From Chapter 25 onwards, the task of naming the child will be yours, Chung-yong...
Ping'er returned to the room, washed her hands, changed her clothes, and served Wang Xifeng dinner.
Wang Xifeng had been feeling better a few days ago, but after only two days of exhaustion, she suddenly started menstruating again and couldn't stop the bleeding. Now, her legs feel weak after walking too much, and she can hardly get out of bed.
Seeing Ping'er return, Wang Xifeng sighed: "Now that I'm so sick, I don't even have the energy to do such a lucrative job anymore."
Ping'er knew she was referring to lending out her monthly allowance, so she said irritably, "What kind of good deed is that? Last time the doctor came, he said it was because of qi deficiency and the qi couldn't hold the blood, and he said I should rest well, get enough sleep, and not think too much. It's only been a few days, and Grandma has already forgotten about it?"
Wang Xifeng ate a bowl of red dates stewed with donkey-hide gelatin, but found it both fishy and greasy, so she quickly rinsed her mouth with warm water: "When will this ever end?"
“Since you know these things don’t taste good, you should take good care of your health,” Ping’er advised, then shared some interesting things happening in the Jia family: “The Marquis of Zhongyong is here again, I wonder what he’s here for. Even Jia Yucun, who was Lin’s proper tutor, doesn’t come as often as him.”
“Your second master is not here again today.” Wang Xifeng sneered, “When he comes back tonight, the old lady will definitely scold him again.”
Before they had even finished half of their meal, Yu Chuan'er, a maid from Madam Wang's room, came in: "Second Madam, Madam said that the day to go to the palace is in two days, and she wants us to prepare some silver notes to visit the Imperial Concubine."
Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "Still the same as before, twenty taels, fifty taels, and one hundred taels?"
Yu Chuan nodded, and Wang Xifeng instructed, "Ping'er, see her off for me."
After Ping'er left, Wang Xifeng seemed to have suddenly lost her bones, leaning limply against the cushions behind her.
Whether it was Lady Wang visiting her in the palace or the eunuchs coming to freeload, all the money for the Jia family's imperial concubine came from the public account.
It wouldn't have been a problem before, but the Jia family has been living beyond its means for years now. How can they still rely on the public accounts for expenses? At least the second branch of the family should share the burden.
Moreover, the more Wang Xifeng thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.
She was there when the Imperial Concubine visited her family. At the time, she didn't think anything of it, but now that she thinks about it, nothing seems right.
...a place where no one can be seen...
Is it easy to say that?
The whole family was proud of the Imperial Concubine, and their faces were full of fervor when they talked about it. Wang Xifeng didn't dare to discuss it with anyone, not even Ping'er.
She sighed softly, feeling that the vast Rongguo Mansion was a tangled mess, with no end in sight and no way to untangle it.
A short while later, Ping'er came in and saw that the food on the table was still the same as when she left. She raised an eyebrow and said, "What, you won't eat if I don't feed you?"
Wang Xifeng glanced at her, sat up, and Ping'er sat down beside her to feed her. She said, "That Shan'er is being a bit unreasonable. I just saw Second Sister come out to fetch water by herself. It wouldn't be good if someone saw her."
"Whose maid are you?" Wang Xifeng spat.
Ping'er added, "Second Master hasn't been there for quite some time now."
Wang Xifeng curled her lips into a contemptuous smile and sneered, "Your second master has always been fickle and easily bored. Don't you know that? If I hadn't been keeping a close eye on you, he would have forgotten about you long ago."
"I understand." Ping'er half-jokingly replied, "Second Madam is a woman of great wisdom and foresight—have another bite, there's ginseng in it, it's good for replenishing energy."
When Mu Chuan returned to his hometown, the first thing he did was to find his mother and ask, "I'm thinking, since I have a niece, shouldn't I have a brother-in-law?"
Huang Guihua was amused by him, and after laughing, she said, "She died. She fell to her death while chopping wood on the mountain last year. Later, your sister's in-laws were heartless and insisted that your sister continue living with their mentally challenged eldest son. He was born with severe suffocation and is almost thirty years old and still doesn't know how to wipe his saliva. Your sister didn't want to come back, so I took a few of your brothers and some of my nephews and snatched your niece back. We also gave them the five taels of betrothal money."
