Chapter 84.1 - Return to the Fu (Part I) (2/2)
Before Xia Yan could say anything, she saw that the door curtain was being pushed aside. Lin Lang hurried into the room, and with a panicked expression on her face, she said, “It’s not good, Furen! Eldest Young Master has returned!”
“What did you say?” Xia Yan stood up immediately, her beautiful face suffused with a fierce malevolence. In one swift move, she grabbed Lin Lang’s shoulder and said, “Jiang Xin Zhi has returned? How can this be? Did you see wrongly?”
“Furen, this is absolutely true!” Lin Lang continued, “General Guan and Eldest Young Master led the troops in a parade around the capital’s streets; everyone has seen them and the people are talking. It is indeed Eldest Young Master, there’s no mistake.”
Xia Yan reeled and collapsed onto the soft couch, muttering, “How can this be! There’s no way this could happen unless Jiang Xin Zhi is receiving supernatural protection.”
As she was saying this, Xiao Si rushed in from outside and said, “Furen, Eldest Young Master is at the entrance of the fu, and General Guan and the troops are with him. Furen had best hurry over to welcome them before misunderstanding and gossip arise.”
“Me, welcome him?” Xia Yan could not hold back the shriek which escaped her mouth. God knows, she was dying to kill him at the moment, but she had to slap on a smiling face, pretend to be a caring mother, and welcome him! If she did not do so – and this was the cause of the mighty struggle within her now – her standing in the eyes of the people would drop, and who knows what nonsense about evil stepmothers she would have to deal with!
“Fine, I’ll welcome him,” Xia Yan gritted her teeth and said. “I’m on my way right now to welcome my good son!”
Lin Lang and Fei Cui stood to one side, not daring to say or do anything in the current atmosphere.
Xia Yan had just led her servants to the entrance, when she heard Guan Liang Han’s booming laugh as he said, “Xin Zhi, since you’ve returned to the fu, I won’t inconvenience you by staying longer and will leave now. Later, when you present yourself before the Emperor, this General[2] will definitely say many good things about you, such that His Majesty will confer you a high government position. I’m off!”
[2] Ben jiang jun ( 本将军 ) – similar to the Crown Prince in earlier chapters who referred to himself as bengong, Guan Liang Han refers to himself as benjiangjun (jiang jun = General) i.e. ‘this general’.
Xia Yan walked to the doorway, but Guan Liang Han had already mounted his horse and merely eyed her coldly. Being on the receiving end of that cold glance, Xia Yan could not stop herself from engaging in a cold war, but before she could say anything, Guan Liang Han had already raised his whip. With a ‘jia!’, he led the way in departing, and the troops hastened to keep pace with him.
The entrance to the Jiang fu was surrounded by people who were there to catch the action. Xia Yan quickly walked to stand in front of Jiang Xin Zhi. The frail youngster of the past, who had not even been as tall as she was, was now a tall military hero. When he looked at her, there was a chilling, blood-thirsty expression in his eyes. Xia Yan made a great effort to repress the unease deep in her heart. She looked him up and down, then gently smiled and said, “Xin Zhi, you have finally returned after so long. In all these years, how is it that you never once sent a letter home? Your father misses you very much. What could there be between father and son, that would necessitate your leaving home, and for five years at that? He is your father, after all.”
Her words were gently and cordially spoken, and her expression was also affectionate, but every word accused Jiang Xin Zhi of being unfilial, of having left home in a huff after an altercation with his father, of being cold-hearted and unfeeling. The Great Jin Dynasty valued filial piety above all else; even if an earth-shattering situation were to occur, one could not conduct oneself in an unfilial manner.
Jiang Xin Zhi did not even spare her a glance. Without ceremony, he walked over to a carriage which had stopped at one side, gently drew open the curtain, and smilingly said, “Ah Ruan.”
When the person in the carriage had been helped out, everyone could see that it was indeed Jiang Ruan.
Xia Yan was taken aback. She smiled and said, “Ruan niang, how is it that you’re here? Weren’t you out with Miss Wen selecting jewellery?”
Jiang Ruan smiled apologetically and said, “I should have done so, but I saw Dage leading the troops while I was on my way there and I felt such great emotion that I returned to the fu together with him.” She walked to Xia Yan, faced her and said, “I also asked Dage the same questions as Mother did just now. Father always knew that Dage did not have the makings of a scholar, and that’s why he put his heart and soul into guiding and teaching Second Brother, and he knew everything that happened in the fu. When our biological mother was still alive, Father was already teaching Second Brother to read and write from a young age, but Dage was unsuccessful in his attempts. What’s more, he wasn’t interested in martial arts. However, when our biological mother died, he became brash and impetuous, and decided he might as well leave and chase after his future. Who knew that, in the end, he would actually return as a Deputy General. Mother, please don’t rebuke him any further, some good did come out of this setback. What’s more, the lands of the front border are bitterly cold, and Dage did not want his family to worry about him, which is why he did not send us any letters. Father must have thought the same way as well, so he did not write letters to inquire into Dage’s circumstances either. It was all to discipline Dage’s temperament!”
All of Xia Yan’s words were malicious through and through, and Jiang Ruan’s reply was appropriate. After all, when the original furen was still alive, Jiang Quan had made every effort to instruct Jiang Chao, and gave his own eldest di son the cold shoulder. Even if a fu’s eldest di son was a no-good scoundrel, he would still inherit the family property. What then would compel an eldest di son to take refuge in the army barracks, and strive for his future prospects? The meaning behind Jiang Ruan’s words really caused others to ponder deeply. It could be assumed that Jiang Quan did not actually miss his own eldest di son, otherwise, in this long period of five years, why had he never made inquiries about Jiang Xin Zhi’s location, or sent him a letter from home? The crowd looked at Jiang Xin Zhi and started talking among themselves again. So what if Jiang Chao had received all of Jiang Quan’s careful, heartfelt instruction? When all was said and done, he had failed the imperial examination, and unexpectedly did not measure up to this Eldest Young Master who could only depend on his own hard work and effort, and had honestly achieved military merit.