Tianliangyuan

Chapter 210 Xu Zhaozhao Laughs and Retorts to Xu Lin

Exchange for freedom?

Of course this is impossible!

Now that Jiang Wanwan has been brought into the Duke of Su's mansion, she is now a member of the Liu family. How could she possibly still be free?

Moreover, she was just a concubine, not even entitled to a letter of divorce, and could only depend on the Liu family for the rest of her life.

The Jiang family chose Liu Huaien, so they have no choice but to bear the consequences.

Finding a powerful backer is sometimes like gambling; you can win or lose.

Since we've lost, we should accept our fate.

Actually, I don't know what the Jiang family was thinking back then. They had the Sun family's connection, so even if they had to come to the Marquis of Anxin's mansion indirectly, it would have been better than sending a daughter there as a concubine.

Now that they've ended up like this, who can they blame but themselves?

Xu Lin certainly didn't mean any harm; she was just using Jiang Wanwan's matter to get the conversation flowing.

"Well, she's not from our Xu family after all. We'll help if we can, and let it go if we can't. It was Jiang Wanwan's own decision to enter the Duke of Su's mansion, so we can't blame anyone else. I was just thinking about my deceased sister-in-law, so I just felt compelled to speak."

Xu Zhaozhao laughed and said, "Auntie is just too kind-hearted."

Xu Lin chuckled twice, "Heh, kind-hearted?"

They were just using the Jiang family's name to ask for directions.

"Zhaozhao, it's almost the end of the year, and all the mansions and courtyards will inevitably hold banquets or feasts, and wine is naturally indispensable. Your aunt has come here this time, shamelessly hoping to ask you for a favor and see if you could spare a few dozen jars of Jinhua wine for me?"

"Auntie, you're joking. As an elder in the family, of course we have Jinhua wine if you want it. However, it seems that your family has never mentioned or bought any before, so the manager there may not have prepared your share when handling these wines. We will definitely prepare it for you when the next batch of wine is produced."

Xu Lin's expression darkened: "The next batch?"

"Yes, there wasn't much wine this time. The majority of it came from the palace, and the rest came from either the princess's or the duke's residence. We couldn't break our promise."

Xu Lin gritted her teeth; this was someone trying to intimidate her by using others.

"Zhao Zhao is really capable. She's even taken her business to the palace. Tsk tsk, your sister-in-law really knows how to teach children. How could an ordinary girl have such abilities? At most, she would just stay at home embroidering and playing the zither. To handle such a large sum of money, Zhao Zhao is probably one of a kind."

This is a veiled insult, implying that Xu Zhaozhao reeks of money.

The merchants are lowly, and Xu Lin is clearly implying that Xu Zhaozhao doesn't have the demeanor of a noble lady and is only focused on making money.

“I can’t agree with what you’re saying, Aunt. You probably don’t know, but which noble lady in the capital doesn’t have some kind of business to make a living? I used to think they were all learning needlework at home, but after I took over some businesses, I realized that I’m far behind them!”

Take Princess Leyang for example. She runs a merchant caravan, and her herbal medicine shop is booming. Who would bother to go for a consultation or get medicine? And the young marquis of Dingnan's mansion is also quite adept at making money. They are all very capable.

"Only I was foolish enough to start these businesses, which sound impressive but are really just for show and won't make me much money. If you don't believe me, go ask around; every time this new wine is released, so many families are eyeing it. What can I do? They're either elders or nobles; I have to give them all face!"

These words left Xu Lin speechless, and no matter what she said, it wouldn't be right.

Zhang watched with amusement.

This aunt is really becoming more and more outrageous.

Whenever Zhao Zhao gets something good, she makes sure the Sun family gets a share too, just in case someone says she gets the benefits but doesn't know how to show respect to her elders.

Xu Lin wasn't satisfied with the gifts she received; she was thinking of getting something bigger!

No matter how good the wine produced by Pagoda Fruit Garden is, it is still available on the market and is definitely not out of stock.

Xu Lin's words just now clearly showed that she didn't want to spend any money and wanted to get it for free!

How can someone who is an elder be so shameless?

They're both elders, but look at the Wang family's side?

The Wang family would occasionally fail to reciprocate the gifts Zhaozhao sent, but they would always make up for it elsewhere, never taking advantage of a junior.

That's what you call elders being kind and loving.

Take the wine for example. After autumn arrived, Xu Zhaozhao sent Jinhua wine and Yannian wine to the Wang family. However, the Wang family had many members, and with banquets and social obligations, the wine was definitely not enough.

However, Wang Jianing would rather send someone to buy it in the market himself than ask Xu Zhaozhao for it, just because he didn't want people to talk about it.

The wine and spirits prepared by Xu Zhaozhao accounted for the majority of the New Year's gifts that the Marquis's mansion prepared for the Wang family.

The more loving and considerate elders are to their juniors, the more the juniors will want to give their elders the best things to show their respect.

Only through such give and take can affection grow stronger.

If everyone acted like Xu Lin, they would probably have to cut ties with their relatives sooner or later.

Princess Anhe was not familiar with this aunt, but judging from her demeanor, she knew that she was not well-liked in the Xu family.

Having been rebuffed, Xu Lin simply turned cold and went to the back to pay her respects to the old lady.

As soon as she left, Wang Ruolan couldn't help but chuckle, "Alright, let's leave it at that for today. Don't tell anyone. You three sit here, I'll go and see what's going on."

"Yes, mother."

Once the elders left, the three of them immediately felt much more relaxed.

"Sister-in-law, I made a gold necklace for my little nephew, but it might be a couple of days late in arriving. Let Xiong'er try it on and see how impressive it is!"

Madam Zhang scolded, "You shouldn't spoil him so much. He's just a little kid; he doesn't deserve such a good thing."

"Sister-in-law, you're wrong. Xiong'er is our family's eldest grandson, he's very precious! Anyway, I think Xiong'er is better looking than my older brother, and he looks more like sister-in-law."

Princess Anhe chimed in, "Yes, I also think Xiong'er's eyes are more like my sister-in-law's, so dark and bright."

Zhang was flattered by the two women so much that she couldn't stop smiling. No wonder everyone loves to hear nice things.

“Zhaozhao, you still need to be prepared. I think your aunt came today for something else. You know her temperament. If things go to the old lady and she doesn’t like it, it will be Mother and us who will be scolded and punished.”

Xu Zhaozhao nodded: "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I will definitely not let Grandmother blame Mother. Besides, I heard that Grandmother intends to let the younger generation of my maternal uncle's side come to the capital to study. At this time, it is not appropriate for Grandmother to hold Mother accountable for some trivial matters."

Princess Anhe glared at her: "Zhaozhao, how do you know everything? Does your sister-in-law know about this?"

Madam Zhang nodded: "I did hear the young master mention it, but I'm afraid it's not possible for him to enter the Imperial Academy. It would be better if he went to study at an academy, at least he wouldn't have to live in the mansion, so that everyone would feel uncomfortable."