Chapter 156: Informed
Author: White Pear Flower
Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/
Translated by Pill Bug
Gumihou: Jin Yanqiu, are you an emotional idiot or not? Make up your mind. You can’t be a strident rational person one second before suddenly being ‘shocked to death’ over a mere serious expression.
Sigh.
Anyway, mitigate these two emotions so that she doesn’t appear bipolar. The poor lady is hurt by her family and her idiotic husband, at least let her react normally.
Jin Yanqiu glanced over at her brother twice before sighing, “I will be returning to the royal residence tonight. Staying at home for too many days is getting upsetting and even you are dragged into my troubles. Aih, Qiuning is right. Who told us to be born as women? We hardly have any control over our own lives.”
Jin Fengju’s gaze flashed and he suddenly laughed, “What are you saying? Who dares upset you in this estate?”
Jin Yanqiu laughed bitterly, “Indeed, who dares to upset me? Even my own parents spoke with care around me. Do they believe that I do not see it? Each one of them is like an ant on a hot pot. If they have the power, they would have sent me back to the palace in a gust of wind.”
Hearing her openly complaining, Jin Fengju knew that though her mouth was hard, her heart must have more or less settled with the current situation. Therefore, he laughed and said, “How can it be as exaggerated as that? Moreover, this injury is caused by my side of the family and has nothing to do with Elder Sister at all. Please don’t think about carrying the family burdens all by yourself.”
Jin Yanqiu snorted, “Naturally, your injury is none of my business. But don’t think that I don’t know the emperor has given you leave, but also that you must wait until he summons you before you can enter court once again. This is clearly a punishment. If your brother-in-law and I hadn’t made this scene, I fear this burden would not have been fed to you.”
Hearing this, Jin Fengju sat up and said, “How does sister know this?”
His grim expression startled her and she said, “What is it? I may not have set foot outside the estate, but I still have people at the palace. After morning court, Royal Husband told someone the moment he returned to the palace and when my maid heard it, she rushed over to tell me. She even told me that the emperor had asked Prince Lie, Prince Hong and that enemy of our family to stay back to get their views on Chu Daxiu’s censure report.”
Jin Fengju did not appear to be worried about this matter. He had revealed his thoughts to Prince Rong with the anticipation that his brother-in-law would do as he says, [a] never expecting the man to act on his own and telling everyone about it. He certainly did not expect the news to reach the ducal estate.
[b] “Does Sister Yanfang and her sisters and cousin know about the matter?” Naturally, he was worried about their feelings, but he was even more afraid of the security within the house. The court meeting happened only that morning, but the news had already spread?
Jin Yanqiu frowned and said, “How would I know? Anyway, since that damned Chu Daxiu sent in that memoir to censure the ducal family, Prince Lie and Prince Rong obviously won’t let go of this opportunity. I fear that in a few days, news of what happened in the estate would spread, yes? As the saying goes, there is no such thing as an airtight wall. Won’t Yanfang and the rest know about this matter sooner or later?”
Jin Fengju also frowned. A long moment later, he said, “En, I understand. I shall handle this matter personally. That’s right, since Elder Sister is leaving for the palace tonight, should I send someone people to inform Brother-in-law?”
Jin Yanqiu sneered, “Why should we? Should I expect him to happily escort me back? Who knows what kind of plot he is brewing to annoy me? Pei, why doesn’t he use the time to reflect on his own actions?”
Jin Fengju smiled and said, “Brother-in-law is not such a person. Truth be told, Brother-in-law has a straightforward personality. Though he may be prone to impulsiveness or silly actions at times, he is a good person at heart. He is a curiously generous person, yet not stupid. This is rare. Not to mention, he loves and respects Elder Sister very much.
Elder Sister, do listen to your younger brother, even if only this once. At times, one must persevere [b] through these confusing times. You are married to a man like Brother-in-law, if you had married to Prince Hong or Prince Lie, even if they do not allow their courtesans to bear their children, they would still keep seven or eight mistresses outside and countless concubines inside. Is that better? I believe not.”
Jin Yanqiu [b1] stared at him for a long time. Just as Jin Fengju was about to say something else to persuade her again, she coldly snorted and turned away.
[a1] Believing that his sister had finally come around, Jin Fengju hurriedly laughed and said, “It would be noon soon. After lunch, I shall send Jin Ming to the palace. No matter what, Brother-in-law is the most at fault. It is only right for him to come and escort you back to the palace. Otherwise, surely Elder Sister’s prestige would be damaged? Don’t you think so? Elder Sister?”
