Tao Wanniang had almost forgotten about Zhang Xinlan. Since Liang Laifu was dead, she was afraid that Xiao Qiao'er would be upset, so she deliberately didn't mention him and naturally wouldn't pay attention to Liang Laifu's wife, Zhang Xinlan.
"What does she want to do?" Tao Wanniang couldn't help but ask. "To have Shishi use her beauty to corrupt Ling Dapeng?"
Before Zhang Liang could finish speaking, upon hearing Tao Wanniang's words, he couldn't help but admire her, saying, "Sister Tao, you guessed very accurately. It seems that Ling Dapeng will be coming to borrow money from you in a few days to open a shop. If you don't lend it to him, then Shishi will have Ling Dapeng borrow money from loan sharks."
"If I borrow it, I'll probably never get it back!" Tao Wanniang said sarcastically. "That's really a wicked trick."
"I don't want to get involved with this son. I'll just tell Ling Yunzhou later," Tao Wanniang said. "Zhang Liang, can you help me calculate how the land and fields I asked you to buy are doing?"
"Sister Tao, you have to consider whether I have time. I can't be in two places at once, keeping an eye on this and talking to that!" Zhang Liang complained. "How about you find me a servant?"
It's time to find a servant. Tao Wanniang plans to tell her family that she will be going on a long trip in the fall.
"Zhang Liang, I will be going to Youzhou in two months, so please prepare the land and houses for me as soon as possible."
Zhang Liang was taken aback. Youzhou, then he thought of the matter at Prince Rui's residence, and his expression tightened. "Sister Tao, is it absolutely necessary to go?"
"I cannot disobey the imperial decree. In any case, I have no choice but to go. But you must stay in the capital and keep an eye on this place for me, as well as my businesses."
Zhang Liang was taken aback, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him. Currently, the ten mu of land on the outskirts of the city was, according to Tao Wanniang's wishes, something she wanted to buy as much as possible. And there were at least two more houses to buy. With so many assets, he strongly suspected that Tao Wanniang was planning to retire.
However, with all these responsibilities falling on his shoulders, he could be considered the head steward! A sense of pride welled up in his heart. To think that Zhang Tiexiong had gone from being a bandit leader to a law-abiding citizen and even a steward, it truly showed how unpredictable life could be!
"Um... Sister Tao, shouldn't we increase the wages?" Zhang Liang reminded Tao Wanniang.
“Once these matters are settled, I will forgive the previous debt of one hundred taels, and from now on I will give you ten taels of silver a month,” Tao Wanniang said generously. “As long as you don’t go too far with the money you earn yourself, I won’t interfere.”
Zhang Liang grinned and said, "Alright, then we must work hard!"
"Then the servants... I'll find them myself?" Zhang Liang asked tentatively.
“You’re responsible for the people you found,” Tao Wanniang said. “Go to the General’s Mansion and ask Ling Yunzhou for help. He’ll handle Ling Dapeng’s matter.”
Zhang Liang happily went to invite the people. Tao Wanniang thought for a moment, then went to the west wing and told Chen Lian and Xiao Qiao'er about going to Youzhou.
"Mother, if you leave, I...I..." Xiao Qiao'er only relied on Tao Wan's mother, and when she heard that Tao Wan's mother was going to leave for so long, she was immediately at a loss.
Chen Lian's expression also became hesitant. She usually taught Xiao Qiao'er until she came of age, but if Xiao Qiao'er went on a long trip with Tao Wan's mother, what would happen to her as the teacher...?
"Qiao'er, I'm worried about you too, but the journey might be very risky. The things we encountered on our way to the capital could happen again. Aren't you afraid?" Tao Wan's mother was also conflicted. It wasn't that the others in the family weren't sincere towards Xiao Qiao'er, but none of them were as genuine as she was!
"I'm not afraid. As long as I'm with Mother, I'm not afraid of anything," Xiao Qiao'er said anxiously as she ran to Tao Wan's mother's side.
“Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Master Tao, if Xiao Qiao’er goes with you, I’ll go too!” Chen Lian said, as if she had made a great decision.
"To be honest, I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but I've always wanted to go out and see the local customs and culture after leaving the capital. However, as a lone woman, I'm still hesitant." Chen Lian looked at Tao Wanniang, "Master Tao, could you take me with you? I can continue to teach Xiao Qiao'er everything I've learned in my life."
Tao Wanniang was surprised, thinking that Xiao Qiao'er's teaching would have to be suspended. She looked at Chen Lian in surprise, and then smiled and said, "That's fine, alright, Qiao'er, let me take you to see the outside."
Hearing this, Xiao Qiao'er felt relieved and grinned at Tao Wan's mother, saying, "Mother, this is great! I can go with the teacher, so I won't have to leave you and won't fall behind in my studies."
Tao Wanniang patted Xiao Qiao'er's head and said, "Well, it's more fun with more people."
With things settled on this end, Zhang Liang also invited Ling Yunzhou over. Ling Yunzhou brought two other people with him.
"These are Ling Feng and Chen Yan, who are also the manor's secret guards. They will go to Youzhou with you."
"Greetings, Manager Tao." Ling Feng and Chen Yan looked very young, but both had cool expressions.
"Oh, I've seen him. You should go back first and come back when you're ready to leave," Tao Wanniang said casually. "I didn't call you here to talk about this. Your second son, Ling Dapeng, is in trouble again!"
Ling Yunzhou was taken aback. If it was about family matters, he would have the two guards wait outside.
"What, is something going to happen again? Didn't you take him away from the manor?" Ling Yunzhou asked, puzzled. "Where is he now?"
"He's in his own house, dreaming of having multiple wives!" Tao Wanniang said sarcastically, wondering how Ling Dapeng had gotten so carried away. "His concubine, Shishi..."
Tao Wanniang briefly recounted Shishi's story, leaving Ling Yunzhou stunned.
He had lived a clean and upright life, so how could his second son be so irresponsible? Ling Yunzhou subconsciously glanced at Tao Wanniang, the woman who had raised his son.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I’ve taken care of him for the first half of my life, and I don’t want to take care of him anymore. You’ve already taken care of their eldest son, so you might as well take care of him to the end!” Tao Wanniang said coolly.
"How do you want me to manage this?" Ling Yunzhou said, sounding rather reluctant.
"Your son is easily influenced and lacks his own opinions. He will soon be taken advantage of by Shishi. Your family is wealthy enough to withstand his squandering, but you need to teach him a lesson."
As Tao Wanniang spoke, a hint of disdain appeared on her face. Ling Dapeng had ultimately been blinded by the prosperity of the capital!
Ling Yunzhou understood what Tao Wanniang was saying.
"This is too much trouble. I might as well just lock him up in the manor," Ling Yunzhou muttered.
“Alright, then go ahead!” Tao Wanniang said directly. “Okay, please go back now. I’ll pass on all the things that come to me for help to you.”
"So this is a forced sale!" Ling Yunzhou said angrily. "Aren't you afraid I won't intervene?"
“Then I’ll pretend I never had this son!” Tao Wan’s mother said decisively when she met Ling Yunzhou’s face.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com