Chapter 2

As a baby's movements were always restricted, Zhang Xihua's daily routine, apart from eating, drinking, defecating, urinating and sleeping, was to listen to Madam Jiang, Mother Xue and the maids and servants who served him gossiping about family matters.

Sometimes, Madam Li from the second house would bring Zhang Xuanhua, the eldest son of the Zhang family, to Chonghua Courtyard to play with Zhang Xihua.

Two babies were crawling around on a large empty couch covered with soft felt.

Zhang Xihua was impatient with being clingy to by the baby Zhang Xuanhua, so she would always use her hands and feet to climb to the other end of the couch in one go.

After Zhang Xuanhua slowly crawled over, Zhang Xihua climbed to the other end of the couch at lightning speed.

However, Zhang Xuanhua was a good-tempered and patient baby. He never got tired of chasing Zhang Xihua. After crawling for several rounds and panting, he still happily followed Zhang Xihua's little butt.

Mrs. Li couldn't help laughing when she saw this scene. She said, "Xi'er has long arms and legs and he climbs really fast. Our Xuan'er has never been able to catch up with Xi'er."

"Xi'er, that little rascal, is deliberately teasing Xuan'er." Madam Jiang picked up Zhang Xuanhua and placed him beside him. She then held both of his hands and taught him to hug Xihua. "Two brothers are meant to love each other like this."

Zhang Xuanhua smiled contentedly, and then, swish—

Zhang Xihua, who was affected by Zhang Xuanhua's hot urine, spoke in baby language.

Zhang Xuanhua actually understood that Zhang Xihua was scolding him, and he pouted his mouth and burst into tears.

Mrs. Li hurriedly picked up Zhang Xuanhua and coaxed her softly, and apologized embarrassedly to Mrs. Jiang who also picked up Zhang Xihua.

Madam Jiang ordered the wet nurse to take the two young masters to take a bath, and at the same time ordered Madam Xue to find dry clothes for the two young masters to change into quickly.

Previously, Madam Li gave Zhang Xihua a small dress made of Shu brocade that she had made herself.

When Zhang Xihua tried it on, it was too big for her.

Mrs. Jiang ordered Mother Xue to put the small Shu brocade dress away and wait until Zhang Xihua grew up before wearing it.

Today, Mother Xue was looking for suitable small clothes for Zhang Xuanhua. She found several, but they were either too big or too small.

This little Shu brocade dress is just right for Zhang Xuanhua.

Therefore, even though Madam Li refused in every possible way, Madam Jiang still insisted that Zhang Xuanhua change into this small Shu brocade dress.

Mrs. Li's beautiful oval face turned even redder.

"This little dress was originally a gift for Xi'er, but our Xuan'er got it first. Sister-in-law, wait until I buy such good Shu brocade material, and then make a little dress for Xi'er."

To ease Madam Li's embarrassment, Madam Jiang took Madam Li's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, today is worse than tomorrow. My sister from my natal family sent me a cart of cloth some time ago. Come with me and pick out some, and help me make a bellyband for Xi'er. Your needlework skills are a hundred times better than mine."

Mrs. Jiang nodded and followed Mrs. Li into the inner room to pick out fabrics.

In the outer hall, Mother Xue was busy looking after the steamed egg custard for the two young masters in the small kitchen. Before leaving, she asked a few maids to look after the two young masters who were playing on the couch.

Zhang Xihua and Zhang Xuanhua started playing the game of chase again.

I only heard the maid who was knocking on the door curtain say "Hello, Second Master".

Zhang Xihua quickly turned his little head to look at Zhang Jianren, the second master of the Zhang family, who came in.

Zhang Jianren is in his late twenties, tall and thin with a handsome appearance.

Judging from his outstanding appearance, he is indeed not that unpleasant, but if you know his terrible bad habits, he is indeed a "bitch" as his name suggests.

Zhang Jianren would spend 40,000 to 50,000 taels of silver from the public treasury every year on a life of luxury. You should know that the annual tax revenue of Taiping Prefecture was only 300,000 taels.

Although the Zhang family was a marquisate, the annual income from the rent of the manor and fields, the income from the title, etc. was no more than 60,000 to 70,000 taels. They also had hundreds of servants, and maintaining a decent life for the master of the mansion cost 40,000 to 50,000 taels a year. How could they afford Zhang Jianren's spending?

