Golden Branch

At 05:00 AM, the maids in the east courtyard of the county government office's backyard got up.

"It's been a month. Will the new lady come to pay her respects to the Madam?"

"Hush! What new female monarch? Do you want to die? Forget about a maid from the third house who was caught by the female monarch because she talked about the new female monarch behind her back. She was beaten with thirty sticks. It was said that it was a military stick. She almost beat the maid to death!"

"...I, I just said it casually! Besides, we are from the Madam's courtyard--"

The lady-in-law is Cui Nujun's elder.

In aristocratic families, we dare not say that all the cats and dogs in the elders' yards are noble, but a daughter-in-law always has to look up to the people around her mother-in-law.

This is also a kind of filial piety.

A strange look flashed in the eyes of another maid: Filial piety?

Haha, Ms. Cui is not like the previous Ms. Jiang. Ms. Jiang married into the Wang family because she was a wealthy family.

Therefore, after Jiang Nujun entered the house, she was well-mannered, cautious, filial and gentle.

She had been married for seven years, and she had never been lazy in visiting him every morning and evening and serving him meals.

If the lady was in a bad mood, she would deliberately make Jiang Nujun kneel as punishment.

It is called "picking lucky beans" and people kneel for the whole afternoon.

However, these could not be considered abuse, so even though Wang Lin loved Jiang, it was difficult for him to plead for her.

Ms. Cui is not marrying down, but she has the confidence.

It has been a month since the wedding ceremony, and Lady Cui has not come to pay her respects to the lady at the prescribed "good morning" time, which is the end of the year.

Every day, it was usually after noon when Lady Dowager Dowager had breakfast with her daughters-in-law and granddaughters before Lady Cui arrived late.

Despite being so unruly, the lady didn't even frown, let alone scold or punish him.

The lady has never been a generous person, at least she is definitely not kind to her daughter-in-law.

However, she was particularly "indulgent" towards Cui.

It's not that the lady has changed her personality, nor is it that Cui is particularly favored by the lady, but that she has the capital!

Such an arrogant daughter-in-law treats her mother-in-law so well that she probably doesn't even know how to write the word "filial piety".

How could she care about the rules and treat the servants around her mother-in-law with favoritism?

"The lady is here!"

Just when the two maids, one was still lost in her thoughts and the other was trembling with fear, the voice of the maid sweeping the courtyard gate was heard.

Female monarch?

If it weren't for the painful lesson of the third maid, the servants of the Wang family would still hesitate when hearing the word "Nujun" - Nujun, is it Jiang Nujun or Xin Nujun?

However, the maids of the third house almost lost their lives because of "gossip", and no one in the Wang family dared to mention anything new or old, ginger or onion anymore.

The Wang family has only one female ruler, and that is the new bride Cui!

The two maids perked up at once, one holding a lantern and heading down the stairs, while the other stood at the door, waiting to lift the curtain.

Soon, seven or eight maids, escorting a woman wearing a bright red skirt embroidered with gold thread, walked into the yard.

"This servant greets the lady."

"Ok!"

Seeing that the maids in the lady's courtyard were also very respectful to her, a hint of pride flashed in Cui's bright eyes.

What clan, what rules, aren't they all just cheapskates?

Some people in the Wang family wanted to use her status as a second wife as an excuse and deliberately talked about her being the new queen.

Cui didn't waste any time and just took action.

As a result, after a beating with a military stick, everyone in the Wang family became obedient.

So, as long as you are confident and capable, you don’t need to engage in any conspiracies or intrigues like those women in the inner house.

As a result, Cui established prestige in the Wang family and gained a firm foothold.

But, it's not enough!

Cui touched her lower abdomen. Her menstrual period had not come yet, but it was always on time.

If she didn't come, then she might be pregnant.

No matter the baby is male or female, it is her baby.

If he is a son, he is naturally the eldest son of the Wang family.

But if it's a daughter... the status of the eldest daughter has already been taken by someone else, so the daughter can only be the second daughter.

Cui was unwilling to do so.

Her family background is higher than Jiang's, so why should her daughter be shorter than Jiang's?

Thinking of Jiang, a gloom flashed in Cui's eyes.

It has been a month since we got married, and Wang Lin has been very gentle and considerate to me.

Wang Lin's performance satisfied all of Cui's fantasies and requirements for her new husband.

But Cui is a woman, and in some aspects, she has keen intuition.

For example, Cui was able to find clues from the slightest trace of whether her husband had someone else in his heart.

It is said that Jiang was extremely beautiful.

It is said that Wang Lang fell in love with Jiang at first sight. He was so happy that he ignored the prejudice against her family background and insisted on marrying her.

It is said that Jiang had been married for seven years and had only given birth to a daughter. The lady-in-waiting was very dissatisfied and wanted to divorce her, but Wang Lin refused to comply.

In the end, the lady gave in and personally selected two fertile and fertile slaves for Wang Lin.

Although Wang Lin had illegitimate sons and daughters with the two maids, he never favored them.

Instead, he continued to love and pity Jiang as always.

It is said...

Cui was really not idle in the Wang family, constantly investigating and inquiring.

