Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 492 - 260 Humble Gentleman_1

Chapter 492: Chapter 260 Humble Gentleman_1

Brother Jie was a good child, who obediently stood there waiting for Auntie Cheng to enter the room and fetch the letter.

Seeing her young aunt like this, Qian Yixiu blushed slightly and quickly took her younger siblings to the swing set a little farther away, playing a game of cat and mouse around the swing. She rejoiced at having found a new audience for the storytellers, happy to stay out of the way. As for whether the contents of the letter were suitable for little ears, that was not her concern.

Qian Yixiu admired Brother Jie standing there, his beautiful little face showing not a hint of impatience. Grandpa Pan was truly clever, bringing such a lovely little angel of peace to win everyone’s affection.

Qian Yixiu had always been puzzled about something, it was said that children from aristocratic families were aloof, with no dust in their eyes, and had extremely serious notions of hierarchy. Look at Grandpa Pan, he was an outstanding figure from an aristocratic family, who was once narcissistic and arrogant, strutting around like a proud peacock. After he was shocked by the incident with his young mother, he became somewhat more gentle.

Not only was Brother Jie a child of an Aristocratic family, but he also had another identity. He was an imperial relative, the legitimate great-grandson of the current Empress Dowager. It was often said that children from Imperial relatives’ families were wild and unruly. Look at Uncle Ye from the past, how domineering and tyrannical he was.

Yet, Brother Jie was well-behaved, sensible, and lacked much sense of hierarchy, courteous to everyone, his temperament somewhat akin to that of the Little Monk.

From Brother Jie’s conversations, Qian Yixiu learned that he had not grown up in Pan Mansion, but rather in the neighboring Rongen Earl Mansion, usually taught personally by his father Pan Yang and his mother Lady Zhang. Grandfather, Prince Consort Pan, was away from the mansion most of the time, and it was only Pan Yang, Lady Zhang, Brother Jie, and Yi Gege who were the masters of the Rongen Earl Mansion. They merely visited the adjacent Pan Mansion daily to greet Old Madam and have dinner.

Qian Yixiu’s impression of Uncle Panyang improved. To be able to raise such children, he must be a true gentleman. In the land of the Great Qian Kingdom, there would not be a shortage of true gentlemen, but for the only son of the most honorable Elder Princess to be among them, that was truly remarkable.

Until now, her young aunt occasionally still calls out for "Brother" in her dreams, surely the relationship between the siblings must have been exceptionally good before.

Perhaps Uncle Panyang’s character resembled that of his mother, Elder Princess Zi Yang. Elder Princess Zi Yang was known to be gentle and virtuous, an anomaly among Princesses. It was such a pity that Grandpa Pan, in his youth, did not treasure such a good person who died so young. What use is Grandpa Pan’s reminiscing now, or his touching love poems? The person is gone, the peach blossoms still...

Soon, Auntie Cheng’s voice, tender and emotionally rich, began to rise, "My wife Yueyue, reading your letter is like meeting you..." she rattled on, "Thinking of you, missing you, the bone-deep longing is unbearable, oh so unbearable... it haunts my mind. One morning upon waking, I was startled, ’How could Yueyue not be in the sky?’ Upon further reflection, I realized you had long since seeped into my marrow..." Auntie Cheng’s tears were moved to come again, she wiped her tears and said, "Brother Jie, this is how Brother Jiang thinks of Auntie Cheng, this is how he thinks of me."

Brother Jie had a puzzled expression on his face and said in wonder, "Auntie Cheng, there is no moon in the sky in the morning, only the rising sun."

Auntie Cheng was taken aback and pouted, "Brother Jiang was making a metaphor. He was so lost in thoughts of Auntie Cheng that he imagined there was a moon even in the morning sky." She continued to read, "The moon rises bright, and fair ones compose the ranks, gracefully they unwind and entwine, soothing the restless heart..."

After reciting a few lines, she began to tear up again and asked, "Brother Jie, isn’t Brother Jiang’s letter beautifully written?"

Brother Jie nodded politely, held back for a moment, but still said, "Auntie Cheng, these few lines are poetry from the Classic of Poetry."

Auntie Cheng dabbed away her tears and said, "Auntie Cheng knows these are from the Classic of Poetry, but Brother Jiang’s use of them is so fitting, he has always been so talented."

