Chapter 163: Interesting (3000)

Chapter 163: Interesting (3000)

The next morning, Xianjin was practicing the Eight Section Brocade with Baozhu in Yiyuan.

After one segment, Xianjin turned around and saw Baozhu, plump and dressed in a brown blouse and a deep brown pleated skirt, looking... like a chubby little dung beetle.

Xianjin placed her hands behind her back and frowned, "Why are you wearing this color? It's drab and not very nice."

Baozhu looked at Xianjin's brown outfit and then at her own, pouting, "Aren't you wearing the same color?"

"I'm sixteen, brown makes me look old. How old are you now?" Xianjin asked.

Baozhu pouted.

Xianjin twisted her wrists, reminding herself to sip warm water after exercise, and casually asked Mama Zhang, "Which fabric shop and tailor in the city are the best?"

Mama Zhang smiled warmly, "The cloth shop in the northern part of the city has the most comprehensive selection, and Hu the Tailor in the eastern corner has improved his skills greatly since he lost his husband."

Xianjin nodded, "Invite them both today."

Xianjin turned to look at Baozhu again, tsking, how bare the girl's head and hands were! She looked too plain!

She asked, "What about jewelers?"

Mama Zhang pondered, thinking that given her spending habits, she could only recommend Fan the Silversmith from the night market, which might not meet Xianjin's extravagant standards.

Xianjin waved her hand, "Let the clothing shop find matching accessories and bring a complete set of jewelry that goes with the fabrics—tell them they'll understand."

Mama Zhang nodded and asked, "Budget..."

Xianjin waved her hand, "No budget."

"Children grow fast; make three or four sets of clothes for each season, fitting well without making them oversized just to last longer—they'll look sloppy."

Mama Zhang thought, "What right do you have to criticize someone else's appearance when you dress like a big mud ball every day, looking quite fertile."

"How about making two sets for you as well?" Mama Zhang asked.

Xianjin waved her hand, "Why would I need them? I have no use for them!"

Xianjin had never cared much about clothing, believing that anyone who had worn hospital gowns for long would be willing to run naked if it meant being healthy again.

Baozhu pouted, "I don't have any use for them either..."

Xianjin flicked Baozhu's forehead, "Once I finish my work, I'll slowly find a way for you to go to girls' school!"

Qiao Shanchang hasn't been sentenced yet!

Qiao Fangzhi, the erudite third-place scholar, couldn't possibly have an illiterate girl!

Xianjin reached out to ruffle Baozhu's hair, "Good girl, when your sister comes back, wear your new clothes and perform a miracle flower for her."

It's quite satisfying to see a girl dressed up nicely!

Baozhu lowered her head, offering her fluffy head obediently to Xianjin's hand, squinting her eyes and feeling the warmth of Xianjin's palm, feeling very secure.

...

With such a major event happening last night, everyone in the Chen family gathered in the small hall early in the morning. When Xianjin arrived, everyone except Old Lady Qu was already there.

Even Chen Cai had rushed back overnight from Jing County.

"What happened last night? Why did I hear that Uncle Wu is seriously ill?" Chen Cai asked everyone but got no clear answer, so he turned to Xianjin, anxiously asking, "When I left, Uncle Wu was still fine..."

Third Lady Sun also looked at Xianjin with a sly expression, showing great concern.

Chen Fu frowned, "That must be because you left. Uncle Wu missed you so much that he fell ill."

Xianjin: ...

For a moment, she couldn't tell whether this was her cheap father's relaxed stupidity or his sarcastic pleasure.

Chen Cai thought seriously about Chen Fu's words.

His wife Xu quickly nudged him, her eyes wide: Don't stir up trouble! It will bring disaster upon yourself!

Chen Cai didn't understand and was about to speak when he heard the sound of beads rustling from inside. Old Lady Qu came out with a stern face.

Lady Sun smiled and approached to support Old Lady Qu, exaggerating, "...why does your complexion look so bad? My family sent some fish gelatin; I'll have someone bring it to you later!"

Lady Sun's eyes darted around, "Did you not sleep well last night? There were several thunderclaps yesterday evening, and I heard the doctor came to our Chen residence..."

Lady Sun leaned forward to look behind, "Where is Grandfather Wu?"

Her acting... was too poor...

Xianjin silently rolled her eyes: You need to act with conviction to get the latest gossip!

Old Lady Qu moved her hand from Lady Sun's arm to Xianjin, gesturing for Xianjin to sit beside her.

Xianjin bowed and helped Old Lady Qu sit down—when the boss asks you to serve them, it's a sign of respect.

Old Lady Qu turned to Aunt Qu and said, "Serve the meal, and make a bowl of mushroom and egg noodle soup for Jinjie. The weather is perfect for wild mushrooms; the kitchen only picked a basketful yesterday, and the noodles will be very fresh."

Xianjin politely responded, "Make it a salty soy milk noodle instead; I'm a bit picky and don't really like wild things."—sometimes, you can choose not to accept the face the boss gives you.

Aunt Qu looked quite troubled.

Old Lady Qu half-closed her eyes for a moment before nodding slightly—of course, the premise is that you must be exceptional and indispensable for the boss to indulge and cater to you.

Mrs. Qu took her seat, and everyone else followed suit, with Chen Fu sitting at the serving end, forming a stark contrast to Xianjin, who was seated calmly beside Mrs. Qu's left hand.

Until Mrs. Qu spoke, everyone remained silent as if their vocal cords had been cut.

After she slowly scooped a spoonful of century egg and minced meat porridge, ate it with stone doughnuts, chewed, and swallowed, she finally spoke, "Yesterday, Lord Wu suffered a stroke. He collapsed in the middle of the night, unconscious. Even after administering herbal medicine and acupuncture, there was no improvement."

