West Wind Cutting Works The Eldest Daughter Should Get Married, First-Rank Imperial Concubine The Eldest Daughter Should Get Married, First-Rank Imperial Concubine The Eldest Daughter Should Get Married, First-Rank Imperial Concubine Volume 1 Chapter 67 Arch-Nemesis

  Xia Ting's expression remained indifferent as she turned around, her beautiful and clear eyes gazing at the person who had spoken.

  That was a young woman wearing a white butterfly-patterned water sleeves shirt, looking no more than fourteen years old. On her head, she wore a silver magpie hairpin with pearls, and on the side of her hair, she had a coral bat-shaped pin. With rosy cheeks and an apricot face, she was quite a pretty woman, probably the daughter of some noble family.

  Xia Ting's gaze swept casually over the other person's body before returning. Unfortunately, even if she had some looks, it was useless - at a glance, you could tell she was someone without brains who was easily used by others.

  Xia Jing's expression remained calm and unruffled, but the woman who had just spoken suddenly glared at him with her almond-shaped eyes and said, "I'm calling you, are your ears deaf? Don't you dare not to let me through!"

  Xia Ting listened attentively, but didn't even frown, her expression remained as calm as ever.

  Wan Yu and Lu Wei, who were standing behind them, suddenly became angry. How could this person be so rude? This wasn't even her own home, yet she was yelling at them to leave. Wan Yu was about to speak up when Xia Tingjing reached out to stop her, also warning Lu Wei not to make any sudden moves.

  At this time, another young lady who came with the other party spoke up, "Third sister, don't be rude." The soft and gentle voice couldn't help but make people feel a sense of fondness.

  Summer listened intently, and couldn't help but glance at the woman. He saw that she was wearing a dress made of golden silk with white patterns, her hair adorned with a gold phoenix hairpin, and on her pale wrist was a high-quality white jade bangle.

  At this glance, she is truly a beautiful woman with a lovely face and elegant demeanor.

  When she heard the other party stop her sister who was speaking out of turn, it made people feel that this woman not only had extraordinary beauty, but also a very kind and virtuous person.

  Unfortunately, Xia Tingjing didn't have a good impression of her. If she were really kind-hearted, she would have spoken up when her sister first yelled at her to leave. Why did she wait until now to speak up? Who knows what's on her mind.

  Stopped by her own sister, Liu Lesha frowned and looked at Xia Tingcong with a very dissatisfied expression, saying "Sister, I just wanted to tell her to go somewhere else. Who let her stand there blocking you from choosing fabrics?"

  She did this just to curry favor with her elder sister. Only when the other party is happy will she have a good day.

  Liu Ruolan's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, revealing an extremely disapproving expression. "Third sister, how can this be? This young lady has also come to pick out fabrics, how could you chase her away?"

  After saying these words, Liu Ruolan turned her head to look at Xia Tingying and said softly, "Miss, I'm really sorry. My younger sister is young and impulsive in her speech, please forgive her."

  When she first heard Liu Lesha's shout, she didn't stop her immediately, but let the incident unfold. After all, if the other party was a powerless and influenceless daughter of a family, she would have let Liu Lesha dismiss her. Who would want to let a woman who looked better than herself stand in front of her?

  But Xia Ting Cong was not intimidated at all, and there was always an aura around her that made people unable to ignore. Moreover, after careful observation, she found that although the other party's clothes were not very luxurious, they were all high-quality goods. Even her own clothes and jewelry couldn't compare with them. She quickly thought that this woman was absolutely not simple, and in accordance with the truth that having one more friend is better than having one more enemy, she immediately spoke out to help her out of the situation. In her opinion, this was a gesture worthy of respect from the other party, and they should be grateful to her.

  Liu Le Xiang frowned and expressed her dissatisfaction, saying "Big sister is the legitimate daughter of Yue Guo's kilometer, who can compare to this person?"

  In her opinion, although Natsuo was indeed born extremely beautiful, she was nothing more than a pretty face. Without a noble birth, what's the use of that? Only girls like them with illustrious family backgrounds were truly respectable. Even if she was just an illegitimate child, she was still far nobler than this person in front of her.

  Xia Ting heard the other party's unreserved words, her eyes slightly condensed. Duke of Yueguo? Isn't that Liu Zhipeng, the current empress dowager's own elder brother? Judging from the age of these two women in front of him, they should be Liu Zhipeng's granddaughter generation.

