Higher Level Wife

Chapter 84: Great Waves (3)

Author: White Pear Flower

Raws: https://book.qidian.com/info/2386994/

Translated by Pill Bug

Edited by Gumihou

“If you transform into a malicious spirit, then Feng’er and Jiao’er will certainly hate me for life, wouldn’t they?”

Jin Fengju sighed and went forward to take Fu Qiuning’s hand, intending to embrace her gently in his arms, but to his surprise, Fu Qiuning pushed him away. The woman before him was obviously weaker than him, yet seemed as insurmountable as a high mountain. She took over a dozen steps back, clearly putting distance between them.

Jin Fengju’s face couldn’t help but change. With his status and family background, what woman had ever rejected his advances? Moreover, the woman rejecting him now was his own official wife.

However, his expression still softened in the end. He looked at Fu Qiuning, who was leaning against a wall, away from him. Finally, he lowered his eyes and said in a gentle voice, “The fault is mine. I cannot blame you. I shall not attempt to defend myself, only… I really did not know that for the past 5 years, you have not received even a single allocation. Thank you, if not for you, Feng’er and Jiao’er… I’m afraid they would have…”

He did not continue, knowing that Fu Qiuning would understand what he was going to say. Sighing again, he raised his eyes to look into Fu Qiuning’s indifferent face. It was only then, that he realised just how much this woman had been hurt by him. He had been cold, ruthless, and cruel. To think that he had been looking forward to the day she would change her mind and accept him with open arms… could this even be possible?

“There is no need to speak these words. No matter what, all of us, mother and children, are alive and well.” [a] Understanding that Jin Fengju no longer blame her for the handkerchief incident, Fu Qiuning was greatly relieved. This calmed her heart further and she ventured to ask, “However, how should the matter be handled? From Lord Husband’s words, the entire city knows the marquisate’s shame.”

“No need to concern yourself over this, I shall take care of it.” There was a murderous aura under Jin Fengju’s light tone. He lightly thumped his fist on the table, and continued, “Once I find out who is behind this good deed, I shall not let them off lightly.”

“[a] There is no need for the Young Marquis to make such grand claims. It is possible that once you have discovered the person, you would not be able to do anything about it.”

Fu Qiuning’s smile was very indifferent. Jin Fengju’s eyebrows creased together. As an intelligent person, he naturally understood what Fu Qiuning’s meant.

“This matter may not be as simple as you think.” Slowly, he made his way to a chair and sat down. He picked up an empty cup and began to fiddle with it as he shared his thoughts, “It is one thing for this matter to spread far and wide, but do you know who gave me this handkerchief?”

“Who was it?” Since he had deliberately baited her interest, [a] Fu Qiuning decided to play along. After all, she was a little curious too. “Could it be Prince Rong?”

“If it had been Brother-in-law, would I come here and trouble you?” Jin Fengju sneered. “It was Prince Lie. Due to my relationship with Brother-in-law, both Prince Lie and Prince Hong only treat me as a nodding acquaintance. However, this time, His Highness personally brought me this news and even attempted some friendly overtures. You tell me now, what do you think he’s thinking?”

“As Lord Husband had said, the matter has been made known to everyone by now. If Prince Lie wished to draw you into his faction, he could have given you a reminder two days earlier. What is the purpose of waiting until the matter could not be undone before informing you of it? Isn’t it possible that he merely called you out to mock you to your face?” Fu Qiuning also slowly sat down as [a] she pondered over the matter.

“It is unlikely that Prince Lie would invite me to a meal just for the sole pleasure of mocking me. Moreover, to still give me time to put a stop to this matter,” Jing Fengju sneered. He thought: No matter. Since the prince’s motives are unknown. I’ll just wait and see for now.

He then smiled at Fu Qiuning, “Do call Aunt Yu, Yu Jie and the children in. After hiding themselves in the study, I’m afraid they must be really frightened by now. I have never shown such a fierce expression before them, right?”

“So Lord Husband also knows that he has frightened them?” Fu Qiuning sniffed. She went over to the door, opened it and called towards the study, “Alright, you can all come in now. Be careful when you come over, don’t catch a chill.”

At that, sounds of hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor. Aunt Yu, Yu Jie and the rest of the children came trotting over. When the maids saw their mistress, they cried out, “Madam… Madam, are you alright?”

Between howls and sobs, childish voices wailed, “Wuwuwu, Mother, did Father bully Mother?”

Jin Fengju was still seated in his chair. In Fu Qiuning’s modern eyes, she could almost see the black lines that had gathered over him. There were probably enough black lines to make two large pots of noodles. Ignoring the man, she smiled at the children and said, “It’s fine. Mother is fine. How could your Father bully Mother?”

“Father looked very fierce when he came in, so scary…” Jin Changjiao choked out between sobs as she wiped her tears.

“Cough cough” Jin Fengju coughed twice before standing up. He gloomily thought: Must they be so exaggerated? Was I really that scary when I came in? En, it’s possible that my face might have been a bit dark when I came in and this scared the children.

Therefore, he rearranged his face to show a friendly expression and stretched out his arms toward Jin Changfeng and Jin Changjiao. He also mellowed his voice and said, “It’s alright, Father and Mother were just discussing something earlier. It’s all fine now. Come, let Father give you a hug.”

Jin Changfeng and Jin Changjiao backed slightly away in unison. From their posture, it looked like they were protecting Fu Qiuning from him as they stared guardedly at Jin Fengju. Neither of them spoke.

