CH 44

Of late, Madam Wei was unable to fulfil her conjugal duties due to her pregnancy, and so arranged for the maid who had come with her from her maiden home when she got married to attend to Lou Jianyu in bed. That maid looked to be a simple, slow-witted girl, but she unexpectedly managed to gain Lou Jianyu’s favour, to the point whereby he didn’t even return to Madam Wei’s chambers any more. He simply spent all his time in the side chamber that she was housed in, and Madam Wei felt more and more uneasy as the days passed.

“Chun Tao is to come along as well,” Madam Wei said, intensely irritated. She was hurriedly packing her things, but that maid of hers was still resting in the side chamber! 

“Furen, don’t be angry. The Guogong ye is still in the side chamber, and Chun Tao can’t come out even if she wanted to,” Madam Wei’s personal mama advised. “Chun Tao was brought over from the Yongning Bo residence, and at least she’s fully within your control. She’ll stop servicing the Guogong ye once you return in spring. If the Guogong ye took in another concubine, that would be much harder to manage.”

When Lou Jing returned to the main Anguo Gong residence, he saw everyone going about their tasks in a relaxed, unhurried manner. There were no signs of the hustle and bustle that would ordinarily have accompanied Madam Wei’s departure. He smiled coldly to himself and went into the upper court.

“The sun is already high in the sky. Do you all have no sense of urgency? What if you delay the furen’s departure? Are you able to bear the consequences then?” Lou Jing said sternly, reprimanding the butler as he sat in the main hall.

“Replying to Shizi ye, furen is only going to the country estate in the outskirts of the Capital, so there’s no issue even if she leaves past noon,” the butler explained quickly, smiling in a servile manner. 

The country estate in the outskirts of the Capital? Lou Jing narrowed his eyes. It had already been determined that she would go to Fu County. How had the destination suddenly changed to the outskirts of the Capital?

“What are you here for?” Lou Jianyu asked antagonistically. He felt irritated just looking at this son of his. “Shouldn’t you be at the Northern Barracks now? You should be worried that someone will steal your Left Commander-General position from you if you don’t do your work properly.”

“I heard that today’s the day furen is departing for Fu County, and so took a day of leave. I have the Qingyang Bo’s approval,” Lou Jing said, smiling as he took out a hundred taels of silver and put it on the table. This was his departure gift to Madam Wei for this upcoming trip.

On hearing Fu County mentioned, Lou Jianyu couldn’t keep a straight face, and he made a vague sound in his throat.

Madam Wei had just finished packing up her things, and she came out to see Lou Jing standing in the main residence. Her expression darkened, but she forced herself to remain calm and sat down to exchange a few pleasantries with Lou Jing.

“It’s getting late. Furen, please get on the horse carriage quickly. The road is long, and I intend to escort furen there personally,” Lou Jing said. He didn’t want to waste time talking rot with these people. He stood up, arranged his robes properly, then instructed a servant to bring his horse over.

Madam Wei looked panicked now, and she hurriedly gave Lou Jianyu a push.

Lou Jianyu coughed lightly. “Ahem. Fu County is too far, and furen has a weak constitution. She won’t be able to take the cold there. I’ve made an executive decision – she will stay in the country estate near the Capital, so you won’t have to escort her any more,” he said. 

“Of your two country estates near the Capital, one is right next to the Qingyang Bo’s farm, and the other is very near the Third Prince’s horse-racing grounds. Does Father wish to embarrass me in front of my superior or the Imperial family?” Lou Jing asked, a faint, sardonic smile on his face as he looked at Lou Jianyu.

Lou Jianyu’s heart thudded ominously in his chest. He had earlier been persuaded by Madam Wei and her maid, who had both said that Fu County was too far away, and wasn’t good for Madam Wei’s health or the child’s health; plus, he was the real master of this house, the great Guogong ye! Why should he have to listen obediently to what his son said? Lou Jianyu had thus agreed to let Madam Wei stay near the Capital. However, now that he thought about it, it was indeed inappropriate.

“The Third Prince only goes to race horses, what, once every half year at most? Also, I’ll be inside the house. If I don’t come out, how am I supposed to bump into the Third Prince?” Madam Wei said, gripping her handkerchief tightly as she tried to rescue the situation. She really didn’t want to go to Fu Country. If she remained in the outskirts of the Capital, she could still exert some measure of control over things in the Anguo Gong residence and manage the finances. On top of that, if anything happened, her maiden family would be able to help her out. All this would not be possible if she went to faraway Fu County, where she had no connections and no one to rely upon for help.

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Lou Jing was also just posturing when he said that he was going to send Madam Wei there personally. He wasn’t actually going to do that. He told Gao Yi to follow them as their guard and make sure that Madam Wei was in fact sent to Fu County. He himself walked jauntily toward the Northern Barracks, staying there until it was time to knock off, after which, he invited the Qingyang Bo to the Drunken Fairy to have drinks.

