Chapter 290 Catering to Their Preferences
"No, An'an, don't overthink it."
Xu Jinnian moved a small stool over, gently lifted Sheng An's calf and placed it on it, rolled up his sleeves and massaged her calf with light pressure to relieve the swelling and discomfort.
Sheng An's rounded toes curled slightly as she leaned against the cushion, supporting her belly, her eyelashes drooping as she looked at the man's peaceful face.
"We've been together for several years, so I can tell whether you're in a good mood or not."
Xu Jinnian stopped what he was doing, took his coat that he had just changed out of, and covered her feet with it: "It's nothing serious."
Faced with Sheng An's disbelieving gaze, he could only come up with a plausible excuse:
"Today at the Chengen Duke's Mansion, I saw a gold dragon head that cost a million taels of silver. This reminded me of the poor people I encountered on my way to the capital last year, who were barely clothed and had nothing to eat."
Sheng An's attention was completely drawn to the words "costing one million taels of silver," and he blurted out, "How much must the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion have embezzled!"
As soon as she said it, she realized it was inappropriate and quickly lowered her voice, saying softly, "Aren't you afraid of being targeted with such extravagance? Who gave the Cheng'en Duke's Mansion the confidence to be so extravagant?"
His Majesty advocates frugality. I heard that last year he issued an edict to reduce palace expenses and allocate the saved silver to charitable institutions in Shuntian Prefecture, so that the elderly and orphans would have someone to rely on in their old age and the young would be cared for.
If even the emperor of a country acted in this way, the noble families in the capital followed suit, expressing their attitudes to the emperor.
Unexpectedly, the Duke of Chengen's mansion did not restrain itself at all, as if they were afraid others would not know how rich they were.
Seeing that his wife had shifted her attention, Xu Jinnian felt relieved: "Whether she was greedy or not, I don't know, maybe it was intentional."
An'an's belly is getting bigger and bigger, and the baby will be born in two months at the latest. At this critical moment, he can't let her know who he met at the Duke's mansion today.
To avoid excessive worry that could affect her health.
Unaware of Xu Jinnian's worries, Sheng An gently patted her belly to soothe the restless little one inside:
"Forget it, whether we embezzled or not, whether it was intentional or not, it has nothing to do with us. We won't be innocent if we are investigated in the future."
Xu Jinnian lowered his eyes.
It's only a matter of time before Princess Pingyuan's faction is purged; I just hope that day comes soon.
In the following period of time, Xu Jinnian received several more posts.
There were invitations to poetry gatherings for newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) who remained in Beijing, as well as invitations from officials of the Jiang clan.
Xu Jinnian gladly accepted the invitation and, unsurprisingly, met Princess Shanmin at the poetry gathering.
It was no secret in the capital that Princess Shanmin had taken a liking to the newly appointed third-ranked scholar.
These people, of ordinary backgrounds and eager to find a powerful backer, decided to target Xu Jinnian to please him.
Xu Jinnian did not outwardly confront her, but he held a grudge and treated Princess Shanmin with utter disdain, after which he stopped participating in poetry gatherings.
When Xu Jinnian returned home, his expression remained unchanged, revealing no emotional shift. Sheng An then refrained from questioning his social interactions in detail.
Xu Cuilian, however, was worried that Sheng An's pregnancy might cause her to overthink things, so she comforted her while Xu Jinnian was out:
“That’s how men who are destined for great things are. Back then, your uncle was often away from home, and if he didn’t come back on time at night, I had to go out and look for him even when I was heavily pregnant. Jin Nian is much better in that respect.”
Sheng An smiled and said, "Aunt, I know what I'm doing and I won't get angry with Jin Nian over such a trivial matter."
Xu Cuilian was relieved and said with a smile, "Yes, let's speak our minds and not keep it to ourselves."
Sheng An readily agreed and even offered a few flattering words, which reassured Xu Cuilian somewhat.
When Xu Jinnian returned from outside in the evening, Xu Cuilian pulled him into her room and gave him some pointers:
"It's fine for you to go out and socialize, but you can't neglect An'an. She's about to give birth, and her temper might be a bit unstable. You need to take good care of her and comfort her. Don't do anything to hurt her."
Women understand women; no woman can tolerate her husband having affairs while she is pregnant.
Even the slightest sign is unacceptable, as it could truly lead to someone's death!
Xu Jinnian knew that her aunt was doing it for her own good, and her gentle expression was very serious: "Thank you, Aunt. I will take good care of An'an's feelings and will not do anything to let her down."
"You have to tell An'an this, and you have to keep your word. Don't get any funny ideas."
Xu Cuilian didn't entirely trust him; even though she had watched this nephew grow up, she couldn't be sure he would be able to keep his belt tight.
“Back then, there was a man in our alley who became rich, but he abandoned his wife who had suffered so much with him. He was out having affairs and staying out all night. In the end, the vixen swindled him out of his money, and his wife remarried with their child. He became a penniless pauper, drank alone, fell into the river, and drowned. This was all retribution for his infidelity!”
This negative example taught all the men in the alley a lesson, so much so that over the years, even if someone had a wicked thought, they wouldn't dare to actually go after a vixen, for fear of ending up in a miserable old age.
"Auntie, I understand."
Xu Jinnian didn't find Xu Cuilian's nagging at all, and he took every word of her advice to heart.
Xu Cuilian was very satisfied with her nephew's attitude: "It's good that you know. Anyway, I will definitely keep a close eye on you while I'm here."
Xu Jinnian was both amused and exasperated.
Xu Cuilian kept her word. In the following days, every time Xu Jinnian came back from outside, she would pull him aside to examine him closely, making sure that the clothes were the same ones he had worn when he went out and that he didn't have any perfume or cosmetics on him before letting him go back to his room to find Sheng An.
At first, Sheng An didn't know, but Zhang Zhaodi let it slip during a chat, and she realized how kind this aunt was, and was immediately filled with emotion.
Zhang Zhaodi sighed, "Whether she was a daughter, a daughter-in-law, or a mother-in-law, no one could find fault with her!"
Sheng An wholeheartedly agreed: "Yes, my aunt is a true strong woman."
Zhang Zhaodi said, "My sister-in-law does a good job herself and has taught the three brothers Da Kui very well. If all mothers-in-law in the world were like her, there would be far fewer conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law."
She will try her best to learn from her mother-in-law, to be a good daughter, a good daughter-in-law, a good mother, and to be a good mother-in-law in the future.
Sheng An smiled and said, "That's because my uncle, the three brothers Da Kui, and you, their daughter-in-law, are all worthy of it."
Zhang Zhaodi blushed slightly at the praise, feeling that she hadn't done a very good job.
In recent years, she has devoted most of her time and energy to the bamboo weaving business, and has not been able to take care of her family in every way.
If it weren't for her mother-in-law's help and her reliable husband, she wouldn't have been able to focus on her business and provide a good life for her family.
Xu Jinnian stopped attending poetry gatherings, which made those who wanted to climb the social ladder anxious, secretly resenting that Xu Jinnian was not giving them face.
Under Xu Huaining's deliberate instigation, these people labeled Xu Jinnian as arrogant and conceited, intending to unite with others to ostracize him.
Little did they know that Xu Jinnian had never intended to develop a deep relationship with them. He only went to the meeting to find out how many newly appointed scholars had secretly pledged allegiance to Princess Pingyuan.
Song Zhihang was completely unaware of Xu Jinnian's plans. He overheard someone speaking ill of him and publicly rebuked the gossips, declaring that he was ashamed to associate with them.
This action made those people lose face, and they dared not to accuse Xu Jinnian anymore.
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