Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 183

Looking at Seventh Great-Uncle from the Qi family slumped on the ground, Xu Cheng's face showed sympathy, but inwardly he was somewhat dismissive.

He was born round and plump, with a fleshy face that made him look like a kind and compassionate Buddha, but how many officials were truly easy to get along with? Moreover, as a seventh-rank county magistrate, at best he was a benevolent parent-official, at worst he dealt with trivial matters every day, having seen all sorts of messy situations.

Only after becoming an official did one realize that the world in books was all beautified, while the living human world was where every family had their own difficult scriptures to recite.

In Xu Cheng's view, the Qi family matter ultimately came down to two words: face.

If the three young masters of the Qi family hadn't achieved what they had today, this elderly Seventh Great-Uncle probably wouldn't have come looking for trouble. Now he simply felt that since the Qi family had prospects, Seventh Great-Uncle believed the Qi family would be more tolerant of them for the sake of face, which gave these people the courage to make trouble in front of others.

The result was that Second Master Qi indeed cared about face, but his face was earned by himself, given by the emperor!

The emperor said they were a good family, so they were a good family. Anyone who said otherwise was opposing the emperor.

This kind of face was greater than anything else. Besides, this was originally a matter where the Qi family was in the right, and now they had the imperial family backing them. This quarrel was over before it even began.

Qi Yun from beginning to end never gave Seventh Great-Uncle and his people a proper look. From the moment he had Tie Zi go find the prefect, he had already anticipated the current result.

Gentle handling methods weren't unavailable, but Qi Yun was too lazy to drag things out.

He would return to the capital sooner or later, and before going back, clarifying family matters was Qi Yun fulfilling his filial duty.

Last time they had a falling out, but unfortunately this family's shamelessness had layer upon layer with no end. Since that was the case, they might as well completely abandon all pretense. This time he would completely sever the relationship cleanly, saving future troubles.

Now Qi Yun didn't even give Seventh Great-Uncle a glance, only looking toward Xu Cheng and bowing: "Magistrate Xu, since the weather is cold and frozen, please come inside for some hot tea to warm yourself, so we can also discuss the bridge construction matter further."

Xu Cheng also smiled: "That would be good, thank you for your thoughtfulness, Second Master." Then Xu Cheng turned back and said quietly to the bailiff: "This official has matters to discuss with Second Master Qi. Go report to the prefect first."

Qi Yun could hear these words, but he pretended not to know, just standing behind Father Qi and Qi Zhao, putting his hands in his sleeves with a hand warmer, his expression calm.

Father Qi also understood and smiled as he exchanged pleasantries with Xu Cheng, walking through the door together.

Qi Zhao looked at his second brother, thinking that Second Brother was indeed the same as before, with a heaven-gifted brilliant mind. He patted Qi Yun's shoulder, then walked toward the people who were still silent as cicadas in winter, saying: "Since the matter is settled, you may go. Our household doesn't provide meals."

This sounded like dismissing beggars, but in Qi Zhao's heart, this group trying to frame his family and harm Third Brother was worse than beggars.

Real beggars at least knew how to play bamboo clappers and sing auspicious songs, while these people probably knew nothing except living off others.

Then Qi Zhao didn't look at them further, signaled to the servants with his eyes, and returned with Qi Yun.

Second Master Qi looked at his eldest brother, feeling that compared to his previous simple righteousness and pure kindness, he now had additional dignity and uprightness.

This change was excellent. Having an elder brother who could be proper and serious gave the younger brother peace of mind. Qi Yun was pleased to see this and obediently followed behind Qi Zhao through the door.

The Qi family servants didn't entangle with them much either, just pushed and shoved a few times to make them move away, then went back.

When the main gate closed, the "bang" was particularly loud.

Seventh Great-Uncle was already somewhat dazed, not even knowing how he got back to the carriage.

All around were chaotic voices, these younger generation crying and making noise, hoping Seventh Great-Uncle could think of a way to rescue the two children. Those two children were involved in deaths, having committed truly unforgivable crimes. If really sentenced, the light punishment would be exile, the heavy punishment would be beheading. How could they bear it!

But Seventh Great-Uncle closed his eyes and said nothing.

