The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity

Chapter 362 - 330: Early Assessment (2 Updates)

Jinbao’s words made Song Fang, the aunt, laugh so hard she bent over backwards.

Granny Song was full of pride, "Look at my grandson, so smart and quick-witted at such a young age, he’s got a good head on his shoulders, he’ll definitely make something of himself in the future."

Song Fang found it amusing and not amusing at the same time, "Are you insulting him or praising him?"

Granny Song gave her a sideways glance, "Would I insult my grandson in front of my daughter-in-law?"

Song Fang said, "Alright then, would you be so kind as to praise your grandson in front of your in-law mother and your own daughter?"

Granny Song was momentarily speechless and cast Song Fang a glare.

In front of so many people, this girl didn’t know to save her face.

At that moment, Mrs. Xu spoke up, instructing the maid behind her, "Quickly go see if the banquet arrangements are ready."

This managed to temporarily dissolve the awkwardness in the room.

Knowing her own mother wasn’t skilled in flowery language, Song Fang didn’t press her further.

Song Jiao stood up and walked over to Song Fang, "Little Aunt, give me the candied fruit, I’ll go feed Jinbao."

Song Fang looked at her; a few years ago, when she was still home, she had been a sallow and thin little girl. After half a year in the Capital, her skin had become delicate, and the abnormal redness on her cheeks had disappeared. She looked much more vibrant than she did back home.

"This girl has really changed a lot." As Song Fang handed her the platter of candied fruit, she spoke to Wen Wan, "If you hadn’t brought her along, if I ran into her on the street, I wouldn’t have dared to recognize her as my eldest niece."

Song Jiao sat nearby, and as she fed Jinbao a piece of candied fruit, she overheard this comment and felt her ears flush.

"Who would say otherwise?" Aunt Xie glanced at Song Jiao and then at Song Fang, "In just half a year, your Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law turned her from a country girl into a government official’s daughter. Not only does she have maids serving her, she even has a nanny. I imagine, once Third Son becomes more accomplished, there will be people lining up to propose marriage, and by then she can choose whoever she likes."

Song Fang was aware of the nanny situation. She was sent from here; the nanny had taught her sister-in-law Xu Jia before. Since Xu Jia went to Hongwen Academy this year and didn’t need her, they were afraid the Song family might hire the wrong person, so she was sent over, and Song Fang had even asked her mother-in-law about it.

"If I remember correctly, my eldest niece is turning thirteen around the New Year, right?" Song Fang said, "In one or two more years, it’s about time to get engaged."

She then asked Song Jiao what kind of husband she wished for, whether she preferred a scholar or a martial man.

With so many people discussing her marriage, Song Jiao felt so embarrassed she wanted to vanish. When asked what type she liked, she couldn’t help but recall a fleeting glance at the palace banquet and quickly lowered her eyes, shaking her head, "I don’t know."

Wen Wan casually glanced at the young girl’s expression, then looked away and laughed, "Only twelve, just a budding sprout, she has no experience or knowledge about life, how can she know what kind of person is suitable for marriage? If you put people in front of her to choose now, the young girl would surely be dazzled."

"That’s true," Song Fang agreed, "It’s alright to wait another two years and gain more experience."

Mentioning Song Jiao, Song Fang thought of her Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law who were still in Ningzhou. She looked at the young girl, "I heard that when you came, your mother was already pregnant. She should have given birth by now, right?"

"Yes, she did," Granny Song responded, "It’s a boy."

A smile appeared on Song Fang’s face, "Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law have been waiting eagerly, and they’ve finally got a son."

Perhaps because she had become a mother, in retrospect, some of her Second Sister-in-law’s actions back then seemed understandable to Song Fang.

In front of her in-law, Granny Song couldn’t criticize her own son and daughter-in-law too much, so she casually agreed with Song Fang.

Soon after, the maid sent out by Mrs. Xu earlier returned and said, "Madam, the banquet is ready, shall we proceed now?"

Mrs. Xu didn’t answer directly but looked at Granny Song.

As a guest in someone else’s house, it’s obviously not as informal as being at home, so Granny Song said, "As it pleases my in-law mother, we’re fine with anything."

Mrs. Xu smiled, "In that case, let’s all move to the banquet table! We can chat while we eat."

She then led the way.

Granny Song and Aunt Xie both got up and followed.

Wen Wan, Xie Tao’s wife, and Song Jiao stayed behind.

Seeing that Song Fang had no intention of leaving, Wen Wan asked her, "Aren’t you going out to eat?"

Song Fang looked worriedly at the cradle, "I’m a bit uneasy."

Even though there were wet nurses and maidservants to take care of things for her, Song Fang couldn’t bring herself to leave the twins and go out to eat.

Since the time they were born, even though she initially felt a bit of psychological aversion, she developed a habit of treating the two children as part of her own body. Song Fang even exaggerated that if the babies were too quiet while sleeping, her first reaction was to check their breathing. She had to ensure they were alright before she could relax.

Wen Wan, recalling her own cautiousness when she first gave birth to Jinbao, could somewhat understand Song Fang. She said to Granny Song, "Since Fangniang doesn’t want to go out, then don’t force her. Mother, you go to the banquet and let the servants bring the food here. I’ll stay and accompany my little sister-in-law."

