Ch26 – Voice Imitation

“That’s right. Liang’er will become an adult soon”

Concubine Wu’s voice was emotional and teasing as she cupped Gong Zhuoliang’s face. She no longer looked worried but instead, her expression showed sympathy. 

“There’s no way I could hide this! Mom… do you have a solution for this?”

Gong Zhuoliang quivered just by imagining the situation he might face when his voice began to sound different. But when he saw that Concubine Wu didn’t look the least anxious, he just threw the matter at the back of his mind and held Concubine Wu’s hand.

“Perhaps Liang’er isn’t aware, but Mom used to be a Huakui, and her skill of doing ventriloquism made her the most popular among courtesans” 

Concubine Wu bitterly smiled, obviously, the past has not been definitely the most memorable memory for her. But then when she started singing, her eyes seemed to shine, and when she raised her sleeves to cover her mouth, suddenly, a cheery tune of a bird was heard, then in a blink of an eye, a drum-like noise came sounding out, then after that, an opera song seemingly sung by a male sounded.

“Wow……”

Sighing softly, Gong Zhuoliang suddenly had the urge to raise his hands and applaud madly, but soon he realized that his actions might seem strange so he endured and could only look at Concubine Wu with worshipping eyes.

If this situation and level were performed in the modern times, she would’ve been a national-level performing artist, ah. What a pity.

“Sigh…. My mother was kidnapped and sold. I didn’t know much about my family’s past, though I only recalled how good my father was at ventriloquism back then so I began to learn it for additional knowledge, but who would’ve thought I’d suddenly become famous for it”

Seeing the look of admiration from his dear little son, Concubine Wu couldn’t help but smile and stroke his face. Thinking how they were both only living in the same residence yet couldn’t even get a chance to at least make an eye contact with him, this made Concubine Wu’s heart feel sad. Right now, although she could finally talk to his son so intimately, he’s living so far away now.

“Mom wants to teach me how to do this?”

Gong Zhuoliang sighed. Internally, he was feeling complicated. It’s indeed awesome to start learning new skills, but when you actually get into it, it would take lots of hardworks to be able to finally learn it. Gong Zhuoliang has only been interested into books both in his last life and in this life, yet not one book he tend to read were actually educational or would help him become reproductive. So even if he finally got the opportunity to learn a unique skill, he still has no interest to about it. 

“Young boys like you indeed wouldn’t want to learn something inferior such as ventriloquism. But you could still try learning just mimicking a girl’s voice”

When Concubine Wu noticed how Gong Zhuoliang looked like he didn’t want to commit himself to learning ventriloquism, she felt quite happy. Students who managed to attend school were referred to as the educated ones nowadays, so if Gong Zhuoliang ended up seriously learning ventriloquism, Concubine Wu thought he’ll never make a succession out of it.

“Is it difficult to learn?”

This time, Gong Zhuoliang’s eyes lit up. Learning how to voice like a female sounds so cool. 

Is it really possible for me to learn how to sing like that well-known artist who sang ‘The Drunken Beauty’? Gong Zhuoliang, an author who writes rotten-style books, was once urged on by his fans in the past so he was quite overwhelmed right now.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“For starters, attempt letting out your own falsetto first before you practice on getting used to it. You will find it difficult at first. But you should only use your falsetto during special occasions. I’m just afraid that you will get used using your falsetto that you’re going to end up forgetting your real voice”

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“Rest assured, Mom. I will always take good care of myself” 

Gong Zhuoliang himself really isn’t worried that much. At least when he’s together with his little husband, he could freely use his original voice, but then seeing the love and concern from Concubine Wu, Gong Zhuoliang’s heart softened and he felt like he’s slowly becoming attached to this woman who he’s not even related to.

“Mnn.. but it’s quite inconvenient to take Ruo Lan as your only maidservant, so you should take Ye’er with you. She already learned nearly most of the skills I’ve taught her such as how to maintain the good condition of your throat, and some methods into becoming a proper young lady. If you take her with you, she’ll definitely become a great help for you”

Concubine Wu signaled for the little girl who was standing respectful behind her with her head lowered down to approach, and the girl with a strong countenance immediately walked forward and knelt down in front of Gong Zhuoliang.

