A Good Country Wife
Chapter 507 - 501_1

Chapter 507: Chapter 501_1

"Zhao Erhu’s family sent over the New Year’s gifts?" The Princely Heir of Marquis of Zhenbei raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, genuinely surprised. Zhao Erhu had only just returned from sea; he hadn’t even reached the Capital City, yet the gifts had already been sent. They obviously weren’t ordered by Zhao Erhu himself.

When he first partnered with Zhao Erhu in business, the Princely Heir had thoroughly investigated Zhao Erhu’s background and status and was naturally familiar with his family situation. With Zhao Erhu away at sea, only his young wife of age for hair-pinning and four children were left at home. His young wife had been bought with silver from another smaller mountain valley, and although the inquiries reported that Zhao Erhu’s wife possessed some insight and skills, the Princely Heir always believed that a rural woman from a mountain valley, even if knowledgeable, would have limited understanding. Now, it seemed he had underestimated her; she knew to arrange for the sending of New Year’s gifts to him. Even daughters from small families might not possess such propriety; it was indeed quite interesting.

"Since the gifts have been sent, naturally we should accept them. These are for me, not the household. Have the New Year’s gifts they sent brought to my yard; I am quite curious to see what sort of things Zhao Erhu’s young wife has sent over," said the Princely Heir with a rare hint of interest in gifts from another’s household. After all, he was very curious about what kind of New Year’s gifts would a rural woman arrange to send?

He had heard that Zhao Erhu’s family had grown a lot of sweet potatoes on their land. One could guess what kind of things a peasant family might have; surely they wouldn’t just send over some chicken, duck, fish, and meat, and then haul over a few carts of sweet potatoes. Of course, there must also be homemade foodstuffs, which is exactly the business they cooperated on with the Jiang Family. If such items were fresh and interesting to eat last year, with the Jiang Family’s large workshop open now, everyone in the Capital City could get them, and they were no longer rare. Of course, if those were the things sent, he would still keep them, but it might be somewhat embarrassing in the eyes of others in the household.

"This, I don’t know either; however, judging by several carts of goods being hauled over, the quantity is not small. There are also a few large wooden boxes on two of the carts, and it’s truly hard to tell what’s inside." The gifts had not yet been accepted, so it would naturally be inappropriate to open them and see what had been sent. However, the Manager guessed they probably weren’t anything special—after all, what valuable things could a rural peasant family possibly have? It was merely a token of goodwill. Besides, it hadn’t been confirmed whether the Princely Heir would accept the gifts from this family, so he hadn’t received the gift list.

"Enough, have them bring the items in first. Once we have the gift list, we’ll know what’s been sent."

The Princely Heir was still residing in the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate. Although his stepmother had spoken ill of him to the Marquis of Zhenbei, leading to him having a separate courtyard to manage his own living expenses, the public funds from the family only allocated a thousand taels of silver to this courtyard yearly, meant to cover his annual expenses. He lacked everything else.

To the average person, a thousand taels of silver might seem a considerable sum, but what kind of place was the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate, and what was the status of the Princely Heir? A thousand taels simply weren’t enough for much. The monthly payments to the servants were also included in this sum, which was not even sufficient for incidental expenses. Fortunately, he still had the dowry from his birth mother to rely on. However, even with income from stores and farmland outside, he had been running a deficit for years. Establishing connections in the Court and socializing with friends all required silver coins, and he had felt that this could not go on, which had led to his business cooperation with Zhao Erhu.

"Mother, did you know about the new excitement over at the North Garden? A pair of country folks have sent New Year’s gifts to big brother. Really, even as our big brother and as the Princely Heir of the Marquis of Zhenbei’s estate, should he not care at all about his status, dealing with country bumpkins like that? Who knows what kind of cheap items those bumpkins have sent over."

"Really, you and your brother’s business, why do you meddle so much? If he wants to degrade himself, it’s his problem, don’t go learning from him. Talking about it, it’s embarrassing for our Marquis of Zhenbei’s household," said the Marchioness of Zhenbei while holding a cup of tea, sipping a little, before speaking disdainfully, clearly looking down on her stepson.

Others might not know, but she was well aware that her stepson was probably short on silver coins, hence the interactions with such lowly individuals. It was said he was conducting some business. After all, the stepson had been quite active these past two years, garnering relationships everywhere, thus securing his current position. He surely spent a considerable amount, and relying solely on the assets left by his birth mother was likely not enough for all his endeavors.

Good, this was exactly as she wanted. She was restraining her stepson financially exactly to constrain him. With the Empress Dowager watching from above, she couldn’t very well make things too difficult for him outright; she had to be subtle. Originally, her stepson, being the rightful heir, overshadowed her son, dominating the position of Princely Heir. If her stepson managed to advance even further, her own son would have no hope at all. She hadn’t refrained from sending people to end her stepson before, but ever since the last time she had sent an assassin and the wretched boy escaped, he became highly cautious, leaving no opportunity for another attempt. Now she could only wait patiently for the right moment to strike and completely eradicate this blight.

"Mother, look at what you’re saying. How could I ever follow my brother’s footsteps? I’m just curious. Don’t you want to see what fresh entertainment there is, to see what those country hicks sent to big brother, to let everyone know what kind of company our esteemed big brother keeps?"

With our Marquis of Zhenbei’s noble standing, even when it comes to accepting New Year’s gifts, we can’t just accept anything. If those country hicks delivered something truly unbecoming, and big brother can’t refuse without losing face, we should help him turn it down. It would save father from reprimanding big brother, which is for my brother’s own good. After all, he should still address you as ’Mother.’ With you considering his reputation like this, father would only praise you for being a virtuous and sensible wife," the Marchioness of Zhenbei’s son reasoned.

Upon hearing her elder son speak this way, the Marchioness of Zhenbei understood the implication. If the Marquis found out that the wretched son willingly degraded himself, he would surely be disappointed. She dabbed the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, looking at her son with satisfaction, and laughed, "My son is truly grown up, thinking of your big brother’s well-being. Since that’s the case, let’s go over to your big brother’s courtyard and take a look. After all, educating a son is a mother’s duty. I can’t just watch idly as he goes astray."

"As you say, Mother. I will accompany you," her son replied. Though their intent was to witness a spectacle, the two of them spoke with such ostensible propriety, all the while concocting a plan that, though meant to help the Princely Heir of the Marquis of Zhenbei, was actually set to embarrass him and lead to the Marquis’s disappointment.

"Mother, big brother, are you going to my big brother’s courtyard? I’ve also heard today that there are country bumpkins who sent New Year’s gifts to big brother. I want to join you to enjoy the spectacle," another voice chimed in.

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