Tianliangyuan

Chapter 335 Xie Chan, the One Who Was Rejected at the Engagement

Xu Zhaozhao wasn't the type to enjoy socializing, but she was married and an adult, so she couldn't just leave everything to her mother and sister-in-law as before.

Now that she is the wife of the heir apparent, she still has to shoulder the responsibilities that come with it.

Currently, Madam Yu is in charge of managing the household affairs in the Duke's mansion. As the eldest daughter-in-law of the second branch, Zhang Pan'er also helps with some of the work, mainly taking charge of the clothes for all four seasons. Therefore, she is only busy when the seasons change.

Previously, Ms. Lin had been in charge of managing the family's meals, but after Ms. Lin made a mistake, Ms. Yu took back this authority, and has not relinquished it to Ms. Lin since.

The banquet was organized by Yu's two daughters-in-law, and Xu Zhaozhao was mainly responsible for the drinks and refreshments.

It wasn't that Xu Zhaozhao wanted to seize power; it was mainly because everyone knew that Baiguoyuan belonged to her, and the wines produced there were famously good. As her granddaughter-in-law, she felt she had to show her appreciation for her grandmother's birthday.

In the end, Madam Yu still had someone pay for the drinks, but she didn't pay for the tea and snacks, mainly because Xu Zhaozhao refused to accept them, insisting that it should be considered as a token of her and Xie Zheng's filial piety.

These words were spoken frankly, and Madam Yu also reported them to the old lady, who was naturally pleased.

After being scolded by her husband and mother-in-law, Zhang Pan'er realized how big a mistake she had made. So she thought she should make amends as soon as possible by spending more time with her third sister-in-law, hoping that she would be blessed with good fortune in the future.

Xu Zhaozhao knew that Zhang Pan'er had her own ulterior motives, but she didn't care. After all, they weren't blood sisters, so how could they expect to be close?

As Zhang Pan'er and Xu Zhaozhao interacted more frequently, they naturally saw the Xie sisters, Xie Chan and Xie Juan, more often.

After the birthday banquet, the two sisters started coming to Xu Zhaozhao's place every day for a morning, mainly to learn things they had never encountered before.

Seeing that she was truly earnest in teaching these two illegitimate daughters, Zhang Pan'er felt a surge of emotion.

Zhang Pan'er has always looked down on children born out of wedlock, whether they are from her own family or her husband's family.

But these two sisters were reincarnated, and Xie Zheng had no biological sisters, so these two naturally became the most prominent.

"Third sister-in-law seems to care about those two girls. A few days ago, when I went to pay my respects to my grandmother, I heard fourth aunt mention the marriages of the two girls. I wonder if third sister-in-law has any plans in mind?"

While Xu Zhaozhao and Zhang Pan'er were talking in the main hall, someone was sent to take the two sisters to a side room. Today, they were to teach them to look at some slightly complicated account books.

Of course, the person who taught them was Dingxiang, not herself.

I don't have the time for that!

We still need to chat and drink tea.

"I'm actually still completely confused about their marriage. Besides, now that Father is back, we should hear his opinion. But one thing is certain: all the daughters of the Xie family, whether legitimate or illegitimate, will eventually marry as wives, and absolutely cannot become concubines."

Zhang Pan'er also agrees with this.

The Duke's Mansion is different from her maternal family; the Zhang family is clearly not as well-established as the Xie family.

Moreover, Xie Zheng only has these two younger sisters, so he must make them his wives; otherwise, he would be disgracing the Xie family.

Think of Jiang Taifu's granddaughter. Although she married the Prince of Zhong, she was still looked down upon.

So what if she marries into the royal family?

A mere lowly woman, she's not even destined to be someone's concubine!

"Our Xie family has primarily produced military officers for generations. Even with Sanlang, the focus remains on battlefield achievements. If Father were to consider marrying the two daughters into the families of some of his subordinates, what would you, Third Sister-in-law, think?"

"As long as a person has good character and a clean family background, everything is negotiable."

Zhang Pan'er nodded; her third sister-in-law understood perfectly.

If only family background is considered, a girl may not necessarily have a happy life after marrying into the family.

"They're both getting on in years, they should have gotten engaged long ago, to save themselves from all the gossip and rumors."

Xu Zhaozhao understood this as well, since both girls had been engaged before, but unfortunately, one was jilted and the other lost her fiancé early on.

In short, either of these two issues, if not handled properly, will affect the reputations of both girls.

Now that this topic has been brought up, Xu Zhaozhao just asked directly.

"Sister-in-law, I only found out about Sixth Sister's annulment of the engagement after I married Sanlang. Do you know what the hidden story is behind this?"

Zhang Pan'er curled her lip: "What secret is there? It's just that he has climbed up to a higher social class and looks down on the girls in our household."

Xu Zhaozhao stared wide-eyed. Looking across the entire capital, there were truly very few families with better prospects than their Duke's mansion.

"Please tell me in detail, sister-in-law."

Zhang Pan'er now considers her a member of the Xie family, so there's nothing to hide.

"Sixth Miss is really unlucky. She was engaged for several years, but who knew that her fiancé would be such a treacherous scoundrel!"

Xu Zhaozhao could tell that Zhang Pan'er didn't have a good impression of that scumbag.

"The sixth young lady was originally betrothed to the third young master of General Song's family. This third young master was also born of the legitimate wife. However, the Song family and our Xie family are not just one level apart. So, although our sixth young lady is born of a concubine, marrying into the Song family is not considered a disgrace to the Song family."

However, the third young master of the Song family was a womanizer. Although he didn't have any illegitimate children, it was rumored that he had taken several girls from his own courtyard as his concubines. Because of this, the old lady was naturally displeased and even gave Madam Song a few words of advice.

Who knew that the following year, they would become attached to the Cui family. Oh, they were daughters of the Marquis of Xinning, and even legitimate daughters at that. With such a comparison, the Song family naturally felt that the Cui family's daughter was more desirable—she had a higher status, and besides, she was related to the royal family; she was definitely better than their own Duke's daughter.

Marquis Xinning, Cui Xuanzheng, was also the father of Cui Chong, the husband of Princess Ningshuo.

The Cui family was indeed a distinguished family.

Emperor Yong'an's birth mother came from the Cui family, which was powerful and had outstanding sons in both civil and military affairs.

For example, Cui Chong is actually more skilled in literature, but he is not weak in martial arts either.

For example, Cui Shu, the nephew of Cui Xuanzheng and the eldest son of Duke Cui Xuanming of Yue, was also the fiancé of Princess Leyang. He was skilled in warfare and extremely brave.

It is understandable that the Song family would choose the Cui family's daughter as their wife over Xie Chan.

But the question is, how could a prestigious family like the Cui family marry their eldest daughter to an unknown Song Sanlang?

Unless they've all lost their minds.

Xu Zhaozhao asked about the things that puzzled her, hoping that Zhang Pan'er could answer them for her.

Surprisingly, Zhang Pan'er actually knew.

"How could the eldest daughter of Lord Cui be willing to marry an ordinary Song Sanlang? It's just a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils."