Tianliangyuan

Chapter 114 You Don't Like Me

Li Biyao passed away, but before that, she had been expelled from her clan.

In fact, many clans nowadays do not record women's names in their genealogy.

For example, if the Li family were just ordinary people, their genealogy would only state: Li Moumou, wife Li Moushi, and they had one daughter.

If a son is born, his birth date and name will be recorded in detail. If the son has any special achievements later on, they will be recorded in the family genealogy so that future generations can admire them.

However, the Li family, whose main lineage is the General's Mansion, is naturally different.

Therefore, Li Biyao has a name on the family genealogy, which is why there is talk of her being removed from the clan.

Once the clan is expelled, Li Biyao will essentially have no family to rely on.

Moreover, such a major event should be made public.

After all, Li Biyao's moral failings have affected the other women in the Li family, which is something no clan can tolerate.

It's likely that when Madam Li and Li Biyao devised this plan, they didn't expect it would push Li Biyao into a desperate situation.

Without a maternal family, it was uncertain whether Li Biyao could survive well after entering the Duke of Su's mansion.

After the news of Li Biyao's expulsion from her clan spread, Jiang Fu was actually delighted.

In this way, Li Biyao would essentially have no family to rely on, and she wouldn't need to prepare much more.

For example, Prince Liu originally intended to hold a proper betrothal ceremony, but now it seems that all of that is unnecessary.

In fact, although Li Biyao is still Li Biyao, because the Li clan publicly announced that Li Bibi had passed away, this Li Biyao cannot even marry out of her own home.

Those in the know understand that Li Biyao is still alive, but it's no use.

As long as the Li family insists that she died of illness, and even built a grave for her, it won't matter what anyone says, because the government has also canceled her household registration. Now, Li Biyao is just a girl from a farming family in a village, who just happens to have the surname Li.

In the evening, a sedan chair stopped at the side gate, and Li Biyao was carried to the Duke of Su's mansion. Dressed in a peach-colored wedding gown, she was led in by servants and then, after many twists and turns, arrived at a somewhat simple courtyard.

Although Li Biyao entered the palace as a concubine, she brought two maids and a nanny with her as part of her dowry.

This was the last thing Madam Li could do for her.

According to custom, a concubine's family is not considered a proper relative to her husband's family.

Although Master Li was furious with his daughter, after much thought, he realized that her expulsion from the clan was essentially the same as him having no daughter at all. He felt a pang of regret and, in the end, gritted his teeth and prepared 100 strings of cash for her as a dowry. At the same time, he also asked his wife to give her a shop as part of her dowry. Whether she could keep the shop or not depended on Li Biyao's own abilities.

Besides making money, Xu Zhaozhao also set her sights on Deng Xuan.

More accurately, she had her sights set on the Ministry of Revenue.

Deng Xuan is Jiang Ning's maternal uncle and is currently the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

According to the book, the reason why the Loyal King was able to rise to power so quickly was not only because of his private iron mining, but also because he had the Ministry of Revenue as his purse.

Although Deng Xuan is only a vice minister now, about half of the secretaries and clerks under the Ministry of Revenue are his people.

Therefore, it was an easy thing for him to embezzle silver from the Ministry of Revenue.

Moreover, if she remembered correctly, in the original novel, not long after Jiang Ning married Prince Zhong, the current Minister of Revenue was impeached due to accounting issues, and Deng Xuan was promoted to Minister as a matter of course.

Xu Zhaozhao instructed Dingxiang to arrange for someone to keep an eye on Deng Xuan, making sure not to alert him.

Xu Zhaozhao had already thought it through. She had no access to the Ministry of Revenue's account books, and no one in her family worked in the Ministry of Revenue, so she could only think of other ways to bring Deng Xuan down.

For example, keep an eye on Deng Xuan to see if he uses any prohibited items without permission, or to see if he has any romantic affairs that cannot be made public.

In short, anything is possible as long as we can find something to use against Deng Xuan.

Xu Zhaozhao went to the street behind the Deng residence that day. There were many different kinds of trees and plants there, but not all of them were close to the back wall of the Deng residence.

After returning to the manor, Xu Zhaozhao called Mai Dong over.

"Have someone keep an eye on the address here and see who usually comes in and out. Also, remember not to alert anyone."

"Yes, ma'am."

Deng Xuan was cautious in his actions and not a lecherous person. Xu Zhaozhao felt that this address did not seem like a place to keep a mistress.

In the heart of the city, who exactly was Deng Xuan secretly associating with?

The busier the city, the harder it is to determine their whereabouts.

Xu Zhaozhao was able to obtain the detailed house number thanks to those lovely little trees.

Otherwise, it would be too difficult to observe with the naked eye alone.

As Zhang's baby turned one month old, the Marquis's residence began preparing a grand full-moon celebration.

Needless to say, the relatives of the Marquis's family would definitely come to give the child a "locking money" gift, which means using these items to lock the child's life in the mortal world so that the underworld officials would avoid him.

To be frank, it's still somewhat superstitious.

Xu Zhaozhao made a lucky golden lock for her little nephew. The full moon celebration at the Marquis's mansion was mainly for female relatives, so the peach blossom wine and other fruit wines used at the banquet were all sent by Baiguoyuan.

Women who usually couldn't bear to spend money on themselves, upon learning that it was peach blossom wine, couldn't wait to devour a bowl of it.

Xu Wanwan was in a bad mood. Xu Zhaozhao exchanged a few pleasantries with Xu Lin and then returned to her seat.

"What's wrong with Wanwan?"

Xu Wanwan forced a smile: "It's nothing, I just can't seem to muster any enthusiasm for anything."

Xu Zhaozhao carefully examined Xu Wanwan, and then thought about how her elders had been trying to find her a suitable husband. Could it be that she had already fallen in love?

"Has Wanwan left the manor recently?"

Xu Wanwan shook her head: "My mother and aunt have been working hard on my marriage lately, how can I cause them any more trouble?"

"Wanwan is beautiful and well-educated, so they will surely find you a good marriage."

Xu Wanwan frowned: "But what is a good marriage? No matter how good the man is, if I don't like him, then if I really marry him, I'm afraid we'll just be a resentful couple."

Xu Zhaozhao was now certain that the girl had fallen for him.

"Does Wanwan already have someone she likes?"

Xu Wanwan's face paled, and after looking around, she whispered, "Second sister, don't talk nonsense."

"If you truly have someone you love, you should inform your aunt. If their family backgrounds are suitable, your aunt might be willing to help you find a good match."

Xu Wanwan's face was slightly pale, and she looked like she could burst into tears at any moment.

Xu Zhaozhao then realized that the situation might be worse than she had imagined.

"Wanwan, don't panic or be afraid, your older sister is here." Xu Zhaozhao said, holding her hand to prevent her from losing her composure.

Xu Wanwan wiped her eyes twice with a handkerchief, looking rather resigned: "So what if Mother is willing? They don't even look at me!"