Joy of Life

Fan Xian winced and, with a suffering face, he stuck out the tip of his tongue and licked his broken lip. He suddenly found that there was a trace of sweetness. Only now did he know that the anger Wan’er had been suppressing these days had completely exploded out in this one bite. He considered his words and carefully said, “I don’t want to say anything else, I just think...you’ve suffered hardships these days.”

Lin Wan’er turned in his embrace and indistinctly said, “What hardships?”

“I don’t have time to spend with you.” Fan Xian thought for a bit and then said, “And now, my sister and brother have both gone to Northern Qi, Ye Ling’er has married, and it’s impossible for Ruo Jia to play with you...leaving Jingdou, going to Jiangnan, coming to Danzhou, I guess you don’t even have some beside you to say private things to, besides, these are all unfamiliar places.”

He hadn’t even finished speaking when Lin Wan’er’s big eyes were beginning to gradually mist over. She sighed gently and said, “You, ah...to say you have no heart, yet you know all of this. To say you have a heart, yet you can endure to treat me like this.”

Hearing this, Fan Xian’s heart was a bit chilled. He coughed and asked, “How have I treated you?”

“There is more you want to say?” Lin Wan’er gazed intently at his eyes.

Fan Xian thought for a bit and then nodded.

Lin Wan’er laughed coldly. “You’re being shameless again. I’ve told you in Jingdou before, whatever you want to do, I won’t stop you. In any case, these womanly words have no power. I just wish you could be more candid and let me know before things happen. No matter how useless I am in the present, I am still the senior daughter-in-law in the Fan family. There are some things you cannot hide from me.”

“What are you talking about?” Fan Xian was faintly angry. “No matter what, you can’t abandon yourself to self-pity. The Wan’er I like is a warm and cheeky girl...”

His words were only half spoken when he closed his mouth. On the contrary, Wan’er smiled sweetly and warmly said, “Why don’t you keep lecturing?”

Fan Xian coughed and said, “Whether or not you believe it, I had no intention to say anything else today.”

“Oh, is that so?” Lin Wan’er sighed. “Then when are you going to tell me the story of Haitang?”

Fan Xian was silent for a moment then said, “That’s not the same, not the same.” Saying this, he tightly hugged Wan’er, who had rolled over in a huff. One hand gently encircled her soft waist while he quietly said beside her ear, “We’ve been apart for a dozen days, so why talk about that?”

If it had been Haitang, or Ruoruo, women that had been influenced by Fan Xian’s modern feminist ideas, at this time, they would probably have long kicked Fan Xian off the bed.

Although Wan’er had grown since a young age in the Palace and her entire mind was meticulous and deep, it was just on the matter of men and women that she had received the most traditional education. In a huffy voice, she said, “That girl’s identity is different and already troublesome, but you had to do things your way. In the future, who knows what problems this will cause?”

Hearing this apparent concession, not only did Fan Xian’s heart not relax, on the contrary, a faint regret welled up. People, especially men, if one said they did not love someone, that seemed to be untrue. But if one said he would love someone for their entire life and never look to the side, this was also a lie.

Admiring the jade on Dong Mountain and watching the sunset on Xi Mountain, was to do different things at different places. There was no need for anyone to lie to themselves and brainwash the world.

“However, you are at home all day with no one to play mahjong with you. It is indeed very boring.” Fan Xian did not want to continue the topic because he had suddenly realized that with Haitang, her position still fell into the category of friend. That girl may not want to marry into the Fan family. What was the point of worrying about this early? Why make his wife worry along with him and be jealous of A, B, C things.

“The women in the Palace...do they not also pass their days like this?” Fan Xian’s words touched on Lin Wan’er’s true weakness deep in her heart and made her sigh endlessly.

She had grown up, ever since a young age, in the Palace. Her mother was an illustrious princess and her father was Prime Minister Lin. Unfortunately, she had been long locked in the Palace and had not seen her parents very many times. It was like she had been raised collectively by the women in the Palace. She was naturally smart and, having grown up in that atmosphere, also not exceptionally brilliant. But, at least she somewhat understood the machinations on the field of power. She believed her abilities should have been used more effectively.

