The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 575 - 542: Slap in the Face (Part 1)

For the Song family’s finances, Xu Jia had already known it inside out in her previous life. Now, taking on the household authority, she straightened things out with hardly any effort, organizing every steward’s affairs neatly.

Mrs. Qiao listened to the housekeeper’s reports daily, increasingly looking at Xu Jia with new respect.

With the Song Mansion’s full moon banquet approaching, Xu Jia picked out a small gold lock, gold necklace, a pair of small silver bracelets for the treasured one, adding an outfit she made herself. Knowing Song Wei’s fondness for collecting, she also included a centuries-old purple clay incense burner.

On the day of the banquet, the couple shared a carriage ride, just as they got on, Tang Yong rushed out from behind, crying incessantly.

Xu Jia ignored him, remaining seated.

Tang Yuan frowned slightly, pulled back the curtain, and looked into his teary-eyed little nephew’s eyes, his heart immediately softened, and he asked gently, "What’s wrong?"

Tang Yuan was crying with hiccups, "Second Uncle, where are you going?"

"A distinguished gentleman is having a full moon banquet, and Second Uncle got an invitation to attend," Tang Yuan said, "Didn’t I tell you last night? Stay home obediently, and Second Uncle will buy you a toy when he gets back."

Tang Yong insisted, shaking his head vigorously, "I don’t want toys, I want to go to the banquet too."

"Don’t be troublesome." Tang Yuan’s voice turned even softer, "There’ll be lots of people at the banquet, you’re so small, what if something happens to you?"

Saying this, he signaled with his eyes to the nursemaid who had chased after them, instructing her to quickly take the young master back inside. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

But Tang Yong seemed to understand Tang Yuan’s eye signal and immediately flopped to the ground crying louder, determined to follow them.

Xu Jia watched coldly.

This kid’s talent for feigning weakness and tears was surely learned from his mother, but what kind of habit is it to roll around on the ground at any disagreement? Does Jiang Qingyu do this too?

Tang Yuan instinctively glanced at Xu Jia, her indifferent and aloof demeanor reminded him of the things she had said a few days ago.

A young master of a literary family rolling on the ground when things don’t go his way does indeed look uncivilized.

But they were in a hurry, and Tang Yuan had no other choice but to let his little nephew come along.

After some thought, he lifted the curtain and got off the carriage, pulling his little nephew up from the ground, and took him inside to wash his face and change clothes, spending nearly a quarter of an hour before coming out again.

Having achieved his little scheme, Tang Yong was no longer crying, sitting smugly in the middle of the seat, deliberately squeezing Xu Jia to the other side.

Which suited Xu Jia just fine as she was unwilling to sit with this sickening uncle and nephew pair; she bent over, pulled over a small stool, and moved accordingly.

Seeing this, Tang Yuan had no choice but to scold his little nephew, "What are you doing?"

Tang Yong pointed to the empty space beside him, "There’s still plenty of room, she’s the one who doesn’t want to sit."

Tang Yuan felt uncomfortable and was about to smooth things over for Tang Yong, when he heard Xu Jia laugh and say, "As an elder, I’m not going to fuss with a child."

The words Tang Yuan was about to say got stuck in his throat, and he looked at Xu Jia with a hint of apology in his eyes.

To be honest, even though they had some disagreements due to certain matters just after getting married, Tang Yuan still felt a bit guilty towards this new wife. After all, he only married her for his own purposes.

Especially after she took over household authority, he observed her in secret quite a bit, discovering that she was nothing like what Qingyu had described as having a "simple mind." Xu Jia was meticulous and adept at handling household matters, almost comparable to his biological mother, Mrs. Qiao.

In her leisure time, she would also read to pass the time, her memory was astonishing.

She was no mere military family girl, but entirely like a standard matriarch cultivated by a noble family.

Over time, even his mother couldn’t help but praise her, saying that entrusting household affairs to the second madam was definitely the right choice.

Of course, while praising the second madam, Mrs. Qiao wouldn’t forget to put the eldest madam down.

Thinking of Jiang Qingyu, Tang Yuan couldn’t help but lower his eyebrows, having a good impression of Xu Jia. To "suddenly kill" such a person to bring Qingyu in, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

As he pondered, the carriage arrived at Song Mansion.

Xu Jia got out first, followed closely by Tang Yuan carrying his little nephew.

Song Wei had much social influence. Even though Wen Wan gave birth to a daughter, as soon as the full moon banquet was announced, everyone with or without invitations showed up.

Currently, the entrance of Song Mansion was surrounded by all sorts of carriages, leaving no room to move.

Fortunately, the stewards were efficient; even with so many people, everything was arranged in a well-organized manner, without chaos or disorder.

Wen Wan had just finished her confinement period and wasn’t fit to exert herself, so the hosts receiving guests were Second Lang’s wife, Yang, Xie Tao’s wife, and Song Jiao.

Song Wei and his wife hadn’t expected so many people beyond anticipation to show up today. They hurriedly sent people to the restaurant to hire five or six chefs and more than a dozen assisting women. The household staff, whenever free, were dispatched to purchase food and wine, everyone was in a rush, incredibly busy.

