Chapter 145: Father Gets Promoted
Jiang Mianmian jumped down from the tree, having earned a complete childhood.
She received a sound thrashing.
A child’s shrill wails echoed from beneath the tree.
“Father, help!”
Seeing Father walk away silently, Jiang Mianmian continued to shout, “Elder Sister, help! Elder Brother, help!”
Jiang Feng and Jiang Yu had been talking, but their voices dropped.
Jiang Mianmian could only continue to shout, “Great-Aunt, help!”
Great-Aunt actually retracted the step she had just taken.
Crying and wailing, Jiang Mianmian scanned her surroundings and finally spotted Little Square Face. She shouted loudly, “Brother-in-law, help!”
Meng Shaoxia:…
Little Square Face was rendered speechless by being called “brother-in-law”; the corners of his mouth lifted, and his feet shuffled hesitantly, wondering if he should save the child—it was pitiful to be beaten like that.
Then, he was dragged into the house by a hand.
Jiang Yu dragged Meng Shaoxia into the courtyard and made a shushing gesture.
Meng Shaoxia looked at her chubby fingers placed against her lips, and his face instantly flushed red.
“Mother definitely didn’t use much strength beating Little Sister; listen to her cries, they’re full of energy.”
Meng Shaoxia couldn’t help but laugh.
Outside the courtyard, Jiang Mianmian, wailing for her parents, didn’t realize that it was precisely because she was screaming so loudly that no one came to save her; she cried even harder.
“Are you going to climb trees anymore!”
Jiang Mianmian shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
Qin Luoxia picked up her little daughter.
A group of ants nearby remained motionless, seemingly intimidated by that human’s aura.
Jiang Mianmian stopped shouting; she had swallowed too much air from screaming and was crying with hiccups.
Qin Luoxia spoke up, “Climbing trees is dangerous. You could climb up, but couldn’t get down, which shows you don’t consider the consequences of your actions. That is not good.”
Jiang Mianmian nodded, her eyes teary.
This was her first beating; she had always thought she was special and wouldn’t get beaten…
She had danced on the edge of death several times; if it had been Elder Brother or Elder Sister, they would have been beaten long ago.
At dinner time, Jiang Mianmian sat in her seat, looking at everyone else with resentment.
Don’t you all feel guilty? Hmph.
As a result, everyone rubbed her puffed-up cheeks.
Her bottom had already been beaten red, and now her face was rubbed red too.
The next day.
The whole family dressed up.
Jiang Mianmian was scooped up before she had even woken up.
Yawning, she brushed her teeth and washed her face, letting Great-Aunt dress and groom her.
Aunt Yin fussed over the little one in her arms, looking at her dazed expression, and found it funny, remembering how she had shouted for Great-Aunt to save her when she was being beaten yesterday.
Sometimes she even wanted to join in herself; “save me,” indeed—this little girl needed to be disciplined.
Thinking about today, she was actually grooming a little Rebel.
Today they were to accept the amnesty.
Who would have thought?
Life had taken so many turns; it was truly spectacular.
Now, she had ended up as the Great-Aunt of the Rebels’ household.
After tidying up the little girl a bit, she looked very pretty; her face was becoming more and more delicate, and even when she was being mischievous, one couldn’t bring themselves to hate her.
Speaking of which, perhaps the water in Ming County nurtured people well. Aunt Yin remembered that Jiang Wan of the Jiang Family also had extraordinary looks and temperament; she still had a deep impression of her, even though she had only met her once.
In such an awkward situation, Jiang Wan had been able to remain calm and composed; compared to that, the Mother and three daughters before her were no match.
However, she didn’t need to worry about Lady Qin; she definitely wouldn’t be taken advantage of.
The Eldest Miss could be taught slowly; there was no rush.
There was no need to worry too much about the little girl either; as long as she didn’t make any major mistakes in etiquette, it would be fine.
Thinking about it this way, she was also quite relaxed, right?
Today, Jiang Changtian wore a crimson robe, his appearance even more outstanding and dazzling.
Qin Luoxia wore a dark red ru-skirt, looking heroic and spirited.
Her clothes now had small details altered by Aunt Yin, so they weren’t cumbersome like others’ and allowed for ease of movement while highlighting her best features; she herself felt she looked much better and was more confident.
Aunt Yin said that being tall was also a type of beauty in women, and some men liked women with long legs, so she shouldn’t feel inferior.
Qin Luoxia thought shyly that her husband seemed to be one of them.
Jiang Yu wore a light green ru-skirt with a white sash, which looked very pretty and suited her fresh, youthful age well; recently, she had been exceptionally beautiful, and her embroidered shoes were a matching set in the same color scheme.
After Aunt Yin’s day-and-night instruction, Jiang Yu’s walking posture was now presentable; at least, on the surface, it could pass muster.
Great-Aunt’s instruction to her was that when she was outside, she must not speak, must not speak, must not speak.
As long as Jiang Yu didn’t speak, her current temperament could actually fool people.
A teenage girl, clear and lively, beautiful without being seductive, dignified without being rigid.
Although Aunt Yin taught etiquette, she didn’t constrain her.
