Liu's mother was delighted that her son had finally remarried. Princess Zhaoyang was much better than Mrs. Huo, who had no close ties with her in-laws or her own children.
"Okay." Mother Liu's eyes reddened as she watched Princess Zhaoyang offer her tea. She hoped that her son and Princess Zhaoyang could live a good life.
"Mother." Princess Zhaoyang called Liu mother.
Princess Zhaoyang thought that the eldest wife of the Liu family was very good, and Liu Yanjing also respected her very much.
"From now on, I'll be relying on you to take care of these household matters," said Mother Liu. "But there's no rush. You should take some time off first."
Liu's mother planned to hand over the household supplies to Princess Zhaoyang. Although there was not much at home, it was a marquis's mansion and there were various things to do.
Mother Liu didn't want Princess Zhaoyang to subsidize the family. It would be bad to let the newly married daughter-in-law subsidize the family.
The family had its own way of living with limited money, so they didn't attend many banquets. This was related to the Liu family's previous property being raided, and they weren't that familiar with the people in the northwest. When they did go out to banquets, Liu's mother didn't try to be pretentious.
"I'll do as you say." Princess Zhaoyang had inquired about everything, and found that Mrs. Huo just didn't know how to live.
Mrs. Huo thought she was a daughter of the Bo family and made all kinds of trouble for her. Princess Zhaoyang did not intend to do that. Her status was higher than Mrs. Huo's, so what?
If they live by their status, then they can forget about living a good life.
He Xiyuan is also here. He is Liu Yulian's fiancé, so he came over. Anyway, he has nothing to do, so why not come and take a look.
"Sister-in-law." He Xiyuan still called her that, following Liu Yulian's lead.
"...Okay." Princess Zhaoyang was speechless. He Xiyuan hadn't even married Liu Yulian yet, so how could He Xiyuan be so capable?
Liu Yulian glanced at He Xiyuan. What was going on?
Liu Yulian couldn't help but think that He Xiyuan was the cousin of Prince Su, and Princess Zhaoyang grew up under the care of the imperial concubine, so maybe it was okay for He Xiyuan to call Princess Zhaoyang cousin.
"Sister-in-law." He Xiyuan called again under Liu Yulian's gaze.
Liu Yulian turned her head and said nothing.
Xiao Liujia looked at He Xiyuan and then at Liu Yulian. These people seemed weird.
After Princess Zhaoyang offered tea, Mother Liu didn't ask her to set any more rules. She was the princess, so there was no need. Their relationship was good. They had gotten along before, and Mother Liu thought that their future would be good.
He Xiyuan didn't return so quickly. Nothing major was happening at the military camp. He planned to stay here for a few days. He lived far away from where Princess Zhaoyang and Liu Yanjing lived, so he had to be careful.
"Do you want to go out for a walk?" He Xiyuan asked.
"Let's go for a walk in the fields." Liu Yulian said. In ancient times, there were no greenhouses on a large scale, and she didn't want to use one. She would wait until she had film to use later.
"There were strawberries at yesterday's banquet," said He Xiyuan.
"Yes, I picked some." Liu Yulian nodded. "Today we went mainly to see the flowers."
Liu Yulian planned to make rouge and other products, and also plant some flowers to avoid having to buy them from others. If they reclaimed more wasteland, they could also provide employment opportunities for the people living nearby.
"Okay, the flowers grown by Sister Lian must be good too." He Xiyuan said with a smile.
"Some flowers have already bloomed," Liu Yulian said. "They were planted long ago. You can take a look. They're quite large."
Liu Yulian had many flowers planted, and the farm was divided into several areas. Flowers were precious things, so she didn't let Widow Zhang manage them. They were good at managing crops, but they were much worse at managing flowers.
So Liu Yulian specially found someone who was more professional in flowers so that she could grow better flowers.
"Let's take a look. What colors are they?" He Xiyuan asked. "What kind of flowers are they?"
"Various kinds." Liu Yulian said, "Different things are grown in different seasons."
"That's great. We can make better use of the land." He Xiyuan nodded.
Zhang family
In Shiyuan Village, Widow Zhang bought the third daughter of the Lin family. She spent ten taels of silver to buy her out completely. The Lin family also gave her a body selling contract. Widow Zhang asked the Lin family not to come to the Zhang family.
No matter what happens to the Lin family in the future, even if Lin's father and mother are sick, they cannot look for Miss Lin San.
After Miss Lin San arrived at the Zhang family, she worked very hard. She had thought it through. If the family was divided, the farm family would get something, and the other families would get something too. She could also save some money.
