The Wife is First

Ch23 - Temple Fair

“There is so much to do in the palace, moreover Imperial Father is punishing you, wouldn’t it cause people to denounce you?” Mu Hanzhang sighed, slightly pushing away the person at his bosom, once more picking up the account book to look at.  

Jing Shao let the strength of his push guide him along, falling on the soft divan: “Imperial Father is making me copy ‘The Art of War’ ten times, even at the fastest, it’ll still take a month to finish copying. We can’t just be shut indoors at home for the whole time, right?”

Mu Hanzhang glanced at him, then pretended as if he hadn’t heard and put the account book he had examined to the side, switching over to the book with all the names of the people in the residence to look at: “There’s a matter I would like to ask your opinion on.” 

Although the matter of Concubine Li drugging the soup had been resolved, but as for where the drug had come from, only today did he have a general idea. Each of the servants who had taken part in this had had their names one by one circled in the book, it was just that there was one person who was rather unusual.

“Concubine Yan?” Jing Shao hearing this name, couldn’t help but frown, “First keep this matter quiet, wait three days once Elder Imperial Brother has left for the expedition and then deal with it.” Concubine Liu Yan was sent by the Eldest Prince. Although he clearly knew she was a problem, since the Eldest Prince was going off on the expedition very soon, they could wait for the best moment to quickly deal with the concubine he had sent, since any action would inevitably cause gossip to arise.

“I have an idea,” Mu Hanzhang smoothed his lips, glanced at Jing Shao, and said with some hesitation, “Wang Ye truly hasn’t ever touched her?”

Jing Shao sat up, awkwardly rubbing his nose: “Why would I deceive you about this kind of thing?” 

“Chen’s meaning is, the Fourth Prince’s house confinement will end next month, Wang Ye as an elder brother must naturally send a congratulatory gift.” Mu Hanzhang lowered his eyes, slowly speaking.

Jing Shao’s eyes brightened: “Your meaning is, to send her to Jing Yu?” For concubines below the Third Rank, they could be sent as gifts to people, as the Eldest Prince had sent a person who would cause disaster to his side, he absolutely could send this disaster to another person, although during these years the Eldest Prince and the Fourth Prince were quite close, but their faces and hearts were not in agreement. Being able to have such a readily available source of information, he didn’t believe that the Eldest Prince would not use it.  

By moving this source of calamity, the usefulness was truly beautiful!

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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“Qjcu Tf…” Ze Ljchtjcu qertfv tlw jkjs, tlr fjgr oiertlcu j rtjvf bo qlcx. Lf kjr pera vlrmerrlcu rbwf qgbqfg yerlcfrr, kts mbeiv atlr qfgrbc cfnfg gfwjlc lc j qgbqfg rajaf?

The results of the two’s discussion was to punish all the servants who participated in the obtaining of the drug. First they wouldn’t touch Concubine Yan, they’d wait until the middle of the third month when the Fourth Prince was released and then send that gift over to him. 

In the afternoon, Jing Shao hugged his Wang Fei and satisfactorily rested with an afternoon nap. Then he followed him to the small study again, one dealt with the responsibilities of the inner court and the other copied the military book.

“The Art of War” dated all the way back to when the country was just founded. These four scholars □□ had compiled military strategies and tactics, picking and gathering the best of strategies over thousands of years and putting them all in one, they truly were good books. It’s just that Jing Shao looked at the complete set of books, which was half a chi tall and his face was bitter. Copying this ten times, he feared that even with a month’s time he wouldn’t be able to finish. 

Mu Hanzhang glanced at the fellow sprawled on the table not moving, who had only copied three pages, and pushed the tea that Miao Xi had just steeped towards him: “The matters in the residence have been pretty much all been taken care of these few days. On the third day of the fourth month there is a temple fair, when the time comes, let’s go and have a stroll there. On the way I’ll accompany you to stay at the alternate residence for a couple of days.” After the first day of the fourth month, when the monthly allowance of silver was distributed, and the second day, when he would be picking new servant girls and boys to enter the palace, there basically would not be any other major duties. 

Jing Shao hearing this, immediately became happy, drank a mouthful of tea and began to copy, but soon after he was unable to sit still anymore: “I’m going to train with my swords and then copy more after.” Saying this, he threw down the brush and went out. 

Mu Hanzhang lightly laughed and shook his head, nobody understood a son better than his father, the Emperor punishing Jing Shao to copy books, was him knowing that he didn’t like to write characters and wouldn’t be able to sit still. Taking the book he had been in the middle of copying, he gazed at the page full of bold and powerfully written words for a short period of time, taking up the brush he continued writing the line that he was in the middle of.

When Jing Shao came back, he discovered that the book he had originally only copied five pages had turned into thirty or so pages, and moreover those extra words, the calligraphy, the power was unexpectedly looked exactly like his own! 

“Jun Qing, this is what you wrote?” Jing Shao grabbed the book and found his Wang Fei who was sitting at the dining table ladling out soup. 

Mu Hanzhang slightly nodded: “When I was young, I did my elder brother and two cousins’ assignments, and mastered how to imitate other people’s calligraphy style.”

“So, you can copy anyone’s handwriting?” Jing Shao excitedly gripped his hand, knowing that he could imitate handwriting, then he could forge letters, the usefulness of this on the battlefield was too great!

“As long as it’s not too strange, then I can.” Handing over a bowl of soup, Mu Hanzhang couldn’t understand why he regarded this kind of thing as something so important. 

