Tianliangyuan

Chapter 152 The Future Third Sister-in-Law

Wang Ruolan introduced many girls to Xu Junting, but she was only truly satisfied with three or five of them.

Among them, Wang Ruolan's favorite daughter-in-law was Li Mingya from General Li's mansion.

Li Zhangping was also a military officer, and he had a good relationship with Xu Han. If the two families were to become in-laws, both sets of elders would be satisfied.

However, it depends on the wishes of Xu Junting and Li Mingya.

Wang Ruolan simply hosted a banquet at home, inviting General Li and his wife to come and have their families over. This way, the two younger members could also make a better impression on each other. If they agreed, then the matter would be settled; if they did not agree, no one would force them.

Xu Zhaozhao thought this method was quite good and democratic. At least it respected the actions of the two younger generations, which was much better than many feudal patriarchal systems.

Xu Zhaozhao recognized Li Mingya, and they had even played together at several banquets hosted by Princess Leyang, so they were quite familiar with each other.

Xu Zhaozhao was surprised to find that Madam Li had brought her three daughters as guests.

Besides Li Mingya, the legitimate daughter, there are two illegitimate daughters, one of whom is only seven years old and was probably just brought out to play.

The other one is only one month younger than Li Mingya, and her name is Li Mingshu.

Madam Li let the younger generation go play in the garden, while she sat in the main hall with Wang Ruolan and talked.

"I brought all three of them here today for another reason. Mingshu is also looking for a husband. I received a message from the Liu family when I left today, so I thought I might as well take care of it together."

Wang Ruolan raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean by that?"

"Madam Liu took a liking to my illegitimate daughter, Mingshu, and wanted to marry her to her illegitimate son. They arranged to meet at the beginning of the day in the afternoon at a teahouse. They booked a large room, saying that it would be appropriate to have a screen in the middle."

Wang Ruolan nodded, then asked one more question: "Since it's for Mingshu's sake, then Mingya doesn't need to go, right?"

"That's right. I'll send someone to take her back to the manor first, and let the youngest child stay with me. This child lost her mother at birth and is weak. I don't trust anyone else to take care of her."

Wang Ruolan sighed, "Madam Li is truly virtuous! Since that's the case, there's no need for you to worry. I see that Zhaozhao and Mingya get along well, so let her stay at the manor as long as she wants. I'll arrange for Junting to escort her back to the manor, and I'll make sure she returns to the Li manor safely. What do you think?"

Madam Li smiled and nodded. The two exchanged a glance, knowing that the marriage was settled.

The atmosphere in Daxing was not so conservative, and since the two families were old friends, they simply and openly had men and women dining together in the same hall, only with separate tables for men and women.

Princess Anhe held the most prestigious position, yet she regarded herself as a junior, which made Madam Li even more envious.

I'm not afraid of marrying a woman from a high-class family, I'm afraid she'll put on airs after we get married!

Seeing that the mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, sisters-in-law, and aunts-in-law all got along well in the household, Madam Li was even more satisfied with the marriage.

Xu Junting is not the eldest son of the legitimate wife, so the burden of the family business will not fall on his shoulders in the future. To put it bluntly, even if Li Mingya does not give birth to a legitimate son after marrying into the family, it will not be such a big mistake. But Xu Junan is different.

Xu Jun'an was the eldest son of the Marquis's family and also the heir apparent, so Zhang was quite uneasy after marrying into the family. After she became pregnant, she began to worry that she would not give birth to a son.

Now that Xu Jun'an has a son, Zhang can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The banquet was a resounding success, with both hosts and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves.

When General Li and his sons left, Xu Zhaozhao specially arranged for someone to bring them several jars of wine, which made General Li extremely happy.

Li Mingya whispered, "My father loves wine, and my mother is very strict. These few jars of wine you gave me are exactly what my father wants."

Xu Zhaozhao's eyes were full of teasing: "How do you know it wasn't arranged by my third brother?"

Li Mingya blushed and turned her head away, ignoring her: "You silly girl, just wait and see how I'll laugh at you when you get married!"

Xu Zhaozhao wasn't in a hurry at all: "Anyway, I'll only get married after my third brother's wedding, so what am I afraid of! Besides, I can even ask my third sister-in-law for a dowry later!"

The moment Li Mingya heard the title "Third Sister-in-law," her face turned bright red, and she didn't dare to lift her eyelids.

After some laughter and commotion, Xu Zhaozhao obeyed her mother's instructions and led Li Mingya to her Ziyuan Garden to talk.

"I don't see anything wrong with your half-sister."

"Oh, my mother is taking her to meet potential husbands later."

"Wow, the girls from your Li family are really in high demand!"

Li Mingya playfully tapped her shoulder with her fan: "Can't you say something nice?"

"Third sister-in-law?"

As soon as he opened his mouth, he made Li Mingya shut up again!

Can't this person speak properly?

Xu Zhaozhao knew she was shy, so she stopped teasing her.

Xu Zhaozhao was somewhat surprised to learn that the man Li Mingshu was considering marrying was actually the illegitimate son of Imperial Censor Liu.

However, it's not a big deal for a concubine's daughter to marry a concubine's son, since she'll be the legal wife after marriage, which is better than being a concubine.

It is not hard to see from this that Madam Li was kind-hearted and General Li loved his children. He never thought of taking the opportunity to send his concubine daughters away like pawns in order to strengthen the family.

"Being able to be the principal wife is naturally better than being someone's concubine."

These words inevitably brought Li Biyao into the conversation.

Li Mingya also felt that her cousin was not thinking clearly. Her aunt was the second wife of the Xu family, and her uncle's official position was not low, and he held real power. If Li Biyao could behave herself, even if the Li family split up, they would not really abandon her!

It's really ugly that things have turned out like this.

“Li Biyao has now been removed from the family genealogy. What do you think she’s trying to achieve? A few days ago, I heard from a maid that she saw her going out with her maid. Her outfit was still acceptable, but she looked haggard and had obviously lost a lot of weight.”

Xu Zhaozhao shook her head: "The wife of the heir of the Duke of Su's mansion is Jiang Fu. Who in the capital doesn't know her temper? I've heard that she has beaten more than one of the heir's beautiful maids to death!"

If it were a proper concubine, Jiang Fu would still have some reservations, but if it were just a maid, Jiang Fu would be ruthless when she used the whip.

Jiang Fu treated the maids, especially those who had signed life-or-death contracts, as if they were not human beings at all.

Li Biyao had at least passed the concubine-taking document, so no matter how angry Jiang Fu was with her, she couldn't just beat her to death. But as the principal wife, it was far too easy for her to control the concubine.

"Sister Mingya, the weather is getting hotter and hotter. I'll send out invitations another day, and we can go to my estate outside the city to escape the heat together!"

"Aren't they all in the capital? What's the difference?"

“It is naturally different. I have a back mountain where I built a house, which is much cooler than the mansion.”

"I need to ask my mother before I can answer you."

Li Mingya hesitated. After all, she would have to ask her elders for permission to stay overnight outside. Moreover, she was not sure who Xu Zhaozhao would invite to the estate.