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Lady Wen had lived a privileged life and had never been treated this way.

Moreover, the one scorning her was a girl barely in her teens.

“She really is a rural girl unfit for decent society, without any upbringing at all.” Lady Lin quickly comforted her mother-in-law and scolded Yingbao: “Kneel and apologize right now!”

Yingbao ignored them and left with her mother.

She believed that her manners should be displayed to those with manners. As for someone like Lady Wen who dares to insult her mother on her own territory, she wouldn’t give them the time of day.

So what if she was Sister Wen’s grandmother?

To her, her parents and younger siblings were her untouchables. Whoever dared to touch them would face severe consequences.

In both her past and present life, Yingbao considered herself not to be bound by formalities; if someone respected her, she would reply with twice the reverence.

Etiquette is mutual.

When someone tries to trample over you, clinging onto etiquette will make you nothing more than a frog in the mud, pleasing others at the expense of your own discomfort.

Mother Chun was also furious.

She never expected such a senior of the Wen family, who was usually pleasant and amiable, to behave so disgracefully.

She was so arrogant that she even proposed buying her own daughter; did she think she was some goddess?

Claiming to come from a wealthy family and yet behaving so lowly, yuck!

“Baobao, I need to go to your chamber.” Mother Chun said grumpily.

Yingbao looked puzzled, but she led her mother to her quarters.

Mother Chun first counted her daughter’s silver, four large boxes of silver ingots, each with a thousand ounces.

Then she counted her own and her husband’s private stash, which was over two thousand ounces.

Knowingly possessing all this wealth, Lady Wen ludicrously suggested buying her daughter with only a hundred ounces.

Mother Chun calculated twice over, her anger subsiding along with her indignation.

The next day, after leaving Baobao’s quarters, she went to buy two pork slabs. She made sausages, tied up pig feet, cured ribs, and made a few pork livers.

The so-called pork livers, or “zhugan,” were simply pig small intestines wrapped around cleaned pig liver, boiled with aniseed, then hung to dry.

During the New Year, this, along with the cured ribs and sausages, would make a delicious dish.

Yingbao wanted to help her mother, but Mother Chun wouldn’t allow it.

“You just watch. When you grow up and get married, hire several servants to do the work, like Lady Wang does.”

Her daughter would undoubtedly become a high-ranking lady like Lady Wang or Lady Wen, who managed servants, and would not have to raise a finger herself.

Therefore, Mother Chun didn’t want her daughter doing such manual labor.

Cleaning pig intestines and the like was a dirty job, not something her young daughter should learn.

Yingbao had no choice but to give up and just watch, seeing Old Lady Tang enter the yard.

Lady Tang was dressed in a blue cotton skirt, edged with silk and embroidered with longevity flowers.

Yingbao greeted her: “Old lady Tang.”

Lady Tang patted her, smiling and said, “Just in time, taste the fried Job’s Tears and pine nuts Old lady prepared.”

With that, she handed over a small bamboo basket she was carrying to Yingbao.

Job’s Tears, also known as coix seed, was especially fragrant when fried.

Its shell is so hard, just like a pine nut.

Yingbao gave thanks and took the bamboo basket.

Old Tang often brought things over, and in return, Yingbao would send her some medicinal pills.

That’s why Old Tang looked younger, even joining the village’s younger women in picking pine seeds on the North Mountain, and fishing for water chestnuts and water caltrop in the river.

Seeing Granny Tang chatting with her mother, Yingbao returned to her room, poured out water chestnuts and pine nuts, and put some apples and tangerines into the bamboo basket.

The fruits were from her family’s garden, but most of them had been sold. The ones they ate were from their own production.

After that, she poured a cup of tea and handed it to Granny Tang sitting in the kitchen.

Old Tang glanced at Yingbao and said with a smile to Spring: “In the blink of an eye, Yingbao has grown up. Maybe matchmakers will start coming soon.”

Spring, busy washing intestines with plant ash, laughed: “Baobao is still young, not even twelve. We’ll think about her marriage after E’erni gets married.”

Granny Tang picked up the tea and took a sip, asking softly: “Why hasn’t your E’erni settled on a match yet?”

Spring: “I guess it’s because E’erni doesn’t want to marry too early and wishes to stay in her maiden home for a few more years.”

Now that the Jiang Family didn’t have to worry about food and clothing, they were more tolerant of their children’s marriage matters.

Of course, this was also because they were confident and never worried about their children not finding good families.

“Ah, but you can’t let the child have her way.” Granny Tang said: “E’erni’s already 16, right? If she doesn’t choose a spouse soon, all the good families will be taken by others.”

Spring sighed: “We are not in control of this matter. Her grandmother spoke a few times about this, but E’erni just wouldn’t agree.”

Yanru, E’erni’s stepmother, couldn’t make decisions for her. Otherwise, people might say she was trying to get her stepdaughter out of the house.

Jiang Erlang was always slow and patient. Seeing his daughter unwilling to get engaged, he just let her be.

Granny Tang shook her head and said: “However, there are a few girls in the village of the same age as E’erni, none of whom have mentioned their marriage yet.”

Spring raised her head and asked: “Who else?”

“Chen Changping’s two daughters, the older one just turned sixteen this year, and the younger one is two years younger than her older sister.” Granny Tang said: “The Chen and Tang Families look down on local boys and want to find city boys for their daughters.”

Spring: “I can’t blame them. Everyone aspires for better. It’s only reasonable they want to find a better family for their granddaughter.”

“You only know half of the story.” Granny Tang said mysteriously: “I heard that old man wants to offer his oldest granddaughter as a concubine to a county official.”

Spring’s eyes widen: “What? A concubine? Won’t this ruin that girl?”

Chen Changping is now a scholar, his daughters are unlikely to marry into a poor family. Why should they become a concubine and have their children considered of lesser status, when they could be respectable wives?

“Exactly.” Granny Tang said: “My husband already went over to talk to them about this, but it seems they didn’t take it to heart.”

Spring shook her head: “The Chen family girl is soft-hearted. If she becomes someone’s concubine, she’ll likely be manipulated all her life.”

Granny Tang sipped her tea: “If she were tough, she wouldn’t dare to agree to this. But that child, just like a noodle, I guess, is definitely being manipulated by her grandparents and father.”

After chatting for a while, Granny Tang said goodbye, holding the bamboo basket filled with fruits given by Yingbao, and went home.

Spring hurriedly called her daughter over and told her what Granny Tang had said, before adding: “Why don’t you go ask Chen Zhao what’s going on? Becoming someone’s concubine is no joking matter.”

It wasn’t as if the Chen family couldn’t afford to live, their two young daughters even opened a food stall at the market and were doing quite well. It didn’t make sense for them to throw their daughter into a pit of fire.

Once a concubine, she could not even return to her maiden home and would have to be under the control of the main wife, even in matters of life and death.

Encountering a jealous and cruel main wife might even result in her death.

Even if she was favored, it wouldn’t change anything. She would just receive a few more words of affection from the man.

Yingbao knew this must be Chen Changping’s machinations.

In his eyes, his daughters were like commodities, ready for sale whenever profitable.