Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2762 Madam Shi 2.0
"Wait a minute!" Jin Miaomiao interrupted Shen Cha, looking at her with a puzzled expression. "Xiao Cha, what you're saying doesn't make sense."

"Where is the blockage?"

"Who exactly is this Madam Shi? How could she have done such a thing at such a young age?"

“The Shi family is run by women, you know that, right?” Shen Cha took a bite of noodles and a sip of soup before slowly saying, “This family only has sons-in-law who live with the family, no daughters who get married.”

"Does that mean that even boys don't have the right to manage the household, right?"

“Yes!” Chu Han nodded and waved to Shen Cha. “You eat first. I’ll explain the background of the Shi family.” Hearing Shen Cha’s response, he continued, “The Shi family doesn’t have many boys, but it’s not few either. Each generation has two or three boys, but most of them are girls. Most importantly, the girls in their family are usually smarter and more capable than the boys, every generation. So, for the sake of the family’s continuation, it is basically the girls who are in charge.”

"But aren't all aristocratic families bound by marriage alliances? Are there really any aristocratic families willing to let their sons become live-in sons-in-law?"

“You know, their family’s selection of a son-in-law is no different from their selection of a concubine.” Chu Han spread his hands. “Their family holds all kinds of banquets every year, which is not uncommon among the aristocratic families in Jiangnan. Each family racks their brains to hold flower viewing banquets, tea banquets, and so on. In fact, the purpose is to find suitable candidates for their own eligible boys and girls.”

"I've heard of this. It's not just the aristocratic families; it's the same in Xijing City. The only difference is that the Shi family takes in sons-in-law." Jin Miaomiao frowned slightly. "Should we prepare in advance for our appointment with them? Maybe they'll take a liking to us?"

"The Shi family also knew that respectable families would not agree to their children marrying into their family, but they did not want disreputable families either. Therefore, they only had three criteria for choosing a son-in-law: first, family background; second, character; and third, appearance."

"His background is understandable, they must be from a similar social class, his character is also important, he must be someone who doesn't care about money, and his appearance is also a factor."

“Even simpler,” Chu Han sighed, “Looks good.” He pointed to himself, “What do you guys think of my looks?”

"So beautiful!" Shen Cha put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and said, "The most famous thing about the Jing Prince's Mansion isn't its scheming, but its good looks, right? If the Jing Prince's Mansion hadn't been unable to form a marriage alliance with the royal family, it's likely that the Jing Prince's Mansion would have already had girls married into the royal family and princesses and county princesses in marriage." She looked at Chu Han and said, "The Empress Dowager once said that if the Jing Prince's Mansion hadn't been gone so long ago, the eldest princess's marriage wouldn't have been delayed for so long, and she wouldn't have encountered such rotten people as the Zhao family."

“Yes, I think I have that impression.” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “But the Princess herself might not be happy.” She grinned at Shen Cha and whispered, “If you’re so capable, say that to the Grand Commander!”

"Hey!" Chu Han waved his hand at the two of them. "Even if the Jing Prince's Mansion were here, it wouldn't be possible. However, Xiao Cha is right. The most famous thing about the Jing Prince's Mansion is actually this face." He touched his face and laughed. "So, we received quite a few invitations from the Shi family back then."

"Their target is..." Shen Cha glanced at Chu Han, "...their great-uncle?" Seeing him nod, she couldn't help but roll her eyes, "What are they thinking? Why would the heir or young master of the Jing Prince's mansion become a live-in son-in-law for their family?"

“They thought that my brother and I would definitely fight for the throne, and the loser would be homeless. At that time, they would take in the poor loser.”

"That was a really good idea, but they didn't expect things wouldn't go as they planned, right?"

"Yeah, I bet they're actually glad they didn't set their sights on us!" Chu Han rolled his eyes. "What's more, the person they're looking at isn't just anyone, it's Madam Shi."

"What a coincidence?" "It is indeed a coincidence." Chu Han raised an eyebrow. "At that time, she already had some fame, and Huayuji had already opened. Although we couldn't accept the invitation, we could do some research on her."

"So, what were the results of the investigation?"

"His wisdom borders on the supernatural; he is no ordinary person."

"What does this mean?" Jin Miaomiao started to say, but before she could finish, Xue Mu pushed open the door to the main room. "What's wrong?"

"The roast duck was just delivered from the main camp. The Duke and the Marquis said they'd add it to everyone's meal," Xue Mu said, pointing outside. "But it needs to be roasted again, so please wait a bit."

"Roast duck?"

Shen Jiu and Xia Jiu put down their bowls of noodles, stood up abruptly, walked to the door, looked at the servants busy in the open space, and then at the roast duck on the shelf.

"These are the ones that Qi Bo delivered to the camp this afternoon?"

"Yes!" Xue Mu nodded. "Because the old man had already had them prepared, a few were kept in the main kitchen for soup tomorrow, and the rest were roasted and sent to various camps and mansions."

"Where are the elderly folks?" Shen Jiu looked at Xue Mu. "Are they all there?"

"Fourth Master, Master Qin, and Master Yan are all at the teahouse. They've already gone over and seen that they've all started eating there." Xue Mu smiled. "The chef at the teahouse makes an exceptional roast duck; it's far better than what we make here."

"Okay!" Xia Jiu nodded. "By the way, what about Old Tang?"

"I've already delivered them." Xue Mu glanced at Shen Jiu and Xia Jiu, then at Shen Cha, and sighed softly. "The atmosphere at home isn't very good."

"Not good?" Xia Jiu frowned. "Has the old lady had another attack?"

"Yes, it took a long time to calm them down before they returned to normal," Xue Mu sighed. "Old Tang told our brothers not to tell the boss, but..."

"Don't tell my brother and sister yet." Xia Jiu thought for a moment, "I'll talk to Sister Miao Miao later and see if we can ask Old Master Yelü to take a look, or have Old Tang bring his mother to the Marquis's mansion."

“Bring her to the Marquis’s residence. It’s not very convenient for the old master to go to the place where Old Tang lives,” Xue Mu said after thinking for a moment. “I’ll talk to Old Madam Ning and Sister Ning. If his mother can come to the Marquis’s residence, please invite these two.”

“No, Old Tang’s mother’s condition is out of control. Neither the Old Madam nor Sister Ning should show up to avoid a sudden relapse that could harm them. That would be terrible. But Sister Miao Miao alone doesn’t seem to be enough.” Shen Jiu looked at Mei Lin. “If we ask Sister Guan for Sister Xiao Lin, that probably won’t work either, right?” He sighed softly. “It seems keeping it from Sister won’t be easy!”