Who Cares

Chapter 60 Quarrel

The father and daughter talked for a long time before they separated. Zhao Chunxi walked back with brain full of thoughts, and suddenly saw a lot of craftsmen on the west end, who were taking measurements with soft rulers and other objects, and used white lime to mark the flower beds, rockeries and gardens that need to be demolished one by one, it seemed that construction would start soon. A few stewards from the west end stood by the side to supervise the map drawn by Madam, and could vaguely hear words such as “hurry up, don’t delay, add more money”, which showed how urgent they were with the idea of getting rid the Ye family.

“Miss, are we really going to divide the mansion?” Hexiang and Xueliu stared blankly for a while, their faces filled with confusion, and their hearts felt even more terrified.

“Guan… What mother said, have it ever fail to come through?” Zhao Chunxi stared into the distance, and her tone was deep, “The action is so fast, even the map has already drawn, the craftsman only needs to build following the map, as fast as one month, as slow as two months, this wall can be built. Do you believe that she devised the plan at the last minute? Hexiang, you are right, we just took one step, and she has finished the next ninety-nine steps. My maternal grandfather, Ye family, daddy, and even the scene where Wangshu and I have to live together with others, afraid she had expected it a long time ago, and then tore it clean one step at a time, without being touch by the dust at all, but took all the good reputation. Look at me Daddy, grandmother, second aunt, who doesn’t admire her and trust her? She has just come to the Marquis Mansion for more than half a month, and she has made herself the absolute ruler of this place. Whether you want it or not, you have to be lead by the nose by her, and in the end, you have to deeply grateful.”

Hexiang and Xueliu lowered their heads and did not dare to talk, but they also had a deep fear for Madam in their hearts.

“Even if you don’t want to accept it, you have to accept it!” Zhao Chunxi smiled miserably, “If something happens to daddy, Wangshu and I will have to rely on her to live in the future, and there won’t be any benefit at all if we work against her. In fact, I myself have forgotten why I wanted to target her in the first place, indeed one step wrong, every steps wrong.” Of course, it was for the sake of her mom, but looking at it now, she felt that it was not worth it.

“Miss, you’re right to think so.” Hexiang carefully pointed out, “Don’t think that Madam’s method is just to divide the mansion into east and west, break down the east house, and preserve the west house. In fact, there are other things in here. She took into account the people’s hearts of the two mansion, follows her then chickens and dogs ascend to heaven, and do not follows means living a miserable life. Although the houses were divided, the servants of the two houses would only respect her more than the masters they served. If she wants to deal with you, she doesn’t need to set foot in the East Mansion, and there are countless people who can scheme for her. Indeed the arm can’t twist the thigh, you can, you can admit it for the time being.”

“Admit it, why don’t I admit it?” Zhao Chunxi shook her head and sighed, “You first-class maids are the most useful people around me, and your monthly silver is paid from my account, so you don’t have to worry about it in the future. Let’s go, let’s go back and have a look.”

Hexiang and Xueliu let out a long sigh of relief, but they also understood that the more the eldest miss was like this, the more Madam had the upper hand. Lifting up a few maids higher would only make the people below them even more unwilling and eager to move. But they also have to live, so they didn’t mention it.

Zhao Chunxi talked big, but her heart was actually bleeding. Her life had always been extravagant, and the monthly cost of 80 taels as Guan Suyi said was still counted as the minimum limit. In fact, with only buying one jewelry, the monthly expenses were more than 1,000 taels. The monthly silver could never be saved, and she had to find Daddy subsidizes, so there was not much money left in the account.

Supporting three to five months was already unlikely, let alone waiting for two to three years until she got married. At that time, don’t talk about the people below, afraid she would not be able to keep her confidants. Human heart was really unpredictable, and human heart was even more sinister. She felt extremely tired and at a loss, and when she could easily count so many people on Guan Suyi’s side she couldn’t help but feel timid.

The three master and servant returned to Penglai Garden unhappily, and heard the noise and clamoring inside. A few cousin were arguing over who lives in the spacious room, and they were about to raise their hands. The servant’s monthly silver was reduced thirty percent of the original, and the daily necessities were not as good as before, naturally, they hated the Ye family who were like dove occupying the magpie’s nest. They only made a show of persuasion on the surface, but did not try to stop them, and a few even hid by the side to watch the play, their face full of schadenfreude smiles.

Zhao Chunxi’s forehead jumped, and immediately ran to mediate. A certain cousin accidentally scratched her neck, leaving a bloodstain. The quarrel finally subsided for a while, only then she exhaustedly pushed open the door and saw her third aunt, Ye Fan and the three di daughters of the Ye family sitting in the room while drinking tea, with a pile of jewelry at hand, which seemed familiar at a closer look.

“Oh, why did you open the eldest miss’ trousseau?” Hexiang shouted while holding the empty brocade box.

“We sit and have nothing to do, and borrow something from my sister to play around with. What are you shouting, let alone these shoddy things, even the nine-headed phoenix hairpin we have also seen, why would we greedy for such cheap things? Here here here, I’ll give it all back to you, really shallow! My eldest aunt is still Jieyu, while she still alive for a day, my Ye family will not really collapse, you just wait!” The eldest cousin Ye Fu immediately raised her face, brushed a pile of jewelry off the table, pearls and emeralds were spattering around, and a few bracelets were shattered, which made Zhao Chunxi’s eyes hurt even more.

Back then, she admired the big cousin’s extravagant gallantry the most. No matter how valuable things were, it never enter her eyes, even a huge eastern pearl was easily crushed and used as pearl powder. However, when this arrogance was placed on her and her things that were abused, she finally knew how hateful this person were.

