Chapter 169 Willing to be a Stable Driver
Meng Qing stepped out of the carriage. She glanced down at Du Min for a few moments. He was wearing an official robe today, also in scarlet, embroidered with a wild goose spreading its wings. The goose's eyes, like its owner's, were looking up at her.
"Thank you for the courtesy shown by Chief Secretary Xie. Please rise," Meng Qing said with a smile, extending her hand to help Wang Zhou up. "My son, please rise."
Du Min stood up, supporting himself on his knees. He raised his hand and struck the drums again. Seeing this, Magistrate Sun greeted him with a smile, holding a large red flower in his hands. He bowed and said, "This humble official respectfully welcomes the Lady to Heqing County. I, Sun, offer my congratulations to the Lady."
Du Min reached out his hand, "Second sister-in-law, let me help you out of the car."
Meng Qing helped him down from the carriage, and Magistrate Sun immediately presented him with a large red flower. "Your Highness, a banquet has been prepared in the county office. Please do me the honor of having a drink."
Meng Qing nodded her thanks, took the red flower sewn from the red silk, and said, "Let my mother tie it for me."
Upon hearing this, Meng's mother immediately stepped forward. Her eyes were red and her face was full of smiles. She took the big red flower and tied it around Meng Qing's neck, saying proudly, "My daughter is so glorious and successful."
Meng's father and Du Li also came forward. Wang Chuan sat in Du Li's lap, staring longingly at the big red flower.
"Alright." Meng's mother patted Meng Qing's back. "It's tied."
"Your Highness, please get into the sedan chair," Magistrate Sun said.
“I won’t ride in a sedan chair, I’ll ride a horse,” Du Min said. “I’ve brought my horse with me.”
“Let’s ride horses,” Meng Qing said.
The yamen runners brought the horse, and Meng Qing stepped into the stirrups and mounted it. She was glad that she had tried riding this horse before, and her mounting movements were quite nimble.
Du Min took the reins, looked up at the woman on horseback with her head held high, and said, "Second Sister-in-law helped me become a scholar from a student, but I have not fulfilled any of my promises to her. Today, I will lead your horse and serve as your groom. My lady, please sit tight, we are about to depart."
Meng Qing nodded. She stood on her horse and looked around. The road was crowded with people on both sides, and many more people were running towards this place on the road leading to Heqing County.
The honor guard led the way, with Du Min leading the horse behind. Wang Zhou, Du Li, and Wang Chuan, whom they held in their arms, walked on the north side of the horses. Meng Chun and his parents walked on the south side of the horses. Magistrate Sun, with his yamen runners and a carriage carrying rewards, followed behind. A long line of onlookers followed the carriage.
This event was even more grand and spectacular than when Du Min was granted an official post and returned to his hometown.
The closer they got to the county town, the more people gathered around. Among them were businessmen who knew Meng Qing, apprentices from the charity school, guests who had dealt with Meng Qing before, and many strangers. Hundreds and thousands of people had gathered together because of her, all looking up at her.
"What's the occasion? Why is Lady Meng wearing a big red flower and riding a horse?" someone asked, unaware of the situation.
"It's time to change how you address her. You should call her Lady Meng. I heard that she was bestowed the title of Lady Wu by the female saint."
"Really? What was the reason for your investiture?"
When did this happen?
"I don't know the specifics, but I heard about it more than a month ago. My wife's sister-in-law is the sister of County Magistrate Lin, and County Magistrate Lin heard about it more than a month ago," said the person in the know.
Upon entering the county town, bamboo tubes prepared in advance were thrown into a blazing fire barrel, and firecrackers crackled and popped until the honor guard approached the county government office.
The yamen runners brought over a dismounting stool, and Du Min, holding onto the stirrup, said, "Please dismount, Your Highness."
Meng Qing stepped on the stirrups and dismounted, landing on the ground in a few quick movements.
“Your Excellency, please come into the government office.” Magistrate Sun stepped forward.
Meng Qing maintained her dignified demeanor and nodded slightly. She reached out and took Wang Zhou's hand, leading the way inside, with the others following behind.
Not long after Meng Chun and Du Li entered the gate, the two brothers-in-law carried out a basket full of copper coins. The onlookers were delighted to see this, for they were indeed receiving lucky money.
"Line up! Everyone gets a string of copper coins!" Du Li shouted. "Everyone, share in the Princess's good fortune! Don't push or shove, or you might fall and get hurt."
Upon hearing this, the constables immediately rushed into the crowd to maintain order.
Du Li and Meng Chun each led a team. Every time they handed over a string of copper coins, they received a congratulatory message. The two of them smiled broadly and were secretly very pleased with themselves.
The two brothers-in-law were laughing so hard they were full, they didn't even bother to eat.
Wang Zhou came out and called out once, but couldn't get anyone inside. Meng Qing then came out and called out again.
