The maid's road to success

When Wen Niang returned to the mansion, it was already afternoon. The mansion was very clean, but some small items were inevitably missing.

Wen Niang bought a lot on the way. When she returned home with bags, Chen Luoxi had already started painting in the study.

"Where did you go?"

Chen Luoxi heard Wen Niang coming back, walked out of the study, hugged her in his arms, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I went to Anyun's place. Have you been here for a long time?"

Chen Luoxi hummed in a depressed tone.

"I came here as soon as I received the order to discuss the style of your wedding dress."

Wen Niang broke free from his arms and looked at him.

"Isn't it a bit early to start looking at wedding dress styles now?"

Chen Luoxi took her hand and sat on the couch in the inner room.

"It's getting late. I saw a good date, which is the end of March. There is only one month left. I have found an embroiderer from Linglong Pavilion to make the wedding dress. I will start making it as soon as the style is selected. It will take six embroiderers more than 20 days, and we have to leave time for fittings and changes."

Wen Niang's eyes widened. She didn't expect that the wedding date would be chosen directly next month.

"Isn't it too early? If we rush like this, others will probably talk about it."

Chen Luoxi shook his head and comforted her.

"No, the old ancestor came to the palace and only said that the Queen Mother asked the monk to choose the day. I want to marry you as soon as possible, otherwise I will always be worried."

When Wen Niang saw that he had already made the arrangements, she no longer objected.

"I went to the emperor's private storehouse and picked out the pair of jade trees. I also asked the empress to give me a red gold ruyi. These two can be used as the first two sets of the dowry. Everyone in Kyoto will look up to them when they see them."

Wen Niang didn't even look at the reward sent from the palace that morning, and asked the nanny sent by the Duke of Huguo to keep it properly.

I didn’t expect that it was Chen Luoxi who prepared it so carefully.

"You are the one who makes all the arrangements. What should I do?"

Chen Luoxi took out a purple jade bracelet from his arms and put it on Wen Niang's hand.

"It is my greatest luck that you are willing to marry me."

Wen Niang looked at her wrist and felt uncomfortable. She had given too little to this marriage.

"But I feel like I'm taking advantage of you since you're the one doing it all."

Everyone already felt that this marriage was an act of marrying above their station, and even the dowry had to be taken care of by the husband's family, which would surely lead to gossip.

"Don't worry. The emperor has informed the ministers in the morning court that the marriage was granted because you have done a great favor to our Chen family. If it weren't for you, I would have turned into a handful of dirt long ago. You are worthy of our Chen family's reward with all their strength."

"Besides, these are the only two things I arranged without letting anyone know. Don't worry. Simian and your businesses are already considered a respectable dowry in Kyoto. Wen'en Pavilion is named after your brother, and the shop Hua Yesheng and I have cooperated with is also named after An Zizhong. These should all be your dowry."

Wen Niang shook her head and refused to accept it.

"No, I don't want them. They are not mine. They are the joint property between you and the Hua family."

Chen Luoxi interrupted her.

"But if you hadn't given me your eldest brother's identity, I would have had a hard time surviving. How could I open a shop as a criminal? Over the years, I have been using An Zizhong's identity to plan revenge. I should give him something back after the success. He has passed away a long time ago, and these should be yours."

Wen Niang lowered her head. She had just talked with An Yun for a long time and finally resolved one problem, but now another one has arisen.

"I know you don't want to accept it, but if you don't accept it, it won't be good for An Zizhong's things to suddenly be transferred to the Chen family's name. I thought you could use it to give out porridge and food and do charity. It would be a good thing. Just consider it as accumulating virtue for your uncle."

Wen Niang thought about this and nodded.

She felt guilty towards An Zizhong. Both An Zizhong and herself were unloved children in their families and were sold separately.

I was lucky enough. I was sold to someone as a maid, but at least I was alive and had a few good years.

However, An Zizhong was sold to a black coal mine, where he was forced to work day and night. He died miserably without even a cenotaph.

However, in order to protect the last spark of the Chen family, she had to go against human ethics and let Chen Luoxi take over An Zizhong's identity and live.

So that Chen Luoxi could walk in front of people, take the imperial examinations, and return to Kyoto with a formal identity.

An Zizhong cannot rest in peace in the underground. Now that everything has settled, we can use An Zizhong's name to do more good deeds, so that he can have a better life in the underworld.

"But how can I tell Anjia Village where my brother is?"

Chen Luoxi has already discussed it with his staff.

"An Zizhong will go to the border to meet the enemy. He will die there. I will ask for an official position for him. If there is no grave, at least his tablet can be placed in the ancestral temple, so that he will not die in silence."

Wen Niang felt sad when she thought that An Zizhong didn't even have a grave. Chen Luoxi's arrangement was very good. At least he would have a reason to be remembered by future generations and he would not become a wandering ghost.

"My uncle has no children, but he is a descendant of the An family after all. He has an official position, which is good for his reputation. Although the official position will not be passed on to his descendants in the future, if there is anyone in the family who is willing to be adopted by my uncle, you should take good care of him so that he will have someone to carry on his legacy. It will also be good for him to have someone to burn paper and incense for him during festivals."

Wen Niang still couldn't hold back her tears and they fell down.

Chen Luoxi even thought of all these. He was only thinking about himself. He had been running away for so long for things that had not happened yet.

"Thank you, thank you, I'm very happy."

Chen Luoxi walked up to her and wiped her tears.

"Stop crying. Your eyes are so swollen. An Yun must have cried a lot too."

Wen Niang buried her head in Chen Luoxi's chest embarrassedly.

She is lucky to be loved by so many people.

After Chen Luoxi left, Wen Niang began to think about how to add to her dowry.

