Chapter 295: Dispel Suspicion
Author: White Pear Flower
Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/
Translated by Gumihou
Proofread by Pill Bug
Fu Qiuning gave him an incredulous look. “What? You still want to make use of her?!”
Jin Fengju smirked, “She most likely has no idea about the secret in the garden. Therefore, she is no threat to us. I have plans that involve her. If we were to expel her, it would cause unnecessary complications.”
[1] After spewing that line, Jin Fengju fell into a deep, thoughtful silence, as though what he had just said was perfectly normal and reasonable. Also, what was that about the ‘secret in the garden’? She didn’t know there was a secret in the garden. Wait, surely he was not talking about the Emperor? Was the Emperor still playing hide-and-seek in the garden?
While Fu Qiuning was wondering just what was wrong with the noblemen of this world, Jin Fengju said, “No matter, we shall let matters take their course. You have just been injured, so there is no need to worry overly much about this trivial matter. It is more important for you to rest well. I shall go and see if Physician Liu has finished writing out the prescription.”
[1] Fu Qiuning thought: Which one of your dog eyes saw that I was injured? Don’t you dare curse me unnecessarily like this.
Instead of addressing his delusion, she said, “Why don’t you send Jin Ming out and find out how many of the servants have been injured? At the very least, they should be compensated for this unexpected disaster.”
Jin Fengju beamed indulgently at Fu Qiuning, “I understand, don’t you worry now.”
Fu Qiuning leaned away from the smiling man. She thought: He must be entertaining more delusional thoughts about me again.
Jin Fengju said, “I know you are injured, but it is still important to check on the Old Ancestor. Be sure to send a maid over to find out her condition. By the way, where are Xuan’er and Xiuzhen? I shall go and have a look at them. They must have been badly frightened by the fuss their mother made.”
Then, he hesitated and gave her an awkward look.
Fu Qiuning pretended not to see anything and did not take the hint. Instead, she said, “Speaking of which, I heard that Elder Madam and Second Madam are at a banquet today and missed all the commotion. I shall see to it that their maids are given the proper details of what happened today.”
“Ah, that…” Jin Fengju dithered for a couple of moments longer before suddenly sighing a loud sigh. “Neither of the children will be able to return to Clear Soft Pavilion for the time being. Perhaps Jian Feng could arrange two rooms for the siblings?”
Fu Qiuning gave him a look, “Do as you like.”
The short answer caused Jin Fengju to do some fast talking, “That is, the two siblings have suffered a serious shock from their mother’s actions and will not be able to rest well at Clear Soft Pavilion. I understand that you only have two reliable senior maids here, but I can arrange for some maids from Clear Soft Pavilion to be transferred here.”
Fu Qiuning looked at him. She thought: There are still maids uninjured by Jiang Wanying at the Pavilion? Were those Jin Fengju’s spies? They must be his spies, otherwise, why would he be so eager to move those maids from Clear Soft Pavilion, the house of a ‘spy’, into her courtyard?
Jin Fengju’s eyes flickered, and he said in a profound voice, “Let us transfer the maids from Clear Soft Pavilion first. I already told you not to worry, but look at you still thinking about these things. Rest assured, I shall handle everything from here onwards. You just focus on your recovery.”
Fu Qiuning thought: What recovery?
But before she could say anything, Jin Fengju had already lifted the curtain and stepped out of her room.
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Jin Xiuzhen and Jin Zhenxuan were at the study with the other children. [2] There was tension in the air as all of them tried to process what just happened and how best to comfort or reassure the siblings.
The two were naturally upset, but how do one reassure a pair of brother and sister, whose mother had deliberately caused a fuss to bring trouble onto her own head to spare her children?
[2] There was really nothing to say as the children sat together with their books, trying their best to be there for Jin Xiuzhen and Jin Zhenxuan. Well, Jin Zhenyi tossed out a few provocative questions but was silenced by Jin Changjiao and Jin Xiuru, who sat on him to keep him from being too offensive.
[2] Even so, Jin Zhenyi still managed to escape from his sisters’ clutches and was about to open his mouth again when a maid suddenly announced Jin Fengju’s arrival.
[2a] The gloomy air within the study suddenly grew tense. When Jin Fengju stepped in, Jin Xiuzhen suddenly burst into tears as she flung herself into her father’s arms. Jin Zhenxuan was more reserved as he stood in place, tears leaking uncontrollably from his eyes as he trembled in place.
Jin Fengju gently stroked Jin Xiuzhen’s back before reaching out to pat Jin Zhenxuan on the back. Then, he took them both by the hand and led them out of the study towards one of the inner rooms. Jin Changfeng exchanged a look with his remaining brother and sisters before picking up his book and continuing to read.
[2] Jin Zhenyi wriggled again from under his sisters, “Hey, don’t you want to know what he will say to them?”
[2] “Not particularly,” said Jin Chengfeng.
