Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 383 Outrageous (Seeking some monthly votes at the beginning of the month)

Aunt Xue remained silent, her face grim. She had long since seen through her good sister, Madam Wang. If it weren't for the old lady keeping things in check, her good sister would probably have schemed against the Xue family's eldest branch to the death, just like her good brother!
Since becoming pregnant, Aunt Xue had initially been terrified that the news would spread. But as the saying goes, "Women are inherently weak, but mothers are strong." Her husband, Chen Siyuan, had treated her with great kindness and, by chance, avenged Xue Pan. Now, Aunt Xue was only thinking about going to Jiangnan as soon as possible to hide in a country estate and give birth to her child properly. She didn't care whether Lady Wang was still plotting against her.

After all, they are sisters; they can't be both named Wang. Besides, since the Xue family's eldest branch came to the capital, they have been staying at the Rongguo Mansion. If the scandal were to spread, could Lady Wang herself extricate herself from the situation?

Don't forget that Xia Jingui is also pregnant. Baoyu's reputation is already ruined. Does Lady Wang really dare to ruin the reputations of all the women and young ladies in the household?

Seeing her silence, Lady Wang's heart skipped a beat, and she recalled the scene in the small courtyard in the northeast that day. A tremor ran through her, and she opened her mouth to ask if the child was Chen Siyuan's. But then she thought it absurd—although Aunt Xue might be somewhat unscrupulous, surely she wouldn't try to steal a man from Baochai?

As for whose child Aunt Xue was carrying, Madam Wang didn't press the matter, and only offered some casual words of advice.

Aunt Xue gave a vague answer, and just then Zhou Rui's wife asked to see her. Aunt Xue took the opportunity to say goodbye and returned to Longcui Nunnery first.

Madam Wang picked up her teacup, frowning in thought. She considered whether she should send someone to keep an eye on him and find the adulterer. But as soon as Zhou Rui's wife entered, she exclaimed, "Madam, Li Gui has been expelled from the manor!"

When the servants of the Jia family went to Cixi County to report the news, they naturally only mentioned the important matters. Li Gui's theft of his master's property was just a minor matter, and Lady Wang naturally knew nothing about it.

Madam Wang was so frightened that her face changed color, and she hurriedly asked, "Tell me in detail, why were you kicked out?"

Zhou Rui's wife embellished the story, and upon hearing that it was that old hag from Wang Shanbao's wife who was behind it, Madam Wang was instantly filled with rage. However, now that Xia Jingui had returned home, Madam Wang no longer had any advisors by her side. She was already somewhat overwhelmed by her open and covert struggles with Sister Feng, so how could she dare to spare any energy to fight against Madam Xing?
Madam Wang then asked, "How did that jade ruyi end up in Li Gui's hands when it was perfectly fine on the antique shelf?"

Yu Chuan, who was standing by, had already prepared her explanation. Upon hearing this, she quickly said, "Madam, you don't know, the Ningguo Mansion was robbed that day, and our mansion was in chaos. The Second Miss told us to all go to Rongxi Hall to hide. When I came back after the incident, the jade ruyi was gone."

Madam Wang didn't suspect anything, but thought... wait, Li Gui hadn't offended Madam Xing, so why would she frame Li Gui for no reason?
Madam Wang was startled and immediately asked, "Tell me, did Aunt Zhao and Jia Huan also go to Rongxi Hall that night?"

Yu Chuan'er was taken aback, thinking to herself that it was better for her friend to die than for herself, so she could only tell the truth: "Aunt Zhao and Third Master Huan arrived an incense stick late."

That night, Aunt Zhao packed her valuables, led her maids, and carried several bundles before going to Rongxi Hall. Yu Chuan'er also told the truth.

Madam Wang immediately sneered, convinced that Aunt Zhao must have colluded with Wang Shanbao's wife this time.

Zhou Rui's wife then asked Li Gui what to do.

What else could be done? The evidence of the theft was conclusive, and even Madam Wang couldn't break the rules. She immediately sent Zhou Rui's wife with twenty taels of silver for medicine, and said that once Li Gui had recovered from his injuries, he should first go and manage Madam Wang's estate in the capital region.

After seeing Zhou Rui's wife off, Madam Wang felt increasingly troubled and missed Xia Jingui terribly. Realizing she hadn't visited the Xia family in a long time, Madam Wang had an idea: she should visit them when she had some free time; perhaps Xia Jingui could offer her some good advice?