She still had some banknotes in her hand, which she had used to buy a lot of property for Bihe and the others, and she had spent half of them. Now, she had land and shops, but she was lacking some miscellaneous items.

After the jewelry ancestor came back, he would reward her from time to time, and there was also the things Chen Luoxi had prepared over the years, so she had no shortage of them.

However, the custom of marrying off a daughter in Kyoto is that all the daily necessities for the bride must be prepared so that she can have some dignity in her husband's family.

She certainly could not compare with those girls from aristocratic families, but with the rewards bestowed by the Emperor and the Empress, her dowry went up several levels.

But at the same time, the new title bestowed upon Princess Hejia will attract a lot of attention.

What's more, her husband's family is the favorite of the emperor today. The more glorious Huaiyuan Hou was in the past, and the more tragically the people in the mansion died, the more attention they will receive now.

Wen Niang scribbled for a long time and then lay down on the table in discouragement. She thought that comfort and practicality were the most important things. She was marrying up and did not have the ability to prepare a generous dowry, nor was there any need to do so.

The next morning, Wen Niang went out to buy and wash clothes. She had no parents or brothers, and there were many people serving her at home, but she was not used to them after all.

I went to the cloth shop to buy cloth and silk, and picked out only five or six pieces of the best Huaguang brocade. I would then go back and make some clothes to honor my ancestors. I usually wore more cotton and silk clothes, so I just needed to prepare some clothes for meeting guests. There was no need to pretend to be rich at home.

As for furniture, I was lucky enough because a family had ordered a complete set of yellow pear and rosewood furniture. However, because the person who was getting married was transferred to another place, it was difficult to take these large items with them, so they had to order them locally.

This was a good deal for Wen Niang, as she bought it at a price 20% lower than usual.

I went to the money shop to exchange some newly struck gold and silver, and also ordered some silver peanuts as rewards.

She had almost spent all the money she had.

But at least the dowry of 68 loads was collected.

To Wen Niang's surprise, on the third day, an unexpected person came to add to her makeup.

"Ping'er has met the young lady."

Wen Niang was surprised when she saw the elegant young woman bowing in the flower hall.

He hurried over and pulled her up.

"You are no longer a member of Black Hawk. You are in charge of the internal affairs of the mansion. You don't have to do this."

Ping'er looked at Wen Niang with gratitude and let her pull her to sit next to her.

"Ping'er is able to live the life she has today thanks to the kindness of the young lady and the young master. Otherwise, she would have been sold to a low-class brothel long ago, and when she died, she would have been rolled up on a mat and thrown into a mass grave. How could she have lived the good life she has today?"

Wen Niang patted her hands to stop her from saying such things.

"You are capable of it yourself. We didn't do much."

Ping'er understood that Wen Niang was kind-hearted and that she was praising herself.

"If I hadn't learned those things in the Black Hawk training, I would have been quietly dealt with by those vicious women in the mansion. It was also because the young lady asked An Yun to help me get this plum fragrance all over my body that I won the favor of Duke Xu. It was also because the young lady helped me show my face in front of the Duke's wife. I couldn't do all this on my own."

Ping'er walked to the door and asked someone to bring the things in.

"The things here, those big boxes, were opened by the Duke because he knew that the young lady and I knew each other and wanted me to get closer to you. These two boxes are my private property and are a token of my own love."

Wen Niang looked at the five or six boxes in the hall, filled with gold and silver jewelry.

"Ping'er, this is too valuable. I can't accept it."

Ping'er pulled her to see what was inside and didn't let her refuse.

"Duke Xu now only has the title of Duke, but he has actually been useless in Kyoto for a long time. He wants to curry favor with the Duke of the Guardian's Mansion, but he is just worried that the Duke of Xu's Mansion's harsh treatment of Miss Luo Lan in the past will be targeted. In fact, the young master does not take them seriously at all."

"Just tell me to help Miss Loran vent her anger. They are cowardly and frightened. It's a good opportunity to get more things for the girl to make up."

Wen Niang had not spent much time with Ping'er before, so she didn't know that she was so mischievous.

"You, if you dislike Duke Xu's Mansion so much, why are you still staying there?"

Ping'er's hand stiffened for a moment when she picked up a jade bracelet.

"I was born in a very low family. I had no control over my life and death. Even the most ordinary things like getting married and having children were a luxury. If you hadn't rescued me from the broker in time, my end would have been miserable. I don't want to live this kind of life in which life and death are not controlled by others. If I am lucky enough to have a child, I don't want my child to be controlled by others at will."

"Duke Xu has clear preferences and is stubborn. I can control him. Following him, I can get what I want. He is my best choice."

Wen Niang looked at Ping'er's seemingly indifferent expression and her face was full of heartache.

Tie up her drooping hair.

"There will never be such a day again. You have done so much for us. We will protect you."

Ping'er smiled happily.

"I know, so I came to see you openly. You don't know that I carried so many things to see you, which made the women in the mansion angry. They scolded me for climbing up the social ladder and being shameful. Duke Xu was afraid that I would not come, so he scolded them all. I felt very happy."

Ping'er, who had a calm expression on her face but hatred in her eyes just now, was smiling brightly now. She really was not pretending in front of him.

"Miss, I know that as long as I work hard for the young master and control the Xuguo Mansion for him, I can rely on the young master as a backer, and I don't have to worry about the future."

Wen Niang pulled Ping'er to sit next to her. Looking at her now well-maintained delicate skin and her luxurious appearance, she could still see a hint of sadness in her heart.

"Wait a minute. The master and I will support you in the future, and you will be the legal wife. Otherwise, the child you give birth to will be a concubine's child after all, and you will not be able to make all the decisions."