Chapter 231 They Came to the Door

Chapter 231 They Came to the Door

The letter from Mingfu Village was delivered to Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan's home half a day earlier than the people from the Earl's Mansion who were sent by Jiang Tong to search for relatives.

The reason why ordinary letters delivered along the way via the post station were faster than those of the Earl's family was that even though the Earl's family had suffered a setback in Mingfu Village, they still had to grit their teeth and continue acting.

To avoid appearing too abrupt in their search for Yi County and Zijing Pass, they suppressed their frustration and lingered in Tang County for quite some time, pretending to be inquiring about Jiang Yuan and Hao Yu.

After putting on this act for a while, they finally set off again, heading towards Yi County.

Having learned from their experience in Mingfu Village, they did not dare to act arrogantly this time because of their noble birth.

Although they all looked down on Xie Wanniang, who was said to be just a helpless orphan, and the leader had even heard Jiang Tong plan that once Jiang Yuan was recognized by his ancestors, he would find a way to help him marry a noblewoman from a high-ranking family, all of this was just wishful thinking on Jiang Tong's part for now.

In order to avoid messing things up again, the leader specifically reminded his entourage before they came to the door that they must restrain themselves after seeing Xie Wanniang, and not cause any more trouble for their master's plans because of momentary anger.

The group of people who had been wasting several days of effort around Mingfu Village in Tang County had now realized how troublesome the northern people were. In order to avoid causing trouble for themselves for nothing, they would restrain themselves a little even if their leader didn't say anything.

The group first found an inn to rest, and then on the morning of the next day, during the busiest time of day for people to go out, they went to find Xie Wanniang in a big way.

The guards at the gate were playing around tossing walnuts, but after they explained their purpose and the leader of the guards examined the waist token he handed over, one of them went to report to Xie Wanniang with a look of surprise and uncertainty.

“There is a group of people outside who claim to be from the Anping Marquis’s Mansion in the capital. They say they are here on the orders of their Marquis to find their Marquis’s biological son, who is also your husband, young lady.”

Xie Wanniang nodded, "I understand."

She stood up. "Let's go, I'll go there now and find out what's going on."

The guard subconsciously responded with "Yes," and then, filled with deep doubt about Xie Wanniang's calm attitude, he went with Xie Wanniang towards the main gate of the house.

What he didn't know was that Xie Wanniang had already learned about the group's outrageous and absurd "family search" behavior in Mingfu Village from Wang Xiaozhi's letter.

Unlike Wang Xiaozhi, Xie Wanniang understood perfectly why those people would do such outrageous and absurd things.

Their excessive arrogance had already revealed the underlying logic of all their actions—they considered themselves to be from the Earl's Mansion, so they didn't take Jiang Yuan and the other country folk seriously at all.

They naturally assumed that even if they just cast an empty hook into the water without any bait, the fish in the water would be eager to be caught because the hook was pretty enough.

Their disdain for Jiang Yuan and his close relatives undoubtedly reflects the true attitude of Jiang Yuan's so-called biological father towards the matter of recognizing his relatives.

He saw the benefits that Jiang Yuan could bring to him and the Earl's Mansion, but he also subconsciously thought that Jiang Yuan's ability to capture the Tatar princess was simply due to luck.

As for Jiang Yuan's rise to the rank of sixth-grade military officer before capturing the Tatar princess, Jiang Tong's reasonable explanation is that Jiang Yuan had been learning martial arts from Hao Yu since childhood, so his skills must have been quite good. Once he joined the army, it would indeed be easier for him to make merits than for other soldiers. However, he grew up in the countryside, so he must have been lacking in intelligence and strategy.

Jiang Tong wanted a young, capable, and easily fooled son who had already made great contributions through luck, gaining fame in the court with only a fifth-rank garrison commander position, and whose future was bound to be very promising as long as he didn't die. But as for father-son affection, sorry, there was none.

He only had scheming and manipulation towards his son Jiang Yuan. So no matter how many nice words he said to Jiang Yuan, when things really got tough, or when Jiang Yuan wasn't around, he would definitely reveal some of his true thoughts.

These trusted subordinates who depended on Jiang Tong for survival were precisely the people who were closest to Jiang Tong and understood his true thoughts best.

With their master having that kind of attitude, how could they, as his subordinates, possibly show any respect to Jiang Yuan and his close associates?

In their minds, with the status, power, wealth, and honor represented by the Earl's Mansion, Jiang Yuan and his close associates would not dare to voice their dissatisfaction, even if they were dissatisfied with the contemptuous attitude of the Earl's Mansion members.

They even took it for granted that Jiang Yuan and the others should do everything they could to flatter and fawn over them in order to leave a good impression so that they could benefit from it in the future.

Unfortunately, the world isn't only populated by the profit-driven people they imagined. There are also those who would rather eat simple vegetables and tofu, freely and happily breathing in the mountain breeze, than risk losing their dignity and freedom by going to their so-called noble mansion for a life of luxury.

With Haitang, Xiaomei, and Xiaoyang by her side, Xie Wanniang quickly arrived at the gate of their house.

At this time, due to the deliberate publicity of that group, many neighbors had gathered at their front door to inquire about the news.

Everyone was curious whether Jiang Yuan was truly the legitimate son of the Earl's family, and even the eldest legitimate son.

It should be noted that, according to the laws of the Great Wei Dynasty, the eldest son of a noble family is the one who truly has the title to inherit.

If this is true, Jiang Yuan, who was originally a fifth-rank garrison commander on the border, risking his life to secure his future, would have suddenly risen to the top and won without lifting a finger.

If there's no risk of being crushed to death by such a huge windfall, everyone would be happy to have it fall on their head.

After all, no one has ever daydreamed about suddenly becoming rich.

Amidst the hushed whispers of the crowd, the main gate of the house was opened again from the inside. The guard who had run to inform Xie Wanniang earlier, along with Haitang, escorted Xie Wanniang out.

Behind them were Xiaomei and Xiaoyang holding hands, as well as Atai and the other guards who joined them along the way.

A group of people poured out of the door and formed a semi-circle around Xie Wanniang.

Upon seeing this, everyone in the Earl's mansion frowned. They had assumed that Xie Wanniang would, as was customary, invite them into the mansion for a chat.

They had already made enough of a show of force outside, so there was no need for them to continue speaking in front of others. Having learned from the experience in Mingfu Village, they no longer wanted to argue with Xie Wanniang about the matter of recognizing their relatives in front of unrelated people.