In the inner courtyard of Prince Ning's Mansion, the plum garden where Lin Wanyin and Bai Sulian lived was extremely lively at this time.
Lin Wanyin and Hai were talking with the old ladies of the Shen and Song families, and Wang, the wife of the Marquis of Loyalty, was also there.
The Shen and Song families were already close, and they were also related by marriage to the Su family, so they all chatted casually about family matters without being polite.
Wang praised Su Zhilan to the highest degree and if she hadn't taken her young age into consideration, she would have wanted to marry them off by the end of the year.
She had always liked Su Zhilan and didn't care much about the Su family's status. But Wang was even happier that Su Yuanzhou had returned to his roots.
"I'm not bragging, I'm just lucky." Wang said to the others, "I love daughters the most, but I only have Wanwan. I didn't expect to later adopt Ah Ci as my goddaughter, and now I even have a daughter-in-law like Zhilan."
"Isn't it my good fortune? It's something I earned in my previous life?"
Wang's words made everyone present laugh.
Hai put down the teacup, wiped the corner of her lips, and then said, "Sister-in-law is not entirely right. My niece and daughter are not much worse. Miss Jin Yao of the Wang family is also good-looking and knowledgeable."
Wang was slightly taken aback. Why did the Third Lady of the Su Family mention Wang Jinyao? This kind of situation today had nothing to do with Wang Jinyao. Just like she hadn't mentioned the other two daughters-in-law just now.
"Did your sister-in-law see Jin Yao? That girl was spoiled by my sister-in-law."
The two families are now in-laws, so calling her Madam would seem awkward.
Hai smiled and said, "I didn't see it. A few days ago, Yuan Yi took her sister to Ruyi Tower for dinner and ran into Miss Wang."
"When I came back, Yuan Yi told me that Miss Wang has a close relationship with both my aunt and cousin from the Song family. It seems...she can even interfere with my cousin's marriage."
"But this is normal. They grew up together, so naturally their relationship is better than with other people."
Hai said this with a smile, his tone was casual and sincere.
Su Yuanyi told her this when he came back from outside that day. He was afraid that his sister would have difficulties when she got married, so he thought of telling his mother.
Hai discussed the matter with Su Chengxun again, and they both felt that this matter must be mentioned to the Song family, but they could not go to the Song family and say it in a high-profile manner, let alone act as if they were going to accuse the Song family.
The best way is for the ladies of the two families to simply mention it when they meet and chat.
They did not doubt the Song family's sincerity. If the Song family wanted to get engaged to the Wang family, they would have done it long ago.
So after briefly mentioning it, the wife of the Marquis of Loyalty would naturally warn Miss Wang privately. This not only stood up for her daughter, but also did not damage the harmony between the two families.
Wang's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. She knew exactly what Wang Jinyao thought of Song Hongshen. That was why she had wanted to facilitate this marriage. She had never expected her sister-in-law to be so short-sighted as to look down on Hongshen for being born out of wedlock.
Could it be that Wang Jinyao was looking for trouble and said something about Su Zhilan?
Old Madam Song looked at her daughter-in-law calmly. Although she was a little dissatisfied in her heart, she could not embarrass her daughter-in-law since they were in someone else's house after all.
Actually, she was satisfied with her daughter-in-law, but she just didn't want to deal with the lady from the Wang family.
Wang noticed her mother-in-law's gaze and her thoughts raced. She then said to Hai, "That's why they say this girl is spoiled and has no sense of propriety. She has no right to interfere in my cousin's marriage."
"My sister-in-law is also looking for a husband for her. I hope that after she gets married, she will be more sensible, and my brother and I will feel relieved. But with her personality, I don't know what kind of family she can find."
This is equivalent to giving the Su family a reassurance and is also a disguised apology for Wang Jinyao.
Hai immediately smiled and said, "Girls are always spoiled. I've spoiled my daughter to death. The young ladies of the Wang family are both good-looking and have good temperaments. It's easy to pick a good man."
Afterwards, Hai talked about the new clothes in the shop, which seemed to have put the matter behind her.
Wang breathed a sigh of relief, but she was thinking that she had to go back to the Wang family in the next two days to warn Wang Jinyao not to mention Song Hongshen's marriage outside, and not to cause trouble for Su Zhilan.
Many uninvited guests came to Prince Ning's Mansion today, such as His Royal Highness Prince Cheng, the Prince of Zhenguo, and several young masters from aristocratic families.
So Su Yuanzhou could only stay in the outer courtyard, and the task of entertaining guests in the inner courtyard was handed over to Lin Wanyin, while Su Qingyu took care of the trivial matters in the inner courtyard for him.
After explaining everything to the stewards, Su Qingyu took her two sisters to tour the palace. Because Shen Yue was still in mourning and was getting married, she did not come to the Ning Palace today.
It was the first time for several of them to come here, so everything they saw seemed new and new.
They had thought Su Zhilan was the youngest and would be the one to be taken care of by her two older sisters, but Su Zhilan had returned from Jiangnan and was more familiar with the garden's layout and architecture than any of them, so she began to explain it to them.
Later, somehow, the discussion of the garden layout turned to shipping. Su Shunci was now thinking about shipping all day, while Su Zhilan was thinking about shipbuilding.
The two of them became more and more excited as they talked, especially Su Zhilan, whose horizons and ideas became much broader than before.
Su Shunci looked at her in confusion, "Have you been enlightened by the Bodhisattva? Weren't you scratching your head when we were in the outer courtyard study earlier?"
Su Zhilan said mysteriously, "Fourth sister, please wait for me for a few more days. I will definitely be able to give you a perfect blueprint."
She enjoyed carpentry and, having been taught by her uncle in shipbuilding, she was considered talented. The only thing she lacked was an understanding of the outside world, so her drawings often became superficial.
Although "His Royal Highness King Cheng" had said very little today, every word he said hit the nail on the head. Once she could get some more information out of him, the shipbuilding business would be even simpler.
Su Qingyu was also shocked when she heard the conversation between the two. She didn't expect that Su Zhilan had such ability.
Su Zhilan begged Su Qingyu again not to tell anyone else, as it would be the end if her mother found out.
Su Qingyu naturally agreed. She always believed that even a girl should have some skills to support herself.
The best person to rely on in this world is not your parents, husband or children, but yourself.
While they were talking, Anfu, Su Yuanzhou's servant, suddenly came over and whispered to Su Qingyu, "Miss, someone from the Shen family is here. They say Princess Chaoyun and Madam Xiang are having a fight."
"The person who came here is a servant of Madam Xiang. I want you to go back and give Madam Xiang justice."
Su Qingyu was stunned. Why did Li Chaoyun suddenly come back home?
"I'll go back to the mansion to take a look. Don't disturb the old lady and the third master first." Su Qingyu instructed Su Shunci.
This is not a glorious thing. If everyone knows about it, the old lady will lose face.
So she planned to go back and deal with it herself and come back before lunch.
Su Qingyu quietly left the palace with her maids and servants and met the maid Ding Chan who came to report the news.
She ordered Ding Chan to get into the carriage with her, and after sitting down, she asked, "What's going on? Why is the princess arguing with Madam Xiang?"
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