Chapter 479: Krypton Gold Palace Intrigue System (14)

Families of high standing with daughters of marriageable age had originally never considered the Xie Family Third Branch.

In truth, the Third Master was simply too reckless and unruly, and the Third Mistress's reputation was not as pleasant as the First Mistress's or the Second Mistress's.

As for Xie Jing himself, he possessed both talent and looks, yet he only had the looks, and he happened to inherit a bit of the Third Master's recklessness.

But reckless as the Third Master was, he at least loved to mingle with scholars, so by feigning refinement, he at least touched upon the word "refinement."

Xie Jing, however, was the exact opposite; he spent his days either playing polo or mahjong, and thus was never on the list of prospective sons-in-law considered by the mistresses of various mansions.

But now, having heard this rumor, they were actually pondering and considering Xie Jing.

The Xie Family Third Branch did not yet know of the outside world's assessment of them; they were busy counting and organizing the holiday gifts sent by their daughter's master.

"Husband, where on earth did Yang Er's master get so much good timber? Even I am envious looking at it."

Besides the good timber, the uniquely shaped and exquisitely crafted tinware also made the Third Mistress unable to put them down.

"However, since it is a gift from Yang Er for Jing to use for his wedding, if the Old Matriarch seeks you out for a talk later, you must not agree to give any away."

As the Third Mistress spoke, she cast a sidelong glance at her husband.

Even she was envious, let alone the Second Branch, who were also preparing to discuss marriage.

Xie Huan of the Second Branch was only five months younger than their Jing, and would be fifteen at the New Year.

If the two branches were on close and affectionate terms, she would not mind sharing some good timber or sending a few pieces of tinware to the Second Branch.

But the reality was that the relationship between the two branches was not as harmonious as it appeared on the surface.

That good Second Sister-in-law of hers, who was bent on having her sons achieve official rank, thought herself superior for having two scholar sons and looked down on her Jing in every way.

If she had admonished Jing to his face not to be so playful, she would have been somewhat grateful to the Second Sister-in-law, but in fact, she would smile and praise Jing for his good physique, saying things like how he was unlike his two older brothers who fell ill at every change of season, while behind his back, she would mock Jing for "neglecting his proper work for play" to her close friends.

Thinking of this made her angry.

The Third Mistress's brows furrowed: "Husband, I will send someone tomorrow to find a craftsman with fine workmanship to make a room of furniture for Jing. Our Third Branch has three sons! If we don't use it all this time, there are still Yu Er and Jue Er later! Timber doesn't spoil, and good timber only gets more fragrant with time. In short, not a single piece of this timber is allowed to be shared! The tinware too! Except for the tea set for the Old Matriarch, not a single piece is to be sent to the other two branches!"

The Third Master rolled his eyes: "Does the Mistress think I am a fool? These holiday gifts were sent by Yang Er's master from thousands of miles away, and she specifically named them for Jing's wedding; how could I possibly share them? At most, I'll give the Eldest Brother and Second Brother two jars of wine and some dried seafood."

That's more like it!

The Third Mistress happily put the things away in her private storehouse.

In fact, Xie Yang had not yet transported the truly good things; items like Kachifatima, Tongkat Ali, Dragon's Blood Resin, and Golden Silk Blood Bird's Nest were still stored in the Aircraft Cargo Hold.

These few types of precious medicinal materials were considered extinct in the modern era, and she did not trust them to an Escort Agency.

Even if the Escort Agency was reliable, who could guarantee that they wouldn't encounter bandits on a journey of over two thousand kilometers? Losing some Silver was a small matter, but losing precious medicinal materials and tonics would be a blood loss.

Anyway, after Xie Jing's marriage was settled, she would definitely have to return to Jingcheng, and she could just bring them with her then.

But even so, what had been transported was enough to shock everyone in the Xie Mansion.

