After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 138 Yuzhen
Madam Ma had listened to her eldest sister, Madam Zhou, gossiping about her mother-in-law and daughter-in-law for a long time, and now her mind was filled with the grudges and resentments of the Zhou family.In her heart, she was angry that her eldest sister had failed to live up to her expectations and was being led by her stepmother-in-law. Instead, she refused to listen to her natal sister's advice and was feeling very angry.

Now when her granddaughter Haitang asked about it, she immediately felt the desire to talk.When the journey is boring, gossiping about relatives' homes can not only pass the time, but also let the granddaughter know some of the Zhou family's inside story in advance, so as not to offend others unconsciously in the future.

So she told Haitang in detail about the situation of Mrs. Ma, the mother-in-law of her eldest sister Zhou Ma.

Mrs. Ma is actually half a daughter of the Ma family.She is the adopted daughter of Zhou Ma's and Ma's sisters' aunt. Her real surname is unknown, but her adoptive mother's surname is Ma, and her maiden name seems to be Yuzhen.

"Yuzhen?" When Haitang heard the name, she couldn't help but interrupt her grandmother's words, "Is it the 'yu' of gold and jade, and the 'zhen' of pearls? But isn't she your elder, grandma? You and your sisters Are they all from the 'yu' generation? Isn't this too heavy?"

Ma said: "It's not 'yu' for gold and jade, but 'yu' for birth and education. It sounds like the same pronunciation, but in fact it's not the same word at all." Her maiden name is Yumei, her eldest sister's maiden name is Yulan, and her sisters are the same generation. They are all from the jade generation and are named after flowers.Although Mrs. Ma's maiden name sounds like someone from their generation, because there are very few people who call her by her maiden name, no one thinks there is anything wrong with it.

Haitang's heart was not so peaceful. "Yuzhen", the name sounded ordinary, but it felt very familiar to her.In her previous life, the elder sister was called "Yuzhen" and the younger sister was called "Yuzhu" for the couple who were daughters of the clan and government.Song Yuzhen had already married and had children, so it was naturally impossible for her to remarry into the third room of the Zhou family, but Song Yuzhu abandoned her family and disappeared.The system said that she had adopted a wealthy businessman as a foster mother, and married a son of a prominent family to fill a house.Mrs. Ma’s maiden name is “Yuzhen”. Is it really just a coincidence?
Haitang calculated the time: "Grandma, when did Mrs. Ma marry into the Zhou family?"

"How do you know this?" Ma thought for a while, "My aunt came here to drink the full moon wine. At that time, her adopted daughter had just gotten engaged. She became the mother-in-law of the Zhou family's general, and she was in full glory..." Speaking of this, Ma suddenly remembered something, "The gold locks that the old aunt gave me at that time were very exquisite. Even though the style is old now, they are golden again after being fried. You can't find them in Chang'an." When I see such good craftsmanship, I am reluctant to give it away. When you were born, I gave it to you, and now I still keep it in the box!"

Haitang was not very interested in the golden lock, and only thought in her heart: This happened more than 50 years ago, the time is right!

She took a deep breath, but she didn't expect that she would hear news about the white-eyed student here!

Not only did this girl recognize someone else as her mother, she actually married into a wealthy family and changed her name to her sister's maiden name to confuse the public.She also doesn't have much contact with the imperial concubines of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion. This is because she is afraid that if they are close to each other and they are familiar with the royal relatives, will they be aware of her true identity?

While Haitang was thinking, she heard her grandmother Ma complain: "Just listen and don't interrupt me all the time! I almost forgot what I just said." Haitang quickly sat up straight and smiled flatteringly. Said: "Grandma, please continue, I won't interrupt again."

Ma finally continued with satisfaction.

That old aunt from the Ma family is also a miserable person.She was young and widowed, but had no children. In order to prevent her husband's family from plotting against her, she had no choice but to sell her property and return to Chang'an to live with her parents' family.Although the Ma family is not a prominent one, they are also old in Chang'an, and their connections among relatives and friends are enough to support her business.

She also repaid the family by supporting a scholar and two scholars, and was highly respected in the family.

