To Xia Ling Mei, if it was a trivial thing, the more Wang Yun Feng refuted it the more reliable it is; by contrast if it was truly a huge matter, he would not utter a word and take it on by himself. To know what truly is going on in the bottom of his heart, you can get it from going in a roundabout way and pry it open from other people.
Right now Wang Yun Feng knew how to be afraid, it wasn’t like it was big issue.
Xia Ling Mei put down half her mind. But, regarding the Hua family’s young lady, she would not be so easily swayed, no matter what she had to cause Wang Yun Feng to have some fear in his heart.
It was rare for Xia Fen to be honest so said nothing, he had already earlier sneakily climbed up the room’s roof beam with Xiao Bai. In passing as well fishing up a bag of snacks preserved in honey from Hei Zi’s hands, the three of them ate in silence watching a play.
Xia Ling Mei had already taken out the long whip.
Wang Yun Feng complexion paled, he hurriedly poured a cup of tea for her: “First don’t be angry, truthfully you can’t blame me for this, that Lady Hua…”
“Aiyo, Lady Hua is it, calling her so intimately.”
Wang Yun Feng choked once, correcting himself: “Hua Bao Xia…”
“So you’re even very clear about her full name, Lord Wang do you also know her pet name?” Xia Ling Mei stepped forward, looking down disdainfully out of the corner of her eyes at the hard-pressed Wang Yun Feng leaning on the back of his chair.
Wang Yun Feng coughed, quietly saying: “Mistress, let’s talk about it inside.” Wang Yun Feng tried hard to recall some trick for coaxing a wife inside, there was one move called `fighting at the headboard and harmony at the end of the bed`. To Xia Ling Mei this trick, ought to work right?
Who knew, the other person simply didn’t give him the opportunity: “I don’t want to talk with you right now. To me, when a certain person isn’t honest, the best thing is to beat him up, one this woman anger has been released, anything is good to talk about.” As she spoke, she brandished her whip, Wang Yun Feng was already guarded, with a twitch of his foot, in a flash he had dodged.
He had no choice, he had a wife with outstanding martial art skills, he was no match for her, at least he could run. It looked like he secretly practiced qing gong usually, at the most crucial moment it was still very useful.
Wang Yun Feng used martial arts very little, before he dabbled at it, now at most he was more powerful than a dabbler by a little bit.
The husband and wife, one was running in front, while he ran he also panted out in confession every encounter he had with Lady Hua; one was chasing from behind, she didn’t put too much power behind the whip, each time it landed by Wang Yun Feng’s foot it had lost its strength, the owner looked fiendish, only there was the slightest inability to sense a murderous aura.
Xia Fen watched for quite a while, feeling mother’s martial arts had been setback.
Xia Ling Mei grabbed Wang Yun Feng’s ear, loudly teaching: “You can’t go and see her in
the future!”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
“From now you can’t go to the Hua residence.”
“I’ve already said, from now on it’ll be Juan Shu going to handle matters.”
“She can never step over our doorway.”
Wang Yun Feng laughed softly, powerlessly leaning against the side of a pillar: “I’ve already presented an imperial edict to the emperor, not long after someone will be sent to replace me. So long as we leave this place, the Hua family will also not bother me again. Lady Hua after all is a lady kept at home, no matter what she would not be willing to become a concubine.”
Xia Ling Mei exhaled a breath, considering it for a while: “It was a huge thing for you to come to this disaster relief, returning to Beiding city half way through, wouldn’t that be giving the credit to someone else?”
Wang Yun Feng pulled on her hand, stealthily putting her long whip away. Xia Ling Mei clearly saw it but pretended to not notice, only hearing him say: “The emperor sent me here, it was actually to prevent me from being in a dispute with other influential families in the Imperial city. You didn’t also think, why the empress hurriedly sent the crown prince on a journey at the end of October? To travel is the truth, even more it was to protect the crown prince invisibly. Anyone knows I’m the emperor’s person, the crown prince is heir to the throne and therefore my second master. Even though it’s not clearly spoken, but if the crown prince succeeds to the throne, my mind would belong to the crown prince.”