Widow Zhang was also very satisfied with Miss Lin San. She still held a banquet for her second grandson, but the second grandson had to make up for the ten taels of silver slowly. It wasn't just ten taels, it was the extra money they spent.
Miss Lin San has nothing to do with this. It's always different if you owe something to your own family.
Miss Lin San knew that she could not compete with Shi, who was a relative of the wife of the village chief of Shiyuan Village. As for her, there were vampires in her family.
"You don't need to be too tired." Widow Zhang looked at Miss Lin San who was working in the yard. "Take a short rest. If you are not in good health, you will spend more money."
Widow Zhang knew that many people in the countryside worked too hard and became ill. She didn't want her granddaughter-in-law to be like that. Although their family was doing much better now, they still had to be careful.
"It's okay, it will be done soon." said Miss Lin San.
"We can continue tomorrow. Don't do so much in one day. Spread it out a little." Widow Zhang thought to herself that she didn't intend to bully Miss Lin San.
Miss Lin San just wanted to show that she did more when she was at her parents' home.
"Good." Miss Lin San thought that Widow Zhang was quite good.
Miss Lin San had no intention of continuing to care for her natal family. She just wanted to live a good life now.
Seeing how hardworking Miss Lin San was, Shi Shi was no longer afraid of being outdone and decided to do something else. She also knew that the money that Widow Zhang had given to the Lin family was the money that Miss Lin San earned by selling her body, and that Miss Lin San and her husband would later pay it back.
Since Widow Zhang said that Miss Lin San and her husband were still together, it meant that Widow Zhang told them not to underestimate Miss Lin San and to treat her as a normal marriage into the Zhang family.
"If you have any rough work, let me do it." Miss Lin San also said to Shi, "I do a lot of it on a daily basis."
"That's fine, just tell me if you need anything." Shi said.
Miss Lin San thought that Widow Zhang's family was pretty good. She had to do much less work and there was no need for her to work so hard.
Liu Yanqing's family sometimes saw Miss Lin San, and Liu Yanqing thought that the girl was not that pretty.
"Hasn't these people ever seen a beautiful girl?" Liu Yanqing said.
When Lin Xiaowan heard what Liu Yanqing said, she knew that he wanted to complain again.
"They're also selling their indentures. These are the people... No, didn't you say that before?" Liu Yanqing looked at Lin Xiaowan.
"A concubine who comes here must have a contract to sell herself," Lin Xiaowan said, "This is different."
Lin Xiaowan thought that Miss Lin San was also a pitiful person, forced to do so much work by her parents. She was born in the general's mansion, and although she was a concubine's daughter, her life was not bad.
"There's a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, and between wives and concubines. I understand. I understand!" Liu Yanqing said hurriedly, and Lin Xiaowan stopped staring at him.
"I'm glad you understand." Lin Xiaowan said.
"I heard that my younger sister planted a lot of flowers. Do you want to go and see them?" Liu Yanqing asked.
"No." Lin Xiaowan said, "If I go out all day, who will do the housework?"
"I'll do it." Liu Yanqing said it was just talk and it didn't matter.
Be thick-skinned and you won’t be afraid.
Liu Yanqing wanted to brag occasionally, and Lin Xiaowan was also happy.
"Stay at home!" Lin Xiaowan didn't let Liu Yanqing go out. What would he do if he went out all day? Wouldn't that be just hanging out?
"Okay." Liu Yanqing curled his lips. He stayed in the village every day. But it didn't matter. He still heard a lot of gossip.
Lin Xiaowan had no idea what Liu Yanqing was thinking. If she knew, she would be speechless.
In the village, He Xiyuan and Liu Yulian saw a large field of flowers.
The northwest is relatively cold, and some flowers cannot grow there.
Liu Yulian soaked some seeds in a special potion for two days to make the seeds more cold-resistant.
"They look very good." He Xiyuan was a little embarrassed. Others were men taking women to see flowers, but his fiancée brought him to see flowers. He looked at Liu Yulian. Sister Lian was very nice.
"It's very good." Liu Yulian said, "It cost a lot of money. The cost is high."
These things in ancient times were all pollution-free, so Liu Yulian couldn't possibly claim to be organic. At best, she could make better rouge so she could command a higher price and recoup her investment.
"It's okay." He Xiyuan took out a silver note from his sleeve.
"..." Liu Yulian didn't expect He Xiyuan to take out another banknote, "Carry it with you at all times?"
"I forgot to give it to you." He Xiyuan said, "It was sent from home."
"I'm getting better slowly. I'm not so short of money anymore." Liu Yulian said, "I'm getting much better."
"Take it." He Xiyuan stuffed the banknote into Liu Yulian's hand, "There will be more in the future."
