Chapter 86: A Good Mother-in-Law

"Damn it!"

Wu Ning sat on the floor, feeling absolutely wonderful. He held Qin Miaoniang’s small hand and sighed, "Finally, I don't have to pretend to be blind anymore."

"Don't even mention it!" Miaoniang was exasperated and gave him a playful swat. "You tricked me so badly."

"Easy there," Wu Ning said, grabbing the spot where she had hit him and scratching it vigorously. "I'm covered in itchy hives; every touch just makes it worse."

"That’s what you get for pretending to be blind to fool people."

Despite her words, her hands were busy scratching his back through his robes. "Still itchy?"

"Much better," Wu Ning said, basking in the attention.

"It’s good that you aren't blind," she muttered, pouting. "I specifically avoided the Qin shop just to stay away from you, but it’s a shame I ran right into you anyway. Now that this has happened, you can help me out properly, and you won't have to be so tired."

"Ha," Miaoniang laughed sweetly. "This is fate. Even Heaven won't let you off the hook!"

Of course, she had always hoped his eyes would be fine; in fact, she used to think to herself: *If only Brother Ning could see.* It was just that the sudden realization that he had been faking it had left her feeling momentarily ashamed and unable to process it. Now, after Wu Ning’s antics, that sense of resentment and shame had vanished, leaving only hidden delight in her heart.

...

The two lingered in the side parlor for a long time, showing no signs of coming out. Zhao Ziping peeked through the curtain for a while, but eventually, he couldn't take it anymore.

It was just too mushy. This Wu Ning was a shameless, despicable person, and he had Miaoniang smiling so much her mouth wouldn't close...

*Truly shameless,* Comrade Zhao thought. *Utterly shameless. A person of my standing must not associate with him!!*

*Uh... I should write that down. Might come in handy later.*

...

He stepped back from the entrance, intending to ask Manager Qian for the shop's past ledgers to familiarize himself with the business, when a middle-aged man walked in. He didn't look like a customer there to buy fabric.

Manager Qian’s reaction confirmed Zhao Ziping’s suspicion as he hurried forward, "Steward Qin, what brings you here?"

The newcomer was Qin Fu, the steward of the Qin household. He didn't bother with pleasantries. "Is the mistress in the shop?"

"This..." Manager Qian instinctively glanced toward the side parlor, thinking to himself that she was there, but she was rather busy! "She is, but she is currently in the side parlor... entertaining an honored guest."

"An honored guest?" Qin Fu frowned. *Entertaining a guest is fine, so why is old Qian stammering?*

Suspicious, he walked to the entrance of the side parlor and peeked through the curtain.

Then... his hand trembled, and he pulled the curtain shut again.

...

"What is going on?"

He had seen his young mistress sitting on the floor with a grown man, and her hand was being held by him.

*How could this be?*

Qin Fu regained his composure and lifted the curtain just a sliver to look closer. *What in the world is happening!?*

Qin Fu was so shocked his soul nearly left his body. The man was dressed plainly, looked quite ugly, and his face was covered in acne, his chin swollen and crooked. *Is this really the kind of guy Miaoniang fancies?* he wondered. *To put it in the terms of the future, her taste is a bit heavy, isn't it?*

He looked closer. *Why does this person look a bit familiar?*

"This guy..." Qin Fu muttered to himself, tapping his forehead, "I feel like I've seen him somewhere."

Zhao Ziping, standing respectfully to the side, couldn't help but interject, "He is the nephew of Wu Changlu, the Bieja of Shannan Circuit."

"What!?" Qin Fu let out a sharp cry. "Wu Jiulang!? How, how, how did those two get entangled!?"

He looked up at the heavens and groaned, lamenting, *Master, it’s not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eyes on your belongings. What you worried about has come to pass; this scoundrel Wu Jiulang has finally managed to worm his way in!*

He wanted to rush in and tear them apart, but then he thought, *I’m just a servant, what good would that do?* With Master Qin Wenyuan away, Qin Fu paced back and forth at the door, frantic.

"No, I’m going to see the Mistress!"

With that, he didn't hesitate; he turned and ran toward the Qin estate, determined to report Wu Ning’s misdeeds.

