Mein erster Ehemann nach der Transmigration

Kapitel 28

Su Chen sighed inwardly, "Have something to eat. Third Sister must be tired. Why don't you eat something and then go to sleep for a while?"

"Aren't you going to ask me?" Yuan Rou suddenly asked.

“?” He Suchen turned his head to look at her.

"Aren't you going to ask me?" Yuan Rou repeated. "Guazi is very curious, isn't she? If you're curious, just ask, and I'll tell you everything."

He Su thought to herself, "I am very curious, but seeing you like this, how can I dare to ask?" She knew this matter would not be resolved so easily, so she changed the subject, saying, "Never mind that, Grandma will take care of it. Would you like to eat something?"

Yuan Rou silently focused on her meal, and the two waited quietly for news from the inner room.

The shadows of the trees outside the courtyard shifted from slightly slanted to tilted, and then from tilted to long, casting long shadows on the gauze paper pasted on the window. Finally, the beaded curtain moved, revealing a sunken dimple and bright red lips through the lifted opening.

The man wore a scarlet robe, the belt neatly tied, and his gait remained as graceful as ever, a slightly wicked smile still playing on his lips, though it seemed weak. As soon as he stepped out, Granny Tian, who was supposed to lead the way, followed him out, took a few steps forward, and gestured for him to proceed, saying, "Young Master Zeng, please. The old lady will have your clothes and belongings sent back to the mansion. I'll instruct the gatekeeper to prepare the carriage; please wait outside for a while."

Young Master Zeng nodded, glanced at Yuan Rou, and left with Granny Tian. Yuan Rou put down her chopsticks and placed her hands on her lap. Su Chen nervously stole glances at her expression. Yuan Rou raised her panicked and frightened face, forcing a smile: "This is my cousin, surnamed Zeng..." She only got halfway through her sentence before tears streamed down her face, wetting her skirt. The tears fell faster and faster as she sobbed uncontrollably. After a long while, she finally managed to stammer, "Guazi, I'm scared, I'm scared..."

Just as Su Chen was about to comfort her, the curtain was lifted again. Qiu Shui lifted the curtain and bowed, saying, "Third Madam, the old lady is in her room. Please go in directly."

Liu flicked her sleeve and snorted, giving Qiu Shui a cold glance. Seeing Su Chen and Yuan Rou sitting to the side, she smiled sarcastically and said to the two who hurriedly stood up to bow, "You're already sitting so comfortably, why bother with formalities?"

Su Chen held her breath, not daring to say a word. Soon, Liu Shi entered the inner room. She breathed a sigh of relief and sat down, but was surprised to find that Yuan Rou seemed to be unable to control herself and slumped into the chair. When Yuan Rou saw her looking at her, she said shyly, "I'm still scared."

He Su remained silent, unsure how to continue, or even if he should. The two fell silent again. Yuan Rou was preoccupied with her own thoughts, and Su Chen was focused on preventing her from thinking so much; neither noticed that they were simply sitting there silently.

Darkness fell quickly, and by the time they realized it, the maids had been hesitating outside for a long time, wondering whether to come in and ask about dinner. Finally, the curtain to the inner room was lifted again, and Liu Shi raised her face, which was trying hard to keep it normal, and said to the two of them in a flat tone, "Come in."

Yuan Rou quickly grabbed Su Chen's hand, slowly stood up, and the two of them, somewhat fearful, lifted the curtain and entered.

The room was peaceful. Tang's mother smiled and leaned against the mattress, indicating that the two did not need to bow. Then she said gently, "Third girl, your mother is going back to her other home for a while. You can stay with your aunt for now. Your mother is not feeling well and probably can't take care of so many things. I have the maid move your things to the main room. See if you can stay there."

Yongjiao was taken aback and asked, "What about my sister?"

“Your eldest daughter will go to your parents’ home first. Your maternal grandmother has sent people several times to ask if she can be taken there.” Tang’s mother smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “You can stay next door to your second daughter for now. If you don’t like it, you can move in with me.” After saying that, she turned to Liu Shi: “What do you think of this arrangement, daughter-in-law?”

