Chapter 49: Their little secret

Xu Mansion.

Madam Xu and First master Xu stood at the gate of their mansion, welcoming guests. Madam Xu was at the same age as Madam Lu but she looked much older. It had been written in the novel that Xu Jingting always caused a lot of trouble and made her worry about him.

The Xu family were in-laws with Madam Lu's Paternal family the He family. The third master of the Xu family was married to Madam Lu's cousin. The Xu family come from a long line of scholars, all of whom were ranked in the imperial examination.

The current head of the family Old master Xu had four son's and five daughters, all of whom were all married. Xu Qiumei, Lu Yaozhu's future wife was the fourth daughter of the third master. While Xu Jingting was the only son of the first master of the Family.

Xu Jingting was a daredevil with no ambitions that spent his day going from brothel to brothel. He moved around with other spoiled young masters in the capital. He gambled and took bets on various risky activities. In a chapter in the original novel, during a polo match, Xu Jingting once set that he could ride a bull round the field while blindfolded without falling.

He nearly got trampled by the bull and instead broke his arm. He was an adrenaline junkie, he lived for the thrills without considering how it affected his health. This kind of man was bad news, apart from his good family background there was nothing special about him.

His bad reputation didn't stop the original Su Liya from trying to seduce him, the author once hinted in the comments section that Su Liya had a fling with this brainless daredevil. She never remembered this until she stood face to face with the lovesick young master.

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Sometime later

A carriage from the Minister of Revenue stopped at the gate, the two female occupants of the carriage Zhu Fenfang and Madam Zhu stepped out with their servants following them closely. Madam Zhu and Zhu Fenfang greeted their host at the gates before going in.

Ever since Zhu Feifei's marriage to the sixth Prince, Madam Zhu received a lot of respect as the mother of a Princess consort. She enjoyed all the attention and praises showered on her by other madams.

She was one of the most envied madams in the capital for getting both of her daughter's married one after the other and to two of the most eligible young men in the capital. A group of madams flocked to Madam Zhu as she walked in, most of whom had in married Son's and daughters and wished to get close to her.

The Madams all wished to be related to the Zhu family by marriage. Minister Zhu was close friends with the Emperor and had a lot of influence on the court. Minister Zhu had two unmarried sons including Zhu Faye and Zhu Fenfang.

The Madams praised everything she had on her from her hairstyle and pins to her shoes in a bid to get on her good side. When that tactic was exhausted the women turned to Zhu Fenfang who stood next to Madam Zhu. 

Zhu Fenfang and Zhu Faye accompanied Madam Zhu to the banquet. Minister Zhu was busy with official business so Zhu Faye stood in for him. Zhu Faye saw some friends from the academy, he separated from them at the door and joined them.

Madam Zhu didn't take that to heart since Zhu Faye was preparing for the imperial examination, it was prudent for him to associates with other scholars and build a profitable relationship.

Zhu Fenfang was glad that he wasn't present or he would grab all the attention that she was currently receiving. The Madams praised her beauty and clothes, the praises all made her happy but she put on a shy expression to full them into thinking she was embarrassed and humble.

This was the first time, all the attention and praises were on her and not Zhu Fengyin or Zhu Feifei. Usually, when they attended banquets every eye was always on Zhu Fengyin or Zhu Feifei, the legitimate daughters. While she was ignored and treated like she was invincible.

Zhu Fenfang was loving all the attention, it suddenly didn't matter that she had to deal with everyone asking about Zhu Fengyin and Zhu Feifei. She was finally getting her chance to shine and the madams were all finally noticing her. The feeling was wonderfully refreshing.

She was getting comfortable with all the attention when Zhu Fengyin appeared. She came with Su Liya to greet her stepmother, Zhu Fenfang felt the smile slip from her face as Zhu Fengyin got closer. Zhu Fenfang turned to madam Zhu and whispered "Mother I see Yiling up ahead. Can I please be excused".

Madam Zhu Looked in the direction Zhu Fenfang indicated and rolled her eyes. She didn't want to come with this unambitious daughter of hers but she didn't want to risk starting any rumours of maltreating her stepdaughter and was forced to come with her.

She never liked talking with this Zhu Fenfang, not only was Zhu Fenfang slow nut she was also cowardly. While she enjoyed that about her since it meant that she wouldn't have to worry about this concubine daughter getting in her children's way.

While she wasn't pleased with Zhu Fenfang she still allowed her to leave to get rid of her, since her presence wasn't really necessary. She had spoken with the minister and Zhu Fenfang's marriage was already set. Soon one of her major problems would be gone and she could finally get some rest.

As soon as she left, madam Zhu quickly focused on other things. Soon it was time to go into the garden and enjoy an opera performance. The women were led to their seats by madam Xu, the tables were already set.

Su Liya ran into Xu Jingting while running out to get a clean shaw for Zhu Fengyin. The banquet was in full swing, the guest were all seated and the dish was served. The male and female guests all sat separately, the male sat at round tables with First master Xu presiding over the banquet while seated at the center of the table.

While First Madam Xu entertained the females, the male and female guests were separated by a wide curtain. There were unmarried women present, it wasn't proper for the unmarried women and males to interact. 

Su Liya stood behind Zhu Fengyin as both the male and female guests watched the opera performance on the stage set up In front. The servants brought in a new course after the first course as they placed it on the table, Zhu Fengyin's shaw was stained with wine.

Su Liya acted quickly and took the Shaw off Zhu Fengyin's shoulder. Although it was summer she didn't want to risk, Zhu Fengyin catching a cold. She rushed out to get an extra shaw from the carriage.

She ran into Xu Jingting on her way back. He smiled sheepishly as stood in her way. He didn't let her pass, he smelled like an alcohol dispensary. 

The longer she stayed in this world, the more she disliked this foolish small-time villainess she replaced. Su Liya made more bad decisions than a drug addict high on crack.