Chapter 236: Secrets
Author: White Pear Flower
Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/
Translated by Pill Bug
Edited by Gumihou
Aunt Yu entered the small garden pavilion and took a seat on a lower chair. She smiled and said, “I have long thought of coming to pay respects to Madam, but I have been feeling unwell. Finally, I am no longer nauseous or vomiting. However, Third Brother and Mother-in-law still would not let me come. Fortunately, a doctor came yesterday to say that my body is getting too heavy. We fear that the child may be not small and that I should move around a lot more to gain strength for the birthing day. Thus, here I am.”
After that little greeting speech, she looked over at Fu Qiuning, stopped smiling and inquired, “Madam, why do Madam’s eyes have so many bloodshot veins? Has Madam not been sleeping well? What is going on? Yu Jie and Jian Feng went to my house, only saying that you are living well and that Young Marquis also genuinely cares for you. Could it be that they were just trying to ease my worries, and Madam is not happy living here?”
Suddenly, Jin Fengju’s voice interrupted them, “Please do not wrong me like this. How could I dare offend your Madam?” Then, a hand lifted the curtain and the man himself stepped in. Aunt Yu had not expected the Master of the house to be in the inner room and hastily tried to stand and salute him. Jin Fengju waved a hand at her, turning instead to Fu Qiuning to say, “You stay here and chat with Aunt Yu, once the medicine is ready, have Brother Yi drink it. I will personally go to Elder Madam’s place and inform her about Brother Yi’s situation.”
Fu Qiuning nodded, “Then, Yu Jie shall…”
“No, no,” Jin Fengju waved his hand again, generously saying, “How can I allow myself to be careless about this matter? I had Jin Ming oversee the stewing of the medicine personally.” With that, he left with a proud flourish.
Sensing that something was not right, Aunt Yu naturally inquired after the details. [a] Fu Qiuning looked at the heavily pregnant woman and decided to humour her. She had to be really bored at home to run over here to chat. How nice for her that they now had a little mystery to ponder over. To curate a better ‘secret atmosphere’, she beckoned Aunt Yu and Yu Jie to the inner rooms, dismissed all the other maids and had Yu Jie explain what had happened earlier.
[a] Oh, and Jian Feng was not included in this secret chat, because how could she deprive that maid of the pleasure of eavesdropping or prodding the information out of Yu Jie later?As expected, Aunt Yu gasped in all the right places as Yu Jie caught her up to what had happened till then. Finally, during a lull in the conversation, Fu Qiuning leaned forward and dramatically lowered her voice to say, “During that incident, Aunt Yu was not here, but Yu Jie must have been there. Let me ask you, do you remember the pair of coral earrings gifted by Concubine Huo?”
Yu Jie made a show of thinking for a moment before gasping dramatically and saying, “How could I forget? That day, Concubine Huo eagerly sent several boxes of jewellery to Madam, later when she heard that Madam had no intention of seizing power in this household, Concubine Huo rarely visited ever since. As for those earrings, since Madam has a reaction to those kinds of jewellery, we maids quickly packed them away in the bottom of a different locked box. Which,” her eyes shone at that, “Madam and Young Marquis dug up yesterday! Could it be that this thing has something to do with…?”
[b] Fu Qiuning smiled gently at their obvious excitement. She serenely said, “This time, the heavens have truly safeguarded me. If not for this, I would not know what fate awaits me now. At the time, I did not find it strange. Now, thinking back, it turns out that one trap led to another.”When Yu Jie and Aunt Yu turned pale, Fu Qiuning continued her dramatic recital. After all, as a teacher of opera singing, she ought not to lose to these amateurs when it comes to a good theatrical deliver, “I recall how Concubine Huo suddenly became more affectionate towards me after Lord Husband left for his imperial enjoy journey, often sending gifts over, and sending this pair of earrings in the end. After dropping that earring at the study, she gifted me a pair to implicate me as well, not knowing that I would not wear them.”
[c] It was interesting to see the dawning realisation on the maids’ faces as she explained the scheme step by step. Truly, although she loathed to castigate someone for being… simple, there was no denying that the people in this era lacked common sense. For all his smarts, even Jin Fengju could be strangely short-sighted sometimes.Unable to contain herself, Yu Jie gasped. She covered her mouth and whispered loudly, “Is… is Madam saying that… the chaos at our Elegant Mansion recently, all the rummaging and not stealing anything, was all due to a… a possible traitor looking for a pair of earrings?”
