Tianliangyuan

Chapter 69 The show is about to begin

Jiang Fu went to great lengths to win the prince's heart.

Moreover, it was Jiang Ning who suggested that Jiang Wanwan be brought to the Crown Prince's side as a concubine.

In her view, anyone who was at odds with Xu Zhaozhao was someone she could win over and subdue.

Moreover, Jiang Wanwan is merely the daughter of a merchant. To be able to enter the Duke's mansion is equivalent to immense wealth and status. With the Duke's mansion backing her up, the Jiang family's business will surely flourish in the future.

When Jiang Wanwan was brought into the Duke's mansion, it was Jiang Fu who personally negotiated the arrangement. From then on, the Jiang family would send the heir a thousand strings of cash every month, and during festivals, there would naturally be extra gifts.

The Jiang family's business would naturally receive the protection of the Duke's Mansion.

The Jiang family readily agreed, since there were many wealthy merchants in the capital, but very few could board the ship of a powerful family like the Duke's Mansion.

Sure enough, as soon as the news of Jiang Wanwan marrying the prince as a concubine spread, the families who had previously wanted to steal his family's secret brewing recipe all gave up their plans.

Master Jiang was quite adept at business. After confirming that the young master only wanted money, he offered to give him extra as a token of respect, which the young master naturally agreed to.

The heir, Liu Huaien, was originally a spoiled brat who did not engage in production and was neither good at literature nor martial arts. As long as his subordinates were willing to give him money, he was happy to indulge them in everything.

Because of the money sent by the Jiang family, Liu Huaien has been in a lot more financial shape lately, so he has been very fond of his concubine, Jiang Wanwan.

This is exactly what Jiang Fu wanted to see.

She had been married to Liu Huaien for many years, so she naturally knew what kind of person he was.

Liu Huaien was punished by his father-in-law and ran out of money, so he thought of asking his legal wife for money.

But why?

After Jiang Fu gave him tens of thousands of coins, he finally couldn't take it anymore.

At this point, Jiang Ning proposed to bring Jiang Wanwan into the family, and Jiang Fu naturally agreed.

In this way, Liu Huaien had a beautiful woman by his side and was also financially well-off. Moreover, Jiang Fu gained a reputation for being generous and magnanimous, and could also save money on her dowry. This was naturally a win-win situation.

Unfortunately, Jiang Wanwan couldn't see through all this. She only thought that the prince truly liked her, and thus she became increasingly arrogant.

However, this arrogance was limited to when only the concubines were chatting together. If the young master and his wife were present, Jiang Wanwan would not dare to act recklessly.

Jiang Fu is backed by the Jiang family; who can afford to offend her?

Jiang Ning and Jiang Fu came over and first paid their respects to Princess Leyang.

"Your complexion looks even better than before."

"Yes, I've been eating and sleeping at home a lot lately, so naturally my complexion is good. But Miss Jiang, I noticed some dark circles under your eyes. Could it be that you've been busy lately and haven't been getting enough rest?"

Jiang Ning forced a smile, trying to make it look natural: "Your Highness is too kind. I was just thinking about embroidering a birthday gift for my grandfather, so I may have been a little tired lately. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

"I see. Miss Jiang is truly filial."

Jiang Ning smiled but didn't respond to that.

Jiang Fu looked at Xu Zhaozhao with a hint of resentment in her eyes. Although she tried her best to suppress it, some of it still showed.

Xu Zhaozhao was a perceptive person; how could she not notice it?

However, she simply pretended not to know.

Jiang Fu's scheming is far less profound than Jiang Ning's.

So there's nothing to worry about.

After exchanging pleasantries, Jiang Fu took Jiang Ning to other places to entertain the female guests, while Xu Zhaozhao noticed that Jiang Ning was clearly carrying something inappropriate.

Whether she intended to use this item herself or to use it on someone else remains unknown.

Let’s wait and see.

Xu Zhaozhao felt that these quiet days were rather boring, and since there was finally a good show to watch, she had to enjoy it.

Sigh, it would be even better if she could have some sunflower seeds to eat right now.

Unfortunately, how could a lady from a respectable family eat sunflower seeds?

Such indecent things can only be done by myself and my cousin behind closed doors at home.

Xu Zhaozhao was actually quite curious. Today was an important day for the Duke of Su's mansion, especially after learning that members of the royal family were present. How could Jiang Ning still dare to act recklessly?

Isn't she afraid of implicating Jiang Fu again, thus causing her own sister to be divorced?

As the coming-of-age ceremony began, Xu Zhaozhao grew tired of watching the whole process. If it weren't for the presence of everyone else, she would have loved to simply lean against her cousin and take a nap.

Finally, the ceremony ended, and everyone showered them with praise. The Duke of Su and his wife, Song Wanyi, never stopped smiling.

Once the ceremony was over, the banquet began. The men's and women's tables were separate and not in the same place, but both were in the backyard, separated only by an artificial hill and a corridor.

Xu Zhaozhao found it interesting; wasn't this just a disguised matchmaking event?

Moreover, she noticed that Prince Zhong and the other princes frequently glanced at Liu Jiajia, clearly indicating that they all had designs on this Miss Liu.

interesting!

I wonder which prince the Duke of Su's mansion plans to bet on?

So far, only the eldest prince has been granted the title of Prince Zhong, but not for long. Moreover, because he is the eldest son of the emperor, but also a son born out of wedlock, the emperor eliminated him from the competition from the very beginning.

After all, His Majesty has three legitimate sons.

These days, there's a clear distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, and the hierarchy is obvious. Establishing the legitimate heir rather than the eldest son is something that doesn't even need to be discussed in the imperial court.

Second prince?

Xu Zhaozhao realized that this was the man who was later enfeoffed as the Prince of An, and was also Jiang Ning's husband in her previous life. He eventually succeeded in ascending the throne, but he was like a donkey that had been used and then discarded, and Jiang Ning's family did not have a good ending.

The Duke of Su's mansion and the Jiang family are related by marriage, so Xu Zhaozhao felt that Jiang Ning would definitely not allow the Second Prince to marry Liu Jiajia.

This is much more interesting.

Xu Zhaozhao also wanted to know which person Jiang Ning intended to use those things on.

Jiang Ning has been acting cautiously lately, mainly because the mistakes she made before were too big and she offended too many people. So she has been keeping a low profile. This time, she wants to use Liu Jiajia's coming-of-age ceremony to suppress the Second Prince.

If the Second Prince commits a serious offense in the home of a subject, he will lose the Emperor's favor. At that time, by using other means, the Emperor will surely cut off the Second Prince's path to the throne!

Jiang Ning usually doesn't have the opportunity to get close to the Second Prince, but now that the opportunity has come, she absolutely cannot let it slip by.

Thinking about the tragic deaths of her family members in her previous life, and how she ultimately failed to become empress, Jiang Ning felt extremely resentful.

No matter what, we must avenge this wrong!

Unbeknownst to him, the second prince had fallen into Jiang Ning's trap. Halfway through the banquet, he was already drunk and unconscious.

Xu Zhaozhao didn't just plan to watch the show today; a dog-eat-dog drama could be quite entertaining. But she preferred to see the two dogs evenly matched, otherwise, wouldn't that make Jiang Ning too smug?

Of course, she needs to figure out the strength of these people first before she can make a plan for her leisurely life in the future.

Xu Zhaozhao glanced around. There were no fewer people on the women's side, so Jiang Ning was trying to use the servants of the Duke's mansion?