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

Jiang Yilian thought to herself, "I would like to take it, but there are two mountains in this family."

If I dare to take advantage of you, I'll be serving you a plate of stir-fried bamboo shoots with shredded pork in a little while!

As if she could read her mind, Hua Sirong smiled and took out a red envelope from her sleeve and handed it over.

"This is the first time your sister-in-law has met you, so just take it. No one will complain."

Jiang Yilian's eyes widened, and with a great deal of courage, she carefully took it, muttering with disbelief, "Really?"

You should know that when the kids in their alley had a new wife, they would only ever receive a red envelope containing two copper coins at most.

Hua Sirong's work truly stunned Jiang Yilian.

When she was tricked out of the house by Hua Sirong, she ran into Jiang Huaiji, who was returning from seeing off a guest.

Taking advantage of the moment when Jiang Huaiji closed the courtyard gate, Jiang Yilian quickly hid the hand wearing the gold bracelet behind her back.

But her brother, as if he had eyes of fire, knew exactly what she was hiding.

Jiang Yilian shook a rattle-drum, "No, it's nothing."

However, under Jiang Huaiji's gaze, he couldn't hold out for more than three seconds and immediately handed over the gold bracelet and red envelope.

Jiang Huaiji glanced at it, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes, then smiled and said, "Your sister-in-law gave it to you, so just keep it."

Just as Jiang Yilian was about to sing praises to her brother, she heard Jiang Huaiji say, "This is a one-time thing, and it will not be repeated."

Jiang Yilian nodded vigorously. This was the first time she had ever made it big; she had become the richest person in her group of girlfriends.

none of them!

Jiang Huaiji, who was about to leave, stopped again. "Your sister-in-law is new here, so please take care of her. You know this area well."

Jiang Yilian nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice.

At this point, she would be asked to serve her sister-in-law like a slave, and she wouldn't even blink.

My brother is out of the running, but I still have my mother to deal with.

When Jiang's mother saw what Jiang Yilian was holding, she surprisingly did not confiscate it. "The things your sister-in-law gave you are valuable. You should hide them well and keep them as part of your dowry."

When Jiang Yilian heard the word "marriage," she wasn't embarrassed at all. "Mother, don't worry, the things I hide, not even a mouse can find them except by me."

While amused, Jiang's mother also had a terrible headache. "You're supposed to be a young lady, can't you act like those young ladies from the main branch and behave like a proper young lady?"

Jiang Yilian had already run back into the house to hide her things, but a voice drifted back from afar, saying, "You didn't treat me like a princess either."

Jiang's mother's temples throbbed, but she was completely helpless with her little girl.

The youngest daughter was born after her husband's death. Although her husband had died and life was difficult, she never let her daughter suffer. She was pampered and spoiled from a young age.

Otherwise, Jiang Yilian wouldn't have grown up to be such a disrespectful person.

Jiang Huaiji appeared in the kitchen with a similarly helpless expression. Jiang's mother looked up and continued working without pausing, "What is the groom doing in the kitchen?"

Jiang Huaiji smiled and looked at his mother, "Son is hungry."

Jiang's mother chuckled and took out a bowl of noodles from the cupboard. "Eat up."

Seeing Jiang Huaiji eating with relish, Jiang's mother teased, "What's wrong? Aren't you going to the bridal chamber to eat with the bride?"

Jiang Huaiji quickly finished a bowl of noodles. "My wife and Chunyan are eating inside. I'm afraid they'll feel uncomfortable if I go over now."

Jiang's mother wanted to tease her son a bit, but then she saw Chunyan come in carrying a tray.

Madam Jiang quickly stepped forward to take it, saying, "Miss Chunyan, leave it here. I'll have Lian'er take care of it."

Chunyan's face was full of embarrassment. "Madam, please don't call me Miss, just call me Chunyan."

Furthermore, if you have any tasks, please just give them to me. There is absolutely no reason for you to order Miss Lian'er around.”

Seeing how sensible this chubby girl was, Jiang's mother was very satisfied. She said kindly, "You're still a child. How can we make you do whatever you want?"

There isn't much work to do at home, so we can divide it up among ourselves.

Also, please don't call us "Madam" or "Miss" anymore. Our family is just an ordinary family, we can't accept that title.

From now on, just call me Auntie, okay?

Chunyan nodded and was about to start washing the dishes.

Jiang's mother immediately snatched it away, saying, "Today is the first day, so Chunyan, you should go and serve your young lady first. You're not familiar with the kitchen yet, but once you get to know it, I won't fight you for it."

After Chunyan helped Hua Sirong wash up, she returned to the kitchen to find Jiang's mother, who didn't know where she would sleep that night.

The son-in-law's room is too small, so it's not suitable for Chunyan to sleep on the floor outside.

Chunyan insisted on sleeping on the floor in the kitchen, but Jiang's mother disagreed vehemently. "You'll sleep with me tonight. If you don't like sleeping with this old woman, then go sleep with Lian'er."

Chunyan couldn't refuse Jiang's mother, so she finally had to agree to share a room with her.

However, Granny Yan and Granny Wang taught her good manners, so even though Chunyan shared a room with Madam Jiang, she would never sleep on the same kang (heated brick bed) as Madam Jiang; she would sleep on the footstool of Madam Jiang's bed.

Jiang's mother was both relieved and helpless, thinking that they would probably need to build two more rooms for the family.

---

Inside the new house, Jiang Huaiji and Hua Sirong were drinking a nuptial cup of wine.

Hua Sirong was also getting married for the first time, and her palms were sweating with nervousness.

Jiang Huaiji took the two empty cups, put them back on the table, and returned with a small box in his hand.

Hua Sirong looked at the small box handed to her, her face full of doubt as she looked at Jiang Huaiji.

Jiang Huaiji, envious of Hua Sirong's gaze, smiled and said, "Here, all my assets will be under your control from now on."

Hua Sirong blushed, nodded gently, and accepted the gift. After hesitating for a moment, she opened it in front of Jiang Huaiji.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the Jiang family was a branch of the Jiang family in Beijing. It was said that they had already crossed five degrees of kinship and had long since become ordinary citizens living a difficult life.

However, Hua Sirong carefully checked the small box and found a deed for a two-room house, as well as silver notes of different denominations, totaling nearly two hundred taels, and loose silver coins totaling more than thirty taels.

Jiang Huaiji received Hua Sirong's surprised look and said with a smile, "I usually help the Second Prince and Uncle Jiang with some errands. If I do a good job, I can get more reward money."

Knowing Jiang Huaiji's financial situation, Hua Sirong pushed the small box back, saying, "My mother is in charge of the household, so my husband should hand over the money to her."

Looking at the increasingly shy Hua Sirong, Jiang Huaiji's heart was already beginning to stir. He took the small box and placed it on the bedside table, then casually lifted the bed curtains, which fell down.

“I naturally gave my mother some money for household expenses as well. This is for you, please keep it.”

"Today is our wedding night, my wife, please don't waste it..."

The red candles flickered until dawn.