  I didn't expect to run into these two young ladies from prestigious families in my own humble abode today. She had previously heard Rong Jin mention that the Yue Guo Gong Fu had been a thorn in the Emperor's side for some time, and he had long wanted to get rid of them but was held back by the Liu family's deep roots, so they could only be dealt with slowly.

  Although Rong Jin spoke vaguely, she could also guess what was going on. Especially when she knew that the current empress dowager was not the emperor's birth mother, it became even easier to guess. It was nothing more than the Liu family being too powerful, threatening not only the emperor's rule but also harboring ulterior motives. Such a family would never be tolerated by any emperor. The downfall of the Liu family was just a matter of time.

  Moreover, she is going to marry Rong Jin, so it turns out that the Yueguo Gongfu is her arch-nemesis.

  Xia Tingjing calmly turned around and left the two sisters aside, continuing to select fabrics at her own pace.

  Liu Ruolan was a well-bred person, but when she encountered this situation, she couldn't help but secretly resent it. Didn't this woman hear her own identity? She was the legitimate daughter of the Yue State Duke's Manor, extremely noble and precious. Although the person in front of her was dressed very well, among the princesses and young ladies in the capital who were higher than her in status, she knew them all. This woman clearly wasn't one of them, yet she still dared to ignore her like this.

  Xia Ting Cong calmly signaled to Wan Yu and Lu Wei, who separately took down the most luxurious fabrics from the shelves and walked to the counter without looking up.

  Liu Lesha was furious at the sight, she had to please her stepmother and stepsister at home, and it was tolerable to suffer from their temper. Unexpectedly, going out would still be humiliated by this disgusting ghost who came out of nowhere. If this were to spread, what face would she have left to meet those famous young ladies from other aristocratic families in the future? Wouldn't they laugh her to death?

  Lu Wenyu and Wan Yu put the beautiful fabrics in their hands on the counter, and Xia Tingjing whispered to the shop assistant, "Go and ask your boss to come over."

  The fellow looked at the fabrics chosen by his counterpart and suddenly became spirited. These fabrics are all top-notch goods, also the most expensive in the whole store. This young lady came and chose so many bolts, this is a big deal!

  The fellow nodded repeatedly in front of Xia Tinglian and said "wait a minute" before hurrying off to where Cai Zhanggui was.

  Liu Lesha walked over with a sullen face at this time, and rudely stretched out her hand to grab Xia Tingning "Hey."

  Who would have thought that before his hand even touched Xia Ting's clothes, it was blocked by Wan Yu and Lu Wei in mid-air.

  "She was furious and said 'You two slaves dare to block me.'"

  "Please be more careful with yourself, miss," said Lu Wu coldly. Their master was not someone to be touched by just anyone.

  Wan Yu also sneered and continued, "Exactly, I've never seen any young lady from a good family behave as wildly as you do. Don't let people laugh at you for no reason." Her own miss was going to be the future Crown Princess of Jing Wang, so even if the other girl was the miss of Yue Guo Gong Fu, she still had to show respect and humility towards her.

  Liu Lesha was furious, she had never been so humiliated in her life, and was actually taught a lesson by two lowly maids. Her body moved, just about to rush up and slap the other person a few times.

  But didn't expect to be pulled back by Liu Ruolan, who looked at her coldly and said in a low voice, "Do you dare to make trouble again? Are you trying to lose face for the Yueguo Gongfu outside?"

  This brainless guy, still can't hold his temper, slightly unhappy and he doesn't care about anything. What a fool.

  Glared at by Liu Ruolan, Liu Lesha immediately became a little afraid and obediently stood aside. She knew the nature of this elder sister, which was far from being as kind and gentle as she had shown.

  Liu Ruolan walked up to the counter with a standard ladylike gait, smiling sweetly at Xia Tingcong and said, "Miss, my younger sister was rude, please forgive her."

  Xia Ting glanced at the other person with a faint gaze, slowly uttering a few words "It doesn't matter." In her eyes, the other person was just a clown anyway, let her be. Arguing with this kind of person was simply a waste of time.

  At this time, the partner brought Cai Zhang back. The other party saw Xia Tingcong and hurriedly took a few steps forward. After seeing Liu Ruolan standing aside, he slightly restrained his emotions and put on a guest-receiving appearance, saying to Xia Tingcong, "Miss, do you need anything?"

