Marrying The Imperial Elder Chapter 9

After coming out of Yuanhui’s room, Zhen Tingyun first went downstairs to return the tray and bowls. Then she paid out of her own silver to buy an old hen and asked the inn kitchen to stew it into soup.

Only after arranging everything properly did Zhen Tingyun go to see Old Lady Zhen.

Old Lady Zhen had already eaten breakfast. She was reclining against a chair, head lowered as she sewed a robe, holding an embroidery frame in her hands.

Zhen Tingyun glanced at it. Seeing that the robe was not very large, she guessed it was meant for her younger brother, Zhen Hengzhe.

Wasn’t that just how precious grandsons were? Although Old Lady Zhen had never even met her grandson, she still thought about him every day and constantly had people send things to her son and grandson. Seeing that they were about to enter the capital, she had long ago obtained her grandson’s measurements and had spent the entire journey busily making clothes for her son and grandson, even embroidering patterns on them!

Of course it would be false to say Zhen Tingyun felt no jealousy at all. But she had long since understood Old Lady Zhen’s temperament and could not be bothered to argue over such things anymore.

So Zhen Tingyun only tactfully reminded her, “Grandmother, everyone says the capital is the Son of Heaven’s city and sets the trends for the whole realm. Even clothing styles are somewhat different there from elsewhere. Your intentions in making clothes for Little Brother are certainly good, but if the robes you make don’t suit his tastes, wouldn’t all your effort go to waste? Why not wait until we reach the capital before making them?”

Old Lady Zhen would not listen to her. Without even lifting her eyelids, she replied, “It’s fine. I’m just sewing an ordinary robe for home wear. No matter how different the styles are, it’ll still be fine to wear at home. It’s no trouble anyway, I’m just doing some sewing to pass the time.”

Zhen Tingyun shrugged and did not continue persuading her. She merely said casually, “Then after you finish sewing his robe, you should make me a spring jacket too. I assume that also ‘won’t be any trouble.’”

Old Lady Zhen: “…”

If this had been a few years earlier, Old Lady Zhen would probably have snapped back immediately with something like, “You little girl, are you lacking food or clothes? Why are you making such a fuss?” Unfortunately, times were different now. Though Old Lady Zhen did favor boys over girls somewhat, she had still lived together with her granddaughter for more than ten years and did have genuine feelings for her. She also understood her granddaughter’s temper and did not want to truly anger her.

So Old Lady Zhen could only stick the needle into the embroidery frame, pull her granddaughter to sit beside her, and awkwardly change the subject. “I heard from Old Lin that we probably can’t leave for the next few days and will have to stay at the inn a bit longer… Stop standing here nagging me and hurry over to cancel the room next door. I’ve already told Old Lin he can squeeze in together with that man!”

Zhen Tingyun had originally been worrying about how to explain the chicken soup for Yuanhui to Old Lady Zhen. She had not expected the old woman to be unable to tolerate even a few more days of room fees and already want to shove Yuanhui into sharing a room with Steward Lin… Yet Zhen Tingyun was currently planning to learn from Yuanhui, and for now she still needed to keep him pleased, so naturally she could not neglect him.

Which meant she first had to persuade Old Lady Zhen. Setting aside the room fees, there would surely be more expenses later, chicken soup for Yuanhui, buying him clothes and medicine, and many other things requiring money.

Zhen Tingyun took a deep breath and felt immense pressure weighing on her.

Old Lady Zhen, however, had no idea what her granddaughter was thinking. Seeing that she did not respond, she urged again, “Honestly, what are you thinking? Letting a horse thief stay alone in a room for several days, are you trying to throw money away or what?!”

Having already prepared her argument in her mind, Zhen Tingyun first sat down beside Old Lady Zhen before speaking. “Grandmother, don’t keep calling him ‘horse thief, horse thief.’ He has a name. It’s Yuanhui.”

Old Lady Zhen curled her lips disdainfully but said nothing.

“Grandmother, just listen to me first,” Zhen Tingyun said slowly. “I’ve already spoken with Yuanhui. He’s truly talented, not only in riding and archery, but also knowledgeable in qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Because I saved him this time, he’s grateful to me and has already agreed to teach me calligraphy and the bamboo xiao. Once his body recovers, he’ll also teach me riding and archery… To be honest, Grandmother, I’m genuinely happy about this. You know, a few years ago when I wanted to learn the qin from the old xiucai next door, not only did I spend eight taels buying his old qin, I also had to keep bringing him vegetables, fish, and pastries before he was willing to teach me even a little. It just goes to show how difficult it really is to learn things. Now that I’ve met someone as talented as Yuanhui, and he’s willing to teach me, forget opening a room for him, hiring doctors, or buying medicine, even if he demanded tuition, I’d still grit my teeth and pay it willingly.”

Back then, Zhen Tingyun had spent half a year fussing over learning the qin. Old Lady Zhen had already scolded her and gotten angry enough at the time, but now, recalling it, she felt somewhat sorry for her granddaughter instead, and even faintly regretted being too stingy back then to spend money hiring a teacher, causing the girl to suffer such grievances outside.

Without changing expression, Zhen Tingyun continued, “But Yuanhui hasn’t mentioned tuition at all, nor asked for any silver from me. Grandmother, think about it, such a teacher, and one who refuses payment too. We’re not some heartless family. We can’t possibly neglect him. We should put ourselves in his shoes and show the proper respect due a teacher. How could we possibly shove him into a room with Steward Lin?”

