Chapter 66: Loss of Control
Translated by Gumihou
Proofread by Pill Bug
After the decision was made, they all went for a short tour and found that the rest of the living space was indeed as plain and spartan as the living room. When they reached the study, they found that aside from several bookshelves stuffed with books, and a few tables and chairs, there was really nothing else of note. Madam Jiang secretly nodded to herself: Looks like my son still has some integrity and did not let this woman turn his head. Perhaps it is true that his only interest in this place was due to those two promising children.
She had also noted that occasion when Jin Changfeng peeled a sweet potato for her. Though she did not like this grandson for his inferior background, that little act of filial piety still moved her a little, enough to develop some positive interest in him. After all, weren’t they related to her? Wasn’t that child the flesh and blood of her most promising son?
Her musings were interrupted by Concubine Huo’s sudden high pitched scream. She pointed accusingly at one of the tables and cried, “This… how did this get here?”
The table was situated in a corner, which was why Madam Jiang and Jiang Wanying had not noticed it immediately. After Concubine Huo’s dramatic scream, everyone turned to look and as one, their expression all sank as they caught sight of the paperweights on the table.
Fu Qiuning was also stunned. Desperately, she thought: Why had she forgotten to put away those two eye-catching things?!
However, it was too late for such thoughts. Fortunately, Jin Changfeng and Jin Changjiao were in the living room, chatting with Old Madam. Thus, there was no one to give her away when she pulled a bewildered look and said hesitantly, “Is there something unusual about those paperweights? Lord Husband brought them home for the children to use. I am not too clear about such things and merely thought they look nice. Also, the quality of the jades appeared to be quite good. Why is Little Sister so shocked?”
Huo’shi and Xu’shi’s faces had paled, but Jiang Wanying maintained her smile as she said, “Elder Sister, did Lord Husband not tell you about the origin of these jades? Besides the delicacy and moistness of the jades and the exquisite carving, what makes these jades even more precious was that they were bestowed by the emperor himself. Back then, when the countries all paid tributes to the emperor, many kinds of gifts were brought in.
When the emperor laid eyes upon these jade lions, he praised Lord Husband on the spot and likened his contributions to our great country to a lion of great strength, and thus bestowed these lions to him. Lord Husband loved these lions very much. Xuan’er had begged him twice for them but was denied both times. A few days ago, he told me that they have been gifted away. I had been wondering to whose hands they had gone to, looks like they have been gifted to Elder Sister.”
All these were said with a shallow smile. Madam Jiang, Concubine Huo and Concubine Xu’s expressions were even more ugly by the end of this long speech. However, these paperweights had been personally gifted by Jin Fengju to the twins, therefore, they could not say anything about it. Finally, with a disgruntled, humph, they all left the study.
Naturally, Old Madam Jin was not yet senile and one look on Madam Jiang’s face told her that they must have found something disagreeable, her words thereafter were filled with sour dissatisfaction. As for Fu Qiuning, she kept her head lowered, gave the appearance of attentiveness and occasionally responded with some sound that was neither agreement nor disagreement.
This reminded Old Madam of her relationship back when she was much younger and had to deal with her mother-in-law, sisters-in-law and the random concubines. Everyone called her virtuous and gullible, believing that her husband would soon spoil the concubines and abandon the wife. However, in the end, she was the one with the firmest footing in the family and the one with the last laugh.
Seeing Concubine Xu and Concubine Huo looking more and more arrogant as Fu Qiuning continued to keep her head lowered, the old lady privately laughed to herself: Do you really believe that Fu’shi is afraid? She merely does not wish to get involved with the rest of you. You are all considered young ladies of a good family, however, you can’t even see past the end of your nose.
At this, she suddenly stood up and said, “Enough, enough, I had thought to quietly freeload a meal here but never expect all of you to suddenly come pattering in after me. Now that there are more than a few dozen of us here, how are we to expect them to feed all of us? I’m afraid we shall have to wrap things up. The owner must be impatient for us to go. We should not overstay our welcome and return to our respective courtyards. However, don’t forget to bring me those sweet potatoes.”
