Chapter 570: Those Who Plant Trees Let Others Enjoy the Shade

“Grass grows thick on the plains, withering and flourishing each year. Wildfires can’t burn it all away; spring winds bring it back to life.”

A young child’s voice clearly came through the thin curtain outside. Lady Gu leaned back in her chair, listening attentively with a gentle smile on her face. After a while, she came back to her senses and glanced at Lingxi across from her, who was still diligently writing at the table. She then said, “As a bride-to-be, you should have been preparing at home, but I insisted on bringing you here. Thankfully, today is the last day—no need to trouble you anymore.”

Lingxi was startled by these words. Her hand trembled, and she almost dropped a drop of ink on the paper. She quickly put down her pen, raised her head, and smiled, “Didn’t the old lady tell the Duchess of Britain that she would need me to come and help often? Why mention trouble now? The things you gave me fill half a room. Everyone in this house says you’re biased. Besides, my two aunts who are getting married have also come to help. I’m not a necessity.”

“What’s a little thing? I truly appreciate your generosity and diligence. It’s just that you’re more stubborn than men—nothing can make you change your mind. If I hadn’t known that those who keep you here can’t keep your heart, I wouldn’t have let you go!” Lady Gu shook her head lightly before sitting up straight. “Well, after working hard these past few days, how much is left?”

“I’ve counted—it should all be done.” Lingxi quickly blew on the still-damp paper, placed it with the stack on the table, and handed it over, saying, “Apart from what the old lady originally kept for the family, you own 540 hectares of land in North and South Zhili and Henan. The gold, silver, jewelry, and various items are worth about 60,000 taels in silver. As for properties, there are seven in total—ranging from small quadrangle houses to large four-entry mansions. There are also twelve shops, forty in total, four of which are rented out and eight managed by the family. Thanks to having organized them before, I was able to figure out the figures quickly while helping out at the management office. But do you really want to divide it up like that?”

“Decades of savings indeed amount to quite a bit.”

But Lady Gu did not reply to Lingxi’s words. She let out a soft sigh, recalling the generous dowry she had brought when she married into the Zhang family. At that time, her family was from a prominent and wealthy household, so her dowry was extremely substantial—she had not been treated poorly at all. Even now, among the several granddaughters-in-law, perhaps only her future fourth granddaughter-in-law could compare to her in terms of dowry. Back then, as the dynasty was newly established and people feared that great wealth might attract trouble, many items were carefully packed in boxes for transport. Others knew how many boxes were carried, but not what was inside. In total, this dowry had accumulated over fifty years; gold and silver jewelry still remained in the boxes, while the value of the lands and shops had multiplied countless times—she herself could no longer keep track.

She quickly shook off those memories and thoughts, then nodded slightly at Lingxi and said, “Divide it as I told you before. All the real estate shall go to the eldest branch. Gold, silver, jewelry, and various items shall be divided as follows: the eldest branch gets four parts, the second and third branches each get three parts, while the lands and shops shall be divided equally into three parts, one for each branch.”

Seeing that Lady Gu had made up her mind, Lingxi said no more. She quickly sorted out the relevant items and began writing furiously on paper. After finishing, she showed it to Lady Gu. Lady Gu rubbed her aching wrists, deeply admiring the old lady’s decisiveness. By convention, the dowry from her natal family could naturally be left entirely to the eldest branch. With such wealth, even if Zhang Xin and Zhang Jiu faced difficulties in their official careers, they could still live comfortably as wealthy families for life. Yet sometimes, suffering might not necessarily be a misfortune.

Money might not buy affection, but it could perhaps preserve it.

“Grandma, Grandma!”

Just as these master and servant, who had been together for eighteen years, were lost in thought, a clear voice interrupted them. Coming back to her senses, Lady Gu saw two small figures running into the room—one in front and one behind. Zhang Jing, who was in front, shouted and laughed as she quickly climbed onto the kang. Lady Gu was stunned. Seeing the little girl holding a bunch of peanuts and stuffing them all into her hands, she couldn’t help but laugh.

As one ages, one’s heart changes. If she had seen such unruly behavior ten years ago, she would have scolded them immediately.

“Grandma, Fifth Brother gave me all his peanuts. I saw that you’ve only been eating porridge with side dishes these past few days—surely you must be hungry. So I gave these to you as a token of our filial piety!”