Leaving aside Lady Wang's restless thoughts, let's talk about Aunt Xue. After returning to the Green Bamboo Nunnery, her morning sickness only exacerbated her already irritable state. Ever since the marriage proposal fell through, she had drifted further and further away from her good sister, Lady Wang. After Xue Pan's death, Lady Wang, relying on the Jia family's power, had swallowed up most of the Xue family's main branch's business. Thinking that Lady Wang had just shown signs of trying to control her, how could Aunt Xue possibly swallow this insult?
After drinking a cup of tea, Aunt Xue sent Tongxi to invite Chen Siyuan, trying to come up with a plan to appease Madam Wang. However, after a while, Tongxi returned and reported, "Madam, Qingwen said that Master Yuan went to the document office early this morning."

"Passing the deed?" Aunt Xue pondered for a moment before realizing that Chen Siyuan had mentioned a couple of days ago that he had decided to buy the house in the Fuguo General's Mansion. They had originally planned to pass the deed a few days ago, but unexpectedly, an elder from the General's Mansion suddenly appeared and interfered, delaying the process for several days until today when they finally went to the yamen to pass the deed.

"Alright, you may leave now."

Aunt Xue looked listless, so Tongxi curtsied and quietly withdrew. Aunt Xue rested one hand on her lower abdomen and the other on her cheek, leaning back on the couch, lost in thought for a while. Then she saw Tongxi hurrying over and said, "Madam, Master Yuan has arrived."

Aunt Xue nodded and, with a smile, led Chen Siyuan inside, then turned around and closed the meditation room.

Chen Siyuan, travel-worn, said as soon as Tongxi left, "I just got back and Qingwen told me you sent someone to find me. Is there something you need?"

Aunt Xue didn't rush to answer, but instead asked, "Has the property deed been approved?"

“It’s over,” Chen Siyuan sighed and sat down, frowning as he said, “After many twists and turns, this matter has finally been settled.” He paused and then said to Aunt Xue, “There are quite a few things that need to be changed. First, the lintel, then the roof. The remaining pillars and the back garden only need repair. I just had someone estimate that it will cost at least ten thousand taels of silver.”

Aunt Xue hesitated, but Chen Siyuan, observing her expression, quickly said, "Now that the weather is getting warmer, the latex business should be accounted for regularly. When we vacate a house, I'll have Baochai take a look and see which courtyard she prefers."

"Oh, and the bottle stoppers and medicine bottles have also been sent to Prince Yanping's residence. They said they'd seal them and test them; if they're still effective after two months, they can be sold throughout the land. Don't worry, whatever amount of silver you embezzled, I'll definitely make it all back with interest in two or three years."

Aunt Xue retorted, "We're already in this situation, why would I care about a few coins?" After a pause, she hesitantly revealed that Madam Wang had discovered her secret.

Chen Siyuan forced his expression to remain unchanged. Upon hearing that Madam Wang was unaware that he was the lover, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "Now that things have come to this, I'm afraid it's not good to stay in the capital any longer."

Aunt Xue also said, "That's exactly what I was thinking. Now that the weather is getting warmer, it's time to head south. I originally thought I'd wait a few more days until Madam Cao returned before setting off... But who knew—" She lowered her head and gently patted her lower abdomen with a mixture of affection and reproach, saying, "—This wretched child has been keeping me from having any peace. Right now, it's just that my sister has noticed. Once my belly starts to swell in a few days, I'm afraid it will be much harder to hide it."

Chen Siyuan nodded repeatedly, and then discussed a pretext with Aunt Xue. The pretext was readily available: with the murderer brought to justice, Aunt Xue should go to Xue Pan's grave to offer her condolences.

After the two argued for a while, Chen Siyuan took his leave. Taking advantage of the moment when her nausea subsided, Aunt Xue hurriedly sent Tong Gui to invite Baochai over.

When Baochai heard that Aunt Xue was going to return to Jinling alone, she was immediately surprised. After hearing the reason, Baochai realized that her brother's violent death was her mother's unresolved issue, so she could no longer persuade her and could only shed tears full of reluctance.

