Quick Transmigration: Reversing the Life of a Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character

"This matter hasn't been officially announced yet, but the two families have already reached an agreement. I'm just here to thank Sister Lu for not blaming me for my outspokenness," Xie Xuanzhi said softly.

"Yes, Miss Xie, you're too kind." Lu Zhiyao didn't know what to say.

"Sister Lu, sometimes I really envy you. Getting married and having children went so smoothly."

Lu Zhiyao frowned. Smooth sailing? The sickly man known throughout the capital, who almost died young, is this what you call smooth sailing?

"Miss Xie, we are both daughters of prominent families with both parents still alive. For us, marriage and having children should be a natural progression, shouldn't it?" As long as you don't cause any trouble with the idea that true love is priceless, if things go well, our two families will become in-laws, and everyone will be happy when the wedding sedan chair arrives. If things don't go well, then we'll have to see how things go.

Xie Xuanzhi lowered her head and left hurriedly.

Lu Zhiyao: You're sick!

If the plot hadn't clearly stated that the Xie family mother and daughter were both original souls and not transmigrators, she would have suspected that Xie Xuanzhi was a transmigrated soul, a young girl who had been fooled by a naive and sweet romance novel before she came here.

It's not that you can't talk about love, but you can't make a scene that's all over the place, especially if the man's family has no intention of letting her into the family. You should give up. Who would want someone's wife to die before they've even married her? The most pitiful one here is the Crown Princess who has been claiming to be sick for years, and who married a treacherous husband.

But is the Loyal and Righteous Prince's Mansion doomed? How could such a person be made the heir? The leader of a family is of utmost importance. For example, Lu Yunqing, the eldest brother of the Zhou family, and Lu Zhilan's husband, etc., are all calm, restrained, and wise!

As soon as Xie Xuanzhi left, Madam Xue came over: "What did she come to say to you?"

"It's nothing, I just said I'm engaged."

"Oh, did she say whose family it is? The Zheng family or the Wang family?" Madam Xue wasn't surprised at all. She glanced at the water in Lu Zhiyao's cup and instructed the maid behind her, "Go and bring a cup of tea."

Chunmei turned around, took a clean cup from the maid, and placed it on the table: "Aunt, what seasonings would you like to add?"

"Just plain tea will do."

Chunmei took some tea leaves from the tray, then asked someone to fetch a pot of hot water, and started brewing them on the spot.

Madam Xue smiled and said to her sister-in-law, "You've brought quite a lot of things."

"I have many dietary restrictions, so the people around me are used to bringing some with me," Lu Zhiyao said with a smile. The tea in this dynasty is not just tea leaves steeped in water; that's called plain tea. Normally, the tea here is served with a lot of seasonings, making it very strong in flavor. Even without dietary restrictions, she wouldn't be used to it.

"Of course, you can't overindulge in your daily diet; it's best to be careful."

"Okay, sister-in-law, Xie Xuanzhi said the marriage proposal hasn't spread yet, so how come you've already locked onto two families?" Lu Zhiyao asked curiously.

"After that day, the Xie family became more active, frequently contacting elders with eligible men. The Xie family's aunt was still reluctant to let her daughter marry too far away, and would occasionally transfer some promising properties to her daughter's name, trying to let people in the capital know that her daughter's dowry was generous."

"But would a family that only cares about the dowry be a good match? There are many families in the capital whose backgrounds you know well. It would be better to marry someone from another place," Lu Zhiyao said bluntly, at least that's what she thought.

"The Xie family does hold a title in the capital, and the next generation to take charge of the Xie family will only be Xie Xuanzhi's own brother. It's better to find someone of lower social standing than the Xie family, someone we can still control, than someone who is too far away to reach. Madam is quite kind-hearted."

Lu Zhiyao remained silent. A loving mother? If that Miao woman were truly shrewd, she wouldn't have allowed her daughter to become the subject of such widespread gossip about the Prince of Zhongyi.

Xie Xuanzhi said it was the second young master of the Zheng family.

"Oh, the second son of Lord Zheng, the Vice Minister of Works, born out of wedlock. He is thirty years old. His legal wife died young, leaving behind a son and a daughter, as well as an eldest son born out of wedlock and two daughters born out of wedlock."

"Five children."

"Well, this young master Zheng used to be a clerk in the Ministry of Rites, but later he resigned for some reason and has been unemployed at home ever since."

The son of a concubine was poor and had many children, no wonder he valued his stepmother's dowry.

"Isn't there another company we're in contact with? What are their terms?" In Lu Zhiyao's opinion, this second young master of the Zheng family was quite a swindler.

"The Wang family, the Wang family is a century-old clan. Although the one they've been in contact with isn't from the main branch of the Xie family, the young master Wang whom the Xie family is interested in is a military officer. Like my brother-in-law, he's in a military camp on the outskirts of the capital. His wife has also passed away. Although his family isn't wealthy, he's someone who can make his own decisions. His elders might want to arrange a marriage with the Xie family, but this young master Wang might not agree."

Lu Zhiyao thought to herself, "Then why did Zhou Boheng marry Xie Xuanzhi in the original owner's life? He wasn't short of money or family background. Wait, according to the plot, Zhou Boheng married Xie Xuanzhi a year after the original owner's death. Maybe the two of them met during that year?"

The birthday banquet passed peacefully, and Zhou Boheng returned to the courtyard with Lu Zhiyao and her son.

"Fourth Sister-in-law is quite capable; she handled things quite smoothly, didn't she?" Lu Zhiyao removed her hairpins and leaned against the pillow, chatting with Chunmei and the others.

Xia He glanced at the male master who was talking to the young master and said, "Madam, I heard that the food and utensils prepared were not enough, and the First Madam and the Third Madam made up for it."

"It seems they prepared in advance," Lu Zhiyao said with half-closed eyes. This is not the modern era where you can place an order and have it delivered to your door in half an hour. There is no time to buy many things on the spot.

"It should be. I heard from the servant at the back gate that before dawn today, the First Madam's estate delivered raw meat, while the Third Madam's estate delivered vegetables and pastries."

In other words, most of the masters in the mansion actually knew how badly the Fourth Madam had handled things, and they were willing to pay out of their own pockets to protect the Zhou family's reputation, but no one reminded her.

There's a crucial rule for preparing things for a birthday banquet, whether it's food, utensils, or even the people serving. You have to be prepared with extra supplies. If you're too meticulous with every detail, it'll cause problems. What if a guest decides to bring a few more people at the last minute, or a guest accidentally spills food or snacks? These all add up to extra expenses.

Fourth Madam Zhao must have calculated the most accurate number.

Zhou Boheng chatted with his son, who was speaking in childish jargon, but he kept an eye on his wife's conversation. He didn't say anything, as he never really interfered in domestic affairs. His grandfather had taught him that a real man's job was to keep the family from collapsing, and not to waste time getting bogged down in trivial matters, as long as his wife wasn't completely incompetent.

"Fourth Sister-in-law must have lost a lot of money this time." Lu Zhiyao sighed inwardly. Of all the branches of the family, only the fourth branch was the most in need of money. Wasn't this just adding insult to injury?