The daily life of a cold and aloof general raising his wife

As soon as Dai Yingying returned to the garden, the girls all gathered around her.

"Yingying, I didn't expect you to be so close to the princess. How did you meet her?"

"Yes, you're really amazing."

"The princess is so beautiful, and her voice is lovely too."

The girls all looked at Dai Yingying with admiration.

The social hierarchy is: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Merchants are the lowest class. The girls here all come from merchant families, and they usually suffer the contempt of those aristocratic families.

There had been rumors that Dai Yingying was getting close to people from General Xie's mansion. The Dai family had indeed been very prominent this year. I didn't expect her to have such a good relationship with the princess, that she would actually grace me with her presence at the banquet.

He Lianlian rolled her eyes dramatically.

"What's so great about an old maid who can't get married!"

"Miss He, you can't say that! Yingying is amazing; she's a role model for all women!"

The girls present, because their families were in business, were generally looked down upon by families with established social standing and would not be married off as wives. They also looked down on families of humble origins. Therefore, their marriage partners were either from families of equal social standing and also in business, or poor scholars from impoverished families who needed support, because they wanted to escape the identity of being in business.

For some girls, marriage is a path they have no choice but to take. Most of them are particularly good at business because of their family background. If they were men, they would certainly not be any worse than their fathers and brothers.

He Lianlian said coldly, "What role model? She's an old maid, no one wants her anymore. If the Dai family had a male heir, would she be able to stay in the Dai family so comfortably and manage the Dai family's businesses?"

Dai Yingying calmly said, "I, Dai Yingying, don't have any brothers, unlike your family where there are so many brothers that they fight every day."

After she finished speaking, the girls all laughed. The He family was the largest imperial merchant family, and the He family was powerful, but unfortunately, none of his sons were good at managing affairs, and the He family had declined significantly in recent years.

He Lianlian said angrily, "How dare you laugh at me! Believe me or not, I'll have my father cut off your family's supply of goods!"

After she finished speaking, the laughter noticeably decreased, since none of them wanted to provoke the He family.

Dai Yingying retorted, "If you want to act like a spoiled princess, go back to your home. Nobody here will tolerate you."

He Lianlian snorted coldly, "Who do you think wants to be in your dilapidated yard!"

After she finished speaking, she turned and left, along with several girls who were close to her.

“Yingying, we don’t need to worry about her. Tell us how you met the princess.”

Those who remained didn't care about He Lianlian; they just wanted to know how Dai Yingying knew Jiang Shuwan and if she could introduce them.

***

"My sister-in-law's daughter, Miss Dai, is very beautiful, but why isn't she married?"

She had done her homework before knowing she would be accompanying Jiang Shuwan to the banquet.

Jiang Shuwan smiled and said, "Perhaps her ambitions lie elsewhere."

Xie Youwei nodded as if she understood, "I heard from Bilian that Miss Dai is very good at business."

“Miss Dai is indeed different from other girls.”

Xie Youwei witnessed it today.

"By the way, I'm going to a banquet at the First Prince's residence in a few days. Would you like to go?" Jiang Shuwan asked her.

Xie Youwei replied without hesitation, "If my sister-in-law goes, I'll go too."

"Okay, you can come with me then."

Jiang Shuwan thought that taking Xie Youwei out would broaden her horizons and also because Xie Youwei had come of age and could start looking for a husband sooner.

After Xie Youwei escorted Jiang Shuwan back to her courtyard, she went back to her own. A short while later, Feiyun arrived with two embroiderers.

"Does Sister Feiyun have any instructions?" Xie Youwei asked, puzzled.

Feiyun smiled and said, "Madam asked me to bring the embroiderer to take your measurements."

Xie Youwei said, "I just had two sets of clothes made not long ago."

"Madam knows. She said that the young lady may go out more often in the future, and it's not good to always wear the same two outfits."

Upon hearing this, Xie Youwei stood up and asked the embroiderer to take her measurements.

The embroiderers worked quickly and finished in no time.

As they were about to leave, Xie Youwei gave them a sweet smile, "Thank you for your hard work, Sister Feiyun."

Feiyun smiled back, "It's all what this servant should do."

After saying this, she bowed and left with her entourage.

Bilian smiled and said, "Madam is so kind to you, young lady."

"Yes, my sister-in-law is really good to me, but I did a lot of terrible things before."

Every time I think back to what I did when I first arrived in Beijing, I feel incredibly stupid.

Bilian said, "Miss, you were still young at that time, and you were instigated by someone with ulterior motives. Madam will not blame you."

"Luckily, my sister-in-law is a good person. I don't know how she would have treated me if it were someone else." Xie Youwei was very grateful.

Bilian has been by Xie Youwei's side for three years. At first, Xie Youwei was very wary of her.

Bilian was trained by Jiang Shuwan. At first, she was very uneasy, wondering what would happen to such an unreasonable master in the future. Gradually, Xie Youwei came to her senses, and their relationship became better and better. She also truly regarded her as her master. In the future, they would share life and death.

Xie Youwei glanced at the wooden puppet on the desk and said, "I wonder if Xinyi is going to the First Prince's residence?"

"I heard from Sister Feiyun that it's the First Prince's birthday this time, so I think the Marquis of Xuanping's residence will probably be there."

Xie Youwei thought Bilian's words made sense.

**

The next day, Du Siyu brought her two beloved sons to the General's Mansion as guests.

Du Siyu is now voluptuous, and she looks quite charming in a peach-colored dress.

Behind her, besides Pearl, were two wet nurses holding two children.

Du Siyu started by saying, "Cousin, please don't find us annoying."

"How could this be? Come and let me see these two little ones."

After Jiang Shuwan finished speaking, she walked over to the two children and teased them.

They sat down, and Feiyun led the others to serve tea. Jiang Shuwan held one of the children in her arms.

Du Siyu's two children are now four months old.

Du Siyu glanced at Jiang Shuwan's slightly protruding belly and laughed, "I originally thought of bringing the two of them to share the joy with my cousin, but it seems that's not necessary now."

Du Siyu came because she ran into Madam Gu yesterday. Madam Gu asked her to take the two children to the Gu residence so that Jiang Shurou could absorb some of the pregnancy luck. Du Siyu naturally agreed with a smile, but in her heart she was thinking that if she wanted someone else to absorb the pregnancy luck, she might as well give it to her older cousin. That's why she is carrying two children today.

Jiang Shuwan smiled at her and said, "Thank you for still thinking of me."

Du Siyu said to the wet nurse beside her, "Go and hold the baby, don't let him kick my cousin."

Jiang Shuwan smiled and said, "It's okay, I'm not that fragile."

Du Siyu laughed and said, "These two are so heavy, I can't hold them for long."

Jiang Shuwan nodded in agreement, "They have indeed gained quite a bit of weight."

The two children were well cared for, so they grew up very quickly.