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

Chapter 251 Family Reunion

The next day, Su Rende had his steward deliver invitations to each household. The gist of the invitation was that he had regained his memory and had now reunited with his wife and daughter. He wanted his colleagues from each household to bring their families for a casual meal, so that he could introduce himself to everyone and avoid the situation where people from all walks of life would not recognize each other.

Many people in these aristocratic families face agonizing choices. Before the Su family mother and daughter recognized General Su, they were just ordinary merchants who would visit the homes of wealthy ladies to provide skincare services. Although Zhang Zhaodi and Su Yaoguang didn't personally visit often, it didn't mean they didn't do it at all; there were a few times when they did. Now, those who had been served by them were worried that they would settle scores later.

Therefore, they were discussing with their husbands whether or not to attend the appointment. If they didn't, the women might quickly forget about them and wouldn't hold a grudge later. However, this would mean missing an opportunity to befriend the General's wife and the eldest daughter of the General's family. As wives of officials, they knew they had a responsibility to help their husbands expand their social networks. Generally speaking, these interactions between noblewomen were the responsibility of the noblewomen themselves.

Regardless of the choices made by the ladies and young women of each household, the banquet was held as scheduled.

The Prime Minister's residence did not receive an invitation.

One was the head of the civil service, the other the head of the military; these two simply couldn't stand each other and could never get along. Previously, Su Rende was a lonely figure, and Prime Minister Wang would often use this to mock him, saying that his excessive killing meant he was destined to be without wife, children, or anyone to care for him in his old age, destined to be a solitary figure.

Now that Su Rende has found his wife and daughter, he's no longer alone, and he should probably call that guy surnamed Wang over to show off. However, the steward said that Yao Guang doesn't seem to like that guy surnamed Wang either.

Since that's the case, let's not bring that troublesome person over to cause them any more trouble.

The Grand General's mansion invited the sons and daughters of various families to a banquet, but conspicuously omitted the Prime Minister's residence. This news quickly spread, and everyone said the Grand General was too ruthless, showing no regard for the Prime Minister's dignity. Throughout history, countless military generals have fought on the front lines, not dying at the hands of the enemy, but ultimately at the hands of their own people. Therefore, never offend a civil official; a soft knife is more terrifying than a hard one.

Zhang Zhaodi dealt with the wives of officials, feeling somewhat awkward listening to their flowery language, but she endured it.

Su Yaoguang kept trying to smooth things over for Zhang Zhaodi, and originally, if things had been covered up and everyone had been happy, everyone would have been fine, but...

"Last time I visited your residence, it was Sister Pang who hosted me. Why haven't I seen Sister Pang today?" a woman said softly.

There was silence.

At that moment, the ladies in the room seemed to have been silenced, not uttering a word, but slowly sipping their tea, as if the tea had something special about it.

"This is...Mrs. Gou, right?"

“It’s Ma, my surname is Ma,” the woman corrected.

“Whether her surname is Gou or Ma, it’s all the same,” Zhang Zhaodi said lazily. “I’ve never met that Pang woman you mentioned. She wasn’t there when I came back. I’ve been thinking about it, and I suppose my husband knew I didn’t like some irrelevant people in my household, so he sent her away beforehand!”

“Sister Pang is not an unrelated person. Your general is fighting on the border, and she takes care of his daily life.”

"Oh, you saw it with your own eyes?" Zhang Zhaodi asked. "Or did Madam Pang tell you herself? Did she also say that my husband and she were in love, but because she missed her late husband and didn't want to serve another man, she hadn't agreed to his marriage proposal?" Madam Ma was taken aback: "How did you know?"

"No need to guess, just think about it and you'll know. A woman who stays in someone else's house all year round, but is not the mistress of the house, is not in a proper position, and people will definitely ask her why. If she doesn't come up with a good reason at this time, how can she save face? However, Madam Ma likes to listen to opera, so she can go out to listen. There is no Sister Pang here, only me, Madam Su Zhang."

The person next to him tugged at the man surnamed Ma and said in a low voice, "Aren't you going to apologize? Your husband worked so hard to get to where he is now, do you want to cause him to fall off a cliff?"

"You know I have a short temper. I just can't stand this woman who did nothing, lived a life of leisure for over ten years, and now she just comes back like that. How can she be worthy of being a general's wife?"

"She's not worthy, but you are. Then go ahead and offer yourself to General Su." Someone said sarcastically. "I think you're just jealous that she's a noblewoman who comes in with such a high rank right away, aren't you?"

Women are petty, especially the wives of officials. When they get together, they always compare their husbands or their children, and it's common for them to say sarcastic things to each other.

"Guards..." Su Yaoguang said, "Have you memorized what I told you to write down?"

Several maids walked over from the side, each carrying a small notebook in one hand and a pen in the other.

"Replying to Miss, we have recorded everything the guests said, exactly as they said. We will give these booklets to the General for review after the banquet."

“Miss Su, isn’t it inappropriate to have our words and actions recorded?” Madam Ma said with a dark face. “Don’t you think this is offensive? It’s so rude.”

“Madam Ma, you misunderstand. My mother and I grew up on the farm. Even when we went into business, we relied on our skills to make a living. My mother and I are very simple people and don’t understand your roundabout ways. To avoid unnecessary trouble and misunderstandings, I asked them to write it down so that my father can help us analyze it when he has time and see what the ladies and young ladies mean.”

“My father said he has several friends in the court, but he didn’t say who his friends are and who his friends aren’t. So if I report these words and actions to the authorities, my father can analyze which of his friends’ relatives are on the basis of this information.”

Everyone here is shrewd; how could they not understand the threat in Su Yaoguang's mouth?

This Miss Su is advising you all to be careful with your words and actions. If she catches you doing something wrong and complains to her father, she won't be able to deal with these women, so she'll let her father deal with the men in the court.

The women of the official families who had been observing the situation realized that Su Yaoguang and Zhang Zhaodi were not simple people. The eldest Miss Su was probably a cunning little fox, while the first-rank imperial consort, Madam Su Zhang, was much simpler, but she was the kind of person who wouldn't suffer a loss and was rather shrewish.

"The banquet has already begun in the front courtyard. Ladies, please take your seats!" Su Yaoguang said.

(End of this chapter)