Chapter 473: Chapter 464: I Am the Vicious Eldest Aunt 51 (Bonus Chapter for 300 Monthly Tickets)
Isnât this all the handiwork of Xu Erya?
When Old Master Lu found out about this matter, he almost spewed out a liter of blood.
He truly hadnât expected that their Du family, such an illustrious clan, would actually be brought down by a little maid.
Was that little maid really so bold and reckless, or was she sent by opponents to specifically entrap his family?
Old Master Lu was so furious he vomited blood, but Mrs. Du was even more enraged than he was.
She had originally seen through Xu Eryaâs venomous nature, yet she hadnât paid it much attention.
She figured what sort of waves could a little maid possibly stir up? Yet she never imagined that such a little maid could land the entire Lu Family in jail.
Lu Ze was even more guilt-stricken.
Without hesitation, Old Master Lu reported up the chain, saying that the whole affair was stirred up by a little maid named Xu Fangfei.
Consequently, the court began to issue documents to capture Xu Erya, thinking that perhaps capturing Xu Erya would lead them to Prince Shun.
Anning and the others hadnât yet entered the Capital when they heard the news.
Every government office in all prefectures had posted notices, and they were all arresting Xu Fangfei.
Upon hearing this name, Anning knew it was Xu Erya.
In the memories of her original identity, Xu Erya had later changed her name to this.
She quietly approached the Old Madam: "Mother, this Xu Fangfei is Erya."
The Old Madam was terrified.
If the Lu Family, such a grand household, could be tormented by Xu Erya like this, their small Xu Family certainly couldnât withstand such a storm.
"Thank goodness."
The Old Madam tightly grasped Anningâs hand and said.
Anning replied as well: "Thank goodness we drove her out early, and her household registration was eliminated from the government office."
"The people in the village know her, do you think we should..."
The Old Madam was still very worried: "And thereâs the Feng Family, they really hate our family now, if they get wind of this..."
Anning whispered reassurances to the Old Madam: "She changed her name, the villagers wonât connect the dots, and as for the Feng Family, they wouldnât dare speak up. The stuff Erya stirred up can lead to the extermination of nine clans, and the Feng Family is her maternal relative."
The Old Madam considered this and realized it was indeed true.
Erya bore the surname Xu, but she came from Mrs. Fengâs womb; as long as the Feng Family didnât want their clan destroyed, even if they knew, they wouldnât dare speak out.
The subject of Anningâs and Old Madamâs conversation, Xu Erya, was now skulking and hiding, truly not living any good days.
However, Xu Erya was still quite clever, plus she had a makeup skill that even modern people referred to as the Head Swapping Technique.
During her time in the modern world, Xu Erya was very ordinary-looking. She learned to apply makeup in middle school and fully understood the wonders of makeup. Once she reached university, she used her exquisite makeup skills to make herself look incredibly beautiful and refined.
Nowadays, although there wasnât the same makeup available, Xu Erya still improvised with what was at hand to apply makeup to herself.
She was young, her features not yet fully developed, and she had been very thin before. Recently, she had eaten and drunk heartily, gaining quite a bit of weight, and with makeup on, she truly looked unrecognizable.
Of course, Xu Erya dared not use the name Xu Fangfei anymore.
She changed her name again, originally planning to find a household in the countryside with a small population, or perhaps an orphaned elderly person with no children, with whom she could purchase a household registration.
But who wouldâve thought, before she could act, she encountered Prince Shun again.
Afterwards, Xu Erya followed Prince Shun and went with him.
Prince Shun was indeed a capable man.
The former Crown Prince had already prepared an escape route for himself well before his rebellion. After his downfall, Prince Shun feigned being scared silly to put both the late Emperor and Emperor Pingle at ease.
When Emperor Pingle no longer regarded him as a threat, Prince Shun planned out all his escape routes and fled.
Had it not been for some missteps that exposed him while on the run, he wouldnât have been pursued and killed, nor would he have been saved by Xu Erya.
Afterwards, Prince Shun continued to hide and flee, heading south. Along the way, he happened to encounter Xu Erya, who disguised him well enough to cover his famously handsome face, making it easier for him to move around.
Prince Shun also remembered Xu Eryaâs life-saving grace.
Moreover, since Xu Eryaâs current plight was due to him, he could not just ignore her, so he took her with him as he headed south.
At this time, Anning had already entered the Capital.
After settling down, Anning tidied up both the Old Master and Old Madam, and then visited Imperial Censor Huâs family.
Imperial Censor Hu was a very upright man. Although his family was not wealthy and still lived in a modest two-courtyard house, the Hu Familyâs character was commendable.
Anning also met Hu Huiniang, Imperial Censor Huâs daughter, who was truly a gentle and dignified lady.
Afterwards, Old Madam and Zhou Xun discussed their opinions about Hu Huiniang, and Zhou Xun was very satisfied.
With both families agreeing, the marriage was set, followed by a series of wedding arrangements.
Zhou Xun was due at the Hanlin Academy, and having no time to attend to the wedding matters, entrusted everything to the Xu Family.
Zhou Yuâer was young and inexperienced in managing a household, definitely not up to the task.
During the arrangements, Anning took her and Xu Minruo along to help them develop their own home management skills.
These two young ladies learned a lot following Anning, and they both grew more confident.
Zhou Xun and Hu Huiniang were married as summer gave way to autumn.
Since neither family was a major clan and both had few members, the wedding was not very grand, but still quite satisfactory.
After Zhou Xunâs wedding, Anning began to look for a suitable house in the Capital.
Later on, with the help of Mrs. Hu, a three-courtyard house in the eastern part of the city was found.
Upon inspection, Anning was very pleased and bought it after negotiating a reasonable price.
Houses in the Capital were truly expensive, incomparable to those in the county.
A two-courtyard house in the county along with furniture could be had for just over three hundred taels of Silver, while a similar one in the Capital would cost several thousand taels.
And the price of a three-courtyard house was even more exorbitant; this house cost Anning over ten thousand taels of Silver.
The Old Master and Old Madam were quite distressed when they heard the price.
However, Anning reassured them that the house was bought for future generations, as Brother Ying would also need to come to the Capital for the exams, and it was not acceptable for him to lack a place to stay.
Besides, the Capital was indeed prosperous, and their family couldnât always be holed up in the countryside. Perhaps they would like to visit the Capital someday, and having a house would be much more convenient.
Recently, other than being busy with Zhou Xunâs wedding, Anning was also working hard to finish embroidering the landscape painting.
Coincidentally, autumn was also the Empress Dowagerâs thousand-autumn birthday.
Last year Emperor Pingle had just ascended to the throne, and this year, he planned to celebrate the Empress Dowagerâs birthday in a grand manner. Now, the Capital was busy preparing for her birthday celebrations.
Even the Hanlin Academy, where Zhou Xun was, was bustling.
They were mainly busy with writing birthday couplets and such for the Empress Dowager.
During this time, Anning visited the Zhou Family. She found Hu Huiniang and handed over the embroidered landscape painting to her, asking Imperial Censor Hu to present it as a gift.
Why not have Zhou Xun present it as a birthday gift instead?
Mainly because Zhou Xunâs official rank was too low, and he had no chance of being admitted to the court.