Chapter 265: When he gets ruthless, he doesn't even spare himself
After returning from the Taifu Mansion, Chunxi began to busy herself with matters of all sizes for the New Year.
The shop has made good profits this year. Together with the rewards Chunxi received and the money won from this winter hunt, it is almost ten thousand taels of silver.
This was the first time that Chunxi had the right to use so much money. She was not stingy and gave each of the shop owners and the farm owners an extra month and a half of monthly wages. The tenants and servants in the mansion were given five days of leave and half a month's monthly wages before and after the New Year.
Uncle Hu, Uncle Bao, A Li and the guards in the mansion had to be on duty all the time, so Chunxi gave them two months' extra monthly salary. Qingshu was still guarding Cao Wen in Qingzhou, so in addition to the two months' monthly salary, Chunxi also gave him some silver to buy some New Year's goods for Cao Wen.
Qingshu would send a message back every month. After being away from his family and going to Qingzhou, Cao Wen's temperament became much calmer. He was the first one to go to school and the last one to return home every day.
Because of his different accent and the fact that he had no family around, some students in the college wanted to bully Cao Wen, but Cao Wen no longer accepted the bullying. Instead, he found a way to solve the problem himself.
In the last college test, Cao Wen ranked eighth, which was a huge improvement compared to before.
The college was going to have a holiday for about a month, and Qingshu had asked Cao Wen if he wanted to go back to Hanjing for the New Year, but Cao Wen refused.
When he left Beijing, Chunxi did not require him to become famous in his studies. During this period, he thought a lot and decided to return to Beijing after he had achieved some success in his studies.
Chunxi was very pleased with Cao Wen's recent changes. He chose to stay in Qingzhou, and Chunxi did not force him.
After distributing the monthly allowance, Chunxi began to prepare a list of gifts for the New Year.
The Xiao family helped her a lot. Everyone had to prepare gifts, especially Princess Hengyang. There was also the Qingyuan Marquisate. Although she didn't like the Shen family, as the eldest daughter-in-law, she had to do her best to save face. Finally, it was her eldest brother and his wife...
Everyone has different preferences, so the gifts they prepare are naturally different. Chunxi had just collected two jars of good wine and was planning to send them to the princess's mansion in a few days, but Princess Hengyang arrived at the mansion first.
Seeing Chunxi writing quietly at her desk, Princess Hengyang came over in surprise. After seeing the words Chunxi had written, her face was filled with indescribable emotion: "Ah Xi, your handwriting... is really ugly."
Although Princess Hengyang did not like studying, she was forced to practice her calligraphy while in the palace.
Chunxi was not shocked and said calmly: "Princess, considering my family background, it is already very good that I can read and write."
"That's true," Princess Hengyang didn't dwell on the topic. She patted Chunxi's shoulder and said, "Although your handwriting is ugly, you are very good at controlling your husband. In comparison, I am too gentle to my husband."
“…”???
Chunxi put down her pen and looked at Princess Hengyang with a bewildered expression: "I don't quite understand what you are talking about, Princess."
"Alright, there's no one here, so you don't have to act in front of me."
Princess Hengyang gave Chunxi a look that said "I understand you, I understand you" and when she saw Chunxi was even more confused, she realized that Chunxi was really not acting.
"You really don't know," Princess Hengyang sighed, and before Chunxi could ask further, she said, "Your old man Shen made a report to me at court a few days ago. He basically said that although you lost your father at a young age and had no family support, you were sincere and married him when he was at his lowest point. Now that you're pregnant, he hasn't managed his family well, causing you to suffer injustice. He's truly unworthy of being a man."
“…”
Chunxi was stunned.
She had been busy with year-end matters these days and had hardly gone out, so she hadn't heard about this matter at all. Shen Qingyuan went to work as usual and then went home, without showing any abnormality.
Why did he even involve himself?
Chunxi came to her senses and hurriedly asked the princess, "Is His Majesty angry? Has he punished him?"
"It was the Shen family who were inserting people around him, and he didn't do anything wrong. Why would my brother punish him?" Princess Hengyang answered without hesitation, then added, "But this incident isn't completely without consequences. Everyone in the court knows he's henpecked and a wife slave. They probably laugh at him privately, saying you've tamed him like a dog."
Chunxi pursed her lips.
Although Shen Jinhua forced Ying'er into the mansion, she then gave her to Shen Qingchi. This incident did not affect her at all, and she was not angry. She did not expect Shen Qingyuan to bring this matter to the court so seriously.
Chunxi didn't understand the affairs of the court, but he knew that a man who was timid about his wife didn't have a good reputation in officialdom.
Chunxi was lost in thought, her brows furrowed. Princess Hengyang nudged her arm and said, "Your husband, Mr. Shen, loves you so much, why aren't you happy at all? Instead, you have this expression?"
Chunxi shook his head and said truthfully, "I'm not unhappy. I'm just worried that his reputation as a henpecked man will spread and others will look down on him."
Princess Hengyang rolled her eyes. "Ah Xi, your Old Shen is a genius who won the top spot in the imperial examination at the age of seventeen. He recently made a splash at the winter hunt and is now incredibly popular in the Imperial Court. He can kill a cow with a single blow of his stick. Who would dare look down on him?"
“…”
That seems to be true.
Chunxi stopped dwelling on this topic and became concerned about Princess Hengyang's recent situation.
Princess Hengyang still had some morning sickness, but it was not as severe as before. Her husband tried all kinds of ways to help her relieve it, and even stayed with her every time she got up at night.
Princess Hengyang said uncomfortably, "My mother and the Empress Dowager have been urging me to have a child. Now that I'm pregnant, I can just give birth to the child. My mother's birthday is coming up next year, so I'd love to give her a child to play with. She'll be delighted. Besides, our children will be the same age, so we'll have more time to play together."
These words didn't sound very maternal, but Princess Hengyang's expression contained a tenderness that she herself hardly noticed. Chunxi didn't expose her, but only shared a few ways to suppress morning sickness and relax.
The two of them had not been talking for long when the prince consort came over.
The weather was cold, so the prince consort helped Princess Hengyang get a cloak and a heater, and also prepared some sour and sweet dried fruits. Princess Hengyang kept complaining that the prince consort was too troublesome, but she still took the heater and let the prince consort help her tie her cloak, and then followed him away.
After the two left, Chunxi finished the things at hand and went into the small kitchen to start cooking.
In the evening, Shen Qingyuan just came back from his shift. As soon as he entered the gate, he saw Chunxi walking towards him with a lantern.
It gets dark early in winter. Although the lights in the corridor are on, they are not bright. The night wind is so cold that it makes the lantern in Chunxi's hand sway gently.
Shen Qingyuan walked over quickly and took Chunxi's hand: "It's so cold outside, why did you come out? What happened?"
Chunxi raised her head and looked at him with sparkling eyes: "If there is nothing else, can't I come to greet my husband?"
Shen Qingyuan held Chunxi's hand tightly, and after a moment, he said, "As long as Madam likes it, I can do anything."
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