“You’re saying, the emperor is preparing to make a move against the eldest prince and the
second prince? The officials you’ve been investigating this last half a year is directly affiliated with the two princes?”
“All in all, the first prince is older than the crown prince by five years. The princes started to learn about leading at the age of twelve, even though the first prince is not the son of the first wife, the second prince is close and affectionate with the first prince. The emperor’s sons are complicated, regarding age, even if the youngest the crown prince wants to unite everyone, to succeed the throne smoothly is also a little trouble, even if he succeeded, but the princes’ powers are too great and is likely to cause instability to the empire. The emperor did not want the crown prince and his brothers to massacre each other, this would give the other princes a chance to take advantage, the best method is to first eradicate the families behind the two oldest princes, make them into simple officials.”
“The crown prince leaving at such a time, could avoid his brothers’ jealousy, afterwards the princes also wouldn’t resent him.”
Wang Yun Feng sighed: “I left in October, return in December. Two months, according to the emperors usual methods, the matter ought to have been almost dealt with. Even though the accounts books were presented by me, but I left the centre of the stormy sea; the matter of making arrangements for the people after a disaster, there is a lot of profit, all the fractions are staring at it wanting a part of the profits, if I also give up half way through to avoid people getting information that can be used against be in the coming days, can I genuinely be an honest imperial censor, leave behind a legend about a ruler and his ministers in the annals.”
Xia Ling Mei hmphed: “In better words, in truth you’ve done every bitter and tiring thing and offended people, then put all the credit into someone else’s hands.”
Wang Yun Feng couldn’t help hug her, just like how the two of them had just been `bantering flirtatiously`, Xiao Bai stealthily closed the door, not afraid of people seeing.
“It isn’t good to be an imperial censor, I only want our whole family together peacefully and safely.”
A lump appeared in Xia Ling Mei’s throat. He really needed his family the most, he has been alone for such a long time, on the contrary he exhausted all his strength and talent to strive for a simple life.
In Xia Ling Mei’s mind she understood that Lady Hua was her wishful thinking, Wang Yun Feng always turned a blind eye to people outside of his liking, she simply did not need to be worried. Flaring up a little bit, knowing they were to leave here, her mind was calm and steady. Waiting until she relaxed, she then called down the three people who had been watching from the roof beam for half the day.
“In the kitchen there is food I prepared earlier, Xiao Bai go bring it. Xia Fen go wash your hands. Hei Zi go bring some dim sum back from the city.”
Wang Yun Feng knew anything he ate here he had to avoid a taboo, afraid he would be compared to. He was indifferent when he was on his own, Xia Ling Mei never wronged herself, she always allowed Hei Zi to sneakily buy good food to eat, occasionally she also made cakes herself. Since his mother arrived Xia Fen, he started to become piglet, growing horizontally.
There was fish and soup for the evening meal, white radish and tofu was placed inside. The fish was a silver carp enriched with blood, and was not sure where Xiao Bai got it from, the tofu was grinded by a nearby villager and delivered here, the white radish was brought from the city, cooked together for an afternoon, waiting for the father and son to eat. Since the time Xia Fen ate roasted sweet potato he was not willing to eat rice, Xia Ling Mei was at a loss, she started to wash clean sweat potatoes and cut into small pieces to be placed in rice to be boiled together, turning it into sweet potato rice, both fragrant and sweet, the two father and son could eat at least two bowls every meal.
Entering winter, there were less vegetables, back and forth it was only these several kinds, it was wax gourds, sprouts, Chinese cabbage, red and white radish. Fortunately there were victims and merchants together continuously returning to where their original homes were, otherwise they might not even be able to eat sprouts and white radish.
