Chapter 098: Probing
Author: White Pear Flower
Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/
Translated by Pill Bug
Edited by Gumihou
Gumihou: Dude, so much no. Deleted many, many, many loooonggg monologues from Fu Qiuning, replacing them with ?:p
“This granddaughter will keep Grandfather’s teachings in mind. Rest assured, Grandfather, this granddaughter will definitely take this opportunity to seize the advantage.” Fu Qiuning stood up to once again give a salute.
Fu Qinghe and Fu Shanlin exchanged a look. Fu Qinghe coughed, adopted a serious tone and said, “Child, ah. You must keep Father’s words in your heart and mind. Although Jinxiang Marquisate does not treat you badly now, you must never forget where your roots are. In that marquisate, you are like a floating duckweed with nothing to depend on but your husband’s impulse. When he favours you, your days will be well. When he forgets you, your life will be worse than death. I believe that you should understand this principle well.”
When he heard Fu Qiuning’s respectful ‘This daughter understands’, he privately exhaled with relief. Then, he added in that same solemn tone, “Zhenjiang Palace is where your roots truly are. We are your lifelong support, and where all your blood relatives reside. Your brothers and sisters aside, Father and Mother are the people closest to you. Are there any parents in the world that do not want the best for their children? Are there children who do not want the best for their parents? This is the reality of a father-daughter relationship, understand?”
“This daughter understands,” was Fu Qiuning’s simple reply as she continued to ‘Respectfully Listen to the Teachings’ of her elders. Fu Qinghe smiled, believing that his daughter had been touched by his heartfelt speech. Words fell like a torrential river from his lips as he continued, “It is good so long as you understand. Since you understand, you should also know that once our palace gains merit, you will have a powerful maternal family to back you up. That way, you may stand straighter amongst those within the marquisate.
If we lose power, the palace will be trampled upon and you shall be at the mercy of others. As the saying goes, we hear the laughter of the young and the crying of the old [2]. How many years do you think the Young Marquis’ love will last? Therefore, if you desire peace, it is best to assist our palace to ascend to the next level.”
Fu Qiuning smiled and said, “Father overly praises this daughter. This daughter is but a mere woman and rarely steps outside the main gate. This daughter may have the intention, but where would this daughter finds the strength?.”
“Ai, why belittle yourself so? So what if you are a woman? Are there no women with successful careers? If you carry out your duties well, you shall also be numbered among them.” Fu Shanlin’s laughter was warm.
His granddaughter’s reaction was to widen her eyes in surprise, “Build a career? The thought had never occurred to this daughter. But, what do Grandfather and Father wish for granddaughter to do? This granddaughter fears she lacks the capability.”
“Nothing too taxing,” Fu Qinghe chuckled as he stroked his whiskers, “Father shall not skirt around the matter any longer. These past few years, the Jinxiang Marquisate and our palace have been like strangers to each other. We each supported our masters and rarely communicated, to the point that much news never reaches this palace.[a] This is also why we never heard of your mistreatment. Now that my dear child is favoured by the marquisate, surely Jin Fengju would [a] not object to you sending news from time to time and allow Father to know of [a] your situation? Naturally, we cannot help but we still wish to know how the marquisate treats our dear child.”
Fu Qinghe watched as Fu Qiuning slowly sat back down, her eyes staring right at him. [b] When the silence stretched just a little too long, Fu Qiuning suddenly smiled. She said slowly, “What an excellent thought, Father. This daughter has to know, did Father send this daughter to the Marquisate back then just to spy on them?”
“Ai, what [b] is my dear child saying? We merely want to know about your situation. How can this be considered spying? Naturally, as a daughter of a feudal king’s household, you should not be made to suffer. Though of course, if you care to send news that is advantageous to our household, there is no reason not to do so.”
Indeed, shameless people are invincible. Fu Qiuning could only sigh with amazement, secretly thinking: this son learned this from his old man, right? His ability to reverse black and white is really better than his mentor’s.
She privately sighed, but her expression remained in a daze. [c] Whatever, in face of shamelessness, let’s be stupid. In a rather stern voice, she said, “But, the Three Obedience and Four Virtues [1] state that a married daughter is like spilt water. I must place my husband first no matter what. A-also, this daughter does not wish to anger the Young Marquis or be [d] killed or beaten by the Elder Madam.”
