Chapter 236

Chapter 236: People Really Shouldn’t Be Too Idle

There was no need to belabor the point; Duke Xiang had already understood what Tang Mo meant: to win the beauty’s heart, one had to become someone who surpassed Tang Rong. Using that to spur Zhu You would surely work.

Tang Mo said: “It is merely an expedient, offered for the Duke’s consideration.”

Finding Tang Mo rather interesting, Duke Xiang said: “That the Second Young Master would go to such lengths for Zhu You is unexpected.”

Tang Mo replied: “As long as the Third Young Master remains safe and sound, that is enough.”

He did not conceal anything, adding with a bow: “To speak frankly, it is rare for me to have the chance to act on behalf of the marquisate, so I must devote myself thoroughly and see it through to the end.”

Duke Xiang laughed. As colleagues at court, he certainly knew what sort of temper Tang Gang had: relying on his father’s glory, he looked down on others and was hardly a man of perfect courtesy. He had also inquired and learned that Divine Physician Hua was invited through the Xin family’s connections. It seemed this Second Young Master of the marquisate wished to establish himself; it would be no bad thing to find a time to do him a favor and let Tang Gang stew.

He said: “I still haven’t thanked you for helping to invite Divine Physician Hua. When Zhu You is well, let him personally host a banquet to thank you.”

Tang Mo cupped his hands: “I await that day.”

He then said: “I still have duties to attend to, so I will take my leave.”

Duke Xiang said: “See the Second Young Master out.”

Watching Tang Mo depart, Duke Xiang turned and went to the Old Duke’s courtyard. Early the next morning, Tang Mo received the news that Zhu You had been sent to an estate a hundred li away belonging to Duke’s Manor to do manual labor, and he was not allowed to bring a single servant. His luggage, apart from a trunk of books and writing brushes and ink, contained only some clothes and socks.

Someone reported: “He is to go to the fields to farm every day, eat the tenant farmers’ fare, wash his own clothes, and still study, with someone assigned to keep an eye on him.”

Tang Mo remarked: “That is ruthless. But handled this way, Zhu You will be exhausted half to death each day; how would he still have the energy to pine and brood?”

Setting down the book in her hands, Xin An said: “People really shouldn’t be too idle; idleness makes one ill.”

Tang Mo sighed: “Lately, whenever the neighbor goes out, he has every attendant and bodyguard with him. There is no chance to make a move. A drowning dog ought to be chased and beaten.”

Xin An said that one could not always use the same method: “Just because you cannot hit him does not mean someone else cannot. You must learn to use leverage.”

She added, almost idly: “Find a few men and have them give that Zhao Wen and Ma Qi a beating. That should be easy, yes?”

Tang Mo blinked: “What?”

Thinking he had misheard, he asked: “You don’t like those two?”

He added, puzzled: “Why beat them for no reason?”

Xin An wagged her finger and said: “What do you mean, I beat them? Why can’t it be the man next door who moves against them?”

Tang Mo mulled it over, and a slow smile lifted the corners of his lips: “That is a good plan.”

Those two were in league with Zhu You, and they had once faced off with Tang Rong at the Tao family’s gate. It was only natural for Tang Rong to send men to teach them a lesson afterward to vent his anger.

He mused: “Both men have a bit of standing and no shame. If the neighbor’s people beat them, how could they not retaliate?”

Thinking of this, Tang Mo laughed and sat down, picking up the book Xin An had just put aside, saying: “It seems there truly is profit in reading more.”

[These little underhanded ploys, one following another, make one’s scalp prickle.]

Xin An asked: “And the pregnant one, are we just not going to deal with her?”

Tang Mo said: “What is the rush?”

Now that Tao Yi Ran kept her doors closed and lived quietly, she thought that if she neither listened nor looked, her former sins would vanish without a trace. Little did she know it was merely a frog being slowly boiled. Xin An continued: “Did you not say Duke Xiang spoiled Lord Tao’s external posting?”

“She cannot return to the Tao family. Even though Zhu You has gone to the estate, how could Duchess Xiang not hate her?”

