Chapter 126

Chapter 126

Jiang Chun went to the Western Market after lunch, first reprimanding Mrs. Hao before heading to Chun'an Fabric Store to review the accounts. Afterward, she had someone escort Jiang He home.

Only then did she return to the Song family.

Instead of heading directly back to Dan Gui Courtyard, she went to the main courtyard to meet Madame Zhuang.

She had pulled off something significant and needed to inform her mother-in-law; otherwise, if Mother heard about it from others, she would definitely scold her.

As it happened, Zhong Wenjin was there as well, along with a familiar face—Imperial Doctor Lu from the Imperial Hospital.

Madame Zhuang, eager to have a grandchild, had been inviting Imperial Doctor Lu to check on Zhong Wenjin's pulse ever since she became pregnant. Jiang Chun was already used to this.

She greeted Imperial Doctor Lu with a smile, teasing, “Why, isn't this the renowned gynecologist, Imperial Doctor Lu?”

Imperial Doctor Lu, easily embarrassed, blushed slightly at the jest and quickly bowed, saying, “Madam flatters me; I am deeply ashamed.”

Jiang Chun then turned to Gui Zhi and said, “I'm in a good mood today and feel like being a generous gift-giver. Gui Zhi, go get a large red envelope for Imperial Doctor Lu.”

She had been wanting to thank Imperial Doctor Lu for his help during Old Madam Li's birthday, when they managed to secure a benefit from the Qiu family thanks to his cooperation. Recently, other imperial doctors had been visiting the Song family, so she hadn't had the chance.

Today, she finally met him.

Each large red envelope contained ten taels of silver.

In high society, maintaining propriety was crucial; when giving money to respectable people, it was improper to announce the amount outright, as it would be an insult.

However, when giving tips to servants, it was fine to simply say a string of coins.

Zhong Wenjin immediately understood that her sister-in-law was thanking Imperial Doctor Lu for helping with the false testimony at the Li family.

She quickly said, “Big sister-in-law, Imperial Doctor Lu is here to check my pulse, so if anyone should give a tip, it should be me.”

They had extorted a thousand taels of silver from the Qiu family; the elder sister-in-law got a hundred taels, and she got nine hundred. It was only right that the biggest beneficiary, me, should foot the bill.

Jiang Chun immediately changed her tune, saying, “Oh, since the second sister-in-law, the little rich woman, is eager to give money, as your elder sister-in-law, I won't compete with you.”

Zhong Wenjin smiled and said to her personal maid, Bai Zhi, “Go get two large red envelopes for Imperial Doctor Lu.”

She hadn't known it was Imperial Doctor Lu coming, so she had only prepared one red envelope with a five-tael silver ingot.

A five-tael red envelope was sufficient for other imperial doctors, but it was clearly not enough to thank Imperial Doctor Lu.

Imperial Doctor Lu hurriedly bowed in thanks, saying, “Thank you, Second Mistress, for your generosity.”

After receiving the two large red envelopes from Bai Zhi, Imperial Doctor Lu took his leave.

As soon as he left, Madame Zhuang glared at her two daughters-in-law.

Angrily, she said, “The two of you are in cahoots and pulled off a shady deal!”

Jiang Chun, not only unashamed but also proud, smiled and said, “You praise us too much, Mother. Of course, it was a good job! It's just a pity that such opportunities don't come often. If only we could find another opportunity to secure a thousand taels of silver.”

Madame Zhuang gave her a fierce look and warned, “In seven days, it will be the reunion banquet. Keep a low profile and don't cause any trouble at this critical time.”

The important event of Princess Xinchang, the old emperor's sister, adopting a daughter could not be taken lightly.

Song Zhen Ting consulted the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Office to select an auspicious date—the second day of the fourth month—and the Song family set the recognition banquet on this day.

Jiang Chun rubbed her nose and said with a forced smile, "Mother, it's already too late."

Madame Zhuang's heart immediately skipped a beat.

She snapped coldly, "Weren't you supposed to go to the fabric shop to check the accounts today? How did checking the accounts lead to trouble? Did you hit a customer who came to buy fabric?"

Jiang Chun immediately denied, "How could I? Customers are my bread and butter. Unless they want to scam my fabrics, I won't hit them."