"You're not even going to eat?" she asked.
“I’m not hungry, I’m not hungry, you go inside and eat yours,” Du Li said.
"I'm not hungry either." Meng Chun waved her hand. "Sister, you should go inside."
"Your Highness, how did you manage to get the Emperor to bestow upon you the title of Your Highness?" a woman in the procession asked loudly.
"From now on, every prefecture and county in the Tang Dynasty will have the presence of Qingniao Paper-mache Free Schools. Each prefecture will also build an official school with Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) as instructors, and a library with a rich collection of books, which anyone can enter for free. This is the plan I proposed, which allowed me to be officially appointed," Meng Qing replied. "Heqing County already has a free school, and there is an unused granary next to it. An official school and a library will be built there. When I left the capital, the students and literati in the capital were copying books. The Emperor and the noble families of Chang'an donated a total of one thousand books. These handwritten copies will be taken back by students from all over the country to solve the predicament of poor students having no books to read."
Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in commotion. Some people stopped queuing to receive their money, hurriedly left the line, and excitedly ran away to go home and spread the news.
The team was halved in the blink of an eye.
"Send it quickly," Meng Qing said to Du Li, leaning against the door with her arms crossed.
Du Li felt a chill run down his spine when she stared at him. He turned his head in a panic, rummaged around in the basket a few times, and finally managed to grab a handful of copper coins.
Meng Qing chuckled softly.
Du Li's ears turned red.
With Meng Qing watching him from behind, Du Li remained silent for the rest of the time. After finally finishing distributing the lucky money in the basket, he turned around and said, "Let's go in and eat."
Meng Qing walked away first, and Du Li watched her back before catching up two steps behind.
Meng Chun chuckled mischievously and muttered under his breath, "Why is she acting like a timid little wife?"
"Little brother," Meng Qing called out.
"Coming," Meng Chun replied, picking up his basket and quickly following.
The table was set, and Meng Qing could take her seat as soon as she entered. As she was of the highest rank, she sat at the head of the table, with Du Li and Du Min to her left and right. Next to Du Min was Magistrate Sun, and next to Du Li were Meng's father, mother, and Wang Zhou. The remaining seats were for the clerks from the county government.
At the banquet, Meng Qing briefly recounted what had happened in Chang'an. She drank a few cups of wine offered by Magistrate Sun and the clerks. After the banquet, she pretended to be drunk and took the opportunity to slip away and return to the Meng family home in Xingjiaofang.
After being away from home for nearly four months, the four geese at home, just like Wang Chuan, no longer recognized Meng Qing. As soon as she entered the door, several geese stretched their necks as if to peck at her.
"A bunch of stupid things," Du Min cursed from behind.
Wang Zhou choked, unable to refute this time.
The group arrived at the courtyard. The spring sun was shining brightly, and the family sat down in the open space next to the vegetable garden.
"Du Changshi, what are you doing in Heqing County?" Meng Qing asked. "I've wanted to ask you about this for a long time, but I haven't had the chance until now."
"I received a letter from the county lord about half a month ago announcing his departure from the capital, so I took a long leave and stayed in Heqing County to guard the area," Du Min said, spouting nonsense with a straight face.
"Really?" Meng Qing didn't believe it. "If you put it that way, I'll be a little unhappy. You've already taken a long leave. You should go to Luoyang to guard the city. You should come and pay your respects to me as soon as I get off the ship."
Du Min raised his hand and patted his face. "I'm a bit shy and reserved. Luoyang isn't my territory. I'm worried I won't be able to kneel down in front of strangers."
Meng Qing couldn't help but laugh.
The others laughed too. Being shy and reserved were words that had nothing to do with Du Min.
“After the letter announcing your investiture was sent back, he came by and took a carrier pigeon to Huaizhou. After that, when news of your departure from the capital was sent back, he sent someone to deliver the carrier pigeon to the Luoyang post station. As soon as you landed and checked into the post station, the postman would release the carrier pigeon,” Du Li explained. “The third brother arrived yesterday at noon. We only found out you had arrived in Luoyang after he came.”
"Third brother, thank you so much. You've given me this respectable occasion." Meng Qing formally thanked him. She had to admit that she felt very pleased when Du Min knelt before her carriage in his official robes. The most gratifying thing was that he was leading her horse. A prefectural governor leading her horse, someone who had once looked down on her becoming her groom—she could vaguely understand the joy Du Min felt when he returned home in triumph.
"No need to thank me, it's what I should do." Du Min wasn't putting on an act for the sake of appearances. On his way to Heqing County, the scene of today kept replaying in his mind, and he was filled with excitement all the way.
He did all of this willingly: to greet them, to kneel in worship, and to lead their horses.