Fu Qiuning smiled, “What is Old Ancestor saying? Are you trying to get this granddaughter-in-law killed? It’s still early, it’s fine to sit for a little more. Although this humble woman does not have any mountain treasures or fresh seafood, we do not lack rough tea or plain rice…”
Old Madam Jin waved her hand, “No need, no need, I will come again. What if I bore you too much and you bar me from coming in the future? I know what you are thinking, trying to put me off by saying you only have rough tea and plain rice. You’re hoping that I won’t come in the future. Hei-hei, don’t even think about it,”
At this, everyone laughed.
As the people prepared the sedan chair and eager hands helped Old Madam onto the sedan, Jiang Wanying turned to Fu Qiuning with a beatific smile, “Sister is so very lucky! Such a wonderful pair of children, and so promising. They will soon enter the clan school and show off their skills. What a pity they are not your biological children. Still, as the saying goes, the grace of bearing children cannot be compared to the grace of raising them. Therefore, Elder Sister need not worry, however, Night Breeze Pavilion is a little out of the way. I should really speak to Lord Husband and have Elder Sister move back to the inner court sooner. That way, I can take better care of you, don’t you think so?”
Fu Qiuning merely mumbled some niceties in a humble manner and, after much difficulty, managed to send them off. As she saw the backs of Old Madam Jin and the rest of the entourage disappear out the door, Fu Qiuning finally spared a wry smile. “Old Madam, ah, Old Madam, just what song are you trying to sing? Even your grandson has promised to let me grow old in peace here and not force me into that tiger’s pit. Does the idea of me finding peace in this hidden place bother you?”
“What is Mother saying?” Jin Changfeng and Jin Changjiao did not hear what Fu Qiuning said.
When she shook her head and said, “It was nothing, I’m just a little tired.”
They immediately stepped forward and said, “Mother is tired? Come, let’s go into the house, we’ll help you massage your legs.”
“You little flatterers,” Fu Qiuning burst out laughing and poked their foreheads. “Don’t think that you can fool me. You’re in such a hurry to rush back to the study because you abandoned writing your big characters because of Elder Madam’s sudden visit, didn’t you? Well, go on and finish your work. There’s no need for you to worry about me. The only thing you need to worry about is not placing those white jade lions in a conspicuous place… be sure to hide them, otherwise, if your little brothers and sisters suddenly come to play and cause another little accident. I don’t know who you’re going to cry to.”
This frightened the children so much that immediately they rushed back to the study to hide their white jade lions. Meanwhile, Fu Qiuning continued to ponder over Old Madam’s intention as she returned to her room. The more she thought, the less she understood. She had very little contact with Jin Fengju, and though she knew the other party was powerful, she understood him less than the Old Madam who watched him grow up. Considering what she had heard from this grandson about the grandmother, she could tell that this old lady had no intention of allowing Fu Qiuning to stay within Night Breeze Pavilion for long, which was why the Old Madam had pulled out such a move. As she leaned on the pillow, Fu Qiuning still could not understand what was going on in that Old Madam’s head.
After a while, she sighed, picked up the embroidery basket and absently continued her work. However, the lack of attention soon bit her back as she accidentally stabbed herself. She had just tossed the work aside to study her finger when a figure flashed before her and an overly familiar voice said, “Why are you so careless? Did you prick yourself? Don’t move, I’ll suck out the blood for you.”
Who else could it be but Jin Fengju who had seemingly materialized out of thin air? He grabbed her hand and was about to put the scallion like fingers into his mouth when Fu Qiuning was shaken out of her stupor.
She forcefully snatched her hand back and said, “No need for Young Marquis to waste your effort, I shall do it myself.” Then, she stuck her hand into her mouth and looked away. Rather than hurt, she was mostly startled.
