Chapter 250: The Mindset of a Villain
The Meng Family breakfast had plenty of staple foods, though some were a bit greasy.
Seeing that both Madam Meng and Old Madam Meng were rather plump, it was clear that the food leaned in that direction.
It suited Jiang Yu’s taste perfectly.
After finishing breakfast, the Jiang Family prepared to pack up and head to their own home.
Meng Qingshe had originally prepared a residence for his in-laws; it would have been fine for guests to stay right in the estate.
By opening a separate gate, it could have completely functioned as an independent residence.
However, wherever there are people, there is gossip. Although it was for the convenience of taking care of his in-laws, living like that might make outsiders suspect they were sponging off the family. Therefore, Meng Qingshe had prepared a separate house for them.
It had been tidied up, and he had planned to send them there today.
Unexpectedly, the Jiang Family did not accept the house.
“Leave this one for Big Goose later; I will prepare another one for Little Goose,” Jiang Changtian said.
Meng Qingshe did not insist.
He knew his in-laws likely wouldn’t be short on money.
Every year, they received New Year’s gifts from their daughter-in-law, containing various exquisite items for hand washing, face cleansing, teeth cleaning, and hair washing. When merchants brought these to the capital, they didn’t sell them cheaply.
Who could have known these were actually made by his daughter-in-law’s family?
Come to think of it, the Meng Family had profited.
His daughter-in-law also appeared to be of excellent character and appearance; one could tell at a glance she was a well-raised young woman.
She was incredibly good to their Shaoxia.
While the adults were packing up and saying their goodbyes, Jiang Mianmian was a bit reluctant to part with her two nephews.
Finally, she read them an ancient text.
Perhaps because they had been listening to their aunt’s voice since they were tiny, the two little nephews, who had just been looking around, immediately quieted down and listened attentively when they heard their aunt reading.
One chubby, fair-skinned child lying there with wide eyes, obediently listening to someone read, was already cute enough.
Two chubby, fair-skinned children lying side-by-side with wide eyes, obediently listening to someone read, was simply heart-melting.
Putting two human cubs together definitely caused a qualitative change through quantitative accumulation.
The people of the Old Meng Family were stunned and deeply moved when they learned that, ever since their daughter-in-law became pregnant, her younger sister had read to the children almost every single day without fail, steadily and consistently.
No wonder the two grandsons looked so clever and had the appearance of future top scholars.
The Old Meng Family, who had been mocked as having a lineage that only knew how to go to the battlefield and were crude and vulgar, felt that this might change with this generation.
These two babies looked delicate, just like their in-laws’ family—knowledgeable, sensible, clever, and beautiful.
They were also quite strong.
Their little fists were very powerful.
In any case, when Mianmian left, Old Madam Meng hugged her and wouldn’t let go, urging her to come over and play whenever she had time—anytime.
She also gave Mianmian a red envelope.
When she opened it, it was a deed to a shop.
Truly, there is a house of gold in books; by reading to her two nephews, she had actually read her way into a shop in a prime location.
She would have to keep up the good work.
Leaving the Meng Family and taking a carriage, it didn’t feel too far; it only took half a shichen, equivalent to an hour’s carriage ride, to arrive.
It wasn’t in the center where the powerful and noble gathered.
Houses in that area were generally hard to buy; they were all bestowed by the Emperor, and neighbors of big shots were also big shots.
If one wanted to spend money, one could only buy in the west of the city.
Jiang Changtian had asked Censor He to help buy the house.
He was very good at utilizing interpersonal relationships.
Other local officials would tremble in fear upon seeing a Censor.
Jiang Changtian, however, invited the Censor to join in, increasing the Censor’s sense of participation.
In the end, he even let the Censor help buy the house.
He was afraid that if the Censor ever came to confiscate his property, he wouldn’t be able to find the place.
It was all about selfless trust.
Censor He had originally taken on a female student, thinking he would just teach her for a few days and then she would leave.
Now, however, he hadn’t expected her whole family to come to the capital.
No matter, he also had students; in the future, he would let his students teach her. That kind of suffering was enough to endure once.
Jiang Mianmian got off the carriage to tour her new home.
This feeling was quite magical; the whole family was seeing their new home for the first time.
