter I received stated that Jiang Lin, the patriarch of the Jiang family, passed away three years ago from a serious illness, leaving behind four orphans and a widow to depend on each other for survival.
During his years as magistrate of Zhao County, Jiang Lin was honest and upright, and was deeply loved by the people.
However, as a result, the Jiang family’s wealth was not substantial.
After Jiang Lin’s death, Madam Jiang soon fell ill, which drained half of the family’s savings.
At that time, Jiang Rongshu had just come of age, and her two younger siblings were only twelve and ten years old, respectively.
She held that family together for two years.
Later, when all else failed, I remembered this matter.
Although Rong Shu was very affectionate and filial, she was of good character.
But they had great confidence in Song Wenjing’s future, believing he could rise to the position of a high-ranking official.
Especially Master Song, whose career had been interrupted, so he placed all his hopes on Song Wenjing, who was most likely to achieve success in his career.
So at the time, they wanted to get rid of Rong Shu with money.
As Xie said this, a helpless smile appeared on her face: “Who would have thought that the third son, who seems to be a quiet and reserved person, would say that he couldn’t break his word and let people down, so he agreed to this matter.”
Later, Master Song thought about it and realized that scholars value their reputation. If Song Wenjing were to achieve great success in the future, and someone were to bring up this past incident, it would inevitably become a source of gossip.
After Rong Shu entered the household, Xie Shi observed her for a while and then called her to her side every day to serve her, teaching her how to stand up.
“…Anyone would think that Jiang is the least favorite of mine, but she is different from the others after all.”