Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 317 Towards the Golden Palace (21)

Two days and two nights later, Xue Lin woke up.

Just as Yan Zhen predicted, after waking up, he was not only full of energy and his low fever had subsided, but he also ate twice the usual amount of food in one go.

After finishing his meal, the man, who usually stayed indoors reading, excitedly picked out a horse from the stable and took his servant to the horse farm outside the city for some riding fun.

Seeing that he had recovered, Yan Zhen was relieved and focused her attention back on the business of Jin Yu Lou.

Jin Yu Lou had been in business for half a month, and Yan Zhen took advantage of the situation to open Cao Ji's first wine shop in the capital - Cao Ji Restaurant.

Over the past three years, Cao Ji's "Yaochi Zui" has gained fame and is sold far and wide to neighboring countries.

Some businessmen, attracted by the influence of "Yaochi Zui", offered a high price to open a "Cao Ji" store in Beijing and become the first distributor of Yaochi Zui in the capital.

Yan Zhen refused, precisely for this day—money he could earn himself, there was no need to share with others.

When "Cao's Restaurant" opened, it still offered some eye-catching promotional activities. Unlike when Jinlou opened, Yan Zhen appeared this time as Cao He to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

As a result, many businessmen in the capital knew that Cao He, the richest man in Yinzhou, had come to the capital to develop his business.

This news has caused many wealthy businessmen in Beijing to feel a sense of crisis.

After all, no matter how many business opportunities there are in the capital, the market is only so big. If more people come to share the pie, they will earn less.

A few days later, several local businesses joined forces to boycott Cao Ji's Yaochi Zui, which was trying to seize the Beijing brewing market.

Yan Zhen didn't take these little tricks to heart. While focusing on her career, she didn't forget to continue maintaining her relationship with Meng Zhenyue.

As April approached, the pear blossoms were in full bloom. Yan Zhen sent an invitation to the Xie family, inviting Meng Zhenyue to the pear orchard in Xishan to enjoy the spring scenery and admire the flowers.

On the day of the trip, Meng Zhenyue brought a nanny, four maids, and several guards, but did not bring Cheng Qingshuang and Xie Wanfang.

Yan Zhen stopped pretending to be lame and strolled calmly with Meng Zhenyue in the pear garden. The two chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Before they knew it, the group had reached the edge of the pear orchard, and beyond that lay an endless tea plantation.

There were many tea farmers picking tea leaves in the garden. Under the bright sun, the view was a delightful expanse of green, with rows of tea trees stretching to the horizon. The scenery was no less beautiful than that of a pear orchard.

Seeing this scene, Meng Zhenyue's restless mood at the Xie residence vanished, and she casually started talking to Yan Zhen about the tea culture of the Great Ji Kingdom.

The two were chatting when a heavily pregnant woman walked over from a distance.

Perhaps because she was unable to have children, Meng Zhenyue noticed her at a glance.

She was a girl who was only a teenager, with her hair in a woman's bun, wearing a coarse linen shirt, and carrying a basket in her hand. It seemed that she had come to the tea garden to deliver lunch to her family who were working there.

The weather in April was already quite hot, and the young woman, being heavy, had her back soaked with sweat as she walked.

Just as she put down her basket, a sharp female voice rang out from the tea garden.

"Why are you only arriving now? Were you lazing around at home again?"

"I knew you lazy bum had bad intentions. Are you trying to starve us to death?"

"What is this? Is it even fit for human consumption?"

Meng Zhenyue immediately turned her head to look, and on the ridge of the field, an old woman in her thirties stood with her hands on her hips, cursing loudly at the young woman.

The young woman, presumably her daughter-in-law, looked honest and unassuming. She didn't dare utter a sound even when scolded, and silently took the food out of the basket one by one.

Seeing that she remained silent, the old woman became even more arrogant, calling her husband and son over to eat, and then turning back to continue hurling insults at her daughter-in-law.

The busy people in the tea garden were used to this and no one said anything to stop it. Instead, some people glanced over with amusement.

