Higher Level Wife – 145 – Great Headache

Chapter 145: Great Headache

Author: White Pear Flower

Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/

Translated by Gumihou

Proofread by Pill Bug

 

Jiang Wanying smiled and said, “I understand. However, I dare not promise anything. I can only endeavour to do my best. After all, I am but a foolish and impulsive person. Last time, due to jealousy, I wished to find fault with Second Madam Ning and was taken advantage of and beaten like a drum. Even so, Lord Husband was generous enough to entrust me with a task, but unfortunately, I have nothing to show for Lord Husband. Until now, Second Madam Ning still refuses to move from Night Breeze Pavilion to Elegant Mansion. To think that Lord Husband would entrust an even more important mission on this humble woman, it truly terrifies this humble woman.”

Jin Fengju smiled and said, “You and I are husband and wife. Surely there is no need for such words between us? You only need to do as I instructed. I shall not blame you for whatever happens.”

Jiang Wanying’s smile finally grew genuine. She nodded and said, “Very well, I shall give it my best attempt.” Then, she picked up a piece of roasted suckling pig for Jin Fengju, saying, “Do try this, Lord Husband. The colour of this pork is not bad, but the proof is in the tasting. See if you like it or not.”

Naturally, as the matter was related to the Duke of Jing’s reputation and safety, it was better to handle it quickly. Therefore, as soon as the meal was done, Jiang Wanying made her way to Health & Longevity Court. From there, she learned that Princess Rong was resting at Jin Yanfang’s Pillow Moon Pavilion and rushed over to Yong Cui Garden.

Meanwhile, Jin Fengju was in his study, thinking of the best way to hide this matter from the sky. In the end, he decided that it was best to bribe the brothel pimp and have them announce the death of that courtesan. Later, even if a girl with the exact same appearance appeared in Prince Rong’s harem, it would not rouse as much suspicion. They could say that Prince Rong missed the lady so much that when he saw someone with the exact same face, he could not help but fall in love with her.

However, that kind of scheme required a lot of preparation. Otherwise, if Princes Lie or Hong were to investigate, their tail would be caught. Therefore, he could not act rashly. He had to complete this scheme in a way that no one could ever find a crack in his plans. Otherwise, it was better to not do it at all.

That evening, the left his study and went straight for Clear Soft Pavilion to inquire about the matter. When he entered the courtyard, he found Qiu Xia and other maids standing uselessly in the garden. He frowned and said, “Why are you not inside looking after your mistress? What are you doing in the garden? Are you picking flowers?”

The maids were too frightened to make a sound. Finally, Qiu Xia lowered her head and said, “Madam came back to the courtyard looking very bad. She made all of us servants leave the room. This maid tried to listen in and heard Madam sobbing. Nothing else happened. When it grew quiet, this maid peeked in and saw that Madam had fallen asleep. However, we dare not go in and wake the Madam.”

When he heard this, Jin Fengju knew that Jiang Wanying must have failed her mission. Not only that, but she was also angered by his elder sister instead. Sure enough, when he entered the room, he found Jiang Wanying lying on the couch, her tear-stained face making her look especially pitiful and charming.

Jin Fengju walked quietly, he picked up a blanket to put over his wife when, unexpectedly, Jiang Wanying woke up from her fitful doze. Seeing him, she forced a smile and said, “Lord Husband is here? I must be a little tired from missing my afternoon nap. After sending Zhenxuan and Xiuzhen to school, I felt a little sleepy when I returned and fell asleep here.”

With a smile, Jin Fengju took her in his arms and said tenderly, “Don’t push yourself anymore. You must have suffered from Elder Sister’s temper, ba? I know just how sharp her tongue could be when angered. She will definitely not let you go. This is all my fault. I should not have pushed you out at this time. Not only did it turn out to be useless, but I have made you suffer needlessly instead.”

At this, with a ‘shua’, tears poured out of Jiang Wanying’s eyes and she cried, “So what if I suffered? Not only is she my elder sister-in-law, but with her status as a princess consort, that she would take the time to reprimand me is already giving me face. This humble woman is merely a secondary wife to her brother, however… however, this humble woman fears that if it goes on like this, Elder Sister and Prince Rong’s matter would be discovered by others.

Lord Husband, for them to make a sudden unannounced visit like this, what if others discover it? How could they not think of the family before doing this? About the matter from before, Lord Husband ordered me to root out possible spies from Prince Lie’s faction, but I still have not discovered them yet. It’s fine if such a person did not exist, but what if they did? If this matter is revealed, what should we do?”

