Chapter 196 - 197: What’s This Act?
"Da Shi’s wife," Gu Shulin said, walking toward her. "Heading to the fields?"
Li Cuicui nodded. She wasn’t in the mood for small talk right now, so she moved to sidle past him.
Seeing her expression, Gu Shulin had a feeling he knew what was going on. The last time Gu Yuanjin and his brothers had asked him to help write a letter, he’d gotten an inkling of the conflict brewing in their family.
"Shouldn’t Seventh and his wife be coming back soon?"
Li Cuicui paused for a moment. "They said they’ll wait until after the spring thaw. They have to at least wait for the snow on the roads to melt before they can travel."
’Honestly, I hope Seventh and his wife come back later. This family is a heap of ridiculous messes, and there’ll be even more to argue about when he gets back.’
"Seventh has really become something. I reckon the future prosperity of our clan will depend on him," Gu Shulin remarked with a sigh of admiration.
No one understood better than him that walking the path of the imperial examinations required not only diligence and talent, but also enough silver taels to support it.
From the looks of it, Ancient Wen Heng had all of those things. Success was only a matter of time.
Li Cuicui gave a stiff smile. "You think too highly of him, Uncle. He’s just a Scholar, he wouldn’t dare shoulder such a great responsibility."
Gu Shulin just smiled. "You just wait, you’ll be living a life of ease in the future!"
Li Cuicui waved her hand dismissively, shouldered her hoe, and walked away without looking back. ’With our lives in such a state, how could I dare to even think about happiness?’
&
Ancient Wen Heng directed everyone as they loaded the items into the carriages, one by one.
For this trip back, besides the carriage he and Jin Qianqian would be riding in, they had already filled two large carts with goods. And that wasn’t even counting the four or five other carts the servants had arranged for themselves.
All told, the traveling party had grown several times over.
Housekeeper Fu once again pulled aside the servants who would be guarding the courtyard, giving them repeated instructions. Among them was a junior steward he had just promoted. This man would not only be in charge of the daily upkeep of this courtyard but would also be responsible for the estate they had purchased earlier.
"Madam," Qing Mei said, jogging over. "That Lady Song is at the main gate."
Jin Qianqian asked, "Is she alone?"
Qing Mei replied, "There’s an unfamiliar young man with her."
"Have them brought in," Jin Qianqian said.
&
Jin Qianqian rubbed her temples, a headache already forming. They had just met, and Song Xiuxiang was already kneeling before her. ’What kind of act is this?’
"Aunt Seven, I’m begging you, please go see Young Master Le! He’s so sick he can’t even get out of bed."
"If he’s sick, you should call for a doctor. I don’t know anything about medicine," Jin Qianqian said.
"Well," Song Xiuxiang stammered, not expecting such an unorthodox response. "You’re his only relatives here. I’m just so afraid something might happen to him, so I had to ask you to go take a look."
"Is he very ill? What did the doctor say?"
Xiuxiang hemmed and hawed for a long time before finally saying, "He woke up this morning burning with fever... We haven’t called for a doctor yet."
Jin Qianqian stared at her as if she were an idiot. "Then you have even less reason to be here. Go find a doctor, quickly! Don’t wait until the fever fries his brain and leaves him a fool."
Not expecting Jin Qianqian to refuse to play along, Xiuxiang could only say resentfully, "You should still go take a look. If something happens, it’ll be too late."
Jin Qianqian turned to Qing Mei beside her. "Have Hong Tianbao take a couple of men over to check on him. If he’s truly unwell, have them help Lady Song carry him to a clinic. It would be too late for regrets if his condition worsens due to a delay."
"Aren’t you going to see him?" Song Xiuxiang grew anxious. She’d been setting this up all day; what was the meaning of sending a few servants?
"My going wouldn’t do any good. When you really need help, you need strong young men," Jin Qianqian said with a very frank shrug. "Look at me, with my scrawny arms and legs. It’s good enough if I don’t just get in the way."
With that, she turned to leave. ’If the woman wants to keep kneeling, she can go right ahead.’
"How can you be so cold-hearted? My sister is on her knees begging you!" The young man, who had been standing by and watching coldly since he entered, could finally no longer hold back.
Jin Qianqian paid him no mind, speaking directly to the approaching Housekeeper Fu. "Inform the gatekeeper not to let just any riffraff in from now on. They show up here without even announcing who they are. What kind of people are they?"
The young man had probably never been ridiculed like this before. His face instantly flushed red. "You... you... you’re rich and cruel!"
Jin Qianqian turned and stared at him. "If you’re uneducated, don’t just throw around idioms. That’s not how you use ’rich and cruel.’ What a wet-behind-the-ears child."
The young man stood there, mortified. He knew her words were malicious, but he couldn’t think of a retort. He could only watch hatefully as she walked through the door, and the head maid following her shut it behind them.
"Little Brother, forget it. We can’t win an argument with her." Xiuxiang stood up, pulling at him and preparing to leave.
"Sister, are we just going to let it go?"
"Let it go?" Xiuxiang repeated. "I thought this Mrs. Jin would be more thin-skinned, that she would soften if I just begged a little.
"Since that approach didn’t work, we’ll just have to find the man of the house. I refuse to believe he’ll be so indifferent when his own nephew’s life is on the line."
"But is Brother-in-law really okay?" Little Brother Song hesitated. "He won’t really... get his brain fried by the fever like she said, will he?"
"She already said she’s not a doctor. She was just trying to scare us." Xiuxiang spotted the study they had visited last time and started to lead him in that direction.
Just then, Housekeeper Fu appeared with several men, blocking their path. "Tianbao and the others are ready. If you please."
Only then did the Song siblings notice the two burly men standing beside the housekeeper, along with the familiar Hong Tianbao.
"We have business with Seventh Uncle."
Jiang Zhongfu didn’t budge an inch. "Our master is not at home right now. Young Master Le’s illness cannot be delayed. If something were to really happen, no one would be able to answer for it."
Without giving the two siblings any time to think, Hong Tianbao had two household retainers flank them on either side.
When Hong Tianbao saw they still weren’t moving, he grabbed Little Brother Song by the back of his collar and started dragging him toward the small courtyard they were in before.
"Not that way!" Little Brother Song’s face was beet-red, and his voice trembled as he spoke.
"Then where?"
Little Brother Song pointed in a direction. Hong Tianbao followed his lead, weaving through twists and turns until they reached a narrow, crowded alley.
Arriving at a corner gate, Little Brother Song finally stopped. Hong Tianbao asked, "Isn’t Young Master Le living in the house our master previously rented?"
"We couldn’t make ends meet, how could we afford to live in such a nice courtyard?" Xiuxiang said sheepishly. "Someone happened to want to rent it, so we leased it out. At least that gave us some money for living expenses."
Hong Tianbao inwardly felt it was a great injustice to his master. ’What kind of mess is this?’
But now was not the time to dwell on such things. He hadn’t forgotten the purpose of his visit. He let go of Little Brother Song, pushed open the door, and walked inside. The musty stench that assaulted his nostrils made him instinctively raise a hand to cover his nose.