Li Yue simply said, “Then after you return, go ask him first. If he agrees, then take it.”
Only then did the dark guards agree. Once they reached the palace, they asked His Majesty—and without a moment’s hesitation, His Majesty directly nodded and gave permission.
After returning, the dark guards wanted to gossip about the events of today, but they didn’t even know where to begin. So what was the point of going in such a huge circle?! Why didn’t His Majesty just take it from her own treasury from the start?! They couldn’t understand His Majesty’s thoughts at all!
The fright the dark guards had suffered over the past few days may have surpassed that of the past few years combined. A whole group of them gossiped for more than half the night, and in the end, there really wasn’t anything more to say.
What else could they say? What was this?
This was a match made in heaven!
His Majesty wanted to give this madam money, so he went and took it from the madam’s own dowry. This madam wanted money and went straight to take it from His Majesty’s private treasury.
This really was a union destined by the heavens—no one could separate them. Not even Xie Wenzhao!
That night passed quietly amidst the dark guards’ gossiping.
—
Early the next morning, Hua Xiaoling came running excitedly to Jixue Courtyard, wanting to learn martial arts from the madam. When Li Yue heard her intent, he raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised—he hadn’t expected that there was such an ambitious girl in the marquis manor. But to celebrate that he no longer had to look at account books from now on, he was planning to go out and have fun today.
When Hua Xiaoling found out he was heading out, she thickened her skin and asked what the madam was going out to do. Li Yue only said it was nothing—just taking a random stroll.
How could it possibly be “nothing” if she was going out? Hua Xiaoling’s eyes swiveled around, thinking that since the madam had had her household authority reclaimed by the old madam but still seemed so calm, she must have some other kind of backing. Plus, the old madam had told her to pay attention to the madam’s recent movements, so Hua Xiaoling immediately insisted on tagging along.
Li Yue didn’t care whether she came along or not—after all, it wasn’t like he’d be spending money on her.
After leaving the Marquis Manor, Li Yue first went to Yunxi Pavilion for breakfast, and conveniently bought a portion for Qingping as well—but not for Hua Xiaoling. Hua Xiaoling was a little unhappy, but besides sulking in silence, she had no other choice.
After coming out of Yunxi Pavilion, Li Yue strolled through the most bustling market in the capital, bought some food, watched a bit of street performance, and upon leaving the market, happened to run into a group of officials who had just finished the morning court session. Among them, the officials from the Central Secretariat were all beaming with joy. The other officials looked at them with resentment. As Li Yue passed by them, he heard them quietly muttering: “So what if Wei Jun’an knows how to please His Majesty? It’s not like others can’t do it too!”
Li Yue: “?”
Did he see a ghost? Wei Jun’an knows how to please him now? Let him see that quickly!
Then he thought of how Meng Fu had gone to attend the morning court session early in the morning, and he himself was just out here strolling around. Li Yue felt a bit guilty.
After a brief bout of guilt, Li Yue went to a bookstore to buy a few arithmetic books, planning to have the secret guards send them into the palace for the young prince. Deep down, he still held a bit of resentment. Afterward, he went to the opera house to watch a show. In the blink of an eye, it was noon. He found a restaurant he hadn’t visited before and had a full meal. Then, upon hearing that there would be a polo match that afternoon in the western suburbs of the capital, he brought Qingping with him and headed out.
Hua Xiaoling had been following them the whole way. Since she had no money on her, she didn’t get to enjoy much, but she was still quite happy. It had been a long time since she came out like this, not worrying about anything, just having fun.
After watching the polo match, Li Yue went to Baoyu Zhai—currently the largest store in the capital for gold and silver jewelry. Li Yue felt that since Meng Fu was working hard for him in the palace, emotionally and logically, he ought to express some gratitude.
The jewelry before his eyes was shiny and quite good-looking.
From the moment he walked in, the shopkeeper noticed his uncommon temperament. Seeing him stop, the shopkeeper hurried over and followed his gaze. It was a sandalwood hairpin. The shopkeeper felt a bit disappointed, but still warmly asked: “Madam, have you taken a liking to this one?”
Hua Xiaoling took one look and frowned. The madam’s taste isn’t that great—what’s so good about that piece of wood?
But the next moment, she heard the madam say: “Everything here—except for this one—I’ll take it all.”
When the shopkeeper heard this big order, his face practically blossomed with joy, and he quickly replied: “Certainly! I’ll pack it all up for you right away.”
Li Yue had always lived simply and disliked extravagance. This was probably the most money he’d ever spent on himself since he was born. But these buyao hairpins, ornamental bracelets, and armlets had very nice designs. If Meng Fu liked them, then the money would be well spent.
Hua Xiaoling beside him was completely stunned, mouth agape for a long time without being able to utter a single word.
Then Li Yue handed Qingping a silver note and told her to pick something she liked and buy it.
