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Third Master Jiang’s face darkened, and he interrupted her with a rebuke, “When it was time to marry a bride to bring fortune, why didn’t you mention you had three sons, one of whom could be sacrificed? Now that it’s about your mother-in-law’s private savings, you remember you have three sons. Do you expect your family to have all the good fortune?”
Seeing Madam Huang’s face turn red with embarrassment, he softened his tone and said, “It’s truly a woman’s perspective. If my future is bright, the sons’ futures will naturally be good as well. Why suffer over money and make Mother unhappy? Remember, Mother has her reasons for doing things. You must never be petty and upset her. If you want your sons to have an easy life, let them learn from Zhanwei. In the future, they can earn their own mountains of gold and silver…”
Eldest Madam Han also received similar words and was scolded by Jiang Zhanju.
Meanwhile, Donghui Courtyard was a harmonious scene. It wasn’t because of unexpected extra wealth, but because Jiang Zhanwei had already registered Concubine Zhou at the yamen, officially making her the honored concubine of Second Master Jiang. The three siblings could now rightfully call her “Aunt”.
“Once the title is conferred, she will be a lady.” Jiang Zhanwei said.
Although she would be a secondary wife like a lady, she would still be a lady.
Jiang Jiu asked, “If Aunt is conferred the title of Countess, wouldn’t her rank be higher than Second Madam’s?”
Jiang Zhanwei replied, “I requested the title this way, but the Ministry of Rites won’t give her the title of Countess. It will definitely be lower than Second Madam’s rank of Fourth-grade Gong Ren. If there are no surprises, it should be Fifth-grade Yi Ren.”
Jiang Zhankui laughed, “A Fifth-grade Yi Ren is still a titled lady. From now on, the servants will have to call her Second House Lady.”
When Lu Man heard this title, she wasn’t particularly happy. Her son had gone to great lengths to request a title for her, but in the end, she could only be called “Second House Lady”, and her children could only call her “Aunt”. Once a woman becomes a concubine, she is forever looked down upon.
Concubine Zhou’s title was conferred on the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.
As expected, as soon as Jiang Zhanwei’s request for a title was submitted, it was met with opposition from many court officials. They said that Jiang Zhanwei could request a title, but according to the system, he could only do so for his principal mother and wife.
Marquis Jiang argued vehemently, stating that Second Madam Jiang had already been conferred a title by her husband, and she was unwilling to have a concubine’s son request a higher title for her. Moreover, she did not object to her concubine’s son requesting a title for his birth mother. He also cited precedents from previous dynasties.
The opposing officials argued that those who had requested titles for their concubine mothers in the previous dynasty were founding meritorious officials, already ranked among the Three Dukes, and their concubine mothers were fully deserving of the title. However, Jiang Zhanwei was merely a count, a third-grade military officer, and did not yet have the qualifications to request a title for his concubine mother. If this unfavorable precedent were set, there would be no telling how many court officials would request titles for their concubine mothers, leading to chaos in the moral order.
The Emperor knew that suppressing Jiang Zhanwei had hurt the hearts of the military officers. With the plea from his old sister, although it was difficult, he still managed to overrule the objections and approve the request.
The Emperor also had his reasons. Jiang Zhanwei’s contributions in the recent war were immense. His birth mother was fully deserving of the title. If any court officials wished to follow Jiang Zhanwei’s example and request a title for their concubine mothers, so be it! As long as they achieved the same military feats as Jiang Zhanwei—dissolving the enemy’s morale without losing a single soldier, cooperating with our army to annihilate half of the enemy’s main force in one go, capturing the enemy’s leader, burning down the enemy’s central camp, and bringing the war to an end three years ahead of schedule—the Emperor would approve.
Once the Emperor made this statement, no one dared to oppose it any further.
However, Jiang Zhanwei’s principal mother was only a Fourth-grade Gong Ren and was unwilling to have her concubine’s son request a higher rank for her. Therefore, his concubine mother could not be ranked higher and was only conferred the title of Fifth-grade Yi Ren.
When the eunuch finished reading the imperial edict, and Jiang Zhanwei accepted the edict on behalf of his concubine mother, the eyes of the three siblings moistened.
Especially Jiang Zhanwei, his lips were tightly pursed, overwhelmed with emotion.
When Lu Man was conferred the title of Countess of Yongwei, Jiang Zhanwei remained calm, believing he could still strive for a higher title for her.
However, the conferral of the Fifth-grade Yi Ren title to his concubine mother left him unable to contain his excitement. This grand wish he had set since childhood, a goal he never thought he would achieve in his lifetime, was realized when he was just 21 years old.
In the evening, Donghui Courtyard prepared many dishes but only invited He Mingzhu and He Cheng to dinner, not the others from that residence. It was inappropriate to invite the second branch, so it was also inappropriate to invite anyone else.
However, the old Marquis cleverly knew that Donghui Courtyard had good news that day and that there would definitely be a feast in the evening, so he came on his own.
Before the meal, Jiang Zhanju and Jiang Zhankun also came on their own initiative, representing the first and third branches to present their congratulatory gifts.
For these uninvited guests, Jiang Zhanwei was still happy and even softened his attitude towards the old Marquis, not holding the old fool’s behavior against him.
This was power. Everyone knew that Second Master was unhappy, but the first and third branches still sent their representatives to offer congratulations without hesitation.
The four men sat at one table, while Lu Man, the old Marquis, He Mingzhu, and the children sat at another. At the women’s table, an extra set of chopsticks and a bowl were placed for Second Lady Jiang, Concubine Zhou.
Halfway through the meal, Jiang Zhanyu suddenly arrived, and his servants carried in the congratulatory gifts.
Jiang Zhanyu’s arrival was both unexpected and reasonable. Jiang Zhanwei was delighted and quickly invited him to sit down and drink.
Jiang Zhanyu raised his wine cup and apologized to Jiang Zhanwei and the others on behalf of Second Master. Lu Man also fulfilled her promise and personally went to the kitchen to stir-fry three dishes.
The five men drank until late into the night. The other table had long since dispersed, but they were still drinking. Jiang Zhanyu drank very little, he sat there talking with them the whole time.
Jiang Zhanwei was drunk and unsteady on his feet. Jiang Zhanju and Jiang Zhankun were from different branches and had both married. So Jiang Zhanyu and He Cheng together helped Jiang Zhanwei into his bedroom and laid him on the bed.
By this time, Lu Man had already taken her bath and was reading by candlelight.
In the dim candlelight, she wore a semi-new rose-red jacket and skirt, her face flushed and glowing, her hair casually rolled and loosely tied on top of her head. She looked lazy, casual, like a rose in the misty morning fog.
It was always awkward for a brother-in-law to enter his sister-in-law’s bedroom, so Jiang Zhanyu quickly lowered his eyes and walked out quickly, not even responding to Lu Man’s thanks.
This woman had once had a brief encounter with him and had almost married him. But because of her humble background and poor reputation, she was firmly rejected by his father and pushed onto his third brother, who was the weakest and had the least support at the time.
Now it seemed that Third Brother was the luckiest one. Sometimes, a single fate could lead to a splendid life. Third Brother’s splendid life was not only due to his abilities but also because of that beautiful fate…
Lu Man was unaware of Jiang Zhanyu’s thoughts. She had Tao bring warm water and personally cleaned Jiang Zhanwei’s face and hands, washed his feet, took off his clothes, and covered him with a blanket.
His eyes were tightly closed, like two long, curved black lines. Without his sharp gaze, Lu Man was not afraid of him and leaned over to examine his face closely. After being with him for so long, she had never taken the time to look at him carefully.