Chapter 383 Sowing Discord

Chapter 383 Sowing Discord

“My princess was originally unwilling to sell that hot spring resort, after all, it’s a rare find, and if we miss this opportunity, who knows when we’ll get another one.”

"Princess Dekang is understanding and of noble character, and she can understand my princess's reluctance to part with her."

"To compensate my princess, Princess Dekang specially brought several shops and estates with market value above that hot spring estate to discuss the exchange with my princess."

"My princess saw that Princess Dekang really wanted it, and was even willing to offer other estates worth more than twice the value of the hot spring estate as an exchange, so she reluctantly gave it up and chose to help others achieve their wish."

This time, Cunyu emphasized the phrase "more than twice as much".

Nobody's a fool. This Madam Yuan deliberately obscured the key points, single-mindedly trying to swindle her princess out of the more valuable estate she hadn't yet obtained. She was utterly shameless and heartless.

The reason why her princess was able to exchange a hot spring resort for such a valuable estate was twofold: firstly, hot spring resorts were truly scarce, and secondly, Princess Dekang was genuinely wealthy and powerful.

The title "Golden Branch and Jade Leaf" and "Heaven's Beloved Daughter" were not just empty words. When she left the palace to establish her own residence, the then-Emperor Emeritus and her nominal mother, who was actually her mother, prepared many good things for her.

In addition to the congratulatory gifts from others, Princess Dekang was truly rolling in wealth.

Not to mention that his son-in-law is the youngest legitimate son of the Duke's family. The Duke's family was ennobled through military merit, and their wealth accumulated over many years of fighting was also very substantial.

Although the youngest son became the emperor's son-in-law, the old duke still gave him what was due. In fact, to curry favor with the royal family, the old duke and his wife even gave him a lot of their own money.

Since both she and her husband were wealthy, Princess Dekang naturally didn't pay as much attention to cost-effectiveness when spending money as Xie Wanniang.

People say "money can't buy what you love," not whether this thing is actually worth that much money.

Xie Wanniang was able to earn this huge price difference because, firstly, Princess Dekang was indeed generous, and secondly, it was also thanks to her own previous generosity and quick decision-making.

If she hadn't bought houses like they were cabbages, making a sale on a whim and paying in a very decisive manner, the brokers who had dealt with her before wouldn't have approached her so readily.

She earned this great opportunity to make a profit through her own abilities, so why should she let this Madam Yuan benefit from it for no reason?

They clearly came here to take advantage of others, but they still pretended to be solving Xie Wanniang's problems. This behavior is even more shameless and disgusting than the Jiang family, who are always too proud to admit their wrongdoing.

Thinking of this, Xie Wanniang pointed directly to the door and asked, "Are you leaving on your own, or should I have someone kick you out?"

She was angry, and Madam Yuan was also very angry. She hadn't expected Xie Wanniang to be such a down-and-out woman who completely disregarded etiquette and decorum.

If this were any other official's wife, they would never suddenly turn hostile over such a small matter. Even if they were dissatisfied, they would refuse gracefully and see her off with dignity.

But she forgot that if it were any other official's wife, she wouldn't have dared to openly scheme against someone.

If it weren't for the fact that she was Xie Wanniang's aunt and would have to give her some face, Madam Yuan wouldn't have been so eager to take advantage of the other party's good fortune with Princess Dekang as soon as she heard about it.

Unfortunately, Xie Wanniang was not the kind of person who would tolerate her because of so-called blood ties. On the contrary, the more related someone was to her by blood, the less she could tolerate their deliberate scheming.

Madam Yuan could no longer maintain her professional fake smile. She stormed out of the princess's residence with her trusted servants.

However, instead of heading straight back home, she turned her eyes and instructed the coachman to stop the carriage in front of Princess Dekang's residence.

When Princess Dekang heard from her servants that Madam Yuan had come to visit, her first reaction was to refuse. At this time, she was playing with her son and daughter and did not really want to see such an unexpected and presumptuous visitor as Madam Yuan.

However, Lady Yuan sent a message through her servants, saying that she had something very important to discuss with Princess Dekang in person.

Despite her reluctance, Princess Dekang, being a member of the same clan, eventually met with Lady Yuan.

