Chapter 478 3 Retreat from the Wife
Chapter 478: Three Withdrawal Wife
The next morning, three maids from the Plum Garden came to help Xiao Xia get up. The maid who combed Xiao Xia's hair was called Xiaowanzi. She had a round face and was about twelve or thirteen years old. She was quite lively and lively.
The other two maids were trembling with fear, but the little round-faced maid was innocent and talked and laughed.
"Ah! There's a mosquito. Don't move, Your Highness. I'll help you kill it."
Before Xiao Xia could react, the little palm slapped Xiao Xia's neck. The two maids beside her turned pale with fear and knelt down together.
Xiaowanzi said with regret: "I didn't hit it, it flew away."
Seeing her two companions kneeling down, she was very surprised and asked, "Hey! What are you kneeling down for?"
Xiao Xia laughed dumbly and waved to the two maids, "You go! Xiaowanzi will serve me."
The two maids stood up and left. Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Xiao Wanzi, I want to ask you something."
"What's the matter?"
"I heard someone playing the piano last night. Do you know who was playing it?"
Xiaowanzi sighed and said, "How could I not know? She plays the piano every night. She is a woman who has withdrawn from the CCP. She is our master's eldest granddaughter."
"What does it mean to quit the Three Resignations?"
"She was broken off three times! In Wu County, being broken off is a very shameful thing. She was broken off three times, and everyone called her the Three-Broken Lady behind her back."
This was somewhat similar to Xiao Ai's experience. Xiao Xia asked with a smile, "What's the matter with the three broken engagements?"
Chibi Maruko loves gossip, and when she saw Prince Jin was interested, she immediately became excited.
"The first time was two years ago. She was promised to the Zhu family since she was young. When she turned sixteen, it was time for her to get married, but the young master of the Zhu family refused to marry her. The Zhu family was embarrassed to break off the engagement, so one month before the wedding, the young master ran away to become a monk. The Lu family had no choice but to agree to break off the engagement.
The second retreat was last spring, about this time last year, when she was going to marry into the Shen family of Wuxing. There were several candidates for the Shen family at that time, but the master wanted to marry her to the eldest son of the Shen family. Later, it was heard that the eldest son of the Shen family, who had never married, was a sickly child. In order to marry a wife, he took tonics desperately, but it backfired. A few days after the betrothal gifts were given, the sickly child died.
After two failed attempts to marry her off, the master also felt that the eldest daughter was a bit unlucky, so he wanted to send her off to get married quickly, no longer caring about whether the family background was equal. Last autumn, the master decided to marry her to a possessed man from the Lu family, a poor boy who was dependent on the Lu family for study. He was a very good student and passed the imperial examination. This year, he was going to Beijing to take the imperial examination, but the scholar was unwilling, but he didn't dare to refuse openly. Guess what he did?"
Xiaowanzi's description was vivid and colorful, and Xiao Xia became a little interested. He smiled and said, "I can't guess, you tell me!"
Xiao Wanzi chuckled and said, "The scholar's surname was Fan, but he went to the government to change his surname to Lu. The reason was that his grandfather's surname was Lu, and his father was adopted by the Fan family. He wanted to change back to his original surname, but the county government actually approved it. Ha! Ha! Now Mr. Lu can't marry Ms. Lu. The master is completely dumbfounded!"
Xiao Xia couldn't help laughing, and he asked curiously, "Why don't you want to marry her?"
Xiao Wanzi whispered in Xiao Xia's ear: "I'll tell you, Master! She is a big sister-in-law."
Xiao Xia was puzzled and asked, "What do you mean by 'big wife'?"
"She is just too tall, and her front is big, and her back is also big."
Xiaowanzi pointed to her chest with a red face. Xiao Xia immediately understood and smiled, "Then what?"
"She also has long arms and legs. We in Wu County call such women "big wives". Only country people like such women. They can work and bear children, but noble families despise them the most. We in the south all like women with thin waists and delicate features. Who would like a big wife?"
Xiao Xia understood a little bit. The south still retains the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, where slim and slender women are considered beautiful. They don't like tall and big women. But then again, the eldest wife is in line with the aesthetic of northerners, especially her curvy figure. She likes it too!
At this time, footsteps were heard outside, and the master Lu Shenyan greeted in the yard: "Your Highness, did you have a good rest last night?"
Xiao Xia came out and said with a smile: "Thank you for the arrangement, Patriarch. I like this plum garden very much and I had a good rest!"
Lu Shenyan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. His eldest granddaughter had played the piano again last night, and he was afraid that she would disturb Prince Jin, so he was worried all night.
"Does Your Highness have any plans for today?"
"I will stay in Wu County for a day today, go to Changshu County tomorrow, come back in the evening, and go to Yuhang County the day after tomorrow. Is there anything the head of the family needs?"
