Chapter 213 The Troublesome Phoenix Hairpin
Early the next morning, in the main hall of the Marquess’s Mansion, all the people, including Marquess Qin and even the servants, dressed neatly, gathered together and waited for the newlyweds to come to offer tea.
It was still rainy on that day, so a row of candles had to be lit in the wide main hall so that it would not be dim.
But with Marquess Qin presented, no one dared to say anything bad.
Especially the moment when Jiang Yashuang and Qiu Yelan stepped in, a handsome man and a gorgeous beauty made everyone’s eyes light up, and they couldn’t help feeling that they were so well-matched!
Marquess Qin also smiled slightly. He liked smart and capable juniors the most. Two years ago, Qiu Yelan’s performance at the Imperial Court Assembly left a good impression on him. What was more, Madame Tao and Jiang Yashuang had spared no effort to praise her. At this time, seeing such a beautiful granddaughter-in-law with his own eyes, Marquess Qin was so satisfied. After receiving their respectful greetings, he told them to stand up kindly before Madame Tao said anything.
Then he asked someone to take over the first-meeting gift. It was a wonderful gift for Jiang Yashuang’s sake originally, and because of Marquess Qin’s love for his granddaughter-in-law, he temporarily ordered a servant to take over another phoenix hairpin, “The hairpin is gorgeous. It is suitable for a bride.”
Qiu Yelan took a closer look at it. The hairpin, which was carefully placed on the brocade in the ebony lacquer plate, was based on the gold leaf which was as ethereal as the wing of a cicada. The silk-like gold thread was woven into the shape of a phoenix with wings spreading out that were ornamented with jade, agate, gems, pearls and corals, which embodied the brilliance and beauty of the king of birds. There were also three hanging glass beads in the phoenix’s beak, which refracted great brilliance under the shining lights of the surroundings. It was so resplendent!
“Grandfather, thank you so much for the generous gift!” She knelt down and thanked him again.
Jiang Yashuang was very pleased to see that his wife was approved by his grandfather. The newlyweds who bowed their heads to thank Marquess Qin did not realize that after the phoenix hairpin was taken out, Madame Tao was slightly startled and looked at Jiang Tianao’s family, showing a hint of sneer and pleasure!
Jiang Tianao looked no different, while Madame Dou and Madame Dou Junior both showed an expression of surprise and unnaturalness at the same time!
While after Jiang Yashuang and Qiu Yelan stood up again, the three of them had concealed their abnormality and returned to normal.
“Your grandfather added a phoenix hairpin, and I have a pair of peony beads here.” When it was Madame Tao’s turn to give the first-meeting gift, she smiled and added another pair of peony beads made of precious stones, putting them on Qiu Yelan’s hair with her own hands.
“Thank you so much for the gift, grandma!” The newlyweds knelt down to thank her again.
Since they both added another gift, Jiang Tianao and others had to add one or two more gifts to the ones they had originally prepared. Because Jiang Tianjiao, Madame Tao’s son, ranking seven in the big family, died early in his life and did not get married, the Seventh Small Family existed in name only. The Second Small Family and the Fifth Small Family stayed in their hometowns to serve Kui Xiannan, and Sir Jibei’s family had another mansion. So, at this moment, the people Jiang Yashuang needed to greet were just his eldest uncle Jiang Tianao, third uncle Jiang Tianqi, eighth uncle Jiang Tianxiao and their wives.
As for his peers, since Jiang Yashuang, the youngest grandson, had got married, the others had either joined the officialdom or joined the army, and many of them were not in Jing City. At this moment, only young master Jiang Yayun, young master Jiang Yayi, young master Jiang Yadan, young master Jiang Yahong, young master Jiang Yaheng, and young master Jiang Yazhu were there.
After these people finished their tea, it was the turn of Jiang Yashuang’s nephews and nieces to come up to greet their nineteenth uncle and their new aunt.
The Jiang Family’s men were famous for their love affairs. Jiang Yadan alone had five children born of his concubines. After the others were arranged in rows according to their age, there seemed to be more than twenty kids there!
Qiu Yelan looked at these nephews and nieces, the eldest of whom was fifteenth or sixteenth and the youngest of whom was still held in the arms of the wet nurses, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, “When will I be able to recognize so many people?”
She could remember the older ones, like Jiang Huizhi, who could kowtow in-person to introduce herself. While she could only remember the color of their swaddling clothes as for those who were held by the wet nurses.