“Jun Qing… you really are a rare treasure!” Jing Shao was silent for a moment, then slowly said.　　　

“Aren’t these just some unremarkable abilities,” Mu Hanzhang smiled, he knew how to copy handwriting and calculate accounts. In any case, scholars all thought it below them to do that kind of work. “The things I’ve learned are too miscellaneous, my teacher wouldn’t let me take the metropolitan imperial examination, the year after the provincial level exam…” Speaking up to here, the vigor in his eyes couldn’t help but dim. When he was seventeen, he had already passed the provincial level of the imperial exam, his teacher felt that he was not yet mature enough and made him wait another three years, yet unexpectedly the three years had turned into forever. 

Seeing that he was feeling sad, Jing Shao also did not know how to comfort him and could only change the subject: “Tomorrow, don’t have them prepare breakfast. I’ll take you to Hui Wei Restaurant to eat, Xiao Yuan and his wife are both very interesting.”

The next day, once Jing Shao got to Hui Wei Restaurant, he immediately regretted it, because once his Wang Fei and Zhou Jin met, it was like they had known each other all along, chatting about how to do business, and the Boss Zhou who was wearing a body of emerald green also cordially invited Mu Hanzhang to participate in the monthly Male Wives’ Gathering. He and the similarly snubbed Xiao Yuan could only wordlessly eat wontons together.  

In the blink of an eye, the third of the fourth month came, the temple fair in the south of the city was unusually bustling with noise and excitement. There were people who set out stalls, sold art and various other skilled crafts, fortune tellers, monkey trainers, a numerous number of people were gathered together, all bustling around. 

Jing Shao pulled his Wang Fei back and forth with him in the crowd. The weather in the fourth month was already beginning to get hot, and the two people wore matching sapphire blue-colored, light silk clothing. Jing Shao had fastened a pair of precious stone inlaid silver wrist guards on his wrists, and Mu Hanzhang had a wide sleeved gauze shawl on top. The equally handsome two people were rather eye-catching to the crowd.　　 

On the side of the road, it was full of people selling snacks, little fun items, and Jing Shao bought some croquettes. These croquettes used flour, tofu, bean sprouts rolled up into balls, and were then fried in a pot of oil until golden yellow, spread with a layer of soy paste, looking extremely enticing. Poked onto a bamboo skewer, one was sent to the side of his Wang’s Fei mouth. Mu Hanzhang frowned, eating things on the road was unbecoming of noblemen, very lacking in manners, but he also didn’t want to brush away his good intentions. He glanced left and right, then rapidly opened his mouth to bite the croquette off, the fragrant and crispy ball accompanied with the bright and savory sauce, unexpectedly was an extraordinarily delicious food. The corner of Mu Hanzhang’s mouth couldn’t help but turn up.

This series of expressions naturally landed in Jing Shao’s eyes, he was just thinking of teasing him with a couple sentences, when suddenly from  the corner of his eyes a familiar looking figure flashed by. Suddenly raising his head, he only saw a figure wearing pink-colored female clothing hiding further in the crowd, the side of the face that had flashed by caused him to be very shocked, he couldn’t help but throw the croquettes in his hands away, turning around and chasing.  

“Xiao Shao…” Mu Hanzhang looked as he loosened his own hand, leaving and as Jing Shao left, chasing after a pink-clothed girl and soon getting submerged in the crowd of people, not a trace of him left.

“Oh, Wang Fei can unexpectedly go out, why did you not even bring imperial guards?” A voice he was familiar with sounded from his back, Mu Hanzhang frowned. This frivolous and annoying voice, just hearing it, he knew it was his cousin Mu Yangwen. 

“Younger brother has also come to visit the temple fair, why is it just you?” Turning his head to look, as expected it, was his elder brother Mu Lingbao, and his two cousins, Mu Yangwen and Mu Huafeng.

Jing Shao hadn’t chased far, but there was already no trace of that person left. 

“Wang Ye, who were you looking for?” The Imperial guards hidden in the crowd moved closer and asked.

“You two go look for a person all in pink clothing, a woman with a cinnabar mole between her eyebrows, should be called ‘Ruo Yi’.” Pointing at two imperial guards to go search, Jing Shao only just remembered that he had abandoned Jun Qing and quickly ran back. There were so many people at the temple fair, Jun Qing was also that good-looking, it would be terrible if he ran into a lecher or a licentious woman. 

Sure enough by the time he had run back to their original place, he saw three men circled around Mu Hanzhang, with their backs to him, he couldn’t see what they were doing, but seeing his Wang Fei’s expression, tightly pursing his lips, it was clear he was angry. Jing Shao was immediately filled with fury, walking there grabbing the man who was currently speaking by the collar, he gave him a punch right on his eye socket, giving each of the two men at the side a kick, causing them to topple onto the ground

Mu Hanzhang’s eyes widened, with his mouth half open, as he was gathered into Jing Shao’s arms: “Jun Qing, are you okay?” 

“Xiao Shao, they…” Mu Hanzhang looked at the three people fallen on the ground, the corner of his mouth slightly twitching.

“What are you guys doing? Seeing the Wang Fei being harassed by people yet not coming out?” Jing Shao scolded the two imperial guards behind him, lowering his head to look at the “three lechers” who had fallen onto the ground  The two covering their abdomens seemed somewhat familiar, the one who had a black eye crawling up, really seemed like his wife’s elder brother–Mu Lingbao?