Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 134

Fang Shi usually liked visiting Liu Shi, but mostly to ask for things or gain some advantage. Even now that the family was well-off, Fang Shi hadn't changed this habit.

But going to cry in front of Liu Shi was the first time anyone had heard of it.

Little Ginseng could guess there were other matters involved. Something that could make eldest sister-in-law cry probably wasn't good, but Ye Jiao wasn't someone with a meddlesome personality who had to know everything, so she sat back down, had the small kitchen make another bowl of wontons, planning to eat first before going.

In Liu Shi's courtyard, Fang Shi indeed had something to say, though she was saying it rather incoherently.

The Qi family was reasonable. When Prefect Shao fell from power earlier, a string of people fell with him, including the Fang family.

That eldest Fang son had even asked his sister to intercede for him to curry favor with the Shao family, but was blocked by Fang Shi.

Later, it was Qi Zhao who spoke well of them for Fang Shi's sake, preventing the Fang family from being implicated by Prefect Shao.

Now Fang Shi came over not only to thank Liu Shi for this, but also to hastily distance herself from her maternal eldest brother, only speaking of Third Brother's difficulties and her maternal grandparents' kindness, not mentioning anything else.

She spoke while crying, making Liu Shi take out her handkerchief to wipe her tears.

Her tears were seven parts genuine, three parts fake. She was truly sad, though not completely irrational. Mainly she wanted Liu Shi to feel sorry for her and to make clear that she would definitely not let her maternal family cause trouble for her marital family again. After receiving much consolation from Liu Shi, she finally left.

When Fang Shi left wiping her tears, Nanny Liu quietly asked: "Madam, what does First Young Mistress mean by this?"

Just now Fang Shi had spoken vaguely, repeatedly saying only that she remembered her marital family's kindness. She looked sad and distressed, but couldn't say exactly why she was distressed.

Liu Shi understood Fang Shi better and said lightly: "She returned to her maternal family early this morning and probably got angry there. Most likely she recognized that her maternal brother is indeed unreliable and will inevitably cause trouble in the future, so she hurried over."

This was the difficulty of being a woman.

Usually, when the maternal family had good fortune, married daughters could only gain some face, but couldn't enjoy any real benefits. But if the maternal family caused trouble, the married daughters would also be implicated.

Take the previous case of Miss Lu Qi having an improper relationship and later becoming a concubine. This affected many daughters of the Lu family. Even those who were already married suffered consequences and had a difficult time.

At such times, caring too much for the maternal family would displease the marital family, but completely ignoring maternal family matters would make outsiders call them unfilial, making it difficult either way.

When there were benefits, you weren't allowed to share, being treated as water spilled from marriage.

When there was trouble, they wanted to drag you back to help, completely forgetting that the water had been spilled.

Usually Fang Shi wasn't someone who couldn't see clearly. She could always balance between marital and maternal families well.

This time, her maternal family probably had some troubling matter that made Fang Shi completely unhappy and hurt her feelings. But a married daughter couldn't speak ill of her maternal family to her mother-in-law, so she came to speak vaguely, avoiding future displeasure.

Nanny Liu asked: "Madam, should I have someone go inquire?"

Liu Shi shook her head, turning her prayer beads: "No hurry. Eldest son's wife can't keep things to herself. If she won't tell me, she'll inevitably tell Eldest son. If it's really something important, Eldest son will naturally handle it. We shouldn't interfere."

Nanny Liu agreed, then smiled: "Should I go get Young Master and Miss now?"

Speaking of Ning Bao and Ruyi, Liu Shi also smiled, quickly saying: "Hurry and bring them for me to see. That little monkey Ruyi will bite her brother's face if she doesn't see him for a while."

This was true, but Liu Shi said it with delight. The joy from the twins was double.

Nanny Liu went to get the children, and when leaving, had another matron go to Second Young Master's courtyard to tell Second Young Mistress that First Young Mistress had left and now was a good time to visit.

As soon as Fang Shi returned to her courtyard, she had someone bring water to wash her face, carefully cleaning her eyes to prevent tears from harming her complexion, then covered her chest and lay on the bed, clearly upset and uncomfortable.

