The old affairs of the 78th King's Mansion

  As the wedding day approaches, Fang Fu's house is like an enemy's lair. Mei is probably suffering from pre-marital jitters, and her previous confidence has turned into nervousness and sharpness as the wedding day draws near.

  It wasn't long before, at dusk, Mei returned from outside and rushed to Ruqing's residence, scolding her harshly, "I heard the doorman say that the Chen family came looking for you again, and you actually went out to meet them? You really are muddle-headed. Such a coarse and unrefined family, how can you even look at them? Don't call me sister anymore, with a useless younger sister like you, I'll be unable to hold my head up in my husband's household."

  She smiled and looked at Rumei with a playful expression, saying: "Third sister? Was it smooth going to the temple to burn incense?"

  Ru Mei let out a sigh, plopped herself down, grabbed the tea brought by Yuqin and took a big gulp, then suddenly said in a rough tone: "That... I've heard that my future mother-in-law is a formidable figure."

  As if suddenly realizing something, she asked: "Sister, what makes you say this?"

  Mei bit her lip: "There were several incense guests in the temple, and they chatted about me. They said that Yang's old lady was always arrogant and had a utilitarian eye. Her eldest daughter-in-law was the third daughter of the He family, with a noble status, so she didn't dare to underestimate her. But I'm in trouble, the Fang family is not as good as it used to be. If this person is really like that, then if I marry into their family, won't I be looked down upon?"

  As if it was a good half-day without words, from ancient times to the present, rich people have always looked down on those who don't have money. People of high status have a sense of superiority when facing those who are not as good as themselves. Yang's old madam had seen her a few times and was a dignified, steady but also severe elderly woman. For ordinary people, she was somewhat lacking in warmth, but as the mistress of the marquis' manor and a first-rank lady, such coldness and severity were also reasonable. Of course, being the daughter-in-law of such a mother-in-law was indeed somewhat stressful.

  Like Mei, this girl, usually so brave and fearless, unexpectedly became afraid this time, probably due to the so-called pre-marriage phobia.

  Ru Mei also bit her lip and said: "I heard that the rules of Qingchang Houfu are very strict. As a daughter-in-law, every day at dawn, you have to get up and pay respects to your mother-in-law, and then attend to her in front of her. Every morning and evening, without fail, you also have to serve your parents-in-law meals, and only after they've finished eating can you take care of yourself..."

  As soon as a girl gets married, she becomes inferior. Not only does she have to serve her parents-in-law, but also attend to her younger brothers- and sisters-in-law. Moreover, she has to take care of her husband, give birth to children, manage household chores, be wise and broad-minded, urge her husband to make progress, and also visit relatives and friends to help her husband and his family build useful connections.

  Here is the translation:

  That's all the things that Hua Niang did as a good daughter-in-law when she was young. At that time, her four sisters were also tongue-tied for a while, and until now, they don't dare to guess how much of the way of being a daughter-in-law the other sisters have learned. She only whispered to Ru Mei: "Elder sister married into the Pingyang Hou Mansion, it was also like this." Ru Zhen has been married to the Zhong family for ten years, although there is no mother-in-law to serve, but she also treats the old lady of the Hou Mansion as an ancestor. Over the years, she has given birth to sons and daughters, managed household chores, and even had to teach the young concubines... Zhong Jin's achievements today are also related to Ru Zhen's supervision and guidance.

  Rumei's face turned gloomy, thinking of the proud and radiant person she used to be. Even after marrying into a new family, she had to humble herself, lower her head and eyes, and endure hardships all along the way. If it were her... Rumei collapsed onto the kang like a deflated balloon, shouting "I knew getting married would mean following many rules, I'm not getting married then!"

  She glared at her with a fierce gaze, as if she wanted to beat her up on the spot. In her heart, she cursed this guy for being ignorant of his blessings, "Even if Yang Lao Furen is formidable, and the Yang family has many rules, Third Sister still has a place to belong."