Jin Fengju finally appeared to have realised he had lost control of himself. With a ‘hehe’, he sat down on the low bench by the kang bed and smiled embarrassedly, “What do you mean ‘waste my effort’? When I saw you prick yourself, it was as though my heart had been pierced and hurried over.”
Even as the explanation left his lips, he also felt that his words were too weird. Why had he suddenly become so blind and so stupid? He had sneaked into the courtyard, wishing to observe the people here in secret and find out more about the aftermath of the Old Madam’s visit, when Fu Qiuning accidentally pricked herself. At that moment, his heart felt as though it had been stabbed. When he finally came to himself, he had already grabbed her hand.
“Why did you come? Weren’t you supposed to visit those wives and concubines? Did you accidentally wander over to my place?” Since the atmosphere was a little awkward, Fu Qiuning tried cracking a joke to relieve the atmosphere. It was half making fun of him and half allowing him a way to save face.
“You’re right,” What kind of person was Jin Fengju? He quickly picked up the hint and took the opportunity to step back and save his face. “I was heading towards Clear Soft Pavilion when I heard that Old Ancestor came here, so I changed my route. I wished to speak to Wanying about something when I came in, thinking that she might still be here.” Jin Fengju concluded with a smile, ready to close this section of his life by changing the subject. “Well? Have all the sweet potatoes been dug out?”
Jin Fengju watched as Fu Qiuning picked up her embroidery again.
Fu Qiuning nodded, “Just about, Yu Jie and Aunt Yu are busily working in the backyard. Though we only planted half a mu of land, we still managed to harvest a few hundred catties of sweet potatoes. Seeing that it would not rain today, we decided to pull all the sweet potatoes out and set them aside to dry off a little before storing them in some of these unused rooms.”
Jin Fengju nodded, “I see, why don’t I have a few servants come over to assist? No matter what, you’re still a family of women. A few hundred catties of sweet potatoes can be easily dealt by a few young servant boys.”
His words managed to touch Fu Qiuning’s heart, enough that she smiled at him, “That would be a great help. I am thankful for Lord Husband’s grace.”
“We’re a family, what is there to be thankful for,” Jin Fengju quickly smiled back. He then asked, “Has the Old Madam taken her lunch here? Has she seen the whole front and backyard? What does she think of it?”
Fu Qiuning did not know whether to cry or laugh. “Don’t talk about it anymore. Once Old Ancestor settled herself here, who do you think came rushing from behind? Elder Madam came in leading Lord Husband’s other wives and concubines. They made such a fuss that Old Ancestor was no longer in the mood to take lunch. I understand that Old Madam loves me dearly, but with so many people here so suddenly, how am I to entertain them?”
Jin Fengju smiled, “It’s because she loves you that she left early. Otherwise, what is a meal? You could have had the kitchen send something over. It would not trouble you much to order food from the kitchen. You must have been treated to more of my other wives and concubines’ lip services. Old Ancestor did not have the heart to trouble you anymore and left early instead.”
While they were still speaking, Yu Jie had already rushed back from the inner court. After changing clothes, she came in to pour tea for Jin Fengju before retreating.
“Well, at least you understand this much,” said Fu Qiuning. A thought occurred to her and she sighed, “That’s right, Elder Madam said that she wished to take a tour of the rooms and ended up in the study. Those two children did not put their white jade lions away and the paperweights were seen by everyone. From what I can see, Elder Madam, Madam and those Concubines’ faces were all very unpleasant. You’ll most likely be interrogated once you return. Aih! I was careless too. I never thought that so many people would suddenly turn up. I have already informed Feng’er and Jiao’er to put their paperweights away. If you cannot resolve the matter, it’s fine to take them back with you.”
[Gumihou: Like, take yourself and your possession away. Far away. Also, Old Madam doesn’t love Fu Qiuning, she loves Jin Fengju]
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