"Madam, the wife of the Lord Principal Clerk has co to pay a visit!"
At these words, Yang Chuxia raised an eyebrow.
"It seems our Principal Clerk’s wife can really keep her composure, go and invite her in."
Yang Chuxia had good reason to say this.
Upon her arrival, it didn’t take her more than a couple of days to send out so of the gifts she had brought from Funan to the families of Ye Zi’an’s colleagues and subordinates. Although Ye Zi’an was the County Magistrate and held the highest ranking position, he couldn’t stand alone; without the support of his subordinates, nothing could be accomplished.
Thus, maintaining good relations with colleagues and subordinates was essential.
While she couldn’t assist Ye Zi’an with administrative affairs, she could still manage the relationships within the harem. Hence, while in Funan, she had inquired about who was who and prepared appropriate gifts accordingly.
After delivering the gifts, people began visiting the next day, including the wives of the steward, the archivist, and the inspector, among others.
From their perspective, cultivating a good relationship with the Madam of County Magistrate was both prestigious and beneficial, as she was their husbands’ superior’s wife. If the relationship was well-maintained, it promised endless advantages.
Adhering to the principle of mutual desire for good relations, their conversations that day were very pleasant, and Yang Chuxia even invited them all to stay for a al at the mansion.
However, among the many wives of Ye Zi’an’s subordinates, there was one who did not co—Lord Zhou’s wife, the Principal Clerk.
The Principal Clerk was only one rank below the County Magistrate and held a position similar to the County Governor, akin to a modern Deputy County Chief. Since there was no County Governor in Mianyang County, next in line after the County Magistrate was the Principal Clerk.
Therefore, the Principal Clerk did not harbor much affection for Ye Zi’an; after all, without the County Magistrate, he would be the one in charge. He was even holding his breath, hoping to see Ye Zi’an removed so that the court would promote him to County Magistrate, given his ten years of service.
With the Principal Clerk harboring such thoughts, it was natural his wife did too, even considering how she could assist her husband in undermining Ye Zi’an, as with the incident involving Cao Lingling.
Another point was that before Yang Chuxia’s arrival, the wives of officials and clerks in Mianyang County had all looked to her for direction. However, with Yang Chuxia sending gifts to so many people and having them instructed to pay a visit, it was as if she had taken over the leading role, which made her quite uncomfortable.
Therefore, during the ti when others ca to visit, she stayed away out of spite.
Several days passed, and once her resentnt had sowhat subsided, considering that the visitor was still the wife of her husband’s superior, she decided it was ti to make an appearance.
Yang Chuxia might not have fully grasped her thought process, but she was aware that the relationship between the Principal Clerk and Ye Zi’an was not harmonious. A typical person would have co earlier to size her up, but she hadn’t expected her to wait until now, almost ten days later.
The wife of Principal Clerk Zhou did not receive the sa treatnt as previous visitors; Sister-in-law Li did not lead her in this ti. Instead, she was made to wait outside, which irked her.
After a short wait, to see Ming Liu, a re maidservant, co to invite her in, rather than seeing Yang Chuxia herself co out to welco her, only increased her displeasure.
Even though Yang Chuxia was the wife of the County Magistrate, she was just a seventeen-year-old girl, while she herself was in her thirties and could have been Yang Chuxia’s mother, a senior by age. Considering her seniority alone, she felt Yang Chuxia ought to have co out to greet her; it was clear that Yang Chuxia, coming from a rural household, lacked proper etiquette.
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