After the last nephew was carried by his wet nurse to kowtow, it was already near noon.
Marquess Qin looked at the sky, and said, “Since you have seen all the people here, go to your grand uncle then!”
Jiang Yashuang and Qiu Yelan complied with his words together. Since they had left, other people would not stay there anymore. After Madame Tao praised the daughters-in-law and grand-daughters-in-law who organized the wedding, Marquess Qin told people to leave.
As soon as arriving at where they lived, Madame Dou shouted at Jiang Tianao angrily, “That phoenix hairpin…”
“Talk about it in the room!” Jiang Tianao looked gloomy, but he didn’t forget to look around. Because his father Kui Xiannan was not in Jing City, in order to maintain a close relationship with Marquess Qin and supervise Jiang Tianqi and others nearby, he had been living in the Marquess’s Mansion under the name of showing filial obedience to his uncle.
Although they had lived here for so many years and the servants around them were carefully selected and inspected, there might still be undercover men in the dark who might spread out what should not be spread out.
He stopped Madame Dou, entered the room and closed the door, and then coldly snorted, “It’s just a hairpin, isn’t it? Anyway, Zhi’s husband has not yet been chosen. You can send people to stare at the market. Can’t we find a few pieces of invaluable jewelry in such a big Jing City?”
“Honey! It’s not about the hairpin!” Madame Dou gritted her teeth. “For so many years, the second uncle and third uncle always give good things to us first. They always send things over before we mention it! But this phoenix hairpin… I personally went to talk to the damn Madame Tao, and I showed that I wanted it as a dowry in the future for Zhi! But the second uncle already gave it to Qiu Yelan….”
“Shut up!” Jiang Tianao’s eyes turned cold, and he scolded in a low voice, “Second uncle and third uncle have treated us so well for so many years! Even the third branch and the sixth branch can’t be compared with us. You also remember that the two uncles have given us so many good things these years… Now he just gave the nineteenth granddaughter-in-law a phoenix hairpin, how can you make such a scene?”
Then he slowed down a bit, “Qiu Yelan is born noble and looks good, and she and Jiang Yashuang are such a perfect match. Not to mention that the second uncle likes her, even I feel she is great… Another gift doesn’t matter at all! It is the second uncle who can decide whom his gift belongs to, not you! You have been the eldest daughter-in-law in the Jiang Family for so many years, but why you are so shallow still!”
Madame Dou said angrily, “I won’t mind other things, but I’ve shown that I wanted this phoenix hairpin! Why did the second uncle have to reward it to Qiu Yelan even if he wanted to show her how much the Jiang Family cared about her? He was running us down!”
Although she was arrogant, she was not stupid, so she reminded, “Although the fight for the Crown Prince has not ended yet, Xue Chang will take actions after the Empress Dowager shows her other several cards! Jiang Tianqi has a closer relationship with them now, and it is said that they have quietly sent people to the north to try to draw Jiang Tianchi over to their side… The Empress and Madame Tao have always had no good intentions for us! In such a big family, without the two uncles, especially the second uncle, we would have been killed by Jiang Tianqi and the Empress already! But now the second uncle… Do you want me and our daughter to die with you since you don’t try to do anything about it at this moment?”
When Jiang Tianao was silent with a gloomy face, Jiang Yashuang and Qiu Yelan had just finished greeting Sir Jibei and his wife in the Mansion of Sir Jibei.
Sir Jibei’s heirs were the least of the three brothers. He had only one son Jiang Tiancan and two daughters, and only Xin Fubing’s mother Jiang Tianhe was still alive.
And Jiang Tiancan didn’t have many children as well. He had only two sons and one daughter, namely young master Jiang Yabi, young lady Jiang Qijia, and young master Jiang Yalan.
Among them, Jiang Yabi served in the Northern Army, and his family members were also there; Jiang Qijia was out of town with her husband, and she did not return specifically this time. Therefore, as for their peers, they only had to greet their brother Jiang Yalan and sister-in-law Mi Yinyin.
“I just said that the alcohol on you yesterday was deliberately spilled by your brother! You didn’t admit it at the time!”
After the ceremony, because it was already noon, Sir Jibei and his wife kept their grand-nephew and grans-niece for a meal. Sir Jibei was a warrior throughout his life. But apart from his dark skin, his appearance was very gentle, and he was very kind when talking with younger generations. Probably for this reason, Jiang Tiancan and his son were not very restrained in front of him. Although there were fewer people than the time when they were serving tea at the Mansion of Marquess Qin, the atmosphere was much livelier.
