Chapter 394 Scheming Against An'an
Jiang Tong dared not directly attack the Marquis's family. Although the fate of his second son was already decided, he still had a family to take care of. He couldn't afford to really break ties with the Marquis's family and make the old Marquis see them as a thorn in his side.
But the old Marquis shouldn't expect to smoothly receive the benefits he offered after ruining his plans.
Aside from the two shops he promised to give away, which he couldn't tamper with, he could secretly manipulate the job he promised to find for the deceased's brother and the marriage he promised to help the eldest grandson of the Marquis's family arrange.
With that in mind, Jiang Tong racked his brains and began to devise a plan.
First, there was the job he had promised to find for the deceased's brother. Jiang Tong carefully selected the job, used many connections, and finally managed to find a truly lucrative and desirable position for him.
How good is this job? Even the old Marquis couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
The trouble caused by the second master of the Marquis's mansion and his favorite concubine not only affected Jiang Tong's second son, but also caused the Marquis's mansion to suffer a humiliation before the emperor.
At that time, the old Marquis not only resented his second son, but also harbored some resentment towards Jiang Tong.
He thought rather irrationally that if Jiang Tong hadn't failed to control his son, causing him to accidentally kill someone, their Marquis's mansion wouldn't have suffered this series of misfortunes.
This is why, even though he hadn't kept his promise, the old Marquis still accepted the two benefits from Jiang Tong without any remorse or hesitation.
But now, the old marquis felt inexplicably guilty.
Of course, despite his guilty conscience, he wouldn't refuse the good opportunity offered by Jiang Tong.
Not only did he not refuse, he even shamelessly urged Jiang Tong to find a way to facilitate the marriage between his eldest grandson and An'an.
Jiang Tong's inner demons had already cursed the Marquis's ancestors for eighteen generations, but on the surface, he always greeted people with a smile, as if he was not angry or furious that the Marquis's family had ruined his plans but still shamelessly asked him for benefits.
Using the shameless tactic of using others as pawns, which he had learned from the old Marquis, Jiang Tong quickly and subtly stirred up the ugly and wicked thoughts hidden beneath the skin of some people who were trying to take shortcuts.
So one time when An'an went out for a spring outing with Xie Wan'niang, a pale-faced scholar appeared out of nowhere and came over.
At first, An'an and Xie Wanniang didn't take it seriously. After all, the peach grove was open to the public, and many people came to admire the flowers. They couldn't expect others to stay away from them just because they were there.
Although Xie Wanniang was a princess, she was not arrogant and never looked down on anyone.
As long as no one is so inconsiderate as to barge into their group, she won't care what they're doing or how far away they are.
Especially since they are in a public area on the outskirts of the city, Xie Wanniang and the others are even less concerned about whether people are walking around near them.
The scholar was also in a sorry state. He circled around several times, striking poses to show off his good looks, good figure, and good temperament, but each time he only managed to wink at the blind man.
He was busy, but An'an's gaze never fell on him once, making him feel like a clown, having worked up a sweat for nothing.
Of course, it can't be blamed on Xie Wanniang and An'an for not being vigilant enough. In this peach grove, there were so many people dressed like scholars, wandering around, occasionally waving folding fans, or reciting a few lines of pretentious poetry, that Xie Wanniang and the others simply couldn't keep up.
There are monkeys everywhere that look the same. Which onlooker would bother to notice if one of them is particularly cute?
Anyway, Xie Wan's mother and An'an wouldn't. They would just let short phrases pop into their minds without paying much attention, such as, "a monkey," "another monkey," "there's a monkey on the ground," "there's a monkey in the tree," "a big monkey," "a little monkey," and so on.
The monkey—no, the pale-faced scholar—after realizing that posing and preening were useless, could only come up with a slightly riskier alternative.
After strolling around the peach grove for a while, Xie Wanniang and her party were invited to a pavilion not far from the lake.
Lady Du, who was acquainted with her, was sitting in the pavilion at this moment, enjoying flowers, tea, and snacks with her two daughters-in-law.