She used to be an orphan until Concubine Wu took her in and raised her. She has a firm attitude and good heart. She knew how to repay kindness with kindness, and Concubine Wu also really likes her that’s why she wanted to send her to her son. 

“Thank you Mom, it’s just that for now, I couldn’t take Ye’er at the Qiao Family, only when I finished dealing with Ruo Zi after the New Years, I’ll surely find a chance to take her over there”

Starting today, Gong Zhuoliang always bring with him purses in his sleeves. Kindly taking out one of the heaviest purse, he handed it over to Ye’er; officially accepting her as his servant.

“Ye’er grew up with me since childhood. Because she always has to protect me, she developed a stubborn attitude, but she’s still really an affectionate girl. Allow her to serve you for 2 years and after that, I hope you’ll look for an opportunity to find a good family for her”

Originally, Concubine Wu raised Ye’er as a child bride, hoping that she would get to match her with Gong Zhuoliang three years later, when she finally learned how to show affections to her spouse. But now that the situation has come to this, naturally she shouldn’t mention about this anymore, and also, she would only wrong Ye’er by doing this. She’d just rather entrust Gong Zhuoliang to look for a well-off family than to separate themselves from the Gong family.*** 

“This son understood”

Gong Zhuoliang saw Ye’er’s eyes reddening after hearing Concubine Wu’s words, then he immediately nodded in agreement. After that, he chatted with Concubine Wu for a while before he took Ruo Lan and Ruo Zi with him and traveled back again.

Few days ago, Qiao Yingze declared an order to every servant never to mention the matter about his brother-in-law. Luckily, after a long time, everyone had thoroughly already forgotten about this person and even if they do, they really never mentioned about it so Ruo Zi had no idea. But still, Gong Zhuoliang still had Ruo Zi detained in their inner courtyard to be wary, and had Ruo Lan watch over her. A few days later, Gong Zhuoliang and his husband returned to the Qiao household to start preparing for the New Year.

……. 

Gong Zhuoliang is used to the usual events during New Year in modern times, and observing the scene around him, it’s not that much different from what he usually experiences. Though for a moment, he still couldn’t get used to experiencing the strange enthusiasm and extreme importance these people put to New Years.

The whole Qiao household had spent several days receiving the yearbook from every one of their shops and all of the filial presents from other people. As a result, they had to quickly prepare presents as a return gift for all of their relatives, friends, and colleagues and greet their elders, superiors, and every influential officials in the capital. Even if Madam Qiao had not tried not to bury him with works, Gong Zhuoliang’s already so busy to begin with that he could collapse at anytime.

As for Qiao Yingze, the eldest son of the Madam and favored grandson, naturally would have no time to sit and idle by. Simply by dealing with distant relatives together with Patriarch Qiao was already enough to test his fragile body, even if Qiao Yingxuan had to block all the wines reaching to offer him during the banquet which then saved him from interacting with their guests. As a result, he had to take a rest in his courtyard for the time being and could only come out once again when they had to send offerings to their ancestors, so Qiao Yingxuan had to take his place accompanying Patriarch Qiao for every social event.

Two days before the New Year’s Eve, when the entire Qiao household were gathering around Madam Qiao to celebrate the New Years together, suddenly, a thin and tan old farmer led a fair and clean little boy with him to wail in front of the Qiao household’s gate. He was holding a pouch of broken silvers and copper coins, kneeling and begging about redeeming their daughter. The gatekeeper immediately went to report to the steward’s daughter-in-law, who then came forward and learned that the girl they were looking for was their Young Madam’s maidservant, so she immediately reported to Madam Qiao. 

At this time, Madam Qiao was currently having an argument with a concubine who simply climbed up from her status from just being a mere maid, and suddenly, she was reminded of the old grudge she has towards a certain maidservant. Just as when her heart was about to burst out due to anger, her eyes turned to the servant who reported something to her. After that, she told the servant to deal with the pair of father and son for a while, while she herself went to visit Old Madam Qiao to report and have someone go call for Gong Zhuoliang.

