The Lady’s Sickly Husband

Translator: Antonia

The next morning, when she opened the doors, Mo Qianxue was taken aback by what greeted her.

One, two, three, four, five and six. Six men stood in a tiny row before the doors.

Asan, Awu, the two cold-faced guards on one side.

Tong Zijing sat in the chair in the middle, and next to him was Tong Zhan, Tong Ping, and Tong An.

Mo Qianxue was speechless. Others had two fierce-looking door gods guarding the gate, and she had six?

“Sister. You’re up!”

Tong Zijing sprang up to greet her, which made her a little confused.

Asan saw Tong Zijng was approaching lady again and stuck out an arm to block him. Tong Zijing’s expression was lovable, but Mo Qianxue overlooked it.

Why didn’t she hear any noise with six men standing at the door? She looked back at Ning Shaoqing who just got up and looked calm as if he had already predicted this.

“What is all this?”

She could get an answer from Ning Shaoqing, so she asked Asan who was pulling Tong Zijing back.

“Lord Tong came to find you as soon as he got up. We told him that you were tired and resting. He was unwilling to leave, insisted waiting here, and he didn’t allow us to make noise.” Asan remained cold-faced and his tone was also contemptuous.

Mo Qianxue wanted to ignore what the words meant. She almost had a headache because only until this moment did she found that she had gotten herself a hot potato.

It seemed that the decision she had made last night was correct.

She hoped that he would be interested in root carving. If this didn’t work out, she must ask Ning Shaoqing to take him to village school every day.

Since root sculpture was a promising business and the students were the villagers’ children, so under Wang Tiansong’s incitation, the villagers had raise a fund and built a spacious house for them.

The house was originally a single-roomed plain one. Later, by Mo Qianxue’s direction, wooden plates were used to divide it into many smaller rooms to serve as independent studios. The students wouldn’t bother each other when they worked alone.

Gao Qiwa, one of the students, was very talented. Within one month since he started learning, he was able to complete a simple root sculpture on his own already.

Mo Qianxue took a closer look at it. Although it wasn’t very exquisite and had much room to improve, it could sell at a good price.

The one made by Wang Tiansong wasn’t creative enough, but it was neatly-carved due to an adult’s precise exertion of strength. Anyway it was not bad in Mo Qianxue’s eyes.

The other three students couldn’t independently make sculptures yet.

After checking the housework of them, Mo Qianxue introduced to them a new classmate—Lord Tong Zijing.

Tong Zhan freaked out seeing Tong Zijing held a knife and waved here and there. If he accidently cut himself, how would he report to Mr. Tong and his grandpa?

Tong Ping and Tong An were even more scared that they couldn’t stop their legs from shaking involuntarily. For them, the question was not how to report but whether they could keep their heads on the neck.

However, they were just too worried.

Since he was born, Tong Zijing had never officially learn anything. Now he was just enlightened to start his life stage of crazily absorbing knowledge. In the previous several days, Mo Qianxue only had played with him and didn’t encouraged him to use brain or focus on one thing in real terms.

He was still muddled, only knowing to imitate, just like on that day, he told stories to Su Qi.

By a little guidance from Su Qi, he had managed to tell all the dozens of stories.

Although he had told them intermittently, it was indeed difficult for a person to accomplish it after hearing them once.

On another afternoon, it merely took him a quarter to learn how to pick up beans with chopsticks. All these proved that he possessed strong plasticity as long as proper approaches were used.

What Mo Qianxue taught today wasn’t creative but directional carving—how to make a lively bunny.

First, she gave a comprehensive expounding on the pictures of various forms of rabbits and techniques. The students listened and digested carefully, and when the lecture ended, they all picked up knives and wood excitedly.

Tong Zijing was also given a small stump-shaped material. He held his knife, equally excited and concentrated.

Of course, Mo Qianxue gave him more instructions. For most of the time, she stood behind him and directed him accordingly. She also let Wang Tiansong lead him to carve hand in hand to give him a feeling of the right strength.

After a short while, Tong Zijing was fully dived into carving.

Mo Qianxue went in and out of the room for several times. At first Tong Zijing was a little restless and looked to her frequently, but later, when he saw that Tong Zijing really came back soon as Tong Zhan had told him, he didn’t care that much and devoted himself fully to the sculpture piece in his hand.

