Chapter 42: Idle Chatter

  Thank you for the peach blossom fan from Luoyan Xianju, it's the largest reward I've received so far. Thank you also to Ai Kan Shu's lazy rabbit amulet. Thanks everyone for your support, Xiaozui will continue to work hard.

  Shu Yao was very curious about Li Zhiqing's experience in the palace. Every time she went to pay respects to the old lady, the old lady would keep talking about how much Empress Dowager Taizhen valued Li Zhiqing, and how luxurious the Forbidden City was. When Auntie knew that Emperor Kangxi had ordered the princes' consorts to attend to his illness, Shu Yao clearly felt the joy and pride bursting out of Second Aunt's body, her waist straightening even more, and she couldn't stop talking about the Crown Prince. Shu Yao understood that Li Zhiqing's ultimate goal was different from Second Aunt's.

  Shu Yao wasn't very aware of outside matters, but she had also heard that the Crown Prince was the eldest son of Emperor Kangxi's empress, second in line to the throne. Two and four are different, Shu Yao thought it would be a pity if Li Qinger married the Fourth Prince, missing out on the future emperor, now the Crown Prince, her second aunt would be heartbroken.

  As expected by Gualgiya, since Li Ziqing presented the ginseng, more and more nobles came to the Duke's mansion. Although Li Ziqing was still in the palace, no one believed that young Li Ziqing had a thousand-year-old divine root, it must be the Duke's mansion that sent it to the palace under Li Ziqing's name. The old duke Shumu Luojiaha was already ill, and the nobles didn't want to disturb him, so they turned their attention to the old lady. Gualgiya was very clever, after Zhiyuan left the capital, she only paid her respects every day and guarded the door of the second house tightly. Even if the old lady wanted Gualgiya to entertain the nobles, she couldn't find anyone.

  Her husband left the capital, and his wife was supposed to guard her virtue. Gua Erjia was confident and considered her virtue a useful tool at this time. She explained to Shu Yao with a sense of pride: "The virtue is up to you to use it well, usually it's useless, but now it's very useful, we can't waste the emperor's kindness."

  Shu Yao nodded her little head, damn it, yeah, it's really damn it. Her mother was indeed too powerful, and the reputation of the Tang Dynasty's noble lady was not in vain. Shu Yao furrowed her brow and asked, "When will Mother return?"

  "If your mother doesn't make a mess, she will definitely be promoted again after returning. I think it's possible for her to become a deputy minister in the Ministry of Works. The embankment on the Yellow River is newly built, even if there are some problems with it, it can still hold up for a while. I remember that the person in charge of the embankment is a famous official of the Qing dynasty named Yu Chenglong. I think he won't embezzle money and be corrupt. If your mother can complete this task, it will be a great achievement."

  "So you're saying that His Majesty didn't intentionally give credit to Ama?"

  Gual Jia put the emerald earrings on her daughter, and casually stroked Shu Yao's small face. It was so smooth and delicate, did being a sleepyhead have such benefits? Other people's daughters were like scallions, but her own daughter was the finest and smoothest cow's milk. She stroked again, and Shu Yao burrowed into Gual Jia's arms, her long eyelashes trembling, "Mother."

  "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore." Guajia was delighted to hug Shuyao tightly. Her daughter was still her own, and no matter how much she spoiled her, it wasn't enough. "Jian's advantage in the emperor's heart is just this good, otherwise your mother wouldn't have been beaten with ten sticks for nothing!"

  "Ten slaps can bring promotion, everyone will choose to be slapped."

  Guarjia was amused by Shu Yao, "Silly girl, getting spanked is a skill, your Ama is straightforward but has a good sense of proportion in her heart. What I'm afraid of now is that he and Yu Chenglong will clash, your Ama's temper can't be changed."

  "Isn't Ama very respectful of honest officials?" Shu Yao was puzzled. "Logically speaking, she should have become bosom friends with Yu Chenglong."

  Gua Lijia's mouth curled up in a sneer, "Does Yao'er know what the most satisfying thing about your Ama is?"

  This is also Shu Yao's biggest doubt since learning that her mother, Guan Jia Shi, was a noble lady of the Great Tang Dynasty. From her mother's handling of affairs, she seems clever and capable, what kind of magnificence and heroism would a noble lady of the Great Tang possess? She should be content with being a virtuous wife and assisting her husband, if there is nothing worthy about her husband, Shu Yao does not believe it.

  "He is straightforward and not hypocritical, although loyal to the emperor but also able to adapt to changing circumstances. What's rare is that he won't sacrifice his wife and children for the sake of a clear name. Ah, being a clean official sounds good, but what kind of life do the wives and children of clean officials lead? Do they achieve their reputation by eating bran and choking on vegetables? If you can't even protect your own family, how can you govern the world? Shu Yao, not all clean officials are good. Think about Hai Rui from the Ming dynasty, who starved his own daughter to death just because... just because she was so hungry that she ate a piece of bread given by a passerby. What kind of clean official is that? It's all nonsense."

  "Mother, don't get excited, don't get excited." Shu Yao hugged Guan Jia's arm, her delicate white hands helping Guan Jia to calm down. Reading too many books isn't good either, look how it got Mother all worked up. Shu Yao didn't like reading history books and had no idea who Hai Rui was. Shu Yao found another excuse for her lazy days, sleeping is actually very nice.

  Shu Yao didn't dare ask about Hai Rui again, Guwalgiya took a deep breath, looked at Shu Yao and slowly calmed down: "Scared you?"

  "Mother, no matter what, I will never be scared of you."

  "Good."

