Mo Sang – CH 323

Chapter 323. Happy Event

The jailers in the government prison seemed very familiar with Lady Fu. They greeted her with smiles. “Lady Fu, you are here! It has been a while since we’ve seen you.”

“I went out for a bit,” Lady Fu replied with a smile.

“To see the mute?” the jailer asked with a smile, without any real doubt. As he spoke, he leaned into the house and came out with a large bunch of keys.

“How is the mute?” Lady Fu glanced back at Li Sangrou, who was following closely behind her, then turned back to the jailer.

“The same as before. Boss Wu gave her some work, entrusting her with the vegetable garden in the back. She’s quite good at growing vegetables,” The jailer said with a laugh, leading Lady Fu and Li Sangrou through the gates to the back of the prison.

Behind the prison, a large open space was planted with lush green vegetables of all kinds.

In the middle of the eggplant patch, a thin figure, trousers rolled up high, was watering the eggplants one by one with a water ladle.

“Hey! Lady Fu has come to see you!” the jailer called out, pointing to the stone table and benches under a nearby tree. “You can sit there. Want some tea? We do not have any good tea here.”

“No, no, thank you so much.” Lady Fu smiled and thanked him, handing him a string of twenty or thirty coins. “It’s hot. Take this and buy yourself a cup of cool water to cool off.”

“Thank you for the gift, Lady Fu,” the jailer said without ceremony, taking the coins, slipping them into his sleeve, bowing slightly to Lady Fu, and heading out.

The mute woman splashed water from the bucket, washed her hands, pulled down her trousers, patted herself all over, washed her hands again, and then came over to Lady Fu and Li Sangrou.

Li Sangrou carefully examined the mute woman.

The mute was very thin and dark-skinned, with delicate features. Her hair was pulled back and held in place by a thin, smooth wooden stick. She wore a clean, neatly mended, off-white coarse cloth top and trousers.

At first glance, it was impossible to tell if she was male or female; even upon closer inspection, it was still unclear.

Lady Fu opened her bamboo carrying case, took out paper and pen, and looked at Li Sangrou, explaining, “She hears everything clearly, but she cannot speak. I thought I’d teach her a few characters so she could at least speak. Who knew she was so clever? She learned everything in no time and can already recognize and write several hundred characters.”

The mute sat with her eyes lowered, as if Lady Fu was not talking about her.

Lady Fu placed the paper and pen in front of the mute, poured some water into the inkstone, and the mute reached for the ink stick, carefully grinding it.

“I’ve come to see you today because it is something important,” Lady Fu said, looking at the mute.

The mute woman remained focused, her eyes lowered, intently watching the inkstone spin.

“I told you about this case before. Although we won the first step—the testimony—it will be even harder later. I told you, the chance of overturning the verdict is only one in ten thousand,” Lady Fu said softly.

The mute woman lowered her head, ground the ink, placed the inkstone down, and let her hand fall.

“Now, the world is unified, and the Emperor is about to have his wedding. It seems a general amnesty is imminent. I asked someone to inquire for you. Your case is too tragic; many people are pleading for you. Although it is a heinous crime that should not be pardoned, the law cannot be separated from human sentiment. The higher-ups said it can be pardoned.”

The mute woman looked up at Lady Fu.

“I will plead for this pardon for you. That way, you can be released from prison and live,” Lady Fu said, meeting the mute woman’s gaze with a smile.

The mute woman lowered her eyes, picked up a pen, and wrote a few words with practiced ease. “What about the lawsuit?”

“After the pardon, the lawsuit will not need to be fought anymore,” Lady Fu said with a smile.

“If you are reluctant, can you fight the lawsuit again?” The mute woman continued writing, her head still lowered.

“Yes, but if you do not seek this pardon, I am afraid you will not survive. Your case is extremely difficult to overturn; even a sliver of hope is wishful thinking.” Lady Fu spoke slowly, word by word.

“Fight the lawsuit.” The mute woman wrote three more words and put down the pen.

“This year’s amnesty is a once-in-a-century event. If we miss it, it will never come again. Let’s focus on surviving.” Lady Fu looked at the mute woman, whose head was still bowed, as she read the words “fight the lawsuit.”

