The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1187 - 1166: Contemplation

Chapter 1187: Chapter 1166: Contemplation

Bai Shan and Manbao went to the Yue Family, naturally bringing along the medicinal boy Shao, the reason for bringing him was to ask the Yue Family for money.

Shao said, "Yesterday, the pharmacy already sent the bill to the Yue Family, but the Yue Family did not settle it at that time, Old Madam Yue did not even see the clerk we sent to settle the account."

Manbao said, "It’s alright, you just wait a moment, after I see the patient, I’ll prescribe better medicine for her."

Shao was happy to nod in agreement.

Hearing that Manbao was visiting, Nanny Fu personally came out with Chuncao, ignoring the gazes of the servants as they returned to the second courtyard, and directly took them to Fu Wenyun’s room.

Bai Shan and Shao naturally could not enter, so the two of them stood in the courtyard with their hands behind their backs, looking at the sky.

Just as Chuncao was about to invite them to rest in the main hall and to offer them some tea, she saw the door to the study open, and Yue Dalang walked out.

He was slightly startled when he met Bai Shan’s gaze, noticing his extraordinary demeanor, he hesitantly asked, "Have we guests at home?"

Chuncao bowed and said, "Reporting to master, this is Young Master Bai, he came with Miss Man."

Fearing that Yue Dalang might neglect them, she added, "The Bai Family is a scholarly family from Luojiang County, the madam and the master had interactions with the Bai Family when they were in Luojiang County, today they are accompanying Miss Man to visit the madam."

Learning that they were a scholarly family, Yue Dalang’s expression eased slightly, and after performing a respectful greeting with Bai Shan, he said, "So it turns out to be a younger generation brother, please, let’s sit in the main hall."

Bai Shan returned the greeting with a smile and called him "Brother-in-law of Second Sister Fu," clearly adopting the address form he heard from Fu Wenyun.

Chuncao sighed in relief and attended to them as they went to have tea in the main hall.

Yue Dalang kept asking as they walked, "How come Brother Bai is in the capital city?"

Bai Shan calmly replied, "I came to the capital to study."

"Oh? May I know at which academy you are studying?"

"Imperial Academy."

Yue Dalang: ...

He stopped in astonishment, his chest thumping a bit intensely and his throat feeling dry, "The Imperial Academy of the Imperial College?"

Bai Shan, puzzled, tilted his head, "What, are there other Imperial Academies in the capital?"

Yue Dalang tugged at the corner of his mouth and said, "No, there aren’t any others, just somewhat surprised, Brother Bai is so young, I didn’t expect such achievements, please take the seat of honor, Chuncao, go fetch the fine tea from the study..."

Bai Shan felt a bit embarrassed, but his mind flashed to the time he followed Manbao and others to sell sugar, and saw Second Miss Fu near the side door of the County Governmental Office.

At that time, Second Miss Fu was as old as the current Manbao, sitting on a stone under a tree with Manbao, both sharing two candies, swinging their legs and talking about the books they had recently read...

Bai Shan looked up at Yue Dalang again, feeling that County Magistrate Fu’s taste was really poor.

Manbao was also talking about this matter with Fu Wenyun.

Unable to resist, she had curiously asked Yue Dalang about it, and nearby, Qiuyue, like a bamboo tube spilling beans, told her everything.

After all, there were only the three of them in the room now. Qiuyue knew that Manbao had a good relationship with the young lady. Over the years, the friends the young lady could talk to were actually just one or two, and Manbao was definitely at the forefront.

So seeing that Fu Wenyun was lying on the pillow without objection, Qiuyue spoke without reservation.

"...when the marriage was discussed, the young lady didn’t really like him, but among the few families that came to propose, none were up to much. Considering everything, the Yue family had a decent background, and both the master and the mistress were satisfied. The young lady wasn’t happy but had no say, so she just married over."

Qiuyue lowered her voice and said, "But who would have thought that after getting married, she would discover that their family was only superficially fine, internally even worse than ours. The mistress doesn’t know how to manage, the Yue family’s foundation is only slightly stronger than the Fu family, but their assets aren’t great. For many years, they’ve relied on the small salary of the old master, and some unavoidable modest gifts, living a tight life..."

"After marrying, when the young lady needed to manage domestic offerings, the mistress became as if it cost her life, absolutely reluctant. If reluctant, then so be it, but the young lady didn’t want to manage anyway. She was content with reading and writing every day. Yet, she complained about too many servants brought by the young lady, causing high expenses. Every month she looked for excuses to pinch pennies, thinking of ways to get money from the young lady’s hands."

Manbao was speechless for a while and could not help but lower her head to look at Fu Wenyun, who was closing her eyes enjoying the needlework, and asked, "Second Sister Fu, can you endure this?"

Fu Wenyun, eyes still closed, lightly laughed and said, "Silly girl, don’t listen to her. The servants I brought should indeed be supported by me, and the money I give out eventually ends up back in the hands of my people. There’s no loss."

Qiuyue said, "How is there no loss? They still order our people around, using your labor for free. Isn’t that a loss?"

Opening her eyes and looking at Manbao, Fu Wenyun smiled and asked, "Do you think I am suffering a loss?"

Manbao thought for a moment and shook her head, "If it’s business, naturally it isn’t a loss. But Second Sister Fu, you are married, and you guys are family. To still calculate these things, doesn’t it feel like a loss of affection? My mother would never handle things like this with my father. The wealth my father earns is all in my mother’s hands, and they never have such underlying conflicts."

"This is the advantage of ordinary people’s families," Fu Wenyun remarked. "In the past, looking at you, I also thought marrying a commoner wouldn’t be bad, as long as he could read and write, and could converse with me."

"But I was in Taining, I have seen families like the Yue’s household, observed scholar-official’s sons, and even quietly observed sons of country gentry who only had a hundred mu of land," Fu Wenyun somewhat regretted, "but the customs in Jianzhou and Taizhou are different from those in Mianzhou and Yizhou. There, women have to wear veils when they go out. Knowing that I learned to read and write with my younger brother, many criticized this, and even my mother strongly opposed."

She sighed, "And I couldn’t not marry, so after weighing my options, Yue Dalang was actually a decent choice."

Fu Wenyun didn’t hide the reasons for choosing the Yue family, whispering, "At that time, there were rumors that my father-in-law would mostly be promoted, if not to the capital, then transferred to the Central Plains. The customs there are much more open compared to Jianzhou and Taizhou."

"Moreover, Yue Dalang’s education was among the best of the lot. I don’t like Jianzhou and Taizhou, and my father also needed the support of the Yue family, so that’s why I chose his family." Fu Wenyun forced a smile, "It’s just that I didn’t pay much attention to my mother-in-law at the time. She always appeared kind in public, it was my misjudgment, and not my father’s fault."

Knowing that Manbao had not liked her father since childhood, Fu Wenyun had just whispered some criticism upon her arrival, so she explained so much.

Manbao then asked, "What does Second Sister Fu plan to do next?"

Fu Wenyun softly said, "Such matters cannot be rushed. Right now, my most pressing task is to take good care of my health, and for this, I still need your help. Other things can wait for the future."

Manbao nodded, "That’s true, there’s still time in the future."

Qiuyue still felt somewhat unwilling, thinking that the young mistress was too aggrieved.

After finishing the acupuncture for Fu Wenyun, Manbao looked outside and asked, "What about Yue Dalang, isn’t he coming to see Second Sister Fu?"

Leaning on the pillow and feeling sleepy from the acupuncture, Fu Wenyun said without thinking, "He came yesterday evening, but I was too lazy to deal with him and sent him away."