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

"Why is the young lady asking about the temple?" Then she added, "I didn't expect the Marquis of Muqing's mansion to be so famous. Before even entering the capital, the hangers-on at this inn can already gossip about the mansion."

In Wang's mother's eyes, the girl was beautiful and intelligent. The only flaw was that her birth mother died early and she was born to a merchant.

It's not like the eldest daughter of the Shen family who married directly into the Marquis's mansion, and even her children were superior to others.

"My father had no love for anyone after my mother passed away; he devoted his whole heart to the family business."

He inherited the family business and received a larger share than the second wife. Over the years, he has managed it very well, and it's truly remarkable. Hua Sirong shared this with Wang's mother as if they were chatting casually.

She used to think that her family was only moderately wealthy, but her father passed away suddenly. Her capable manager contacted her privately, and she finally saw the assets her father had secretly hidden for her.

Seriously, that was terrifying.

"The eldest master is clever and good at business." Otherwise, the second master's family, even though they had separated, would still insist on coming to leech off him.

Even a tiny bit leaking from under the old man's fingernails would be enough for the entire second wife's family to eat for a year.

"I want to go to Baiyun Temple to light an everlasting lamp for my father and mother. After I go to the Marquis's mansion, it will not be so convenient for me to go out again."

After all, they are a prominent and wealthy family, incomparable to ordinary families. They have strict rules and regulations, and are afraid of making mistakes.

“You’re so kind, young lady. I’ll make the arrangements right away. But the caravan can’t wait. Luckily, we’re not far from the capital. We can just hire a security escort agency for a few dollars later.”

Although they hoped that the young lady would go to the Marquis's mansion to stay with her aunt as soon as possible, the affairs of the master and mistress were also very important.

“Alright, we’ll do as Mother says. But I need to ask Mother to mention to the caravan that I’m feeling quite unwell and need to rest here for a few days. Besides, it’s not appropriate for us to visit relatives while we’re sick.”

In addition, Mother gave the caravan manager a generous gift to thank him for his help along the way. "When we set off from Xishan, we only borrowed money as a favor, and did not give any extra money."

Now that we're practically under the emperor's nose, we don't need to worry about any bad people getting their hands on our money.

"When Mother Xie was in charge of the caravan, she could have revealed that the Marquis's family also had some properties in Huaqiao Town."

One should always be wary of others. She considered lying and saying that the Marquis's mansion had sent someone to pick her up, but she was afraid that finding someone outside at the last minute would backfire.

"I understand, young lady. I'll take care of it right away. Lock the door properly, and when I come back, I'll knock on the door. Then you can open it." After helping the young lady up, she went out.

Wang's mother was quick; when she returned, she led her younger brother to serve dinner.

As usual, I listened to the waiter's lively story for a while.

Perhaps because the strong woman had received some benefits earlier, the waiter became much more proactive. After setting out the dishes, he stood aside and talked about the interesting things he had heard.

When Chunyan returned, the waiter had finished speaking, received his reward, and happily withdrew.

After closing the door, the three of them, master and servant, began to eat.

When you're traveling, there aren't many rules. The three of them sat around the table and ate together.

Judging from Chunyan's eager expression, you could tell she had something to say.

Madam Wang couldn't stand Chunyan's unruly behavior. She thought that she would be going to the Marquis's mansion in the future, and how could she be allowed to behave like this?

"Chunni, you must not talk while eating or sleeping. You need to get rid of this habit of talking while eating."

Things are different now. We're going to the Marquis's mansion, where the rules are incredibly strict; a single word could cost you your life.

Over the years, Wang's mother felt that she had first served the mistress and then followed the young lady, and had also learned some lazy habits in the Hua family, losing many of the rules she used to follow. She was very annoyed.

Startled by Wang Mama's words, Chunyan burped. She had suffered a lot when she was young, but since coming to the Hua family, she had never gone hungry.

The master of the mansion was also amiable, not to mention the young ladies. They were pampered in their chambers all year round and never went out to do anything fancy, but they loved to watch these young girls act silly.

The strictest person in the household was actually Granny Wang, but she only punished them according to the rules when they did something wrong. Otherwise, she was always smiling.

"Mom, I understand." Chunyan swallowed the food in her mouth before standing up and bowing to the two of them.

Along the way, Wang's mother gave Chunyan many instructions and private teachings, but Chunyan was slow-witted and didn't really understand much of what she learned.

