Chapter 67: The Marquis’s Wife Shows Good Will, Killing Two Birds with One Stone

The wife of Marquis Anping walked through the crowd, with Han Sixue standing behind her.

She originally saw Xie Yao and wanted to come over to say hello, but she ended up meeting her best friend.

Just as he was about to ask her a few questions about the Xie family, before he could say anything, he heard a commotion coming from his sister's side.

She brought her sister to the Winter Solstice Banquet today with the purpose of choosing her sister's husband between Xie Yan and Xie Chengbai.

The Xie family was chosen not because of the high official position or good reputation of the Wenchang Earl, but because of the Earl's wife, Xu.

Others may not know, but Lady Anping Hou knows that the Xu family behind Xu is a wealthy merchant family that rivals a country.

When she was young, she had witnessed the Xu family marrying off their daughter. The grand occasion that day was several times more lively than when she married the Marquis of Anping. She still remembers it to this day.

Take the Winter Solstice Banquet today, for example. Can ordinary officials afford to host it?

Seeing the Anping Marquis’ wife and Han Sixue, Xie Yao finally stood up and politely greeted them: “Greetings, Madam Marquis, Sister Han.”

The name "Sister Han" made Lady Anping Marquis stunned for a moment, but she heard Han Sixue respond gently and nodded to her affectionately.

The fact that she is so familiar with Sixue proves that the second young lady of the Xie family is definitely not as rude and impolite as the rumors say.

She looked at Xie Yao carefully, and was amazed at her pomegranate red dress and the jade hairpin in her hair.

The jade hairpin on Miss Xie's head may look ordinary, but the material used is rare in the imperial palace.

Her dress was made by Zhixianfang, the largest clothing store in Beijing. The things in this store can be described in one word - expensive!

Jiang Nianxi put down the teapot and complained in a delicate voice, "Sister, this Xie Yao is so picky. She refused to greet me and even made sarcastic remarks, saying that I relied on the Jiang family and you."

"Don't you rely on the Jiang family and me?"

The wife of the Marquis of Anping asked back coldly with a stern look in her eyes.

If they marry into the Xie family in the future, then Xie Yao will be a relative of their Jiang family. Moreover, Xie Yao is the Princess of Jingbei, so it is not reasonable for her to pay her respects to Jiang Nianxi.

Jiang Nianxi choked and her cheeks flushed. She didn't expect her sister not to stand on her side.

The wife of Marquis Anping shook her head, her eyes fell on Xie Zhi, and she quickly understood everything.

The third sister is so stupid that she was actually used by a concubine's daughter.

But that's true, she herself is just a concubine's daughter.

Jiang Nianxi's eyes were slightly red, and she looked at Xie Zhi again.

"Sister Nianxi, don't be angry. It's all my fault." Xie Zhi lowered his head and said in a low voice.

Lady Anping: "It is indeed your fault. You should be punished."

Jiang Nianxi argued on Xie Zhi's behalf: "Sister Zhi is Xie Yao's sister, but she has no respect for her sister at all. She really has no manners at all. Why doesn't sister punish her?"

Xie Zhi seemed very nervous and stopped talking.

Such a pretentious attitude made the wife of the Marquis of Anping extremely disgusted.

If instigating his sister to target Xie Yao was bad, then playing tricks in front of her and letting his sister be a target was treating others as fools.

Xie Yao glared at Xie Zhi and said, "I can actually bow to you, big sister, as the Princess of Jingbei. Is that necessary?"

Xie Zhi quickly shook his head: "Second sister, you are embarrassing me. How dare I accept your gift?"

Xie Yao sneered.

Even if Xiao Yizi did not appear, his identity would be just as useful as if he did.

Lady Anping glared at her sister and rebuked her in a low voice, "I said you were stupid, and you really are stupid."

"Sister, I——"

"Come here, and don't move around until the banquet is over."

Jiang Nianxi hesitated for a moment, but decided to listen to her sister and walked behind the wife of Marquis Anping.

Xie Zhi clenched her fists, but Lady Anping Marquis didn't even look at her.

If you look at this kind of concubine with impure thoughts for even a second longer, you will only pollute your own eyes.

But after all, they might still be relatives in the future, so it would be difficult for her to decide what to do.

Xie Zhi panicked when he heard the Marquis' wife say she was going to punish him, but when he saw that she didn't even look at him, Xie Zhi felt even more hatred in his heart.

The wife of Marquis Anping took off the jade bracelet on her wrist, put on a gentle and warm smile on her face, and came to Xie Yao.

"Nianxi has always been naughty, so don't take what she said to heart. I see that my sister's wrist is a bit plain, and this bracelet is not expensive, but it is a token of my appreciation. Today, I feel like we've known each other for a long time, so consider this a meeting gift."

Xie Yao did not refuse and thanked her in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Thank you, Madam Hou."

She knew that the wife of Marquis Anping was a very smart person and very aware of the current situation.

In the previous life, she was mocked by a group of noble ladies at the Winter Solstice Banquet. Although she did not help her, she stepped in in time to stop it and prevent the situation from escalating.