"That's good." As long as you know what's going on, Mu Chuan added, "It's good that you live at home. It's not like we can't afford to support you. Even if you have a change of heart and want to find a man in the future, you can marry him or have him live with you."
“What do you mean by being unable to think straight… I didn’t ask that.” Huang Guihua said. Not to mention her daughter, even she herself hadn’t gotten used to the life of a first-rank official’s wife. “But your sister said she wants to change Cao’er’s surname to Mu. We can take advantage of this ancestral hall opening to put her in our family’s genealogy.”
Now that you mention it, it seems you really don't plan to get married.
Mu Chuan didn't care about that and nodded, "Okay. But the name has to be changed. What's with this 'grass' thing? It sounds disgusting to have such a lowly name."
“A humble name makes a child easier to raise.” Huang Guihua explained instinctively, but then realized it wasn’t a good idea: “A granddaughter of a first-rank official’s wife certainly can’t be called Little Grass. But… that makes it even more difficult. All of us in the family combined don’t know as many characters as the rest of the family.”
Mu Chuan actually did the math seriously: "That's quite a lot. I've seen the family tree from the village chief's side. If we count according to the five degrees of kinship, there must be at least a hundred people. The commonly used characters... are barely enough. If we count according to the nine degrees of kinship, then three or four nearby villages wouldn't be able to escape. This could be called a great Confucian scholar."
"That sounds so awkward," Huang Guihua muttered, frowning.
When is the fifth degree of mourning calculated? During the period of mourning.
When is the calculation of nine generations of relatives taken? It begins with the execution of nine generations of relatives.
"I—!" Huang Guihua slapped her son on the lower back.
Mu Chuan jumped out of the kitchen and ran into his younger sister, Mu Chuntao. She was holding her three-year-old daughter's hand and looked at Mu Chuan timidly but expectantly. Mu Chuan said, "I'm going to find a master to change my niece's name so we can use it when we open the ancestral hall."
Mu Chuntao looked at her mother, who had chased after her, with a look of surprise and delight.
Huang Guihua nodded: "Your brother agreed."
The Mu family's old house—which is actually just a mud-walled courtyard—has been almost completely renovated and is just waiting to be demolished. Several tents have been set up outside for Mu Chuan's men to live in.
Mu Chuan found a clean room to sit down, thinking that he was quite familiar with Miss Lin now, and it was time to make a fool of himself. Letting her see his own ugly handwriting would be the first step towards honesty.
Mu Chuan wrote a letter of greeting and also mentioned his sister's daughter.
Born in spring, she was originally named Little Grass, which means the resilience of wild grass. I would like to ask her to give her a slightly more elegant name.
Although Mu Chuan was not a devil, because he lived in Linjia Village and had a lot of business dealings, he returned to the capital by fast horse every day. So the letter reached Lin Daiyu's hands the next afternoon.
It was given to me by Granny Shen.
Granny Shen looked at Lin Daiyu with a smile. Who doesn't love a fairy? Even if you only see her once a day, you'll definitely try to find a way to see her a second time.
"Did the general say when he wants it?"
Granny Shen shook her head and said, "No, that wasn't mentioned. Anyway, I'll bring you food every few days. Miss, take what you need and I'll take it."
Lin Daiyu, however, remembered what Mu Chuan had mentioned about ancestor worship.
...Once it's repaired, we'll hold a ceremony. After all, they're our own ancestors, so any time is a good time to worship them...
It seems like there are only two days left.
But wouldn't it seem unserious to choose a name on the spot?
But if it's two days later, won't it delay their ancestral worship?
Lin Daiyu was caught in a dilemma, but although she was troubled by this matter, there was one thing that was not troublesome.
"The last time you sent me braised dried bean curd and stir-fried ginkgo nuts. I really liked the braised dried bean curd, but the stir-fried ginkgo nuts, I don't know if they were left out in the box for too long, they all turned soggy."
