Ink Burns

Chapter 171 Fat Bird Stands Alone
actor?

Actor!

Ha, so what if they're actors!
She has the power!

She could create a fake household registration for him, then find a top-performing scholar to take the exam under his name. After he passed the imperial examination, she could pull strings to create an official position for him—the City God is nothing more than a deity created by foolish people for peace of mind!
Why can't she create a husband who meets all her requirements just to comfort herself?
Zhou Xingyun became her husband.

He only has one younger sister.

The lonely brother and sister then attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven.

She had Zhou Xingyun.

But it doesn't seem to be enough.

There seem to be many people in this world who are similar to Helang.

This actor's mouth, like Crane Lang's, is so "bestowed a bath in the white jade pool".

That actor's ears, like Crane Boy's, were so "given a bath in the white jade pool".

With makeup on, anyone can be "Crane Boy".

But she is still the same Jingjing.

Before that person appeared, Zhou Xingyun was the person most similar to Helang.

That person appeared out of nowhere, and he looked more like the Crane Lang she remembered.

Not only are they similar in appearance, but they also share the same spirit.

They are concerned about the country, the people, and all living beings.

When he knelt before her, his face was stubborn but his eyes were red, which made her lose her senses for a moment—he didn't need to put on makeup to look exactly like Helang.

She wanted him to be "Crane Boy," replacing Zhou Xingyun's position.

But he refused, saying only, "I have studied for decades, with only one wish: to serve in the court, to be loyal to the emperor, to be benevolent to the people, to be filial to my parents, and to be righteous to my relatives. But if I marry the princess, all my wishes will be in vain. I hope the princess will have compassion on the scholar's sincere heart."

A wave of bittersweet melancholy washed over her, as if the blockage between her senses had been cleared in an instant, or as if the knot between her and Helang had been untied in a moment.

It feels like a rebirth.

This man had studied for decades but had not even passed the county-level imperial examination. So she hired a famous teacher to teach him, and taught him everything from scratch.

This person had never set foot in the Jiangnan region, nor had he ever experienced the prosperity of the world, yet she took him to see the mountains and rivers, and helped him to understand the universe.
After he passed the imperial examination, she tacitly allowed him to marry and have children, promising him a stable and smooth life while she would be his lover in private.

It was as if through that person, she saw the life that Helang should have had—a life without her.

As night grew darker, the golden light of the fire shone through the hexagonal palace lanterns, flickering in the noisy pavilion.

Fu Mingjiang was chatting quietly with the maid beside her, mainly using the excuse of laughing at Madam Zhou to mock her stepfather Zhou Xingyun's background. The conversation revolved around topics such as "opera singing," "practicing skills," "male prostitutes," and "warming the bed."

Madam Zhou kept her head down the whole time. Even though she was the mistress of the Marquis's mansion and had two grown children to rely on, she only dared to let her tears well up in her eyes and dared not cry out loud.

Fu Mingjiang joked with a grin, "Next up, please welcome Marquis Zhou of Guanbei to sing a song!"

The maid beside him clapped her hands vigorously.

"Drag it out—"

At some point, Princess Jing'an slowly opened her eyes.

The applause suddenly became scattered and disjointed.

"Drag them away." The Grand Princess Jing'an's voice grew harsher: "The servants who instigated their masters to commit wrongdoings should be beaten to death with clubs and hung up in the mansion as a warning!"

The maid beside Fu Mingjiang immediately buckled at the knees and fell to the ground with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "This servant dares not! This servant dares not! Princess, spare my life! Princess, spare my life! Princess, spare my life!"

Princess Jing'an frowned, growing increasingly annoyed. Seeing no hope of help, the maid immediately crawled to Fu Mingjiang's side, crying out, "Princess! Princess, save me! Princess, save me!"

Fu Mingjiang pouted, pulled her skirt back with one hand, and noticed that the nail polish on her nails wasn't as bright anymore. She lifted her fingers and blew on them, then tilted her head innocently and obediently: "Come on, let's go downstairs and get what's coming to us—I was just saying what I was doing, I didn't ask you to clap~ If you can't control your hands, whose fault is it?"