  As Ru Mei thought about it, she had been set up by the Jiang family mother and son before, her reputation was ruined, and it wasn't easy to get engaged with the Xiang family. But then the Xiang family did something that made her angry again, so she broke off the engagement in anger. Now thinking of finding a satisfactory husband's family is as difficult as ascending to the blue sky.

  Ru Zhen clapped her hands in delight and sneered, "Serves you right! Even if you were born into a noble family, you'd only be able to strut around within the inner chambers. With your limited skills and tricks, where else could you possibly go?"

  Ru Shanzhen's face turned ugly, and he couldn't help but glare at Ru Xian with a fierce gaze.

  Ru Zhen also glanced at her and smiled lightly, "Second sister, why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

  Although she was grinding her teeth, she said, "Sister, what you said is indeed excessive. If we put it that way, then all the legitimate children would be dragons and phoenixes among men?"

  "Little sister is now the crown prince's consort, so it's best not to keep mentioning 'the illegitimate child' all the time. After all, little sister still has to give birth to a legitimate son for her husband."

  Like a romantic comedy, she wanted to laugh but didn't dare. This sentence was really well said. Like Shan hated her birth as an illegitimate child and thought herself to be a very capable one, absolutely more powerful than the legitimate ones, also looked down on them. But Like Zhen shut her up with "you're about to give birth to a legitimate child"... You look down on legitimate children, but don't forget that your future sons and daughters will be legitimate too, slapping yourself in the face!

  Being blocked and having nothing to say, yet unable to refute a single word, is indeed enough to make one speechless.

  The sisters' quarrel seemed to have gone unnoticed by the elders, and Fang Huaxiang smiled at Ruoqing again. "It's been years since we last met, and you've grown a lot taller." Then she beckoned to Ruoqing, who obediently walked over and stood in front of Fang Huaxiang. Fang Huaxiang held her hand, examining it up and down for a while before smiling so hard that her eyes disappeared into her eyebrows. "Good child, next year you'll be coming of age, and your aunt doesn't have much to give you. Here, take this hairpin, don't think it's too shabby."

  Fang Huaxiang took out a small phoenix hairpin made of red gold with a ruby inlaid from her hair and inserted it into Ruoqing's hair. Ruoqing only felt that his head was a bit heavy, stretched out his hand to adjust the pin, and smiled: "Thank you, Aunt."

  Fang Huaxiang held onto Ruheng's hand, refusing to let go, and laughed even more happily. "We're family, why be polite? When you come of age next year, Aunt will make a complete set of headdress for you."

  "Ah, Auntie's gifts are all top-notch. If I wear them out and get robbed, what would be the best thing to do?"

  Fang Huaxiang burst out laughing, turned her head and said to Qiao Chen, "Look at your cousin, she's so funny when she talks. Compared to you, she's much more interesting. She's like a wooden puppet, just like a gourd with a cut mouth. Fortunately, she's not a girl, or it would be even more boring."

  Everyone had different expressions on their faces, but they were all smiling and joking in their mouths. Li praised Qiao Chen for being young and mature, a steady child who didn't talk much.

  Fang Jingxuan said: Boys should be steady, it's good to be steady.

  Ru Yu and the old lady exchanged a glance, without showing any expression. However, Ru Shan slowly and elegantly adjusted her own cloud sleeve made of embroidered brocade, and slightly curved her lips.

  As soon as she glanced at Qiao Chen, Qiao Chen was also looking at her, and he smiled shyly at her before hastily lowering his head.

  No longer an ignorant little girl, the alarm bell in her mind rang loudly. Looking at the kind expression on Fang Huaxiang's face, she was stunned for a moment. And then it dawned on her - wasn't this woman related to the Qiao family? Good heavens, the blood relationship was too close! Even if the Qiao family really had a vast fortune, they would have to be extremely cautious.

  Digression

  I know you guys are eager to see the main character appear, but some things have not been explained clearly yet. Can't just serve the dish in one breath? I also know that recently I've been annoying people again... But please understand, the protagonist of this article is a sentimental person. In life, who has a smooth sailing journey? There must be ups and downs, and currently, let's consider it as the low point of the sentimental person.