Since it wasn't about hitting a customer, the matter was probably more serious.

Madame Zhuang, anxious and frustrated, couldn't stand her procrastinating and not getting to the point. She turned to Gui Zhi and said, "Gui Zhi, you tell me!"

Jiang Chun leaned back on the armchair and said with a grin, "If Gui Zhi wants to tell, then let her tell. I'm just thirsty and want some tea."

"Feicui, do we have any Da Hong Pao here? If so, brew me a bowl."

Feicui, who was always lively, teased, "How much Da Hong Pao has our madam ever gotten? When Master comes, he wants to drink it. When the old madam comes, she wants to drink it. When the Second Young Master comes, he wants to drink it too. How can we keep up with this consumption?"

"Oh, is that so?" Jiang Chun nodded and then made a shocking announcement, "Well, I've obtained a few jin of Da Hong Pao. I'll ask Gui Zhi to send a jin to Mother later."

She had been to the Xiang Sai Xue in the East Market and, with great luck, managed to get six jin of high-quality Da Hong Pao. (Note: A jin is approximately 0.5 kilograms or 1.1 pounds.)

Madame Zhuang: "..."

A few jin of Da Hong Pao?

It was well-known that there were only a few mother trees of Da Hong Pao on Wuyi Mountain, yielding at most a dozen jin of tea leaves each year.

The old emperor kept half for himself, leaving seven or eight jin. His sister, Princess Xinchang, and the adopted daughter of Empress Xian, Princess of Xiangyang, would get a share. The favored concubines of the imperial harem, other prominent royal relatives, and important court officials would also get a share. Each would receive only a few ounces at most.

Without the favor of Crown Prince Li Junxing, with Song Zhen Ting's official rank as a second-grade Minister of Works, the Song family wouldn't even get a whiff of the tea, let alone a taste.

Yet here was Jiang Chun casually saying she would give Madame Zhuang a jin of Da Hong Pao.

Even her godmother, Princess Xinchang, might hesitate to make such a bold claim.

But then, Madame Zhuang realized and felt relieved. What Jiang Chun had was probably just regular Da Hong Pao.

Although the imperial court had people guarding the few tea trees on Wuyi Mountain, the local mountain folk, familiar with the terrain, had secretly climbed up to cut branches over the years.

Using their various skills, they had managed to propagate quite a few Da Hong Pao tea trees.

The tea produced by these trees couldn't compare to the tea from the mother trees, but it was still better than other oolong teas.

To prevent Madame Zhuang from being too shocked about the Da Hong Pao, Jiang Chun made up a story, "It's said that this is high-quality Da Hong Pao from abroad. It's not much different from the Da Hong Pao produced in our Wuyi Mountain. Mother, don't give it away indiscriminately."

Zhong Wenjin: "???"

Her elder sister-in-law managed to obtain foreign items without involving her?

Oh, right. The things she had weren't really foreign items. They were goods she had gotten from Pinduoduo Mall.

The items her elder sister-in-law mentioned were truly from abroad, unlike the ones I source from Pinduoduo Mall.

Madam Zhuang fell silent.

She thought Jiang Chun had asked Zhong Wenjin to help her purchase foreign tea.

Since she hadn't tried foreign Da Hong Pao herself, she didn't want to make a hasty judgment and risk being proven wrong.

Feicui chimed in at the right moment, "With something this good from the Madam, how could she bear to part with it and send it to someone else?"

"That reassures me then." Jiang Chun nodded and took a sip of the Lu'an tea Feicui had brewed for her.

Turning to Zhong Wenjin beside her, she complained, "Today, when I went to the Fabric Store to review the accounts, it nearly exhausted me. The store has only been open for two months, but the account book is already thick and filled with incredibly messy records, making me feel dizzy just looking at them.

After reading a few pages, I couldn't take it anymore and skipped straight to the final results.

Luckily, the shopkeeper is my cousin, and I trust him. If it were any other shopkeeper, I don't know how badly I might have been deceived."

Zhong Wenjin immediately related to her.

The Shunfeng Foreign Goods Store had opened even earlier than the Madam's Fabric Store by a month, and it was also the time for quarterly account checks.

The business at the Foreign Goods Store had been so good that in just three months, there were already six account books filled.

