Chapter 203: Wet Nurse

On the blue stone slab outside Mingquan Yuan, there was no accumulated snow. Wang Gui pressed his forehead against the stone slab, feeling the stone's ice-cold touch like a knife, almost splitting open his skull.

Wang Gui just knelt there, waiting for Chen Ji to appear.

But Chen Ji was slow to appear.

Not far from Mingquan Yuan was Qunfang Yuan, where the maidens lived. In the sleeping rooms, some maidens heard Wang Gui's shouting and, wrapping themselves in clothes, went out to watch the excitement. For a while, several heads were crowded at the door of the sleeping courtyard. It was a cold and frozen midnight, and the young maidens' hands were purple with cold, their noses red, yet they were unwilling to miss this good show.

A slender maiden with narrow eyes looked over, carefully identifying Wang Gui's back: "Isn't that the steward?"

A slightly older maiden said disdainfully: "He might not be any steward anymore, just call him Wang Gui." The slender maiden said, "Oh," and then: "Wang Gui was just beaten with a staff once and is submitting softly to the Third Young Master. Look at his back, it's still bleeding. I fear he'll freeze to death if he kneels any longer." The older maiden spat to one side: "Serves him right! These past years, except for the First Young Master, the Old Master, and the First-grade maidens by the Madam's side, who hasn't been groped by him?"

The Chen family maidens were divided into three grades.

The first grade served by the master's side, had the highest monthly allowance, and the highest status. The second grade were maidens and strong servants who managed the mansion's miscellaneous affairs. Each second-grade maiden and strong servant managed seven or eight third-grade maidens, and their lives were quite comfortable.

The most miserable were precisely this group of third-grade maidens. Their monthly allowance was extremely low, they lived together in rooms with twenty or thirty people, and if they wanted to marry, they could only marry tenants on the Chen family's fields or shop assistants.

At this time, the maidens still didn't see Chen Ji's figure and chattered in low voices: "Strange, the Third Young Master used to be the most soft-hearted and cowardly. Wang Gui is already begging him like this, why hasn't he come out yet?" The slender maiden lowered her voice: "Perhaps going out to study medicine for two years changed his nature?" That older maiden snorted a laugh: "Impossible. Rivers and mountains are easy to alter, but basic nature is hard to shift. A person's nature can't just change casually." Saying this, she turned her head and looked at a small maiden behind her. The other girl wore simple double buns and had a round, still very childish face.

The older maiden said to her: "Xiao Man, you used to wait on the Third Young Master's side. Now that he's back, why don't you go beg the Madam to arrange you back to the Third Young Master?" The maiden with double buns, Xiao Man, muttered in a low voice: "Li Qiu sister, I'm not going. Following him is just suffering cowardice all day." Li Qiu, hating her lack of ambition, poked Xiao Man's forehead with her fingertip: "You good-for-nothing. If you go back to his side, won't you become a first-grade maiden again? Your monthly allowance will directly rise by three hundred wen. If you dislike him, wait until you're old enough to marry out of the mansion. You can also get a dowry share, which is altogether better than us marrying tenants or coachmen." Xiao Man lowered her head: "I don't dislike him either, I just feel uncomfortable seeing him so cowardly. Anyway, whoever wants to go can go. An extra three hundred wen a month is not enough to endure that cowardice... Li Qiu sister, I want to stay in Luocheng. This way, I don't need to wait on anyone, and I can just grow old and die here. Forget it."

"Not marrying someone?"

"Not marrying someone."

Li Qiu said in a low voice: "You don't know, do you? The Third Young Master has now received twenty-five hundred taels of silver from that newly established Preparation Bureau. His days are looking good." Xiao Man's eyes widened: "So much?"

Li Qiu rubbed her cold hands while exhaling, and said casually: "Following the Third Young Master now, although you'll suffer a bit of grief, he is soft-hearted. When you're ready to marry out, beg him properly, and perhaps you can get a rich dowry." At this moment, a maiden softly said, "Eh": "The Third Young Master has really changed his nature. He's hardened his heart and genuinely plans to let Wang Gui freeze to death here?" Xiao Man pouted: "How is that possible?"

