Daily Life of a Powerful Official Supporting His Wife

Chapter 56

Chapter 56

After seeing off the two giants, Yan Shi and Cheng Linghe, Xie Junling's expression suddenly darkened. He glared at Lu Baoer, feeling a pang of irritation, and said, "Madam, you are quite magnanimous."

"Huh?" Lu Bao'er was baffled by Xie Junling's words. She was completely bewildered and asked hurriedly, "Why are you praising me all of a sudden?"

Is this a compliment? Xie Junling felt extremely awkward. After a moment, he continued, "What if she had run into me instead of Zhu Sheng? She's only letting Zhu Sheng go now because she's unwilling to marry him. If she had run into me and started crying and fussing, wouldn't my wife, who is so magnanimous, have taken her into the inner chamber?"

"Of course not." Lu Baoer said softly.

Hearing her refusal, Xie Junling's expression improved and he said "hmm" calmly.

Before long, Lu Baoer spoke up: "How can such a disrespectful woman like her be accepted into the mansion? If she is to be a good match for a husband, she must be well-read, sensible and sensible."

Lu Baoer thought she was good at talking, and that trying to please Xie Junling would surely make him happy.

But Xie Junling got even angrier. He sneered and refused to say a word. So she could share him with other women? Was Xie Junling really so unimportant to her that she had to push him around and give him to someone else?
He treated her so well, why didn't Lu Baoer know it? Xie Junling rarely gave his heart to her, but now he felt like he had thrown it away. He was so foolish. It turned out that Lu Baoer was blindly playing the role of Mrs. Xie and never cared about him.

Is it really that fun to tease him? Xie Junling felt like he was blind.

He took a deep breath. Although he was angry, he couldn't bear to vent his anger on Lu Baoer.

At this time, he just said lightly: "I will sleep on the Arhat couch in the study tonight."

Lu Baoer guessed that Xie Junling was busy with official business and couldn't disturb him, so she said, "Then I'll ask the nanny to bring you a charcoal basin to warm your feet."

She remembered that there was no floor heating in the study and it was very cold.

Xie Junling refused coldly: "No need."

After saying this, he waved his sleeves and left.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Xie Junling was angry, and Lu Baoer was even more confused.

When the old nanny arrived, she saw the young couple parting ways and felt very sad. She hurriedly asked Lu Baoer: "What happened?"

Lu Baoer thought about it and came to a conclusion: "Maybe my husband is blaming me for not bringing that cousin into the house?" Otherwise, why would he be angry?
Hearing this, the old nanny frowned and gritted her teeth, saying, "All men in the world are the same! Madam, don't bother with him. Madam, you are in your prime, and yet the master dares to think about someone else. Won't the mansion be filled with beautiful women in the future? I beg you to forgive me for this. Just let him make trouble!"

Lu Baoer nodded in a daze and simply ignored it.

Xie Junling was still holed up in his study room until dinner time. Lu Baoer knew that he could be so engrossed in reading that he wouldn't eat all night.

But this was not good for the body, and she was very worried, so she brought a bowl of knife-cut noodles with chicken soup to Xie Junling.

Perhaps hearing the noise, Xie Junling said through the door, "Did Madam ask you to bring some food? Leave it by the door, I'll get it myself."

Lu Baoer pursed her lips and smiled: "Husband, it's me! Open the door quickly!"

Xie Junling was startled. Seeing that the sky outside was gray and snowing, he was worried that Lu Baoer would be cold, so he quickly opened the door and said, "Why are you here? You didn't even ask Madam to put a cloak on you."

Xie Junling's anger came and went quickly; within two hours, he had already calmed down. Didn't he know Lu Baoer's personality? She had been like this since she was a child, not fond of fighting, and never willing to say what she liked. But when she was frightened at night, she still knew to look for him, and when she wanted a drink of water, she knew to call him. Wasn't it enough to just rely on him? Why worry about so many things?
Thinking of this, Xie Junling felt that Lu Baoer still held him in high esteem. Being able to remain calm even in such a low position meant that Xie Junling was a man of great resilience.

Lu Baoer's face was a little red from the cold. She took out the chicken noodle soup from the lunch box, put down the chopsticks, and called out to Xie Junling to eat: "Husband, please try this. I watched the cook cook it. I know you like vegetarian food, so I asked someone to cut two cucumbers and put them in it."

It was difficult to grow the cucumbers, and there was only a small basket of them. Some of the cucumbers were given to Old Lady Su, and the rest were kept in the house for Lu Baoer to taste.

