Chapter 233: One Thing After Another
Author: White Pear Flower
Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/
Translated by Gumihou
Proofread by Pill Bug
Gumihou: White Pear Flower really, really doesn’t know how to write a whodunit scene
Since this had already happened many times before, Fu Qiuning said, “And when was this?”
Qiu Yu shrank back, muttering, “The incidents have been happening since Autumn, but although Madam appears unhappy, it doesn’t look like Madam is investigating it thoroughly. This maid believes that Madam must have a plan and did not mention it. Moreover, nothing was missing…”
“You–”
[1] Jin Fengju looked like he was about to kick the maid, so Fu Qiuning stepped forward to wave her hand irritatedly at Qiu Yu, saying, “It’s fine. Make sure to report every incident to Jian Feng from now on. I am too busy to deal with you. Jian Feng, bring all the coral beaded jewellery to me now.”“Pardon, Madam? But, aren’t you sensitive to those things? Why would you want to see them?” Jian Feng looked confused.
[2] “You Master wants to see them,” said Fu Qiuning, immediately throwing Jin Fengju under the bus. They could interpret this information however they liked. Then, she added, “Just because I cannot wear them, that does not mean they deserve to be locked away forever.”The maids’ faces suddenly brightened and a large trunk was soon brought forward for inspection.
[3] Just before she dismissed the maids, Fu Qiuning smiled and said, “Now, not a word out of any of you about this incident, is that clear? As Qiu Yu had said, I have my plans and will not tolerate them being ruined. Understand?” [3] Fu Qiuning was smiling at them. It was actually rare for Fu Qiuning to smile like this. Although Fu Qiuning was a kind and benevolent mistress, she had never been too friendly with the servants. Not to mention… their illustrious and famous master, Jin Fengju, was looming behind her, looking as though he would like nothing better than to have them all dragged outside to be whipped. [3[ Although they were not entirely sure what had happened, as slaves who had to live by the whim of their master’s temper, they knew that something had happened, and that as servants, it would be best for them to keep their mouths shut, their heads down and not say anything.Once the maids left, she unlocked the trunk with a key she kept on her person. She had to remove several bolts of cloth before reaching almost to the bottom of the trunk for a small paper packet. She took out the packet, saying, “The maids overdid themselves hiding these away after knowing I am sensitive to coral beads.”
Jin Fengju took the packet with both hands. For some reason, he looked a little shaken as he clutched at the paper packet for a moment. In a solemn voice, he said, “My dear Qiuning, if not for your maids putting this jewellery away in such a place, who knows what…”
[1] He trailed off, looking very moody and handsome and solemn and absurdly dramatic at that moment. [1] Curious, Fu Qiuning tilted her head, “What you would do? Would you banish me back to Night Breeze Pavilion?” [1] “No, no! Of course not, never! I know that my dear Qiuning would never do anything like that.” [1] “Really?” Fu Qiuning was curious now. “How do you know that?” [1] “Just…” Jin Fengju flailed around a bit more before saying, “I just know…” [1] “Hmm…” [1] “A-anyway, let us look inside!” Jin Fenju hurriedly opened the paper packet. When he saw what was inside, his fist clenched so hard that it made cracking sounds. [2] Fu Qiuning looked at the jewellery with mild interest. To be honest, [2a] most coral-beaded jewellery looked the same to her eyes. Especially the earrings. There was only so much you could do with red beads, after all.Still, she had to admit that the earrings did look very similar.
Jin Fengju was breathing harshly on the side, nearly wheezing with anger as he said, “Good, very good, to think that the ghost turned out to be my pillow partner, one who had even given birth to a daughter. Very good, ah…”
[2b] Fu Qiuning ignored his dramatics and held the earrings up for inspection against the light.“Do not worry, Qiuning. I know exactly what to do. How… how can I be worthy of being called a great schemer? The person who moves behind the scenes? If I cannot deal with my own women…” He raised his voice and shouted, “Jin Ming! Jin Ming!”
“Have you forgotten? You sent him on an errand just now?” said Fu Qiuning. Once again, she had to reconsider the overall IQ of the people in this world. If Jin Fengju was considered a ‘great schemer’ just how stupid were the rest of the people here? [2c]
Jin Fengju stiffened. He had truly forgotten. Just how many times had he made himself look bad in front of his dear Qiuning? How he wished he could rush into Concubine Huo’s courtyard now and hack her to pieces, but Fu Qiuning’s cool indifferent eyes soon crushed that thought. He continued thinking: That’s right, I may have done wrong before by marrying in so many women back then just to hurt Qiuning. I am paying for that foolish decision back then. Today, nearly everything I did only reminded Fu Qiuning of those bad times. I had… rashly married a slew of women immediately after my marriage and shunned this wonderful woman before me. If I were to do something foolish now… it would only make me look bad in the eyes of the most wonderful person in the world.
“That’s right, I did. Thank you, Qiuning, for calming me down. I know what to do now.”
“Is that so?” said Fu Qiuning. “Well, that’s a relief.” After a while, she asked, “[2d] What do you intend to do with Fourth Young Miss?”