As she spoke, the courtyard door of Mingquan Yuan creaked open.

Xiao Man hurriedly said: "See? I just said so."

In the black night, Chen Ji pulled open the courtyard door, wrapped in a large coat, and stood on the threshold. He calmly asked: "Steward, what are you doing kneeling at my door in the middle of the night?" Wang Gui hurriedly said: "This lowly one is no longer the steward. Third Young Master can call me Wang Gui. This lowly one came here tonight only to beg for the Third Young Master's magnanimity and forgiveness."

Chen Ji said carelessly: "Beating you with a staff was Old Master Chen's decision. Begging me is useless."

Wang Gui knocked his head on the ground, drawing blood on the blue stone slab: "Third Young Master is a person of great magnanimity. Everything in the past was this lowly one's fault. If you are angry, then beat this lowly one once. It's just that this lowly one's elderly mother is sixty-seven years old, and she is still in the capital waiting for this lowly one to return. If you do not forgive this lowly one, this lowly one fears that he will not even have the opportunity to provide for her old age or bury her."

Chen Ji was unmoved.

The Ning Dynasty's governance of the world with filial piety was Taizu's ancestral instruction. Even figures like Cabinet Elder Liu and Sage Wang Dao had to resign from office and return home to observe mourning for three years after their fathers died.

Wang Gui, stripping off his upper body and coming to confess his guilt with thorns on his back in the cold winter month, wanting to return to the capital to serve his birth mother well, had truly repented and intended to sacrifice his life for righteousness.

If Chen Ji accepted Wang Gui's confession with thorns, it would be a good story in the Confucian forest, highlighting Chen Ji's benevolent heart; if Chen Ji let Wang Gui freeze to death here, then he would be unbenevolent, which would damage the Chen family's reputation.

Wang Gui wasn't truly seeking to be forgiven, but rather to perform a bitter-flesh trick.

This bitter-flesh trick was not performed for himself to see, but for Chen Liqin. He was betting that Chen Liqin would consider the Chen family's reputation and also the affection for his wet nurse.

Chen Ji thought for a moment: "You have a pure heart of utmost filial piety to serve your birth mother. I am naturally willing to help you fulfill it."

Wang Gui raised his head, his eyes full of hope: "Third Young Master forgives this lowly one? This lowly one can follow you back to the capital together?"

Chen Ji smiled and said: "I mean, I will send people to bring your mother to Luocheng. That would be just right."

"Ah?" Wang Gui was momentarily dejected.

Chen Ji pointed to the Chen mansion: "After we go to the capital, this place will be empty. I'll pay for the carriage, bring your mother here, and then you can settle her in my Mingquan Yuan. Isn't that beautiful? Luocheng has clear mountains and waters, and talented people, it's exactly a good place for old age."

"This..." Wang Gui hesitated. His eyes darted slightly, and he quickly reacted: "Third Young Master, this lowly one's mother is old, her energy and blood are weak, and she fears she cannot bear the carriage journey of several hundred li." Chen Ji calculated the time: "If we take a fast boat along the Grand Canal, from south to north, it will arrive in ten days."

Wang Gui steeled himself: "This lowly one's mother gets seasick."

Chen Ji sighed: "Then there's no way. I also want to help you fulfill your filial duty, but no method works. Hurry back. If you continue to kneel like this, you will lose warmth and die immediately." Wang Gui lowered his body again and knelt for a long time without getting up: "If you do not forgive this lowly one, this lowly one will kneel here until he dies." Chen Ji remained silent.

The young maidens in Qunfang Yuan held their breath, their heads stacked one on top of the other outside the door frame, secretly observing.

Li Qiu sighed: "This Wang Gui is indeed a ruthless person. He's betting on the Third Young Master's soft heart and daring not to truly take a human life?"

Xiao Man pouted: "If it were me, I would definitely let him kneel here until he dies. Watch, the Third Young Master will definitely swallow this cowardly anger. If he didn't have this nature, he wouldn't have let people take advantage of him in previous years."