Aunt Xue's eyes were also moist as she stroked Baochai's hair and said, "My child, I just found Yuan-ge'er and we talked for a long time. We settled a few things. First, you will be out of mourning at the end of the year, but he has to take the imperial examination in three months. It would be bad if the marriage delayed the imperial examination, so we discussed exchanging the betrothal gifts and sending the betrothal letter after April."

Baochai blushed and responded in a voice barely audible.

Then Aunt Xue said, "On another note, he recently bought a house with three courtyards and four buildings, and he said you could choose one first. I thought it wouldn't be fair to favor one over the other, so you and Daiyu can go and take a look together when you have some free time, and discuss which one you like."

Baochai then spoke up, saying, "That's only right. Lin Daiyu and I are best friends, and we're always very close. How could I possibly hide it from her and choose first?"

Neither Baochai nor Daiyu were considered wives of the Chen family, so their choices were limited to the east and west wings. According to the customs of the time, the center was the most honored, the east the most prestigious, and the west the next most so. Both were to be adopted wives, and based on seniority, Daiyu would naturally reside in the east wing. However, according to age, it was actually Baochai who should live in the east wing.

However, compared to the original book, Baochai's interactions with Daiyu were more sincere and less calculating. At this moment, it didn't matter which way she stayed, as she wanted to discuss things with Daiyu to avoid hurting their sisterly relationship.

Aunt Xue nodded, sighed a few times about how pitiful Daiyu's life was, and then gave another instruction: "There is one more thing... Your sister-in-law will be returning to the capital in about ten days. After I leave, there will be no one to take care of the old house, and I don't want to trouble the Jia family. Although you are not yet married into the family, Yuan-ge'er is not one to hold grudges, so the matter of welcoming your sister-in-law will be left to Yuan-ge'er."

Baochai hesitated and asked, "Has Tadpole not returned yet?"

Aunt Xue shook her head and said, "Your aunt has fallen ill again and said she will be back in a while."

Baochai was suspicious. Although the second wife's aunt was not in good health, she shouldn't have been sick for half a year. Perhaps there was another reason why Xue Ke did not come back with her.

The mother and daughter chatted intimately for a while. Aunt Xue, fearing that Baochai would discover their secret, urged Baochai to get up and said with a smile, "You'll be getting married soon, don't act like a little girl who can't leave her mother."

Baochai, rarely acting coquettishly, said, "Even after I get married, I will still be Mother's daughter. Does Mother not want me anymore?"

Aunt Xue covered her mouth and laughed, scolding her a few times before urging Baochai to go find Chen Siyuan.

After leaving the Green Bamboo Nunnery, Sister Bao led Ying'er around and arrived at the Qingtang Thatched Cottage. To their surprise, as soon as they arrived at the door, they saw a lively scene inside, with birds chirping and chattering.

Baochai was very surprised, and Ying'er quickly went over to listen to what was going on. Only then did the two of them realize that it was Qingwen's birthday today.

So Zijuan, Xueyan, Hongyu, Shishu, Ruhua, along with Xiangling, Wu'er, and Yunxiang, pooled together some money, saying they wanted to have a lively party behind closed doors.

Upon hearing this, Ying'er laughed and said, "Such a good thing, I should definitely get a share." As she spoke, she found a four-qian silver coin and handed it to Liu Wu'er, wanting to join in the fun.

Sister Bao smiled and said, "Where is the God of Longevity?"

Xiangling smiled and replied softly, "But unfortunately, Qingwen is not feeling well and is lying in the west wing right now."

Baochai teased, "Qingwen isn't feeling well, so she probably can't join in the fun... So if you all chip in, won't you just be making a scene for yourselves and making the birthday boy envious?"

The maids couldn't help but laugh. Shishu said, "It's just an excuse to make things lively. As for Qingwen... we'll send her some needlework as an apology later."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qingwen's annoyed voice came from the west wing: "Pah! Who wants your needlework? If you're really so kind, why don't you give me all the money you've contributed?" After saying that, she chuckled to herself.

Then Ying'er joked, "That's right, Qingwen is now the owner. When the sisters get married in the future, don't forget to take care of Qingwen's wedding shop business."

The maids teased her relentlessly, which made Qingwen scold them from inside. Xiangling then led Baochai quietly inside, saying, "Master has just returned from the Green Bamboo Nunnery, please come in, Miss Bao."

