Chapter 48: Nangong Xi's carriage was covered by layers upon layers of thick brocade...
As Tian Ganyou weaved through the crowd, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his head. He cried out and clutched his head, feeling something small and hard hit him.
He looked up and around, baring his teeth and brandishing his claws as he shouted, "Which blind fool dares to embarrass me!"
A small head peeked out from a room in a restaurant along the street, having heard Tian Ganyou cursing.
Knocking on the clouds? Tian Ganyou turned and went into the restaurant.
When they found the room and opened the door, Fu Sui was indeed inside.
"How did you know I was going this way?" Tian Ganyou pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Fu Sui.
Kouyun led his men away, giving Fu Sui and the other two space to talk.
Fu Suicai was about to ask Tian Ganyou, "What are you doing here?"
Tian Ganyou picked up the teapot on the table and shook it. The teapot was light and didn't seem to contain any water.
Fu Sui pointed to a long-necked glass vase on the table. Tian Ganyou picked up the vase, opened the lid, looked at it from the mouth, and smelled it before pouring himself a cup: "The utensils these shopkeepers use are getting more and more novel."
After finishing a cup of fruit tea, Tian Ganyou answered Fu Sui's question: "I went to the Tian family's place. They have a millstone on Baiqu Road, and I told them to dismantle it as soon as possible."
A millstone is a device that uses water flow to husk and remove bran from grains. Wealthy families often built millstones on rivers to process grains for the common people and earn money.
The operation of water mills requires intercepting river water. The construction of such large water mills in rivers can cause obstruction of the canal flow, seriously affect downstream water use, and even cause downstream river water to dry up.
The Baiqu Canal outside Beijing was rebuilt specifically for irrigation of farmland and river transport around the capital. The canal was wide and deep, making it ideal for building millstones. Many powerful and influential people in Beijing built millstones on the Baiqu Canal.
"Why is it suddenly going to be demolished?" Fu Sui knew about the Tian family's millstone; it was a small-scale water mill that was originally built under the name of the Grand Princess of Linhai.
Although the mill was profitable, Princess Linhai was gentle and kind-hearted and did not want to argue with her husband's family about such a small amount of money for cosmetics. Therefore, the mill's income was always deposited into the Tian family's accounts.
The prince consort lived in the princess's residence for most of the time and rarely went back to the Tian family. Even the prince consort rarely spoke of the Tian family's affairs, let alone Tian Ganyou.
Tian Ganyou's attitude was firm: "The sage will reorganize the river administration because of the prophecy of drought. The Baiqu Canal connects the upper and lower reaches and is extremely important for drought prevention and disaster relief. Now that the Baiqu Canal is being drained by private weirs, the sage will definitely punish them. It would be better to dismantle it quietly before the sage gives the order, thus avoiding a crime."
Behind every private embankment in Baiqu lies a powerful and influential official, but not everyone is as as as astute as Tian Ganyou. Even if the Prefect of Jingzhao wanted to dismantle the millstone, it would likely be difficult; before long, the matter might even reach the Emperor's ears.
Seeing that Fu Sui was absent-minded, Tian Ganyou thought that although this man did not care about extravagance, he was definitely not short of money.
It was common for members of the imperial clan to build private dams for profit. For example, Princess Wanchun had two large millstones on the Baiqu Canal. Otherwise, how could she, with a fiefdom of less than one-tenth of Fu Sui's, have such a grand display?
He comforted Fu Sui, saying, "You don't need to worry. Unless the sage specifically instructs you, your millstone doesn't need to be dismantled." The reconstruction of the Bai Canal was overseen by Uncle Jin, so even if Fu Sui built a private weir on the Bai Canal, no one could say much.
Fu Sui was not worried about the private millstone; she had not actually set up a private millstone embankment.
The Baiqu Canal was the lifeblood of the Prince of Jin. Even Qin An, passing by the Baiqu Canal, would curse upon seeing the millstones on it. Not to mention that Fu Sui's fiefdom was quite wealthy, even if Fu Sui's income was insufficient to cover her expenses, she would rather tighten her belt than divert funds from the Baiqu Canal for profit.
Thinking of the reconstruction of Baiqu Canal, Tian Ganyou sighed with regret: "I also contributed to Baiqu Canal. I wonder if I could ask the sage to leave me one." Before he finished speaking, he rejected the idea, "Forget it, the money won't end up in my hands anyway. It's better to do less trouble. It's better to just demolish it."
Fu Sui questioned, "When the Bai Canal was being built, they couldn't find anyone your age to do the labor service. What kind of strength could you possibly contribute? Did you even move stones?"