She never remarried or adopted a son. Everyone thought that her huge wealth would benefit the Ma family sooner or later. Who never expected that she went to the capital and brought a seventeen or eighteen-year-old son with her. The eldest girl came back to be an adopted daughter.This girl named Yuzhen is quite beautiful, she is also knowledgeable about books and etiquette, she is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and she is also a housekeeper.From the look of her temperament, this girl didn't come from a poor family. She must have come from an extraordinary background, and she somehow ended up in the position of being the adopted daughter of a wealthy businessman.

It is said that when she first came here, she even told the people around her that she had a noble bloodline and even entered the palace.For a time, gossip about her life experience spread within the Ma family. It was the old aunt who spoke, and everyone stopped talking.

Later, this girl somehow got married to the general who was the third member of the Zhou family to fill a house.The Ma clan only thought that the old lady was using marriage to find support for the family, and she often helped prepare the dowry.When the old aunt announced in public that all her property would be inherited by her adopted daughter before her death, everyone was dumbfounded.

However, it is useless for the Ma clan to be dumbfounded. Mrs. Ma has already established a firm foothold in the third room of the Zhou family, and she has an imperial edict. How can the Ma clan dare to offend her?
Mrs. Ma also said that she would regard the Ma family as her natal family, and would inherit her late mother's wishes and continue to support the Ma family's children in their studies, so the Ma family members obeyed her again.

Mr. Ma said to his granddaughter: "Well, our team, like my old aunt, has almost reached the fifth level. We are hereditary military households. We don't need to rely on studying and taking the imperial examination to get ahead. But we don't have any glory. We can still murmur a few words in our hearts." The old aunt turned her arms outward. But the other tribesmen are eager to continue clinging to Mrs. Zhou! Who dares to compete with Mrs. Ma for the property?!"

But even though the Ma family was not too interested in the behavior of the old aunt and Mrs. Ma's adoptive mother and daughter, the eldest sister of the Ma family received an olive branch from Mrs. Ma and knew that she had the opportunity to become the young mistress of the Zhou family, a prominent family in Chang'an. , without any hesitation.

At that time, Mrs. Ma's father, Mr. Ma, was still somewhat sensible and felt that the two families were not compatible. He was afraid that his eldest daughter would be wronged in the future if she married him to fill a house.But Ma Yulan herself was very happy. Even if she could marry a well-matched official son as her first wife, it would not be as good as directly marrying Zhou Shigong, who had a fifth-grade crown.What about filling in a house?She has the support of her mother-in-law, so she is still afraid of the dead person in front of her? !
Ma Yulan regards Mrs. Ma as a role model.When Mrs. Ma married into the third room of the Zhou family, she not only had the eldest son left by her first wife, but also several concubines and concubines who were worried about her, as well as a picky and difficult mother-in-law. I came through smoothly. After several years of service, my mother-in-law passed away. I raised a stepson well. I kicked the concubine out early to join the army. The concubine was also married away. The concubines either died of illness or went crazy. They were thrown into the countryside without seeing anything. Never accused her of a word.Ma Yulan felt that as long as she followed the example, she would be able to live as gloriously as Mrs. Ma.

So Ma Yulan became the Zhou Ma family and fell into a trap. She never expected that the person who would be most difficult for her would be her cheap cousin and step-mother-in-law who she thought would support her.

Mrs. Ma has an excellent reputation in her husband's family.If Zhou Ma makes any complaints, it will only attract criticism from people around him.Her natal family members did not support her, and everyone in her natal family sided with Madam Ma. Over time, she became accustomed to swallowing her anger and trying to make herself look fat in front of her natal family and outsiders.

Under the guidance of Mrs. Ma, Mrs. Zhou's husband and stepson did not follow the traditional family route of joining the army. Instead, they studied and studied essays since childhood, and thus failed to inherit their father's position in the army.Mrs. Ma's parents and children took this path, but due to their talent, they are now only mid-level officers in the border army. They only got the chance to be promoted after going to Lanzhou to guard.

Mrs. Ma looked coldly at what happened to her eldest sister's family, always feeling that there was something fishy about it.

As for Mrs. Ma's daughter Zhou Shuyi, it is even more unclear why she was able to marry into the Yingchuan Marquis Mansion in the capital.

(End of this chapter)