Chapter 123: I Don’t Mind
Translator: Antonia
Mo Qianxue went to visit sister Fang, so Ning Shaoqing turned to his study and began to sketch and scribble on the paper.
When Mo Qianxue went back, Ning Shaoqing had already finished washing with the assistance of Chuyi and leaned on the couch.
Seeing Mo Qianxue got back, Chuyi quickly made the bed. This time, she didn’t order Mingyue or Caixia. She herself brought some water and served Mo Qianxue, who readily accepted it. Since she had accepted the troubles that this body brought to her, then certainly she could accept the benefit that it gave her, including smoothening the pride in Chuyi’s bones.
Pride was a good thing, but it shouldn’t go too far.
Fortunately, Chuyi was a smart girl and quickly understood by a little hint.
It takes a life time for a person to get used to poverty but a second to comforts. Now the latter was the case for Mo Qianxue.
At present, she was enjoying Chuyi’s service and comfortably leaning on the back of the chair after washing her feet. Then, Chuyi gentle-handedly finished the rest of the chores and went out.
In the room there were only Ning Shaoqing and Mo Qianxue.
She opened her eyes while Ning Shaoqing looked over, the two smiling at the same time.
Ning Shaoqing moved a chair to the desk, and she sat on it.
Before her eyes was a strange picture.
Mo Qianxue looked up in confusion, then Ning Shaoqing, pointing to the picture, began to analyze for her the power structure of Tianqi dynasty. When Mo Qianxue went out, he had been working on this network of political power.
In addition to the royal family, most of the power of the Tianqi dynasty was controlled by noble families. After the founding of Tianqi dynasty, four super noble families and four first-class noble families were entitled.
The four super noble families were the Ning, Xie, Su, and Lu familes.
The four first-class noble families were Feng, Lan, Tong, and Gui families.
The masters of a super noble family didn’t need to kowtow when meeting the Emperor and enjoyed special privileges that were exclusive to the royal family.
As for the first-class noble families, although they weren’t granted with the exclusive privileges, they still enjoyed the ones exclusive to nobilities.
However, four hundred years ago, the whole Lu family had been massacred overnight due to unknown reasons, leaving only the other three super noble families.
Thirty years ago, the the Lan family had lost contact with its master, been harassed by feuds among it members and quickly declined. Now only the shadow of its former shelf could be seen. The fame remained, but the power had long lost. Hence, the ones of the four first-class noble families with real power were the Feng, Gui, and Tong families.
The couple didn’t mention about returning to the capital, but their talked all about it.
Due to the privileges of the nobilities, actually the Tianqi dynasty didn’t regard the imperial power as the supreme one. Nowadays, the Ning family mastered the economy of the world, the Su family military power, and the Xie family the power in the imperial harem.
In a word, the power was divided to three families, creating a situation seemingly calm but in fact carrying rolling undercurrents. One slight movement would arouse a dramatic outcome.
**
After going back to their room, Chuyi and Shiwu also had a long talk.
Looking at the earth wall and simple wooden bed, Shiwu said, “Chuyi, do you think lady and lord will live in the poor remote village for a lifetime?”
She wasn’t afraid of poverty and suffering as long as she could stay with lady, but she cared about lady and felt unfair for her, the first noble lady of the dynasty, to live in such a humble house for so long.
“It’s not bad to live here for a lifetime.” Chuyi, lowering her head and making bed, didn’t display her expression, “The terrible thing is that lady wants peace but troubles keep coming at her.” Even lord Feng wouldn’t give up like this, let alone those who harbored evil design in the capital.
Lady was soft-hearted and weak physically. She might be able to enjoy a peaceful life here. If she returned to the capital, the land of monsters, Chuyi was afraid that lady might suffer a bitter fate and death.
She had no idea of the real power of lady’s husband or whether he was able to protect lady.
As a manager-servant, Chuyi had a pair of sharp eyes. Only one glance, and she knew Ning Shaoqing wasn’t an ordinary man, so she was willing to kneel to him and respected him as her lord.
If he was a useless man with a bleak prospect, then she might have, on behalf of master and madam, cleared away the burden for lady before lord Feng took actions.
Chuyi was absorbed in pondering while Shiwu thought it simply, “Whoever dared to stir up troubles for lady, I will kick the crap out of him.”
Chuyi cracked a laugh. She didn’t look down on Shiwu. Being sisters for so many years, no one knew Shiwu better than she did. Sometimes, she even admired the simple-mindedness of Shiwu.
Without thinking too much, Shiwu was able to gain nanny’s affection and lady’s trust. Probably, this was what they meant by “fortune favors fools”.
Shiwu wasn’t annoyed by Chuyi’s laugh either and only asked, “Chuyi, when will nanny come?”
Chuyi’s body stiffened, and she answered, “When we set off, I’ve send a letter to nanny. She’ll be here in a few days.” She was a little worried about nanny’s attitude if nanny knew that lady had barely remembered the past and married to a man as a luck wife.