Baochai agreed, leaving Ying'er who was playing with others, and followed Xiangling inside. Because Baochai and Chen Siyuan had a very special relationship, Chen Siyuan didn't stand on ceremony at this moment. He sat upright behind the desk in the study, only looked up and waved to Baochai, and then buried himself in writing and drawing again.

Xiangling poured a cup of tea for Baochai, then went to the courtyard to join in the fun, leaving Baochai alone to go to the study.

Once inside, Baochai glanced around and saw Chen Siyuan seemingly doing accounts, so she frowned and asked, "Are you short of money?"

Chen Siyuan smiled and shook his head, saying, "I've taken a lot of your money, so I need to figure out when I can pay it back."

Baochai scolded playfully, "Why are we being so formal? The money is spent, so be it. With your abilities, I'm not afraid that you won't be able to leave behind a legacy for the family."

Chen Siyuan smiled without saying a word, then reached out and tugged at Baochai's soft hand. He thought to himself that Aunt Xue didn't think that way; even if she gave birth to a daughter, she would still need to prepare a dowry.

Baochai peeked out and, seeing that the maids playing outside couldn't see what was happening inside, smiled and took Chen Siyuan's hand in return. She then recounted what Aunt Xue had told her.

Upon hearing that he would be going to welcome Cao Shi in a few days, Chen Siyuan naturally felt obligated to do so and readily agreed.

After chatting intimately with him for a while, Baochai noticed that he seemed somewhat distracted, so she couldn't help but ask, "Is something wrong?"

Chen Siyuan hesitated slightly, then gripped Baochai's hand tightly, raised his head and said in a deep voice, "If I am fortunate enough to pass the second-class examination... and I don't choose to become a junior official... will you blame me?"

Baochai was taken aback. After thinking for a while, she said, "Only those who are probationary scholars can enter the Hanlin Academy, and only those who are from the Hanlin Academy can enter the Grand Secretariat. Would you rather not be selected as a probationary scholar? Is there something important happening in the court?"

Chen Siyuan said in a low voice: "Today I went to the Yanping Prince's residence and talked about the matter of the head of the kitchen. I vaguely heard a young eunuch mention that His Majesty was unwell and suddenly fainted yesterday after leaving the Daming Palace... The Yanping Prince went to the palace overnight and has not returned until just now."

Even though Baochai was precocious, she was not very knowledgeable about important matters of the court, so her almond-shaped eyes looked somewhat blank.

Chen Siyuan pulled him into his arms, lowered his voice and said, "Now that the Emperor Emeritus is still alive, and the current Emperor's illness is very similar to a stroke, if I stay in the capital, I might get caught up in the struggle for the throne."

Baochai felt a chill run down her spine. Just over a decade ago, the Jia family was hailed as half the court, but after the struggle for the throne, they were now nothing but an empty shell. The merit of supporting the new emperor was commendable, but choosing the wrong side could lead to utter ruin!
Chen Siyuan continued, "The Emperor has three sons and a younger brother like the Prince of Yanping. If His Majesty's health is indeed failing, do you think he will act with even greater haste?"

Baochai was certainly well-versed in history. Putting aside other matters, just consider the case of the Ming Taizu Emperor. In his later years, he cleared obstacles for his grandson, resulting in countless deaths!
The current emperor is a man of great forbearance, but who can say for sure whether he will go mad knowing his end is near? Leaving aside other matters, the Jia family and the other four princes and eight dukes all supported the late Prince Yizhong during the struggle for the throne. Who can say for sure whether the current emperor will dredge up old grievances!
If Chen Siyuan were to actually pass the first or second class of the imperial examinations... especially the first class, it would not be a good thing if he were to have dealings with the Crown Prince or other princes!

Baochai then said, "A woman should follow her husband wherever he goes, whether he's a chicken or a dog. You should make the decisions about things outside the marriage; I'll go along with whatever you say."

Chen Siyuan sighed and said, "It's just wishful thinking now, and we might not even pass the exam in the future." Besides, he's registered with Prince Yanping, but who knows if he's been implicated by the current emperor? He might not be able to avoid the consequences even if he wanted to.

Since Baochai couldn't help with such important matters of the court, she could only gently comfort Chen Siyuan for a while.

Chen Siyuan felt a slight pang of worry, then turned back to comfort Baochai, for everything was currently just speculation. As for the specifics... perhaps they should go back and find out from their teacher.

Because the courtyard was full of maids, Baochai could not stay any longer. After drinking a cup of tea, she bid farewell to Chen Siyuan and left with a heavy heart.

