Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C056 pt1

In the evening, Ji Yang arrived.

Wushuang presented a plate of osmanthus cakes, which surprised Ji Yang somewhat. "How did you know I like osmanthus cakes?" he asked, and without waiting for Wushuang's reply, he picked up two and ate them.

Could Wushuang say, 'Of course I know'? Certainly not. So, she used practicing her culinary skills as an excuse, and it just so happened that she had made osmanthus cakes.

The two of them together finished the plate of osmanthus cakes. As delicious as they were, eating too many could become cloying, so Wushuang had also prepared tea. While they drank tea, Wushuang recounted the events of the day regarding Su Cheng.

After her recent probing, she was certain that Ji Yang and Prince Wei did not communicate with each other, at least not in front of her. Therefore, sometimes when she spoke to Ji Yang about matters she had discussed with Prince Wei, she had to include a recap of the previous events.

"Once disloyal, always distrusted. How do you still plan to leave him with a dog's life?" Ji Yang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I plan to wait until the accounts are settled before deciding, to see if he is truly repentant. He is familiar with the cloth shop, having managed it for many years. He knows the sources of goods in Suzhou and the routes in the capital. Even if he is not used, a suitable person must be found to take over his position, and this will take time."

Wushuang considered many things. Some dowry shops could operate for many years, earning a considerable amount each year, while others would lose money and close after only a few days. The role of the person in charge was actually very important. It was not necessarily the case that a loyal person would know how to do business. A suitable head steward was actually very difficult to find, which was why she had not immediately broken ties with Su Cheng.

She planned to wait until she had reviewed the accounts submitted by Su Cheng before deciding. Whether he was sincerely repentant, Wushuang did not want to hear from others, because people's mouths could lie. She would judge by his actions.

Seeing Wushuang say this, Ji Yang did not say much more. He did not understand business matters anyway. He was merely offering a few words on the side when Wushuang spoke to him about it.

Afterwards, the two of them ate their fill and went to sleep. The night passed without incident.

***

It took three days to finish reviewing the three boxes of account books.

Granny Gong was not skilled in this area and could not explain it clearly, so she invited the old accountant sent by Prince Wei's mansion to help review the accounts.

The old accountant said a lot, but Wushuang did not understand much of it. She only generally understood that there were no problems with the accounts, but there were traces of subsequent human tampering. Overall, judging from the account books, the cloth shop's business was improving year by year, and there were no signs of embezzlement.

To confirm this, the old accountant had also specifically compared the figures and concluded that the Hongsheng Cloth Shop earned more silver each year than other cloth shops of the same scale, which was considered good management.

In addition, the annual income from the several estates was also quite normal. If there was a drought year, the income would be less, but if the weather was favorable, the income would match the situation of that year.

It was worth mentioning that this old accountant was one of the accountants of Prince Wei's mansion, managing Prince Wei's private property. Prince Wei's private property also included cloth shops and estates, and the old accountant had made the comparison before reaching this conclusion.

If that was the case, then Su Cheng's repentance was quite obvious.

Wushuang could not find a suitable person to replace him for the time being, so she sent someone to tell Su Cheng that the accounts had been received, and that he would temporarily continue to manage these places, but that he would have to submit accounts every three months from now on.

***

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day of Mei Wuxia's wedding.

According to the customs of the time, on the day before the wedding, the bride's family had to send the dowry to the groom's house in advance. In addition to this, they would also bring furniture into the new house, arrange the new house, and the wedding bed was also set up by the bride's side. Marquis Changyang's mansion had naturally made preparations for this.

Unfortunately, this process did not go smoothly.

In fact, from the time the two families confirmed the marriage to the time they began to follow the various rituals, the process had been very bumpy. Although Cao shi had agreed at the time, she had been forced to do so. She had agreed, but she was not willing in her heart. As a result, when Marquis Wuxiang's mansion sent people to present the betrothal gifts, she would find fault even when there was none. Moreover, Marquis Wuxiang's mansion did not pay any attention to it at all. The Madam of Marquis Wuxiang looked down on Mei Wuxia, and this attitude naturally affected the people below.

In short, there were many setbacks in between.

This time, sending the dowry was also the same. There was only a little over a month, and there was not enough time. Large items like furniture could not be made on the spot, so they could only be bought. Cao shi had finally managed to gather the furniture. When the day came to send the dowry, Marquis Changyang's mansion had put on quite a show, and relatives and friends had all come. As for the dowry, regardless of whether the chests were full or not, or whether the items were valuable or not, there were at least sixty-four full chests, which was enough to pass muster.

But Marquis Wuxiang's mansion was perfunctory. They did not even send anyone to welcome them. When the dowry arrived, the dowry procession waited outside the gate for a while before the gate was opened to let the items in.

According to custom, this was naturally inauspicious. If the dowry could not enter smoothly, it meant that the marriage might not go smoothly.

This was not all. After they entered, only two servants were sent to lead the way. When they arrived at the new house, they did not see any of the groom's family's relatives. According to custom, when sending the dowry and setting up the bed, the relatives of both families should meet to become acquainted, but Marquis Wuxiang's mansion had none of this. Not even the hosts had shown their faces.

