The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

Mrs. Wang: "That's different. You probably haven't seen anything like that. An old woman who even sleeps with her son and daughter-in-law."

Granny Yan exclaimed in disbelief, "They have no manners or sense of shame!"

Sons should avoid their mothers when they grow up, and daughters should avoid their fathers when they grow up.

Granny Yan, who had always valued rules above all else, couldn't understand how a son from a scholarly family could be so ignorant of such principles.

How can I condone my mother's behavior? It's utterly disgraceful.

Even if we take a step back and say the worst, do you still want to have a grandson?

Mrs. Wang said awkwardly, "I'm not saying that every family is like this, I'm just reminding you to keep your eyes open."

There are many things that you simply won't know will happen unless you experience them firsthand, and they'll just shock you with their absurdity.

Moreover, the pressure of raising children is immense for families with only one son. Even if they're impoverished and struggling to make ends meet, they might end up using their daughter-in-law's dowry to support concubines and illegitimate children.

Hua Sirong: "Scholars should at least have some sense of propriety. They should know their limits when it comes to directly taking a daughter-in-law's dowry."

Madam Wang gave Hua Sirong a meaningful look, and Hua Sirong instantly understood, thinking of her own aunt, Lady Hou.

Even wealthy families have daughters-in-law who help support their husbands' families; how much more so for poor families?

Besides, they are from a respectable, educated family. The only reason they would be interested in a down-on-her-luck merchant like her is because they covet the money she has.

If you hold onto your dowry and don't use it to help your husband's family, why should they lower themselves to marry you?

Mother Wang continued, "What I fear most is the kind of person who picks up the bowl to eat and then curses the cook when they put it down."

They spend your dowry and then turn around and beat and verbally abuse you; these heartless families are the most dangerous.

Hua Sirong patted her heart. "Mom said that it's impossible to get married in this world. Where can you find a perfect family?"

Mrs. Wang looked at her daughter with affection, "That's right. Men are afraid of choosing the wrong career, and women are afraid of marrying the wrong man. Since the girl doesn't have parents to oversee her, we can only be careful about her marriage."

Granny Yan's curiosity was piqued by Wang Mama, and she continued to ask, "What about that Scholar Chen? His family is quite well-off."

In their eyes, these second-marriage candidates were just there to make up the numbers, but Granny Yan was only asking out of pure curiosity.

Mother Wang then picked out the page from Chen the scholar's paper, saying, "His wife died three years ago, and he only started considering remarrying. Doesn't that sound like he's a man of deep affection and loyalty?"

Seeing the others nod, Wang's mother snorted, "Do you think he doesn't want to remarry? Either he hasn't found a suitable one, or he's encountered obstacles in remarrying."

The newborn baby girl was raised to the age of three. How could a scholar like him raise a child?

Don't be naive. This child either has a loyal servant left by his deceased wife or a powerful maternal family.

Now, three years have passed, and after a tug-of-war between the two sides, a result has finally been reached.

After the new bride entered the household, she was immediately promoted to stepmother, becoming inferior to her predecessor in every way, and she also had to deal with the confidante who had stayed behind.

It's possible that one of the maids even became this scholar Chen's capable wife within those three years.

However, due to her status, she could only be a concubine or a mistress.

But when a new bride enters the household, she has to compete with an old woman or maid for the power to manage the household, which sounds beneath her dignity.

Even if we assume that this Mr. Chen was truly a man of deep affection and loyalty, did the shadow of his first wife still linger in his heart?

A new bride, once married into the family, will live her entire life in the shadow of a dead man. Even if she excels in everything, she won't necessarily be praised; if she falls short in any one area, both the new and the old will be dragged out and compared.

Hua Sirong: "Mom, I'm not the kind of person who would stop someone from taking a concubine. Even if he already has someone else to keep him warm, I don't mind."

Besides, being loyal and righteous is always better than being ungrateful.

It's legal and reasonable for a man to have three wives and four concubines. But what can a woman who can't even leave the house stop?

Mrs. Wang knew that her daughter was only putting herself through this because she was an orphan and felt she had no one to rely on, and she was extremely saddened by this.

"But you can't find someone who still has a white moonlight or cinnabar mole in their heart."

Granny Yan took the papers and listened to Wang Mama's in-depth analysis. Now, when she looked at the biographical information, she felt uneasy.

Granny Yan suggested, "Why don't we spend some money privately and have someone thoroughly investigate the backgrounds of these families? If what Granny Wang said is true, we can just lay it out with Madam Hou directly."

"If one of these is good, would you like to consider it more carefully, young lady?"

Hua Sirong nodded, "That's exactly what I was thinking too. As Aunt Wang said, but we can't just deny everything to my aunt because of all those speculations."

If we're going to refuse the families that my aunt has carefully selected, we need to provide evidence.

By the way, especially investigate this Scholar Chen!

However, Hua Sirong had a premonition that the people they sent would likely not find anything. After all, if the Lady Hou had any obvious flaws, her name certainly wouldn't have ended up on that piece of paper.

Madam Wang's hand trembled as she tidied the papers. "Scholar Chen? Miss, do you perhaps have a high opinion of this Scholar Chen?"

Mrs. Wang always thought this was just a figurehead, but little did she know that her daughter valued this man more.

She couldn't help but wonder if she had said something that might have caused her daughter to misunderstand.

Hua Sirong explained, "Although this Scholar Chen has been married, I took a closer look and found that his family is a large clan in the capital, with several members holding official positions. Although their official ranks are not high, they are still different from ordinary people's families."

Madam Wang asked in confusion, "Does the young lady want to marry into an official's family? That's not what the young lady said before."

Hua Sirong gently shook her head, "My face is rather conspicuous. If I marry into an ordinary family, I'm afraid it will bring trouble. Although I have the Marquis's mansion as my backing, I still want to make more plans."

This Chen family, though divided, still live together; the clan members live side-by-side. I feel that marrying into their family would be safer.

Looking at Hua Sirong's face, Wang's mother thought of her former master and recalled his life story, swallowing back all the words she wanted to say.

Hua Sirong, not wanting them to worry, smiled and reassured them, "The plum blossom viewing banquet at the Jiang residence is the day after tomorrow, so there's no rush. We can discuss how to report back to Auntie after the banquet, shall we?"

Mrs. Wang breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. It'll be more reassuring to check things out again in the next couple of days."

The following day, a plum blossom appreciation banquet was held at the Chiang Kai-shek residence.

All the prominent figures in the capital received the invitation.

The people of the Marquis's mansion were also dressed in their finest attire. It turned out that Tiao Tiao was pregnant, and although she traveled by carriage, she dared not be too unrestrained during the first few months.

He could only stay at the Marquis's residence, watching as a group of younger sisters, dressed like butterflies that had strayed into winter, set off.

The sixth young lady was alone, but in order to show that she was not idle, she sent a message back two days earlier that the eleventh princess of the palace wanted her to stay in the palace to accompany the emperor for two days.