As Zhang Jing spoke, she held her head high and chest out, acting like a little adult, completely unaware that Zhang Bi standing below had turned pale with fear. Ever since she was left by her parents at the Yangwu Bo’s residence in the capital, she quickly became familiar with everyone there. Moreover, although Lady Gu was strict with her at times, her kindness usually outweighed it, so she didn’t find her grandmother scary at all. Seeing the smile on Lady Gu’s face, she stepped forward and said, “Grandma, tomorrow when my sixth brother and Jingguan grow up, I’ll have them show you respect too!”
“Good child!” Lady Gu stroked the little girl’s head and couldn’t help but pinch her soft cheeks lightly. “In this family, only you know how to speak kindly and care for others. Your mother, such an honest person, actually raised you to be so eloquent and kind-hearted.”
The Zhang family had always had more boys than girls. Excluding Zhang Xin, Zhang You, and Zhang Zhuo, although there were already two girls among the great-grandchildren, they still weren’t as numerous as those in Zhang Yue’s generation, who also had only three girls. Moreover, Zhang Qing hadn’t grown up under Lady Gu’s care, and Zhang Yi was shy and weak, being an illegitimate child. Thus, Lady Gu viewed the lively and spirited Zhang Jing differently. After stroking her for a while, she nodded and signaled Zhang Bi to come over. After asking him a few questions about his studies and hearing his good answers, she smiled and patted his head.
“Study hard and prove yourself—this is what makes a good son for our Zhang family!”
Zhang Bi was usually unremarkable in front of his father, and his grandmother was generally indifferent. Hearing such encouragement, he was extremely happy and nodded repeatedly. At that moment, Zhang Jing, who was clinging to Lady Gu, remembered the news she had just heard and stepped forward, saying, “Grandma, my third brother is grilling meat this afternoon. Why don’t we go and join in the fun? I heard he’s even going to grill for my sister-in-law—it must be really fun. Isn’t it boring to stay in the house all day? Let’s go out and enjoy the nice weather!”
Hearing Zhang Jing’s urging, Lingxi was startled. Before she could stop her, Lady Gu stepped in and asked a few detailed questions. Standing nearby, she understood what was going on and secretly blamed Zhang Yue for causing trouble. When she saw that the old lady seemed thoughtful rather than annoyed, she quickly got up from the bed and pulled Zhang Jing aside.
“Hurry back and tell the third young master and his wife that there will be plenty of opportunities to eat barbecue later. The young lady is pregnant—getting a headache, fever, or stomach problems isn’t something to joke about!” Seeing Zhang Jing’s wide eyes, she had to coax and persuade her. Finally, she managed to get Zhang Bi to take her away. Only then did she go back to Lady Gu and whisper, “Grandma, it’s a rare chance to relax there too…”

“He just sits everyone around the table to eat regardless of rank—don’t I know that?” Lady Gu cut Lingxi off irritably, yet she couldn’t imagine the chaos in that courtyard. An idea struck her, and she said with a smile, “Just as the third girl suggested, let’s take advantage of the nice weather and go for a walk. Have those maids prepare some fishing poles. Make sure not to alert them over there; we’ll sneak over and see what all the fuss is about!”
Before reaching Zhang Yue’s courtyard, Zhang Jing and Zhang Bi already smelled the aroma of grilled meat. As children, even Zhang Bi, who was naturally cautious due to her background, couldn’t help but swallow hard, let alone Zhang Jing, who loved activity and disliked stillness. She sniffed twice vigorously before pulling Zhang Bi and rushing forward. The young wife watching at the courtyard gate saw it was just the two of them with no one following, so she let them in.
Seeing an iron stove in the center of the courtyard, with Zhang Yue carefully turning the skewers behind it, Zhang Jing’s eyes lit up: “Third brother, you’re so mean! You have delicious food and don’t even invite me!”
A gentleman stays away from the kitchen. Having always followed rules his whole life, it was more his own curiosity that drove him this time rather than Du Wan being uncharacteristically stubborn. So when he saw Zhang Jing rushing in at top speed, he momentarily forgot about the skewers and asked in astonishment, “How did you get here?”
“Third brother, did you think I didn’t know? Mother Cui went to grandmother to complain. Luckily, she stopped her!” Puffed up with pride, she gazed greedily at the grilled meat before grabbing Zhang Yue’s arm and saying, “Third brother, quickly grill a few pieces for me and Fifth Brother. We’ll help you keep it a secret. Sister Lingxi said not to act recklessly—getting sick from eating bad food isn’t fun!”
“You say she stopped her, but with your noise, won’t grandmother know now?”
Zhang Yue glared at the little girl irritably but still couldn’t bear to put down those fresh grilled pieces. Thinking the two kids were fast, he figured if he hurried, he could prepare a few more pieces before others arrived, which would be enough. Remembering that the neighboring courtyard was likely even noisier, he smiled slightly and quickened his pace in flipping and seasoning the meat. Nearby, Qiu Hen handed over sauces from jar to jar, her face red from the heat of the coals.

