Chapter 135 Wang Ziteng tripped and fell; how could his third brother not take care of him after his death...
At night, Mu Chuan was sleeping when he suddenly felt some movement beside him. He opened his eyes and saw his wife struggling beside him, covered in sweat, muttering something unintelligible, and her eyelids twitching violently.
Mu Chuan quickly turned over, took her hand, and gently patted her face: "Daiyu, Daiyu?"
Lin Daiyu shuddered and whimpered, "I had a nightmare."
She was still groggy, and Mu Chuan hadn't turned on the light. She had her eyes closed and wasn't fully awake.
Mu Chuan quickly pulled her hand to his chest; as long as he could hold onto something, he felt a sense of fulfillment.
He gently patted the person's back and comforted them softly, "What kind of dream did you have? Dreams are always the opposite of reality."
Lin Daiyu let out another soft sob: "I dreamt of two children. One said, 'Mother, I am Dandan,' and the other said, 'Mother, I am Erya.'"
After saying this, she sobbed twice, almost bursting into tears.
Although he wasn't fully awake yet, Mu Chuan didn't dare laugh out loud: "How could I have such a dream?"
After saying a few words, Lin Daiyu became more sober: "It's all your fault." She grabbed Mu Chuan's chest tightly, "Who told you to say those 'dog egg' and 'Cuihua' things?"
Mu Chuan gasped. He wasn't afraid of someone cutting him, but when the lady pinched him, it was like hitting the bullseye, aimed directly at his vitals.
"Actually, I've already thought of a name. What do you think of it? Do you like it?" Mu Chuan said. "My surname is Mu, and yours is Lin. How about we name our child Mu Lin?"
Lin Daiyu laughed immediately, speaking purely on instinct: "If that's how it is, your surname is Mu and mine is Lin, so the second son is called Mu Mu? The third son is called Mu Sen? The fourth son is called Mu Gua (with the character for wood on the side and the character for forest), and the fifth son is called Mu Peng (with four characters for wood)?"
"There's really no need to have so many... Wait a minute, what were the fourth and fifth kids called again?"
The first half of the sentence evoked some indescribable emotions in Lin Daiyu, so she simply pretended not to hear it, gently pinched him again, and reached out to write words on his chest.
Mu Chuan sighed: "It's better not to choose such a name. What if the teacher doesn't recognize it? If we just skip over his name, the examiners won't recognize it either during the imperial examinations and will mispronounce it, which will only make them angry and embarrassed."
After Mu Chuan finished speaking, he pressed her hand down again. He pinched her hand, and then gently tickled it. Who could stand that?
"Then what should we call it?"
"Didn't I just say? The eldest is named Mu Lin, and the second is named Lin Mu, which is perfect. If it weren't for my father-in-law saving me, where would I be today, the Marquis of Zhongyong?"
Lin Daiyu then asked, "What if it's a girl?"
"Marriage into another family or taking a son-in-law is fine; there are female chieftains in Beili. Women can also run the household."
Lin Daiyu nestled in his arms for a while, the panic brought by Dandan and Erya had long since disappeared. She yawned and turned over: "Go to sleep quickly, tomorrow I have to teach you how to read and write the four-character phrases."
That can't be... These are extremely rare characters, and you just knead and rub them and then leave them alone?
"That's so unfair." Mu Chuan feigned aggrievedness, his hands already expertly unbuttoning the back of her waist. "Let me massage it for you too."
Mu Chuan's hands were dry yet warm, and the calluses rubbing against his skin brought a unique kind of itching.
Lin Daiyu laughed as she turned over: "You didn't have a nightmare."
“I can have nightmares too,” Mu Chuan whispered in her ear. “I dreamt that you gave birth to a boy who eats three times as much as I do. I’m so worried. How am I supposed to raise him?”
Lin Daiyu placed her hand on his chest again, giving it a firm squeeze twice, and said with a meaningful smile, "How could Third Brother not be able to afford to raise you?"
“Now the Rongguo Mansion can’t even afford to support these three or four hundred servants.” Wang Xifeng scoffed, then sighed, “It’s more like, the Second Madam can still scrape together the money to support these three or four hundred servants, which is truly admirable.”
