Chapter 5.1

This is not a professional translation; you have been warned. ʘ‿ʘ

Rongan hall is the place where the old madam of Chen family lives.

At this time, in the east end of Rongan hall, Chen old madam is talking to Yu Mama.

It’s about the second branch.

In fact, the second madam didn’t know that even if there was no first madam to poke the matter in front of the old madam, Chen old madam would look for an opportunity to do it.

The Crown Princess was raised under her knees until she was eight years old. From her point of view this granddaughter was taught very well by her, except that she was not tolerant of others.

And this temperament does not follow the Chen old madam, but the second madam.

“The fourth gū ye found a thin horse from Jiangnan this time. The second madam has seen it. Will the old madam also see it in a few days?”, Yu Mama said softly as she pinched the shoulder of the old madam.

The old madam closed her eyes and moved the Buddha beads in her hand. “If it wasn’t for the seventh girl who is not tolerant, why should I bother with these things?”

“If madam handles it, it won’t go wrong. The family is getting better and better thanks to your old control.”

“I’m too old to care. If the seventh girl has not made such a scene when she was married, who would have thought that she has such kind of temper. But at that time, it was already too late to remedy. Now, I hope she can think more of the consequences of her action. Even if she can lift a person’s status and raise a child in her hand, it is better than holding on like this “

When it comes to that matter, Yu Mama is also one of the insiders.

When a daughter of a large family gets married, dowry can be described as all-around, including all the things for her living, sitting and sleeping, even from life to death. Some even have a coffin to marry, that is to say, our family doesn’t need to prepare the coffin for her daughter’s marriage. If you come across a family of officials, you need to find some beautiful maids to accompany you.

This is reserved as a backup use. If the daughter needs open the branches of her husband’s family, she can directly lift the status of these servants to serve her husband. This is for the reason not to be spoiled by outsiders.

That’s what the Chen family arranged in those days. Because the seventh girl was going to be a princess, they also found several outstanding maids. It’s a pity that the seventh girl didn’t see the painstaking efforts of the family. On the surface, she dared not refute the elder’s painstaking efforts. In private, she even used her brothers to leave the dowry maids behind.

After the incident, the old madam was very angry.

But now that it’s over and seventh girl has a different status now, even if the old lady is dissatisfied, she won’t tear her face. The seventh girl’s thoughts were too deep. Before this happened, there was no news outside, and the family could not tell. She was brought up by the old madam and the family was expecting that she would learn some of the old madam’s means.

In the beginning, the old lady was worried because she would marry into the palace. The situation in the palace was complicated and she could not stand on her feet. Now, seeing her such means, she can’t help but have a headache.

With the mentality that you have refuted the good intentions of your family so you can only let yourself go smoothly, then everything is okay. But it turns out that some things are necessary.

In recent years, most of the things that happened in the East Palace are also in the eyes of the Chen family.  It is undoubtedly a joke to see the actions of the Crown Princess, let the old lady doubt her origin.

It’s a pity that even if she wants to instruct her granddaughter, it’s not easy to see her. Secondly, the Crown Princess has too much idea of her own and she can’t see the things clearly. That’s why the current situation had developed like this.

If it’s just to send people through the hands of the second madam, the old madam doesn’t care who is going in.

Her concern is just to stabilize the status of the Crown Princess and maintain the dignity of the Chen family.

“Don’t worry, old lady. The Crown Princess will surely understand your pains. She came from her maiden’s family. Naturally, she understands the worries of her maiden’s family. Who doesn’t expect a pair of couple for a lifetime? However, it is only through experience that one knows what is at stake.”

“I hope so.”, the old madam sighed.

“But, how does the old madam handle the third madam? Also, Qi old madam, Wei old madam, and Aunt Ru have been running home recently. “

Qi old madam, Wei old madam and Aunt Ru are all part of the Chen clan. They have a bit of status in the clan, that’s why they can come to the house frequently.

“Never mind the others, but the slave is afraid that the eldest madam doesn’t have a good idea.” Yu Mama said again.

The old madam’s complexion became dark. How could she not think of what Yu Mama could think of.

The Chen family is a big clan in Jiangxi Province. It is a clan of scholars and in the younger generation there is quite a lot of officials.

The branch where Chen old master lived was originally belonged to the side branch of the Chen family. However, with the appointment as a ^[1] shǒu fǔ, he had a special position in the clan.

Chen Shǒu fǔ has four sons under his knee, all are ^[2] jìn shì.

The eldest son Chen Ping Wen was a jìn shì, who had been in Jianwu for ten years. He is an official in the Ministry of Rites. The second son, Chen Ping Wu was considered to be the most unambitious among the brothers. He only had fame and reputation, he got a higher official position after her daughter became the Crown Princess. Chen Ping Zhang, the third son, a shù born, raised under the name of the old lady, a jìn shì who had an official position outside the capital in Shanxi province. The fourth son, also the youngest son, at twenty-five he passed the jìn shì examination. Now, he has a position in the Imperial Han Lin Academy.

Therefore, it is not a false statement to say that the Chen family is an honorable family.

At that time, Empress Fu’s proposal for the prince to marry the daughter of the Chen family was due to the importance of Chen Shǒu fǔ’s loyalty to the royal family. She also valued the position of Chen family among scholars.

Chen old master is old enough to retire in a few years and when he does it is only reasonable for the eldest son, Chen Ping Wen’s position to go up. It is also natural that his daughter should be sent as the Prince consort. However, his eldest and second daughter have been married. His youngest daughter is only thirteen and this age is not appropriate for the Crown Prince

There are some of his shù born daughters that have the suitable age, but how can they match the shù born with the prince.

The seventh girl in the second branch was raised by the old madam since childhood. She had talent, grace and etiquette. In addition, the second branch has the most worrying future so Chen old master and madam as parents can’t helped but be biased. Considering various reasons, they finally decide to send the daughter of the second branch.

Seriously speaking, the second branch borrowed the light from the first branch. If it is not for the first branch to give in, and also that the twelfth girl (Chen Ping Wen’s youngest daughter) is too young to give birth to the emperor’s heir immediately after marriage. Otherwise, it will not be the turn of the seventh girl.

At the beginning, the first madam was dissatisfied with this matter, so this time, though she didn’t say it clearly, she received a niece from her maiden’s family to Chen’s residence.

The meaning is obvious, but want to get the support of the crown princess.

The old madam can refuse the third and fourth branch and even those other old madams. However, she can’t ignore the request of the first branch so she can only grant it.

Besides, the crown princess will rely on her uncle for support in the future.

“Then, what do you mean?”

Yu Mama respectfully said, “The slave did not have any meaning, but it is just to remind the old lady, so as to avoid a gap between you and the first madam. Also, since it’s already a lot of work, why not just sent two. In this way, it doesn’t hinder the feelings of the two madams. As for whether there is such a blessing, it depends on one’s own good fortune.”.

The old madam didn’t speak. She was clearly thinking.

For a long time, she slowly exhaled, opened her eyes and said, “Let’s do it.”.

T/N: It is safe to say that the Crown Princess really takes after the second madam. It is evident throughout the novel.

• [1] Shoufu [shǒu fǔ] – an official title similar to a grand secretary
• [2] jìn shì <进士> – successful candidate in the highest imperial civil service examination; palace graduate
• [3] shù <庶> – born of a concubine

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