Green Mountain
Chapter 259: Nanny 203_2

Chapter 259: Nanny 203_2

Chen Ji smiled and said, "What I mean is, I could send someone to escort your mother to Luocheng City."

"Ah?" Wang Gui was lost in thought for a moment.

Chen Ji pointed to Chen Mansion, "After we head to the Imperial Capital, this place will become vacant. I’ll cover the expenses for the carriage and horses to bring your mother here. In due time, you can settle her in my Mingquan Garden, wouldn’t that be wonderful? The mountains and waters of Luocheng City are clear and beautiful, a perfect place for her to enjoy her old age."

"This..." Wang Gui hesitated, his eyeballs subtly shifting as he quickly caught on, "Third Young Master, my mother is advanced in years, frail and weak. I’m afraid she may not withstand the fatigue of traveling several hundred miles by carriage and horse."

Chen Ji calculated the time, "If a fast boat is taken on the Grand Canal, from south to north, it should take about ten days to arrive."

Wang Gui persisted uneasily, "My mother gets seasick."

Chen Ji sighed, "Then there’s nothing that can be done. I wanted to fulfill your filial piety, but no solution seems to work. Go back quickly, or if you keep kneeling like this, you’ll soon die of hypothermia."

Wang Gui once again prostrated himself and refused to rise, "If you don’t forgive me, I shall kneel here until I die."

Chen Ji fell silent.

The maids of Qunfang Garden held their breaths, their heads stacked one over another outside the doorframe, secretly watching.

Li Qiu reflected, "This Wang Gui is truly ruthless. Is he betting on Third Young Master’s soft heart, daring not to let someone die for real?"

Xiao Man snorted, "If it were me, I’d definitely let him kneel to death here. Just watch, Third Young Master will surely swallow this aggrieved feeling. If it weren’t for his nature, he wouldn’t have been manipulated by others in past years."

In front of Mingquan Garden’s entrance, Chen Ji quietly asked, "Housekeeper, do you really intend not to get up?"

Wang Gui stated, "If Third Young Master won’t forgive me, I will not stand."

Chen Ji nodded, "Alright, I’ll take you inside to warm up first. At the very least, you cannot die on my doorstep."

The next moment, Chen Ji stepped out the door, lifting Wang Gui with both hands as if he were lifting a small chick, and carried Wang Gui back into the room.

"Eh? Third Young Master?" Wang Gui struggled making sounds similar to a pig being butchered, "Put me down! What are you doing?!"

However, no matter how much he struggled, he could not escape from the grip that was like iron tongs.

With a clang, the courtyard door closed.

The maids outside exchanged glances, Li Qiu uncertainly exclaimed, "Did I just see that wrong, did Third Young Master just carry Wang Gui in like that?"

Xiao Man leaned against the door frame, muttering, "He really got carried in..."

They had imagined ten thousand possible outcomes, like Chen Ji’s softening and forgiveness, or Wang Gui giving up and leaving, or Chen Liqin’s arrival.

But they never imagined that Chen Ji would carry Wang Gui into the house to warm up with his bare hands.

At that moment, Li Qiu pulled the maids back, "Quick, quick, quick, let’s go back to our rooms, the master is coming!"

Chen Liqin, striding vigorously, called out to them, "Stop, where’s Wang Gui?"

Xiao Man hastened to reply, "Housekeeper Wang is warming up in Third Young Master’s room, he’s alright now!"

Chen Liqin was puzzled, "He went inside?"

...

...

In the room, Chen Ji sat next to the charcoal basin, using iron tongs to turn over the layer of Silver Silk Charcoal at the bottom while sparks floated in the air.

Not far away, Wang Gui knelt absentmindedly on the ground, feeling the warmth within and somewhat at a loss.

Chen Ji watched the coal fire and asked without turning his head, "Feeling warmer?"

Wang Gui replied instinctively, "Warmer now."

Chen Ji smiled, "Housekeeper Wang, you have managed the Chen Mansion diligently and wholeheartedly for more than twenty years. Why put your own life at risk? Life is precious to everyone."

During the conversation, Chen Liqin walked in.

Chen Ji stood up and bowed, "Mr. Chen, you’ve arrived quite promptly."

Chen Liqin was momentarily at a loss for words, then turned toward Wang Gui, harshly demanding, "What madness has gotten into you?"

Wang Gui crawled on his knees to Chen Liqin, knocking his forehead on the ground repeatedly and admitting his mistake, "My lord, I realize my fault, I’ve understood my mistake. Please don’t leave me in Luocheng City. As you know, my elderly mother is there, and she cannot be left without someone to take care of her."

Chen Liqin frowned deeply.

Wang Gui continued, "Every time my mother speaks of you, she says you’ve always been kind-hearted and knowledgeable, knowing even at the age of three to offer the biggest pear to your elder brother and mother. She also reminisced about taking you to the Lantern Festival, saying you could solve all the riddles when you were just four..."

