Chapter 108 Ignore (Two Chapters Combined): "Eat first. What's the rush? Now that everyone's back, there's no need to worry about not having time to deal with things..."
"Eat first. What's the rush? Now that you're back, do you think we don't have time to deal with these trivial matters?"
"Why is he acting like this? What did Uncle De do in the front yard during the day that upset you?"
"Let's eat and talk at the same time. I was so full of water at noon that I was practically stuffed with food, and now I'm starving."
At the end of July, the weather was still the tail end of summer. The lunch banquet mainly consisted of beef, mutton, and fish, which were delicious but a bit too greasy.
Before entering the palace, Shen Wanqing had instructed Nanzhi and Ningxiang, so most of the dishes for dinner were refreshing and appetizing.
Lotus root sections that have been pickled in a jar with pickled peppers are cut into small pieces, stir-fried with chili peppers and pickled peppers from the jar, and simply cooked without any other seasonings. The sour, spicy and refreshing taste is very addictive.
Stewing turtle and pork belly together requires only pepper and salt as seasoning. This dish doesn't require much skill; it relies solely on slow stewing over high heat. As long as the turtle is the right size and the heat is just right to stew the meat until it's tender enough, the taste will be perfect.
Add a dish of steamed pork with rice flour, a dish of steamed mandarin fish, and a plate of small loaches stir-fried until dry and fragrant, and your dinner will be complete.
It was still a bit warm inside, so Shen Wanqing had the food set out under the grapevines in the yard. She didn't have the patience to wait for the grapevines to grow slowly year after year; she had the gardener move them from elsewhere the year before last.
A pergola was set up in the courtyard. On nice nights when there was nothing to do, Shen Wanqing and Yulang would set up a table and chairs under the pergola, prepare some snacks and a pot of wine. They would talk if they had something to say, or just eat and drink. After finishing their food and wine, it would be late at night, and the fatigue from a busy day would dissipate considerably.
Today was a busy day, and in the afternoon I went to the palace again. Yi'an was taken away by Shen Hongshi to the East Courtyard, which was unusually quiet. Yu Lang didn't want to care about Fu Xuan's trivial matters at all.
Once the food was served, Yu Lang first poured wine for his grandmother. The couple downed three cups in a hearty manner before Shen Wanqing finally placed a piece of lotus root tip into his bowl.
"Eat slowly, don't rush. I've had Chang Shun close the courtyard gate, so no one can come in."
Hearing this, Yu Lang let out a long sigh of relief. As the hero who captured Galdan alive that year, he had heard far too many compliments.
In addition, the timing of the eldest son's birth was so coincidental that everyone said Yulang was lucky. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this year was a year of great fortune and prosperity.
Good is good, but too much of a good thing is not good either. Yulang really doesn't want to deal with people right now. If he could, he would prefer to stay at home and not go anywhere, and not worry about anything.
"People's hearts are fickle, that's what my eldest madam loved to say. It's true, but I never really thought they were that fickle. Maybe it's just that my eldest madam was too..."
"Too obsessive."
Yu Lang hesitated for a moment, but Shen Wanqing took over the conversation. Yu Lang was different from herself; no matter how much he lost his father at a young age and experienced other misfortunes, his family would never mistreat him.
Shen Wanqing didn't think much of the underhanded tricks the West Courtyard used to cause. After all, no matter what, He Yi hadn't managed to snatch the position of Zuo Ling, which could be inherited for generations, from Yu Lang, who was just a little kid at the time.
So no matter how much chaos or how many idiots there are in this family, it hasn't reached the point of life or death. Yu Lang's attitude towards everyone in this family has always been that he's quite annoyed, but when something really happens, he can't bring himself to just ignore it.
Shen Wanqing thought this was fine; after all, her heart was hard enough, and there was no need to find a partner with an even harder heart. Yu Lang, with his soft heart, was truly reassuring to be around.
"Tell me what's wrong that's making you so worried. Two heads are better than one. Maybe I can help with something you can't."
"Master Jiyun just wants to hear some excitement and stories."
Ugh~ Just those four short words gave Shen Wanqing goosebumps all over. Yu Lang is a good person in every way, except when he's drunk, he can say anything but the most cheesy things.
