Re-embroidering life

Shui Qinghua returned to the Ji Mansion with a lot of harvest and a vision for the future. According to the custom, she first went to the main courtyard to pay her respects to Mrs. Ji, and then returned to the third room.

To be fair, Mrs. Ji was not a bad mother-in-law. She was the daughter of a wealthy family, and she had all the knowledge, cultivation, and pride that she should have. She kept her distance from the daughter-in-law she didn't like, and deliberately harassed her with disdain. When Shui Qinghua first got married, she really wanted to serve her mother-in-law, but she never got a good response from her. Later, she realized that no matter what she did, she was still far from the ideal lady of a well-read family, and she was always wronging her most outstanding son.

In this life, she will never again lower herself and beg for the old lady's mercy.

As soon as she stepped into the room, Shui Qinghua felt an unusual atmosphere.

Old Mrs. Ji sat at the head of the table, her usually kind face now full of seriousness. Her eldest sister-in-law, Tan, stood beside her, a hint of pride flashing in her eyes.

"I heard that Magistrate Huang of Jiangxia held a birthday banquet recently, and an embroidered screen with a picture of galloping horses stole the show." Old Mrs. Ji said slowly.

Qinghua remained silent and did not say a word.

"If I hadn't happened to see the 'Galloping Horses' painting in Zimo's study, I really wouldn't have thought that this 'Galloping Horses' painting was the other 'Galloping Horses' painting." The old lady's voice suddenly became stern, "Old Third Wife, you have been in the Ji family for seven years. Although you have little knowledge, you are honest and frugal. The Ji family has never treated you harshly. Why did you do this?"

Shui Qinghua lowered her head and said respectfully, "Mother, I don't understand what you mean."

The old lady looked at Qinghua with disappointment on her face. "You don't understand? No one but you can touch Zimo's "Running Horses", let alone embroider it for years."

"My wife just sold an embroidery painting. What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with that?!" the old lady shouted.

This was the first time in her past and present life that the old lady had lost her temper with Qinghua.

"The first mistake is that as a wife, you don't understand your husband. Do you know what this "Running Horse" means to him? Do you know his mind and ambition? He trusted you and gave you the painting, but you just sold his hard work to the market!"

Qinghua thought to herself, she knew, but she had just been reborn at that time and was full of resentment towards Ji Zimo. She sold the embroidered screen to raise money and also to vent her anger.

"The second mistake is that as the daughter-in-law of the Ji family, you have ruined the family's reputation. Needlework and embroidery are things for the boudoir, and only the closest people can have them. If you sell your embroidery and the news gets out, where will the reputation of the Ji family's women be?"

Old Lady Ji wanted to say the third mistake. Ji Zixuan was once the right-hand man of Prefect Huang, and Prefect Huang had something to do with the decline of the Ji family. Now the needlework of the Ji family women fell into his hands, and the embroidery was of his son's paintings. It was like a thorn in her throat. But the old lady couldn't say this.

Shui Qinghua argued, "My daughter-in-law has been doing embroidery since she was young to support her family. There are many women selling embroidery in the market. The Ji family is no longer the same as it used to be. How can you say that it has ruined the family's reputation?"

Old Madam Ji was so angry that her face turned purple: "You mean, the Ji family has treated you badly, Zimo is incompetent, and they have to rely on you to earn money to raise the children?" As for the decline of the Ji family, the old lady simply ignored it. She couldn't stand to hear this the most.

Shui Qinghua said: "My wife didn't mean that, but people have to adapt to the environment when they live. Since my wife has this ability, why can't she use it to make life better for her family?"

"You!" Old Mrs. Ji was speechless.

"Mother!" Ji Zimo's voice came, and he stepped into the hall. He glanced at his kneeling daughter-in-law and his angry mother, and gently persuaded the old lady: "Mother, don't be upset. Qinghua did nothing wrong. It's my incompetence and my inability to take good care of my wife and children that made Qinghua work so hard. Qinghua is also doing this for the third wife and for the children."

The old lady said angrily, "How can I blame you? Although the Ji family is not as good as before, the monthly allowance is enough for them to live on as long as they don't squander it. Why would they have to sell needlework?"

"Mother, please understand. When I came into the family, the monthly allowance was four taels of silver, which was barely enough for my husband and I. Later, we had three children, but the allowance never increased. I knew that our family was in financial difficulty, and I couldn't bear to worry about you, so I tried my best to save money. But I feel that our children are still growing up, and we really can't save money!" Qinghua's tears fell before she finished speaking. She didn't want to play the victim, but she felt really wronged after she said it.

