Chapter Fifty-two

  Facing each other, it's impossible to pretend not to know each other. Xianyi, carrying a child and accompanied by Biyi, walked up to the lady and bowed: "Greetings, Lady. What a coincidence running into you today."

  The lady pulled Meng Hualan who was a bit resistant and said with a hint of flattery, "Isn't that so, Fairy Maiden is also here to buy jewelry?"

  "But just pick up some small things and go back, just take a stroll." Xian Yi saw that Meng Hualan didn't come to pay her respects, so she pretended not to see this person. After all, she was now her sister-in-law, how could she let her come and pay respects?

  The lady pulled Meng Hualan back, but no matter how hard she pulled, there was no movement from her. She felt anxious in her heart, but on her face, she could only smile and say: "We also came today to pick out some jewelry for Hualan, it's a big day for her husband's family soon. Oh, right, you guys don't know yet, do you? Hualan's husband's family is the Liu family from the prefecture city, they're in the business of medicinal herbs."

  Xian Yi smiled and listened, without revealing a hint of impatience. Instead, Meng Hualan pulled the lady towards the Silver Building, urging her to hurry up, saying: "Let's go quickly, they say that today there are new hairpins arriving at the building, sent by the imperial merchants from Beijing. It's said that even the palace ladies use this brand of jewelry, if we don't buy them now, I'm afraid they'll be sold out."

  Two people pulled and walked past Jin Fenghua's side, Jin Fenghua greeted politely, Meng Hualan looked straight-eyed and blushed, but still forced a hum from her nose, proudly taking her grandmother to the second floor.

  The aunt went upstairs and shook off her granddaughter's hand, slightly annoyed: "What are you doing?"

  "Grandma, why bother talking to them so much? He's just a poor, illegitimate son who can't even tie my husband's shoes. Meng Huilan thought of Jin Fenghua's good looks and remembered his days in the capital with the Jin family. A sense of superiority as a legitimate daughter arose, and she compared her husband, who was not the eldest son but the second son, to her family's property, which would at least be divided equally. But her younger uncle, an illegitimate son, had recently been driven out after getting married and only received a few acres of thin land and a small shop. Who knows how he'll struggle to make ends meet?"

  "Shut up!" The aunt hastily pulled her niece aside and said, "Who says they're poor and miserable? They've bought a three-section mansion in Wa Pian Xiang. And I heard that the third son of the Jin family has entered the academy, even the grandson of that old shrew wants to get close to him. Do you know where he just came from? The county magistrate's residence! Foolish girl! This year he'll definitely pass the imperial examination and become a scholar."

  "No... it can't be." Meng Hualan said in surprise. In her eyes, the illegitimate son of the Jin family was worthless except for his good looks, far inferior to his brothers. She had originally wanted to marry the second uncle of the Jin family, even if she had to be a concubine, just because the second uncle had achieved success, but who knew that the Jin family would actually let the illegitimate son take the imperial examination.

  "How could it be, you've also heard that your eldest uncle is in prison, I'm afraid he's done for. Now your uncle only has one son to carry on the family line. I was thinking that Old Three Jin might have acted on his own, but after so long, your uncle hasn't even scolded him, probably because he tacitly approved it. Tsk tsk, looks like he's also thinking that having a concubine's child will help support his second son in the future."

  Mrs. Gu had previously attended Jin Fenghua's wedding and was worried that Madam Jin would cause her trouble, but after waiting for a long time, even Jin Fenghua had started school, and no one from the Jin family came, so she put down her worries and felt more at ease.

  Meng Hualan thought that Jin Fenghua was going to have a successful career, but she had married a merchant instead, and her heart was filled with resentment.

  The old lady didn't know what her granddaughter was thinking, and instead added fuel to the fire: "You silly girl, if you had listened to your grandmother back then and married the third son of the Jin family as his first wife, you would have been a scholar's wife by now. But you refused, and now look who got the advantage - that servant girl!"

  Meng Hualan pretended to be nonchalant, but was actually annoyed and said: "Whether or not they pass the exam is still uncertain, who knows what will happen next? If the Jin family doesn't appreciate their food, they'll just starve to death."

  He didn't care about the mistress and her family at all. As soon as Golden Wind returned home, he received news that Young Master might be sentenced to death, his face suddenly turned bad, and he took Guan Qi into the study with him. Xian Yi saw this and didn't disturb them, honestly bringing back the things she bought to the main room.

  "Speak up, what's going on?" Jin Fenghua had calculated so much, but hadn't expected that Cui Gonggong's sudden death would involve so many variables.

  "News from the capital says that it was Cao's brother-in-law and Princess Jia Yu's illegitimate grandson who did it. Princess Jia Yu has passed away, and her second son only had two sons, one legitimate and one illegitimate. The second son died of syphilis a few years ago, and the wife of the first son is always bedridden with illness. Now that the first son is dead, his wife's condition has also taken a turn for the worse. It seems that the entire family fortune will fall into the hands of this illegitimate grandson." Guan Qi bowed his head and replied.

  "It turns out that Cao's brother is actually a capable person." Jin Fenghua knew that the child in Cao's belly was instigated by Zeng Yima in front of the madam, but she didn't expect that Cao, who usually had a muddled brain, would have a clever and thoughtful brother.