Fu Qiuning looked at this excited maid for a moment before nodding gravely and saying, “ That is the most likely conjecture. After all, if I have the same pair of earrings, but missing a single crucial one. Would it not cast doubts upon my character?” [d]
Aunt Yu angrily remarked, “This scheme is truly sinister, thoroughly considering all possibilities.”
Fu Qiuning [d] actually snorted before pretending to cough into her hand, doing her absolute best not to laugh at their excited faces. “I am not sure about ‘considering all possibilities’, but, if Brother Yi’s injury is part of their plan, the scheme may be considered sinister.”
When the maids looked more disappointed than alarmed, she decided to add, “Still, it would be best to be more careful. Now that the crown prince had been decided, the Jing Dukedom ought to be vigilant. The two of you are my closest servants, but one is already married out and the other is soon to be married. Therefore, you must be more cautious. Otherwise, you might end up crushed, broken into ten thousand pieces beyond recovery over one trivial mistake.”
Thankfully, this seemed to scare both Aunt Yu and Yu Jie into taking things seriously. After all, just because the opponent was an idiot, it didn’t mean they did not have the means to destroy you. It was the idiots who could not consider the pros and cons of their actions were the ones they should guard against. Clever people could still be counted on to be sensible.
Fu Qiuning continued, “Only the three of us and Young Marquis know about this. No fifth person should know it. Although Jian Feng, Qiu Yu, and Qiu Shuang do not have the details, they should be aware of certain things. Aunt Yu, when you go back, do not tell your Third Brother or mother-in-law. Understand?”
Both ladies quickly swore they would never mention even half a word to anyone else. Fu Qiuning smiled and said, “No need for oaths, you only need to be cautious. In the end, it is for your own safety.”
After speaking for a while, the ladies heard Jin Ming call from the outside, “Madam, the medicine is ready. Has Second Young Master woken up yet?”
Fu Qiuning had Yu Jie bring the medicine with her to Jin Zhenyi’s room. There, she found Jin Zhenyi still in bed with Bai Lu watching over him. At the sight of Fu Qiuning, Bai Lu quickly got up to salute her and said, “Madam has been watching over Third Young Master for a long time, please rest. We maids shall stay and take care of matters.”
She took the medicine from Fu Qiuning while Yu Jie hurried forward to help Jin Zhenyi up. The boy opened his eyes. This time, he was more conscious about his surroundings. He looked up feebly at Fu Qiuning before calling out, “Honoured Mother,” and struggled to sit up.
Raising an eyebrow, Fu Qiuning said, “Save your strength, child. Take your medicine first.” [e]
Jin Zhenyi nodded. He accepted the bowl of medicine from Bai Lu and carefully gulped it down. After swallowing the whole thing down, he made a face. Fu Qiuning smiled and said, “A few spoonfuls of sugar were added. But I suppose it is still bitter. Yu Jie, go and bring a plate of candied fruit for Brother Yi.” [e]
Yu Jie acknowledged the order and left. Fu Qiuning said to Jin Zhenyi, “Rest well. I have already spoken to your father about bringing your mother from the farmstead to take care of you…” She was interrupted by Jin Zhenyi whose eyes suddenly brightened as he muttered, “Really? Is my mother coming back? Honoured Mother, is this true?”
[e1] “Keep in mind that I can only have Concubine Xu stay with the excuse of taking care of you. Whether she can extend her stay from a few days to something more depends on her and yourself,” she said bluntly. Jin Zhenyi was a sharp one and Concubine Xu a cunning one. The two of them should know what to do if they wish to extend her stay within the Duke of Jing’s estate. [e1] Jin Zhenyi’s bright face dimmed a little, replaced by a stubborn look around his mouth. Still, he kept his mouth shut as he nodded sharply at the demand. [e1] Fu Qiuning poked him in the forehead and said, “Rest now. Perhaps you will see your mother when you wake up next.”Jin Zhenyi’s changeable little face brightened again and he wriggled into his covers and squeezed his eyes shut. Amused, Fu Qiuning stood up to leave, just in time to see Yu Jie coming in with a plate of candied fruits.
How could Jin Zhenyi actually fall asleep after hearing about his mother? He tossed and turned in place, excited about his mother coming. What would his sister say? How would she react once Mother comes? How happy she would be?
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At noon, after lunch, Jin Xiunan went to check on her elder brother again. Seeing that he was still asleep with Bai Lu keeping vigil at his side, she stayed for a little while before leaving the room. Just as she stepped out of the door, she saw Chuang Hua hurrying over. The maid stopped and lowered her voice in an excited whisper, “Madam asked Third Young Miss to hurry over to the pavilion in the garden. Madam Concubine Xu has arrived.”
