Higher Level Wife – 232 – Ready to Reveal

Chapter 232: Ready to Reveal

Author: White Pear Flower

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

Translated by Gumihou

Proofread by Pill Bug

Gumihou: White Pear Flower really doesn’t know how to write a whodunit scene. (Also, her comedic timing is…)

 

As expected, the two men jumped. Jin Fengju rushed over, all anxious as he skirted around the shattered teacup and splattered tea. [1] To Jin Fengju’s eyes, Fu Qiuning looked pale and solemn. He thought: She must be in shock, but why?

“Jin Ming, clean this up. Quickly now. No, call a physician. What are you dawdling for? Hurry up!”

[1] Fu Qiuning cleared her throat and said in a suitably dramatic tone, “You say that those are coral stones?”

“Yes, vermilion coral stones of this colour are very rare… Qiuning, what is it? Did you recall something?” Jin Fengju grasped her hand excitedly and said, “Qiuning, do you know who these earrings belong to?”

Fu Qiuning [2] pulled her hands away.

[3] “I am familiar with coral stones, enough to know to avoid them. There are a few in my jewellery box, but after putting them on, my skin had a reaction. So, my maids had them put away at the bottom of a different box. I believed there was a pair of earrings that were similar to that one.”

“Is that so? Do you recall how they reached your hands?” he urged, snatching the earring up to give her a better look.

“I believe that Concubine Huo gave me a few boxes of coral stone jewellery, but I have never really looked at them closely,” she said with a shrug.

“Xiangmian? You say that Xiangmian gifted jewellery to you? And one of the boxes contain earrings like this one?” Jin Fengju was now staring at the earring in his hand so hard it was as though he was trying to stare a hole into it.

“There was a similar pair,” she said.

Suddenly, there was a timid knock at the door and the two maids peeked in hesitantly.

“What is it?” said Jin Fengju coldly.

“To answer Master, w-we are here to report. Cai Lian and I, that is, we recall that Madam Concubine Huo used to wear such earrings, but that it had been such a long time since her last visit, that we…”

Fu Qiuning watched with [2] vague fascination as Jin Fengju’s expression went from red, to blue, before turning pale. She quickly flapped her hand at the maids, urging them to leave before pouring herself a cup of tea in an unused cup. “Do calm yourself, Lord Husband. Nothing is certain yet. The coral stone earrings may only be similar to the ones favoured by Concubine Huo, not to mention she has been by a few times. It is not unusual for anyone to lose a piece of jewellery now and then, especially an earring.”

Jin Fengju looked at Fu Qiuning, who was calmly sipping her tea. This time, Fu Qiuning [2] decided not to entertain his melodramatic soul and maintained a stoic silence instead. After a long while, he let out a sigh and said, “There is something I have not told you. In fact, not only you, even Cai Lian or Bi Yu do not know about this. Do you still remember that time I was at the border with the army?”

Fu Qiuning made a non-committal sound. She really had no idea about that. “Was it during my time at Night Breeze Pavilion?”

“No! No, no, it was earlier this summer. This year in fact. Don’t you remember all those letters I sent you from the army? I was gone for two months. If not for those letters, I would not have been able to bear the separation.”

“Ah,” how she had missed those peaceful days. “Indeed, everyone was anxious for your return.”

Jin Fengju nodded, “Yes, yes, it was during that time. When I returned, the guards who patrolled the study reported that they heard noises coming from inside the study just after a shift change. They pierced the window paper to peek in, but saw nothing, thinking that it was probably just a rat. However, this study has always been kept clean and no rats have ever been seen before. At least those guards were sharp and made sure that there was always someone around even when changing shifts after that incident. No matter day or night, they did not leave the study unguarded until my return.”

Fu Qiuning thought: [3a] This guy should really sit down with Jian Feng and share conspiracy theories. Maybe she could introduce that girl as his next bedroom maid or something.

[3b] Jin Fengju started pacing around the room, his expression thunderous as he muttered, “If it was truly Xiangmian, and she had lost her earring… how did it get there? That rat… could it possibly be…”

[3b] Fu Qiuning said mildly, “Even if the earring belongs to Concubine Huo, it is possible that she could have dropped it deliberately during one of her previous visits and kicked it to the side just for an opportunity to look for it later when she comes to see you. Not to mention, it is also possible for her to lose it unknowingly. After all, when did Lord Husband last clean the bottom of that shelf?”

[3b] Turning red with embarrassment over an already ugly expression was not a good look on anyone, not even on Jin Fengju. It was the most fun Fu Qiuning had in a while.

[3b] Jin Fengju stopped pacing to… almost glare at Fu Qiuning. “You already know that I have been looking for a leak among the servants. However, even after so long, nothing was found. How could nothing be found after so long? No, if the mole is not among the servants, they must be among the masters. Just thinking about this is… is just…”

What is the most intolerable thing for someone as [4] narcissistic as Jin Fengju? What a narcissist hates most is having the people they knew to be under their ‘spell’ be out of their control. Even though he no longer ‘loves’ his other wives and concubines after finding ‘true love’, Jin Fengju cannot allow them to have thoughts for other men. After all, to the men of that era, the term ‘Husband and wife for a day, a couple for a hundred days’ was more like a life sentence for women, and ‘until a better model appears’ for men. How charming.

Right then, he was probably wondering whether Concubine Huo had ever loved him in the first place or just married him to betray him later. In short, making it all about himself. Poor Jiang Wanying was so obviously in love that he dismissed her off the list of suspects at once, which clearly showed that this man had no idea what a woman who truly love a man could do when spurned.