The layout of the houses in the capital was a bit different from Jingzhou.
The houses in the capital were flatter, but slightly smaller than those in Jingzhou, without as many courtyards.
The layout was more reasonable and compact.
This was understandable; after all, in the capital, where every inch of land was worth an ounce of gold and it was the economic and political center of the whole country, being able to have such a large mansion was already very good.
Some officials without much family wealth lived on the outskirts of the city, only able to afford houses on the edge of town. They had to walk for two shichen to attend court, making the daily commute four shichen—eight hours—so they had to get up in the middle of the night.
Therefore, minor officials would rent houses in the city to be closer to work, which caused the rents in the city to be very high.
Of course, housing prices were even higher.
However, upon entering the backyard of the house, she discovered another world.
The courtyard of the neighbor on the left had actually been connected as well.
Censor He had helped him buy this house, and then after Gong Qichi found out, he bought the two next to it. So, what looked like an unremarkable house on the surface was actually connected to two others in the back.
With the absence of her Elder Sister, brother-in-law, and the two big nephews, the house suddenly felt much emptier and quieter.
Moreover, Great-Aunt was still staying by her Elder Sister’s side for the time being.
Jiang Mianmian was left with only Pang Ya and Wei Biao.
Mother was in charge of the big picture, settling the family in.
Elder Brother went next door to settle his subordinates.
Father went to the study to organize his books.
Jiang Mianmian was temporarily set free.
She took Pang Ya and Wei Biao to familiarize herself with the courtyards of the house.
First, she let Little Tree loose, letting it get familiar with the soil of the capital.
Jiang Mianmian wandered around.
She had originally thought that in a place where every inch of land was worth gold, the houses would be very small.
As it turned out, with the neighboring houses bought and connected, it was quite large, and there was even a lake.
Thinking of a large villa with a lake in the imperial capital, Mianmian felt it was a bit surreal to walk by the lake.
She walked along the lakeside until she reached a wall.
She stopped.
She was curious about what was on the other side.
She seemed to hear people talking on the other side.
At this moment, Great-Aunt was not by her side, Mother was not by her side, and Father and Elder Brother were not by her side.
Elder Sister was not by her side either.
Jiang Mianmian was full of the spirit of courting disaster.
Mianmian looked around and saw a big tree.
Mianmian lifted her little skirt, tied it up—she had long johns underneath—and then shimmied up the tree.
The trees in the capital were evergreen trees that kept their leaves even in winter, with thick, lush green foliage.
Mianmian climbed up in a few moves and saw the other side.
It was still a lake.
There were actually people boating on the lake.
In this cold weather, it was quite romantic.
Mianmian looked closely and, hey, she actually knew them all.
No wonder she noticed them at a glance.
On one side of the small boat sat a young woman radiating brilliance, the kind who would make people notice her at first glance.
She was draped in a furry white cloak, sitting on the boat in the clear breeze and warm sun; it was quite beautiful.
Sitting on the other side was none other than the Imperial Grandson, Chu Xi.
Chu Xi was very cautious. If he had to say something treasonous, he would definitely find a special place where he wouldn’t be overheard.
For instance, boating in the middle of the lake. There was water all around. The scenery was also quite good.
“Cousin, are you cold?”
“A little, but seeing you, Cousin, I don’t feel cold anymore.”
Jiang Mianmian felt it was a bit cold up in the tree, and the wind was strong.
Feeling someone looking toward her, she shimmied down the tree.
“Cousin, what are you looking at?”
“It seems there was a bird in the tree.”
Chu Xi smiled, looking at Jiang Wan. There were many young ladies from noble families in the capital, and he had yet to see one more outstanding or whose words were more in tune with his heart than his cousin, though he felt his cousin was a bit absent-minded today.
Mianmian slid down the tree and ran to find Father.
“Father, Father, I saw our neighbors; they are actually acquaintances. It’s Jiang Wan, and that Prince surnamed Chu.”
Jiang Mianmian ran to Father.
Jiang Changtian was holding a book in his hand.
Hearing his daughter say that Jiang Wan was actually living next door, he immediately had a bold idea.
The meteorite iron was used up…
Thank you for reading + listening 🙂 I hope you all liked my translations. If you enjoyed my work, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi 😉
