Tianliangyuan

Chapter 291 Covering Up Ugliness

Xu Zhaozhao originally just wanted to give Xie Zheng some motivation to continue finding these good things for her in the future.

But to my surprise, Xie Zheng pounced on her and kissed her red lips.

After the kiss, Xie Zheng licked his lips with lingering satisfaction: "Hmm, I've tasted it too, it is indeed very sweet."

Xu Zhaozhao's face is burning hot right now. This person is so inconsiderate!

There are other people inside!

But when she turned her head, huh? Where was everyone inside?

Xie Zheng noticed it too, then picked the person up and walked towards the bed.

The lady's servants are quite perceptive; I'll definitely reward them handsomely tomorrow.

When Xie Zheng took a break, Xu Zhaozhao and Xie Zheng did go to Baiguoyuan together.

The premium grade of the Longevity Wine not only requires medicinal herbs, but also some medicinal power delivered by Xu Zhaozhao.

Xu Zhaozhao was careful with her actions, only administering a tiny amount each time. If the effect were too miraculous, she would probably be locked up and never see the light of day again.

In fact, Xu Zhaozhao would specially prepare two jars of premium wine each time, but only label them as Grade 1, and then send them to her family.

Xu Han had never tasted the premium wine obtained from the Emperor, so he had no idea that he was drinking the same wine as the Emperor.

The chrysanthemums in the orchard are in full bloom right now, and there are also many other flowers carefully cultivated by Xu Zhaozhao. It can be said that you can feel the difference as soon as you come here.

The wintersweet was in full bloom, and Xu Zhaozhao specially ordered people to cultivate many small plants, some of which could be kept indoors.

Nowadays, the flowers in Baiguoyuan are highly sought after by ladies and young women from various families.

The north is cold, and winter is inherently a bleak season. If it can be adorned with some other colors, it will naturally make people feel happy.

Especially after Xu Zhaozhao sent several pots of camellias and peonies to the palace, the ladies and young women were extremely envious.

Xu Zhaozhao specially ordered the construction of a greenhouse in the Hundred Fruit Garden, where different varieties of flowers are regularly cultivated.

More than ten gardeners have already been recruited here.

This shows just how popular these flowers are in winter.

"Let's take a few pots of camellias with us when we go back. I like them. And let's take some wintersweet too."

"it is good."

Although Xie Zheng's place was called Jinxiu Garden, that was just a name.

Previously, it was rare to see such vibrant colors in that garden.

Before the marriage, Madam Yu specially transplanted some flowers to the courtyard; otherwise, the garden would have looked even more desolate.

Although Xu Zhaozhao is capable, she cannot be too conspicuous.

Therefore, we can only wait until spring to transplant some flowering and fruit trees into the garden, and by next year, the garden will truly live up to its name.

Xu Zhaozhao and Xie Zheng were packing up to return to their residence when they were invited to the Marquis of Anxin's residence by a servant sent by the Marquis's mansion.

"Mother, why did you call me back so urgently? Has something happened?"

Wang Ruolan looked slightly worried: "Sun Qian is back, and this morning she even went to the old lady's door, insisting that you help her husband."

"what's the situation?"

Xu Zhaozhao was completely dumbfounded.

When did Sun Qian get married?

Why didn't she know?

Sun Qian is two months older than Xu Zhaozhao, so if we only consider their age difference, they should indeed get married.

However, because Sun Qian had previously injured her face, the wedding arrangements have been delayed.

I heard that Xu Lin had previously introduced her to some poor scholars, and even the sons of local gentry, but nothing came of it.

How come a cousin-in-law suddenly appeared all of a sudden?

Wang Ruolan looked annoyed when Sun Qian was mentioned.

Xu Zhaozhao had indeed not paid attention to her for a long time. After all, she was not an important person. Who would spend their time on an insignificant person?

But when I came back today, I never expected Sun Qian to be so bold!

Previously, Xu Lin had introduced several poor scholars to Sun Qian. The worst one was still a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations), while the best one was a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations).

Xu Lin felt that since Sun Qian's face was injured, it would be best for her to marry a man whom the Sun family could easily manipulate, so that Sun Qian would not suffer in the future.

But to my surprise, Sun Qian herself wasn't happy about it!

What good is fame and official rank?

The scholar's status is acceptable, but the problem is that he is a widower with two children. How could she, a virgin, possibly become someone's second wife?

Therefore, Sun Qian was unhappy, and even extremely disgusted.

Sun Qian naturally looked down on those poor, pedantic scholars.

Sun Qian had thought it through very clearly. If she really married a poor scholar, not to mention whether he could pass the imperial examination and become an official, she would have to bear all the expenses for his studies and examinations in the following years.

Sun Qian knew the Sun family's financial situation. Even if her mother doted on her, she wouldn't give her all of her dowry from back then.

Therefore, money will eventually run out, and what if one fails to pass the imperial examination?

Sun Qian felt that fame and fortune were no longer important, since her family was powerful, so marrying a merchant was fine.

Although the merchant's status is low, she is not short of money. At that time, she can still order servants around and dress in fine clothes. Why should she care about status?

Sun Qian's scars have faded somewhat, and are no longer as frightening as they were at the beginning. In addition, her status as the daughter of an official has helped her choose a wealthy and handsome man.

The reason the other party was willing to marry Sun Qian was because they valued the connections and relationships she had.

Xu Lin disagreed with Sun Qian's marriage, but Sun Qian herself was willing, so the wedding was held directly in the countryside.

This almost made Xu Lin so angry that she had a stroke!

Wang Ruolan sighed and said, "Sun Qian begged your grandmother today, crying and playing the victim, and your grandmother readily agreed, saying that you should hand over some of the wine from Baiguoyuan directly to her husband's family's caravan to sell in other places."

Xu Zhaozhao was somewhat confused.

"So, Mother, who did Sun Qian actually marry?"

Wang Ruolan slapped her forehead: "I forgot to mention, it's the Jia family, a wealthy merchant family in Yunyang County. Your aunt has an estate in Yunyang County, and Sun Qian stayed there for a while. I don't know how, but the two of them fell in love. Your aunt didn't agree when she found out, but no sooner had she left Yunyang than Sun Qian married into the Jia family."

Xie Zheng frowned slightly upon hearing this: "Isn't this wrong? Without the proper betrothal and marriage ceremony, can this really be considered a marriage?"

Wang Ruolan's lips curled up slightly; this son-in-law could be a bit silly at times.

The fact that Sun Qian and Jia Lang were able to get married so quickly is most likely because something had happened between them that they were afraid they couldn't hide anymore, so they got married in a hurry. When people asked, they only said that she got married in Yunyang County. Coincidentally, Xu Lin did go to Yunyang County around that time.

It's really just a way of covering up something bad, why is Xie Zheng taking it so seriously!