Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 34 Serving Tea!

At 1:15 AM, before dawn.

The brocade curtains hang low, the embroidered balls are gilded, and three lifelike paintings of "a hundred sons and a thousand grandsons" are connected by a love knot. In the corners are red dates, peanuts, longans and lotus seeds, which symbolize prosperous descendants and the early birth of a son.

This is the canopy bed for newlyweds.

"Humph--"

A barely audible humming sound rang out, and Sheng Hualan's eyelashes trembled slightly as she instinctively gathered the somewhat disheveled mandarin duck quilt.

After tucking the blankets in, the beauty quietly tilted her head to the side.

Newlyweds, Jiang Zhao gently wrapped one arm around her, making her feel very safe.

Looking up at the sky, Sheng Hualan reached out her fair hand and gently stroked her husband's chest: "Brother Zhao."

Halfway through her sentence, Sheng Hualan realized something, and her face flushed.

"Husband?"

A tentative call rang out, and Sheng Hualan, emboldened, called out softly again, "Husband!"

"Hmm?" Jiang Zhao woke up and rubbed his eyes.

"My lady, what's wrong?" Jiang Zhao asked, gently stroking the beauty's hair.

I have to admit, having a wife really makes a difference; even sleeping is much more comfortable now.

Sheng Hualan's cheeks flushed crimson, and she lowered her head slightly, not daring to look directly at her lover.

She pulled the blanket tighter around her, bit her lip lightly, and said softly, "It's already dawn, time to get up and go serve tea to my parents-in-law and pay my respects."

"Serve tea?" Jiang Zhao was taken aback.

The so-called tea ceremony is also known as the greeting to the parents-in-law, or the temple greeting, and is mainly for the bride.

Initially, this ritual was established so that the bride could express her filial piety to her parents-in-law and listen to their blessings and admonitions, so that she could be better accepted and integrate into her husband's family.

At the same time, this is also an important ceremony to establish the bride's status in her husband's family.

However, after thousands of years of evolution, it has long since changed its meaning and has become an opportunity for the mother-in-law to express her authority to the new bride.

Originally, the bride only needed to serve tea once.

But through evolution, the practice of offering tea has changed to serving tea, and now it has become a daily ritual!

Furthermore, one must serve tea at the hour of Mao (5 to 7 a.m.) to demonstrate filial piety and sincerity.

While serving tea, they often also had to attend to their mother-in-law's daily needs and be on call at all times.

If a new bride encounters a husband who is unworthy, unloved, powerless, and afraid to protect his wife, she might even leave before dawn and only rest at dusk.

As time goes on, if the wife is away from her own courtyard for extended periods, the husband will inevitably begin to favor his concubine.

He was oppressed by his mother-in-law for a long time, and his concubines were vying for his favor. He worked hard and suffered many setbacks, but his life was not even as comfortable as that of his concubines. The imbalance in his mindset could drive him crazy.

Using etiquette as a pretext to carry out acts of oppression.

The word "filial piety" has driven countless brides to their wits' end.

If you encounter a kind mother-in-law, serving tea for a year or two is often enough.

If you encounter a mother-in-law with a bad heart, you might have to serve tea for the rest of your life, and if you make a mistake even once, you will be beaten and punished.

The only chance to turn things around is to outlive the mother-in-law.

Once the mother-in-law outlives her, the new bride naturally becomes the mistress of the household.

and then?
Then, the dragon slayer becomes the dragon himself!
The reason is very simple.

After decades of hard work to finally turn things around, wouldn't it be a waste if he didn't put some pressure on his daughter-in-law?
Even worse, some women are not only mothers-in-law themselves, but also have mothers-in-law above them.

Women who serve their mothers-in-law during the day and torment their daughters-in-law at night are a common sight.

Generation after generation, things have basically gotten worse and worse.

Fortunately, Sheng Hualan did not have this concern.

She is Jiang Zhao's wife!
Not to mention that Jiang Zhao must be a strong-willed person who can protect his wife, objectively speaking, it is unlikely that Sheng Hualan would be abused by her mother-in-law.

Firstly, Jiang Zhao's mother was from the Hai family of Jiangning.

The Hai family of Jiangning had a clan rule: a woman's husband could not take a concubine until he was forty years old and had no children.

These conditions are quite demanding.

The conditions are harsh, but there are also corresponding advantages.

Firstly, the Hai family was a family of scholars who had served as Hanlin scholars for five generations, a family of upright officials.