Naturally, Cao shi could not go to send the dowry herself. Instead, her sister-in-law and her two cousins' wives helped. The two of them, along with the relatives, were treated coldly at the groom's house, and naturally had things to say when they returned.

Although Cao shi usually complained about the Sun family, she also cared about her reputation. With such great complaints from her relatives, not only could she not be angry, but she also had to help them complain. She even sent someone to the Sun family to ask what was going on, and whether something had happened that caused them to be so rude.

The relatives naturally saw through Cao shi's blustering facade. The more considerate ones naturally said nothing more, but there were those who were less so, or those who had never gotten along well with Cao shi, who whispered amongst themselves. Unfortunately, Cao shi overheard them, and the scene became extremely awkward.

In such a situation, Wushuang could not avoid showing her face, but she only appeared briefly before retreating.

In the afternoon, Mei Chang came to find her, telling her about these events. She also said that Wushuang knew how to avoid trouble, but being able to do so was a skill in itself. She, on the other hand, had endured a barrage of complaints from Cao shi's maternal relatives. The crux of the matter was that she was looked down upon for being a concubine-born daughter, yet she could not leave because the rules dictated that she had to stay and accompany them.

Wushuang smiled and said, "I am not of the main branch; they have no reason to keep me."

Mei Chang said, "Just you wait, you won't be able to avoid this leisure."

Indeed, before long, people from Cao shi's maternal family led some girls from their household to find Wushuang, claiming they were of similar age and would get along well. However, the real reason was known to all.

Cao shi's maternal family had some distant kinship with the Marquis Rongchang's Mansion. Back when Old Madam Mei was seeking a wife for her son, because the Marquis Changyang's Mansion had declined and the position of shizi was unclear, slightly better families were unwilling to form a marriage alliance with the Mei family. Originally, Old Madam Mei had taken a fancy to her niece, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis Rongchang, but while she favored them, they did not favor her.

In the end, the Marquis Rongchang's Mansion, in order to appease this aunt, proposed Cao shi. The Cao family was a large clan in Shanxi, but Cao shi's branch was not the main one. However, her father was considered capable, having achieved a fourth-rank official position in the capital, albeit a leisurely and nominal one. Still, a fourth-rank title sounded good, did it not?

Furthermore, Cao shi was a legitimate daughter, which was not considered a disgrace to Mei Zong, and thus Cao shi entered the household.

Had Old Madam Mei known her daughter-in-law would be like this, she would never have agreed to this marriage. But by this time, it was too late.

And Cao shi's father did not hold his official position for many years. Later, due to his advanced age, he retired and returned to his hometown, leaving only Cao shi's elder brother in the capital, holding a sixth-rank position as a clerk.

***

The two girls who were brought over were both fourteen or fifteen years old, fair-skinned and tender, and quite pretty.

Although Wushuang was the one surrounded by flattery and praise, she truly could not get used to such a scene. She sought help from Mei Chang, who glanced at her with a smile and instructed Feicui to call Mei E and Mei Xishuang over.

In short, they would share the blessings and endure the hardships together. With others helping to gloss things over, she could hide within the group and not be conspicuous. Wushuang naturally had no objections.

By evening, it was time for the bride's maternal relatives to present dowry gifts. Mei Wuxia's distant cousins all went, and Wushuang and the others naturally could not avoid going as well.

Wushuang did not choose anything special, simply taking a gold hairpin to make up the number. Most people gave jewelry, which all looked much the same, but the hairpin Wushuang gave was specifically singled out for praise.

The one who praised it was not Mei Wuxia, but rather one of Mei Wuxia's sisters-in-law.

Everyone could see that this was a deliberate attempt to flatter Wushuang and give her face.

Wushuang showed nothing on the surface, but she felt extremely awkward inside. At the same time, she was grateful that she had not been stingy and had not picked out jewelry that looked flashy but was actually light in weight, or else she would have been even more embarrassed.

Mei Wuxia's expression was somewhat unpleasant. Not only did she lack the joy of a new bride, but she was also gloomy, so it was not very noticeable.

Wushuang noticed it but pretended not to see, flicked her sleeves, and returned to Ruyi Pavilion.

The next day was the wedding day. Nothing untoward happened on the wedding day. Once the bridal sedan chair had departed, everyone, including Cao shi, breathed a sigh of relief. The banquet for the Mei family's relatives need not be described in detail.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day for the bride to return to her maiden home, and on this day, another incident occurred.

Originally, the entire household had been waiting for Mei Wuxia to return home early in the morning. However, they waited and waited, and she did not arrive. It was not until almost past the wu hour (11am-1pm) that the carriage from the Marquis Wuxiang's Mansion finally arrived, late.

Sun Shixian also came, but he looked somewhat unwilling. Mei Wuxia's expression was also not good. Wushuang knew that there would be trouble, so she showed her face briefly and then left. Later, she heard that the two had stayed for a meal, and after the meal, Sun Shixian wanted to leave. Mei Wuxia did not even bother to speak to her family before following him.

It was said that after Mei Wuxia left, Cao shi cried.

As for why she cried and what she cried about, although no one asked, they probably knew the reason.