Chapter 147

"Green is idle and tranquil, red is both shallow and deep." (Note 1)

Jiang Changtian, clad in a red robe, became Commander Jiang.

The Commander of Jingzhou.

A rank of about fifth grade.

Initially, a Commander was literally in charge of horses.

Essentially, a glorified stable master.

Later, the Commander's role expanded to managing military affairs and taxes.

Of course, when the court offers amnesty and an official position, they don't actually provide troops or provisions.

Magistrate Huang's heart leapt with joy. Commander Jiang had been promoted, so perhaps he could reclaim his position as magistrate.

But when he looked up, he saw the young Eunuch Duan, whom he had been meticulously serving for the past two days—nearly to the point of washing his feet—bent over with a smile, chatting amiably with Commander Jiang.

His attitude was so respectful and fawning. Hadn't he said his back hurt and he couldn't bend?

"Commander Jiang is truly young and promising," the youthful Eunuch Duan praised Jiang Changtian with a sincere smile.

He thought to himself, this must be the person Lord Yan told him to look after. Lord Yan had instructed him not to mention it to others, fearing his status as a eunuch might hinder the man's progress.

This Commander Jiang was indeed worthy of being Lord Yan's friend. Even in this remote backwater, he had managed to develop quite well.

Moreover, that face—to put it bluntly, if he were to enter the palace, Lord Yan might find himself out of a job.

It was rare to describe a man as stunningly beautiful.

There was also a sense of familiarity about him, an inexplicable air of nobility.

Standing there, he looked more like an heir apparent than Heir Apparent Han, who sat on the high platform.

Aunt Yin, seeing the young Eunuch Duan, felt a twinge of nostalgia. He was a newcomer to the palace, still fresh-faced.

However, a eunuch of his age probably hadn't met the Eldest Princess.

It was even less likely he had met Master Jingjue.

Observing Heir Apparent Han's changing expressions on the high platform, Aunt Yin thought that what was meant to come would always arrive.

Jiang Mianmian watched the commotion from her great-aunt's arms.

Hearing others address her father as Commander Jiang, she thought the name sounded quite nice, even impressive.

Father had been promoted again.

Rebelling against the court, yet rising through its ranks.

How... splendid.

Heir Apparent Han's body had stopped trembling, but his hands still shook slightly, as if they weren't obeying his brain's commands.

His pupils had returned to normal, but his hands seemed to have a mind of their own, fidgeting restlessly.

In the past, he had complained about the Princess Mother being too cold and heartless towards him. Wasn't he her son too?

But his father had comforted him, saying that the Princess's disfigurement had affected her mood, making her reluctant to see people. It wasn't personal; she didn't even see his father.

He could count on one hand the number of times he had seen his mother.

And when he did see her, she always had her face covered. But she was still his mother, and how could he not remember what she looked like?

This Jiang Er before him looked remarkably similar to his mother.

Suddenly, he recalled an incident from his childhood. One day in the manor, he overheard servants gossiping about his mother.

They said the Princess was beautiful and had admirers all over the world.

He was furious and told his father. After that, he never saw that servant again.

But now, faced with a visage so similar to his mother's, and remembering the events at the Jiang family home, Heir Apparent Han suddenly considered an outrageous possibility. Could Jiang Er be the child of the Princess Mother and the former Crown Prince's Tutor, Jiang Bai?

Perhaps the Tutor had claimed Jiang Er was a relative's child and brought him home. That would explain why Old Lady Jiang believed Jiang Er to be the son of a concubine, despising and tormenting him for years, eventually even accusing him of being unfilial and disrespectful.

But then he thought, no, that's not right. He and Jiang Er were about the same age. Could his mother have given birth to two children at the same time?

If Jiang Er was the Princess's son, then who was he?

And he didn't resemble his mother at all.

Suddenly, he reached out with both hands to strangle her neck, viciously asking, "Did you sneak out today? Did you go to see Commander Jiang or Heir Apparent Han?"

Wu struggled to breathe, desperately fighting back.

Finally, she managed to grab a jade pendant and struck him hard with it, snapping Jiang Huaisheng back to his senses.

Jiang Huaisheng touched his head, saw the marks on his wife's neck, and was shocked.

