The Affairs of Tanzhou
The cries of vendors outside seeped through the window into the three of them. "I suddenly want some malt candy," Ziyuan said, scratching her head a little embarrassedly.
"Wait, I'll have someone go buy it for you." Jiang Jin nudged Zi Yuan's shoulder, got up, and went downstairs.
"Shopkeeper, could you please buy me some more maltose?" Jiang Jin had barely spoken when she saw Yun Fan sitting on a stool, looking at her in surprise.
"Young Master Yun is here to buy clothes too?" Jiang Jin composed himself and went downstairs.
"I heard that this clothing store has brightly colored and stylish fabrics, so I came to take a look and thought I could give someone a birthday gift." Yun Fan stood up and bowed. "Now I should call you Secretary Jiang."
"Young Master Yun, you're too kind. I will always remember your kindness." Jiang Jin gave a curtsy. Just then, his wife, who had gone to buy malt sugar, returned.
"Since we've met you here, Mr. Yun, I'll offer you a string of malt candy as a token of my appreciation." Jiang Jin took out the largest string of malt candy and handed it to Yun Fan.
"Thank you, Registrar Jiang." Yun Fan looked at Jiang Jin considerately and said, "If you have anything else to do, you can go up first. I need to pick some more things. By the way, I had someone send the malt sugar as a thank-you gift to the Wei residence. It's a mountain view."
"Then thank you very much, Young Master Yun. Everyone in the capital says your painting skills are unparalleled. It seems Wei Shu and I are very fortunate." Jiang Jin took the malt candy and went upstairs. Yun Fan watched Jiang Jin's departing figure with reluctance.
Jiang Jin opened the door and saw Zi Yuan staring longingly at the malt candy in her hand.
"Why are you taking so long? Or are you talking to an old friend downstairs?" Zi Yuan happily took the malt candy from Jiang Jin's hand and put it in her mouth. Jiang Jin turned around, closed the door, and locked it.
"He's just someone I know." Jiang Jin handed another string of malt candy to Zhai Wan.
"Alright, Ziyuan, tell me about what happened in Zhangzhou." Zhai Wan received a look from Jiang Jin that stopped Ziyuan from teasing her.
"Oh right, I almost forgot about that." Zi Yuan sat back down and said in a low voice, "Then one day, the governor's mansion suddenly held a grand banquet, and I sneaked in with Yue Ji."
"That governor may look unremarkable, but his place is a hidden gem. The outer courtyard, though just pavilions and towers, is clearly the work of skilled craftsmen; the arrangement and the flowing water are simply exquisite." Ziyuan, remembering something, picked up the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from the nearby table.
"I've drawn it for you, and you'll see how perfect it is." Zi Yuan wielded her brush and soon sketched out all the pavilions in the governor's outer courtyard.
"It's indeed well-arranged, unlike what an ordinary craftsman would create." Zhai Wan felt the pavilions in the painting were very familiar after just one glance. "I feel like I've seen them somewhere before?"
“This was built by Mr. He, the very same Mr. He who is famous throughout the world.” Zi Yuan pointed to the artificial mountain inside and said, “This has his style. Mr. He would cleverly write the character ‘He’ on the artificial mountain. Although it is hidden here, you can still see it.”
"It's no small feat to be able to invite Prefect He of Tanzhou!" Zhai Wan's heart stirred. "Does the outer courtyard have any other works by renowned artists?"
"I'm not too sure about that. You know, I don't know much about the rest." Zi Yuan coughed lightly. "So I sneaked into the inner courtyard, but it wasn't as luxurious as I had imagined. It was just very ordinary."
"The governor of Tanzhou is a bit of a mystery. Perhaps there are some good things you haven't recognized?" Jiang Jin turned to Zi Yuan and said.
“No, it’s really just ordinary.” Zi Yuan hesitated for a moment before saying, “I went to the main courtyard, and it’s not even as nice as the Wei residence, and the other courtyards are the same.”