“Didn’t you also always say that when Father apprenticed himself to Maternal Grandfather, he always followed the saying, ‘When there is work, the disciple serves.’ Every day he attended Grandfather personally, never slacking through winter cold or summer heat, always extremely respectful. If you ask me, that’s what studying should look like. As Father’s daughter, I should learn from him too.”

Old Lady Zhen’s expression had already softened somewhat, though she still stubbornly retorted, “You’re a girl. What use is there in learning all this?!”

“I know Grandmother looks down on these things and thinks I’m just making a fuss. But I can’t help feeling unwilling to accept it. Mother graduated from Xidu Women’s Academy back then, and Elder Sister entered Yuhua Women’s Academy as soon as she arrived in the capital earlier this year. I’m the only one who knows nothing. By the time we arrive in the capital and I see Father, Mother, Elder Sister, and Little Brother, I’m afraid I’ll only make both myself and Grandmother lose face. If that really happened, I’d die of shame!” Zhen Tingyun held Old Lady Zhen’s hand gently. “Grandmother, I also want to win some honor for myself, and for you.”

Hearing this, Old Lady Zhen truly was somewhat persuaded. She herself did not care about such things, but she also knew her son and daughter-in-law had always valued them greatly. Besides, the eldest granddaughter raised by her daughter-in-law had already entered the women’s academy at the start of the year. If Zhen Tingyun, who had been raised by her own side, turned out unable to do anything and failed the academy exam next year, then perhaps she truly would lose face along with her.

Thinking this over, Old Lady Zhen finally relented. “Fine then. If you want to study, then study.”

Zhen Tingyun blinked, immediately wrapping both arms around Old Lady Zhen’s arm and shaking it while acting spoiled. “I knew Grandmother loved me…”

Seeing her granddaughter’s bright smiling face, Old Lady Zhen herself felt extremely fond of her too. Unable to help herself, she smiled and raised a hand to stroke the girl’s hair. “I’ve never seen anyone as sweet-tongued as you! Everyone says how clever and capable your elder sister is, but I don’t think she necessarily compares to you. Since you’ve met a teacher willing to teach you, then study properly and study seriously. If next year you can score even better than your sister on the women’s academy examination, I’ll be able to bask in the glory too.”

Thinking that if her younger granddaughter scored higher than the eldest granddaughter someday, wouldn’t that prove she herself was better than Madam Pei at raising granddaughters?

The more she thought about it, the more Old Lady Zhen hugged Zhen Tingyun and laughed.

As for Zhen Tingyun, she inwardly sighed at Old Lady Zhen’s lofty ambitions: Ai, here she was still worrying about how to get accepted into the women’s academy at all, while her grandmother was already thinking about surpassing Elder Sister Zhen Yiyun… No wonder Yuanhui always thought she liked dreaming. Clearly this was hereditary!

Though this was what she thought inwardly, Zhen Tingyun’s words remained sweet. After a moment, she added, “Right, I noticed Grandmother’s been exhausted these past few days from traveling. At your age, you really should take better care of yourself and nourish your body a bit more. So I had someone stew some chicken soup for you to drink tonight.”

After all, one large pot of chicken soup could easily be divided up. When the time came, one bowl for Yuanhui and one bowl for Old Lady Zhen, wouldn’t that work out perfectly?

Hearing this, Old Lady Zhen immediately stopped smiling and reached out to twist her granddaughter’s ear. “You wasteful girl! Chickens at an inn are much more expensive than at home. Why did you have to eat chicken?!” As she spoke, she actually got up, intending to rush downstairs and stop the kitchen from stewing the soup.

Zhen Tingyun put on a “dead pig isn’t afraid of boiling water” expression and hummed shamelessly, “Well, the chicken’s already been killed and it’s already in the pot. Going downstairs now won’t help anyway.”

Old Lady Zhen was truly about to be angered to death by this spendthrift granddaughter. She twisted her ear hard twice, yet in the end still could do nothing with her.

Besides, although the old woman was angry at her granddaughter for spending money recklessly, deep down she still felt a tiny bit pleased, believing that this was, after all, a rare act of filial devotion from her granddaughter.

***

By evening, Zhen Tingyun personally went downstairs to check on the pot of chicken soup. She deliberately separated out two bowls, thinking that at Old Lady Zhen’s age, food that was too greasy would not be good for her health. So she simply skimmed the fat from both bowls before carrying one large bowl upstairs for Old Lady Zhen.

Old Lady Zhen was quite sharp in these matters. She poked around in the bowl with a spoon, then muttered suspiciously, “Something’s not right. There’s only half a chicken in here… Tell me honestly, did the inn cook secretly steal some to eat?”

“I had Bazhen watch the kitchen while it was stewing,” Zhen Tingyun rolled her eyes inwardly and could only take the blame herself. “I drank the other half.”

Old Lady Zhen raised a brow and scolded her, “And you said you were being filial to me. You still had to drink some chicken soup yourself before it was my turn as your grandmother…”

Zhen Tingyun copied Old Lady Zhen’s tone, propping her chin on one hand and sighing mournfully, “Ai, Grandmother also says she loves me, yet all along the journey you’ve only been hurrying to make clothes for Father and Little Brother. My spring jacket still hasn’t materialized. I can only drink a few mouthfuls of chicken soup to warm my stomach.”

The sharp-tongued grandmother and sharp-tongued granddaughter looked at each other, smiled, and both fell silent.