Tianliangyuan

Chapter 384 Xu Zhaozhao is too smart

The important thing wasn't the wealth or the golden abacus His Majesty had given her, but rather that the Empress had directly promoted four female officials to serve by Xu Zhaozhao's side. This was something that would surely make countless people envious.

A proper royal county princess would be accompanied by female officials, but their rank would not be too high, as this was all related to the princess's own status.

For example, the empress had the most female officials around her, and they held the most power and the highest ranks.

Next are princesses and royal consorts, followed by duke consorts and dukes, and county princesses are not quite last in line, but they are close to being the last.

Xu Zhaozhao herself was not of royal lineage, but now she suddenly had four female officials by her side, which made her title of county princess even more prestigious.

The fiefdom was increased to 1,200 households, which meant that there were 200 more households to support Xu Zhaozhao, the county lord.

Good thing!

To put it bluntly, it means Xu Zhaozhao has gained two hundred more servants.

The positions of the four female officials have not yet been finalized. Xu Zhaozhao needs to select four people and then report to the Shanggong Bureau, which is close to the Empress. After the Empress approves and the Shanggong official stamps the document, the relevant documents will be issued.

Tsk, so Xu Zhaozhao not only managed to become a county princess herself, but her servants also managed to get official positions with proper salaries.

This must make so many people regret not being chosen by the county lord to be her servants!

The entire Duke of Huguo's mansion was shocked.

After all, it's already quite impressive that a county princess like Xu Zhaozhao, who doesn't belong to any clan, has a fiefdom, let alone four female officials by her side.

Tsk, from now on Xu Zhaozhao can do whatever she wants in the Duke's mansion.

At this moment, Madam Yu patted her chest and said with relief, "Thank goodness it's Zhaozhao! This child has a good temperament and has never put on airs since she married into the family. If it were someone else who was impatient and arrogant, she probably would have overturned the table by now."

Ms. Kobayashi was also filled with lingering fear at this moment.

Who would have thought this niece-in-law was so amazing!

There are twenty more guards personally bestowed by the emperor, and four more female officials too. Tsk, that's really scary!

The guards sent by the emperor were not just ordinary household servants. These twenty guards were all paid by the court, and their attire was no different from that of the Imperial Guards!

This is a privilege that even the Duke of Huguo himself did not receive.

Whether Xie Xiaolin was sour or not, nobody knows.

But the old lady was really jealous. She had lived most of her life and had never enjoyed such treatment. What a great honor this was!

Xu Zhaozhao was not a concubine in the palace, but the extent of her favor was comparable to that of Consort Jiang.

No matter how much favored Consort Jiang was, she could only be a woman trapped in the palace, without a fief or land.

But Xu Zhaozhao is different!

Her current treatment would probably make Marquis Anxin jealous.

Ms. Kobayashi was somewhat jealous and resentful.

"Mother, what kind of incredible luck did Xu Zhaozhao have? It's one thing to be granted the title of county princess, but even her servants were given official positions? Isn't this a bit too frivolous? There's never been such a rule in our Great Xing Dynasty. Isn't Empress Qu afraid of being impeached by the censors?"

Before the old lady could speak, Madam Yu retorted, "Were those ears of yours just for show? That's because His Majesty rewarded Xu Zhaozhao first, so the Empress followed suit. Besides, the Emperor rewarded the guards, and the Empress rewarded the female officials. This was clearly pre-arranged. What does the Empress have to worry about?"

The implication is that Empress Qu's bestowal of titles upon the four female officials was likely approved by His Majesty; otherwise, it wouldn't have been such a coincidence.

The old lady then came to her senses: "My granddaughter-in-law is very fortunate! Judging from what the Grand Steward said, His Majesty clearly treats Xu Zhaozhao as a junior. If I remember correctly, His Majesty used to call our Third Son 'little brat' and often referred to himself as Third Son's elder."

At this point, both Madam Yu and Madam Xiaolin fell silent.

Xie Xiaolin and Xu Han were both his study companions when His Majesty was just an ordinary prince. He had an elder brother and a younger brother, so he couldn't stand out at all.

Over the years, His Majesty has become the most stable ruler in Daxing, and those civil and military companions who were by his side back then have all gone on to have different futures.

For example, Xu Han, if he wanted to, he would definitely have become the Vice Minister of War over the years, and he could even have become the Minister of War.

But he refused, rejecting all other official positions except for the position of Grand General.

When he's not busy, he just lazes around. But when there's a war to fight, he's the first to rush out and support His Majesty. He'll fight wherever His Majesty tells him to. If His Majesty tells him to cripple someone, he won't even flinch. He'll cripple the enemy even if it means his own death!

Based on this loyalty alone, His Majesty would never distance himself from the Marquis of Anxin's residence.

As for Xie Xiaolin, he is now the Duke of Protectorate.

For so many years, he had been guarding Jizhou. Now that he had returned to the capital, His Majesty even summoned him directly to the palace and asked him what he wanted to do. Several positions were laid out for him to choose from.

Xie Xiaolin also claimed that his old injuries and ailments were flaring up frequently, and he only wanted to rest and recuperate. He also refused to take any official position other than that of a general. It is said that His Majesty was so angry about this that he smashed a teacup.

Getting angry won't help; it's just not going to work.

At first, Mrs. Lin thought her brother-in-law was foolish. Even if he didn't want to take the job, he could at least help his brothers.

But now, they seem to understand.

"Lord Xu is paving the way for his three sons, so he is willing to remain a general with nothing to do. Our eldest son is the same. In order to pave the way for his third son, he is willing to retire a few years early so as not to hinder his son's future."

The old lady only just understood it now.

Some things are just too superficial in their thinking.

The three remained silent for a while, then the old lady suddenly burst into laughter.

Ms. Yu and Ms. Xiaolin were puzzled, but dared not ask.

"I used to think it was just that Xu Zhaozhao was too high-profile, which was inappropriate. After all, she was young and a well-known talent scout in the capital. But now, I finally understand. Xu Zhaozhao is too smart. She is both low-key and makes it impossible for people to ignore the halo above her head. It's ridiculous that I've lived for decades and I can't see things as clearly as a little girl!"

Madam Yu and Madam Xiaolin were still completely baffled, and the old lady clearly had no intention of explaining things to them.

Some people are born winners; they're always one step ahead in thinking.

Some people are destined to be cannon fodder for others; their minds will always lag behind, and they may never understand what went wrong until they die.

Only now does the old lady realize how foolish it was for the fourth son's wife to recklessly provoke Xu Zhaozhao.

If Xu Zhaozhao really wanted to be calculative, even a small Lin family member wouldn't be enough for her to handle!

The old lady was both happy and frustrated. A granddaughter-in-law who was as smart as a fairy, plus a daughter-in-law who was stupid without realizing it. Tsk, I don’t know if she can be taught well!