"Alright, Mother, Chunyan is still young. We'll take better care of her from now on." She went to the Marquis's mansion, but she was just a cousin from a poor family. How could she possibly steal the limelight from the people in that mansion?

Just keep a low profile. If Chunyan is a little unruly, so be it. From now on, she can stay in her own yard.

"Oh well, let's just go along with her, girl."

Madam Wang pulled Chunyan to sit down. She knew she had frightened Chunyan, but the Shen family was just a minor official's family of the sixth rank, and their inner quarters were already a mess of infighting. How much more so would a Marquis's mansion be?

Who would willingly leave their home and live under someone else's roof, feeling inferior, if they could live in their own home?

Wang's mother felt sorry for the little girl she had raised.

“Since we’re going to Baiyun Temple, let’s hold a few Buddhist rites for the master and mistress. Firstly, to show our daughter’s filial piety, and secondly, to take advantage of the time we’re eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist prayers at the temple to find out more about what’s going on in the capital. Also, I’ll tighten my grip on Chunyan’s skin.”

In truth, even the rules set by their own daughter might not be acceptable to the people of the Marquis's mansion. However, the social standing of a merchant family is vastly different from that of a Marquis's mansion, and such differences cannot be overcome.

“In the past, the young lady had the master to take care of her, and her mother only had to make sure she wasn’t hungry or cold.”

The plan was to find a son-in-law. The master had his eye on a few candidates and was secretly observing their character. Unfortunately, before he could even openly discuss the matter, things fell apart.

"But things are different now. There are many things that you didn't need to know before, but it's better for you to know them now."

"Chunyan, you silly girl, your mother said you should keep these things to yourself. If you can remember them, then remember them; if you can't, then be a mute bodyguard for the girl."

Chunyan readily agreed, which made Hua Sirong envious; it was truly wonderful to be carefree.

"The girl's maternal family, the Shen family, was an official family back then, but their official positions were not high. They needed money for their children's weddings."

The eldest daughter of the Shen family, now the Lady of the Marquis, was outstanding from a young age. In terms of appearance, character, and talent, she was no less than that of noble ladies.

She caught the eye of the then-Madam of the Muqing Marquis's Mansion, now the old lady, and asked someone to arrange a marriage for her eldest son.

The saying "A daughter marries into a high-ranking family, a daughter-in-law marries into a lower-ranking family" perfectly illustrates this principle. Therefore, the eldest daughter of the Shen family truly married into a higher social class.

"But the Shen family only became wealthy in your maternal grandfather's generation. He was a minor official of the sixth rank, and the family didn't have much permanent property. If they wanted to marry their daughter off in a grand way, they had to be more calculating."

Madam Shen, then, and now Old Madam Shen, set her sights on her several illegitimate daughters.

At that time, the girl's mother was the third in the Shen family. She was outstanding in appearance and the best-looking among the sisters, but she was not properly raised and could not compare to the dignified and elegant lady of the Marquis.

I vaguely remember someone in the manor saying that Old Madam Shen had planned to use this third daughter to pave the way for her own eldest son's future.

In a family like that, it's not necessarily a good thing for a concubine's daughter to be beautiful, especially since her birth mother died early. Would her biological father even remember that he had such a daughter in the backyard? Even if he did remember, it wouldn't necessarily be a good thing.

"Whose family is she to be sent to as a concubine?" Hua Sirong frowned. Although she had never met her mother, she could imagine how beautiful her mother must have been, based on her father's lingering affection for her biological mother over the past ten years.

Beautiful women, but without a good background, are mostly destined to be concubines.

Madam Wang shook her head. "I don't know. I only know that when the Hua family proposed marriage, they didn't decide whether it would be to the second or third daughter of the Shen family. But after the Marquis's son came to the Shen family to present the betrothal gifts, the third daughter was hastily married into the Hua family."

Before she could even return to her parents' home for the traditional wedding ceremony, the lady went with her husband to settle down in their ancestral home in the Western Hills.

"Putting everything else aside, although the marriage was rushed back then, the betrothal gifts that the Hua family sent to the Shen family were all of the finest quality. However, the lady brought very few with her, so it was only presentable on the surface."

When the wife was alive, her second wife's sisters-in-law often used this matter to tease her, saying that even officials' families were following the example of starving peasants and selling their daughters.

The wife secretly wiped away her tears, not daring to do so in front of the master, for fear of being looked down upon.