Chapter 335: Truly Savage
It was winter, and the cold was biting.
Every breath formed a white mist.
The two sisters-in-law, having played with blocks of ice, were in high spirits.
When people become friends, it is all about that moment of connection.
Their auras matched; it was love at first sight.
Mianmian felt that her future sister-in-law was much like her Elder Sister. She had been a bit nervous before coming here with Mother, hearing that she was a proper young lady from an official’s family, a textbook second-generation official, and worried they wouldn’t get along.
After all, even though their whole family had recognized Princess Grandma as their elder, they were essentially grassroots.
They had lived through hard times, so they weren’t particularly fastidious about many things.
When you cannot even get enough to eat, you do not care about the elegance of your dining posture—you just need to have food first.
This experience of going from poverty to wealth defined their life perspective.
Many people from grassroots backgrounds work very hard because they have been climbing upward the whole time, full of drive.
Conversely, many descendants of fallen aristocratic families, even with good resources, often give up and let things rot, because they are on a downward trajectory; their spirit is different. Their peak was the moment they were born.
Anyway, with the same resources, different people have different states of mind.
Mianmian worried they would not click.
Back when she was in school in Jingzhou, there were classmates who always looked down on her. Even when Father was stirring up trouble in Jingzhou, making the whole city a mess, they still looked down on her—it was innate.
There was no helping that; she could not waste effort trying to change other people’s perspectives. If they wanted to look down on her, let them.
Anyway, it had nothing to do with her; it was neither painful nor itchy.
If her future sister-in-law was that kind of official’s daughter, it would be a bit terrifying.
Mianmian wondered, if that were the case, would they have to start house-fighting and splitting up the family? (Is this novel officially starting now? Was everything before just foreshadowing?)
But when they arrived at The Dong Family and met Madam Dong and Dong E, it was all good—they were their own people.
No wonder Elder Brother, a man who could kill Xiao Fengxian with a single sword strike, agreed to marry her.
Their auras matched perfectly.
Sister-in-law was too cute.
It was hard to imagine what kind of family environment could raise such a girl.
She was innocent and naive, but not in a dumb, sweet way.
Sister-in-law felt quite smart; she was poised and generous in her interactions, with high horizons. When she saw valuable things, she liked them, but she was not petty; she could pick things up and put them down.
Mianmian felt that, indeed, among any three people, there must be one who is my teacher.
She felt there was a lot to learn from her sister-in-law—sincere in her treatment of others, yet not foolish.
She was smart without being ostentatious; in short, she was very likable.
She figured the Elder Sister would like her too.
The two of them even chatted about gossip together.
For girls, the fastest way to become close friends is probably starting with gossip.
Dong E also asked curiously, “Is Princess Huiyun beautiful?”
Mianmian nodded, “Very beautiful. She looks just like me, but many times more beautiful. Although Princess Grandma has a scar on her face, similar to Elder Brother’s, it does not affect her beauty—it makes her even more beautiful.”
Dong E listened with her mouth wide open, looking like a sharp-jawed fish, and said in a very excited, tiny voice, “Then if the child I have after marrying your Elder Brother looks like Princess Huiyun, wouldn’t that be drop-dead gorgeous?”
Mianmian laughed, “Heh heh heh.”
She had originally thought about relying on her sister’s baby to share some of Father’s intense affection, but the Elder Sister had returned to the Meng Family. Now, sister-in-law had arrived, and her goal was clear—to have a baby, not be DINK or anything. It was such a relief.
Give birth, give birth, give birth—boys or girls are both fine.
“It will definitely be pretty. My Mother said that when I was little, seeing how good-looking I was made her able to eat an extra bowl of rice.” (Actually, it was because Mianmian looked too thin and small, so she could only feed her a little more, wanting to give her more milk.)
“Princess Grandma has lots of fun things. Next time we’ll play together. Princess will definitely like you; she likes pretty little girls,” Mianmian said with conviction.
Dong E nodded with bright, sparkling eyes, “Okay, okay! I like to play too.”
They naturally moved on to gossiping about Fairy Liu.
Even in front of her future sister-in-law, Dong E did not avoid it.
“Actually, the first time I saw Fairy Liu, I knew that Brother Liu had no hope. Brother Liu is like a bamboo tube—hollow and without any hidden agenda. Fairy Liu looks like a winter bamboo shoot; on the surface, there’s only a little tender green sprout, but buried under the soil is a shoot, and under the shoot is buried a piece of bamboo root. The root extends in all directions, and on different root fibers, thousands of other bamboo stalks are growing.”