Just like when she was with Xie Wanniang, this Madam Yuan did not immediately get to the point after entering. Instead, she started making small talk and trying to get closer to Princess Dekang.

Princess Dekang was very impatient, but she only frowned slightly.

Seeing this, one of the ladies-in-waiting beside her immediately reminded Madam Yuan to speak frankly and not beat around the bush, as her princess had other matters to attend to.

Madam Yuan was furious. Although this female official was not as blunt as Xie Wanniang, but rather had a very good attitude and tactful words, Madam Yuan still sensed that she was being asked to leave.

She was very unhappy, but she couldn't afford to offend the ladies-in-waiting of Princess Dekang's residence.

Although she was a duchess and her husband even held real power, the more powerful she was, the more she wanted to maintain good relations with the royal family, especially with the princesses and princes from her uncle's branch of the family.

As the old saying goes, it's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings. If she offends Princess Dekang's trusted female official, it won't be as easy for her to see Princess Dekang again. Not to mention, the fact that Princess Dekang didn't stop the female official proves that she also finds her annoying.

Fuming with resentment but forced to put on a forced smile, Madam Yuan had no choice but to change the subject to what Princess Dekang wanted, as she had suggested.

To Princess Dekang's surprise, her so-called "important matter" was actually speaking ill of Xie Wanniang in front of her.

Princess Dekang: ......

Princess Dekang was speechless. What did Xie Wanniang's character and temperament have to do with her? She wasn't trying to be best friends with Xie Wanniang; she just wanted to exchange estates with her!

Besides, is she someone who lives deep in the mountains and forests, so isolated from the world that she has never even heard of Xie Wanniang's deeds?

Seeing that her princess was becoming increasingly impatient, the female official spoke up again, interrupting Madam Yuan's continuous criticism of Xie Wanniang.

"Madam Yuan, my princess has her own judgment on Princess Hui'an. As a lady of noble birth, I urge you to be careful with your words and actions and refrain from criticizing my Great Wei princess."

Although the lady-in-waiting's words were quite blunt, they were the undeniable truth that Madam Yuan could not refute. Although Madam Yuan's surname was Yuan and she could refer to herself as a member of the royal family, she did not actually hold any titles such as county princess or county princess.

If you really want to be serious, she really is just a concubine.

Given her rank as an imperial consort, she had no right to criticize Xie Wanniang.

Princess Dekang and Xie Wanniang had no connection, so she wouldn't go out of her way to stand up for her. However, she was also unwilling to be used by Madam Yuan and ruin her original plans.

Madam Yuan was extremely aggrieved after being driven away again, and her trusted servants who witnessed this scene all wished they could disappear on the spot.

Madam Yuan may not be able to do anything about Xie Wanniang and Princess Dekang, but that doesn't mean she can't do anything about them either. Once they return to the Marquis's residence, they will definitely be used as punching bags.

Leaving aside how terrified and uneasy these servants were, Princess Dekang, no sooner had Madam Yuan left than she sent someone to inquire what had gotten into this man today.

Soon, the servants of the princess's residence found out that Madam Yuan had visited Xie Wanniang's princess residence before coming to their place.

Although they couldn't find out the exact content of the conversation between the two in a short time, judging from Madam Yuan's furious attitude and the information revealed in her words, she had clearly suffered a loss at Xie Wanniang's hands.

Furthermore, she went to Xie Wanniang on her own initiative, rather than Xie Wanniang inviting her over. She even lingered at the gate for a while before being let into the mansion by Xie Wanniang's servants. This clearly shows that Xie Wanniang did not intend to scheme against her, but rather that she deliberately came to Xie Wanniang, hoping to gain something from her.

"I reckon she's eyeing the estate I'm planning to give to Huian." Princess Dekang scoffed. "Dream on."

Although her estate wasn't a hot spring estate, it was excellent in every way, making it one of those properties that were highly sought after but difficult to sell. If she hadn't really wanted a hot spring estate and hadn't been able to find a more affordable alternative like farmland further out of the capital, she wouldn't have been willing to give up that estate.

The female official was speechless upon hearing this.

Although her princess was favored by the emperor and empress because of her honesty and obedience, she couldn't really have everything she wanted.

