Chapter 30: Charging Power "Stupid thing, don't show up and lose face in this world...
"What took you so long?"
"Mother is in such good spirits that she rarely seems to be in such good spirits, so she said a few more words."
Aunt Chen feigned anger, "Mother can hardly wait any longer." She ordered the servants to make tea, "Come sit down quickly so I can take a good look at you."
Lin Meizhu smiled, picked up the teacup, her eyes twinkling, "It's good tea."
Wuyi Zisun, with its iron-like color and orchid-like fragrance, was originally a tribute tea reserved for the royal family. Only after reforms were made did it become available to the public. However, due to its high price, it was only regularly consumed by a few households.
Aunt Chen stroked the brand-new silk and beaded hairpins at her temples, revealing two gold rings inlaid with various treasures. She pursed her lips and smiled, a blush on her face. "These are all gifts from the people below to your father! Normally, I'd be reluctant to use them, but now that you're here, I'm reluctantly giving them away!"
Lin Meiju suddenly remembered the gauze mesh at the corners of the wooden windows in the main room that could not be flattened no matter how hard she tried.
Aunt Chen, her brightly painted hands, lifted the lid of the teacup. "Your brother heard you were coming, so he went to the Eight Immortals Pavilion early this morning to buy your favorite lotus-shaped glutinous rice cakes."
"He's thoughtful."
Seeing that the atmosphere was almost calm, Aunt Chen smiled and said, "Your brother has been having trouble eating and sleeping lately because of school. I was thinking that if the prince could open his mouth..."
Lin Meizhu put down her cup and said, "I have mentioned this to him before."
Aunt Chen was delighted and asked, "How is it?"
Lin Meizhu frowned and said, "You idiot! Don't show up and embarrass yourself!" She regained her composure and nodded, "That's exactly what he said."
Aunt Chen had a smile on her face. These words sounded like something Shen Changfeng could say. She was worried and was about to persuade Lin Meiju again when she heard someone quack outside the door.
Lin Qiguan rushed in carrying a small lunch box, his face as red as a monkey's butt. He jumped up and down and asked, "How am I stupid? How am I stupid?"
Lin Meizhu glanced at him and said, "I've studied The Great Learning for four years, and I can only recite the first line."
Lin Qiguan threw the food box onto the table. Aunt Chen hurried forward to catch it and said, "That book is too difficult to remember. Didn't your brother read the previous "Youxue Qionglin" quite well?"
Lin Qiguan pursed his lips and agreed, "That's right! You don't have the final say!"
"Youxue Qionglin" is an enlightenment reading material for schoolchildren. Most of the books are allusions and are easy to understand. Lin Meizhu can retell them after reading them once with Chuqi. Lin Qiguan, this loser, is fifteen years old and still regards his deeds when he was five years old as his glorious years.
Lin Meiju smiled slightly and said nothing more.
Lin Qiguan was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He was about to explode at this sight. He shook Aunt Chen's arm, pointed at Lin Meizhu and cried out in complaint, "Mother, look at her!"
Lin Meizhu added, "Disclosing my sister's whereabouts for two taels of yellow wine also counts as one."
Lin Qiguan knew he was in the wrong. He'd drunk two too many glasses at Yijing Garden, and, carried away by the flattery, impulsively sent a message to Lin Meizhu to meet him at Tianxiang Tower. By the time he sobered up, the appointed time had already passed. He was hoping those people wouldn't be so bold, but he was also afraid of being blamed if something went wrong, so he simply kept the matter a secret.
How could he have known that the people at Tianxianglou would be so bold as to detain Lin Meizhu? Lin Qiguan pouted and looked to Aunt Chen for help.
Aunt Chen tried to smooth things over by saying, "Your brother is young and ignorant, and besides, you're fine."
Lin Meizhu suddenly fixed her gaze on Aunt Chen's face and called out, "Mother?"
Aunt Chen felt uncomfortable being stared at by her, and even avoided her sight somewhat evasively, saying, "What's wrong?"
Lin Meizhu curled her lips and said, "Nothing."
Lin Meizhu looked at Lin Qiguan again and said, "Come to think of it, the prince asked me to bring you a gift."
Aunt Chen and her son were both delighted. Lin Qi asked shyly, "What is it?"
Lin Meizhu beckoned him over, and Lin Qiguan approached with a grin on his face.
Lin Meizhu's black eyes were captivatingly bright, and she slapped him loudly with her backhand. When she retracted her hand, the purple-red meridians on the back of her hand were still throbbing.
The palm wind shook away the tiny beads of sweat on his forehead, and the sweat mixed with the smell of blood exploded at the corners of his mouth. Lin Qiguan touched the five clearly visible fingerprints and was stunned by the pain.
Lin Meizhu said, "He said you almost brought disaster to the palace, and he wanted to teach you a lesson."
Lin Qiguan subconsciously went to find Aunt Chen, "Mother, she, she hit..."