In front of the Mingquan Yuan door, Chen Ji asked lightly: "Steward, do you really not plan to get up?"

Wang Gui said: "Third Young Master doesn't forgive this lowly one, so this lowly one won't get up."

Chen Ji nodded: "Okay, I'll take you into the room to warm up first. At least you can't die at my door."

The next moment, Chen Ji was seen walking out the door, lifting Wang Gui with both hands as if lifting a small chicken, and carrying him back into the room.

"Eh? Third Young Master!" Wang Gui struggled, letting out a sound like a pig being slaughtered: "Put me down! What are you doing!" However, no matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free from the iron-plier like hands.

With a bang, the courtyard door closed.

The maidens outside the door exchanged glances. Li Qiu was surprised and uncertain: "I wasn't seeing things just now, was I? The Third Young Master just carried Wang Gui inside like that?"

Xiao Man leaned against the door frame, muttering: "He actually carried him inside..."

They had imagined ten thousand possible endings, such as Chen Ji's soft heart forgiving him, or Wang Gui himself being unable to endure and leaving, or Chen Liqin arriving.

Yet, they had never thought that Chen Ji would actually lift Wang Gui into the room with his bare hands to warm up.

Just at this moment, Li Qiu pulled the maidens back, shrinking their heads: "Quick, quick, quick, go back to the room, Old Master is coming!"

Chen Liqin strode over and shouted to stop them: "Stop, where is Wang Gui?"

Xiao Man hurriedly said: "Steward Wang is warming up in the Third Young Master's room. He's not outside anymore!"

Chen Liqin was doubtful: "He went into the room?"

In the room, Chen Ji sat by the charcoal basin, using iron tongs to flip up the silver wire charcoal at the bottom, letting the sparks scatter in the air.

Not far away, Wang Gui knelt in a daze on the ground, feeling the warmth inside the room, somewhat at a loss for what to do.

Chen Ji looked at the charcoal fire and asked without turning his head: "Warmed up a bit?"

Wang Gui subconsciously answered: "Warmed up."

Chen Ji smiled: "Steward Wang has exhausted his heart and strength managing the Chen mansion for over twenty years. Why must you go against your own life? Life is your own." As he spoke, Chen Liqin walked in.

Chen Ji stood up and bowed with cupped hands: "Old Master Chen arrived really quickly."

Chen Liqin was speechless for a moment. Then he looked at Wang Gui and said angrily: "What are you going crazy about?"

Wang Gui crawled on his knees to Chen Liqin's side, incessantly kowtowing and admitting his wrong: "Old Master, this lowly one knows he was wrong, this lowly one knows he was wrong. I still beg you not to leave this lowly one in Luocheng. You also know that my mother at home is old, and she can't have no one taking care of her." Chen Liqin frowned. Wang Gui continued: "Mother mentions you every time and says you are the kindest and most reasonable, that you knew to give the biggest pear to your older brother and mother at three years old. She also mentioned taking you to stroll during the Shangyuan Festival and said you could guess all the lantern riddles at four years old..." Wang Gui cried: "Old Master, she accompanied you for fourteen years, taking care of your food and daily life day and night. How can you bear to see her end her old age alone?" Chen Liqin said annoyingly: "Enough!"

Wang Gui closed his mouth and didn't speak.

The so-called wet nurse was not only responsible for feeding milk but also for taking care of the young child's food and daily life, teaching them enlightenment knowledge, and accompanying them until adulthood.

In the deep palaces and large mansions, wet nurses made up for the absence of mothers. Many officials and nobles, after reaching adulthood, even treated their wet nurses as half-mothers and provided for them.

The Ning Dynasty palace always raised about forty wet nurses, living in elegant places, carefully cultivated by the Wet Nurse Bureau of the Directorate of Ceremonies. At the same time, eighty wet nurses were also selected as reserves, called 'Point Mao Wet Nurses'.

The former Emperor once praised his wet nurse: "Kind, wise, gentle, and compliant, she manages the rituals and classics, a female model and a maternal teacher, uniquely excelling in gentleness and righteousness."

