Golden Branch

"I never expected, haha, I really didn't expect that these two girls would become the princess's playmates!"

The more Mrs. Lou thought about it, the more excited she became.

If she had not been surrounded by female guests from various families, and Mrs. Lou had not wanted to lose her composure in front of others, she would have rushed forward and recognized Zheng Shisan and Zheng Shiliu.

Two illegitimate children whom she had never taken seriously actually had such an opportunity.

Although Princess Langya was a fake princess, she had the title of princess, a fiefdom, a princess's mansion, and a mother, Concubine Jiang.

She had only been in Beijing for three or four days, but news of her favor was already flying everywhere.

Princess Langya is clearly the new top noble lady in the capital. If one can have some relationship with her, it will definitely benefit the entire family.

Madam Lou hid in the crowd and watched coldly. She was sure that Zheng Shisan and Zheng Shiliu were not just insignificant "slaves" in the princess's mansion, but people trusted by the princess.

Didn’t you see that the palace maids sent by Baifu Palace all had to obey their orders?

"Mother, weren't they left at the Lou family by my cousin?"

Zheng Chi looked at his half-sisters who used to crawl at his feet, and now they were so gracefully interacting with the other female relatives. They were reserved and noble, and they were at ease.

There was no trace of humility or cowardice in her. Her demeanor was even more noble than that of her, a legitimate daughter of the Zheng family.

Why should they?

She is obviously the most honorable daughter of the Zheng family and the most precious granddaughter of the eldest mother.

But, but she had a tragic fate.

After arriving in Beijing that year, Zheng Chi felt the deviation of reality.

The Zheng family was in decline, the male members were mediocre, his father's official position was too low, and the relatives, friends, and neighbors he interacted with were all low-ranking and small families.

They are from the Zheng family.

There are people in the clan who hold high positions, but they have been separated from the clan and are outside the five generations of mourning, so they can only be considered clan relatives.

Even among the clan members, the outstanding one will not support the downtrodden clan members too much.

The fallen tribesmen were basically no different from farmers and slaves.

In the countryside, there are countless examples of impoverished clan members becoming tenants for the direct line of the clan or the clan leader.

The families of officials are slightly better. After all, they have to pay attention to the Four Virtues and Eight Virtues, and the family members are required to help each other and not abuse each other excessively.

But there won’t be too much subsidy.

There is no way. The family is too big and the resources are limited. There are far more down-and-out members than promising ones.

Just like when Zheng Yi's family fell into decline, Zheng Chi's grandfather and others did not help.

They didn't take advantage of someone's misfortune because they were of the same tribe.

Charcoal in the snow?

If a family wants to be passed down for a long time, it must know how to make choices.

More than ten years ago, Zheng Yi's family was abandoned.

Now, Zheng Chi's family has also become abandoned.

If you want to revive, without much help, you can only do it yourself.

...This is the perspective of Madam Lou and other Zheng family members, but the truth is not so.

The other members of the Zheng family are not so cold-hearted.

If Madam Lou's sons, grandsons, and other male offspring have decent qualifications, the Zheng family's direct descendants are also willing to help.

The truth is, Zheng Chi's father and brother are really mediocre.

People will naturally not waste precious resources on a piece of mud that cannot be helped.

A person must first be independent, and the same goes for a family.

He doesn't strive for progress and always tries to take shortcuts by relying on women. His tribesmen will only be disappointed in him and stay away from him.

Mrs. Lou did not think that the family's decline was due to her own fault. She blamed it on bad luck and the change of dynasties.

She blamed her direct descendants and clan members for being cold-hearted and unwilling to help her family.

She even blamed her nephew from her mother's side -

Now that you have taken action, why not help to the end?

He was only given a low-ranking official position with neither real power nor room for development.

Her son, Zheng Henian, wasted his time in the Imperial College, not because he lacked ability, but because his backers were unreliable.

Lou Jin was a founding duke of a county, holding a large military force. It was just a matter of a word for him to get his cousin appointed to one of the six ministries.

As a result, he was only given a sinecure.

After finally getting a promotion, I was only promoted from one "school" to another.

Let Zheng Henian be "noble and upright" to the end.

Since her son’s rank was too low, Mrs. Lou, as a mother, naturally could not “become noble because of her son.”

She is a daughter of the Lou family and has been noble and respectable for most of her life.

In the northern border and in Pingcheng, the ladies she was friends with and had dealings with were all first-class noble ladies.

But after the establishment of the Xin Dynasty and moving to the new capital Chang'an, Lady Lou no longer had the opportunity to attend the elegant gatherings and banquets at the center of power.

Even if she is the aunt of Duke Anguo, it is in vain.

aunt?

We are not sisters!

General Lou has been dead for more than ten years. Even though his family head is his nephew, there is still a gap between them.

It is impossible for Madam Lou to hold on to the Anguo Mansion tightly.

Especially since Madam Lou was clearly the one trying to curry favor with the noble, she still wanted to act like the "legitimate daughter" in the Lou family. She also looked down on Madam Dugu, a fake noble lady of unknown identity.

Madam Lou may not even realize that she has already offended Madam Dugu unconsciously.

Even if Madam Dugu didn't care, Lou Jin, who doted on his wife like crazy, would never forgive anyone who disrespected his beloved wife.

After helping Zheng Henian get promoted, Lou Jin decided to never care about the Zheng family again.

