Higher Level Wife – 200 – Absence Makes the Heart Fonder

Chapter 200: Absence Makes the Heart Fonder

Author: White Pear Flower

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

Translated by Gumihou

Proofread by Pill Bug

Gumihou: Ahh, a sweet reunion chapter 😛

#SadforJiangWanying #SPOOCs #YeetARQiuning

 

Jiang Wanying was naturally unhappy to see the husband, who had doted on her for the first five to six years of her marriage, paying attention solely to the once-abandoned wife. Even so, she had to grit her teeth and stand aside, because even though she was the granddaughter of a duke, she had married into this family as a second wife and therefore, according to etiquette, she should greet the official wife at her courtyard along with Concubine Huo, Concubine Cui and Lesser Concubine Yue Lan.

Not to mention, she had angered Jin Fengju a few times already after he caught her trying to get rid of that woman in the first place. Even so, she could not show any of her dissatisfaction on her face when faced with her husband. She could only smile and say, “If that’s the case, since we must also greet my elder sister, let us all adjourn to her place.”

Fu Qiuning was already annoyed by the excessive attention from Jin Fengju, and having Jiang Wanying, this obvious nemesis, beam that sweet smile at her felt even more creepy. However, she had no choice since this was all ‘according to etiquette’, especially since Jin Fengju’s other wives and concubines were all thirsty for the very sight of him.

Jin Yanfang, who entered the room later along with the Feng Sisters, turned to them and said loudly, “Well, Second Brother just arrived home today and is surrounded by his wives and concubines, there is no reason for the rest of us to stay and trouble their reunion. I shall come and visit my sister-in-law tomorrow to see if I can pick up anything that can block the wind and rain.”

Several people laughed at that.

Jiang Wanying’s suggestion to visit Elegant Mansion was neatly set aside by that joke as everyone started talking about the oil-paper umbrellas again. In the end, only the two of them left Old Madam’s place for Elegant Mansion under a cloud of sparkling laughter.

“As the saying goes, ‘A long separation is more loving than a new marriage’,” said Jin Fengju as soon as they stepped into the courtyard of Elegant Mansion. The rain had stopped by then and the rooms had been lit with candlelight. Fu Qiuning did not know what to say to that, since she could not say that she had been enjoying the time he was not around.

Undeterred by her silence, he scuttled closer and stroked her cheek with a sigh, “You have thinned down so much, you must have had it hard these days.”

Fu Qiuning stepped back from his hands and smiled defensively, “I have already heard this many times already. I trust you still remember just who it was who caused me to suffer these hard days?”

Jin Fengju laughed, “Goodness me, are you still angry about that? Surely must have also enjoyed the great benefits of being favoured by the palace? Come now, aren’t you sorry for me? I’ve been running around all day under the hot sun and was tanned to this point. Have I not lost weight too?”

“The sun is the same everywhere. Surely there is no difference?”

Jin Fengju could not help but feel a little frustrated and amused by Fu Qiuning’s inability to be honest with her feelings. He thought: Ah, she must have been worried about me, but still refuses to say anything. How dishonest yet sweet. Should I ruin her little act?

In the end, he merely shook his head and pouted, “Why are you always like this? Why would you bully me, your beloved husband? Speaking of which, how are the children doing? Are they doing well in their studies? They have all gotten a little taller since the last time I saw them. As for that little brat Zhenyi, I see that he is not as reckless as before.”

“He has a goal to strive for, one that he is working towards. With the autumn wind blowing in, it would be a good time to find an opportunity to visit the farmstead. Otherwise, with the Mid-Autumn Festival coming up, who knows just how busy I would be with the All Nations Cultural Festival? I fear that once all the events are over, it will be too cold to visit the farmstead,” Fu Qiuning finished with a side glance at Jin Fengju, already anticipating some resistance to this suggestion.

Jin Fengju nodded and said, “I understand, I just came back from the Western Region after solving the matter at Softstone Kingdom. After giving Heartwind Kingdom a shock, they won’t dare to cause trouble at the borders for the time being. The Emperor was very happy with my work and bestowed a few days of vacation for me. Now that your affairs have settled, why not arrange for an outing to the farmstead in the next two days?”

Fu Qiuning thought: You want me to die by making Jiang Wanying angry by taking matters into my hands on something like this? No way, you can go and confront that woman yourself.

Out loud, she said, “You should speak to Second Madam Wan about these things. I have no authority over household matters.”

Jin Fengju beamed ingratiatingly, “I have always wanted to give you authority, but you keep refusing to take responsibility. What a pity, ah. That’s right, did my aunt come by to visit during my absence? I believe she would not come due to her status, but then again, I never thought that Jiang Wanying would be so childish. I really cannot predict what she would do next.”

Fu Qiuning gave him a half-hearted glare. She already knew that he only paid attention to things that would benefit him, but that he would throw all of Jiang Wanying’s actions under the banner of ‘so childish’ when he was the one at fault was truly disgusting.

“She did, my poor mother was sick, so she left soon after.” [1]

“Goodness,” Jin Fengju said. Unable to think of what to say, he repeated, “Goodness, mother-in-law’s health is so… delicate. Well, just as well, my aunt was born into a prestigious family and married into such a prominent household. It is good that she did not make a fuss. I am relieved. Well, as a smart person, she should know that you are now the Empress Dowager and Emperor’s most favoured person and she would not wish to offend such a great figure.”