“What Mother did was naturally not bad,” Liu said meekly, her voice and expression completely natural, as if the distorted face she had just seen outside was not hers at all.

"It's much better for you to recuperate at the Liu residence. I'll arrange for someone to find a boat to take you there. Don't rush back; you need to get your health back on track. If you're not feeling well, I won't have the face to go out. People who don't know the situation might think I'm mistreating you, making you weak and sickly," Tang's mother said gently, but her words were somewhat unsettling. Liu quickly bowed and apologized, saying, "Mother, what are you saying? How could outsiders not know how kind you are..." She was about to continue when Tang's mother interrupted, "Your cousin, is he named Zeng Yanzhong?"

Liu swayed slightly, then steadied herself against the small table. "Yes, his name is Zeng Yanzhong."

Tang's mother added, "After you finish resting at the Liu residence, talk to him before you come back. After all, we are not an ordinary family, and he did not come to seek refuge with Ziqing. If the two of you stay in the same room for too long, there will always be gossip. Tell him not to stay alone in the third room unless there is something to do."

Liu withdrew her hand and flashed a bright smile, which made her look even more charming against her crimson dress. "Mother is right, but he is, after all, my cousin. He asked me to look after him with Father's letter, so I can't say anything. Since there's gossip, I'll just have less contact with him in the future. It's just hard to explain to Father."

Tang's mother frowned and said, "Since it's what your father said, he can come to me if he needs anything. Our He family won't let him go hungry."

Liu pursed her lips, her smile becoming even more alluring. "Then I, your daughter-in-law, will thank you on behalf of my father and cousin." Tang's mother waved her hand. "Go and pack your things. We should be going back in a couple of days."

Liu smiled, bowed, thanked them, and then smiled at the two children before gracefully apologizing and leaving. Su Chen noticed that her legs were wobbling, and the maid supporting her only managed a few steps before showing signs of strain. Yuan Rou didn't quite understand what had happened and after a long pause asked, "Does Grandma mean I should go to my aunt's place tonight?"

Tang's mother nodded: "Living in that house makes you much more settled. You're getting old, and it'll be time for you to settle down sooner or later." Yuan Rou blushed, and the panic in her eyes hadn't completely disappeared, but she seemed much calmer in front of Tang's mother.

That night, He Su Shi happened to be returning home on his day off. She told him about what had happened that day, and after listening carefully, Su Shi said with a self-deprecating smile, "Has it already begun?"

Chapter 44, The Sign

The promoter function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join now!!! "Start with what?" Su Chen pondered for a moment, then asked directly. Su Shi smiled: "What do you think it is?"

"The infighting between Grandma and Liu? The power struggle between the He and Liu families? The two families began to fight each other? The wheels of history began to turn, with the Tang-Liu incident of the He family as the fuse, setting off a magnificent history of factional struggles?" He Suchen murmured, "I really have read too many history textbooks, my thoughts are so twisted."

He Su Shi sweated profusely: "In a way, you're not wrong." He put down the books in his hands and began to analyze in detail one by one, "Although the Empress's son is only four years old, Liu Guozhang is already over sixty years old. Although his faction has a wide number of members, its foundation is not stable. Crown Prince Zhao Ke is legitimate and upright. Although he is not outstanding, he is more than steady. The elders with outstanding reputation in the court will naturally do their best to assist him. If the two factions start fighting in the court now, Liu's faction will suffer."

"If you're going to suffer a loss, it's not too late to wait until you're fully prepared before taking action. Surely the Liu faction can wait two or three years?" Feudal dynasties have historically favored the eldest son over the youngest. Power struggles and factional strife are all about changing the emperor. How can something this big be done so easily without proper preparation?

"Impossible. The Crown Prince is already over twenty. Waiting any longer will only solidify his position." He had never been able to gain the upper hand, so how could his power suddenly increase in two or three years? He Su Shi disagreed.

"But the Liu family clearly has a wide network of connections, with their people running around everywhere. They even have people infiltrated into families like ours that aren't in the center of power. How can they not compare to the Crown Prince's faction?"