The other day, after looking at them for just half a day, her head was already spinning.

Thinking about the year-end account check, when she might need to go through twenty-four account books, she felt like she was about to faint.

She really needed to implement the double-entry bookkeeping method; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to manage.

As if the solution had dropped right into her lap, her sister-in-law offered her an opportunity, and she knew she had to seize it.

Zhong Wenjin quickly agreed, "Exactly! The other day, after reviewing accounts for half a day, I was so dizzy that I had to lie down for half a day to recover."

Madam Zhuang was about to say, "As a pregnant woman, if you can't look at the accounts, I, as your mother-in-law, will do it for you. Why push yourself so hard?"

But before she could, Zhong Wenjin shifted the conversation happily, "Funnily enough, yesterday, when I was sourcing goods from foreign merchants, I casually mentioned how tiring it was, and it turned out they had a clear bookkeeping method called double-entry bookkeeping.

I gave them ten taels of silver, and they taught me this method.

If you're interested, Madam, I can teach you later."

Jiang Chun joked, "I won't take advantage of my second sister-in-law. I should split the cost of the ten taels of tuition with you."

As expected, Zhong Wenjin took the bait immediately.

Zhong Wenjin gave Jiang Chun a sideways glance and teased, "If you're being so nitpicky, then I should also split the thousand taels you got from the Qiu family with you."

Jiang Chun raised her hands in surrender, "Alright, alright, then I'll shamelessly benefit from my second sister-in-law."

Madam Zhuang didn't interrupt and just sat quietly, watching the two sisters-in-law interact affectionately.

As she listened, she suddenly remembered something.

She snorted coldly and, with a stern face, said to Gui Zhi, "Didn't I tell you to report it truthfully? Why haven't you started yet?"

This Jiang Chun, a real expert at cracking jokes, almost made her forget about this matter.

Guizhi looked at Jiang Chun.

Jiang Chun said with a grin, "Why are you looking at me? Just tell it like it is. Mother isn't an outsider, after all."

Madame Zhuang let out a light snort, unfazed.

This one’s got a mouth as sweet as honey. It just shows the trouble she’s caused isn’t small. She’s trying to sweet-talk me into cleaning up her mess.

Gui Zhi had no choice but to brace herself and recount everything that had happened in the West Market earlier.

Madame Zhuang: “……”

Zhong Wenjin: “……”

Zhong Wenjin couldn’t help but admire her elder sister-in-law.

She manages the heavens and the earth, and now she’s even butting in on her own father’s marriage affairs. She’s truly a paragon for us all.

When it came to her in-laws, Madame Zhuang didn’t know how to respond to Jiang Chun at first.

After a long pause, she finally asked, “Do you plan to keep Mrs. Hao tied up like this indefinitely? What if she refuses to confess even if it means dying?”

Jiang Chun, calm and composed, said, “No, she won’t. Someone like her, who’s always climbing the social ladder and hungry for wealth, wouldn’t risk her life. How could she possibly refuse to confess?”

At this moment, it was a contest of who was more ruthless, a test of endurance between them.

Since it was Mrs. Hao who was tied to the stone pillar, exposed to the elements and gawked at by the common folks, Jiang Chun wasn’t worried about losing.

Just keep her bound.

With Mr. Hao, her brother, responsible for feeding her three meals a day, she wouldn’t starve or die of thirst. Her meals were taken care of, but could she possibly go without relieving herself?

If she couldn’t bring herself to relieve herself in public, then this game was Jiang Chun’s to win.

If she were shameless enough to throw away her dignity, Jiang Chun couldn’t risk letting her go.

*

As it turned out, Jiang Chun’s method was indeed very effective.

In the evening, the moment Song Shian walked in from the yamen, he said, “My dear, the sister of the manager of the Han Family Grain Store next to our Fabric Store has been tied to the stone pillar for two hours.”

For some reason, a few lines from a heart-wrenching short story Jiang Chun had read in her previous life popped into her mind.

“My lord, the princess has been tied to the city wall for two days.”

“Has she realized her mistake?”

“The princess was rescued by the regent and has moved into the regent’s mansion.”

“???”

So Jiang Chun casually asked, “Has she realized her mistake?”

