A Good Country Wife
Chapter 536 - 530_1

Chapter 536: 530_1

"Rest assured, My Minister, I do not intend to send someone to supervise the merchant troop. However, the troop is currently too weak and must be strengthened. I plan to supplement it with talents and hands. As for the speaking rights, they will remain in your hands. Those sent will be under Zhao Erhu’s management, following his commands. Anyone who disobeys Zhao Erhu can be dealt with directly by him."

Since Huangfu Jing had decided to get involved, he naturally aimed to go big. Small-time operations weren’t worth it. As for putting the management in the hands of Zhao Erhu instead of Feng Yinan, firstly, it was Zhao Erhu who was actually implementing and handling these matters. Secondly, Feng Yinan was the Princely Heir of Marquis of Zhenbei, and it was impossible for the Emperor to trust him completely. Therefore, it felt safer to entrust the task to Zhao Erhu, a civilian without an official title, to avoid any potential trouble.

From Zhao Erhu’s previous performance, he appeared fully capable of shouldering such a responsibility. The so-called meritocracy mattered to Huangfu Jing, and he didn’t care about Zhao Erhu’s background. As long as Zhao Erhu had the talent and ability, he was willing to grant him an opportunity to soar, a chance that was truly fitting for such a wonderful woman.

Feng Yinan naturally understood the reason behind Huangfu Jing’s actions. He was the Princely Heir of Marquis of Zhenbei, the Empress Dowager’s maternal family. Even though the Marquis of Zhenbei’s household didn’t show any ambition, to prevent the excessive power of the in-laws, Emperors from generation to generation always intended to restrict them. How could the Emperor trust him with finance? Such matters, even if suggested by the Emperor, would have been declined by him. Moreover, his ultimate goal had always been to achieve great things in the Imperial Court. Wealth was only a means to that end, not the main focus. The Emperor must have thought likewise, using wealth to bolster imperial authority. Therefore, leaving things to Zhao Erhu was the most appropriate course of action.

In the end, Huangfu Jing couldn’t suppress his impatience. As soon as Feng Yinan left, he ordered a messenger to rush to Zhao Family Village with an imperial edict, summoning Zhao Erhu to the capital for an audience.

And when Feng Yinan returned from the Imperial Palace, before he could even rejoice in the Emperor’s intention to make significant use of him, he went straight into his study, wrote a letter, and had a trusted aide deliver it personally to Zhao Family Village. It mainly contained details of the matters he had disclosed in front of the Emperor that day, to prevent Zhao Erhu from being unaware and falling into a trap.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Zhao Family Village, Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue were seated at the head of the main hall, looking down at the several people kneeling on the ground. Zhao Erhu’s face was dark as pitch, while Lin Yue felt a surge of melodrama.

Looking down, the ones kneeling were Zhang Qiusheng and his daughter, Zhao Pingshun⁠—the second son of Zhao Wufu’s family who had been temporarily staying in the outer courtyard of Zhao Erhu’s house⁠—and an embroideress Fangcao. With coarse sobs, Fangcao knelt on the ground, her face smeared with humiliation and despair. Zhang Qiusheng and his daughter showed feelings of anger, helplessness, guilt, panic, and fear, respectively. Zhao Pingshun knelt there looking obedient, but his eyes were rolling about, plotting something.

"Madam, your servant, your servant has lost her innocence... how am I to live now? Please, Madam, decide for your servant, your servant, your servant, woohoo..." Fangcao wailed, wiping her tears.

"Enough! Stop crying. The deed is done, and crying is useless. Better think about how to solve this. Hold back your tears and stop with the crying and sobbing," Lin Yue said impatiently. It wasn’t that she lacked compassion, but Fangcao may not be so innocent. Without a good reason, why would an embroideress from the embroidery room run to the carpenter’s workshop? Who knows what she was thinking.

Actually, Fangcao was somewhat innocent; her only faults were bad luck and a lack of shrewdness, which led her to be deceived by Zhao Pingshun into heading to the carpentry workshop—little did she know that it was a trap.

The whole affair unfolded as follows: Zhao Erhu wanted to expedite the production of the box from Lin Yue’s blueprints, and thus he personally oversaw the work at the carpentry shop, spending almost half an hour there every day. Fangcao harbored admiration for Zhao Erhu, but as he bore no interest in her, her repeated seduction attempts failed. She decided to present him with a fait accompli—engaging in intimacy with Zhao Erhu to force him to take responsibility for her. However, achieving this was no easy task, as merely gaining entry was difficult enough, let alone getting Zhao Erhu to act. Therefore, she sought help from Zhao Pingshun, a newly recruited underling, who procured an aphrodisiac and bribed the gatekeeper, intending to carry out her plan in the carpentry workshop. Zhao Pingshun, however, did not fancy the idea of the woman he was eyeing ending up with Zhao Erhu. Thus, he tricked Fangcao, who had a fondness for him, and through a series of devious machinations and mishaps, the union between Zhang Qiusheng and Fangcao was inadvertently achieved.

Fangcao still couldn’t fathom how the situation had turned into what it was now. She had plotted so meticulously, yet not only had she failed in her objective, but she had also inadvertently harmed her own father. Overwhelmed by regret and unable to withstand the situation, she knelt there in silence, not daring to utter a word.

"Uncle Zhang, although you are not to blame for this incident, Fangcao is your own daughter. As the saying goes, ’The fault of the child is the fault of the father.’ Now that she has committed such an act, destroying Fangcao’s innocence, the burden of guilt must be shared by both of you. Have you considered how to resolve this matter?"

"Replying to Madam, it is this servant who failed to discipline his daughter properly, leading her to commit this disgraceful act. I am too ashamed even to face you, Madam. The deed has been done, and Fangcao’s innocence is ruined. There is nothing I can do to redeem it. I am already married with a wife, but I am willing to take Fangcao as my secondary wife, treating her with the same respect as my primary wife," said Zhang Qiusheng as he kowtowed to Zhao Erhu and Lin Yue, then turned his gaze toward Fangcao.

"Miss Fangcao, I apologize on my daughter’s behalf. However, since it has happened and there is no better solution, once you enter my household, I will treat you well," Zhang Qiusheng said earnestly. After all, it was his daughter who had erred, and Fangcao, merely a girl of eighteen or nineteen, was definitely getting the short end of the stick. But since Fangcao had already been with him, marrying her was the best course of action he could take.

Fangcao, who had stopped crying, began to weep again upon hearing Zhang Qiusheng’s words. She sobbed inconsolably, neither accepting nor rejecting his proposal. She simply didn’t know what to do. The man she loved was someone else, and Zhang Qiusheng was old enough to be her father, his daughter nearly her age. She couldn’t imagine marrying a man so much older, especially one who already had a wife. But what other choice did she have, now that her innocence was lost? What man would have her now? And all this, because of the man she cared for. With these thoughts, sorrow surged through her, and she cried even louder.

Lin Yue massaged her temples, irritated by the bursts of Fangcao’s sobbing, "Enough crying, what good will that do, Fangcao? Master Zhang is willing to marry you, what do you think—are you willing to marry him? No matter what you choose, I will support you."

Lin Yue also understood that women were unjustly treated in this era, and that Zhang Qiusheng taking Fangcao as his wife was the best solution at hand. However, Fangcao’s own wishes were also to be considered.

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