Chapter 57: The Plan
Translated by Pill Bug
Edited by Gumihou
The moment the words left her lips, Jin Fengju suddenly rolled on top of her. Whispered laughter tickled her ears as Jin Fengju said, “That’s good, ah. Tonight, I shall stroke you well and show you my regard. When the time comes, do not beg for mercy.”
Jiang Wanying’s face blushed bright red, unbridled joy and bashfulness suffused her whole person as she lightly poked Jin Fengju’s chest. She said, “You said it yourself. If you don’t deliver on your promise, I won’t care for you anymore.”
“How terrifying. But, do not worry, I shall definitely deliver on my promises,” Jin Fengju lifted himself up and, after some thought, said, “Still, you should pay more attention to Zhenxuan’s homework. I have ordered someone to invite a renowned scholar of great virtue and prestige to come and teach the children. He has agreed to come to the marquisate after his three years of mourning are done this autumn. Do ensure that each of you show me that you take the children’s education seriously. I have taken great pains to invite this great scholar. Be sure not to disgrace the Jinxiang Marquisate.”
Jiang Wanying frowned, “Isn’t Teacher Qi very good? Why invite another scholar? Is Teacher Qi’s scholarly achievement not good enough?”
Jin Fengju said, “Although Teacher Qi is not bad, his temper is too mild. Those little brats dare to flip the sky and overturn the earth in front of him. This great scholar is different. He is a true educator. If Zhenxuan fails to live up to expectations, well, I shall say the ugly words in advance. If any of them fail to live up to expectations, I shall break a leg and you mothers are not allowed to cry or make a scene.”
He had just finished speaking when Jin Ming called from the doorway to say that Prince Rong had sent a message requesting Jin Fengju’s presence. Without further ado, he left.
Once her husband was gone, the smile on Jiang Wanying’s face disappeared, replaced by frown lines as she sat at the dressing table, clearly in deep thought. Her trusted maid, Qiu Xia came over to cautiously ask, “Is there something troubling Madam? Didn’t the Young Marquis say that he had no relationship with that Fu woman? He’s only there for those two children. When it comes to children, Madam has personally borne a son and a daughter, children of much nobler and distinguished blood than those inferior brats. What is there to worry about?”
Jiang Wanying sneered and said, “What do you know? If Cousin really does not care for that slut, would he keep talking her down in front of me? Even now, you do not understand Cousin. I fear that it is possible that even he doesn’t realise it himself. The more he insists on talking bad about something, the more it proves how much he cares about it. Though he sounded indifferent, he is protecting that Fu Qiuning.
He’s afraid that I would instigate my aunt to get rid of her as soon as possible. His visits might be due to those two vulgar seeds now, but that Fu Qiuning is no simple woman. During the banquet, she hid her edges and displayed a weak presence, yet still managed to put herself in the limelight. Do you dare guarantee that Lord Husband would not grow fond of such a woman after visiting her a few more times?”
“Then… then what should we do? Surely we can’t bring those two children here to raise, right?” Qiu Xia’s face was bitter. She thought: Indeed, compared to the Madam, the gap between us is too large. I had truly believed everything the Young Marquis said and thought there would be no problem in the future. Who would have thought there would be so many problems and no good solution at hand?
Jiang Wanying also harboured anger in her heart. She could not help the disgust she felt when looking at Qiu Xia. In a cold voice, she said, “You stupid thing, what use are you? Begone and do not bother me.”
After Qiu Xia quietly retreated, she got up and paced about the room in annoyance. Suddenly, she heard a faint noise in the distance. After listening intently, she realised it was Xu’shi. That woman was scolding her maid again. Though harsh and vitriolic, that woman still had some sense of dignity and would not scold people for no reason. She must be [1] ‘pointing at the mulberry tree while cursing the locust tree’.
When she thought about how she could not even subdue a mere concubine, Jiang Wanying grew even more annoyed and shouted through the window, hatred filled her tone as she snapped, “Enough of your arrogance. One day I shall think of a way and be rid of a scourge like you forever!”
She was in the middle of cursing when the sound of qin flowed like water from next door. She knew that it must be her daughter, Xiuzhen, playing the qin. Slowly, a smile appeared on her face as she sat down to listen.
As the sound of qin continued to flow, Jiang Wanying suddenly recalled Jin Fengju’s words about inviting some great scholar to give lessons. A sudden jolt in her brain made her sit up and a bold idea rapidly took shape.