Jin Yanqiu stood up with a sneer, “You are not allowed to send word to him. If he comes, I shall not go back. Enough, you should rest here and take care of yourself and not meddle in emotional troubles, especially when you’re not qualified to do so. I shall take my leave first.” With that, she swiftly left the room.
Jin Fengju smirked to himself, knowing that though she had spoken thus, she was actually giving her approval for his actions.
After the meal, he ordered Jin Ming to visit the palace. Jin Ming returned later to report that he had done everything as ordered. Jin Fengju thought for a moment before saying, “Go to Qiuning’s place. Tell her that I shall be busy for the next few days and will not be visiting Night Breeze Pavilion. She is likely busy with Aunt Yu’s nuptial matters and should not be disturbed anyway. This should ease her worries should news about my injury reaches her.”
Jin Ming acknowledged the command, thinking: Master, ah. Are you sure you’re not deluding yourself? The Second Madam is cold and indifferent. I fear that once she hears that you won’t be visiting Night Breeze Pavilion, she would cheer and take out the good wine to celebrate her coming peace and quiet. Even so, I dare not say any of this out loud.
He arrived at Night Breeze Pavilion to find Fu Qiuning picking out materials for Aunt Yu’s wedding veils and bedding. Jin Ming dutifully reported the matter per his master’s wishes. He thought he saw a flash of something in Second Madam’s eyes, but he dared not linger too long and soon found some excuses to leave [c1].
After Jin Ming left, Aunt Yu and Yu Jie watched as Fu Qiuning set the satin down and looked thoughtfully into the distance. [c2] The two of them nudged at each other and tittered, “What is it, Madam? Is Madam sad because the Young Marquis could not come over these few days? As Madam said, in a few days, it would be six years since he had first arrived.”
[c3] Fu Qiuning looked at them for a moment, before allowing the satin to fall from her hands. “The way you say it, it is as though we met six years ago and have been in a sweet relationship since.”
[c2] The atmosphere, which had been filled with laughter and anticipation, suddenly turned cold at Fu Qiuning’s remark. Aunt Yu was the first to say, “N-no, Madam, that is not what we… That is, we mean nothing by it.”
[c3] “Do you, now? Well, it is not wrong to look at your master with favourable eyes,” she touched the fabrics again. “It is not as though I could ever provide something like these for you, or even a letter to secure your divorce.”
“Madam…”
[c3] “Jian Feng, go and bring a box of fresh spring rolls and send them to Health & Longevity Court,” it was one thing to have her personal maids who had been with her for years to see her like this, but a near stranger?
[c2] “Yes, this maid will go at once and ask for information on the Young Marquis as well,” the maid, Jian Feng smartly saluted her with a smile, which Fu Qiuning did not return.
[c2] “Madam? I-is there something wrong?” this time it was Yu Jie was ventured to timidly ask.
[c3] “Oh, nothing. I’m just amazed by the quality of the ducal estate’s maids. You are all very loyal, aren’t you?”
[c2] “Madam…”
[c3] “Enough, do as you wish. Yu Jie, help Aunt Yu pick the cloth. Take whatever you wish, we have plenty here. I am going to lie down.”
[c3] She left the maids to continue picking out bedding items. Those things were all provided by their wage-paying master anyway, so they could take whatever they liked since they had already switched allegiance from herself to him.
[c3] As she sat alone in her room overlooking the still-wet garden, she pondered over Jin Fengju’s absence. Her eventual move to Elegant Mansion was inevitable. Since her actual survival and quality of life depended on his ‘favour’, it was only a matter of time before she had to move out. She knew that it would not benefit herself or [d] the twins to hold out too long, and with how everything and everyone had been bought or pressured into obeying the true master of the house, she would end up doing whatever the man wanted anyway.
[c3] The only thing she could really do was stall. Stall as long as she could and thus drag out his interest for her. It was the best way to get as much benefit as she could while he is still deluding himself into thinking that he was in love with her. If she happened to be with child… well, she would need all the wealth, connection and loyalty she could gather to ensure that the child will grow up securely in this tiger’s nest.
[c3] Jiang Wanying was the obvious enemy, but she could not discount the various bedmates, concubines and ‘beloved husband’s’ other children who may be tricked into attacking her. She had to be vigilant. She had to have loyal servants. She had to have wealth to secure the loyalty of her servants. Jin Fengju had already taught her that gold leaves and expensive wedding clothes trumped time and proximity when it came to loyalty.