“What great figure? What do you think would happen to me after the All Nations Cultural Festival ends?” [2]

Jin Fengju, [2a] “Well, of course, that…”

Fu Qiuning watched as he floundered for an answer, not bothering to give him a hint, waiting to see what he would do.

[2a] “Well,” Jin Fengju beamed, “since my Qiuning does not wish to assume authority over household matters, surely you wish to fill in your time in other ways? After all, you have over 20 operas in your head… Surely it would not be a bad thing to come up with one or two operas a year and work with the palace troupe? That way, your favour with the Empress Dowager will never fade for as long as you have new operas to train, yes?”

[2b] FU Qiuning thought: This fellow is certainly clever, look how he made it sound like he is doing me a favour by ‘letting’ me reveal my opera to the public while he danced around on the side and reap the benefits. Fine, so long as I have my opera and the favour of the Empress Dowager, it would be difficult for anyone in his family to touch me carelessly.

[3]

Having made her decision, she nodded carefully.

A delighted Jin Fengju immediately hugged her tightly, freaking her out a little as he kissed her cheek and said, “Look how long we spent talking! You must be half frozen from walking in the rain! You may feel fine now because you’re young, but you must take care of your body!”

“I did hard labour for over five years at-”

Jin Fengju hastily interrupted, “What’s more, we have to prepare for our trip to the farmstead! I will arrange everything; you can just sit here and wait to set out!”

Fu Qiuning was already used to his evasive ways and maintained a stony silence.

“M-moreover, didn’t you ask me to keep an eye out for a good person for Yu Jie? I happen to have a good candidate at hand and found someone.”

“I see.”

Jin Fengju quickly beamed and said, “While I was in the Western Regions, I interacted with those soldiers every day and got to know them quite well. Among them was a guard I thought would be a good fit. You know how most of these imperial guards are descendants of rich or noble families, right? It is rare for a commoner to be chosen. However, this fellow is an exception; he was originally part of General Liang’s private bodyguards. When he was younger, his family could not support him due to his strength and appetite and he was eventually sold to the general’s mansion as a slave.

As a strong young man, he was naturally drawn to martial arts. He only had to watch how the other bodyguards practice their martial arts to pick up their skills. General Liang liked him for his intelligence and willingness to learn and took him as part of his entourage wherever he went. One time, he happened to catch the eye of Prince Rong while hunting and was personally recommended by the prince to the emperor, which was how he joined the Imperial Guard.

I see that he is a very ambitious and good person. His only drawback is his poor family background. He has paid off his slave debt through his salary. however, because he was not the kind to show off, no one aside from his parents and close comrades knew that he had jumped over the dragon’s gate. I mentioned Yu Jie’s matter to him the other day, worried that he may dislike Yu Jie for her slave status. However, it turned out that he did not mind at all and was in fact very happy as he had not received any marriage proposal yet due to his poor family background. It is best to seize him right now, otherwise, once news gets around about how successful he has become, there would be no end of people coming to propose to him.”

[4] Fu Qiuning blinked slowly at this long speech. It… sounded like Jin Fengju was almost desperate to have this guard marry Yu Jie. Was he trying to tie a promising and ambitious young imperial guard to the Jin Clan? Also, this poor guard sounded kind of like someone who would be blindly loyal to their family, which would certainly be an advantage no matter what. Since he was from a disadvantageous background, he would be even more willing to enter the Jin Clan’s servitude…

She must have been silent for too long because Jin Fengju started talking again, “He is from a poor family and you are not the shy type. I say, on this trip to the farmstead, why don’t I make arrangements to take him with me and allow you to have a look at him with Yu Jie? If you are satisfied, we shall settle the matter, what about it?”

[4] While it was certainly suspicious why Jin Fengju would be so desperate to make this connection, Fu Qiuning could not be bothered to think too long about it. If Yu Jie had been unwaveringly loyal, she might have reason to say something. However, that maid of hers had long  since switched her allegiance to Jin Fengju, so why would she care one way or the other?

Naturally, since the husband and wife had been apart for so long, Jin Fengju would be eager for sex. She had to save her energy for that and did not argue further. Fortunately, the travel must have tired him out since there were no sexual advances that night. Fu Qiuning stared at the ceiling, her body in the embrace of the man beside her as she vaguely contemplated what kind of disaster the next day would bring now that the Jin Clan golden boy had returned home.

 

[Gumihou: Eh, yeeted ‘kyaa~ AR Qiuning’]

 

[1] Deleted the so, so clever joke that she played against the aunt. The joke serves no purpose aside from showing just how much cleverer AR QN is and how dumb the aunt is. It was a scene created for AR QN and JFJ to laugh heartily at others

[2] Deleted 250 words of how FQN is so, so clever and thoughtful and wonderful and shiny, like wow

[2a] Have JFJ give an awkward answer to this curt remark instead of the original ‘aww you’re so shiny, clever, thoughtful, different, wonderful like wow’

[2b] Realistic thoughts from FQN

[3] Deleted 200 words of ‘wowowow, hubby is so cleverrrr~~’

[4] Replaced ‘my hubby is so great uwu uwu~~’ with ‘ah, so you can make connections this way too…’

 

 

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