Real Empress from a Noble Family

Chapter 454 - Staff

Qiu Yelan had met a few of Jiang Yashuang’s staff. In order to show trust and closeness to certain subordinates, it was customary for the master to introduce them to pay a visit to the lady of the house.

There were five people who had met with Qiu Yelan alone. Xun Yuxi was one of them. He was someone who had been known by Qiu Yelan before she got married. So, there was no need to introduce him again.

The rest four were Tang Sipeng, Dongfang Que, Yan Rong, and Lu He.

“Now I most rely on Tang Sipeng. He is not good at the imperial examination. He is over forty years old this year while he is just Juren.” Jiang Yashuang told his wife in private, “When he first came to me, I saw that he was well organized and he talked about his official duties in a sensible way. So, I asked him if he wanted to continue on the path of the imperial examinations. But after hesitating, he decided to follow me to the army. The man is not young but I consider him as my right-hand man.”

If nothing else, Jiang Yashuang’s future focus would be on the Western Army. So, of course, he would pay extra attention to the subordinates he could bring into the army.

So, even though Tang Sipeng was far away from Xun Yuxi in the imperial examination, he had a higher status than Xun Yuxi in Jiang Yashuang’s mind. After all, if Xun Yuxi could not sharpen his skills in the future, an official who had been a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations was far from uncommon for Jiang Yashuang.

Dongfang Que and Yan Rong were also Juren. But they were not the same as Tang Sipeng who decided to give up the imperial examination and chose to follow Jiang Yashuang to seek a promising future. “Dongfang Que and Yan Rong are just in their twenties. I have seen their articles. They are likely to pass the imperial examination in spring. But they are just not cutting it.”

Jiang Yashuang talked about his plan as following, “Now they are my staff. They help me do some things in normal times and I will give them some advice for passing the imperial examination and being an official in my free time. As it is less likely for them to pass this year, I will not get them to take part in the imperial examination. But three years later I’m afraid that we are not in Jing City. So, in a couple of days, when grandfather is feeling better, I will guide them to meet Duke of Huainan and ask him to take care of them at that time. If they can pass the imperial examination, they can team up with Xun Yuxi. And then I will get them to go out for training. After that, it all depends.”

Among those successful candidates in the imperial examination who came to Jiang Yashuang, they were not the youngest or the most certain to pass the imperial examination in spring. However, after the overall assessment, their talents and character were well to Jiang Yashuang’s liking. As such, he decided to cultivate them.

“What about Lu He? What are you going to do with him?”

Among these staff, Lu He held a special place. He was the son of Jiang Tianchi’s personal guard. Mu Zixuan, who had been sent to Kui County to pay final respect by Madame Zhuang, could be seen as his uncle. Lu He’s father had been dead in war several years ago. Before dying, he trusted Mu Zixuan with his son. So, Mu Zixuan took Lu He with him when he was ordered to escort Madame Zhuang back to Jing City.

As a result, when Madame Zhuang found him, she took care of him because of his young age. She often called him over and gave him some fruit and cakes to eat. Over time, Madame Zhuang found out that he was a talented child for study. So, when she returned to Jing City, she recommended him to Jiang Yashuang.

“He does well in both studying and dealing with things. He’s a diamond in the rough.” Jiang Yashuang thought for a while, “But he is so young that I have to train him over days! If he remains diligent a few years later, I will take him as my pupil!”

Lu He was thirteen years old, only eight years younger than Jiang Yashuang. But eight years could be approximate to a generation.

“You mean we will take him around us all the time, right?” Qiu Yelan made a note of her husband’s intention in her heart. If Lu He became Jiang Yashuang’s pupil formally, she would be his master’s wife. Nowadays, a teacher for a day was a father for life. The relationship between teacher and student was extremely close. Especially, Lu He’s parents had died. And his uncle Mu Zixuan, with errands to run, could not take care of him all the time. So, on behalf of Jiang Yashuang, Qiu Yelan should take care of his basic necessities of life, including food, clothing, shelter, and means of traveling.

Jiang Yashuang shook his head, “Now it is okay. But when we go to the Western Army, I will probably get super busy. How can I teach him? I plan to trust Xun Yuxi with him when we leave Jing City!”

This was not only because Xun Yuxi was the highest-ranking member of Jiang Yashuang’s staff, but also because Xun Yuxi was the Xue Family’s promising grandson-in-law. Just as Jiang Yashuang had said to Qiu Jinglan, “You have a master, go to your master”, he asked Xun Yuxi to instruct Lu He for the same reason. If he couldn’t, Xue Chang could help teach.