  Shu Yao's thoughtful and affectionate actions made Guajia very happy. Although her daughter was a bit lazy, she was considerate, much better than Li Qinger. "Your father hates those who seek fame and fortune, honest officials are hard to come by, but that doesn't mean they won't make mistakes just because of their reputation. People often forgive their wrongdoings because of their good name. I'm worried now that your father will clash with Yu Chenglong."

  "I think Yu Chenglong can't surpass Ama." Shu Yao counted on her fingers, saying: "In terms of eloquence and citing classics, Big Brother is second to none, no one dares to be second, Ama is just average, third in the world."

  Gua Lijia poked Shu Yao's little head, "You, being heard by outsiders, don't even know how to arrange your big brother."

  "If you don't believe me, let's have a competition with big brother. Mother, I really think that in this aspect, no one can surpass big brother."

  Shu Yao emphasized this point, her small face tense, emphasizing that she was very serious and not joking. But looking at Shu Xuan asking how many scholars had run away, wasn't it clear enough? The most deadly thing about Big Brother Shu Xuan was that every sentence he said could be found in the Four Books and Five Classics, rather than just reciting from memory. His logic was clear and he applied what he learned, not just reading dead books. Shu Yao admired this greatly, but whenever Big Brother started spouting classical phrases, Shu Yao thought... she wanted to sleep, really, it was more effective than a lullaby.

  Shu Xuan can run away from anyone, only his sister is listening, and all he can say is that Shu Yao's ability to sleep with her eyes open has gotten stronger, but Shu Xuan didn't notice.

  "Madam, the seamstress who will make clothes for the young lady has arrived."

  "Let her in."

  Guarjia let go of Shu Yao, adjusted the collar of her daughter's new cheongsam, "Make a few more dresses, I won't be stingy with my daughter."

  "Uh-huh." Shu Yao responded very neatly, without any pretentiousness. Since her mother-in-law had asked her to make clothes, and gave her jewelry and accessories, it meant that their family could completely afford Shu Yao's exquisite life. Although Shu Yao was not good at embroidery, it didn't stop her from appreciating exquisite embroidered products. The embroidery on the cheongsam and other clothes was beautiful and magnificent, like a work of art. Shu Yao liked them very much, they were all made of silk, soft to the touch. In her past life, she had only worn military uniforms, this life she must make up for it.

  Tong Jia's lady was busy entertaining noble guests when she heard that Guwalgiya had found a seamstress to make clothes for Shu Yao. A flash of discontent crossed her eyes: "Isn't it enough that Liu Yaotou is already dressed and fed well? Look at the brand new purple cheongsam with slanted collar she wore today, and now they're making more clothes? The second house is showing off again, aren't they afraid of ruining Liu Yaotou's good fortune?" A servant reported, "I heard that the second madam ordered someone to find a fur goods merchant. Beijing is cold in winter, and Sixth Miss grew up in Huizhou and can't stand the cold, so she wants to buy good furs for winter."

  "Never mind," said Tong Jia. Thinking of her current financial situation, all the silver was in Old Lady's hands, and she held it tightly, not willing to spend a single penny. She also wanted to buy clothes and leather for her daughter, but there was no silver. Shu Jing was fine, as Old Lady would never mistreat her, but whenever Tong Jia thought of Shu Yao's attire, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her eldest daughter, Shu Wen.

  Guar Jia never intentionally hid her wealth, nor would she pretend to be poor. The silver that was supposed to be handed over to the government, Guar Jia would not hesitate to give it away. The remaining silver was all earned by her own abilities, and no one could take it away from her. She wanted to spoil her daughter and give her the best life possible, who could stop her? If you're not satisfied, then what can you do? Tong Jia could only grit her teeth in secret, cursing a few times. She was far less capable than Guar Jia, only knowing how to save silver, never thinking of earning it. At most, she would try to curry favor with the old lady, hoping that the old lady would reveal some silver from her fingers. Her husband's official position was not high, and there were no benefits. Although Tong Jia had brought two small estates as dowry, she wouldn't spare any for her daughter. They were all hidden away, preparing to be used for her son's marriage.

  "Mother, is that enough?" Shu Yao only just realized that choosing clothes was exhausting, but Guajia Shi was enthusiastic, pointing at the pearl red satin and saying: "This color, according to what we discussed earlier, make four sets."

  "Yes." The embroiderer's face broke into a smile, "Madam has good taste, look at this snow-white satin, it matches the young lady's skin tone perfectly, and with the embroidered blue lotus, when the young lady wears it..."

  "Not good, too plain. My daughter doesn't wear pretentious clothes. Snow embroidery is fine, embroider white peonies for me."

  "Nice to meet you, madam."

  Guarjia and the seamstress were discussing, Shu Yao counted, today just making clothes made more than ten sets, looking at Guarjia's appearance, it wouldn't be enough for twenty sets to stop, Shu Yao let out a sigh, having a rich mother is really good.

  The embroidery girl and the tailor left with great joy, this is a big business. In the future, if there are good fabrics and patterns, they will go to the Duke's mansion for a stroll. Madame Gualya has an extraordinary temperament, although she spends money lavishly, but without any hint of being a nouveau riche, her noble bearing shines through, her eyes are discerning, and her color matching is excellent, few ladies can compare with her. The embroidery girl and the tailor dare not underestimate Madame Gualya, nor do they dare to deceive her. "Wait for the leather to arrive, then make a few more large fur collars."

  "Uh-huh."

  Xiu Yao lazily leaned against Guar Jia Shi, "Mother, when will Elder Sister return to the manor?"

  "I reckon it'll still take some days..."

  "The master, Empress Dowager is sending Eldest Princess back."