Meng Fu carefully folded the letter Li Yue had sent and placed it into the small box beneath the long desk. Then, she instructed the dark guards to investigate Nanny Liu’s identity and background clearly, including where she was from before entering the palace, what relatives she currently had in her hometown, and after entering the palace, with whom she had any entanglements—all of it must be thoroughly investigated again.
The candlelight flickered; the flowers and birds on the palace lamp seemed to come alive with it. Those distorted shadows cast on the screen looked instead like an expressive landscape painting. Meng Fu worked until the hour of Hai [亥时, 9–11 PM], before finally finishing the remaining memorials to the throne.
She quickly washed up. Now she could somewhat calmly face this body she was unfamiliar with, although when touching it, her heart still had some strangeness.
At the Xuanping Marquis Manor, Li Yue threw on an outer robe and grabbed his sword, then strode out quickly. Qingping saw this and hurriedly put down the embroidery in her hands, rushing to follow. Madam looked like she was going out to kill someone.
This… even if going to kill someone, it should still be planned a bit! Being so impulsive would easily leave behind evidence! Qingping had saved up a lot of words to persuade Madam to calm down, but upon seeing Madam’s expressionless face, she dared not say anything at all.
She somewhat understood now why the Marquis had lately sometimes appeared particularly stifled in front of Madam. Just with Madam’s current appearance, anyone who saw it would feel stifled!
With her heart pounding, Qingping followed Li Yue through the small garden and arrived at the bamboo forest behind. Seeing that there was no one here, Qingping let out a breath of relief. Looks like she wouldn’t have to witness a tragic incident tonight.
She had followed Madam for so many years, never had she thought that one day she’d need to worry about such things.
Li Yue raised the long sword in his hand, casually twirled a sword flower [剑花 — a flourish or twirl with a sword], then leapt into the air. Accompanied by the swishing sound of wind, the long sword moved like a silver dragon swimming around his body.
These days, he had been practicing every day. Meng Fu’s constitution was already much better than when he first arrived. Now, when wielding a sword, he had quite the proper form.
Qingping stood outside the bamboo forest. The moonlight was bright, bamboo shadows swayed, and pieces of slender bamboo leaves were blown down by the wind, fluttering down one after another. The cold sword light swept across the surrounding rocks, and under the clashing sound, sparks flew in all directions.
It did look very good, just—Qingping was puzzled. She’d never heard that Madam had learned sword dancing before.
Madam had changed a lot during this period. What other surprises were there that she didn’t know about?
Moreover, Madam not sleeping in the middle of the night and practicing sword here—why? Could it be still for the sake of the Marquis?
Because of the old madam’s words, these past few days Xie Wenzhao had been staying overnight in Hua Xiaoling’s Linglong Pavilion. Hua Xiaoling wasn’t very smart, but she was very hardworking. Knowing that Xie Wenzhao liked talented ladies who were full of poetry and books, she also began to study and learn characters. Knowing that he liked to listen to people play the zither, she specifically sought someone to teach her. However, Hua Xiaoling really wasn’t very smart—at least she truly had no talent in either aspect.
After Xie Wenzhao realized he couldn’t directly go against the old madam, every night he obediently went to Linglong Pavilion, but then started slacking off and refusing to cooperate. After entering Linglong Pavilion, no matter how Hua Xiaoling tried to seduce him, he didn’t say a single word and didn’t even move a finger.
But he didn’t last more than a few days. After hearing the song that Hua Xiaoling had painstakingly played for him, Xie Wenzhao still couldn’t hold it in. He rubbed his ears and mocked, “O, ya, chao, zha—hard to listen. Truly hard on you to be able to play something like this.” [呕哑嘲哳 — an idiom from Du Fu’s poetry, meaning “discordant noise, harsh sounds,” used here as harsh criticism.]
Hua Xiaoling had only just learned a few characters and couldn’t understand what Xie Wenzhao meant at all. She happily replied, “Thank you for the compliment, Marquis Xie.”
Xie Wenzhao: “…”
This was like using all your strength to throw a punch, only for it to land in cotton. Xie Wenzhao’s anger burned even more.
In order to quickly get pregnant, Hua Xiaoling was going all out, trying every method to please Xie Wenzhao. Unfortunately, the peach blossoms were interested but the flowing water was heartless. Singing, dancing, playing the zither—she had basically tried all the ways a woman might use to please a man. As for the effect…
Laughable. There was no effect at all.
Xie Wenzhao’s body stayed in her room, but his heart had flown who-knows-where. Hua Xiaoling really wanted to ease the old madam’s worries and add a child to the marquis manor, but Xie Wenzhao wasn’t cooperating at all. What could she do? She couldn’t possibly force herself on him, right?
Hua Xiaoling thought again—right, why couldn’t she?
Just thinking about it made her a little excited.
