manynovel Chapter 55 Old Madam Sheng's Decisiveness
Chapter 55 Old Madam Sheng's Decisiveness
It turns out that Sheng Hong wanted to create a similar hair ornament for Mo Lan.
Yangzhou has no shortage of gold and skilled craftsmen, but top-quality South Sea pearls are very rare.
The hair ornament given by Madam Feng was made from a South Sea pearl that had been bestowed upon her by the emperor years ago.
Sheng Hong spent money to create one, but because the South Sea pearls used were just ordinary ones, the difference was obvious at a glance.
Mo Lan naturally didn't want it, so Sheng Hong exchanged the hairpin with Ru Lan.
Of course, at first, Sheng Hong only asked Madam Wang for her opinion.
But Madam Wang got furious when she heard this, saying that Mo Lan, a concubine's daughter, was not even worthy of the hairpin made by Sheng Hong, and that she was actually eyeing Ru Lan's hairpin.
These words infuriated Sheng Hong, who then forcibly switched the hair ornaments.
Madam Wang would naturally not tell Madam Feng about this, but Ru Lan and Mo Lan got into a fight, and Xiang Cao witnessed what happened.
Madam Wang then made no attempt to hide her grievances and told Madam Feng about them.
After hearing this, Madam Feng looked down on Sheng Hong.
Grandma Wang was very satisfied with her son-in-law, Sheng Hong, and often praised him.
In addition, Sheng Hong has a promising future and is meticulous in his dealings with others.
Feng had always had a good impression of Sheng Hong.
When she learned from Madam Wang that Sheng Hong doted on his concubines and especially favored his illegitimate children, even raising them with their birth mothers, her understanding of Sheng Hong was completely overturned.
"I never imagined that your uncle, a scholar, wouldn't even understand that favoring illegitimate children is a recipe for chaos," Madam Feng said sarcastically.
The emperor loves his eldest son, while the people cherish their youngest.
This seemingly simple sentence contains the wisdom of the ancients.
The term "emperor" refers not only to the emperor but also to the upper class, while "common people" refers to the ordinary class.
The upper classes followed the primogeniture system. Regardless of whether they liked the eldest son or not, they could only show affection to the eldest son and distinguish him from other children.
The purpose was to strengthen the status of the eldest son and to prevent other sons from having any improper thoughts.
Only in this way can they keep quiet and prevent major conflicts and hatred within the family.
Historically, whenever some emperors showed favoritism towards sons other than their eldest son, the relationship between father and sons or brothers was unlikely to be good.
The most obvious example is Li Shimin and his three sons, Li Chengqian and Li Tai.
Some people say that Li Chengqian was stupid; as long as he didn't rebel, the throne would definitely be his, and Li Shimin would never have deposed him.
Such people can only be considered wise after the event. Let's not even mention that Li Tai did indeed have ambitions to seize the throne because of Li Shimin's favor.
Take, for example, Li Shimin's permission for Li Tai to establish a literary academy. Anyone in his position would have had their own thoughts on that.
The Literature Museum was originally established by Li Shimin when he was the Prince of Qin, in the Prince of Qin's Palace.
Many of the important officials during the Zhenguan era were scholars from the Literary Academy.
This included Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui.
Simply put, the Literature Museum is a staff organization.
Li Shimin himself rebelled, yet he permitted Li Tai to establish a literary academy to recruit talent.
The two crown princes before Li Chengqian failed to succeed to the throne. Shouldn't people think too much about it?
It can be said that the fates of Li Chengqian and Li Tai were entirely of Li Shimin's own making.
As the saying goes, "Heaven has no relatives."
It's not that you can't have family ties, but you need to control them and not let them show.
This was true not only for the royal family, but also for other prominent clans.
The dignity and status of the eldest son must be upheld, and any unwarranted thoughts from other sons must be eliminated.