“Fight the lawsuit.” The mute woman reached for the pen and wrote it again.

“Why must we fight the lawsuit?” Li Sangrou asked, looking at the mute woman who remained with her head bowed.

The mute woman hung her head, seemingly oblivious to Li Sangrou’s words.

“Why must you go to court?” Lady Fu repeated Li Sangrou’s question.

“You want to,” the mute woman wrote, producing three characters.

“Do not do this for me. There are plenty of other cases, plenty of others. I do not necessarily need your case,” Lady Fu said, looking at the mute woman.

The mute woman kept her head down.

“Just live on first,” Lady Fu said gently.

The mute woman raised her hand, pointing to the three characters for “fight the lawsuit.”

“You fight for her,” Li Sangrou said, looking at Lady Fu.

Lady Fu looked at the mute woman, who remained with her head down, and after a moment, let out a long sigh.

………………………………

Li Sangrou returned to the Shunfeng headquarters, where Old Zuo hurriedly greeted her, his voice low and mysterious, saying that Ru-Yi had already visited twice.

Li Sangrou glanced at Old Zuo, grunted in response, and walked through the shop into the backyard.

Just as Li Sangrou sat down, Ru-Yi arrived again. Seeing Li Sangrou, he looked relieved, quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said with a smile, “Our Prince sent me to ask the Boss if she’s free at noon. If so, His Highness would like to invite the Boss to the Tang Family Restaurant for a meal of fermented vegetable soup.”

“Oh, your prince has inherited the title? Congratulations!” Li Sangrou offered her congratulations first.

“Our Prince inheriting the title is a foregone conclusion.

Back then, when the late Empress Zhang selected a few of us to serve the Prince, she instructed us that the current Shizi and the future King Rui are one and the same and that we should study diligently and not be careless.” Ru-Yi smiled in response.

“The late Empress Zhang was truly admirable,” Li Sangrou said with a smile.

“We all think so too.” Ru-Yi bowed slightly to show respect. “Before Empress Zhang, the palace never had a proper person in charge.

Emperor Taizu was a war enthusiast; I heard he spent ten months of the year on campaigns, so he hardly ever stayed in the palace. Also, Emperor Taizu only posthumously honored Empresses.

As for Emperor Renzong, as the Boss knows, his reign was very short. He was ill before ascending the throne, and the harem remained empty until Empress Zhang. Only then did the palace finally have a proper person in charge.

The palace is so orderly and disciplined now, all thanks to the rules set by the late Empress Zhang. Even the ministers’ court attire, the formal and informal robes, the rules for attending court, the rules for resting, and even the meals in the imperial city—all of these were established by the late Empress Zhang.”

Ru-Yi sighed with admiration, subconsciously lowering his voice, “The late Empress Zhang was incredibly capable. After she passed away, Worthy Consort Shen, who managed palace affairs, never dared to deviate from the late Empress Zhang’s rules!”

“Worthy Consort Shen is also a clever woman,” Li Sangrou said with a smile.

“Indeed, Boss, please do not mind my rambling; I will take my leave.” Ru-Yi smiled like a flower, took two steps back, and then turned to leave.

………………………………

Around noon, Li Sangrou, seeing that it was about time, left the Shunfeng headquarters and headed towards the Tang Family Restaurant.

Gu Xi had already arrived, greeting Li Sangrou with a smile that was noticeably happier than usual.

“Congratulations, congratulations!” Li Sangrou first offered her congratulations with a cupped-fist salute.

“Huh? You know? How did you know?” Gu Xi raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Li Sangrou looked at him speechlessly. “Ru-Yi has even started calling his master ‘Prince.’ How could I not know? Tell me how I knew!”

Gu Xi said, “Oh,” then patted his forehead, laughing incessantly. “I am getting off-topic. It is not about that. What’s there to congratulate about being a prince? From the moment I was born, the throne of the King Rui’s Mansion has been mine.”

Li Sangrou’s lips twitched downwards.