“This year, the harvest from my country estates hasn’t been very good,” the Qingyang Bo said with a sigh. After many cups of wine, he was much more relaxed, and started sharing with Lou Jing about his domestic affairs. “In the past, the old Anguo Gong used to do illegal horse trading in the Northwest – is this still a viable business now?”

Obe Alcu rtbbx tlr tfjv. “Kkb sfjgr jub, atf Swqfgbg vfmgffv atja la kbeiv cbk tjnf bnfgrluta bo jii tbgrf rjifr. Glvc’a tf rfcv jc boolmlji atfgf obg atlr nfgs qegqbrf?” tf rjlv. 

“What, can that fellow actually tell the Anguo Gong what to do?” the Qingyang Bo said, snorting. He clinked cups with Lou Jing, looking rather disbelieving. He heard that the official managing horse trading was a second-ranked official. The Minister of the Right had pushed to promote an unknown fellow to the post back then, and as far as he’d heard, the man hadn’t made any noteworthy achievements in the past two years.

“Not exactly, but…” Lou Jing drained the wine in his cup, then picked up the wine jar to fill the Qingyang Bo’s cup. “He takes a thirty percent cut of all transactions, regardless of whether you’re buying or selling.”

“Thirty percent?!” the Qingyang Bo exclaimed. That was too much. There were very little profits to speak of after one took off thirty percent of the sale price.

“If you have some silver to spare, I do know of a business opportunity that you may want to get into,” Lou Jing said, smiling mysteriously as he spoke in a low voice. 

“Pray tell,” the Qingyang Bo said, his interest piqued. He knew Lou Jing wouldn’t say this unless he had a really good opportunity up his sleeve.

Lou Jing’s eyes curved into smiling half-moons, and he leaned closer to the Qingyang Bo. “Repairing canals,” he said quietly.

The business of repairing canals required so much silver that Shen Lian wasn’t able to foot it all. Lou Jing figured that if he was going to participate in this enterprise, he might as well pull in a few individuals of renown, so that if something bad did happen, he, as a mere Shizi, would be considered a small fish in comparison.

The Qingyang Bo became very excited on hearing this proposition and discussed this in great detail with Lou Jing. 

The two got along like a house on fire after that. As they were talking and laughing, a loud cheer erupted from the private room next door. It seemed very lively, and the Qingyang Bo instructed his servant to have a look. When the servant came back, he reported that there were quite a few noblemen in the room next door, and the Fourth Prince, Xiao Chengzheng was part of the group gathered there.

The Fourth Prince? Lou Jing raised an eyebrow. That dopey-looking fellow who came to pay his respects on the second day after his marriage to Xiao Chengjun? He had never come back to visit them at the Eastern Palace after that day, and it was well-known that he wasn’t good at networking and making friends.

“Now that the Crown Prince is deposed, the Fourth Prince is the most likely to ascend the throne,” the Qingyang Bo said in a low voice to Lou Jing. “The Second Prince is much too sickly to be a real option, even though he has the brains for it. It’s no wonder these people are trying to butter him up.”

Lou Jing smiled lightly. “Are you also going to join in the fun?” he asked. 

“Bah, not me. That room is full of young people,” the Qingyang Bo said, shaking his head. He picked up his cup and clinked it against Lou Jing’s.

Lou Jing looked at the Qingyang Bo, then raised his cup as well. The ones who were trying to butter up the Fourth Prince were all the small fry nobility. The ones like Qingyang Bo, who had real power and influence, would not bother doing that. He suddenly remembered a saying – the higher you fly, the harder you fall. He wondered whether the person supporting the Fourth Prince was Chen Guifei or the Empress.

A few days later, the Jingnan Hou brought his whole family back to the Capital, and the Emperor personally threw a homecoming banquet for them.

Two days later, the Empress sought leave to visit his family in the Jingnan Hou residence, and the Chunde Emperor gave his approval. Xiao Chengjun and the Fourth Prince went back with the Empress in their capacity as the Empress’ adopted sons. 

The Jingnan Hou’s hair had mostly turned white, but he was still hale and healthy, and his aura was still very imposing. He led all his family members in kneeling before the Empress in greeting. “Chen welcomes the Empress,” he said respectfully.

“Get up, there’s no need for all this formality,” Ji Zhuo said, getting off the palanquin and striding forward quickly to help his old father to his feet.

The father and son just looked at each other silently for a while after that, unable to find the words to say to each other. The Jingnan Hou Shizi, who was also the Empress’ older brother, Ji Zhen, quickly came forward. “Come, let’s invite the Empress inside,” he said.

The Jingnan Hou collected himself then, and personally led the Empress toward the interior of the residence. Ji Zhen hung back to accompany Xiao Chengjun and his brother. 

“This son is unfilial; I am unable to stay by Father’s side…” Ji Zhuo said, lifting his robes and kneeling before the Jingnan Hou the moment they reached the main hall and dismissed the servants.