He could still provide some financial support with the daily money and food, but he would not get involved in the careers of the Zheng family's sons or the dreams of the Zheng family's daughters to marry into a wealthy family.

Mrs. Lou could not find any fault with Lou Jin's letting go.

Giving money and food is already the duty of a relative.

If the incident is exposed and outsiders know about it, they will only say that Duke Anguo is kind.

If the Zheng family still wants more, it means they are too greedy.

If he fails to handle it properly, he will not only lose his reputation, but also lose Lou Jin's last sponsorship.

With the Anguo Mansion no longer able to suck blood, Madam Lou Tai had no choice but to find another way - marriage! Marriage!

At that time, the former emperor was in power, and the Li family of Cheng'en Mansion was at its most prosperous.

Madam Lou then found ways (using Lou Jin's connections again) to marry Zheng Chi to the illegitimate grandson of Duke Cheng'en, and he finally became a relative of the emperor's father-in-law.

However, before the Zheng family, including Mrs. Lou, could rejoice for too long, the situation changed.

Mrs. Lou hastened to distance herself from the Li family.

The result of breaking off the engagement was that although the Zheng family was not implicated by the Li family, their reputation was ruined and they lost their official positions.

Among the more than ten adult males in the Zheng family, none of them served as an official.

The Zheng family has completely become a poor family, and in a few years, they will become common people.

Madam Lou was almost in despair, but fortunately the two concubines of the Eastern Palace gave her some hope.

Now, Zheng Shisan and Zheng Shiliu were seen in the Langya Princess Mansion, which was in its heyday.

Madam Lou wished she could worship all the gods and Buddhas in the sky: Thank you, Bodhisattva, for your blessings. May my Zheng family not be destroyed!

As for why Zheng Shisan and Zheng Shiliu came to the Princess's Mansion from the Lou family, Madam Lou didn't care at all.

"That's fine. Back then, your cousin and the princess were like siblings. Now that they've come to the capital together, they've become neighbors, so naturally they're close friends."

Mrs. Lou spoke casually to Zheng Chi, her old eyes always staring eagerly at Zheng Shisan and Zheng Shiliu who were moving back and forth among the female guests.

She had made up her mind that after all the guests arrived and the banquet officially began, she would find an opportunity to call her two granddaughters over and question them carefully.

If Zheng Shisan and Zheng Shiliu really win the favor of the princess, then, then she will take them back to the Zheng family—

After all, she is the daughter of the Zheng family. How can she keep living in someone else's house?

Even if they were to come to the princess's mansion to serve the noble, they should let everyone know that these two people were daughters of the Zheng family.

The Zheng family is still here!

Mrs. Lou spoke casually, but her tone and eyes showed that she regarded Zheng Shisan and Zheng Shiliu as extremely important people.

Zheng Chi grew up with his grandmother and naturally understood her.

The old lady's expression clearly shows that she treats these two illegitimate children as her "treasures".

As for Zheng Chi, she has changed from a pearl to a dead fish eye.

Marrying into the Li family was not what she wanted!

Breaking off the engagement was not what she wanted!

But she was the only one to bear the blame.

Even in the Zheng family, she was no longer the most favored and precious girl.

At this moment, the grandmother valued the two concubines' daughters who had always been trampled under her feet so much... Zheng Chi's heart couldn't help but feel a pain and twist.

Why!

She is obviously the most noble girl in the Zheng family.

They had gone to the Lou family together at first, but neither cousin Lou nor Wang Jiu liked her.

In the end, they only left Zheng Shisan and Zheng Shiliu.

She let the two lowly concubines live better than her, and now they are even more glorious.

Zheng Chi tore the handkerchief hard, his eyes filled with resentment and anger.

……

"Are all the guests here?"

As a princess, Wang Heng would not personally greet all the guests.

Except for a very small number of distinguished guests who would trouble Wang Heng to come, the rest of the guests were entertained by Wang Mian, Zheng Shisan, and many female officials and housekeepers.

Wang Heng looked at the hourglass in the corner, confirmed that the time had come, and prepared to get up.

Wang Mian walked in wearing a brand new skirt.

Today is also the day when she, the Princess Wang, officially makes her debut.

She is the "clan sister" of Princess Langya, the wife of a county lady appointed by the sage, and the fiancée of the prince of Anle Marquis's mansion.

In the princess's mansion, she was not a slave, but half a master.

Wang Mian entertained the guests on behalf of Wang Heng in order to show the world her relationship with the princess and to confirm her status and respectability as a rising star in the capital.

"Except for a few princesses and princes, all other guests have arrived!"

Wang Mian came to Wang Heng and briefly introduced the guests.

When Wang Mian mentioned the Dugu and Zheng families, his eyes flickered: "They probably won't be very quiet!"

Both of these families have some entanglements with Wang Heng.

The mistresses of both families also brought several young girls with them.

Based on his experience of reading countless online romance novels, Wang Mian judged that there would definitely be a "surprise" at today's house-warming party.

In almost every ancient Chinese novel, the protagonist and supporting characters are at a banquet at someone else's house, performing melodramatic scenes such as "falling into the water" and "splashing tea".

Wang Mian was even a little worried that some of the female relatives were so busy scheming that they might overlook some of the exquisite designs of the princess's mansion.

There is too much melodrama, and even a grand sales show related to glass might be affected!