Xie Junling's mind flickered. He knew Lu Bao'er loved cucumbers, which was why he usually saved them for her. But he hadn't known she was thinking of him, even watching the cook make him chicken soup. Xie Junling felt a surge of affection, and any remaining pent-up anger faded. He hated eating in the study, feeling it would tarnish the scholar's books. But today, for Lu Bao'er, he made an exception for the first time.

Xie Junling picked up a handful of noodles and ate them politely, while Lu Baoer, her chin propped up by her hands, gazed at him with a smile. The chicken soup was a rich broth that Aunt Ye had been cooking all day. The chicken was cooked until completely tender, melting into the broth. The excess shredded meat was removed and mixed with sesame oil, coriander, and other small condiments like peanuts, Sichuan peppercorns, and fermented black bean paste, making it a cold dish to accompany the porridge in the morning. It was clear that all the essence had been absorbed into the soup, making it extremely nourishing. Xie Junling was usually busy with official duties, and Lu Baoer wanted to fulfill her duty as a good wife and help him recuperate.

Seeing that Xie Junling had eaten more than usual, Lu Baoer hurriedly asked for a reward: "What do you think, my husband? Is it delicious?"

Xie Junling wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, put down his chopsticks, and then said slowly, "Not bad."

The maids outside the study heard the noise, hurried in to take away the food boxes, and brought a cup of salt water for Xie Junling to rinse his mouth.

He rinsed his mouth and washed his hands, thinking about going back to the house with Lu Baoer. However, the harsh words he had said before were still fresh in his mind, making him feel a little embarrassed. He wanted to go back, but he had to keep his composure and act like a gentleman who kept his word.

Lu Baoer didn't think too much about it. She planned to go back to her room to rest. At this time, she asked Xie Junling: "Husband, will you go back with me?"

Xie Junling hesitated for a moment, then suddenly sighed, took her hand, and said, "Can't you sleep at night without me? You're still afraid of the dark at such a age, you're really timid."

He spoke loudly, as if deliberately telling the maids to hear him. Only Lu Baoer looked at Xie Junling doubtfully and muttered softly, "I'm not afraid of the dark..."

Just as she was about to retort, she caught a glimpse of her hands entwined with Xie Junling's. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and she thought to herself, "Is her husband saying one thing and thinking another? He's really like a child."

That night, Xie Junling insisted that Lu Baoer sleep in his arms. Lu Baoer thought he was too hot, so she pushed him back and forth, and they eventually rolled over. Xie Junling was not a very lustful person, but when he saw Lu Baoer, he couldn't hold back. By the time he realized what was happening, it was already late at night.

The winter passed relatively well. Half a year later, Lu Baoer heard a story. It was said that Cheng Linghe, the third concubine daughter of the Cheng family, had married the fifth-rank governor of Tongzhou as his second wife. At that time, prefectures had not yet been transformed into counties, and governors had not yet become prefects. While not as prestigious as officials in the capital, it was still considered a rare high-ranking marriage. It would have been even better if the governor had been younger. It was said that by the time Cheng Linghe married, the governor's eldest son would already be twenty years old. Even if she managed to conceive and her husband had a child in his old age, it was uncertain whether the second wife's child would survive. Then, the child would have to deal with his own brother and then swallow up the family fortune, which was quite difficult. The family fortune was out of the question. The governor of Tongzhou naturally knew this, so he doted on his young wife. Unfortunately, Cheng Linghe was ungrateful for his good fortune and took out all his resentment on Yan. He took advantage of the situation and made trouble every few days. He exposed the fact that Yan's brothers from her natal family had donated money to get official positions and deliberately set up a business scheme to cheat Yan, forcing her to secretly embezzle public funds. When the second wife found out, she reported it to old lady Cheng, and Yan was severely punished.

While there was chaos over there, Lu Baoer was living comfortably here.

By the autumn of that year, Lu Bao'er still hadn't conceived. She wasn't anxious, but the old nanny and Madam Su were, wondering if there was something wrong with her health and she wasn't taking good care of it. They invited a famous doctor to see her, who said she was fine, but that her future depended on fate.

Old Madam Su secretly wanted a great-grandson, so she gave Lu Baoer countless statues of the Goddess of Childbirth, asking her to place them by her bedside. She also set up a small Buddhist temple and offered incense to the Goddess of Childbirth whenever she had nothing to do.