“My second sister-in-law is my guide, she has always been guiding me, and I finally have a chance to pave the way for her.” Du Min felt a sense of satisfaction that his wish had been fulfilled, and he said boldly, “I dare say that among all of us, I am the happiest person for my second sister-in-law.”
Meng Chun gave a fake laugh, "Come on, I'm the one who's happiest for my sister."
"Don't argue, there's no reward even if you win." Meng Qing interrupted, reaching out to the boy who had been stealing glances at her. "Wangchuan, you've been looking all afternoon, have you recognized anyone? Come here, let Mommy give you a hug."
"Go quickly, this is your mother." Du Li handed the child in her arms to her.
Meng Qing took the child. When she left home, Wang Chuan was only six months old. When she returned, the little guy was almost ten months old. She didn't know how his father raised him. He was chubby and growing very well.
"Second sister-in-law, Caiwei is also pregnant, which is why she didn't come to Heqing County to welcome you," Du Min said. "I'll be a father by the end of the year too."
"Congratulations!" Meng Qing said with delight. "Did you write to your father-in-law? When I was in Chang'an, I asked him to buy a house for me. I didn't plan to do this before I went to Chang'an, so I didn't bring much money with me. Your father-in-law paid for the house, probably around eight or nine hundred strings of cash. I was also planning to send someone to Chang'an with this money, or if there are any officials in Huai Prefecture who are going to the capital, I could ask someone to take it to Chang'an."
“Let me ask him first,” Du Min said. “He owes you such a huge favor, so it’s only right that he buys you a house as a gift. What’s this little bit of money? Look at how much money and how many favors Minister Zheng has spent to get promoted.”
Meng Qing shook her head, "I'm not short of money, I don't need him to repay favors in this way."
“That’s right,” Du Min agreed. “I’ll go back and ask Caiwei if her parents have left an old servant in Luoyang. If not, I’ll find a trustworthy person to send the money to Chang’an. By the way, Second Sister-in-law, when are you going to Huaizhou? I’ve already instructed people to prepare the house. Uncle Meng, Aunt Pan, and Brother Meng’s accommodations have also been found. They can move in as soon as they arrive, pay the money, and transfer the ownership.”
Everyone else looked to Meng Qing, leaving the decision to her.
"I'll rest for a while before I go. You should go back to Huaizhou tomorrow," Meng Qing said.
Du Min glanced at her a few times, then asked ingratiatingly, "You won't be setting up a separate residence, will you?"
Meng Qing smiled and shook his head, "I'm worried that you'll move to my mansion with your wife and children. You should stay in your official residence. I'll save my money and use it to buy land in Luoyang to build a mansion for the county lord."
"Huh? You're going to settle down in Luoyang? What if I can't serve as an official in Luoyang?" Du Min was shocked.
"Why don't you try to stay in Luoyang? The Empress Dowager has a good impression of you. She told me personally that there aren't many officials in the court as diligent as you." Meng Qing encouraged him, "Work hard in your duties and strive to rise from the local level to the imperial court."
Speaking of this, Du Min sighed and said, "Second sister-in-law, you don't know, Huaizhou has become a stagnant pool. I can't stir it up... Never mind, let's not talk about it today. It's not a good day to talk about upsetting things."
Speaking of Huaizhou, Meng Chun felt a pang of anxiety. He clenched his hands and held back his words. Today was only suitable for celebration, not for talking about other things.
"Let's go out and buy some wine and food. Tonight, our family will celebrate by ourselves," said Meng's mother. "Is there anything you need to buy? Your father and I will go out and buy it."
Meng Qing shook her head. She handed the child, who was twisting his body to get down, back to Du Li, and reached out to pull Wang Zhou into her arms. "You won't let me hold you? I'll hold your brother."
When Wang Chuan saw this, he was taken aback, his crescent-shaped eyes darting around.
“This is your mother, and also your brother’s mother.” Du Li squatted down and helped Wang Chuan up, saying, “Wang Zhou, call out to her.”
“Mother,” Wangzhou did as instructed.
"Call me too." Du Min squeezed in again.
“…Third Uncle.” Wang Zhou sighed helplessly, then pointed at Meng Chun and called out, “Uncle.”
Wang Chuan sucked his finger and tilted his head in thought.
Meng Qing laughed, "He's probably thinking, why are there so many strangers at my house today?"
"Look, look, his eyes are darting around again, he looks just like a thief." Du Min slapped his thigh and laughed.
"You're the thief," Du Li gritted her teeth. "Don't you have a single good word in your mouth? Wang Chuan clearly has a clever look on his face."
Du Min raised an eyebrow; he couldn't stop laughing.
Du Li shoved Wang Chuan into Meng Qing's hands. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to punch the foul-mouthed man, but Du Min got up and ran away.
Wang Chuan clapped his hands and excitedly shouted "Ah ah!"
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Author's Note: See you tomorrow night. Only one update tonight.
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