“Did this really happen? Yan, my darling, you can tell grandma everything”

After receiving the news of someone wailing at their front door just during the New Year’s Eve, Old Madam Qiao felt loathe in her heart until she heard that it has something do with Gong Zhuoliang’s dowry maid, she endured the urge to casually send them off and allowed Gong Zhuoliang to explain ‘herself’ clearly.

“Of course. Replying to grandma, that maid Ruo Zi used to be a close servant of my mother. Anything else about her, I don’t really know much. I’m only vaguely aware that her father sold her so he could treat his son’s illness, but I also really don’t know why they wanted her back again. Whenever this topic is mentioned, Ruo Zi will become….. unhappy” 

Gong Zhuoliang actually didn’t expected that Madam Qiao would touch this matter all of sudden, and he also didn’t know what she was was planning to do so for now, he can only be prudent with his reply towards the old madam’s question and ordered for Ruo Lan to call for Ruo Zi. After that, he only simply stood on the sidelines and feigned a look of loss while internally, he was raising his guards.

“Hmm…”

After hearing what Gong Zhuoliang said, Old Madam Qiao softly hummed for a while and happened to turn her eyes to Madam Qiao, whose expression was so indifferent; making it difficult whether she’s angry or not.

“The old father seemed poor. I wonder how long had it taken for him to save so much broken silvers just for him to redeem his daughter and spend their New Years together” 

Madam Qiao’s currently not targeting Gong Zhuoliang, neither she wanted to intimidate him today since it would only make her seem ignoble in the end. As a result, she quickly concentrated on the important matter.

“This daughter-in-law is assuming, as the maidservants in our household is already growing up, naturally, we wouldn’t be able to stop them from doing dishonest actions. Why don’t we use the pretext of bestowing them some favor for the New Years and have their family redeem them, or match them with a good family, and then buy new younger maidservants after the New Years”

“…….”

After hearing what Madam Qiao said, Gong Zhuoliang instantly understood why she was being so brutal. She simply wanted to seize this opportunity and kick out the suspicious ones. Over these years, the Old Madam is gradually losing capabilities to manage the household. During those times, Madam Qiao did not have the opportunity to decide who to keep and who to drive out, so this time, there’s no way the old madam would have the heart to refute her decisions and make her lose face. 

Seeing that this matter absolutely would have nothing to do with him, Gong Zhuoliang continued to calmly pretend as an outsider. Now that Madam Qiao has stepped forth and acted as the villain for him, Ruo Zi will never be able to find a reason to accuse him. When the time comes Madam Gong found herself in trouble, at least she could never suspect him.

“This…”

Old Madam Qiao is well aware of the natural disposition of her daughter-in-law, and understood that she would not just make a decision without any reason. In any case, she was stating the facts. When her own son promoted a mere servant and married her into his household as a concubine, just when her grandson married a wife, the old madam felt very aggravated; as a result, when she was persuaded, her heart hesitated for a while and thought about her decisions as she fiddled on the rosary in her hand.

Upon seeing the old madam’s response, Madam Qiao did not urge her to make a decision and simply sipped on her tea in a dignified manner, only glancing once at Zhi Qi who was currently standing respectfully behind the old madam. 

After a while, an inexplicably anxious Ruo Zi arrived. When she saw that even the old madam and madam were all present, her knees began to soften as she stood nervously in the middle of the hall. Madam Qiao looked towards the old madam for instructions, and seeing her nod, she cleared her throat and began to talk about what happened several minutes ago.

“Madam! T-This servant doesn’t want to leave! Old Madam… T-This servant… this servant….”

As soon as she finished listening to Madam Qiao’s words, Ruo Zi immediately kneeled down and began to anxiously beg to them in desperation, until when she noticed the cold expression both on the faces of the two madam did she only realized how impolite had she been acting all this time. She then hastily looked at Gong Zhuoliang to ask for help, but when she saw him squinting his eyes at her, hinting at her, she’s forced to straighten her back and lower her head.