However, for one, because of her connection to the Eldest Princess, Lin Wan’er had an antipathy for manipulation and scheming, but she would rather have peace. For two, because of the enmity between her husband and her mother, she wouldn’t be able to find a suitable place to shine.

This was something she and Fan Xian had discussed a long time ago.

If a person cannot find a place in their surroundings, they will eventually feel a sense of loss. If she was a normal girl, then managing housework, being filial to her parents-in-law, serving her husband, and raising some children would be enough. But, Lin Wan’er’s birth ensured that if she continued in such a normal life, she would always feel some regret in her heart. It was even more so since she could see many people beginning to shine around Fan Xian.

At one point, Lin Wan’er was ready to accept her fate. She was prepared to hold onto the wonderful memories of having children to transcend obstacles and work hard to have a child for Fan Xian, thus, tying her husband’s heart to her side. That was why she had run the risk of stopping the medicine Fei Jie had given her.

Fan Xian was a tender and sensitive person, so he realized the deeper meaning of his wife’s action. Of course, he knew the reason for the faint worry between his wife’s brows these few months, but...he still had yet found a good solution.

Fan Sizhe’s dream was in commerce, so Fan Xian could kick him to the North to smuggle. Ruoruo’s dream was heavily influenced by Fan Xian, so Fan Xian could use up every method to have her become Ku He’s disciple and walk far and see different people. However, Wan’er’s...status was not the same. She was his wife, her dream...or to put it more clichéd, what path should she seek to achieve her value?

The spring examination case, as well as some later matters, made Fan Xian understand that Wan’er’s specialty was indeed in the Palace, in planning. She could help him a great deal. However, the problem was he and Xinyan were like fire and water, so how could he let Wan’er be caught in the middle?

Fan Xian sighed and said, “If one day there is a day when swords clash, I really don’t know what I should do.”

Such naked words were rare between the couple. They had long avoided this matter. Lin Wan’er was silent for a while then said, “You know, I don’t have too much feeling for my mother...but, after all, she is my mother.”

“I understand.” Fan Xian placed his nose against her hair and took a deep breath. “Believe me, at least I will never hurt you.”

Would anyone believe these words?

Fan Xian suddenly smiled slightly and said, “Wan’er, it is indeed very boring to stay at home all day...I have some matters I want you to help me do, however, it might be hard work and mentally taxing.”

Lin Wan’er widened her eyes with curiosity and turned her body so she was face to face with Fan Xian. “What matters?”

With a soft fragrance in his embrace, Fan Xian held his wife and couldn’t resist rubbing her full body. He smiled and said, “You know I am a wealthy person.”

“Of course.” Lin Wan’er couldn’t help but laugh and, turning her hand, slapped that wandering hand.

Fan Xian said seriously, “When I first went down to Jiangnan last year, I found that although Jiangnan was wealthy, in reality, there were still a great number of common people who did not have enough to wear and enough food to fill their stomachs. If even Jiangnan is like that, there is little need to talk about Jiangbei and those commoners in the middle of the Yangtze River that were flooded. Who knows how they are going to survive?”

Lin Wan’er asked curiously, “Did you say you already thought of a way to move the silver taken from the palace treasury to the River Transport Governor’s yamen?”

“That is only one portion.” Fan Xian thought about it and said, “You know more about the court than me. There are few officials there that can be trusted. If I put the silver into the court, even with the Overwatch Council and Yang Wanli watching it, what will flow away will still flow away...not to speak of others, at least the Fan and Liu families, as well as the Palace, will all take some from this cache of silver. So I was thinking...some things it is easier for us to do ourselves.”

“What things?”

“Jiangnan really is rich. Those wealthy merchants can bring out tens of millions of liang of silver.” Fan Xian smiled coldly. “Yet, there are still so many poor people...this is a problem of uneven distribution.”

