Chapter 49: Their little secret (1/2)
Xu Mansion.
Madam Xu and First master Xu stood at the gate of their mansion, welcoming guests. Madam Xu was at the same age as Madam Lu but she looked much older. It had been written in the novel that Xu Jingting always caused a lot of trouble and made her worry about him.
The Xu family were in-laws with Madam Lu's Paternal family the He family. The third master of the Xu family was married to Madam Lu's cousin. The Xu family come from a long line of scholars, all of whom were ranked in the imperial examination.
The current head of the family Old master Xu had four son's and five daughters, all of whom were all married. Xu Qiumei, Lu Yaozhu's future wife was the fourth daughter of the third master. While Xu Jingting was the only son of the first master of the Family.
Xu Jingting was a daredevil with no ambitions that spent his day going from brothel to brothel. He moved around with other spoiled young masters in the capital. He gambled and took bets on various risky activities. In a chapter in the original novel, during a polo match, Xu Jingting once set that he could ride a bull round the field while blindfolded without falling.
He nearly got trampled by the bull and instead broke his arm. He was an adrenaline junkie, he lived for the thrills without considering how it affected his health. This kind of man was bad news, apart from his good family background there was nothing special about him.
His bad reputation didn't stop the original Su Liya from trying to seduce him, the author once hinted in the comments section that Su Liya had a fling with this brainless daredevil. She never remembered this until she stood face to face with the lovesick young master.
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Sometime later
A carriage from the Minister of Revenue stopped at the gate, the two female occupants of the carriage Zhu Fenfang and Madam Zhu stepped out with their servants following them closely. Madam Zhu and Zhu Fenfang greeted their host at the gates before going in.
Ever since Zhu Feifei's marriage to the sixth Prince, Madam Zhu received a lot of respect as the mother of a Princess consort. She enjoyed all the attention and praises showered on her by other madams.
She was one of the most envied madams in the capital for getting both of her daughter's married one after the other and to two of the most eligible young men in the capital. A group of madams flocked to Madam Zhu as she walked in, most of whom had in married Son's and daughters and wished to get close to her.
The Madams all wished to be related to the Zhu family by marriage. Minister Zhu was close friends with the Emperor and had a lot of influence on the court. Minister Zhu had two unmarried sons including Zhu Faye and Zhu Fenfang.
The Madams praised everything she had on her from her hairstyle and pins to her shoes in a bid to get on her good side. When that tactic was exhausted the women turned to Zhu Fenfang who stood next to Madam Zhu.
Zhu Fenfang and Zhu Faye accompanied Madam Zhu to the banquet. Minister Zhu was busy with official business so Zhu Faye stood in for him. Zhu Faye saw some friends from the academy, he separated from them at the door and joined them.