You expect me to serve your mistress? The mistress is driving this scumbag and his entire family cra

Chapter 183: Concealing the truth
The Duke's Mansion.

With the bestowal of the title "Good Ginger," the Duke's mansion has been inundated with visitors these days.

Some people came to visit, while others handed out invitations, inviting Liang Jiang to come to their homes for a banquet.

Liang Jiang was busy with Tong Shouliang's case and couldn't spare any time for other matters. However, she understood the importance of social interactions in the capital and instructed the steward that even if she couldn't attend banquets such as weddings or funerals, she must still show up to observe proper etiquette.

In the second room, she finally felt triumphant and was eager to accept invitations from the powerful and influential circles in the capital.

In particular, Liang Su and Liang Dong are both of marriageable age.

However, things often don't go as planned.

Liang Su has lofty ambitions and is determined to marry into a powerful and wealthy family, but the real aristocratic families look down on her family background.

It was bad enough that he was stuck in a limbo, but what bothered Liang Su the most was that Liang Jiang, the woman who had left the family and returned to her clan, had suddenly become a hot commodity.

Those noble families who cherished their family reputation the most took a liking to Liang Jiang's business acumen, her ability to stir up trouble in Xiliang, her status as the daughter of a duke, and her background in Yuhua Mountain. They didn't care at all about her past marriage and hoped to marry her into their families to revitalize their clans.

They abandoned their usual haughty attitude and asked people to inquire, either subtly or directly, hoping to form a marriage alliance with the Duke's family.

Initially, the second wife's thoughts rekindled, wanting to marry Liang Jiang off. She repeatedly urged Liang Wen to do so, but was repeatedly rebuffed by Liang Jiang.

Liang Jiang rejected these social classes that Liang Su could not possibly reach, without even glancing at them.

Now that Liang Wenshi had figured out Liang Jiang's temperament, she stopped forcing him and instead coaxed her with kind words.

“If you insist on not getting married, your grandmother will not force you. There is another matter I want to discuss with you.”

Liang Jiang had been inexplicably downcast for the past two days, and asked casually, "What's wrong?"

"Now that Wen Dong has taken up a post in the Ministry of War, he intends to make more connections with the scions of prominent families in the capital, so that he can have a network of connections in his future career."

Therefore, I'd like to hold a poetry gathering at the Duke's mansion and invite several young men from prominent families of similar age. What do you think?

Liang Jiang did not object: "Of course, Grandmother can arrange it as she sees fit."

Liang Wen clapped her hands: "Just say that my eldest granddaughter is knowledgeable, reasonable, and considerate of the big picture. If you are free the day after tomorrow at noon, you can stay at the mansion and make your brother proud."

Liang Jiang shook her head: "They are all scions of noble families. It is inconvenient for me to show my face, so I will not participate. Besides, I have business matters to attend to, so I will not be at home the day after tomorrow."

"Oh, you've really gone to a lot of trouble. I'll have the household begin preparations right away. The poetry gathering will be held the day after tomorrow at noon."

Liang Jiang didn't take it to heart at all and got up to return to her own courtyard.

As soon as Liangwen left, she became excited and clapped her hands, saying, "It's good that you didn't stay in the manor, otherwise how would we have kept this a secret?"

He immediately ordered someone to notify the second branch of the family to send out invitations in Liang Wendong's name for a poetry gathering. The invitees were almost all unmarried young men from prominent families in the capital. Among them were also families who intended to arrange marriages with Liang Jiang.

As a result, this poetry gathering naturally gave rise to all sorts of speculations.

Everyone tacitly agreed that the Duke's banquet, ostensibly a gathering of friends to exchange poems, was actually a way to select a husband for Liang Jiang.

Therefore, although some people disdained to associate with Liang Wendong, their real intentions were not what they seemed, and they readily agreed, hoping to catch a glimpse of Princess Heya at the banquet.