  Xia Ting pointed to the fabrics she had chosen and said, "Use these few pieces of fabric to make a few clothes. I'll have someone send over the measurements this afternoon." Because there were outsiders present, she only briefly stated the key points. The rest of the details would naturally be written in a letter and sent over.

  Cai Zhanggui smiled and nodded, personally putting away those few pieces of fabric.

  Liu Ruolan looked at those exquisite fabrics and suddenly felt extremely jealous. Those materials were all extremely expensive, with just one foot of fabric costing two thousand taels. A set of clothes would cost tens of thousands of taels to make. Even as the legitimate daughter of a duke's manor, she couldn't just buy whatever she wanted.

  Although her heart was sour, Liu Ruolan still maintained a dignified and elegant smile on her face, saying "Miss is really lucky, such precious fabric is not something that anyone can buy just by saying so." Even though she had tried her best to hide it, there was still an unavoidable hint of sourness in her tone.

  Xia Ting Cong didn't seem to notice the other person's jealousy and casually dropped two words saying "Indeed."

  Then they left with Wan Yu and Lü Wei, smiling and carefree.

  Liu Ruolan stood stiffly in place, her face twisted. Cai Zhanggui wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Miss is indeed a miss, this ability to strike people down is truly impressive.

  She got on the horse carriage and returned to Xia Fu, where Xia Ting went straight to Shui's room.

  As soon as I arrived at the door, I bumped into two maids who were close to Shui's side, Bi Fu and Lan Qiu. Both of them held trays in their hands, looking like they had just brought food back from the kitchen.

  Upon seeing Xia Ting, both of them bent their knees and greeted her with "Miss."

  Xia Ting nodded slightly and said, "Get up, all of you."

  After the two stood up, Bi Luo moved the soup bowl from her tray to Lan Qiu's tray, letting him take it back to give to Shui Shi. As for herself, she obviously had something she wanted to say to Xia Ting.

  Lan Qiu walked away with the tray, and Xia Ting also slowly followed with Bi Yan. The other person said, "Miss, these past few days, Fourth Miss has still been coming to Li Yuan to find Madame as usual. However, since you last spoke with Madame, she has become much colder towards Fourth Miss. Every day, she only gives her brief instructions on needlework for half an hour and then uses the excuse of being tired to take a nap. She no longer gets close to her."

  It turned out that Miss was indeed capable, and with just a few words, she had already distanced the fourth miss from the madam. Although the other party always appeared to be a weak and delicate woman in front of the madam, several times she had seen the fourth miss gaze at the gold and silver jewelry on the table in the madam's room, revealing a kind of longing in her eyes. Afterwards, when the fourth miss came to see the madam again, she dressed extremely plainly and deliberately revealed the poor-quality bangle on her wrist to attract the madam's attention.

  The lady relented and gave her the hairpin. Although she repeatedly refused on the surface, she could see that someone was holding the hairpin tightly for her. This person indeed had no good intentions and actually had an eye on the lady's jewelry.

  Fortunately, the young lady woke up the madam in time, otherwise wouldn't it be a waste of raising someone who can't even eat properly.

  Xia Ting's lips curled up into a faint smile "I understand, you continue to keep an eye on her, no matter what she says to my mother, every detail, you must report back to me one by one."

  If Xia Qinghe were smart, she would have retreated after being cold-shouldered. If she still had those unnecessary thoughts, she wouldn't mind teaching the other party a lesson.

  Biqiu nodded in agreement.

  All the way to Shui's room, Bi Luo led the way and gently pushed open the door, inviting Xia Ting into the room.

  Shui was sitting at the table, slowly sipping a spoonful of nourishing soup. On the table were also several delicate pastries. This bowl of medicinal soup was specially chosen by Xia Tingning according to her mother's physical condition. It can play a very good role in nourishing the body.

  She ordered the kitchen to simmer a bowl every day on time and send it to her mother for use.

  Shui heard the noise, looked up and saw that it was his daughter who had arrived. He hastily put down the spoon in his hand and said, "Ning'er, you're here. Just in time, keep your mother company and have some snacks."

  He said and pushed the pastries on the table in front of Xia Tingning.

  Xia Ting smiled and picked up a piece, lightly biting into it. It was soft and sweet, the filling was very sweet and fluffy. The cook's skills had indeed improved.

  Xia Ting was eating snacks while stretching out her hand to add a spoonful of soup to Shui Shi's bowl, indicating that she should finish it.

  Just then, a voice came from outside, "Master, you're here."

  Xia Ting heard the words and slightly furrowed her brow, what was this cheap father coming over for.

