Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 113

Fang Shi rarely came to Ye Jiao's courtyard. This time when she came, Ye Jiao was somewhat surprised but still immediately said to Little Su: "Quickly invite Elder Sister-in-law in to talk."

Then Ye Jiao looked down at Xu Bao.

Xu Bao looked up at Ye Jiao with clear, bright eyes and a cheerful smile on his face, looking very festive.

Ye Jiao touched the little fellow's chubby face and said: "Eldest Aunt is here. Xu Bao, go play with the little horse for a while, alright?"

Usually, Xu Bao quite liked playing with the little horse, but that was when Qi Yun was around.

When Daddy was there, he could always recite books to him while he rode the little horse. Xu Bao wasn't actually that enthusiastic about riding the little horse; he just liked Daddy telling him stories.

Now that Qi Yun wasn't there, Xu Bao didn't want to go either.

He had just eaten and was in good spirits. He climbed on Ye Jiao's arm with his hands and feet, but being young, he could only speak word by word. When acting spoiled, he used the same old routine: "Mother loves Xu Bao, Xu Bao be good."

Unfortunately, Ye Jiao fell for this every time. When he said this, Ye Jiao's heart softened.

She thought that if they talked about things Xu Bao shouldn't hear later, she could just cover his ears.

At this moment, Fang Shi lifted the door curtain and walked in.

The door curtains in Second Young Master's courtyard were thicker than those in other courtyards. Previously it was because Qi Yun's health was poor and he couldn't withstand the wind. This year it was especially because Ye Jiao was pregnant and Xu Bao was small, so they were extra careful.

As soon as Fang Shi entered, she felt a wave of hot air hit her face, and her hands immediately began to sweat.

She quickly took off her fur-collared cloak and handed it to the servant woman following her. She smiled as she walked toward Ye Jiao. Seeing her about to get up, she quickly said: "Sit, sit. Sister-in-law is precious now, rest well. Your health is most important."

Ye Jiao sat back down before she had fully risen, letting Xu Bao lean against her. She reached out to embrace the little chubby one, then smiled at Fang Shi: "Elder Sister-in-law, please sit too."

At this time, Little Su had already brought over a round chair. After Fang Shi sat down, she said to Ye Jiao: "When I came out, Little Shi Tou pulled at me and had me bring a few milk cakes, saying they were for Xu Bao to eat."

Although Xu Bao couldn't understand long sentences, he never missed key words.

The little fellow who had been clinging tightly to Ye Jiao immediately straightened up, let go of his hands, and his voice became crisp: "Milk cakes!"

Ye Jiao couldn't help but look at him: "Want to eat?"

Xu Bao immediately nodded, exerting himself as his little bottom wiggled: "Want to eat, Xu Bao eat."

Ye Jiao had originally wanted to coax him away first, so she smiled and said to Little Su: "Take him outside to eat. Give him some warm water so he doesn't choke."

But Xu Bao didn't leave immediately. Instead, he looked at Ye Jiao and Fang Shi, and his soft little mouth moved: "Mother eat, Eldest Aunt eat."

Hearing this, Fang Shi laughed and reached out to touch Xu Bao's little chubby hand: "Xu Bao still remembers Eldest Aunt? Sister-in-law, you've raised him so well."

She only thought Xu Bao was being polite, but didn't know that Xu Bao really wanted everyone to eat together, so there would be better food next time.

Ye Jiao was actually seriously considering Xu Bao's words. After thinking for a moment, she said: "Mother isn't hungry. You go eat first. If you can't finish it, you can save some for Mother."

Fang Shi: ...

Xu Bao crisply responded: "Okay." Then he reached out to Little Su, letting her carry him away.

After they left, the servant woman closed the inner room door, and only then did Fang Shi say: "This child really resembles you."

Sweet-mouthed, good-looking, and loves to eat.

Ye Jiao smiled: "No, he doesn't resemble me." When she was small, she had a grass on her head, but Xu Bao didn't. He still resembled his father.

Fang Shi just thought she was joking, so she smiled without saying much more. Then she took out a booklet from her sleeve.

