Chapter 282: Caring for the Lonely Widow Ah Fang

The desolate frontier has no lovely sights; three months pass without spring.

When Chen Weifang fell asleep, all things had already stilled; upon waking, the sky was still not fully bright.

By rights, given his usual habit, waking meant rising, washing up, and then going to work.

But today......

Whether it was from excessive worry before sleep last night, or because his linen quilt, used for many years, had grown heavy, he tried several times but could not get up.

Exhausted.

Exhausted.

Exhausted.

These past days have truly been overly exhausting.

The Wise Lord's administration is short-staffed; in an ordinary county seat there is a County Secretary overseeing civil affairs, grain and horses, waterworks, and household registration; a Chief Clerk handling documents, warehouses, taxes, and accounts; and a Registrar specializing in security, apprehending thieves, and managing prisons......

But Dun Cheng is quite different.

Before this city came under the Wise Lord's control, the former Magistrate Ouyang Wu had already purged a large contingent of high-ranking prefects' retainers and clerks, replacing them with his own confidants.

After the Wise Lord ambushed Ouyang Wu and seized Dun Cheng, to prevent leakage he then purged a large batch of Ouyang Wu's confidants who were An Nan spies......

After two rounds of sweeping purges, now the entire county office has only him and a few young clerks of uneven experience handling affairs......

Indeed, there is no one to be found to do the work.

The lack of capable subordinates means missing a coarse screening step altogether.

All public affairs, big or small, must be personally reviewed and decided by him; otherwise subordinates dare not act lightly.

Even though he is still in his prime, he cannot endure such wear and tear.

Despite round-the-clock duties, the paperwork shows no sign of diminishing......

What a life!

Chen Weifang let out a faint sigh, not blaming his Wise Lord, but indeed pondering another matter that might seem trivial to others——

If only he were like Chunri Jian, a capable person who brought his own wealth to seek refuge.

Chunri Jian may lack authority, but at least he had silver on hand and brought several capable aides from home, able to take on many tasks.

There, unlike him, one would not have to rely solely on oneself, toiling to death; even the daily yield of the tin mines and workshops would not need to be asked about.

If it were merely fatigue, that would be fine.

However, however......

Though heaven and earth remained dim, Chen Weifang focused his hearing, yet in the end could not hear the usual creak of the rocking bed.

The empty courtyard was silent; his linen quilt inexplicably felt heavier.

Chen Weifang pondered left and right, and finally sighed:

"\"...... truly two heartless ones. \""

He had exhausted himself scheming for Chinu to gain favor; just before, he had advised the Wise Lord on Chinu's behalf, but after the Wise Lord received news of Chinu's injury, he hastily abandoned him and fled.

After so many days, the two had sent back only two letters: one asking him to assist in placing Ruan Jintian under house arrest, the other inquiring whether he had successfully done so......

What's up?

Is Ruan Jintian more important than he?

The child has grown; truly nothing can be kept.

Chen Weifang sighed again, turned over with some anguish, and muttered:

"\"If the two had always been harmonious, that would be fine, but a Young Emperor is wedged between them...... Saner lacks a formal status; when they grow old and fade, I do not know if they can remain together even in the afterlife. \""

If that were possible, his present hardships would be worthwhile.

If not, merely thinking of the future suffering Chinu will endure makes him unwilling to rise, let alone attend to duties.

Chinu is essentially a child he has watched grow up.

They met in humble circumstances; back then Chinu was just a tiny bean sprout, yet he was forced to uphold the entire state affairs of the Yin Dynasty.

Chen Weifang had once heard that fledglings recognize their parents, that paulownia trees harbor obsession......

The gist is that people tend to develop reliance on whatever they first see.

The Wise Lord does not understand why he treats Chinu so specially, but Chen Weifang guesses that his attitude toward this junior is likely just that.

They are both teacher and friend, father and son; outsiders find it hard to fathom, yet having shared each other's wretched years, they possess a unique bond.

Under heaven, perhaps no one wishes Chinu's well-being more than he does.

Chen Weifang could not hold back; he turned over again and murmured to himself:

"\"...... I really do not know what the Wise Lord is thinking; a single marriage edict would confine Chinu. \""

Does anyone know about that marriage edict?

Clearly, besides those few, nobody knows!

What sort of status is this?

The father of the child in her womb is indeed Chinu, no doubt, but does anyone know?

No one knows either!

Furthermore, for the sake of future prospects, they temporarily shoved the blame onto Ruan Jintian......

Thereafter, to secure Ruansizong's position, likely for a long time to come the matter of the child's father cannot be readily divulged.

Chinu, Chinu......

How can Chinu endure such a life?

Chen Weifang sighed, then flipped over like a pan-fried dumpling:

"\"...... Everything is so stingy now; I do not know whether I will later be granted a yellow intestine to make up for it, nor...... I do not know if Chinu can be awarded a good rank. \""

Although no empress has arisen in the preceding six dynasties, following the precedent of those past male emperors' ennoblements, if one day the Wise Lord truly becomes emperor......

My own Chinu, she really ought to be a concubine, right?

No, it would be best if she had the authority to oversee the six palaces and serve as the imperial noble consort who holds the phoenix seal.

By then Chinu will be graced with favor, and with children at her knees, no one in the world will be able to bully him......

Thinking of this, Chen Weifang sighed again and again, and began to ponder another matter:

"...... I don't know whether the Wise Lord's child in her womb is male or female......"

"Never mind, if she could ascend the throne as a woman, then later whether her children are male or female shouldn't matter; as long as she has the will, she can always raise them."

"As long as in the future the child isn't raised to be as naive and unaware of worldly affairs as the Young Emperor...... Well, from now on we must properly raise the child, letting them know early how treacherous people's hearts are......"

However, that also depends on him being able to raise the child.

After going around in circles, we still come back to that saying——

This little couple really has no conscience.

Leaving him alone in Dun Cheng to handle official duties, not even sending a family letter back; if in the future he doesn't even come back for the birth, he won't be able to touch the baby, let alone, as promised, leave the child with him to raise.

All that before was nothing but empty talk!

Chen Weifang tossed and turned, repeatedly pondering; seeing the sky outside gradually brighten, she could delay no longer, so she got up and washed up and changed clothes.

His attire has always been simple; his everyday clothes consist only of a blue robe washed until it's faded.

It was so in the past, and it is so now.

As if, as if over these years, the only one left from the old times is him.

The door creaked open, and the lingering weariness in Chen Weifang's brows was fully exposed beneath the vault......

And also exposed in the eyes of the person outside the door.

The person outside the door didn't know how long they had waited for him to rise; seeing him come out, they immediately bowed in salute.

Chunri Jian had obviously dressed up specially, wearing a dark blue-green pine-pattern Hangzhou silk straight robe, with a narrow black jade plain sash around the waist.

There wasn't a trace of gold or silver ornamentation on her, yet everywhere one could see the richness of her family's bearing.

Chunri Jian's posture was extremely respectful, but the words from her mouth were indeed lacking in propriety:

"Sir, you're awake? The last time I saw you, I wanted to say, your bearing is truly undiminished from back then......"

Chen Weifang: "......"

Chen Weifang: "???"

Early this morning, something dirty at the door suddenly made a buzzing sound?