The matron beside her didn't dare console her, only making the charcoal fire burn brighter, heating the room thoroughly, thinking this would make Fang Shi more comfortable.

But the hotter the room became, the more agitated Fang Shi felt inside, feeling stifled.

She simply threw off the quilt and lay on her side facing the wall, curled up.

When Qi Zhao returned, this was the scene he found.

This wasn't the first time he'd seen her like this. He knew his own wife well. Fang Shi was quick to anger and could make herself angry over small matters. Fortunately, she didn't make scenes or cause trouble, just got angry with herself, lying on the bed refusing to get up.

Though Qi Zhao didn't know what had happened, he skillfully washed his hands with water, then smiled as he approached, reaching out to pinch Fang Shi's chubby cheeks: "Wife, get up. Otherwise you'll miss lunch again."

Fang Shi was always obedient in front of Liu Shi, but with her own husband she was quite spoiled, slapping Qi Zhao's hand away.

But after slapping once, feeling Qi Zhao's hand was cold, she turned to face him, gathering the man's hand in her arms to warm it, frowning slightly: "Why is it so cold? Didn't I have your cloak taken out to air? Didn't you wear it?"

Hearing this, Qi Zhao replied: "I wore it, just the water for washing hands was a bit cold..." Before finishing, he saw Fang Shi's slightly red eyes.

Usually, though Fang Shi loved getting angry, she rarely cried.

This sudden occurrence left Qi Zhao speechless, and he anxiously asked: "What's wrong?"

It was better when he didn't ask. Once he asked, Fang Shi felt even more wronged.

She sat up, waved for the matron to leave, and when only she and Qi Zhao remained, Fang Shi said: "Second Brother came to find me and mentioned matters concerning my maternal family."

Then Fang Shi clearly explained about the Shen family breaking their engagement and sending their daughter to the palace.

Qi Zhao hadn't spoken as specifically to Fang Shi as she described, only making clear that when even the prefect wouldn't send anyone and official families wouldn't send daughters, it was never a good thing. Anyone rushing forward should think carefully, lest they fail to gain benefits and instead cause a mess of trouble.

These words made sense, and Fang Shi could listen to them.

Moreover, when they had caught the adultery before, it was Qi Yun who had arranged everything piece by piece, with Fang Shi implementing it. This gave Fang Shi some inexplicable admiration for her Second Brother.

Since Second Brother said it wasn't good, it was probably really not good.

Fang Shi had kindly gone to warn Sister-in-law Shen, but was mocked and criticized by Sister-in-law Shen instead!

After hearing Fang Shi's account, though Qi Zhao didn't fully understand the intricacies, just listening made it seem unreliable.

But he didn't say much, since it was Fang Shi's maternal family business. As a son-in-law, Qi Zhao couldn't very well speak ill of his elder brother-in-law's wife.

Fang Shi had no such reservations, gritting her teeth angrily: "I know Second Brother is kind-hearted and capable. What he says is usually right, so I thought I'd go back and tell my sister-in-law. Who knew..." Fang Shi didn't finish her words, but Qi Zhao could guess that Fang Shi had been insulted.

Most likely she had been blocked by sharp words that wouldn't spare anyone's feelings, probably leading to an argument, maybe even a complete falling out, otherwise his wife wouldn't be this angry.

Qi Zhao had also met eldest brother-in-law's wife, Sister-in-law Shen. If his own wife was merely petty, that woman was downright mean. Even though the Fang family had received plenty of benefits from the Qi family, it hadn't changed Sister-in-law Shen's nastiness.

She was the type who could squeeze oil from a handful of flour, always stirring up trouble on both sides, a real troublemaker.

Qi Zhao gently patted Fang Shi's back: "Since that's the case, don't bother with it anymore. You've said what needed to be said and done your duty. What happens after that is their business."

Fang Shi gripped Qi Zhao's wrist, pressing her lips together: "I don't want to deal with them anymore. They can cause whatever trouble they want, it's up to them. In the future, you don't need to give them any face on my account either. I'll fulfill my filial duty to my parents, but the things we give them might as well be thrown in the water - at least then we'd hear a splash."

