0p0 Chapter 199
Chapter 199
Cai Damei gave Ye Yunniang a good talking-to and introduced her to two nannies.These two nannies were invited with the help of Tong Tiemei and Princess Yanping, whom Cai Damei had asked for a favor.
Nanny Lu had come from the palace and previously served the Empress Dowager; she was to teach Ye Yunniang rules and etiquette.
Nanny Gu specialized in nursing women for postpartum recovery and health.
"Mother, you are too, too good to me," Ye Yunniang acted coquettishly, resting her head on Cai Damei's shoulder.
A child with a mother is like a precious treasure.
"I used up a huge favor to invite them here. You must learn well."
Knowing that Jiang Mingzhe had become the Count of Suyan, Cai Damei worried about Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang was brought up by her single-handedly; Cai Damei knew exactly what she was capable of.
To prevent others from mocking or looking down on Ye Yunniang, the newly minted Countess, Cai Damei disregarded her previous vow to never contact the Bao, Tong, and Zhou families again, and went to them for help.
Ye Yunniang had thought her postpartum confinement would be pure suffering. But after experiencing the care of Nanny Lu and Nanny Gu, she realized how comfortable confinement could be.
Ye Yunniang really wanted to go back to her confinement days.
But that was impossible.
The invitations for Yuanyuan's one-month milestone banquet had already been sent out.
There were only 10 days left until the banquet.
Ye Yunniang had a lot to learn.
Not only Ye Yunniang, but the rest of the Jiang family also had to learn.
Jiang Mingzhe, in particular, had even more to learn.
Knowing that Jiang Mingzhe was also having a hard time made Ye Yunniang feel a little secretly happy.
"Seeing me suffer makes you very happy."
How could Ye Yunniang admit to that?
"You've worked hard, Husband. Come, have a cup of tea." Ye Yunniang picked up the teapot with both hands, poured the tea, and offered it to him.
Throughout the entire process, Ye Yunniang's movements were elegant and her demeanor refined, making her a very pleasing sight.
Jiang Mingzhe took the teacup with one hand and pulled Ye Yunniang into his arms to sit down with the other.
"My wife, you don't need to put on airs in front of your husband."
Ye Yunniang, who originally wanted to sit up straight, looked around and saw there were no outsiders in the room. Her bones instantly softened, and she nestled into Jiang Mingzhe's embrace.
"Jiang Mingzhe, I want to go home."
Jiang Mingzhe knew that the home Ye Yunniang spoke of was their home in Jiangcheng, not this wealthy cage of the capital.
"I have already submitted a memorial to the Emperor to return to Jiangcheng."
"Will the Emperor agree?" Following Nanny Lu, Ye Yunniang had learned not only rules and etiquette but also quite a bit of knowledge about the nobility.
One such piece of knowledge was that a titled head of a household could not leave the capital at will.
Jiang Mingzhe knew this; he had thought it through long ago.
He just needed to not be the head of the household.
"What do you mean?" Ye Yunniang didn't understand. Was Jiang Mingzhe going to give up his title?
"I have already applied to the Emperor to pass the position of Count of Suyan to our son." Jiang Mingzhe explained his plan; if he wasn't the Count, he could leave the capital.
"You're passing it to Pingping?"
"Yuanyuan."
"Yuanyuan! Jiang Mingzhe, what are you doing? Yuanyuan is only a month old, and you're making him a Count!" Ye Yunniang pulled back from Jiang Mingzhe's embrace.
She couldn't understand Jiang Mingzhe's line of thinking.
"Yuanyuan is so tiny, how can you bear it? Do you want to cost him his life?"
"None of them wanted it." Jiang Mingzhe interrupted Ye Yunniang with a single sentence.
"You asked Pan'er and the other two."
"I spoke with them individually. Then I gathered all three of them to talk it over again." At this point, Jiang Mingzhe couldn't help but sigh.
Thinking back to the conversation with his three sons, Jiang Mingzhe was full of anger.
Li Pan first thanked Jiang Mingzhe for his love, then tactfully declined.