She handed the booklet to Ye Jiao, saying: "Mother learned about that incident in your courtyard before and felt the courtyard gate wasn't secure enough. She thought of selecting some capable people, or buying some from outside, to better guard the gates and prevent people from finding loopholes."

Speaking of this, Fang Shi felt her sister-in-law really had capability.

She had seen that Fang Cao before. Although her looks were ordinary, she had a good figure and was young, at a tender age like a water onion.

When Fang Shi had seen her before, she thought she was targeting her own husband.

Because Fang Cao's brother was a minor steward under her husband, and Fang Shi usually had to distribute monthly wages to them. Being careful, she could see the situation with a little attention. So Fang Shi had called all the servant women in her courtyard together, telling them to drive Fang Cao away as soon as she appeared.

But before she could act, there was commotion at Ye Jiao's place. Moreover, it was handled cleanly by tying her up and driving the whole family out the door, making it known to everyone outside.

However, she couldn't hear the specific details. Qi Yun had frightened all the servants and women in the courtyard. They were all in danger, afraid that speaking too much would implicate themselves. No matter who asked, they knew nothing.

So outsiders said it was Liu Shi supporting Ye Jiao, that as a mother-in-law she protected her daughter-in-law in every way, truly treating her daughter-in-law like her own daughter.

But Fang Shi knew the character of these two spouses and thought it was most likely her ruthless and cunning Second Brother-in-law who had done it.

However, Fang Shi didn't know that Ye Jiao actually knew nothing about this matter.

Little Ginseng listened to Fang Shi's words and sat there thinking for quite a while, trying to remember what had happened in the courtyard that would make her mother-in-law feel she was short-staffed.

After thinking it over, she only remembered the incident at the mountain garden where several servant women had been dismissed.

Last time when she and Spring Orchid went up the mountain to select places for planting medicinal herbs, several servant women had stubbornly blocked them. Her husband had dismissed them all.

Mm, that matched up. It was this incident.

So Ye Jiao nodded to Fang Shi: "Exactly, we really are short-staffed." Last time when she looked at the mountain garden's roster, she felt they were understaffed, so it was normal that security wasn't tight.

Hearing this, Fang Shi felt Ye Jiao indeed wanted to keep a close eye on Qi Yun. She quickly pointed to the booklet: "Then take a look. Find several capable ones and don't let those with bad intentions mix in again." Otherwise, having several more Fang Caos would always be annoying.

Ye Jiao nodded seriously along with her. Exactly, those servant women had openly and secretly intimidated her when she was selecting land for medicinal herbs. This time they couldn't choose that type.

However, when flipping through the booklet, Ye Jiao quietly asked: "If we select people, do they count as the family's or as mine and my husband's?" After all, the garden was bought by them, so using the family's people wouldn't be appropriate.

Fang Shi quickly said: "Of course they're your own family's." Speaking of this, Fang Shi also smiled, "Your timing is good. With the Wu family as a contrast earlier, now everyone says our family manages the household well. Others are so envious."

Previously, the Wu family had favored concubines over wives. A few days ago, they let that Madam Qian die. That Wu family mother-in-law Zhang Shi only cared about protecting her son and also protected Seventh Miss Lu because she was pregnant, causing Madam Qian to die in vain. As a result, the Qian family took them to court.

Now with this lawsuit, if they won it would be fine, but if they lost they could easily suffer counter-accusations.

The Qian, Wu, and Lu families had already torn apart all pretenses and were making a citywide commotion.

At this time, word spread that the Qi family's mother-in-law Liu Shi had driven away the little vixen who was seducing her son to maintain household peace. Wasn't this enviable?

Even if some men made snide remarks, criticizing Ye Jiao for being ungenerous, with Qi Yun around, no one dared say it openly.

As for women, they all envied the Qi family's daughter-in-law. Her husband was good, and her mother-in-law was easy to get along with. Compared to those mothers-in-law who encouraged their sons to take concubines for no reason, especially compared to that foolish woman Zhang Shi, the Qi family seemed even more precious.

Even Fang Shi had been walking with a spring in her step recently when going out to admire flowers and taste tea, feeling particularly proud.

But Ye Jiao knew nothing about all this. She only wanted to select people for the garden. The two were talking about two different things yet could still chat together and have a pleasant conversation.

