Wife, Don't Be Like This!

Chapter 52 - If This Grudge is Not Avenged, How Can One Be a Man?

The luxurious palace, which looked magnificent from afar, revealed some ancient mottling up close due to its age. This Daning Palace had not been renovated for a long time.

Inside Yanying Hall, accompanied by the sound of coughing, the Ning Emperor was reviewing memorials. Although he was in his prime, his sideburns were already streaked with white, and his eyes were filled with a weary turbidity.

In the imperial court, there were many who talked big and were supremely confident;

Many who shamelessly sought personal gain and hid filth;

Many who were mediocre and accomplished nothing, only caring for themselves.

The few who were loyal to the sovereign and the state often brought very bad news.

Thinking of the Minister of Revenue, the Ning Emperor felt a stabbing pain between his brows. The peace that the four kingdoms of the Central Plains had maintained for several years was probably coming to an end. Recently, the Chu Kingdom had been sharpening its weapons and feeding its horses, ready to make a move. To the north, the Xiongnu were also eyeing them covetously.

And war is fought with money and grain.

These two problems were like two great mountains pressing down on the Ning Emperor's chest.

Ai... Putting these vexing matters aside for the time being, the Ning Emperor turned to look at the other side of his desk. There lay a special memorial, unsigned.

He opened it. There wasn't much content: Commandery Prince Consort, has a brain illness, growing more serious by the day!

A brain illness?

How is it getting more and more serious?

The Ning Emperor frowned, then picked up the next memorial below it, also unsigned: Commandery Prince Consort, suspected of knowing the immortal art, Palm Thunder!

The Ning Emperor's eyes suddenly widened. His lips twitched slightly, his fingers trembling. After a few breaths, the memorial was flung far away by the Ning Emperor.

What is this nonsense!

After a long while, the Ning Emperor silently picked the memorial back up. Looking at the content that followed, his expression gradually became solemn.

……

Another few days of leisure.

After Luo Yuheng learned of what had happened on the Song family's side, she giggled. Then she arranged for someone to send an old horse to Song Zhen, saying that since his legs were inconvenient, he could ride a horse instead. As for how to get on a horse with a broken leg, that was not something Luo Yuheng needed to consider.

The time unknowingly arrived in the seventh month. Even the daytime had a hint of coolness.

The refreshed medicines included two bottles of Rifampin, one hundred tablets. Although it was still not the full four-drug combination therapy, its effect was naturally much better than taking only isoniazid, and it could also prevent drug resistance to a certain extent.

Song Yan also learned some things about Luo Tianxuan's situation from Yushuang. She could feel herself getting better every day, but she could never fully recover. The root of the disease seemed to be embedded in Luo Tianxuan's body, unable to be removed.

Song Yan was also helpless in this situation. Consumption was, in essence, a rather difficult disease with a long treatment cycle.

The sixth day, a bright sunny day.

For Ningping, which had seen continuous rain for many days, it was a rare good day.

Peng!

Peng! Peng! Peng!

In the courtyard, the speed of Song Yan's punches grew faster and faster, heavier and heavier. The wind from his fists also grew louder.

This was Taizu Changquan (First Emperor's Long Fist). It was said to be a fist technique created by the founding emperor of the Zhao Kingdom, most suitable for military formation drills. The moves were simple, with only a few techniques like the straight punch, rushing punch, splitting punch, and hook punch. But it was fierce and domineering. Paired with a powerful physique and internal force, its destructive power was not to be underestimated.

It was the most basic move in the martial world of the Central Plains, the kind that every martial artist knew.

It was probably because he had previously learned martial arts from Zhang Long and Zhao Hu that his younger sister-in-law felt that overly complex moves were not suitable for him, her brother-in-law. After all, after learning for so many days, he had only managed to learn the three moves: Two-Finger Eye Gouge, Black Tiger Steals the Heart, and the Divine Groin Kick.

In Luo Tianyi's view, something like Long Fist was perhaps more suitable for Song Yan.

In front of Song Yan, a large tree as thick as a bowl was shaking violently. Its bark was cracked, and leaves were falling with a rustle.

Behind him, Gu Banxia sat on the steps, her hands supporting her chin, watching her Young Master-in-law with a smile.

Suddenly, another punch smashed towards the tree trunk.

Crack.

With a crisp sound, a clear fist print was actually smashed into the bowl-thick tree trunk, and fine cracks spread out like a spider's web.

Song Yan withdrew his posture and let out a long breath, his expression gradually returning to calm. Looking at the mark left on the tree trunk, if this punch had landed on Song Zhen's other leg, it would have been able to break that leg as well.

Gu Banxia brought over a basin of water. After washing his face, he felt comfortable all over.