Lu Shenyan hesitated for a moment and said, "The Lu family has prepared a small banquet. Would Your Highness be so kind as to honor us?"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "I'm going to host a banquet for the Wu family at noon, but I don't have any plans for the evening. Let's do it in the evening! Invite Governor Xiao as well."
Lu Shenyan was overjoyed, "I'll arrange it right away!" He bowed and turned to leave, but Xiao Xia stopped him and said with a smile, "I have something to trouble the Patriarch!"
"It's no trouble. Please speak, Your Highness!"
"I didn't bring my maid with me this time, so it's a little inconvenient for me to live. I like this little dumpling very much. How about lending it to me for a few days?"
This is a good thing! Lu Shenyan said quickly: "It's rare that Your Highness likes it, so I'll give it to Your Highness."
Xiao Xia was not polite and said happily: "Thank you, Patriarch, I will return the gift later!"
Lu Shenyan bowed and left. Xiao Xia returned to her room, but saw Xiao Wanzi hiding behind the door wiping her tears. Xiao Xia patted her head and said with a smile, "If you don't want to go with me, forget it."
"I'm afraid I'll never see my parents again."
"You're overthinking it. You can go home to visit your family every year. When you reach marriageable age, I will send you back and give you a dowry."
"Really?"
"Why would I lie to a little girl like you? Go back and clean up!"
"I'll go serve breakfast to His Highness."
Xiao Xia then remembered that he hadn't had breakfast yet, so he smiled and nodded, "And bring me a cup of tea."
Soon, Chibi Maruko came in with several maids carrying breakfast and tea, and the personal guards also came in to test the poison. Chibi Maruko had never seen poison being tested before meals, so she blinked her big eyes and watched curiously as the personal guards tested the poison with silver needles.
The breakfast was good, very fine and glutinous white porridge, with a dozen side dishes and a plate of small steamed buns.
After breakfast and tea, Xiao Xia asked with a smile, "Xiao Wanzi, what's your last name?"
"My last name is Xi. I'm the third child in my family, so my name is Xisan. I'm a family servant. My mistress said I have a round face, so she named me Xituaner. But everyone calls me Xiaowanzi!"
"Chibi Maruko-chan is not bad either. Change your name after you get married. You can call me Master from now on."
Xiao Xia took a sip of tea and said, "I don't have any servants in my palace. I will transfer your status to a commoner after we arrive in Jiangdu."
Xiaowanzi was extremely surprised and bowed quickly, "Thank you, sir!"
"Let me ask you again, what does the Three-Quit Lady you mentioned this morning look like?"
Xiaowanzi smiled and said, "Of course she is pretty and has fair skin. They think her face is too big, but I think it is beautiful and well-proportioned."
Xiao Xia waved her hand, called Xiao Wanzi forward, and whispered to her, "Find a way to bring her to the plum garden to appreciate the plum blossoms. I want to see her."
Xiaowanzi nodded quickly, "She likes to come to the garden to feed the fish. I will bring her here to feed the fish in the afternoon."
Xiao Xia then went to the county government office. In the morning, he would listen to the officials' formal performance reports.
In the inner hall, Xiao Lin sighed and said, "As your Highness worried, the Wu County Charity Granary is also in a mess, and the accounts are in disarray. Wu County should normally have 56,000 shi, but in fact, there are only 41,000 shi."
"It's only 15,000 koku less, which is much better than I worried about."
County Magistrate Li Qiliang said: "Our taxes are not collected from the charity granary, only the labor service and local miscellaneous fees are deducted. Generally, the people are unwilling to pay local miscellaneous fees, so it is easier to deduct them from the charity granary.
Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Labor and miscellaneous fees can be deducted, but there must be a basis. The basis I am talking about must be that the other party admits. For example, if the labor service that year was not performed due to illness, how much food should be deducted per month?"
"Three shi of grain is a requirement of the imperial court."
Xiao Xia nodded, "Then deduct three dan of grain. This is called having a basis, and the other party will admit it. For example, if someone clearly served in the army, but the government said he served a few days less and deducted a few dou of rice, this cannot be counted. There are also miscellaneous expenses, such as raising money to build roads and bridges. You have to show the basis, where are the roads and bridges, how much money was spent in total, how much money each person paid, and how much grain it is equivalent to. Do you understand what I mean? For legitimate miscellaneous expenses with a basis, the loss must also comply with the court regulations, otherwise it will not be deducted. Then you can calculate again, how much is left in total?"
Xiao Lin bowed and said, "I will arrange it!"
"You two must remember that the matter of the charity granary is extremely secret and must not be spread out. In addition, the grain will be frozen now and no more grain will be deducted from the charity granary. Once the deficit is made up, the charity granary will be liquidated and closed."
(End of this chapter)