Chapter 239: Chapter 241 - Momo Quan Returned To The Capital (1)

Not long after, news came again from the Song family, saying that Yujing’s child had lost her life. This news was told to Yuxi by Qiu Shi herself.

Yuxi was silent after hearing this. She felt that it was a good thing that the child had died early. At least now, the child didn’t have to suffer in the future. A child without a mother was grass, and if she met an evil grandmother, she would probably be worse than grass. It was just that these words could only be thought of but not spoken out loud.

Qiu Shi looked at Yuxi’s heavy expression and asked, “Yuxi, do you think Mother is cruel?” In fact, until now, Qiu Shi didn’t think she had done anything wrong by not asking and listening to what had happened to Yujing. Concubine Rong had been giving her a hard time ever since she entered the Han family’s household. She constantly stirred up trouble, causing the Duke of the State to drift away from Qiu Shi. And Yujing, relying on her father’s favour, always helped Concubine Rong calculate against her. Over the years, she had been generous enough in not getting Yujing killed. This happened until Qiu Shi was unable even to free herself from this misery. Furthermore, marrying into the Song family was also Yujing’s own calculation. The cause of that day was the fruit of today.

Yuxi shook her head as she answered, “No. I just feel that things in this world are unpredictable.” She thought of how powerful Yujing had been in the State Residence back then and how she had taken pleasure in bullying her and Yuru. But now? Not only did she die horribly, but she had not even been able to save her daughter.

Qiu Shi thought differently, though. “People still need to know how to mend their way.” Concubine Rong had committed too many sins, and that was why the retribution fell onto Yujing. If Yujing hadn’t done such a desperate thing back then, Qiu Shi wouldn’t have let her fall into this kind of situation.

This statement could not convince Yuxi’s heart, but she still nodded her head on the surface as a sign she agreed. “Mother is right.” In this life, one could not live well just by being kind. Excessive kindness would only make people think that you were weak and easy to be bullied. Therefore, if you wanted to live a good life, you had to have the ability to support yourself. If you have the time, you can read this chapter at xinshou blogspot com for free.

It was not unusual for a child to die young, so the Han family did not intervene and left the matter to the Song family.

In a flash, it was the end of the seventh lunar month.

The seventh lunar month had been so hot until it caused one to have a hard time breathing. Yuxi’s study had been filled with two large buckets of ice, and one could immediately feel the chill in the air once one walked in.

Yuxi was engrossed in her book when she heard Zisu rush in and reported, “Miss, Momo Quan has returned.”

Yuxi let out a cry of ‘ah’ and asked with great surprise, “Momo Quan is back? You’re not mistaken, are you?” When Momo Quan returned to her hometown in Shaanxi that day, she prepared to live her life in retirement. How could she possibly return to the capital now? So when Yuxi heard this news, she naturally did not believe it.

Zisu smiled and answered, “How can I be mistaken about this? Momo Quan has come into the residence and went to see the Lady first! I thought I would never see Momo Quan again, but I never imagined that Momo Quan would be back.”

Yuxi, however, was not as happy as Zisu, as she stated with a frown, “I’m afraid something bad has happened.” Momo Quan had gone back to her hometown to retire. Something must have happened for her sudden return to the capital.

As they were talking, they heard a young maid announce Liuyin’s arrival. Liuyin entered the room and told Yuxi, “Miss, Momo Quan has returned to the residence, and my Lady has asked this handmaiden to invite you to come over.”

Yuxi nodded a little and said, “Momo Quan values rules and manners above all else. I’ll freshen myself first before going over.” Wearing daily wear to meet a guest was in itself disrespectful.

After freshening up, Yuxi took Zisu and Caidie to the Master Courtyard. As soon as they entered the room, they saw Momo Quan. Momo Quan was wearing a green beizi with a darker pattern together with a brown skirt. Her clothes looked a bit old; she combed her hair into a round bun and attached two silver hairpins to it. Her skin was slightly dark, and her figure was slim. The only thing that had not changed was her serious expression.

Yuxi couldn’t believe her eyes. It had only been three years or so, and Momo Quan already had grey hair. And with those old clothes, it was apparent from one glance that Momo Quan did not have a good time.