The Hai family has produced high-ranking officials in the imperial court for generations. Once a man marries a woman from the Hai family, he can gain considerable political support. While his career may not be guaranteed to be smooth sailing, he will certainly have a powerful backer, which is quite extraordinary.

Secondly, the reputation of the Hai family women.

The women of the Hai clan were certainly well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of their clan rules. Because of these rules, husbands were not allowed to take concubines; at most, they could keep mistresses outside the clan.

However, a mere concubine is beneath contempt, not even a mistress, and cannot even enter the inner quarters. How could she possibly compete for the emperor's favor with the principal wife?

The women of the Hai family held an almost unshakeable position within the inner quarters.

The disadvantages are also very obvious: the clan rules bring too many benefits!

Since you don't allow your husband to take a concubine and you enjoy so many benefits, you at least have to be able to maintain appearances, right?
Especially in terms of character.

If you enjoy so many benefits, but your reputation outside is still not good, wouldn't that be unworthy of your position and make you a laughingstock for no reason?

Therefore, in order to ensure that their virtue matched their position, all the women of the Hai family, without exception, were people who cared a great deal about their reputation.

Aside from the somewhat harsh rule against husbands taking concubines, in every other aspect, whether as a daughter-in-law or a mother-in-law, she had no complaints.

There is almost no such thing as a "wicked mother-in-law named Hai".

In other words, if a woman had a mother-in-law from the Jiangning Hai family, she would at most serve her for one or two years.

For a woman, this is already a very rare and good mother-in-law!

Jiang Zhao's mother was the eldest daughter of the Hai family, so Sheng Hualan naturally didn't need to worry about serving her mother-in-law.

Secondly, Jiang Zhao is very capable and has a smooth career path!

Officials often move between several places.

Once they go to other places, fathers and sons, mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law may not even see each other once a year.

There wasn't even a chance to serve tea!
This is why women from prominent families often prefer to find a "successful" husband.

If the husband becomes successful, it means he will be spared the hardship of "serving tea".

The saying goes that a local official is more powerful than a distant one; for a new bride, her mother-in-law is that "local official."

Being spared the hassle of serving tea is undoubtedly very tempting.

However, considering the importance of matching social status, it is extremely difficult for a woman from a prestigious family to find a husband who comes from the same social class and is also successful.

Good fortune, luck, upbringing, and appearance—all must be excellent!

Sheng Hualan is undoubtedly a person with extremely good fortune.

Not only did she marry into a wealthy family, but her husband also became a successful man!

Sheng Hualan was sensible and intelligent from a young age, and naturally she knew the ins and outs of serving tea.

At this moment, Sheng Hualan, wrapped in the quilt, couldn't help but feel a sense of joy and relief.

Serving tea is truly the thing a bride fears most, bar none.

Even the most normal person would go crazy if they were tormented and tortured every day!
Jiang Zhao nodded and stroked his wife's face.

"No rush, it's only early morning, let's rest a bit more!"

Sheng Hualan's clear eyes flickered slightly, and she gently wrapped her arms around her husband's neck, pressing them against his chest.

When a girl reaches the age of marriage, what she looks forward to most is getting married, and what she fears most is also getting married.

It's just that some people are looking forward to it, while others are afraid of it.

In the past, she was also very worried about getting married.

If you marry poorly, you'll truly suffer for the rest of your life.

Fortunately, Heaven took pity on her and allowed her to marry one of the best husbands in the world!

Having just become a wife, Sheng Hualan's worries had vanished, and she was filled with anticipation.

My mother-in-law is a good mother-in-law, and my husband is a good husband!
This is the life she truly dreamed of after getting married!
The young couple cuddled for a quarter of an hour.

"My lord, let me help you change your clothes!" Sheng Hualan felt a sweet warmth in her heart and endured some strange pain as she got up.

"Okay!" Jiang Zhao nodded, his eyes glancing at his wife's fair skin.

It's so moisturizing!

Sheng Hualan gently helped her husband change his clothes. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw plum blossoms on the white cloth, and her face flushed.

Before long, the couple had changed their clothes.

Jiang Zhao patted his wife's head tenderly and said thoughtfully, "No rush. It's still dark, and it will be cold if we go out. Let's wash up and eat something later, and then go out at six-quarters past dawn."

Today, besides offering tea to our parents, we also need to burn incense to worship our ancestors, transcribe our wives' names into the family genealogy, and meet with the clan elders. Without eating something, we'll inevitably get a little hungry.

“Yes!” Sheng Hualan nodded repeatedly.

With her husband's support, she felt less anxious and more at ease.

(End of this chapter)