binnovel Chapter 154 The Concubine of the Lin Family in Dream of the Red Chamber
Chapter 154 The Concubine of the Lin Family in Dream of the Red Chamber
After another imperial examination, Lin Junyu was assigned to work in the Ministry of Revenue, which was a good thing as she didn't have to go to the provinces.
After passing the imperial examination, Lin Jinyu also entered the Hanlin Academy. The two Lin brothers have now become role models for illegitimate sons in the capital.
However, in other households, the mistress usually suppresses her illegitimate sons severely. No household is like the Lin family!
When Jia Min goes out and socializes now, those from lower social classes only make sarcastic remarks about her being virtuous, while those from higher social classes directly confront her, almost saying, "Are you out of your mind?!"
Jia Min didn't argue with them. Everyone knows their own life. Didn't she know whether she was doing well or not? She, Jia Min, was just luckier and more virtuous than others, so what?
Liu Yuxi's son's success was due to Liu Yuxi's own planning while the old lady was alive. At most, she just didn't suppress her illegitimate son. She didn't know if her son would be able to pass the imperial examination and become an official, so she had to plan ahead for her grandson. No one else could be as reliable as her own uncle.
People always say that human will can conquer nature, but how many people can truly defy fate? If she only focuses on immediate interests, she might not even have a son in her lifetime.
The reason they said these things to her is because her husband is unhappy with her suppressing their illegitimate children, right? Unable to vent her anger on her own husband, she comes to her with these sour words? Pah!
On several occasions, Zheng Xueting and Jia Min went out for social events together and encountered such situations. After all, they were still young, and she herself probably couldn't accept that as the wife of the only legitimate son in the family, she was really treated like the third daughter-in-law in the family.
After a few times, she couldn't hold back her anger any longer and asked Jia Min, "Mother, aren't you angry at all when they talk about you like that?" Jia Min naturally knew what she was thinking, so she explained her thoughts and the situation in the mansion to her in detail.
Then he said to Zheng Xueting again, "You can say some things to me, but you must not show any disrespect to Aunt Liu in front of Congyu. Congyu and his sister grew up with Aunt Liu. Without Aunt Liu, there would be no Congyu today."
To be fair, if we switched places, would you, as Consort Liu, have devoted yourself to raising the legitimate son? Back then, looking at Congyu who seemed on the verge of dying at any moment, I felt like dying.
To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that Aunt Liu's status prevented her from being promoted to a secondary wife, and that having a secondary wife in the family would be detrimental to your father's official reputation, your father and I would have liked to promote Aunt Liu to a secondary wife.
Remember, Aunt Liu has been kind to our main branch of the family, and she is not the kind of person who would take advantage of others. Look at how our household treats Aunt Liu; when has she ever done anything out of line?
Her heart isn't in this backyard at all. I won't say more; you'll understand gradually. Just remember what I said.
Regardless of what Zheng Xueting thought in her heart, she still agreed verbally. If all else failed, she would simply pretend not to see or hear anything. She couldn't let these things affect her relationship with her husband. Since her husband valued Aunt Liu so much, she would treat her with respect. In any case, she didn't have much interaction with Aunt Liu in the mansion.
Liu Yuxi knew about the subtle conflicts between her and her mother-in-law, but she didn't take it to heart. Apart from not being able to go out often, her life was fine. As she got older, she would sometimes ask Jia Min to let her stay at her estate for a while.
If you don't provoke her, that's fine. If there are any benefits later, the three of you brothers can share them equally. But if you do provoke her, she holds a grudge. Don't blame her for not thinking of you when there are benefits to be had.
You know, she has a lot of recipes, and she hasn't even brought out those high-yield grains yet. Isn't she afraid that if her child is granted a title at a young age because of these things, he might become rich overnight and not be able to keep the family fortune?
Another reason is that the two children's official ranks are not high enough to attend the morning court session and cannot directly reach the emperor's ears. These matters either need to go through Lin Ruhai or someone else. It's definitely not acceptable to go through someone else while your father is still alive. If you go through Lin Ruhai, it's hard to say who will get the credit.
Anyway, this concerns future generations, so there's no rush. Junyu and Jinyu have been raised with the utmost care since childhood, so what if they are granted titles a little later? It won't have any impact.
Lin Junyu rose to the rank of third grade and was qualified to attend court. At this time, Lin Ruhai also retired, since father and son could not serve in the same court. Lin Ruhai then enjoyed family life at home.
At this time, Jin Yu was a fourth-rank official, but he was a local official not far from the capital. Cong Yu had just passed the imperial examination and was working in the Hanlin Academy, but he already had two sons.
Liu Yuxi then entrusted the smallpox vaccination project to Junyu. After conducting experiments on the estate and achieving results, Junyu reported these findings to the emperor during court.
The Qing emperors were terrified of smallpox. In the past, they used human variolation, which was risky. Now that cowpox was available and was basically safe, it was a blessing from heaven for the Qing Dynasty!
The Emperor was so pleased that the rewards were naturally bestowed. Lin Junyu was granted the title of Marquis of Anping and a mansion. In all the years since the founding of the dynasty, directly granting a marquisate was practically unheard of, which shows just how pleased the Emperor was.
Of the Lin family, Wang Jiawan was naturally the happiest. However, after so many years of getting along with Liu Yuxi, she knew the importance of not making a fuss. When her sisters-in-law congratulated her, she only said that Lin Junyu was lucky.
Liu Qingyu was mostly envious. She and Jinyu were in office, and when they heard the news, they only sent a letter and gifts back. Zheng Xueting was in the mansion, offering her congratulations verbally, but her expression still showed her resentment.
Over the years, everyone has gotten to know each other, but how to put it, they just can't get close to Zheng Xueting. Jia Min has mentioned this to Liu Yuxi in private conversations, and she regrets it a bit.
You can't say Zheng Xueting did anything wrong, but she has never been able to truly integrate into the Lin family. Her actions are completely in line with the behavior of the matriarch, which may be related to the education she received from childhood.
She simply couldn't accept the harmonious relationship between the wives and concubines in the Lin family. In her eyes, the legitimate son was the legitimate son, and the illegitimate son was the illegitimate son; they were born with a hierarchy. According to her thinking, if there was a legitimate son, the illegitimate son should be suppressed, and the legitimate son should be the most honored in the family.
Although over the years, the more she learned about the Lin family and the longer she lived with them, the more she could accept their current situation, she still harbored resentment that her husband, due to health reasons, was not as successful as his two illegitimate sons.
They were all people who spent every day together, and Zheng Xueting wasn't a difficult person to understand. Everyone had seen her usual behavior, but for the sake of family harmony, everyone pretended not to know, but they still couldn't feel close to her.
Haven't you noticed that Congyu hardly ever goes back to the backyard since having two sons? Her stated reason is illness and needing rest, but what's the real reason? Everyone knows. It's only because Junyu and Jinyu often comfort Congyu that their little family hasn't had any conflicts.