The fairy made a request, and Granny Shen laughed and said, "What you say is right, Miss. Next time, we won't order these dishes. It's really not appropriate to serve vegetables like this."
She's so easy to talk to, and she never shows any displeasure.
Lin Daiyu had developed a sensitive and suspicious personality during her years at the Rongguo Mansion, but judging from Granny Shen's expression, it wasn't a fake smile or a sarcastic remark.
This made Lin Daiyu feel uncomfortable: "I do... I still want to eat some stir-fried dishes with a southern flavor."
"I understand," Granny Shen nodded. "We do have a few fast horses in our household. Next time I'll ride one to deliver it; it'll be much faster than taking a carriage."
"What is all this?" Lin Daiyu couldn't help but laugh. With that laugh, she became less hesitant: "Sit down, Mama Shen. Xueyan, pour the tea. Zijuan, grind the ink. I'll write a letter to the General right away."
When Granny Shen returned, she handed Lin Daiyu's reply to the messenger and laughed to her colleagues who had gathered around her, "She's just like a fairy! She even burns incense to write a letter and ties her sleeves with a handkerchief. Even dipping her brush in ink looks incredibly beautiful. Suddenly, I feel so clumsy."
The people around burst into laughter: "I wonder when the general will get married."
"The house isn't finished yet. The general has quite a few titles now, but he's still recuperating. We don't know if he'll have any real positions in the future. I'm afraid the young lady won't be interested."
Granny Shen also said, "I feel so sorry for her when she's frowning and thinking. If the fairy doesn't want to, I'm afraid the general won't dare to speak up."
A man nearby chuckled twice: "If that fairy doesn't want to, are you going to take your big golden sword and go chop up the general?"
“That’s impossible,” Granny Shen said. “I can cut you down, but I can’t cut down the general.”
"We can't let the girl speak first, can we?"
"The general deserves to die!"
Granny Shen waved her hand and said, "I have to put in a good word for the general. But speaking of what deserves to die, it is the Rongguo Mansion that deserves to die. Last time Zhang Qiang came back, he said that Fairy was being bullied in the Rongguo Mansion."
"How dare they!"
This long chatter not only caused Mu Chuan, far away in Linjia Village, to sneeze incessantly, but even Lin Daiyu of Rongguo Mansion was not spared.
"Who is talking about me now?"
Lin Daiyu was right; someone was indeed talking about her.
Xue Baochai had just arrived at Zilingzhou to visit Yingchun.
Yingchun was reading the unchanging "Taishang Ganying Pian" when she saw Xue Baochai enter. She quickly got up to greet her, saying, "Sister Bao." She then instructed, "Siqi, serve tea."
After many days, Yingchun finally recovered from the embarrassment of that day. Siqi, as her personal maid, had been worried sick these days, especially since the eldest daughter of the Xue family hadn't even offered an apology, which made Siqi even angrier.
She had complained to her family more than once these days: "This Miss Xue who is staying at our house is really something. She has been staying at our house for seven or eight years, and not a single living person has ever heard her apologize."
Fortunately, Yingchun was usually quiet and extremely dull, so the maids and servants in her room bullied her. Jia Lian was not familiar with her, which is why he made that guess, and he didn't talk about it outside. The servants were alright; they knew Yingchun was easy to bully and didn't have the intention to, so no bad things were spread.
Therefore, when Xue Baochai came, Siqi didn't give her a friendly look at all.
The tea was poured out coldly, almost slamming onto the table with a loud thud.
Xue Baochai looked at her with a smile and said, "Was it an accident? Be more careful next time. Luckily it was me this time. If it had been Daiyu, she would probably remember you. Even the Third Miss would have to teach you some manners."
Lately, for some reason, Tan Chun has been constantly talking back to her. Although Xue Baochai feels that she is older and should give way to these younger sisters and teach them from time to time, she is not made of clay, so she also mentions Tan Chun in her words.
"Miss Bao, please have some tea," Siqi said curtly, then turned and left. However, she didn't go far, hiding behind a partition door, wary of Miss Xue bullying their young lady.
Xue Baochai smiled and said, "It's been a while since I last visited you. Are you well?"
