Chapter 215 Speaking Badly
"I'm afraid that's not appropriate. The Crown Princess of Prince Xian has an extraordinary relationship with the Lin family. Would the Lin family refuse to give her two fish? We don't usually have any dealings with the Lin family. I'm afraid they won't give us any if we rashly ask for carp."
“I don’t think so. Princess Lin is kind and generous. I genuinely like these koi, and I won’t take them from the Lin family for nothing. I’ll offer a pair of jade-carved koi in exchange for Princess Lin.” The woman who spoke was a new bride, with a youthful spirit.
This is Prince Zhongshun's granddaughter-in-law. They haven't been married long, and today is the Lin family's birthday banquet. Prince Zhongshun has arranged for all the younger members of his family to come and join in the fun.
His granddaughter-in-law is the eldest grandson's wife, and will become the matriarch of the Prince Zhongshun's mansion.
She usually loves lively places, and she had long heard that the Lin family's courtyard was extraordinary, so she had always wanted to come and see it for herself.
Seeing it today, it is indeed extraordinary.
"Yes, yes, we should exchange our good things with Princess Lin. It's not right to take advantage of a child."
Everyone thought it was a great idea; the Lin family's koi fish were so auspicious!
Who doesn't have a small pond? Even if it's not that big, there's a large water tank in the courtyard. It's five feet in diameter, so how could it not hold a koi fish that's at least a foot in size?
If you could have this giant koi fish in your own home, that would be truly impressive!
"Heh," someone nearby sneered. The group turned around and saw that the person who made the sneer was a middle-aged woman, whom they had never seen in the capital before.
Judging from her attire, she doesn't seem to be a noblewoman.
The group frowned. Who was this nameless, down-on-his-luck person who had somehow managed to sneak into the princess's birthday banquet?
"Madam, it seems you have a strong opinion about what we said? I wonder what brilliant idea you have that would allow Princess Lin to gift us a few koi fish without losing face?"
The granddaughter-in-law of Prince Zhongshun was naturally quite arrogant, and even though she hadn't been married for long, her temperament hadn't been tempered. When she encountered injustice or resentment, she felt a lingering resentment until she got to the bottom of things, a feeling of being stuck in a rut. However, if someone made her feel uncomfortable, she certainly wouldn't let them get away with it!
"Ladies and mistresses, I am merely a distant relative of the Lin family. But I am very clear about the Lin family's affairs. No one can even dream of the Lin family's pond of carp. When the palace came to ask for them, it was only because the Imperial Household Department had placed an order and paid money that they were allowed to catch them. If a relative wants to ask for a few fish, no amount of pleading will work. They won't even get a fishbone, let alone carp!"
The speaker was Aunt Xue. She wasn't originally qualified to attend the Lin family's birthday banquet, but she'd heard that the banquet was attended by the most distinguished ladies and wives in the capital, and even people from the palace would come. Baochai wanted to come and see for herself, to learn how to behave politely. Aunt Xue pleaded with Lady Wang to bring her along to the Lin family.
The Imperial Household Department's invitations were usually quite strict, and invitations like this would not have been accepted.
However, this time the Empress sent someone to say that some teachers from the girls' academy wanted to use this banquet to interview female students, so the restrictions on the invitation could be relaxed a little.
That's why the Xue family mother and daughter were allowed in.
Xue Baochai followed behind Madam Wang the whole time, quietly and calmly.
Some ladies, however, were quite optimistic about it.
Aunt Xue, due to her different status, naturally could not sit with those noblewomen.
She took her maid and strolled around the Lin family's courtyard to join in the fun.
Hearing these ladies say that the short-lived Lin family member was a fairy descended from heaven, and that they wanted the koi in the Lin family's pond and even wanted to exchange jade for the koi, one can't help but feel a surge of emotion.
What a huge bargain the Lin family is asking for!
Aunt Xue was filled with jealousy and resentment, which is why she couldn't help but speak up.
"Since you are a relative of the Lin family, how come you speak such slanderous words about the Lin family?" One of the round-faced ladies frowned and gave Aunt Xue a displeased look.
Judging from Aunt Xue's attire, although not bad, it wasn't the kind of clothing typical of her social class. She seemed to be just an ordinary relative from a remote area, hence the round-faced lady's somewhat harsh words.
"Does Princess Lin know that you're betraying your own people like this?"
Aunt Xue was so angry at this remark that she almost blew smoke from her nostrils; she really wasn't just making things up.
The Lin family's koi fish are so valuable that even the Imperial Household Department has to spend money to buy them. This was said by Jia Lian, and she wasn't exaggerating at all.
As for the Lin family refusing to give her the carp, it was because Wang Xifeng saw the koi and wanted to have a few, but the Lin family refused to give them to her.
Aunt Xue felt that she was merely stating the facts, not lying.
“Everything I’m saying is true. If you don’t believe me, I’m willing to confront the Lin family.”
The ladies around her all looked at Aunt Xue with expressions of disbelief, secretly thinking the same thing:
You are a relative of the Lin family. What good would it do you to smear the Lin family like this if they had a bad reputation?
"Princess Lin was able to grind five-hundred-year-old ginseng into powder and sprinkle it into porridge for the people of the West City to drink. But she was reluctant to give away a few carp. There must be other reasons. Do you think you can smear Princess Lin just by talking?" Another tall lady next to her couldn't help but say.
The lady still looked pained when she talked about the ginseng.
She witnessed a whole ginseng being sliced, placed in a stone mortar, and pounded into powder.
She originally wanted to exchange this ginseng with the Lin family, but the Lin family was too quick. Before she could even speak, the ginseng powder was sprinkled into the porridge, and even the stone mortar was rinsed with porridge several times.
Someone in their family was in poor health and needed high-grade ginseng to nourish their body. Since the ginseng had already been added to the porridge, their servants lined up and received two bowls of porridge to take home.
After drinking two bowls of porridge, the patient in the family did not have a relapse for several days.
She believed that if the entire 500-year-old ginseng were given to the patient in her family, the illness could probably be completely cured.
What a pity.
How could the generous Princess Lin possibly be reluctant to part with a few small koi fish?
There's definitely something fishy going on here!
"Yes, stop slandering Princess Lin. What does the Imperial Household Department need a list for purchasing anything? I have family members who work for the Imperial Household Department, and I've heard that the Lin family is so lucky that the Imperial Household Department placed an order and offered to provide Princess Lin with money, but she refused to accept a single penny. Princess Lin said it was a gift to thank His Majesty."
Aunt Xue's vision went black. She really hadn't thought that much. All she heard was Jia Lian saying that the Imperial Household Department had taken some koi from the Lin family and had even placed an order with the Lin family to pay them.
"Auntie, you're here! I've been looking for you for ages." Not far away, Wang Xifeng, dressed in a dazzling dress, walked over.
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