There were only a limited number of hot spring resorts on the outskirts of Beijing, and some of them had always been firmly controlled by certain powerful families. When the retired emperor first entered the capital, he only managed to gather a few of them.

With that many, even the emperor, empress, crown prince, other princes, royal relatives who had made military achievements, and nobles would not be able to share it. How could she, a parasite princess who had made no contribution to the founding of the Great Wei, compete with these people for the hot spring estate?

Although she continued to keep an eye out for potential buyers, she was never able to find a company willing to sell their hot spring resort.

Now that she's finally got the chance, she's determined to seize it, lest she have to wait another ten years or so.

The lady-in-waiting knew that otherwise, her princess would not have been willing to exchange such a fine estate for it.

Madam Yuan must have been thinking something. How could someone like Xie Wanniang, who was able to be granted the title of princess through her own abilities, be so easily outmaneuvered?

She came to their door to cause trouble, and then got angry that they were rude to her. That's really...

The female official was reluctant to speak ill of others, but she did feel that she had once again broadened her horizons.

Princess Dekang didn't have many feelings about it. She simply instructed the female official, "Don't let this person come to the door so often in the future."

The female official responded with a "yes" and quickly gave the order.

Soon, Xie Wanniang and Princess Dekang completed the exchange of the estate. Both of them were very satisfied with the deal, but Madam Yuan was so angry that she smashed a lot of porcelain.

She was already jealous of Xie Wanniang, an unfilial junior who didn't even recognize her own father, who had received a princess title that she never dared to dream of. Now, Princess Dekang was ignoring her well-intentioned advice and acting like a fool, eagerly letting Xie Wanniang take advantage of her. She was so angry that she felt like her lungs were about to explode.

She just couldn't understand how there could be such a fool as Princess Dekang in this world, who would happily exchange such a fine and expensive estate for a small hot spring resort.

This spendthrift is actually a princess, yet she, despite her cunning and scheming, cannot obtain the wealth and status that the other party could so easily acquire. Heaven is truly unfair.

Madam Yuan was so jealous she was practically tearing herself apart, but she dared not voice her pent-up resentment.

Her husband came from a wealthy merchant family and didn't care about "tiny profits." If he knew that Madam Yuan had schemed against Xie Wanniang for the small price difference between the two estates, and had angered Xie Wanniang as a result, and even made the foolish move of speaking ill of Xie Wanniang to Princess Dekang, causing Princess Dekang to no longer want to associate with her, he would definitely be furious and call her a pig-brain.

Madam Yuan is not stupid at all; she was just momentarily blinded by jealousy and greed, which is why she did a series of foolish things.

Now, not only has her scheme failed, but she has also completely lost any chance of getting closer to Xie Wanniang. How can she possibly complete the task her husband assigned her—to use their kinship to establish a connection with Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan?

Although she didn't understand what good things could come between her husband, a civil official, and Jiang Yuan, a military general, they had been married for many years, and there was one thing she was quite clear about: her husband, the vice minister, was a shrewd man who wouldn't do anything without a profit. If Xie Wanniang and Jiang Yuan hadn't brought benefits to their family, he would never have wasted his energy and time on them.

Therefore, Madam Yuan was well aware that sooner or later, her husband would inevitably get involved and then seize the opportunity to reap the benefits.

What will she use to explain to her husband then?

At this time, Madam Yuan was unaware that Princess Dekang, with whom she had an ordinary relationship, had already instructed that she should try not to let her into the mansion in the future.

Although Princess Dekang only said "let this person visit less often," the servants had no way of judging "more or less." To be on the safe side, they would simply shut out this person who had offended their princess.

Unless Princess Dekang hosts a banquet in the future and sends her an invitation, the servants of the princess's residence will definitely not let her in again. Whether she sends an invitation or comes to the door rashly, she will only be blocked outside the gate of the princess's residence.

Madam Yuan, who was completely unaware of this, was currently only troubled by how to repair her relationship with Xie Wanniang.

Although her meeting with Xie Wanniang was only brief, Madam Yuan had already developed a severe psychological trauma from Xie Wanniang's blunt and uncompromising manner.

Her reason told her that she had to repair her relationship with Xie Wanniang as soon as possible, but she also felt a deep-seated resistance to contacting Xie Wanniang again.