Before madam set off to the frontline, she seemed to have suggested to nanny to marry lady to lord Feng. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have hesitated and stood still when Ning Shaoqing and lord Chen had started the fight.
However, judging from lord Ning’s impressive look and imposing appearance, he might be of a better origin than lord Feng. Nanny wouldn’t necessarily be disappointed.
Shiwu, no worries on her mind, yawned, “That’s good. When nanny comes, lady may return to the capital with her.”
As she spoke, she lay into the bed that Chuyi had just made. Looking at the blackish roof beams, she couldn’t help saying again, “This place is too humble for lady to live…”
Chuyi put off the candle and shook her head in the dark.
**
In the early morning, Mo Qianxue got up and decided to make good use of the time to work out the plan for the factory and other businesses here.
She must consider the respective future development, when she wouldn’t be here, of the tofu workshop, bean warehouses, the restaurant, the factory and the sculpture workshop.
Among these, the factory was most significant. Although it wasn’t very beneficially at present, it would be prosperous in the long run. People needed food to survive. There would be one day when her products would be sold to every corner of Tianqi.
Although ants are small, when a group of them endeavored, they are able to bring down a tree.
In these three days, Mo Qianxue would be terribly busy.
As usual, she let Awu give her a ride to the factory, then went to the restaurant to check the account books, and then sent a person to the major restaurants in Tianxiang to recommend a new series of vinegar dishes.
In these three days, Ning Shaoqing would be terribly busy too. In the whole day, he was nowhere to be found.
Soon after the vinegar was put on the market, it was sold out. After all, the first batch was vinegar wasn’t produced in a large amount.
Manager Li of Baiyunju was smarter than other managers in that he instantly placed orders after Mo Qianxue had just introduced the new dishes and before the feedback of other customers.
Therefore, for the first batch of vinegar, Baiyunju had most in stock except for a few other small restaurants.
In these days, the ones following Mo Qianxue were no long Mingyue and Caixia, but Chuyi and Shiwu. Of course, this was Ning Shaoqig’s suggestion.
Mo Qianxue felt the same way. She wasn’t afraid that the girls would find her different from their former lady. She wouldn’t be someone else even if she had occupied Xue’s body and her identity. She would still be the old same Mo Qianxue.
Not to pretend to be weak and frail.
Hence, in the eyes of Chuyi, Mo Qianxue was totally a different person now.
When at work, Mo Qianxue was focused and serious, decisive in making decisions, flexible-minded and amiable at the same time. Chuyi’s eyes broadened again and again, and lips curled up in the corners until they became numb. But for she had been following around lady since she was three years old and she knew every hair and pore of lady, she would have believed that this Mo Qianxue before her was a fake one.
It was too incredible that amnesia could change a person completely.
However, compared with the former one, she preferred this personality of lady. In the past, lady had been too kind and soft like an easy pushover.
Even with the love and affection of old madam and master, with the protection of nannies, and with the serving of her servant girls, in the Feng mansion, she had still been bullied and suffered angers from many parties that pushing her at the same time either in the bright daylight or in the dark.
Even those indecent sons and daughters of concubines sometimes said mean words at her.
Hence, her change was a pleasant thing for Chuyi to witness. Even her brow showed the joy.
Now, by this personality, there was a chance for lady to win the fight.
However, Shiwu was a girl who couldn’t put words in her heart and constantly asked strange questions.
For example, “Lady, I remember that you used to love embroidery. Why don’t you embroider and rest at home? The work you’re doing is really exhausting.”
For another example, “Lady, didn’t you hate the dirty kitchen…?”
Mo Qianxue didn’t know how to answer these questions, so she didn’t answer. As long as she asked, she snorted and glared at her.
Every time Mo Qianxue glared at her, Shiwu smiled and stopped asking.
Shiwu sincerely liked this version of lady because she herself was an active person. In the past, when lady stayed in the room immersed in embroidery, she, finding the silence unbearable, practiced martial arts in the yard and was always pinched by nanny in the ear.
**
The herbal root was destroyed. In furry, the strange old man chose not to attack the leader of the group but secretly followed him all the time.
Obviously, those were all men of sacrifice, so it wasn’t necessary to fight with people who were doomed to die anyhow. He only needed to know who wanted to destroy the herb.
From far away, he saw the leader of the group entered the Tong mansion, and his heart turned grey bit by bit, with mostly anger mixing in it.
He had believed that he knew old Tong. It turned out he was wrong. He never expected that old Tong’s heartlessness wasn’t only employed against strangers, but also against his own son and an old friend.
Lightly stamping his feet, the strange old man was already at the gate of Tong mansion.
“Old Tong, you come out…”
**
Feng Yuchen stood in the peach forest, eighteen men in black suit standing behind him. He stood there still, staring at the sun rising in the east and falling gradually in the west.
