Chapter 79: Before Entering the Door, Already Gaining Face [Thank You for Reader Support

Guozi Alley

Jinghai Marquis Mansion

Since the old marquis was still alive, the Hu Yan family had not divided the household.

Those without illness or affliction all ate together at meals.

After the meal, the Hu Yan family’s daughters-in-law sat in the main hall chatting with the old lady.

The eldest son’s wife bore the surname Bao; she was from the Lady’s natal family, much like the situation with the Zhongqin Marquis House and the Yuan family (where the son married a girl from his mother’s kin).

“Only today, upon returning home, did I hear that Sister Pan went to the Xu family on Quyuanjie for tea—do you know if their tea is any good?” asked the eldest son’s wife, Lady Bao.

“Sister-in-law, it is indeed excellent,” replied Lady Pan with a smile.

“Oh? Sister, I heard the Xu family’s Sun Da Niangzi’s natal family were merely low-ranking military officers in the capital—how could they possibly have good tea?”

“You’d be better off taking Jiong Ge to our Ruyang Marquis Mansion in a few days to taste real famous tea.”

Lady Pan inwardly cursed, yet her face remained as warm as spring breeze:

“Sister-in-law, busy with household affairs, you may not know—the Xu family’s Sun Da Niangzi is very close friends with the two Da Niangzis of the Liang and Gu families; they all drank tea together yesterday and praised it endlessly.”

“Hah, the Gu family’s Bai Shi? I hear she’s from a lowly merchant family in Yangzhou,” Lady Bao said with a laugh.

The daughters-in-law of the other two branches frowned slightly as they listened to Lady Bao speak.

“Sister-in-law wasn’t home yesterday, so you wouldn’t know—I brought back a black jade watermelon, and Mother loved it dearly,” said Lady Pan.

Lady Bao, seeing Lady Pan didn’t take the bait, continued: “Watermelons like that are everywhere in Dongjing—what’s so special about it?”

“Da Lang’s wife, watch your tongue,” said Lady Bao, the marquis’s wife.

Lady Bao looked questioningly toward the old lady.

It was the fourth branch who reminded her: “Sister-in-law, that watermelon was bestowed by the Empress to the Xu family.”

“Hmph, whose family hasn’t received imperial gifts? You act like it’s so precious. The Xu marquis is merely a military regional commissioner in the Western Army—our Bao family commands one of the Upper Four Armies!”

Lady Pan smiled on the surface, thinking: You don’t know this watermelon was sent to me as a token to secure my entry into the Xu household.

But the military rank stunned her too—her future in-laws’ position truly couldn’t compare to the commander of the Tianwu Army, one of the Upper Four Armies.

“If you don’t know how to appreciate your own good tea, why go chasing after outsiders?

And that Xu family’s Sun Da Niangzi doesn’t even hold a noble title,

while our Bao family’s Da Niangzi holds the third-rank noble title of Shuo Ren.

Whether the tea is good or bad is obvious at a glance.”

The fifth branch’s daughter-in-law secretly rolled her eyes, thinking: Who says “we” with you?

“Fifth Lang ’s wife, your sister-in-law speaks crudely but wisely—when you have the chance, you might as well visit my humble natal home,” said the old lady.

Lady Pan rose quickly: “Yes, Mother-in-law. The Ruyang Marquis Mansion is currently thriving—how can you call it humble?”

Lady Bao of the first branch watched her younger sister-in-law bow her head, feeling deeply satisfied, her eyes gleaming with triumph and a mocking smile on her lips.

The Dengzhou business was originally meant to be taken over jointly by the Ruyang Marquis Mansion’s in-laws and the fifth son of the Hu Yan family—a fortune in gold and silver.

As the maternal family, taking a cut of the Hu Yan family’s profits—who could object?

But what happened?

This younger sister-in-law’s natal family cut it off entirely. Word had it the Pan family nearly drowned the Bao family’s in-laws at sea, scaring them straight back to Bianjing, and the business was swallowed whole by the fifth branch and the Pan family themselves.

Hmph!

“Then tomorrow, sister—”

Her words were cut off as Lady Pan’s personal maid hurried in, bowed to those present, then whispered urgently into Lady Pan’s ear.

“Oh? What secret can’t the rest of us Hu Yan daughters-in-law hear?”

