The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 621 - 619: You be the concubine! Your whole family be concubines!

Chapter 621: Chapter 619: You be the concubine! Your whole family be concubines!

Wang Yongzhu pushed the silver pieces toward Wang Yonggui, "Take this silver with you. You’ll have errands to run these next few days, and you can’t get things done without silver."

Wang Yonggui didn’t refuse and took the silver.

After a while, Lady Qian called for dinner.

The dining table was set up in the next room. Lady Qian had put effort into the meal, preparing five or six dishes with meat, fish, pork knuckles, and stewed chicken, which all looked quite sumptuous.

Jinchai couldn’t help but swallow her saliva. It had been a long time since they had eaten so well at home.

Everyone gathered around the table and sat down. Despite everything, Mother Qian still asked, "What about the son-in-law? Shouldn’t we wait for him to come back for dinner?"

Lady Qian shook her head, "No need to wait, he’s at the Yamen on business, and we don’t know when he will be back. Let’s eat!"

No one spoke after that.

They ate in silence. As soon as Wang Yonggui put down his utensils, he left.

Not long after, Wang Yongan came back in high spirits, his face carrying traces of alcohol and an unusually confident demeanor.

He lingered with his gaze on Wang Yongzhu as if wanting to say something but then held himself back and stumbled into the house.

Old Granny Zhang saw it all and, once back in her room, her face darkened, "We’ll make do tonight, but first thing in the morning, let’s bring a doctor to see if we can move your father out. We can’t stay here any longer. I suspect your second brother is up to some mischief, we’d better be careful!"

Wang Yongzhu nodded, a hint of cold light flashing in her eyes.

That night, no one in the courtyard slept well.

Early in the morning, Wang Yongzhu got up and checked on Wang Laozhu. His complexion was a bit better than the day before, which eased her mind somewhat.

She quickly had Wang Yonggui go and ask the doctor to come again, to see if it was possible to move him today.

Seeing that no one in the courtyard had gotten up yet, Wang Yonggui simply climbed over the wall and left.

Just as he had left, someone knocked on the door of the small Wang Family Courtyard.

Anxious not to disturb anyone, Lady Qian rushed out from the side room and swiftly opened the door.

She ushered in an old Sister with a stern face dressed in a brown satin jacket with a jacket of grey fur over it, wearing blue cloth shoes, her hands adorned with shimmering bracelets, and several gold and jade rings on her fingers. Her hair was tightly combed with not a strand out of place, she had a long face, drooping eyes, and her expression bore a slight edge of sharpness.

The moment this Sister entered, she quickly scanned the entire courtyard, the disdain and contempt in her eyes not the least bit concealed.

Frightened, Lady Qian followed beside her, "Sister Hu, please come inside and have a cup of tea?"

Standing in the courtyard, Sister Hu did not even lift her gaze, snobbishly said, "That won’t be necessary. I’ll cut to the chase. Are you calling your daughter out, or shall I just speak with you?"

Lady Qian said hastily, "Just tell me!"

Sister Hu nodded, "Yesterday, when you were passing by the back gate of the County Yamen with this young lady, she by chance caught the eye of our Madam, who found the girl to be blessed with a good fortune and to have the appearance of one who would bear many children. Our Madam took an immediate liking to her as if it were destiny, and thus she sent me here today to discuss the matter, with the hope of taking your daughter into our household to be a concubine for our master!"

"You can rest assured, our Madam has the best temperament, and the master is a charitable man. Upon entering our household, she would immediately become the secondary wife, a proper Concubine, which is far superior to those lowly chambermaids who do not even get acknowledged as concubines! Should she bear a son or even a daughter in the future, they would guarantee a lifetime of glory and riches!"

"If your family has no objections, our Madam is willing to offer two hundred taels of silver, and all you need to do is sign the agreement. In a few days’ time, we will receive the young lady into our household—"

Upon hearing this, Lady Qian’s eyes lit up, her emotions a mixture of joy and envy.

She had never expected this young niece to be so fortunate. She initially thought the girl might just become some unrecognized concubine, but to her surprise, the County Magistrate had taken notice and was willing to make her a proper Concubine, a second-wife Concubine Madam!

This was an incredibly favorable turn of events; even the two hundred taels of silver seemed trivial in comparison. Most importantly, it meant they would now have ties with the County Magistrate. They could almost claim to be the County Magistrate’s brothers-in-law.

In the future, who in Qi City wouldn’t show them the utmost respect, with the exception of the Magistrate’s Lady?

Lady Qian trembled with excitement, "Good... we, we have no..."

Before she could finish speaking, the door of the main room flew open, and Wang Yongzhu stood there, her presence severe as she let out a cold sneer, "No what? No right, is it? I had no idea that parents still exist in this world, that an older brother and his wife, already disowned by the family, could decide on their younger sister’s marriage affairs."

Lady Qian didn’t expect Wang Yongzhu to have overheard. She had thought that early in the morning, she could quietly bring Sister Hu inside to discuss matter, and once everything was settled, they would just wait for the Magistrate’s palanquin to arrive at their doorstep in a couple of days. It was a situation where, willing or not, they would have to comply.

Once the deal was done and the young lady had become the County Magistrate’s, how could anything change that?

She never anticipated that Sister Hu would sneer at the cramped Wang Family Courtyard and upon seeing the indiscriminately sun-dried quilts and bed sheets, especially the faint stench in the air, would refuse to enter the house.

The conversation happened right in the courtyard and inadvertently woke Old Granny Zhang and her daughter.

Suddenly at a loss for words, Lady Qian could not speak.

Sister Hu’s eyes, like those assessing goods, swept over Wang Yongzhu once before barely nodding in acknowledgment, wearing a visibly displeased expression as she looked down upon Wang Yongzhu from above, "I think this Concubine needs a lesson in manners, though she may come from the countryside, she still needs to learn to recognize her betters. We were in the midst of talking; what right does this Concubine have to interrupt?"

"Bullshit! Who is this shameless hag, spouting nonsense so early in the day? You’re the concubine! Your entire family should become concubines! My daughter has been raised pure and chaste, already betrothed and about to be wed next month! How can we allow your cheap talk, from the likes of you, to besmirch her reputation?"

Old Granny Zhang charged out of the house, too hurried to even put on her shoes, clutching one as she flung it at Sister Hu’s face, "You foul-mouthed scoundrel, I’ll tear that rotten mouth of yours to shreds, to stop it spewing maggots and ruining my daughter’s good name!"

With that, she lunged forward following her thrown shoe, and in an instant, she had toppled Sister Hu to the ground.

Sister Hu was the Steward for the Magistrate’s Lady, accustomed to being pampered and respected. In the back quarters of the County Yamen, next to the Magistrate’s Lady herself, her authority was paramount, with all concubines under her thumb like mice before a cat.

Always looking down on others through her nostrils, she found no one but the Magistrate’s Lady worth her attention.

Today’s visit was on direct orders from her own master, the County Magistrate, who had expressed interest in a subordinate’s sister, wanting to take her as a good Concubine into his household, tasking his wife to make the necessary arrangements.

This was the responsibility entrusted to her, the Steward Sister Hu, to check on the background of the prospective second-wife-to-be, to see what sort of beauty could captivate her master and secure the status of a second wife, despite being but a country girl.