Mianmian gave her sister-in-law a thumbs-up. Amazing, truly amazing. She was truly savage.
Sister-in-law looked simple and cute, but her insults were not subtle at all.
“Sister-in-law, have you seen a bamboo shoot?”
“I have. I have a farm in the countryside with a bamboo forest. The servants go to dig for shoots. I’ve seen them. Shoots are edible and delicious, though they can be a bit numbing.”
“Not numbing, not numbing! Next time we’ll go find my Elder Sister. Whatever my Elder Sister makes is delicious; she is amazing.”
“Okay, okay, okay! I’ve heard. Elder Sister is super amazing. Mother even said I should learn from Elder Sister.”
Mianmian:…
The two sisters-in-law chatted away all afternoon.
At the Yamen, Jiang Changtian, having arranged his work, entered the palace again.
Sometimes, doing more is not as good as reporting more.
In ancient times, there was no social media or PowerPoint, so work reports had to be done in person or indirectly.
You report proactively in person, and people close to the leader speak well of you indirectly.
Therefore, those in positions close to the leader have great power because they can influence what the leader sees and hears.
Jiang Changtian was not entering the palace today to report on work.
For different leaders, you must have different approaches.
Some leaders like hardworking subordinates, so you show that you are working hard, striving, even abandoning your family to work.
Some leaders like bootlicking subordinates, so you have to lick hard, in all kinds of ways, striving to lick, even bringing your whole family along to lick.
Some leaders like romance, so you have to be able to work and be romantic, able to work and have talent, ideals, and high standards.
In short, you must cater to their preferences.
You cannot get it wrong, or the consequences will be severe.
According to Jiang Changtian’s observations, the current Emperor is the third type of leader.
He hopes his subordinates can work, but just being able to work is not enough; more importantly, they must be able to accompany him, resonate with him, and be pleasing to his eyes. The highest level of compatibility is something like soul resonance.
Saner had achieved this.
That is why, among all the eunuchs in the palace today, none could beat Saner.
He had achieved compatibility with the Emperor, a soul-level connection, sharing common hobbies, liking vocal music and stage arts, reaching a high degree of harmony, which is why his position was far ahead.
And what Jiang Changtian wanted to do today was to add a little amateur hobby for the Emperor.
The Transcendence Orchestra, which had been very popular in Jingzhou, had undergone a selection process, and the most excellent members had formed a group, getting a chance to come to the capital.
They had not expected that their opportunity would not just be coming to the capital; the family head had said they would have a chance to perform in front of the Emperor.
This was an opportunity that only came if one’s ancestral grave smoked with good fortune.
Ordinary people could not travel far in their whole lives, and even if they did travel far and reached the capital, they could not enter the imperial palace, and even if they entered the palace, they could not see the Emperor.
Yet, they were actually going to play for the Emperor.
They were so excited.
Today, Jiang Changtian was going to take them to perform for the Emperor.
The Emperor’s attainments in vocal music and dance arts were leading in this entire era.
Hearing that Erlang wanted to bring him a band to appreciate, the Emperor shook his head with a smile, “Just do your job well. Do not worry about these superficial things; I am worried other ministers will scold you.”
Jiang Changtian said nonchalantly, “Let them scold. They are ministers, and they all actually want to show off, but they just do not have the opportunity. Although I am also a minister, I am even more your nephew. I do not serve as an official for promotion or wealth; I just do it because I want to. I want you, my uncle, to listen to some good songs. What does that matter?”
The Emperor laughed heartily upon hearing this.
“Good, good, good.”
However, before listening to the songs, he was actually required to bathe and burn incense; it was quite serious.
The Emperor was willing to spend time on entertainment, so he seriously bathed and burned incense; his body felt refreshed, and his mind cleared.
Then, sitting on the dragon throne, he watched the band perform.
Since the Emperor had bathed and burned incense before listening to music, others naturally dared not be negligent.
A high-spec performance began.
Not many people could enter.
Before the performance started, white smoke rose from the stage, like a fairyland.
The Emperor leaned back on his chair, feeling this was not bad, and had a bit of a vibe; at least the scenery was very good.
Then came a “dong” sound.
Slowly, the lingering sound seemed to sway in the air, paused, and then another “dong” sound.
This sound after sound was like waves in the water, one wave ending and another following.
Slow and heavy.
“Do not abandon your own path, do not disturb the hearts of others…”
A clear sentence was followed by the sound of a bell.
It was as if it knocked directly into people’s hearts.
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