Hearing that Xie Wanniang had brought her daughter here, she sent someone to invite the mother and daughter over.
After the two groups exchanged greetings and pleasantries, Du Guogong's wife pulled Xie Wanniang to sit down beside her, asking, "Why didn't you bring Linlin with you?"
Xie Wanniang replied, "He went to my uncle's place."
The days when the children didn't have to go to school were also the days when the officials had time off. Linlin loved to read and made rapid progress, but Jiang Yuan and she were not very educated and couldn't teach him at all. Her uncle was afraid that the couple would delay the child's studies, so whenever he had time, he would personally tutor Linlin.
As for An'an, although she could keep up with the pace, she was the kind of average student whose grades were neither good nor bad. She didn't learn the lessons taught by her teacher very thoroughly, so she naturally wouldn't ask Xie Wan's uncle for extra help.
Fortunately, she was a girl, and neither the tutor hired by the Xie family nor Xie Wan Niang's uncle required her to excel academically.
She preferred to stay in the middle, maintaining a delicate balance where she was neither expected to be highly regarded nor criticized. Although the two men were helpless, seeing that Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang had no intention of pushing their child too hard, they let An'an be.
That's why An'an can always travel with her mother during holidays, while Linlin can only go out for a short break occasionally.
However, Linlin seemed to enjoy it very much.
Sitting in the pavilion that had been cleaned in advance by the servants brought by the Duchess of Du's family, Xie Wanniang and the Duchess of Du's mother-in-law chatted and drank tea together. Meanwhile, An'an was soon led by several young ladies from the other family to the lakeside to watch a group of elegantly dressed young men and women playing games like pitch-pot, cuju (ancient Chinese football), playing the zither, reciting poetry, and painting...
Some people even set up a small-scale "winding stream party," where a group of people had a great time.
An'an wasn't interested in any of these activities, but she just didn't want to participate. However, she didn't object to going along with the young ladies from the Du family to watch the fun.
Because there were many people here, An'an did not bring many attendants, but only two maids and Xiao Yang.
Xiao Yang is now a grown-up girl. While preparing her coming-of-age ceremony, Xie Wanniang is also taking her out to meet more people and show her face, hoping that she can find a suitable husband who is compatible with her in the future.
Xie Wanniang originally intended to elevate Xiao Yang's status by publicly declaring her as her sworn sister, but Xiao Yang rejected Xie Wanniang's suggestion.
She told Xie Wanniang that she wanted to find someone who could truly appreciate her and spend her life with him, rather than marrying someone who was after the power and wealth represented by Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan.
Having followed Xie Wanniang for so many years, Xiao Yang has witnessed firsthand the efforts and dangers Xie Wanniang has faced to reach her current position step by step. She knows that even if she worked hard for two more lifetimes, she could not do what Xie Wanniang has done, making so many contributions to the country and earning herself the status of a princess.
But she did not lose heart or take it for granted that she would become a vine that clings to a big tree for survival.
She had been following Xie Wanniang around for many years, receiving her instruction and teachings, and had already learned a great deal of skills.
Even if she spent her whole life, she could not achieve the same great feats as Xie Wanniang, but ordinary people also have their own dreams and pursuits, and they can also make their own unique careers and achievements.
When Xie Wanniang heard her true thoughts, she felt a surge of pride and relief, like a loving mother.
She is willing to protect the child she raises from the wind and rain, but she would be even happier if the child could stand on his own two feet.
At this time, Xie Wanniang had no idea that Xiao Yang would later achieve great things and become the second person after her to be recorded in the official history of the Great Wei Dynasty by his full name, rather than "so-and-so's surname".
At this moment, Xiao Yang had no idea what her future life would be like. She was accompanying An An, walking slowly and observing.
The young ladies from the Duke of Du's mansion walked about half an arm's length away from them. Since they were already quite familiar with An'an and Xiao Yang, the young ladies did not appear awkward or reserved at this moment, but instead chatted and laughed with An'an and Xiao Yang.