It is said that Zhang Jianren had just spent six thousand taels of silver and returned home to get money. His son Zhang Xuanhua was already more than eleven months old, and he had only seen his son two or three times in total.

Seeing the two babies with similar eyebrows and eyes on the couch, Zhang Jianren could not tell which one was his son Zhang Xuanhua.

But when he saw that one of the babies was wearing a small Shu brocade dress, Zhang Jianren remembered that when he returned home last time, he gave his wife a rare piece of Shu brocade with a swastika pattern. His wife used that piece of Shu brocade to make a small dress for his nephew. He immediately knew who was which of the two babies on the couch.

Zhang Jianren picked up Zhang Xuanhua and kissed her hard on the face.

"Brother Xi, uncle will play a game with you."

Zhang Xihua: “…”

Then he saw a horrifying scene: Zhang Jianren threw Zhang Xuanhua high up in the air like a pillow, then caught him, threw him high again, caught him again, and each time he threw him higher than the last...

Zhang Xuanhua was very young, so naturally he didn't understand anything. He just thought it was fun and giggled.

The maids watched, each one terrified, but unable to speak up to dissuade Zhang Jianren.

It is natural for people to play with their own sons.

There was a hint of murderous intent hidden in Zhang Jianren's fake smile. He wanted to kill the only son of the eldest son of the family, so that the eldest son's family line would be completely cut off.

So this time he threw the baby in his arms as high as he could, but when he tried to catch it, his hand was slightly off.

Zhang Xuanhua fell to the ground, limp like a boneless ball, and cried even more heartbreakingly.

Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Li in the inner room heard the baby crying and ran out to see.

When Mrs. Li saw Zhang Xuanhua falling to the ground with blood gushing from his mouth and nose, she screamed "Xuan Ge'er" and fainted.

Madam Jiang was also dazed. She supported the unconscious Madam Li and muttered "Xuan'er" several times before gradually coming to her senses. "Hurry up and find a doctor for Xuan'er. Hurry, hurry up."

Zhang Jianren, realizing that he had dropped the wrong child, collapsed to the ground. He did not dare to pick up Zhang Xuanhua, who was lying in a pool of blood and crying until his voice was hoarse. His eyes were bloodshot.

"Son—my son—"

Zhang Xihua, who had been dazed for a while on the couch, came to his senses and thought of Zhang Jianren calling Zhang Xuanhua "Xi'er" just now. He was still frightened and started crying.

Madam Jiang, who had been entrusted to the care of a maid by Madam Li, quickly picked up Zhang Xihua and comforted her.

Madam Li calmed herself down and ordered the wet nurse who was serving Zhang Xuanhua to pick up Zhang Xuanhua and put him on the small bed where Zhang Xihua usually slept.

The doctor had not arrived yet, but Old Lady Zhang, who had heard the noise from Chonghua Hospital, arrived first.

When Old Lady Zhang saw her eldest grandson lying on the small bed with blood all over his face and body, she almost fell down. Fortunately, a maid supported her.

Because Zhang Xuanhua fell in Chonghua Courtyard, Old Lady Zhang had a preconceived notion that it was Madam Jiang's fault.

Old Lady Zhang cursed at Madam Jiang with a stern face, "Evil woman! Do you think I don't know what evil intentions you have? If you kill Xuan'er, there will be no one left to compete with Xi'er for the family property..."

Mrs. Jiang quickly covered the ears of Zhang Xihua in her arms to prevent the little one from hearing the vulgar words that Old Lady Zhang was cursing at.

Old Mrs. Zhang didn't listen to Mrs. Jiang's argument, and raised her cane to hit Mrs. Jiang. However, Mrs. Xue blocked it with her arms several times, so the cane didn't hit Mrs. Jiang.

"Xuan'er was dropped by the second master. What does it have to do with our grandmother? You, old lady, should find out the truth of the matter before beating or scolding him." Mother Xue said loudly.

Old Mrs. Zhang was stunned, and then she turned her gaze to Zhang Jianren, who was standing beside the crib with his head hung down.

Old Mrs. Zhang's tone softened a lot, and the look she gave Zhang Jianren was no longer as vicious as the one she gave Mrs. Jiang just now.

"Did you really drop Xuan Ge'er?"

Zhang Jianren was already regretting his decision, choking up and saying, "I was working hard outside to make our family business prosperous, and I really missed Xuan Ge'er. So when I came back to see Xuan Ge'er, I was a little too happy. I was so happy that I threw Xuan Ge'er to the ground."

