Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 437 Discussion
Guo Xiong seemed not to recognize Xie Chengrang. He glanced at Xie's face casually and then ordered the servants around him to move the things directly to the temple.

"Gentlemen, this is a Buddhist porcelain that my wife sent to the temple. Please do me a favor."

The temple entrance was crowded with people, but upon hearing Guo Xiong's words, they automatically made way for him.

"This is the place that makes the reliquary."

"Now, all the shops at the South City Wharf are his."

Madam Zhou had no time to listen to the discussions. As she watched Guo Xiong and the others enter the temple before them, she frowned slightly, somewhat displeased.

"This new abbot is truly ignorant of etiquette," said a woman from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, noticing Madam Zhou's expression.

"Even if the Buddha manifests, it is only through her reliquary that he descends. In the end, it is not because of them, but because our Great Liang Holy Emperor is on the throne that we have such a scene."

Madam Zhou nodded casually, but in her heart she cursed the woman as a fool. It sounded like she was suppressing the Xie family, but in fact she was praising the Xie family's reliquary. Such a small thing had become a symbol of the official's wisdom. Just the fact that the Buddha descended through the reliquary would spread the word and give the Xie family at least a few years of protection.

Only after Guo Xiong and the others left were the Xie family members able to continue their journey.

After being stopped like this, Madam Zhou lost all interest in the Dharma assembly. She immediately instructed Xie Chengxin, "Let's go straight to the meditation room to rest. We'll come out and take a look after the relic box is enshrined."

Xie Chengxin responded.

Xie Wenjing looked around; there were more people than usual today.

“Not all of them came to see the relic box,” Xie Chengxin said. “I think there are quite a few scholars here, probably praying for good luck in the provincial examinations.”

No sooner had Xie Chengxin finished speaking than a scholar-looking man said, "This is the Lady Xie from Daming Prefecture I was talking about. The Daming Prefecture Gazette is printed by her bookstore."

"I heard that the bookstore didn't belong to her; she only gave her some money."

"That's all old news. The Yang family bought the bookstore a while ago. Liu Erlang from Daming Prefecture will be here soon. You can ask him if you don't believe me."

Xie Chengxin's face immediately showed a bit of embarrassment. He wanted to say something, but Madam Zhou said indifferently, "Let's go, it's too noisy here."

When the group arrived at the meditation room at the back, they found that quite a few people had already gathered there.

Upon seeing Madam Zhou, the women stepped forward to pay their respects, and Madam Zhou's mood gradually improved.

She is the wife of a high-ranking official, and wherever she goes, she should be fawned over. Otherwise, what use is the official position that her husband has worked so hard for?
A wife's fortune is determined by her husband's status; ultimately, a woman still depends on her husband. Even if there are female households in this dynasty, those are widows with no one to rely on. Unmarried women and married women can receive a share of their maternal family's property, but the amount is extremely small, and how many of them can actually get their hands on it? Don't they still have to depend on the whims of their elders and brothers in their maternal family?

Unless, she doesn't want her family to stand up for her anymore.

This shows that not only were the Yang family shady merchants, but the Xie family was also not from a respectable background.

The women sat down, and servants served them tea.

Xie Chengxin and Xie Chengrang also went to the pavilion in front and sat down for a while.

Guo Niangzi, the wife of the Taichang Cheng, came over again and personally served vegetarian dishes to Madam Zhou.

After a while, the women began to speak again, but they were noticeably more reserved because Madam Zhou was there.

Zhang Niangzi, the wife of the Chief of the Privy Council, was always a shrewd and resourceful person. Wherever she went, she would gather the most information. Seeing that Madam Zhou was still unaware of the affairs of the temple, Zhang Niangzi picked out some things to say.

"The Shen family has been here for the past seven days, and even the old matriarch, who is so old, came along."

Upon hearing this, Madam Guo sighed, "After all, it involves her two children, so it's no wonder she's like this."

Madam Zhang continued, "Before you arrived, Madam Xie had already arrived, and Madam Gao personally went to greet her." Madam Zhou raised her eyes.

No matter what, Lady Gao is the younger sister of the Dowager Consort and the mother of Consort De, yet she is given such great respect.

The ladies were also surprised.

Madam Guo couldn't help but ask, "And what about Madam Xie? Is she really only seventeen or eighteen years old?"

“I heard that,” said Madam Zhang. “I only glanced at her from afar and didn’t go up to speak. Besides, she was wearing a veil, so I couldn’t see her face.”

Madam Guo said, "That merchant was just lucky, and the Shen family owes him a debt of gratitude because of it."

A woman surnamed Hu said, "The Shen family wanted to build a small nunnery for Fourth Sister. They used the shop rented by Madam Xie and must have given her a lot of money. Madam Xie then used the money to choose a place to renovate a perfume shop. The new shop is much bigger than the one outside Yunqi Temple."

Upon hearing this, the women present all showed a hint of envy.

Madam Hu laughed and said, "In my opinion, since Madam Xie is already a widow anyway, she might as well take this opportunity to find a failed scholar in the capital and remarry. She can support the scholar's studies in the future, and who knows, she might even become the wife of an official in the future."

Madam Zhang hurriedly shook her head: "Her husband just passed away not long ago, and she is still in mourning. How can she remarry now? Besides, how could a scholar possibly be interested in her?"

Madam Hu said, "Merchant families don't care about these things. Otherwise, they wouldn't let a woman run the household. Scholars aren't necessarily unwilling either; in recent years... new ideas have been promoted..."

Madam Hu almost mentioned the new law, but then changed her mind, saying, "Many merchants with some money marry their daughters to scholars. Many scholars fail the imperial examinations repeatedly and have exhausted their wealth. Without such a marriage, they cannot continue to make a living. As long as family background and age are not considered, there will always be a suitable match."

As Madam Hu was getting into her story, someone coughed.

The women then raised their heads, and the man who had given the warning stood up and bowed.

Madam Zhou also looked over and saw the master of ceremonies and scribes of Cining Palace being led by a monk to another meditation room.

Xie Wenjing frequently visited the palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager and the Empress, so she was naturally familiar with the people around the Empress Dowager. The master of ceremonies would often have the opportunity to speak with her.

Just as Xie Wenjing was about to step forward, the emcee returned the greeting to everyone and said, "We have official business to attend to today, so we will not have tea with the ladies."

As Xie Wenjing watched the master of ceremonies and the scribe walk away, she slightly clenched her handkerchief. If she were the Princess Consort, those two female officials would at least have come over to pay their respects.

Madam Zhou sat down again, and the ladies also took their seats, though their expressions varied.

"Is the Cining Palace here for the Shen family?"

"Or it's for the reliquary. Some people say that the Shen family is going to pay money to build a pagoda in the temple to enshrine the reliquary in the future. It's probably because the Empress Dowager ordered someone to discuss this matter."

Building a pagoda in the name of the Cining Palace would be far more impressive than having the Shen family do it themselves.

After the group talked for a while, a novice monk came and invited them: "We are about to enshrine the relic box. If any virtuous person wishes to observe, please go to the front hall."

Finally, the appointed time arrived. Madam Zhou stood up and, with Xie Wenjing's help, walked towards the front hall.

The front hall was also bustling with activity. Several men in official robes stood beside the monk Zhiyuan, including the envoy from Western Xia. He kept looking ahead, clearly waiting to see the relic box.

"The imperial court has sent a plaque."

Someone in the crowd called out, and Xie Chengrang looked over. He saw Wang Yan, dressed in a scarlet official robe, slowly approaching.

The true face will be revealed in the chapter tonight.