............................................................

As night fell, Qingwen felt a little better, so Hongyu busied herself buying two tables of food from the small kitchen. They were originally intended to be set in the west wing, but Chen Siyuan decided to have them placed in the main room instead.

When the banquet started, Chen Siyuan joined in for a while. Seeing that he was a little uncomfortable among the maids, he found an excuse to stroll around the garden.

Just as Chen Siyuan was feeding the fish at the Aojingxi Pavilion during his night watch, a beautiful figure appeared. Chen Siyuan initially mistook her for Xiangling, but upon closer inspection, the figure said plaintively, "Master Yuan~"

It's Xiren.

Chen Siyuan turned his head to look, casually tossing all the fish food in his hand, clapped his hands, and then asked in surprise, "Xiren? What are you doing—"

Xiren moved closer, found a pillar to hide herself, and then said in a wronged tone, "The last time the Xia family sent Baochan over, not long after, Second Master Bao kept Baochan alone in the room to talk. Who knew... who knew that later Musk Moon said that the noise inside was not quite right."

Xi Ren hesitated, but Chen Siyuan understood and frowned, saying, "The Xia family plans to use the toad to secure their favor?"

Xiren sobbed, “Miss Xia and Baochan have always regarded me as a thorn in their side. I used to hope that Second Master Bao would protect me, but now that Second Master Bao is useless, I have no choice but to ask Brother Yuan for help.”

Chen Siyuan would only believe three-tenths of what Xiren said. It was true that Baoyu was unreliable, but to say that Xiren was willing to give up becoming Baoyu's concubine, Chen Siyuan would never believe it even if he were beaten to death!
No matter how capable the Xia family is, at most Xia Jingui can be a concubine; she can never surpass the first wife. Putting aside everything else, as long as she has the first wife's protection, Xiren can comfortably be her concubine. Why would she need to come to me for help?
However, as the saying goes, "a night of marriage brings a hundred nights of kindness," and since the restless Siqi had already been taken as a concubine by Chen Siyuan, having one more Xiren wouldn't make much difference.

Chen Siyuan then said, "This matter is still far off, let's see when the time comes. If you really don't want to stay, then I'll think of a way to get you out of the manor."

Xiren seemed deeply moved and threw herself into Chen Siyuan's arms, sobbing for a while. Seeing the night patrolling woman coming this way, she hurriedly bid farewell to Chen Siyuan and returned to Qixianzhai in front.

Chen Siyuan waited a while longer, estimating that the drinking party had ended, before leisurely returning to Qingtang Thatched Cottage.

Upon entering, they found that all the maids had already left. Xiangling, Wu'er, and Yunxiang were still tidying up, but Qingwen, feeling unwell, had gone to the west wing early.

Chen Siyuan then simply moved into the west wing. Because she had drunk wine at the banquet, Qingwen was suffering from severe abdominal pain, and she immediately became coquettish when she saw Chen Siyuan.

Chen Siyuan felt a surge of affection and sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), warming his hands together and massaging her lower abdomen.

Qingwen hummed and hawed, half-closing her eyes as she enjoyed herself. After a while, she started chattering about the amusing things that had happened at the banquet. After a while, she suddenly said, "Oh, right, Xiren came by earlier and brought a pair of embroidered shoes. I wonder what she was up to."

Chen Siyuan smiled and casually said, "Now that you've left Baoyu's place, she no longer has any disputes with you, so she naturally wants to befriend you."

Qingwen said coldly, "She's a treacherous person. Who knows when she might betray me? I dare not befriend her."

Chen Siyuan laughed heartily, reached out and gently pinched Qingwen's pert nose, teased her for a while, and then returned to the main room.

Silent all night.

The next day, Chen Siyuan couldn't concentrate on his studies. When it was almost late afternoon, he simply rode his horse straight to his teacher Liao Shiwei's house.

Unfortunately, Liao Shiwei was preoccupied with official duties that day and had not yet returned home. Madam Hou stepped forward to answer his questions, then ordered a staff member to accompany Chen Siyuan for tea, before returning to the inner quarters herself.

After waiting for a full hour, as dusk was falling, teacher Liao Shiwei finally returned, still feeling groggy.