Lady Pan waved her hand to stop the maid and said: “It’s fine—tell the elders.”

The maid bowed respectfully and said:

“Elders, just now the steward in the front courtyard reported that the palace has bestowed gifts upon the Yongyi Marquis Xu family.”

“In Bianjing, when has receiving imperial gifts ever been worth such fanfare?”

Lady Pan waited until Lady Bao finished, then said: “Continue.”

The steward’s maid: “The palace’s gift totaled ninety-nine palanquins.”

After speaking, the maid glanced at her mistress.

Lady Bao sneered:

“Oh? To save your mistress’s face, you’d dare fabricate any lie. Why didn’t the maids from other branches report this? Only yours from the fifth branch? Ninety-nine palanquins? You really dare.”

Before she finished speaking, several maids rushed into the main hall.

They whispered urgently to their respective mistresses.

The fourth branch’s daughter-in-law took out her handkerchief and covered her face—she couldn’t hold back anymore; she simply had to hide her face and savor the joy in silence.

The old lady of the Jinghai Marquis Mansion paused, then said:

“Da Lang’s wife, sit down. We must find someone to inquire about this.”

The old lady said “we,” but her gaze fixed on Lady Pan.

“Mother-in-law, I’ll send someone to ask,” said Lady Pan.

She waved to her personal maid in the hall: “Go, tell Jiong Ge to pay a visit to the Xu family.”

The maid stepped out to deliver her mistress’s order.

As she left the main hall, she passed a stewardess from the Bao family’s dowry entourage, who entered the hall and looked around, silently querying Lady Bao.

“Just say it—the room holds no outsiders.”

Hearing this, Lady Bao shot a disdainful look at the other three branches’ daughters-in-law.

“Old Lady, the Bao family has sent word: a new Xiang Du Zhi Hui Shi will join the Tianwu Army—we should cultivate ties with him.”

New appointments passed through the Zhou dynasty’s bureaucratic offices; the palace hadn’t ordered secrecy, so the news naturally spread.

Lady Bao, who understood military affairs slightly, asked:

“Left or right Xiang?”

“Replying to Old Lady, he holds both left and right Xiang.”

Upon hearing this, everyone in the main hall showed surprise.

The Tianwu Army was divided into left and right Xiang; each Xiang had three armies. The Bao family commanded one of the three armies in the right Xiang, overseeing two thousand five hundred imperial troops.

This incoming commander, holding both Xiang, oversaw six armies, thirty-three commands, totaling over sixteen thousand imperial troops.

“Good, we must certainly cultivate ties—who is he from? Do we know anyone familiar with him?”

“Replying to Old Lady, he is from the Yongyi Marquis Xu family—he earned merit in the west. That’s why the Bao family couldn’t find anyone they knew, and came to ask us.”

Lady Pan froze upon hearing this, then clenched her teeth, gripping her handkerchief tightly, struggling not to laugh out loud three times, her face flushed with triumph, barely holding back.

She also had to feign surprise, furrowing her brow—it was truly torturous.

The two Da Niangzis of the third and fourth branches exchanged glances, then both fixed their eyes on Lady Pan, struggling to contain herself.

The entire main hall of the Jinghai Marquis Mansion fell silent.

Lady Bao of the first branch of the Hu Yan family looked as if she’d been slapped twice—her face burned crimson.

Lady Bao, the old lady, also looked embarrassed.

The old lady, after all, was an old tree with rough bark—she cleared her throat and said:

“Fifth Lang ’s wife, I think the Xu family’s tea must be excellent—you should visit them often.”

“Yes, Mother-in-law.”

As Lady Pan finished speaking, another maid entered the main hall of the Jinghai Marquis Mansion, approaching the old lady, who, irritated, said:

“Just say it in front of the daughters-in-law—why always whispering? Who taught you this?”

“Yes, Old Lady. Just now, the front gate received official notice: the Xu family’s Sun Da Niangzi, for her excellent household management, has been elevated in noble rank—she is now a third-rank Shu Ren.”

Hearing this, Lady Pan looked at her sister-in-law, blinking innocently several times.

Lady Bao shut her eyes in pain, refusing to look at Lady Pan, and bowed low: “Mother-in-law, I’m unwell—I’ll take my leave.”

“Go, go.”

“I’m tired too. You daughters-in-law may go.”

“Yes.”

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(End of Chapter)