[c3] Old Madam Jin may appear trustworthy on the surface, but her favour would change along with her favourite grandson’s. The moment Jin Fengju lost his interest, that’s when she would lose whatever support the Old Madam was willing to give. As to why Jin Fengju would not be coming those next few days, she could only surmise that he must have been injured in public and was now being sat on by his mother and Jiang Wanying, preventing him from running over here to make her kiss his boo boo or something.
[c4] Fu Qiuning had not expected her careless speculation to be close to accurate. She was bemused to hear from Jian Feng that Jin Fengju had slipped while dodging a falling tree and somehow stabbed himself against a rock.
[c] “… …” Seriously? Didn’t the man just boast that he’s a martial arts expert and did not need to be escorted by mere boys? This martial artist was defeated by a tree?
[c2] Seeing her bemused expression, Jian Feng thoughtfully added news about how, because of the injury, the emperor had allowed him to rest at home, but that this rest appeared to be a punishment or a test because of the nature of the emperor’s wording…
Fu Qiuning rubbed her forehead, “Wonderful, now everyone is going to bother me about moving into Elegant Masion as soon as possible. He had already forced a promise from me to move there after the Dragon Boat Festival, but now he’s bound to force me using his injury.”
[c2] “Madam…” Yu Jie said a little anxiously. “Perhaps, you could visit the master…”
[c3] “At Clear Soft Pavilion? Where Second Madam Ning and the other ladies await with their sharpened tongues and gaping maws? No thank you, you may carry a snack box there if you wish. [d] Take the twins if they want to go.”
[d] There was no reason to make the twins participate in her standoff. He was their father and the most reliable path to success after all. She would do her best to support them as best she could.
She was still pondering over various things when the sound of footsteps was heard and a maid from the Old Madam’s place appeared to invite Qiuning to the Health & Longevity Court, citing that the Princess Consort would be returning to the palace that day and invited her to participate in the sending off.
Fu Qiuning leaned back on the kang and sighed. [c6] The princess consort must have calmed down considerably by then to agree to return home to her unfaithful husband. How sad. Especially so when everyone would be busy pondering over how Prince Rong had hurt his chances to be crown prince based on how the emperor reacted rather than how he had hurt the princess consort. Fu Qiuning really didn’t want to go, but she had to at least show her face once since a high-ranking woman was about to depart.
Thus, she reluctantly changed clothes and made her way to Health & Longevity Court with Jian Feng.
She arrived at Health & Longevity Court to find that Jin Yanqiu, Madam Jiang, Jiang Wanying and the others were already there. Fu Qiuning went over to give her greetings to Old Madam, then to the Princess Consort. [c7] She was about to make her rounds with the rest of the ladies when she saw Old Madam beckoning her and obediently went over.
Old Madam Jin laughed [c7] and said, “There is no need to be shy now. When Jian Feng came here with snacks the other day, I knew that you must have sent her to gather intelligence on Fengju. My grandson is clever yet foolish at the same time. When he sent Jin Ming to inform you that he was injured, isn’t it just like sticking a sign that says: 300 Silver Taels aren’t here? [1] You must have noticed it right away.”
Before Fu Qiuning could say anything to [c7] defend herself from such an accusation, Jin Yanqiu had leaned over to say, “What do you mean by ‘300 Silver Taels aren’t here’? Fengju has no choice. If he didn’t send someone to report, Sister-in-law would be even more worried. Better to have Jin Ming go over and send news directly without any embellishments.”
Then, she nodded to herself, crudely smacked her lips and grinned knowingly at Fu Qiuning, saying, “I really, really don’t know what happened to my brilliant and arrogant brother, ah. Just what kind of ability do you have, eh? To subdue him to this extent?”
Fu Qiuning closed her eyes [c8] and prayed for patience. When it felt like she could at least face the smirking faces of Jin Yanqiu and Old Madam without becoming violent, she still kept her eyelids lowered as she said, “Surely Princess Consort jests? How can this be?”
Jin Yanqiu laughed, “What? Still trying to be stubborn with me? Alas, my pitiful younger brother. His leg was stabbed with a rock, his bones were exposed, and yet, he still cannot garner sympathy from his wife. This injury, ah. Well, he certainly wasted his suffering. If you show yourself to him, perhaps his leg will heal faster.”
[c] No, thought Fu Qiuning: His injury might even heal slower if I’m there. However, it was not like she could say this to the princess, not even as a joke. The princess consort made a few more snide remarks, which Fu Qiuning accepted with as much grace as she could muster. She was glad when someone started talking about the children and seized upon that line of conversation immediately, to which the Old Madam Jin cheerfully admitted to sending someone to the school and requesting an early end to their classes so that they could also come over.