He sighed and continued, “I don’t have any power to change this reality. I can only find some mediocre methods to improve it.”

“You mean...” Lin Wan’er guessed her husband’s thoughts and hesitantly said, “You are going to rob the rich to give to the poor?”

Fan Xian laughed out loud. He hadn’t expected his noble-born wife to be able to use the pirate language often seen in novels. He couldn’t resist sliding his knuckle down her perky nose.

Wan’er stuck out her tongue and giggled.

“But...it really is like robbing the rich and giving to the poor, right?”

Fan Xian thought for a bit then said seriously, “My thoughts are like this, in any case, we’ve scrapped so much silver from the palace treasury and officials, we have to think of some way to spend it. There is no way for our family to use all of it. As I said earlier, I don’t want to go through the route of the court, but then how will we use this silver on the common people?”

Lin Wan’er made a noise of agreement and said, “In the past, the common thing to do is to open porridge shops and build charity schools. I remember when I was little, there was a disaster in the North, and all the refugees surged into Jingdou. A few major officials in the court asked the Emperor to send out troops to suppress them and have these refugees be scattered into the nearby provinces. However, the Emperor did not agree to this suggestion, rather he dismissed those major officials and opened the royal storage. That year, when they were giving out the porridge, the empress dowager even brought some of us from the Palace to ladle it out.”

Fan Xian nodded. He had heard of this story. The Emperor wasn’t an idiot, naturally, he knew how to handle the situation. He said, “Just handing out porridge on short notice isn’t enough. Charity schools are also difficult to expand, so I have decided to put the money I have earned into a special organization so it can do charitable works for many years.”

He lay on the thin blanket and waved his hand. “Poor students who have no money can come to our school to study. If they don’t have food to eat, we will buy and give out rice. If they have no sprouts, we will give it to them. In any case, whatever the court has not thought of to do, we will do it all.”

Seeing his confident expression, Lin Wan’er felt excited in her heart as well, but she immediately smiled bitterly and said, “Idiot, do you know how much silver this will cost?”

“Isn’t money meant to be spent?” Fan Xian smiled. “The money I earn is from the court and merchants, and the court and the merchants get their money from the hands of the people. The so-called taking from the people to use for the people is based on this logic.”

Hearing the words “taking from the people to use for the people,” Lin Wan’er couldn’t help her eyes lighting up. “These words are new but...they make sense.”

Fan Xian lowered his head and looked at his wife’s worshipful expression. For some reason, he thought of last year when he was in the royal palace in Shangjing, Northern Qi. The situation when Northern Qi’s little Emperor and Haitang Duoduo had heard him say loudly, “The first concern are the affairs of state, and enjoying pleasure comes later,” and couldn’t help blushing a little with shame.

Unexpectedly, Lin Wan’er shook him seriously afterward and said, “It still won’t work. Putting aside the face that this is a bottomless pit that cannot be filled no matter how much you throw in, you need to think some more based on this matter’s influence. It is taboo to take something that is the concern of the court.”

After Fan Xian thought for a while and then had a different idea. “Can it be done anonymously?”

Lin Wan’er stared at him like an idiot and said, “If it is done anonymously, how can it be done on such a large scale? It’s not like you just want to save one province or one county. If they don’t know it’s a charitable action organized by you, will the local officials not quickly lower their mouths to this juicy meet and take a bite? Your name will have to appear.”

Fan Xian thought that this logic was sound, however, he had to both show his name and not make the court mad, which was truly difficult to do.

Lin Wan’er suddenly opened her mouth and said, “What if...we used the Palace’s name to do this? Using the empress dowager’s name to do it. We don’t need the nobles in the Palace to put out money. We can put up the money and have them carry this name. The court’s face will be honored, and they will gain face. I believe that the Emperor will be happy too.”

