kvmb Chapter 112 Letters Conveying Affection
Chapter 112 Letters Conveying Affection
Inside Jingde Hall, the First Madam sat on a daybed with a stern face, a bag of pine resin on the kang table next to her.
The old man sat upright opposite her, holding two books in his hands.
The First Madam glanced at him and said, "Have you read all the family precepts passed down from your ancestors?"
The old man answered honestly: "I only read the first four volumes on self-cultivation, family management, conduct, and learning. As for the last two volumes, I didn't read them because I felt I was too young."
The First Madam sneered, "Not old enough?"
The master quickly said, "I'll go see right away, Madam, please calm down."
As he was about to open the book, the pages automatically flipped to the middle, revealing the back of a letter.
The master assumed it was a letter from the Duke of Zhao and left it untouched, instead turning to volume five.
The first essay, "Saving Trouble," comes to mind: to save trouble, don't do things that shouldn't be done.
One way to protect your family and property is to avoid talking too much and getting involved in too many things. The more you talk, the more you fail; the more you get involved, the more trouble you encounter.
The master: "..."
He had read this article, but when he turned to the second one, "Health Preservation," he remembered that he had read this far before, so he didn't read any further.
Because the following chapter is "Returning to the Heart," which discusses Buddhist principles.
He carefully read the health preservation section, which contained many health preservation recipes, as well as folk remedies for toothache, loose teeth, and pain when eating hot or cold foods, such as tapping the teeth three hundred times in the morning for relief.
Suddenly, his gaze paused as he saw the example his ancestors had given: someone had tried to use pine resin to regulate their body, but due to a lack of restraint, they died from intestinal blockage.
The old man was startled and looked up at a packet of pine resin on the kang table, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
He bought it specifically to eat based on a colleague's recommendation.
Now I finally understand why my wife was angry and why she wanted him to bring back the family rules.
He quickly stood up to try and coax the person, but he dropped the family precepts he was holding onto the ground.
The old man hurriedly picked up the book and discovered that the letter tucked inside the family precepts had fallen out.
He picked it up casually, intending to put it in, when he suddenly noticed that the front of the letter read "To my wife, Zhao Shenshi Qingtan".
"Huh, how come Yi'er's letter to his wife is in the old master's book?" The master handed the letter to the madam and guessed, "Could it be that Yi'er left the letter somewhere and the old master picked it up?"
The First Madam took the letter and looked at it for a while, but couldn't figure it out: "Since it was written by Yi'er to Tan'er, have someone send it to Yi'er later."
“Alright.” The master glanced at the pine resin, cleared his throat, and said, “Madam, I heard that taking pine resin can keep you light and young and prolong your life. That way, I can take better care of you. I was momentarily confused and bought a packet to try.”
The First Madam's face darkened, and she was about to scold him for buying and taking medicine indiscriminately when she heard a maid outside greeting her, calling out, "Second Madam."
The old man quickly said, "My daughter-in-law is here. We can give her a lecture later."
The First Madam glared at him and loudly ordered the guards outside the door, "Mama Guan, quickly invite Tan'er in."
Upon hearing this, the lord breathed a sigh of relief.
His daughter-in-law arrived at just the right time.
As long as the First Madam is in a good mood, she will stop lecturing him for such a small mistake.
Every time the First Madam saw Shen Qingtan, she was in a very good mood.
The master sat down next to the first wife, and then saw Guan Mama leading Shen Qingtan in.
Shen Qingtan greeted the two of them: "May Father be well and Mother be blessed."
The First Madam observed that Shen Qingtan's attire suggested she had returned from outside the mansion.
She asked, "Tan'er, is something the matter?"
"I have a favor to ask of you, Mother." Shen Qingtan explained the situation of the refugees at the city gate to the First Madam, and then made her request: "The refugees at the city gate are really pitiful, so I asked the owner of the Qin Family Trading Company to distribute porridge. The origins of these refugees are rather sensitive. Uncle Qin is just a merchant, and I am worried that someone might cause trouble. So I would like to ask you to send someone to support Uncle Qin."
“Is this Mr. Qin the one we met last time? I’ve heard he’s a kind and generous man.” The First Madam understood Shen Qingtan’s concerns and said without hesitation, “Count me in for the porridge distribution. I’ll send Granny Guan with some people to help.”
Shen Qingtan only wanted to invite the First Madam to keep things in order; she didn't expect her to get involved.
"Mother, I..."
"Tan'er, I have been doing good deeds all these years, hoping that Yi'er can recover soon."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingtan did not try to persuade them further. Seeing their concern for Zhao Yi's health, she couldn't help but share the news ahead of time.
"Father, Mother, your daughter-in-law has received news of the medical sage Zhongyuan. He is currently in Suizhou, Northern Qi. We have already arranged for someone to go to Suizhou, and good news should arrive soon."
The First Madam was stunned by this unexpected surprise.
She suddenly stood up and asked uncertainly, "You mean you found Zhongyuan? The only Zhongyuan who can cure Yi'er?"
“That’s right.” Shen Qingtan said, “Qin Shu’s wife’s nephew, by chance, escorted Zhongyuan, and we got the information from him.”
"That's wonderful, wonderful!" The First Madam exclaimed, her eyes brimming with tears. "I... I need to arrange for someone to go to Suizhou to find them."
The old man's eyes also became a little moist: "Don't tell the old man and the old lady this news. Firstly, I'm afraid they will be disappointed in the future, and secondly, I'm afraid that if someone with ulterior motives finds out, it will cause trouble."
Shen Qingtan said, "Uncle Qin entrusted the caravan to find Zhongyuan, but did not specify that it was for my husband. He only said that a relative wanted to find Zhongyuan to treat an illness."
The old man breathed a sigh of relief, and his gaze toward Shen Qingtan became even more loving.
After this incident, he became certain that Shen Qingtan genuinely wanted to live a good life with Zhao Yi.
He recalled the day Zhao Yi fell ill, when Shen Qingtan waited for Zhao Yi to return to the mansion at the side gate. Zhao Yi, not wanting Shen Qingtan to worry, specially rushed back to the mansion from the palace, which showed how good the couple's relationship was.
After discussing the porridge distribution with the First Madam, Shen Qingtan prepared to take her leave, but her eyes caught sight of a letter on the kang table.
The letter was face down; she only glanced at it briefly before looking away.
The master found it and, remembering Shen Qingtan's great efforts in searching for the Medical Sage for Zhao Yi, took the letter and handed it to her: "Daughter-in-law, this is a letter from Yi'er to you. It was left in a book, but I retrieved it. Since you're here, I'll take it back to you."
He guessed that the letter was Zhao Yi's way of expressing his feelings, because he often wrote letters to his wife to convey his love.
Shen Qingtan must be pleasantly surprised to receive the letter so suddenly, right?
Zhao Yi was unaware that the letter had reached Shen Qingtan's hands. What if Shen Qingtan gave him another surprise?
The more the master thought about it, the more he felt that this letter was most suitable for Shen Qingtan.
Shen Qingtan was somewhat surprised to hear that the letter was from Zhao Yi. When she saw the words "To my wife, Zhao Shenshi Qingtan" written on the front, a strange feeling welled up in her heart.