Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

Chapter 1698 The Country Girl Looked Down Upon 19
Linlang said this family was quite good, and the original owner's mother naturally had no objections, especially since the other party was the grandson of the Prince of Ying, the grandson of a prince. Such conditions were excellent, and Madam Zhou was very satisfied.

He immediately told Master Zhou and Old Master Zhou about it.

When Old Master Zhou heard that Linlang had made the decision herself, he looked at the family background of the other party and found that they were the grandson of a prince. Sure enough, he thought they were a good match, just like Madam Zhou. So he immediately decided to arrange a marriage between them.

As for Master Zhou's opinion... he had no objection whatsoever. His wife, children, and father all agreed, so what objection could he possibly have?

Of course, he also thought it was good.

Since both parties were interested, the marriage was naturally arranged.

Linlang knew what the person behind the scenes was thinking. The reason she still decided to go along with the trend and get married was that even if she got married, she could still remind Old Master Zhou if anything happened in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Moreover, when she arrived at the Prince's Mansion, she reminded Old Master Zhou that he no longer needed to use the excuse of an anonymous tip-off; he could simply say that he had investigated it himself.

When she marries into the Prince of Ying's mansion, with the Prince of Ying's mansion's power in her hands, it's normal that she can investigate such things, and Old Master Zhou won't suspect anything.

After all, the claim that someone anonymously reported it has become quite suspicious over time, so it's time to change the story.

This is why Linlang saw that the person behind the scenes wanted to drive her away and decided to turn the tables on them.

The reason why the General of the State of the Prince's Mansion knew about Linlang's marriage proposal was naturally because of what his second aunt had said.

The second aunt was a concubine in the Yonghe Prince's mansion. While chatting with someone, she mentioned that Linlang had reached a certain age and it was time to find her a husband.

She never expected that her words would be overheard by a general from the Prince of Ying's mansion who had dealings with her family. He then went back to inquire and heard that although the Zhou family's daughter came from the countryside, she was quite capable, and Old Master Zhou would consult her on anything.

Seeing that the Zhou family had come from the countryside and hadn't made a fool of themselves yet, Old Master Zhou had certainly done a good job. Zhou Linlang, whom he had discussed with, must also be a discerning person, and marrying her wouldn't be a bad idea. So, he decided to arrange a marriage.

If the second aunt knew that such a good marriage had been offered to Linlang, she would probably be unhappy. After all, although she wanted to get Linlang out of the mansion, she didn't want to see her marry into a good family.

Leaving aside the second aunt's thoughts, the main reason why the Zhenguo General's Mansion favored Linlang was because the title of Zhenguo General, which belonged to the imperial clan, was on the same level as the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion on the surface. However, many families were unwilling to marry into such a family because, although members of the imperial clan had titles, their descendants were not allowed to take the imperial examinations, thus locking in their upper limit.

Moreover, the title is inherited in a descending order, which means that the family will gradually decline in rank.

Unlike noble families, who, although many inherited their titles at a lower rank, could take the imperial examinations and rise in rank if their sons became successful, the choice between a family that only declined and one that rose in rank was a clear one.

Therefore, among the imperial clan members, apart from princes who are easy to marry, it is difficult for lower-ranking members to find a decent wife. Generally, the eldest daughters of dukes can marry the heirs of princes and dukes, but they are not considered suitable for the likes of generals who protect the country.

It was only because the Zhou family had obtained the title of Duke of Zhenguo that they dared to make such a move. Otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to even consider it if it were any other Duke's family, because they knew they wouldn't be able to marry him.

Because Linlang was getting old, and the General of the State was also worried that if something happened to the Prince of Ying, the family would have to observe a three-year mourning period, which would take forever. So the two sides quickly arranged the marriage and planned to have Linlang get married in three months.

This was naturally what the people behind the scenes were eager to see, so they whispered in the ears of the Zhenguo General's Mansion and others that this was a good time, thinking that once Linlang got married, they could easily deal with the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion.

After the engagement was finalized, the Zhou family had completed their three-month mission of staying at home to learn etiquette and understand the situation in the capital. Even though many of them had met others, they were still somewhat timid because they had never seen such a grand occasion before and were afraid of the officials. However, they were much better than they had been three months ago. At least one of them had become much fairer and had a rosier complexion after three months of confinement. Before, the Zhou family members were like most country folk, dark and thin. Now that they no longer had to work in the fields and were eating well, they had naturally changed a lot over the past three months.

Another thing is etiquette. After three months, they will have learned it. Although they may not be as graceful as members of a real large family, they will at least be able to do it properly. Even if others say that their etiquette is stiff and unnatural, they cannot say that their etiquette is wrong.

After the seal was broken, the Zhou family had a good time in the capital. After all, in the past three months, the Zhou family had learned about all the exciting places in the capital.

With this opening up, needless to say, those who had previously tried to sow discord in front of Master Zhou naturally found their opportunity and, just like in the original world, once again began to sow discord in front of Master Zhou.

The Second Master Zhou, who had long coveted the wealth and glory of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, was indeed tempted by the servants' instigation, just like in the original world. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that as long as he killed the First Master Zhou, he could become the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo. Then, after his parents passed away, he would not have to leave this magnificent mansion.

He feared that his parents wouldn't live much longer, that his elder brother would inherit the title while he wouldn't, and that the family hadn't saved much money for him yet, so he would be back to square one and have to live a hard life.

Although I heard that there are still quotas for the Duke's son to be granted a hereditary title, his father, Old Master Zhou, only has him as his son besides his eldest brother, the heir apparent. He will definitely be granted a hereditary title and a sinecure of the sixth rank.

But a sixth-rank sinecure is nothing compared to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Moreover, his son will lose everything in the future, and they will still be reduced to their original state. Just like their branch, which was also a descendant of the Duke, they were separated because they were the second son of the legitimate wife, and then they were reduced to the bottom in less than three generations. He did not want his descendants to be reduced to the bottom in less than three generations.

So he had this idea in his mind, and with a little provocation from others, he naturally wanted Master Zhou to kill Master Zhou.

Some might say, these servants could have discussed this matter with the Zhou family before the household restricted their social interactions, so why did they have to wait until Master Zhou left the mansion to discuss it?
This was naturally because, in the past three months, Old Master Zhou had eliminated at least ten stewards in the mansion, roughly one every ten days. Although all of these were resolved peacefully, meaning that the stewards who were investigated simply paid their money and left without causing any major trouble.

But through these events, the people behind the scenes naturally worried that Old Master Zhou had already made an informant in the mansion, and that the informant might instigate Second Master Zhou to kill First Master Zhou, thus revealing the secret and preventing the attempt from succeeding.