The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

Liu didn't know how to respond to Xia Mianwan's words for a moment. After thinking for a while, she said, "Yaoyuan is indeed a little spoiled. I'm sorry to bother you, my in-laws..."

Mrs. Pei did not respond at this moment. She would not offend Xia Mianwan while she was around.

Xia Mianwan said calmly, "Then you should stay at your parents' home first. Even if the Li family doesn't care about your reputation as an unfilial brother-in-law, the Pei family does. Excuse me for being blunt, but the Li family still has so many daughters. If their reputation gets ruined, who would dare to marry a girl from the Li family in the future?"

Liu was stunned when she heard this. Yes, if others knew about it, not only would Li Yaoyuan's reputation be ruined, but it would also affect other unmarried girls in the Li family. More importantly, this marriage was arranged by the Queen Mother. If the news spread widely, the Queen Mother would lose face. If the Queen Mother lost face, the Li family would naturally suffer.

Thinking of this, Liu's smile returned to her face, "I'm so sorry, I'll go back and persuade Yaoyuan."

After Liu left, Madam Pei smiled and asked Xia Mianwan: "Mianwan, have you been okay these past two days? Have your morning sickness symptoms improved?"

Xia Mianwan nodded and said, "It's better now. Mother Yanqi is older now. Today she received an invitation from Miss Lu, the legitimate daughter of the Censor's family. I thought I would ask her to go to the banquet by herself."

Mrs. Pei asked with some concern: "Can Yan Qi do it alone?"

Xia Mianwan said, "Mother, we can't be afraid of seeing a doctor. Before I married into the Pei family, you rarely took your daughter out because you were afraid of being looked down upon. Now that my husband is a big shot in front of the emperor, our daughter can't be too petty. Yanqi has been taught by Nanny Yuan for so long, she has a certain temperament, mother, don't worry."

"But what should we do if someone plots against us?" Mrs. Pei was still reluctant to let Pei Yanqi go out to the banquet alone.

"Mother, jade cannot be made into a useful object without being carved. If you keep protecting her, how can Yanqi be independent?" Xia Mianwan saw that Mrs. Pei was still unwilling, so she could not help but speak patiently.

"But...but why do you have to be independent? It would be enough for you to be like A Yue and marry into an ordinary family." Mrs. Pei said.

Xia Mianwan said earnestly, "Mother, your daughter-in-law may be overstepping her bounds. Your husband knew that you were not qualified to run this family, so he found a way to marry me. You are a good mother-in-law. When I was managing the household, you never interfered with my affairs. But you really can't do this when it comes to educating my sister. Ayue's situation was different from now. Now that Li Yaoyuan has married into the family, with your husband's status, she will definitely move up in the future. Your husband has already given up the route of being a lone minister, so the women of our Pei family must have their own means to stand firm."

"Yan Shu has already sacrificed himself for the Pei family, so even Yan Qi is going to be married?" Mrs. Pei spoke a little louder unconsciously.

"Sacrifice? Is Yanshu really sacrificing himself? Is Yanshu really wronged? The one who has the most difficulty in the marriage arranged by the Queen Mother is not Yanshu. For Yanshu, if he marries Li Yaoyuan, he will have both the power of the Xu family and the support of the Pei family. Once he succeeds in the imperial examination, Yanshu's life will be much easier. Yanshu is not stupid, so Yanshu agreed to marry Li Yaoyuan." Xia Mianwan is determined to convince Mrs. Pei this time.

"But Yanshu is not happy. Li Yaoyuan has such a bad temper..." Mrs. Pei is really dissatisfied with Li Yaoyuan as her daughter-in-law.

"But Yanshu has always been holding Li Yaoyuan in his arms. Yanshu's happiness is different from what you think. Yanshu doesn't care about love between men and women. He cares about his family and his own future. Mother, Yanshu is no longer the baby in your arms." Xia Mianwan said.

Mrs. Pei seemed to have heard it, but didn't quite understand it. This was because she had always treated Pei Yanshu like a child. In fact, Pei Yanshu had grown up a long time ago. After seeing how Pei Yanxu was able to strategize, he had already set a goal in his heart to be as powerful as his elder brother.

Pei Yanshu doesn't care who his wife is, he only cares about his future. To Pei Yanshu, women are not important.

Pei Yanxu is different. He respects Xia Mianwan and women from the bottom of his heart.

"But...what does this have to do with Yan Qi?" Mrs. Pei asked puzzledly.

Xia Mianwan said: "Mother, let's not talk about other things. Let's not talk about whether it is possible for the Pei family to be granted marriage in the future. Even with the current momentum of the Pei family, Yan Qi's future in-laws will not be too bad. Yan Qi herself is also a person with ambition. If we don't train her now, if she really gets married one day, how can we let her run the family?"

Mrs. Pei finally agreed to let Pei Yanqi go to the banquet at the Censorate alone after being persuaded by Xia Mianwan.

Xia Mian came late just for this matter, and now that he had finished talking about it, he went to Changchun Garden.

At this time, Nanny Yuan had just let Pei Yanqi, Pei Ling and Pei Xia rest.

Pei Yanqi saw Xia Mianwan coming and hurried forward to support Xia Mianwan, "Sister-in-law."

Xia Mianwan smiled and sat down with the help of Pei Yanqi. Although the month was not very long, she still felt a little tired.

"Yanqi, mother, I've already told you what to do. You can go to the banquet by yourself then." Xia Mianwan said with a smile.

"Thank you, sister-in-law." Pei Yanqi looked surprised.

"However, you have to promise me that you are a girl from the Pei family in public. You must keep your spirits up no matter what and never let anyone look down on you." Xia Mianwan said solemnly.

"Yes!"

Pei Ling and Pei Xia sat aside very obediently. They had been in the Pei family for a long time and with the careful guidance of Nanny Yuan, they were now completely different from when they first arrived.

Pei Yanqi looked at her sisters and said, "Sister-in-law, can I take my sisters with me?"

Xia Mianwan patted Pei Yanqi's shoulder gently and said, "If you take the sisters out together, you have the responsibility to bring them back together safely."

"Okay!" Pei Yanqi promised seriously.

Xia Mianwan thought that these girls were going to the banquet and they had to dress up beautifully, so she took the girls to her yard to pick out jewelry. The jewelry was not very expensive, but it was especially suitable for young ladies.

"These crystal bracelets used to be the finest items in my sister-in-law's shop!" Xia Mianwan said with a smile.

Pei Yanqi was pleasantly surprised as she picked out jewelry with Pei Ling and Pei Xia. After they finished, they all smiled happily and thanked Xia Mianwan.

But after thanking the girls, they didn't leave. Xia Mianwan waited for them to speak curiously.

At this time, Pei Xia said boldly: "Sister-in-law, we want to use our private money to do some small business. Is it possible?"

Xia Mianwan looked at Pei Xia in surprise, then at Pei Yanqi and Pei Ling. The three of them looked at Xia Mianwan at the same time, their eyes full of expectations.