"The outer courtyard is magnificent, but the inner courtyard is quite ordinary. What on earth is the governor of Tanzhou up to?" Jiang Jin still couldn't figure out why the silkworms were acting strangely.
"I didn't understand at the time either. After the banquet ended, I quickly followed Yue Ji out, but do you know who I saw?" Zi Yuan left everyone in suspense.
"Who?" Zhai Wan's curiosity was also piqued.
“The Fifth Prince!” Zi Yuan said in a low voice, “If I hadn’t seen him many times in the capital, I really wouldn’t have recognized him just by the way he was wearing a cloak and mask.”
"As expected, the royal family is not to be underestimated. It turns out they had the ambition to compete all along." Jiang Jin couldn't help but click her tongue. "That's why the Imperial Concubine was later made Empress and the Fifth Prince was adopted."
"Because it concerns the Fifth Prince, I sent a message to His Highness to see if more people should be sent." Zi Yuan was only thinking that if she could find something to use against the Fifth Prince, it would be a considerable gain.
"Later, the Fifth Prince followed the governor to the backyard. It turned out that a portion of the profits from Tanzhou's silk production was allocated to the Fifth Prince, but he felt the silk production was insufficient and had mulberry leaves soaked in medicinal juice fed to the silkworms. However, this backfired; the silkworms didn't grow, and the silk produced by the pupae was very dull. Even after multiple coloring treatments, it would turn grayish and rotten by the time it was transported from Tanzhou to various counties." Ziyuan shook her head, looking like she was asking for a reward.
"So the simplicity of the inner courtyard might be because it was sold off to cover up losses or to keep quiet." Zhai Wan and Jiang Jin thought of the same thing.
"Madam Wei, General Wei is waiting for you downstairs." The tense atmosphere in the room was broken by Jiang Jin, who gestured for the two to hide behind the screen.
"Okay." Jiang Jin opened the door, and the shopkeeper nodded to her.
"I'll be right down." Jiang Jin closed the door and said to the screen, "Let's get together another day."
He then opened the door and went downstairs. In the lobby on the first floor, Wei Shu sat drinking tea, looking unhurriedly at the location of the stairs, while Yun Fan carefully examined the fabric in front of him.
"Wei Shu, what brings you here?" Jiang Jin could sense the undercurrent of tension between the two.
"I've come to take you home." Wei Shu took Jiang Jin's hand. "By the way, I've already had Abei deliver the letter your sister sent to your room." Upon hearing this, Jiang Jin pulled Wei Shu and quickly walked to the carriage.
"Then let's hurry home." Jiang Jin wished she could be at the Wei residence right now to get her sister's letter.
"His Majesty may be about to begin reforming Beizhou. Would you like to go?" Wei Shu successfully drew Jiang Jin's attention to himself.
"Of course I want to go. The people of Beizhou are suffering terribly, and as an official, it's only natural to eradicate corrupt officials." Jiang Jin noticed something strange about Wei Shu's expression.
"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Jiang Jin reached out and touched Wei Shu's forehead.
"I suddenly want to leave myself a way out," Wei Shu said softly, while Jiang Jin stared intently at him.
"If you truly want to leave yourself a way out, I think it's easy for you with your abilities." Jiang Jin said no more. Their relationship was best when nothing involved was financially beneficial.
"We've arrived. I'll go to my bedroom to check the letter first." Jiang Jin ignored Wei Shu's hesitation and quickened her pace.
"Abei, the letter!" As soon as Jiang Jin came in, Abei handed her the letter.
"Please slow down, my lady." Ah Jin thoughtfully poured Jiang Jin a cup of tea. Jiang Jin, disregarding everything else, hurriedly opened the letter. Seeing the familiar words, tears immediately streamed down her face.
"Ah Bei, my sister said she's very happy and doing well." Jiang Jin held the letter, tears streaming down her face.
"My lady, with your husband's abilities, it's only a matter of time before he's transferred back to the capital. Then you can be with him again," Abei comforted Jiang Jin.
