If not abolished

"My dear girl, it's already noon, why are you still sleeping? Madam has exempted you from paying respects. You usually get up much later than the other girls, and these days you haven't gotten up yet until noon. The other girls have something to say." The wet nurse came to Hu Shanxiang's bed and said.

"My mother didn't say anything to me. I was in my own yard. Why did she bother me with what others said? She was so nosy. I don't think we live by the sea." Hu Shanxiang said, covering her ears with a pillow and rolling over.

"Miss, why do you have to get up at this hour? Madam asked you to accompany the second young lady to look at the dowry list yesterday." The nurse could only pull Hu Shanxiang out from under the quilt. She asked her to sit up and asked the maids to come in and serve her. Hu Shanxiang was like a puppet at this time.

After sitting down, Hu Shanxiang saw her blurry face in the bronze mirror. Unconsciously, she had been here for almost two years. Yes, she was not Hu Shanxiang, the third daughter of the Hu family. Two years ago, Hu Shanxiang fell seriously ill. While she was in a coma, she, who had died suddenly while reading a novel in her previous life, traveled through time and space into her body.

When I woke up, I found myself in the year 1407, the fifth year of Yongle. I was in the body of Hu Shanxiang, the third daughter of Hu Rong, a captain of the Imperial Guard. The girl in the bronze mirror looked a bit like me in modern times. Speaking of which, my surname was also Hu. Maybe I was really related to the Empress Dowager of Emperor Xuan of the Ming Dynasty more than 300 years ago?

At first, I was glad that I was at least dressed like a lady from an official family. But afterwards, I couldn't help but think of Hu Shanxiang's experience and ending. She would become the Crown Prince's Consort, the Crown Princess, and the Queen, but was later deposed for no reason and was never favored by her husband throughout her life. It seemed that apart from her wealthy life, everything else about her was a bit miserable.

But it was too early to think about this now. There were still eight years until the fifteenth year of Yongle. Now she just needed to take care of her health. After all, Hu Shanxiang had always been criticized for her poor health, which was also a major reason for her later dethronement. If she had no way to change Hu Shanxiang's fate of marrying into the palace eight years later, then privately, it would be best if she could avoid being dethroned.

"Madam sent someone to ask if the third young lady is okay?" asked the maid outside.

"The third young lady will be here in a while." The wet nurse said to the outside.

"I haven't eaten yet?" Hu Shanxiang said coquettishly.

"Have some soup and some snacks prepared for you, young lady, please have some before you go back."

By the time Hu Shanxiang arrived at the main courtyard, it was already half an hour later.

"Is it hot? This is the season of summer heat." The eldest wife asked hurriedly when she saw Hu Shanxiang enter the house.

"It's okay. Someone is holding an umbrella for me. I just felt a little unwell when I got up this morning, but I feel fine after a walk." After Hu Shanxiang came in and saw Aunt Liu and her second sister were there, she said this.

The eldest wife knew the inside story, so she helped her out: "If you really feel uncomfortable, just let someone tell you, it's okay if you don't come."

"My daughter was curious too, so she came to take a look."

"If you're curious, let your second sister go and take a look. Your aunt and I will go to grandmother's place. Come over when you've seen enough."

"it is good."

Hu Shanxiang and the other person went out.

When she arrived at her second sister's yard, Hu Shanxiang was shocked to see the things all over the yard. She had only seen the "Ten Miles of Red Makeup" on TV and in books before. Now she saw it with her own eyes and realized that there were really a lot of them.

"Third sister, you must be tired from walking. Go inside and sit for a while," said Hu Shanji.

"Okay, second sister, are you used to living here?" Hu Shanxiang tried to find a topic.

"It's a good place to stay. My third sister hasn't been to my yard yet, right? I'll take her around later."

"it is good."

In the past, except for Hu Shanxiang who had an independent courtyard and small building, the other sisters were squeezed into one courtyard with their aunt. Because Hu Shanji was going to get married the next year, the eldest wife asked someone to clean up another courtyard for her to prepare for her wedding.

As soon as they had their tea, the maid brought them the dowry list. There were seven or eight lists, one by one, and the deeds and shops were put in another box. The dowry list basically prepared everything a girl would need for her whole life, from jewelry, makeup boxes and handkerchiefs to furniture, chairs and cabinets. This was also to prevent her husband's family from looking down on her. Every stitch and thread a girl used was her own. Even if the couple was not harmonious, she didn't have to live a hard life. She had her own family background and didn't have to rely on others for support.

"Mother gave me a lot, but I don't think it's necessary. There aren't many maids and servants in the Chen family, and I can't take these away from my yard. Three or five pieces of dowry will be enough."

"How can you say that? The dowry must be sufficient. Besides, it doesn't have to be all from my mother. My grandmother must have added a lot. It's not much. If my sister has a daughter in the future, these will also be left to my little niece. However, our family has never married off a daughter, so we don't know how much it is. It's always better to prepare more."

"There will be more sisters getting married in the future."

"We sisters are all alike."

