Chapter 495: Asking a Woman What She Thinks—The Wife Never Idle While Waiting for Her Husband

After several light snowfalls, Beijing was covered in a white expanse, but the weather grew colder by the day. Although every household had started using heated beds since the first day of the tenth lunar month, the enclosed spaces became stuffy, making it difficult for the elderly and frail to endure, while children were prone to catching colds. Even a renowned pharmacy like Hui Chuntang was so busy with patients that its doctors had little time to rest, and the number of people coming to get medicine or seek treatment doubled compared to usual.

Madam Gu rarely left her warm chamber, even though Feng Yuanming visited frequently every two or three days, and Xiao Wu came by daily. Yet her health remained unstable—she would barely eat a few bites despite eating regularly, no matter how creatively the servants tried to tempt her. With no other choice, Ling Xi and Du Wan discussed the situation and decided to ask the youngest, Zhang Jing, to spend more time accompanying her in the northern courtyard house. Zhang Jiu had originally planned to ask for a long leave from the Imperial Academy but was scolded by Madam Gu and was forced to let his younger brother Zhang Zi accompany her more often.

The day after Zhang Chao returned from the palace, an imperial edict was issued dismissing him from his post and sending him to Tongzhou as a lower-ranking official. Although everyone knew Tongzhou was only a few dozen miles from Beijing, this demotion was considered quite lenient—at most, it would mean extra travel. Yet Madam Dongfang fell ill because of it. Her son had finally reached the fifth rank; even without a title, being a commander was a stable position. Now, after such a steep drop to the seventh rank, how could he ever regain his dignity? Clearly, it was her fault that her son’s affair with his concubine had been suppressed, and now it was being brought up again for punishment.

With her ill, the entire Zhang family was naturally even more anxious. Li Yun and Zhao Fen had to take turns caring for her, and in their free time, they also had to attend to Madam Gu, the matriarch, as well as the pregnant concubine who had caused trouble. Du Wan worked hard to manage household affairs, never showing the slightest concern in front of Madam Gu, and successfully kept the fact that Zhang Yue was in danger hidden. The three brothers—Zhang Chao, Zhang Qi, and Zhang Jiu—also wanted to conceal the news of Xinghe being besieged and said nothing about it either. Thus, the whole family finally settled down.

Fortunately, after a string of bad news, good news finally arrived—the imperial edict recalling Zhang Xin to serve as the deputy governor of Shuntian Prefecture was issued the next day. Upon hearing this news, Lady Feng, who had been eagerly awaiting it, wept with joy, and even the servants breathed a sigh of relief. After all, some of the men in the family were serving as officials abroad, some leading troops, some on business trips, and some in exile. Now that the eldest master, who had been exiled to Jiaozhi for years, was returning, the family finally seemed to be back on track.

Because of this wonderful news, Lady Gu ate half an extra bowl of rice that noon, enjoying it especially heartily. In the afternoon, she took a walk around the house to aid digestion before going to bed with Bai Fang’s assistance. Du Wan and Ling Xi rushed back to their rooms, ate a few bites of food, and immediately headed to the small meeting hall. With the New Year approaching, there were countless tasks to handle—rent payments, renewing leases, purchases, gifts, and more. After finally finishing these arrangements, Ling Xi ordered a basin of hot water and personally helped Du Wan wash her face and hands.

After washing her face and putting on her makeup again to hide the fatigue on her face, Du Wan saw Ling Xi wash her hands with the remaining water. Seeing that Ling Xi’s complexion was pale and her eyes bloodshot, she smiled bitterly and said, “Normally, watching Second Aunt handle these things seemed easy, but now that I’m doing it myself and seeing money flowing out like water, I realize what true hardship is.”

“Now that we’ve moved to the capital, many things need to be purchased anew, and many items have to be shipped from the south, making them 20-30% more expensive than before. Naturally, the expenses for the whole family are much higher than before. If it weren’t for Master being in Nanjing, where he’s said to be running some business together with Duke Cheng, bringing in a considerable amount of income each month, relying solely on the Eighth Lord’s salary of 800 dan and the family’s farmlands alone would probably not be enough. After all, the eldest master only incurs expenses without any income. Things will get much better once he returns.”

“You’re right.”

Although Du Wan had helped her mother manage the household before, the family wasn’t very large. Now, seeing that the account transactions amounted to at least 500 guan in silver, it was truly alarming. Gathering her thoughts, she remembered Zhu Ning asking her to talk to Ling Xi about Zhang Yue. But she had always been the type to carry things on her own, and with Ling Xi being so busy these days, she pushed this matter deep into her heart. Now that she had some free time, she felt an indescribable longing in her heart.

Zhang Yue had been on the journey for twenty-eight days already. Before, there were still messages coming from Hu Qi, but ever since Xinghe was besieged, there had been no news at all. These past few days, while sleeping alone each night, she even carved marks on the bed frame with her fingernails—now there were already ten in total, meaning it had been ten full days with no news of him. She didn’t know whether he was alive or dead, or if he was well or not. Even when she went back to visit her mother that day, and even in front of Xiao Wu, she didn’t dare reveal a single word.

