Chapter 55: The Degree of Intelligence
Pingjiang Villa.
Second Madam Pan watched Granny Wu’s dejected and dispirited back until she was out of sight. She sighed heavily, lost in thought for a while, and then instructed, “Please ask the eldest young lady to come over for a chat.”
Miss Shi arrived very quickly.
Second Madam Pan gestured for Miss Shi to sit beside her and said in a slow, deep voice, “Granny Wu just came to say goodbye.”
Miss Shi lowered her gaze.
“You shouldn’t have asked her about those things,” Second Madam Pan sighed and reached out to pat Miss Shi’s hand.
“I didn’t ask her, and I didn’t look for her. She spoke on her own. She came to me and said that Wan Jing was dazed and foolish, and I don’t know how she caught the Young Lord’s eye. She specifically wanted to bring her up. If she hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have known about any Wan Jing,” Miss Shi explained hurriedly.
“You went to East Garden Lake to fish that day. Were you waiting for Wan Jing, or for the Young Lord?” Second Madam Pan asked after a moment of silence.
“I was just idle, went to take a look,” Miss Shi lowered her gaze again.
“You child,” Second Madam Pan leaned back against the cushion, looking faintly tired. “You’re just too clever.”
Miss Shi twisted her head and remained silent.
Second Madam Pan looked at her and sighed again.
Her sister-in-law had once said that A’Qi was too clever, but not clever enough to be wise and appear foolish. If anything were to go wrong in the future, it would likely be because she couldn’t hide her cleverness.
At the time, she had dismissed her sister-in-law’s words, but now, she was beginning to understand.
It would be good if Sister Qi’s cleverness were a little less, or a little more.
“Men, especially talented individuals like the Young Lord, most dislike being spied upon, having their thoughts known, or their every move understood. Think about what the Young Lord said the other day: ‘We grew up together, we’re too familiar, I see you as a younger sister.’ Among these words, the most important is ‘too familiar.’
“Think carefully about this sentence. What does ‘too familiar’ mean?
“You grew up with him. You’ve seen him cry his eyes out, seen him fight over food and toys. That’s already undignified enough. Yet now, you know his every move, nothing can be hidden from you. See, he doesn’t like it anymore,” Second Madam Pan said in a gentle voice.
“I don’t know his every move!”
Hearing the word “doesn’t like it,” Miss Shi blinked her eyes hard, holding back the tears that welled up.
“Even if I know, it’s just knowing. No matter what he does outside, I won’t mind, nor will I interfere. I’ve never said a word to him, never even mentioned it.”
“Alas, it’s not about minding, or interfering, or speaking or not speaking. He just doesn’t want you to know. Men are all like this. Even us, there are many things that aren’t a big deal, but we just don’t want others to know, right?” Second Madam Pan said softly.
Miss Shi was silent for a long time, then looked up at Second Madam Pan. “Our family, the Pan family, my maternal family, and their Prince Rui’s Mansion all value marrying virtuous wives. A virtuous wife brings fewer calamities to her husband, and if anything happens, a virtuous wife can take over for her husband and support the family.”
“Second Aunt, if it’s as you say, and we don’t ask about anything men do outside, what if they cause great trouble? What if they act recklessly? If we know nothing about what they do or what major events are happening outside, how can we assist our husbands or support the family?”
Second Madam Pan opened her mouth but couldn’t speak. After a while, she gave a wry smile. “I don’t know. Your Second Uncle passed away early, and I never thought about these things.”
Miss Shi lowered her eyes, watching the wisps of blue smoke rising from the incense burner.
Second Madam Pan was lost in thought for a while. She shifted and changed the subject. “Granny Wu is going back to the Capital City. I’m afraid she won’t get a decent task. She’s only a little over forty, with a large family. Alas.”
“With her gossipy and muddled ways, she is indeed unsuitable for service in the inner court,” Miss Shi glanced at Second Madam Pan.
“That’s true.” Second Madam Pan showed a bitter smile. “I’ve never managed the household or handled affairs, I don’t understand these things. Let’s not talk about this. What about that temple you mentioned the other day? The scenery is good, and it’s very efficacious. Shall we go take a look?”
………………………………
Liangzhe Circuit Transport Office Yamen.
When Jiang Cao Division saw his staff member Mr. Ge enter, he quickly put down his brush, gestured for Mr. Ge to sit, and then called out, “Brew another pot of tea and bring a dish of mung bean cakes.”
“Does Cao Division have something happy to celebrate?” Mr. Ge observed Jiang Cao Division.