Her words reminded Jin Fengju of Prince Lie’s matter and he nodded, saying, “You are right. It’s better to be on guard. I shall speak to Elder Sister again. This is no joking matter.” Then, he turned to Jiang Wanying and said, “Qiuning generally doesn’t speak much. However, a few lines from her often enlighten a person. If I still cannot persuade Elder Sister, I shall have her try and persuade Elder Sister. I shall not return here at night, I may rest at Night Breeze Pavilion.”

“Lord Husband, don’t,” Jiang Wanying hurried over. “This humble woman has no prejudice against Elder Sister, but, surely my Lord Husband understands her character? With her status now, how could she bear meeting with someone of a lower rank? Otherwise, with how eloquent Sister Huo and Xu are, I would have dragged them over to persuade the Princess Consort together. However, I dare not because of their identities and fear that the first thing out of the Princess’s mouth would be ‘What are you? Are you even worthy to stand before me?’ Instead of bringing them to persuade the Princess with me, they would be shamed by her instead.”

Jin Fengju paused at the door. After some thought, he nodded and said, “Indeed, you are more thoughtful than I. Forget it then, I shall not have Qiuning speak to her. I will seek out Elder Sister myself.”

And thus, he left.

As Jiang Wanying stared at his fading back, she muttered resentfully to herself, “If you are not planning to seek Fu Qiuning out to persuade your sister, then why still go there? I really have no idea what kind of sorcery Fu Qiuning had cast on you for you to change this much. Why are you so desperate for her?”

 

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The sun was setting, but things were still quite lively at Night Breeze Pavilion.

That’s because Aunt Yu’s wedding dress had just arrived. The servants all gathered to have a look at the dress sent bestowed by the Young Marquis, not only because it was guaranteed to be very beautiful and gorgeous beyond words, but the amount of face one received. How glorious was it to be personally granted a dress by the great young master?

Fu Qiuning and Yu Jie were admiring the phoenix crown [1]. Per Aunt Yu’s status, this phoenix crown was a little too ostentatious. The thumb-sized pearls alone numbered at 108 pieces. The phoenix crown was worthy for a marquis’ daughter to use when marrying out.

When Aunt Yu saw the crown, she was both frightened and elated. She sidled next to Fu Qiuning and said, “Why did the Master gift such an expensive Phoenix Crown? This… this is… I am but a… Isn’t it too out of place?”

[2a] Privately, Fu Qiuning shrieked: Yes ah!! This is clearly a second-generation rich young master’s way of throwing money around and bribing people left and right for his own goal, ah! Look, look! If Aunt Yu is less level-headed, wouldn’t she think herself favoured by the man and make trouble for me?! Wait, is this his true plan all along?! He’s already bribing that dumb girl Yu Jie with gold leaves, and now he’s bribing Aunt Yu with this ostentatious headdress?!

[2a] However, she could not say any of this to Aunt Yu. Leaving aside the fact that she would frighten this maid of hers even more, she could accidentally encourage Aunt Yu to start thinking weird things again.

[2a] Therefore, after much deliberation, she said, “Perhaps this is a reward for protecting Feng’er and Jiao’er from the moment you entered the estate. If not for your tireless effort, I’m afraid they would have died many times over before even meeting me.”

Yu Jie beamed, “In other words, this maid could also be considered Madam’s senior maid, right? Although I have not done as much as Aunt Yu, I have been loyal to Madam and the Young Miss and Young Master for over six years and have never complained over the hard work. Surely when this maid gets married, I would get something just as nice? This maid is not greedy and dares not ask for such a precious dress as the one received by Aunt Yu. Surely I could at least get a phoenix crown with at least forty or fifty pearls on it? Life is hard and a single pearl could be exchanged for 10 or 20 silver taels.”

Everyone around her laughed at this little half-joke and began to tease her. Yu Jie maintained that she was serious and argued fiercely with them even as Fu Qiuning watched helplessly from the side.

They were chatting happily when a young maid, Bing Ling called out, “Madam, the Master is here.”

At that, most of the maids and matrons hurriedly slipped away from the room, leaving only Fu Qiuning with Yu Jie, Aunt Yu and Jian Feng. When Jin Fengju entered, they all saluted him. Fu Qiuning [2] smiled tensely, “Lord Husband has arrived at the most fortuitous time. We have just received Aunt Yu’s wedding dress. It is very… [2b],” Fu Qiuning paused, searching for a suitably decent word for ‘over-the-top’, ‘excessive’, ‘burdensome’ and ‘ostentatious, “…pretty.”

Jin Fengju threw a casual look at the [3a] obviously over-the-top, excessive, burdensome and ostentatious headdress, nodded casually in [3a] typical rich second-generation master’s style and said, “Oh, so long as Aunt Yu likes it. You have taken care of Feng’er and Jiao’er these many years even before you entered Night Breeze Pavilion. If not for your efforts, who knows what would have happened to them? It is as you deserved.”

