Having a Baby Before Marrying a Wicked Husband - Chapter 82

The Baby’s strength was quite impressive. Compared to Yan Cai, who was sometimes too forceful, the baby’s strength was just right. After humming and hawing on Jiang Manyue’s back for a while, Qingke finally plopped down, tired, on his father’s back.

So tired. His little feet were sore, and this baby didn’t want to do it anymore.

“Stop stomping, stop stomping. Let your father continue to be tired. Father will blow on your feet.”

He picked up his son, blew on his little feet, and rubbed them for a long time. Yan Cai couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure you don’t need my help? You look really tired.”

Jiang Manyue turned over and sat up, pinching Yan Cai’s face.

“No need. If you intervene, it will be an overachievement. After it’s done, no one else will be able to match your speed. Besides, the information you provided earlier was sufficient. What we need now is to see if the farmers can fully execute the plans and how much time it will take.”

Planting vegetables is like raising children; it cannot be rushed. It requires time and ample care.

“Alright then,” Yan Cai agreed, though his voice sounded a bit low.

Seeing his slight disappointment, Jiang Manyue quickly added, “Cai Cai has already helped me a lot. Without your help, we wouldn’t have achieved this progress. You’re the biggest contributor. Do you want me to give you a commendation? We’ll hang it in our room, write ‘for outstanding contributions,’ only Cai Cai…”

Yan Cai covered Jiang Manyue’s mouth in shame.

“Enough, I don’t want to hear it. It’s too embarrassing! Shut up.”

Qingke, who was caught in the middle, raised his head, glancing between one father and the other, before sighing. Ah, both fathers forgot about the baby again. He grabbed Yan Cai’s clothes, wanting to get off the bed.

The little uncle doesn’t ignore him…he want to go to the little uncle.

Then, Qingke was scooped back up.

“Son, where are you going? Be good, it’s time for bed, it’s already dark outside.” The son was mercilessly brought back to bed to sleep.

Jiang Manyue put on his clothes and got out of bed. He hadn’t eaten since coming home.

“You go eat. The food’s all ready for you in the kitchen. I’m going to bed first,” Yan Cai yawned; he was already exhausted. If Jiang Manyue hadn’t returned home, he would have fallen asleep a long time ago.

The son, on the other hand, was full of energy. He slept for a long time in the afternoon and became very lively in the evening, bouncing around and insisting on going downstairs. Yan Cai, who was already prepared to sleep, stuffed him back into the blanket for them to sleep together.

The baby felt aggrieved at being forced to sleep. However, due to his young age, his bright eyes stayed open for a while before unknowingly closing shut. In his dreams, he smacked his lips and made sucking noises, as if nursing. The two little leaves on his head closed together as he rested with his owner.

By the time Jiang Manyue came back from dinner, both of them had been asleep for a while. He sat on the bedside and looked at them quietly for a long time, his eyes soft. After a while, Yan Cai raised his hand and patted Jiang Manyue’s thigh.

“Hey, have you seen enough? Aren’t you going to sleep?” After staring for so long, even a fool could sense it. His voice carried a strong drowsiness.

“I’m going to sleep,” Jiang Manyue blew out the candle.

The next day, Jiang Manyue went to the Ministry of Works to inquire about the distribution of agricultural tools in several villages on the outskirts of Beijing. Jiang Manyue was holding the token given by the emperor. Although the Ministry of Works felt that Jiang Manyue was overreaching by intervening in their affairs, they reluctantly allowed him to inspect the records and registers because of the imperial token he carried.

Although it was reluctantly permitted, but in fact there are many obstacles. The high-ranking officials at the Ministry of Works looked down on the newcomer Jiang Manyue, especially since he dared to meddle in other departments.

“This is classified information of the Ministry of Works, not something just anyone can access. Who does this young man think he is?” The senior official couldn’t easily hand over the documents.

Even if Jiang Manyue is the new favorite of the emperor, what does it matter? Being so lacking in discretion, who knows how long he will last. Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. Any year, any month, any day, one might suddenly become a victim under the blade.

