Chapter 54 054 He's a good husband who loves and cherishes his wife, and he has a sense of responsibility...
On the ninth day of the first lunar month, Luo Dayuan and Wang Qiuyue, a married couple, received both bad news and good news at the same time.
The bad news came from their youngest daughter, who said that their son-in-law, who had been the top scholar in the imperial examination, had been demoted and transferred to a remote county town three thousand miles away from the capital!
The good news came from their eldest daughter, who said that their son-in-law, who had ranked third in the imperial examinations, had been promoted. He had risen directly from a ninth-rank scholar at the Imperial Academy to a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue!
When Luo Fu finished speaking angrily, Luo Dayuan and his wife both slumped into their chairs, their brows furrowed tightly. After Luo Lan announced the good news, their brows indeed relaxed. Just as they were about to laugh, they turned their heads and glanced at their youngest daughter, and then thought of their son-in-law who had left Beijing three days earlier, and the couple could no longer laugh.
"You two did this on purpose! First, you kept such a big thing from us, and now you're trying to fool us with some good news!"
Unable to cry or laugh, Wang Qiuyue lost her temper. She first held down her younger daughter and slapped her on the bottom, then pulled her older daughter over and slapped her in the same way.
Luo Fu said aggrievedly, "Why blame me for the trouble caused by your son-in-law?"
Roland followed up, saying, "What does it have to do with me that your youngest daughter insisted on keeping the trouble your son-in-law caused?"
Wang Qiuyue glared at her eldest daughter: "How is this none of your business? Fu'er is young and doesn't understand. You, as her older sister, clearly knew everything in the capital but didn't tell me. If I don't blame you, who else should I blame?"
Roland: "What's the use of telling you? Besides making you and your father sleepless and unable to enjoy the New Year, can you get your son-in-law out of Dali Temple prison, or can you persuade the Emperor not to demote him?"
Wang Qiuyue: "..."
Luo Dayuan looked at his wife and then at his two daughters standing together, and dared not utter a word. Even so, Wang Qiuyue still turned around and vented her pent-up anger on him: "It's all your fault. If you hadn't made those child betrothals outside, Fu'er wouldn't have to be separated from her newlywed husband, and I wouldn't have to worry about that unrelated top scholar in the capital!"
After saying that, she sat down to the side, turned her back to the three of them, and wiped away her tears.
Luo Dayuan dared not refute it and took the blame.
Luo Fu leaned over and hugged her mother, coaxing her softly, "Alright, I finally figured it out, Mother, please don't make me cry anymore. Besides, I don't regret it. Rather than marrying an ordinary man with no great prospects and living a mediocre life, I'm glad to have married such a staunch and upright censor who is destined to be remembered in history. As long as he doesn't implicate our whole family and get punished, I won't hate him."
Some ideas really do change over time.
After learning of the Crown Prince's cruel actions against the disaster victims of the four prefectures, Luo Fu would be angry at her husband for insisting on taking the lead, but she would no longer think that Xiao Yu was just indulging in his idealism. Even if Xiao Yu was eventually demoted or even beheaded, Luo Fu would go to his grave and curse him as a fool, but in her heart, she would respect him as a good official who was wholeheartedly devoted to the people.
Roland hugged his mother's other side and said with emotion, "Mother, don't blame your brother-in-law. It was because of his impeachment that the Emperor was able to expose the corrupt officials, big and small, who embezzled funds from the disaster relief efforts in the four prefectures. Otherwise, those corrupt officials would have continued to do evil, and they might have oppressed the people of Ganquan Town or Guangling County one day. Even Xing Shu's exceptional promotion this time was because several officials in the Ministry of Revenue were convicted in this case, which created a vacancy for him."
Wang Qiuyue looked at her youngest daughter with heartache: "Yuanzhi did so many good things, but he didn't get any benefit and was even demoted. Even if your brother-in-law is promoted to prime minister, I won't be happy."
Luo Fu: "Then I'll leave? You keep your sister company and have some fun. She's a sixth-rank official, and she gets more than eleven taels of silver a month."