Ever since she established her power by holding the maidservants of the third house, the servants of the Wang family also followed suit and joined Cui.

Therefore, it was not difficult for Cui to obtain more and more confidential information.

Therefore, even though Jiang had left, Cui was still deeply jealous and resentful of her.

"Mrs. Jiang is gone, but what about the little bastard she gave birth to?"

Cui was already jealous of Jiang, and now that she was pregnant, she began to fight for the position of eldest daughter for her unborn daughter. With new and old grudges, Cui became even more intolerant of Wang Heng.

Cui pinched the handkerchief hard and suppressed the emotions in her heart.

She went up the steps, entered the main hall, walked around the screen, and came to the inner room where the lady slept.

The lady had already finished dressing and washing up with the help of her other two daughters-in-law.

Seeing Cui, the lady almost couldn't help but check the hourglass in the corner - was it the Yin hour or the Chen hour?

However, the lady is old and steady after all. She would not dare to remain calm even if Mount Tai collapses in front of her, but she would not lose control easily either.

She accepted Cui's gift indifferently and chatted with her for a while.

Cui was too lazy to talk nonsense. What she couldn't stand the most was the "hypocrisy" of the Wang family.

We're just talking about everyday things, is there any need to be vague and roundabout?

Just say what you want to say and get straight to the point. It’s simple and direct. How nice!

"Ajia (mother-in-law), my aunt, the wife of the Lou family, has come to Hedong."

"My cousin bought a farm in the east of the city, and my aunt and the women of the Lou family all live there."

"My aunt heard that I had married in Hedong, and the lotus flowers in Xinzhuangzi happened to be in bloom, so she invited me to come and see them."

Cui kept talking.

The Madam Tai wasn't used to Cui's way of speaking, but she quickly grasped the key point: "Have General Lou's family members all arrived in Hedong?"

Before, Lou Jin was just a garrison, and the military camp could be deployed at any time.

In today's chaotic world, if Hedong did not have troops stationed there, not to mention being besieged by rioters and bandits, it would be difficult to deal with even the local powerful families.

Wang Lin is the county magistrate, and he is determined to make political achievements.

The three consecutive years of drought were indeed a hardship for the people, but it was also an opportunity - many fields outside the city became ownerless.

Now that the famine is over, Wang Lin is reorganizing government affairs, and his first goal is to restore farming.

These "ownerless" fields are Wang Lin's bargaining chips.

He could issue a notice to inform the general public that as long as they went to "reclaim wasteland", everyone would be able to get a share of 15 acres.

You know, the fields outside the city, although called wasteland, were actually fertile fields before the drought.

With a little cultivation, each person can have fifteen acres of land. In a good year, one acre of land can be worth at least three or four strings of cash.

And all of these are given free of charge by the government.

The people will naturally be excited and actively reclaim and cultivate the land.

With fields and food, Hedong's economic foundation can be consolidated, there will be more new births, and a virtuous circle will be formed.

Only by doing so can Wang Lin sit more firmly in the position of county magistrate and show his superiors his outstanding achievements.

But land is a good thing. Wang Lin wants it, and so do the wealthy families in Hedong.

In fact, they had already taken action in the spring, secretly occupying those unowned wastelands.

If Wang Lin wanted to "open up wasteland" again, it would be equivalent to competing for food with these families.

The Wang family has its own troops, and so do those families.

Unless the Wang family can find external help.

The Cui family, oh no, it’s the Cui family’s in-laws, the Lou family, who are Wang Lin’s biggest helpers.

However, Lou Jin was a military general and did not get along well with civil officials like Wang Lin.

Both Madam Xie and Wang Lin wanted to use Cui to establish a relationship with the Lou family.

Before Mrs. Xie could find the time to speak, this "opportunity" came to her.

Mrs. Xie's stern face instantly broke into a smile: "Okay! Since Mrs. Cui has invited you, Ah Cui will just go..."

Mrs. Xie wanted to exchange a few pleasantries and add some personal suggestions, such as asking Cui to bring the women from the other two houses.

However, Cui, who liked to be simple and straightforward, interrupted Mrs. Xie and said, "This Cui family banquet is a family banquet. I want to take Ah Jiu with me!"

Mrs. Xie was stunned: "A-Ajiu?"

Wang Heng!

The daughter left behind by Jiang?

It was not that Cui disliked Ajiu. It had been a month since the marriage, and Cui met Ajiu when the bride and groom met the day after the wedding ceremony.

Throughout the whole process, Cui had a gloomy face and didn't even try to save face.

Ajiu is also a fool. All he does is eat. He doesn't worry at all about meeting an unloving stepmother.

In the following month, Cui seemed to have forgotten Ajiu and let Ajiu stay in the east wing and live with the lady.

Mrs. Xie thought that the matter was over. Ah Cui was unwilling to play the role of a loving mother, and Ah Jiu continued to eat.

The mother and daughter have achieved another kind of subtle "harmony".

Unexpectedly, just one month later, the illusion of harmony was broken.

blah blah blah!

Mrs. Xie was surprised, and Wang Heng, who was huddled in a corner, chewing a peach, was even more frightened.

When she heard Cui call her name, she instinctively shuddered, and then, Taozi fell to the ground...