Higher Level Wife – 193 – Son-in-Law’s Visit (1)

Chapter 193: Son-in-Law’s Visit (1)

Author: White Pear Flower

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

Translated by Pill Bug

Edited by Gumihou

 

“Is Lord Husband not attending court today?” Fu Qiuning asked with [a] growing trepidation.

To her not-surprise, Jin Fengju beamed and said, “Thanks to you, I too, have gained some benefits. Yesterday, I casually mentioned to the Emperor how I needed to pick up my mother-in-law today and was unexpectedly granted a day off. This shows just how high your status has become.” He was positively grinning by the end of his little boast as he picked up one of the remaining two White Sugar Sponge Cakes [1] on the table.

“Haven’t you had enough to eat at Clear Soft Pavilion?” Fu Qiuning asked pointedly.

[a] She knew her question was a mistake when Jin Fengju’s grin turned into a smirk, “No, no, it’s just that this cake looked particularly delicious, so I just had to have a piece. Still, I do enjoy those cream-filled pastries. I shall see if I can catch myself a foreigner these next few days and have them make these at our estate too.”

Fu Qiuning [a] paused, “Do you think foreigners are livestock? ‘Catching one’ indeed. Concubine Huo already said that the foreigner is a distinguished guest of their family…”

Before she could finish speaking, she caught Jin Fengju visibly snorting and rolling his eyes in the mirror. She knew that it was probably the ‘noble aristocrat’ in him looking down on the mainly mercantile nature of the Huo family. It would do no one any good to talk about Concubine Huo anymore, so she changed the subject by saying, “I shall be leaving for the palace now.”

Jin Fengju said, “Yes, yes, you go to the palace immediately. Even as the Emperor bestowed this unexpected free day for me, I could tell that the old man values this All Nations Cultural Festival too much. You must show diligence to win his favour. Leave everything else to me. This way, your father and grandfather will also know just how highly regarded you are by the imperial family. After all, with me running errands on your behalf, they would have so many concerns. With so many concerns occupying their mind, they won’t easily offend us. Not even if we ask for your mother.

Not to mention, I have dropped a few hints to the Emperor’s ear about how long since your last visit to your mother and how, coincidentally, right at the time you meant to visit your dear mother, you have now become so busy with this event. Ah, your plans to visit after the Dragon Boat Festival are now in shambles, what to do? Naturally, the Emperor praised you for your filial piety, and, goodness, in order to not distract you from your diligence in training the new opera troupe, isn’t it better to have your mother stay at our estate for a few days? If the Zhenjiang Palace still refuses to release your mother, we could even petition the Emperor to come up with an imperial edict. Once she’s at our estate, who would care how long she stays with us in the end? What do you think? Isn’t this the most brilliant of schemes?”

Jin Fengju was looking at her with sparkling eyes, clearly expecting praise for his brilliant brainwork. Fu Qiuning had zoned out in the middle of his speech, recognising the moment when Jin Fengju was about to go on and on about his own great achievements. When his fan finally snapped closed in a flourish, [a] signalling the end of his self-praising, she politely clapped and said, “There can be no better plan than this, I am sure. I must thank Lord Husband for his great benevolence, consideration and-”

Jin Fengju cut in to modestly say, “What is there to thank? Such a small matter is nothing. No need to make a big deal of it.”

[a] Fu Qiuning thought: If it was such a small thing, what was that incredibly long performance about?

However, there was no point in confronting a delusional person about their weird behaviours. Instead of wasting her time, Fu Qiuning headed out for the palace while Jin Fengju scuttled over to Health & Longevity Court.

[b] No matter what, he must complete this great mission. Fu Qiuning asked for so little and could not be moved by things like gold, favour or status. Therefore, his only way to gain her favour was to bring her mother into the estate in hopes that this mother-in-law would help improve their relationship in the future…

At Health & Longevity Court, he found Madam Jiang and Jiang Wanying, as well as a few others already there. He took the opportunity to inform them that he would be fetching Fu Qiuning’s mother to their estate.