Chen Cai’s eyes welled up with tears, "What?"

Mrs. Qu glanced at her second son and then lowered her head to take another sip of the porridge, "Since nothing worked, I've decided to stop his medication."

Chen Cai’s eyes widened, "What!"

Chen Fu impatiently grabbed a piece of oiled bread, glanced at his second brother, and thought, _Acting like a mute goose, how annoying._

Mrs. Qu pursed her lips as the ceramic spoon scraped against the edge of the bowl, "Not applying the imperial seal is already the greatest mercy I can show."

Chen Cai put down his chopsticks, speaking urgently, "What exactly happened? Why must we apply the imperial seal again! Uncle Wu has dedicated his life to our family, treating me and Third Brother like his own sons. Even if he committed some unforgivable sin, he still has the right to defend himself! How can we just stop his treatment while he’s unconscious!"

Chen Cai forcefully nudged Chen Fu, "Third Brother, you agree, right!"

Chen Fu was eating the oiled bread when he was hit hard, rolling his eyes: _Yes, yes, like his own son! The uncle who wishes to kill his nephew with his own hands!_

Mrs. Qu put down the ceramic spoon and looked around, her voice stern, "...colluding with gambling dens to lend money illegally, this is the first crime; colluding with bandits to betray us, this is the second crime; colluding with outsiders to embezzle money, this is the third crime—yesterday, when we searched Lord Wu’s courtyard, we found deeds for four properties and 218 acres of land, all under the name of his concubine."

Chen Cai was stunned.

"You can know a person's face but not their heart. If we let such scum go unpunished or give them light sentences, it would be detrimental to our family. Family matters should not be reported to the authorities, and the elders' hall is in Jing County, making it inconvenient," Mrs. Qu's expression was stern, showing no emotion, "Since the medication is ineffective, we will do what we can and leave the rest to fate. We have done our duty."

With a clatter, Chen Cai's chopsticks fell from his hand. He looked helplessly at his wife, Xu, unable to comprehend why his usually close uncle turned out to be such a criminal!

Lady Sun, the third lady, suddenly raised her head, quickly glanced at Xianjin sitting beside Mrs. Qu, then at the still stunned Second Uncle Chen Cai, bowed her head, and cautiously asked, "Since Uncle Wu is no longer capable... the Mulberry paper workshop in the east of the city and the Lantern Xuan Workshop in the west cannot manage themselves, can they?"

This was indeed a problem.

Mrs. Qu did not respond immediately.

Chen Cai, now in charge of Jing County, could not easily be moved, and since Chen Wu was no longer reliable, who would manage the workshops?

Mrs. Qu's gaze shifted between Xianjin and Chen Fu, then slumped dejectedly: even if the shops were given to Chen Fu, the ultimate power would still fall into Xianjin's hands!

Lady Sun straightened up excitedly, "Why don't we bring back Silang!"

Chen Fu's eldest son, Chen Silang.

The one who harassed Xianjin was Chen Silang.

This never-seen Chen Silang was said to need to live with his maternal uncle until he turned twenty, otherwise, he wouldn’t survive past that age.

He was sent to the Sun family.

Is he twenty now?

Even Chen Jianfang isn’t twenty yet, how could his cousin be?

Xianjin calmly ate a mouthful of salty soy milk noodle soup, which wasn’t as good as Mama Zhang’s—it was too salty.

"Hasn’t he reached twenty... yet?" Mrs. Qu squinted and asked.

Chen Fu pushed Lady Sun back, "Stop talking nonsense! You don’t want Silang to live anymore!?" Turning to Mrs. Qu, "He hasn’t reached it yet! Two years away!"

Lady Sun was not one to give up halfway; she straightened her chest and re-entered the fray, "Let him stay away for now! Send him back to his maternal uncle! Free up Second Brother to manage the Mulberry paper workshop and the Lantern Xuan Workshop!"

If she didn’t seize this opportunity, when would she get another chance!?

The path arranged for Silang was education!

Even if he only becomes a scholar, it would count as a success!

But what about her eldest son?!

When he turns twenty and returns, all four shops will be divided, where would he go?!

She had to fight for more now, or she wouldn’t be a Sun!

Mrs. Qu also fell into deep thought.

Everyone at the table put down their bowls and chopsticks except for Xianjin, who continued eating her noodles.

Chen Fu felt a pang of sympathy and spoke, "This isn’t fair. Jing County was built by Jinjie, and having Second Brother manage it was already unfair to her. Now, what face does Silang have? What right does he have?"

Lady Sun looked at Chen Fu incredulously, "Though you may dislike me, Silang is still your son, right?"

Mrs. Qu’s frown deepened.

Just as these two were about to start arguing, Xianjin slowly put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, stood up, and nodded to everyone, "I’m finished. Please continue eating."

She pushed her chair back, walked out calmly, took a few steps, then suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Aunt Qu, "So, did Lady Wu confess last night, or did Huo Xiaoniang?"

Aunt Qu was caught off guard and blurted out, "Huo Xiaoniang confessed as soon as she knelt down, saying that the misfortune shouldn’t affect her children, that her son was innocent..."

Xianjin nodded, smiling as if chatting casually with Aunt Qu, "And what did Lady Wu say?"

Aunt Qu regained her composure, glancing at Mrs. Qu’s expression, seeing no objection, and hesitantly replied, "...Lady Wu only cried, saying why Lord Wu didn’t wear red underwear during his zodiac year, leading to this disaster..."

Xianjin laughed, smoothed her hair, and said it was interesting before walking out.