He is still relying on money sent by his family. He Xiyuan feels that he is not very useful and he still needs to work hard.
Liu Yulian suddenly felt that He Xiyuan came here just to give her money, he was a boy who gave away money.
"Yes, let's go to the pavilion to have tea." Liu Yulian specially had a pavilion built so that they could watch from the pavilion.
Liu Yulian wasn't planning to open the farm to tourism. Transportation wasn't that convenient in ancient times, and tourism wasn't easy to develop. She wasn't planning to open the farm to these wealthy young men. These people wouldn't be able to protect the flowers; they'd just pick them for fun, which wouldn't work.
"Looking from above, you can see a lot of flowers, which are very beautiful." Liu Yulian asked people to build this pavilion. The main purpose was not for this, but to better understand the situation of Zhuangzi.
"Well, it must look good." He Xiyuan said.
Seeing He Xiyuan agreeing with her so much, Liu Yulian was also happy, thinking that he had good taste. In fact, He Xiyuan hadn't even looked at it yet, so Liu Yulian didn't think it was a big deal.
There are many flowers in Zhuangzi, and Liu Yulian not only asked these people to pick flowers to make rouge, but also to make flower tea.
There is a staircase leading up to the pavilion, which is about two stories high, and you can see a lot of things up there.
After the two of them went up the stairs, they saw a sea of flowers. These were all single species of flowers. A breeze blew, and the flowers swayed in the wind, with a faint fragrance.
"Just take a look." Liu Yulian said, this is the case here.
After they sat down, they were served tea and cakes.
Liu Yulian pushed the plate of pastries in front of He Xiyuan, and He Xiyuan pushed the plate of pastries in front of Liu Yulian.
"Eat." He Xiyuan said.
"Eat them all." Liu Yulian picked up a piece of cake.
Princess Zhaoyang, the eldest wife of the Liu family, simply went to see what was going on in the palace when Liu Yanjing was out.
Princess Zhaoyang had long known that the Jingning Marquis's Mansion had little money, so she had to see what to do.
"There aren't many account books." Seeing Princess Zhaoyang looking at them, Mother Liu said directly, "She came to the northwest."
After they came to the northwest, they split up and kept a simple account. Only two or three hundred taels of silver remained on the books. Mother Liu herself didn't have that much money, and that was the nature of their family.
Liu's mother didn't feel embarrassed. There were so many things going on at home, so it was good to have this little thing.
Princess Zhaoyang wasn't surprised at all after hearing what Mother Liu had said. The Jingning Marquis's mansion was already doing well; at least they hadn't borrowed a lot of money just to hold a banquet or save face.
"Sister Lian doesn't need much money. She can earn it herself." Mother Liu said this in advance to prevent Princess Zhaoyang from thinking that Liu Yulian had spent a lot of money.
"Little sister should still use what she needs. If she doesn't need it, don't give it to her for now." Princess Zhaoyang said, "Little sister didn't spend money recklessly."
"Whether she's wasting money or not is something she knows for sure." Mother Liu chuckled. "You're married now. If she doesn't want it, you don't have to give it to her."
Liu's mother doesn't want there to be too much financial involvement between the two sides. It may not be a good thing for relatives to have too much financial involvement.
"Okay." Princess Zhaoyang understood Liu's mother's concerns, so she didn't bother to make any more noise. She couldn't force Liu Yulian to accept or reject those things. At most, she just wanted them to be good and they could participate.
Princess Zhaoyang looked at the account book and remembered it clearly. When she was at the home of her previous husband, they had a lot of things to do and didn't want her to interfere, so they thought of using her.
"Just be frugal." Princess Zhaoyang understood what Liu's mother meant, which was that there was no need to be extravagant. No matter what the situation was at home, Liu just acknowledged the fact.
In the county town, Su Qiuya prepared something for Liu Yanbo. She was thinking about Liu Yanbo passing the imperial examination. When the time came, they would also hold a banquet, but they would not invite anyone from the main house.
"Have you packed everything?" Su Qiuya asked, "Did you forget anything? Bring a little extra silver with you. When you get to the provincial capital, you can buy anything you need. There's no need to be stingy."
"Okay." Liu Yanbo responded.
"Try hard in the exam and try your best." Aunt Qing said.
"Don't be too anxious." Su Qiuya didn't want Liu Yanbo to be nervous, for fear that Liu Yanbo would not do well in the exam if he was nervous. She hoped that Liu Yanbo could get first place.
"I remember everything." Liu Yanbo knew the hopes they placed on him, and he also hoped that he could do the same.
The day after Liu Yanjing's wedding, Liu Yanbo went to the provincial capital to take the exam. He stayed away from the county town to avoid being questioned about his situation.