Judging from his focusing eyes, he seemed to be in another world.

Mo Qianxue paid special attention to his at this moment and found that he didn’t look childish at all.

She was sincerely happy since Tong Zijing was able to concentrate on something. She told Wang Tiansong to take special care of him and then left quietly.

On her way back home, she breathed a long sigh, relieved finally.

A horse carriage parked at the gate, and Awu was brushing hair for the horse.

“Whose carriage is this?” She glanced around and discovered no visitors, curious.

Asan’s tone sounded more curious than hers, “Isn’t it the carriage that lord bought for you as a compensation?”

Early in the morning, he took the order to go to Tianxiang city and take back this horse carriage, which had long been ordered by lord for master.

According to uncle Yu, for this carriage, lord had personally drawn many pictures as demoes for the craftsman.

She didn’t know?

Mo Qianxue felt like crying and warm at the same time. She collected herself and reached out to touch the carriage.

Yesterday, when they robbed Mr. Tong of his carriage, Mo Qianxue has blamed playfully Ning Shaoqing for destroying her oxcart and demanded a new one. Ning Shaoqing just smiled and agreed and then quickly shifted another topic.

At that moment, Mo Qianxue thought that he didn’t want to mention it and never expected that he had listened carefully.

He knew that she liked light blue color, so the deco of the new carriage was in light blue. When she got in, she found that the ornaments were all to her likings.

Unexpectedly, Awu had such a good taste to buy a carriage that was fully to her likings.

Yet, this must cost a lot of money. She believed that the man must own a fortune more than the one thousand taels of silver he had given her last time. He had a secret coffer?

Mo Qianxue jumped off the carriage when Ning Shaoqing was back from school. Seeing that there was no tail behind her, he instantly cracked a bright gentle smile.

*

The next morning, opening the doors, Mo Qianxue was ready to be greeted with the six men, but to her surprise, there was no one.

With doubts, she glanced around, which amused Ning Shaoqing.

“What are you laughing at?” Mo Qianxue turned back and scolded him, wondering where the six men were.

“He won’t come today.” Ning Shaoqing smiled and pulled her back.

“Uh? He won’t come? Where is he?” Mo Qianxue gently pushed him.

Ning Shaoqing didn’t mind and still smiled, “Of course at your sculpture workshop! Congratulations darling! Your instruction works out. You are finally free.”

The couple smiled gratified to each other, creating an atmosphere especially sweet.

Since that ridiculous night, their night time resumed quiet, but of another kind.

Last night, as long as Ning Shaoqing tried to act undisciplined, Mo Qianxue threatened to kick him off.

It wasn’t because that she refused to do it. Rather, she was afraid that he would be intemperate like last time, which might harm his health.

She also worried that he might drive himself crazy to come increasingly dissatisfied, because on that night, the torturing fire within her body was so scorching and itching that she couldn’t fall asleep at all.

Ning Shaoqing cared about her and would never allow the poison in his body to hurt her and make her infertile. Certainly she should accept his kindness.

But he didn’t think about this. What if she couldn’t resist him and get him down? Could he haul in his horns by then?

Therefore, it would be best to put out the fire before it was lit up. In the future, she wanted to raise several cute babies to enjoy the life of being a hot mom.

Yesterday, she had order Awu to send a greeting letter to Jian mansion. Today, after arranging Tong Zijing, she was going to visit Jian Qingyou.

Those large families had so many verbose rules that a greeting letter must be sent before actual visiting.

In fact, visiting Jian Qing wasn’t her sole purpose. She also wanted to inquire more about the weird doctor. Ning Shaoqng told her that he had sent people to check Jian mansion, but the weird doctor wasn’t there.

She intended to confirm it personally. Awu was driving the carriage which was paved with cushions and quite warm.

Mo Qianxue couldn’t help thinking that horse carriage was most comfortable to sit!

It ran fast and steady with shelters to keep out wind and rain. She lifted up the curtain and saw patches of whiteness outside. Today, she was in a mood to appreciate snow.

It was dawn and the sky still dim. A haze of floating mist dotted the air, which, by closer look, were swirling snowflakes.

In the distance, multi-peaked mountains loomed yond against the dark-blue sky which was edged with morning sunrays. On the right were steep hills and pine trees that were covered under thick snow.