Qi Zhao smiled, knowing Fang Shi was petty and protective, someone with principles who didn't change her mind every moment. Since she was speaking this way now, she had truly given up and didn't want to keep up appearances anymore. He said: "Alright, it's rare for my wife to be so generous, willing to throw silver into water just to hear the sound."

Fang Shi quickly said: "But you can't really throw it away."

Qi Zhao laughed again, thinking his wife's temperament was quite interesting once you got used to it.

Just then, Fang Shi suddenly felt darkness before her eyes and was about to fall backward.

Qi Zhao quickly supported her, thinking she was overcome with anger, and hastily sent for a doctor.

By evening, word reached both Liu Shi's and Qi Yun's courtyards that Fang Shi was pregnant, more than a month along according to the doctor.

This news delighted Liu Shi so much she couldn't stop smiling. Since giving birth to Little Shi Tou, Fang Shi had shown no signs of pregnancy for years. Now, after all this time, she was expecting again. In her mother-in-law's eyes, this was wonderful news.

When Ye Jiao learned of it, she also sent gifts to Fang Shi, specially choosing medicinal herbs beneficial to the body, potted and sent over to help stabilize the pregnancy.

But with New Year approaching and Fang Shi being the eldest daughter-in-law who usually handled many New Year preparations, now that she was pregnant and not yet three months along, she naturally couldn't overexert herself. These duties were set aside.

Liu Shi assigned them to Ye Jiao instead, telling her to ask when she didn't know something, as it was good practice for the future.

Little Ginseng's previously leisurely days suddenly became busy. Every day besides practicing calligraphy, she had to manage household affairs. Just familiarizing herself with the various account books took quite some time, and learning to manage everything well would take much longer. A month passed in the blink of an eye.

During this month, Qi Yun's shops in the capital opened branches, and the house matter was settled. After they went to the capital in the new year and completed the property and land deed transfers, everything would be under their names.

Ning Bao and Ruyi had also grown quite a bit, especially Ning Bao. Previously he had been a bit dark, with an obvious color difference from Ruyi, but he grew whiter and whiter. Now he was fair and clean, and when the little one curled up in his swaddling clothes, he looked like a glutinous rice dumpling, soft and sweet.

But without the color difference, the two children looked much more alike.

Sometimes even Xu Bao couldn't tell them apart, having to study them carefully each time, even wanting to unwrap the swaddling clothes to peek inside.

But this wasn't a sustainable method, and when Xu Bao mentioned it to Master Feng once, Master Feng said this was "undignified."

Though Xu Bao didn't know what "dignified" meant, since this method didn't work, he found another way.

He would lean close - the one who bit him was Ruyi, the one who pushed him away was Ning Bao.

When Qi Yun entered this time, he saw Xu Bao on the soft couch, smiling happily despite being covered in Ruyi's drool.

Second Young Master Qi couldn't help walking over, first taking a cloth to wipe Xu Bao's face, then picking up Ruyi to rock her, though his eyes looked toward Ye Jiao behind the writing desk.

Little Ginseng was concentrating on the account books, holding a brush and recording something, her expression extremely serious.

Qi Yun couldn't help saying: "Is there anything you don't understand?"

He had originally thought Ye Jiao would surely ask him, and then he could explain while coaxing her into kissing him, which would be nice. Who knew Ye Jiao didn't even lift her head: "Mother told me to figure things out myself, that I can't always ask you."

Qi Yun's hand rocking Ruyi paused slightly, then he asked gently: "Why?"

Ye Jiao didn't hide anything, answering directly: "Mother said that when we get to the capital, I'll still need to make decisions about household matters. It's good to practice more now, better than asking you then."

Qi Yun understood that Liu Shi was teaching Ye Jiao how to manage a household independently.

Ordinary commoners' daughters wouldn't be taught these things. In common families, just having enough food and clothing was difficult enough - learning more would be wasteful.

But Ye Jiao was different. She was going to the capital to be the mistress of a household. Even if Qi Yun could protect her from worrying about schemes and machinations, she still needed to learn household management skills bit by bit.

Liu Shi had taught her before, but that was just managing one courtyard.

Now that Ye Jiao had recovered her health and it happened that Fang Shi was pregnant and couldn't handle affairs, Liu Shi wanted to give Ye Jiao more learning and management experience, better than going to the capital completely unprepared.

