Farmer girl swaps husbands: buys a sickly villain and pampers him

Chapter 248 Neighbors
Half an hour later.

Xiao Yanci looked at the mansion in front of him and saw that even the plaque was covered with cobwebs, indicating that it had indeed been uninhabited for a long time.

The servant next to him opened the door with a key, then placed the key in Xiao Yanci's hand and said, "Xiao Tanhua, this place is now in your hands."

Xiao Yanci pushed open the door and was immediately overwhelmed by the stench, almost fainting from the stench.

He had no money and could only clean the mansion himself. But what would happen after he finished cleaning? It was obviously dirty, messy, and dilapidated. If he were to marry Wang Ruyan in such a place, even if she didn't say anything, she would probably look down on him in her heart.

He had to make her willingly and obediently follow him, and be completely devoted to him.

He's currently a third-place scholar in the imperial examinations, so he should be able to earn some money from calligraphy and painting. However, it might not be so easy for him to earn enough money to renovate his residence in the shortest amount of time.

Aside from his talent, all he had left was his good looks, decent health, and the empty title of "third-place scholar".

Since selling calligraphy and paintings is a slow way to make money, let's find something that makes money quickly. For example, as the future son-in-law of Prime Minister Wang, there must be many people who want to curry favor with him.

Yes, once the news of his engagement to Wang Ruyan spreads, plenty of people will send him money, and then he can use that money.

Just as Xiao Yanci was about to enter, he saw the gate of the Protector General's Mansion across the street open.

Although they were neighbors, the Protector General's Mansion was much larger than his own. He could tell at a glance from the entrance that this mansion was definitely bigger than Prime Minister Wang's residence.

"Quickly, quickly, our General has finally regained his memory and recognized his wife and daughter. Soon we will have a mistress and a young lady in our mansion, so we must tidy it up properly. The General has summoned the Minister of Works. We must change the mansion according to his instructions."

Xiao Yanci was surprised.

The great general who protected the country in his previous life did not regain his memories, nor did he have any so-called wife and daughters. This life has truly been very different.

Because the changes were so drastic, his past life experiences were no longer useful; for example, several major events that happened in his previous life did not occur in this one.

Who is that daughter of the Grand General who protects the nation? I wonder if she's married, and if she's beautiful. Prime Minister Wang is the head of the civil officials, while General Su is the head of the military officials; they seem similar, but in reality, there's a huge difference between them. The current emperor greatly favors General Su, and his words carry more weight.

Xiao Yanci entered the room with questions in his mind.

"Cough cough... It stinks."

A stray cat, I don't know where it came from, died inside.

After recovering from his injuries for half a month, Su Rende was summoned to the palace by the emperor.

The eunuch who summoned him to the palace came directly to Taoyaofang to find him, clearly knowing where he had been recently. Furthermore, he even used a palace carriage to pick him up.

Zhang Zhaodi was a little worried when she saw Su Rende being summoned to the palace. However, she didn't worry for long, because soon someone else came from the palace to deliver an imperial decree.

"...Zhang Zhaodi is loyal to her husband and filial to her daughters, achieving a reputation for excellence. She is hereby granted the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady, bestowed with a seven-pheasant crown and a golden cloud-patterned robe, and a red silk robe with blue edging. Her annual salary is eight hundred shi (a unit of grain). This is the imperial decree..." The people kneeling in the Taoyaofang shop looked at each other, then turned back to look in Zhang Zhaodi's direction.

Zhang Zhaodi was completely confused and had no idea what had happened.

Zhou Wangshu reminded her, "Mother, this is the Emperor's decree, bestowing upon you the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady! Needless to say, Father must have pleaded with the Emperor for you. Quickly accept the decree and express your gratitude."

Zhang Zhaodi quickly imitated the way she was portrayed in the opera, expressing her gratitude.

Su Yaoguang handed a purse to the eunuch who was delivering the imperial decree and said some words of thanks.

After the palace staff left, Su Yaoguang opened the imperial edict and looked at it again and again. She said to Zhang Zhaodi, "Mother, Father is really generous. He directly obtained a first-rank imperial title for you. This is a rare thing. Many noble ladies don't even have it! Most importantly, you will also receive a salary, which is higher than that of many officials."

Zhang Zhaodi touched the imperial edict, looking utterly bewildered: "Am I dreaming?"

“Such a beautiful dream, we can’t dream of it,” Zhang Yingdi said. “Congratulations, eldest sister, after so many years, you’ve finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“As soon as your brother-in-law came back, you had someone to rely on. It’s different to have a man in the house.”

“I have some other thoughts about what you said, Auntie,” Su Yaoguang said. “You don’t know that Mr. Li, who sells groceries across the street, has been buying our goods a lot lately. And he can only buy from you, Auntie. He ignores everyone else who tries to talk to him! I heard that the tofu seller tried to talk to him a few times, but he ignored her.”

"Don't talk nonsense," Zhang Pandi said. "We're talking about your mother, why are you making fun of your second aunt?"

"There's not much to say about my mother's situation. My father just wants to make it up to her now; he'd give her everything he can. My mother's matter has been resolved; now it's my second aunt's matter that needs to be addressed. I think that Mr. Li is quite sincere towards my second aunt, and I heard that he had a wife before, but she died during childbirth along with her unborn child. After that, no matter how many people introduced him to other women, he had no intention of remarrying."

Zhang Yingdi nodded: "I've heard about it too. This Mr. Li is a very affectionate person. It seems that quite a few people have come to propose marriage to him. After all, he's not very old, he's good-looking, and he has a very gentle personality. He's a well-known good-natured person on this street."

"Stop talking, how could someone like me be worthy of someone else?" Zhang Pandi said awkwardly.

"What kind of person are you? You are hardworking, kind, sincere, popular, and beautiful."

"Me? Pretty?" Zhang Pandi chuckled. "Little sister, even if you like your older sister a lot, you can't just lie through your teeth!"

“Auntie is right, Second Auntie is beautiful,” Jiang Jing said from the side. “Second Auntie, how long has it been since you looked in the mirror? Do you know how dazzling you look right now?”

Jia Chunni hugged Zhang Pandi's arm and said, "Mother, I also like that Uncle Li, and I think you should consider it. You've never received a man's affection in your life. If you marry that Uncle Li, maybe you can try a new life. Don't worry about me, I've saved quite a bit of money by doing business with my cousin!"

"Let me think about it some more," Zhang Pandi said, wavering.

The eldest sister and the youngest sister have both found happiness. She is only a mortal, so how could she not be moved by worldly desires?

Most importantly, Mr. Li was genuinely good to her. It was the first time she had met a man so gentle with her. If she hadn't constantly reminded herself not to easily trust men, she probably would have agreed to marry him long ago.

Once bitten, twice shy. She was terrified by Jia Chunni's scumbag father.