Old Madam Jiang already knew that Fu Qiuning had spent most of her girlhood in the village with her mother and knew that this woman must have been extremely unhappy at Zhenjiang Palace’s inner court. If the relationship between the two families had been good, Fu Qiuning’s achievements would have been a great celebration for both families. Instead, the poor woman must have been caught between placating her husband and supporting her daughter. Therefore, Old Madam Jin readily agreed.

As for Madam Jiang, although she despised Fu Qiuning’s mother for her low status and lack of favour, she considered herself a woman of the world who, although had grown up in luxury and opulence, was neither snobbish nor arrogant. After all, no genuine worshipper of Buddha could be considered a snobbish person, right? Furthermore, though Fu Qiuning had been in the spotlight these days, she had not yet displayed any signs of arrogance with which she could find fault. Thus, although Madam Jiang was biased towards her niece, being unable to find fault with Fu Qiuning meant that she could not say much about Jin Fengju’s decision.

Jiang Wanying was unable to suppress her annoyance and it showed on her face as a brittle smile as she said, “Lord Husband is truly considerate. I truly envy Elder Sister. If I can be treated with such attention one day, it would be worth dying immediately.”

Jin Fengju chuckled, “For Wanying to say this, you must be feeling homesick too. How about I accompany you back in the next two days? Or, perhaps you would like to have my aunt stay for a few days as well? That would be good too. Mother would have someone to keep her company.”

He had casually mentioned bringing his aunt in [c] to make it look like he was not openly favouring one wife over the other, but Jiang Wanying took his words seriously. She thought: Mother is a titled noblewoman. If she was here, we could brace against whatever influence that Fu-woman’s mother would bring. The Old Madam is already close to a hundred years old, and once she is gone, the one in power would be my aunt. At that point, if we still could not drive that woman away, could she still enjoy good days with all the power in my family’s hands?

Thus, with her calculations all done, Jiang Wanying smiled slightly and said, “May I consider this my Cousin’s consideration for me? In that case, I shall thank you in advance. Do please don’t take your words back later and completely forget our little promise.”

Jin Fengju looked at Jiang Wanying in surprise. Old Madam Jin and Madam Jiang were also a little shocked. Madam Jiang frowned and said, “What is this nonsense? Have you considered your mother’s status? Why would you want to have her stay at our estate? If you truly miss her, you can go home for a few days.”

Jiang Wanying also knew this was socially improper. Her mother was an imperially titled noblewoman; however, she had already painted herself into a corner in her eagerness to take power out of that woman’s hands. Therefore, she strengthened her smile and replied, “Aunt is right in saying that my mother’s status is high. Even so, our family’s status is not low either, ah. We regularly receive friends and relatives who stay with us for ten days or half a month. This is just a two-day stay. Surely my mother would be delighted for the opportunity for a leisurely stay? Aunt would also have company with you as well. I do worry that Mother would fall ill from being stuck back at the estate all day.”

Madam Jiang knew what Jiang Wanying was scheming. She wanted to bring her mother over to assert her dominance over Fu Qiuning and say a few words to the family on Jiang Wanying’s behalf. She thought: Silly child, why are you being so persistent? Do you not know that I have no fondness for that surname Fu? Even without your mother, I will not stand for her presence. The one who favours her is your husband. Would your mother’s visit be able to change his mind? What kind of nonsense is this? You had better spend your time thinking up ways to win back your husband’s heart.

Even so, Madam Jiang refrained from speaking up since Jiang Wanying continued to persist in her decision. Not to mention, her arguments were sound, and so long as her sister-in-law did not mind her own status, was there any rule against letting relatives stay for a few days? In the end, the matter was settled just like that. When word got out, Jin Fengju’s public reputation rose even more among the elites as being a considerate and filial husband and son-in-law.

As for Jin Fengju, he thought back to the time he last saw Qiuning’s mother and recalled that she was a most honest and unassuming person. Even if she came over to stay at Elegant Mansion, his cousin, being a lady of good breeding and elegance, would not unnecessarily bring her own mother to humiliate someone else. Surely, this could only end in the most harmonious of scenes?

With this conclusion in his heart, though he was still a little annoyed at Jiang Wanying, he decided to suppress this feeling and leave things at that. It was time to head for the Zhenjiang Palace.