Xia Ling Mei cut up minced pork, using soaked white bean thread noodles and shredded sprouts she stir-fried it together to become a dish of ants climbing a tree, and a dish of braised beef with Chinese spices, some villagers presented their own marinated tofu milk and chili radish, cucumber and other such things, she put them together into an after dinner cold dish, barely enough to make up a three dish, one soup for the family of three to eat together.
Perhaps she was too tired, Xia Ling Mei drank two mouthful of soup then didn’t drink anymore.
Wang Yun Feng was afraid she was too tired throughout the day, after all she was a young lady of an influential family, previously if she had something to do she only had to tell a subordinate to hurry along, when she sometimes wondered into the kitchen there were numerous people helping her wash vegetables, chop vegetables and light a cooking fire, where was she like now where everything had to pass by her hands, Wang Yun Feng always worried she would become exhausted, and from time to time paid attention to how much she ate, seeing she didn’t eat much he would urge her to eat a little more.
Xia Ling Mei drank two more mouthfuls with difficulty, finally she couldn’t help spit it out, scaring Xia Fen so much he jumped up, his shout of `mother` carried a tone of alarm.
Wang Yun Feng immediately made someone go and get the physician, Hei Zi appeared from an unknown nook, holding her wrist to feel her pulse. Quite a while later, his complexion was unsettled. Juan Shu still held a rice bowl in his hand, a large piece of radish could be seen in it, as he chewed he yelled: “Who is unwell, I’ll take a look.”
Hei Zi moved out of the way, Juan Shu went again to feel her pulse. Feeling for some time, his complexion also began to change.
Wang Yun Feng had appeared calm, he angrily said: “Why don’t the two of you quack doctors move aside!”
A genuine physician had already been invited in by Bai Zi, it so happened to be a person from the Xia family. The physician had thought it was actually Wang Yun Feng who finally fell ill, and pondered whether the most recent prescription had to be changed, in the end it was Xia Ling Mei, he was so scared cold sweat emitted. Lord Wang falling ill was better than Lady Wang falling ill! Right now the Xia family clan leader knew of Xia Ling Mei’s whereabouts, but the second master and mistress did not know, if something happened to
Xia Ling Mei in the disaster area, wouldn’t the physician’s life be asked for? At once the physician also raptly took her pulse, him going into battle, he looked happy and anxious, he didn’t speak for quite a while
Wang Yun Feng’s hands and feet were cold, instinctively he grabbed hold of Xia Ling Mei’s other hand. His parents had passed away many years ago, his son also just recently got close to him, if at this time Xia Ling Mei also…he didn’t know if he could carry on.
The physician asked how much Xia Ling Mei recently ate, again looking at the fish soup on the table, after considering he finally opened his mouth, to ask Xia Ling Mei if there was something different with her body.
Xia Ling Mei sensed Wang Yun Feng’s nervousness, and the increasingly gloomy atmosphere by her side, the bottom of her heart was restless yet he still forced a smile:
“There’s nothing different, I just don’t feel like eating too greasy foods, I get tired lately.” She
wasn’t willing to say anything more.
The physician stroked his beard looking at her complexion, then did he smile and say:
“Congratulations Lord Wang, the mistress is pregnant.”
And not knowing which chair, fell to the ground with a bang, Wang Yun Feng stood up, shaking he asked: “Seriously?”
Juan Shu also smiled: “Master, it’s true. Just now when I took her pulse, because I haven’t met a joyous pulse before, I couldn’t determine it at the time. But, the mistress’ body is very healthy.” Hei Zi had already returned to the shadows again, clearly he also had the same answer.
Wang Yun Feng temporarily felt dizzy with the news. Xia Fen was an unexpected child of his, before they met he simply didn’t know about the other person’s existence. Maybe, in his unconscious mind, this was actually the first time he felt that, he was a father. The joy came too quickly, too abruptly, turning the usually maintained calm Lord Wang into a spinning top which only knew how to spin.