After a long while, he squeezed out one sentence: "Let's go. Now... I'm afraid even immortals couldn't save them."

Tie Zi had been lying against the door panel. When there was no more sound outside, he trotted back to the front hall and nodded to Qi Yun.

Seeing this, Second Master Qi waved his hand to let Tie Zi withdraw first, then discussed the bridge construction matter in detail with Xu Cheng.

This matter wasn't just a means for Qi Yun to gain reputation for the Qi family, but was from his heart.

First, it would benefit the neighbors; second, it would bring great benefits to the Qi family.

Qi Zhao's estate and Qi Yun's wine shop were already connected. One side produced grain, the other brewed wine, so both brothers could profit from it.

But now that Qi Yun's wine shop was growing bigger and using water transport more and more, he wanted to build a new port by the river for his family's convenience.

But this matter couldn't be stated directly, nor was it good to seek connections, since their family's business and official fortune were currently too smooth, making them targets for who knows how many people. To accomplish this, they could only start from small matters.

Bridge building and road paving were all matters benefiting future generations. If accomplished, it would count as Xu Cheng's political achievement. With the county magistrate happy, there would naturally be benefits for his family in the future.

Now Qi Yun only mentioned bridge construction, not mentioning anything else.

Ye Jiao usually didn't participate in Qi Yun's business, so now she returned to the back courtyard with Fang Shi to prepare New Year necessities and see if the children had woken up.

The children were all at their most interesting age. When gathered together, they were quite lovable. If they were awake, they could play together.

Even just pinching and hugging each other would have its own fun.

When they returned, they indeed saw the twins wearing round, puffy clothes sitting on the ground playing with balls, while Xu Bao was pulling Little Shi Tou, talking to him about classical texts. If you ignored the bewilderment on Little Shi Tou's face, this scene was quite harmonious.

Although Little Shi Tou wanted to study and take the imperial examinations, he ultimately didn't have Xu Bao's temperament of taking pleasure in reading. Having finally finished his schoolwork, when he saw Xu Bao he had wanted to play together, but ended up having to accompany Xu Bao in reciting books, which was indeed somewhat torturous for Little Shi Tou.

The twins, however, really liked Brother Shi Tou. Every time Brother Shi Tou came, their own brother would leave them alone, which was truly a good thing.

After Ye Jiao and Fang Shi entered, Little Shi Tou thought he saw his savior, but unexpectedly Fang Shi immediately said: "It's rare for the children to be so studious. Shi Tou, come recite some books for us to hear."

Little Shi Tou: ...

For a moment, he couldn't tell whether accompanying Xu Bao in classical recitation was more miserable, or being pulled out by his mother to perform was more miserable.

Xu Bao immediately raised his head, standing there puffing out his little chest: "Xu Bao wants to recite too! Aunt, let Xu Bao recite."

Fang Shi immediately smiled and nodded, touching the top of Xu Bao's head: "Good, good, good. Xu Bao is so smart. Aunt wants to hear it."

Xu Bao opened his mouth and began reciting, with clear pronunciation and smooth delivery, making Little Shi Tou on the side marvel and feel even closer to Xu Bao.

If nothing else, just for Xu Bao stepping up for him today, he would treat Xu Bao better in the future, even better.

After finishing one passage, Little Su happened to bring in refreshments and fruit. Ye Jiao had the two older children wash their hands and eat by themselves, while she and Fang Shi took bowls and spoons to feed the twins.

Fang Shi looked at Xu Bao over there holding a big apple and gnawing on it, her eyes unable to hide her amazement. Then Fang Shi sat beside Ye Jiao and said quietly: "This child is truly clever. So young yet able to recite the Great Learning and understand its meaning. He's really good material for studying."

Ye Jiao usually didn't inquire much about the children's studies. Hearing this, she said: "Whether he's good material or not, I don't know. I just hope he can keep Shi Tou company in the future." Then Little Ginseng paused: "Xu Bao has a big head, so it's normal for him to remember more things."

Fang Shi was startled, then immediately curved her lips, looking at Ye Jiao and laughing speechlessly.

