coobybook Chapter 313 Xiaoyang's Wedding
Chapter 313 Xiaoyang's Wedding
At that time, Li Xiaonuan brought people to the Sang residence to discuss the estate with Sang Moyun.
Sang Moyun and her daughter planned to follow the example of the Li family and build a manor on the hillside in Zhoucun.
When Li Xiaonuan returned home from the Sang residence in a good mood, she saw Xiao Yang being beaten by several guards, with several palace maids cheering him on.
Seeing that scene made Li Xiaonuan's blood boil, so she ignored the advice of Granny Jin and Guard Tian, stepped forward and kicked the palace maids down, kicking one of them several times.
Afterwards, he even gave the guards who had been stopped a good beating with thin bamboo sticks.
But even this was not enough to soothe Li Xiaonuan's furious heart. She immediately wrote a letter and sent it to the capital by fast horse, to be given to Prince Jing, so that he could present it directly to the Emperor.
As for those palace maids and guards who were usually picky and dissatisfied, they were all directly kicked out by Li Xiaonuan.
Even when Granny Jin and Guard Tian knelt down to beg her, pleading with Madam Su and Xiao Yang, Li Xiaonuan did not waver in the slightest.
And so, those guards and palace maids knelt in front of the Li family's gate for several days, but Li Xiaonuan never even glanced at them.
However, that all happened before March. As for what became of those palace maids and guards, Li Xiaonuan had no idea.
All she knew was that the emperor sent another group of people to replace those who had been reported by Li Xiaonuan.
The new group of people were relatively obedient. However, their arrogance and shrewdness, honed from years of living deep within the palace, were something Li Xiaonuan disliked.
Therefore, after those people arrived, Li Xiaonuan had Xiaoyang buy three acres of land next to the Li family's house and build houses specifically for them to live in.
Not only them, but all those who came back from the capital with her will stay there.
Granny Jin and Guard Tian strongly opposed Li Xiaonuan's actions.
However, Li Xiaonuan said directly, "I am just a peasant girl from the countryside, and I don't need those noble people to serve me. If my family wants to buy servants, we can just go to the city and find a slave trader. We have indentures for those servants, and we can command and dispatch them at will."
Li Xiaonuan's words made Granny Jin and Guard Tian extremely embarrassed.
They were directly under the control of the palace and were directly commanded by the emperor and empress, so they couldn't be ordered around by the Li family at will.
And so, a month later, apart from Granny Jin, the two head maids, Guard Tian, and three more dutiful guards, everyone else moved into the newly built house.
As for the daily lives of those who moved out, that's not something the Li family should worry about.
Thinking of this, Li Xiaonuan felt a little better.
"Xiao Nuan, do you want to send something to that courtyard too?" Madam Su was still quite kind and couldn't bear to see those people struggling to make ends meet.
Li Xiaonuan disagreed, saying, "Mother, what have those people ever done for our family? Are they our servants? No, they're not. Since they're nobody to us, why should we care about them? Are we supposed to treat them like family just because we gave them a place to stay?"
Seeing Li Xiaonuan's dissatisfaction, Madam Su stopped trying to persuade her and instead started discussing Xiaoyang's marriage with her.
Granny Jin and the other two maids stood behind Li Xiaonuan, listening intently to her words, their hearts filled with a chill.
As Li Xiaonuan said, those people come to the Li family and don't have to do anything; they just eat and drink for free all day long. Even so, they are still not satisfied, finding fault with everything they do. It's truly hateful.
However, Li Xiaonuan's words also made Granny Jin and the two maids have something to say about it.
If you don't work, you won't eat. Everyone here is there to serve others, so why look down on self-sufficient farmers?
No matter who serves them, they are all servants, slaves. What is there to be arrogant about?
And so, Granny Jin became even more cautious in her words and actions.
As for the guards, they weren't slaves to begin with. They had every right to be arrogant. But it all depended on whether Li Xiaonuan would listen to them.
“Mother, I think Xiaoyang’s marriage should be based on his own wishes. What if we make the decision for him without his consent, and the person he chooses doesn’t suit his taste?” Li Xiaonuan advised, seeing that Su had mentioned several families’ daughters.