Anyway, Xiao Yu has already been demoted, so it's better for my brother-in-law to be promoted than not promoted at all.
Roland lowered his voice even further: "Xingshu told me that his promotion is also a good omen for my brother-in-law, because the Emperor already knew about his relationship with my brother-in-law. The fact that the Emperor is still willing to give him an important position either shows that the Emperor is exceptionally magnanimous, or it shows that the Emperor is not as angry with my brother-in-law as he appears, and he might transfer my brother-in-law back in a couple of years."
With this hope, Wang Qiuyue felt much more at ease. As for whether the Crown Prince would take revenge on his son-in-law after ascending the throne, the family deliberately avoided the topic. They would take it one step at a time. How could they live if they were constantly worrying about the worst-case scenario?
.
After saying goodbye to her parents, Luo Fu rarely left Shensi Hall. Firstly, she really wasn't in the mood, and secondly, the capital was still chilly in January, so there was nothing worth going out for.
Deng was also very sad because she missed her youngest son, but she was still a mother-in-law and was afraid that her youngest daughter-in-law would be too lonely. So Deng forced herself to stay strong and brought her eldest and second daughters-in-law to Shensi Hall every day to play cards with her youngest daughter-in-law. Men can get rid of their worries by getting drunk, and women can also get rid of their worries by winning a few more hands!
"I'm not playing anymore. You're all letting me win on purpose. It's no fun." Luo Fu quickly saw through her mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law's well-intentioned scheme.
The three of them laughed, and then they started fighting seriously.
She spent her days playing cards, and her mother-in-law would come to keep her company for three meals a day. Luo Fu didn't really think about Xiao Yu much. Only when she lay alone in bed at night, facing the empty pillow that belonged to Xiao Yu, did Luo Fu feel very uncomfortable. She thought he was still there, she thought about his warm and broad embrace, and she thought about his insatiable attempts to entangle her again and again.
It's said that newlyweds are the most clingy, and the more clingy they are, the more unpleasant it feels to be forcibly pulled apart.
Fortunately, it was only at night, and she had someone by her side during the day, so Luo Fu hid her longing very well.
On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, Luo Fu received an unexpected invitation; Princess Kangping had invited her to play cards again.
This invitation was the only one the Xiao family received before and after the New Year. Other relatives and friends were reluctant to get too close to the Xiao family because of the past conflict between Xiao Yu and the Crown Prince. Even Yang Yanzhen deliberately reduced the number of times he returned to his maternal home. As for Li Huaiyun, her father was stationed in the northern border and her stepmother was in charge of the household. Unless her maternal home sent an invitation, Li Huaiyun would never go back on her own initiative.
Luo Fu dared not look at Princess Kangping's invitation from the previous years, so she specially asked her sister-in-law to come to her mother-in-law's house to help analyze it.
Yang Yanzhen: "...The princess is used to doing things her own way and never interferes in the affairs of the court and the officialdom. Perhaps in her mind, the fact that my third brother offended the crown prince and that she likes to play cards with you are unrelated."
The Crown Prince was Princess Kangping's own brother, born of the same mother. How petty must an older brother be to control who his sister plays cards with?
Yang Yanzhen didn't know how magnanimous the Crown Prince was, but he knew that Princess Kangping, who was regarded as the apple of the Emperor and Empress's eye, was not such a cautious person.
Madam Deng comforted her youngest daughter-in-law, saying, "Since the princess is not afraid of anything, Fu'er, go ahead and don't worry too much."
After the eldest daughter-in-law left, Madam Deng secretly gave her younger daughter-in-law two five-tael gold ingots: "I know you didn't dare to win too much when playing cards with the princess. Take these, and if you lose, it's on me. Just go and have fun."
Luo Fu: "No need, I still have some. I'll ask you for more when I lose it all."
Deng insisted on giving it to her youngest daughter-in-law, regardless of the circumstances.
The next day, Luo Fu wore a plain-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and a cloak, and went to the princess's residence by carriage.
Besides Princess Kangping, who was hosting, the other two mahjong partners were familiar faces to Luo Fu – the gentle and graceful Princess Shun and the aloof and moon-like Princess Fu, whether she smiled or not.