Fan Xian was startled and looked Wan’er for a long time without saying anything, thinking that was indeed the logic. If the people in the Palace made an appearance, it would certainly be much easier to carry out. Then this...wouldn’t it be like the so-called Benevolent Assembly that he often saw in his previous life? Except the Qing Kingdom one would be new and certainly be much more ceremonious. However, since there was this beginning, there would always be some changes to the people’s lives.

Lin Wan’er became interested and continued giving ideas. “No matter how rich you are, you can’t spend like this. I think we have to rescue the urgent and not the poor. Our true focus should still be put on education and disaster relief, as for daily things...”

Having made it through halfway, she held her tongue. Fan Xian also held his tongue. The two of them looked at each other and then smiled together. In the smile was a glimmer of embarrassment and self-mockery.

As to just what they should do to better the lives of the people of Qing Kingdom or even the world, how could this couple born with golden spoons in their mouths truly know the details? They could offer some general comments. If they were truly talking about specifics, these two would run in circles around education and giving porridge.

After laughing for a while, Fan Xian said seriously, “We still have to do it. There are people who understand this. Yang Wanli was born poor. Once the riverbanks matter has let up, I’ll call him back to the capital to talk.

The unconventional methods from his previous life flashed through his mind. Although things like the green sprout method appeared bright and neat, Fan Xian knew that he did not have the power to change the big picture. He thought to himself that he could only repair it. Although it was trivial and the changes couldn’t be too big, it could make the common people’s lives a bit easier.

Even if it was only a little, this thing could still be done.

In any case, Fan Xian didn’t need to worry about it, he only needed to spend some money.

“I’ll give this matter to you to handle.” Fan Xian gazed at Wan’er with a smile.

Wan’er was startled and said, “Such a big matter, how could you just give it to me to do?”

“With you handling it, I am at ease,” Fan Xian smiled and said. “Besides, if we want to pull the noble women in the Palace to have a share, without you making an appearance, how could it be done? To have the wives handling it, it would be less risky than me making an appearance. Don’t say you won’t do it.”

“I’ll do it.” Lin Wan’er was overjoyed and excited. She finally had something to do. How could she pass up on this opportunity?

The couple talked a bit more and decided to get this thing up and running in a while. During this, Fan Xian couldn’t help but say a few more beautiful lines like “giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching a man to wish,” shocking Wan’er repeatedly. The couple talked endlessly and lost their intention to sleep.

“How long have you prepared for this matter?” Lin Wan’er buried her head in his chest and asked indistinctly.

Fan Xian slipped up for a moment. “Almost half a year.”

Lin Wan’er looked at Fan Xian’s handsome face and felt a glimmer of warmth deep in her heart. She knew that a large part of why Fan Xian was doing this was because of her.

In reality, from Fan Xian’s perspective...he did it completely for Wan’er.

However, the couple in bed at this moment did not think that this organization, which had appeared on the spur of a moment, would later, because of the over-abundance of resources in Fan Xian’s hands and by Wan’er’s ability, gradually grow distance from their initial idea and change into an organization no one would have imagined—bringing great benefits to the world and Fan Xian himself.

“Don’t put all the silver in one place,” Lin Wan’er blinked her long lashes and said. “Although I don’t understand anything about economics, seeing what you and Sizhe have done, it is clear that money can grow more money.”

Fan Xian nodded. He would not bring hardship to himself by doing this. With his brother working in the North, Shi Chanli and Sang Wen doing the flesh business in the South, once that fortune entered the accounts from the money house, it would naturally become an active source. Seeing Wan’er recover her bright personality, knowing that she had become excited after having something do to, Fan Xian’s heart was extremely happy. The matter he had thought so long about had finally achieved the desired effect. What made him the happiest was that, with this interruption, perhaps the family gossip would become even fainter.

However, things often do not go as desired.

Lin Wan’er bit her lip and said, “But you still haven’t answered me about the matter we were talking about earlier.”

Fan Xian was startled. He chuckled and embraced her warmly in his arms. He muttered indistinctly, “Relax, it won’t happen again.’