“Yes,” Song Shian said as he walked behind the screen, laughing while taking off his official robes, “A servant just reported that Mrs. Hao was weeping bitterly, begging to be forgiven and pleading for mercy.”

Jiang Chun’s lips twitched.

Turns out, real life isn’t like the novels. No one would dare rescue anyone from the Song family’s Eldest Madam.

Not to mention how the Crown Prince and the Song family would react, just this hot-tempered woman who resorted to full-on brawls at the slightest provocation was enough to give them a hard time.

Jiang Chun smugly curled her lips.

Then she told Gui Zhi, “Go tell the servants to release her.”

Tell Mrs. Hao that if she doesn't keep her word, I'll send her son to the palace to become a eunuch!

If Mrs. Hao reverts to her old ways, I’d end up being a paper tiger, unable to control anyone. Who knows how many widows or even young women might start flocking to Jiang He?

She cannot allow such a thing to happen.

Mrs. Hao's son was the posthumous child of her late husband. Instead of leaving him with her in-laws, she brought him back to her parents' home to live off them, which shows how much she cares about this son.

Hit them where it hurts. Whatever the other person values most, that's where Jiang Chun would strike.

Sure enough, when Mrs. Hao heard the message relayed by Gui Zhi, she nearly went mad.

But Jiang Chun only gave a verbal warning and didn’t take any action, so even if Mrs. Hao wanted to report her to the authorities, she wouldn’t have any grounds to complain.

Now, whether she wanted to or not, she had to stay quiet because she couldn’t afford to gamble.

Other women who might have had designs on Jiang He would see how miserably Mrs. Hao had been dealt with. To protect their dignity and safety, they’d stay quiet.

After this, Jiang He should finally have some peace.

When Song Shian came out after changing his clothes, he washed his hands and then used his pale, slender fingers to lightly scrape Jiang Chun's nose.

He laughed, "My dear, you not only keep your husband under control but also meddle in your father's affairs. Your reputation as a strong-willed woman will only get stronger."

Jiang Chun caught his finger and played with it, smiling as she said, "Let it grow stronger then. I'm not like other young wives who marry into another family and have to worry about being dismissed by their in-laws."

As the wife who brought in a husband, she had the power to dismiss others, not the other way around.

Song Shian was just joking and didn’t actually think her actions were wrong.

If Mrs. Hao dared to mess with Jiang He, she should be prepared to be beaten up by Jiang Chun.

He laughed and nodded, "My dear is absolutely right."

Jiang Chun was delighted by the praise and waved her hand generously, "I just got some great jade. I’ll have Master Zhang carve it into hairpins for you."

Song Shian immediately waved his hands, "Let’s not talk about hairpins. I don’t even know what to say."

Jiang Chun sensed there was more to his words and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

Song Shian shook his head, looking both speechless and helpless, "I took the rabbit-carrot hairpin you made to the office, thinking my colleagues might tease me.

But instead, they started imitating me, one by one, wearing hairpins with dangling ornaments.

Even our 58-year-old Senior Minister Gao from the Ministry of Personnel started wearing a gold and red coral drop hairpin..."

Jiang Chun: "..."

Her mouth twitched uncontrollably.

No wonder Song Shian looked so helpless. This was indeed a bit hard to stomach.

A good horse deserves a good saddle. Song Shian looked great with those dangling hairpins because of his youthful, androgynous look.

He was the type who could pull off even a sack.

But a 58-year-old, almost 60-year-old man, trying to wear women's hairpins like a young man? It was like something out of a horror movie.

That’s a bit much!

Worried that Shian might refuse to wear women's hairpins after this, Jiang Chun hurriedly comforted him, "They’re just copying you because you look so good in them.

My husband is as handsome as an immortal from the heavens and should be dressed beautifully to make everyone envious and eager to be like you.

Back home, we call this the 'celebrity effect.'

Husband, you are undoubtedly the most dazzling star in the Great Zhou!"

Song Shian's mouth twitched upwards as he modestly replied, "Am I really that good, honey?"

Jiang Chun immediately exclaimed, "Oh, I’m not flattering you—I’m just telling the truth.

If telling the truth is flattery to you, then I apologize."