Wang Gui sobbed, "My lord, she was by your side until you were fourteen, looking after you day and night. How can you bear to see her end her days in solitude and distress?"

Chen Liqin said grimly, "Enough!"

Wang Gui fell silent and did not speak.

So-called nursemaids were not just responsible for feeding milk; they also took care of the children’s dietary and daily needs, taught them enlightenment knowledge, and accompanied them until they reached adulthood.

Within the secluded imperial household, nursemaids compensated for the absence of a mother, and many officials held their nursemaids in such regard that they were treated almost as second mothers after reaching adulthood.

In the Ning Dynasty, there were always about forty nursemaids in the palace, living in a secluded place, meticulously trained by the Ritual Supervision nurseries. In addition, eighty reserve nursemaids, known as ’Wet Nurse Roll Call,’ were selected.

The late emperor once praised his nursemaid as "kind and wise, compliant, and proficient in rituals, a paragon of female instructresses, unmatched in gentle forbearance."

At that moment, Chen Liqin, recollecting various past events, subconsciously looked at Chen Ji, "You... It seems you might have some regrets this time."

Chen Ji sized up Chen Liqin seriously, "What does Mr. Chen mean?"

Chen Liqin was silent for a long time, "Her mother is indeed getting on in years... He was confused and made a mistake previously, but Wenzong has already punished him with caning. Now he comes begging for forgiveness, clearly showing remorse. Of course, I won’t let him continue as housekeeper, but I will only be bringing him back to the Imperial Capital with us. What do you think?"

Chen Ji smiled and bowed, "I will defer to Mr. Chen’s decision."

Chen Liqin breathed a sigh of relief and angrily scolded Wang Gui at his feet, "Do you not hurry off, embarrassing yourself here! Go back to your own home, and do not show up before Chen Ji before we leave for the Imperial Capital; do not annoy him."

Wang Gui hurriedly got up, "This humble man understands, understands!"

...

...

Wang Gui went back to his room to dress properly, limping out of the Chen Mansion through the side door. He turned a few corners and knocked on the door of a household.

The door opened, revealing a pretty woman who exclaimed with surprise, "My lord, today is not a day of rest, why have you returned in the middle of the night?"

Wang Gui trembled and said, "Help me inside first."

The woman supported him anxiously, "What happened to you, my lord? Why are you limping?"

Wang Gui’s face was ashen. He didn’t explain a word, only lowly instructed, "Pack up, we’ll prepare to return to the Imperial Capital in a few days."

The woman helped Wang Gui onto the bed and rubbed his icy cold arms and legs, trying to warm him up.

Seeing the wounds on Wang Gui’s back and buttocks, she wept with sorrow, "My lord, what happened to you? Who beat you like this? We should report this to the government office!"

Wang Gui remained silent, allowing the woman to rub his wounds for a while before finally catching his breath.

"Do not report to the government," he instructed with closed eyes, "This matter is beyond their control. Pack up the gold and silver belongings tonight, call for a cart driver from the foot service tomorrow, and find an escort agency to transport them to the Imperial Capital. Do not travel with the Chen family, transport the valuables to the Imperial Capital separately, and give them to my mother."

The woman agreed with a sigh.

Wang Gui opened his eyes and said, "What about the box I brought back during the military disaster? I want to see it."

The woman, struggling, pulled a wooden box from under the bed and opened it; it was filled with gold and silver jewelry, including Mrs. Liang’s most treasured Phoenix Crown Blue Flower Head that she wore on her wedding day.

On the day of the Liu Family’s military disaster, Chen Liqin and Zhang Zhuo were confined in the government office, while Mrs. Liang hid at a farm outside the city.

Wang Gui took this opportunity to amass a considerable amount of wealth, afterward pinning all responsibility onto the Liu Family’s armored soldiers and secretly stashing away a box of gold and silver.

At this moment, seeing that the box of precious jewelry was still there, he long exhaled in relief.

Wang Gui’s gaze lingered on the Phoenix Crown Blue Flower Head, the very piece Mrs. Liang wore on her wedding day.

After a while, Wang Gui’s expression shifted between light and dark, "Put on this headpiece."

The woman gasped with delight, yet modestly declined, "Why should I wear this phoenix crown and flower hairpin, my lord? I am not worthy to wear such fine items."

Wang Gui snapped, "Just put it on when I tell you to; no more nonsense!"

The woman, feeling wronged, sat in front of the dressing table, and, facing the brass mirror, placed the headpiece on her head.

Wang Gui squinted; in the dim room, the woman’s features became indistinct, leaving only the gleaming phoenix crown and flower hairpin shining faintly in the candlelight.

Just as the woman had finished putting on the headpiece, Wang Gui crawled out of bed and, disregarding his own pain, pressed the woman down on the dressing table and lifted the hem of her clothing from behind.

"My lord, please don’t, you’re still injured..."

"Shut up."

"My lord, it seems there is a Li Hua cat watching us from the window lattice."

"Shut up!"