"Xiao Yu didn't take you to Yizhou to take up your post?" Princess Kangping spoke frankly and without reservation, as always.
Facing the gazes of the three noblemen, Luo Fu's expression remained unchanged. She skillfully played her cards and casually explained, "I don't want to go, and he doesn't dare to take me. He said that Yizhou is mountainous and there might be thieves in the mountains. He's afraid he can't protect me."
Princess Kangping nodded: "I have to think more highly of him since he thinks that way. Unlike some spoiled brats in the capital who have to bring several maids to serve them when they go for a spring outing outside the city, as if they can't eat or drink on their own without women."
Princess Shun asked curiously, "Xiao Yu is gone for who knows when he will return. How can you be so worried about him?"
A young wife, rather than spending her life alone in an empty house, would be better off going with her husband to a post in another place. The journey might be tough, but once they arrive, she can still be an official's wife, with someone to take care of her every need, and the young couple can live happily ever after.
Luo Fu paused, and a hint of mockery finally appeared on her feigned indifference: "When he falsely accused the Crown Prince, he abandoned me, his wife of only one year. Why should I be unable to let him go and accompany him all the way to the southwestern border to suffer, thus emboldening him?"
Princess Kangping and Princess Shun exchanged a quick glance. Whether Xiao Yu had falsely accused the Crown Prince was unclear to the common people, but they, like the ministers in the court, knew perfectly well the truth.
However, Princess Kangping was the Crown Prince's younger sister, and Princess Shun was the Crown Prince's third sister-in-law. Neither of them were foolish enough to stand up for the husband of a fellow mahjong player.
Taking advantage of her status as the victim, Luo Fu played with abandon today and won more than ten taels in an hour, winning against all three sides. She was all smiles and full of pride.
Princess Shun and Princess Fu didn't mind losing to this poor girl, and Princess Kangping greatly admired Luo Fu's carefree and cheerful nature, inviting her to go to the North Market to admire the lanterns on the night of the Lantern Festival. In previous years, the palace also celebrated the Lantern Festival, but this year the Crown Prince was under house arrest, and the four prefectures had just suffered from disasters, so the Emperor and Empress Dowager were not in the mood to hold it again.
Luo Fu readily agreed.
Since Xiao Yu was not in the capital, she couldn't stay away from social engagements forever. With Princess Kangping's favor, Luo Fu still had a sense of security. After all, the wives of officials outside didn't know how deep her relationship with the princess was; they could only see her frequent visits to the princess's residence.
After the card game ended, Luo Fu returned to the Marquis's residence, and the two princesses also returned to their respective residences.
In the evening, Prince Fu returned from the Ministry of Personnel and learned from the steward that the princess had visited her sister's residence again.
After changing into casual clothes, Prince Fu sat down next to his wife and asked in a casual tone, "It's so cold outside, why did you invite me over, sister?"
Princess Fu said frankly, "Playing cards? There's hardly any other fun at this time of year."
Before taking a sip of his tea, Prince Fu asked, "Besides you, who else did my sister invite?"
Princess Fu: "Third sister-in-law, the third wife of the Xiao family."
Prince Fu frowned slightly, put down his teacup, and said, "Didn't you tell your sister? Xiao Yu just offended our elder brother. If you continue to be on good terms with his wife, our elder brother might not be happy." Don't let him be implicated.
Princess Fu glanced at him and said nonchalantly, "I told you, I only found out she invited the Third Madam when I got there. We can't just go and not have any fun, can we?"
Prince Fu remained noncommittal, but after a while, he suddenly realized something and asked in confusion, "Didn't she go to her post with Xiao Yu?"
Princess Fu was not one to gossip, but when her husband asked, she could only repeat what Luo Fu had said.
Prince Fu remained silent for a moment, then praised Xiao Yu in his heart, saying that he was a good husband who loved his wife and was responsible.
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Author's Note: Haha, I suddenly realized that you can't praise Xiao Yu in the court; anyone who does will suffer a backlash. [doge]
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
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