Chapter 174 - 151: A Father’s Honor Through His Daughter (Part 2)

Jiang Xian had made it very clear in her letter. This visit was both a personal favor and a public display. Since Noble Princess Consort Rong was willing to grant her family this honor, Jiang Xian told her father to graciously accept it. She had already spoken to the Emperor about the matter, making it an officially sanctioned favor. Her family’s status was simply too low; a little boost from the Emperor, followed by a slight lift from the Rong family, wouldn’t affect the political winds at court in the slightest. The Emperor was willing to grant her this small measure of dignity.

Upon meeting Mr. Rong, Jiang Ke found the man didn’t put on any airs at all. On the contrary, he was very amiable. His tone was kind, but his voice was rather loud—a habit from his days leading troops.

The connection between them was entirely through their daughters, and they rarely had the chance to meet, so there wasn’t much to discuss. Old Master Rong simply treated him as a close junior, offering some advice on matters to be aware of now that he was returning to the Capital to serve as an official, and adding a promise: "If anything urgent comes up, just come to the Rong Mansion and find me."

’Like father, like daughter. They both love telling people to use their name if trouble arises.’

Mr. Rong offered him some tea. "Many people will do you favors on account of Gu Wan Yi," he said. "But nothing in this world comes without a cost. Gu Wan Yi is favored, and she’s made her fair share of enemies in the harem. Be wary of people with the surnames Guo and Lu. Hui Pin being sent to cut hay is tantamount to a death sentence, but Gu Wan Yi saved the Empress Dowager. The two matters may cancel each other out, so they might not necessarily target you."

To be honest, Mr. Rong had no idea how his own daughter had become such good friends with Gu Wan Yi.

Ma Wan Yi had been his daughter’s follower for years, yet she had seldom earned his daughter’s true regard.

The workings of fate were truly unpredictable.

But he knew his daughter’s temperament well. For her to say ’Gu Wan Yi is barely acceptable’ was already the highest of praise. It was also the first time she had ever willingly made a friend. Once she deemed someone worthy, she rarely changed her opinion. As her father, he was happy to indulge his daughter’s wishes.

"Thank you for the advice, Lord Rong. I will remember it well."

"I heard you’ve acquired a single-courtyard house in the Capital? How is a family supposed to live in a place like that? As it happens, the Rong family has an empty three-courtyard residence. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to give it to you."

Mr. Rong wasn’t one for idle chatter. Just like that, he gifted Jiang Ke a courtyard house in the Capital.

...

Jiang Ke didn’t return until the afternoon. He had walked to the Rong Mansion but returned in a horse-drawn carriage. When Mr. Rong learned he had arrived on foot, he insisted one couldn’t get around in the Capital without transportation and simply gave him the carriage.

Ms. Zhang, who met her husband at the front gate, clutched her chest as she listened. "He gives you a carriage, just like that? How can we possibly repay such a gift? Our local specialties from Meize County are hardly suitable!"

And giving silver was even more out of the question.

Ms. Zhang could only ask the charioteer to return to the Rong Mansion and convey their thanks to Mr. Rong for his kindness.

The charioteer stared at them, stunned. "But Mr. Jiang, Old Master Rong gave me to you, too! Surely you can’t be expected to drive the carriage yourself!"

Mr. and Ms. Jiang were speechless.

How thoughtful Mr. Rong was. He truly understood the art of gift-giving.

Giving the carriage and throwing in the driver as part of the package—now *that* was a man who understood gift-giving.

Jiang Ke helped his wife back into the house. Ms. Zhang was still in a daze. "What on earth happened at the Rong Mansion? Are you a long-lost scion of the Rong family? Why else would he be so good to you? Or could it be that our Xian’er didn’t actually enter the palace to become a concubine, but married into the Rong Mansion to bear them a son?"

Jiang Ke was speechless.

He recounted everything that had happened at the mansion, also mentioning the enemies his daughter had made in the harem.

Having political enemies was a perfectly normal thing, but Ms. Zhang burst into tears after hearing it. "You heartless man! I knew our daughter wasn’t doing well in the harem. So many people want to harm her! You mentioned a Guo and a Lu yourself. Her life in the palace must be so difficult. All the wealth and glory we enjoy today is thanks to Xian’er. Living in this house... it makes my conscience ache."

"You’re right, we really can’t live in this house anymore..."

Ms. Zhang shot him a look, waiting to see what plan he was about to propose.

Jiang Ke wiped his forehead. "Mr. Rong gave us a three-courtyard residence. I tried to refuse, but he insisted."

"Why would he give you a residence? For your paltry Ninth Grade official post? He must want something from our daughter! Don’t you get all starry-eyed just because you heard ’three-courtyard residence,’ I’m telling you! We have to ask our daughter about this."

But there was a problem: their daughter was in the Imperial Palace. Without the right connections, it was difficult to even get a message to her.

Fortunately, Ms. Zhang soon got her wish: she was summoned to the Imperial Palace to be with her daughter for the birth.

Ms. Zhang entered the Imperial Palace carrying a thousand worries, but she dared not let them show on her face, for fear of affecting her daughter’s state of mind before the birth.

She first went to pay her respects to the Empress. After a few brief words, the Empress dismissed her, telling her to go to Bihua Palace to be with Gu Wan Yi. Before she had married, Ms. Zhang had never imagined she would one day set foot in the Imperial Palace. And though it was magnificent at every turn, she felt no trace of envy.