Da Chun panicked and fell into melancholy. His intuition told him that if he couldn’t submit a satisfactory answer sheet, he would “die” miserably. Previously, because his father-in-law hadn’t given him a deadline, he had been working leisurely. Now, suddenly learning that he had returned, there wasn’t enough time.
So he began burning the midnight oil, seeking guidance on things he didn’t understand.
For a time, everyone in the Silin Gioro family saw Da Chun looking extremely diligent. His grandmother even had Ying Yu advise him not to work too hard, at least not to stay up so late at night, as physical health was most important.
Ying Yu could only smile without speaking. She had tried to persuade him, saying her father was a very good person, and that she herself had previously had incomplete coursework, and he wouldn’t make things too difficult for her. As a result, after her husband heard these words of hers, he became even more anxious, and even his sleep at night was restless. He would wake up halfway through to look at the sky, and if he couldn’t fall back asleep, he would get up and continue picking up his brush.
This desperate momentum left Ying Yu watching without knowing what else to say.
She could only silently prepare various delicious foods for him, handle all other matters properly, not let him worry about them, and allow him to focus all his attention on completing his coursework.
On the other side, the Fourth Prince also received some questions sent by Lin Ruhai, mostly concerning people’s livelihood.
He had worked alongside this father-in-law before and had some understanding of his character.
However, judging from the coursework he had left behind, this father-in-law of his had an understanding of people’s livelihood that still somewhat exceeded his expectations.
Unlike Da Chun, the Fourth Prince had completed his coursework early. When Lin Ruhai still hadn’t confirmed when he would return, he had someone deliver the coursework along with seasonal gifts.
Perhaps from his responses, he had obtained what he wanted, as no more questions were assigned to him.
Upon receiving the invitation from the Lin family, the Fourth Prince went to Fujin’s courtyard to inquire about the prepared gift list.
This was a happy occasion for Ce Fujin’s father and birth mother, and he would go sit for a while.
After looking at the gifts and finding them appropriate, he left.
Fujin watched his departing figure. Without asking, she knew where he was going, staring blankly at his retreating back.
Ever since Ce Fujin Lin had entered the household, she had leaped to become the Fourth Prince’s most favored person. If it weren’t for Lady Li Gege’s child, she would barely be able to compete with Ce Fujin Lin. Moreover, this was someone who could remain steady. Lady Li had provoked her several times, but she had endured it all, earning a reputation for being modest and magnanimous, making the Fourth Prince feel tender toward her. Such heavy scheming.
Now that Ce Fujin Lin’s father was about to be promoted, this was truly not good news for her.
Because she would soon be able to return and see her father and concubine mother, Luo Yu had been in a very good mood recently. When the Fourth Prince entered, the corners of her mouth were smiling as she held a brush in her hand, painting.
She was painting a sleeve dog, one of the Fourth Prince’s beloved dogs. Fluffy and soft, the Fourth Prince had even specially designed clothes for it.
Every time she saw all that fur, it always reminded Luo Yu of the iron-eating beast their family had raised before—that is, a panda. When it was small, it was extremely adorable, but as it grew bigger and bigger, and those teeth became increasingly sharp, afterward Grandmother wouldn’t allow them to keep it anymore. She spent considerable effort to have professionals escort it back and release it into the mountain forests.
After that, she didn’t plan to raise another small one either. Although they were very cute, once they grew up, Grandmother wouldn’t feel at ease. Grandmother didn’t object to them raising other small cats and dogs, but at that time she had also lost interest and never actively brought it up again.
After arriving at the Fourth Prince’s residence, the Fourth Prince was a dog lover with a special kennel where he kept his beloved dogs. When she had nothing to do, she would also go look at them, and could even discuss with him some insights on raising fluffy creatures, knowing how to raise them to make their fur smoother and more lustrous.
Now she had begun painting with her brush, and what she drew was very lifelike. Although she had only painted half, the Fourth Prince was already surprised.
“Huai Zhen, from which master did you learn this painting skill?”
Luo Yu smiled: “From my father and concubine mother, mainly from my concubine mother. Her paintings are extremely good.” She said this with great pride.
The Fourth Prince was surprised again: “Do you have any of her works here?”
Luo Yu: “Yes, my lord, please wait…”
While they were enjoying themselves harmoniously here, on the other side, Concubine Mei had been ill for a long time and now had unwillingly and reluctantly “recovered.”
Upon learning that Yun Shuyao had received the status of a fourth-rank mandarin lady, Concubine Mei had fallen ill. At first, she had truly been sick—the blow was too great. Salt extraction, what purification—she had no idea such things had happened at all!
It was only when the Emperor’s edict came down, the master was promoted, and Yun Shuyao also received the reward of becoming a mandarin lady that she learned of it.
She tried hard to recall—had there been such an incident?
In the kitchen?
Yun Shuyao had gone to the kitchen too many times; she had never thought that Yun Shuyao would create such a good thing there in the kitchen!
Thinking back on it, Concubine Mei felt very regretful. What had she missed?
If this were true, wouldn’t she also have had a share of the credit if she had also participated at that time?
Even if it was a tiny, the smallest credit, she should have also become a mandarin lady now, right? Thinking of this, her heart felt as if it were being roasted by fire, so she fell ill.
The Old Madam was a person who cherished health. She had sent Doctor Zhou to Yangzhou to stay by her son’s side because his medical skills were the best, and at that time her son’s condition was also the most dangerous. After the fact that her son was fine, the Old Madam didn’t have the intention to have Doctor Zhou return. Doctor Zhou still had disciples here, and she could still regularly spend silver to invite imperial physicians to come out and take on outside work, helping them examine pulses.