"According to the Young Master-in-law's instructions, all thirty-two shops have been assigned people to watch them."

The thirty-two shops were nominally Song Yan's dowry. It's just that one couldn't expect these shops to bring Song Yan any profit; he would probably have to subsidize them with quite a bit of money every year.

Judging from the situation of the surveillance these past few days, the customer flow of these shops was actually not bad. No matter what, it shouldn't have reached the point of losing money. Therefore, a large part of the shops' profits must have been embezzled by someone.

And this person was definitely Yang Shi.

After all, the managers of these shops were almost all distant relatives of the Yang family.

Song Yan did not act rashly. This was not a problem that could be solved in a short time. Even knowing that these people had cooked the books was useless. For these professional managers, they had more than enough ability to make the fake accounts seamless, leaving you unable to find any fault.

Of course, he wouldn't be the sucker either. He had his own arrangements for this matter, it's just... it needed time.

After cleaning up, he went out with Gu Banxia. Two carriages were still parked at the entrance of the Luo Mansion.

Tomorrow was the seventh day of the seventh month.

For the people of this world, the Qixi Festival* was a rather important festival.

[TL/N: The Qixi Festival is an annual celebration of love and is often referred to as Chinese Valentine's Day. The festival's origin is based on a famous folk tale about two star-crossed lovers, the Cowherd (Niulang) and the Weaver Girl (Zhinü). The two were separated by a river of stars (the Milky Way) and are only allowed to reunite once a year, when a flock of magpies forms a bridge for them. The festival takes place on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. In ancient times, it was a day for young women to pray to the Weaver Girl for wisdom and skill in needlework. Today, it is primarily celebrated by couples who exchange gifts and go on dates.]

Every Qixi, a poetry gathering was often held. It had almost become a fixed custom. Those literary talents were the most ardent followers of this. If one could write a good poem or a good verse at the poetry gathering, perhaps one could hook up with... pah, capture the heart of some young miss.

Even if one wasn't chosen by a young maiden, being chosen by a certain noble lady was also not bad.

What is a romantic and talented scholar? This is a romantic and talented scholar.

Song Yan didn't have much interest in these things. After all, his mind was filled with all the famous poems and essays from two thousand years of Chinese history. In this world, it was simply a dimensionality reduction strike. If he threw out a 'Queqiao Xian,' he was afraid that the literary scholars of this Ning Kingdom would never have to write any Qixi verses ever again.

However, when he had first entered the Luo Mansion, Luo Yuheng had told him that she would take him to the Qixi gathering. It was probably also because she wanted him to see the world, so he wouldn't be ignorant and ill-informed. Although Luo Yuheng didn't say it explicitly—this mother-in-law was very considerate of his dignity—in Luo Yuheng's eyes, Song Yan had been imprisoned for ten years, and his personality had probably become twisted. His occasional brain illness was the proof.

If he could see more of this world's prosperity and make a few more friends, perhaps it would help with his brain illness.

Outside the Luo Mansion gate, carriages were already prepared. Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianquan were in the carriage behind. Seeing Song Yan appear, they waved, signaling for Song Yan to ride with them. Just then, the curtain of the carriage in front was also lifted. It was Luo Yuheng who poked her head out from inside. Seeing Song Yan, she was immediately gleeful.

"Yan'er, come over here. Accompany Mother."

Although it was somewhat against etiquette, Luo Yuheng clearly didn't care about these things.

Behind them, Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianquan exchanged a glance, and both could see the helplessness in the other's eyes.

Ever since their brother-in-law entered the Luo family, the two of them, the brothers, were no longer the favored ones. But they were happy to be free. After all, they knew their mother's personality best. When she was being clingy, she was quite a headache.

……

Just as the Luo Mansion was preparing to depart, on the other side, at the Duke Song's mansion, a carriage also slowly drove away from the back gate.

The inside of the carriage was lined with thick, soft animal skin cushions. A person was sitting on the cushions. One arm was in a sling, wrapped in white cloth, and one leg was also fixed with a splint. He looked quite pathetic.

It was Song Zhen.

In just a short period of time, the originally tall and sturdy Song Zhen had lost a full size, and his eye sockets were deeply sunken. His injuries had not healed. It hadn't even been ten days yet. The slight vibrations could make him feel sharp pains in his arm and right leg.

He should have been lying in bed recuperating properly. However, there were some things he wanted to do personally.

Having experienced the last blow, Song Zhen had perhaps matured quite a bit. His expression looked exceptionally calm. Only his fingers were constantly caressing a jade pendant.

That jade pendant was a verdant, luscious green, with a plum blossom on one side.

It was identical to the jade pendant that had been returned to Song Yan before.

A broken leg and a broken arm. If this grudge is not avenged, how can one be a man?