flstandardbreds Chapter 182 Establishing Prestige
Chapter 182 Establishing Prestige
Before returning to the capital, Fang Qiong took Ru Feng and Yun Duo to Wuliping. Ru Feng and Yun Duo were enrolled in the introductory classes of the boys' academy and the girls' academy, respectively.
Both of them were boarding students, and they could choose to go home or not on their days off.
After completing the enrollment procedures for her child, Fang Qiong took Yun Duo and Ru Feng to Xiao Shi Tan to see Shen Laihui.
Both Yunduo and Rufeng were exquisitely beautiful and very endearing. Baizhi immediately took a liking to the two little creatures.
When Bai Zhi and Shen Laihui got married, Fang Heng and Fang Qiong came to congratulate them with gifts, so Bai Zhi had met Fang Qiong once.
Fang Qiong said directly to Bai Zhi, "Sister Bai Zhi, these are my niece and nephew. They will be studying at Wuliping Academy in the future. I will be returning to the capital the day after tomorrow. Yun Duo and Ru Feng are still young. If anything happens to them at the academy, please help look after them, Sister Bai Zhi. Also, please ask Brother Shen to send someone to inform my elder brother as soon as possible!"
Bai Zhi smiled and said, "No problem, it's just a small favor, don't worry! If your elder brother is not free on the day off, I can also bring them to Xiaoshitan for a nice meal."
Fang Qiong said, "Sister Baizhi, thank you so much!" Then she said to Yun Duo and Ru Feng, "This is Aunt Baizhi, say hello to her!"
Yun Duo and Ru Feng held hands and obediently bowed to Bai Zhi, saying in unison, "Hello, Aunt Bai Zhi!"
"Oh dear, please call me aunt. This is the county magistrate's child. Is it appropriate to call her that?" Bai Zhi was a little surprised.
Fang Qiong: "As long as Sister Baizhi doesn't mind, there's nothing wrong with it!"
Bai Zhi laughed heartily, "Not at all, how could I mind? I'm overjoyed!"
Fang Qiong stayed at Xiaoshitan for more than an hour. After Yunduo and Rufeng got to know Shen Laihui and Baizhi, she sent the children to the academy, helped them tidy up their bedding, and stayed at the academy with the children for one night before returning to Zhangshu County.
Like the wind and the clouds, they were very sensible and brave, and did not cry or make a fuss.
However, when Fang Qiong left the academy, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
If Mother hadn't interfered, Sister Zisu might have been engaged to Brother Long ago. If that were the case, why would Rufeng and Yunduo still need to live and eat at the academy? Although the academy's accommodation and food were very good, nothing was as comfortable as home. Besides, wouldn't such young children be led astray if left unsupervised?
How pitiful! The eldest brother is pitiful, and the children are pitiful too. Including herself, she is also very pitiful. If Sister Zisu were her sister-in-law, even if she went back to the Marquis's mansion, why would she be so uneasy and anxious? Zisu's reputation would be enough to scare away those ghosts and demons in the Marquis's mansion.
The entire family's lives were forever altered because of their mother's outburst at Xiaoshitan. If their eldest brother had been engaged to Sister Zisu long ago, he would have been triumphant, leading the family back to the Marquis's mansion and seizing power. Instead, she was left alone, pitifully returning to the capital, forced to find ways to please their father, the Marquis, just to survive.
So pitiful, so incredibly pitiful!
As the eldest daughter of the Marquis's family, she had to please her father to survive. What kind of situation was this? Compared to Sister Zisu, she was truly pitiful! General Shangguan was so good to Sister Zisu; he was a loving father who wholeheartedly cared for his children. Her Marquis father wasn't even as good as one of General Shangguan's fingers.
The day Fang Qiong returned to the capital happened to be Fang Heng's day off. He took another day off and personally escorted his sister back to the Marquis's residence.
The Marquis's residence was a dangerous place, and he was worried about his sister going back alone.
The brother and sister set off before dawn and returned to the capital at sunset, with the sky ablaze with evening glow.
