Chapter 66◇
I must have been a fairy in my past life.
Lord Duan snorted coldly, "Ignorant and foolish faces are everywhere. Be careful at all times. If anyone really uses ignorance as something to brag about, I, the Lord, won't mind taking two more lives."
Qin was somewhat uneasy. "My lord, the young master of the Sun family did indeed want to save Yin'er. In the eyes of outsiders, it was indeed Feng Ran who kicked him for no reason. He was wrong to have ill intentions back then, but Feng Ran's kick is really hard to explain. Why don't we compromise with the Sun family and let Feng Ran apologize to him as well?"
Duan Yuche seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and snorted disdainfully. However, the expression was fleeting. He seemed to know that his expression was inappropriate, and tried to straighten his posture, but still revealed a hint of sarcasm: "Mother, you are mistaken. There are so many maids and young ladies on the riverbank. How could a lecherous man from the other side of the river be so eager to please? His wolfish ambitions are known to all. I think the Crown Princess's kick was good, but it was a little too light."
Seeing the displeasure on Qin's face, Duan Yuze knew things were going badly. Yu Che was really bringing up the sore spot. He quickly said from the side, "Perhaps I didn't express myself clearly just now, which caused Mother to misunderstand. That scene really can't be blamed on the Crown Princess. I was just afraid that some petty people would spread rumors and distort the Crown Princess's good intentions."
With a loud bang, as if the ground itself trembled, the old Marquis Duan said with displeasure, "Alright, I already know about this matter. The clueless members of the Sun family must be from the inner quarters. If Vice Minister Sun thinks the same way, then we don't need to do anything; his position as a petty official is already doomed. You may leave now; I have something to say to your mother."
After the Duan brothers, Duan Yuze and Duan Yuche, went downstairs, the room remained silent for a long time.
Lord Duan sipped his tea, his expression unreadable, while Madam Qin's face was blank, all warmth gone from her countenance.
After a long while, Lord Duan put down his teacup. The sound of the cup hitting the table made Qin's heart skip a beat. Unable to bear the silent silence any longer, Qin spoke first, saying with a self-deprecating tone, "Every time Lord Duan sees me, he either scolds me or has something to tell me. What is it about today?"
Lord Duan's eyes were somewhat unfocused, and he suddenly sighed: "Over the years, have you been angry with me or with Jingchuan?"
Qin choked, and rubbed her nose to cover up her discomfort: "What are you saying, Lord Marquis? I don't understand."
Since the old Marquis Duan had brought up the subject, he didn't intend to gloss over it and decided to make things clear: "Over the years, I haven't forced you to treat everyone equally, nor have I asked you to show more affection to Jingchuan, but your actions have truly chilled my heart. If you want to maintain the honor of being the Marquis's wife in the future, then straighten out your attitude. Don't concern yourself with the people and affairs of Jinghua Courtyard."
In an instant, Madam Qin cried out as if she had been stepped on in pain, her voice shrill: "What does the Marquis mean by this? Don't I have the right to take care of my son? Back then, I didn't think things through and left him alone in the manor, but apart from that, what did I do wrong? How did it force the Marquis to not even step into my room for the past few years?"
Lord Duan stared intently at Madam Qin, ignoring her screams and roars. The insightful and mocking look in his eyes deeply pierced Madam Qin's heart. Madam Qin's previously arrogant demeanor instantly deflated like a punctured balloon, leaving her soft and helpless.
"It seems you don't remember. Do you want me to help you recall what you said to Jingchuan in private before you left? How come the usually lively and cheerful child has changed so much in the blink of an eye? Don't you know? I certainly didn't fulfill my responsibilities as a father back then, but you, as a mother, are utterly absurd."
The truth was suddenly revealed to the world, and Qin Shi lost her composure. Her voice was weak and self-deprecating. "So you knew all along. You've known all these years, haven't you? Do you think I'm a joke? I crave my husband's love on one hand, and am ridiculed by him on the other. I'm living worse than a concubine."
Qin seemed to have lost all her strength, her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the side, tears streaming down her face like a broken string of pearls. She no longer had the strength to raise her hand to hide her disheveled state.
Lord Duan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “You should have understood when you married me that I am a rough man, and talking to me about love and romance is like talking to a brick wall. You can certainly have expectations of your husband, but you should never transfer the blame to the child. Go back now, and from now on, pretend that you never gave birth to Jingchuan.”
Seemingly knowing that she could never gain the forgiveness of the old Marquis Duan, Madam Qin became somewhat ruthless. "Jingchuan, Jingchuan, all you know is Jingchuan. Do you know how I felt when I married into the Marquis's mansion and found out that my eldest son was already running around everywhere?"
Recalling the resentment and anxiety she felt over the years, Qin Shi found it increasingly difficult to remain calm. "After I became pregnant with Jingchuan, I was filled with hope that you would pay more attention to him. But in the blink of an eye, you sent me back to the capital and ignored me completely. I had no complaints about any of that, but what did you give me in return? When I was full of anticipation to welcome my heroic husband back to the capital, I turned around and saw a courtyard full of people, and those illegitimate children who either treated me with kindness, mockery, or disdain for calling me mother. How can I let this go? Is all the fault really mine?"
Lord Duan rubbed his temples, utterly perplexed. "Ask yourself honestly, which of these concubines or their children can surpass you? What do you lack in terms of a wife's honor and dignity? What is it that you are so dissatisfied with?"
Lord Duan couldn't understand Qin's dissatisfaction. Even though he had indeed neglected her somewhat in those years, it wasn't just her; all the women in his harem combined didn't hold much of a place in his heart.
He never imagined that his neglect of his own family would backfire on his only legitimate son, which is the hardest thing for him to accept.
