The Lucky Heiress

Chapter 535: Chapter 535: Two Heretics_1

At Xie Ying’s age, it is already late to discuss marriage proposals. Only because the Xie Family spoils her has she been unmarried to this day.

“Right! My grandparents and my parents told me that I can choose whoever I like, whether he is a high-ranking official or a lowly peddler, as long as I love him. They have no objections, as long as the man treats me like my father treats my mother, with fondness and respect, and he remains monogamous.”

Even though Madam Xie is very affectionate toward her daughter, she can’t keep her by her side forever.

“That’s quite nice, just choose someone you like,” Wei Ruo said.

“I want to be like you, choose someone who is short-lived, preferably who would die immediately after I marry him. Then I could live freely and honorably by myself,” Xie Ying said.

“No, no, no,” Wei Ruo hurriedly responded. “Don’t learn this from me. If Madam Xie and the Xie Family’s sons knew, they would be coming at me with a knife!”

“What’s wrong with that, I think that the prince of your household is very nice. So what if he is weak. We don’t expect him to help us with anything physically demanding anyway.”

Wei Ruo was really about to be defeated by Xie Ying.

As a soul from the modern world, it was normal for her to act out of line. But how on earth did Yingying, a person brought up in an ancient society, develop such a rebellious mindset?

Wei Ruo said, “Yingying, I feel that I might really be chopped up by members of your family!”

“Of course not, my family thinks highly of you. Even my grandfather praised you for being a heroic female.”

“When did I become a heroic female?”

“You contributed the mighty cannon! I heard about the recent frequent victories on the coastal frontlines, your father has once again achieved extraordinary military merits,” Xie Ying added.

Speaking of things along the coastline, Wei Ruo couldn’t help but lament, “This is also thanks to Lord Yuan and Madam Yuan, who ensured the supply of food for the Anti-Japanese Army. Otherwise, with the current situation, morale would’ve broken even before the war began.”

This year, famine ravaged many areas. Yet Jiangzhe, which experienced poor harvests the previous two years, saw an unexpected surge, not only avoiding famine, but also enjoying a wave of bumper harvest.

Not only did the farmers have abundant food, but they also paid quite a fair amount of tax.

The civil treasury of each prefecture in Jiangzhe was filling up, ensuring the supply of military provisions for the Anti-Japanese Army.

This allowed the soldiers on the frontier to fight without post-war concerns.

Xie Ying muttered, “Isn’t your contribution also involved in this? Lord Yuan specifically mentioned your merits in the memorial submitted to the court. My grandfather told me about it when he returned.”

“Did your grandfather tell you anything else? About the relief efforts,” Wei Ruo asked Xie Ying for information.

“My grandfather said that the relief work was quite troublesome. There are many affected areas, but the state treasury is not ample. To provide relief, the contributions from Jiangzhe and Guangdong are not enough. My grandfather said that the Emperor wants to borrow grain from the Tan Family, a prominent family in the northwest,” Xie Ying said.

“The Tan Family, a prominent family in the northwest?”

“Since you’ve always been in Jiangzhe, you might not have heard about the Tan Family. They are a locally influential family with a history of several hundreds of years. They have become so deeply rooted that they never fell. This family became prosperous even before the establishment of the dynasty. They contributed funds, efforts, and manpower when the dynasty was founded.”

“They are not only a big farming family but also have people in business. They have produced scholars, officials, and nowadays, some of them are serving in court. They represent every aspect of commerce and simpler forms of labor like farming. It is said that their family compound is like a city, even spending all day walking around it wouldn’t be enough. Rumor has it that one-third of the farmland in the northwest belongs to them. This is a very powerful family, which even the Emperor himself gives some face to.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Ruo felt a bit envious.

Although Wei Ruo now owns many farms and properties and operates many shops, she does not come close to such a large family in terms of scale.

“So, this Tan Family is the goal I should strive for,” Wei Ruo said.

“That might be a bit challenging, you don’t even want to have children. If you want to expand and strengthen your family, you need to have more children who can carry on the lineage, like branches spreading out from a tree. Even one child would be enough, let your child have more children,” Xie Ying couldn’t help but throw a bucket of cold water on Wei Ruo’s ambition.

“No problem, I can adopt more orphans in the future,” Wei Ruo was quite open-minded.

“Well, that might work. It’s much faster than having your own. Nowadays, there are a lot of people selling their children, and a lot of orphans who lose their parents at birth. It’s really pitiful,” Xie Ying said.

While saying this, Xie Ying raised her head and looked at the long line in front of the porridge distribution shed. She said solemnly,

“I really don’t understand why people in the capital are still fighting for the position of Crown Prince. The country is in its current state, shouldn’t they be channeling their energy towards helping the people? If there are no people, there is no country. If the people are unable to survive, what’s the point of having that position?”

Wei Ruo followed Xie Ying’s gaze and murmured, “You’re absolutely right. The people probably don’t care which prince becomes emperor, but rather how they can survive.”

Xie Jue, who was a little distance from the two, occasionally caught a snippet of their conversation and was repeatedly shocked.

His sister and Queen Rui surely are rebellious, each of their thoughts is incredibly unexpected to him.

But that’s exactly where their uniqueness lies, his sister and Queen Rui are indeed extraordinary people.

Xie Jue smirked indulgently, and then turned to look at a tall and calm man standing next to him.

This was the guard who had come with Queen Rui. Although he doesn’t stand out much, his every movement exudes nobility, unlike a typical guard.

He found it quite discordant to see him sitting by the stove, stoking the fire.

After a morning’s worth of work, some other people from the Wang Residence came to take over. Wei Ruo, Xie Ying, Maid Xiumei, Wei Jinyi, and Xie Jue then went to have lunch elsewhere.

Everyone returned to the city, entering the Dawn Moon Teahouse by the city wall and reserved a private room.

These days, the teahouse had few customers, with only the few of them dining each day.

Wei Jinyi simply reserved the entire teahouse, not allowing outside customers in, thus ensuring a calm dining environment for Wei Ruo.

When Wei Ruo took her seat, Wei Jinyi would naturally move the seat for her. After Wei Ruo sat down, Wei Jinyi poured her some tea.

When Wei Ruo wanted to wipe her sweat, Wei Jinyi passed her his handkerchief.

Xie Jue, who observed all these actions, looked slightly unhappy.

This guard’s behavior toward Queen Rui was a bit too intimate…

A few days ago, Xie Jue noticed Wei Jinyi’s actions. As a guard, it was a bit odd for him to do these things, as these kinds of intimate services are usually carried out by maids.

And Maid Xiumei, Queen Rui’s personal maid, was also present.

Xie Jue hesitated, and after giving it some thought, decided not to say what was on his mind.