The Good Concubine of the Qing Dynasty [Red Mansion]

That night, Lin Ruhai and the old lady went to the ancestral hall to burn incense for their ancestors and hardly slept a wink.

Their Lin family has been a single-line family for generations, and this may be the only child of this generation.

Of course, they have to tell our ancestors about this happy event.

But the old lady knew that this was not the only child of this generation.

This child would be Daiyu’s older brother or sister.

To be honest, the old lady had no opinion about her daughter-in-law, Jia Min before.

She was the legitimate daughter of Duke Rong, well-educated and well-mannered, and had a beautiful wedding dress. After their marriage, the couple lived in harmony. The only thing that bothered her was that her daughter-in-law was too fond of poetry and books at the beginning and did not want to take on the responsibility of being a housekeeper.

Infertility for many years?

This is the tradition of the Lin family, and it cannot be said that it is Jia Min’s fault, so she has never blamed her before.

But when the old lady saw in her dream what happened to the Lin family many years later, she couldn’t help but vent her anger at her.

Daiyu is a good girl; she is also the blood of the Lin family.

The Lin family had no son to inherit the family business. Jia Min passed away, Ru Hai was poisoned to death, and Daiyu became an orphan. Going to her grandmother and marrying back into the Jia family was one option.

But what is the final result?

Jia Baoyu actually married Xue Baochai, a merchant girl, while her granddaughter Daiyu ended up dying!

The Jia family—what a good Jia family! They devoured every last drop of blood of her Lin family alive!

When the old lady saw that scene in her dream, she was so angry that she almost strangled Lady Jia to death.

It’s a waste of time that she claims that she dotes on Jia Min the most and loves Daiyu as well as her family, but what is the reality?

It was just that the Lin family’s wealth had all gone into the Jia family; Daiyu’s health was not very good, and her good daughter-in-law was against it, so she just watched Daiyu die!

After waking up from the dream, she also doubted whether it was just a dream.

But when the things in the dream matched reality one by one, the old lady could no longer regard it as a dream.

After several efforts, Ru Hai finally brought his family to Xingtai Prefecture to take up his post.

This is something she has never experienced in her dreams.

Then the old lady began to look for strange people and things everywhere.

Since she had the opportunity to have such a predictive dream, there might be someone who is really capable and can break the Lin family’s tragedy.

So she got a birth date and horoscope, found two people and carried them into the mansion.

Now Aunt Mei is pregnant.

The old lady felt that her hard work was not in vain.

It is undeniable that her behavior was unfair to Jia Min, who was unaware of the situation.

But the old lady really no longer had any good feelings towards the Jia family.

If this dream had come earlier, she would not have married into the Jia family!

So, when she heard her son say that he would give the baby to Jia Min after it was born, she remained silent.

Jia Min may not really do anything to the child, but what about the Jia family behind her?

The late Duke Rong had two sons and four daughters. The two sons were born to Grandmother Jia. The illegitimate sons were either not born or died a few years after birth. The other three illegitimate daughters grew up but were sent away by Grandmother Jia with respectable people. The old lady asked someone to inquire about them and found out that they were still young, but now they had all passed away.

Grandmother Jia only looks kind on the surface.

She really didn’t dare to give the Lin family’s illegitimate child to Jia Min to raise.

It is too easy to cause something bad to happen to a child that young.

She didn’t dare to gamble.

The old lady avoided the question, and Lin Ruhai knew what his mother meant.

But he didn’t understand and frowned: “Mother, why…”

When did my mother start to distrust his wife so much?

Did she do something wrong?

He believed not.

If there really were, his mother would not remain silent.

So where does the mother’s dissatisfaction with Min’er come from?

The old lady picked up the Buddhist beads in her hand and said, “Hai Ge’er.” She called him by a name she hadn’t called him for a long time, “Write a letter back to your tribe. It’s been so many years, and it’s time to let it go.”

Lin Ruhai was stunned.

Their ancestors had some conflicts with the clan, and they had not been in contact for decades.

He has always considered himself a person without a clan, and now his mother… wants to reconcile?!

Lin Ruhai is very smart; otherwise, he would not have been able to pass the imperial examination and take third place at such a young age.

He understood what his mother meant.

Lin Ruhai didn’t sleep much in the morning, but he didn’t look tired at all. He went to the government office in high spirits. Everyone who saw him couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

Is there any happy event in your family that makes you look so happy?

Further speculation, what could make him so happy?

The biggest possibility is offspring.

Some of his peers’ sons are about to get married.

But the prefect still has no children.

No one said anything on the surface, but people were speculating on all kinds of things behind the scenes.

However, since the other party hasn’t said it explicitly yet, they can’t just go up and congratulate them; otherwise, it would be bad if the joy turned to sorrow.

