The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

A few days later, Madam Xu of the Xiao family welcomed Granny Xue.

"Great news! Great news, Madam! The Imperial Observatory has calculated that the young master and young lady's horoscopes are a match made in heaven, complementing each other perfectly, bringing great fortune! The Zhong family is overjoyed to hear this!"

Granny Xue was quite old, but her smile made the wrinkles on her face resemble chrysanthemums.

"Amitabha! It's truly a blessing from heaven! Thank you so much, Granny, for bringing such good news."

Upon hearing this, a relaxed and gratified smile immediately spread across Xu's face.

"Second sister-in-law, congratulations."

"Thank you, sister-in-law."

Mrs. Xu was genuinely happy.

She's getting a daughter-in-law; she's going to be a mother-in-law.

“Next up is Najib,” Madam Xu said. “You should at least try to manage things.”

"I'll take care of it."

Madam Xu smiled slightly.

What does it matter?
She just wants to be a mother-in-law.

They have no idea how wonderful it is to have an elder sister-in-law in charge.

My sister-in-law insisted that I take charge, so I came to check in every day to see how she was handling things.

Anyway, only my sister-in-law has experience, I don't.

On this day, Granny Xue led two respectable servants from the Xiao family, carrying a small but exquisite gift box to their door.

"Madam Zhong, the Xiao family has paid the betrothal gifts, which means the matter is settled and is extremely auspicious."

Granny Xue happily opened the gift box and showed it to Madam Zhong.

Several bolts of fine Suzhou satin, a pair of jade ruyi of excellent quality, and several exquisite gold jewelry pieces.

The gifts weren't extremely expensive, but each one was exquisite, showing that thought had been put into them. They not only demonstrated the importance placed on the gifts but also reflected the current situation of the Xiao family.

After all, everyone knows that the Xiao family's property had been confiscated, and they had only just caught their breath in the past seven years. They couldn't possibly want more.

In fact, the engagement gift given by the Xiao family was carefully considered.

It's not that the Xiao family can't afford it, but rather that they need to know how to conceal their abilities.

After seven years of confiscation of property, with the men in the northern deserts and the women in Sichuan, how could they produce such a lavish betrothal gift in less than a year after returning to the capital? What would others think?
Having survived a calamity, the Xiao family became even more cautious in their actions.

"The Xiao family is too kind, their manners are so impeccable. Lan'er," Madam Zhong looked carefully and nodded in satisfaction. She then called her daughter, who was waiting quietly to the side, "Come and take a look too."

Zhong Lan stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over the pair of jade ruyi scepters. Her ears turned slightly red, and her eyes revealed undisguised joy and solemnity.

"Thank you very much, Granny. Please also tell Uncle Xiao and Aunt Xiao that Lan'er will live up to your kindness."

She bowed to Granny Xue.

"Look how wonderful our young lady is! She and the second-place scholar are a match made in heaven."

There's nothing that Granny Xue can't handle.

She was overjoyed.

It's done.

The Xiao family has recently been experiencing a series of joyous events.

"Mother, Haodong has come with betrothal gifts."

Zhu Lingling was overjoyed.

The bride is the younger half-brother from the bride's family, and the bride is the younger sister-in-law from the groom's family.

It's truly a case of families becoming even closer.

Sometimes I feel that my mother is very wise and a very good stepmother.

Zhu Haodong was raised under her name and was always treated like his own son.

The second younger brother was disobedient and insisted on guarding the border. The biological son went into the military while the illegitimate son went into the civil service. Moreover, the illegitimate son had such good fortune. Everyone in the circle of noble ladies congratulated him, saying, "Madam, you are so lucky."

No, it doesn't matter whose flesh and blood he came from. As long as he still has the surname Zhu, everyone has to respectfully call him "Mother" when they meet.

This is much better than some families where the legal wife suffocates the illegitimate son so much that the son flips the table as soon as he catches his breath!
Isn't it better than anything else to have a harmonious family living a good life?
"Alright, let's call Yan'er and go take a look together."