[2] “Nu-uh,” said Jin Changjiao
[2] “There’s nothing to gain from knowing,” said Jin Xiuru.
[2] Jin Zhenyi said something rude under his breath, to which Jin Changjiao retaliated by dropping her elbow on his head.
[2] “Ow!”
Please read this at kitchen novel dot com ~
In the private room, Jin Fengju said, “Now that there’s only you two and Father here, surely it’s time to tell Father what happened, yes?”
Jin Zhenxuan and Jin Xiuzhen kept their gaze lowered. Even so, he noticed a flicker of something in Jin Zhenxuan’s eyes while Jin Xiuzhen fiddled with the hem of her clothes.
Jin Fengju knew that these two children had rather difficult personalities, having been raised by Jiang Wanying. Even Fu Qiuning thought so! Didn’t she previously note how she preferred Jin Zhenyi’s straightforward personality compared to scheming people? Moreover, unless Jiang Wanying was around, it was difficult for anyone to control those two. Yet, thanks to a trick of fate, these two ended up in the hands of the only other person who could control them. While it was difficult to change one’s nature overnight, after several years of cultivation, he was certain that his Qiuning would bring these two around.
Therefore, he was in no rush as he questioned them repeatedly until Jin Xiuzhen [3] could not stand it anymore and said through gritted teeth, “Father, why ask us? Why not ask Mother? Are you planning to hurt Mother with what we say?”
Jin Fengju’s heart skipped a beat. He thought: What is going on? Have I successfully deceived Grandmother and Wanying, only to fail to trick these two? Wait, that’s right. While I did my best to put on an act in front of Wanying, I had not taken these two into consideration. Had I somehow aroused their suspicion? Xuan’er is only six, how could he be so perceptive? [4]
Even as he pondered over the matter in his mind, Jin Fengju feigned surprise and loudly said, “What are you talking about? How could I, your father, ever plan to hurt your mother? True, I am a little angry, but it was all due to that woman’s reckless behaviour. I’m sure she must have felt disappointed by my lack of attention towards her. However, it was never my intention to distance myself from anyone. Your father has been so busy that I didn’t even have time to spend with your Honourable Mother. At most, I had dinner and slept here, hardly even having the time to spend with your siblings. Surely the two of you are overthinking matters? Even if the two of you are overthinking matters, what your mother did had nothing to do with you.”
Jin Fengju, this smooth talker, acted quickly and did his best to deceive the children. [4a] Jin Xiuzhen and Jin Zhenxuan looked at each other, their faces stained with tears. Regardless of their personal thoughts, it was clear that their father wanted them to be on his side. As for their mother, her half-crazed and suspicious actions were clearly meant to push them away… Therefore, no matter how unwilling, the two children were intelligent enough to realise that they had no choice but to go where their parents had directed.
What else could they, as small children, do?
In the end, Jin Fengju did not learn much from the children despite his questioning. He had to be subtle and could not resort to anything too forceful. Moreover, he doubted that the children really knew anything. As for the morning chaos, he already had people stationed within Clear Soft Pavilion who could tell him exactly what happened.
After lunch, Madam Jiang and Madam Fang returned to hear about the morning’s chaos. The servants regaled them with news about how the entire house had been turned upside down by Second Madam Wan and how she had almost killed Fu Qiuning. The news shocked Madam Jiang so much that she hurriedly sent people to inquire after Fu Qiuning. On the other hand, Madam Fang was mostly intrigued by the drama.
The two of them waited together and received word that Second Madam Ning had already gone to bed and [5] was not actually hurt at all, much to Madam Jiang’s relief. She was so relieved that she immediately offered up prayers on the spot and hurried off to visit Health & Longevity Court to receive the expected scolding from Old Madam. All the while, she wondered why her niece would be so reckless as to openly attack a woman who was so openly favoured by her son.
Madam Jiang thought: Surely she must know that even if I lacked the ability to protect her, the ducal house would still back her up so long as she did not do anything that could be proven? How could Jin Fengju not make a fuss now that such a thing had happened?
After visiting the Old Madam, Madam Jiang paced in her room. She had no idea who to turn to for help. Her husband, never one to sit still, had not been home for days. Moreover, since it was her own niece who had caused trouble time and again, she dared not let her husband know about the matter.
While she was caught in the middle of this incident, a maid announced, “The Young Marquis has arrived.”
Her heart tightened and she thought: Wonderful. I have yet to figure out what to do, but my son is already here to interrogate me. With how deeply obsessed he is with that woman, how could he possibly let the matter go? Fortunately, news of her injury was mere nonsense…
She sighed and decided that the only route she could go was to put on airs as his mother and bring up all the past sacrifices that Wanying had made for the family. She could not allow Fengju to divorce Wanying and send her home. Otherwise, how could she face her brother? Not to mention, that sister-in-law of hers was just too formidable. She would never be able to face her maternal family again.