The home where Ruo Zi used to live is a shabby hut. Since childhood, she’s been working hard to earn money while on the other hand, her little brother was the one who was fed with good food and drink by her father. Later on, she was sold for the sake of her little brother. All over the years she’s been relying on Madam Gong, she realized how she’s much more pampered and doted on, compared to those concubines from ordinary families, that’s why she never wanted to go back to her family. 

“How ungrateful of you. Yan, my darling, call her family in and allow them to take her away. Our Qiao Family doesn’t keep such unfilial things”

Old Madam Qiao had already seen lots of covetous people who will do everything, just for them to acquire wealth and status. A mother or a father selling their child is no different. In any case, Ruo Zi did not leave her any good impressions so she unhesitatingly declared her fate right off the bat and even agreed to Madam Qiao’s suggestions.

Of course, Old Madam Qiao also has her own plans. She’s simply using Madam Qiao’s hand to drive some misbehaving maids out of the mansion as well as those who dare to offend them. If she’s going to buy another batch maidservants, she’ll have them arranged by her granddaughter-in-law for her to pave an easier life for the young couple…..

Ruo Zi wanted to attempt kowtowing, crying and begging once again until Ruo Lan came to stop her and Gong Zhuoliang, who’s been pretending to be a passerby, finally stepped forward and took the initiative to show them that he still exists. 

“Ruo Zi, grandma is already so kind enough to allow you to reunite with your family. As your master, I will no longer buy your freedom back. If you think you’ve been thankful for my mother’s kindness all these years, please don’t forget to visit back to the Gong Mansion and offer your last kowtow to her”

Walking towards Ruo Zi, Gong Zhuoliang grabbed her arms, helping her stand, and then saw the pleasant surprise in her eyes after hearing what he said. Understanding that she might’ve already fully apprehended his words, he ordered Ruo Lan to lead her out and right in front of the entrance was Shi Kang who was waiting for them.

Come to think of it, when Qiao Yingze arrived back, he went to request the old madam to take Shi Kang with her for her own use. On the other hand, the old madam was instead very happy that he(QYZ) finally is starting to take charge for his family affairs.

“What a kind-hearted child” 

As soon as Ruo Zi left, the old madam urged for Gong Zhuoliang to sit in front of her and took ‘her’ hand, holding and fondling it. Although her voice sounded like she’s unhappy, her expression and attitude is the complete opposite.

“Since the old madam has already assented, this daughter-in-law shall take her leave and continue the preparations for tommorow. After the New Years, the girl will then be taken home”

Madam Qiao couldn’t bear to watch the affectionate scene between the old and the young. Looking towards the direction of Zhi Qi, she was still seen an honest expression and pretending to be well-behaved. Madam Qiao sneered at her, turned around, and walked away with her head high.

That woman always made use of the old madam’s indulgence and even dreamt of becoming Qiao Yingze’s wife. She never took importance of her own status as the Madam of this entire mansion. Now that the old madam can’t even do anything to protect her, how could she not use this opportunity to pluck the thorns off her life? After all, if she never made a move, everyone will think that she’s the kind of a Madam who could be mistreated as they pleases! 

Gluttonous, prideful- lowly maids! Hmph!

When Zhi Qi saw the look on Madam Qiao’s eyes, her heart instantly felt cold. She knew instantly she will definitely not end well, and she even wouldn’t be able to rely on the Old Madam!

Zhi Qi gripped the handkerchief tightly in her hands.

She did not want to leave. 

Now that the situation has come to this, she definitely have to start planning how to fight for herself. As long as she became the next wife of the eldest young master, not even the Madam and the Young Madam will be able to bully her― the former favored maid of the Old Madam. She will have to endure for a few years, and only after finally achieving the position of a concubine of the eldest young master will she able to retaliate against them!

TL/N:
I’ve been wanting to ask you guys this question but… would you still prefer me to use the term ‘Little husband’ which Zhuo Zhuo mostly uses on Yingze, or the pinyin which is ‘Little xianggong’ since I thought that sounded more intimate? Oh! And what about the word ‘Hubby’ instead? XD