Her mother had always treated Zhang Yue like her own son, and she couldn’t let her continue to worry and fear. As for Xiao Wu, he didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation; if anything else went wrong, things would only get worse. He had said he would return safely to see her and the child, so he surely could do it. She could only trust him, trust that he would seize every opportunity.

In this world, there’s no such thing as turning misfortune into good fortune—only by relying on oneself to find every possible chance!

“Young mistress!”

Suddenly, someone called out, and Du Wan came back to her senses. Looking up, she saw a housekeeper’s wife. The woman clasped her hands in front of her and bowed, then smiled and said, “Third young mistress, the third master from Nanjing sent people with quite a few items and a family letter. Those large carts are outside now, and the more than ten people accompanying them have already been rewarded by the family. We’re wondering whether to store the items first or bring them in for the old lady, the other wives, and the young masters and mistresses to see.”

Hearing that it was her father-in-law who sent the items, Du Wan pondered for a moment before ordering, “Has the list of items been brought in?”

“My memory is so poor—I almost forgot about this. Here’s the list, and here’s the third master’s family letter!” The woman slapped her head and quickly handed over a scroll. Seeing Du Wan open it and discuss it quietly with Lingxi, she stepped aside. After a while, she heard orders coming from above and pricked up her ears carefully.

“The camphor wood walking stick and prayer beads for the old lady, along with fabrics and trinkets for each household, should be brought in first. Since the New Year is approaching, it’s a good time to make clothes, and also for the children to play with. Those local delicacies and cured meats from the south should be taken straight to the kitchen so they can prepare a few dishes for everyone to taste tonight. The gold coins and copper coins should be recorded in the public account.”

Lingxi glanced at Du Wan, seeing that she had no objections, so she handed the list to a maid and sent the housekeeper’s wife away. Only after she left did Du Wan break the seal on the family letter and read it. By the end, she couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, then she smiled.

“Father said he originally planned to have Concubine Hong take Sixth Brother to the capital at the end of the year, but with the weather being too cold and many troubles in the capital, he decided to send them there next spring, so that there would be more grandchildren for the old lady and to bring more joy to the family. He also said that Mother personally went to Qixia Temple to ask for an oracle, and it showed that our whole family would have great good fortune; she was overjoyed.”
Although Lady Sun was the legitimate mistress, Lingxi couldn’t help but smile upon hearing this: “After all, the master still can’t resist the lady.”
Thinking of her own parents-in-law, Du Wan also felt her heavy heart lighten a bit, then folded the letter back up and put it away. Soon after, several maids brought the items into the council hall. She opened one of the chests at random and saw that the silks and fabrics were all elegant and modern in design, already sorted according to the number of people—she couldn’t help but admire her father-in-law’s attention to detail. Just as she was about to have them delivered to each room, a commotion suddenly came from outside.
“Third Young Lady, Princess Chenliu has arrived and has gone straight to the western courtyard!”
She had suppressed her worries and longing earlier, but now Du Wan felt her head go heavy. Forcing a smile, she stood up, gave a few instructions to Lingxi, who was busy with the maids, and hurriedly left the council hall. The steps were too slippery, and as she rushed down the last step, she stumbled. Fortunately, Amber quickly stepped in to support her. Even so, she kept walking fast, leaving Amber struggling to keep up, filled with confusion.
Did Du Wan already know why Zhu Ning had come? Given the urgency, could it be that something had happened to Zhang Yue?
She rushed back to the western courtyard. As soon as she entered the warm pavilion in the main building, she saw Zhu Ning sitting on the kang, gently playing with Jingguan. Du Wan was stunned, and hope immediately arose in her heart. Sure enough, Zhu Ning raised her head, wearing an unhidden smile: “Don’t worry, this time it’s good news!”
Those few simple words seemed incredibly weighty. For a moment, Du Wan didn’t know whether her dizziness was due to relief or something else. Dragging her leaden legs to the kang, she didn’t realize her throat had suddenly become hoarse as she asked slowly, word by word, “Is he really okay?”
“Not just okay—if the news from Xuanfu is accurate, Zhang Yue has really made a big splash this time!”

Since it was time to bring good news rather than bad, Zhu Ning didn’t avoid the two maids in the room and said cheerfully, “When the Emperor heard it, he was so pleased that he uttered countless kind words—things like ‘a son born into a military family’ and ‘talented at a young age’… In short, he used all the best compliments. Plus, the Crown Prince was right by his side adding to the joy. With the Emperor so happy, there’s a good chance your Xiao Jing will receive a reward soon. Don’t worry too much about that guy. Even though Xinghe hasn’t been rescued yet, he’s so resourceful that he’ll surely return safely!”
Du Wan took a deep breath, suddenly remembering his embrace before he left. He had asked her to wait for his return, and she had promised to wait for him with their son… She had kept her word, and so would he!
Zhu Ning watched Du Wan calmly, but inwardly sighed. Since the good news had been delivered, it was better to keep any bad news hidden for now—after all, it was still unconfirmed, and it was unclear who had started spreading rumors. By the time Zhang Yue returned, Du Zhen should be released as well, and then those rumors would naturally disappear.