203. Wet nurse
There was no snow on the bluestone slab outside Mingquan Garden. Wang Gui put his forehead against the slab and felt the cold touch of the slab was like a knife, almost cutting his head open.
Wang Gui just knelt there, waiting for Chen Ji to appear.
But Chen Ji did not appear.
Not far from Mingquan Garden was Qunfang Garden, where the maids lived. A maid in the bedroom heard Wang Gui's cries and went out to watch the fun. For a moment, several heads were crowded together by the door frame of the bedroom.
A slender maid squinted her eyes, carefully identifying the kneeling figure in the night: "Hey, isn't that the housekeeper?"
An older maid said disdainfully, "He's not a housekeeper anymore. Call him Wang Gui."
The slender maid sighed, "Wang Gui was beaten with a stick, so he surrendered to the Third Young Master? Look at his back, there's still blood. If he kneels any longer, he'll probably freeze to death."
The older maidservant spat to the side: "Serves him right! Apart from the first-class maids around the young master, the master, and the mistress, who hasn't been taken advantage of by him over the years?"
"That's right, it's so disgusting. The Third Young Master should be made to kneel here and freeze to death."
At this time, the maids had not seen Chen Ji yet, and they were chattering quietly, "Strange, the Third Young Master used to be so soft-hearted and cowardly. Wang Gui has begged him so much, why hasn't he come out yet?"
The slender maid lowered her voice: "Maybe he's changed his personality after studying medicine for two years?"
The older maid scoffed, "Impossible. It's easy to change a country, but hard to change one's nature. A person's temperament won't change so easily."
Having said this, she turned around and looked at a little maid behind her. She had simple double buns on her hair, a round face that still looked childish, and her eyes were lively.
The older maid said to her, "Xiao Man, you used to serve the Third Young Master. Now that he's back, why don't you ask Madam to assign you to the Third Young Master again?"
The maid named Xiaoman, who had her hair done in twin buns, rolled her eyes and murmured softly, "Sister Liqiu, I won't go. I'm just suffering humiliation every day by following him."
Li Qiu tapped her forehead with her fingertip, feeling disappointed. "You useless thing, why do you have to waste your time here as a third-class maid? If you go back to him, you'll be a first-class maid again, and your monthly salary will increase by 300 wen. If you despise him, just wait until you are old enough to marry out. You can even get a dowry, which is better than marrying a tenant farmer or a coachman like us."
Xiaoman lowered her head, not wanting others to see her expression. "It's not that I dislike him, it's just that seeing him so cowardly makes me uncomfortable. Anyway, whoever wants to go can go. The three hundred copper coins increase in monthly wages isn't enough to make up for the cowardice... Sister Liqiu, I want to stay in Luocheng. That way, I don't have to serve anyone and can just die here."
"Not getting married?"
"I won't marry."
Li Qiu whispered, "You might not know this, but the Third Young Master has received two thousand five hundred taels of silver from the newly established preparation bureau, and his life has improved."
Xiaoman suddenly looked up: "So many?"
Li Qiu rubbed her cold hands with her breath as she casually said, "Following the Third Young Master now, although you may be a little annoyed and get looked down upon by the Madam and the others, he's kind-hearted. When you get married, if you beg him well, you might even get a generous dowry."
As they were talking, a maidservant exclaimed, "Has the Third Young Master really changed his temper and become so cruel? Does he really intend to let Wang Gui freeze to death here?"
Xiaoman curled her lips: "How is that possible."
As soon as he finished speaking, the gate of Mingquan Garden creaked open.
Xiaoman hurriedly said: "Look, I'll tell you."
…
…
In the dark night, Chen Ji opened the courtyard gate, stood on the threshold in his cloak, and asked calmly, "Butler, what are you doing kneeling in front of my door in the middle of the night?"
Wang Gui hurriedly said, "I am no longer a steward. You can just call me Wang Gui, Third Young Master. I have come here tonight only to ask you to be magnanimous and spare me."
Chen Ji said nonchalantly, "It was Lord Chen's decision to cane you. It's useless to come and beg me."
Wang Gui slammed his head against the ground, his forehead bleeding from the impact of the bluestone slab. "My Lord Third Young Master, please be magnanimous. I was wrong in the past. If you are angry, just give me a beating. But my mother is sixty-seven years old and is still waiting for me in the capital. If you don't forgive me, I'm afraid I won't even have the chance to take care of her until the end of her life."
Chen Ji remained calm.
It was the ancestral teaching of Emperor Taizu that the Ning Dynasty should rule the world with filial piety. Even figures like Liu Ge Lao and Wang Dao Sheng had to resign from their official positions and return home to mourn their fathers when their fathers passed away, wasting three years.