At this moment, Chen Liqin recalled various past events and subconsciously looked at Chen Ji: "You... he seems to have the intention of repenting this time."

Chen Ji seriously sized up Chen Liqin: "What does Old Master Chen mean?"

Chen Liqin was silent for a long time: "His mother is indeed old... Earlier, he was temporarily confused and committed a wrong, but he asked for punishment and was also beaten with a staff. Now he is confessing his guilt with thorns again, he definitely knows how to repent. Of course, I will not let him continue to be the steward, just let him follow us back to the capital alone. What do you think?"

Chen Ji smiled and bowed with cupped hands: "It all depends on Old Master Chen's decision."

Chen Liqin breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his head, and angrily scolded Wang Gui at his feet: "Still not quickly get lost? You're losing face here! Get back to your home. Don't appear in front of Chen Ji and provoke his annoyance before returning to the capital." Wang Gui hurriedly stood up: "This lowly one understands, this lowly one understands!"

Wang Gui went back to the sleeping room to put on his clothes and limped out of the Chen mansion's side door. He turned into several small alleys and knocked on a door in front of a household. The courtyard door opened, and a woman with a pretty appearance said in surprise: "Master, it's not even a rest day today, why are you back in the middle of the night?" Wang Gui said trembling: "Help me in first."

The woman supported him, saying worriedly: "Master, what's wrong? Why are you limping?" Wang Gui's face was ashen. He didn't explain a single word, only instructed in a low voice: "Pack up. Prepare to go back to the capital in a few days."

The woman supported Wang Gui to lie on the bed and used her hands to rub his ice-cold arms and legs, helping him warm up.

She saw the wounds on Wang Gui's back and buttocks and cried heartbreakingly: "Master, what happened to you? Who beat you like this? Let's report to the officials!"

Wang Gui didn't speak, letting the woman rub him for half an hour before finally catching his breath.

"Don't report to the officials. Officials can't manage this matter," he closed his eyes and commanded: "Pack up the gold, silver, and small items in the house properly. Call the porters tomorrow and find an escort agency to transport them to the capital. You don't follow the Chen family. Transport the small items to the capital separately and hand them to my mother."

The woman said, "Ah," and agreed.

Wang Gui opened his eyes and said: "Bring out the box I moved back from the day of the soldier disaster. I want to see it."

The woman bent down and pulled out a wooden box from under the bed with effort and opened it. Inside, it was full of gold, silver, and jewelry. The Liang family's most treasured phoenix crown and blue flower dian headpiece also lay prominently inside.

That day of the Liu family's soldier disaster, Chen Liqin and Zhang Zhuo were confined in the government office, and the Liang family hid in the fields outside the city.

Wang Gui took this opportunity to collect quite a few valuables. Later, he pushed all the responsibility onto the Liu family's armored soldiers and secretly pocketed a box of gold, silver, and small items himself.

At this time, he saw the box of gold, silver, and jewelry was still there and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Wang Gui's gaze lingered on the phoenix crown and blue flower dian headpiece. This was the object the Liang family wore on their heads when they married.

A moment later, Wang Gui's eyes were gloomy and uncertain: "Wear this headpiece." The woman said, "Ah," her face joyful, but her mouth humble: "Master, why do you want me to wear this phoenix crown headpiece? I may not deserve to wear such a good object." Wang Gui said angrily: "Wear it if I tell you to wear it! Where are you getting so much nonsense!"

The woman sat aggrieved at the dressing table, facing the brass mirror, and placed the headpiece on her head.

Wang Gui narrowed his eyes and looked over. In the dim room, the woman's face was no longer clearly visible, only the phoenix crown headpiece shining brightly in the weak candlelight. Just as the woman finished wearing the headpiece, she saw Wang Gui crawl down from the bed, regardless of his body pain, pressing the woman down on the dressing table, lifting her clothes and skirt from behind.

"Master, don't be like this, you still have wounds on your body..."

"Shut up."

"Master, there seems to be a calico cat watching us on the window lattice."

"Shut up!"

...