TTTQF Chapter 43

Retribution Comes Swiftly

Since it is an imperial decree granting marriage, Jiang Miao, being one of the protagonists, naturally has to receive such a decree. Fortunately, he hasn’t gone out because his small cart has broken down. Otherwise, these people would have had to search all over the streets for him.

Seeing the eunuch in front of him who frowns and keeps looking at the yard with disgust, Jiang Miao is actually very curious. But after taking a closer look, he finds that eunuchs are not much different from ordinary people, except they don’t grow beards, and their voices are relatively higher-pitched.

Speaking of beards, Jiang Miao can’t help but feel sympathetic. He doesn’t have much beard on his body, but occasionally a few emerge. Few people grow beards in modern times, and Jiang Miao doesn’t have this habit. It’s just that there are no razors in ancient times, and scissors can’t cut cleanly, so he doesn’t know which tool to use.

He asks others, and the answer he receives is to use thread, which essentially means plucking the hairs one by one. Who could stand that? So, he goes to the blacksmith’s shop, intending to have the blacksmith make a blade. Unexpectedly, the blacksmith tells him they have ready-made razors in the shop and asks if he wants to buy one, though it is a bit expensive. Jiang Miao buys one and shaves every day, thus avoiding a potentially shabby appearance.

After the eunuch announces the decree, he sees Jiang Miao kneeling motionless on the ground. The eunuch has to cough a few times to attract his attention.

Jiang Miao looks up and sees the eunuch staring at him. He immediately realizes that he has finished his string of words. Mimicking scenes from TV dramas, he says, “This commoner accepts the decree and thanks the emperor for his grace.” Then he stands up and takes the imperial decree from the eunuch’s hands.

The eunuch doesn’t want to stay here either. After handing over the decree, he immediately leaves with his entourage. Only when they are out of sight do the other people in the courtyard dare to come out.

Aunt Liu and Sister Bai walk up to Jiang Miao and say in a tone full of surprise and envy, “Is this really an imperial decree? Was the person just now a eunuch? Oh my, we never thought we’d get to see an imperial decree!”

“Yes, this is the imperial edict.” Jiang Miao spreads out the edict for the two to see carefully. The gold thread on it shimmers in the sunlight, and the characters are written beautifully. In the center is a large red seal. This should be the seal of the jade seal, right?

Others gather around too, but no one dares to touch it, fearing someone might come and chop off their hand.

After a long while, everyone’s curiosity is finally satisfied. Someone asks, “Brother Jiang, what does this decree say? Does it mean you have to go to the palace to make buns for the emperor?”

Just now, with all those flowery words, no one in the courtyard understood a thing. They only know that Brother Jiang is best at making buns.

Jiang Miao feels a bit embarrassed. How is he supposed to explain this? To say that the emperor has bestowed marriage upon him and another man, and that he is the one who has to marry over?

“Uh, well, that’s not it,” Jiang Miao mumbles vaguely. Suddenly, a few more people arrive at the courtyard entrance. Seeing them, Jiang Miao says, “Ladies, we have guests. I’ll go greet them.” Seeing so many men outside, the others quickly return to their rooms.

Pei Che leads people carrying the offering table, wooden box, and racks into the courtyard. Jiang Miao, as if seeing a savior, walks quickly towards him and asks, “You’re here. How should we place these things?” They can’t just randomly stuff them into a cabinet, right? What if insects chew on them? Although mice aren’t a concern anymore, Dahua had given birth to a litter of kittens before the New Year, and they are now over two months old. To train them, Dahua occasionally catches a mouse for them to play with and learn how to catch mice.

“Clear out an empty room, store it in the box, place it on the stand, and put an offering table underneath. Just dust it off occasionally,” Pei Che explains, knowing Jiang Miao has no experience receiving an imperial decree and had rushed over as soon as he finished his own business.

Jiang Miao breathes a sigh of relief. “Good thing! I thought I had to burn three sticks of incense every morning and offer fruits and pastries as offerings.”