He knew perfectly well that he couldn't stand hearing this, yet he still deliberately said it on purpose. It was only when Shen Wanqing looked at him, forced to endure his nauseating words, that Lord Yu was truly happy.
"Tell me quickly, tell me what happened."
As we sat in the courtyard eating, the several large, fat cats kept in the garden quickly came over, drawn by the aroma.
Shen Wanqing picked up two pieces of fish and two pieces of steamed pork and threw them at her feet. In the blink of an eye, the meat was eaten clean. Only the big fat orange cat, who was usually the most clingy, was left lying at Shen Wanqing's feet, constantly nudging her calves with its head.
Two more cats tried to get closer to Yulang, but Yulang had spent at least half of the past year in the training grounds and government offices of the Plain Yellow Banner.
He knew how the Crown Prince would use him in the future, so as a military officer, he was in charge of the training of soldiers and the management of household registration and people's livelihood. He had to hone himself in these few years so that he would be able to serve the Crown Prince when he needed him.
He had to oversee the daily training of cavalry and infantry, as well as the salaries, land, weddings, funerals, and disputes in the government office. Spending too much time in these two places inevitably tainted him with the smell of bloodshed and warfare.
Sometimes even Shen Wanqing would stare at him in a daze. The carefree, handsome little dog who had just married her after a hangover had now grown into a mature, composed man who could manage the affairs of a banner and whose emotions were increasingly less revealed.
The cat wouldn't want to associate with someone like him. It circled his legs twice before jumping down and lying between two pine trees lying under the eaves.
Two dogs were happily gnawing on a big bone, while a cat lay between them, diligently licking their fur until it was completely satisfied.
Shen Wanqing and Yulang never needed maids to serve them during meals. Xueyan and Ningxiang, who were sitting in the corner room looking at the tea stove, looked out into the courtyard and felt that the atmosphere in the courtyard was really warm at this moment. However, the topic they were talking about had nothing to do with warmth.
"De Cheng sent me a letter half a year ago, asking if I could find a way to transfer him from Jingzhou to the capital. I ignored it at the time and didn't tell you. But this noon he pulled me aside and brought it up again. It seems that De Cheng is determined to get something from me and leave."
"Didn't he say before that the Dong E family's roots were already established in Jingzhou and they didn't want to return to the capital? I haven't heard of anything happening in Jingzhou in the past few years."
Your title sounds impressive, but it's really nothing special. Does he really expect you to elevate him to prominence? If he were truly capable, it should be the Second Master, his own uncle, who should be ranked higher, and even then, it wouldn't be his turn.
Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. The capital is far away from Jingzhou, so it's wishful thinking for the Dong'e family to use Yulang's influence to bully others in Jingzhou.
For generations, people have been rooted in this place for decades, all for the sake of being far from the emperor and becoming wealthy landowners. Even when the emperor issues an imperial edict to the local area, the officials and generals can still outwardly comply but inwardly defy him and deceive him. Yu Lang is just a second-class viscount and a military officer; he's lucky if he can even protect himself.
Yu Lang and Shen Wanqing, as prominent relatives in the capital, were able to prevent the Dong E clan from being arbitrarily bullied by their superiors in Jingzhou because their family had married a aunt from the Hesheli family. However, they couldn't ensure that the Dong E family had everything they wanted in Jingzhou. After all, Yu Lang and Shen Wanqing hadn't even experienced such a good life yet, so what was the Dong E family compared to them?
“My aunt’s behavior in Jingzhou is a bit too outrageous. Decheng feels he can’t stay in Jingzhou any longer.”
"What kind of trouble could a woman cause? That's a bit outrageous. Besides, the old lady sends people to Jingzhou every year to check on things, but they haven't found anything seriously wrong."
Whether the couple was getting along well or not, the steward sent by Tongjia couldn't possibly know for sure. But if things escalated to the point where Decheng couldn't make ends meet in Jingzhou, Shen Wanqing didn't think the steward in Jingzhou would be completely oblivious to the situation.
"They lived well for the first six months after they went to Jingzhou. The little aunt was beautiful and literate, and Decheng was not exactly obedient to her.
"Of course! Your aunt is the prettiest in the family, right? If I were a man, I would like her too."
