Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

After Cui Sumu left, Jiang Xiuzhi asked Xiao Lan: "Lanlan, who is that relative you mentioned? How come your aunt doesn't know of such a person? Could it be someone from the Xiao family?"

No wonder Jiang Xiuzhi asked this question. The current matriarch of the Xiao family, Madam Xiao Jin, is not Xiao Lan's biological grandmother. Xiao Lan's grandfather, Xiao Zhenwei's first wife, Madam Da Jin, had been in poor health after giving birth to Xiao Daren and passed away a few years later. At that time, Xiao Daren was not yet four years old and needed his mother's care. Xiao Zhenwei then made his first wife's younger sister, Madam Xiao Jin, his concubine, thinking that as his son's aunt, she would definitely take better care of his son than others.

Xiao Jinshi had only married into the Xiao family through her sister's connections and had never been favored by Xiao Zhenwei. She had only one daughter, a year younger than Xiao Daren, and knew that her promotion to concubine was solely due to being Xiao Daren's aunt. Initially, she treated Xiao Daren with utmost care, as if he were her own son. As time passed, Xiao Zhenwei noticed Xiao Jinshi's kindness towards his son; sometimes, when he stayed late with his son, he would stay overnight in her room. In the third year after becoming concubine, Xiao Jinshi became pregnant again and gave birth to twins the following year.

After having a son, Lady Jin's mind began to wander. The Xiao family had ancestors who had rendered meritorious service in supporting the emperor, and their titles could be inherited for generations. Normally, the title would be inherited by the eldest son, which would mean her son would have nothing. So she began to openly praise Xiao Daren while secretly suppressing him. Outsiders only saw that the eldest son of the Marquis Xiao family lived a life of luxury, with everything better than the younger son, Xiao Dayi. But what outsiders didn't know was that, under Lady Jin's instructions, the servants never gave Xiao Daren a full meal.

At that time, Xiao Zhenwei and Jiang Chunlai were colleagues, both reporting for duty in Huangshazhou. Their families were neighbors, and their children often went to school together. Jiang Nihuang would often save her snacks to help her neighbor's older brother. After a while, Jiang Huangshi discovered this and confronted Xiao Zhenwei when he was home. However, lacking concrete evidence, and with Xiao Jinshi having given birth to twins, Xiao Zhenwei, for the sake of the Marquis's reputation, only reprimanded Xiao Jinshi and reduced her some of her household management authority. But because Xiao Zhenwei didn't investigate further, he emboldened Xiao Jinshi to repeatedly try to harm Xiao Daren. Finally, before Xiao Daren's coming-of-age ceremony, Xiao Jinshi attempted to poison him again, but Xiao Daren caught her in the act. Xiao Zhenwei, because of his younger son, let her off lightly.

Xiao Daren then turned around and, as the eldest son of the Marquis's family, sent an urgent letter to the emperor, saying that as a member of the Xiao family, he had received imperial favor and enjoyed the protection of his ancestors for many years, and felt uneasy. He was willing to give up his title and join the army to gain experience. At the end, he flattered the emperor and mentioned that although his mother had passed away early, she had left him two letters. One taught him to be loyal to the emperor and love his country, and the other told him that he and Jiang Chunlai's eldest daughter, Jiang Nihuang, were betrothed.

The emperor was delighted upon receiving the document. The revocation of hereditary titles meant the court could save a large sum of money, no longer having to pay the marquis's family monthly to support their entire extended family. He immediately issued two imperial edicts, one sent to the Jiang family in Shaozhou, directly bestowing marriage upon Jiang Nihuang and Xiao Daren.

A decree was sent to the Xiao Marquis's residence, praising Xiao Zhenwei for his excellent upbringing of his son and bestowing upon Xiao Daren the title of Sixth-Rank Military Commandant. The decree was dispatched at breakneck speed to Xiwu Prefecture, to be read aloud at Xiao Daren's coming-of-age ceremony. With this, the Xiao Marquis's title came to an end, and Xiao Jin's schemes completely failed. The relationship between Xiao Daren and the Xiao family reached a freezing point. Xiao Daren's subsequent rise to the position of Lord of Yuzhou was entirely due to his own efforts and military achievements; if there were any connections, it was only the support of his father-in-law, Jiang Chunlai. Therefore, Xiao Lan was not close to the Xiao family, only returning to the Xiao Marquis's residence once when she was three years old. She also had no contact with her cousins ​​in the Xiao family.

Jiang Xiuzhi was puzzled. The person who could make Xiao Lan so willing to help must not be a member of the Xiao family. She had never heard of anyone in her family having an ancient prescription, and they lived in the capital.

"Aunt, is it possible that my relative is you?" Xiao Lan asked with a sly smile.

"You little rascal, teasing your aunt again!" Jiang Xiuzhi said, making a move to hit Xiao Lan on the head. Xiao Lan quickly begged for mercy, "Auntie, I was wrong, please listen to me."