The only person who declined the Duke's invitation to the banquet on the spot was Chu Xiucheng from the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

This Chu Xiucheng is no ordinary man. He is the son of the current Grand Tutor, and his elder sister is the current Empress. He has been the Crown Prince's study companion since childhood. He is exceptionally talented, able to compose a poem in seven steps. He achieved fame in the last imperial examination, ranking second. He is currently an editor in the Hanlin Academy. With a promising future and noble lineage, he is the ideal husband that countless young ladies in the capital dream of marrying.

However, he always stayed at home, burying himself in studying the classics, and was a true bookworm, rarely attending these banquets.

Therefore, when the Duke's invitation was sent to the Grand Tutor's residence, Chu Xiucheng refused it outright without even glancing at it.

Liang Jiang was busy investigating Tong Shouliang's case and managing her business, so she was completely unaware of these speculations circulating in the public.

A day later, she deliberately avoided the residence and did not stay there. Madam Liang also took Yu Ma to Renhe Hall.

Meanwhile, the second wife's household had been busy since dawn, directing the servants to clean and prepare. They had also ordered many exquisite pastries from the Zuixianglou restaurant across the street.

The manager of Zuixianglou dared not neglect the task and ordered his staff to work overtime to prepare the pastries, which he then personally led to the Duke's mansion.

The mansion was already packed with guests. A dozen young talents sat together, engaging in lively discussions, talking about the past and present, and expressing their own opinions. Every now and then, they would make some brilliant remarks, which drew repeated praise from everyone.

The shopkeeper directed the waiter to take various pastries out of the food box and hand them over to the servants of the mansion.

Liang Wendong was extremely humble and polite.

Once everyone's enthusiasm for chatting had waned a bit, they suggested that sitting and talking in silence was rather boring, and that they should play some games, such as drinking games or pitch-pot, to add some fun and make the drinks more enjoyable.

The proposal was immediately approved by everyone.

Liang Wendong then ordered someone to bring out the pitch-pot game, and set up a guqin (a seven-stringed zither) behind a screen, establishing the rules of the game as the host and the archer.

Pitch-pot naturally requires musical accompaniment. Behind the screen, someone plays the zither. If a pitcher cannot guess the tune, they are penalized with a cup. If they miss, they are penalized with another cup. If they can spontaneously compose a poem using the tune name within seven steps, everyone must drink a cup with them.

After setting the rules, Liang Wendong instructed his servants: "Please invite my eldest sister out so that everyone can have a good time."

Everyone immediately perked up, their eyes sparkling with excitement, eagerly awaiting the moment.

Someone joked, "I've always heard that Princess Heya is skilled in martial arts, medicine, and business, but this is the first time I've heard that she can also play the zither. There's really nothing she can't do, only things we can't imagine."

"Indeed, the princess has always been proud. Although we all live in the same capital city, we have never had the chance to meet her. Today, the princess has actually set aside her airs to entertain us. We are extremely honored."

"I had the honor of meeting the princess at the last palace banquet, and I still remember it vividly."

Liang Wendong was busy arranging the pitch-pot game and seemed to be oblivious to everyone's discussions.

The manager of Zuixianglou served some snacks and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped.

Based on his understanding of Princess Heya, it was absolutely impossible for her to play the zither and entertain a bunch of reckless young men in such a setting.

So he dawdled and hid to the side to observe.

After a short while, a slender woman dressed in light white gauze, ethereal as a fairy, gracefully entered from the inner courtyard.

Although the woman wore a veil, revealing only her beautiful eyebrows and eyes, the shopkeeper could tell from her demeanor and figure that she was definitely not a princess.

What is Liang Wendong trying to do by using Liang Jiang's name?
The graceful woman in the light gauze moved with light steps, went straight behind the screen and sat down. She then raised her slender hands and plucked the strings of the zither. Instantly, the zither music tinkled, clear and melodious.

So everyone at the table cheered and applauded, eager to try their hand at the competition.

(End of this chapter)