Now that he seems to be in a good mood, it’s time to tackle some of the difficult things that have been piling up.

Faced with these troublesome things, Lin Ruhai still had a smile on his face and was very patient.

Some mistakes were made, but there was no criticism.

As soon as they were out of Lin Ruhai’s sight, they couldn’t help but start talking.

“It seems to be true.”

“Sir, we should get ready.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Ancient books.”

“I also prepared ancient books.”

Their superior did not have any obvious preferences, but as a scholar, ancient books, calligraphy, and paintings were the things that were least likely to make mistakes.

“Your Excellency has finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.”
They had previously privately speculated whether the prefect’s lack of children was due to his ill health, but now this rumor has been refuted.

However, it is easy to think that it is because the wife he married was too jealous that he still has no children at this age. Then think about it, his wife was born in the Rongguo Mansion in the capital, with a large family and a lot of wealth, and there may be many reasons that she had to do so. So, it is better to marry a virtuous wife…

Yun Shuyao still had to pay her respects today. On the way to Bitao Courtyard, she thought of her speculation last night.

Before entering the Lin family, she had decided to be a lazy person and stay for a few years so that she could find a chance to escape. Her pregnancy was unexpected.

Now that she had this speculation, Yun Shuyao felt very complicated.

She shouldn’t be so lucky, right?

But the supernatural power had indeed stopped working, and no matter how anxious she was, she couldn’t verify it.

Yun Shuyao decided to study medicine if she had the chance. The saying “more skills are better than less” is very true.

Now we can only wait and see.

If she wasn’t pregnant, the plan would remain unchanged, and she would still be a useless person in the Lin family.

If she really gets pregnant, Yun Shuyao will still be a salted fish after a few jumps, and she will still be idle in her own yard.

As for the child, if she was really pregnant, Yun Shuyao had to admit that she was still somewhat looking forward to it.

She has been alone in modern times since her grandmother passed away. She only lived for a few months in the end of the world, and she doesn’t even know whether the original owner has any relatives alive.

Coming here, she has complete parents, a sensible and lovely brother, and if she can have a blood-related child, everything will be complete.

If she gave birth to a son, the dispute between legitimate and illegitimate children would objectively exist, but Yun Shuyao believed that a child was a blank sheet of paper. If she taught the child well, she believed that she could teach the child to be self-reliant.

After all, the Lin family no longer has any titles, and the imperial examination is a single-plank bridge that requires one to fight for oneself.

If you give birth to a sweet and soft daughter, you still have to be strict with her and ask her to learn more so that she can survive better in this era with more restrictions on women.

Is this just an ideal state possible?

If she really got pregnant, an obvious problem would be Jia Min and the Jia family behind her.

Yun Shuyao could fully understand that the wife did not want a concubine or a concubine’s child. However, in this feudal era that had not yet been overthrown, few women could jump out of this cage.

Thinking of this, Yun Shuyao couldn’t help but sigh. So far, Jia Min’s actions could be described as bright and clear.

She never did anything bad to her two concubines and was even so tolerant of them that she didn’t even set any rules for them.

But what happens after being stimulated?

Yun Shuyao had smelled medicine on Jia Min many times, but she was not sick or in any condition. Most of the medicine she took was for having children.

If both she and Mei had children and Jia Min was still infertile, Yun Shuyao was not sure whether she would torture herself day after day under such a comparison and then lose her mind.

And there is the Jia family… Duke Rong has passed away now, but the network of contacts he left behind has not dissipated.

Correspondingly, Yun Shuyao did not stay in the Lin family for nothing during these days. She saw some things that seemed peaceful on the surface, such as… the relationship between the old lady and Jia Min.

She seemed to distrust Jia Min.

Just like what happened yesterday in Meixiangyuan, after the old lady confirmed that Aunt Mei was pregnant, she immediately assigned an experienced nanny and two maids to go over.

This can be said to be for the sake of Aunt Mei, having an experienced person to serve her, but it can also be said that she did not trust the housekeeper, Jia Min, and was worried that she would harm Aunt Mei, so she sent her confidant over just in case.

If she were pregnant, the old lady would probably do the same thing.

This is a safeguard.

Otherwise, it’s hard to say based on Yun Shuyao herself.

Her supernatural power is still at level one, and her spirit mirror is in a frozen state. She can only see but not use or communicate. Compared with ordinary people, she is just stronger.

If someone were to use force and call in ten or eight good fighters, she would be helpless.

Hongxiu didn’t know what her aunt was thinking about, and her brows were furrowed all the way. She didn’t disturb her, but when they were about to reach Bitaoyuan, she saw that her aunt was still immersed in her thoughts, so she gently pulled her aunt’s sleeve.

