Chapter 213 You must not act impulsively

Jiang Chengye escorted the Earl of Changping to the gate of the mansion. Watching the Earl's sedan chair disappear into the distance, he let out a long sigh, as if releasing all the pent-up frustration he had felt for days. He now truly understood how glorious it was to have a good son—no, a good daughter.

"Master, the Duke has made you proud!" Li Zhong said with a smile from the side.

Jiang Chengye chuckled, then realized that his behavior was unbecoming of his status and immediately coughed, saying, "Yu'er is fine."

Li Zhong laughed beside him, thinking to himself, "If you behave yourself, you'll have a long good life ahead of you."

Jiang Chengye walked towards his own courtyard with a smile on his face. Halfway there, he turned back and headed towards Lu Yifang's courtyard, but was stopped by Granny Feng when he arrived. "Master, it's the end of the year and Madam is very busy."

In other words, we don't have time to receive you.

Jiang Chengye's smile vanished instantly, but he didn't dare to force his way in. He could only say, "Then I'll come again next time."

He stepped outside, then looked back as soon as he left the courtyard, followed by a long sigh. How could something that had been done be forgotten?

........

In the study of the Duke of Chu, Jiang Yu recounted the interrogation of the Xie family over the past few days to the old Duke of Chu, and then said, "The Emperor has issued an edict to release Xie Ning'an and send her home, while Xie Yun, Xie Zizhang, and Xie Zinan are sentenced to death and will be executed after the New Year."

After hearing this, the Duke of Chu said, "This can be considered as leaving the Xie family with a glimmer of hope. After all, Jufeng Bank and Trading Company are behemoths. Without the Xie family to manage them, there might be quite a bit of trouble."

This was also the fundamental reason why the emperor spared Xie Ning'an's life.

“The Xie family is no longer a threat; next up is the King of Lingnan.” Jiang Yu’s face was somewhat grave. “What grudge do we have against the King of Lingnan?”

The old Duke of Chu frowned deeply. "These past few days I've carefully thought through everything that has happened over the years, but I haven't found any conflict between us and the King of Lingnan."

Back when our ancestors fought alongside Emperor Taizu to establish the empire, it's said that while their relationship with the ancestor of the Lingnan King wasn't exactly one of unbreakable bond, there was no enmity either. Besides, even if there were enmity, the Lingnan King's Mansion wouldn't have waited so many years to attack us.

Seeing his worried expression, Jiang Yu smiled and said, "There's no need to worry too much. The Prince of Lingnan is already a thorn in the Emperor's side. Sooner or later, the Emperor will remove him."

"However, you should also pay attention to what's happening over there," the old Duke of Chu reminded him.

“I know,” Jiang Yu said, then brought up another matter. “The Prime Minister’s residence and the Xie family are related by marriage. Although there is no concrete evidence this time to prove that the Prime Minister was involved in the Xie family’s affairs, the Emperor has already become suspicious of him.”

At this point, a thought suddenly flashed through Jiang Yu's mind, and she said, "Is there any collusion between the Prime Minister and the Prince of Lingnan?"

The Duke of Chu's face turned grave. "You're saying the Prince of Lingnan attacked us because of the Prime Minister's residence?"

Jiang Yu: "It's just a possibility."

“Yes,” the old Duke of Chu frowned and pondered for a while before saying, “Pei Chengkun has always been resentful about his sister’s death. If he is colluding with the King of Lingnan, it would make sense for the King of Lingnan to take action against us.”

Thinking of the past, the old Duke of Chu looked forlorn. "Actually, I've always regretted it. I was too impulsive back then. Marriage should first and foremost be about matching social status. I was too impulsive at the time."

After he finished speaking, he let out a long sigh.

Jiang Yu disagrees, saying, "Everyone has a youthful period, and there's nothing wrong with striving for one's ideals and goals when you're young."

In life, it's impossible to measure every action we take as right or wrong. As long as we are true to ourselves and don't harm others, we are not wrong. The affair between the old Duke of Chu and Prime Minister Pei Chengkun's sister was a twist of fate, a cruel joke.

The old Duke of Chu paused for a moment after hearing her words, then smiled and said, "It's you who's trying to comfort me. Some things are just a mess to talk about. Sometimes I think that if I hadn't broken off the engagement, I wouldn't have been able to marry your grandmother, and perhaps our Duke of Chu's mansion wouldn't be what it is today. Your grandmother... she really was a very, very good person."

The old Duke of Chu looked nostalgic and said, "Fortunately, I'll be going to see her soon too."

"Please don't say that." Jiang Yu felt sad. The old Duke of Chu patted her hand. "Everyone has to die eventually. I've lived for over 70 years and have a descendant like you to inherit the Duke's mansion. I'm content."

At this point, his face turned serious, and he said, "You have inherited the title. After I die, someone might use filial piety to coerce you into observing mourning. You must not act impulsively. With your father alive, it is not your turn to observe mourning. Do you understand?"

“I know.” Jiang Yu’s eyes were a little moist. “Don’t worry, as long as Father doesn’t do anything to destroy the family and clan again, I will take care of him until he is old.”

After all, he was his own son, and Jiang Yu knew that the old Duke of Chu was still somewhat worried about Jiang Chengye's future.

The old Duke of Chu patted her hand again, "Don't make things difficult for yourself."

Jiang Yu shook his head. The two talked for a while longer. The old Duke of Chu was not in good spirits, so Jiang Yu helped him to the couch to rest. He watched him close his eyes before leaving.

Just as Jiang Yu stepped out of the old Duke of Chu's courtyard, Li Zhong came over to report on Jiang Chengye's meeting with the Earl of Changping. Jiang Yu nodded after listening and then went back to his courtyard to rest.

After working non-stop for several days, she was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep as soon as she got back to bed.

The next day was Lunar New Year's Eve, and red lanterns were hung everywhere in the mansion. Li Zhong came over with a stack of red paper, smiled and bowed, saying, "The Spring Festival couplets on our mansion gate were written by you. You were tired yesterday, so this old servant has come to bother you today."

Hearing this, Jiang Yu felt a little nervous, worried that her calligraphy wouldn't be presentable. However, since this was the rule, she had to bite the bullet and do it. She asked Li Zhong to spread the blank couplets on the table, thought for a moment, took the pen Xia He handed her, and wrote:

The shadows of dragons shed their hues on the ancient eaves; the warmth of the fire melts the snow along the three paths; the warbling of orioles weaves embroidered curtains, the sounds of spring knocking first on the ninefold gates.

Horizontal scroll: The Marquis of Zheqi

"Good," Li Zhong praised from the side.

Jiang Yu looked at her own handwriting and felt that it shouldn't be embarrassing, so she asked Li Zhong to take it and paste it up.

Today she took a complete rest, neither reading nor thinking, and simply sat there watching the people in the courtyard busy themselves. She saw Chunxue carrying a small basket of purses, sitting on the veranda and filling it with gold and silver melon seeds.

"Do you need this much?" Jiang Yu couldn't help but ask.

Dongxue glanced at her and said with a smile, "This servant thinks it's not enough. You are the Duke. When you meet children of your generation during the New Year, you also have to give them red purses."

Looking at the two plates of gold and silver melon seeds, Jiang Yu couldn't help but say, "What a loss."

Dongxue giggled, and Jiang Yu, thinking of the gold and silver the emperor had bestowed upon her, suddenly felt that she hadn't lost out.