Chapter 290: A Touch of Tenderness
Author: White Pear Flower
Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/
Translated by Gumihou
Proofread by Pill Bug
While Fu Qiuning was busy rolling her eyes at the situation happening in front of her, Yue Lan was suffering from real fear and horror regarding her precarious situation.
However, like a clay Buddha fording a river, she could not help but say, “Madam, wh-why would you risk anything for me? If you expose me, this humble woman would be condemned to death. S-surely that is a cleaner outcome?”
[1] “Cleaner? Cleaner for whom?” Fu Qiuning asked curiously. [1a]
[2] Yue Lan was stumped by the question. Her mind spun in several different directions, trying to make sense of Fu Qiuning’s actions. She knew that the master favoured this official wife despite having neglected her in those first few years. Although she did not have all the information, she knew that this initial neglect was the reason why she as well as her sister had been brought into her master’s inner court. She had no idea how this woman had won the master’s love years later, but from what she had observed, it had something to do with this woman’s indifference.
[2] After all, she, as a lowly concubine, depended on a man’s affections to survive and was more sensitive to a man’s feelings. Jin Fengju’s feelings for Fu Qiuning bordered on obsession. As a simple maid, she was not at all good with schemes or other tricks, but she was sensitive to people’s feelings and intentions.
[2] She could tell that the master did not hold much affection for her, and never did. Though he was not unkind, he was mostly indifferent. She could also tell that Fu Qiuning held no feelings of wariness or jealousy towards her. She, Yue Lan, might as well be a pretty flower by the roadside to the Madam. Something to be admired for her appearance, but that was it. As for the maid that escorted her here… well, she could understand the contempt and disdain practically overflowing from her. In fact, it was easier to understand contempt and hate than the slightly pitying disdain she was getting from the woman in front of her.
[2] Curious and slightly emboldened, she reached forward again to clasp Fu Qiuning’s hand. The woman allowed the touch and did not say anything. Finally, Yue Lan said through falling tears, “Madam, this lowly woman is unworthy of, of… this lowly woman is unworthy of your kindness. This…”
[1] “Enough now. Tell me more about your cousin. Surely it should be impossible for a stranger to enter the Duke’s residence at will? Does he work here as a servant?”
“This…” Yue Lan actually blushed. “My cousin is a crude and straightforward person who acts without thinking deeply of the consequences. He, he just has some rascal-like tendencies which emboldened him to come to meet me. B-but he is truly good to me and quite reliable…”
[1] Fu Qiuning looked at her in disbelief. “If he is a thug and a reckless one, just how did he manage to sneak into this place so many times without anyone noticing?”
“This…”
[2] Yue Lan started to look confused and Fu Qiuning decided that it was not worth pursuing this line of inquiry. If this idiot girl thought that a crude gang member was someone ‘good’ and ‘reliable’, who was she to stop her?
[2] That gangster cousin was either cunning enough to get into a Duke’s residence unaided several times, or he was aided by someone with real authority. Otherwise, considering how suspiciously Yue Lan had acted in her own courtyard, she would have been found out by the second visit at least.
[2] Unlike original!Fu Qiuning’s courtyard, Yue Lan’s courtyard was in the middle of the inner court, which was regularly patrolled and inspected by the servants. So, those people had to have been expressly instructed to let the ‘lover’ in.
[2] It would just be like Jin Fengju to hand Yue Lan the rope to hang herself with.
Rather than letting this poor woman die from one of his machinations, Fu Qiuning sighed and made the decision to intervene.
“You’re still a slave of this residence, right? How about this, the next time your cousin visits… no, think of a way to send a message to your cousin to purchase your slave deed.”
Just like that, light shone in Yue Lan’s eyes as she immediately grasped the plan. She immediately threw herself to the floor and kowtowed gratefully to Fu Qiuning. Fu Qiuning allowed her to do as she liked until the girl got tired of bowing and crying. Finally, once the tears stopped, Fu Qiuning sent her back to her own courtyard.
Yue Lan left Elegant Mansion with a heart full of hope for the future.
