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

Back at Qingwu Courtyard, just as they were about to close the gate, Chunyan returned with lunch.

When the dishes were laid out in the dining room, Hua Sirong was overjoyed. She felt that her future in the Marquis's mansion looked promising.

After the meal, Wang's mother still had a lot to say to Hua Sirong.

"The young lady has finally gotten her revenge. I never expected that this Master Jiang is such a kind-hearted man. I wonder what his background is, that the Lady of the Marquis treats him with such courtesy."

Hua Sirong didn't want to become arrogant just because she suddenly had a so-called "Master Jiang" behind her. In this world, besides her parents who could endlessly tolerate her, who else could she truly rely on?

Mr. Jiang could be her support for a while, but not forever.

She was more inclined to seize this opportunity to secure a good place for herself and to raise a reliable child in the future.

“Mom, although Father left a message that I don’t have to observe mourning, as his daughter, I still have to observe the proper etiquette in my daily life.”

Mrs. Wang hesitated, "But if the young lady goes out to a banquet, it's not appropriate for her to dress too plainly, and there are no dietary restrictions either."

Hua Sirong: "That's what they say, but does that mean we can really just go out to banquets with the ladies in the mansion whenever we want?"

No way! It's fine if family members don't mind, but what if something happens to their house? Because I was there, wouldn't they throw all sorts of dirty and smelly things at me?

Once or twice, the Marquis's mansion or Master Jiang stepped in to resolve the issue for me. But if I encounter others using the pretext of being unlucky for my family to slander me again, am I supposed to ask someone to intervene every time?

I wanted to save this great opportunity for later. Good steel should be used where it's most needed to maximize its value.

"As for the background of that Uncle Jiang, if I'm not mistaken, he should be from the late Empress's maternal family."

Mama Wang exclaimed, "Oh dear! Wouldn't that mean they're royalty?!"

Hua Sirong nodded outwardly, but inwardly she did not quite agree. "The Emperor has countless concubines, but only those who gain favor with him and benefit their maternal families are considered imperial relatives."

If the Emperor deliberately ignores them, even those recognized as imperial relatives by ancestral laws and etiquette may not necessarily gain any real benefits. After all, the capital city is never short of people who fawn over the powerful and flatter the weak.

The news my mother brought back from outside said that the current emperor favors a widow from the common people. Even though the current empress and the emperor are an older man and a younger woman, she is still not favored.

The reason the Jiang family still holds a place in the capital is not only because of their own family's existing wealth and influence, but also because the current empress is out of favor, and her maternal family is also in a state of decline. Although the Jiang family has lost the protection of the late empress, she left behind the second prince.

As long as this second prince grows up healthy, marries, has children, and successfully establishes his own household and is granted the title of prince, then the future of the Jiang family won't be too bad.

Only then did Madam Wang understand, "The information collected by those two shopkeepers in the West Market is so useful? My daughter is practically a know-it-all in the capital."

"The Jiang family even produced an Empress Dowager! Doesn't that make him the prince's uncle? No wonder the Lady of the Marquis values ​​him so highly."

"Oh dear, now that our young lady has gained Master Jiang's favor, won't her life be much easier from now on? In no time at all, won't she also be related to the royal family?"

Oh, thank goodness! I was worried that my daughter wouldn't be able to find a husband, but now I don't have to worry about that anymore.

Oh, right, there's also the matter of money. That Master Jiang is truly a generous benefactor, almost as generous as our master.

I used to worry that the young lady wouldn't have enough money and would have a hard time making ends meet in the capital. But now, with the money given by Master Jiang and the dowry he promised, I have no more worries about her.”

Hua Sirong chuckled, "Is Mom planning to stop worrying about me from now on? I won't stand for that, I love it when Mom worries about me."

Old Mrs. Wang was very pleased, feeling that she was still of some use to her daughter.

She happily rummaged through several small boxes and said, "Girl, put your new silver notes in these boxes separately, and I'll secretly take them and hide them later."

When the patriarch was alive, he often said, "You can't keep all your money in one place. If someone with ill intentions takes it all, it will be hard to ever make a comeback."

Hua Sirong nodded in agreement, "Then let's count the money and save it separately."

Looking at the stack of silver notes, Mrs. Wang was overjoyed.

Hua Sirong looked at the silver notes in her hand with a troubled expression. "Uncle Jiang is indeed generous. This stack of silver notes is worth thirty thousand taels."

Madam Wang patted her chest, thinking that her daughter would have plenty of money in the future. "Master Jiang may look rough, but he is actually very meticulous. I noticed that many of the banknotes he gave the girl are small denominations, which will be very convenient for her daily use."

Hua Sirong didn't know how to repay Uncle Jiang's kindness. She actually had plenty of money, but others didn't know that.

Thirty thousand taels of silver notes were not an astronomical figure for Hua Sirong, who had been accustomed to gold and silver since childhood.

But she felt uneasy about receiving such a generous gift from a complete stranger she had just met.

"Put the banknotes away first. We still have money on hand, and the shop also generates monthly income. Let's keep this money for now."

Madam Wang didn't care whether the money needed to be used now; she only knew that having this money in hand would give her daughter confidence in living in the Marquis's mansion.

After hiding the box, Wang Mama chatted with Hua Sirong, saying, "Miss, you don't have to observe mourning for the master anymore. This matter has been officially recognized in the Marquis's mansion."

After the young lady went out and socialized a couple of times, her mother went to ask the Lady of the Marquis to find a suitable husband for her.

Hua Sirong quickly interjected, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Knowing the young lady was embarrassed, Madam Wang said, "There's no rush. If it weren't for the master wanting to find a husband for the young lady, she would have been engaged long ago. It's already too late to start looking now."

Besides, good young men aren't something you can just find easily; you have to spend time carefully selecting them.

After choosing a suitable bride, and going through the proper betrothal and marriage procedures, it would be at least next winter before the girl could actually leave in a bridal sedan chair. And that's assuming everything is done quickly and simply.

Hua Sirong was momentarily at a loss for words to refute.

"Although my father left instructions, I still feel that it would be a disservice to my father to arrange these things before the mourning period is over."

Mother Wang knew her daughter hadn't figured this out. "Why is my daughter so stubborn? Since ancient times, filial piety has been the most important virtue. Observing mourning for elders is filial piety, but isn't respecting the wishes of elders also filial piety?"

Are those who follow their elders' wishes and get married during the 100-day mourning period considered extremely unfilial?

"How are they supposed to live with this idea of ​​hers? Are they supposed to be drowned in spit?"