When Qi Yun returned, Fang Shi had already left. Ye Jiao was sitting at the table with a writing brush, making marks in the booklet.

Qi Yun hung his fur coat to the side, then went to the charcoal brazier to warm himself up before coming to Ye Jiao's side. While pouring himself tea, he said: "Elder Brother just sent word saying things in the capital have settled down considerably. He'll come to see you soon, and Tie Zi will return with him."

Ye Jiao was looking through the booklet, which recorded these people's identities and past duties in detail. With so many words, Little Ginseng found it somewhat difficult to read. Hearing Qi Yun's words, she just nodded unconsciously: "It's good that Elder Brother is coming back. I miss him terribly."

Qi Yun's hand holding the tea cup paused slightly as he looked at her and asked: "What are you looking at?"

Ye Jiao didn't look up as she replied: "Mother asked me to select people, saying to secure the gates."

Hearing this, Qi Yun thought Ye Jiao already knew about the previous incident, and his heart tightened.

He never hid anything from Ye Jiao. As long as Jiao Niang asked, he would tell her everything. But this matter was annoying, and speaking of it would inevitably make Ye Jiao overthink. Qi Yun thought it was better not to disturb her.

Now that Qi Yun thought Ye Jiao knew, he decided to come clean. He sat upright to the side and first stated his position: "Jiao Niang, rest assured. For this lifetime, one life, one world, one pair of people."

Ye Jiao didn't know where this random sentence came from, but Little Ginseng could hear the affection in these words.

She set down her brush and smiled as she leaned over, sitting sideways on Qi Yun's lap and hooking her arms around his neck to kiss him.

Qi Yun immediately embraced her waist to prevent her from falling, then lowered his head, letting his wife nuzzle against his face.

After a while, he heard Ye Jiao say: "Husband treats me well, I know. If you treated me badly, we wouldn't have lasted this long."

Qi Yun found these words moving, feeling his affection was reciprocated. But Little Ginseng was just stating facts.

If Qi Yun had treated her badly, without her, her husband probably wouldn't have survived until now.

She was his elixir, always had been.

However, after Ye Jiao mentioned the mountain garden, Qi Yun nodded: "You're thinking correctly. We should find some people for the mountain. But these tenant farmers' families are suitable for the house, but since the mountain is our own property, it wouldn't be good to use people from Elder Brother's estate to help."

The three brothers had a good relationship, but any relationship needed to be carefully maintained.

To put it bluntly, one shouldn't always think of taking advantage of others, or even the best relationships would wear thin.

Qi Yun touched Ye Jiao's back, resting his chin in the woman's neck hollow as he said softly: "Elder Brother has many tenant farmers under him, but if we keep using them, sooner or later there will be resentment. It's better to buy some from outside, get their indenture contracts, and they'll be easier to manage in the future."

Ye Jiao had learned quite a lot about household management from Liu Shi, but she wasn't very clear on these details. Now hearing Qi Yun's words, Ye Jiao thought carefully and nodded: "Husband is right, let's do as you say."

Then Qi Yun closed the booklet that had stolen his wife's attention and tossed it aside.

But he couldn't do anything to Ye Jiao either, so he just carefully kissed her a little, then said softly: "Actually, things were quite good before."

Ye Jiao looked at him with clear eyes. Because Qi Yun had just touched her waist, making her laugh, there was still laughter in her eyes as she asked: "How were they good?"

Qi Yun rested his chin in her neck hollow, seeming both helpless and nostalgic: "Before, everyone would run when they saw me, avoiding me like the plague. It was quite comfortable."

Not like now, when people chased right to his door, and even a cold face couldn't scare them away.

But Ye Jiao cupped his face and examined it, then smiled and said: "I still think now is better."

Qi Yun asked: "Why?"

Ye Jiao seriously touched his waist and poked it, then said: "If it were before, you'd be out of breath after two steps, faint from excitement, lifeless and gloomy. How could we have had Xu Bao?"

Qi Yun: ...

Wise Second Young Master Qi decided not to ask about the specific meaning of "lifeless and gloomy" because he felt he wouldn't want to know.