Chapter 206: Chapter 192: The Third Son’s Lifelong Obsession
The sky was already bright, and even though Wen Wan was still tired, she didn’t feel comfortable continuing to sleep. So she pushed herself to get up and help her husband change clothes.
Taking advantage of this moment, she asked him, "When are we moving?"
"In a couple of days when I have my break," Song Wei said, looking at the young wife who was smoothing the wrinkles on his shoulders in the bronze mirror. His lips couldn’t help but curve into a smile.
Wen Wan said, "Then we need to let Mother check the almanac. Moving can’t be taken lightly."
Song Wei didn’t refuse.
Wen Wan added, "Give me the keys, just in case the day Mother chooses doesn’t match your break. We can move ourselves; we’re idle anyway, and it will give us something to do."
After dressing, Song Wei handed Wen Wan the keys to the house and advised her, "If I’m not around, try to get Uncle and Aunt to help out."
Wen Wan nodded in agreement and placed the keys in the bedside cabinet. "Since we’re moving there, are you planning to sell this courtyard?"
Song Wei’s voice carried a hint of pleasure, "Didn’t you want to hoard properties before? Let’s start from here. We won’t sell it for now. Let it sit for a few years."
Wen Wan hadn’t expected that he still remembered the joke she made when they first arrived in the capital.
The feeling of being cherished made her heart warm.
Just as she planned to personally send him off, an abrupt premonition made the smile on her face vanish quickly.
Song Wei also sensed something was off with his young wife and didn’t rush to speak. He waited until she regained her composure before asking, "What’s the matter?"
"Are you taking the carriage to Hanlin Academy today?"
Song Wei said yes, as the Hanlin Academy was somewhat far. Renting a carriage was necessary.
He was new to the Hanlin Academy and being a newcomer in the official circles. He shouldn’t be too ostentatious right away, so he kept a low profile as much as possible.
Wen Wan said, "If you can avoid taking the carriage, try to do so! Someone has intentionally set off firecrackers on the way to the government office, startling the horse. Not only will you not reach Hanlin Academy today, but you might also get injured from the accident."
This was her first premonition after regaining her voice. There was no need to exert herself using sign language or spend a long time writing with brush and ink. She could clearly explain everything just by speaking.
Wen Wan suddenly felt very content.
It was really nice to be able to speak.
This was the first time she explained a premonition like this, and Song Wei had never heard it before, causing him to be slightly stunned. He then extended his hand to feel her throat, his voice deep and mellow, "Does it still feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Wen Wan shook her head, "No, it’s been almost half a year since I recovered, and I’ve been fine all along."
Song Wei felt relieved and slowly retracted his hand.
Thinking of her previous premonition, Wen Wan fell into confusion, "Who on earth would want to harm you, husband?"
He was right next to her, and she couldn’t see the cause and effect. Could there be some unknown hidden plot?
Song Wei didn’t think too deeply, only saying it might be because he became a new favorite in the court after ranking third in the imperial examination, inadvertently offending some people who wanted to play tricks on him.
"Then why can’t I see the cause?" Wen Wan still felt something was amiss.
Based on her previous experience with the premonition of the inn fire in the province, there must be some hidden truth behind this firecracker incident. However, she was new here and couldn’t learn more at all.
Song Wei couldn’t take the carriage today and had to walk. It would take a considerable amount of time to reach Hanlin Academy, and he was worried about being late for the morning roll call. He hurried out and didn’t discuss further with Wen Wan, simply bid her farewell before leaving the courtyard.
After sending her husband off, Wen Wan drew some warm water to tidy herself up properly, then went to the kitchen to start a fire and prepared breakfast for her in-laws.
They must have been exhausted after nearly a month of travel, as Wen Wan had been married to the Song family for three years and had never seen her in-laws get up so late.
Song Fang had already drunk half a bowl of porridge and headed to Hongwen Academy for school, while Granny Song and Old Song entered the main hall one after the other.
Yuanbao was sitting at the table gnawing on a bun. When he saw his grandparents come in, he greeted them briefly.
Seeing this, Wen Wan quickly invited her in-laws to sit and soon went to the kitchen to bring over the porridge warming on the stove and the hot buns from the steamer.
Granny Song asked Wen Wan, "Did Third Son go to the government office?"
Wen Wan nodded, saying he left early in the morning.
She didn’t mention anything about the premonition.
Since she had already warned her husband, there was no need to worry her mother-in-law.
After breakfast, Wen Wan handed Jinbao to her mother-in-law and prepared to go to the market to buy groceries. Before leaving, she asked her mother-in-law to check the almanac for a day, saying they were planning to move to the new courtyard.
Granny Song muttered upon hearing this, "This courtyard may be small, but it fits our family comfortably enough. Why move? Didn’t that new courtyard cost a lot of money?"
