Tianliangyuan

Chapter 285 Training

Jinxiu Garden is indeed quite large, and Xu Zhaozhao particularly likes a place called Bishui Pavilion in the garden. It is built by the water, with small bridges and flowing water, making it a perfect place to enjoy the scenery and taste tea.

Xu Zhaozhao thought that she could invite her sister-in-law or Princess Leyang to come here for tea and chess in the future.

On the third day after the wedding, Madam Yu naturally prepared a lot of gifts for Xu Zhaozhao's return visit. It can be said that among the Xie family's newlyweds, Xu Zhaozhao's return visit gifts were the most numerous and of the highest quality.

With more people, there are naturally more ideas.

Xu Zhaozhao ignored the few pairs of eyes that were clearly filled with jealousy. Xie Zheng helped her into the carriage, and then she went back to her parents' home.

After Xie Zheng properly kowtowed and paid his respects to the elders, Wang Ruolan pulled Xu Zhaozhao into the inner room to talk.

Xu Han looked at his son-in-law with a mixture of joy and resentment, but in the end he still took him to the martial arts training ground in the mansion.

How does your son-in-law treat you?

“He treated me very well, and the elders of the Xie family were also very kind.”

"Those are all superficial. To be honest, no one else matters. The key is that Xie Zheng treats you well, and that's the most important thing."

"That's what mother said."

"I've heard that Madam Song is Xie Zheng's mother's cousin, but I've never met her. She's currently in Jizhou with Duke Xie, and I don't know if she'll be easy to get along with when she returns."

“Mother is overthinking it. She was just one of Father’s concubines, and Father made it clear that he would not remarry. So, it’s impossible for me to have another proper mother-in-law.”

Wang Ruolan thought about it and realized that Xie Xiaolin and Song Shi had a deep affection for each other back then. Even the two concubines were chosen for him by Song Shi.

"How are your two half-sisters?"

Xu Zhaozhao shook her head: "We haven't had much contact yet, so I can't tell."

Wang Ruolan sighed and said, "Your branch of the family doesn't have any proper female elders. I'm afraid you'll have to worry about the marriages of those two sisters in the future."

Xu Zhaozhao glared: "They're only two years younger than me, does that mean they're still unmarried?"

Wang Ruolan was also surprised that Xu Zhaozhao was unaware of this.

"It's a long story, and I was so focused on the elders of the Xie family that I forgot to tell you about these two girls."

Wang Ruolan let Xu Zhaozhao eat some snacks first, and then the mother and daughter continued.

Xu Zhaozhao only then learned that Xie Chan, the sixth daughter of the Jia family, had actually broken off her engagement last year.

As for Xie Juan, the seventh daughter of Xiao Song, she was engaged when she was young, but the man died young, so Wang Ruolan was not very clear about the current situation.

"The most troublesome one is Xie Juan. She is the daughter of Xiao Songshi, while Jiashi is just an ordinary concubine. Xie Juan is the seventh young lady of the mansion, so her marriage should be the concern of the mistress. However, your eldest branch has no proper elders, so you can only rely on the old lady."

But I heard that the old lady dislikes Madam Song, and naturally, she dislikes this seventh granddaughter as well. As for the second and fourth wives, although they are elders, they are from a different branch of the family, and I reckon they wouldn't want to meddle. Now that you've married into their family and become their eldest sister-in-law, I'm afraid they'll inevitably have to trouble you in the future.”

Xu Zhaozhao didn't think it was a big deal after hearing this.

It's just a matter of finding good marriages for my two half-sisters; that's not difficult.

Moreover, if the Duke returns to the capital next year, then Madam Song will naturally have to accompany him. At that time, she might not need to worry about it anymore.

After the mother and daughter talked for a while, Zhang's three sisters-in-law came over together.

Wang Ruolan checked the time and felt it was about time, so she asked them to go to the back to pay their respects to the old lady and set out a meal there.

The old lady had come out earlier, mainly to receive the newlyweds' greetings, and then was helped back home slowly.

Now that Xie Zheng is making his first formal visit as a son-in-law, it is natural for him to dine with the old lady, both to show respect to his elders and to demonstrate how much the family values ​​Xie Zheng as their son-in-law.

Xie Zheng's wedding leave was not long; he would soon be going to the palace to take up his post.

This time, Xie Zheng received a large amount of money and a medal as a reward.

Xie Zheng was granted the title of Light Cavalry Commandant, which is equivalent to a fourth-rank official position. In addition, Emperor Yong'an also conferred upon him the title of Loyal and Martial General, a fourth-rank official position. Furthermore, Xie Zheng's actual official position is now Yulin Zhonglang General, a fourth-rank official position. Therefore, strictly speaking, Xie Zheng is receiving three salaries.

Don't underestimate these three salaries; the main reason is that they all come with high-ranking official positions.

Moreover, this is also an honor, and it represents the Emperor's attitude towards Xie Zheng, which is very important!

So, even though it seems like none of the official positions are above the fourth rank, Xie Zheng is still young!

Moreover, he is the heir of the Duke's mansion, and "son" is also a title, so Xie Zheng's income from these sources alone is quite substantial.

After Xie Zheng left, Xu Zhaozhao had to slowly sort out the relationships between the people inside and outside the mansion.

Xie Zheng had been at home for the past few days, and the two of them were naturally very affectionate, so they couldn't just focus on the accounts of those businesses.

Now that Xu Zhaozhao is alone in this vast Jinxiu Garden, she naturally has to start thinking about work.

Dingxiang had given instructions early on to have all the servants in the garden gather at the front and wait for the mistress to give her instructions.

Although Xu Zhaozhao could recognize which people served in Jinxiu Garden, she was still unfamiliar with their names, so she summoned them over for questioning.

The main purpose is to take attendance and match people with their names.

Xu Zhaozhao sat in the main seat and had Lin Mama call out names. When someone was called, someone would come forward to greet the mistress and pay their respects. Then Xu Zhaozhao would decide whether to ask a few more questions.

Granny Lin was Xie Zheng's wet nurse. Back then, Madam Song died young, and Xie Xiaolin was a rough man who naturally had no experience in taking care of children, especially since Xie Zheng was his eldest son!

Therefore, Granny Lin held a very high position in the entire Duke's mansion.

Even the second wife, Madam Yu, dared not punish her after she made a mistake; she usually had to consult the old lady.

Xu Zhaozhao originally thought that this Granny Lin would be somewhat domineering, but after spending a few days with her, she was surprised to find that she was actually quite kind.

It was Xu Zhaozhao's wet nurse, Xu Mama, who reminded her that it was because of her high status and powerful background that even the old lady of the Duke's mansion wouldn't dare to do anything to Xu Zhaozhao, let alone a wet nurse.

After thinking about it, Xu Zhaozhao understood.

In the face of absolute power, all schemes and tricks are futile.

Xu Zhaozhao had already investigated Lin Mama's background and was just waiting to give her a warning later.

"Reporting to the Crown Prince's wife, everyone has arrived."

"Alright. Today is the first time I've met you all alone. I'm new to the Xie family and don't want to be known for mistreating the servants. So I've called you all here today to make things clear from the start: if any of you dare to break my rules, don't blame me for being ruthless!"