Wang Gui took off his shirt in the cold winter and came to apologize, hoping to return to Beijing to serve
To serve one's biological mother is to repent and to sacrifice one's life for the sake of benevolence.
If Chen Ji accepted Wang Gui's offer to apologize, it would be a good story in the Confucian community, showing Chen Ji's benevolence and righteousness; if Chen Ji let Wang Gui freeze to death here, it would be unkind, and if it were to be spread, it would damage the reputation of the Chen family.
Wang Gui didn't really want to be forgiven, but wanted to play a trick of self-torture.
This self-torture trick was not performed for himself, but for Chen Liqin. The other party was betting that Chen Liqin would consider the Chen family's reputation and the friendship of the wet nurse.
Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "You want to serve your biological mother with pure filial piety, and I am willing to help you do so."
Wang Gui raised his head, his eyes filled with hope. "Third Young Master, have you forgiven me? Can I return to the capital with you?"
Chen Ji smiled and said, "I mean, I can just send someone to bring your mother to Luocheng."
"Ah?" Wang Gui was stunned for a moment.
Chen Ji pointed at the Chen Mansion and said, "After we go to the capital, this place will be vacant. I'll pay for the transportation and bring your mother over, and then you can settle her in my Mingquan Garden. Isn't it wonderful? Luocheng is beautiful with its beautiful mountains and clear waters, outstanding people and beautiful scenery. It's a perfect place for retirement."
"This..." Wang Gui hesitated, his eyes rolling slightly, and he quickly realized: "Third Young Master, my mother is old and her energy and blood are weak. I'm afraid she can't withstand the fatigue of traveling hundreds of miles."
Chen Ji calculated the time: "If we take a fast boat along the Grand Canal, heading from south to north, we'll arrive in ten days."
Wang Gui said stubbornly, "My mother is seasick."
Chen Ji sighed, "There's nothing I can do. I want to fulfill your filial duty, but nothing I can do will work. Go back now. If you keep kneeling like this, you'll die of hypothermia."
Wang Gui knelt down again and said, "If you don't forgive me, I will die here on my knees."
Chen Ji was silent.
The maids in Qunfang Garden held their breath, their heads stacked one on top of the other outside the door frame, observing secretly.
Li Qiu sighed, "This Wang Gui is quite a ruthless man. Is he betting that the Third Young Master will be soft-hearted and not dare to cause a real loss of life?"
Xiaoman curled her lips and said, "If it were me, I would definitely make him kneel and die here. Just wait and see, the Third Young Master will definitely swallow this humiliation. If it weren't for this kind of temper, he wouldn't have let anyone bully him in the past few years."
In front of Mingquan Garden, Chen Ji asked softly, "Butler, are you really not going to get up?"
Wang Gui said, "If the Third Young Master doesn't forgive me, I won't get up."
Chen Ji nodded: "Okay, if you don't want to get up, then don't get up. I'll take you to see Master Chen to judge the matter."
Wang Gui fell to the ground: "I won't go...what are you doing?!"
The next moment, Chen Ji walked out, grabbed Wang Gui's wrist, and dragged him deep into the Chen Mansion.
Wang Gui struggled and made a sound like a pig being slaughtered: "Let me go!"
However, no matter how he struggled, he could not break free from the iron-like hands.
Wang Gui could only lie on his back and let Chen Ji drag him further and further away on the bluestone road.
The maids outside the door looked at each other in bewilderment. Li Qiu was confused and said, "Did I see it right? The Third Young Master just dragged Wang Gui away like that?"
Xiaoman leaned sideways against the door frame and muttered, "They...they were dragged away like that?"
"The Third Young Master is so strong!"
They imagined ten thousand possible endings, such as Chen Ji relenting and forgiving Wang Gui, Wang Gui unable to bear it and leaving, or Chen Liqin arriving.
But he never expected that Chen Ji would drag Wang Gui away with his bare hands.
The maids were at a loss for a moment, and Xiaoman looked at the back of her former master and suddenly felt a little confused.
…
…
Outside Wenhua Garden, Chen Ji dragged the crying Wang Gui and knocked hard on the door. Chen Liqin, without even getting dressed, hurriedly pushed the door open and asked, "What are you doing?"
Chen Ji bowed outside the door and said, "Master Chen, Wang Gui went to Mingquan Garden in the middle of the night and knelt there, trying to apologize. He said that if I didn't forgive him, he would kneel outside my door and freeze to death. I can't make the decision on this matter, so I brought him here to be decided by Master Chen."
Chen Liqin looked at Wang Gui and said angrily, "What are you crazy about?"
Wang Gui knelt before Chen Liqin, kowtowed and admitted his fault. "Master, I know I was wrong. I know I was wrong. Please don't leave me in Luocheng. You know my mother is old, and she needs to be taken care of."