Ping'er placed four dishes on the small kang table and then sat down to serve Wang Xifeng her meal.
Wang Xifeng said disdainfully, "It'll get cold soon, let's eat it together."
Ping'er sat down opposite her and waited for Wang Xifeng to take a couple of bites before picking up her chopsticks.
“Things are different now. The monthly allowance has been cut in half, and there are no more bonuses. This year they said that the concubine in the palace has passed away, so we should be more tidy for the New Year and not make new clothes. A few hundred taels a month will be enough to get by.”
Wang Xifeng sighed again, looking at the dishes on the table.
Before, when she ate, there would be at least seven or eight dishes on the table, with at least two main dishes. Now, let alone an eggplant with seven or eight chickens, even chicken feet and necks, which even the servants wouldn't eat before, can be served openly.
Although Wang Xifeng still had some money, she didn't dare to order any better food. She was afraid that if she showed any money, her aunt would come and "force her to donate" within half an hour.
The four simple dishes on the table were something that even Ping'er, let alone Wang Xifeng, would never eat. She sighed and advised, "Madam, please eat some. Sigh... Speaking of which, Sister-in-law Zhu has quite a bit of money. After Master Zhu died, everything fell into her hands. For the past ten years or so, she received the same twenty taels of silver as the old lady, plus Lan'er's monthly allowance. All the produce from Daoxiang Village also belonged to her. If she took on any job, she would still have some left over. During festivals, the old lady also gave her a lot of money. All things considered... she must have at least thirty to fifty thousand taels of silver. Yet, we haven't seen Second Madam looking for her."
Ping'er put down her chopsticks: "I originally thought that the Second Madam didn't like her, but now that I think about it, the Second Madam does care about her. The reason she doesn't let her go out is probably because she's afraid that others might see her and have bad intentions, right?"
Wang Xifeng sneered, "The Rongguo Mansion is already at its end. Do you think the Second Madam is kind-hearted? Now you're forcing her to give you money, and it's all being spent on unrelated people. Once the Old Madam dies and the Jia family divides the property, all that money will end up in her hands. How long do you think the Old Madam can live?"
Ping'er wasn't unaware of these things, but she simply couldn't believe it. She sighed again, "This rice is just too awful."
"Think about the old lady," Wang Xifeng chuckled. "She used to eat rouge rice, but now she can only eat red rice, and she has to pretend she doesn't know. She's much worse off than us."
The two, mistress and servant, picked and chose, barely managed to finish their lunch. Ping'er called a maid in to tidy up, poured warm water for Wang Xifeng to rinse her mouth, then helped her to sit in the inner room, and opened the window of the outer room to let in some fresh air.
Wang Xifeng leaned back on the bed, and Ping'er covered her with a blanket: "You should take care of yourself too. You've taken so much medicine and finally had a good rest, but you're not taking care of yourself again."
Wang Xifeng moved over to the side of the bed and patted the edge, saying, "You can lean against it too."
Ping'er closed her eyes to rest for a while, but she couldn't fall asleep. Everyone in the Jia family with a brain was worried and scared, but they could only smile in front of others, and in private, none of them could sleep.
“The other day my dear aunt persuaded the old lady to invite Lin Daiyu back for a visit, and also wanted to borrow Yuanyang for a while.”
Ping'er half-opened her eyes and replied, "Now we can only rely on her, but I don't think the old lady is willing to give in."
Not only did they refuse to budge, but they also used different excuses every time.
The weather was bad, so I used it twice. Also, we just got married, so I told the young couple to get along well. There were also complaints about the in-laws being harsh, and I couldn't bear to make things difficult for her, etc.
"If I were an old lady, I wouldn't give in either. I can fool myself if I don't call her back, but if I really can't get her back, that's a big problem. An old lady knows that she probably can't get her back."
“That’s true…” Ping’er sighed as well. “The second young lady isn’t coming back. They’re acting like she never existed. How can life be like this?”
"I can't live like this anymore!"
The master and servant were chatting idly when Jia Lian suddenly lifted the curtain and came in. After complaining for a moment, he saw the two lying on the bed and teased, "You certainly know how to serve your second mistress when I'm not around."
Wang Xifeng sneered, turned over, and faced away from Jia Lian, showing no intention of speaking to him.