Then she resumed reading.

The good child, Brother Jie, kept nodding from time to time, and even if there were doubts in his eyes, he continued to nod politely. Seeing that he only nodded without praise, Auntie Cheng directly asked if it was good, and Brother Jie had to insincerely praise Brother Jiang’s literary skill and talent. Having praised, he blushed for having told a lie.

Qian Yixiu’s heart nearly burst with joy. Her naive mother was adorable, but the earnest Brother Jie was even more charming.

On the other side, Prince Consort Pan continued to sigh and shake his head, his eyebrows knotted. What kind of nonsensical things had he been writing to move his daughter so much...? Thankfully, she had lost her memory, otherwise, how could she be so perfectly in tune with this boy?

Upon further reflection, losing a horse might be a blessing in disguise. His daughter, naive and oblivious, seemed so happy. Cherished by her in-laws and husband, and blessed with several good children, it could also be a kind of fortune.

Indeed, a blessing.

Prince Consort Pan’s furrowed eyebrows relaxed as he listened to his son-in-law’s letter to his daughter with a different mindset, finding another kind of joy in it. However, once the war was over, he had to make his son-in-law read more books.

A few days later, Qian Manxia returned to her parental home. She brought with her some news, saying that a few days ago, Manhe had gone to look for Lady Tang, and the mother and son had a huge argument that could be heard outside. Subsequently, Er Gui went to Lady Tang’s home and gave her a good thrashing. It was the first time Er Gui had laid such a heavy hand on her, leaving her with a bruised nose and a swollen face, crying pitifully.

Initially, Lady Wu said, "Lady Tang deserved a beating; she’s too wicked. But a man’s heart changes fast. When Tang was still the wife of the second uncle, no matter how overboard she went, he couldn’t bring himself to beat her like that. Now, with another woman in his heart, he spares her no mercy when he hits her."

Manxia replied, "Oh, mother, you still speak for her. If you ask me, the second uncle didn’t hit her hard enough; he should have broken her other leg too. Do you know why he hit her? She’s hoping that Li Shuanzi will die on the battlefield soon, so Mother Duo can become Mr. Pan’s concubine. Just listen to that; it’s shameful. That Lady Tang has now gotten in with the two most disliked gossipers in our village, both of them quick-tongued and unpleasant. They eat her food and still put her up to no good, telling her bad ideas, and she listens to whatever they say, a complete idiot..."

Upon hearing this, Lady Wu got angry again, spat a few times, and cursed Lady Tang. Qian Sangui also shook his head; it was fortunate that they divorced the foolish woman, or who knows what stupid things she would have done. What a disgrace.

As the days flew by, entering the winter months, the House of Animals had still not returned, and the Qian family grew more worried. Qian Yixiu and Yijin would take people to wait at the fork in the road behind the village whenever they were free. The Qian family’s servants and workers would also go into the mountains to search. At the same time, Sangui offered twenty more taels of silver to hire hunters from nearby villages to help search in the mountains.

When the Little Monk heard about it, he had the monks from the temple come and ask around every day, and sometimes he would come himself to check.

Today, the Little Monk came to Guiyuan again as he was going to travel to the North with his master in a couple of days. He came partly to bid farewell and partly to see if the House of Animals had come back.

The sky today was overcast, with light snowflakes drifting down, and the cold wind cut to the bone. Inside the hall on the first floor of Wangjiang Building, a brazier of charcoal kept the room warm in the middle, and with many people around, it felt both cozy and warm.

Cheng Yue dressed the Little Monk in the cotton coat she had made and placed a monk’s hat on his head. The Little Monk felt the weather did not require a hat and tried to take it off, only for Cheng Yue to hold it down.

She said softly, "You mustn’t remove it. The day before yesterday, Jingjing caught a cold. She had a fever and coughed, and seeing her in such discomfort, your auntie nearly cried."

The Little Monk quickly put his hands down and consoled her, "Auntie, don’t worry, the poor monk won’t take it off."

Brother Jie was dying with envy when he saw Auntie Cheng made winter clothes for her four children, and now for Hongji, who wasn’t even her child, yet she hadn’t made any for him.

PS: Thank you for the rewards and monthly tickets, I appreciate it~~ Qing Quan added another update, hehe. Qing Quan may not be the most diligent author, but still, she tries quite hard~~