The maid was dragged away by the matrons on both sides, her cries deafening.

Fu Mingjiang seemed not to hear, blinked, turned her eyes to the side, and asked the Grand Princess Jing'an with a smile, "Are we having ginseng chicken for dinner again?"

Princess Jing'an said softly, "No, you shouldn't eat anymore. You're pregnant, so you need to eat a balanced diet of meat and vegetables. Don't eat too much nourishing food, or the baby will be too big and difficult to deliver."

Fu Mingjiang smiled, her beauty mark under her eye resembling a small flower after the rain, obedient and compliant: "Okay, then I want to eat stir-fried shrimp and vegetables."

“Eat, eat—your brother has also returned home from the Xishan camp, let’s eat together.”

Princess Jing'an glanced at Madam Zhou: "Xingxu, may you come along too?"

That's the greatest courtesy imaginable.

Madam Zhou quickly suppressed her sobs and shook her head, "No, no. Yu Su and Yu Niang are waiting at home. My sister still needs to go back to the manor to take care of things and it's inconvenient to disturb the princess's family time."

Princess Jing'an nodded and then left gracefully with Fu Mingjiang. Halfway there, she paused and said, "Since you approve of Liu Shanyue, have your brother settle her down to do something more respectable. Our chess pieces have finally become somewhat useful, and those who play the game will inevitably praise them—you did a very good job with the Imperial Hospital."

Princess Jing'an pointed out: "When Xue Xiao came to the palace for medical treatment, you prepared the royal physician in advance to deal with him, which eliminated the risk of Liu Shi being exposed. Don't worry, I will be a good aunt for Yu Niang's marriage, prepare a sufficient dowry for her, and make sure she has a good reputation."

Nothing could be better than this promise.

Madam Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and bowed deeply with genuine emotion: Every time she was humiliated by Princess Suiyuan, the Grand Princess Jing'an would give her a date to eat, as if to compensate her for something.

Actually, no compensation is needed.

She's already incredibly lucky to be here; she knows perfectly well who she's owe her this to.

Fu Mingjiang's eyes darted around, her sarcasm clearly written on her face.

“Lowly people have lowly blood flowing in their veins, just like dogs. Even if someone slaps them in the face, they'll still eagerly follow the person who has the bone in their hand—”

As Fu Mingjiang followed the Grand Princess Jing'an inside, she held her mother's arm and smiled affectionately.

"A leopard can't change its spots, and our Mrs. Zhou can't change her love of money." Fu Mingjiang's clear laughter echoed through the corridor.

It's like they're talking about something incredibly funny.

******
After Madam Zhou left, Xue Nanfu sent out invitations to visit Shan Yue one after another; most of them were family members of officials from Jiangnan.

Shan Yue knew that this was a signal that she had passed the test and that "Qing Feng" had approved of her.

Shan Yue hurriedly met with the others, and the half-pound of weight he had gained was lost in the process of socializing.

That's infuriating!

Wang Erniang didn't want Shanyue to suffer like this anymore, but she received an invitation from Xinglintang, which she couldn't refuse.

Unexpectedly, the person who arrived with the invitation was none other than Shui Guang, whom he had parted ways with in haste that night, and now Wei Ruchun, the seventh-rank clerk of Xinglin Hall.

Freshly issued invitation, Wei Sibu strode confidently through the corridors of the Xue family mansion, turning past pavilions as if walking through empty space, and ascending to the grand hall of the Xue family. Just then, Xue Xiao and Shan Yue were chatting idly in the hall when Wei Sibu exclaimed in a voice that shook heaven and earth: "Sister! They say you vomited blood!"

"Sister! Are you alright!"

"Sister! Ah! Sister!"

The snowball was so frightened that its delicate, plump wings flew wildly in all directions.

In its frantic escape, the little claws, disregarding all paths, clung tightly to Xue Xiao's hair ornament, displaying the air of a plump bird standing alone.

Xue Xiao rolled his eyes, looked at the still-shaken fat bird above his head, and sighed speechlessly: for some reason, he always became ridiculous whenever his sister-in-law showed up.