She heard that Madam had been practicing boxing these past few days. Madam had always been clever and would never do things that were useless. Could it be she had already anticipated that the Marquis wouldn’t be as cooperative as they thought, so she learned martial arts in advance, so that in the future she could directly give it to the Marquis.
Madam still wasn’t generous enough—why didn’t she tell her earlier about such a good thing!
Hua Xiaoling secretly made up her mind—not only would she learn how to compose poetry and play the zither, she would also learn martial arts. She already imagined the future scene of Xie Wenzhao falling into her hands, being ravaged like a delicate flower by her.
Hua Xiaoling couldn’t help but start cackling on the spot.
Xie Wenzhao, hearing the laughter, raised his head and looked at her. He furrowed his brows, just about to scold her, but then felt her laugh was at least more pleasant to the ear than the tune she’d just played, so he swallowed the words that had reached his lips and pretended there was no Hua Xiaoling in the room.
Pitiful Xie Wenzhao had no idea what kind of terrifying thoughts the concubine he had taken into his manor was having about him.
Xie Wenzhao had someone in his heart—everyone in the marquis manor knew this clearly—but they also knew that he and that woman were absolutely impossible.
Not to mention he had already married a legal wife—Meng Yu, the daughter of Meng Yanxing—even though the Meng family was now in decline, his daughter would absolutely never be a concubine to anyone. And just by the fact that Meng Fu was Meng Yu’s biological older sister, the two of them were simply impossible.
The old madam felt very disappointed upon learning that Xie Wenzhao was unwilling to touch other women. Her son was not a fool, so why was he so blind when it came to this matter? What was so good about that Meng Yu?
…
Until the eastern sky began to lighten, Qingping had nearly fallen asleep leaning against the rockery behind her, when Li Yue finally withdrew the sword in his hand and walked toward Jixue Courtyard.
As he passed Qingping, Li Yue gently patted her on the shoulder, waking her up. Qingping opened her eyes—Madam had her back to the candlelight, her complexion very pale, like a sword about to leave its sheath, or like a plum blossom blooming in winter with a cold and elegant fragrance.
Qingping was dazed for a moment. She didn’t know why, but she felt Madam before her now had developed a kind of indescribable aura, different from the usual, making one want to explore even knowing the danger. The Marquis really had no eyes—how was Madam not good enough?
Realizing what she was thinking, Qingping hurriedly shook her head, quickly banishing those inappropriate thoughts from her mind. She slapped her cheeks hard, rubbed her eyes. She must be too sleepy, that’s why she was having such thoughts. She yawned and followed behind Li Yue back to Jixue Courtyard.
After returning, Li Yue cooled off his sweat and took another bath. Lying on the bed, after dancing sword for several shichen [时辰 — traditional two-hour periods], the fire in his heart finally cooled slightly. But once he thought of the Little Prince’s matter, he again wanted to find something to let off steam. But after all, this wasn’t his original body—he couldn’t resist the exhaustion. He gradually fell asleep.
Outside, Qingping fell asleep even faster than he did—her head had barely touched the pillow when she lost consciousness.
Early the next morning, Wu San and others from Ronghui Hall came to Luoyu Hall to request an audience with the old Marquis. Previously, when they went to Jixue Courtyard, they only got five taels of silver. Five taels wasn’t a small amount—it could support an ordinary household for half a year in the capital. However, their appetites had long been fed too well. Five taels were squandered in just two or three days. The month wasn’t even over, and they were already out of money.
Of course, asking for money also required skill—different people needed different attitudes. Facing the old Marquis, they couldn’t just blurt out their intentions. Instead, they reminisced about the glorious years of the past, trying to stir his feelings, then lowered their stance, lamented their current hardships—in short, however pitiful it could be said, that’s how they said it.
The old Marquis didn’t know the actual situation. Hearing their sob stories, he recalled how they once carried guns for him, fought battles, suffered wounds. The old Marquis felt he couldn’t let his former subordinates be wronged. They were all around his age—no more than a few good years left.
The old Marquis sighed, nodded, and said to them: “This way it does seem that five taels is a bit little. You can go to Meng Fu and get some more.”
At first, hearing the old Marquis give the green light, Wu San and the others were overjoyed—felt that this matter was settled. But right after that, they heard the old Marquis say to go get the money from the young madam. Wu San’s heart immediately tightened again.
That day in Jixue Courtyard, the scene of the young madam scolding the Marquis was still fresh in their minds—they probably would never forget it in this lifetime. More importantly, after Madam scolded the Marquis, nothing happened to her. Instead, the Marquis got scolded and punished. How would they dare ask Madam for money?
“This…” Wu San looked troubled. They truly did not want to go find the young madam.
“Is there some difficulty?” the old Marquis asked kindly.
Wu San didn’t know how to say it. His lips opened and closed for a long while before he tactfully brought it up: “What if the Young Madam thinks we’re asking for too much? You know as well—we just got silver from the Young Madam not long ago, and now we’re going again… won’t she get angry? If she gets angry, wouldn’t that make things difficult for you? If that’s the case, maybe just forget it.”