Xue Baochai's daily routine in the Rongguo Mansion consisted of morning and evening greetings and visiting her sisters, but this visiting was selective.
She frequented Xiaoxiang Pavilion the most, where she often ran into Brother Bao. The two of them would help Daiyu relieve her boredom, creating a lively atmosphere without worrying about Daiyu feeling stifled.
Secondly, there's Xue Baoqin's place. She lives with the old lady, who is older and more knowledgeable. Listening to her tell interesting stories can broaden one's horizons, which is also excellent.
Tan Chun and Xi Chun spent less time together; Tan Chun was too opinionated, and Xi Chun didn't like to talk to people. Ying Chun spent even less time with them, since she was completely bad at conversation and going there would be pointless.
Yingchun nodded: "It's nothing."
Siqi, who was hiding behind the lattice door, was furious when she heard this. What did she mean by "there was nothing wrong with it"?
Nightmares at night? Loss of appetite? Leg weakness for two days and it's over? Weight loss and everything's fine?
"That's good." Xue Baochai suddenly sighed and said, "Last time I heard Pin'er talk about gambling, I think it was unintentional. Your wet nurse is a gambler, and although she knows it, Pin'er has always been straightforward and has no selfish motives. She certainly didn't want to complain to the old lady."
These words were so absurd that Yingchun didn't react at first. After thinking for a moment, she realized that they might be referring to what Zhongyongbo had given to Lin Daiyu when she asked people to guess what it was.
"I--"
Siqi suddenly rushed out carrying a teacup: "Miss, it's time to take your medicine. Miss Bao, please wait a moment, our young lady can't be delayed in taking her medicine."
Xue Baochai stood up and said with a smile, "Then I'll take my leave now. I'll come to see you again another day when I have time."
"Xiuju," Siqi called out, "See Miss Bao off."
As Xue Baochai walked to the door, she turned around as if possessed and saw Siqi with a cold face talking to Yingchun. She remembered that this maid was the granddaughter of Wang Shanbao, the maidservant of Madam Xing of the main house. No wonder she dared to make a scene in the small kitchen and give her mistress a hard time.
Inside the room, Siqi stood in front of Yingchun and said, "Miss, don't listen to her nonsense. What gambling? The Rongguo Mansion is the most gambling place. Third Master Huan often goes to Ying'er to gamble. Besides, Miss Lin has been here since she was a child. We grew up together. Don't you know her character? Before Miss Xue came, everyone was on good terms with each other."
Yingchun didn't say anything, and picked up the "Taishang Ganying Pian" to read again.
Siqi stamped her foot in frustration: "Girl! What's so hard about it? We can always go to the old lady and see who loses face!"
"Say less." Yingchun stepped aside to avoid Siqi's questioning. "I'll just ignore them. I don't think she did it on purpose. Even if she did, I didn't do anything. The Marquis of Zhongyong didn't say anything, and the old lady doesn't care. Why make trouble? You'll be ashamed if you make a scene."
Siqi was so angry that she stormed out.
After testing the waters with Xue Baochai, she went to Aunt Xue's place. Ying'er was already waiting there, and when she saw the young lady arrive, she hurried out to keep watch.
Fortunately, Xue Pan returned from his business trip. After all, he was an outsider with a bad reputation, so even Shi Xiangyun stopped coming over.
“I’ve already spoken to her,” Xue Baochai said. “She didn’t mention a word about it, which is quite in line with her usual behavior. But… are we really going to pin this on Daiyu? Although the Marquis of Zhongyong hasn’t come these past few days, he hasn’t stopped sending gifts.”
Aunt Xue thought for a moment and said, "Wait a little longer. Lin is impatient. We have to take it one step at a time. Over the years, the Rongguo Mansion has been saying that she is arrogant and disdainful of others, and that you are generous and popular, but the old lady has never given in even once. Even your aunt... seems to be keeping us hanging on. Now there is also the Marquis of Zhongyong."
Xue Baochai poured herself some tea, took a couple of sips, sighed along with Aunt Xue, and asked, "Did they find out anything when they went out? What exactly is the background of that Marquis Zhongyong? I heard from the old lady and the others that they don't believe he has any connection with the Lin family."