Lu Baoer wasn't anxious about these things. If it's destined, it will come true; if it's not, don't force it. Lu Baoer wasn't particularly lucky with children, but she was extremely lucky with her husband. This summer, Tongzhou was devastated by floods. The governor of Tongzhou repeatedly petitioned the court, begging for relief funds. Tongzhou is surrounded by rivers and suffers from floods every year. The court sent countless monies, but Tongzhou seemed like a bottomless pit, never able to fill the funds. The emperor became suspicious and wanted to send officials to Tongzhou to review the distribution of relief funds. This was a thankless task. Most officials knew that the governor was the head of a province and a local tyrant. If you were to patrol their territory alone and pretend to be deaf and dumb and find nothing, it would be fine. But if you did find out, they might become desperate and prevent you from returning to Kyoto. Therefore, it was difficult to strike the right balance. Should you find out something, or not?

A few years ago, a drought struck another region, and the emperor dispatched an official to distribute relief funds. However, the official, in collusion with the local governor, embezzled a large sum of the funds. Upon returning to Kyoto to report on his work, he portrayed the local people's dire situation as post-disaster reconstruction and a peaceful and prosperous society. Had it not been for the local refugees who went to Kyoto to file a complaint, the emperor would have remained in the dark.

The emperor was furious about that incident and executed the local governor and the entire family of the officials he sent to the area, which calmed the people's resentment.

It is obvious that the emperor wants to find out something this time. If they return empty-handed and something is exposed later, they will lose their heads. No one was willing to go, so they discussed it. The court held a meeting for ten days and half a month, but no conclusion was reached. The emperor saw what these people were thinking and cursed loudly in the court. The Minister of Revenue, Lord Gu, suddenly stood up and recommended Xie Junling: "I have something to report. Since none of you gentlemen have the right person to go to Tongzhou, I have someone to recommend. How about letting Lord Xie Junling from the Hanlin Academy go? All of you have several positions and each has their own responsibilities. I am afraid you cannot spare the time on weekdays. Although Lord Xie is young, his essay in the palace examination was about flood control. He seems to have quite some experience. Why not give him a chance to try."

Lord Gu said these words with a motive. He knew that this was a thankless task. If an inexperienced boy like Xie Junling went to Tongzhou and got into trouble with the local tyrants, wouldn't he be eaten alive? He wanted to teach Xie Junling a lesson, to let him know that as long as he was in the court, Xie Junling would have no good life. Moreover, he heard that the Tongzhou governor's second wife was from the family of Xie Junling's country wife Lu Baoer. In order to consider his family's dignity, he would definitely protect the Tongzhou governor. If he had someone find out something, wouldn't he be able to accuse Xie Junling of forming a clique for personal gain and being a treacherous person? By then, Xie Junling would have no chance of surviving in Kyoto, and he might even be in danger of being killed!
Upon hearing this, Shangshu Ling Sir Fu naturally refused. Xie Junling was his grandson-in-law. If he was still young and didn't handle this matter well, wouldn't Lu Baoer be implicated?
So, Lord Fu rarely refuted in the court: "Lord Xie is a scholar in the Hanlin Academy. How could he know the severity of the local flood? I think it is not appropriate to let Lord Xie handle this matter. I am afraid it will backfire."

He openly belittled Xie Junling, saying he only knew how to lecture the emperor and study, and didn't understand the real job. Secretly, he wanted to replace him quietly and avoid making such a big fuss.

The Minister of Revenue and his immediate superior were in conflict, and everyone had something interesting to watch. At this time, everyone was watching from the sidelines, thinking about something, and no one dared to respond for fear of being hated.

The emperor really values Xie Junling, otherwise he would not have promoted him. However, he has little experience and is young, so it is difficult to use him. He must be given something to do to see how he handles things. If Xie Junling can make it, the emperor will have the intention of promoting him and taking the opportunity to use his achievements to shut up the ministers. If he can't make it, then it's a problem of his ability. The emperor is just losing a favorite minister, he can still have a second or third one, so what is Xie Junling? It can be seen that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. You have to be careful at all times. The emperor's mind is really unpredictable.

The emperor rubbed his forehead and said, "Alright, I already have an idea about this matter. The gentlemen usually have errands to attend to and are indeed busy. In this case, I will ask Master Xie to be my eyes and ears and go to Tongzhou to see for me that this disaster relief money is being used effectively!"

The emperor has already issued the order, and any resistance will be useless.

After hearing this, not only Xie Junling was stunned, but even Old Madam Su and Lu Baoer were a little worried.

Xie Junling had some connections, so he naturally knew that it was Lord Gu, his own maternal grandfather, who was giving him trouble. If he ever ran into trouble, he still hoped that Xie Junling would come to him for help and be accepted into his service.

(End of this chapter)