Xu Bao didn't know his mother was talking about his big head behind his back. He probably also didn't know he had almost been given that name. Right now the little fellow was just quietly gnawing his apple, eating with great concentration.

Then Fang Shi brought up another matter: "Since sister-in-law has returned, there will be several tea gatherings coming up. Let's go together."

Ye Jiao nodded: "Good."

When she lived at home before, Ye Jiao had attended many such tea gatherings. Going again now would be familiar territory.

Fang Shi took a spoon to feed Ruyi milk porridge, while wiping Ruyi's mouth corners with a handkerchief and saying to Ye Jiao: "There's also an invitation from the prefect's wife, but previously they said it was today's tea gathering. I don't know why someone just came to say the date was changed and will be determined later. When it's settled, I'll go with sister-in-law."

Ye Jiao nodded without taking this matter to heart.

Little did she know, this tea gathering's date change was precisely because of what had just happened with the Qi family.

Right now in the prefect's office, it was already chaos. Prefect Wei frowned slightly: "What kind of people came?"

The clerk hurried forward to report: "Mostly merchants from the city, saying they want to sue the Qi family for debt evasion, fraud and deception, and also..."

But Prefect Wei immediately sat up straight: "The Qi family? Which Qi family?"

The clerk was startled, then said: "The Qi family from the west of the city."

"Not the Qi family from outside the city?"

"No, they're suing the Qi family that had two people arrested before."

Prefect Wei breathed a sigh of relief, and the wrinkles on his brow relaxed considerably: "That's good then. If it involved the Qi family from outside the city, things would be much more troublesome."

The clerk nodded repeatedly. Even if Prefect Wei didn't explain, he understood the difference.

The Qi family outside the city was the number one wealthy household, with family members serving as officials in the capital, very difficult to provoke. Fortunately, this family was usually extremely law-abiding and wouldn't cause trouble, naturally not making things difficult for the office.

Having this matter unrelated to the Qi family was best. As for the household in the city, they brought it on themselves.

Prefect Wei's expression became more settled: "Since that's the case, whoever submitted complaints should be accepted. Those that should go to the county magistrate for trial should be handed to Magistrate Xu. Properly comfort the complaining people and merchants, don't let incidents arise."

The clerk agreed, understanding his superior meant to handle things officially without favoritism, which was naturally easiest to handle. The clerk's heart also became much more settled.

Prefect Wei took a deep breath, stood up, walked to the desk and picked up the letter paper placed there to look through, then tossed it aside.

Since the clerk had always worked in the office and was by the prefect's side, he naturally knew what was written inside concerned Miss Shen, but for a moment he didn't know how to react.

After waiting a while and seeing Prefect Wei still not speaking, the clerk said: "Sir, that Miss Shen disappeared without trace as soon as she entered the palace. Current news is that she was implicated in palace affairs, committed wrongdoing, and her life or death is unknown. Should we inform the Shen family..."

"Silence." Prefect Wei glared at the clerk. Seeing the clerk close his mouth tightly, only then did he slowly exhale.

Although serving as an external official, Prefect Wei still had his own connections in the capital.

Precisely because of these connections, when the capital initially put out word about selecting beauties to fill the imperial harem, Prefect Wei didn't recommend his own suitable daughters, but tacitly allowed the Shen family to get involved, ultimately sending Miss Shen.

Prefect Wei knew entering the palace wasn't a good thing, which was why he allowed others to manipulate things.

But what Prefect Wei hadn't expected was that Miss Shen actually didn't return, but was determined to stay in the palace, truly foolish to the end.

Now that something had happened, Prefect Wei wasn't surprised, but he was unwilling to let his subordinates discuss it.

The reason was simple: Prefect Wei was very clear about what major incident had occurred in the imperial palace.

The empress giving birth, the deposed prince leaving the capital - anyone with some information would find it hard not to connect these two events.

Now hearing that Miss Shen's life or death was unknown due to palace affairs, whether it related to either event, it would be extremely troublesome. Staying silent was best.

Ultimately, people walked their own paths. The Shen family wanted to climb higher, Prefect Wei had given them the opportunity. Regardless of the initial intention, he had followed their wishes. As for the current outcome, those were everyone's choices, each with their own fate.