When Concubine Mei fell ill, the Old Madam had someone come look at her. After knowing how she had fallen ill, the Old Madam felt speechless inside and had people serve her well, then didn’t bother with her anymore.
Over all these years, Concubine Mei had never learned her lesson. After sulking for a while, she would automatically get better. Otherwise, falling short of Concubine Yun every single time, if she had continued like this she would have long been angered to death. However, this time being able to make herself sick from anger also showed how big a blow this was to her, even bigger than the blow of not having a son.
She knew quality when she saw it.
To her, whether or not she had the status of a mandarin lady was much more important than not having a son.
She wasn’t sick for long. After recovering, she still claimed she was ill and didn’t want to go out and see people. The Old Madam didn’t bother with her either—if she wanted to be sick, let her be sick. The eldest granddaughter was already married; as long as she didn’t make such a fuss that the eldest granddaughter knew about it and worried, she could stay in her courtyard as long as she wanted.
When Lin Ruhai and Yun Shuyao returned, and she received news that they were coming to the capital, she had no choice but to “recover.”
Everything else was fine. It was just that when facing Yun Shuyao, the smile on her face was somewhat twisted. She knew that with the status of a mandarin lady, Yun Shuyao had thoroughly risen above her head.
She wasn’t the legitimate wife now, but in a certain sense, in the situation where the master wouldn’t remarry, she could almost be regarded as the legitimate wife. When going in and out, everyone would have to address her as “Lady.”
Leaving others aside, who would regard her as a concubine?
This time, even if she gave birth to a son, she couldn’t catch up, unless she could also establish such a merit and then have the Emperor reward her.
But where would she get such merit from?
With this unwillingness, when she saw Yun Shuyao, the expression on her face was very spectacular. At first, Yun Shuyao even thought her face was having spasms—a stiff smile wanting to appear intimate, while her eyes were full of bitter resentment.
Concubine Mei wouldn’t think she would do something to her and so was coming to “curry favor” with her, would she?
She was overthinking it.
Seeing them return, the Old Madam was naturally very happy, inquiring after her son’s welfare with care. Even toward Yun Shuyao, her attitude had now become much warmer.
When the Old Madam received the news, she was also surprised, but overall she was mostly happy.
Her son had become the Right Censor-in-Chief, Concubine Yun had become a mandarin lady, and presumably her son’s side afterward would rarely be transferred out of the capital. In that case, in the short term, the family would basically all be together—this was a great happy event.
The second happy event was Concubine Yun. Her status had risen, which was good for the Lin family, for herself, for the second granddaughter, and for the eldest grandson.
It was even good for the Old Madam herself.
With this layer of status, she could also have a hand in the household management of the Lin family, and she herself could relax a little.
The Jia family learned of this matter very late—only when Lin Ruhai and Yun Shuyao were about to return to the capital did they know.
Speaking of it, this matter was quite novel. An inner household female relative establishing merit, and moreover being summoned by the Emperor and conferred the title of fourth-rank mandarin lady?
It sounded like a storyteller telling tales on stage, giving people a sense of unreal absurdity.
Whether it was Grandmother Jia or others, upon hearing this news they all froze.
Second Madam Wang’s face was like she had knocked over a jar of mixed flavors. She was firmly in the skeptical camp. She suspected that Yun Shuyao’s merit was given to her by Lin Ruhai just to elevate her—simply preposterous! And the Emperor had been deceived by the two of them!
Moreover, fourth-rank mandate!
This mandarin lady status wasn’t something you got just from being an official; a man had to request the conferral. She also had a mandate on her person. Because the master was a sixth-rank director, right now she was only a sixth-rank mandate!
Two full ranks below her!
She was merely a concubine, yet she pressed down on her head. If the other party wanted her to perform a courtesy bow, she couldn’t refuse. How could Second Madam Wang accept this?
Upon receiving the invitation, she fell “ill” and needed rest, playing dumb about this matter.
Wang Xifeng: “…”
She cried bitterly in her heart. Her good aunt had directly thrown the matter to her, and she couldn’t make the decision either!
She had no choice but to take the invitation to find the Old Ancestress. To make the atmosphere better, she specifically picked a time when Baoyu was present: “Old Ancestress, this is an invitation sent by the Lin family.”
Grandmother Jia’s brows lightly furrowed, then relaxed as she slowly opened the invitation: “…Son-in-law being promoted, hosting a banquet—this is a great happy event. You prepare a gift, and when the day comes, go together with Lian’er and Baoyu.”
Wang Xifeng: “I’ve already drafted the list.”
She just couldn’t decide how much to send. The New Year gifts before had made her ache for quite a while, and she had used her own dowry to cover it first.
But after the Lin family received such a generous gift, it was as if nothing had happened—not a single reaction.
Now, should she still send a generous gift?
The list she drafted wasn’t thin.
Grandmother Jia frowned as she finished reading: “Add another thirty percent.”
Wang Xifeng wore a bitter expression: “Old Ancestress, our accounts…”
The rents collected before the New Year had all been spent. A while ago, the Grand Master wanted five hundred taels to buy a bronze tripod, the Master took three hundred taels to buy an ancient book, the Madam took another three hundred taels to add study supplies for Baoyu—the accounts had no money left. If they added more, where would the silver come from?
To save expenses, some items on her list were things taken from the storehouse.
She couldn’t keep using her own dowry to subsidize everything, could she?
Grandmother Jia put down the list, speaking lightly: “You go discuss with the Madam. I’ve long since stopped managing these trivial matters.”