He Su sighed, "Who told you the He family isn't in the center of power anymore?"

ah?

"If you weren't in the center of power, would Liu Shi be forced to marry into our family? If you weren't in the center of power, would Liu Jinshan be so eager to send someone into our household? If he couldn't send someone, he even tried to capture the maids? If you weren't in the center of power, would a bunch of people be proposing marriage to you?" He Su Shi used a long series of parallel sentences to aptly express his helplessness towards someone who was completely oblivious to the current situation. "Didn't I tell you about He Ziyuan's position in the hearts of the scholars?"

"Um... I forgot He Ziyuan is my father..." He Suchen said somewhat embarrassedly, "I listened to all that string of relationships and backgrounds you mentioned as just a story. Who actually took it seriously? I had no sense of immersion at all; I've never even met the real people involved." She suddenly realized, "Liu Shi was forced to marry into this family?! What do you mean?!"

He Su felt a chill and spent the entire night giving her extra lessons, trying to make sure she had a general understanding of what she needed to know.

Nothing was said that night.

The next day, the brother and sister discussed the teahouse. He Sucheng had already had some doubts, and now this feeling was even stronger. It was that this older brother had no intention of living a peaceful life at all, and had great expectations and fantasies about the future and ambitions that he could not reach.

Speaking of the future, he wants to become an official, to have a time-travel fantasy, and to build an economic structure that facilitates north-south circulation.

He wanted to do more than just tea; he also wanted to brew wine—because the Song Dynasty did not prohibit alcohol, so he could brew as much as he wanted. He also wanted to make ceramics—the Song Dynasty had pottery capitals everywhere, and private kilns were everywhere, making huge profits. He wanted to make Yixing teapots—it is said that during the reign of Emperor Huizong, Yixing teapots were designated as a royal exclusive commodity, and their prices would surely skyrocket at that time. He wanted to make or buy some before they were requisitioned by the royal family to make huge profits. He even wanted to get involved in the Suzhou embroidery market and the wood carving market.

He Su Shi had so many ideas, and he was beaming with excitement no matter what he talked about. Su Chen felt both worried and envious. In this era of power struggles and killings, putting aside whether he had the ability or not, just the fact that he was the son of He Ziyuan meant that he would be closely watched no matter what he did.

Judging from his words, He Su Shi seems to be following He Zi Yuan's example of not taking sides and not expressing an opinion. However, the struggle between the Crown Prince's faction and Liu's faction is not so easily resolved. The saying "an emperor is often incompetent" suggests that Emperor Huizong might have been observing the power struggle from the sidelines, aiming to weaken the various factions in the court and pave the way for the next emperor. Just like Emperor Qianlong's indulgence of Heshen, was it truly due to excessive pampering? Was there not also the intention of keeping Heshen around to help his son embezzle funds, so that Emperor Jiaqing could execute him to establish authority and replenish the national treasury?

He Su Shi's desire to remain neutral has the advantage of avoiding the harm caused by factional infighting. However, from another perspective, no matter how the fighting goes, he has no future and is highly likely to be ostracized by both factions, unless the emperor greatly favors him. After all, no faction would be willing to promote someone outside their own camp, especially during times of factional strife.

But no matter what, it's still a dream. To strive for one's goals, no matter what happens along the way, whatever one encounters, to overcome it all and exert every ounce of effort. Regardless of success or failure, regardless of the situation, to steadfastly move forward towards one's goal—only by living like this can one make the most of life.

Su Chen felt a pang of sadness, but quickly let it go. Although she longed for such a fulfilling life, it was impossible for a woman in this era to achieve, and besides, it might not be suitable for her.

She'd always been a homebody, her ultimate ambition being to pass the lowest-level civil service exam and find the most leisurely and boring position in a government agency to coast through life. Now that she'd transmigrated, she wasn't influenced by the countless glamorous transmigration novels she'd read. All she thought about was how to make others think she was ordinary and normal, so she could comfortably enjoy a life of ease, without worries about food, clothing, or employment, until she died of old age.