Lin Meizhu raised her other hand, swinging it like she was chopping wood with an axe, and swung it hard. "How dare you harm me! You lied to me! And you still refuse to repent! You're stupid! Stupid! And ignorant!"
Aunt Chen was frightened by her daughter's reaction. After she realized what was happening, she quickly stepped in and said, "Why are you hitting your brother? Come to me if you have anything to say!"
Lin Meizhu was so angry that she wanted to laugh. She pushed Aunt Chen aside, attacked with both hands, and slapped Lin Qiguan twice: "If a son doesn't teach his parents well, it's the fault of his father. I'm just sharing my parents' worries!"
Aunt Chen was heartbroken and rushed to Lin Qi Guan. Just as she was about to call for help, Lin Meiju suddenly withdrew her hand and fell into the armchair, looking exhausted.
"Mother, you think that life in the palace is all about luxury, but you don't know how hard my life is. There is a huge gap in status between the Lin family and the palace. I am of low status and have little influence. I live on thin ice every day, afraid that I will fall into an ice hole if I am not careful. I don't expect my parents' family to support me, but they can't throw me into the fire! And then there is the matter of Nanny Sun. You don't know what methods he used to humiliate me! He is simply a moody monster!" As she spoke, Lin Meiju seemed to remember something terrible and suddenly shuddered.
Aunt Chen had heard of Shen Changfeng's behavior. Thinking of Nanny Sun's fate, she was afraid that she would be implicated. She pressed her son's head and forced him to kneel down and kowtow to admit his fault. She said, "Your brother was indeed wrong in this matter. We need to teach him a lesson."
Lin Qi Guan was in so much pain that he couldn't speak, and even if he could speak, he wouldn't dare to. He knew that those people in Tianxiang Tower were most likely killed by Shen Changfeng. Shen Changfeng was a lunatic, and Lin Meiju had been with him for so long that she had also become half crazy. He was afraid that she would suddenly attack him and hit him a few more times. There was deep fear in his eyes when he looked at her, and even her action of raising her hand to drink tea could make him tremble.
Lin Qianzu, who had just turned down an invitation from a colleague to meet his son-in-law, was secretly shocked when he heard this. Lin Meizhu's words were all a slap in the face. Shen Changfeng dared to order him around like this because he saw through him, a small-time official who was just waiting to die and had accomplished nothing. Besides, Lin Qiguan's behavior was indeed stupid and foolish, and his character was low. If word got out, people would only say that he didn't know how to discipline his son.
Lin Qianzu was determined not to let his son's mistakes implicate him, so he took advantage of the shadows of the bushes and slipped away like a rat crossing the street.
Several people had their own ulterior motives. Lin Meizhu calmed down and said, "Don't even think about studying at the Imperial College in the future."
Aunt Chen took another step back and said, "Then you can ask the prince to send Qi'er to a better academy."
Lin Meizhu brushed the matter off: "That won't work either. I'm already stupid, how can I compare with those hardworking and talented students from poor families? It would be embarrassing to go there."
Lin Qi was about to cry. What should he do? Was he going to stay this stupid forever?
Aunt Chen paced back and forth, her hands clasped together, the pearl hairpins in her hair rustling. Suddenly, an idea struck her and she clapped her hands, saying, "I've got it! Why not hire a teacher?"
Lin Qi Guan became happy again. He raised his face which was covered with dozens of finger marks. He saw Lin Meiju frowning and then timidly burying her head, hiding at Aunt Chen's feet like a quail.
Aunt Chen caressed his head lovingly and said, "It just so happens that His Majesty is holding a special imperial examination. I wonder how many scholars will be going to the capital to take the exam! I'll talk to Master tonight and ask him to invite a scholar to our house!" She became more and more excited as she spoke, "If the scholar we invite happens to pass the imperial examination and become the top or second place, then our Lin family will be very grateful to him for his kindness!"
Lin Meiju was even more suspicious. Not long ago, Aunt Chen had complained to her about being poor. Lin Qianzu's salary had remained unchanged for thousands of years, but it had only been a few months. Why had the Lin family's income suddenly increased?
Lin Meizhu glanced at Aunt Chen and said, "The main house needs money right now, and this is a considerable expense..."
Aunt Chen looked very uneasy. She evaded the question, "It's just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks! We only provide food and lodging, so we can't afford to spend a lot of money. As you said, there are also many children from poor families taking the exam."
Aunt Chen rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, right, speaking of this, I suddenly remembered something important." She chased Lin Qiguan, whose head was swollen like a pig, out and asked affectionately, "Speaking of which, it's been almost a few months since you got married. Any good news?"
Perhaps because she felt the turn of events was too abrupt, Concubine Chen smiled awkwardly. Lin Meizhu saw through the guilt on Concubine Chen's face, but she didn't ask any further questions. After all, she had her own ways to find out.
Lin Meizhu shook her head.