Chen Siyuan busied himself, personally bringing Liao Shiwei a hangover soup to serve him. Only then did Liao Shiwei ask, "Why are you being so attentive for no reason... Speak up, instead of studying properly, what brings you to this old man?"

Chen Siyuan chuckled and said, "Master, I heard that my senior uncle is recruiting troops in the southwest. He must be planning to make a big splash this time."

Liao Shiwei immediately frowned and said, "In your last letter, my cousin complained a lot. The southwestern border region has never been valued by the imperial court. Although there are two border troops, they have more bows and arrows than firearms. When my cousin was inspecting the troops, he even found two tiger-squatting cannons made in the previous dynasty! That's simply outrageous!"

"That's outrageous!" Chen Siyuan echoed.

Throughout history, border defense has always prioritized the nine border regions while neglecting the southwest and coastal areas. Even when the Ming Dynasty faced the threat of Japanese pirates, it did not seem to pay much attention to them.

In the minds of most scholars and officials, the Japanese pirates were nothing more than plunderers, while the Mongol and Eight Banners were determined to seize power and rule the Central Plains.

Liao Shiwei said, "Firearms are easy to deal with, as His Majesty has already ordered the Imperial Household Department to allocate them. It's just that saltpeter and gunpowder are not so easy to obtain."

The southwest is mountainous, making transportation extremely costly. Even if saltpeter is found in caves, the cost of collecting and transporting it is probably not much cheaper than buying it from other places.

Chen Siyuan vaguely remembered that the Celestial Empire was inherently short of saltpeter, and the few places that produced it were far away in the Northwest. The distance from the Northwest to the Southwest was more than ten thousand miles. Therefore, although the Great Shun Dynasty knew that firearms were important, the rate of firearms adoption in the Beijing Garrison was at most 60%.

Chen Siyuan seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "Perhaps we can use compost to scrape saltpeter..." After a pause, Chen Siyuan lied and said, "I heard that the Western barbarians have been fighting many times and that their country is short of saltpeter. So they used the method of composting to scrape saltpeter and appointed saltpeter officials in each city. Only in this way can they barely maintain the supply for the war."

After thinking it over, Liao Shiwei praised, "That's good, it's a good idea. I'll write a letter to the southwest tomorrow, hoping this plan will be useful."

Liao Shiwei picked up his strong tea, took a sip, glanced at it sideways, and said, "Speak. Since you came up with a good idea, I will help you if I can."

Chen Siyuan chuckled and said, "I happened to learn that there is a hereditary commander in Datong named Sun Shaozu. He is skilled in archery and horsemanship and has the courage of ten thousand men. It just so happens that my master is currently in need of capable people. This man has a lot of skills but nowhere to use them. Now he is still running around to the Ministry of Personnel every day to seek a position. Heh... Master, you see..."

Liao Shiwei was utterly unconvinced. He immediately laughed and said, "Has this guy surnamed Sun offended you?"

"We couldn't hide it from the teacher, but there was some friction."

Liao Shiwei didn't press for the reason, and waved his hand, saying, "It's a small matter. Next month, I plan to send your fellow surnamed Sun to the southwest to serve."

Chen Siyuan felt a surge of satisfaction, thinking to himself that although this cheap teacher could cause trouble, he had one redeeming quality—he was protective of his own. For that reason alone, this teacher was worth having.

The southwest is a dangerous place, and the newly established Burmese dynasty is no pushover. Even if Sun Shaozu had great abilities, he would not escape death once he arrived in the southwest.

In this way, he could both give an explanation to Siqi and avoid any complications in his marriage with Yingchun—no one knew if Jia She would lose money in the future and might impulsively ask Sun Shaozu for another loan.

After the matter was dropped, Chen Siyuan chatted with Liao Shiwei about court affairs for a while, then suddenly changed the subject and said, "Teacher, I went to the Prince of Yanping's residence today and overheard that... His Majesty seems to be unwell?"

Liao Shiwei paused, glancing meaningfully at Chen Siyuan, before slowly saying, "You've heard about this too? It seems we can't hide it any longer." He paused, then lowered his voice, saying, "The official story is that His Majesty was angered by the Burmese's arrogance... However, the truth is that His Majesty and the Emperor Emeritus had a huge argument over the selection of the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, which is why His Majesty fainted for over a day!"

Chen Siyuan asked worriedly, "Isn't the Crown Prince's Palace too close to the Daming Palace?"