The Tang family, a prominent family in the capital, hadn’t even seen such a crowded and bustling scene in their heyday, with guests spilling shoulder-to-shoulder, lined up to get through the main entrance, drawing rooms, corridors, gardens, and Waterside Pavilion packed with tables. The grandeur was astonishing.

The Tang family’s carriage hadn’t arrived long before two or three more families lined up behind them.

Tang Yuan gazed at the bustling scene at the gate, with heads bobbing up and down, and felt extremely shocked.

The Song family indeed started late. Song Wei came from humble beginnings and only embarked on an official career in his thirties. In just a few short years, he transformed an unknown family into one that is now at its zenith,

Who wouldn’t secretly sigh at how times have changed upon seeing such a scene?

A further glance at the logos on the tightly clustered carriages revealed that they belonged to noble families.

The Tang family’s decline in recent years made them insignificant compared to other noble families in the capital. Thus, being invited warmly by the Song Mansion was clearly due to the favor of the Xu family.

Xu Jia had been part of the family for half a month, and this was the first time Tang Yuan realized her significant standing in the Tang family network.

After much difficulty, their family finally entered the Song Mansion. Just after passing the shadow wall and entering the gate, they saw a crowd gathered ahead, whispering softly, with a faint "da-da-da-da" sound coming through.

Tang Yuan led Xu Jia and his nephew forward, only to see an exquisitely carved little child riding on a wooden donkey, gripping the donkey’s ears. To their surprise, the ears only needed to be rocked back and forth to drive the donkey forward, steering it in any direction, not slow in speed either.

The rider was none other than Jinbao, and the "da-da-da-da" sound was made by the donkey as it moved.

Tang Yuan found it fascinating and was about to ask what it was when he overheard others mentioning "mechanical beast" in their conversations.

"Is this a mechanical beast? How extraordinary!" Tang Yuan exclaimed honestly.

Someone ahead heard him, turned back to look, and with a clasped hand, smiled, "Perhaps the gentleman has never seen a real mechanical beast? During the Longevity Festival of His Majesty, the twelve brought by Minister Song were truly breathtaking. This one here has been modified to be a child’s toy, used only for amusement without any aggression."

Another person interjected, "What’s the Longevity Festival? Did you not see them when they were released from the storehouse? Although covered with cloth, those mechanical beasts were tall and grand like small mountains. It made my blood boil, but alas, the government wouldn’t let us see them fully."

The previous person snorted lightly, "If you hadn’t seen them, they’re still only impressive during the Longevity Festival, aren’t they?"

The two began to argue, exchanging remarks.

Tang Yong tugged at Tang Yuan’s sleeve, whining for the donkey.

Tang Yuan, who usually indulged Tang Yong, would mostly satisfy his wishes at home.

But this mechanical beast...

Tang Yuan was in a dilemma, frowning slightly, "I’m afraid throughout the entire Great Chu, only the Song Sicheng Mansion could afford such a thing."

His words subtly criticized Song Wei for abusing his privilege, caring only for his own child’s enjoyment, without considering the vast common people.

Fortunately, his voice was low, and others did not hear.

Xu Jia glanced at him sideways, saying nothing.

After Jinbao left, the onlookers also dispersed.

Tang Yong, unable to get the mechanical donkey, began to stomp his feet and cry.

Tang Yuan had no choice but to bend down and coax him.

No matter what was said, Tang Yong refused to comply, his cries growing sharper and more piercing, frequently drawing the glances of other guests.

At this moment, having dealt with the crowd, Song Wei approached, a deep and pleasant voice resonating, "Why are you crying?"

He spoke as he reached out to pat Tang Yong’s little head, his handsome and profound features softened with warmth, "Today our family is celebrating a child’s full month, and the cook has made a big piece of soft cake. Crying once means you will be punished with a piece of cake. If you cry again, I’ll have to give you the entire piece."

When Tang Yong met Song Wei’s distant eyes, he somehow dared not cry anymore and, wiping his tears, sobbed in gasps.

Upon hearing the sound, Tang Yuan hurriedly clasped his hands to salute, "Congratulations to Minister Song on the birth of a daughter."

Beside him, Xu Jia saluted with a smile, "I saw Jinbao riding a little wooden donkey earlier, and heard that it was a modified mechanical beast, quite unique. No wonder our little one couldn’t take his eyes off it."

With her words, she glanced at Tang Yuan inconspicuously.

Tang Yuan thought about how only the Song Mansion had one throughout Great Chu and couldn’t help but feel indignant, looking at Song Wei, "Since a modified one can be made for children’s entertainment, why doesn’t Mr. Song make it widely available?"

By implication, being a court official, it’s one thing to hoard it privately, yet having your son flaunt it in front of so many people seems excessive.

In fact, it wasn’t Song Wei who asked Jinbao to show off. The guests had actively requested Jinbao to bring the little mechanical beast out for a glimpse. Song Wei detected Tang Yuan’s critical tone and curved his lips. Being of good temperament, he wouldn’t easily get into verbal disputes, "Second Young Master Tang has probably not paid much attention to court developments while on leave for marriage. I have already proposed to have the modified mechanical beasts mass-produced a few days ago, and they will be released soon."

On hearing this, Tang Yuan felt as if he had been slapped hard on the face, both burning and painful.

During his half month’s leave, his attention was consumed by Jiang Qingyu and her child, unaware of these matters.