She stood up excitedly, then slowly sat down again, many different emotions flashing in her brilliant eyes. After some time, a sigh escaped her lips and she smiled to herself. “Dear cousin, you just can’t bear to part with those two vulgar seedlings, right? Well, Xu’shi is also the brash and domineering type. So much so that she makes you feel ill at ease.
It’s alright, your cousin will help you recognise the true nature of those cheap brats. You can even rid yourself of one troubling woman. However, all this would take time, at least a year and a half’s worth of work to carry out a plan that would leave no trace. That’s all right, you can take your time and see for yourself what disgusting things they truly are. When that happens, I wonder, how do you plan to thank me? Hahaha…”
Jiang Wanying was practically squirming with pleasure as she proudly refined her schemes. The feeling of arranging plans and strategizing against her enemies was truly enjoyable.
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In the blink of an eye, nearly two months have passed. The osmanthus flowers in the front and back yards of Night Breeze Pavilion were blooming. When a gentle wind picked up, the sweet wave of fragrance it carried lifted everyone’s spirits.
“Madam, since today is the first day of autumn, shall we make jiaozi [2]? I had just picked some celery from the garden, see how bright and sweet they look?” Aunt Yu held out the bundle of celery in her hand for Fu Qiuning to inspect. “I was thinking we could also make some into cold salads. Now that we have some fragrant sesame oil, we can make some stuffing with the leftover pork we bought yesterday. Young Master and Young Miss like celery and pork stuffed dumplings.”
“Alright, let’s do that.” Fu Qiuning glanced over the bundle of celery before bending down to continue with her embroidery. Suddenly, she heard footsteps in the courtyard followed by a clear voice saying, [3] “No need for light blues or deep red, it is naturally the best of flowers. I had not expected the osmanthus at your place to blossom so well.”
Fu Qiuning’s lips pursed into a smile and she said to Aunt Yu, “Looks like the Young Marquis is here again. It had been a few days since we last saw him, I had a feeling we would see him in these two days.”
As she spoke, she went out to greet the man and saw Jin Fengju stepping into the living room. He helped himself to the pot on the table and poured himself a cup of tea. He downed the tea and said, “It’s such a nice day. So rare to have such cool weather without the blazing sun and a good breeze blowing. Yet, you’re still here and not outside enjoying the osmanthus flowers? I see the fruits on the jujube trees are now plump and green. It’s about time to harvest them, so why are you still cooped up inside the house?”
Fu Qiuning’s reply was to laugh and say, “I have just sat down to do a little sewing, but you just have to walk in and see me hidden inside the house. The osmanthus has been blooming for days now, who knows how many days I’d already enjoyed them. As for the jujubes, it is not yet time to harvest them. Once autumn is here and the fruits have fully ripened to a brilliant red, we can harvest them.”
Jin Fengju shook his head and said, “How can you not understand the basics? If you wait until the jujubes have turned red, eight out of ten of them would be food for insects. Therefore, you cannot wait until they fully ripen. We should harvest them now, let the sun bake them a little and they will be soft enough to eat.”
At this, he saw Fu Qiuning and Aunt Yu hiding their smiles behind their sleeves. He frowned and defiantly added, “What’s this attitude of yours? I, your lord, am bestowing knowledge to you and yet you do not appreciate it?”
Fu Qiuning finally laughed and said, “It is not that we do not appreciate it. We did not expect Lord Husband, who is born with a golden spoon, to know this.”
Jin Fengju’s reply was smug, “That is so. While your lord husband cannot distinguish between the five grains, I am at least clear on this point.” He sat down and unfolded his fan. “Who let me love jujubes since my youth? At first, I did not understand this fruit, and only after many years of investigation did I learn this valuable lesson. Now, there’s no need to be dissatisfied. Not many people knew the secrets of jujubes after all. Now that I’ve told you, you should appreciate my benevolence for not demanding a lesson fee.”
[Gumihou: Lol, dude.]
Pill Bug TL Notes:
[1] Scolding this person on the surface while actually scolding a different person.
[2] AKA Gyoza. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiaozi#Gy%C5%8Dza
[3] A famous phrase from 宋代 李清照《鹧鸪天·桂花》<<Partridge Sky>> by Li Qingzhao of the Song Dynasty, praising osmanthus flowers.
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In your dreams lmao the idea of Jiang Wanying trying to raise two more kids (whom she doesn’t even respect because of their birth mother btw) is going to end up as disaster for everyone involved. Thankfully at least she and her maid are aware that there’s too much of a gap between her kids and the twins, it’s gonna be downright laughable just for even suggesting it.
Yup, yup
Those ladies are to sneaky
Very sneaky