Otherwise, even if the eldest son himself does not have this idea, the long-term struggle between the eldest son and other sons will lead to them dealing with the other brothers after inheriting the family business.
Ordinary families are different. Because they are poor, their children will separate after they get married. The youngest son will stay with them to take care of them in their old age and see them off when they die. Naturally, they will favor the youngest son.
Sheng Hong himself broke the rules, which led to unrest in the household.
Why did the ancients prioritize managing one's family over governing the state and bringing peace to the world?
The logic is simple: if you can't even manage your own small family, how can you manage a place well?
The ancients valued rules and regulations most. Just as a country has its laws and a family has its rules, this is the reason why.
If one cannot strictly abide by family rules when managing a household, how can one abide by national laws when governing a local area?
A good official is not necessarily one who can manage his own family well.
But a person who can't even manage to make a mess of his own home can't possibly be a good official.
Many people say that the ancients had feudal ideas, but many rules were established in the context of their time and were full of the wisdom of our ancestors.
Wang You understood these principles, and he knew even more clearly that Feng was telling him these things to teach him.
…………
Just as Madam Feng was taking the opportunity to teach her son, Sheng Hong and Madam Wang arrived at Shou'an Hall. They first made an excuse to let Hua Lan take her younger siblings away, and then told her that the Yuan family had only sent two juniors to propose marriage.
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Sheng's face instantly darkened, and she glanced at Sheng Hong.
Although she grew up in Bianjing, she had been away from Bianjing for so many years and was not familiar with the situation of the Earl of Zhongqin's mansion.
However, she had great faith in Sheng Hong's judgment of character, so she wasn't worried after he chose the Yuan family as his marriage partner.
The fact that this has happened now does not necessarily mean that Yuan Wenshao has any problems.
However, marriage involves two families. If the parents and other siblings have problems, even if the person is a good person, life will still be difficult.
Sheng Hong lowered his head somewhat guiltily when faced with his mother's gaze.
There was no other way; after returning from Bianjing, he praised the Yuan family to the skies.
Now that this has happened, he naturally bears responsibility.
After withdrawing her gaze, Old Madam Sheng pondered for a moment and said, "Even if the Earl of Zhongqin and his wife had other reasons for not being able to come, they should have arranged for an elder from the clan to come. The fact that they only sent two juniors must mean they have another purpose."
Fortunately, we already knew in advance, so it's not too late.
"Arrange for someone to spread the word that the Earl of Zhongqin and his wife have agreed to personally come to Yangzhou to present the betrothal gifts."
"Didn't Mother say we shouldn't let this news get out?"
Sheng Hong exclaimed in astonishment, "And if this news gets out, and two juniors show up instead, the Sheng family will lose all face."
"Foolish!"
When Old Madam Sheng saw that Sheng Hong was still considering the Sheng family's reputation, her face darkened and she scolded, "Then the Yuan family's actions likely have other schemes behind them."
Only by exposing this matter can we make them hesitate to act rashly.
While it may have some impact on the Sheng family's reputation, it certainly hasn't had any impact on the Yuan family's either.
She had previously ordered Sheng Hong and the others to spread the news that the Earl of Zhongqin and his wife would come to propose marriage, not because she had the ability to foresee the future.
Rather, Hua Lan's marriage into the Yuan family was already a step up for her, and if these things were publicized further, it would only give people the impression that she was a petty person who had achieved her goal.
In the original drama, she was able to endure it only because the Yuan family concealed the news, and by the time Yuan Wenchun arrived, it was too late to spread it.
At that time, everyone thought that the Sheng family was trying to marry into a higher social class. The Yuan family looked down on the Sheng family and didn't even send any elders to the betrothal ceremony, only arranging for the younger generation to attend.
If the Sheng family were to spread rumors that the Yuan family was untrustworthy, no one would believe it.
But things are different now. The betrothal gifts from the Yuan family haven't even arrived yet. If this is publicized like this, everyone will know that the Yuan family broke their promise first.