Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 401 - 225 Birthday_2

Chapter 401: Chapter 225 Birthday_2

Lady Wu advised, "Your third uncle and I both know you’re a good child, so stop being sad. You need to take good care of yourself now and strive to give birth to a big, healthy baby boy..."

At that moment, Lady Wang came in. Hearing what Lady Wu had said, she too began to cry, "Younger sister, this is all my fault, and Auntie Die is blameless. It was a foolish mistake I made on impulse, and it will never happen again."

Lady Wu ignored Lady Wang, patted Qian Mandie’s shoulder, and then rose to leave.

The Wan family’s feast was extremely lavish; everyone ate their fill and took home a return gift.

Both the Qian and Yu families were happy, for today they had finally seen Qian Sangui and had the chance to chat and drink with him. Although Qian Sangui was much more distant than before, it was nonetheless an improvement.

The fifteenth day was the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Today was also an important day, since it was the seventieth birthday of the Empress Dowager, to be celebrated by all under heaven. Except for the Yamen required to be on duty, all Yamen and schools were closed, while lantern festivals were being held in county, prefectural, and provincial cities.

Qian Yeejin and Qian Yixiu also had the day off. Mr. Yu was off to the county city to join a poetry gathering and had left early in the morning.

This era too had many poems describing the Mid-Autumn Festival, especially as the current Emperor’s policies were enlightened and the country was at peace, resulting in the emergence of a great many poets who had written countless poems. There were even more poems celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival. During the Qing Ming, Mid-Autumn, Chongyang, and Lantern festivals, many major restaurants would hold poetry contests, attracting scholars and young talents to compete in poetry.

Qian Yeejin also wanted to accompany his teacher to the poetry gathering to experience it, but Mr. Yu said he had other matters to attend to and didn’t take him along.

Throughout the day, the siblings stayed in Wangjiang Building, chatting with Cheng Yue. Qian Yeejin even recited several contemporary poems about the Mid-Autumn Festival, composing one himself to add to the merriment.

In the evening, Qian Sangui and Lady Wu also arrived, and the family planned to enjoy a reunion dinner together. In the afternoon, Qian Yishan came to invite Qian Sangui’s family for a reunion dinner on behalf of their grandfather, but Qian Sangui declined.

Before dinner, Old man Cai came to report that Qian Hua had returned from the Capital City.

Since many family matters weren’t kept secret from Qian Hua and Qian Xiaoyu also knew about Manjiang’s situation, they sent Xiaoyu to the house to call him over to Wangjiang Building for the meal. He and Old man Cai could join Grandfather Sangui for a drink, and the family could hear some news and sightings.

Qian Yixiu had a premonition that something significant might happen in the Imperial Court in August. If it were before, the distant Imperial Court would have been none of her concern. But now things were different; now she had the little Master. She didn’t know whether the little Master, small fry as he was, would become cannon fodder for those princes, imperial grandsons, and distinguished ministers.

She highly approved of Grandfather Sangui’s suggestion and was also keen to know about the developments in the Capital City.

When Qian Hua arrived, his hair was still wet, and he was holding several account books. Qian Sangui waved his hand, "Let’s talk about business matters later. Tell us if there’s any big news from the Capital City," signaling him to sit down and speak while they ate.

Qian Hua expressed his gratitude, sat down at the table with Qian Sangui and Old man Cai, and recounted what he had seen and heard in the Capital City and on the road. He had hurried home at the end of July when the Capital City was already bustling, and ships and vehicles headed there were crammed to the brim. Not only officials of the third rank and above and their families were rushing to the Capital City, but many foreign envoys also gathered there, all coming to celebrate the Empress Dowager’s birthday.

And today, on the very day of the Empress Dowager’s birthday, he saw that the county city was spotless, with red silk everywhere and colorful lanterns hanging. All the major city gates had posted notices, announcing that Emperor Qianwen, ruling with filial piety, had decreed a general amnesty in celebration of the Empress Dowager’s birthday. All prisoners except officials convicted of bribery were pardoned: those sentenced to death were reduced to exile, and all crimes less severe were forgiven.

Old man Cai chimed in, "In the afternoon, I heard from Huang Tie, who had come back from the county, that except for two on death row, the County Government Office had released all the imprisoned criminals early in the morning."

Qian Hua continued, "What’s spoken about most in the Capital City is Prince Ning; he’s also within the scope of the amnesty."

Upon hearing about Prince Ning, Qian Yixiu instantly perked up.

Old man Cai asked, "Wasn’t it said that Prince Ning was exiled for being suspected of killing the Crown Prince? Can even such a grave crime be pardoned?"

Qian Sangui replied, "I’ve heard Mr. Yu mention that Prince Ning was framed, and there was no evidence to prove he killed the Crown Prince. Those were just rumors among the public."

Qian Hua added, "Yes, it’s widely believed that His Majesty the Emperor regrets the rash punishment of Prince Ning and intends to pardon him with this amnesty." He then lowered his voice and continued, "Rumors are spreading that now with the Third Prince’s party becoming dominant in the Imperial Court, Prince Ning’s return to freedom will disrupt this balance. Despite being confined for ten years, Prince Ning’s prestige in the military is not to be underestimated..."