Knowing this was Liu Shi's good intention, Qi Yun said nothing more.

He restrained Ruyi's little hand that wanted to pinch his ear, bounced her twice, then approached Ye Jiao.

The man's eyes scanned the several account books spread before Ye Jiao, understanding everything at a glance.

These included accounts and detailed records of household servants. Ye Jiao had recorded everything very carefully with neat handwriting. Though the records weren't particularly detailed, there were no obvious omissions at first glance, showing she had put in effort.

Qi Yun could see his wife was truly applying herself to learning.

He wasn't surprised. Ye Jiao's temperament was such that for things she found useful, like reading and household management, she would always put in a hundred times the effort to learn well. For things she found useless, like poetry and literature, she could fall asleep just listening and wouldn't touch them.

Actually, Qi Yun didn't want a perfect wife. Sometimes he hoped his wife would just be happy, leaving all these exhausting mental tasks to him.

But seeing Ye Jiao working so hard now gave him an inexplicable sense of comfort.

They were both working hard for this family. Though Qi Yun felt he was just making money, while Jiao Niang had to both bear children and manage the household, truly working much harder.

So Qi Yun lowered his head and kissed Ye Jiao's forehead.

But before he could speak, he heard Ye Jiao say: "Husband, I haven't bathed yet, don't be hasty. We'll talk tonight."

Qi Yun: ...

Second Young Master Qi, who hadn't originally intended to do anything, suddenly felt his ears burning from this comment.

Clearing his throat, Qi Yun returned to the soft couch with the hand-biting Ruyi, set her down, picked up Ning Bao instead, saying: "Ning Bao and Ruyi are so different. Maybe I shouldn't have given him this name."

Ye Jiao looked up at him: "What's wrong?"

Qi Yun looked at Ning Bao, who was squinting without even looking at him, and said slowly: "He's too lazy. Xu Bao at least doesn't like to move much, but Ning Bao won't even open his eyes, just like Xu Bao - like a little pig."

At this, Xu Bao immediately raised his head in protest: "Xu Bao is not a pig!"

Ye Jiao also looked at Qi Yun: "Don't say that. Mother said children have memories too and know everything. What if he remembers what you said and isn't close to you in the future?"

Qi Yun looked at his eldest son, then at his wife, wisely choosing to say no more.

But just then, Qi Yun suddenly felt something warm on his body.

Looking down, he saw Ning Bao was finally looking at him.

Those eyes were just like his, with slight upturned corners, pupils like black ink. On Qi Yun's face it created a gentlemanly jade-like quality, but on Ning Bao's face it was pure innocence.

Only then did Qi Yun realize his son had urinated all over him...

Nanny Mo suppressed her laughter as she took Ning Bao, having someone quickly bring water for Qi Yun to clean up. Ye Jiao got up and walked over, looking at the "map" on Qi Yun's clothing, blinking: "Husband, it's fine. What would children know?"

Qi Yun: ...

That's not what you just said.

But because of this incident, Qi Yun took a bath. Halfway through, he pulled his wife who was scrubbing his back into the tub.

Since the tub was rather small, they inevitably had to press close together. When ear touched temple and passion stirred, it was unavoidable.

When Ye Jiao was yawning while being dried off by Qi Yun, Second Young Master wanted to carry Ye Jiao over to the bed.

Though he had previously been in poor health, with proper care now, while still somewhat weak, his strength had increased considerably. His delicate wife was slender, so carrying her shouldn't be a problem.

But because there was water on the floor, Qi Yun's foot slipped and he "dropped" the half-lifted Ye Jiao back into the water.

Ye Jiao: ...

Qi Yun: ...

After the drowsy Ye Jiao dried herself off and pulled Qi Yun back to bed to lie down properly, she blew out the candles, lowered the bed curtains, and whispered: "Husband, how about I make you some strengthening soup tomorrow?"

Qi Yun opened his mouth but didn't know what to say, just making a muffled "mm" sound.

The next day, Second Young Master Qi went out and bought a fine carpet to lay on the floor.

After some more days, just as the twelfth month began, the first snow of winter fell, and the Qi family once again busied themselves preparing for New Year.