Considering the original good’s mother, her decision to commit suicide and the kindly faces these two fogeys showed her, playing dumb would be the best. A calm but dignified appearance would be too out of place, especially if Original Qiuning was anything like Yu’shi. [d] In fact, let’s throw the Elder Madam in as well to remind them that though the Young Marquis favours me, Mother-in-law doesn’t like this wild shu-born daughter-in-law.
At Fu Qiuning’s half-frightened argument, Fu Shanlin and Fu Qinghe suddenly [e] laughed out loud. “Goodness, dear silly child. You are a daughter of a feudal king, a precious pearl of the Zhenjiang Palace. How could they kill or beat a royal daughter as they like? At worse, they would simply throw you out, but so what? Your father and grandfather will be right there to accept you back into the family.
As a daughter with royal blood flowing in your veins and a suitably large dowry, you will still have many suitors and will be free to pick out a man of your choosing in the future.”
Fu Qiuning privately sneered. She thought: Are you not afraid of spraining your tongue from the strong wind blowing through your mouth? You think I’m a three-year-old child? These lies can’t be used to trick ghosts and yet you want to hoodwink me?
Time to revert to stupid, “[d] But, surely that’s impossible? How can this daughter remarry? This daughter was ready to die at the marquisate to prove my innocence and loyalty. If this daughter is ever thrown out, there is only one road and that is death.” [f]
“How can you say that? [e] As a daughter of the Fu family, it is only right for Father to shelter you. Naturally, we would not want a repeat of the previous incident where we were ignorant of your situation all those years. Father will slowly send people to visit you periodically. [a] Eventually, once we have established a network of information, there is no need for you to ever fear losing our support anymore. [a] If those people dare to punish you for relying on your maternal family and push you out, Father is willing to raise you for life if you do not wish to remarry.”
Such a passionate speech, if Fu Qinghe was not born a nobleman and thought himself a scholar and official who ‘does not show emotion freely’, he might have [f] thumped his chest loudly to display his sincerity.
“Well, my daughter? What do you think? Isn’t it good to maintain a stronger relationship with Father and Mother?”
Fu Qiuning lowered her eyes, looking anxious as she twisted her sleeves and fidgeted, [f] “I’ll, I’ll ask the marquis…”
[f] Hating iron for not being steel, Fu Qinghe nevertheless smiled benevolently and said, “[a] Good, good, inform your husband that you wish to maintain a closer relationship with your mother. Zhenjiang Palace will, of course, take very good care of your blood mother.”
Fu Shanlin smiled and said, “That’s right, such a virtuous girl, thinking of her husband and family even now. [a] It is good that Jin Fengju favours you. It would be very good if it could last. Nevertheless, do remember that parents’ kindness is as lofty as the skies and deep as the seas. I’m sure, my dear granddaughter could tell which love carries more weight.”
Though the words were benevolent, the warning was clear. Fu Qiuning maintained a troubled look, as though sensing malice, but could not tell from where. [a] She suddenly blurted out, “G-grandfather, Father, this granddaughter… this granddaughter has something to say! These days, the Young Marquis seemed very troubled. He had not visited this granddaughter’s residence recently, and, and this granddaughter had no idea what was happening!” Then, she covered her mouth with her sleeve and sniffed.
Fu Shanlin and Fu Qinghe exchanged a look. [h] This girl had been fairly calm until just now. Was she really upset, or was she hiding the truth through half-truths? [f]
“Grandfather, Father… Mother is still sick, this granddaughter would like to see her and speak with her again. We barely exchanged a few words just now…” [f]
“Alright then, then you are dismissed.” Fu Qinghe nodded.
Fu Qiuning performed two very deferential salutes for the seniors before retreating to the door and leaving.
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“What do you think, Father?” Fu Qinghe left his seat and bowed to his Father respectfully.
“It is tricky to distinguish truth from falsehood,” Fu Shanlin sighed. Then, he sneered, “We must not forget, the girl had maintained a low profile for six years, only to gain great favour when the [a] Young Marquis is at his peak. Any sooner, his power would still be unstable; any later, she may have a bigger battle on her hands. Naturally, such a creature cannot be trusted. We can only appeal to her through offers of safety and security. No matter what, her mother is still here, let them bond. Continue to offer news of her mother and have her send letters back. We may still glean something useful from them.” [f]
“Yes, this son understands. It shall be carried out.”
After Fu Qinghe left, Fu Shanlin remained in the hall for a long time. Suddenly, he smiled. He got up and paced about the room for a moment before laughing out loud, “No matter what, this could still turn out to be an unexpected advantage for us, hahahaha.”
