Tianliangyuan

Chapter 330 One call to another

Unwilling to give up, Zhang Yan went to the Duke's mansion again. She waited at the side gate, hoping to see a servant she recognized come out.

To her disappointment, she waited for several hours without seeing any acquaintances come out. Then, she turned her attention to the back door.

The back door was mainly for servants to use for emptying chamber pots and pans.

Zhang Yan and the others finally spotted one of the maids beside Consort Song. She quickly stepped forward and said, "Granny, please take me to see Consort Song."

The maid who was stopped was startled, but after a closer look, she recognized her: "Oh, it's Miss Zhang! You startled me. What are you doing here? Relatives from the Duke's Mansion are coming today, and the mansion is very busy. Aunt Song doesn't have time to see you. You should come another day."

Zhang Yan grabbed her arm and wouldn't let go: "I just want to see Aunt Song, not cause trouble for the other masters. Please do me a favor, Granny."

Zhang Yan casually slipped a silver bracelet into the nanny's hand.

The old woman weighed the weight and immediately put on a smiling face: "Alright, I think the young lady is sensible. She has been away from the manor for many days and still misses our aunt. Let's go, I'll take you in."

Zhang Yan felt relieved. As long as she could see Aunt Song, she believed she would definitely find a way to marry into the Duke's mansion.

Madam Song was furious in her courtyard. Now her daughter had lost her heart and always sided with that vile woman Xu Zhaozhao. Madam Song wished she could kill Xu Zhaozhao to vent her anger!

As soon as Zhang Yan arrived, Madam Song's mind raced, and she immediately came up with an idea.

"It's Yan Yan. Come and sit down. It's been a while since I've seen you. You look a bit thinner. Are you not used to the food and lodging outside? Alas, it's my fault. People's words have little power. I should have let you stay in the manor a little longer."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan instantly felt as if she had met a kindred spirit.

She never wanted to leave; it was all the madam's doing that. She must be afraid that the young master would fall for her, so she wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible.

“Aunt Song, I’ve missed you terribly these past few days while I’ve been away. We’ve lived together for several years, and I truly consider you my elder.”

Madam Song patted the back of her hand, her eyes also reddening: "Yes, haven't I also treated you like my own daughter? It's a pity that our mother-daughter relationship is shallow, and I'm just a nobody who can't help you."

"Aunt Song, please don't say that. If it weren't for your help these past few years, my brother and I would be living in dire straits."

Madam Song was pleased to hear this, while a maid standing outside the door curled her lip in disdain.

The food and supplies clearly belonged to the General, so how did it become Aunt Song's doing?

Even if you're repaying a debt of gratitude, don't repay the wrong person!

Look, even a little maid can understand this, but Zhang Yan just can't see it clearly.

The two talked for a while in the room. When Zhang Yan left, she was all shy and carrying a small box in her hands.

Those were some cosmetics and face powders allocated to Madam Song by the Duke's mansion.

Madam Song thought the color was a bit too bright, so she didn't want to use it and was just about to ask the manager to replace it with a new batch when Zhang Yan arrived. Madam Song decided to do Zhang Yan a favor and gave it to her directly.

In Zhang Yan's view, this was a sign of Xiao Song's affection for her.

In reality, for Madam Song, these things were nothing more than defective items assigned to concubines like her by the Duke's mansion.

The day before the old lady's birthday, the entire Duke's mansion was already bustling with activity.

Some of Xie's relatives were invited into the guest courtyard of the Duke's mansion, of course, they had to be close relatives. Otherwise, they would not have been invited.

There are also some elders on the Lin family's side. According to seniority, Xu Zhaozhao should either call them maternal great-aunt or cousin's wife.

No one from the Song family came; barring any unforeseen circumstances, they should send a congratulatory gift tomorrow.

Xu Zhaozhao felt that with more people, it was indeed a bit lively, and even a bit noisy.

"Master, today there have been three groups of people who said they had taken the wrong road and wanted to come into our Jinxiu Garden to enjoy the scenery."

"Are you in?"

"Without your permission, I naturally cannot enter."

Dingxiang smiled and served Xu Zhaozhao another cup of tea, then refilled the incense powder in the incense burner before continuing, "I heard that one of them claimed to be your maternal aunts, and they even brought several beautifully dressed girls, but they were turned away by the old woman guarding the gate."

"Yes, the Lin family is unwilling to distance themselves from the Duke's mansion, so it's understandable that they want to arrange someone to serve Sanlang. However, why don't they consider marrying a daughter from the Duke's mansion?"

"Your Majesty is joking. Just think about it, the Old Madam is a member of the Lin family, and so is the Fourth Madam. If they were to marry a concubine's daughter from the Xie family, they would only feel ashamed and naturally would refuse."

"This kind of person is the most foolish. They are clearly on the decline, but they are still stubbornly trying to save face and suffer for it. Fine, keep a close watch on our Jinxiu Garden. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my permission."

"Yes, master."

After Xu Zhaozhao finished speaking, she felt it was inappropriate: "Send someone to wait at the main gate. If Sanlang returns, take him back to Jinxiu Garden directly. Don't give anyone else a chance."

Dingxiang chuckled: "Is Master worried that the young master will be kidnapped?"

Xu Zhaozhao's face darkened: "I'm not worried about that. I'm worried that some people might have ulterior motives. There are many women in the manor now, so I arranged for two matrons to go and wait for him, also to prevent anyone from offending the young master."

"Our master is indeed very thoughtful."

Xu Zhaozhao's prediction was right.

The two nannies accompanied the young master back to Jinxiu Garden, encountering four groups of young ladies along the way.

There were people playing the zither alone on the way back to the young master, two people walking together discussing poetry, and even three or five people deliberately chasing butterflies in the courtyard.

The nannies were speechless.

It's getting dark, why bother chasing butterflies?

Can you see it clearly?

Even Xie Zheng, who is usually slow to realize things, noticed that something was wrong.

It's such a coincidence to meet so many unmarried girls on such a short distance!

“Who are these people?”

As they approached Jinxiu Garden, the nanny cautiously replied, "They are all relatives of the household. Today, several groups of people tried to enter Jinxiu Garden under the pretense of taking the wrong road, but we stopped them all."

Xie Zheng stopped in his tracks: "What are they doing at Jinxiu Garden? Are they disturbing Madam's peace and quiet?"

"Your Highness, they were all kept outside the garden and were not allowed to go in and disturb the Madam."

"That's good. You all need to work hard these next few days, keep a close watch on the house, and make sure no one disturbs Madam's peace and quiet. You must not allow anyone to bully Madam."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

What Xu Zhaozhao and Xie Zheng didn't know was that just as the couple was about to kiss, someone complained to the old lady!