Chen Liqin frowned.
Wang Gui continued, "Master, whenever my mother mentioned you, she always said that you were the most kind-hearted person in the Chen family. She said that when you were three years old, you knew to give the biggest pear to your brother and mother. She also said that when you were holding my hand,
You went to visit the Lantern Festival and heard that you could guess all the lantern riddles when you were four years old..."
Wang Gui cried bitterly, "Master, she stayed with you until you were fourteen, taking care of your daily life day and night. How could you bear to see her die alone?"
Chen Liqin said in annoyance: "Enough!"
Wang Gui kept silent.
The so-called wet nurse is not only responsible for feeding, but also takes care of the child's diet and daily life, imparts enlightenment knowledge, and accompanies the child until adulthood.
In the deep palace, wet nurses made up for the absence of mothers. After many officials and nobles became adults, they even treated their wet nurses as half mothers.
This is the case with Chen Liqin.
At this moment, Chen Liqin recalled everything that had happened before and subconsciously looked at Chen Ji's expression. Seeing that Chen Ji was calm, he said carefully: "Wang Gui seems to have regrets this time."
Chen Ji said calmly, "What does Master Chen mean?"
Chen Liqin was silent for a long time. "His mother is already old... He made a mistake in a moment of confusion, but Wenzong has already punished him with a cane, and he recently apologized, so he must have repented. Of course, I won't let him continue to be the housekeeper. He will just come back to the capital with us. What do you think?"
Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Master Chen, why not return Wang Gui's deed to him, let him go home, and no longer work in the Chen Mansion."
Chen Liqin was a bit embarrassed. "I promised his mother that I would give him a job... How about this? We'll observe him for a while. If he shows any signs of being a bad person again, I'll expel him from the house. If he truly reforms, we'll give him a chance to start a new life."
Chen Ji studied Chen Liqin for a long time in the dark night, then stepped back, smiled, and said, "It's all up to you, Master Chen."
Chen Liqin breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his head and angrily shouted at Wang Gui at his feet: "Get out of here! You are embarrassing yourself here! Go back to your home, and don't show up in front of Chen Ji and upset him before you return to Beijing."
Wang Gui hurriedly stood up and said, "I understand, I understand!"
…
…
Wang Gui returned to his bedroom, put on his clothes, and limped out through the side door of the Chen residence. He turned down a few alleys and knocked on a door.
The gate opened, and a pretty woman said in surprise, "Master, today is not a day off. Why are you back in the middle of the night?"
Wang Gui said tremblingly, "Help me in first."
The woman supported him and asked worriedly, "What's wrong with you, Master? Why are you limping?"
Wang Gui's face turned pale. He didn't explain a word, but whispered, "Pack up and prepare to return to Beijing in a few days."
The woman helped Wang Gui lie down on the bed, rubbing his cold arms and legs with her hands to help him warm up.
When she saw the wounds on Wang Gui's back and buttocks, she burst into tears: "Master, what happened to you? Who beat you like this? Let's go to the police!"
Wang Gui didn't say anything and let the woman rub him for a long time before he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't report this to the authorities. They can't handle this," he instructed, eyes closed. "Pack up all the gold, silver, and valuables in your home. Tomorrow, call a carriage driver and find an escort agency to transport them to the capital. Don't go with the Chen family. Take the valuables to the capital alone and give them to my mother."
The woman sighed and agreed.
Wang Gui opened his eyes and said, "Where is the box I brought back on the day of the war? I want to take a look."
The woman bent down and struggled to pull out a wooden box from under the bed and opened it. It was full of gold and silver jewelry, including Liang's once most precious phoenix crown and blue flowered head ornaments.
Wang Gui's gaze stopped at the phoenix crown and blue flower ornaments on the head... This was the item Liang wore on her head when she got married.
After a moment, Wang Gui's eyes were uncertain: "Put on this headdress."
The woman exclaimed, her face filled with joy, but she humbly said, "Master, why do you want me to wear this phoenix crown? I am not worthy of such a fine item."
Wang Gui angrily said, "Just wear it when I tell you to. Why are you talking so much nonsense?"
The woman sat in front of the dressing table with a wronged look on her face, putting the headpiece on her head in front of the brass mirror.
Wang Gui squinted his eyes and looked. In the dim room, he could no longer see the woman's face. Only the phoenix crown and headdress were left shining brightly in the faint candlelight.
The woman had just put on her headdress when Wang Gui climbed out of bed. Regardless of the pain in his body, he pressed the woman down on the dressing table and lifted up her clothes from behind.
"Master, please don't do this. You are still injured..."
"Shut up."
"Master, there seems to be a tabby cat on the window lattice looking at us."
"Shut up!"
(End of this chapter)
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