Higher Level Wife – 264 – Poison

Chapter 264: Poison

Author: White Pear Flower

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

Translated by Gumihou

Proofread by Pill Bug

 

“Jian Feng, what breed of cat do you think he is?”

With nothing much to do, Fu Qiuning sat on the couch, stroking said cat while the maids fanned her.

Jian Feng said, “How would this maid know? This maid has seen many cats but has never seen such a large one before. It looks a little like a mountain cat, but the mountain cats I know are wild and fierce. What dignified mountain cat would allow us to treat them like domesticated cats?”

Mountain cats? She had heard of [1] ocelots, but the pattern on this cat was not quite like that. Could it be a Bengal cat? Wait, do they even have Bengal cats in this era? Come to think of it, were ocelots even native to China? Maybe she was just overthinking matters and ocelots could be found in this pseudo-China? If that was the case, perhaps that explained that offensively tiny ‘Treasure Ship’.

Fu Qiuning studied the cat again. It was indeed larger than most cats she had seen, with long lanky legs and a well-shaped head. [1a] It definitely looked fiercer than the Persian cat she used to own. His coat was very beautiful and much more exotic-looking than the regular calico pattern.

A sudden scream broke through her rambling thoughts. The cat in her lap shot up and dashed out the door.

[2] Jian Feng rushed to the window to look out.

[2] Fu Qiuning rolled her eyes exasperatedly, “What now?”

[2] “Madam, I- I believe that’s Second Young Miss!”

[2] Fu Qiuning was intrigued. “How did you know?”

[2] “W-well, First Young Miss is not the type to scream and not do anything. If it were her, there would be sounds of hitting…”

[2] Fu Qiuning nodded, “That makes sense.”

[2] “Third Miss is not the type to scream. I have never heard her scream, but I have heard Second Young Miss on one or two occasions.”

[2] “That makes sense too. She certainly strikes me as the screaming type. Well? Shall we have a look at this latest drama?”

While Jian Feng eagerly ran ahead after the swiftest of bobs, Fu Qiuning followed leisurely as more people rushed towards the source of the scream. The general tide of people was making their way towards Jiang Wanying’s room where howling sobs could still be heard

Looks like Jian Feng was right. That girl seemed to have what it takes to become a detective. Another loud wail made Fu Qiuning wince.

“Madam! Let’s go and have a look!”

Jian Feng looked very bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Well, no matter what, she was still the ‘Madam’, so she should at least go and make sure that Second Young Miss Jin Xiuzhen was not being skinned alive or something, right?

They had reached the entrance to Jiang Wanying’s side of the courtyard when a junior maid came out with a belligerent expression. “Our Second Madam said that there is nothing wrong. There is nothing to be alarmed about. It is just a child being upset about some trivial matter.”

Just then, a dark shadow darted out of the room and collided with the junior maid’s legs, nearly knocking her down. The young maid shrieked and turned around. Her face paled with rage, and she snapped, “How dare this beast show its power here? Yun Ming, are you dead? Why did you not drive this cat away? Do you not know that Second Madam dislikes that thing?”

“You insolent thing! That cat is raised by Second Madam Ning! Since when do you, a mere servant, have the right to chase it away!”

The junior maid trembled at Jian Feng’s sudden roar. No matter what, she and the entire group of maids under Jiang Wanying were all lower in status compared to this maid.

Jian Feng continued, “Considering your age and the fact that you serve Second Madam Wan’s side, I shall overlook this matter once. How can anyone in this courtyard not know that this cat is personally raised by our Madam? Are you trying to tell me that you do not know? If you knew and yet dare to say such things, who are you trying to intimidate? Have you not thought of your own status? Should you ever make such a mistake again I shall tear your mouth apart and educate you on what it means to be inferior!”

The people in Fu Qiuning’s courtyard were [3] all proud and arrogant people. They barely listened to their mistress, thinking that they knew better than her. How glad were they when Jiang Wanying fell out of favour and was this close to losing her housekeeping authority? If only Madam would take back the authority that was rightfully hers. Never mind, Madam was just too kind and benevolent to a fault. It was only right that she, as Madam’s maid, kick these arrogant people down on her behalf.

Now that this lesser maid had openly yelled at the cat, [3] Jian Feng could use this pretext to yell at her as much as she liked to display her Madam’s power. Therefore, when she saw the two lifeless kittens carried out by the cat, she deliberately ramped up her scolding.

“Yo~ who is this little lady? To dare come to my place and throw her weight around?” Jiang Wanying came sailing out of her room, looking very splendid as she stared at Jian Feng with an unfriendly gaze.

Unable to openly scold anyone anymore, Jian Feng lowered her gaze and said nothing. [4] Jiang Wanying raised an eyebrow at Fu Qiuning.

[4] “It is unfortunate,” said Fu Qiuning, “but I must say , Little Sister’s maid did make quite the fuss. On the other hand, I do believe my maid may have overreacted after seeing a rather… unfortunate sight.”

[4a] She looked down at the floor where the cat had laid the two tiny bodies. From this vantage point, they looked even smaller and more pitiful.

[4a] With the bodies of the kittens between them, Jiang Wanying and Fu Qiuning stared evenly at each other. Beside them, the maids stood in tense silence. Suddenly, a sly grin appeared on Jiang Wanying’s face and she loudly said, “Elder Sister is right. Ling Zi, I advise you to throw yourself to the floor and apologise to Second Madam. Do you not know what your status is? How dare you offend the Second Madam? She is the Young Marquis’ most precious little treasure. If the Young Marquis finds out how you have insulted the Second Madam, do you think you can still keep your life?”