Wen Wan smiled as she explained, "My husband works at the Hanlin Academy, and it’s too far from here. If we don’t move, it’d be too tiring for him to walk to the government office every day. As for that set of houses, my husband said their superior exchanged them with him."
"Exchange?" Granny Song immediately reacted, "Are you saying someone traded houses for his junk?"
Even though they were priceless antiques, in her mother-in-law’s eyes, they became a pile of "junk." Wen Wan was amused, "Yes, the superior fancied what my husband had and traded two houses for them."
Granny Song suddenly sighed, "Third Son has loved tinkering with those things since he was little. The year he went to the town school, his father and I couldn’t leave the field work, so we gave him two taels of silver to pay for tuition. But he didn’t give the money to the teacher; he bought a dirty incense burner on his way.
I was so mad at the time. I thought about beating him, but Third Son is the most obedient of the three sons. If I didn’t beat him, every time we gave him money, he’d rather starve and exchange it for some useless stuff.
That day, I was quite furious, so I hit him twice with a stick. The kid has a backbone; if he did something wrong, he accepted it. Even when I beat or scolded him, he took it, but he just wouldn’t change.
Later, his father advised me, saying that Third Son was born unlucky, and with his misfortunate look, who knows when something might really happen to him. He said I should let him be; it’s rare for him to have a hobby, so let him tinker with what he likes, as long as he lives comfortably.
I also thought he was unlucky all the time, and I felt sorry for the kid. So, later, whatever he brought home, I didn’t meddle anymore."
At this point, there was a hint of regret in Granny Song’s voice, "I never would have thought that the things he collected piece by piece back then were actually precious items."
Wen Wan laughed and said, "It turns out the Dean fancied precisely that incense burner you mentioned, along with an ink wash, two items in total."
Granny Song was dumbfounded, "So it turns out our Third Son has been someone special since he was a kid?"
Wen Wan just smiled.
She recalled what Xie Zheng had said: for someone like Song Wei, either he is unlucky all his life, or it’s heaven testing him.
Wen Wan believed her husband was the latter; as a child, he was so persistent and would never turn back once he decided on something. Such a person would surely achieve great things when he grows up.
After some casual chat with her mother-in-law, Wen Wan took the vegetable basket to the market.
She had just bought two cabbages when she unexpectedly ran into Xu Shu.
"Young Master Xu."
Wen Wan suddenly greeted him, catching Xu Shu by surprise. It took him quite a while to regain his composure.
"Uh... Sister-in-law, you’re here to buy vegetables?"
Xu Shu scratched his head. Even after Wen Wan explained she had recovered after childbirth, he still felt inexplicably awkward.
Wen Wan looked at him with a smile, "What? Not happy to see me?"
"No, no." Xu Shu hurriedly replied, "I’m just a bit not used to it."
In front of Wen Wan, he put away his usual frivolous demeanor, becoming as serious as could be.
Wen Wan asked him why he was here.
Xu Shu said it was a day off, and being bored, he came out for a walk.
"Then why haven’t you visited our house lately?" Wen Wan asked again.
Xu Shu looked a bit uneasy, "Aren’t your in-laws here? I was afraid of disturbing you."
"If you want to come, just come; you won’t disturb us." Wen Wan said, thinking of something, "But we’re going to move in the next few days."
Xu Shu knew about this, "You’re moving to the Hanlin Academy side, right?"
"Yes."
"Do you need me to send someone to help?"
Wen Wan shook her head and said no. There weren’t many things in the small courtyard, and with the Xie Family’s help, moving wouldn’t be too hard.
Xu Shu didn’t insist, and after a moment of silence, hesitantly asked, "Sister-in-law, since Little Sister Song has been at our place for so long, did your in-laws mention it when they came to the Capital?"
His question was vague, but Wen Wan, being sharp, immediately understood. Xu Shu was indirectly asking if his in-laws had mentioned his sister-in-law’s marriage.
Wen Wan suppressed her smile and said, "They haven’t asked, but I reckon she won’t stay long at your place. Last night, my mother-in-law said my sister-in-law is of marriageable age, and it’s not suitable to delay. She wants Third Son to help find a good husband soon to get the marriage done."
"Ah?" Xu Shu anxiously furrowed his eyebrows, "Did Song Wei agree?"
"He had to agree!" Wen Wan said, "It’s his mother’s wish, and for his sister, Third Son couldn’t refuse no matter what."
Whatever else Wen Wan said, Xu Shu didn’t really hear; his mind was a jumbled mess. Before Wen Wan finished talking, he quickly took his leave.
Watching Xu Shu’s hurried departure, Wen Wan shook her head with an amused smile.