Tian Ganyou had indeed carried stones. He patted his chest and said, "I wasn't conscripted, but I'm a man who cares about the country and its people. I've actually carried some of the stones in Baiqu."
Fu Sui was surprised that Tian Ganyou had actually done hard labor, and he looked at Tian Ganyou with new respect: "Why didn't Qin An mention this? I thought you were just bragging."
Tian Ganyou scoffed dismissively, "Qin An only knows how to ridicule me; how could he possibly praise my achievements?"
He lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "You have no idea how violent Qin An used to be. You've seen the iron saw used to cut down trees, right? Qin An used to chase me with that thing. He looked so weak, but he ran pretty fast. I almost couldn't outrun him."
Fu Sui knew Qin An's personality quite well, and it was highly likely that Tian Ganyou had provoked him first. She smiled and asked in return, "Why is he only pursuing you? I think Qin An has a pretty good relationship with General Yue."
Even with his thick skin, Tian Ganyou was too embarrassed to admit that he had scared Qin An with insects first. He could only indignantly accuse Yue Shanling: "Shuhe is the most disloyal. He was perched on the high stake, not only did he not help me, but he also gave Qin An directions."
Fu Sui laughed so hard he was shaking. After he finally finished laughing, he remembered to ask Tian Ganyou, "How many days have you been working on the canal? Didn't your father care?"
“At first, they didn’t care and even told us not to go to dangerous places. Later, they only cared when they saw that Shuhe was really digging canals and carrying stones with the laborers, and his hands were all worn out.” Tian Ganyou’s tone was somewhat awkward and dissatisfied. “I don’t know what Uncle Jin was thinking. Shuhe was living in my house, but he sent the Yue family to pick him up. Madam Zhou, who was heavily pregnant, came to the canal, and Shuhe had no choice but to go back to the Yue family with Madam Zhou.”
Tian Ganyou mumbled incoherently, "It would have been better not to go back; I almost lost my life there."
Fu Sui didn't hear clearly and was about to ask again when the joyful sounds of gongs and drums rang out from outside the window.
Just moments ago, Tian Ganyou was still somewhat indignant, but in the blink of an eye, he was pressed against the window, excitedly watching: "Hey, someone's getting married."
Fu Sui leaned against the window, coldly watching the wedding procession: "It's Wang Shiniang."
Tian Ganyou hadn't returned to the princess's residence for a long time, and the guards wouldn't discuss the marriages of the young ladies from noble families. He still didn't know which family had arranged the marriage with the Wang family.
"Who did she marry?" Tian Ganyou leaned out of the window, trying to see who the groom at the front of the procession was.
Tao Yunzhong.
"Who?" Tian Ganyou asked in surprise, leaning almost halfway out and craning his neck to look at the person on horseback.
The person had already gone far away, and with the lanterns and red curtains obscuring the view, Tian Ganyou really couldn't recognize whether the person was Tao Yunzhong or not.
After watching for a while, Tian Ganyou withdrew. More than being surprised by the age gap between Tao Yunzhong and Wang Lingshu, he was more concerned about Tao Yunzhong himself: "Isn't he lecturing in Zhongnan Mountain? This wedding carriage doesn't go outside the city. When did he move into the capital?"
Those who had served as teachers to half the court have moved to the capital. Of the traditional four pillars of society—Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher—the Ruler has truly become a lonely figure.
As the wedding carriage passed by, the Wang family's dowry was carried behind it. Tian Ganyou counted as he looked around, saying, "Tao Yunzhong gave so much in betrothal gifts; the Wang family's dowry is truly substantial."
The procession was a lively and bustling scene, with horses adorned with red ribbons, musicians playing their instruments with great enthusiasm, maids carrying palace lanterns, people praising the procession, and children following behind the wedding party picking up coins.
Fu Sui's gaze followed the departing wedding carriage. Layer upon layer of thick brocade covered it, so much so that not even the wind could stir it. No one could see whether the bride inside the carriage was crying or laughing.
Fu Sui felt as if there was a lump in her throat, the incessant joy and excitement were like a death knell, the colorful cloaks were so noisy they hurt her eyes, and an inexplicable sense of irritability enveloped her.
She gulped down half a cup of cold tea, feeling agitated, and gasped for breath.
Tian Ganyou was still watching the wedding procession, a riot of flowers and bustling activity, moving from one noble mansion to another, the Sengui Mu residence. As he watched, a sense of melancholy inexplicably arose within him.
"Did you know? Wei's marriage is settled." He leaned on the windowsill, his voice listless.