Unfortunately, Qin Fu had miscalculated.

Upon arriving at the Qin estate and rushing into the back courtyard, he told Mother Qin what he had witnessed. Not only was the old lady not alarmed, she didn't even put down her embroidery.

"Wu Ning?" she asked. "So, the 'Brother Ning' that Miaoniang has been visiting every night isn't blind?"

"Ah?" Qin Fu thought, *So they’ve even been having secret midnight rendezvous?* "Mistress!" Qin Fu grew even more anxious. "The Master is not at home; you cannot just let this be! Before the Master was imprisoned, he was most wary of this Wu Jiulang. If the Master finds out in prison that this Wu Ning managed to worm his way in, wouldn't he be so angry he might fall ill?"

Madam Zhang, Mother Qin, gave Qin Fu a reproachful look. "Why would he be angry? I think this young master of the Wu family is quite good."

She counted on her fingers, "He saved our family business, saved our Master, comes every night to comfort Miaoniang, and even helped catch the greedy accountant. Now that we are short an accountant, he has come to help again. I think this child is truly kind-hearted!"

"Mistress!" Qin Fu wailed, "Don't be fooled by that Wu Jiulang. The Master often said that boy is the most cunning of them all; our Miaoniang will suffer because of him."

"Suffer how?" the old lady asked, keeping her head down. "He is the nephew of a Bieja. If he were to marry our Miaoniang, it would be he who suffers."

Qin Fu: "..."

...

Mother Qin finally looked up. "Qin Fu, if we had established this connection with Wu Jiulang earlier, our Master wouldn't have ended up in prison in the first place!"

Well, Qin Fu had nothing left to say. He could only silently curse Wu Ning, thinking, *To have such a lenient mother-in-law, you must have accumulated some serious virtue in your past life.*

*No,* Qin Fu thought, *the Mistress is just blinded by Wu Ning’s family status.* He still felt uneasy and decided that if he ever got the chance to see his Master, he would have to have a serious talk with him.

————————

Wu Ning had no idea he had landed such an easy-going mother-in-law, nor did he know that when Qin Wenyuan eventually found out his precious daughter had been "arched" by Wu Ning, he would pass out in his prison cell.

The old man only thought this was a brilliant scheme by Wu Ning—to send him to prison so he could easily scheme his way into the Qin family's property and his precious daughter.

At this moment, Wu Jiulang was walking on air. He no longer had to pretend to be blind, and because of this, his relationship with Qin Miaoniang had taken a significant step forward.

Just thinking about it made him feel wonderful. One had to remember, only half a year ago, he was still a mountain boy who couldn't even afford a dry meal. Now, he had his beloved by his side, no worries about food or drink, a Fourth Uncle who was a Bieja, and a massive "thigh" to cling to in the form of Princess Taiping.

How could life be anything but beautiful?

He calculated that since he needed to hide from Zhou Xing for a while, he would settle down and help Miaoniang manage her fabric shop. He was learning the skills he wanted, and with Miaoniang by his side, this life... it was simply perfect.

He decided to stay at the Yuanning Fabric Shop and made up his mind that not even the King of Heaven would make him leave.

However, the very next morning, well before the East Market was even open, Wu Ning arrived at the shop early. He had barely started talking to Miaoniang when he heard someone pounding on the door.

"Open up! Open up! Official business from the Princess's estate, open the door at once!"

*Who could that be?* Wu Ning thought. *What terrible timing.*

He opened the door and saw none other than the guard from Princess Taiping’s estate.

"Yo!" the guard said upon seeing Wu Ning. "Young Master Wu is here. What a coincidence."

*Coincidence my foot!* Wu Ning rolled his eyes and didn't hold back, "How did you know I was here?"

"Heh heh," the guard was quite frank. "Is it hard for the Princess's estate to keep an eye on someone?"

"Let’s go, Young Master Wu. Her Highness the Princess has important matters to discuss with you and specifically sent me to fetch you!"

"..."

Well, this person was clearly more powerful than the King of Heaven.

He turned to Miaoniang and said, "I have to head back to the Auzi district."

"Mm."

Miaoniang nodded, but she was secretly wondering, *What could Her Highness the Princess possibly want with Brother Ning?*