Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 701 - 699

Chapter 701: Chapter 699

After having lunch with the Empress Dowager in the palace, the Empress kept three daughters-in-law at Kunning Palace to play mahjong, and the three brothers were summoned by the Emperor to discuss political affairs.

The ancestral system established at the founding of the dynasty stated that after the princes married, they would be granted princedoms, along with respective fiefs. Just like Prince An’s fiefdom is in the affluent south, and he has been living there for many years since the Emperor ascended the throne.

The Emperor summoned the three brothers to discuss the matter of the fiefdoms.

It was not until they had dinner at dusk that a few people left the Imperial Palace.

Outside the palace gate, Shangguan Xuanhao wanted to bring his delicate wife to the Sixth Prince’s Mansion for a visit.

Shangguan Xuanyi decisively refused. It was almost dark out, and he planned to go back and sleep early with his girl, really seeing no reason to stay for a visit!

"If you don’t want to be left hanging at the door don’t follow me! Otherwise don’t blame me for being ruthless." Shangguan Xuanyi dropped this remark and got into the carriage with Xiao’er.

"Eh..." Shangguan Xuanhao looked at Shangguan Xuanyi as he pulled Xiao’er into the carriage without considering his own feelings, disgruntled, "What sort of person does he take himself for! Has he lost all respect for the old and love for the young!"

If it weren’t for the hot weather dampening his appetite, and his desire to eat something delicious, he would not even bother!

"Fourth Prince, that brat is reckless and disrespectful, shall we join forces and teach him a lesson?" Not having enough strength is indeed a bit sad. Even daring to challenge you at your own doorstep, Shangguan Xuanhao thought.

"I’m not as blind as you are!" Shangguan Xuanjun dropped this remark and walked off with Gu Qiqi.

Shangguan Xuanhao: "..." What does that mean?

In the carriage

Shangguan Xuanyi placed Xiao’er directly on his lap, burying his face in her neck and took a deep whiff of her scent.

After an afternoon apart, he found that he missed her more than before.

Xiao’er took out a stack of silver banknotes from her sleeve pocket and said cheerfully, "Guess how much silver I won today?"

Shangguan Xuanyi glanced at the stack of banknotes and then at the beaming face of someone, he kissed her cheek and grinned, "1,000 taels."

"Bingo! Today I was fighting against three and I won a complete victory."

"Is there ever a time when you’re not playing mahjong one against three? If this continues, the Empress Dowager and others are not going to be willing to play with you." Shangguan Xuanyi laughed at her remark.

Just now, the Empress Dowager had pulled him aside and whispered that she hoped his wife would give her some leeway and not win all the silver she had every time. It would be very embarrassing if this news got out!

Life in the deep palace was lonely. Ever since the Empress fell for mahjong, she would occasionally call Xiao’er and her two daughters-in-law to play with her.

Xiao’er always won all the silver they had, and even owed debts. Always losing, the frustration and resentment were simply too much to bear.

For a while, the Empress didn’t invite her and just invited the eldest princess. But the eldest princess didn’t like playing mahjong, and often declined.

The saying goes, if you win in love, you lose at gambling. Besides, the Empress’ skills and luck have improved recently, so she invited Xiao’er to play mahjong again, but she ended up losing the most! Of the 1,000 taels, 800 were her own!

The Empress was extremely frustrated. Whose daughter-in-law doesn’t give way to her own mother-in-law? Why is it that when it comes to her own daughter-in-law, she shows no mercy at all?

On hearing this, Xiao’er was also endlessly gloomy: "I’ve even tried my best to let her win! I racked my brains to make the Empress Dowager win! But who knew that she could ruin a good hand and make a bad hand even worse! It’s unbearable to watch! It’s harder for me to lose than to win! I don’t know how many brain cells I’ve lost!"

Shangguan Xuanyi laughed upon hearing this, "Indeed it’s hard for you. From now on, just do as you please! If the Empress Dowager loses enough, she won’t dare to look for you anymore!"

"Can I do that? Wouldn’t the Empress Dowager think I’m being disrespectful?" Xiao’er asked worriedly.

"Absolutely!" Shangguan Xuanyi nodded, then added in his mind: At present, the way you win doesn’t reveal your painstaking efforts to her at all.

Why not start with mass slaughter, so she will understand how much you’ve been accommodating her before?

"Okay then!" My luck is exceptionally good. If I wanted to, everyone would probably surrender on the second round.

However, playing mahjong is really not my cup of tea. I’m restless and don’t like to sit.

On the other hand, the Empress and the Empress Dowager seem to be increasingly absorbed in this. I will knock them out until they’re afraid to play me!

After all, surrendering all the time is not a solution. It’s too exhausting!

When they returned to the mansion, Shangguan Xuanyi took Xiao’er’s hand and strolled into the garden, heading towards their courtyard.

For a while, both were silent, just appreciating the vegetation here.

All the plants here were carefully arranged by Xiao’er over the years, with great dedication.

Every corner is uniquely designed, presenting a picturesque scenery. You can see a painting of blooming peonies on one wall, and they are real peonies. A different type of peony would either make the painting crowded or sparse.

In a blink of an eye, you could see a painting of cranes and pine trees on a human-made hill. The cranes are real, so are the pines and chrysanthemums.

There are also paintings of peacocks in full display, Chinese orchids and bamboo, plum blossoms in the corner, Magpies landing on branches, paintings symbolising wealth and safety... Peach Forest, High Mountain and Flowing Water, etc.

Xiao’er also has many species of birds in the garden.

One moment, you could hear a parrot mimicking words on a Haitang tree, the next moment, it could turn into a toucan.

In the morning, you could see Mandarin ducks playing in the lake, by noon it could turn into swans cooling off under the tree shade, and at dusk flamingos searching for food.

Today a painting symbolizes longevity with deer and reishi, tomorrow it echoes the sound of deer’s cries.

Because of these cute animals, the style of the painting changes all the time, making it endlessly fascinating.

Here, you can find any painting with good implication. As long as you are willing to search, you will always find something!

While walking through the garden, in addition to the visual feast, you can also smell the different refreshing fragrances with every turn.

In summer mornings and evenings, you could see groups of butterflies and bees dancing in the garden, reluctant to leave. The emperor regarded it as a fairyland full of worldliness, a unique feature of the Imperial City.

After the Imperial Master visited the garden of the Sixth Prince Mansion, he always chose this place as the scenery for his paintings.

Many people wanted to copy the back garden of the Sixth Prince Mansion after visiting it, but to maintain flowers of different seasons to bloom in the same season required a great deal of money. Moreover, it was really hard to keep those birds from flying away!

The garden of the Sixth Prince Mansion can only imitate, but can never surpass.

The inspiration for Xiao’er’s arrangement came from the auspicious paintings she had seen in her previous life and the renowned Suzhou garden.

The outcome was extremely beautiful!

Moreover, the Sixth Prince Mansion is huge with a backyard mountain, which Xiao’er later asked Shangguan Xuanyi to buy and incorporate. She kept horses, sika deer, pandas, and other animals on the mountain. The tiger she gave to Shangguan Xuanyi was also kept in the back mountain, guarding those animals.

The back mountain is vast. Many people knew that Xiao’er had a tiger army. The back mountain had become home to the tiger army, and hardly anyone dared to approach

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