“Let’s eat first!” Gu Xi waved cheerfully. “You do not like ice, so I chose this place. This lake is big enough, and there’s a breeze today. I had them put some ice floes over there; the wind brings a coolness, but it is not too icy.

The fermented vegetable soup here is excellent; it is incredibly refreshing after being chilled.

They use this lake to grow lotus roots and raise fish. I will have them make some sashimi, some sour fish soup, steamed lotus leaf chicken, and a few refreshing vegetarian dishes!”

“What’s making you so happy?” Li Sangrou looked at Gu Xi, who was clearly overly excited.

“Let’s eat first! Food is the most important thing for people, and so is sex. Let’s eat first!” Gu Xi waved his hand, gesturing for Li Sangrou to sit down.

Li Sangrou sat down, looking Gu Xi, who was radiating joy, up and down.

“I heard that Madam Meng from Yangzhou bought cotton and is spinning and weaving in Jianle City,” Gu Xi said, changing the subject.

“Yes, she found a weaving workshop a few months ago. Seven or eight masters came from Yangzhou, bringing spinning wheels and looms. In Jianle City, they made dozens of spinning wheels and looms based on the designs and started teaching people how to spin and weave. They’ve almost mastered it,” Li Sangrou answered, pouring herself a cup of tea and sipping it.

“Is that weaving workshop your property?” Gu Xi asked, looking at Li Sangrou.

“No, the people who run that weaving workshop are the orphans and widows who came with me from Jiangdu and Jiangning cities.

When they were being chased in Beidong County, they escaped, but everyone on the boat died. The children and wives of these people who wanted to come to Jianle City, I had Boss He bring them all over on one boat.

Once they arrived in Jianle City, to ensure they had food to eat, I contracted out the work of making mailbags and rider uniforms to them.

Besides them, there’s also someone named Zhang Mao, whom I told you about. Also, Manager Zhao’s wife is there, managing the accounts,” Li Sangrou explained in detail.

“It’s not your property,” Gu Xi frowned. “I was careless.”

“What happened? Did you sell the weaving workshop?” Li Sangrou raised an eyebrow and asked.

“No, I did not sell it,” Gu Xi sighed. “This morning, Prime Minister Dai came to me, saying that if every farming family knew how to spin cotton and weave cloth, they could grow cotton, spin thread, and weave cloth without spending any money, and the more diligent ones could even exchange the cloth for money. He asked if I could ask you to teach these skills to the farmers. I thought it was your business, so…”

Gu Xi spread his hands, giving a dry laugh.

“You would agree to my teaching them my business?” Li Sangrou raised an eyebrow at Gu Xi.

“No, it is not because it is your business that I dared to agree; it is because I know you. You would definitely be willing to teach farmers how to fish. Even if Prime Minister Dai had not said anything, you would probably have found a way to teach them how to spin and weave.

I told Prime Minister Dai that you are a person of great principles, but I cannot let you suffer all the losses. I will have him find a way to come up with some money to help you.”

Li Sangrou snorted.

“Now,” Gu Xi spread his hands, giving a dry laugh. “Prime Minister Dai is too anxious about spinning and weaving. This year, only a little cotton was planted in the capital region, and it has all been harvested. The farmers do not even have any cotton left. How can they teach them?”

“These past few days, Master Wang has been busy watching people peel cotton seeds, checking them, seeing how many seeds they can harvest, and how much land they can plant. If cotton is still priced like this year next year—twenty coins a jin—do you think those farmers will be willing to keep their cotton for spinning and weaving?

We should wait until cotton is everywhere and worthless before teaching them. Only then will people learn.

What’s the rush? ” Li Sangrou rolled her eyes at Gu Xi.

“It’s not me who’s anxious; it is Prime Minister Dai. I think he’s too excited!” Gu Xi, somewhat embarrassed by Li Sangrou’s words, casually mocked Prime Minister Dai, “I always thought Privy Councilor Pang lacked composure, but given his military background, a slight deficiency in self-control was somewhat understandable. I never imagined Prime Minister Dai’s self-control would be even worse than Pang’s!

Look, this happened several years later, and he’s already in a panic!

