CH 153.1

Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine Ch 153 Pt. 1

Translated by gingercat

Edited by gingercat

Sun Mang had been busy ever since he was sent to Tongzhou.

The number of victims pouring into Tongzhou was way higher than expected. Not only was the disaster near the capital, but cities nearby such as Shanxi and Hebei were also affected by the snowstorms.

These two places were right next to the capital. The commoners probably thought that with the emperor in the capital, as long as they came here, they wouldn’t be short on food. With nowhere else to go, they all rushed over in this direction.

Tongzhou was known as the granary of the capital. Even if other places may be lacking in grain, the capital would never run out. With an imperial decree, the extra grain could be dispatched for disaster relief, but who knows what Emperor Hongjing was thinking. He hadn’t made any movements at all.

The local officials were afraid of causing a large number of victims to die. Then they wouldn’t be able to answer to the higher-ups. So they could only take some grain from the local warehouse to try and patch up the hole. But as the days went by, the number of refugees grew while the supply of food dwindled. There also wasn’t enough clothing to keep out the cold. Every day, people would come to Sun Mang, asking what the emperor sitting in the capital planned to do.

Sun Mang had no idea what His Majesty was thinking, but he didn’t forget his job. He couldn’t let the victims flock to the capital.

Fortunately, the decree of disaster relief soon came down. The people finally had food to eat and clothes to keep out the cold, so they no longer had to go to the capital. With the disaster relief proceeding in an orderly manner, Sun Mang could finally take a breath.

Then Jin Wang’s people approached him.

Sun Mang still kept an eye on what was currently happening in the capital. Several of the princes were both covertly and overtly fighting over who should be responsible for what part of the disaster relief. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken so many days for the decree to be passed down. Probably the only one who didn’t make a move was Jin Wang.

It was unusual to see Jin Wang so quiet. It seemed that the man, who had earned brilliant military achievements at the border, beating back the barbarians until they remained huddled in their lair, not daring to come out, had wilted. He appeared to have resigned his fate to stay at the Ministry of Works. Today, he’d bring people to demolish a house. Tomorrow, he’d take people to build a house.

Jin Wang actually walked to the Ministry every day for work. Whenever Sun Mang thought of the rumours circulating about Jin Wang’s eye-catching exploits, he’d feel the urge to laugh.

But he couldn’t laugh. He felt that it didn’t make sense for a person like him to act this way.

Yet, Sun Mang also couldn’t pinpoint why he felt like so.

In his spare time, he occasionally thought about it. Then he began to understand Jin Wang’s approach. Those with their military power stripped away were like beasts without claws. His Majesty desired to suppress his sons, so the smarter ones knew to lie low and behave themselves.

They all understood this, but how many of them could actually carry it through?

You’d never know what the other people were thinking. If you chose to stay still, you wouldn’t know when the others are making a move. What if the other party made a move, causing you to fall behind? As soon as that first step is taken, the distance will only increase.

So after the initial stillness, everyone resumed plotting and scheming their way forward again. Perhaps Jin Wang was making moves too, but he just wasn’t aware of it.

With this in mind, Sun Mang naturally couldn’t laugh.

But now Jin Wang dared to send someone to look for him?

Was he not aware that Tongzhou was now under the public eye? Wasn’t he aware that anyone with a functioning brain would not contact him at this time, so as to prevent suspicions?

Sun Mang didn’t want to meet Jin Wang, but he did want to know what he was thinking and what he was trying to do.

Only after he met with the people sent by Jin Wang did he know what happened.

Sun Mang only had time to tell his subordinates that he was leaving before he galloped away to the capital by himself. Normally it would take almost half a day to get from Tongzhou to the capital, but it took him only a little more than an hour to get there.

As he was about to enter the city gate, he was stopped by someone. And the one who stopped him happened to be one of Jin Wang’s people.