Liao Shiwei sneered, "How do you think the current emperor got to sit on the dragon throne? If the current crown prince hadn't been established, it's still uncertain who would have won the succession back then."

So that's the real story.

"The Crown Prince is close to the Emperor Emeritus, and the Emperor, in his drunken state, even said that the Crown Prince was unworthy of his position... Alas, these are turbulent times. Fortunately, the Emperor has now woken up, and his mouth is only slightly crooked. If it doesn't heal properly... I'm afraid the court will be in chaos for a while again."

Chen Siyuan, looking worried, took the opportunity to voice his concerns. To his surprise, Liao Shiwei glanced at him sideways and said, "If the sky falls, someone taller will hold it up. You're just a mere scholar; you're really worrying unnecessarily!"

Chen Siyuan blushed with embarrassment, but had no choice but to obediently accept the lesson. Seeing that it was getting late, he reluctantly bid farewell to his teacher and rode back to the Rongguo Mansion.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and April was fast approaching. Aunt Xue packed her bags, chose a date, and despite Baochai's reluctance, left the capital for Jinling.

Perhaps it was because her pregnancy was nearing its end, but Aunt Xue's morning sickness had lessened considerably. Chen Siyuan escorted her all the way until they saw her board the official ship in Tongzhou, at which point Chen Siyuan turned back on horseback.

Unexpectedly, just before entering the capital, they saw a group of craftsmen repairing a straight dirt road by the official road, and some craftsmen were gesturing and comparing with the blueprints.

Chen Siyuan vaguely caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, and upon closer inspection, he realized it was indeed a guard from the Prince's residence. The two became acquainted and chatted for a while before Chen Siyuan learned that the Imperial Household Department wanted to build a two-mile-long railway track for testing purposes.

If the railway is put to use, the Imperial Household Department will issue bonds everywhere to build a railway line connecting the capital to Tongzhou.

As the instigator, Chen Siyuan was naturally satisfied. When he entered the city, he remembered that King Yanping intended to appoint him as a capable official, and Chen Siyuan suddenly became less resistant.

Being a high-ranking official in the Hanlin Academy or the Censorate is certainly desirable, but one is also easily drawn into conflicts. In such turbulent times, it's better to be a capable official—no matter who is the emperor, they will always need money, right?

Having figured this out, Chen Siyuan felt a great sense of relief.

Upon arriving at the Rongguo Mansion, he first returned the horses to the stables, chatted briefly with the gatekeeper Yu Si, and casually tossed a small piece of silver. Yu Si thanked him profusely, then suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Master Yuan... Miss Ping'er is back. She said the old lady will be back by the day after tomorrow at the latest. However... hehe... I noticed that Miss Ping'er's complexion seems a bit off."

Ping'er's expression was off. Chen Siyuan couldn't figure out what it had to do with him, but he still thanked Yu Si.

He stepped through the side gate next to the main gate, went around Mengpo Studio, and bumped into Ping'er coming out of Madam Wang's courtyard with a frown and a sullen face.

"Miss Ping'er?"

Chen Siyuan called out, and Ping'er immediately snapped out of her daze. Seeing that it was Chen Siyuan, Ping'er quickly forced a smile and went forward to greet him.

Chen Siyuan was eager to find out, but Ping'er had no intention of saying much. After exchanging a few words, she hurriedly bid farewell to Chen Siyuan and quickly returned to Feng Jie's courtyard.

Chen Siyuan was increasingly puzzled, wondering if something really serious had happened.
He remained suspicious and returned to Qingtang Thatched Cottage. He thought he would have to wait some time before he could investigate further, but as night fell, Xiangling came and said, "Master, Yuchuan has arrived."

Chen Siyuan dared not let Yuchuan enter, and hurriedly left the thatched hut in Qingtang, where he met Yuchuan behind the Jade Emperor Temple.

Yu Chuan greeted him without even bothering to bow, and immediately lowered her voice to say, "Master Yuan, Second Master Lian has gotten into trouble again!"

"what?"

Then Yu Chuan'er said, "The old lady's group and the Prince of Bei Jing's group are staying in the east and west courtyards respectively. I don't know why, but Second Master Lian has gotten involved with the young concubine's head maid, and the old lady caught them in the act!"

Chen Siyuan was dumbfounded, thinking to himself that Jia Lian was really outrageous!
(End of this chapter)