Qin suddenly felt ridiculous and pathetic. What had she been pursuing all her life? She had actually sought love in a man who was not bound by romantic feelings, thinking she had found it, only to find it was all for naught and all her joy was in vain.
"Hahahaha." Madam Qin suddenly burst out laughing, stood up on both hands and feet, wiped the tears from her face, and curtsied to Lord Duan. "Your Excellency is right. I was wrong. I will be careful in my words and deeds in the future and do my duty as the mistress of the Marquis's mansion."
Lord Duan's expression was complicated, but he ultimately said nothing more and watched Qin leave.
*
The Sun family's downfall came sooner than expected. No sooner had Sun Changping released news of Feng Ran's rudeness than the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, gambling dens, and merchants from all over the capital flocked to the Sun family's gate to collect debts. When the major creditors gathered, they discovered that each of the Sun family owed several hundred to over a thousand taels of silver. After calculating, they realized that even if Master Sun had extraordinary abilities, it would be impossible for him to earn such a large salary within a year.
Since the Sun family dared to spend money like that, it meant they must be up to something. Coincidentally, the Kaifeng Prefecture was in a bind because of the child trafficking case and had been struggling to find a solution. The Sun family, a potential source of corruption, had just walked right into their mess. It was a good opportunity to use the Sun family as a scapegoat to prove that their abilities had not diminished. It was just that the case was too difficult to solve, not that the Kaifeng Prefecture was incompetent.
Surprisingly, things turned out quite unexpectedly. During the investigation of the Sun family, the officials discovered that the family received a large amount of ill-gotten gains every year, and the source and destination of this money were very strange.
Further investigation revealed a close connection between the Sun family and the human traffickers. This was like pulling up a radish and bringing up the mud along with it, finally uncovering a clue amidst the myriad threads.
Even the Prefect of Kaifeng had to admire Feng Ran's incredible luck. First, she uncovered a shocking case, and then she came to his aid by taking on this mystery. In return, when he was imprisoning the Sun family, he specially brought Sun Changping and Sun Wan'er to the gate of the Marquis of Dingbei's residence to kowtow and apologize.
And so, the rumors that were unfavorable to Feng Ran in the capital spread like wildfire, and the people praised the Princess Consort of the Marquis of Dingbei for her kind heart and for exposing the injustices of the world.
Upon hearing this rumor, Feng Ran's eyes narrowed into crescent moons with delight. She boasted to Huang Que, "See! I must have been a fairy in my past life, which is why I was given the opportunity to win people over with virtue in this life."
These days, Duan Jingchuan has been busy with something and hasn't had much time to spend with Feng Ran. Feng Ran has been sticking to Huang Que the whole time.
Huang Que also understood that the first key to his survival in the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion was to make Feng Ran happy. However, he did not really understand the phrase "winning people over with virtue," and his face unconsciously revealed his doubt.
Feng Ran seemed to be able to guess what Huang Que was thinking, and handed the handkerchief in her hand to Huang Que, gesturing for him to open it and take a look.
Huang Que looked at the handkerchief in front of him, then glanced at Xiu'er, whose eyebrows seemed to be twitching, and was full of confusion. What did this handkerchief have to do with winning people over with virtue?
Fortunately, he was just a child and didn't have many taboos about girls' belongings. He casually opened it and saw a small "德" (virtue) embroidered in the lower right corner.
Huang Que stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend Feng Ran's thoughts, and couldn't help but ask, "What does this have to do with winning people over with virtue?"
Feng Ran raised an eyebrow and said confidently, "You're so uncultured! My husband once told me that you should win people over with virtue. The virtue he mentioned refers to the sword of a sage. I'm not good at wielding a sword, so I just call this handkerchief 'virtue.' Putting it all together, I guess I'm winning people over with virtue, no problem."
Huang Que seemed to have opened the door to a new world, and her hand holding the handkerchief trembled slightly.
No matter how many times Xiuer heard this explanation, she still couldn't control her facial expressions, and her face twitched violently.
As if she felt the impact on Huang Que wasn't strong enough, Feng Ran turned the handkerchief over again, revealing the character "理" (reason/principle) written behind the character "德" (virtue).
Feng Ran explained with great interest, "This is also what my husband taught me. He said that if you can't beat someone, you should reason with them. So when I encounter someone fierce, I show them the 'reason' side. When I encounter someone easy to bully, I directly use 'virtue' to win them over."
Huang Que stared incredulously at the handkerchief made with double-sided embroidery, unable to believe that these were the words spoken by her savior. She tried to maintain a forced smile, but it looked somewhat strained. "Sister's skills are quite good; you even know this double-sided embroidery technique."
The sparrow, not knowing what to say, had to find another way and praise the two characters for being well embroidered.
Feng Ran's shoulders trembled, and she giggled, "You think too highly of me. It takes me a lot of effort to write these two characters, let alone embroider them. Even Xiu'er's excellent skills couldn't embroider them. It's a handkerchief that my husband gave me."
Huang Que finally couldn't hold back her cough and coughed several times before stopping. Her voice trembling, she asked earnestly, "Was this handkerchief specially made for my sister by my brother-in-law?"
Feng Ran nodded naturally, "That's right! I didn't originally intend for it to be so complicated. I just wanted my husband to write a couple of words on it, but I didn't expect him to embroider a batch of handkerchiefs for me. They do look very nice."
How could I not like it? Don't take advantage of his young age and ignorance. This double-sided embroidery is not something an ordinary embroiderer can do! You couldn't find many in the entire capital who could do it. And to give it to her just to make handkerchiefs is a complete waste!
Huang Que roared inwardly, recalling how she had seen women eagerly showing off their double-sided embroidered clothes, and found them even more ridiculous. In the eyes of this woman, it was just used to embroider an ordinary handkerchief.
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