By then, Fu Qiuning had returned to Songtao Pavilion. Before she could even speak to Luo’shi or Yu’shi, two boy servants and two maids trooped in. One of the maids, a girl of about 17 or 18, saluted gracefully and said, “Elder Madam fears that there will be not enough servants to this residence now that Young Miss has returned, and so she has sent Xiang Huan and Xiang Cao to personally serve Young Miss. The servant boys Si’er and Wu’er are here to do rough work. This maid is called Xiang Huan, should Young Miss has any orders, do let this maid know.”
Gumihou: Blah blah, long explanation blah, blathering blah.
Reduce the length of dialogue. Because the monologues were getting a lot very too much. Truly intelligent characters don’t need to blather on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on…
[a] Gumi raising IQ from 60 back to ‘two-faced, manipulative schemer’ level
This father’s ability is described as ‘this son learned this from his old man, right? His ability to reverse black and white is really better than his mentor’s’
So, what’s up with the bumbling: “Now that my child is favoured in that marquisate, I think that the Jin Fengju may not be very guarded against you. As long as some news will leaks through from time to time, letting Father know within the usual mundane household gossip would be alright. This would not be too much of a deal, correct?”
About as subtle as a hammer to the face.
[b] Prevention of OOC: If dad is an entitled, scheming, self-serving asshat, he would not ‘heartbeat drummed louder’ he would be annoyed that this daughter was being disobedient.
Just… generally push the mean towards ‘maintaining a genial appearance’ and ‘framing the order as a gentle request’ instead of ‘lol, spy for us :P’
[c] ‘In face of shamelessness, let’s be stupid’ is Gumihou’s contribution. Considering her long and winding speech and performance in the next chapter, this is the best explanation for her weirdness.
“Father wants this daughter to put the palace and family first in importance. But looking from the point of women’s teachings, after marrying out, a woman listens to her husband. Besides, as the saying goes, a daughter that has married out is like water that has been splashed out, how will father and grandfather put my life and death at heart? Even though it could be said to be merely gossip, if the young marquis find out, would not I be simply beaten to death?”
Instead of the above loooooong speech, just ‘but, it’s the law’ *dumb face*
[d] The ‘being beaten by husband’ argument seems to serve no purpose aside from giving the two fogeys an opportunity to say ‘oh, he won’t beat you’ to shine more light onto JFJ’s ass. So, allow Elder Madam Jin to take this black pot instead, it also serves to remind everyone that there are people aside from the Young Marquis at the marquisate.
[e] Change ‘the two sighed’ to they laughed out loud’. Because [a]
[f] Loong Monologue: Reduced 160 words to 40. Play dumb and focus on the wrong end of the argument
Deleted: sob village story, daddy’s family was mean story
The rest of the response changed due FQN’s dumb reply in [f], also [a] because their IQ went up
Example of monologue(s) removed:
With those thoughts, a faint sneer surfaced on her face, quietly saying, “Enough, Grandfather and Father, don’t say that, is our palace a place that can bring out a once-married daughter to marry other people? If I do not have to die to prove my innocence, to be provided for my whole life, this granddaughter will be satisfied. Ai, thinking about it, I feel discouraged. Grandfather and Father only talk about the prosperity of the family, but I am now a member of the Jinxiang Marquisate after all.
Logically speaking, what does the rise and fall of the royal palace have to do with me? I grew up with my mother in the village, and I was married out within a month of returning to the royal palace, not even recognizing all the people in my clan, yet you want me to sacrifice my reputation for the sake of the clan, sigh! Father and Grandfather, you really have really chosen a good path for this granddaughter.”
[g] I think the ‘thumped chest so hard the sound echoes in mountains’ thing is supposed to show how cartoonish these people are. The joke feels forced, delete.
[h] Rewrite the ‘this is suspicious’ scene according to [a].
Pill Bug TL Notes:
[1] This also appeared in Chapter 88.
Ancient China was very patriarchal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Obediences_and_Four_Virtues
The Three Feminine Obediences
A woman is obligated not to act on her own initiatives and must submissively obey or follow:
- her father at home, before getting married
- her husband after getting married
- her sons after her husband’s death
The Four Feminine Virtues
- Feminine Conduct
- Feminine Speech
- Feminine Comportment
- Feminine Works
[2] It’s an actual idiom. 但见新人笑，那闻旧人哭。
Basically: Out with the old wives and in with new fresh nubile concubines. Neck beards would love this era.
https://www.guwenxuexi.com/classical/11591.html
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