Even though it was Jin Wang who sent him the news in the first place, Sun Mang was still extremely displeased at being stopped. However, after seeing Doctor Liu, his fury was extinguished.

Doctor Liu was a great benefactor of Duke Zhenguo Manor. In the past, Duke Zhenguo fell very ill. It was only because of Doctor Liu’s skills that he managed to pull through.

Doctor Liu conveyed what Jin Wang had said, and Sun Mang immediately expressed his willingness for receiving Doctor Liu’s help.

Thinking of the news sent by Jin Wang, Sun Mang felt very uneasy. He knew that if something really happened, Doctor Liu’s role would be critical.

Sun Mang ignored everyone who tried to prevent him from reaching Lanruo Pavilion. Before entering the room, he heard the conversation between Qiao Xiuli and Qiao-shi, including what Qiao-shi said at the end.

His eyes turned red. Although Madam Qiao was soft, she was also firm. What made her so disheartened that she even lost her desire to live?

How could she be willing? Could she bear to leave him?!

Sun Mang did not deny that back when he wanted to marry Qiao-shi, he was attracted by her physical features. From the moment he saw her, his heart told him that she was the woman he wanted. So he married her back regardless of her status as a daughter of a merchant family.

She was small-minded, so be it. She was delicate, that was also okay. Soon it became a habit for him to adapt to her preferences. He didn’t mind at all. As someone who didn’t indulge himself in women, he was fine with only having her.

Sun Mang actually doesn’t understand what love is. All he knew was that he liked Qiao-shi.

Even if she did catch that disease, so what? It wasn’t like no one ever got this illness. As long as she took care of her health, she could still live for a few more years. What’s more, it was still unknown whether she even had that disease in the first place.

On the couch, Madam Qiao was sobbing so hard that she could barely speak properly. “I’m sick. You should leave, I don’t want to pass it to you.”

Sun Mang strode forward. Qiao Xiuli was still standing at the foot of the bed, and she lost her balance from how powerful his momentum was. As soon as Qiao Xiuli regained her balance, she saw Sun Mang approach the bedside, grab Madam Qiao, and kiss her hard.

“If it really is contagious, I would be infected now.”

Sun Mang stood up straight and turned around. “Doctor Liu, please.”

Doctor Liu never expected that the sullen young lad from the Sun Family would one day become a person like this. For some reason, he was reminded of his master. Jin Wang was so heavily poisoned and on the verge of dying, yet he still wanted her to the point that he was on the verge of losing his mind and even his life.

What a bunch of fools!

Doctor Liu sighed in his heart then approached the bed. Ru Hua brought over a stool, and he sat down to take Qiao-shi’s pulse.

The room fell silent and everyone’s heartbeat quickened.

The corners of Qiao Xiuli’s eyes twitched anxiously. She knew very well that even if the best doctor in the world came, Qiao-shi would still not be able to recover, but she felt inexplicable nervous. She had a feeling that things were starting to be out of her control.

She originally didn’t want to let Qiao-shi die so early, but Sun Mang’s sudden departure from the capital was an opportunity she couldn’t ignore. She had been thinking of ways to avoid the Shizi. Now with him out of the way, it was much easier to carry out her plans. 

As expected, things went according to her plan. The old madam’s reaction and the reactions of everyone else in the manor were all within her expectations. All she needed to do was add one straw at a time until the final straw breaks the camel’s back. 

Yet, who would’ve thought that the Shizi would come back at this time? If he had even been delayed by one day, everything would’ve gone smoothly. But he just had to return at this time.

Who ruined her plans?

It was impossible for the old madam to order someone to deliver the letter to the Shizi. No one else in the entire manor dared. There had been no outsiders vising the manor recently, except for Side Consort Su of Jin Wang Manor. But as far as she was aware, Side Consort Su didn’t even meet with Qiao-shi.

Doctor Liu released Qiao-shi’s wrist. His face was solemn.

He looked back at Sun Mang.