【Quick Wear】My Years as a Mother-in-law

Chapter 212 Grandmother Jia 14

The eldest princess is a very kind person. She often sets up porridge stalls outside the city to provide relief to disaster victims. Yun Xi cannot compare to her in setting up porridge stalls in winter or providing porridge to a large number of disaster victims.

Having such a kind and blessed person be the main guest of Jia Min can indirectly increase Jia Min's popularity and add to her reputation.

Next, a set of clothes was given to Jia Min to change into that day, which was called "Cai Yi Cai Lu". The specific process was: the person who came of age took his place - the guest washed his hands - the first ceremony - one bow - the second ceremony - the second bow - the third ceremony - the third bow - the third ceremony - the offering ceremony.

The process was very complicated, so Yun Xi asked Amber, who was beside her, to arrange it. Amber had already arranged for the man to get married at the end of the year, so she wanted her to practice before that.

Half a month before April 12th, Yun Xi had already sent out invitations, including those from the eldest princess, the Lin family, the neighboring Ning family, etc., but not the four princes and eight dukes. According to Jia She, the emperor is now familiar with handling state affairs and has noticed the four princes and eight dukes. Who dares to associate with them?

Yun Xi's only worry was that these people would cause trouble. Now it seemed that these people were not so bad. Of course, it was also because Jia She and Jia Jing did not hold important positions, otherwise they would definitely be suppressed in the court. As for Jia Zheng, it's better not to mention him.

In the blink of an eye, it was April 12th. Early in the morning, the Jia family opened the main door to welcome guests. Yun Xi breathed a sigh of relief after the ceremony was successfully completed. She was so tired. The next step was to eat and drink. The delicious food made her appetite grow.

At the dinner table, Cui asked quietly, "My dear, are the Jia family really going to cut ties with the Four Princes and Eight Dukes?"

Everyone at the table pricked up their ears.

Yun Xi smiled and said, "The Jia family is short of talent now and cannot compare with other families, so they naturally keep a low profile. And my in-laws, please don't say that. It seems like you are forming a clique for personal gain. There is no such thing as the Four Kings and Eight Dukes. They are just ministers serving the court."

She would never follow Jia Daishan's advice to support Wang Ziteng. Yes, at that time, the Four Kings and Eight Dukes rose to power, but the Jia family fell into decline. Later, the Four Kings and Eight Dukes were even destroyed. The Jia family would not play with those fools anymore. Goodbye~

It can be seen from Dream of the Red Chamber that after the power was given to the Wang family, the Jia family did not get any benefits and began to decline. The heads of the first and second houses were both daughters of the Wang family. To put it bluntly, the Wang family was stealing the Jia family. Yun Xi thought that this might be the reason why Grandmother Jia had spoiled Jia Baoyu.

Jia Baoyu is not the hope of the Jia family, nor is he the hope of Grandmother Jia. Being born with a jade in his mouth is a nightmare for the Jia family. Before Jia Baoyu was born, the Jia family still had hope of rising. After Jia Baoyu was born, this hope was completely shattered. Grandmother Jia should have seen this.

After hearing Yun Xi's answer, the people at the table had different expressions. She didn't care and ate the delicious food happily. They were all rare delicacies from land and sea.

At the end of the banquet, the Grand Princess rarely exchanged greetings with Yun Xi for a while before leaving. She also said that she would invite her to the banquet in the future. Yun Xi understood and agreed with a smile.

Since then, Yun Xi took Jia Min and her family to attend many banquets other than those of the four kings and eight dukes, including some palace banquets, and got to know many noble ladies.

Jia Min mainly records the complicated relationships between these people so that she can help her family in the future.

Yun Xi is planning to build a few more courtyards in the mansion. She doesn't know how many children her two daughters-in-law will have. Also, there are concubines. If there are more than ten or twenty, she will really need more courtyards.

Think about how Yingchun and the other ladies in the original novel were supposed to each have their own courtyard, but instead they could only live in Baoxia, Jia Mu's courtyard. Jia Baoyu, that big-faced treasure, could go in whenever he wanted, without any privacy at all. His reputation was ruined, and when he reached the right age, no one of equal status proposed to him...

After taking a tour around the Rongguo Mansion, Yun Xi was still shocked. In the entire Rongguo Mansion, the servants' residences occupied one third of the mansion, which was simply against the will of heaven!

Fortunately, she laid off the staff. Now, most of the backyard has been turned into a garden by Zhang, with rockery, flowing water, flowers, plants and trees. The servants, men and women, live in a row of houses at the westernmost and easternmost ends respectively, from south to north. There are not many people, so there is enough space for them to live in.

If two servants want to get married, they can move out and find a house for themselves on Ningrong Street. This move shows that Yun Xi does not like servants getting married.

Yun Xi pointed to the Lixiang Courtyard in the northeast corner and said, "Take good care of this courtyard. It's where your father recuperated when he was alive. When the time comes, you can choose which sister will live there. The land to the west of the back door can be used as a warehouse."

The Lixiangyuan is quite large and can accommodate a legitimate daughter, as the size is suitable.

"Okay." Jia Min took note of it.

Yun Xi looked at the courtyard in the northwest corner again. This courtyard was opposite to Lixiang Courtyard and was the same size. In the original novel, it was Zhou Rui Courtyard. It was ironic to think that the courtyard where a servant lived was larger than Lixiang Courtyard where the Duke had lived.

But now she was here and had sent those people away.

"Let's divide this courtyard into two equal-sized ones. Find some craftsmen to renovate the courtyard. After they're divided, one can be called Yaoxing Courtyard and the other can be called Taohuayuan. Plant some apricot and peach trees in them like you did in Lixiang Courtyard."

Yaoxingyuan and Taohuayuan are smaller than Lixiangyuan and can accommodate concubines' daughters.

"Yes."

"In the central garden, you will build six two-story attics. Each attic should have a yard. Two larger ones and four smaller ones should be enough. Let's use flowers and plants as the theme. You can come up with the names yourself and then give me the design drawings for my review before we start."

Yun Xi thought that the house should be big enough for nine girls to live in. If not, two girls could live together. The girl from the second house would definitely move in as well. Given Wang's personality, it would definitely be like this. The lady living in the backyard of the Duke's Mansion could not be compared with the lady of a fifth-rank official.

As for whether the area is enough? Of course it is. There are ten courtyards in the Grand View Garden. She asked for it to be built into a loft because the second floor can overlook the scenery and not feel stuffy.

Jia Min nodded. Now that her sisters-in-law were all pregnant, it was only right to build more small courtyards. She originally lived in Wutong Courtyard (Fengjie Courtyard). After her mother moved out of Rongxi Hall, she also moved there and currently lived in her mother's courtyard.

Thinking about the backyard layout I saw when I attended banquets at other people's homes, there was indeed something wrong with my own home. My three half-sisters didn't even have a proper yard before they got married. They lived with their aunts, which was absolutely inappropriate. Girls are precious and should live in the backyard at the age of seven. They should not meet men from other families easily, and their father and brothers are not allowed to go to the backyard boudoir at will.

Jia Min pondered over this matter for several days before handing the design to Yun Xi. Yun Xi was shocked when she saw it. Isn't this the Grand View Garden? Not exactly, but the layout is very similar. How much would it cost to build it? And how did Jia Min come up with this layout? Is it a coincidence?

Yun Xi asked calmly, "Min'er, did you design this blueprint by yourself?"