"Perhaps he mistook someone for someone else. I've discussed it with your aunt privately, and it doesn't match up at all." Aunt Xue said, "Even if what he said is true, it's inevitable that a three or four-year-old child would make a mistake or mishear—it's just that she happened to run into him."
Xue Baochai, recalling her past few years, couldn't help but feel a little sad. She then rallied her spirits and said, "Since we've already calculated... I wonder what the Zhongyong Earl's family situation is like? I'm thinking that since he comes from a poor background, he must not have any connections. Even if he is favored by the Emperor, look at the Imperial Concubine; the Rongguo Mansion hasn't gained any benefits. On the contrary, they've lost a lot of things, and it's getting worse year by year. I suppose his benefits are limited, just more rewards during festivals. How would he know how to do business? If he doesn't do business, how will he maintain his expenses? If we can get him to do business together... we can use his title as a first-class earl, and he can use our connections and manpower. Our branch of the family might just rise again."
After stammering out a long string of words, Aunt Xue thought about it and realized that it made perfect sense.
When she brought her son and daughter to the Rongguo Mansion, although she claimed to have a million-dollar fortune, it belonged to the Xue family, not their branch of the family.
Of course, this branch of the family was successful, accounting for more than half of the income. They also lived in the Rongguo Mansion, so no one in the Xue family dared to seize their property.
But over the years, my son hasn't learned how to do business, and expenses in Beijing are high. We've been living off our savings and have spent a lot of money.
It is indeed necessary to find another way to do business.
Aunt Xue pondered for a moment and said, "Let's calculate it."
“The annual salary of a first-class earl is no more than one thousand taels of silver, and the estate should be two thousand mu of land. There is no land tax, and it is about two thousand taels a year.”
Xue Baochai took out a pen and paper and roughly wrote down three thousand.
"The Grand General of the Dragon Guard is a real position, a second-rank official. His salary, along with tributes and other benefits, amounts to 15,000 taels a year."
Xue Baochai added it again.
"And... I heard he held the title of Vice Minister of War, which is a nominal position without any salary. Since he's returned from there, he can't possibly hold that position again. That's all. Eighteen thousand taels?"
That seems a bit low. This is a first-class uncle with no family background or wealth.
Xue Baochai said, "He captured a chieftain of Beili, so he must have some spoils of war, right?"
Aunt Xue thought for a moment and said, "I heard from your aunt that the people over there are Buddhists and live a hard life. In every year of famine, people die in village after village. Maybe they can get 100,000 taels of silver?"
Xue Baochai hummed in agreement.
Aunt Xue then said, "Then let him contribute 100,000 taels, and our family will contribute 300,000 taels, which will count as half of his share. What do you think?"
“That’s fine.” Xue Baochai nodded. “But since we’re doing business with the First-Class Earl, why not forgo his share of the money and just let him owe us? Our family isn’t short of those 100,000 taels of silver anyway. It’ll also let him know the Xue family’s financial strength.”
"You're so insightful," Aunt Xue said with a smile. "When your brother comes back, we can discuss it with him. This property belongs to our branch of the family and doesn't belong to the Xue family. It'll help you save up more for your dowry."
Aunt Xue smiled and said, "If it really works out—" She looked at her beautiful daughter and said, "What do you think I'm doing marrying into the Xue family for? At least I'll be a concubine. That's much better than the second son of that fifth-rank official in the second wife's household."
The mother and son were enjoying their future when an old woman came in and said, "The shopkeeper has arrived and says he has something important to report."
Xue Baochai tilted her body slightly to the side, showing her profile so that no one could see her whole body.
The shopkeeper came in, looking slightly anxious, and said, "Wang Xi has been missing for many days."
"Wang Xi?" Aunt Xue was also anxious. This was someone she had brought from the Wang family. After arriving in the capital, he could use Wang Ziteng's name to get things done and was very influential. "He's been missing for several days? Haven't you gone to his house to look for him?"
"It will probably be three or four days."