Granny Song didn’t have any objections, primarily considering Song Fang’s status as a young madam. The guests today were all from distinguished families, and she was afraid they might take offense.

Mrs. Xu listened, then turned to Song Fang, saying there’s no problem, if she doesn’t want to go out, then she should stay in. Today, the guests attending the banquet are just here to make connections, and her presence as the head mistress is sufficient.

Song Fang looked at her mother-in-law with gratitude.

Before leaving, Mrs. Xu instructed the servants to serve food to the two sisters-in-law.

Jinbao was taken by Song Jiao to eat, and Wen Wan moved to the cradle, sat down, and carefully looked at the two plump little babies. She couldn’t suppress her smile, "I heard from mother that the boy is Jingbo and the girl is Jingyi. Did your mother-in-law name them?"

Song Fang nodded affirmatively.

In noble families, it’s usually the elders who bestow names.

"So, how is it, taking care of two kids? Tiring?" Wen Wan asked again.

Speaking of this, Song Fang sighed, "Don’t even mention it. Both of them are a handful. It’s unrealistic to separate them, but if you put them together, one cries and then the other follows, sounding like pigs being slaughtered back home during the New Year. Especially at night, look at these dark circles of mine, it’s been several days since I had a good night’s sleep."

Wen Wan was amused by her analogy, but held back her laughter, "Don’t you have nannies at home?"

"You can’t rely on the nannies for everything," Song Fang dismissed, "You can never be too careful. Even if the people are chosen by our mother-in-law, you still have to worry about the worst-case scenario, right? I heard not long ago about a wealthy family in the east of the city, where the internal conflicts were intense. Shortly after the eldest wife’s child was born, they hired a nanny, who was actually a spy for the second wife. Before feeding the child, the nanny would drink medicine, and as a result, the medicine got into the child through the milk, leading to the child’s death before a month was up. Such things make my skin crawl just hearing about it."

"You’re worried about this, you’re worried about that, holding it all up by yourself is no good!"

"Well, I have nothing else to do," Song Fang said, "Unlike you, Third Sister-in-law, who’s got to go to the Hongwen Academy, that must be truly exhausting."

When Wen Wan mentioned this, she felt a bit regretful, "I wanted to finish the Hongwen Academy’s courses before having the child, but unfortunately, when you went, I couldn’t even speak."

"Isn’t how it is now quite good? My mother is helping to take care, even if not perfectly, at least her intentions are good and she would never harm her own grandchildren."

Wen Wan glared at her, "You better not say such things. It’s already a great favor that mother is helping me with the children. If I were to complain, it would reflect poorly on me as a daughter-in-law. If word got out, people would criticize me behind my back!"

During their conversation, Mei Zhi brought food for the two of them.

Just as Song Fang finished a sentence telling Wen Wan not to be polite, the little one in the left cradle started crying.

The nanny in the adjacent room heard the noise and quickly came over, wanting to take Young Master Sun away for feeding, so as not to disturb the Young Madam during her meal.

Song Fang refused and told her to feed him inside the room.

"..." Wen Wan thought her little sister-in-law might be overly cautious.

...

Without his mom around, Jinbao couldn’t stay long. After having some nice food at the table, he threw a fuss about wanting his sister to take him back to find his mother.

Song Jiao was halfway through her meal but was pestered by the little guy until she had to set down her chopsticks and take him back to Song Fang’s courtyard.

As soon as the little guy entered, he dashed into Wen Wan’s arms, nuzzled her twice, and pulled at his mother’s arm to take him outside to play hoop toss.

Wen Wan was surprised that he still remembered the hoop toss at Mirror Lake from a few months ago, but Mirror Lake was too far away, so Wen Wan suggested, "How about we set up a few hoops here for Jinbao to play with? Would that be okay?"

The little guy disagreed and insisted on going out.

Song Fang asked, "What hoops?"

Wen Wan had to honestly recount the outing to the lake for her birthday a few months back.

Song Fang laughed hearing it, "Didn’t expect the little guy to like that. Third Sister-in-law, why not take him? It’s not even noon yet. You can play for an hour or two and still make it back for dinner."

...

Wen Wan notified Mrs. Xu, then took Song Jiao and Jinbao with her. The three of them left the General Mansion, boarded a carriage, and headed directly toward Mirror Lake. Midway, she lifted the curtain to find notices posted below, with quite a few onlookers gathered, mostly scholars at a glance.

Wen Wan had Uncle Lin stop the carriage and asked Song Jiao to wait with Jinbao inside while she went down to read.

Upon returning, Song Jiao inquired, "Third Aunt, what does the notice say?"

Wen Wan replied, "This year, the Emperor has opened an Enkei examination due to the joy of having the Second Prince."

Song Jiao looked puzzled, "What’s an Enkei examination?"

Wen Wan explained, "The imperial examination is held once every three years, and an Enkei examination is an additional test within those three years. Students who failed multiple times are separately recorded in a list for the Emperor to see and are almost always selected."

Song Jiao was still confused, "And what does this have to do with us?"

Wen Wan patiently clarified, "The opening of the Enkei examination means that next year a batch of Enkei Advanced Scholars will enter the Hanlin Academy, which also means that your Uncle Xie at the Shuchang Hall will finish his test period early. To put it simply, his three-year evaluation has been moved up."