[2a] Privately, Fu Qiuning was thankful that Jin Fengju’s casually thrown-out excuse matched hers. [2c] She was wondering why this person was still hanging around there when she recalled his elder sister. That woman arrived with an obvious chip on her shoulder and didn’t look like she planned to leave without burning someone up with her wrath. Also, Jin Fengju was obviously sighing and making the ‘man troubled by many thoughts’ pose in front of her.

[2c] Clearly, he wanted her to initiate the conversation and ask him what was wrong.

[2c] Fu Qiuning could only privately roll her eyes at the theatrics and send off maids before putting on a service smile and playing her loving wife #4 role. “What is troubling Lord Husband? It is rare to see you like this. Have you been scolded by the Princess Consort?”

Jin Fengju looked up in surprise, [3a] as though he had not been standing with one foot on the rung of a stool and staring out tragically into the night, just waiting for her to voice this question. He even managed a gasp, “How incredible, how did you know?”

[2d] Fu Qiuning considered and discarded a few answers before settling on, “It is obvious.”

[3b] “O-obvious?” Jin Fengju stuttered. How can this be? What if others, such as Prince Lie or Prince Hong could read the troubles on his face? No, that cannot be, he is a great politician in court, it is necessary to have strict control over one’s facial emotions. So, how-

[3b] “Obvious, because I can read minds.”

[3b] “Wait, Qiuning, surely-”

[3b] “It’s a joke.”

[3b] “… …”

Jin Fengju gritted his teeth and touched his forehead. “Obvious, if it is so obvious, then could you explain what is obvious?”

[3c] Oh? Is he angry? Fu Qiuning was mildly impressed with herself. However, it would not do to make fun of her patron too much. Her body would suffer for it. Therefore, she could only say, “It must be a ‘woman problem’. For the Princess Consort to be so upset and be in disharmony with the Prince, it has to be a woman. Considering how troubled you are, it must be a woman of dubious origin. Well?”

[3c] “You guessed well,” was Jin Fengju’s grudging reply.

[3c] Fu Qiuning nearly rolled her eyes. Considering Prince Hong’s flighty behaviour and how much he depended on this strong brother-in-law to shore his power up, it could only be a personal problem caused by a weak character. She nearly smirked: Good luck shovelling this pile of shit left by your brother-in-law.

[3c] Still, she should not show her disdain too openly. Instead, she demurred and said, “Even so, the Princess Consort showed her emotions too readily. Considering the tense situation at court, surely the enemies of the Prince would not hesitate to cast judgement on the couple’s behaviour. Matters could become… very complicated.”

“It is as you say!” Jin Fengju slapped his hands together. “Even you understand this point, but my sister just had to push matters to this point. Alas, I could not fault her. She grew up in an aristocratic family and attached great importance to status. How could she allow a prostitute to openly enter the palace? That woman even carries Brother-in-law’s seed and could potentially rise in status to a proper concubine.

When Wanying tried to advise her earlier, Elder Sister ridiculed her to the point that she cried in her room. I have also been by to persuade her, but was scolded like a dog. Elder Sister even accused me of being the same type of trash as Brother-in-law, screaming that all crows under the heavens are black. Finally, I can only come to your place in search of healing.”

[3c] Fu Qiuning, “… …”

 

[Gumihou: #SadforJiangWanying.]

 

[1] Phoenix Crown – Wedding crown and veil

[2] Delete the AR Qiuning:

[2a] Replace a ‘smiling and butt polishing AR Qiuning’ with an ‘ugh, second generation rich boys’ Fu Qiuning. Might as well insert this modern term since Fu Qiuning is, you know, from the modern era.

Oh, and completely eliminate ‘he would never act so generously just because you are from my Night Breeze Pavilion’ because anyone thinking with their knee would see through it.

[2b] In place of ‘it’s so wow, pretty, gorgeous, come and look~ honey~’, put in ‘very pretty…’

[2c] Replaced ‘aww, my lord husband looks troubled~~ I can tell from his hansom face~~ kyaahah~~!’ with actual deductive thought processes

[2d] Deleted 150 words of needless summarising of what had happened to show off Fu Qiuning’s intelligence.

Replaced with something deadpan, yet funny and intriguing at the same time.

[2e]

[3] Add detail:

[3a] Add detail to show FQN’s disdain for JFJ

[3b] Tailor JFJ’s reaction to FQN’s clever remark re [2d].

[3c] Add actual Fu Qiuning reaction per the consequence of [3b]

 

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