"If the Chen family doesn't have that many servants, it would be difficult for Sister to bring so many people with them. It would bring shame to their family. But you must bring a few close friends with you, and also a nanny, so that there is someone to follow the rules for Sister."

"I think so too."

"Sister, do you know about these shops? Have you ever visited them?" Hu Shanxiang asked.

"Starting last year, my mother asked me to take care of some of them. Some of them I had already managed before, and some of them were just given to me by my mother, so I don’t know them very well." Hu Shanji said truthfully.

"The shops that my mother gave to my sister are also easy to manage. If you want to know, you can ask someone to bring the account books to you. It's not convenient for my sister to go out now, so it's okay to ask someone to bring it to her."

"This is a good idea, sister. You will definitely be a good match for the housekeeper in the future. I wonder what kind of husband my father and mother will choose for you in the future."

"Marriage is a big deal. It's decided by the parents and the matchmaker. We just have to do what our parents say. Parents love their children and plan for them. Our parents have planned for every one of us."

"Yes, my sister has been told that she is blessed since she was young, so she will never have to worry."

"I haven't thought about that."

"Sister, see if there's anything you like and ask someone to get it for you."

"Sister, you are joking. This is your dowry. How can I take it?"

"Sister, I've almost finished looking at the dowry list, so I'll go to grandma first." Hu Shanxiang said and walked outside.

"What the girl said just now was a bit inappropriate. It would not be good if it got to the lady's ears." After Hu Shanxiang left, the nanny beside Hu Shanji said.

"Third sister won't tell you. Although she is young, she is very thoughtful. From childhood to adulthood, everyone said that she was blessed. Fortunately, she was in poor health and had been sick for many years. But in the past two years, her health has improved a lot. Everyone has always known that the eldest daughter of the Hu family is a female official, and the third daughter is lucky. Because of this, she has had an independent courtyard since she was a child. I was sandwiched between the two of them and was unknown."

"Miss, you're thinking the wrong way. Madam treats all girls the same. When you get married, you'll still have to rely on your mother's family." The nanny advised.

"If my future husband passes the imperial examination, he won't have to rely on them anymore."

"girl……"

After Hu Shanxiang walked out of Hu Shanji's yard, she was a little angry. Although the eldest wife was not her mother, she had to say that her stepmother was extremely good to her children. She treated even the illegitimate children equally and never blamed anyone. Hu Shanji had just said all kinds of bad things about the eldest wife. After hearing such words, she couldn't help but feel angry because she didn't want to embarrass her second sister in public.

"Girl, slow down. If you walk so fast, you will get a heat stroke and it will be ugly." The girl holding an umbrella beside her said a little breathlessly as she watched Hu Shanxiang's pace getting faster and faster.

After hearing this, Hu Shanxiang slowed down her pace.

"Don't let mother hear what my second sister said just now, it will cause trouble." Hu Shanxiang said to the people around her.

"Yes, but what the second young lady just said was really unpleasant to hear."

"How come the second sister is also the second girl in this family? Is that what you said?"

"Yes, I know I was wrong."

Hu Shanxiang often heard people say that when her father was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown, he passed Doumen Bridge on the way. At that time, her mother was pregnant with her. The night she stayed in the official residence there, she dreamed of a god wearing a crown and feather clothes, who said to her mother that if she could find her in this place with lush vegetation, her child would have great abilities. A day later, she was born. After she was born, everyone who saw her said that she was invaluable. Gradually, her father also felt that he would be very lucky in the future, so he had his own independent courtyard since he was a child, but was envied by his sisters.

Others don’t know, and Hu Shanxiang didn’t know either in the past, but I know now what this so-called blessing is. It is probably the blessing of becoming a queen in the future. If possible, I really want to say, do you want this blessing?

When she reached the gate of her grandmother's yard, Hu Shanxiang stopped, took a deep breath, and walked in with a smile.

"Grandma, my son is here to see you."

"Here comes your little monkey."

"Grandma, you haven't seen me for a few days. Are you missing me? I see that you have lost weight, so you must be thinking about me." Hu Shanxiang said as she sat next to Grandma Hu.

"Look at her, she really knows how to flatter herself. You see, everyone wants to lose weight in the summer, but they just eat less. I don't miss you."

"Grandma, are you embarrassed to say you miss me?"

"Yes, yes, grandma misses us."

"I heard from your mother that you should go and take a look at your second sister's dowry list."

"Well, there were too many things, so I just took a quick look."

"That's not a lot. As the saying goes, ten miles of red makeup, no amount is too much."

"Yes, but there are many sisters in my family, and I'm afraid that my younger sisters will have to worry about not having so many in the future to give to our older sisters."

"What are you talking about? It's the same for everyone. It's just that you and Xiaoqi will have more in the future. That's also your mother's own dowry. Grandmother, what we have prepared for each of you sisters is the same."

"I don't care about this."

"Your second sister said so."

"No, my sister even said that mother gave her a lot of things and she was very grateful."

The old lady didn't ask any more questions, but she was indeed thinking a lot in her mind. Later, she warned a few concubines, but that's a story for later.