“How could you say that?” the Jingnan Hou said, hurrying forward to help the Empress up. “It is I, your father, who has not done right by you.” His eyes, which looked very much like the Empress’ own piercing eagle eyes, suddenly turned red at the rims. That year, he was forced by circumstances to marry his second son off into the Imperial family as a male wife, and he had never thought that the Emperor would be so adverse to the idea of liking a man. Ji Zhuo had suffered greatly for many years now, and from the Jingnan Hou’s viewpoint, his son had been the one dragged down by his family’s circumstances.

“A good man is able to protect his home and country no matter where he is. I am simply doing that in a very unique way. Father, please do not blame yourself,” Ji Zhuo said, smiling sincerely.

Xiao Chengjun felt rather emotional as he watched this scene. At the end of the day, a man who was married off as a male wife was still lowering his own status, but in spite of that, that person was still willing to remain with him of his own free will. Xiao Chengjun thought to himself that he really had to treasure Lou Jing. 

The Ji family gathered together and started talking about old times. Xiao Chengjun took that excuse to take a walk outside, and pulled the Fourth Prince off with him to the room next door.

“Dianxias, please excuse us for being poor hosts,” Ji Zhen said apologetically, following them out of the room. He arranged for some tea and cakes to be served.

“Jiujiu, you’re too polite,” the Fourth Prince said good-naturedly.

The three of them conversed politely for a while, after which, Xiao Chengjun said he and the Fourth Prince would be fine on their own, and told Ji Zhen to return to the Empress. Ji Zhen sent for his eldest son to accompany the two princes before he left. 

“Eldest Imperial Brother, recently, a lot of the nobles and officials keep asking me out for drinks, but they won’t say why,” Xiao Chengzheng said quietly, taking the opportunity to say this before Ji Zhen’s eldest son came.

Xiao Chengjun’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he looked at his brother. “Most likely, they’re trying to network with you,” he said.

Xiao Chengzheng was going to say something when Ji Zhen’s eldest son arrived. He didn’t say any more after that.

Xiao Chengjun sipped his tea quietly, watching the Fourth Prince and the Ji Zhen’s son converse merrily. He then lowered his gaze. This Fourth Imperial Brother of his usually made himself seem like he only liked to spend his time riding horses and practicing martial arts. Who would have guessed that he was actually an excellent conversationalist? One really could not judge a book by its cover. Then again, there were some military generals who were indeed good at making conversation. Lou Jing was one such example. 

The corners of Xiao Chengjun’s eyes tilted upward imperceptibly as he thought about Lou Jing. Well, the Fourth Prince had always been fairly close to him. Perhaps he was overthinking things.

The Empress had the Fourth Prince accompany him on a walk around the gardens after the lunch banquet, leaving Min Wang alone in the front atrium.

The Fourth Prince smiled as he supported the Empress. They walked toward the gardens at the back of the Ji family residence. Ever since the Crown Prince had been deposed, Xiao Chengzheng felt that he had received more attention than ever before. Even his Father Empress now looked at him more approvingly. He felt sorry for his Eldest Imperial Brother, but at the same time, couldn’t help being secretly happy about this development.

Xiao Chengjun remained expressionless as he watched the Empress leave with the Fourth Prince. He slowly sipped his tea as he sat in the front atrium. Before long, the Jingnan Hou walked over to him. “This old official has obtained a set of glazed horses from the Southeast. Dianxia, would you like to have a look?” the Jingnan Hou said. 

“It would be my pleasure,” Xiao Chengjun said, standing to follow the Jingnan Hou to his study.

When Xiao Chengjun returned to his residence that night, he shut himself in his study. Of course, this didn’t stop a certain fellow who flipped over the wall.

“What’s this?” Lou Jing asked, sidling over and looking curiously at the leather scroll on the table. When he got a good look at it, he froze for a brief moment. A map of the Southeast was drawn out on the leather scroll.

“What did you notice?” Xiao Chengjun said. He didn’t stop Lou Jing from looking at it. 

“Here, and here – these are all good places to hide an army,” Lou Jing said, raising a hand and pointing toward certain points marked out on the map. “And here – this is a good place to plant crops for army supplies.”

The two looked at each other silently after that. There was no need for words. They both knew what that meant.

The Jingnan Hou’s power and influence in the Southeast remained unshaken, and this afternoon, the Jingnan Hou had given Xiao Chengjun all the resources at his disposal. Xiao Chengjun sighed. His Father Empress was really, really good to him.

Lou Jing pouted a bit, then reached out to pull the emotional Xiao Chengjun into his arms. “This is nothing. I’ll bring you a map of Jinzhou’s defences one of these days,” he said a little petulantly. 

Xiao Chengjun couldn’t help laughing helplessly as he looked at Lou Jing. “Then you have my thanks in advance,” he said.

“Don’t bother thanking me in words,” Lou Jing said, grinning a toothy grin. “I’d rather you use your body to express your gratitude.”