  "After Cao's sister-in-law's brother was transferred to the name of the main housewife, he was sent to the southwest, seemingly to do business." Guan Qi continued.

  Jin Fenghua furrowed his brow, took out the map from the corner, and started tapping on the table with a rhythmic beat.

  "I understand, what about the other side of Heng City?" Jin Fenghua put away the map and picked up his brush to ask.

  Guanzhi hastily pulled out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Jinfenghua. Jinfenghua didn't take it, but instead wrote a few words on the envelope, then put down the brush and sealed the letter.

  "Have the letter delivered to the capital." Jin Fenghua took over the letter brought by Guan Qi and handed his own newly written letter to Guan Qi.

  He watched the chess game and responded with a sound, then turned around and went out to deliver the message.

  Jin Fenghua slowly opened the envelope, and the two pages of letter paper were filled with writing. Jin Fenghua almost read ten lines at a glance, and when he saw the last word, he finally revealed a hint of a smile. Afterwards, he threw the letter and envelope into the fire pit together.

  After a few more days, the 15th of January finally passed, and Xian Yi could finally take a breather. Jin Fenghua also resumed her daily life of going to school, preparing for the county exam that was approaching in February. Originally, Xian Yi should have followed suit and continued learning at Madam Jiang's place, but Madam Jiang knew how important it was to prepare for the imperial examination, so she let Xian Yi wait until Jin Fenghua finished her exams before returning to school. However, she still left homework for Xian Yi, telling her to remember in her heart the different etiquette and rituals for interacting with people of different social classes, as well as what clothes to wear when meeting women with different tastes. During this time, even though Xian Yi didn't have to report to Madam Jiang's place, Madam Jiang would still send one of her servants over to check on her from time to time.

  Xian Yi thought she could spend a couple of relaxing days, but unexpectedly, the county magistrate's wife sent her an invitation to visit the county magistrate's mansion for a stroll. Xian Yi felt that something was off on the spot, as she had no relationship with the county magistrate's wife and hadn't even met her before. However, she knew that the county magistrate's daughter had taken a liking to her husband, so this wasn't an invitation for a casual visit, but rather a trap. As a commoner, she couldn't refuse the invitation from an official, so her good mood was ruined in an instant.

  Jin Fenghua's mood was originally very good, he was holding a jade hairpin with a pearl inlaid, inserting it into the bun of Xianyi's celestial clothes. This was the result of his labor for several days, and no matter how you looked at it, it was a million times better than the ornaments sold outside. Seeing Xianyi's shallow green celestial clothes paired with the emerald green hairpin, it was refreshing to look at, and when he hugged her into his arms, she was soft and fragrant, sweet and enchanting, and for a long time, he couldn't bear to let go. He thought that later he would make something else for Xianyi, bringing out her beauty to the fullest extent. Every day, looking at her was a pleasure to behold.

  He was thinking about whether to take his wife out for some exercise, but didn't expect that the county lord's wife's post would crush his enthusiasm. He had thought that Niu Daguai would change her mind after seeing that he had a wife and children, but unexpectedly this family's face was thick-skinned, and they actually approached his own wife.

  "When is the appointment?" asked Jin Fenghua, putting the immortal clothes on his leg.

  Xian Yi had long been accustomed to Jin Fenghua's unbridled and sticky behavior, and recently it had even developed into a trend of ignoring others. Even she, an old familiar woman in her heart, couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by his enthusiasm. Sometimes she even suspected that for Jin Fenghua, she might just be a temporary plaything, and one day when he changed his taste, this old plaything would have to make way for new ones.

  "It's said to be three days later." Xian Yi leaned against Jin Fenghua, flipping through the notice in her hand.

  "Good." Jin Fenghua said with a narrowed eye.

  Xian Yi still thought that Jin Fenghua was going out the next day, so she casually placed the poster on the table and took off the hairpin from her head. The jade cicada wasn't big, but the craftsmanship was excellent. Even if Xian Yi hadn't received training from Mrs. Jiang, as a member of the Jin family, she wouldn't be someone with no eye for beauty. If this jade cicada were to be sold in the capital, even without considering the material, just the craftsmanship alone could fetch a price of over 100 taels.

  "Husband, from now on, don't you think I should buy my own hair accessories, clothes, shoes and other personal items?" Xian Yi still couldn't believe it, a grown man wanting to take care of his wife's every need, from head to toe, inside and out. If this were another woman, not to mention a time-traveling one, even a local woman would be shocked.

  "Everything of yours is mine, I naturally want to make you look the most beautiful, apart from me, who else knows your beauty..." By the time he said the last sentence, Jin Fenghua had already opened the hem of Xianyi's robe and ambiguously took a deep breath on her neck.

  Just as Xian Yi was worrying about the upcoming challenge at the county magistrate's mansion in three days, on the second day after receiving the invitation, she received another message from the county magistrate's mansion, saying that the county magistrate's wife was ill and unable to receive guests, so she had sent her personal maid to apologize. Xian Yi looked puzzled, and until the maid left, she couldn't figure out how such a coincidence could happen in this world? She didn't want to go to the county magistrate's mansion, and then the county magistrate's wife fell seriously ill?