She had just decided this when Jin Fengju strode into view with a sullen look on his face. The moment he saw her, he said angrily, “Mother, don’t bother speaking for Wanying anymore. Just look at what she has done! Even Zhen’er and Xuan’er have hidden themselves at Elegant Mansion and are crying their eyes out. How could such a person be considered a wife or mother? No, there is no way I can let her off easily this time.”
Although her son said that he ‘would not let her off easily’, he did not mention anything about divorcing Jiang Wanying. This was the only comfort she could take from his words. She coughed, mustered all the authority she could gather and straightened up. In a cold voice, she harrumphed and retorted, “What nonsense are you speaking? Have you ever considered just who was really at fault here? Even if Jiang Wanying had truly lost her mind, just who was the one who had pushed her over the edge? As the di-born daughter of a ducal family, it was already a huge grievance for her to marry into this family as a secondary wife. Have you completely forgotten the original plan?
Did you not promise that once things settled down, you would send Fu Qiuning away and give the position of main wife to Wanying as a way to honour her feelings and your uncle’s family? But what happened in the end? Not only did you not send Qiuning away, you even promoted her and moved her into the inner court. While it was within your right to do so, have you ever considered Wanying’s feelings in all of this? Right now, not only did you never visit Clear Soft Pavilion, but you even flaunted your relationship with Qiuning. It would not be an exaggeration to say that you two have forced her into a corner and bullied her in this situation. In all honesty, our family has wronged her, but you still have the nerve to come to my place and speak such things?”
Jin Fengju had already made up his mind about how he was going to deal with that woman. [6] Since he still had plans for Jiang Wanying, having Madam Jiang defend her worked perfectly in his favour. Thus, feigning anger, he dramatically averted his eyes and loudly declared, “So, are you saying that today’s happening was my fault? Have you not seen all the trouble Wanying caused, Mother? The last time I went to Clear Soft Pavilion with the intention of mending our relationship, do you know what happened? She insulted me in the most sarcastic way.
No matter what, I am still a man. Moreover, Qiuning suffered for five years at Night Breeze Pavilion, but never acted like that. She maintained her dignity and grace, which is why I never divorced her. If she had acted even a tenth like Wanying, I would have driven her out long ago. As for Wanying, haven’t I endured her antics long enough? If she continues to act like this, how am I to face anyone in the future? What do you think would happen to our family’s reputation?”
Mother and son continued to argue, each putting forth their reasons and excuses. In the end, Jin Fengju was ‘forced’ into not divorcing Jiang Wanying immediately, on the condition that she would control her behaviour and mend her ways. Family rule stated that as they were man and wife bound by marital vows, she would remain as his secondary wife, so long as she continued to uphold her side of the vows. However, if she continued to neglect her responsibilities and acted recklessly, it would spell the end of their marriage.
Additionally, Jin Fengju convinced Madam Jiang that Jin Xiuzhen and Jin Zhenxuan had been traumatised by their mother’s reckless behaviour, to the point that they refused to speak about the matter at all. Therefore, for the sake of their health and safety, they could not be allowed to return to Clear Soft Pavilion until Jiang Wanying had clearly mended her ways.
[Gumihou: Added some realistic details]
[1] Fu Qiuning being appropriately horrified by JFJ’s thoughtless words
[2] Realistic scenes with the children
[2a] Deleted scene
Suddenly, they heard a maid outside announcing Jin Fengju’s arrival. Jin Xiuzhen and Jin Zhenxuan quickly wiped away their tears. But upon seeing their father, they couldn’t help but throw themselves into his arms and burst into tears again, as if trying to cry out all their grievances and fears.
The dramatic wah! And kyah!!
[3] Realistic scene
[4] Unfortunately, this is canon… which, on a positive note on Gumi’s side, justified all the melodrama that Gumi edited back into the not-so-canon work
[4a] Deleted the following: Jin Fengju, being a skilled actor, found it easy to deceive the children. Indeed, Jin Xiuzhen and Jin Zhenxuan exchanged a glance, feeling puzzled. They wondered if perhaps their father truly didn’t know, and they were just overthinking. But regardless of whether Father suspected Mother or not, her killing of Qiu Xia and colluding with the Crown Prince were undeniable facts. As her children, the most they could do was keep her secret; what else could they do?
Oooookayyyy, sure, like, we believe youuuuu….
[5] Dude, she ‘gushed blood’ from a shoulder wound in the previous chapter and now this? The report back said that Second Madam Ning had already gone to sleep and that her injuries were no longer serious.
Gushed. Blood. From. Shoulder.
You don’t recover from that kind of injury by drinking a few tonics and slapping on a couple of bandages.
[6] Deleted the following: Jin Fengju, having already made up his mind, was secretly pleased rather than angry at his mother’s defense of Jiang Wanying. He feigned some guilt, averting his eyes, but still expressed his frustration, “So it’s all my fault today? Mother, have you seen all the trouble Wanying has caused?
Just more ‘I so kleber hur hur hur’ stuff