The old lady's eyes shot straight at Tan Meixue like lightning: "It is a rule in our family that every young lady has a monthly allowance of two taels of silver. How come it hasn't increased in so many years? My eldest daughter-in-law, you are in charge of the household expenses, what do you say?"

Tan Meixue secretly thought it was not good. After the big fuss at the full moon banquet, she hated Shui Qinghua. She heard a few words about the galloping horse embroidered screen from her family. At that time, her eyes lit up and she thought she could use it to blame Shui Qinghua. Even if it turned out to have nothing to do with Shui Qinghua, she could just make up an excuse to get away. It was not difficult at all. So she reported it to the old lady. She didn't expect that the fire would burn herself.

Her figure was naturally more flexible than Shui Qinghua's. Without waiting for the old lady to speak, she knelt on the ground with a plop: "Daughter-in-law, I don't know. I pay the monthly allowance on time and in full. I don't understand why you say it's insufficient? I heard that my third brother's wife's room is still supporting her younger sister from her mother's family. Maybe it's because there are too many people that it's not enough?"

Shui Qinghua understood Tan Meixue's subtext, which meant that she had deducted the monthly allowance to subsidize her parents' home. She was so angry that she trembled all over. Just as she was about to refute, Ji Zimo spoke coldly: "Qinghua would not lie. If she said it was not enough, it was not enough. The third room has three children and so much housework. According to the rules, it should be equipped with at least two maids like the first room, but Qinghua has been doing it alone for so many years. I couldn't stand it, so I brought the fifth aunt from my father-in-law's house to help. The fifth aunt worked hard out of sisterhood, and the Ji family owed her."

Tan Meixue opened her eyes wide, she didn't expect Ji Zimo to join in. She knew this brother-in-law, he received the most rigorous education of scholars, read the books of sages, and never asked about the things in the backyard. From an ethical point of view, the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, and there is a difference between men and women. It would be very rude for the brother-in-law to directly confront the eldest sister-in-law in ordinary families, let alone the Ji family, which is a family of scholars.

She also knew Shui Qinghua very well. She was a very contradictory person. She was not loved by her parents since she was a child, so she developed a cowardly character of being submissive. At the same time, she had a very strong self-esteem and was afraid of being looked down upon. She would not ask for help easily. This kind of person was the easiest to handle. She had withheld the share of the third room for so many years. Shui Qinghua did not dare to break up with her, nor did she want to cause trouble to her mother-in-law and husband. So she could only treat herself badly and secretly do embroidery to make ends meet.

She never expected that these two people who were under her control had changed recently. Ji Zimo started to interfere in the affairs of the rear house. Shui Qinghua not only dared to make trouble with her at the full moon banquet, but now she even dared to complain to the old lady in person!

"Mother, I really don't know. It must be the servants around me who did something behind this. I will investigate it thoroughly and give an explanation to my sister-in-law!" Tan Meixue saw the situation clearly and changed direction immediately.

"Alright!" She had originally wanted to hold the embroidery issue to account, but she hadn't expected that it would also involve the eldest daughter-in-law mistreating the third wife. Old Madam Ji was exhausted physically and mentally, and didn't want to pursue the matter any further. She waved her hand and said, "My eldest daughter-in-law, you go and investigate the matter thoroughly. Those who deserve punishment should be punished, and make up for the share owed to the third wife over the years. Since you don't manage the household strictly, I will punish you by making you copy the Heart Sutra twenty times."

"Third daughter-in-law, you sold the needlework to the market without permission. Considering that you had your reasons and your health is not good, I will not do it again. Qin Xin will stay in the third room to help you."

Very good, deducting the points for seven years is just copying scriptures, the old lady is too partial! Shui Qinghua thought to himself.

The people in the hall left in a clean manner. The old lady fell weakly in the armchair and sighed. The eldest daughter-in-law was narrow-minded, short-sighted, and had ugly eating habits, and was not worthy of being the head wife of the Ji family; the third daughter-in-law was thrifty and kind, which was good, but she was sour and didn't know how to adapt. After being treated harshly for seven years without telling her husband, the couple had become so alienated!

It wasn't that she was deliberately partial to her eldest daughter-in-law. After all, Tan had given birth to three grandsons for the Ji family. She didn't care about her eldest son, but she had to consider her grandsons' face. If she took away Tan's power to run the family, and the third daughter-in-law couldn't take the responsibility, would she still be the old woman in charge? She could only smooth things over.