Chapter 263: Relieve
Author: White Pear Flower
Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/
Translated by Gumihou
Proofread by Pill Bug
Gumihou: Please note that over 500 words have been deleted. These are not recoverable since they are just character assassination text or dumb ‘I so kleber der der’ stuff
The combination of Fu Qiuning’s cool gaze and Jiang Wanying’s fierce glare was more than enough the quell an entire room of rural gentry.
[1] “You there!” Jiang Wanying sneered.
“It’s Sister Li,” Fu Qiuning stage whispered, loudly.
[1] “I do not care if you are a Li or a Lo, how dare you run your mouth like that? If you wish to desert your husband and comrades, by all means, do it. However, I advise you to do so quietly! We do not need any of your hysterical babbling here!”
[1] It was actually quite satisfying to see Jiang Wanying verbally eviscerate someone else. After being scolded, the woman actually looked at Fu Qiuning with imploring eyes, who retorted, “Sister Li, did Lord Han not explain anything to you? To panic at the slightest hint of trouble… how undignified.”
Perhaps angered by Fu Qiuning refuting her, the fat woman stretched out her neck, ready to scream or throw a tantrum when Jiang Wanying glared at her. Her head actually shrank back under the double gaze of the two most powerful women in the room.
[2]
[1] “How deplorable, to run at the first hint of trouble, pathetic.” [2a]
[1] “Now, now, little sister. Not all of us can be brave in the face of adversity. Still, I believe that we should have a small feast to bolster everyone’s spirits. Even after we received the Imperial Decree, we have yet to throw a celebratory feast. Thinking about it, now is as good a time as any. What do you think?”
Everyone in the room eagerly agreed to the idea, to the point of standing up and thanking her with a salute.
[1] “Humph, I see you expect me to take care of this feast as well, Elder Sister?” Jiang Wanying sneered, obviously angry at the idea of having to host these ‘lowly women’.
[1] “I can only plead for Little Sister’s assistance as the main housekeeper,” said Fu Qiuning.
[1] Jiang Wanying looked torn between gratification and anger. She was obviously gratified to still be acknowledged as the housekeeper of the family, but angry because the idea was posed by Fu Qiuning.
Eventually, the women dispersed. [1a] Jiang Wanying also left. In fact, she left the room even before Fu Qiuning dismissed the officials’ wives. When they all looked questioningly at her, she smiled at them and said, “Second Madam Wan is a busy person. She has many things to take care of in the family, in light of our abrupt move these past few days.”
Everyone laughed awkwardly before leaving.
Once the women had left, Qiu Yu scuttled in to whisper, “This maid saw Young Master Xuan sitting behind the door just now. When he saw this maid watching him, he stood up and walked away.”
Fu Qiuning nodded, “It is fine, just leave him be.” [2b]
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After Jin Zhenxuan had scuttled off, [3] he wandered about the courtyard aimlessly for some time. He did not want to be around his brothers and sisters, as they were just too noisy. As for Youngest Fifth Sister [3a], she was just too quiet and gloomy. Not to mention, why would he want to be around a shu-born daughter anyway?
[3] Somehow, he ended up in front of his mother’s room. After some hesitation, he entered the room to find Jiang Wanying embroidering a dudou [4]. At the sight of Jin Zhenxuan, she smiled and said, “Yo~ I see that Brother Xuan is finally back. [3b] How are you and your sister? I believe I have not seen you two for some time now.”
[3] Jin Zhenxuan flinched guiltily. Even so, he rallied his spirits enough to say, “Sister is a little angry, but no matter what, it is temporary. After all, Mother is our mother.”
[3b] Jiang Wanying looked at her son, her pride and joy as tears welled up in her eyes. She pulled him close and stroked his face. After a while, she sighed and said, “To think that my son saw clearer than his mother. Perhaps it is because my heart is in turmoil, but with your father abandoning us for that Fu woman, my mind is clouded as well…” [3c]
Jin Zhenxuan lowered his head for a moment. After a while, he said, “Mother, Elder Sister liked her cat very much. Surely it is fine to let her keep it? Honoured Mother allowed all of us to keep one.”
“Is that so?” said Jiang Wanying coolly. [3c] “If your Honoured Mother has allowed it, who am I to say anything? Tell your sister that she may keep her cats with my blessing. It is not like I have the authority to go against the blessings of the Honoured One.”
[3] Jin Zhenxuan ducked his head. While he knew that his mother didn’t like Fu Qiuning, it was still difficult to be caught between their spats. Even so, he knew better than to say anything that would make his mother angrier than that.
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In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
Jin Fengju had been away for half the entire month, but daily military reports and letters still came to the courtyard. Fu Qiuning tracked their progress through those reports even as she made private plans of her own. [5] It would not be easy to run away with a bunch of children and their mother, but perhaps she could make use of Jiang Wanying’s housekeeping skills to do something…
By now, the people in the city were already too preoccupied by the Eastern Barbarian invasion. News that two villages had been slaughtered sent Jin Fengju into a fit of righteous rage, to which he had the Anti-Japanese Forces pursue the pirates with all their might. Moreover, he himself led a large group of people to search along the coast, looking for traces of the pirates.