Fu Qiuning cringed, “Precious little treasure…?” [4]

Jiang Wanying’s vicious smile grew even more.

“… …”

So, this was how you planned to get back at me?

Fu Qiuning looked away from Jiang Wanying’s smirking face to the two [4a] two little bodies on the floor. Suddenly, the cheerful atmosphere around them plunged.

“Jian Feng, collect the bodies. Find a place to bury them.”

There was a sudden wail and Jin Xiuzhen stumbled out. She sobbed bitterly at the sight of the dead kittens. Jin Zhenxuan was just right behind her. He was not crying but his eyes were very red.

“Help the Young Miss to her room,” said Jiang Wanying coolly.

While Fu Qiuning could not bear to see the child cry like this, it was not as though she could undermine Jiang Wanying’s authority over her children. Not to mention…

“Little Sister, are you sure you wish to do this?”

Jiang Wanying’s eyes flashed, but she said nothing.

Even without investigating, it was clear that this was something that Jiang Wanying had done. After all, what mother would watch their child cry so pitifully if the perpetrator had been an outsider? [5] This was Jiang Wanying’s way of disciplining her children, or rather, a way to show her control over them. However, surely she, of all people, should know that this kind of high-handed method would only alienate them further from her?

While there was no way to openly accuse anyone, Jiang Wanying’s attitude alone made it clear that she was the one behind the poisoning. [5] It was too obvious; just what is she trying to do?

Fu Qiuning turned to leave and only then did she notice that the rest of the [6] children had followed her. Fu Qiuning turned to flash a glare at Jian Feng, but the maid was too busy staring down at the bodies in her hands, her brain probably working overtime to prove how Jiang Wanying had poisoned them.

[6] The rest of the maids were of no help either. They were either crying or had their faces behind their sleeves, openly displaying their grief for the two small kittens. Were they sobbing because they truly felt bad for the kittens or showing solidarity for pets bestowed by their Madam?

Regardless of the reason, the moment the door closed behind her wing of the courtyard, [6a] Jin Zhenyi and Jin Changjiao exploded.

“Honoured Mother! It must be that woman!! She has always been like that! She’s too venomous, heartless and, and-”

[6a] “That’s right, mother! You must strive for justice for those kittens-!”

Fu Qiuning let them cry and shout until they tired themselves out. [6b] When there were only sounds of harsh breathing and sniffles in the room, she said, “Let me ask you this, what do you expect me to do?”

Another cacophony of voices erupted, this time filled with plans and ideas on how to prove the kitten’s death. Jian Feng also joined in, some of her suggestions were valid while more than half were just outrageous.

When this wave of noise subsided, Fu Qiuning said, “What if we managed to prove that your Secondary Mother did it? What do you plan to do?” [5]

After all, the problem when living in one of these so-called noble houses was all the scheming, in-fighting and deaths. The children would eventually have to learn how to weigh the pros and cons of their actions in the future. If not within their own residence, once they married out to other noble houses or worked in the treacherous world of politics where poisons and assassination may take place, they would need to think critically at least.

This was a harsh punishment, but at least no human died.

Not yet anyway.

 

[Gumihou: End the chapter on a thoughtful note rather than sobbb da kitties~Not that I don’t feel sorry for them, but it was all rather overdone.]

 

[1] By the way, ocelots are not native to China

[1a] Give proper observational details instead of this absolute nonsense from Fu Qiuning, like, are you Yu Jie now? “Ocelots can catch wild chickens and squirrels, so catching a magpie with a flowery tail is nothing. If it were any other cat, it would be difficult to catch a magpie, and they wouldn’t easily give it away.”

[2] Realistic reaction to a scream instead of ‘I knew exactly what that was despite not having laid eyes on the thing!’

[3] Instead of ‘similar to Fu Qiuning’, the maids are actually ‘arrogant and acted wilfully regardless of their mistress’s wishes’

[4] Some small ‘mutual understanding’ interaction between FQN and JWY. Deleted many words of what is basically ‘bark bark bark!’

[4a] The bodies of the kittens were no longer talked about until the moment they were about to be buried. Like, why?

[5] Give a better reason beyond ‘they ebil’ – like, the kittens were obviously there to die so that Jiang Wanying would look bad and Fu Qiuning look like a saint.

Fu Qingning returned to her seat, still holding the two kittens in her hands. Although they were just two animals, she felt a heartache as if her heart was being twisted. These tiny lives were lost because of her momentary lapse of judgment… At this moment, she regretted it deeply in her heart.

[6] The children only slid to ‘sob sob waah’ without any explanation of how they got there. It was like watching one of those drippy commercials

[6a] In the original, it was Jin Xiunan and Jin Changjiao going sob sob, probably because they were girls. However, Jin Xiunan is the type to close off her emotions and grows quiet and sullen. Also, can you seriously not see Jin Zhenyi emotionally exploding all over the place? Not to mention, was Jin Zhenyi the only one who would talk back? Seriously?

[6b] Use this moment to educate the children, rather than further aggravating the relationships. Because it is canon for Fu Qiuning to do this. Please remember your original character profile, White Pear Flower

 

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