Jiapingguan Chronicle

"The Empress Dowager's life was a mix of praise and criticism, but people remember mostly her bad points." Shen Cha sighed softly, looked at everyone, and said, "To be precise, what people remember are all her negative aspects. The good things she actually did are never remembered or discussed, right?"

“That’s for sure.” Shen Haolin nodded. “If you remember the good things about her, then your hatred for her won’t be so pure. Most people can’t rationally separate these two things. So, it’s better to ignore the good things about her and remember the bad things about her.”

“Brother is right.” Shen Cha yawned and leaned against Shen Haolin’s shoulder. “However, she didn’t announce it herself, did she?”

"That's true." Shen Haolin nodded. "There are many things we won't know unless we dig them out."

“That’s right.” Jin Miaomiao sighed. “But I really didn’t expect that those self-proclaimed aristocratic families would do such a despicable thing.”

“Only powerful families would do something like this. If it weren’t a powerful family, where would they get such power and confidence? How could they possibly set up such a large operation?” Song Yaojia rolled her eyes. “Only they can do something like this.”

“That’s true.” Jin Miaomiao hummed twice, looked at Shen Cha who was half asleep, and said, “I was too embarrassed to say it in front of my uncle and master just now. Madam Shi herself has poor judgment and misjudged people. Why should she involve others? Those victims will have nothing to do with her. Her punishment of slapping faces is too lenient for her.”

“Let the victim and their family each stab them once, but don’t let them die; keep them conscious. That’s the greatest punishment.” Xia Jiu yawned. “But now that things are like this, there’s no point in saying anything.”

“Your uncle has also thought of the method you suggested, but it’s too much of a hassle and there are too many uncontrollable factors. It’s hard to guarantee that someone won’t act impulsively.” Song Yaojia spread his hands. “It’s fine as it is now. Anyway, it didn’t kill them all at once, and it made them suffer for quite a few days.”

"That's good. We can't let them just disappear like that."

“But…” Song Yaojia looked at Shen Haolin, then at Jin Miaomiao, then at Xia Jiu and Shen Jiu, “You talked for so long, and that’s all you talked about?”

"No, we also chatted for a while about Gongsun Yue from the Marquis of Xibo's mansion and my master, Master Qingsong. I heard that the two of them have a very good relationship."

"Master Qingsong?" Song Yaojia was taken aback. "He's actually your grandmaster, Master Huilan's master?"

"You know him?"

“I know. My father and uncle mentioned him a few times when they were chatting, and I overheard some of it. But knowing is one thing, at my age,” Song Yaojia smiled, “it’s impossible for me to have met him.” He looked at Shen Cha, noticing that she had woken up sometime earlier, “Was I speaking too loudly? Did I disturb you?”

"Nothing of the sort. I wasn't sleeping soundly either; I was listening the whole time!" Shen Cha smiled. "Have you finished talking about the Shi family? Now, what are we going to talk about?"

"Let's talk about Master Qingsong." Seeing Shen Cha take a sip of tea, Song Yaojia continued, "The master had a good relationship with Senior Tantai."

“Hmm, the mutual respect between charlatans.” Shen Cha raised an eyebrow slightly. “Although I haven’t had much contact with the old master, he does have some expertise in this area. I didn’t expect him to be related to Gongsun Yue as well.” “Although Gongsun Yue is also a charlatan, my father and uncle’s evaluation of him is not just that. They say that the Marquis of Xibo looks shrewd, but he is actually a fool.”

"Fool? What does that mean?"

“What else could it mean? His eldest and youngest sons are both good, but he just doesn’t like them and insists on favoring his good-for-nothing second son. As a result,” Song Yaojia sighed, “that unfortunate bastard Gongsun Yu was born. You all see what the Marquis of Xibo’s mansion is like now. If he had chosen Lord Tan, things wouldn’t be like this now.”

"Didn't you say that Gongsun Yue calculated that the kinship between him and Lord Tan and the young master was very shallow, which is why he wouldn't get too entangled with them?"

“That’s true, but,” Song Yaojia sighed, “think about it, whether the kinship is deep or shallow, isn’t that what he himself says? My father said he just likes the second son to coax him, but Lord Tan and the young master wouldn’t do that.” He spread his hands towards everyone, “You’ve all met Lord Tan, you’ve all dealt with him. If he’s not exactly rigid and inflexible, he’s pretty much like that, right?”

“Yes, imagine Lord Tan acting cute and saying sweet things to you.” Jin Miaomiao couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of that scene. “Let’s forget about it, it’s terrifying just thinking about it.”

“So, this matter cannot be blamed on Lord Tan. It can only be said that Gongsun Yue’s request is a bit excessive.” Shen Cha sneered. “He doesn’t understand his son, which is why he has such unrealistic expectations.”

"In fact, Gongsun Yue didn't know much about any of his sons."

"Including the second son?"

“Yes.” Song Yaojia nodded. “He doesn’t have the time or the will to understand. My father said that after the child was born, he only looked at him a handful of times. He’d only glance at him if he was being affectionate or being coaxed by someone, and if he was cold-hearted, he would simply ignore him.” He spread his hands. “So, when his son said he wanted to separate the family, he didn’t object. Since the Marquis of Xibo’s mansion wouldn’t be left to Lord Tan and the young master, then naturally they shouldn’t be tied to his side. When the children grow up, they should definitely be let out to make their own way in the world. So,” he raised an eyebrow, “since Lord Tan and the young master both have things they want to do, let them do them. He doesn’t object to them changing their names.”

"He still has that carefree, reckless streak."

"Indeed, his heart is not in this at all. He found a son who can inherit the Marquis of Xibo’s mansion and whom he finds pleasing to the eye, and he doesn’t care about anything else. He is obsessed with his charlatan career."

"So, there's no such thing as regret or not?"

“They didn’t put their heart into it at all, so what’s there to regret?” Song Yaojia shook his head helplessly. “My father said that even without Gongsun Yu, the Marquis of Xibo’s mansion wouldn’t have any future. None of them are good at managing things, and they’re all rather dim-witted. Gongsun Yue is probably the smartest among these generations, but it’s a pity that he didn’t use his good brain in the right place.” He looked at Shen Cha. “Of course, being a charlatan isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

"The older generation didn't prioritize this; it's just that Gongsun Yue was too obsessed with it." (End of Chapter)