And what’s more! He insists on coming to see you, saying he wants to thank you properly. Guess what it is?”

Li Sangrou did not guess, only glancing sideways at Gu Xi.

Gu Xi had no choice but to continue: “This year, the south had a bumper harvest, and boatloads of rice are pouring into Jianle City.

Prime Minister Dai said he was watching the daily reports on the number of rice boats at each dock, anxiously trying to find a way to save money to buy more rice to prevent farmers from suffering losses due to low prices. But then, he discovered that every rice shop in Jianle City was buying rice by the boatload, as if it were free. So he sent people to keep an eye on things at each shop.

After a few days, they said the number of farmers buying rice had suddenly increased. When they asked, they said it was because they had made a fortune selling cotton, and hearing that rice was delicious and nutritious, everyone was buying it—some bought a few jin, others dozens or even hundreds of jin.

Prime Minister Dai said he had to thank you for this. On one hand, the old rice shops were gone; now the grain boats were sold directly to rice shops, which was very convenient, and they even collected more taxes. On the other hand, the cotton business had also caused you losses.”

“I took over the rice shops to make money, but I failed and even lost a lot. The cotton business had nothing to do with me. You will have to explain this for me next time,” Li Sangrou said, spreading her hands.

Hearing Li Sangrou ask him to explain for her, Gu Xi immediately laughed, nodding as he smiled. “Do not worry!”

In a few words, Ru-Yi had already directed the servants to set out a table full of food.

There was fermented noodle soup, noodles in a generous broth, sour fish soup, lotus leaf chicken, translucent fish sashimi, stir-fried tender lotus root, and candied lotus seeds. The dishes were few but looked refreshing and appetizing.

After Li Sangrou and Gu Xi finished their meal, they moved to the water counter. Li Sangrou held the bowl of candied lotus seeds, eating slowly, and glanced at Gu Xi. “What good news?”

“I was busy with something big this morning!” Gu Xi lifted the front of his long robe, shook it, and put it down, looking almost smug like Hei Ma.

Li Sangrou could not help but glance at him.

“I asked your Master Qiao, along with two imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau, to examine my Elder Brother…” Gu Xi waved his hand, mumbling, “…to investigate.”

Li Sangrou sat up straight. “Investigate for the wedding? How did it go?”

“Yes.” Gu Xi looked at Li Sangrou, then chuckled after a moment. “Very good!”

“Very good? I remember you said…”

“I did say that. I always thought my Elder Brother was lame in all three legs. He told me that, and I personally witnessed the imperial physicians treating him.

My Elder Brother said that it was my aunt who instructed him, and that his Taoist master was also secretly found for him by my aunt. It was that old Taoist priest who prescribed the medicine for him.”

Gu Xi paused and, after a long while, continued, “I always thought that those years were as difficult as my Elder Brother’s, but now I realize that his hardships were immeasurably greater than mine.

The late Emperor tried every possible way to test my Elder Brother—women and men, all sorts of things—constantly testing him. My Elder Brother endured it all.

The late Emperor tested him for two or three years before he felt reassured. After that, my Elder Brother could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but he still dared not be careless. Until he was made crown prince, that old Taoist priest would keep watch over him at night.”

Li Sangrou slowly exhaled, “Lady Zhou no longer needs to keep watch in her empty room.”

Gu Xi was stunned for a moment, then raised his eyebrows and glared at Li Sangrou.

Li Sangrou smiled and waved her hand. “Where is that old Taoist priest? Is he still in the palace?”

“My Elder Brother said he left the day before his ascension to the throne. He said that after enduring so many years, he could not take it anymore and wanted to go back to the mountains, to rest and recuperate in the quiet of nature.” Gu Xi sighed deeply.

“He’s truly a hidden talent. I used to see him often when he was with my brother, and I always thought he was just a charlatan. I never expected him to be so capable.”

“Your brother has had a tough time,” Li Sangrou remarked.

“Yes, thankfully, we made it through.” Gu Xi took the bowl of lotus seeds from Li Sangrou, picked up a candied lotus seed, and popped it into his mouth.