Chapter 254 Huian County Princess

Chapter 254 Huian County Princess

The emperor's reward arrived at Zijing Pass about two months later. Unlike before, this time the emperor did not give Xie Wanniang a material reward, but instead gave her the title of Princess of Huian County and a princess's mansion located in the area where high-ranking officials and nobles lived in Baoding Prefecture.

Two prescriptions were certainly not enough to warrant the title of a county princess, but when the emperor had an edict drafted, he listed all of Xie Wanniang's contributions to the court.

Those who thought the emperor's reward was too generous saw the list of merits on the imperial edict, and then realized that the girl was actually the emperor's niece. Receiving the title of county princess and receiving a little more rice in stipend each year was just a matter of not actually owning a fief, so it wasn't really overstepping the bounds of propriety. Therefore, they all shut their mouths and did not voice their objections.

However, the Nanyang King's family was in a bad mood because Xie Wanniang had earned the title of county princess through her own abilities.

In particular, the Prince of Nanyang wrote a letter to Xie Jingshu, asking her to persuade Xie Wanniang to acknowledge her ancestors and return to her clan. As a result, the woman did go to Zijing Pass, but she did not respond to his request for Xie Wanniang to acknowledge her ancestors and return to her clan.

He was anxious and wrote letters to inquire, but the woman seemed to be possessed and only told the messenger to reply with the word "get lost".

The Prince of Nanyang couldn't find out the content of Xie Daoheng and Xie Jingshu's conversation, nor could he find out how Xie Jingshu and Xie Wanniang got along. Therefore, he still couldn't understand why the people who had been persuaded by him before suddenly changed their minds and refused to stand on the same side as him.

Was she really willing to just watch the title of Prince of Nanyang fall into the wrong hands, with Xie Wanniang, the only heir of Prince of Nanyang, ultimately failing to even get a single copper coin?

The Prince of Nanyang, who was completely baffled but dared not defy the law and continue to engage in any underhanded activities, was extremely anxious during this period.

It was at this time that his informant in the capital sent him the bad news that Xie Wanniang had been awarded a title for her merits.

If Xie Wanniang had only managed to obtain the title of "Madam" through Jiang Yuan's influence, it was still considered a case of "the wife's honor is due to her husband's glory," and it didn't necessarily mean that she herself had much ability or was difficult to deal with.

But now Xie Wanniang has been granted the title of county princess based on her own hard-earned merits, which proves that she is not only strong-willed, but also has the remarkable ability to earn wealth and honor on her own even without acknowledging her ancestors.

This realization left the King of Nanyang with very mixed feelings.

With Xie Wanniang being granted the title of County Princess, the difficulty for him to achieve his wish will increase again, which is certainly a troublesome matter.

But Xie Wanniang was so capable, and she was able to make so many real contributions, which made the Prince of Nanyang feel both regretful and proud.

He regretted listening to his mother and choosing to marry another woman, but he was proud that even if Xie Wanniang didn't acknowledge him, he was still her biological father.

With such an amazing daughter, he certainly has a worthy successor.

Exactly! If this girl had been a little more ambitious and had been born a son instead, it would have been perfect.

Luckily, Xie Wanniang didn't know what this scoundrel was thinking, otherwise she would have definitely ordered the guards to find the dirtiest and smelliest swill bucket and splash him with filth all over his body and face.

Unlike the scoundrel Prince of Nanyang, the others who cared about Xie Wanniang, such as the Xie clan, Wang Xiaozhi, Chen Lizheng, Doctor Chen, Hao Yu, Chen Shi, and the Hou family, were all genuinely happy for Xie Wanniang.

They all sent their congratulatory gifts, and Xie Wanniang, heavily pregnant, was busy returning the gifts and letters.

Fortunately, she was in good health. Being pregnant only made her a little inconvenient to move around, unlike others who would feel uncomfortable if they were a little tired.

In her reply to everyone, she said that when her child turns one year old, she will go to the county magistrate's mansion in the prefectural city, and then send out invitations to everyone to come and get together.

When everyone received the letter, they weren't surprised at all. After all, everyone knew that she was about to give birth and it was really inconvenient for her to organize a banquet to invite everyone over to share in the joy.

Madam Hu went so far as to prepare the highest-level gift to induce childbirth according to custom, planning to personally lead people to deliver it to Xie Wanniang at Zijing Pass when the time was right.

In addition, she also prepared a lot of various tonics for Xie Wanniang, which she had obtained through connections.

Previously, Xie Wanniang's identity had to be kept secret. She couldn't even personally attend such a big event as Xie Wanniang's wedding, which was quite a pity. Now that Xie Wanniang no longer needs to hide, Madam Hu wants to give her all the support that her family should have for her married daughter.

As for the household affairs, she had already planned to temporarily hand them over to her daughter-in-law. After all, her eldest daughter-in-law had been married into the family for over two years, and it was time for her to try managing the household independently and handling clan affairs in her absence.

It should be noted that her eldest son had already passed the imperial examination and entered the capital to serve as an official. The reason why his wife stayed in their hometown was because she was six months pregnant at the time and had no way to go to the capital with her husband.

After she gave birth, she not only had to go through postpartum confinement, but it was also impossible for her to take her young child on long journeys. So the couple decided to continue living apart for the time being.

Fortunately, this situation will not last long. After Madam Hu finishes sending the fertility-inducing gifts to Xie Wanniang, it will be about time for her to set off.

After she left, Madam Hu not only had to continue managing all the affairs of the household and clan, but also had to arrange for her second son to get married.

After the new daughter-in-law entered the family, she, as the mother-in-law, could not be idle. She had to continue to teach her second daughter-in-law how to manage the household affairs and handle clan matters.

Of course, since her second son is only a minor scholar so far, Mrs. Hu will not have to experience another embarrassing incident of "her son taking her away as soon as her daughter-in-law got the hang of things".

For the next few years or even decades, she could have some free time and do whatever she wanted with her daughter-in-law.

Fortunately, this kind of "serving" is different from the way some mothers-in-law set rules for their daughters-in-law, making them serve them from dawn till dusk, and it will not cause conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law.

Those young wives who are daughters-in-law still appreciate their mothers-in-law delegating some power to them. After all, in the deep courtyards of large families, power is directly linked to status and face.

After tidying up, Madam Hu estimated the time and had Xie Wei take the skilled members of the clan and their servants to accompany her on a trip to Zijing Pass.

Xie Wanniang never expected that Madam Hu would come. When she heard the servants report that her mother from her maternal family had come to give her a gift to encourage childbirth, Xie Wanniang was completely dumbfounded.

Fortunately, it was evening, and Jiang Yuan had already returned from the military camp. He pulled Xie Wanniang, who was standing there in a daze, and said, "Come on, let's go and welcome Mother together."

"Oh, oh." Xie Wanniang seemed to wake from a dream and followed Jiang Yuan to the front yard to greet Madam Hu.