In these letters, written in Jin Fengju’s words, the Anti-Japanese Forces had ‘fought the Eastern Barbarians to the death and never retreated’ and that the Imperial Army had ‘left behind thousands of corpses’ causing the Eastern Barbarians to ‘lose nearly half of their forces after several skirmishes’ before they finally ‘could not wait to return to the sea without having gained any supplies’. [5a]
Apparently, Jin Fengju had mobilized over 30,000 troops along the coast of Fujian in the name of the Commander of the Anti-Japanese Forces to chase down the pirates and guard the coastlines. The letters also made sure to mention that: ‘If it weren’t for Jin Fengju’s strict orders and his personal involvement in several battles, leading the way for his troops, those anti-Japanese soldiers who had already stamped a psychological shadow on the pirates would probably turn a blind eye and let those drowning dogs go’. [5a]
“… …” Fu Qiuning held the letter away from her face, trying to discern how much was grandiose boasting and how much was the truth. [5a] After a while, she tossed the letter aside. If there was real danger, he would have already sent some private messengers to tell her to leave. Probably.
For all she knew, the 30,000 soldiers were probably only 3,000, and the two villagers were probably two huts or two grain stores. After all, while it was true that a lot of pirates do pillage and burn down villages if they overdid the killing and burning, they should know that the local government would overreact and crush their ships. Not to mention, where would they get their loot if they really did kill and burn down whole villages just for fun?
Speaking of which, during the time that Jin Fengju was not at the mansion, Fu Qiuning spent her free time (thanks to Jiang Wanying) educating the children. Although she was not well versed with the Eight-Legged Essays or had a deep understanding of the Confucius text, she could assign thought-provoking situations and test their creative thinking and problem-solving skills. Not to mention, with her background as a teacher of opera singing, she had a deep understanding of folktales and poetry that surpasses a lot of teachers.
Meanwhile, the girls also learned embroidery skills and other feminine arts from Concubine Luo and Concubine Yu. Although the two older women were not as well-versed in the arts as proper teachers, they were still women from noble households who had been trained from childhood to gain these arts.
In short, the time spent in the courtyard was actually quite peaceful. With the coming of the Qiqiao Festival [6], also known as the Double Seventh Festival, Fu Qiuning reintroduced the tale of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl into the curriculum and even sang a few songs for them. The girls giggled with each other as they practised their feminine arts and even pestered Fu Qiuning to teach them opera singing. Seeing no harm in it, Fu Qiuning taught all seven children (including Little Fifth) how to sing some songs.
As for the kittens, [7] they were already running around and getting into trouble. If Jin Fengju had been around, he would most likely have been scared out of his wits by these cute little furballs. As for the lanky tom cat that Fu Qiuning had decided to adopt, he had become a little more fleshy, although it would be a while before he could be considered plump.
Still, his fur had gotten a lot glossier and more beautiful.
[Gumihou: Reminder that Author had no idea how cats work. Also, just in case anyone hasn’t notice, JFJ’s grand plans against the pirates were all ‘Anti-Japanese Forces’ this and that]
[1] Reminder that Gumi placed Jiang Wanying where she should be. She was not in the last chapter either.
[1a] Have Jiang Wanying leave the room here for a smooth transition to the next scene (as arranged by White Pear Flower)
[2] Deleted 200 words of AR Qiuning waxing poetic about how powerful JFJ’s ass is etc etc,
[2a] Deleted 90 words of more ‘we are so powerful, like strong, yeah’
[2b] Deleted ‘a smile appear on her face as she started laughing and joking with everyone’, like, are you copying the Old Madam/Empress Dowager now?
[3] Real Jin Zhenxuan reaction that is not an obvious Jiang Wanying Bash!! session
[3a] Let’s mention Young Fifth Miss Jin Xiuwho, lol
[3b] Have Jiang Wanying’s language be ‘deliberately alienating’ because she knew she would be kicked out sooner rather than later and wanted the children to form a better relationship with Fu Qiuning
[3c] Deleted weird ‘ebil thoughts’ from Jiang Wanying that are obviously designed to make readers hate her. Too clumsy and weird to keep. Probably over 300 words of these
[4] Dudou or bellyband – typically consists of a single rectangular or diamond-shaped piece of fabric which covers the breast and belly and is attached to the neck and waist with strings, forming a kind of halter top.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dudou
[5] Deleted all ‘uwu~ Country! Hubby!’
[5a] Reduce Wow! JFJ war against Japanese so amazinggg!!
[7] Qiqiao Festival – basically it’s the Chinese version of Valentine’s Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qixi_Festival
[8] ‘The little milk cats had been raised for a few days now, and each one had opened its eyes. They would wobble and stumble around on the bed or the floor, looking incredibly cute.’
Gumihou: … disregarding the fact that kittens open their eyes at week 2, their eyes would be completely open by the 9th to 14th day… you specifically mentioned that the kittens were ‘about a month old’. Additionally, ‘half a month had passed’, so your kittens are already 6 weeks old at the very least.
Fu Qiuning: Be nice, they probably never had a kitten in their life before.
https://www.thesprucepets.com/kittens-first-six-weeks-552276
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