Greetings, Ninth Uncle

Ch 68 - Matchmaking

Cheng Yujin noticed Cheng Yumo's gaze. She gave Cheng Yumo a slight glance, and guessed what's probably in her mind.

Now there was no other person here, it was impossible for Cheng Yujin to stay silent. Out of politeness, she asked: "Second sister, how are you doing?"

Cheng Yumo sighed. She was about to speak, but finally stopped in time. "Good or bad, it doesn't matter. No matter what, life still has to go on."

Seeing Cheng Yumo's expression, Cheng Yujin asked again with a sigh: "How does Madam Huo treat you?"

This sentence exactly hit Cheng Yumo's sore spot. She fell silent for a while before finally whispered: "My mother-in-law is very demanding of me...she keeps saying that Huo family has a strict family style. They don't indulge younger generations as others do, so the daughter-in-law has to follow the mother-in-law all the time to learn the rules. My mother-in-law gets up at the hour of the rabbit (5-7 am) every day, so I have to get up even earlier, wait outside her room, and go in to serve her as soon as she wakes up. If my mother-in-law wakes up and I haven't arrived yet...she will get angry and punish me to copy the Admonishment For Women or confine me in my room. In the morning, my mother-in-law will have a housekeeping meeting with the servants in charge, so after I serve her the morning meal, I have to follow and listen to her preaching to the stewards and female managers. The time they arrive is fixed. As a young madam, I cannot be late, so I don't even have enough time to eat my meal. I don't like to eat in my room just after getting up in the morning. It was still so dark outside, and I don't have an appetite..."

It seemed that Cheng Yumo rarely found a person to vent. Before Cheng Yujin could reply, Cheng Yumo already continued: "I have to stand up hungry behind my mother-in-law all the morning. When it is finally time for the noon meal, she still doesn't allow me to sit down. I have to wait until the Marquis and my mother-in-law finish their meal before I can finally eat my meal in the ante-room. My meal has been separated in advance and kept warm on the stove. Only when taking the noon meal can I take a breather for half an hour. If I'm lucky, my mother-in-law will take a nap, and I can also take a longer rest. After my mother-in-law wakes up, I have to stand behind her to learn the rules again."

"At night, after everyone had the evening meal and my mother-in-law retreated to bed, only then she allowed me to go back to my room. But I don't have time to do anything because I have to get up early the next day. Back in my room, I take a quick bath and hurriedly go to bed so I won't get up late."

Cheng Yujin merely asked one word, but Cheng Yumo, seemingly found a long-awaited exit, began to pour her bitterness like a torrent. Cheng Yujin had some conjecture beforehand, but when she really heard it, she was still speechless in astonishment.

Cheng Yumo's life was too miserable. From a pampered boudoir girl to a new bride, everyone had to adapt to great changes and endure hardships. However, Cheng Yumo's situation, where she had to spin everywhere without resting all day, couldn't even eat and sleep well, was rare.

Cheng Yujin recalled her situation in her previous life. Although she never truly 'experienced' the previous life, she could draw a conjecture based on the few fragments she saw in her dream. Based on those vague recollections, the 'Cheng Yujin' from the previous life should also be subjected to the same rules when she married into Huo family. However, Cheng Yujin was good at playing the rules and more importantly, had a brain. She never been entirely compliant, and used many tricks to make her life easier. In the end, she only went to Huo Xue-shi right before the morning meal, which was around the hour of the dragon (7-9 am), so she had plenty of time to have her meal in her own room and wouldn't stand hungry all morning.

After the morning meal, like Cheng Yumo, Cheng Yujin also had to attend Huo Xue-shi's housekeeping meeting. Huo Xue-shi was not a good matron in charge. After she was widowed, her methods became increasingly meaner and harsher. This was true for her daughter-in-law, and was equally so for the servants below. For example, every steward and female manager had to gather in her courtyard every day and listen to her preaching. She could preach for more than an hour. Not only the servant girls by Huo Xue-shi's side felt tired and bored, but the stewards and female managers who were being preached also complained in secret. One day, two days, they could still bear it. But who would be willing to endure every day? They still had plenty of works to do.