The scholar who had been trying to get An'an's attention for so long without success was slowly walking towards them at that moment.
Upon seeing a strange man approaching, the maids and old women around An'an and the others immediately shielded their young lady within a human wall formed by themselves.
Of course, since there weren't many servants following them, the human wall was actually loose and didn't provide a proper cover.
However, under normal circumstances, this level of precaution is sufficient, since no normal person would just bump into a young girl in public.
However, there are always some unusual situations in this world. For example, right now, the pale-faced scholar did not directly run into the girls, but when he passed by An'an, he "carelessly" lost his balance and fell directly into An'an.
The two maids beside An'an certainly wouldn't let him have a chance to hit their young lady, and Xiao Yang was also standing on An'an's other side.
The three girls, one forcefully pulled An'an toward them, another kicked the scholar, and the last one immediately got into a fighting stance, ready to attack.
It was Xiao Yang who pulled An An back two steps, bringing her to the side of the young ladies from the Duke of Du's mansion.
The maid who kicked the scholar didn't use much force; she simply didn't want any physical contact with him, so she chose to give him some support with the sole of her shoe.
The maid stood firmly on one leg, while the other foot rested on the scholar's chest, leaving him standing there dumbfounded in an odd, forward-leaning posture, futilely flapping his arms.
Well, to put it simply... it didn't hurt, but it was extremely humiliating.
The pale-faced scholar's delicate features flushed crimson. He struggled to stand up straight, then pointed a trembling finger at the maidservant, stammering, "You...you..."
After arguing for a long time, he still couldn't come up with anything convincing to accuse the maid, since it was simply her duty to stop him from rushing towards her young lady.
As for him, although the person caught him with their feet, clearly expressing their disdain, he was indeed spared from embracing the ground after missing his target because of them.
If he insults someone, that person will probably immediately accuse him of biting the hand that feeds him, of not recognizing a kind heart.
But he really couldn't bring himself to thank a mere maid after she treated him in such a way.
The pale-faced scholar was struggling with his decision when he suddenly heard a cry of surprise coming from not far behind him.
He instinctively turned around to look, and then his eyes widened in horror.
But then, a huge wild boar, which had appeared out of nowhere, was charging wildly toward where they were standing, its eyes bloodshot.
No one noticed where this thing came from, but almost everyone who saw it could tell that something was wrong with it.
Wild boars are indeed very aggressive, but the fact that it didn't attack those closer to it, but instead ran wildly towards An'an and the others, clearly indicates a serious problem.
When had the scholar ever seen such a sight? Seeing the wild boar charging straight towards them with a deafening roar, the scholar's legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.
"Help, help me!" He reached out his hand in panic to the maid who had just "supported" him with her foot, but the maid turned around and stood in front of An'an.
Accompanying her was another maidservant. As the two of them prepared to fight the wild boar, they whispered to An'an and the others, "Princess, you should go and find the princess quickly."
If they had weapons, only one of them would need to stay behind, but since they are unarmed, they have no choice but to stay together to intercept the wild boars.
An'an clearly knew how capable the two were, and she nodded, "Then you two be careful."
After saying that, she reached out and grabbed the two young girls from the Duke of Du's mansion who were also terrified. Xiao Yang followed suit and grabbed the other one.
The two girls, pulling along several young ladies from the Duke of Du's mansion, hurried toward the pavilion. Seeing this, the servants of the Duke of Du's mansion suppressed their fear and followed closely behind them.
Upon seeing this, the scholar immediately scrambled to his feet and chased after them as they left.
At the same time, the wild boar had already rushed to the area where An'an and the others had been standing and started fighting with the two maids.
Noticing the commotion, Xie Wanniang immediately stood up and rushed towards An'an and the others with her female guards.
However, before she and her subordinates could arrive, another unexpected event occurred on An'an's side.
In their panic, they didn't notice that the wild boar had a specific target group of people, and now they all rushed to An'an and the others.
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