She was so angry that her chest hurt, and if she open her mouth to speak immediately, she was afraid that she would spit a mouthful of old blood. However, before she could air out her grievance, the other two older cousins were already spitting out their grievance, holding the handkerchief, wiping the corners of their eyes, and sobbing, “Sister, please stop, after all, our family is different from the past, it’s understandable if the younger sister is more contemptuous and vigilant, who let let us fall and still implicate her? Not to mention looking at her things, afraid we won’t even be able to enter the main hall in the future. Let’s go to uncle to say goodbye, it’s better to stay far away, so as not to spoil the affection of the past.”

Wow, use daddy to press me! Pretending to be innocent, pretending to be pitiful, and fabricate accusations, it’s indeed like bringing the wolves into the house! Zhao Chunxi not only felt distressed, but her internal organs were hurting, her stomach was burning like a fire, and her whole body was about to explode. She finally understood how Guan Suyi felt when she faced her frequent tricks. Although she could easily push people to death, it still felt disgusting.

“Didn’t a few sisters listen to my daddy? In other people’s house you must abide by other people’s rules, otherwise if any courtyard lose any belonging, you will be reported to the officials. Hexiang, count the jewelry and see if anything missing.” She gritted her teeth.

Hexiang immediately agreed, but before she could pick up the things on the floor, several cousins all said goodbye and left in a hurry.

Ye Fan stayed at the end, touched the wound on her niece’s neck with a handkerchief, and said worriedly, “Who hurt you? Those unrestrained wenches are still so rampant, I will ask my aunt to teach them the rules later. Xueliu, quickly bring some medicine for your master, I’ll put it on for her.”

Zhao Chunxi finally felt a little more comfortable, she sat opposite her third aunt, her eyes were red, but she never expected that the atmosphere had just eased, and the other person asked, “Is there anything wrong with your daddy? Can my marriage with him still happen? His title…”

She thought that she would be able to marry into the Marquis Mansion and become a concubine who had more face than the mistress, but because of a coral tree, all her dreams were shattered. This was not the end, the uncle was first ordered to reflect behind closed door, and then he was taken to the Heavenly Prison. However, barely a day, afraid of facing the crime he was then executed, and the originally beautiful and powerful Ye Mansion, was burned to ashes. All kinds of changes happened too rapidly and quickly, it didn’t give Ye Fan any time to react. When she suddenly turned back, there was no way out behind her, and only darkness in front of her. She didn’t know if she took a step forward would she die horribly or escape to heaven.

If Zhao Luli could safely avoid this disaster and kept the title, that was the best, if not, she had to think carefully. After all, Ye Jieyu was still there, as long as she didn’t collapse, the Ye family would not be really finished.

How could Zhao Chunxi not guess these thoughts of hers? Already thought that her father was not worth it. She also found it ridiculous to rely on her foreign family, and even more despised the ghostly thoughts of her third aunt.

“If something happens to Daddy, what will you do?” She threw the question back.

The room fell into silence, and after a while, Ye Fan said with a light smile, “If anything happens to your father, naturally I will accompany him through the difficulties.”

“Auntie, you are so kind.” Zhao Chunxi firmly pressed her hand on the table, and said in meaningfully, “Remember what you said today. You are a highly principled and loyal person, I will tell my daddy about it, he must be very moved when he hear it.”

“What is this moved thing, I have already set a wedding date with Lord Marquis, already become his person, and I should be of one heart and one mind with him.” Ye Fan smiled softly on her face, what’s actually in her heart, it best not to mention it.

However, Zhao Chunxi made up her mind to press her down. Since the Marquis Mansion was implicated by the Ye family, then if one have bad luck then everyone would have bad luck, and if one die everyone would die together.

—

Not only were the Ye and Zhao families harmonious on the surface, but also pinched each other on the inside, but the undercurrent in the courtroom was also raging, and the battle was constant. The next day, Emperor Sheng Yuan once again summoned his ministers to discuss the revision of the law. The further back, the wider the tentacles of the reform, gradually involving taxation, military power, land, etc., seriously damaging the interests of the big clan.

As the representative of the noble clan, Prime Minister Wang’s faction naturally opposed it fiercely.

Today, seeing the emperor’s proposal to change the “land occupation system” to “equal land system”, he said angrily, “The emperor has little reading and does not understand a lot of things, so it’s best not to carelessly speaking out. Since the implementation of the land occupation system, a large number of land has been reclaimed, and the taxes that peasants need to pay are also light. If it changed to equal land system, the tax is collected according to the population, now the war has just passed, the labor force has dropped sharply, and the climate is changing, and the harvest is not good, which commoner can afford it? The emperor can even granted such an important position like Grand Astrologer to an illiterate merchant, it shows that he is very unfamiliar with the management of the people’s livelihood, and it’s all up to us the specialize ministers to do it, you should learn it slowly, and discuss it when you have mastered it.” The intention of making a mere figurehead monarch was abundantly clear.

Emperor Sheng Yuan was enraged by his disrespectful attitude, and was about to slap the table, but Prime Minister Wang flung his sleeves and left first, and all the subordinate officials also took their leave. For a moment only the Emperor Teacher still sitting upright, looking solemn.

“Fuck you Langya Wang clan! One day this old man will slaughter you!” Emperor Sheng Yuan couldn’t bear it anymore, he raised his hand and swiped over the memorials and other items on the imperial table, but unexpectedly lifted the ink stone and splashed ink spots all over the Emperor Teacher’s  body.

When he caught a glimpse of the Emperor Teacher’s honest eyes, his anger disappeared, and he extended his big palm to wipe it for him, while sincerely apologizing.

Old Master Guan said slowly, “Prime Minister is right, it is indeed inappropriate that the emperor can even granted the post of Grand Astrologer to Ye Quanyong.”