Furthermore, no matter how favored he may be, with a higher official rank, he still has to bow his head before him  in the end.

“The Emperor sent you to supervise the farming situation, but why are you meddling in our Ministry of Works? There’s nothing here for you to intervene in.” Not meddling in other departmental affairs is the rule, after all.

Jiang Manyue put aside his initial deference, raised his head, and gave the senior official a cold, disdainful look.

“Lord Secretary, the subordinate believes that it is unnecessary to delay matters concerning the people just to compete with me.”

“You!” The Lord Secretary’s heart chilled, refusing to admit that he had been intimidated by Jiang Manyue’s gaze.

“Since I am not qualified to request that the ministry produce the register and account books, I wonder if the Emperor is qualified to do so?”

Jiang Manyue produced the Emperor’s imperial decree, which was reserved for situations like this. “The Emperor has stated that when I, as an official, am carrying out my duties and show this decree, it is as if he is present himself. Anyone who obstructs may be charged with great disrespect. Lord Secretary, are you sure you want to continue to oppose me?”

The Minister knelt down and paid his respects, and then extremely unwillingly retrieved the sealed account books from that year.

Written on it was that three years ago, the court had once distributed a batch of new agricultural tools to replace the old ones. Additionally, ten years ago, there was also a replacement of old agricultural tools with new ones.

However, up to now, the villagers in the suburbs still use agricultural tools from over a decade ago. So where did those distributed agricultural tools go?

Thinking about those rusty tools, Jiang Manyue furrowed his brow deeply. Since he knew about these matters, he couldn’t possibly conceal them. Soon enough, the Emperor would also be informed of this matter.

Before him lay the account books of the Ministry of Works over the years, as well as the villagers’ tools: rusted hoes, rakes, plows, and so on.

The Emperor was shocked and then furious. How much silver had he allocated from the treasury over the years, only to receive these pieces of junk that had been used for over a decade? Where had all the allocated money gone?

“You will thoroughly investigate this matter and I will not tolerate any leniency!” The Emperor pressed his temple, feeling exhausted. He was getting old, his body far less robust than before. “Zhen will allocate a sum of money to you separately, for you to be solely responsible for. Make sure it is all used properly. Zhen don’t want to be troubled for so long, only to find out that my people can’t even use a new hoe in the end.”

“Yes.” Jiang Manyue agreed.

The emperor looked at Jiang Manyue, whose expression was a little cold, for a long time before he became a little amused. Jiang Manyue seemed a bit aloof; he never had a smile on his face on ordinary days. The Emperor couldn’t fathom how Yan Cai could endure him.

When he first heard that they were a couple, even the Emperor was somewhat shocked. He always felt that their styles didn’t quite match.

Moreover, he and Yan Cai hit it off immediately. He always felt that it was a bit of a pity for Yan Cai to be matched with someone as cold-faced as Jiang Manyue.

However, regardless of their family matters, even if he was the Emperor, it wasn’t appropriate for him to interfere too much. But if one day Yan Cai was unhappy with this marriage, as the Emperor, he would definitely stand up for Yan Cai.

With that in mind, he said to Jiang Manyue, “Zhen is a bit tired and would like to talk to Yan Cai.”

Jiang Manyue paused for a long while before reluctantly replying, “Okay.”

Seeing his reluctance, the Emperor burst into laughter. This fellow, who always seemed indifferent and emotionless, could also be so unwilling at times.

Jiang Manyue was overthinking it. Although he has a good impression of Yan Cai, it’s just the perspective of an elder on a youngster. Moreover, he has no interest in things like Long Yang at all. But if Yan Cai wanted, he could indeed select a few beauties for him.

The author has something to say:

Manyue: What’s wrong with the Emperor? Can the Emperor just have a heart-to-heart with someone from our family? Once he starts, it’s a whole day affair!

Long Yang (龙阳 – lóng yáng) is a term from ancient China referring to intimate relationships or love affairs between men. It’s often used to denote homosexual relationships or activities in historical contexts. In modern Mandarin, it’s commonly used to refer to homosexuality or gay relationships.