Chapter 653 - 431: Truly Hilarious

Chapter 653: Chapter 431: Truly Hilarious

Before the imperial decree from the palace even reached the Imperial Awakening Temple, the Marquis had already acted faster, sending word to Xu Anchen.

Xu Anchen and his wife had, for all intents and purposes, pledged their allegiance to Ming Fei. The couple had even managed to establish their own residence by riding on her coattails.

Now that they were being asked to sound out his own sister, Xu Anchen was deeply worried.

Mrs. Pan was much more relaxed. She said to her husband, "We’re in a position where we can’t back down now. Besides, Ming Fei has treated us fairly. I don’t think it’s necessarily that my sister-in-law has done anything wrong. Don’t you remember what happened with the Empress Dowager? Ming Fei didn’t kick her when she was down. It’s probably just some palace affair that she can’t tell us about, so she’s only asking us to pass on a message. As long as my sister-in-law is innocent, we have nothing to fear."

Xu Anchen sighed. His father’s personality had offended many people. Although their family held the title of a Marquis Mansion, if they didn’t show any ambition, he feared the court would reclaim the title once the succession ended.

He would still be a Marquis, but his son would be left with nothing. If he proved himself capable, he might be able to request an inherited post for his son. But if he was incompetent, what more could be said?

Xu Anchen couldn’t count on his father anymore and had to forge his own path. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have boarded this pirate ship when Ming Fei first made her overtures.

He could count on his mother even less. Her mind was completely occupied with his third younger brother. Now that such a scandal had erupted in the third brother’s residence and Yan Liu was dead, he feared his third brother would grit his teeth and wait for his wife to give birth to a son before reverting to his old ways. When that happened, the third branch of the family would surely be thrown into chaos again.

He didn’t want to get involved in any of it right now. He just wanted to do his best to climb the ladder. He had a son of his own and had to think of his future.

Xu Anchen looked at his wife. "When you see her, persuade her not to oppose Ming Fei. She should try her best to get on good terms with her."

"I don’t think that will be easy. Speaking of which, last time she was punished by the Empress Dowager, it was Consort Shu and Ming Fei who helped her out, but Ming Ying never even properly went to thank them." Mrs. Pan was very displeased as she brought this up. ’What a perfect opportunity to build a good relationship, but she just insisted she was recuperating and couldn’t even crawl out of bed.’

’She claimed she couldn’t get up, but then didn’t she just turn around and briskly head off to the Imperial Awakening Temple?’

"Besides, Ming Ying didn’t even discuss going to the Imperial Awakening Temple with the family. She just went and asked the Emperor for permission herself. With a personality like that, what could I possibly say to persuade her?" Mrs. Pan was still fuming.

’Go to the Imperial Awakening Temple for spiritual cultivation?’

’It’s absolutely ridiculous.’

’Wouldn’t it be better to stay in the palace, build good relationships with the three concubines, and pave the way for her own future?’

’A meat pie fell from the sky and landed on her head, and she didn’t even know to catch it.’

’She suffered for nothing, and in the end, not only did she gain nothing, but she also got herself sent to a temple.’

’I’ve never seen anyone so stupid.’

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and Mrs. Pan’s words grew a little blunt. "If you ask me, there’s nothing to persuade her about. Everyone walks their own path. We should just do whatever that side asks of us. If you try to please both sides, you’ll end up pleasing no one and losing everything."

Hearing his wife speak like this, Xu Anchen looked a bit embarrassed. "She’s still my sister, after all. We’re family."

Mrs. Pan said, "If Ming Ying truly respected you as her elder brother, she would have discussed such a major decision with you. But she made up her own mind. We only found out after she’d already gone to the Imperial Awakening Temple. If outsiders learn of this, they’ll laugh themselves to death at our expense."

Xu Anchen: ...