The reason is that after Li Xiaonuan was granted the title of princess, too many people wanted to establish a kinship with the Li family.
Let's not talk about Li Xiaonuan. Because of her status, no one dares to make a move against her, so it's none of her business.
However, since the Spring Festival, the Li family has been overwhelmed with matchmakers coming to their door.
Especially Xiao Yang, who had designs on him, came from all sorts of people, from villagers to relatives, from merchants and minor officials to even county magistrates and chief clerks.
In order to help Xiao Yang find a good wife, Madam Su has been so anxious lately that her hair has turned completely white.
However, Zhou Jingjing was not among those people. Of course, Su Shi didn't suspect Zhou Jingjing either.
Even Xiao Yang himself, whenever Su asked him, would calmly say that Su should handle it.
Could it be that Xiao Yang and Zhou Jingjing broke up?
Impossible. Just a while ago, Li Xiaonuan saw Zhou Jingjing give Xiaoyang a sachet.
"Mother, how about we choose one for Xiaoyang in the village? We know all the girls in the village well. We'd feel at ease marrying a girl like that," Li Xiaonuan suggested when she saw Su Shi's troubles.
“The girls in the village? They are indeed good. But I’m worried that if we marry the girl in front of us, what if they have a falling out in the future? Wouldn’t it be awkward for our two families to meet?” Madam Su felt that if the two families lived close by, it wouldn’t look good if they fell out in the future.
"Mom, why do you keep thinking about those things? Think about it, are you going to mistreat Xiaoyang's wife, or has Xiaoyang wronged his wife? Besides, it's perfectly normal for young couples to have a little argument. Xiaoyang can just coax her and it'll be fine, there's no awkwardness at all." Li Xiaonuan disagreed with Su's strange argument.
Upon hearing this, Madam Su agreed. She wasn't a bad mother-in-law. Xiao Yang wasn't a fool either; how could he treat his daughter-in-law badly?
“You’re right, I was mistaken,” Madam Su said with a chuckle. “To be honest, there are a few good girls in our village. Little Blackie’s aunt is quite nice; she’s straightforward and capable.”
“Yes, Dandan’s older sister is also very nice. She’s gentle and efficient at work,” Li Xiaonuan said, continuing Su’s topic.
The mother and daughter were wrapping zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) while counting out a few of the better girls in the village.
As the conversation progressed, the topic naturally turned to Zhou Jingjing.
"If you ask me, I like your Aunt Zhou's daughter, Jingjing, the most. However, I saw that her aunt has arranged several good marriages for her in the city, so I didn't dare to mention it," Su said with some regret.
"Aunt Zhou is arranging a marriage for Jingjing? Jingjing is only fifteen this year, why is there such a rush?" Li Xiaonuan was really worried that the Zhou family had already arranged a marriage for Jingjing.
"You're fifteen already, how can you still be so young? If it weren't for that damned Wang Tu who held you back, you'd be a mother by now." Su Shi gritted her teeth with hatred at the mention of Wang Tu.
"Mom, why bring up those things now? Did Aunt Zhou really arrange a marriage for Jingjing?" Li Xiaonuan asked anxiously.
If Jingjing really gets engaged to someone else, what will Xiaoyang do? He'll definitely be heartbroken.
“How would I know? I just saw your Aunt Zhou buying a lot of things for Jingjing, it looked like she was preparing a dowry. Coincidentally, her aunt mentioned several families. I thought she must have already made an appointment with someone,” Su said with a sigh.
After hearing Su's words in surprise, Li Xiaonuan also felt that Jingjing must have been engaged.
"Mom, why don't you try going over and asking? If Jingjing isn't engaged, you can talk to Aunt Zhou and see if she's willing to let us get married." Li Xiaonuan looked at the figure in the shadows at the door and deliberately raised her voice.
“That’s true, I’ll go ask. If it works out, I’ll ask a matchmaker to visit them another day.” Madam Su thought it made sense and agreed.