When Qiu Shi saw Yuxi just standing still, she asked, “Yuxi, what are you doing standing there? Is it possible that you don’t know Momo Quan anymore?” It was also because Momo Quan had taught Yuxi sincerely before, so Qiu Shi was very polite towards Momo Quan.

Yuxi immediately restrained her emotions and bowed as a greeting for Momo Quan.

Momo Quan looked at Yuxi with her eyes full of relief. Although she had not been in the capital for a long time, she knew Yuxi had been adopted by the Main House and had settled on a good marriage. Yuxi would have good times ahead of her. “I haven’t seen Miss for three years, and Miss is getting even prettier.”

Yuxi smiled. “Momo is just complimenting me.”

Qiu Shi said with a smile, “Yuxi, take Momo Quan back to the Taoran House so that the two of you can have a good talk there.” Momo Quan had gone and returned. Hence, something wrong must have happened in her hometown. Since she didn’t want to talk to Qiu Shi, Momo Quan must be willing to open up about it to Yuxi. If not, Momo Quan wouldn’t have come to the State Residence.

When Yuxi and Momo Quan had left, Mama Li said, “Looking at Momo Quan, her days in her hometown must have been hard.” Wearing old clothes for a visit, it would be strange to say Momo Quan’s days had been good.

Qiu Shi responded, “I think she’s here to find Yuxi for shelter. It is just as well that Yuxi is short of a stewardess, and the people I chose before were not acceptable to Yuxi. So if Momo Quan can be her stewardess, it would have been excellent.” Qiu Shi was convinced of Momo Quan’s ability.

Mama Li nodded and said, “That’s true!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Momo Quan followed Yuxi to the Taoran House, looked at the place’s layout, nodded slightly and praised, “This courtyard is not bad.” This courtyard was several times more spacious than the Rose Courtyard. [+]

Caidie brought up the tea, followed by maids that brought in snacks and fruits.

Momo Quan smelled the fragrance of the tea and knew that it was kuding tea. “I didn’t expect you to remember my favourite tea.”

Yuxi smiled as she said, “It’s only been three years. Even if I have a bad memory, I wouldn’t even forget what kind of tea Momo likes.”

Momo Quan smiled a little. “I’m getting old, and I’ve forgotten a lot of things.” She always wanted to leave the capital, go back to her hometown and spend the rest of her life there. But in the end, she had to come back here.

Yuxi looked at the white hair on Momo Quan’s head and asked, “Momo, are you in some kind of difficulty? If there is anything I can do to help, I will never refuse you.” As long as it was within her power to do so, she would definitely help.

Momo Quan put down her cup of tea and nodded. “My hometown was hit by a disaster, and I’m not familiar with any other place except the capital, so I’ve returned here.”

Yuxi frowned when she heard this. Her Dage would occasionally tell her about the affairs of the court. But she hadn’t heard of any recent disasters in Shaanxi. Thinking of this, Yuxi waved her hand and told all the maids standing around to withdraw. She did not even let Zisu stay behind.

Only when there were two people left in the room did Yuxi ask, “Momo, did you say that your hometown was hit by a disaster? What kind of disaster was it? Is the scope of the disaster that big?”

Momo Quan nodded as she told Yuxi, “Most places in Shaanxi and Gansu have been hit by drought. When we left, the grain price was already 10% higher than the price at the same time last year. Now I don’t know how much the current price is.” Shaanxi was thousands of miles from the capital. It took Momo Quan three months to travel from Shaanxi to the capital.

Yuxi did the math in her mind and asked, “Momo, could it be that it has rained again since you left your hometown? If there were a real drought in Shaanxi and Gansu, the court would have provided relief. Now, it seems like there is no movement from the court at all?” Those officials should not have been so bold as to conceal such a significant matter from the public.

Momo Quan shook her head and said, “I’m not sure about that.” She had been away from her hometown for several months and had no sources of information, so how could she know about this?

Yuxi thought for a moment before asking, “Did Momo return to the capital alone?”