Fang Heng knocked on the door, and the gatekeeper hurriedly came out to greet him: "The young master is back!"
Fang Heng: "Open the gate! We need to go in through the gate!"
The gatekeeper dared not object and hurriedly opened the gate. Fang Heng drove the carriage and entered the Marquis's residence through the main gate in a very ostentatious manner.
When Li heard this, she was so angry that she gritted her teeth.
She had never walked through the main gate of the Marquis's residence.
No matter how much the Marquis loved her, she was still a concubine. No matter what, she was never entitled to enter through the main gate of the Marquis's mansion. She could only enter through the back gate, side gate, or side gate—that was the fate of a concubine.
She wished the brother and sister, who could enter through the main gate whenever they wanted, were dead. If they were dead, the vast estate of the Marquis's mansion might very well become her son's!
Her son was the eldest son of a concubine in the Marquis's household!
Fang Heng and Fang Qiong, accompanied by their servants, headed straight for the courtyard where Fang Qiong used to live—the Begonia Garden.
As they entered the Begonia Garden, both siblings couldn't help but tear up.
I haven't been back for two years. What has become of Begonia Garden? Weeds as tall as a person, rats roaming around, and spider webs everywhere.
Fang Heng was furious: "Little sister, let's go, let's stay at the Good Days Restaurant for a few days! We'll move back in after this place is cleaned up!"
Fang Qiong said, "Alright, I'll listen to my elder brother!"
Before leaving, Fang Heng called the steward over: "Uncle Xiang, look at the state of Haitang Garden! How have you managed it? Do you think my sister and I will never return to the Marquis's Mansion, that there is nowhere left for us to stay?"
The steward hurriedly and respectfully said, "Young Master, I am very sorry, it is my fault for not fulfilling my responsibilities. However, I am also in a difficult position. Several times I wanted to order someone to clean up the Begonia Garden and the Bauhinia Pavilion, but Aunt Li stopped me with an excuse! I was wrong, I shouldn't have been afraid of her. I will send someone to clean up right away!"
Zijingxuan is where Fang Heng lives.
Fang Heng sighed and said, "How about this, you gather everyone here and I'll give the orders myself! Otherwise, who knows how many books will be lost in this Begonia Garden."
Sitting in the carriage, looking at her slightly tipsy father, Hua'er, emboldened by the alcohol, urged him, "Father, why don't you choose another good girl and get married quickly! Once you're married, someone will take care of you, and Hua'er won't have to worry anymore!"
Jiang Shichang squinted his eyes and waved his hand with a smile: "No rush, it's not too late for your father to get married after you and your brother are married!"
Upon hearing this, Hua'er immediately became anxious: "Father, how many years will it be before my brother and I get married? Besides, if you marry a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl by then, it won't look good! I can't bring myself to call her 'Mother'!"
Jiang Shichang reached out and tapped his daughter's forehead: "Silly child, your father is already this old, and your eldest brother is already in his early twenties. If your father were to remarry, he would naturally have to find someone of similar age. Forget it, where would I find a suitable one? Now, don't I have two concubines? In this life, whether your father gets married or not doesn't matter anymore! Your father just hopes to watch you grow up, get married, and live a happy life! That way, your father won't want anything else!"
Murong is Chun'er's biological mother, and she can still cause so much trouble for her own selfish reasons. If he were to marry a second wife, wouldn't she poison Hua'er and her siblings for her own benefit?
Alright, two maids are enough! Whether we need a wife or not, whether we have one or not, it doesn't really matter. In two years, when Chun'er returns from the northwest border, we'll find him a good wife. After that, the Jiang family can be managed by our daughter-in-law!
Fang Qiong was also a little drunk. She slept until late morning the next day. When she woke up, she was shocked to see that the sun was high in the sky: "Oh no, could it be that my brother has gone back to Zhangshu County?"
She quickly got dressed, washed up, and knocked on the door next door. Fang Heng lived right next door.