Mrs. Pan sighed. "I know you’re a man who values relationships, my husband. I couldn’t feel more secure being married to you. However, we have children now. We have to think about them when we act. I promise you, if there’s a way to help, I will definitely help my sister-in-law. I will certainly not be the villain who breaks her heart."

Xu Anchen had recently been plotting to get a new official post. He couldn’t just keep drifting along like this. But at such a critical moment, his sister’s side of things was causing trouble. He feared he would have to wait until this matter settled before he could make any plans for his career.

At this thought, Xu Anchen felt a pang of hurt. He was a Princely Heir, which sounded impressive, but he only had an empty title with no real power. Who among the truly powerful and influential great families would ever take him seriously?

Not to mention, he figured he wasn’t even as distinguished as Ming Fei’s male cousin right now.

The man was a third-place scholar personally selected by the Emperor, his performance after being posted outside the capital was excellent, and his own father had been ennobled as Ning’an Bo. With his family’s rising influence and his own capabilities, who in the Capital City didn’t praise Song Buran as a promising young talent?

Xu Anchen was envious.

While Song Buran’s success was certainly due to his own excellence, Ming Fei had also been a huge help. If not for Ming Fei, how would the Emperor have even known who Song Buran was?

There were plenty of talented scholars who passed the imperial examinations; the Emperor couldn’t possibly remember all of them.

"Then when you go tomorrow, speak with my sister nicely. Probe carefully, and don’t let her sense your intentions, lest it create a rift between family members."

"Of course I know that. Don’t you worry." Mrs. Pan didn’t want her husband to be distracted by such a trivial matter. Besides, she had always treated anything concerning Ming Fei as a top priority.

Her husband felt a sense of obligation toward his sister, but Mrs. Pan’s feelings for her sister-in-law were lukewarm at best.

When Xu Mingying was at home, she had always been closer to Xu Anxing, and she treated her, this sister-in-law, with indifference. If she had possessed Ming Fei’s abilities and won the Emperor’s favor, Mrs. Pan would have broken her own kneecaps to fawn over and flatter her.

’But what happened instead? She entered the palace only to be targeted by the Empress Dowager and suffer a disaster. And afterward, when she clearly could have used the incident to build good relations with the three concubines and pave a path for her future, what did she do?’

In any case, Mrs. Pan disliked her way of doing things. The two of them were simply not the same kind of people at their core.

The next morning, Mrs. Pan set out early for the Imperial Awakening Temple to visit Xu Ji. Unexpectedly, her carriage broke down on the way. While it was being repaired, she happened to run into Madam Jiang, who was also going to the Imperial Awakening Temple to burn incense, so she hitched a ride.

At the foot of the mountain, she met Madam Fu. In the presence of the two Grand Dowagers, although Mrs. Pan was the Young Madam of a Marquis Mansion, she adopted a very humble posture, showing great respect to them both. She chatted with the two of them as they entered the Imperial Awakening Temple together.

After entering the temple gates, the two Grand Dowagers went to burn incense, while Mrs. Pan went to see Xu Ji, and so the group parted ways.

Mrs. Pan walked a few steps, then glanced back at the two Grand Dowagers, feeling a pang of envy. ’If I could have such good fortune when I’m old,’ she thought, ’I could truly close my eyes and die with a smile.’

Madam Jiang hadn’t been particularly prominent in the Capital City before, but her son had a stroke of good luck, rising from Vice Minister to Chief of Staff, and her daughter became a Madam. Just like that, her family had become distinguished.

Mrs. Pan was now focused on taking each step carefully. It would be wonderful if she, too, could have such good fortune when she was old.

Following a little monk, she arrived at a secluded courtyard within the temple. Mrs. Pan gave her thanks and had her maidservant step forward to knock on the door.

This area was very quiet, and ordinarily, no one came to disturb it. After all, Xu Ji was still one of the Emperor’s concubines, merely engaging in spiritual retreat here. The people responsible for cleaning were all sent from the palace, and the arrangements were very thorough and discreet.