After the woman practically skipped out of the room with her face glowing like the sun, Qiu Yu and Jian Feng quietly slunk in.
They exchanged glances and Jian Feng stepped forward to ask in a hushed voice, “What does Madam plan to do about this matter?”
[4] Fu Qiuning looked at her, then at Qiu Yu who was sporting a most unpleasant expression on her face. She touched the rim of her cup briefly and returned the question to them, “What do you think I should have done?”
[4] “Madam! Surely at the very least, this matter has to be reported!”
[4] “Madam! This is an insult to you and to the Master!”
[4] “She should be drowned!”
[4] Fu Qiuning waited as the two of them spouted the typical treatment reserved for unfaithful wives and unchaste women.
[4] Finally, the two of them quieted down, made uneasy by Fu Qiuning’s silence. Then, Jian Feng said, “Madam, if it pains Madam too much. This lowly maid shall make the arrangements”
[4] “No.”
[4] “But-”
[4] “Do you not understand words anymore? No. Leave the poor woman alone.”
[4] The two maids actually spluttered and cried out, “Madam! What poor woman?! She is a traitor of the worst kind. Does that immoral slut not have any integrity at all? Not to mention, just think of the Master’s feelings! How could she betray the master and cause all that unnecessary pain?”
[4] Fu Qiuning, who had been pouring more tea for herself, accidentally spilt tea on the table. She was coughing so hard that she had to set the teapot down.
[4] “Madam! Madam!”
[4] A short series of fusses later, the tea was wiped up, a fresh pot set out and the two maids stood in front of her, looking both aggrieved and outraged.
[4] Honestly, Fu Qiuning felt a little angry too. Of all the things they could have brought up, those two idiots actually thought that their ‘Master’s feelings’ was a valid point? What nonsense were those two on?
[4] Perhaps sensing something amiss, the maids changed tactic, “Madam, just think, even if you wish to shield her, think of what the Elder Madam would say.”
[4] Fu Qiuning cleared her throat, “I’m not sure, what would the Elder Madam say?”
[4] The maids, “… …”
[4] Was the Madam toying with them? Why is she not worried at all? To say that she was motivated by sympathy or benevolence did not feel right at all. At best, it felt like she was indifferent, above even the notion of jealousy or true anger. As for what the Elder Madam would say… well, she would most likely condemn the woman for being a slut, a traitor and would want to throw the woman into a pond to be drowned.
[4] The indifference on their mistress’s face was almost frightening. Was she… really not concerned? At all?
[4] “By the way, who has Yue Lan’s slave contract?”
[4] The maids looked confused by this question. “Surely… it should be with other contracts…”
[4] “Is that so? Well, I’m planning to sell her soon. A buyer should be contacting us about her slave contract, so keep an ear out.”
[4] With that final cryptic instruction, Fu Qiuning dismissed the confused maids.
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That afternoon, she took a rest, ignoring the hovering maids.
Presently, a maid announced, “The young masters and young misses have returned.”
Cheered by the prospect of seeing the children, Fu Qiuning quickly got out of the couch and moved to the room where the children had assembled themselves to greet her.
After receiving their greetings, she said, “Have you visited the Old Madam?”
Jin Changfeng said, “Yes, we have paid our respects to the Old Madam. She bade us visit again during dinner.” [5]
[5] “I see,” said Fu Qiuning. “I supposed she misses having you lot around.”
Jin Zhenyi chimed in to say, “The Old Madam even said that she would serve a great feast for us. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Qiu Yu said, “Well, well, does the Old Madam think we only feed you crude meals here?”
Someone cut it from the outside to say, “What is this about crude meals?”
The two maids immediately tensed at Jin Fengju’s voice. They were obviously still bothered by the incident from the day.
[6] “Father! You will have to stay home and have dinner with mother! Great Grandmother only invited us!”
For a moment, it looked like Jin Fengju would dearly like to do just that, but common sense prevailed and he said, “No, even without an invitation, it is only right for us to visit too. The Old Madam generally did not enjoy large gatherings due to the many formalities that haved to be observed, but now that she is older, she enjoys having a bit more liveliness. Wait here, I shall change and go with everyone.”