Seeing that her aunt had come to her senses and smiled at her, Hongxiu also smiled, then put away her smile, followed her aunt, and stepped into the gate of Bitaoyuan.

Jia Min has already gotten up. Her makeup is much heavier than usual, and her eyes are bloodshot. She probably didn’t get much sleep last night.

It was obvious to the naked eye that not many of the people serving in the courtyard looked relaxed.

Regardless of whether the principal wife has given birth or not, she is still the principal wife, and her status will not change.

But whether or not you have your own biological children has a great impact on the quality of your life in old age.

Therefore, everyone in Bitaoyuan was worried about their future.

However, Yun Shuyao felt that Jia Min did not need her sympathy.

If she were to sympathize with Jia Min, it would be as funny as a modern 996 office worker sympathizing with the daughter of a director.

Even if a rich lady has no children, she is still a high and mighty rich lady. Ordinary people may never be able to reach her status, even if they work hard for several lifetimes.

Yun Shuyao pretended she saw nothing and greeted her as usual.

If Jia Min was acting as usual, she would just say a few meaningless words and let her go back.

But now, looking at Yun, who came to pay her respects, Jia Min suddenly became absent-minded.

Mei is pregnant; will Yun also be pregnant?

She is now taking the medicine prescribed by Dr. Chang, a famous doctor she heard about, but she has been taking it for some time and can’t see any effect.

She was absent-minded for a while and started chatting with Yun Shuyao.

“Qiuzhu, serve some snacks to Aunt Yun.” Jia Min naturally knew that Aunt Yun loved food.

As for food, there was never a shortage of it in her Bitaoyuan.

“Auntie Yun, I remember you are the eldest daughter in the family?”

The maid brought tea and exquisite pastries.

Jia Min’s tea is naturally good tea.

Yun Shuyao is a layman and can only say that the tea tastes good, but she can’t say anything else.

Dim sum is not only beautiful but also delicious.

Yun Shuyao asked the kitchen staff, if she wanted to eat this, she would need two taels of silver.

Her monthly salary is only three or two taels.

“Yes, I have two younger brothers.”

Jia Min smiled and said, “You have two brothers, and I have two too, but they are older than me and are my elder brothers.”

Yun Shuyao also laughed. She knew that the other protagonist, Jia Baoyu, was her second brother’s son.

Jia Min: “I remember your father will take part in the imperial examination in three years. Did he encounter any difficulties?”

Yun Shuyao was somewhat “flattered”: “Thank you, Madam Xie, for your concern. My father is already very satisfied.”

She asked Lin Ruhai about borrowing books, and Lin Ruhai generously sorted out some of them. She took a look and found that except for some travel notes about mountains and rivers given to her, the rest were about the Four Books and Five Classics, and many of the books had annotations.

When she sent the books back, her father excitedly wrote her a thick letter…

This time, Yun Shuyao stayed in Bitaoyuan for the longest time.

It’s as long as a stick of incense.

On the way back, she saw a group of people walking towards Bitaoyuan.

The woman in the lead was wearing eye-catching silk and satin, and the golden jewelry on her head was so dazzling that Yun Shuyao was familiar with it.

This must be… Aunt Mei’s biological mother.

The woman behind her was dressed in inferior clothes and should be Aunt Mei’s biological mother.

Yun Shuyao guessed correctly. One of them was Aunt Mei’s stepmother, Yang, and the other was her biological mother, Gao.

They came to visit with two cars full of gifts.

The Mei family is a merchant family.

Scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans—this order explains a lot.

The Mei family is rich, and after becoming rich, they want a higher status.

Therefore, for the third daughter, who was chosen to be a concubine in the prefect’s house because of her horoscope, the head of the family was surprised and had great expectations for her. He prepared a generous dowry for her and analyzed the situation in the prefect’s house in detail for her.

If the next head of the Lin family is born from the daughter of the Mei family, it will ensure the wealth of their family for generations!

To achieve this goal, the Mei family will fully support Aunt Mei.

And now, they have taken a crucial step towards realizing this wish.

When they received the news last night, no one in the Mei family could sleep. They prepared a large jar of sauerkraut for their third young lady, as well as other things beneficial to pregnant women. They filled two large carts. After daybreak, they looked at the time and knocked on the door of the Lin family.

At this time, in the Bitao Courtyard, Jia Min was looking at the gate and lost in thought.

She didn’t mention her mother’s family for no reason. She had not written to her mother to tell her that there were two more concubines in the family. But now that one of the concubines was pregnant, Jia Min knew that she could not hide it any longer. If she did, her mother would definitely be angry.

What should she write in the letter so that her mother will not be angry?

What she didn’t know was that her wet nurse had written a letter back from the beginning.

Now, Jia’s mother’s reply has arrived.