  The maid pushed open the door, and Xia Lao Ye, wearing a thick and sturdy coat, walked in. After seeing Xia Ting Cong, his expression changed, clearly not expecting his own daughter to be there as well.

  Xia Ting directly turned her eyes away, without even looking at the other person, and started eating the snacks on the plate.

  Old Xia suddenly felt a flush on his face, and this Jing'er didn't give him any face as her father. She slapped him in the face in front of everyone.

  Seeing that her daughter was unwilling to talk to her father, Madame Shui didn't want Mr. Xia to be too embarrassed, so she spoke up and said, "Sir, you've come at just the right time, the kitchen has just made some fresh pastries, why don't you come over and try one?"

  Mr. Shui's words undoubtedly gave Old Man Xia a step down, and the other party sat in front of the table, seeing that the pastries on the plate were exquisite and tempting, making one feel hungry at first glance. He couldn't help but pick up a piece and put it into his mouth.

  Nodding while eating, "Indeed, it's not bad." In the entire Xia Manor, only Lan'er's meals are the most delicious. It's said that the cook had learned a few true skills from her daughter.

  Shui slowly finished a bowl of soup, took a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and then turned to his daughter and said, "Ning'er, are your clothes and other things all ready? And have you finished embroidering those handkerchiefs?"

  "Mother, don't worry, everything is ready. I've even prepared two hundred handkerchiefs."

  The silk used was the finest, and this handkerchief alone would sell for twenty taels. Those miscellaneous things were all mentioned by Mother while Lan Yu and Lü Wéi took note. Then she ordered several shopkeepers to prepare them.

  "Good, good. Mother gave you that dowry chest, you must take good care of it." Although she knew her daughter had many other fine things as dowry, the gold and silver jewelry she gave held a special meaning, and she hoped her daughter would keep them safe to pass on to her own granddaughter one day.

  Xia Ting nodded and smiled "I will, mother." The significance of that piece of jewelry was different, she had put it away for safekeeping early on.

  Xia Lao Ye sat to the side, feeling extremely awkward. Jing Er and Lan Er were clearly discussing dowry matters. As a father, he hadn't even prepared his daughter's dowry yet, and had completely forgotten about it.

  When the eldest daughter got married, everything was taken care of by her mother, and he didn't need to worry about anything. She just handed him the dowry list for a glance at the end. So he also forgot that he still needed to prepare the dowry for his daughter. Listening to their conversation now, it's clear that they had already prepared everything without even informing him.

  This made him feel somewhat uncomfortable in his heart. Although he had forgotten, they could remind him, couldn't they? Could the head of this family still have a say in arranging his own daughter's dowry without making a sound?

  Xia Ting didn't know what Xia Lao Ye was thinking in his heart, she only felt that the other's complexion was a bit off, so she raised her eyes and stared straight at him.

  Xia Lao Ye was stared at like this, and suddenly he broke out in a cold sweat. Unconsciously, he stuttered and said, "Ning Er, why didn't you tell your father about preparing the dowry?"

  Xia Ting furrowed her brow slightly, should she tell him? Tell him what, could he still give her a grand wedding after all this. It's unlikely that this cheap father would be able to provide a good dowry for her.

  She slightly pulled up the corners of her mouth and said, "Does Father have any plans to prepare a dowry for me?"

  Old Master Xia opened his mouth, and his brain turned around again. What dowry could he prepare for his daughter? The silver in the mansion was mostly managed by Madam, although she had been confined at home now, but there was no one in the mansion who could take charge of major affairs, so he didn't strip away her right as the manager.

  Moreover, his salary was not high to begin with. Although he had a few farms and several acres of land, the annual income was used to support the expenses of the government office and pave the way for his official career. He has always been quite strapped for cash. What would he use to prepare a dowry for his daughter?

  Thinking of this, Old Man Xia couldn't help but scold himself in his heart, what's wrong with not bringing it up, yet he had to bring it up. He glanced at Xia Ting's face and felt a bit embarrassed.

  Xia Ting let out a cold hum, poured herself a cup of hot tea. She knew that it was unlikely for her cheap father to prepare dowry for her, fortunately she had never thought of relying on him, otherwise she would have starved to death.

  Xia Lao Ye felt guilty and sat for a short while before slinking away with his tail between his legs.

  Digression

  Everyone, more articles are coming tomorrow is the big wedding day, still owe everyone 5,000 words, will try to get them up in the next few days