Lust can cloud judgment, and Shen Wanqing felt that even if she weren't, she would definitely be more tolerant of a beauty like Fu Xuan. There was no way around it; that's just human nature. Otherwise, would she have tolerated Fu Xuan's thought processes time and time again?
"No matter how beautiful or how much you like someone, they'll just fade after a while. Men, you know, even if the old lady doesn't know, how could I not?"
"Tsk, stop keeping me in suspense, just tell me what happened!"
"After my aunt arrived in Jingzhou, she got along well with my uncle. The only thing that went against the rules of the Dong E family was that she always wanted to be your son."
"When?"
"You forgot, before she got married, she wanted to take Fang Liang away from you. She really wanted to be like you, the matriarch who could firmly control the whole family."
Even after failing to obtain Fang Liang's favor, Fu Xuan's ambition remained undiminished upon arriving in Jingzhou. She still remembered what Tongjia had told her: she would be at ease if she could become like Shen.
Fu Xuan also felt that she should be a woman like Shen Wanqing, who would manage both the household and the outside world, while De Cheng would only need to focus on his duties. That kind of life would be much more fulfilling.
"It's not wrong for her to have such aspirations, but..."
"But the more I hear this, the more awkward it feels to me?"
Shen Wanqing couldn't help but scratch her head, feeling that something was amiss. Indeed, something was amiss. The reason the Hesheli family allowed Shen Wanqing to take charge was because the family itself was on the verge of collapse and everything was wrong. Of course, she could manage and reorganize things.
But the Dong'e family has been passed down for four generations. They don't have the same wealth as your Hesheli family, but they also don't have as many troubles. Fu Xuan only got married at twenty-one, and her mother-in-law was just over forty.
The wife, who is just over forty, is in charge of managing the household affairs. The family has so many fields and shops. Why should a newlywed bride like you have to show off your grand ambitions?
She's in great health and could easily manage the household for another ten or twenty years. But Fu Xuan is constantly finding fault with everything and trying to seize power. Who can stand that?
At first, people tried to reason with her, and Fu Xuan was indeed not completely stupid. Seeing that she couldn't get control of the Dong E family's household, she started to take advantage of the shops and land that Shen Wanqing had prepared for her.
She felt that as long as she managed her dowry well, the Dong'e family would beg her to take charge of their household.
She insisted on taking back the shop that had already been rented to someone else to run her own business, and she also tried to imitate Shen Wanqing by selling things like shops selling both northern and southern Chinese products, as well as ginseng and deer antler.
But she forgot the saying that oranges grown south of the Huai River are sweet oranges, while those grown north of the Huai River are bitter oranges. Shen Wanqing's ideas were more or less inspired by later generations, but the main premise and necessary condition for all the plans to be implemented was that she still had Hesheli's savings and the supply from the Shen family's main branch.
Most importantly, she was in the capital. Goods from Fuzhou, Sichuan, Hubei, Shenyang, and Liaodong could be sold as long as they could be transported to the capital. This was because there were many wealthy people in the capital, and many people from the north and south gathered there.
Jingzhou is indeed a vital passage connecting the north and south, but the gap between Jingzhou and the capital is unimaginable. Even if these shops were opened regardless of cost, could those dried seafood products compare to the fresh produce from Dongting Lake that the locals sourced?
In Beijing, even ordinary families had to save money to buy fur and leather to make fur robes during the winter, otherwise they wouldn't be able to get through the winter.
Jingzhou had no need for this. In the first few months after the shop opened, it attracted a lot of people to join in the fun, and some officials and wealthy people came to buy things. But after the novelty wore off in the first three months, the business in the shop declined day by day, and it could not continue to operate at all in less than half a year.
De Cheng, who also ran a business, couldn't help but try to persuade Fu Xuan as she acted recklessly. Fu Xuan felt that she was marrying down, and she had brought so much dowry to the Dong'e family. They always indulged her and let her manage the household, but now that she was losing money in her business, they were pointing fingers and making sarcastic remarks?
Fu Xuan was never a good-tempered person who could please anyone, and the two gradually started arguing more and more often than making friends.
