"Well, you’ve really done it now," muttered Mu Shaoling, shaking his head, indicating he didn’t want to talk anymore.
Mr. Luo, who had been in the courtyard without stepping out, naturally heard the conversation in the room and immediately dashed in.
"No, no, I don’t agree to this! You will listen to me," he huffed.
"Why?" Ye Zi’an lazily looked up, quite puzzled. He was just taking his lady to Capital City, why was everyone so worked up about it?
Mr. Luo fixed an annoyed gaze at him, "You’ve seen how many people bring their families to take exams? Aren’t you just asking for people to say you’re attached to your family life? If you really take her with you, at most people will think you’re quite stylish if you pass the Advanced Scholar exam. However, if you fail, this will be the basis for idle gossip. If you were just any other candidate, I wouldn’t bother, but you’re different. You are under scrutiny because of your reinstatement issue, you get it? And the Academic Administrator is well-connected from his years in office, see what I mean?"
After he finished talking to Zi’an, he turned to Yang Chuxia, "And you, can’t you reason with him? Why are you stirring the pot?" At this, Yang Chuxia widened her eyes in surprise. What did she have to do with this? Had she even had enough time to understand the situation before forming a response?
"Sir, wouldn’t people assume my lady is there to wash clothes and cook for me? It’s not unheard of," suggested Zi’an.
"Give it a rest," scoffed Shaoling, rolling his eyes, "Are the servants in your house disabled? Is your old mother useless? Do you think everyone else is a fool?"
Yang Chuxia was speechless. Fine, not going it is, she thought. Was it that big a deal? Besides, she had other responsibilities she couldn’t leave behind: the house wasn’t finished yet, the accounts from the past year needed reevaluating, rents from the farmhouse needed collecting, and wasn’t a sugar-making craftsman visiting in a few days? There was so much to do!
Therefore, she tried calming Mr. Luo down, "Mr. Luo, don’t get worked up. I never said I would go, don’t listen to my husband. I won’t go."
On hearing this, Mr. Luo grumbled his acknowledgement in a sort of "Well, that’s more like it" manner, and then left the room.
This left Shaoling and Zi’an staring at each other in silence.
Saoling deliberately stirred the pot again, asking Xiaxia, "Xiaxia, I heard that you go over the accounts every year before the new one starts?"
"Then let me accompany you. I, as the young master, am quick at checking accounts."
Yang Chuxia broke out in a sweat and shook her head, "No need, I don’t need to leave the house. The shopkeepers from other places will set off half a month before the new year to report to me."
"Oh, I see," acknowledged Saoling, then asked, "And won’t you be off to collect rents? I heard your family owns several farms?"
Yang Chuxia was speechless again and managed to say, "That’s not necessary either, the rent will be collected and sent to us."
Shaoling expressed his disappointment but continued, "Doesn’t your house need some nicer tiles? Your small building is rather dainty. I believe ’fish scale’ tiles would make it look better than ordinary tiles. Do you want me to bring some over?"
Yang Chuxia sneaked a glance at Zi’an, noticing his face getting increasingly black, and thought about how dramatic these two men were. Moreover, Brother An, this otherwise rational man, couldn’t seem to see that Shaoling was deliberately stirring the pot.
"Give it a rest, I’ve already ordered the tiles. They may not be ’fish scale’ tiles, but they’re not any worse."
Seeing that Shaoling was about to open his mouth again, Yang Chuxia hurriedly interrupted, "I think it would be better if you brought me vinegar instead. It’s getting incredibly sour in here."