The Zhu family's betrothal gifts arrived and were neatly piled in a corner of the hall: a gilded box containing the betrothal silver, a set of gold jewelry, silk fabrics, tea, wedding cakes, a pair of live geese, and three kinds of sacrificial animals...

“Sister Yan, please come and inspect the gift list yourself.”

Madam Zhu said, "Mother, could you please help me check and confirm as well?" Mainly, since one side was her half-brother and the other her aunt, she wanted to remain impartial and simply not get involved.

After inspecting the betrothal gifts, Madam Xu, along with her daughter and daughter-in-law, checked the dowry again.

"Mother, is there anything else that needs to be added to the dowry list? Although it's not as grand as it used to be, we can't let Yan'er suffer."

Looking at the already generous betrothal gifts, Mrs. Xu felt both gratified and moved.

"It's already very good. My son has good intentions, and the Zhu family will surely appreciate our sincerity. Yan'er, it's your own life to live, and sincerity is more important than pomp and circumstance."

She carefully placed the gift list into a red envelope and gave instructions to her daughter-in-law.

"Make sure to take good care of Granny Xue."

The next day, the Zhu family held a wedding procession, with music and a grand sedan chair carried by eight men to welcome Miss Xiao.

"Yan'er bids farewell to her father and mother."

Tears streamed down Xiao Chunyan's face as she wore the veil.

She got married; she married Mr. Zhu.

At the tender age of fifteen or sixteen, she also had her share of unresolved issues in Changzhou.

She was afraid that her mother had really arranged a blind date for her in Changzhou and that she would marry someone from Changzhou.

If the Xiao family really can't go back, and her family is all in Changzhou, it's fine for everyone to be together.

What I fear most is that after she marries into Changzhou, her family will one day move back to the capital, leaving her all alone in that place...

She waited anxiously year after year, but still couldn't find a suitable marriage partner, and she started to panic again.

What I fear most is becoming an old maid, and then I'll only be able to become someone's stepmother.

Back in the capital, I was filled with both joy and trepidation.

I never thought about marrying up, but I also didn't want to marry down.

Because she had endured several years of hardship in Changzhou, and even after getting married, she still lived a life of hardship; she was truly immersed in bitterness her whole life.

Unexpectedly, she married into her elder sister-in-law's family, and her husband was a handsome and talented scholar who had passed the imperial examination at the second-class level. She was extremely satisfied with this marriage.

"The groom is here! The groom is here!"

"Yan'er, let your elder brother carry you to the bridal sedan chair."

"Thank you for your trouble, elder brother."

Leaning on her elder brother's broad shoulders, Xiao Chunyu cried again, her warm tears wetting his shoulder.

"Yan'er, no matter what, the door of this home will always be open for you. If you are wronged, remember to come home. Your elder brother is here!"

"Yes, Yan'er has remembered!"

After Chunyan boarded the bridal sedan chair, Zhu Haodong did not immediately get out of the sedan chair. Instead, he turned around and entered the Xiao residence, where he lifted his robe and knelt before Madam Xu and her husband.

"Father-in-law and Mother-in-law, your son-in-law will treat Yan'er with sincerity and will not let her suffer the slightest grievance."

After saying this, he kowtowed heavily, stood up, and left the mansion.

"This child, this child..."

She had never seen such an honest son-in-law before, and Mrs. Xu was so happy that she burst into tears.

"I'm relieved to have Yan'er in his care."

Master Xiao nodded: "This son-in-law is a good choice."

Yan'er has found her happiness, that's wonderful!

In the main courtyard of the third branch, Madam Huang kept pacing back and forth.

"The bridal sedan chair has left?"

"Reporting to the Third Madam, the sedan chair is ready to depart."

"She married that illegitimate son of the Zhu family?"

"Yes, it's that illegitimate son."

"Heh, that's all the Xu family is capable of."

Huang's face was full of sarcasm.

The maid lowered her head: The Third Master said that he would do whatever the Third Madam said, and not to anger her.

The third matriarch only knew that Zhu, the son-in-law, was a son born out of wedlock, but she didn't know that he was a second-class Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations)! (End of Chapter)