Still that question. Which man’s word could be trusted? As expected, Lin Wan’er did not really believe it. She glanced outside and quietly said, “Although Sisi has already entered the door, without a ceremony it will be difficult for her. I’ve already talked to grandmother. We’ll organize it in a few days.”

Fan Xian smiled and said, “You can do as you like. In any case, she grew up with me. She probably doesn’t care about this.”

The husband and wife talked in very low voices, but at this moment, coughing sounds came from the bed in the other room. The coughing was filled with embarrassment and anger.

Lin Wan’er gazed at Fan Xian and giggled, “Do you hear that? Who says she doesn’t care?”

Fan Xian awkwardly patted her butt and said, “Usually this girl sleeps like a pig. Why is she so awake today?”

Speaking of sleeping like a pig, Lin Wan’er immediately thought of Siqi who had accompanied her in entering the Fan manor. She was her personal serving girl, back in the side garden. She had dozed every day keeping Fan Xian company. Even if she had performed no meritorious services, she at least put in hard work. Lin Wan’er furrowed her brows and said, “What about Siqi?”

Seeing Wan’er’s expression, Fan Xian knew that this Mistress very much wanted her servant to also enter their household. However, Fan Xian was slightly afraid now of this matter and begged for mercy. “I think not, it’s not like I sleep with many each night.”

Wan’er glanced at him with faint displeasure.

After much trouble, the couple was finally tired. Fan Xian held his wife contently and said beside her ear, “I’m taking you somewhere tomorrow.”

Lin Wan’er indistinctly said, “Danzhou is not big, I’ve already explored all of it...where else is there to go?”

...

...

First putting aside the Fan couple’s one day trip, Fan Xian was quite busy for some time after returning to Danzhou. Receiving the familiar people from his past was quite the task. Where could he find time to go out? With the grandmother hosting, Sisi, who had an unexpected incident with Fan Xian on the boat in Jiangnan, was finally taken into the family without any mishaps. However, Sisi had long grown used to serving Fan Xian and could not accept this change in her role for a while. Her entire person seemed confused and unsure what to do.

As for this, everyone had long been mentally prepared. Sisi had grown up with Fan Xian, and their relationship was very good. Many in the manor still remembered that year when the 12-year-old Fan Xian had stood up for Sisi and beat the housekeeper from Jingdou bloody.

That housekeeper had left after being humiliated, and they never heard from him again. They had no idea where he went.

After Fan Xian went to Jingdou and Danzhou received news of his marriage, the old ancestor sent Sisi to Jingdou. Who didn’t understand the meaning hidden in this? Everyone in the Jingdou and Danzhou manors knew that someday Sisi would enter the family. However, after it happened, although the girls in the Count’s manor congratulated Sisi, they couldn’t help feeling admiration and envy.

The old mistress gave Sisi a big red pack and then talked with her warmly for some time. Sisi was sobbing and, her eyes were red. Even Wan’er, standing to the side, was wiping her tears.

The next morning, the back door of the Fan manor was pulled open with a creak. Fan Xian pulled Sisi’s hand and sneakily walked out of the door. He turned back to glance at the girl whose eyes were swollen like peaches and laughingly said, “Have I been bullying you or what?”

Sisi choked and glared at him. In this manor, only she dared to be so impudent with Fan Xian. She looked at the rising fog in Danzhou and the quiet street. She couldn’t help asking curiously, “Young master, where are we going?”

See, she still couldn’t change how she referred to him.

Fan Xian grabbed her hand and felt that it was indeed very exciting, as if it were a clandestine love affair, even though they had openly and publicly married yesterday. From this, it could be seen that men were indeed a very base animal.

A warm smile flashed across his face. “We are going to buy tofu to eat.”

[JW1] The original phrase was “闷骚” which describes someone who appears plain and dull but when they become accustomed to the situation, their passion is difficult to imagine. Some have likened it to tsundere, but that is also not quite accurate.