Pei Che laughs, “That’s not necessary. Just keep it well. If it gets dirty or eaten by bugs, you might suffer some physical punishment. If you’re an official, you could even be dismissed and investigated.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Miao immediately looks at the imperial edict in his hand with caution. He shoves it into Pei Che’s hands and says, “You should take care of this. My place is small, and it wouldn’t be good if it got damaged.”

“No worries. This box is made of camphor wood and coated with tung oil. As long as you don’t take it out and handle it frequently, it won’t get damaged.” Pei Che raises his hand, and a servant behind him immediately opens the box, which is lined with silk cloth, just the right size for the imperial decree.

Jiang Miao leads them inside, going to Xiao Shitou’s study, where there is just enough space by the wall to place an offering table. After arranging everything, Jiang Miao carefully closes the door, thinking that he must remind Xiao Shitou tonight not to touch this thing, lest he gets dragged off to be punished.

Pei Che dismisses the servants, leaving only him and Jiang Miao in the room.

“Young Master Pei, what do we do now that we’ve received the decree?” Jiang Miao is a bit uncertain. He hadn’t expected the emperor to be so formal. He thought the marriage decree would just be a verbal announcement. Now with the decree, how can they cancel the engagement later?

“During this period, the emperor will likely send people to watch our every move, so I’ll often come to find you and take you to places with many people,” Pei Che says. He estimates that within a day, the news of the emperor bestowing marriage upon him and Jiang Miao will spread throughout the entire Liangjing city. At that time, there will surely be many social engagements to deal with. They need to handle these first before gradually planning their next steps.

Jiang Miao sighs mournfully, regretting his spur-of-the-moment idea from yesterday. “It seems one should earn money honestly; these crooked paths simply don’t work.” Retribution comes swiftly.

Pei Che laughs. “We’re now in this together, and it’s too late for regrets. You should sit down and listen as I explain the situation of the Duke’s mansion.”

Jiang Miao reluctantly sits on a stool, resting his chin on his hand. “Young Master Pei, go ahead.”

“Wait a moment,” Pei Che says, “First, we need to change how we address each other. Such formal terms are too distant and might raise suspicion.”

“That’s true. What should I call you then?” Jiang Miao thinks for a moment, frowning. “You’re not going to make me call you ‘husband,’ are you?” He shivers at the thought.

“We’re not married yet, so calling me ‘husband’ is premature.” Pei Che laughs again, finding Jiang Miao’s reaction amusing.

“Then what should I call you? How do your friends address you?” Jiang Miao, too lazy to think, decides to copy others.

“They all call me Ah Che.” Thinking about having to explain this to those friends later, Pei Che can’t help but feel a bit exhausted. However, the others are fine; it’s just Han Qin who is more difficult to deal with.

“Ah Che?” Jiang Miao tries calling him once and finds it acceptable. He clears his throat and calls again more formally. “Ah Che, then what should you call me?” Jiang Miao asks. He used to be called Brother Jiang or Jiang Miao, but neither seems appropriate now.

“How do your family members address you?” Pei Che asks, following Jiang Miao’s lead.

Jiang Miao tilts his head and thinks for a moment. In the past, his grandparents would call him “good grandson” when they were happy, “brat” when they weren’t, and “Jiang Miao” when they were angry. Here, his second uncle calls him “Little Miao,” and the villagers call him “Sanshui boy.” None of these seem particularly useful as a reference.

“You decide,” Jiang Miao says, looking at Pei Che.

Pei Che ponders for a while and tentatively says, “Ah Miao? Miao’er? Miao Miao?”

Jiang Miao has never been called like that before and can’t help but get goosebumps all over his body. “Call me Ah Miao. That sounds the most normal!” He never thought there would come a day when he found his own name sounding so awkward.

Pei Che smiles, “Alright then. Ah Miao, listen to me, the Duke of Zhongguo’s Mansion…”

As Jiang Miao listens to his introduction, he can’t help but feel a sense of shared suffering. It turns out that Pei Che has also lost his parents at a young age and has raised his younger brother alone. Although his family’s financial situation is better, the loneliness and grief in his heart must be similar to his own.