“What happy event? Trouble is not happy, but it’s better than having happy events,” Jiang Cao Division said as if reciting a tongue twister.
“That’s true!” Mr. Ge laughed.
The servant brought in the tea and mung bean cakes, then withdrew with hands clasped. Jiang Cao Division poured a cup of tea and pushed it towards Mr. Ge, smiling. “Give them the data they requested for the villa.”
“Give it to them as is? Without any adjustments?” Mr. Ge asked in surprise.
“Yes!” Jiang Cao Division affirmed with a “yes” and leaned forward, closer to Mr. Ge, smiling. “I just received a letter by express horse courier. It says yesterday, that Young Lord went to the wharf again, bringing a little girl.”
“Little girl?” Mr. Ge didn’t react immediately.
“I didn’t tell you about this matter.” Jiang Cao Division had a smile that was hard to describe. After smiling for a while, he covered his mouth with one hand and coughed before speaking, “Ahem, let’s have a chat.”
“You tell me, you tell me!” Mr. Ge stretched his neck out.
“This little girl’s surname is Li. She’s the sister of Li Xuedong, a newly qualified student this year. Li Xuedong is an unfortunate soul…”
Jiang Cao Division vividly recounted Li Xuedong’s family history. As Jiang Cao Division spoke, Mr. Ge frowned, sighed, and made sounds of amazement.
“How did the Young Lord get to know such a little girl? I was extremely curious when I first heard about it, so I had someone quietly investigate. This matter was very easy to investigate.”
“It was on the day the Young Lord arrived in Pingjiang City. He first went to Linhai Town. On the road from Linhai Town to Pingjiang City, he happened to pass through Kunshan County. He happened to hear that the County Magistrate Huang Xianzhou had gone to Li Family Market to judge a case. The Young Lord,”
Jiang Cao Division let out a chuckle.
“As an Imperial Inspector, he went to watch the excitement. I heard he enjoyed it very much. Huang Xianzhou was judging Li Xuedong’s case.”
Mr. Ge let out a long “Oh.”
“Our Young Lord, you see, is a man of passion. I heard he made two long bloody gashes on the heads of Li Xuedong’s two elder cousins.”
Mr. Ge choked with a “pfft.”
“It was probably around that time he became interested. Li Xuedong’s family had just settled in Pingjiang City, and the Young Lord sent a full cartload of eggs to their home. Now, the Li family has partnered with their neighbors and opened a preserved egg and salted egg shop.”
Mr. Ge let out a “pfft” and then burst into laughter.
Jiang Cao Division also couldn’t stop laughing.
“That Li Xiaonan, is she quite good-looking?” Mr. Ge asked after his laughter subsided.
“I specifically had someone go and look. They said her eyes were quite spirited, and she was very thin and small. They said it was hard to tell if she was good-looking. The Young Lord probably wasn’t interested in her looks; I know this,” Jiang Cao Division said, waving his hands while laughing. “When my eldest son was seven or eight years old, the first time I took him to a manor in the countryside, it was the first time he saw live pigs and sheep. For three whole days, he was either by the pigsty or the sheep pen, not minding the dirt or the smell.”
“Mm, he had never seen them before. Curiosity,” Mr. Ge nodded.
“Someone as noble and precious as the Young Lord, how could he have seen a poor family like the Li family? It was just for fun.
“Oh, the day before yesterday afternoon, the Young Lord went horseback riding by the river. He said it sounded quite good, to check if the river transport was smooth.” Jiang Cao Division emphasized the words “river transport was smooth” word by word. “Can one tell if the river transport is smooth by riding a horse by the river? Isn’t that a joke!”
Mr. Ge chuckled again. “How old is the Young Lord? He’s still a child. Cao Division was overly worried before.”
“Zhao Xian Division was much more worried than I was, saying the Young Lord was mature beyond his years, calm and reserved, and extraordinary.” Jiang Cao Division curled his lips and clicked his tongue.
“With the Young Lord’s status, from the moment he could speak, he was surrounded by countless wise individuals guiding and teaching him, so naturally, he appears extraordinary. But no matter what, he’s only twenty-one,” Mr. Ge said with a smile.
“Exactly. We don’t need to scare ourselves. Just make sure our Young Lord eats well, drinks well, and plays well. Give him whatever he wants. Don’t bother doing this and that. The Young Lord has plenty of wise people around him. If they notice any discrepancies in our numbers, it would be bad,” Jiang Cao Division said with a smile.
“I agree!” Mr. Ge clapped his hands in approval.