Prefect Wei didn't voice these internal details, but said: "Don't mention this again in the future. How the Shen family fares is not this official's concern. Regarding all related matters, just pretend not to know."

The clerk also understood the wisdom of "playing dumb" and agreed without saying more.

At this time, someone outside reported: "Sir, there's a bailiff sent by Magistrate Xu outside who wishes to see you."

Prefect Wei thought it was official business and said to the clerk: "You go see. This official is tired. If it's not urgent, no need to report back."

The clerk hurried out and soon trotted back, saying to Prefect Wei: "That bailiff said Magistrate Xu asked him to bring word that the Qi family has received another imperial plaque and will hang it up this afternoon."

Prefect Wei, who had been preparing to go to the back hall to rest, immediately sat up straight: "What characters were bestowed?"

"They said, 'Vast as Heaven's Grace.'"

Prefect Wei pondered these four characters in his heart over and over, the more he thought about them, the more he felt the Qi family was favored by the emperor.

Many families received imperial golden plaques, but being able to receive two, both with extremely upright meanings, was not something ordinary families could achieve.

For officials, gauging the emperor's intentions was fundamental.

Taking a step back, regardless of whether the emperor truly favored the Qi family, more interaction was always beneficial, not fawning, but avoiding offense.

So Prefect Wei immediately stood up: "Go get this official's regular clothes. You come with this official to the Qi family to offer congratulations."

When Prefect Wei arrived, the Qi family was already bustling with activity.

Receiving imperial gifts was such great honor!

Moreover, this golden plaque was written by the emperor himself with the imperial seal. When ordinary people saw it, they had to kneel and kowtow to show respect. Who wouldn't envy the Qi family?

Previously, some people had been sour, thinking that after Second and Third Masters Qi went to the capital, they stopped caring about home, even taking away that "Noble and Upright Conduct" golden plaque, clearly not wanting to let their hometown people share in the glory.

But now, the Qi family had two golden plaques - one left in the capital, one brought home, not neglecting either side.

There were those who envied, those who were jealous, but regardless of their feelings, they all had to be pleasant on the surface, rushing over to congratulate, hoping to share in some good fortune and gain some benefits.

There were also those who were angry at heart - the Shen family counted as one, the city Qi family counted as another, but whether they were angry or not, no one cared. Under the Qi family's current glory, any occasional shadows probably wouldn't attract much attention.

What surprised Ye Jiao was that she received a congratulatory gift signed by Ye Bao.

Regarding Second Brother Ye's family, Ye Jiao couldn't remember very clearly. Perhaps she could still recall Second Brother Ye and Second Sister-in-law Ye's appearance, but Ye Jiao's memory of their child Ye Bao was quite vague.

Last time she saw him he was just a child. Calculating his age, he was probably now a 12-year-old young man.

Ye Bao hadn't come in person, just had fellow villagers bring over a congratulatory gift - a tightly wrapped package of pastries. Though not exquisite, it was a gesture of goodwill.

When Qi Yun mentioned this to Ye Jiao, she was first stunned, then said: "Husband, what does this mean?"

Qi Yun looked at Ye Jiao: "Probably showing goodwill. I heard he's doing quite well in school too."

He had asked the person who brought the gift, who said that after Second Brother Ye disappeared due to gambling debts, Second Sister-in-law Ye moved house, but Ye Bao was still studying at school, working very hard. He had probably reached an age where he understood right from wrong.

Regarding this family, Qi Yun had never paid attention, and now he only mentioned it briefly to Ye Jiao.

Ye Jiao leaned against Qi Yun, thought for a moment, and said: "This is a good thing."

Although Little Ginseng hadn't been human for very long, her thoughts had always been clear as a mirror, and after becoming a mother she understood even more the difficulty of raising children.

Every child was a blank slate, everything taught by their parents.

Teach them well, and they become good children; teach them poorly, and they can grow crooked.

When Ye Bao was young, he had bullied Ye Jiao, mostly following his parents' example. When small children don't understand anything, the malice they display is often adults' malice that they've learned, but because they don't know the consequences, they act more extremely.

Now that he had attended school and could still be straightened out, this was inherently not easy.

Being more sensible, his future path would probably be easier to walk.