The Wei sister mentioned by Tian Ganyou is the daughter of Princess Ding'an. Princess Ding'an's husband's surname is Wei, and her daughter is older than Fu Sui, so Fu Sui has to call her elder sister.
"You say there are so many handsome young men in the capital, surely you can find someone suitable. Even if there isn't one in the capital, there are plenty in Luoyang. If all else fails, there are many wealthy and powerful families in Qingzhou, so why did you marry so far away?"
Whom she marries is not something that Wei's elder sister can decide. "There's nothing we can do about it," Fu Sui replied softly.
Tian Ganyou crouched down and shrank in through the window: "Don't marry so far away. Just marry someone from the capital and don't go anywhere else. If the Emperor doesn't like the husband he chooses for you, tell me and I'll go and argue with him."
Seeing Tian Ganyou's earnest expression, Fu Sui felt a warmth spread through her heart. "Okay," she replied, fulfilling an older brother's desire to protect his younger sister.
"How are things going between you and the Feng family?"
Hearing Fu Sui ask him, Tian Ganyou sighed, "What can I do? Anyway, my mother doesn't agree. There are so many powerful and influential people in the capital, why would she accept me?"
Presumably, no better candidate than Tian Ganyou has been found yet, and Consort Feng, despite knowing that the Grand Princess of Linhai was unwilling, has not given up. However, given the circumstances surrounding Lady Ma's birthday banquet, it would be more reliable to leave Feng Xiang'er's marriage to Consort Feng.
Although the false rumor of a "marriage alliance" was kept under wraps in the palace, the forgery of the official seal was common knowledge. No respectable family wanted their unmarried daughters to have any contact with the Feng family, and Feng Xianyi's marriage was temporarily put on hold.
However... Fu Sui, fearing that Feng Xianyi might make another foolish move, bribed one of the Feng family's courtesans.
“I’ve heard that the Earl of Yuyang and Feng Xianyi have been in close contact with the Duke of Shen recently.” Fu Sui’s tone was filled with undisguised disgust.
The Shen family was in complete disarray. He had a son who was born mentally challenged and was still unmarried. Last year, a maidservant died in the Shen family. It was said that she was from the son's room and had hanged herself because she couldn't bear the strict rules of the mansion.
The death of any servant with official registration must be reported to the government office for removal from the register; concealing such a death would result in punishment. Because this maid did not die of illness, the government conducted a simple autopsy to rule out homicide. It was during the autopsy that they discovered the maid was pregnant.
The Duke of Shen had sought out many renowned doctors for his mentally challenged son, including the Imperial Pharmacy. Fu Sui, curious about the son's condition, persistently pleaded for his medical records, which clearly stated that he was a castrated child.
Because the maidservant did indeed commit suicide, few people knew the results of the autopsy. The world simply assumed that the maidservant had hanged herself because she didn't want to serve the mentally challenged man. This incident disgusted Fu Sui for a long time, and from then on, he also harbored great resentment towards the Duke of Shen.
Fu Sui couldn't learn to value talent over personal morality. Like the Prince of Jin, she and Qin An always prioritized emotions over interests.
The Feng family and the Duke of Shen, two families with no morals, are bound to do countless wicked things when they get together.
When Shen Guogong Tian Ganyou mentioned this incident, he recalled: "Yesterday when I returned home, the Shen Guogong mansion was very noisy. I saw my uncle Mu leading people to cause trouble at the Shen Guogong mansion, and it seemed that they even got into a fight with Shen Guogong."
The Grand Princess's Mansion in Linhai is adjacent to the Duke of Shen's Mansion. From the higher ground of the Princess's Mansion, one can see the view of the Duke's Mansion.
Tian Ganyou asked Fu Sui, "Guess why?" Before Fu Sui could answer, he revealed the truth: "A servant from the Duke of Shen's mansion was driving a carriage when he encountered a man leading a horse on foot who refused to give way. An argument ensued, and the Duke's mansion, relying on its superior numbers, gave the man a good beating. In the end, the one who was beaten was a guest from Uncle Mu's mansion."
"I also heard Uncle Mu say, 'It's one thing if the one sitting in the carriage is the Duke, but who knows what kind of Tom, Dick, or Harry dared to injure people in the street.' Tsk tsk, I don't think the Duke of Shen will let this go. It's one thing for Uncle Mu to beat up the servants, but how could he beat up the Duke of Shen as well?"
They were called "respected guests," but in reality, they were Prince Mu's favorites. The people in Duke Shen's carriage were probably no respectable figures either; they might just be prostitutes from Pingkang Ward. If this matter really reached the Emperor's ears, Fu Sui could imagine how displeased the Emperor would be.
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