“Mo… Mother…?”
Jin Xiunan stood stock still in place. [g] She thought: Mother? Mother is here? Is she really here?
[g] Somehow, she was outside, running towards the little pavilion in the garden. [g] Mother! It’s really Mother!“Third Young Miss.”
[h] It was rare for Concubine Xu to see Jin Xiunan so emotional. Back at the farmstead, Concubine Xu herself had been too emotional to properly appreciate her children’s reaction. When Jin Xiunan threw herself at her mother, Concubine Xu caught her in her arms with fresh tears rolling down her face once more.Suddenly, Yu Jie appeared to say, “Did Third Young Miss just come from Young Master Yi’s room? Is he still sleeping?”
Jin Xiunan [g] sniffed, embarrassed to be caught sobbing like that. She got herself under control, nodded and said, “Yes, Brother is still sleeping.” Then, she turned to pull her mother’s hand. “Mother, not a day passed where Elder Brother never thought about you. Would you…”
Concubine Xu [h] tightened her hand over her daughter’s and said, “It is fine. Let him sleep. I heard he was struck in the head. It would be best for him to rest well and… not be too excited.” [h1] [h] She attempted to smile at Jin Xiunan, but it was clear to anyone that it was more of a grimace. There was no way she would be happy about her son being struck. On the side, Yu Jie was staring at the mother and daughter, watchful and wary.
[g] Even though her mother said that it was fine not to see Elder Brother, Jin Xiunan knew that she had to be eager to have a look at him. Therefore, she tugged at Concubine Xu’s hand once more, saying, “We don’t have to wake Elder Brother. Think how happy he will be to see you once he opens his eyes.” [h] How could Concubine Xu deny this opportunity the second time? She allowed Jin Xiunan to pull her along the corridors of Elegant Mansion until they ended up inside Jin Zhenyi’s room. Bai Lu immediately stood up to salute Concubine Xu. Her eyes were red with emotion, but she quickly shuffled backwards, allowing Concubine Xu to approach a peacefully sleeping Jin Zhenyi.Seeing Jin Zhenyi sleeping [h] so motionlessly with a white bandage around his head, more tears streamed down Concubine Xu’s face. However, she said nothing. She stood in silence for a long moment, gripping her daughter’s hand. Finally, she turned, nodded to Bai Lu and stepped out of the room with Jin Xiunan.
Yu Jie was just outside the room, waiting.
Concubine Xu said in a hoarse voice, “Where is Madam? I wish to pay my respects.”
[Gumihou: Oh, nothing much to see here, just making sure the characters are all in characters and that no one loses whatever few brain cells they have in their heads]
[a] Have a more natural conspiracy circle than a ‘WOWOW AR Qiuning so Kleberrr!!!’ [b] Show Fu Qiuning’s condescension in a different way. No ‘sneering’ [c] Comment on the shockingly low IQ of the people here [d] Deleted this ‘me, me, me’ fest: “It seems likely. If my guess is correct, Concubine Huo had a well-thought-out plan. As long as she let the mole steal one earring from me, when the truth came to light, she could easily shift the blame to me. If Young Marquis came over to inquire, finding only one earring left, wouldn’t I have no way to clear my name?”
Pill Bug: For the crime of doing what? Going into Jin Fengju’s study?
Gumihou: What ‘well thought out plan’? Isn’t a single ‘I got these from Concubine x’ good enough to cast reasonable doubt? Also, what’s with all the rummaging etc? It could all be solved by hiding one more ‘suspicious earring’ in FQN’s possession somewhere. The whole scheme was so convoluted and full of holes that it was difficult to take it seriously. Reflect this in FQN’s blase, slightly amused attitude.
[e] Replaced AR Qiuning’s ‘watch me being so, so concerned about this boy uwu’ [e1] Use Jin Zhenyi to control Concubine Xu instead of more ‘uwu, praise Official Momma~!’ [f] Deleted Jin Zhenyi’s 100 words of ‘uwu Official Momma so GOAT, that sister good to my sister, yaass’ [g] Realistic reaction from Jin Xiunan [h] Realistic reaction from Concubine Xu [h1] Deleted some of the‘I gonna kill those damned bastard’ speeches. Not that they are not in character, but please don’t be too over the top just to make AR Qiuning look saner in comparison
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