“If the person who had sneaked in that night was really Xiangmian, and if this earring had really fallen then… I have really underestimated her scheming heart,” Jin Fengju snarled through gritted teeth.

[3b] Fu Qiuning raised her eyebrows, “So, you have already decided that Concubine Huo is the culprit?” [2]

“Who else could it be?!” Jin Fengju shouted back.

[5] Jin Ming and Fu Qiuning flinched.

[5] Jin Fengju gritted his teeth, turned to Jin Ming and snapped, “What are you still doing here? Go and find out what you can!”

[5] [2] Jin Ming quickly bowed with a ‘Yes, Master’ before scuttling out of the room, only turning to make a face at Fu Qiuning before ducking out of the doorway.

Jin Fengju was breathing heavily. Fu Qiuning looked at the teacup in her hand and set it down. That was enough teasing. She really should not poke the bull too much.

When Jin Fengju finally spoke again, he sounded eerily calm, “Qiuning, let us go back to Elegant Mansion. That’s right, I remember that you have that thief who rummaged around your jewellery, right? But nothing was found missing?”

[6] “You think it is connected?” somehow, she managed to keep the sarcasm from her voice. After all, she was the one who mentioned how Concubine Huo had been bringing gifts of coral bead jewellery to her. Wow, like, I would never have thought~

“You have figured it out as well, Qiuning. If it is as we guessed, Xiangmian’s plan was perfect and vicious at the same time.”

“… is that so?” was the only thing Fu Qiuning could bring herself to choke out. [6] She thought: This is all so stupid. Are you really that stupid? Have you really been imagining how awesome your women thought of you that you never even considered that they would betray you? You self-serving, self-loving, arrogant cheater.

Seeing Fu Qiuing’s unnaturally stiff posture, Jin Fengju rushed over to hug her gently. In a soft voice, he said, “Do not be afraid, I am here. I shall take care of everything.”

[1] Fu Qiuning was too furious to move as she remained stiffly in place with Jin Fengju whispering reassurances into her ear. Finally, she pushed out of his embrace and said, “This is all very sweet and heartwarming. Something that I would have loved to have before I was made to starve to death for daring to marry above my station.”

[1] Jin Fengju’s expression crumpled, “Qiuning, ah. Why are you still angry about that old matter? Shouldn’t we put that in the past and look to our future instead?”

[1] Fu Qiuning paused. Then, she turned to him and said, “Do you recall how long I was at Night Breeze Pavilion?”

[1] “S-six years?” he said timidly.

[1] “And how many years had gone by without a single coin, cloth or a grain of rice being sent to the courtyard?”

[1] “S-six months?” he said hopefully.

[1] “Try again,” she said before stepping around him and striding off. Behind her, Jin Fengju continued to whine and mutter excuses as he attempted to placate her as they walked all the way back to Elegant Mansion.

 

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When they reached Elegant Mansion, Fu Qiuning found the maids occupying her living room, all of them working hard on their sewing. Jin Fengju looked at them and was about to reprimand them for the mess when Yu Jie appeared, all bright-eyed and cheerful as she showed a piece of embroidery to Fu Qiuning, chattering excitedly about her upcoming marriage.

[1] How could Jin Fengju pour his vitriol on one of the two maids who had been with Fu Qiuning for all those six years she had been banished to Night Breeze Pavilion? Instead, he praised the maids for their industry and rewarded them with various coins and things.

A quick glance at Fu Qiuning’s face showed that she was not at all impressed. Just when he was thinking about renting a prestigious hall for Yu Jie’s wedding ceremony, a furtive Jian Feng came up to say, “Madam, Master, I have something to report. It is… about that matter.” [7] [7] Her desperate winking would have been funny if it was not so awkward. Fu Qiuning sighed and said, “Very well, let us adjourn to the room.”

[7a] Once in her private rooms, Jian Feng immediately pushed one of the maids, Qiu Yu, forward with a stern, “Go on, tell Madam what you heard.”

[7] Qiu Yu glanced around nervously before saying, “Madam, I heard two girls quarrelling while I was putting Madam’s jewellery away. When I returned, the box was in a mess, but, but nothing was missing! I swear this! I swear nothing is missing!”

[6] Since this had already happened many times before, Fu Qiuning asked calmly, “And when was this?”

 

[Gumihou: Yeah, I’m so embarrassed for White Pear Flower in this chapter]

 

[1] Mitigated melodrama with drama

[2] Delete sweet moments

[3] Reduce kleberr explanations

[3a] Deleted AR Qiuning’s I-so-kleber deductions and replaced them with cynicism instead.

[3b] Have Jin Fengju mutter out the deductions with Fu Qiuning being Devil’s Advocate

[4] Change ‘a man’ to ‘a narcissist’

https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-to-deal-with-narcissists-7550421

[5] I put Jin Ming back into the scene, because it makes sense for him to be there. Why would he suddenly not have his trusted steward in the room with him? It could only be because of a half-assed romance plot trying to be a whodunit

[6] Remove Idiot Qiuning “Why did you think of this now?” Fu Qiuning was confused as she murmured, “What do I mean? There is no shortage of jewellery, just a few worthless gadgets. If it were not for Jian Feng being so careful…”…Jin Fengju saw her wide open mouth and unmoving eyes said, “You’ve figure out as well, right?

[7] Since you have already given the maids agency, let them keep it.

[7a] It was originally ‘hee hee, nothing happened’ followed by a ‘lol, actually something did!’ which was supposed to be funny? I guess?

 

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