Furthermore, De had emptied his pockets to marry Fu Xuan, so Dong E's family was naturally not as well-off as she was when she was at her parents' home. These small things didn't matter in the early days of their marriage, but as the relationship between the couple deteriorated, these small things became intolerable major issues.
After arguing so much, their feelings naturally faded. Fu Xuan refused to let De Cheng take a concubine, so De Cheng simply set up a separate family outside.
The concubine he kept outside was a girl from a wealthy family in Jingzhou. Because she was not born to the first wife, and her father had business dealings with Decheng, he generously gave his daughter to Decheng, the commander stationed in Jingzhou, in order to please him.
At first, Fu Xuan didn't know that no matter how fiercely the couple argued, De Cheng never thought of breaking ties with his wife because the Hesheli family was backing her up.
It's unclear whether it was due to discord in their relationship or something else, but Fu Xuan didn't conceive after several years of marriage. Instead, her concubine, who was being kept outside the marriage, became pregnant first.
Once you get pregnant, you can't keep the child outside anymore. When you don't have a child, nothing matters, but once you have a child, if you don't bring the child home to be recognized, the child will become an outsider's child.
But Fu Xuan couldn't tolerate such a humiliating act. Before De Cheng could even bring the woman back, she and her dowry servants went to her husband's house and beat him up. The woman was left with a bloody head and had lost her baby.
De Cheng's current stance is either that Yu Lang will bring him from Jingzhou to the capital, or he will divorce his wife. As for Fu Xuan, although Shen Wanqing hasn't asked yet, it's obvious that she wants Shen Wanqing, representing the Hesheli family, to stand up for her and suppress De Cheng's arrogance.
“I don’t think we should get involved in this. They didn’t come back to the capital to celebrate the old lady’s birthday. They’re clearly just trying to get you and me to give them an explanation.”
De Cheng was indeed a scoundrel, but Fu Xuan wasn't a good person either. Shen Wanqing felt that apart from the mistress who was given to De Cheng by her family and then inexplicably beaten and lost her child, it wouldn't be unfair for either of them to beat the other to death.
"Why don't we hide away? Yi'an was taken back by my dad. That little thing is quite annoying when he's around all the time, but he's already missing me after just one night away from home."
"Hey, don't you think it's scary for him to sleep alone at night when neither of us is around?"
If Shen Wanqing hadn't asked that, Yu Lang would have been fine. He also felt that the courtyard was far too deserted without Yi An. As for Fu Xuan and De Cheng's affairs, he really didn't want to worry about them anymore.
De Cheng's words sounded reasonable at the time, and Yu Lang also considered using De Cheng as a fulcrum. In the future, if the Crown Prince wanted to expand his influence in Jingzhou and the area south of Jingzhou, the Dong E family might come in handy.
It now seems that this piece is completely useless. Even if Fuxuan did not divorce Decheng, the grudge between the two families is bound to remain.
The key to employing people is not how capable they are, but rather that you can trust them. Only when you trust the people you employ can you delegate tasks.
Otherwise, if you don't even have confidence in yourself, let alone decide whether or not to use that person. Even if you muster the courage to use them, problems will definitely arise later.
"Why don't we go over and take a look? It's still early, otherwise my mother and the others will be asleep soon."
Shen Wanqing was impulsive; once she said she missed her little one, she couldn't sit still. And to make matters worse, Yu Lang was the type who did whatever his wife said, so she couldn't even wait until the next day and called the coachman to set off for the Shen family late at night.
According to the time in later generations, it was not yet 8:30. In Shen Wanqing's mind, the nightlife had not yet started at this time, but for people now, it was definitely night. If it weren't for the fact that the weather was still hot at the end of July, the Shen family would be preparing to go to bed by now.
“Why did you come at this time? An’er was just falling asleep when he suddenly woke up and cried for his mother. I thought it was because the little guy was not used to the new place, but it turns out he sensed that his mother was really coming.”
"It's not that mysterious. I go to bed late and he goes to bed early. Around this time every day, I have to take him from the wet nurse. He sleeps, and Yulang and I go about our business."
Yi An was indeed not used to it, but he was not used to the quiet sleeping environment. After all, he usually fell asleep amidst the whispering and rustling of his mother and father.