With that, he quickly left to change out of his court clothes.
Fu Qiuning turned to Jin Changfeng, “Did you manage to speak with Brother Xuan or Second Young Miss?”
“Yes, but Third Brother did not have much to say. His eyes were reddened, but he did say he would come by when he had the time.”
[7] ‘Come by when he had the time’? A little six-year-old child saying that? It sounded both heartbreaking and endearing at the same time. The children must have sensed something was not right between their parents, even if they did not know the details of it.
[7] From Fu Qiuning’s experience working with children in her past life, she knew that even children as young as five or six could be shockingly mature, especially those who wanted to pursue the arts seriously.
[7] She had known child singers and actors who were the family’s little breadwinner. Those with responsible parents would try to ensure the child had a semblance of a childhood, but others were more interested in being the parent of a ‘prodigy’ and made sure to parade their children around like a circus act.
Jin Fengju returned to the room in a homely-looking quilted long robe, as good-looking and slim as ever. She supposed this was part of the reason why women liked him.
Fu Qiuning and the rest of the children stood up at his entrance. For a moment, Jin Fengju stood in the middle of the room, not saying anything. It took Fu Qiuning a while to realise that he was waiting for her to say something about… his outfit? His looks?
She pondered for a moment and said, “Lord Husband had gotten a little thinner.”
Jin Fengju laughed and said, “The belt had gotten a little loose indeed. Well, I don’t dislike it when my clothes come loose…”
“…I see,” said Fu Qiuning, not feeling the urge to entertain his desire to flirt in front of his children.
That was when he noticed the children looking at him. Jin Fengju coughed awkwardly and said, “A slip of the tongue.” Then, he composed himself and said, “Right, let us head over to Health & Longevity Court together. You may go and grab a few cats with you since the Old Madam likes them.”
Some of the children cheered and eventually a large group of people headed towards Health & Longevity Court in grandstyle. They found Madam Jiang, Jiang Wanying and Second Elder Madam already there. Jin Fengju smiled and said, “Yi? Why is everyone gathered here? Is there some sort of grand discussion going on?”
Jiang Wanying laughed and said, “This is how we are gathered most of the time. It is because Old Madam is considerate of Elder Sister and excuses her from the morning and evening greetings that you rarely get to see this sight. Not to mention, as it had been so very many days since you last came by, you must be surprised, hmm?”
Slighted by her obvious verbal jab, Jin Fengju was about to retort when Madam Jiang gently interjected with a smile, “Indeed, Wanying had been quite diligent lately. Not all of us come by every day to pay our respects, but, seeing how the north wind blows, it is likely to snow soon. Therefore, we came here to discuss with the Old Madam about where to enjoy this year’s first snowfall.”
[Gumihou: Yeah, well…]
[1] Go with sensible questions instead of more ‘wow, I so generous, benevolent, great and shiny~’
[1a] Deleted over 80 words of ‘wow, I’m so great. Look how generous I am to you’
[2] Sensible thinking instead of a wall of ‘Wow, AR Qiuning is so wonderful according to all these made up reasons!!’
[3] Actual reasonable words in place of ‘Wow, stuff happened, cause, yeah!’
[4] Proper reaction instead of this insanity by AR Qiuning
“I’m not hiding this from Lord Husband for her sake. You both know, first there was Concubine Xu, and now Concubine Huo, and now there’s this situation with Yuèlán. Just think, if Master knew, how heartbroken would he be? Master is someone who values emotions deeply. Yuèlán is his woman, after all. Even if he could harden his heart to have her thrown into the pond, wouldn’t he feel pain recalling it later? If not, it’s better to let her be, just like my own path. Why bring it up and cause him unnecessary pain?”
‘…and cause him unnecessary pain’
What is the shittiest of shits–!!
[5] Deleted a ‘and they all laughed’ moment
[6] Jin Zhenyi being the chirpy one instead of Fu Qiuning
[7] Real children problem from the perspective of someone who worked with children in her past life
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