He did not go to Liu Yanjing's wedding banquet, nor did he want others to ask him.
Su Qiuya also didn't want Liu Yanbo to be asked about those things, to avoid Liu Yanbo being distracted. If he was distracted, what would happen if Liu Yanbo didn't do well in the exam?
Liu Yanbo went to the provincial capital. When others asked, Su Qiuya said that Liu Yanbo was going to take the examination for the scholar.
"Yes, he went to the provincial capital. He doesn't have so much time to do other things. He has to take the exam early, because he has to take the exam for the Juren degree later." Su Qiuya said with a smile.
After a while, many people knew that Liu Yanbo went to the provincial capital to take the examination for the scholar.
"Just wait to become a scholar's wife." Those people teased Su Qiuya like this.
"Thank you for your good wishes." Su Qiuya smiled.
"Of course you can." Those people said.
Su Qiuya was waiting for Liu Yanbo to bring good news.
Princess Zhaoyang has been looking at the account books for the past two days and has almost finished them.
This was not the first time Princess Zhaoyang had looked at the account book, and she thought the Jingning Marquis's Mansion was already very good.
"I took some money from home before." Liu Yulian went to find Princess Zhaoyang and gave the money to her.
"It doesn't matter." Princess Zhaoyang didn't care about this little money at all. What she cared about was whether Liu Yanjing would treat her well. If Liu Yanjing didn't treat her well, then everything would be in vain.
Princess Zhaoyang was not short of money, so what if Liu Yulian took some money from the family? Liu Yulian was the reason why Liu's father was able to restore his title, which was something money could not buy.
"We don't have much money at home," Liu Yulian said. "It just so happens that I don't need so much money anymore, so we can increase income and reduce expenditure."
Liu Yulian couldn't always rely on her family's money. She had to learn how to make money on her own, make more money, and do more research. If she kept taking money from her family, it wouldn't be a good thing in the long run.
"Okay." Princess Zhaoyang nodded. She took the money from Liu Yulian and said, "Then put it aside for now. I'll tell you when you need it. Got it?"
Princess Zhaoyang did not marry in order to keep her eyes on the money in Liu Yulian's hands. She had read the account books of the Jingning Marquis' Mansion and knew that the mansion now only had a few shops and some land.
It was impossible for those fields and shops to make so much money all at once, and they spent the silver that the emperor had rewarded them with very quickly.
Princess Zhaoyang knew that money was needed in many places, and she didn't think it shouldn't be used.
If there are children at home, they will need money if they have a headache or fever, and there are also some other places where money is needed.
But it doesn’t matter. Princess Zhaoyang is rich and she is not afraid to give some money to her husband’s family.
When Princess Zhaoyang was at the home of her previous husband, others only wanted her to provide subsidies and seek various benefits for the family. Those people did not really want the best for Princess Zhaoyang, but just treated her as a tool to be used. Those people were not as sincere as the Liu family.
"Well, let me know when we need it." Liu Yulian said, "It shouldn't be much. We've made some progress at the cement factory."
Maybe in less than a year, the people in the cement factory will be able to produce cement.
Everything else is fine, the main problem is that the cement mill costs too much money. However, if the cement mill can develop cement, it will have good economic and social benefits.
In the capital city, Madam Cen didn't dare tell her husband about their offense against Princess Zhaoyang and the Marquis of Jingning. But if she didn't tell him, she was afraid that the Marquis of Jingning would not give her husband face when he came before her.
Therefore, Mrs. Cen still talked about some of the things she and Miss Cen had done. She still believed that her family was not wrong, and it was the Jingning Marquis' Mansion that was wrong.
"What's so great about their family? They have no manners, they..."
"That's enough." Lord Cen interrupted Madam Cen, "We've already offended someone. What's the point of saying this now?"
"It's really their fault. We're just being kind and wanting them to change their ways," Mrs. Cen said. "They'll have to return to Beijing sooner or later. If they continue like this, who knows what will happen in the future."
Mrs. Cen thought that Princess Zhaoyang was not a good person either. She was very angry because Princess Zhaoyang did not give face to the Cen family.
Who could have imagined that such things would happen in the Cen family? Madam Cen had never thought about pleasing the Marquis of Jingning's Mansion, nor had she even thought about pleasing Princess Zhaoyang.
Mrs. Cen used to think that the Cen family was very great, and she still thinks so now. The Cen family will get better sooner or later. If Liu Jia can restore her title, then what about Concubine Cen?
Concubine Cen has been with the emperor for so many years, and Mrs. Cen believes that Concubine Cen will definitely get better.
But Concubine Cen's situation at this time was not good at all. She was copying scriptures and someone came to mock her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com