"How dare you say that so confidently? It's only because my grandson is strong that he can withstand the torment of you two unreliable parents. Try it with another child."
Xu patted her daughter on the back in an annoyed manner. As soon as she finished patting her, Yulang came over with a grin and shielded Shen Wanqing behind him.
“This is not Jiyun’s fault. She feels that I’m not home during the day and if I sleep separately from An’er at night, the child will not be close to me when he grows up.”
"What you're saying is her fault. You're just protecting her. I'm not going to care anymore."
Madam Xu was already used to her son-in-law always going along with her daughter. Fortunately, the bed that had been left in Shen Wanqing's courtyard was originally intended for her daughter and son-in-law. Now that they were back, they could just have the maid make up the bed and go to sleep.
Madam Xu picked up Yi'an and looked him over again, finding nothing wrong with him. Then she left with her maid and servants. It was late at night, and only the two of them had the energy to go back and forth like this without worrying about gossip. If it were anyone else, their daughter taking her husband back to her parents' home at this hour would probably be met with a lot of idle chatter.
"Mother, mother~"
"You brat, it's been so long since I've seen you, have you missed me?"
"Mother, Father, hug me."
Yi An didn't think there was anything wrong with changing his sleeping location, since he saw Shen Hongshi and Xu Shi quite often anyway.
He hadn't yet grasped that he was at his maternal grandparents' house tonight; he just instinctively felt that at this hour, his wet nurse should be taking him to his mother and father to prepare for sleep.
"You little rascal, you really have a conscience. You won't sleep unless your mother and I are here, will you?"
Yu Lang didn't care about Shen Wanqing's talk about whether he was used to it or not. In his eyes, his son was perfect in every way. He was so young, yet he already cared about him and his mother. Without them, he couldn't even sleep well at night.
On the way here, I missed my son quite a bit, but now that I see Yulang holding the chubby-faced child and playing in the house, I suddenly feel annoyed by the noise.
Shen Wanqing felt that she was a bit of a jerk; when she couldn't see him, she missed him, but when she did, she got annoyed. Why was she so hard to please?
Fortunately, Lord Yu was capable, able to soothe both the child and his wife. First, he coaxed Yi'an to sleep in the inner room, then he came out and coaxed Shen Wanqing to secretly pay her dues on the couch in the side room. Finally, he had someone bring hot water to wash up and pretend nothing had happened, and the whole family went to sleep peacefully.
Meanwhile, at the Hesheli family, Tongjia and Fuxuan waited and waited for Shen Wanqing, but she never came. They were completely disheartened when they heard that Shen Wanqing and Yulang had gone to the Shen family in a carriage.
"Mother, is Lang-ge'er not going to get involved in this matter either?"
“It’s not that we don’t care, it’s just that Yi’an might not feel safe staying at the Shen family’s house. As his parents, they definitely need to go there first. Tomorrow, I’ll have Lang’er come over again tomorrow.”
Tongjia knew that she was speaking weakly, but her daughter's life was a mess, and if she didn't take care of her, who would?
“Mother, I’ve already told you not to let Yulang and Shen get involved in this. She’s an elder, and it’s not right for her to ask her nephew to intervene in such a small matter between her and her husband. Yulang and Shen were already more than kind to her when they sent her off properly. You can’t take advantage of them just because they’re kind to you.”
Zhenxuan had a very negative opinion of her younger sister's behavior. She had been watching coldly without offering any advice until now, when she finally couldn't help but say a few words.
After saying that, she got up and went to the back room. She had originally planned to go back to her parents' home for a while, but now that Fu Xuan had made such a fuss, all her good mood was ruined.
"Mother..."
"Alright, alright, you should go back and rest too. We'll talk about this tomorrow."
Tongjia's face was extremely unpleasant. It was hard to tell whether it was because Fuxuan was anxious, or because she was provoked by Zhenxuan's words, or because she was angry that Shen Wanqing couldn't be summoned no matter what.
The two maids beside her exchanged a glance. One stepped forward and persuaded Fuxuan to leave, while the other went out to the small kitchen to prepare medicine for Tongjia.
Neither of them said anything, but both felt a growing unease; the old lady's expression was rather strange.
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