Momo Quan shook her head. “No, I brought my nephew’s family over. Together with me, there are seven people in total. They also have so many children with them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have travelled with me this far.”

Hearing this, Yuxi asked while feeling baffled, “Momo, even if there was a natural disaster in Shaanxi, it was only temporary. How come Momo brought them to the capital?” Everyone would always feel homesick, and if a natural disaster had made Momo Quan’s nephew’s family leave their home, Yuxi would not have believed it. Something else must have been going on here. [+]

When Momo Quan saw Yuxi persistently asking her, she didn’t hide it any longer. She explained, “The taxes over there are so heavy that you can’t even fill your stomach after working so hard in the fields for a year. Although I have some savings, I can’t just sit and eat until I deplete my mountain of wealth.”

Yuxi still had a stomach full of questions. “Momo, why don’t you open a medicated food shop in your hometown? Momo, you have an official rank on you, so no one would dare to do anything bad.” With Momo Quan’s skills, she would still have a lot of money if she opened a medicated food shop.

Hearing this, Momo Quan let out a bitter smile and said, “Miss, I didn’t open a medicated food shop, but a pastry shop instead, which I opened last year. But someone bought it after less than six months of being open.” Momo Quan also saw that her nephew’s family was having a hard time, and it was not a good thing to rely on her all the time. With all the money coming in and out, there was always a time when the money would run out. So she wanted to open a pastry shop to help the family financially with household expenses. Momo Quan’s pastry shop was not that big, but it turned out to be too good for business and attracted many people’s attention.

Yuxi understood and asked, “Was it bought by force?”

Momo Quan nodded. “It was bought by the wife of the county magistrate’s assistant.” Although Momo Quan had an official rank, it was only an imaginary position, and she had no real power. The county magistrate’s assistant was a snake in its home territory. And his wife had taken a fancy to Momo Quan’s shop. It seemed like they would play a dirty trick if Mama Quan didn’t sell it. In the end, Momo Quan had no choice but to sell the shop. It was this incident that made Momo Quan feel very upset. Seeing that the drought was more severe this time, she was worried that something might go wrong. Therefore, she persuaded her nephew to move to the capital with his family. In any case, she still had contacts in the capital, so she would not be hungry even if the situation turned worse. Most importantly, she did not have to be afraid of anyone.

Yuxi had some understanding of such twists and turns. “Does the wife of county magistrate’s assistant has some big backers?” Otherwise, a wife of a county magistrate’s assistant would not dare to be so arrogant.

Momo Quan nodded and said, “The wife of the prefecture magistrate is her biaojie.” With such a big backer, Momo Quan did not dare to counter with force, and she could only sell the recipe for the pastry.

When Yuxi heard this, she asked, “For a wife of a small county magistrate’s assistant to be so arrogant, has the officialdom there become rotten a long time ago? Is this why Momo is preparing to move to the capital?” By calling them, rotten officialdom meant that the officialdom was full of corrupt officials.

Momo Quan did not expect Yuxi to be so thorough, so she nodded and revealed, “Yes. This time there is a drought in Shaanxi and Gansu. Whether the court provides relief or not, in the end, it is the common people who will suffer.” In fact, natural disasters were not terrible. Still, Momo Quan was most worried that the people would rebel if they could not survive anymore.

Momo Quan was also a knowledgeable person who noticed that the people were getting even more miserable. She feared that they would not be able to survive if things went on like this. If people couldn’t survive, they would probably rebel. If that were to happen, her family would undoubtedly be affected. So, after thinking about it, Momo Quan figured it would be safer to go to the capital. After all, they would be near the Son of Heaven, which was much safer than her hometown.

Yuxi was not stupid. How could she not understand the insinuation behind Momo Quan’s words? Although she had heard from Han Jianming regarding corruption in the government, with the Song family and the Yu family playing with power among them, while the common people were suffering, she had not seen them with her own eyes. However, now Momo Quan was planning to settle in the capital with her family in tow. Thus, if Momo Quan hadn’t been unable to stay in her hometown, why would she have taken this step? This showed how difficult life had been for ordinary people. The world might indeed be in chaos, as Dage had predicted.