“Yes, my brother-in-law is quite capable. If he perseveres for a few years, he might be transferred to a position in the capital. Although his rank might not be high, at least he'll be back in the capital.” Jiang Jin slowly planned, but she couldn't help feeling worried.
"My lady, the general has sent over a lot of jewelry and clothing." Although Abei didn't know why things had changed so much after their long trip, she could tell that these were different from the precious jewels she had received every day before their marriage.
"Put it in the box." Jiang Jin was a little tired but still perked up. "Abei, tell me everything that happened while I was away from the capital."
"My lady, shortly after you left the capital, we discovered that someone was watching the Jiang residence. However, those people didn't seem to intend to harm the Jiang family, so we just kept an eye on them. Later, they all left." Abei said, recounting the events recorded on the paper according to the timeline.
"Later, His Majesty suddenly bestowed a marriage upon Princess Zhaoyang and Commandant Chang. I heard that Lord Dou went directly into the Eastern Palace, and then His Majesty asked Commandant Chang to support Bianzhou."
Seeing Jiang Jin's unchanging expression, Abei said, "Actually, this servant also has something to do with Fourth Miss."
"Speak, there's no need to be so coy." Jiang Jin took a sip of tea. "Fourth Lady and the Second Prince have dealings."
Jiang Jin spat out her tea. "When did that good-for-nothing second prince happen?"
"Because someone is monitoring the Jiang family, our people are paying extra attention. Unexpectedly, they've discovered a different kind of relationship between Fourth Miss and the Second Prince." Abei quickly took a handkerchief and wiped Jiang Jin's skirt.
"Have someone investigate the Second Prince. If he's truly incompetent, that's fine. But if he's not, the entire court will be in an uproar." Jiang Jin's temples throbbed slightly.
"Keep an eye on Fourth Sister, don't let her do anything she'll regret later." Jiang Jin didn't stop Jiang Su's association with the Second Prince; whether it's a blessing or a curse, she'll have to face the consequences herself.
"My lady, if you're tired, why don't you rest for a while? You've been traveling all these days and haven't had a proper rest." Abei made up the bed for Jiang Jin. "My lady, shall we have our meal first?"
"No need, I'll take a nap first." Jiang Jin felt her eyelids getting heavy, so she had Abei help her to the bedside.
Abei lowered the curtains for Jiang Jin and then sat down beside the couch. Jiang Jin fell asleep quickly, and the familiar fragrance emanating from the incense burner reassured her somewhat.
The setting sun shone through the window, and Wei Shu, while working in his study, suddenly thought of Jiang Jin.
"Zhou Cong, go and send someone to ask Madam if she would like to dine together tonight?" Wei Shu put down the memorial in his hand.
"Yes." Zhou hesitated for a moment before saying, "It seems the main courtyard just mentioned dinner."
"Then have the kitchen make another batch of cherry crisps for Madam." Wei Shu picked up the memorial again, but hesitated to put pen to paper.
"It's getting late, I'll go check on Madam." Zhou Cong glanced at the still-setting sun in the distance and nodded blankly.
"My lady, I specially asked the kitchen to make rehmannia porridge, mare's milk, steamed eggs with purslane, and steamed bamboo shoots." Abei placed the rehmannia porridge in front of Jiang Jin. "My lady, the rehmannia in this is much better than the one in the Jiang family mansion."
Abei used chopsticks to place the fish belly into a hexagonal plate. "These bamboo shoots were delivered fresh from the estate today, and the fish is also fresh. The kitchen originally wanted to make fish soup, but my wife doesn't like it, so I had it steamed."
"It's rare to see purslane steamed egg made so refreshingly." Jiang Jin picked up a spoon and scooped a spoonful into the bowl.
"The cook said that although steamed fish isn't greasy, it's still meat, and pairing it with purslane will help cut through the richness." Just as Abei was about to put some fish on Jiang Jin's plate, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.
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