She also preserved Jiang Yu’s own liveliness and innocence.
As long as The Eldest Miss didn’t open her mouth to speak, Aunt Yin felt that even she could be fooled.
She seemed like a very likable young lady of a noble family, both lively and dignified.
As for the little girl, Aunt Yin held her at all times and worried about her constantly, but it was fine.
At home, Aunt Yin never bossed Feng Ge’er around because she felt she only understood women’s every move, or perhaps she just understood men, but regarding young boys, she never easily judged or interfered.
Feng Ge’er was dressed conventionally in a white robe, looking very clean and refreshing.
The whole family finished dressing and grooming, then went to the county town together.
Jiang Mianmian only fully woke up once they were in the carriage.
She glanced at Mother; her bottom hurt a little.
She said sweetly, “Mother, you look especially beautiful today.”
Qin Luoxia tapped her daughter’s little nose, “Stop causing trouble, Mother is beautiful every day.”
Jiang Yu was dressed beautifully today and felt a little excited.
This was a new outfit; Brother Meng had not seen her wear it yet.
Aunt Yin closed her eyes in the carriage to rest, listening to the Mother and three daughters chattering away; it was very lively.
…
The county town was too small.
There were no secrets.
The recent excitement had been provided by Heir Han.
Heir Han had rushed out of the Jiang Family in a hurry.
Then came the news of Jiang Da’s family being kicked out, Jiang Da killing his Mother—a whole series of events, just like a play, very lively.
People made a few inquiries and found out that Heir Han had a penchant for older sisters-in-law, and the few maids around him were actually women from respectable families he had picked up along the way.
Gossip and rumors spread.
Heir Han was used to it; it wasn’t the first time he had done this.
However, this time it was a bit different; wasn’t it true that what one couldn’t obtain was the best? Besides, Madam Wu had originally been a noble daughter of a prominent family, only her family had fallen on hard times later.
Having caused all the trouble he should have since coming to Ming County, it was time to do some serious work.
He remembered that he had been sent by the Imperial Court to offer amnesty.
He still needed to meet that Jiang the Second.
He recalled that he had been in Ming County for several days and had yet to see Jiang the Second.
The people who entertained him were always others; suddenly, he felt something was wrong—was he not qualified enough?
Eunuch Duan, on the other hand, had been led around by Magistrate Huang these past few days, eating and drinking, enjoying himself quite a bit.
He couldn’t play with women, nor did he have any special hobbies; he just wandered around eating.
Heir Han remembered he had serious business to attend to.
Amnesty was actually a matter of rewarding the Rebels for their merits; it was a very humorous kind of behavior.
The fiercest Rebels received the most rewards.
Heir Han saw the rewards; this Jiang the Second was quite interesting. He didn’t seem to have gone out to fight, only guarding his one-third of an acre in Ming County, yet the position he received was actually quite high.
Although Heir Han had a bad reputation in the capital, he was actually a smart person.
At least his emotional intelligence was high; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to jump around in front of the Emperor for so many years.
Today was for serious business: representing the Imperial Court to reward the Rebels and grant them official positions.
Meng Shaoxia was also dressed quite formally today; he even wore his young general’s armor and cloak, which was quite hot in the middle of summer.
If he had been asked to do this kind of thing before, he would have thought it was completely idiotic.
Those civil officials who had never fought a war only knew how to curry favor, pick sides, and suppress opponents, thinking that using appeasement could make the Rebels surrender and submit—it was simply laughable.
But now that the object of the amnesty had changed to Mr. Jiang, and he was soon to be his Father-in-law, this feeling was indescribable.
Sure enough, until things fell on one’s own head, one couldn’t understand the difference.
As for Eunuch Duan, he had been eating, drinking, and sightseeing for the past few days, walking Magistrate Huang’s legs thin.
His brain had also been worn thin; people from the palace must have many twists and turns in their speech. Magistrate Huang had to be careful, circling around three times before finally giving up and just saying whatever was asked.
On the day of the amnesty, the county town was as lively as the New Year.
The streets were filled with many young women, a sea of beautiful faces, each with their own unique charm.
Heir Han was dazzled; the scene was a bit spectacular.
With so many women crowding here, were they here to see him?
He thought that the women of Ming County were too enthusiastic; if there were suitable ones, he could take them in. After all, his backyard was large, and he had many women.
Heir Han wore the court dress representing the Imperial Court today. He didn’t actually hold a formal post, but being a relative of the Emperor made him a noble by nature. He was an Heir, born into a first-rank status.
And the Rebel leader, Great Marshal Zi, had fought and killed for so many years, only to receive the reward of a Great General, a third-rank position.
Heir Han was dressed very magnificently and heavily, which was also a bit hot.
However, noticing many women looking at him frequently, he sat upright on the high platform, putting on a very grand posture.
In the crowd, women leaned their necks together, using fans to cover their mouths as they whispered.
“Is Mr. Jiang really that good-looking?”
“Good-looking. Just one look, and you’ll be happy even in your dreams.”
“Shameless.”
“Oh, you’ll know once you see him.”
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