But Ye Jiao had never thought about resuming contact. Though she wasn't vengeful, she wasn't a merciful goddess who could forgive everything either.

After all, whom she chose to associate with was Ye Jiao's own business. She could do as she pleased. Besides, there were so many good children in the world - if she had to go meet every one of them, wouldn't she be exhausted to death?

Qi Yun gently stroked his wife's back and asked: "What are you thinking about, Jiao Niang?"

Ye Jiao looked up at him and said seriously: "Reading can change one's life. Reading is truly wonderful."

Qi Yun hadn't expected Ye Jiao to reach this conclusion. Thinking carefully, he found nothing wrong with it, so he smiled and nodded, letting this matter pass without further mention.

After the excitement from the golden plaque died down three days later, the Qi family had to start preparing to purchase New Year necessities and distribute year-end bonuses to managers and shopkeepers.

Since Yue'er was still small, Fang Shi had to spend time caring for her, making it difficult to handle account matters thoroughly, so Ye Jiao had to help out.

Qi Yun also needed to meet with the family's shopkeepers and managers to discuss shop conditions.

Those who needed warning got warnings, those who needed encouragement got encouragement. Qi Yun was busy from morning to night every day. Rarely, after dark this day, he found some free time and went to Father Qi and Liu Shi's courtyard.

When he arrived, Father Qi and Liu Shi had just set out a late-night meal and were preparing to eat. Hearing that Qi Yun was coming, they didn't have the table cleared. After all, they were family with no need for such formalities, so they let Qi Yun enter.

After Qi Yun came in and looked at them, he first said: "Your unfilial son disturbs Father and Mother's rest."

Father Qi smiled: "No matter, Second Son, please sit. Is there something urgent?" If it weren't urgent, Qi Yun certainly wouldn't come so late to speak.

Liu Shi called Qi Yun to sit beside her and turned to Nanny Liu: "Go add another set of bowls and chopsticks."

Qi Yun didn't feel hungry, but since Liu Shi had spoken, he sat beside Liu Shi, ate two bites of pastry, then put down his chopsticks and looked at his parents, saying gently: "Since I was busy during the day, I could only come in the evening to speak." Then he paused: "I wonder if Father and Mother know of a Meng family in the capital?"

Father Qi looked somewhat confused. Although he was the family head, this place was thousands of miles from the capital, so naturally he didn't know what families were in the capital.

Even if he occasionally heard people mention capital affairs, to outsiders, the capital was like another world - magnificent and splendid, full of flowers and brocade - but they didn't know what families were there. Moreover, why would ordinary people specifically inquire about affairs thousands of miles away?

At most they remembered the emperor's name to avoid using those characters when naming children. For other things, they mostly knew nothing.

But Liu Shi's hand turning prayer beads paused as she looked at Qi Yun: "Could it be the Meng family that produced the empress? I remember their master seems to be the current chancellor. Though the Meng family are imperial relatives, they're also the most precious family."

Qi Yun hadn't expected his mother to know these things and was somewhat surprised, but didn't ask further, just nodded: "Yes, that's the Meng family."

Father Qi still didn't know who the Meng family was, but hearing they had produced an empress and a chancellor, he figured they must be a top-tier noble family and sighed: "Such families are rare in the world. The capital truly has many precious people."

Liu Shi knew in her heart that her second son wouldn't mention this family for no reason. Since he brought them up now, he must have his purpose. Thinking of this, Liu Shi pulled Father Qi's sleeve. Father Qi immediately stopped talking and just looked lovingly at Qi Yun, indicating he should continue.

Then they heard Qi Yun say: "I returned this time not only to accompany Father and Mother for New Year, but also to discuss something with you face to face."

Liu Shi smiled: "Second Son, please speak."

Qi Yun looked up at them, then said gently: "The emperor wants to arrange Third Brother's marriage. Our family will probably soon become in-laws with the Meng family. Please prepare the three matchmakers and six betrothal gifts early."

Liu Shi: ...

Father Qi: ...

Upon hearing this, Liu Shi was stunned, while Father Qi was startled. He first stood up, then immediately sat back down, only the bowl in his hands fell straight to the ground, shattering into pieces.