Tianliangyuan

Chapter 394 Testing

Li Shun's family background is decent, better than Zheng Tuo's.

At least Li Shun's father genuinely cared about him; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked his friend to find a way out for his son before he died.

That's pretty good.

Moreover, Li Shun left behind a considerable fortune, ensuring he would at least have enough to eat and wear.

After obtaining permission from her elders, Xu Zhaozhao asked Xu Zhuzi to investigate in detail.

As the eldest son of the family, Li Shun would inherit at least 60% of the family's assets, and his mother would live with him and be supported by him.

However, after observing Li Shun's words and actions, Xu Zhaozhao felt that he would not easily separate from the family.

After all, they were the only two brothers left, and their mother was still alive. Even if they got married, they couldn't separate from the family.

That's alright, as long as the elders aren't senile.

Li Shun's younger brother is still in school and is not the type to be extravagant.

"Master, this is the current state of the Li family's assets. We have investigated everything."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

Xu Zhuzi chuckled: "I wouldn't dare, it's all my duty."

Xu Zhaozhao didn't look at him, so she didn't notice that Xu Zhuzi's smile was obviously different from usual.

Xu Zhaozhao read through everything and gained a deeper understanding of Li Shun's family background.

The Li family now owns 670 mu of farmland, of which more than 200 mu are located far from Beijing.

In addition, there is an old house in Chang'an County in the capital, another villa but not in the capital, and two shops, the deeds of which are also owned by the Li family. Currently, one is a cloth business and the other is a study.

Xu Zhuzi truly lived up to Xu Zhaozhao's expectations; he even managed to find out the revenue of these two shops over the past few years. The data wasn't very detailed, but it should be roughly accurate.

The two shops together bring in a net income of about 120 strings of cash a year. The income from the farmland is even less, with the main sources being grain, vegetables, chickens, ducks, and other produce.

Besides that, there's Li Shun's own salary.

All things considered, the family's income and expenses are reasonable.

The Li family now employs a total of fourteen people, from the old lady down to the lowest-ranking gatekeeper, most of whom are servants born into the family.

Okay.

As long as Xie Juan doesn't have to use her dowry to make up for the shortfall after she marries into the family, then there shouldn't be a big problem.

But the key is that some things also depend on the personalities of the bride and the mother-in-law.

From what we see now, we can't tell what kind of person Li Shun's mother was.

If, after they get married, he keeps giving Xie Juan a hard time, that would be bad.

Therefore, Xu Zhaozhao decided to meet first and if the two were interested, she would then find a way to give Li Shun a heads-up.

Everything went smoothly, and Xie Juan was very satisfied with Li Shun. The main reason was that his family was small, and she would be the eldest sister-in-law after marrying into the family. She could also maintain a proper demeanor when her younger siblings joined the family.

In short, it's always better to marry the eldest son of the legitimate wife than to marry a son of a concubine.

Xie Juan's reputation is actually better than Xie Chan's, since Xie Juan was never jilted.

But the problem was that Xie Juan had a meddlesome aunt.

After learning that both parties were interested, Xu Zhaozhao ordered Xu Zhuzi to invite Li Shun to have tea outside.

Of course, it was actually Xie Zheng and Xu Zhaozhao who arrived at the destination.

Although Xu Zhaozhao was carefree, she knew she couldn't just meet with men outside the home. Since this matter concerned Xie Juan's marriage, it wouldn't be good to have Xu Zhuzi and the others overhearing. So, it was best for Xie Zheng to accompany her.

"This humble official greets the General and the County Princess."

"No need for formalities, there are no outsiders here, Lord Li, please have a seat."

Li Shun is now the Registrar of the Imperial Academy, which sounds good, but in reality, it's a bit awkward.

Li Shun is still young, so it's not surprising that he's incompetent to be in this position.

However, if no one supports him and the Li family has no connections in this area, then he will have to hold this position for at least another ten years.

It's uncertain whether he will be promoted ten years from now.

Xie Zheng chatted briefly with Li Shun and learned that Li Shun planned to propose marriage at a later date, which pleased Xie Zheng greatly.

If it's just a verbal promise, then it's deceiving people.

"Lord Li, although the Seventh Miss is only a concubine's daughter in our Duke's mansion, my husband doesn't have many younger sisters, only two in total. Lord Li, you should think carefully. If your Li family treats the Seventh Miss badly in the future, you may very well face the wrath of the entire Duke's mansion!"

Xu Zhaozhao was deliberately provoking Li Shun to see how he would react.

“Your Highness is overthinking it. My mother is kind and gentle. If she is fortunate enough to be favored by the Seventh Miss, she will naturally be in charge of the inner quarters after entering the family. Who would dare to bully her? As for my younger brother, he lives at the academy most of the time and rarely comes back.”

The implication is that there are few people in the family, so there aren't many things to deal with.

Xu Zhaozhao smiled slightly: "That may be true, but what I just said was not an exaggeration."

"Princess, rest assured, if I have truly wronged Seventh Miss, I will certainly be willing to bear all the consequences."

That sounds alright.

At least I think he's a decent person!

"Very well. Let me ask you again. The Duke of Huguo's mansion is mostly composed of military officers, and my husband is also a military officer, while you are a civil official. Aren't you afraid that after you marry the Seventh Miss, you won't get the support of your in-laws and won't be able to help you get promoted?"

Li Shun smiled bitterly: "It's because I'm not as skilled as others. If I had chosen the path of the imperial examination back then, things might have been different. But in short, how can a man's future be tied to a woman? Isn't that absurd!"

Xu Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow; she sounded quite ambitious.

"Lord Li, what are your plans for your future?" Xie Zheng grasped Xu Zhaozhao's wrist with one hand. He couldn't let his wife do all the things that would offend people.

After a moment of silence, Li Shun simply stood up and bowed deeply once more.

"Reporting to the General, I don't really have many thoughts about the future. I don't dare to think about how long I will stay in this position or whether I will be promoted or given important responsibilities. If the Seventh Miss wants to marry a powerful and influential man in the future, I'm afraid I am not worthy of him."

Xu Zhaozhao tilted her head slightly. This person was quite clear-headed, had a clear understanding of himself, and was also very objective.

Not bad!

If such a person doesn't make any major mistakes in the future, they could be trained to be successful.

He's just a minor official now, but Xie Juan can work hand in hand with him and they can share wealth and honor in the future. At least that way, Li Shun won't complain about her.

"Why is Lord Li so serious? My husband was just asking casually and had no other intention. It seems that Lord Li has a lot on his mind."

Li Shun was momentarily embarrassed, standing there, unsure whether to stand or sit.

Xu Zhaozhao found his expression amusing.

"Lord Li, please have a seat. Anyone who doesn't know the situation would think that my husband and I are deliberately making things difficult for you."