Jin Fengju’s immediate instinct was to say ‘banish the girl!’ but the words died on his tongue at her expressionless gaze. Her eyes held neither expectation nor anticipation. Suddenly, he recalled how Fu Qiuning had only requested cloth to make clothes for the twins back then. Back when he visited her after she had tried to-
He quickly forced a smile and said in a joking tone, “Are you afraid that I may treat her like I had once treated Jiao’er and Feng’er? Do not worry, I have learned my lesson and will never do such a thing again. Just how old is the child? What her mother did had nothing to do with her. It’s just that… that slut cannot be kept within the estate.”
[1] Fu Qiuning thought: Wow, look how a concubine becomes a ‘slut’ so suddenly. Well, you married, slept with that slut directly after your marriage and had a kid with her. Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? Also, how convenient that one concubine had been banished to the farmstead and now another is going to be chucked out for being a ‘traitor’. One has to wonder if this self-proclaimed ‘great schemer’ was actually the one who planted the earrings just to get rid of his extra wives to curry favour with the current favourite. [2d] “Do as you like,” said Fu Qiuning. “As I have told you before, I do not wish to be involved in any kind of schemes, be it from your harem or otherwise.” [2d] “Yes, of course…” [2d] Jin Fengju looked disappointed by her reaction. Was he expecting her to hug him and tell him that all would be well? That she will support him with all her heart and soul and not worry because love conquers all? Yeah, right. [2d] Jin Fengju remained in place for a while longer, but Fu Qiuning already had had enough of the day’s adventure. “The children should be back soon,” she hinted.“Right, of course, I should… I need to speak with Jin Ming and arrange matters…”
As soon as he had left, Yu Jie came in with a bewildered look on her face. Although Jian Feng and the rest had kept their mouths shut, she must have sensed that something major had happened. “What’s wrong? Why did the master leave? It’s close to sunset now, surely he should stay for dinner. What happened? Madam, why did you not make him stay?”
Fu Qiuning raised an eyebrow, “Are you disappointed? You may go and make him stay.”
Yu Jie immediately beamed flatteringly and said, “Oh no, I could never! Only Madam’s word can make the master stay. Back when we were at Night Breeze Pavilion, we never saw him for five years, but now? It is rare not to see him when he’s at the estate. Speaking of which, Jian Feng and Yu Jie, those two hussies have the most awful look on their faces. Have they been scolded by the master? Just what could they have done to be so badly scolded?”
[1] Fu Qiuning shrugged, “Who knows, you know how Lord Husband has his moods. They are just unfortunate victims.” She had once again thrown Jin Fengju under the bus, but who cares?There was no way she was going to say anything to Yu Jie. This maid and Aunt Yu had been constant companions with her through thick and thin for five long years and yet… well, at least their loyalties were dearly bought, so she should at least maintain some semblance of that connection. “Speaking of which, you say that Aunt Yu is seven months pregnant now? Arrange for a carriage, let us go and see her together.”
Yu Jie was at least sharp enough to know when to drop a subject. She beamed and said, “It’s a little longer than seven months now. I fear that she will give birth very soon. I shall have the carriage ready for us early tomorrow.”
Fu Qiuning nodded.
When Yu Jie returned to inform her that all the arrangements had been made, she was in the middle of sorting out some suitable gifts for this maid. Dusk had fallen and the children should all be back.
At the dining table, Jin Changfeng, Jin Changjiao and Jin Xiunan were already seated.
“Where’s Brother Yi?” asked Fu Qiuning with an arched eyebrow.
Jian Feng hurried out just as Bai Lu rushed in. In a hurry, Bai Lu said, “Brother Yi’s study friend had already returned. He said that that Brother Yi saw something and wanted to chase after it, making him return first. The boy thought that Brother Yi would return on his own, but he is still not back yet. Madam, what should we do!?”
[4] “What to do? Have people go look for him quickly,” said Fu Qiuning. She thought: This is the problem of having such a stupidly large estate. While people were sent out with lanterns to search the nearby area, she had someone sent for Jin Zhenyi’s study friend. After a brief questioning, the boy said that Jin Zhenyi ran into the plum forest in the back.Throb.
A headache caused Fu Qiuning to frown. Why would anyone want to have an estate so big that they had an actual ‘plum forest’ as part of their landscaping? Isn’t this just overkill? As luck would have it, poor Jin Zhenyi may well have ended up being some kind of canon fodder character who died stupidly because he had seen something he shouldn’t.
“Mother…”
The three children looked up at her, worry filling their little faces. Fu Qiuning sighed, “We can only hope for the best,” she held out a hand to Jin Xiunan, whose eyes were reddened with held-back tears. This poor child…
[Gumihou: Yeah, that was hard… Also, for the ending, I make it less about Saintly AR Qiuning and more about the children.]
[1] De-romanticised Jin Fengju [2] Fu Qiuning being actually intelligent rather than just kleber [2a] JFJ and FQN were actually ‘clutching at each other for emotional support’ in the original text. It was so dumb that Gumi had to go away and take a shower. [2b] Remove ‘hand clutching’ aww moment. [2c] Deleted 80 words of ‘calm down, Lord Husband~’ [2d] Remove unnecessary blablablabla kleber blablas [3] Have the dramatic intimidation be realistic rather than lame [4] Have an in control Fu Qiuning be in charge rather than ‘iyann~~ AR Qiuning”
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