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

"But if you're going to use someone else's son, won't you give their whole family a share of the benefits? If you keep everything under control, it will only make people envious and even jealous. It's better to loosen your grip and let some unimportant things slip through your fingers. That way, life will be smoother."

"The old lady is indeed farsighted. It's a pity that the sixth young master of the third branch is still young, and we can't tell yet," Xie Mama sighed. The third branch really became an extra because of the second branch.

"The prosperity of a noble family cannot be judged solely by its men. There are also many young ladies in the household. When the time comes to arrange marriages, we can cultivate this network of relationships, which will be a great help to the Marquis's family."

"Yes, which noble family doesn't have many in-laws? Our family's education of the young ladies has never been lacking."

“When a woman gets married, her maternal family is her support. But if her maternal family doesn’t really care about her, how can she be willing to support her maternal family after she has gained a foothold in her husband’s family and has benefits?”

"As the old saying goes, having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. With you, sir, in our manor, it would be a miracle if we didn't become wealthy and prosperous."

"You old fool, you're just trying to sweet-talk me. Children and grandchildren have their own lives to live, and this shameless old man can only do some trivial things."

---

“Miss, the eldest daughter of the family will be getting married in half a month. I’ve heard that many people are giving her dowry. Should we send some?” Wang Mama was very worried. Since the young lady entered the family, she had only met the eldest daughter two or three times. Once was at the old lady’s place, and the other two times were at the Marquis’s place.

Aside from exchanging greetings when we meet, not a single extra word is spoken.

"Send it, everyone else has already sent them. I live in the manor, it wouldn't be right not to." Hua Sirong was also speechless. This eldest daughter of the Marquis's manor seemed to have a problem with her presence. She didn't know when she had offended this young lady.

"But what should we give as a gift? We don't know what the other young ladies in the mansion give as gifts. If we knew, we could have a reference." Mama Wang continued to ramble on. "If we give something expensive, it will steal the limelight from the other young ladies. If we give something simple, it might make us a laughing stock."

"I don't have much of a relationship with that young lady, but because my aunt is her legal mother, we have a connection. Mother will go to the jewelry shop in a couple of days to pick out a pair of bracelets, which should cost about twenty or thirty taels of silver."

“The monthly allowance for the young ladies in your household is three taels for legitimate daughters and two taels for illegitimate daughters. The bracelet you bought with these twenty or thirty taels of silver is enough to give as a gift,” Wang Mama replied.

Chunyan, who was listening nearby, chimed in, "I have two maids I know well in the manor now. I heard from them that the fifth and eighth daughters of the third branch are planning to give me a handkerchief and a sachet that they embroidered themselves."

How much are handkerchiefs and sachets worth? The third branch of the family is short of money, so how can they send gold and silver jewelry to everyone as dowry? The first one was given by the third branch's matriarch, Madam Jin, who shed blood, so the younger ones naturally valued the sentiment even more.

Handkerchiefs, shoes, clothes, and purses are all useful items to bring to your husband's home.

"It's a small gift but a big sentiment. Chunyan, don't gossip when you go out. If you hear something outside, just come back and tell me and Mom quietly. You must not easily express your opinions or gossip outside, you know?" Hua Sirong gave timely advice.

"Understood, Miss." Chunyan had seen quite a bit these past few days. She now knew better than anyone that one shouldn't speak carelessly, lest one say something that could lead to disaster, and then even the young lady wouldn't be able to save them—that would be a sure death for her.

A few days later

“Miss, look, this is the jade bracelet I found when I left the manor. What do you think of it?” As soon as Wang Mama returned from outside, she went into the west wing to let her young mistress see her good taste.

Hua Sirong opened the box but didn't take the bracelet. "The quality looks alright, nothing special, nothing out of the ordinary. How much did it cost?"

"Twenty-five taels."

Hua Sirong nodded and closed the box.

"Please have Mama deliver the bracelet to the eldest daughter's courtyard tomorrow morning."

"Aren't you going to deliver it yourself, young lady?"

"I'm wearing mourning clothes, and it's her wedding day, so I won't go to avoid offending people." After all, the eldest daughter had never sent her an invitation; it was unclear whether she had forgotten or simply didn't welcome her—it was probably a combination of both.

"Okay, don't worry, girl, Mom will take it."

next day

After the eldest daughter finished her breakfast, she was counting the handkerchiefs that had been given to her by the household for her dowry when a maid came to report that a cousin from the household had sent someone to deliver gifts.

"What's she doing here so early in the morning? It's such bad luck." The young lady spoke much more casually, taking advantage of being in her own room, and showed none of the timidity she usually displayed in front of her elders.

Xiaoyue, the maid who served her closely, knew her mistress's temperament best and quickly advised, "After all, she is the madam's niece from her maternal family. Please, for the sake of the mistress, bear with it."

"Pah, Mother too, dragging all sorts of impoverished families into the manor. An orphan girl who's cursed her family, still wearing mourning clothes, I don't know what Grandmother was thinking, letting her live in a noble manor like this, isn't Grandmother afraid of getting herself..." The maid boldly covered the rest of her words.

Seeing that the young lady wouldn't say anything more, Xiaoyue quickly let go and knelt down firmly on the ground.

"Miss, I beg you, please don't say those words out loud. We all know what's going on. But the old lady and the madam have both agreed, so what can we do?" Xiaoyue was extremely worried. The eldest daughter seemed clever, but she was actually incredibly stupid.

Several of these maids who served her closely had managed to beg the lady to stay in the mansion through their family connections, but she was bought from outside and was all alone, so she was bound to go to her husband's house with her mistress.

Her life was closely tied to the girl's, and for her own sake, she had to advise the girl.

"How dare you, you brat! You've gone too far! How dare you cover my mouth? Who gave you the guts?" A slap landed on her face. Don't let her being born out of wedlock fool you; she is the eldest daughter of the Marquis.

Although she has a younger sister, she is several years younger than her. She can simply be a caring older sister who loves her younger sister, which will not affect her interests at all.

As for the girls from the other two branches of the family, regardless of whether they were legitimate or not, they couldn't compete with her father. Therefore, she always thought of herself as the number one girl in the Muqing Marquis's mansion.

She only restrained herself in front of the madam and the old lady; at other times, especially in her own courtyard, she acted very much like a young lady.

"I did something wrong, Miss, please punish me as you see fit. But the people that Miss sent are still waiting outside. Whether you see them or not is up to you to decide." Xiaoyue was slapped, but she didn't dare to show the slightest grievance.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened; you'll get used to it.

"You can go down now. Come back to serve me when your face is better. While you're at it, call the other maids to bring her in. I want to see what nice things she can bring me."