He straightened his clothes and told the servants to wait outside. Then he said to Jiang Xiuzhi, "Aunt, have you decided what you're going to do in the capital next?"

"What are you going back to the capital for? Of course, you're going back to the General's Mansion to manage all those trivial matters in the inner courtyard. What else could you be doing?" Jiang Xiuzhi looked at Xiao Lan with great doubt.

"Aunt, Uncle is in the army most of the year. To be honest, those concubines can't compare to you. Besides enjoying flowers and playing cards with the other ladies, what else can you do when you go back?"

"Then what else can I do if I don't play cards, listen to music, and admire flowers? I can't just drink heavily and go to brothels like those men, can I?" As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Xiuzhi regretted it. She hadn't said anything about brothels to her niece, a young girl. It was also because the girl had been chatting with her these past few days, spouting so many profound道理 (moral principles), that she had almost forgotten she was a sixteen-year-old, unmarried girl.

“Aunt, my brother and I once saved an old man who was on the verge of death. When he passed away, he left me a book filled with the ancient remedies I mentioned.” As she said this, Xiao Lan silently prayed for the nonexistent old man. “But I didn’t take it seriously. It accidentally got wet, so some of the words are illegible, but the ones I can still read—I’ve tried them, and they’re very effective.” Xiao Lan spoke while glancing at Jiang Xiuzhi, hoping she hadn’t realized she was lying. Seeing that Jiang Xiuzhi was listening attentively, she felt relieved.

"The old man told me that the medicinal diets and ancient recipes in the book could be used extensively, so I thought I might as well make this a business,"

Jiang Xiuzhi said dismissively, "Didn't your mother give you enough money when you left? Why are you still making a fuss about doing business to make money? If you don't have enough money, just tell your aunt. With your aunt here, you won't be short of money." She then reached for Qiaozhu to get the money. Xiao Lan quickly stopped her, saying, "Aunt, I want to stay at Minglu Academy for at least two years. I want ten thousand gold coins every year. Can my parents afford that, or can you and my uncle afford it?"

"What? Ten thousand taels of gold a year? What do you need so much money for?" Jiang Xiuzhi exclaimed in surprise. Ten thousand taels of gold is equivalent to one hundred thousand taels of silver. She knew that the annual expenses of her entire household of over eighty people were less than three thousand taels. Was her niece going to rent a prince's mansion in the capital? Even a prince's mansion would probably only cost twenty or thirty thousand taels a year.

“But Aunt, if I were to start this business, I could earn at least ten thousand taels of gold a year, and it would only keep increasing. So, would you like to join me?”

"Is it really that profitable? Lanlan, what do you need so much money for? We've never been short of money at home." Jiang Xiuzhi was indeed tempted to hear that you could earn so much in a year, but she couldn't believe it.

“Aunt, trust me, I’ve calculated this amount and taken all the risks into account. This is ten thousand taels of gold, no less. Nobody owes anyone money, but who would complain about having too much money?”

"But Auntie doesn't know anything about business, how can I help?" Jiang Xiuzhi knew that her niece had always been methodical in her work, so since she dared to say that, she figured it shouldn't be a big problem.

"Aunt, don't forget I'm only sixteen. If I handle everything myself, people will be suspicious. But if you handle it, with the title of General's Wife, everything will be much easier. I'll give you three thousand taels of silver every year for this title, and if you invest, I'll give you a share of the profits," Xiao Lan said seriously. She had thought things through after waking up. In her previous life, she hadn't achieved much, and with Jiang Xiuzhi frequently returning to her hometown of Shaozhou, she was always the one taking the lead. In this life, she needed to avoid getting involved with the royal family and had to keep a low profile. Her aunt was the closest to her and, being the General's Wife, it would be much easier for her to handle things.

"Your aunt doesn't need money to help you, but did your mother invest money as well?" Jiang Xiuzhi thought to herself. Her older sister had always been smarter than her, and she wouldn't give money just because Lanlan was her own daughter. If she had invested money, then this business would definitely be secure.

What Jiang Xiuzhi didn't know was that Jiang Nihuang was able to give money because of Young Master Lan. It was Jiang Nihuang who helped Xiao Lan find a place to publish Young Master Lan's book. Apart from Xiao Lan herself, only Jiang Nihuang knew who Young Master Lan was. Even Xiao Daren and Xiao Mu'an were kept completely in the dark.

“Aunt, let’s keep things separate. This three thousand taels is what you deserve. It’s an achievement for the General’s wife to work so hard for me for a year and only receive three thousand taels. But I have only one request: this money can only go into your own private coffers and cannot be used to supplement the General’s mansion. I already had someone write to Mother a few days ago, and the silver notes will be delivered in a few days.”

"Alright, whatever your mother gives, your aunt will give more or less."

Xiao Lan laughed and said, "This aunt really can't compare to my mother in anything, yet she wants to surpass her in everything. Why bother?"