As soon as Jiang Yashuang and Qiu Yelan agreed to stay there for the meal, Jiang Yalan winked at them and teased, “If you really drink much, you think you can stand upright then?”
“Why not?” Jiang Yashuang said calmly, “Can’t I dissolve the alcohol in my body?”
“So, you practice your internal force so hard just to dissolve the alcohol?” Jiang Yalan immediately said to Sir Jibei, “Grandpa, do you hear that? I can’t help it if I’m not good at martial arts! Because I can drink like a fish!”
Sir Jibei stroked his long beard, smiled and asked Madame Ou, “Did you hear that?”
Madame Ou was not an ordinary lady. Her grandfather was the one who successfully transformed the Ou Family from horse thieves to officials in the imperial court. She was very aggressive since she was a child as she was influenced by her grandpa. She once went into battle when Sir Jibei was seriously injured in the battle against Beihu. She killed a leader of Beihu to avenge her husband. Even Marquess Qin did not dare to underestimate this sister-in-law.
She was such a ferocious old lady, but all her descendants were mediocre. So how could she not regret it? At this moment, although she heard the ridicule in Sir Jibei’s words, she still bluntly reprimanded her grandson, “Won’t you feel ashamed? All you did were eat and drink!”
“I’m a good drinker, but I don’t eat too much. You can say I always drink, but you can’t say I did nothing but eat!” Jiang Yalan was publicly scolded by his grandmother, but he was not embarrassed and said with a grin.
Qiu Yelan glanced at him when she heard the words, thinking that he was really open-minded. Even if he was used to being scolded, wouldn’t he feel uncomfortable when he was scolded in front of his new sister-in-law?
But Jiang Yalan acted as if nothing had happened.
But Madame Ou didn’t intend to let him go. She said with a cold face, “How dare you say that!”
“Well, since you have been granted the title of Hanlin Academy, how long will you stay at home this time?” Seeing that his wife had got angry and she didn’t intend to stop that, Sir Jibei hurriedly changed the topic.
Jiang Yashuang knew what he was thinking, so he answered, “Granduncle, I can rest at home for five days.”
“Speaking of today’s Hanlin Academy…” Sir Jibei casually found a topic and began to “seriously” discuss it with Jiang Yashuang.
Afternoon, the newlyweds returned to their yard.
Qiu Yelan was so tired that she didn’t even have the strength to take a second look when she walked through the courtyard. After entering the house, she lay down on the bed and refused to get up again, “We don’t need to get up early tomorrow, right?”
“No, we don’t need.” Although Jiang Yashuang also felt tired, he was much better than her. At this moment, he still had the energy to take over the wrung-out veil from Su He and wipe her face. “Father and mother are not in Jing City. Grandfather only acknowledges greetings during the Spring Festival and other festivals. We only need to greet grandma after she takes a nap in the afternoon… And since we just get married, grandmother will definitely send someone to tell us that we don’t have to greet her these days. She did this when Jiang Yazhu and Jiang Yaheng got married, so it must be the same to you!”
Qiu Yelan drank half a cup of rose water, feeling a little better, and then she asked, “So we have nothing to do now?”
“You can do anything you want!” Jiang Yashuang said immediately. The maids who were waiting in the room blushed. They put down the things in their hands simultaneously and silently retreated.
Seeing this, Qiu Yelan hit him, “I’m serious. What are you thinking about?”
“I’m serious too!” Jiang Yashuang said in surprise, “Although our family has not been separated yet, you have to take care of my yard in the future. So, I must let the servants come to greet you!”
“You are talking about this?” Qiu Yelan said blankly.
Jiang Yashuang said calmly, “Of course. But if you are too tired, it can be put off. Well, why do you think that what I said is not serious? What are you thinking about?”
Qiu Yelan looked at him speechlessly. When she was about to say something, the door was knocked, followed by Su He’s somewhat embarrassing tone, “Young master Jiang Yadan’s wife has sent someone over. She wants to talk with Commandery Princess… I mean our young Lady.”
“That’s strange. My eighth sister-in-law has always been considerate. Why does she send people over to bother us?” Jiang Yashuang whispered suspiciously to Qiu Yelan when he heard the words, “Ask her carefully then. Maybe my brother has made some trouble again!”