"Useless! You can't even handle a woman." Prime Minister Wei glared at Wei Shichang with annoyance.
"Someone come here."
"What are your orders, sir?"
Upon hearing Prime Minister Wei's voice, the servant who was waiting outside hurriedly came in.
"Prepare the carriage; we're going to the Wu residence."
"Sir, there's been a curfew in the city for several days now. People can't even walk around freely, let alone carriages," the servant explained, bowing.
"Wait here, I'll write a letter, and you can send the person with the best lightness skill to the Wu residence."
"Brother, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go back and teach that disobedient shrew a lesson."
While Prime Minister Wei was getting his pen, Wei Shichang made an excuse and slipped out. If he didn't leave soon, his elder brother would definitely scold him after he finished his work.
A moment later, a man dressed in black leaped over the wall of the Wei residence and disappeared into the vast night in a few leaps.
This night was destined to be a sleepless one.
At this time, the lights in the main courtyard of the Grand Commandant's mansion were still on.
Wu Taiwei paced back and forth in his study, sometimes furrowing his thick eyebrows, sometimes sighing.
Amidst the ever-changing political landscape of the court, the new emperor launched a series of targeted attacks against the former emperor's cronies.
As a member of the Empress Dowager's family, Grand Commandant Wu secretly felt a chill.
The new emperor placed new people around him, ostensibly to share the burden of government affairs. He knew perfectly well that these were new people cultivated by the new emperor, and that if he made the slightest mistake, he would be in danger of being replaced.
The emperor ordered the raising of funds for the army, but after much deliberation, he still couldn't figure it out.
If they take too much, the emperor will wonder how much military pay they have embezzled in the past; if they take too little, the emperor will think they have disrespected the imperial will.
It's a dilemma; neither way seems right.
"Master, it's getting late, you should rest." The servant said softly as he saw that Grand Commandant Wu was pacing back and forth in the room instead of doing official business.
Seeing that Grand Commandant Wu had stopped, the servant asked again, "Which courtyard would you like to visit tonight, sir? I will pass on the message right away."
The master stayed in his study for several days in a row. The servant noticed that his master seemed to have something on his mind, and he thought that talking to the concubines might relieve his worries.
Wu Taiwei was slightly taken aback, then waved his wide sleeves and said, "No need to send a message, I'll go to the lady's courtyard."
Although Madam Huo, the eldest daughter-in-law of Wu, was unreliable in managing the household, she was well-read and her occasional insights were quite reasonable.
Wu Taiwei left the study and headed straight for the main courtyard.
As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I heard Huo's carefree laughter coming from inside the house.
"Stop for a minute, let me catch my breath. You're imitating a storyteller so well."
Inside the room, Madam Huo laughed so hard she almost fell over, while the head maid in the center of the room stopped gesturing.
“Madam, I am not exaggerating, that is exactly what the storyteller said.”
Wu Taiwei stopped and stood in front of the door. After a while, the sound of a maid telling a story came from inside the house.
"Cough cough..."
Hearing the cough at the door, the maid who was talking excitedly quickly shut up, turned around and lifted the curtain at the door, "Master is here, please come in."
"Madam, you seem to be in high spirits. You've only been out of confinement for a few days, yet you're already out listening to storytelling?" Grand Commandant Wu, with his hands behind his back and an expressionless face, stepped inside.
Having already changed into her nightgown, Lady Huo sat cross-legged on the bed. Upon seeing Grand Commandant Wu enter the room, she quickly got up and got out of bed.
"Why isn't my husband resting yet?" Huo asked instead of answering.
"Please wait, Madam. We'll go fetch some hot water for Master to wash up," the head maid said, winking at Madam Wu.
Seeing the maid leave quickly, Madam Huo belatedly realized that her husband intended to stay in her room tonight.
"Have all the accounts been reconciled? Has Mother calmed down?"
"Since you still have the leisure to find amusement, there must have been no problems in the manor recently."
Grand Commandant Wu approached and stretched out his arms. Madam Huo walked over with a smile and helped him undress.
"Look at what my husband says, I don't make mistakes all the time. My mother asked me to go out of the manor on some errands, and I overheard a bit of the story at the teahouse. I found the storyteller's travelogue quite interesting, so I had my head maid listen to it and bring it back to entertain me."
Madam Wu did not say why the old lady asked her to leave the mansion.
Grand Commandant Wu never interfered in matters concerning the inner quarters; the household was harmonious, so he didn't need to concern himself with them.
"The Empress Dowager is still a member of the Wu family. It hasn't even been a hundred days yet. She should not be laughing and joking in public. What kind of behavior is this?" Grand Commandant Wu pretended to reprimand her.
Madam Huo nodded obediently, "I understand. Today I offered incense to my aunt in the ancestral hall. The incense was burning brightly, so she must have passed away peacefully."
"Relax my foot! It's all that scoundrel's fault for causing me so much worry. If I hadn't gone to the Qing Palace, she could have lived to be a hundred years old!"
Wu Taiwei became furious whenever he spoke of the late emperor.
“At home, husband, please don’t lie. Your aunt is already old and can’t possibly live to be a hundred. Besides, with the new emperor coming to the capital, your aunt could die of anger if she gets too anxious.”
Huo looked calm and composed, with a sincere and earnest expression, seemingly innocent and harmless. Wu Taiwei's forehead throbbed as he watched.
I don't know how the Huo family raised their daughter. She's already this old, but she's as simple-minded as a fool.
He acts like a normal person in public, but when you talk to him indoors, he never thinks before he speaks.
"You've read so many miscellaneous books, but have you ever seen an emperor ask his ministers for money?" Wu Taiwei spoke frankly to Huo Shi.
"Yes, for example, during natural disasters, the emperor will order his officials to provide disaster relief."
Before Wu Taiwei could respond, she continued, "When the ladies of the palace celebrate their birthdays, the officials and their wives will find an opportunity to send gifts to foster relationships."
"Are you stupid? Why didn't you go to the palace to deliver gifts before?"
"With my mother in charge at home, how could I possibly have the chance to show off my skills? Besides, my aunt has so many valuable things; why would she even look at the worthless things I have?"
What Madam Huo said was true. Her family was a declining marquisate, and her dowry was not much, with nothing of value.
Every time gifts were sent to the palace, Madam Wu would select appropriate items from the central storeroom.
"The new emperor said that military pay is tight and asked everyone to chip in," Wu Taiwei said dejectedly.
"Husband, don't be stingy. It's an honor that the new emperor still needs you. We must raise this money."
"You certainly know how to be generous with other people's money. Taking too much or too little money is not right. I'm having a headache over this." Wu Taiwei said as he sat down on the edge of the bed and pinched his brow.
Huo draped the loose robe over the clothes rack on the side of the bed.
She pursed her lips and said, "What's so difficult about that? Take as much as you want. The new emperor's enthronement ceremony is approaching, and the manor will send another generous gift. You and the children can each contribute one, and the total will be no less than what others have received."
"That's right! How come I didn't think of that? Hahaha... Madam is so clever." Wu Taiwei slapped his thigh, laughed, and reached out to pull Huo Shi up. Huo Shi stumbled and fell into his arms.
Just as Grand Commandant Wu was about to lean down and kiss him, his personal servant reported from outside: "Master, someone from the Prime Minister's residence has come to request an audience."
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