Wang Xifeng dared to do this, but Ping'er didn't. She quickly stood up and said with a smile, "Second Master is here."
"Why are you so unfamiliar with me?" Jia Lian laughed, leaning back in his chair and complaining, "Life is getting harder and harder these days. Only a few shops are making money. With the New Year approaching, we should have been stocking up on goods and making a fortune, but who knew we'd be out of money. If we could turn things around, we could have doubled our profits. Ping'er's gone to order a table of food and wine. The three of us can have a good meal tonight and have a heart-to-heart talk."
Wang Xifeng let out another cold laugh. Ever since Jia Lian was unable to inherit the title, the two of them had never spoken properly, and Jia Lian rarely entered her room.
"I thought it was something else." Wang Xifeng sat up abruptly. "So, Second Master is out of money? What? When you have money, you go to your Second Sister Qiutong, but when you don't, you come to me? What do you think your place is? Made of gold? Inlaid with jade and agate, or pearls and amber?"
"You!" Jia Lian stood up angrily. "Can't you speak properly! How did I lose my official position and my inheritance rights? It's all because of you, you vicious woman! Not to mention anything else, you even took all the private money I left with Second Sister. You have to return it to me!"
"You're dreaming!" Wang Xifeng got up from the bed. Although she was much shorter than Jia Lian, her imposing manner was no less. "Second Master, you have quite the air of authority, but it's a pity you don't hold any official position!"
These words were a direct hit to Jia Lian, who flung his sleeves and left, saying, "Incomprehensible! I'll divorce you sooner or later!"
A few words from Wang Xifeng angered Jia Lian, and she wasn't much better off: "Divorce me? I'd like to see how you're going to divorce me!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Jia Lian came in.
His expression was strange, his face... as if he was pretending to be sad, yet he was also smiling.
As soon as Jia Lian entered, he made way for another person, Wang Xing, Wang Xifeng's maid. Wang Xing was pale and covered in cold sweat. He knelt down as soon as he entered and said, "Second Madam, Master... Master accidentally fell down the steps last night and is dead."
ah!
Wang Xifeng suddenly stood up, then sat back down, feeling dizzy: "Prepare the carriage! I need to go back to the Wang family!"
Ping'er quickly removed the few pieces of jewelry she was wearing, then wrapped a dark-colored fur cloak around her and helped her out.
Jia Lian lingered a while longer, looking around before reaching out and taking the jewelry from the table. He muttered to himself, "It's worth some silver, I should keep it safe for you."
Before he even stepped out of the house, Jia Lian paused, then suddenly laughed: "See if I can divorce you or not!"
Wang Ziteng's death did not cause any ripples in the powerful circles of Beijing, and the news did not even reach Mu Chuan's circle.
Lord Meng of the Court of State Ceremonial felt a slight ripple in his heart, but he was mostly relieved.
He even harbored some resentment towards his past self for indulging in wine and women. The naturalization of the hostage from Beili and his successful return to Beili was a plan that had lasted for more than ten years. How could he have agreed to let people in after just two drinks?
How old is His Majesty? How old is the Marquis of Loyalty and Valor? How old is he?
If anything goes wrong later, even if he has already retired by then, or even if he is dead, he might still be held accountable.
Prince Teng was quite ambitious; he not only wanted to win over the hostages from Beili, but also all the hostage envoys under the jurisdiction of the Court of State Ceremonial.
Where did he get the audacity to say that the Wang family originally started out in maritime trade, and now that they've returned to shipping, they'll see results in less than two years?
Fortunately, Wang Ziteng is dead, so this matter is over, and we don't have to help him send women in.
At the altar of Prince Teng, Wang Xifeng wept bitterly, Madam Wang wept bitterly, and Aunt Xue wept even more bitterly.
Others can manage, but what about her daughter?
The Rongguo Mansion declined even faster than the Xue family. She originally planned to use her elder brother to find a high-ranking family for her daughter, thereby helping the Xue family as well. She also hoped to use her son-in-law's social standing to find a good family for her son's daughter, so that the Xue family could rise again.
But my elder brother is dead.
Aunt Xue burst into tears: "What are we supposed to do?!"
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