After Pei Che finishes his introduction, Jiang Miao reciprocates by sharing his own family situation. Pei Che admires Jiang Miao for being able to support his family at such a young age, truly an impressive feat.

The two sit face to face and exchange information like a blind date. They gain a new understanding of each other, and the previously closed doors to their hearts open a small crack to one another.

 ……

“Where exactly are you taking me?” Jiang Miao asks, sitting in the carriage while looking at Pei Che on the other side. They have been chatting for a while, and then Pei Che suddenly said he wanted to take him out, but after a long ride, he still hasn’t told him where they are going.

“You’ll know when we get there,” Pei Che replies mysteriously.

Seeing that Pei Che won’t say anything, Jiang Miao focuses his attention on the carriage. This carriage is the one Pei Che often uses when he goes out, different from the one Jiang Miao had ridden before. Every part of the carriage is designed just right, with objects stored in hidden compartments, easily accessible with a reach of the hand.

“Ah Che, how much does one of your carriages cost?” Loving vehicles is a man’s nature. In modern times, Jiang Miao only needs to glance at a car’s emblem to estimate its value. Unfortunately, he only used a small electric scooter daily. If he had known he was going to travel through time, he would have bought a car for fun. He wonders if all his savings have ended up benefiting the bank.

Pei Che, knowledgeable in astronomy, geography, and the arts, is stumped by this casual question. He shakes his head, “I don’t know. Why do you ask?”

“My initial dream was to buy a carriage of my own, but is the horse probably more expensive than the carriage, right?”

This, Pei Che knows: “A fine horse is rare and can be worth a fortune. Even a second-rate one costs a lot of silver.”

Jiang Miao points outside, “What about those horses pulling the carriage?”

Pei Che thinks for a moment, frowning, “These are the most common draft horses and should cost around fifty to sixty taels of silver.”

Jiang Miao calculates his savings and realizes that despite earning money for so long, he can only afford half of a common draft horse. He can’t help but feel a bit discouraged; the wealth gap is too big.

Pei Che, not understanding why Jiang Miao suddenly looks depressed, comforts him: “If you like horses, I can give you one. It may not be a Ferghana horse, but its quality is still quite good.”

“No need,” Jiang Miao quickly shakes his head. “In the future, I’ll just buy a donkey or an ox to pull the cart. Horses need to be taken out for exercise from time to time, and I don’t have that much time.” He doesn’t want to bring back a prized horse only to have it get depressed due to the limited space.

Pei Che is about to mention that there will be grooms to take care of the horse, but then he considers Jiang Miao’s situation and silently adds a small estate and some servants to the estimated remuneration.

They chat a bit more until the carriage suddenly stops in front of a shop. Pei Che lifts the curtain and steps out, ready to help Jiang Miao, but Jiang Miao pushes himself off and jumps down on his own.

“A silk shop? Why are we here?” Jiang Miao peeks inside and sees it filled with various fabrics.

“To get you some tailored clothes.”

Jiang Miao looks at his own attire and raises an eyebrow. “What, you think my clothes are shabby?”

“Not at all. But the places we’ll be going to often judge people by their appearance first. It’s better to avoid unnecessary criticism if we can,” Pei Che explains. For himself, clean and tidy clothes are sufficient, but the seamstresses at his mansion will ensure everything is perfect.

“That makes sense!” Jiang Miao thinks. He has bought a few suits before, though he rarely wears them. “You’ll pay, right? Consider it my work uniform.” It isn’t that he wants to be a freeloader; he simply can’t afford a whole new outfit.

“Work uniform?” Pei Che repeats, finding the term appropriate. “Of course. From now on, all your accessories will be on my tab.”

His mother’s dowry combined with his father’s private assets is enough to last several lifetimes. Coupled with his grandmother’s regular allowances and the Duke’s mansion’s stipend, he has never worried about money.

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