Aunt Chen held her daughter's hand and whispered, "Don't worry, mother has arranged everything for you." As she spoke, she clapped her hands, and several girls who looked like maids, about thirteen or fourteen years old, walked in and lined up in front of her.
Aunt Chen approached one of them, took the maid's hand and gestured to Lin Meizhu, "I personally selected them all, and they all have good temperaments." She told the maid to turn around and glanced down, "When they have children in the future, you can take them home to raise them, and it will be the same."
Lin Meizhu stepped forward and carefully inquired about the names and hometowns of those people. After confirming that they all came to the palace voluntarily, she nodded and said, "Then you will all come back to the palace with me later. When the prince returns, you can go and pay your respects to him and see what he thinks. If anyone changes their mind along the way, you can tell me so. I will have Qing'er find other work for you in the palace."
It was rare for the maids to see such a gentle mistress. Although they were shy, they were all grateful.
Aunt Chen didn't expect Lin Meiju to be so easy to talk to. She thought her daughter would be somewhat melancholy or lost, but she didn't expect her to settle the matter like this.
Aunt Chen remembered that Shen Changfeng was supposed to come today, but later said he had received an imperial decree and was out on business. But not only did Lin Meizhu not see him off, there was not even a trace of concern on her face. What was going on?
Aunt Chen reminded her, "The prince is gone now, and we don't know when he will be back. You should write more letters to him so that he knows you are always thinking of him."
Lin Meizhu replied nonchalantly, "Don't worry, Auntie. I will write it."
"Prince, there's a letter from the palace!"
In front of the vermilion-painted door, Shen Changfeng took several letters handed to him by Qingsong and quickly scanned the signatures on them as he walked. Holding the last one, he paused and asked, "Is that all?"
Qingsong glanced at the letter Shen Changfeng was holding, which was from Chen Yue, and nodded, "That's all."
Shen Changfeng handed the rest of the letter to Qingsong, who read it at a glance. Shortly after Shen Changfeng's departure, Lin Meizhu and Shen Zongguan were checking the farm tenant roster and rents, and discovered that one of the village heads had misreported the tenants' land registers. Wei Dynasty law provided for preferential treatment for refugees, granting a 30% rent reduction for those renting cultivated land. The village head had fabricated the tenants' names as refugees, collecting the full rent from his subordinates while paying only 70% to his superiors. Over the years, he had reaped a tidy profit.
At that time, Lin Meizhu wrote a letter, saying that she wanted to send Shen, the chief steward, to personally handle the matter at that manor and inspect the other manors. Shen Changfeng naturally agreed. Firstly, it was to make an example of someone else to scare the others into behaving properly, and secondly, Shen, the chief steward, was a veteran figure in the palace. Shen Changfeng wanted to establish Lin Meizhu's authority so that outsiders would know that she was the current steward of the palace.
That was Lin Meiju's first letter.
Lin Meizhu's second letter arrived a month later, describing the losses she'd inadvertently incurred while running his shops. Shen Changfeng imagined her feeling somewhat annoyed and self-blaming, but he smiled. How could he blame her for such a trivial matter? Business wasn't something one was born with, and besides, she'd only just taken over.
Shen Changfeng also figured out the trick. Lin Meizhu's letter usually arrives at the end of the month, but now it is early August, why hasn't her letter arrived yet?
Although she didn't write many letters, he still learned about her life in the past few months from the letters sent by Chen Yue.
She made many good friends, and from time to time she would visit Princess Jiafu in the palace, or join poetry clubs of all sizes. Every now and then, she would return to the Lin Mansion to visit Wang Shi. The places she visited most frequently were the warehouses and the shops...
He suddenly felt a little regretful. It seemed that he shouldn't have encouraged her to do business. Otherwise, how could she be so busy that she didn't even have time to write more than a few letters? Why hadn't July's letter come yet?
He looked at the crescent moon in the sky and felt that it looked very much like her eyebrows.
Qingsong was just about to fetch water when he saw the man sitting in the yard enjoying the breeze suddenly stand up and rush towards the stable.
He held a basin of water and asked, "Prince, where are you going so late?"
Shen Changfeng bundled the food and grass onto the horse's back and said, "Return to the capital!"
Qingsong was dumbfounded. Didn’t they say they would wait a few days before setting off?
"But...but this side..."
"No buts, you stay and pack your bags, and escort the Qin family women and children to the capital."
In the past few months, he first investigated the cause of Qin Yan's death, and then helped send his coffin back to his hometown in Zhejiang. It was okay when he was busy, but after most of the work was done, his heart became more and more anxious and unbearable, and there was a faint voice in his heart urging him to do something.
Who could have known that he had such a strong desire to return to Beijing just because he received one less letter?
The news of Shen Changfeng's departure was not announced to the outside world, but some people soon found out.
As Shen Changfeng walked out of the door with his horse, Qingsong hurriedly chased after him, shouting, "Prince! It's bad! The county lady has a heartache and has fainted!"
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