TTTQF Chapter 134

Inquiry

"Second Uncle, it is our fault for not handling things well yesterday. That person has already been punished, and the one who instigated him has also been reprimanded..."

Jiang Miao and Pei Che come bearing gifts to ease the tension. After all, their guest has come from afar only to be treated poorly at the door—who wouldn’t feel upset about that?

Second Uncle Jiang is initially confused, not understanding why they look so apologetic. But after hearing their explanation, it finally dawns on him.

"What’s the big deal? It's normal for stewards in big households to have a bit of a temper," Second Uncle Jiang says. "It's only natural to be cautious. But why punish the person over it?"

Second Uncle Jiang glances at Pei Che, thinking that it must have been Jiang Miao's idea to punish the gatekeeper. Worried that Pei Che might feel slighted, he quickly tries to smooth things over and move past the issue.

"Second Uncle, you don’t know the whole story. That man always looks down on people. Even if they are relatives of the Pei family, if their situation isn’t great, he still gives them a hard time. Without a bribe, it’d be difficult for them to get through the gate again. Isn’t that clearly tarnishing the reputation of the Duke's Mansion for his own gain? Those in the know would say he’s greedy, and those who don’t might think the Duke's Mansion looks down on people."

Jiang Miao explains that Pei Che investigated the man yesterday. At first, they thought the gatekeeper was making things difficult under Pei Min's orders, but after looking into it, they discovered the man is just naturally snobbish. What is meant to be a minor reprimand turns into a harsher punishment.

As for the ill-intentioned Pei Min, after Pei Che rests, he goes to see Second Uncle Pei. No one knows what Pei Che says to him, but shortly after, Pei Min comes over with a pale face to apologize and is punished with two months of confinement.

Out of curiosity, Jiang Miao pesters Pei Che until he finally reveals the whole story. Pei Che can’t resist his pestering and tells him everything.

It turns out that a few days ago, Han Qin went drinking after being invited by someone and happened to see Pei Min sneaking out of a small alley, looking as if he was terrified of being recognized. Intrigued, Han Qin makes some inquiries and discovers that the alley leads to a brothel, and Pei Min had just visited a prostitute that day.

Jiang Miao is shocked—Pei Min is only fifteen or sixteen years old! But after thinking about it, it makes sense. This is ancient times, where many people get married in their teens. Early maturity isn’t unusual.

Second Uncle Pei has high hopes for the two brothers and is usually very strict with them, fearing they’d tarnish their reputation. When he hears about this, he immediately explodes and gives Pei Min a harsh scolding, clearly also blaming this for him failing the Provincial Exams.

After listening to all this, Second Uncle Jiang doesn’t say much more, only telling them to quickly go inside and warm up by the fire. There have been strong winds all night, and the cold is biting this morning. Compared to the previous day’s weather, it feels like night and day.

Inside the house, Second Aunt Jiang and several children are sitting around the fire, gluing oil paper bags. These are for Jiang Miao's shop. With the cold weather, the warm, steaming buns have become the shop’s best-selling item, and the demand for oil paper bags is much higher than before. Whenever the servants at the Jiang residence have some free time, they also help glue the bags while chatting. By the end of the day, they can earn enough to buy two or three eggs as extra income.

Jiang Miao sits down and starts gluing bags as well. When he used to rent a room at the Bai family courtyard, he made almost all of the oil paper bags himself in the beginning. He is able to glue them quickly and neatly, without it affecting his ability to chat with others. As they are all sitting around talking, Second Aunt Jiang suddenly starts asking about Li Ping's background.

Li Ping is a worker at Jiang’s small shop and has been working in the kitchen ever since he arrived. Unlike Tang Lin, who is outgoing and sociable, Li Ping is more dependable and skilled. He has learned everything Jiang Miao taught him quite well. Jiang Miao isn’t sure why his aunt is suddenly asking about Li Ping, but he tells her everything he knows.

"Where does his family live? What about his elders? Does he have any siblings?" Second Aunt Jiang presses on. Most of what Jiang Miao shares is about Li Ping’s work at the shop.

By this point, Jiang Miao finally understands. His aunt is likely asking about Li Ping to discuss marriage.

"I'm not exactly sure where his family lives. It seems to be in a village along the official road that leads out of the west gate of the city. He mentions that he has a large family. According to him, there are more than a dozen siblings and cousins, and if you count his sisters, it’s probably over twenty people in total." Jiang Miao can’t help but sigh. That is indeed a big family, though he figures that more people means more trouble. To him, two brothers would be enough.

But the elders have a different view. As soon as she hears that he has so many brothers, Second Aunt Jiang immediately becomes excited. With so many brothers, they don't have to be timid in doing anything, and no one in the village would dare to point fingers at them.

"Wait, Second Aunt," Jiang Miao asks in a low voice, "Are you considering Li Ping as a match for eldest cousin? She’s only sixteen, and Li Ping is already in his twenties. They don’t seem like a good match, do they?" No matter how people in ancient times think about it, Jiang Miao doesn’t agree with marrying off girls too young.

Second Aunt Jiang gives him a reproachful look. "What nonsense are you talking about? This isn’t for your eldest cousin! Have you forgotten that Xiao Yu hasn’t been engaged yet?"

Jiang Miao is surprised. "You’re thinking of matching Sister Xiaoyu to Li Ping?"

Second Aunt Jiang nods. "Yes, I think they’re a good fit. And that Li Ping, I believe he likes Xiao Yu." And Xiao Yu should like him back too.

"What?" Jiang Miao is even more surprised. "How did I not notice anything?" Although he doesn’t stay at the shop all day, he drops by every few days. To him, the two of them seem completely innocent.

"You’re a man—how would you notice such things?" Second Aunt Jiang has only been staying there for a couple of days, yet she has already noticed that Li Ping often escorts Jiang Yu home after work. Although Xiao Yu can’t speak, she communicates through gestures, and somehow, Li Ping seems to understand her perfectly. Their interaction is seamless, and the sight of them together is quite harmonious.

Jiang Miao feels a little indignant but has to admit she’s right—he hasn’t noticed anything. However, when he thinks carefully, there have indeed been some subtle signs.

Ever since Jiang Yu has moved in, she has been very diligent, always the first to arrive at the shop in the morning. Li Ping lives in the back courtyard, so he always opens the door for her. Over time, it’s only natural that they’d develop feelings for each other.

Jiang Miao also recalls that at some point, Jiang Yu started to seem distracted. She would often sit by herself, suddenly smiling for no apparent reason. Now that he thinks about it, isn’t that exactly how people in love behave?

"Second Aunt, please don’t rush to reveal anything just yet. Let me look further into Li Ping’s background and his family. We don’t want to find out later that his household is full of problems. Even if he’s a good person, it won’t help if his family is a mess." Jiang Miao is being practical. He doesn’t want Jiang Yu to end up marrying into a family with selfish parents or a husband who is blindly obedient to them. That could ruin her entire life.

"Exactly, find out everything. We don’t want another situation like with the Liu family. If that happens, Xiao Yu might never want to get married again." Second Aunt Jiang still fumes with anger whenever she thinks of the Liu family.

Jiang Miao nods. He is determined to thoroughly investigate and nip any potential problems in the bud.

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