Fortunately, it was smokeless silver bone charcoal, so sitting beside the iron stove wasn’t too uncomfortable. After finally finishing grilling the skewers in his hand, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but take a bite and found the taste quite good. Just as he was about to stand up, he saw Zhang Jing smiling as she reached out, so he handed a few skewers to Qiu Hen and repeatedly reminded her not to let the two kids get their hands pricked. Seeing the two kids constantly pestering Qiu Hen, he took the remaining five or six skewers in a plate, pulled back the curtain to enter the main room, and then went to the room on the east side.

Inside the room, besides Du Wan and Amber, there was also Jing Guan, who was running around everywhere. When Zhang Yue entered, he almost collided with this little one. Luckily, the child instinctively grabbed Zhang Yue’s foot, preventing a fall. Amber, who was following behind, was shocked and quickly rushed forward to pick up the child.

“Weren’t Little Jing Guan always so lazy? Why is he so active now? And where’s his wet nurse?”

“Young master, Mother Liu isn’t feeling well today, so it’s me and Qiu Hen taking turns taking care of the child.”

Zhang Yue glared at the blinking little guy irritably, placed the white porcelain plate on the small table next to Du Wan, then picked up a small silver knife he had prepared earlier to cut out pieces the size of fingernails onto a small blue porcelain tea saucer about two inches in diameter. Smiling, he handed the saucer to his wife. “This stuff is oily, and eating too much isn’t good. Try it just to experience it! If you really want to eat it, I’ll give you enough another day!”

Du Wan didn’t really want to eat such pungent food; she was just teasing Zhang Yue. But seeing his forehead glistening with sweat as he nervously held the small saucer toward her, and smelling its enticing aroma, she felt comforted. She picked up a piece with her chopsticks, chewed it carefully for a while, and found it extremely delicious. Then she smiled at Zhang Yue.

“They say a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen, but your cooking skills are quite good. You know, if you push hard enough, you can always get secrets out of people!”

Unexpecting Du Wan’s last remark to be something like that, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but chuckle. Fortunately, she didn’t say anything else and simply chewed the pieces slowly, without mentioning wanting more. He glanced at the skewers of roasted wild chicken, wild duck, and pork tenderloin still dripping with oil, worried that the two kids outside might cause trouble. So he cut all the meat off the skewers, left a small portion for Amber, and repeatedly warned her not to give Du Wan any more. Then he hurriedly left the room with the large porcelain plate. Just as he was about to call for Zhang Jing and Zhang Bi, he saw several people enter and froze in place.

“Grandmother?” What’s going on? Where’s the wife who was keeping watch?
“Lingxi, those words you said to the fourth girl were in vain. I knew it—given her temperament, she’d likely drag Brother Zhang Bi along as well.” Lady Gu glanced at Zhang Jing, who hurriedly hid behind Zhang Bi, and saw Zhang Yue stepping forward awkwardly to pay respects. She smiled and said, “I won’t ruin your fun. I’ll sit in your room; do whatever you want. Sister Li must be cooking dinner now. I might as well have dinner here today.”
In the past, Zhang Yue would have agreed without hesitation, but today he felt something was unusual. He hesitated for a while before reluctantly agreeing, giving Qiu Hen a glance. Seeing her run out of the courtyard, likely to call the maids, he and Lingxi helped Lady Gu into the house. Upon entering, the observant Lady Gu noticed Amber helping Du Wan stand up. She glanced at their mouths and saw the oil still clinging to them, which made her smile.
Though they were all adults, they were actually just teenagers in their twenties.
After having Du Wan sit with her on the couch, she glanced at the half-dish of meat left on the table and said cheerfully, “Being young is truly great—look at how happily you all are! Amber, bring me some wild chicken so I can taste it!”
Ignoring Lingxi’s embarrassed expression, she took a piece of meat with her chopsticks, chewed it carefully, then spat the remains into a basin nearby. Although the taste was vastly different from what she had experienced in her youth, it still reminded her of those days.
Back then, during the chaos of the Jingnan Rebellion, she had gone to Beiping to seek refuge with Zhang Yu. To avoid the southern army, they ran out of food and were forced to eat roasted horse meat. Those days of fear and worry finally passed. As the saying goes, those who plant the trees reap the shade; the prosperity earned by our ancestors must be protected by us—absolutely!