The shopkeeper looked somewhat embarrassed. They were servants of the Xue family, and naturally there was a bit of a distance between them and the servants of the Wang family. Since Wang Xi hadn't come, they were still counting down the days to file a complaint, and not a single one of them went to find him.
“I’ve already gone to his house and checked. All his things are still there, so it doesn’t seem like he ran away.”
Xue Baochai had considered that Wang Xi's last task was to inquire about information at the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, but she only knew that the Marquis of Zhongyong came from a farming background, knew nothing about Pingnan Town, and knew even less about the affairs of the military camp.
So it only went through my mind once.
"I've already sent people to look for them." The shopkeeper was a little nervous: "If... there are many hidden talents in the capital, I'm afraid we'll have to use some connections."
Aunt Xue waved her hand irritably: "I know, go find someone quickly."
The shopkeeper backed out, and Xue Baochai comforted Aunt Xue: "Perhaps he got drunk somewhere and was robbed. Maybe he'll be found in a couple of days."
Actually, it's not entirely wrong to expose it.
Wang Xi's clothes had indeed been stripped off, and he was now wearing the uniform winter clothes of the Pingnan Town supply corps, pulling a cart southwest.
The carts were quite heavy, carrying either salt or brick tea. Once these carts reached Pingnan Town, they were exchanged for cartloads of grain, medicinal herbs, wool, and other goods, though some items were undoubtedly smuggled in as well.
For example, treasures that were formerly owned by the chieftain Hua Ajarn and are currently stored in Pingnan Town but have not yet been transported back to the capital.
For example, cashmere, musk, cordyceps, saffron, snow lotus, and snow mountain lingzhi are more expensive than gold.
There were also wealthy merchants who came in by smuggling from the sea, managing to evade the navy and border troops along the western coast, but ultimately falling into the hands of Pingnan Town.
Their caravan contained gold ornaments that were quite different from those of the Great Wei Dynasty, large, brightly colored jewels, and various precious spices, which had always been very scarce in the Great Wei Dynasty, especially in the capital city where high-ranking officials and nobles were numerous.
You can earn a hundred times the profit in one trip.
Pingnan Town earned even more, since many of these were businesses with no initial investment.
Mu Chuan owns 30% of the various businesses in Pingnan Town, which allows him to support a large group of retired soldiers and also to properly support Linjia Village.
Giving Miss Lin a few things is really nothing.
The military supervisor behind Wang Xi rode on horseback, cracking his whip: "Hurry up, no slacking off! If we don't get back to Pingnan Town before the heavy snow comes, you'll all freeze to death on the road!"
That evening, Mu Chuan received a reply from Lin Daiyu, sent from the capital.
He knew it was Miss Lin's letter without even opening it. The handwriting was elegant yet graceful, lively yet unrestrained, and it carried a faint fragrance.
Mu Chuan washed his hands first before opening the letter.
"Alright, the name is ready." Mu Chuan smiled and said, "First is the character 'Ying' (莺), which comes from the image of orioles flying and grass growing, describing the vibrant life of spring."
As he spoke, he dipped his chopsticks in the noodle soup and wrote the character "莺" (ying, oriole) on the table.
"There is also the word 'rebirth,' which means 'wildfire cannot burn it all, the spring breeze brings it back to life.'"
Of course, there are also a few homophones with good meanings, such as Fang You, You, Sheng, and Sheng.
But before Mu Chuan could say anything, Huang Guihua said, "This is good."
That's why some poems can be passed down through the ages. The words are simple yet extremely apt, and even illiterate people can remember them after hearing them.
"These two characters are simple." My niece, whose original name was Xiaocao'er, had already dipped her fingers in noodle soup and written her new name on the table.
It was born again.
Mu Chuan was overjoyed. Naming a child was too difficult, so he would entrust this headache-inducing task to Miss Lin from now on.
He looked at his little niece with a smile: "You need to think about what kind of return gift to give, preferably something you made yourself."
His four-year-old niece is good at one thing: weaving all sorts of things out of straw. I imagine Miss Lin must really like these little gadgets.
Of course, there was also his own return gift. What should he give Miss Lin this time?
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