"Mother! These were transported all the way from Jiaozhou Fu by the Holy Aunt; I picked out the best quality ones to honor you on behalf of Yang Er. Look at this Nanyang Bird's Nest, isn't the quality much better than what we buy in the mansion? It is absolutely priceless! And these teapots, teacups, and tea caddies... they are all made of tin. Your son can guarantee that, looking across the entire Jingcheng, apart from those in the palace, the only person who can use a full set of tin tea utensils to brew and steep tea is you, Mother!"

The Old Matriarch received a large box of White Bird's Nest, a set of exquisite tin tea utensils, several boxes of Nanyang Spice not commonly seen in Jingcheng, and a series of dried seafood such as sea cucumber and Abalone that the Third Master had brought to honor her on behalf of his daughter, and the corners of her mouth twitched.

The Second Branch wanted her to talk to the Third to spare some timber for Huan's wedding; how was she supposed to bring it up now?

Her youngest son was already reckless and unruly; if she made him unhappy, believe it or not, he might take back all these good things he had given her.

But Huan was indeed at the age to discuss marriage...

The Old Matriarch's thoughts shifted, and she tentatively asked: "Lao San, I heard that Yang Er's master also sent several carts of timber..."

"Yes!" the Third Master said with a happy face, "The Holy Aunt is truly polite. She probably heard Yang Er mention that her fourth brother was of marriageable age and, without a second word, entrusted the Escort Agency to send several carts of good timber, explicitly stating it was for Jing's wedding."

"Mother, you didn't see it, but the Nanyang timber is truly good! Even Yang Er's mother almost drooled when she saw it, craving to have a vanity made for herself. But that was just a joke; she wouldn't dare actually do it. If the Holy Aunt were to get upset, thinking I was acting in bad faith and not following her instructions in the letter, it would be a small matter if she took it out on Yang Er, but it would be a great crime if she took it out on our entire Xie Family!"

"..."

Is it really that serious just to share some timber for a nephew to take a wife?

But regardless of whether it was an excuse, since her youngest son had said so, the Old Matriarch knew when to stop while ahead.

Sighing inwardly, she feigned that she was getting old and easily drowsy, waved her hand to let the maids and matrons put away these good things, and prepared to return to her bedroom to rest.

The Third Master did not forget to mention: "Mother, now that the timber for Jing's furniture is settled, it has saved the mansion a large sum of money. Why not convert it into Silver and prepare a few more betrothal gifts for Jing? Since our Duke Mansion is marrying off a son, we can't really spend not a single cent and just use the timber sent by the Holy Aunt; how bad would that sound if it got out?"

"..."

What could the Old Matriarch say?

She took a deep breath: "Fine! Then follow the precedent of Huan; whatever amount of Silver is spent on his furniture, convert that amount into Silver and add a few more betrothal gifts for Jing's share."

The Third Master was satisfied, bowed with a grin: "Thank you, Mother!"

The Second Mistress had originally wanted the Old Matriarch to take the lead, and once the topic was opened, she would personally step in to lobby the Third Branch to spare some good timber.

Who would have expected the Third to not play by the rules at all; not only did he not lose any timber, but he actually managed to scrape a sum of money from the public account.

She was instantly so angry her chest ached.

At this moment, disregarding face or no face, she spoke up:

"Third Brother, Yang Er's master is a person of the Jianghu, and perhaps she is not clear about some of the customs among the common people. Our Xie Family has not divided the household; logically speaking, the holiday gifts received should not all belong to your Third Branch. This is not in accordance with etiquette..."

Upon hearing this, the Third Master secretly rolled his eyes and, without waiting for the Second Mistress to finish, retorted:

"Second Sister-in-law, you also said the Holy Aunt is a person of the Jianghu. Since the gift was sent by a person of the Jianghu, it should naturally follow the rules of the Jianghu. Since the Holy Aunt specifically named it for my branch, I dare not go against the Holy Aunt's good intentions. If I were to offend the Holy Aunt, I could not bear the consequences. Or does Second Sister-in-law think our mansion has guards with higher martial arts and more formidable skills than the Holy Aunt?"

"..."