When Lady Anping Marquis saw Xie Yao accept the gift, the smile on her face became more genuine and she sat back in her seat.

She knew her sister had accepted a gift from the Xie family's concubine, and she whispered, "Can't you see that concubine is using you? Are you really treating someone like a sister just for a few paintings?"

"But Xie Zhi is a talented woman in Beijing, and her mother, Aunt Sun, is also in charge of the Bo Mansion's rear quarters..."

"Xie Yao's maternal grandfather, the Xu family, is truly wealthy enough to rival a nation. You're a fool who threw away the watermelon to pick up sesame seeds!"

Jiang Nianxi didn't dare to refute anymore. She didn't know. She had never even heard of the Xu family.

"Keep a low profile and go say hello to the eldest son of the Wenchang Earl and Xie Chengbai. You can choose between these two first."

"yes."

Jiang Nianxi looked back, but her face was embarrassed: "Sister, that young master has already left the banquet."

After Xie Yan saw Xie Yao and let others know how beautiful his sister was, he walked away with a proud look on his face.

"...Then go see Xie Chengbai. Do you still need me to teach you?"

Jiang Nianxi stepped back, and Lady Anping finally got rid of this foolish sister. She pulled Han Sixue aside, and the two whispered to each other.

Han Sixue had nothing to hide in front of her, so she simply told her the whole story.

Lady Anping's heart sank.

She had heard about Xie Chengyu's affairs a long time ago, and now she had confirmed it with her own ears from her old friend. The warmth in her eyes gradually faded as she looked at the Xie family.

Although the Xu family is extremely wealthy, the Xie family is a den of tigers and wolves.

After the incident just now, the banquet became lively again.

The maids in the Bo's mansion carried green jade cups and placed them on the tables one by one.

The cup contains sweet and soft osmanthus dumplings.

Xie Yao picked up a dumpling. Her posture was very casual, without any rules, but because of her extremely bright appearance, whatever she did had a kind of unrestrained and calm aura.

In front of her, there were many noble ladies from the capital who had followed Jiang Nianxi before, acting like a bully and making veiled accusations.

"I've long heard that Earl Wenchang is a master at educating his daughters. Seeing her today, I know the rumors are true. Second Miss Xie is so beautiful, like a fairy from a painting. I feel ashamed of myself."

"The princess's dress is both luxurious and generous. It's obvious that it was custom-made by Zhixianfang. That shop could only make a shawl with a hundred taels of gold. The princess is truly generous."

"Your hair is so beautiful, Princess. I heard that you are also good at martial arts. You are truly as good as any man..."

When these noble ladies saw Lady Anping Marquis give out the bracelet, they all reacted.

Xie Yao is the Princess of Jingbei, and with the way she is dressed today, is there any woman more noble than her at the Winter Solstice Banquet?

Even though some of them still looked down on Xie Yao in their hearts, they all flattered her on the surface.

Xie Yao ignored their words and did not respond.

At the Winter Solstice Banquet in the previous life, it was the same group of people and Jiang Nianxi. Because of Xie Zhi's instigation, they mocked her, saying that she was a country woman and that Lu Shenyan was forced to marry her.

Xie Zhi, however, wore the gorgeous dress that her mother had originally prepared for her, and was praised as the most beautiful woman among all.

Only the wife of Marquis Anping remained calm. She discovered that Xie Zhi was using her sister Jiang Nianxi, and she treated Xie Zhi coldly in public. As a result, she did not allow her sister to marry into the Xie family.

Now, she is the one wearing gorgeous clothes, showing off the Xu family's wealth.

The goodwill shown by the wife of Marquis Anping completely reversed the situation.

This is an open conspiracy.

Xie Yao saw Han Sixue and the wife of Marquis Anping whispering to each other while eating dumplings slowly.

In his previous life, Xie Chengbai did not marry the daughter of the Jiang family.

This time, he still has no chance.

Xie Zhi failed to enter the palace, but jumped out today, perhaps wanting to use Jiang Nianxi to marry a member of the Jiang family. After all, Jiang Nianxi has several brothers and sisters. But now, Xie Zhi is disliked by the wife of Anping Marquis, so it is impossible.

By dealing with Xie Chengyu and helping Han Sixue to be free, the second branch of the Xie family's plan was thwarted, and Xie Zhi's chance of clinging to the Jiang family was cut off.

This strategy is called killing two birds with one stone.

Xie Yao's gaze fell on Xie Chengbai who was chatting with Jiang Nianxi in the corner.

Next, it was his turn.

Beside Xie Yao, Xie Zhi felt more and more uncomfortable when he heard the respectful calls of "Princess" one after another, and the hatred in his eyes could hardly be hidden.

She could no longer enter the palace. She had to flatter and humble herself in front of Jiang Nianxi. Her only hope was to outshine all the other beauties at the Winter Solstice Banquet today and attract the flattery and favor of those noble sons from aristocratic families.

But now, with Xie Yao here, who would care about her!

Just because Xie Yao was the Princess of Jingbei, even the wife of the Marquis of Anping showed her favor.

It was obvious that she gave the position of princess to Xie Yao because she didn't want to marry. Why is Xie Yao showing off her position as princess now?