On the left were massifs connecting one by one endlessly. The horse carriage was driving in the arms of them. In such a winter morning, everything was in tranquil, except for the joyful snow which falling nonstop.

The beautiful scenery gave her a good mood.

The carriage arrived at Jian mansion. The gatekeeper came in to report and then the gate was open. Jian Qingyou should get out of it, followed by two girls at around fifteen years old.

The two girls looked familiar. Mo Qianxue suddenly remembered that they were among the group of Jian females who had intended to play tough on her during her first tour in the garden of Jian mansion.

If her memory served her well, one was Jian Qing’s cousin and the other a concubine’s daughter.

To open the middle gate was the highest respect towards guests.

Mo Qianxue’s heart leaped a little. There was no free lunch. They must be up to something.

“Qianxue, long time no see. How are you? I miss you so much.”

Although Mo Qianxue was still perplexed, she properly smiled and relied, “I’m so glad that you miss me. I’m good. How are you? It’s getting cold recently. Be careful to your health.”

Jian Qingyou talked to her while taking her by the hand to walk inward.

“This is Mrs. Ning. You’ve met last time. Remember?”

“This is my daughter, Qinghua, ranked fifth. And this is my cousin, Qingzhen, ranked seventh.” Jian Qingyou held Mo Qianxue’s hand and strolled unhurriedly while introducing to her the two girls.

The concubine’s daughter, Jian Qinghua had been lowering her head and dressed plainly.

The cousin Jian Qingzhen was dressed up even more luxuriously than Jian Qingyou, the legal first young lady of Jian family.

She was wearing a three-ringed hairstyle, black hair flowing down to fall on her shoulders, a white jade hairpin in plum blossom shape with gilded tassels inserted in the buns. What she wore was a red plum pleated gown and two engraved jade bracelets.

Everything on her wrote luxury and money, emitting a bearing poles apart from Jian Qingyou’s low-profile elegance.

Jian Qinghua looked up to smile at Mo Qianxue when being introduced, yet Jian Qingzhen only nodded at her since she saw Mo Qianxue merely wore a normal hairstyle and a plain silver hairpin plus a red flower. Mock and arrogance played obviously on her face.

She thought to herself: a poor village woman. Look at what she wore.

She couldn’t possibly know that Mo Qianxue just didn’t care about this. Among the gifts that old madam Jian had given her last time, there was a whole set of clothes which were not worse than hers.

At that time, Mo Qianxue only took a glance and let Asan put them to closet.

Even the red flower was picked up by Ning Shaoqing from somewhere and inserted in her hair, laughing that a beauty and flower reflected on each other to make them more beautiful. Mo Qianxue laughed at him and called him vulgar!

Ning Shaoqing had been in such a good mood, so she didn’t refuse him directly, but sighed in secrecy that today she also became a poor woman wearing a stupid flower. She had planned to take if off on the way yet forgot since she had been so obsessed with the snowy scenery.

“Grandma misses your cakes so much and is going to send people to invite you here when yesterday your letter arrived.”

“Is old madam better now? I’m also going to visit her today.”

“Great. Let me take you to see her. She must be waiting to eat your cakes.”

The two walked and laughed all the way and quickly arrived at Ciyang Garden where old madam lived.

They just reached the yard gate when a pear-figured nanny came up to greet them. Mo Qianxue regarded her and found that she was the amiable nanny Liang.

“Nanny Liang, why are you here at the gate?” Jian Qingyou stepped forward and asked.

“Old madam commanded me to wait for Mrs. Ning.” Nanny Liang answered and meanwhile curtsied to the three young ladies one by one and smiled brightly at Mo Qianxue.

Afterwards, she led them inward. There were already servant girls went inside to report and then told nanny Liang to guide them into the house.

Old madam, in a burgundy gown embroidered with a horse face, sat in the main position, and behind her stood two servant girls in tidy dresses at around seventeen years old.

Seeing people coming in, the two girls put on the ground several cushions. Jian Qingyou and the other two ladies kneeled on the ground and kowtowed, “Grandmother.”

Mo Qianxue didn’t kneel after them but only slightly bent her knees to make a salute, “Nice to meet you again old madam.”

Speaking of it, so far, she hadn’t kneeled before anyone. She wasn’t one of old madam’s juniors. Why should she do that?

Old madam Jian remained calm at this scene and didn’t display a bit anger. However, nanny Liang and other servants gasped in shock.