The Challenge of a Farmhouse Son-in-Law-Chapter 505 - 515: Who was the young master Xiao that day?

Gu Youyou left the residence to handle serious business; she wanted to be self-reliant and open a medical clinic. Besides her aunt-in-law from the Jin Family who was completely against it, everyone else was very supportive.

Her older cousin Lin Qianqing secretly told her that her aunt-in-law was the eldest daughter of the Ducal Residence, raised to uphold propriety and decorum, and she thought that women appearing in public was a disgraceful affair, always opposing their leaving the residence.

Fortunately, their grandmother was in good health and had progressive ideas, and could still make decisions for the family, which allowed these young ladies to frequently go out under the pretext of buying things for their grandmother.

Gu Youyou smiled and said, "So you used your grandmother’s name today to go out shopping?"

Lin Qianqing also smiled and said, "Exactly, but grandmother knows what’s going on, she told me to help you."

"What can you help me with? Just don’t cause trouble," Gu Youyou said with a hint of irritation.

When they passed by that tea house from the other day, Gu Youyou suddenly remembered Xiao Jinyan and asked, "Who is that Master Xiao who was with your older cousin that day?"

"Him? He’s the third young master from the Grand Master Residence. Despite his young age, he has been conferred the rank of a general of the third grade, and he is the most promising among our younger generation. It’s just that he’s quite arrogant. Of course, don’t be intimidated by his rank as a general of the third grade; the way he got his position is an open secret, there’s really nothing to boast about."

Gu Youyou didn’t see it that way; she was taken aback and continued to ask, "If he’s the general of the third grade from the Grand Master Residence, then why did he salute Yue Rujing? Yue Rujing seems to only have the empty title of Princely Heir without an official rank."

"That’s different." Lin Qianqing looked at Gu Youyou in surprise and said, "How do you not know this? I thought you were quite familiar with Princely Heir Yue."

"Familiar!" Gu Youyou nodded.

Lin Qianqing rolled her eyes and said, "Then how do you not know?"

Uh... is that my fault? I just don’t know.

"Marquess Yue also has another title, the King of Lingnan. The King of Lingnan can rank just below the Emperor, and his status is even higher than that of the fifth prince. The legitimate son of their family naturally holds a much higher status than the usual Princely Heirs."

"What rank would that be?" Gu Youyou apologized, for she really didn’t understand the ranking system. She only knew that the greatest official position beneath the Emperor was the first rank, followed by secondary first rank, the first secondary rank, and so on. As for those without an official rank but still of high status, she truly had no idea.

"No official rank." Lin Qianqing directly explained: "The princes don’t have official ranks either, but their status is greater than that of primary rank officials."

Gu Youyou: "..." Fine then.

"Then tell me how Xiao Jinyan got his third-grade military official rank, seeing as how you look so disdainful of it."

Lin Qianqing expressed her disgust and said: "It’s true that warriors from the Grand Master Residence are not well-regarded in Beijing, where civil officials govern. But who could ignore his family when they produced an Empress. With the Grand Master Residence connected to the Empress’s family, their status is naturally different.

Alas, the Empress was unlucky; she didn’t become Empress while alive but was posthumously honored. " novelbuddy.cσ๓

There were not a few instances in history where an Empress was posthumously honored, and Gu Youyou didn’t find it peculiar, only asking, "What virtues did the former Empress have that she wasn’t promoted while alive, but was honored posthumously?"

"Oh, it has nothing to do with whether she was promoted or not," Lin Qianqing said. "She just died young and didn’t live to see the Emperor’s ascension. She was the Emperor’s officially betrothed Crown Princess Consort before she passed too early. The Emperor cherished her for having shared his hardships in earlier years and for giving birth to the eldest princess. Therefore, after her death, he was extremely doting on the eldest princess and showed great affection for her maternal family, the Xiao Family of the Grand Master Residence."