Chapter 387: Silver-tongued

Du Shanü asked this, and indeed she spoke with some anger.

However, what she never expected was that Chen Weifang was even more righteous and confident than she.

He has been caring for the child for a long time, with no time to attend to himself, and today he hasn't even tied his hair.

Now his black hair is tied with just a single cord, so some strands inevitably fall loose around his ears and cheeks...

Haggard, exhausted.

Moreover, there is a hint of beauty he doesn't usually have.

Chen Weifang looked at Du Shanü, seeming somewhat puzzled, and asked:

"Does the Wise Lord know who she is?"

This instead left Du Shanü somewhat bewildered:

"Isn't she a wet nurse from the household?"

Du Shanü is not plump, she naturally had little milk, and giving birth was a close call, so she has never nursed a child to this day.

Chinu is also partial, and early on he found several wet nurses for Enlong...

Isn't this something we already knew?

Du Shanü had a moment of bewilderment, and it was precisely this moment that Chen Weifang seized:

"Yes, the household wet nurse receives eight taels of silver per month, plus meals arranged in the small kitchen."

"Outside, war flames rage, rebel armies rise everywhere, and bandits cause trouble—not to mention ordinary households in Yongzhou City, even wealthy families in the capital might not be able to afford such a wet nurse."

"I worried that the milk Enlong drank might be poor, so every day they say they eat, and it's all top-quality food, with nourishing effects..."

Chen Weifang patted the swaddling clothes; Enlong didn't know what had happened, but from the tone he felt it wasn't good, and he showed a little angry face.

Chen Weifang suddenly felt a pang of pity, and involuntarily softened his tone.

But though his tone softened, his words remained utterly without courtesy, each sentence like a blade cutting into the woman on the ground:

"We raise her this way for only one purpose—to have her feed Enlong good milk, that's all."

"The Wise Lord today presses me so insistently, as if he wants to speak up for her, but I ask the Wise Lord, when ordinary merchants settle their money and goods, are there deductions?"

"We bought her milk to drink or to pour away—it's our business, what does it have to do with her? Since she feels pity for her own child and wants the child to drink milk from its mother, why would she still come out to work as a wet nurse?"

"She'd better go home early to nurse her own child!"

"She wants those eight taels of silver, wants to eat the household's food, and yet still wants to withhold a mouthful of milk for her own child..."

"Where in the world is there such a good deal?"

"Today's matter is clearly not Enlong taking her child's food, but rather this woman's greed—she wants to steal a bite of the food they bought for Enlong!"

"Without them, where would this woman get the money to support her family, and where would she get high-quality nourishing milk?"

"He did indeed strike someone, but shouldn't this person have been struck?"

"Even if it weren't the Wise Lord coming, even if Heaven itself came personally, what's wrong with his words?"

"All things under heaven clearly ought to be his family's Enlong..."

"Clearly ought to be his family's Enlong!"

Chen Weifang's brows and eyes were gentle; after speaking, he leaned in and whispered softly to soothe Enlong in the swaddling clothes.

Enlong, pleased by his cooing, let out a series of happy laughs.

As for the woman wailing louder on the ground...

From beginning to end, Chen Weifang never gave her another glance.

Du Shanü's head ached from the argument, and hearing the woman's sobs made her feel even worse.

Yet, in front of the child, the two were so affectionate that she really didn't want to blame Chen Weifang further, so she could only say:

"No matter what, hitting people is always wrong."

Chen Weifang has a silver tongue; even if the sky fell, he could recover half of it, and she couldn't rebut him.

But, but she still felt that today's matter truly had something wrong.

"How can one raise a child like this?"

"How is it that one raises a child like this?"

Du Shanü couldn't understand, while Chinu, who had been silent beside her, spoke up:

"After all, it's just meddling that causes trouble. If I had my way, Afang is blameless, Enlong even more so; better to give this wet nurse a month's pay and send her away."

"Fortunately, we had prepared several wet nurses back then, and now we can just make use of them."

As soon as he said that, the wet nurse wailed even louder, admitting fault and lamenting her family's hardship.

Yet even with her pleading again, she was quickly taken away.

Du Shanü felt her head hurt even more; she sat down and drank several cups of warm tea in succession before she recovered.

"She said the man went out and hasn't returned yet, and Afang earlier said warfare was erupting everywhere outside... yet the situation has actually become like this?"

Although Chen Weifang was somewhat dissatisfied with the earlier questioning, since the Wise Lord had asked, he had to answer fully.

He held the swaddling clothes, sat himself in the chair facing Du Shanü, unwilling to lift his eyes, only extending a finger to lightly tap Enlong's tiny nose.

"Yes, after the autumn harvest every household has grain, and the various parties that originally dared not act are beginning to stir."

"More than a month ago, scouts came to report that Yu Province and Xu Province were already in great chaos, but we are in the far south, and earlier you were pregnant with Enlong, so you rarely read official documents, which is why you didn't know."

Du Shanü, while recalling the locations of Yu and Xu Provinces in her mind, gave a slight nod.

"I was remiss before, but I'll make up for it later. Besides, without me, isn't there also Chinu?"

Chinu's ability to act as regent is plain for all to see.

Not to mention ordinary people can't compare to Chinu; even if most emperors from history came back to life and made decisions, they might not be better than Chinu's judgments.

Since he didn't say it, this can only mean that the matter is likely still in the period of internal turmoil, not yet having swept to the south, or perhaps...

the capital.

Throughout history, rebel armies have risen in revolt, most aiming to overthrow the dynasty and seize the capital.

But a small minority merely raise the banner of revolt in name only, not to change flags or names, but to garrison troops for self‑preservation, or outright to settle the land and become bandits.

If it is the former, of course that would be good.

Du Shanü also wishes she could overthrow the dynasty as soon as possible.

But since Chinu hasn't said it outright, it's obvious that only the second, low‑probability case applies.

When the red clouds over the capital rise, it brings another ten‑year calamity upon the masses.

In this age, I fear things will only grow more chaotic from now on.

No wonder that wet nurse, when she was just taken away, cried so pitifully; if her husband were still alive, with the turmoil everywhere now, he probably couldn't return either......

Du Shanü collected her thoughts and finally spoke:

"Just add a month's wages to that wet nurse from before; that would count as looking after our Origin Prosperity a bit......"

"By the way, I just thought of something—why haven't Fucouzi and Xuan Feixing returned yet?"

The two set out in early summer, and now it's already winter—several months have passed.

If it weren't for thinking of that wet nurse and how difficult travel has become, Du Shanü might even have forgotten about the two.

With the outside in turmoil, I wonder if the two of them......

Du Shanü shook her head and muttered:

"It shouldn't be......"

Fucouzi, with his skill in divination, ought to be able to glimpse at least a hint of heavenly mandate.

Although Xuan Feixing hasn't studied martial arts for long, his skill is plainly visible—top‑notch.

Working together, they might not have smooth sailing all the way, but they surely wouldn't just die pointlessly on the road, would they?

?? Afang: "It's all ours, Origin Prosperity's! It's all ours, Origin Prosperity's!" 【Super Invincible Righteous and Confident. jpg】

? But bringing a child along like this really is...... eh...... hmm.