The Old Madam, sitting to the side, instinctively frowned. Why did this sound so familiar? She felt like she’d heard this kind of talk a lot when she was younger.
She picked up the teacup on the table.
The old Marquis comforted them, saying: “It’s fine. Just tell her it was my decision. Meng Fu won’t make things difficult for you.”
Wu San nodded and said to the old Marquis: “Then we’re relieved. The Young Madam is the most filial—she surely won’t go against your will.”
After they left, the Old Madam put down her cup and said to the old Marquis: “Truly good tea.”
Old Marquis: “Ah? Let me try.”
Wu San and the others figured that since the old Marquis had spoken, the Young Madam would give them some face no matter what.
After leaving Luoyu Hall, Wu San and the others arrived at Jixue Courtyard, only to be told by the servants that Madam hadn’t risen yet. Wu San waited for more than half an hour without hearing any movement, so he simply went back to Ronghui Hall. Around midday, they came again—but Madam still hadn’t gotten up.
Wu San started to mutter inwardly—was Madam deliberately avoiding them? Since they weren’t leaving, they stood outside Jixue Courtyard. They didn’t believe Madam could go the entire day without getting up.
His prediction almost came true. Last night, Li Yue had already gone to bed late, and he had practiced swordplay for such a long time before sleep. When he woke up today, the sun wasn’t just high in the sky—it was practically about to set.
He sat on the bed, leaned against the pillow, flipping through the account books the steward had sent over yesterday. He didn’t like doing these things—not because he couldn’t understand them, but because he didn’t want to. After flipping a few pages, he could already tell that if things continued like this, the Xuanping Marquis Manor was about to spend more than it earned.
At that moment, Qingping came in and told him: the servants from Ronghui Hall had come again to ask for silver.
Li Yue wasn’t one of those princes or noble descendants who had lived long inside the palace and didn’t understand money. He knew very clearly what five taels of silver could do. It had only been a few days since he gave them money, and now they were back asking again? Li Yue didn’t even want to look at them and directly told Qingping: “No money. Tell them to get lost.”
After all, those servants had once saved the old Marquis—Qingping felt it wasn’t good to repeat Madam’s words exactly like that, so she softened them a bit. But rejection, no matter how softened, was still rejection. Wu San and the others had waited outside Jixue Courtyard the whole day and already had pent-up resentment. Now that they still couldn’t get the money, they naturally became even more displeased and immediately ran to Luoyu Hall to cry and complain in front of the old Marquis.
Wu San, with tears and snot flowing, said: “We servants are not unreasonable. If the Marquis Manor is really having difficulties, we can suffer a bit. Just don’t let this matter harm the harmony between you and the Young Madam.”
The Old Madam held her teacup and shook her head. She felt more and more that the tea she’d bought a few days ago had a really nice flavor.
The old Marquis had spent half a life in the military and had never once managed household affairs. Hearing Wu San speak, he too felt Meng Fu had gone a bit too far—wasn’t it just a few taels of silver? What couldn’t be given? He turned and asked the Old Madam in a low voice: “What do you think we should do about this? Should we just give them the money ourselves?”
The Old Madam shook her head. Her thoughts went much further than the old Marquis. In her view, Meng Fu wasn’t targeting Wu San and his group at all—she was trying to find a way to ask for the shops in her hands. She had originally intended to give those shops to Meng Fu, but now that Meng Fu was pulling this kind of trick, she instead didn’t want to give them anymore.
The Old Madam called her personal maid, gave a few instructions, and had her go to Jixue Courtyard to speak with Meng Fu.
When the maid arrived, Li Yue was still reviewing the account books. Upon hearing the Old Madam had something to tell him, he still showed no energy, lazily flipping another page as he said, “Speak.”
That maid could clearly feel that Madam’s attitude today was very different from before—but that didn’t matter much. She said: “The Old Madam says, she knows you’ve been working hard these days. If you feel the affairs of the manor are too much to handle, she can have Concubine Sun assist you more, so that you can rest a bit. As for the matter with Wu San, it’s not a big deal. Concubine Sun should be able to take care of it.”
This statement was actually a threat to Li Yue—if he couldn’t manage the Marquis Manor properly, then he should hand over the authority of house affairs. At the same time, it was a rebuke: even Concubine Sun could do a better job than him in handling such trivial matters.
If it had been Meng Fu here, she would have surely thought of a way to handle this matter in a proper and seamless manner, leaving everyone satisfied. But how could Li Yue bear this crap? He was already annoyed to death with these account books, and now he had to deal with one idiot after another coming to cause trouble?
After he heard the maid’s words, he gave a light laugh.
The maid felt that the Young Madam’s laugh was a bit eerie. Then, when she looked up, she saw Li Yue raise his hand and directly fling the account book away, then lean back and lie down.
Heh—this lord just won’t care anymore!