Jin Fengju was already at that age, but he had never encountered such an awkward situation. He thought: Well, looks like the saying is true. No good ever comes out of impulsive actions. By losing both my temper and composure, what little bit of affection I had cultivated over a year, and coaxed with many things with my two precious children, have disappeared just like that. Just look at the expression in their eyes.

They are already this wary even though I have not done anything to Qiuning. If I had actually done something, I expect that these two little fellows would have driven me out. Tsk, looks like all my previous achievements have been lost. I shall have to win them all over again.

Though he felt aggrieved, Jin Fengju maintained a mild and friendly expression as he withdrew his hands. He continued to act nonchalantly as he stood up, “Alright, it is getting late. You should go to bed early. I still need to return to the inner court. There are some things I must think through properly.”

“It’s snowy and slippery outside, and you have no escort with you. Why not rest here?” Fu Qiuning really did not want to say that. She did not want Jin Fengju to assume that she was worried for him.

However, the children had developed some obvious resentment against their father. If that resentment was not treated properly, it could brew into future troubles. As a powerless woman in such a noble house filled with enemies [a], the children’s future would depend entirely on Jin Fengju. If the children continued to treat the man coldly, this arrogant father of theirs might one day decide that these children were too troublesome to deal with and abandon them again. If that were to happen, the ones who suffered would be the children, right?

Furthermore, she was very clear that this incident happened because someone had specifically aimed at her. [a] Though Jin Fengju did not know that Night Breeze Pavilion had never received allocations of any kind, it is unlikely that the person in charge of his inner court [b] would not know. So long as someone took the time to rub a few brain cells together, certain key points would surface.

[a] Nevertheless, it did not change the fact that the only person she could effectively rely on would still be Jin Fengju. At the very least, she would not be so stupid as to put on a cold look and kick her biggest backer away.

Moreover, Jin Fengju’s actions were not too bad. He might have crashed into her place, all angry. However, when he found out he was in the wrong, he still apologized, and even thank her. What else would she have this proud man do? Kowtow and admit his mistake? No way, she still had some self-awareness. Currently, he was obsessed over her, [a] which meant she could use him to shield the residents of Night Breeze Pavilion. Therefore, there is no need to kick him down when he had already shown remorse.

Due to those two considerations, no matter how unwilling, Fu Qiuning is determined to maintain a relationship… Even so, the gentle look on Jin Fengju’s face nearly made her [a] break out in hives, even more so when he said softly, “If I were to stay the night, I’m afraid it would leave a scar on your heart, right?”

“I do not fear scars. What I fear are unresolved misunderstandings. Once the misunderstanding has been resolved, naturally, the relationship cannot revert to its original form.” Fu Qiuning’s smile was very professional even as she privately howled: Young Marquis, you had better not delude yourself with my explanations, ah. I have no other meaning, no special intentions, ah!

However, it was obvious that Jin Fengju did not believe it. His eyes, when staring at Fu Qiuning, were very intense. Finally, he nodded slowly. His smile was heavy with meaning as he said solemnly, “Yes, you are right. Once a misunderstanding is resolved, there is nothing frightening about it. Then, I shall sleep here tonight.” With that, he stood up and said, “The floor is a little cold, but the kang is still warm. Come, Feng’er, Jiao’er, come sit by father on the kang, alright?”

Jin Changfeng and Jin Changjiao were still children after all. After being coaxed by Jin Fengju, they felt confused and unsure of what to do.

They looked up at Fu Qiuning, and when they saw that she did not look angry at their father and was even smilingly pushing them toward him, they concluded that Father and Mother must have resolved their conflict and now all was well. Thus, whatever knots in their hearts fell away and the children happily clambered onto the kang and clung to their father like octopuses.

“Yu Jie, pour a cup of hot tea for the Young Marquis,” Fu Qiuning said mildly. She picked up the cloak that Jin Fengju had taken off and hung it up. “This cloak has been soaked through by snow. Has Lord Husband rushed here?”

“No, in fact, Prince Lie pestered me to dine with him until half past noon. I quickly delegated some of my tasks to other people before rushing over. Half of my day was spent outside.” He frowned, “Didn’t you say that the person entrusted to sell your things is trustworthy? How is it possible for people to find out? The news outside was no mere rumour, there were stores claiming to have sold your embroideries for a long time. The information was quite detailed.”

Fu Qiuning said, “I, too, am puzzled After selling our things for over five years, Third Brother Zhang has also proven to be a discreet person. So, why would he reveal us now? If you claim that he had sold us out for silver, I won’t believe it. He has been with us all this while and had never asked us for a single silver. He should not be the greedy type, ah.”

While she was speaking, another thought occurred to her and she said, “In fact, this Brother Zhang is the same person I spoke to you about. He is Aunt Yu’s [1] childhood friend, Madam Zhang’s third son.”

Gumihou: So, after last chapter’s big reveal, White Pear Flower scrambled to do damage control on behalf of Jin Fengju and… took some liberties. Essentially creating AR (Alternate Reality) Qiuning.

As for Gumi, well, apologies but AR Qiuning has no place in this story.

[a] Gumihou subtly tweaked the text to increase mockery, indifference and subtle loathing

[b] Faulty logic, OOC for the sake of making her think well of JFJ? Author, I’m disappointed.

Original text: ‘those wives and concubines would know’

Change to: ‘the one in charge of his inner court would know’

Because, like, wut? Why Are you so quick to blame all ‘the women’?

Pill Bug TL Notes:

[1] Who? Nevermind, might be an author typo.