“A mother will never admit that it is her own son’s fault. To claw back a little reputation for Zhu You, she will have to heap all the blame on the neighbor. Tao Yi Ran’s reputation is utterly ruined. With her mother intent on keeping her in the residence to carry the child to term, she will not be able to step out of the marquisate’s gate for a year or more. I am just waiting for her to give birth. All our effort must be spent on Tang Rong, forcing him to make things difficult for her personally, to target her.”

Lifting her eyes and smiling at Tang Mo, she said: “Husband and wife turned into enemies, father and son at each other’s throats, each wishing to eat the other alive, how delightful.”

Tang Mo shivered. [What a vicious woman.] He said: “If you do not find it tiresome, watching the show will do no harm.”

“I do not find it tiresome,” Xin An replied with a smile that did not reach her eyes, adding: “I will live my good life and watch the spectacle in my spare time. What is there to make me irritable?”

Tang Mo did not continue speaking. He felt a faint worry about Xin An’s state of mind, afraid that she only seemed open-hearted on the surface while never truly walking out of the shadows in her heart. If one compared the harm their two neighbors had done to the pair of them, Xin An had clearly suffered much more. [Seen that way, dying early was truly a blessing for him.]

“Pah,” Tang Mo spat.

Xin An turned her head: “What is it?”

“Nothing, I just thought of something unpleasant.”

Leaning closer, Tang Mo said: “I have been keeping an eye on Prince Jin’s matter, but there is still no news. I remember it should be around now.”

“It is about this time,” she answered. After so many years, neither of them remembered the exact date very clearly. Xin An said that in a few days it would be the time when Steward Yang from the estate came to collect the monthly stipends, then added: “Winter in the capital is hard. It is cold, and getting fresh vegetables is not easy. I plan to have Steward Yang build warm sheds to grow vegetables, and to have Uncle Wang put up a greenhouse at the Xin residence.”

Speaking of winter greens, Tang Mo sighed over the price and said: “I remember two-inch cucumbers cost a thousand cash, comparable to ginseng. Are you growing them for our own table or to sell?”

“Of course to sell,” Xin An replied, explaining that she could find no reason to let the neighbor eat for free: “Keeping those sheds warm means fires burning day and night, which costs a great deal of manpower and money. If we charge a high price it is because the cost is high. Naturally we must recoup our expenses.”

She continued: “The odd-jobs shop on Ying Hui Road is about to open. When the time comes, we can send produce there to sell, and send some to Herbal Cuisine House. That will be our signature.”

“Of course, making money is secondary,” she said. Scarcity makes things precious; she would use tender winter vegetables to draw closer to the various households and spend a little to accomplish a lot: “Consider it me growing winter vegetables for Prince Jin’s residence.”

She was certain she could ingratiate herself with Prince Jin’s residence.

Curious, Tang Mo asked: “Why are you so intent on Prince Jin’s household?”

Given Xin An’s current progress, she had already gained a foothold among the noblewomen of the capital; why still spend effort currying favor?

“Because Prince Jin can be considered a just man, with neither great ambition nor great desire,” she said. “Even after the Second Prince ascended the throne and many years passed, Prince Jin’s residence still stands firm, holding an important place in the Imperial Court. I believe such a backer is more reliable than the Second Prince.”

“Besides, can one have too many backers?”

“Liao Zhi is walking the path of Military Service. If you follow him, you can only walk that road with him. But that goes against Grandfather’s injunction. It is fine for you to gain experience, but as for rising further, I do not know how much help Liao Zhi can be.”

“If, on top of that, Prince Jin lends you a hand, and you apply yourself, surpassing Tang Rong would not be difficult.”

“The bridal sedan needs men to carry it. Naturally, the more carriers, the better.”

Tang Mo felt oddly moved and said: “So you were plotting for my sake.”

[How can someone be this good?]

Xin An lifted her eyes and said: “Is it not because I expect that if you are well, then I will be well, and the Xin family will be well? You are my hope, our Xin family’s hope.”