Chapter 712 - Chapter 712: Painstaking Efforts
Chapter 712: Painstaking Efforts
Editor: Atlas Studios
When Little Madam Xia heard this news, she heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Those people can’t be offended…”
“My wife, you’re pregnant now. Even if the princess consort comes, she won’t blame you if you say that you aren’t able to entertain her. Moreover, you’re higher in rank than those Lady of the Imperial Commands. The most important thing now is you and the baby in your stomach. There’s no need to be afraid of offending others. If those people really get mad because of this, they’ll be the ones who don’t know what’s good for them and don’t know the ways of the world. Despite knowing that you’re pregnant, they still rushed here like a swarm of bees. What they’re after is simply a place in the harem. Just look at those madams who visited—which of those doesn’t have one or two unbetrothed daughters of marriageable age?”
Nanny Xia was the wet nurse assigned to Little Madam Xia by the Xia family. She had even served Old Master and Old Madam Xia before. After getting married and having children, Little Madam Xia happened to be born at the time. Being the only daughter in the three generations of the Xia family, Little Madam Xia was the apple of their eye. Hence, the steady and honest Nanny Xia was sent to Little Madam Xia’s side to be a wet nurse.
Perhaps it was because the Xia family sheltered her too much out of love, largely keeping her at home and away from strangers. Or maybe it was because of her nature, Little Madam Xia was kind, innocent, and timid. Old Master and Old Madam were worried that she would suffer after getting married, so Old Madam passed all her dowry to Little Madam Xia.
Old Master Xia and Old Madam Xia were so worried about her marriage that their hair turned white. They kept her with them until she turned 16 years old, when they finally set their sights on Fan Zijin.
At that time, Fan Zijin’s engagement had just been annulled by the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and was in low spirits. The Xia family had taken a fancy to Fan Zijin’s character. Although he had some conflicts with his father, he was Madam Xia’s only son. When his daughter married over, she only had to interact with her mother-in-law and husband, not her father-in-law.
As for whether Fan Zijin would become an official or not, the Xia family did not care at all. They only wanted their daughter to be safe and happy for the rest of her life. Even if Fan Zijin did not become an official, their child would have a group of uncles to help her in the future.
In order to let Little Madam Xia live better, they even sent Nanny Xia’s family over to let Nanny Xia work beside Little Madam Xia in peace.
One had to know that Nanny Xia was a servant of the Xia family. All five generations of Nanny Xia’s ancestors had been serving in the Xia family and she was even given the surname Xia. Such a servant was the rarest and usually wouldn’t be sent away to serve a married daughter. However, for this daughter, the Xia family readily parted out Nanny Xia’s branch and even promised to grant Nanny Xia’s son the identity of an ordinary civilian.
Hence, no matter how tired Nanny Xia was, she had to plan for Little Madam Xia. However, considering her age, how many more years could she stay by Little Madam Xia’s side?
In order to ensure that Little Madam Xia would have a stable life for the rest of her life, she had to work hard herself.
That was because Fan Zijin’s growth had exceeded the Xia family’s expectations. They originally thought that Fan Zijin would become more dependent on his wife’s family, the Xia family. However, who knew that after the new dynasty was established, Fan Zijin directly transformed from a jinshi with no official title to a Duke?
Hence, Little Madam Xia could only rely on herself.
Nanny Xia taught her in a low voice, “Our master has grown up by the Emperor’s side since he was 12 years old. He even grew up eating and living with Prince Rong. Anyone can see how close the three cousins are. It can be said that our Duke is His Majesty’s most favored right-hand man other than Prince Rong. Other than the Empress and the Princess Consort Rong, you don’t have to bow to any other woman in this world.”
“Even if it’s your mother-in-law, based on the Duke’s attitude, it’s fine as long as you don’t do anything majorly wrong. Why tire yourself and your unborn child out?”
Seeing that Little Madam Xia was deep in thought, Nanny Xia knew that she had heeded her words. She heaved a sigh of relief. She was not afraid that Little Madam Xia would not understand, but she was afraid that she would not listen. If Little Madam Xia did not understand, she could always elaborate it a few more times, and eventually she would comprehend it. However, if Little Madam Xia refused to heed her words, there was nothing she could do even if she tried her best.