"Father, my dream is to enter the civil service through the imperial examinations. Becoming the Count of Suyan would shatter my dream."
Li An refused outright. "I want to study medicine with my master and travel across the mountains and rivers. Being the Count of Suyan would restrict my footsteps."
Li Ping was even more ruthless. "If you dare to give me the position of the heir to the Count of Suyan, I'll go and sell it the very next day."
Li Ping was already exhausted from managing the Yunhua Chamber of Commerce; taking on something even bigger was out of the question.
Li Ping didn't want to; he just wanted to lie down comfortably.
Li Ping refused, but he also gave Jiang Mingzhe an idea.
"Father. We aren't your only three sons. Isn't there still Yuanyuan? Don't even bother naming an heir. Just take it all the way in one step, write to the Emperor, and let Yuanyuan be the Count of Suyan. Wouldn't that be great?"
"So you submitted the memorial."
"Yes. Those three brats, I won't even give them a chance to regret it."
Jiang Mingzhe spoke through gritted teeth.
He had narrowly escaped death in the State of Yan to earn this Count title, yet they cast it aside like an old shoe.
Jiang Mingzhe really wanted to give them a beating, but he couldn't bear to do it.
"Did the Emperor agree?"
"No."
After reading the memorial, the Emperor felt that Jiang Mingzhe was too idle and just wanted an official post.
With a stroke of his pen, he appointed Jiang Mingzhe as a teacher to the princes, instructing him to teach them economics.
In the Emperor's words, coming from a merchant background, he understood commercial matters better than anyone else.
"We can't go back to Jiangcheng?" Ye Yunniang pulled a long face; she didn't want to stay in the capital.
"Seven years." That was what Jiang Mingzhe had negotiated with the Emperor.
Seven years' time.
Pan'er and the others would be grown up, and Yuanyuan would be sensible enough.
Then they could retire and return to Jiangcheng.
Seven years was something Ye Yunniang could endure, and she was willing to accept it.
With something to look forward to, Ye Yunniang no longer felt the days were hard to get through.
She earnestly followed Nanny Lu in learning rules and etiquette, getting to know the prominent nobles in the capital and the relationships between them.
She followed Nanny Gu to learn how to take care of her health.
To alleviate her own embarrassment, Ye Yunniang dragged Cai Damei along to learn together.
"Mother, you always say that one is never too old to learn. You can't just talk the talk and not walk the walk."
That single sentence made it impossible for Cai Damei to voice her refusal.
After a period of conditioning by Nanny Gu, Ye Yunniang's figure recovered nicely, and her skin became elastic and smooth.
Ye Yunniang was satisfied, and Jiang Mingzhe simply couldn't keep his hands off her.
Time passed in learning, and the day of the one-month banquet arrived.
Ye Yunniang dressed in entirely new clothes to entertain the visiting female guests.
Tong Tiemei, as the Princess Consort of Jing, arrived early bringing Zhou Yunluo with her.
With Tong Tiemei accompanying her, those who had originally wanted to give Ye Yunniang a hard time reined in their thoughts.
They had all experienced the power of the Princess Consort of Jing before.
With Tong Tiemei protecting Ye Yunniang, they dared not provoke her.
Ye Yunniang smiled until her face went stiff and her calves ached.
"Almost everyone has arrived, let's go back into the room," Tong Tiemei said, noticing Ye Yunniang's exhaustion.
"Alright, thank you for your guidance today, Your Highness," Ye Yunniang said, endlessly grateful.
"I much prefer hearing you call me Aunt," Tong Tiemei said, to which Ye Yunniang only smiled without replying.
If Cai Damei was willing to rekindle her old relationship with Bao Min, Ye Yunniang would call her that without needing to be told.
Tong Tiemei knew this as well.
"Little Min was also forced by circumstances."
Tong Tiemei wanted to speak up for Bao Min.
"Whatever decision my mother makes, I will support."
Ye Yunniang had promised Cai Damei not to persuade her anymore, so she didn't say another word.
Just as Tong Tiemei was about to say something, someone walked over.
"I'm late."