For a moment, the room was very lively. Then, someone brought news that Prince Rong had arrived at the estate and was having tea with the Old Master at his study. Jin Yanqiu slowly got to her feet and bowed three times in front of Old Madam and Madam Jiang. When she finally straightened up, there were tears in her eyes. Old Madam Jin and Madam Jiang’s eyes were also wet with tears. Through choked sobs, they pulled at her hand and said, “Go, go… don’t be so willful in the future, ah.”
Fu Qiuning could not help but recall the lines in <<Dream of the Red Chamber>> where Imperial Concubine Yuan Chuan went to visit her maternal family. This princess consort appeared to be better off than Imperial Consort Yuan. In terms of status, they were almost similar, but one belonged to the emperor while the other was a prince’s wife. Moreover, Imperial Concubine Yuan only visited for a few hours whereas Princess Consort Jin stayed for a few days, albeit not without consequences.
Just then, Jin Yanqiu said, “When I came home, you could not wait for me to hurry up and leave; now that I am leaving, what are all these tears for? No matter what, we are all living in the same Capital. Once everything has settled, I shall return for another visit, so don’t be too sad.”
Her words were a little harsh, but as she walked away, she could not help but keep looking back every three steps. Clearly, she was reluctant to leave the watchful eyes of the people around her even as she was surrounded by palace servants and escorted out of the estate.
[Gumihou: All the comments from others about JFJ deluding himself re FQN liking him were supposed to be funny. Like, tee hee~ your wife don’t even like you~~ but jokes on them because JFJ and AR Qiuning are lovey dovey~~
When in fact, FQN’s coldness should be closer to reality. This is why I refuse to compromise FQN’s personality and allow her to degrade into AR kyaa~ Qiuning]
[a] Remove whitewashing:
[a1] Evidence of JFJ’s idiocy or carelessness that was overlooked by the author. That’s okay, Gumi noticed it and will help you.
[ab] Remove obvious attempt to make JFJ look good through ‘the only thing he’s worried about are the ladies nyaa~~’. Author is really doing her best to make JFJ look intelligent and not a dweeb
[b] No changes to the text, but Gumi would like to note that this JFJ’s callous statement of telling his sister to essentially ‘suck it up’ for the family is why rape culture is so prevalent and calls to mind the People v Turner case. Specifically, Dad Turner’s infamous ‘steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life’.
Again, please do not date red flags. This is only barely okay in fiction.
[b1] Jin Yangqiu’s reaction of ‘coldly snorted again but did not speak more’ implied that JFJ is right and that she should back down before grand logic.
Hah. Nope.
[c] Remove the AR Qiuning:
[c1] Remove extra details that HINTEDDD!! at FQN’s cleverness. Because, seriously? There’s hinting and then there’s planting a sign that says ‘There’s no gold buried here’
[c2] Re-emphasise how JFJ had bribed the maids, rather than them ‘teasing’ the madam, have them almost coercing FQN to get it on with JFJ
Make the ‘kyaa~~ Madam misses the Master, uwu~~’ more suffocating coercion than teasing.
[c3] Fu Qiuning being hurt by the maids’ lack of loyalty re [c2]
[c4] Delete all ‘uwu~ why JFJ not here~~ wuwu~~’
[c5] Deleted 200 words of ‘uwu~ surely JFJ hasn’t been struck by lightning~? But he already whitewashed himself~ Surely God in heaven would not be so stingy as to call in old debts~? *pouts*’
Gumihou: …
Fu Qiuning: She… actually thought ‘whitewashed’?
Gumihou: It’s… canon, author\god really was whitewashing JFJ all this time, it’s not our imagination at all.
[c6] Replaced ‘Aww, Jin Yanqiu already thought things through, how grown up~’ with, ‘that poor woman’
[c7] Instead of FQN going over to Madam Jin and ‘ask in a low voice: nyuu~ how is my hunny~~’ have the old lady call her over and impart unnecessary information instead. With a laugh, of course.
[c8] Give normal reaction to Jin Yanqiu’s asswipe behaviour in place of ‘*blush* iyaan~~’
[d] Author seems to have forgotten about the twins? I guess they are only useful when tugging on JFJ’s heartstrings on FQN’s behalf?
Pill Bug TL Notes:
[1] The original Chinese idiom is 此地无银三百两, “There aren’t three hundred taels of silver here”, basically saying the metaphor reveals exactly what it was trying to cover up.