Nanny Xia continued to teach her. “I know that you and Princess Duan are good friends, but this is the capital and the Empress is your true relative. Also, when His Majesty married the Empress back then, our master and Prince Rong organized the wedding banquet and escorted the betrothal gifts together. This relationship is not inferior to your ties with Princess Duan. If you insist on going to the Tributary Affairs Bureau, wouldn’t that be a slap to the Empress’s face? You’ll also make the Empress resent our Duke. Why don’t we wait a little longer? Princess Consort Rong has always been on good terms with the Empress, and this time, Prince Rong is Great Qi’s envoy. As such, she will definitely go to the Tributary Affairs Bureau to see Princess Duan. When the time comes, you can follow her and gift some things to Princess Duan. Then, you can clue her in on some news about the harem, and it will be considered the end of your relationship.”
“Ah Ling will visit Yuqing?”
“She will.” Nanny Xia patted her hand comfortingly and said, “Her Majesty is a virtuous person, so I’m sure she will send Princess Consort Rong instead of just some random female official in order to show how much importance she placed on receiving Princess Duan. You just have to prepare the things for Princess Duan. Previously, I was worried that it’d be a little deliberate for you to ask Princess Consort Rong to bring these things over. But now that the Duke wants you to stay in the Qi Residence, it all makes sense.”
She continued, “Prince Rong was the one who brought this up first. It’s obvious how close he is to the Duke. You have to be more careful in the future and interact more with Princess Consort Rong.”
Little Madam Xia nodded. “Ah Ling has a good nature and I’m rather fond of hanging out with her too.”
Seeing that she was still acting like a little girl, Nanny Xia couldn’t help but sigh. However, she was also somewhat glad that although Princess Consort Rong looked rash, she was actually very meticulous and innocent. She would definitely be able to tell if someone’s feelings towards her were sincere. Since Little Madam Xia treated her sincerely, Princess Consort Rong would naturally treat her sincerely in turn. It was better than having Little Madam Xia pretend to be friends with her.
When Little Madam Xia moved to the Qi Residence, Mu Yangling arranged for her to stay in a courtyard in the East Manor. Because the Qi Residence was small, it took less than 15 minutes to go back and forth. It was very convenient.
Those who still wanted to visit the Duke’s Residence immediately felt choked as if they had swallowed two Chinese ounces of rice.
Fan Zijin sneered and asked the butler to hint to them to look for those who had visited before. After some thought, those people also felt that the previous visitors should have obtained the news they wanted to hear and thus swarmed away.
It was a pity that because of Nanny Xia’s resistance and guidance, those visitors from before had not obtained any information of useful value from Little Madam Xia. They only knew that Princess Dali was gorgeous.
Of course, a princess of a country wouldn’t be ugly. That was as good as saying nothing.
However, those who wanted to find out more did not believe that the previous visitors only got this information. Therefore, they tried their best to find out more, making those who visited previously feel tormented.
Only then was Fan Zijin satisfied. With a wave of his hand, he let the butler take over the matter from then onwards.
Fearful of Prince Rong and his wife, nobody dared to go to the Qi Residence to ask for information. Even Madam Xu and Little Madam Wu, who had once lived in the Qi Residence, did not dare to come to their door. Over the past year, although the Emperor had not done anything to them, he had neglected them greatly. Just this point alone made them live in fear. Naturally, they did not dare to court death by looking for Qi Haoran.
One had to know that unlike the gentle Qi Xiuyuan, Qi Haoran had never hidden his disgust for them.
Therefore, compared to the liveliness in the capital, the Qi Residence seemed to be at peace independent of the outside world. Just as Mu Yangling and Little Madam Xia were enjoying this peace and munching on melon seeds while watching the liveliness in the capital, Li Jinghua’s imperial decree arrived at the Qi Residence.
Li Jinghua asked Mu Yangling to visit Princess Dali, the future Virtuous Consort, on her behalf.
Little Madam Xia’s heart surged as she turned around excitedly to look at Nanny Xia. Seeing Nanny Xia standing behind her with a calm expression with her head lowered respectfully, Little Madam Xia’s heart skipped a beat and she could not help but fall into a daze.