It had been three days and she didn’t come. There were two possible reasons. One was that she had remembered her past and made a decision. The second was that she still didn’t remember him. If she had regained her memory and chosen him, she would come here. She knew how to find him.
These three days of waiting was given to his Eighteen Guards, to her, as well as to a final judgment of him. It made him waiting here for three days because neither of these two possible reasons was acceptable for him.
He had said that he would rather she hating him than forgetting him forever.
**
This night was destined to be an unusual one.
When the weird old man went to question Mr. Tong, Feng Yuchen led his Storm Eighteen Guards march towards the Ning’s in the Wang village.
After washing, Mo Qianxue was working on the account book by the candlelight while Ning Shaoqing was reading a book on the couch. From time to time, the couple looked at each other, smiling. The emotion rippling between the two pairs of eyes constituted the most beautiful scenery in the world.
The dim yellowish light made the room warm and sweet. Time flowed by in peace and tranquility.
Suddenly a noise sent over, Ning Shaoqing’s calm eyebrows corrugated and the eyes suddenly looked out.
Alerted voice of Asan and Awu rang, “Who are you?”
A cold voice responded, “Feng Yuchen.”
When Ning Shaoqing and Mo Qianxue walked out of the door and came into the yard to look up, they found people all over the roofs.
All these people had come without making a noise, at least, to the ear of Mo Qianxue.
Even the awing guards and the breath-taking weird scene hadn’t caused the slightest turmoil in the village.
The Ning’s was located at the most north of the village, and its’ neighbor the Fang’s was dozens of meters away. At this time when the sky was pitch dark, no one noticed the situation here.
Mo Qianxue took a glance at the black figure standing in the yard with his hands behind his back and sighed. This would come anyhow.
Hearing the footsteps, Feng Yuchen turned over, eyes looking over Ning Shaoqing to fall on Mo Qianxue, “Xue, go back with me.” His voice was soft and calm as peaceful lake surface, not at all revealing any of his feelings.
The black colored made him look cold and indifferent. His sculpted features at this moment looked even more freezing and stubborn.
This man should try to take his girl away right before him. Ning Shaoqing hit the roof! If this man wanted death, then he would do him a favor. In fact, this idea had occurred to Ning Shaoqing when last time Mo Qianxue pushed him away and reached out for that man.
However, except in face of Mo Qianxue, the more furious Ning Shaoqing got, the calmer he looked.
The more complicated the situation was, the more he was able to remain calm. This was the habit that he had developed through years. Therefore, he didn’t speak immediately.
As the air around Ning Shaoqing turned cold, Mo Qianxue, standing behind him, yelled to herself.
She had promised Xue not to hurt Feng Yuchen and treat him as a brother. Certainly, she shouldn’t let them fight. Hence, she stuck out her slim hand to slightly pull Ning Shaoqing’s big hand.
Ning Shaoqing looked back at her. Mo Qianxue shook her head and whispered, “Let me handle this.”
Ning Shaoqing frowned.
Mo Qianxue shook his hand and begged.
Ning Shaoqing turned away. He just couldn’t turn her down.
The couple had gone through so many incidents together. Her promise—we wouldn’t separate for a lifetime and would stay by each other’s side—had melted into his heart, his blood and his bones.
Clear of Mo Qianxue’s feelings, Ning Shaoqing didn’t get jealousy although he was furious.
This person did share many memories and connections with Mo Qianxue, and now the Feng family was the most powerful thing that Mo Qianxue could rely on, so it’d be better to make it clear with the man, for once and for ever.
Thinking of this, Ning Shaoqing fought back his murderousness.
Seeing him turning back, shoulders straight and stiff, Mo Qianxue felt sour in her heart.
This domineering, outstanding, elegant man had tolerated her and changed for her again and again. It would sound fake if she said she wasn’t moved at all.
Staying silent for a moment, Mo Qianxue took two steps forward and said politely, “Qianxue is married to Ning, so here’s my home. I welcome you, cousin, as our guest.”
The words directly expressed her stance. At present, this was the best attitude and greatest sincerity that she could give him.
To fight for his beloved one, Feng Yuchen did nothing wrong. She didn’t have the stance to criticize him. Instead, if she wasn’t involved in it, she would have appreciated his love towards the girl.
However, after all she wasn’t “her”. She did nothing wrong either. She shouldn’t be sorry to him or sound so.
If there was someone or something to blame, then let him blame heaven and fate. Didn’t the ancient people value chastity most? Since she had married, he shouldn’t take this into consideration, she hoped.
Feng Yuchen’s voice was cold, his eyes fixing on her no longer sad but desperate, “Cousin? You remember, right?”
“I don’t, but Chuyi and Shiwu told me everything.” Mo Qianxue shook her head, “Now, I’m married, so cousin please don’t…”
Feng Yuchen stared at her dumbly and suddenly interrupted, “I don’t mind.”
Mo Qianxue was decisive, “I do.”
She cut in right in time, without any hesitation.
The air pressure dropped to the bottom.