“I see.” Qiu Yelan said thoughtfully, “What about the others that I have just seen today?”

“It’s okay if you know their face.” Jiang Yashuang smiled, “Those people rarely come to Marquess’s Mansion. They don’t always make it when something really happens.”

Qiu Yelan nodded slightly. Even though he said that, he did not look nervous. She thought to herself, “The whole fourth family is here. It is impossible to have a backhand against the first branch and the third branch. When Yashuang introduces his staff to meet me, perhaps he is just in case.”

After these people had formally paid their respects, Qiu Yelan also asked about their families’ situation and assigned people to help and draw them. By the end of May, Marquess Qin was in a stable condition, but he was still unable to get up.

Empress Dowager and Emperor took Jiang Yashuang’s advice. They left a pile of blank edicts and went to Mountain Dizi to spend the summer.

Because the Jiang Family was not going this year, before the journey for the summer, people from the palace to the court all came over to visit as a sign of respect.

Zhuang Man and Ling Zui, who newly got married for a month, followed Princess Royal and her husband to Marquess’s Mansion. Madame Tao came forward to greet them. After exchanging pleasantries, Zhuang Man was eager to go and see Jiang Jingkun and the other children. As her aunt who was known for her fiery temperament sat in the hall, both Princess Royal and Madame Tao would not refuse her.

“If you like children so much, you should have one yourself!” As soon as they stepped outside, Qiu Yelan teased, “Look at you and my brother Ling Zui. Your child will be cute!”

“Before leaving home this time, my sister-in-law came over to give me a message. Have you inquired about the Mi Family?” Zhuang Man was cool for such jokes. With that, she was not blushing. Instead, she asked lazily, “What happened to the Mi Family again? I asked my sister-in-law, but she digressed at once. I don’t know what she meant.”

Qiu Yelan patted her head, “When I came back that day, I was so busy telling my mother about Miss Lu that I forgot all about this!” She turned her head and ordered Su He, “Go and find out what happened to the Mi Family.”

“My poor sister-in-law. She must have been waiting to hear back from you all these days, right?” Zhuang Man tsked, “She has never expected that you’ve long forgotten it!”

“There’s so much going on these days, right?” Qiu Yelan sighed, “One thing after another. It’s just endless!”

Although Zhuang Man was newly married to Ling Zui, she was aware of what was happening at the Marquess Qin’s Mansion and was deeply impressed, “There are so many things going on this year! But when you think about it, it’s still Xing who is the most pitiful. With the war in Xijiang, your brother will definitely not be able to come back on time for the wedding. And because of that, when will they be able to get married?”

“Who knows it? I just hope there will be good news from Xijiang soon.” Qiu Yelan rubbed her forehead, “Empress will be accompanying Emperor to Mount Dizi. And I do feel a little worried. It is fine to have a phoenix carriage for the bumpy ground. But I’m afraid it’s more difficult to climb up the mountain. Especially, when Empress is due in July, she is still up there.”

“I also find it puzzling. Empress is about to give birth. Why is she still going to Mount Dizi? Even if Empress Dowager and Emperor want to go, they should have left her in Jing City to wait for her delivery!” Zhuang Man bristled, “Even though they will take half of the Imperial Academy of Medicine with them, how can a pregnant woman travel a long distance?”

Qiu Yelan thought to herself, “It can be seen that there is a big problem in Jing City. Otherwise, they will not have taken Empress, who is already eight months pregnant, to climb a mountain to spend the summer. It seems that they are worried that it is not safe enough for Empress to give birth in Jing City.”

“It’s not mainly fear of the remaining members of the Gus. They are worried that once Marquess Qin passes away, the manpower of the first branch and the third branch will turn against them!”

After all, the first branch had a concubine to be. Could they not see the pregnant Empress as a thorn in their side?

With this in mind, Qiu Yelan slowly spoke up to persuade Zhuang Man, “If Empress really can’t stand it, I’m sure the Imperial Doctor dare not to conceal it. If so, why would Empress Dowager and Emperor insist on taking her with them? Since that they can take her with them, I think it will be fine.”

While they were talking, they had already reached the courtyard. Qiu Yelan ordered someone to carry out Jiang Jingkun and Jiang Jinglang. Zhuang Man hugged this one and that one and teased them. However, whether it was because she was a novice and didn’t know how to hold a baby or something else, she made Jiang Jinglang cry so much that he couldn’t be coaxed!