He couldn't believe he had done this.

Anxiously, he said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Jing'er. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was dreaming, I don't know how I got up."

Wu curled up in the corner of the bed, shivering in fear.

She was terrified.

She never imagined that her husband, who shared her bed, would try to strangle her, and he claimed it was just a dream?

"Husband, let's separate," Wu said. Through all their hardships and displacement, she had never considered separation before.

Hearing Jing'er's words, Jiang Huaisheng felt an overwhelming sense of terror, feeling betrayed once again.

He immediately knelt before Jing'er: "Didn't you say we would never part, that we'd grow old together, stay together for life? Why do you want to leave me now? Everyone now says I'm the unfilial son who killed his mother, but I did it for you, Jing'er. Do you dislike me because I'm not handsome anymore? Because my face is scarred? You can look at my left side, just don't look at the right side."

Wu cried even more fearfully, trying to explain that it wasn't like that.

But Jiang Huaisheng wouldn't listen to her explanations, just kept talking and talking.

...

That night.

Even after his promotion, Commander Jiang still had to bring his wife a basin of water to wash her feet at home.

Qin Luoxia felt a bit shy, but remembering Aunt Yin's teachings, she sat calmly, watching her husband carefully massage her feet.

She had large feet, unbound, but they were beautifully shaped. The arch felt comfortable in his hand, and her calves were very proportionate, with a healthy, muscular beauty.

Qin Luoxia knew her husband was in a good mood because he was washing and massaging her feet very attentively.

A sense of marital intimacy spread between them.

Jiang Mianmian lay on the bed. She had grown and was no longer a few-month-old baby who could put her feet in her mouth.

But sometimes she still retained the habit of lying on the bed and playing with her feet.

Aunt Yin finished washing up and lifted the bed curtain to find the little one playing with her feet.

She took a handkerchief to wipe the child's hands, preventing her from sucking on them again.

Seeing Aunt Yin, Jiang Mianmian rolled over and reached out to be held.

She loved Aunt Yin's embrace. Although Aunt Yin was also elderly, she was different from other old ladies. Aunt Yin didn't use hair oil, and her hair was always clean and fresh.

Her body was also clean and fresh, without any strange odors.

It was quite comfortable to sleep next to her.

Aunt Yin would coax her to sleep, pat her gently, and fan her when it was hot. Now, the spoiled Jiang Mianmian couldn't fall asleep on her own without someone coaxing her.

As she lay there, enjoying Aunt Yin's fan-like movements, which were in silent night mode, she curiously asked, "Aunt Yin, since Father has been promoted, does that mean we'll move to the prefectural city?"

Aunt Yin shook her head and said, "I don't know about that. It depends on your father's decision."

The couple, also lying down, had a similar conversation. Qin Luoxia asked her husband the same question: "Husband, now that you've been promoted, are we moving to the prefectural city? If we go to the prefectural city, what about the pheasants and horses we're raising? Is there such a large forest in the prefectural city?"

Jiang Changtian smiled and said, "There probably aren't forests like that in the prefectural city. If you don't like it, Xia, we can still live here. This is our home. At most, we can expand our property and occupy more of the forest."

Qin Luoxia had her own concerns. In this small county town, there were already so many women calling out her husband's name, and quite a few dressed provocatively to "accidentally" encounter him.

Those women were too low-level, scantily clad to entice him, and her husband was so frightened he would always try to avoid them.

But if they went to the prefectural city, with those formidable women Aunt Yin had mentioned, who could lower their pride and had noble status, it wouldn't be so easy to avoid them.

She still needed to work hard, to have abilities that others couldn't match, so she could walk alongside her husband for a long time. Aunt Yin said that to be equal partners, they first need to be able to walk side by side. If her husband walked too fast and too far while she remained in place, she would eventually be left behind.

Aunt Yin said that marriage was like any other endeavor.

Qin Luoxia deeply agreed with this. As she lay next to her husband, she pondered how she could do better, feeling a strong urge to give those seductive women a good beating just thinking about them.

Jiang Mianmian, lying next to Aunt Yin, was scheming how to sneak out to play tomorrow without getting a spanking.

...

"Note 1: From Wang Wei's 'Red Peony'"