Hua Xiaoling never imagined that Li Yue really went out today just to have fun. She hadn’t brought much silver with her and couldn’t even afford a decent bracelet. She could only stand behind them, gazing at Li Yue with longing, hoping that, considering they shared the same husband, the madam might give her something too. But Li Yue ignored her. After Qingping finished choosing, they left directly.
Hua Xiaoling looked at their departing backs and sighed resentfully. She actually kind of wanted to become the madam’s maid.
While Li Yue and the others weren’t in the Marquis Manor, the day there was also relatively peaceful. Sun Yulian had never imagined that sometimes meat pies really did fall from the sky. Back when she was helping the madam manage household affairs, she used to think about when she might be able to control the entire Marquis Manor herself. And now the old madam had actually given her this opportunity. Yesterday, the old madam claimed her eyes weren’t good and asked her to help read the account books, but both of them knew perfectly well—this was giving her the madam’s job.
The madam must have had her brain damaged by the wind to go against the old madam like that. Sun Yulian put her palms together and burned incense in prayer, asking the Buddha to let the madam stay muddleheaded a little longer—she still wanted to see how miserable the madam would look once she fell from power. A matron who couldn’t manage the household surely wouldn’t have a good time.
With a devout and solemn expression, Sun Yulian picked up the account book as if she were Tang Sanzang receiving the true scriptures after undergoing the 81 tribulations [a reference to “Journey to the West” – metaphor for a long and difficult task finally completed]. She reached out and started flipping through the pages.
In her imagination, once she got the account book, she’d be able to brush out a few strokes and finish all the calculations, even find the madam’s mistakes. But reality was completely different. The various large and small expenses and incomes written inside were not easy to calculate at all. After the old madam read a few pages, she said her head hurt and told Sun Yulian to take them back.
Sun Yulian calculated from morning to evening and didn’t even have the appetite for lunch. She had only completed a few pages of a single account book. At this rate, she would need to go without food, drink, or sleep for two whole months to get through this pile of books in front of her.
Sun Yulian gritted her teeth. This was the first time the old madam had valued her so much—she had to perform well and couldn’t let the old madam down. She took a deep breath and continued calculating.
She had just calculated two figures when suddenly she heard Hua Xiaoling’s duck-like laughter by her ear. She and the madam had returned.
Sun Yulian felt that the madam must surely be feeling quite upset after being suddenly stripped of power. Most likely, she had gone out today to clear her mind. Then she heard Hua Xiaoling over there chirping away non-stop—for some reason, even though there wasn’t much distance between them, every single word Hua Xiaoling said came through crystal clear.
She heard Hua Xiaoling say that the madam had gone to the marketplace today, visited a bookstore, watched a play, saw a polo match, and even bought a whole bunch of jewelry.
This was absolutely nothing like what she had imagined. Where did he look even remotely upset? She looked like she was in such a good mood it might as well be New Year’s!
Sun Yulian hugged the account book and consoled herself: the madam must be pretending. In a couple of days, she won’t be acting like this anymore.
The next day, Li Yue didn’t go out. He stayed in his own Jixue Courtyard practicing martial arts and swordplay. During breaks, he even gathered with Qingping and the others for a game of madiu [马吊 – a Ming Dynasty card game, ancestor of modern Mahjong], with laughter and cheerful voices echoing all around. Later, when the voices stopped, Sun Yulian grew curious and had someone inquire about what was going on in Jixue Courtyard. The servant came back and said the madam was in the back listening to Hua Xiaoling tell a story.
Sun Yulian gritted her teeth—she had forgotten that Hua Xiaoling still had that skill.
On the third day, Li Yue set up a touhu competition [投壶 – an ancient Chinese game where players throw arrows into a pot or narrow-mouthed vessel], inviting the servants to join in. There were prizes for the winners.
When Sun Yulian heard the bursts of cheering coming from Jixue Courtyard, she felt exceptionally irritated. She had been doing account-checking until her head spun and eyes blurred, her complexion noticeably worn out. Even two layers of powder couldn’t hide the dark circles under her eyes. She was supposed to have gone to the madam to show off these account books a little in a subtle, low-key way, but with how she looked now—what was there to show off?
Then someone from the old madam’s side came to hurry her, asking why the account books for this month still weren’t finished—within a couple of days, the servants would need to be paid their monthly wages. Not to mention, in a few days the eldest young master from the Ministry of War’s Vice Minister’s family was getting married—they must not forget to prepare a generous gift, and absolutely no mistakes could be made. While this person had not yet left, Wu San came again to tell her that someone in the family was seriously ill and needed a large sum of money to save their life.
Sun Yulian hadn’t even finished checking the accounts, and now all of a sudden she had to pull out so much money—she felt like her head was going to explode.
And just then, another burst of cheering erupted from Jixue Courtyard, with Hua Xiaoling shouting at the top of her lungs, “Madam, you’re amazing—!”
Sun Yulian’s expression twisted on the spot.
She suddenly felt like she couldn’t bear to look at the account book anymore.