Chapter 199 Sowing Seeds and Reaping Effects

Chapter 199 Sowing Seeds and Reaping Effects

Chang Yuan exclaimed, "But he is, after all, her biological father."

Lady Hou scoffed, "So what if she's her biological father? Isn't all the suffering she's endured in her life inflicted by him?"

She couldn't say some harsh things directly in front of her daughter, but in fact, she quite admired Xie Wanniang's strong personality with clear likes and dislikes.

That bastard Yuan Zhuo, regardless of whether it was because of the need to escape, now that he has married Xie Jingshu and consummated their marriage, shouldn't he withstand the pressure from his mother and be a trustworthy and upright gentleman?

First, he was lustful at first sight, and taking advantage of the marriage agreement, he got the girl pregnant. Then, under the pretext of "not being able to disobey his mother's orders," he became fickle and divorced his wife to marry someone else.

If he hadn't suffered retribution, he would never have been able to have another child in this lifetime. Now he has beautiful wives and concubines by his side, and children playing happily at his knees. He is living a very comfortable life.

Will he recall the immoral things he did back then and feel guilty about them, or want to take on the responsibility of raising his daughter?

No, he won't.

Now that his child is grown up and useful to him, he remembers that he is someone else's father.

What, did he really think that the two little shakes he made for fun more than ten years ago were a huge favor to the child who was born because of it?

There should be a limit to shamelessness, right?

Lady Hou, who had an unconventional mother, learned martial arts from a young age, and later did something "unorthodox" like following her father, brothers, and husband into battle, was not the kind of so-called well-bred lady who had been successfully brainwashed by the Confucian code.

Deep down, she was even more rebellious and unconventional than Xie Wanniang.

That's why she didn't think Xie Wanniang had any problem with holding grudges.

How can a child not hate a scumbag father who has brought countless pains to his child, even nearly causing the child's death, and who has been forced to flee to avoid trouble?

Does he really think that as long as he shouts "I'm your father!" with enough conviction, he can truly build his happiness and satisfaction on the sacrifice and suffering of his child? Keep dreaming!

Thinking of something, she reminded Chang Yuan with some concern, "Your father and I raised you like a precious jewel, not so that you would suffer in someone else's home."

"Although your husband's family was carefully selected and observed by your father and me, as the saying goes, you can't see into someone's heart. No matter how carefully we look, we still can't see into their heart."

"Once you get married, whether it's your parents-in-law, your husband, or any of their relatives, if anyone makes you feel bad, you should fight back with confidence."

"If they gang up on you, immediately take your trusted men and head home, and wait for your parents and brother to avenge you."

Chang Yuan: ...Wait, weren't they talking about Xie Wanniang? How come her mother suddenly changed the subject and started talking about her future husband's family?

However, getting married shouldn't be as terrible as her mother said, right? Maybe... she shouldn't get married and should just stay at home and live her carefree life.

"Madam." One of the head maids of the Marquis noticed Chang Yuan's subtle expression. She called out to the Marquis, signaling her to stop and not frighten her seventh daughter, who was already becoming increasingly uneasy due to the approaching wedding date.

Lady Hou came to her senses and realized that she had lost control of her emotions and had mistaken her daughter for Xie Wanniang.

She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Don't be afraid. The situation I'm talking about is unlikely to happen. I'm just worried that something might happen, so I'm giving you a few words of advice beforehand."

Chang Yuan found it both amusing and helpless. "Don't worry, although your daughter isn't as capable as Miss Xie, she's definitely not the kind of wooden beauty who can be manipulated and believes in the three obediences and four virtues."

Lady Hou patted her, "You have parents and brothers and sisters-in-law, we will all protect you. Of course, what I hope for most is that you will have a peaceful and smooth life."

She admired Xie Wanniang, but she didn't want her daughter to experience so many hardships and tribulations like Xie Wanniang.

The mother and daughter looked at each other tenderly, while on the other side, in the carriage on their way back to the inn, Haitang was whispering to Xie Wanniang, "The Marquis's mansion prepared a very generous return gift for you, and they also gave me and the guards some extra money."

Xie Wanniang nodded to indicate that she understood, "If it's given to you, you can keep it yourselves."

As for the extremely generous return gift, Xie Wanniang guessed that the Lady of the Marquis was probably thanking her for granting the Marquis's household free use of the information recorded on that piece of Xuan paper.

Back at the inn, Xie Wanniang first had someone deliver the return gifts and gift list from the Marquis's residence to the small courtyard where she and Haitang were staying. Then, she lowered her voice and asked the guards who were on duty if anyone had come looking for her.

The guard shook his head and said "no," and Xie Wanniang sighed helplessly and went back to her room to rest.

Haitang asked her, "Are you waiting for someone, young lady?"

As she spoke, she pointed to the small courtyard next to the guards.

Xie Wanniang nodded, "She most likely won't be coming."

Haitang sighed as well, "I hope she didn't do something so foolish as to walk right into a trap."

Xie Wanniang gave her an amused look. "Everyone has their own destiny; we can't change other people's lives."

Not everyone in this world has the courage to start from scratch like she did. Her paternal family, which was a den of wolves and tigers for her, may have been her only refuge.

As she checked and categorized the return gifts from the Marquis's mansion with Haitang according to the gift list, she thought that she would wait at most one more day before going to a nearby county or town to see if she could buy a suitable small-scale estate.

As for the estates around the prefectural city, after the guards, on her orders, went out to inquire with brokers, Xie Wanniang had completely given up hope.

One reason is that the farmhouses here are much more expensive than those in the surrounding counties and towns.

On the other hand, good farmhouses are basically unavailable to ordinary people without connections.

Even if one were lucky enough to buy a manor, they would likely be coerced openly or covertly by powerful families, and in order to live a peaceful life, the owner of the manor would eventually have no choice but to sell it off cheaply.

Let alone making money, it would be lucky if we didn't lose money.

As for Xie Wanniang, although she was not a true commoner, Jiang Yuan was just a minor military officer and was not qualified to be respected by the wealthy and powerful families of the prefecture.

As for the people in the Marquis's mansion, they are not the kind of people you would bother with trivial matters.

Good steel should be used where it's needed most. Xie Wanniang only wanted to use her connections with the Marquis's mansion to ensure her personal safety.

Therefore, Xie Wanniang had made up her mind to buy the estate in a place where there were no powerful figures passing through and the local bullies were not particularly difficult to provoke.