Old Mrs. Zhang's eyes were filled with tears, and she felt even more distressed for her youngest son.

"You've suffered a lot out there, and you've lost a lot of weight. The child has already fallen, and you can't blame your father. You should quickly get a doctor to treat the child."

If her eldest daughter-in-law caused her eldest grandson to fall, she would definitely fight with her.

Unexpectedly, it was the youngest son who accidentally dropped the eldest grandson. Why was it Xuan'er who suffered this misfortune instead of Xi'er?

After the doctor arrived, he carefully examined Zhang Xuanhua's injuries, wrote a prescription, and said to Old Lady Zhang and the others, "The injuries on the young master's body are all superficial, but the wound on his head is the most serious. Even if he recovers, he will still have the mind of a child and will never develop wisdom."

"You mean, my precious grandson will become an idiot in the future?" Old Mrs. Zhang frowned. "What kind of sin is this?"

The doctor reminded her to take care of Zhang Xuanhua's taboos and then went to check the pulse of the unconscious Madam Li.

The doctor congratulated Old Mrs. Zhang.

Old Mrs. Zhang asked where the joy came from.

The doctor said, "The second wife of the mansion is three months pregnant."

Mrs. Zhang: "God bless me and let my daughter-in-law give birth to a smart and clever grandson for my Zhang family."

Old Lady Zhang asked her maid to escort the doctor out of the house and gave him a reward in addition to the consultation fee.

When Zhang Jianren heard that his wife was pregnant again, the fear and guilt he had just felt for throwing his son dissipated a lot. He thought that the second wife was not like the first wife who had lost his eldest brother. As long as he was still alive, he could let his wife give birth to grandson after grandson for his mother to make her happy.

"Mother, I'm thinking about the second house having another baby. As a father, I naturally have to plan for my children's future. I beg you to ask the treasury to give me another 8,000 taels of silver. I'm going to find a way to donate money to become an official." Zhang Jianren said.

Old Madam Zhang nodded, "Of course, of course." She turned to look at Madam Jiang, who was holding Zhang Xihua, and said, "Why not just make it 50/50? Have the treasury give Jianren 10,000 taels of silver. If he doesn't have enough, he can come back and ask you for it."

"From the beginning of the year until now, the second master has withdrawn more than 30,000 taels of silver from the public treasury. In the past few years, the second master owes the public treasury more than 300,000 taels. The father-in-law said that if the second master returns home this time, he will not be allowed to withdraw a penny from the public treasury. In addition, there is a flood this year, and the harvest in the fields is poor, so there is not much silver left in the public treasury." Mrs. Jiang said.

"Sister-in-law, don't lie to mother. The family has 10,000 taels of silver to prepare for the selection for Shunjie. You should transfer that money to me first." Zhang Jianren said righteously.

Shun Jie'er is Zhang Shunning, the eldest daughter of the Zhang family and born to Madam Jiang. She has just had her coming-of-age ceremony and is preparing to participate in the beauty pageant.

"This money cannot be touched no matter what. You can't let me sacrifice my daughter to enter the palace to bring honor to the Zhang family, and force Shunjie to be short of money to manage relationships in the palace." Mrs. Jiang said gritting her teeth.

Mrs. Zhang thought it over again and again and said, "We really can't touch the money we've prepared for Sister Shun's selection."

If the eldest granddaughter could be chosen to become the concubine of Emperor Hongde, and if she was promising enough to allow the Zhang family to produce another queen, then the Marquis's mansion would no longer have to worry about its prosperity.

Old Madam Zhang said to Zhang Jianren, "Song Jie'er is already thirteen years old. Why not marry her to Duke Ningguo as his concubine? He won't mind that our Song Jie is born out of wedlock."

Song Jie'er, Zhang Songning, the second daughter of the Zhang family and the second concubine Hua, is a very independent, smart and capable girl despite her young age.

Madam Jiang said, "Duke Ningguo just celebrated his 70th birthday last month. Isn't this pushing Sister Song into trouble?"

Zhang Xihua: "Yes."

Old Mrs. Zhang: “!”

Zhang Jianren: “!”

Madam Jiang heard the little person in her arms speak, and she was surprised and delighted. She said, "Even Xi'er couldn't stand it anymore. He spoke up to defend Songjie."

Zhang Xihua: “…”

Fortunately, he only said the word "yes". If he had accidentally said a long string of words, he would definitely be treated as a monster and eliminated.