"You’ve got a mouth like honey," Song Shian teased, then leaned in and kissed her on the lips, laughing softly, "Let me taste how sweet you are."

Jiang Chun looked up at him and asked with a smile, "Honey, did you find it sweet?"

"I didn’t get a chance to savor it—let me try again," Song Shian chuckled, then kissed her again.

They kissed passionately for a while before reluctantly pulling apart.

Song Shian looked at her with desire in his eyes but managed to say with his last bit of rationality, "Let’s have dinner first."

He would enjoy her after dinner.

After the food was served, Jiang Chun remembered her promise and rushed into the bedroom. From her precious large chest, she took out a bag of Da Hong Pao and had Gui Zhi deliver it to the main courtyard.

In the main courtyard, Madame Zhuang was having dinner with Song Zhen Ting, who had just returned from the yamen.

When Gui Zhi delivered the package, Song Zhen Ting raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Top-grade Da Hong Pao from abroad? One jin of it?"

Every word reached his ears, but together, it made no sense to him.

Madame Zhuang gave Gui Zhi two hundred coins to send her away.

Then she smiled at Song Zhen Ting and said, "Shian's wife heard that the Da Hong Pao here in the main courtyard was finished, so she offered to send us a jin from the few jin she received from abroad.

Can you believe what she said?

Does it mean that in our Great Zhou, the extremely valuable Da Hong Pao is as cheap as cabbage in foreign lands?

If that’s the case, those foreign fleets wouldn’t need to do any other business; just shipping Da Hong Pao here would make them a fortune, and we in the Great Zhou would have plenty of it by now."

Concluding her thoughts, she said, "I reckon it’s tea produced by descendant tea trees of the original Da Hong Pao plant, just like our regular Da Hong Pao here."

Song Zhen Ting nodded. "Madam's guess makes sense."

As he nodded, he opened the package of tea.

The familiar aroma of Da Hong Pao hit his nose.

Song Zhen Ting: "..."

Madam Zhuang: "……"

Both of them were tea lovers. Whether it was before the family fell on hard times or now, thanks to the eldest daughter's husband, the Song family was able to obtain a few taels of top-grade Da Hong Pao.

They were familiar enough with the aroma of top-grade Da Hong Pao to recognize it instantly.

Madam Zhuang murmured in disbelief, "It really is top-grade Da Hong Pao, exactly the same as the one the Crown Prince sent over."

Song Zhen Ting told Feicui, "Go brew a pot of tea using this Da Hong Pao."

Smelling the aroma wasn't enough; they still needed to taste it to draw a conclusion.

Feicui responded and left. After a short while, she returned with a teapot and two teacups on a tray.

She poured a cup for each of them.

Song Zhen Ting was the first to pick up the teacup, brought it to his nose, and slowly relaxed his brow.

He then sipped lightly.

And then again.

And again.

Before he knew it, he had finished the cup of tea.

He put down the cup but did not immediately comment. Instead, he gestured to Madam Zhuang and said, "Madam, have a taste as well."

Madam Zhuang couldn't tell if her husband liked the tea or not, so she picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

This...

It was exactly the same as the top-grade Da Hong Pao she had drunk before.

This was an entire pound of top-grade Da Hong Pao, which had a much greater impact than the pound of blood bird's nest Jiang Chun had given her before!

After all, with some effort, she could still find ways to buy blood bird's nest from time to time.

But top-grade Da Hong Pao was truly priceless. No matter how powerful or wealthy you were, you couldn't buy any.

You could only hope for the emperor's favor.

And Jiang Chun had managed to get a pound of it.

No, not just a pound.

How much had she said she got? It seemed like she had gotten several pounds?

Several pounds!

Even the old emperor would be envious and jealous.

After all, the little bit of top-grade Da Hong Pao he had left might not last until the next batch of tribute tea arrived in the capital.

People were constantly finding ways to ask for the little bit of top-grade Da Hong Pao he had left.

Song Zhen Ting turned serious and told Madam Zhuang sternly, "Madam, keep this tea. Let's only drink it within the family. Remember, do not use it to entertain guests or give it away."

Madam Zhuang nodded, "I understand."

These daughters-in-law, who dealt with foreign merchants daily, brought back some truly rare treasures.

It was both a delight and a challenge.