Meng Zhenyue frowned and whispered, "Her daughter-in-law is pregnant, why is she still scolding her like that?"

Yan Zhen said calmly, "Perhaps there's some family conflict."

As the old woman's curses became increasingly vulgar, the young woman lowered her head and wiped away her tears. Meng Zhenyue couldn't bear to watch any longer and stepped forward to stop her.

Yan Zhen pulled her back and whispered, "It's no use."

"how come?"

In Meng Zhenyue's view, as long as someone dares to stand up and stop the old woman's behavior, she will be more restrained when she wants to scold her daughter-in-law next time.

“Because the husband is inactive,” Yan Zhen said. “Do you think this mother-in-law dares to bully her daughter-in-law like this?”

Meng Zhenyue asked, puzzled, "Why?"

"Because it was with her son's tacit approval."

Meng Zhenyue subconsciously looked at the young man squatting on the ridge of the field, eating steamed buns in big bites. He was focused on the buns in his hands, as if he were deaf, and indifferent to the fact that his wife was being cursed by his mother.

"In a family, the wife is an outsider, and the husband's attitude toward his wife determines the attitude of other family members toward the 'outsider'."

Yan Zhen said seemingly unintentionally, "If the husband valued his wife even a little, the mother-in-law would have some reservations and wouldn't dare to treat her daughter-in-law so recklessly. The husband not only knows about all the grievances his wife suffers in the family, but to some extent, he also tacitly approves of this behavior."

Meng Zhenyue was taken aback.

She thought of Cheng Qingshuang.

To outsiders, Cheng Qingshuang was a smiling, good-tempered mother-in-law who never made things difficult for her daughter-in-law.

But only Meng Zhenyue knows what happens in private.

This mother-in-law is selfish, vain, snobbish, and petty.

She always used her infertility to manipulate her.

Because she was infertile, causing the Xie family line to end, she, as the "culprit," had to pay a price to make up for Cheng Qingshuang's lingering resentment.

So Cheng Qingshuang asked her for all sorts of things with a clear conscience, from small things like buying a pastry, a box of rouge, or a piece of jewelry, to large things like the monthly expenses of the Xie family, all of which came from her private treasury.

Six years after marrying Xie Zhao, her dowry was almost gone, and she was now living off the money earned from the shops and two estates that her family had given her as part of her dowry.

Did Xie Zhao know that Cheng Qingshuang treated her this way?

Meng Zhenyue subconsciously denied that Xie Zhao knew about it.

He usually devotes most of his energy to official business and doesn't pay attention to his personal life.

But was he really unaware of it?

He and Cheng Qingshuang were mother and son, and they spent every day together. How could he not know what kind of person his mother was?

Moreover, she paid for all the household expenses every month, and in the past six years, Xie Zhao had never even thanked her.

Like Cheng Qingshuang, he took his efforts for granted.

Realizing this, Meng Zhenyue felt distressed.

Yan Zhen subtly observed Meng Zhenyue's changing expression out of the corner of his eye. Seeing her expression, he knew that she had taken his words to heart.

"Madam Meng, what's wrong?" Yan Zhen asked knowingly. "You look so pale. Are you feeling unwell?"

Meng Zhenyue did not deny it: "Perhaps it's because I've been out for a long time, I feel a little dizzy."

"Then let's go back."

"it is good."

Meng Zhenyue returned to the backyard of the Xie residence. As soon as she entered, she was bumped by Xie Zhaolin, who rushed out and caused her to stumble and fall to the side.

"Madam!" The maid beside her barely managed to catch her before she fell.

Meng Zhenyue straightened up, rubbed her arm that had been bumped, and turned to look at Xie Zhaolin.

Xie Zhaolin glanced at her, didn't even apologize, and turned back to continue his playful fight with Xie Wanfang.

Seeing this scene, Meng Zhenyue recalled once again the words spoken by Madam Cao in the Pear Garden—

The husband not only knew about all the grievances his wife suffered in the family, but to some extent, he also tacitly approved of this behavior.

Her eyes darkened slightly.