 

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King Zhenjiang and his son were already quite annoyed. When news came that Jin Fengju had arrived at their doorstep, the two of them became even more upset. The Zhenjiang Heir sneered, “Has that brat purposely come to mock us? I refuse to meet with him, chase him out.”

However, his father’s stern authoritative tone snapped, “Useless thing, no matter what, he is still a young marquis. The person most highly regarded by the Emperor himself. If you throw him out, who would that impress? The Emperor?”

Fu Qinghe immediately lowered his head in silence, not daring to speak. His father slowly continued, “Anyway, let us hear him out first. If it is not a major issue, there is also no need to offend him. It looks like our main support may not be as sturdy as we had hoped. Perhaps, in time, we may need a secondary support.” With that, he instructed the messenger, “Go tell the Young Marquis to wait for a moment. We will personally welcome him.”

Once the messenger left, Fu Qinghe turned to his father, saying, “Father, what nonsense are you speaking? We are already at odds with Jing Dukedom, so how can we still rely on him for support? If he doesn’t throw stones upon us after we fell into a well, we would have to burn a heap of incense in thanks. Has Father forgotten how we used Qiuning to humiliate him in the past? I fear that even now, there are people at the ducal estate still grinding their teeth at this grudge. We already have nowhere to retreat to and no other choice.”

King Zhenjiang sighed, stood up, and straightened his collar. In a somewhat melancholic tone, he said, “How would I not be well aware of what you’re saying? But… sigh, Prince Hong’s side might not be dependable anymore. Should we just sit around and wait for our deaths? Though we had a falling out with Jing Dukedom, isn’t Qiuning flourishing there now? Sending her there was an insult, yet now that she is thriving there, the Young Marquis might even appreciate us for marrying her to him.”

Even Fu Qinghe, who had always regarded his father with deep respect and love, with a face thicker than a city wall, couldn’t help but feel his cheeks burn upon hearing Fu Shanlin’s words. He stuttered, “I-if things could turn out as Father envisions, that would be best. I am just afraid…”

He could not continue. Seeing his father’s face with lined so many wrinkles, he sighed inwardly and thought: Well, the old man is getting old. If he likes to dream a bit, let him have his dreams.

Father and son continued their conversation while they made themselves presentable. Right as they were about to go to the main gate to welcome Jin Fengju, they saw Jin Fengju already approaching the study with wide steps, accompanied by the palace steward. Upon seeing them, this handsome and finely-dressed Young Marquis greeted them from a distance with a cupped fist salute and a hearty smile, “How could this lowly official dare to trouble the King and the Heir to come out to greet me? Not chasing me away already is generous enough.”

As he spoke, he ascended the steps. Under the morning sun, his spirits were high. He truly was dashing and unconstrained, embodying an air of gracefulness. Though Fu Shanlin and Fu Qinghe secretly resented and admired him, they still had to admit that this Jin Fengju was indeed very charming to look at. No wonder hestill occupied the position of the most handsome man in the capital even after having so many children under his knees. Indeed, there was no man who could rival his charisma.

Fu Shanlin burst into hearty laughter and said, “Fengju, you’re being too formal with your words. Besides, now that you’re here, what do we care about being a lower or higher official? Aren’t we all family?” After saying that, he invited Jin Fengju into the study and instructed a maid, “Bring the First Daybreak Snow tea that I received a few days ago and brew a good pot.”

First Daybreak Snow was also an extremely valuable type of Longjing tea. Jin Fengju smiled slightly, seated himself, and said, “King and Heir need not trouble yourselves, I only came here because I have a matter to discuss today. There are still matters to attend to in my government office and I cannot afford to delay here. I have to return after I have finished this matter.”

 

[Gumihou: …hmm]

 

[a] Turn all romantic uwu into red flags

[b] Give ‘real’ reason for JFJ’s sudden benevolence

[c] Mitigate the ‘evil Jiang’ with ‘delirious with love Jiang’

 

Pill Bug TL Notes:

[1]       白糖糕 Steamed rice flour with sugar, turned into a cake. Soft when hot, hardens when cool. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_sugar_sponge_cake

 

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