That made her call Qiu Yelan for help in a stack of sound.

Qiu Yelan, torn between annoyance and a desire to laugh, took over her son. She hugged him and walked back and forth in the courtyard. But it still didn’t work. Zhuang Man said miserably and defensively, “I didn’t do anything to him. I just held him and teased him for a while… Doesn’t he like me? I just…”

“Will I suspect you of doing something to him?” Qiu Yelan sighed, “I think it’s because he hasn’t seen you too much and he is not familiar with you. I’ll just coax him. Don’t worry!”

Zhuang Man looked embarrassed and turned around, trying to hug the elder Jiang Jingkun. But when Jiang Jingkun saw her reaching out for him, he stuck his head in his wet nurse’s arms and refused to come out! The courtyard was filled with laughter. And Zhuang Man was speechless with a darkened face.

“Why don’t you go and sit over at my eighteenth sister-in-law’s place for a while? Fu’er is quite well-behaved and so is Jiao’er.” Qiu Yelan saw that Jiang Jinglang could not be coaxed for the time being and Jiang Jingkun was clearly not giving face to Zhuang Man. She could not let Zhuang Man sit here and watch herself coax the child, could she? So, she turned to her and suggested, “I’ll go over to you guys when I’ve finished coaxing him!”

Zhuang Man thought she was right. So, she left with Chen Shui. The full name of Jiao’er was Qiu Yejiao, the youngest daughter born to Jiang Qizheng and Qiu Feng in Shazhou.

Strangely enough, as soon as Zhuang Man left, Jiang Jinglang cried in a lower voice.

After Qiu Yelan coaxed him some more, he stopped crying.

“If I didn’t know that Man’er wasn’t that kind of person, I would have doubted whether she had laid a secret hand on this child!” This situation made both Qiu Yelan and her maids very speechless, thinking that it might be the fate that Jiang Jinglang and Zhuang Man could not get along with each other.

However, when Qiu Yelan was relieved and handed her son to the wet nurse with the intention of going to Jiang Qizheng’s place, Jiang Jinglang burst into tears again!

There was nothing she could do but ask Su He to go and give Jiang Qizheng a message that she was stopped by his son.

And soon it was noon. Jiang Jinglang was tired of crying. After being watched by his mother as he ate his milk in the arms of his wet nurse, he fell asleep exhausted. And then Qiu Yelan was able to leave. When she went outside, she asked Su He to squeeze her arms. She had hugged the child for the whole morning so that she was quite tired!

As she just came out the door, she ran into someone who was sent there by Madame Tao to call for a meal.

After the meal, Princess Royal and her husband excused themselves to leave. Zhuang Man wanted to stay longer, but Madame Tao did not agree. As she had married, she could not be capricious. Even if Princess Royal did not say anything about her because of Madame Zhuang and the Jiang Family, she might not be happy in her heart.

Especially, with the journey for the summer around the corner, while Zhuang Man was the youngest daughter-in-law who didn’t have to worry about anyone else, she should send someone to pick up her own things in her room, right? How could she be allowed to do nothing and behave like an unmarried girl as she wished?

Madame Zhuang could hardly bring herself to do so. Even though she was not quite reasonable, she knew the reason. She knew that what Madame Tao did was for the sake of Zhuang Man. So, she didn’t look at Zhuang Man and let her be disappointed after a gaze. At last, Zhuang Man, who turned to look back repeatedly at every step, was pulled away by Ling Zui.

“After all, she has just married. She is still like a child!” Madame Tao didn’t smile lightly until she waited for Zhuang Man to leave, “The good thing is that she is only the youngest daughter-in-law. And she has her sister-in-law to take care of everything. So, she doesn’t have to worry about anything! As her brother-in-law and sister-in-law are a few years older than her and Zui’er, there’s nothing to argue about. Otherwise, her playful nature would have made Princess Royal worry.”

It seemed to say that Zhuang Man was naughty and capricious, but in fact, it meant that Madame Zhuang had chosen a good husband for her niece.

Madame Zhuang understood that. So, she smiled, “At first, I thought that both Zui’er and Man’er are nice. And it would be great for them to be a couple! It turns out to be true.”

The story was therefore covered. After Qiu Yelan accompanied her mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law to talk for a while, she returned to her own yard. Just at that time, Su He got the news and reported, “Something has indeed happened to the Mi Family!”