After the morning court session, Meng Fu returned to the Zichen Hall. Looking at the memorials piled on the long desk, she was pondering how she could meet that His Majesty. She couldn’t just go directly to the Xuanping Marquis Manor and say she wanted to see Xie Wenzhao’s wife.
Meng Fu had never been an official, but she was very familiar with her father. These officials especially liked to guess the thoughts of the Son of Heaven. If she directly said she wanted to see the wife of the Marquis of Xuanping, who knows what kinds of things these officials would start imagining.
Moreover, now that she was the Son of Heaven, for safety reasons, it was inconvenient to leave the palace easily. Then the only way was to summon the person into the palace, but also without attracting attention from other officials.
Meng Fu quickly had an idea. She could host a palace banquet within the palace, first let the person enter the palace openly and justifiably, then look for a chance to speak at the banquet.
She immediately ordered Gao Xi, who had just returned from outside, to prepare for this matter. The banquet was to invite ministers of third rank and above, allowing them to bring their families. The sooner, the better.
Gao Xi was puzzled in his heart—this was neither New Year nor a festival, why would His Majesty hold a banquet? Fortunately, Li Yue had always acted without regard for rules, doing things on a whim. Back then even the late emperor often couldn’t do anything about him. Gao Xi did not dare to ask much and thought perhaps His Majesty had his own plans.
After Gao Xi withdrew, Meng Fu walked behind the long desk and lowered her head to glance at the memorials piled like a mountain. She still could not feel entirely at ease. This matter was so strange—it wasn’t certain that the current emperor had become her. There might also be other accidents.
—
Xie Wenzhao returned to the Marquis Manor after noon. He was now serving in the Ministry of Revenue. Today, there were no urgent matters at the Ministry, so he came home early.
He had lunch at the Old Madam’s place and was preparing to return to the study to read for a while. As he passed by the rock garden, he suddenly heard the sound of a qin coming from the direction of Tingshui Pavilion.
Xie Wenzhao stopped his steps. In Qu Hanyan’s qin music, he actually heard a trace of sorrowful resentment. Qu Hanyan had always been proud and aloof. After being sold into a brothel she was like this, and after entering the Marquis Manor, she was still like this. Her qin music rarely revealed any other emotions. As for sorrowful resentment—he had never heard it before.
Xie Wenzhao found it strange. He didn’t know who in the manor could have made her upset.
He changed direction and turned toward Tingshui Pavilion.
Inside Tingshui Pavilion, Qu Hanyan wore plain clothing and sat by the window, lips slightly pursed, her head lowered, gently plucking the qin strings.
Xie Wenzhao deliberately lightened his steps when he came. A maid wanted to remind Qu Hanyan but was stopped by him. He sat down in the room and quietly listened to Qu Hanyan play the qin.
He loved the qin as much as his life—loved those famed qins passed down through the generations, and loved even more those who played the qin. When he was young, he followed his father to Xuzhou. On the way, he was wrongly accused by his father and, feeling resentful, ran out of the inn into the pouring rain. At that time, he was still young. After running two streets, he got lost. He stood helplessly in the rain, not knowing where to go.
The rain grew heavier and heavier. He walked along the deserted long street, the sound of rain tapping on the moss-covered bluestone slabs, like the pounding of countless galloping hooves. He kept walking until the rain stopped. When the clouds cracked open and a beam of light poured down from the gap, a clear and distant qin sound came from afar.
He didn’t know where the qin sound came from, nor who was playing it. He only felt a kind of peace in his heart—a peace he had no words to describe at that age.
He followed the sound to search, but hadn’t gone far before he fainted. When he awoke again, he was already back at the inn.
From that day onward, Xie Wenzhao developed an immense interest in the qin. What he wished for in life was to find a kindred spirit in music—to grow old in mutual love with her.
He had found that person. He liked her qin music—liked her even more. He had once been full of expectations for their future. But due to fate’s tricks, he ultimately failed to realize his wish. He married the elder sister of the woman in his heart. He was destined never to be with her in this lifetime.
Last year, he met Meng Yu once at Yunxi Tower. He knew that Meng Yu had never married because of him, and felt even more sorrow. Later, he was dragged by a friend to the brothel to drink away his sorrow. It was there that he encountered Qu Hanyan. Her back looked very much like the person he had buried deep in his heart. The way she played the qin was exactly as he had imagined. At the time, he thought—perhaps this was a bit of comfort Heaven had left him.
Xie Wenzhao sighed. In this life, there are always all kinds of “what one seeks but cannot obtain.” He already had a virtuous wife and beautiful concubine. To live out life this way—was also not bad.
Zheng—a sound rang out as a qin string snapped, and the music came to an abrupt stop. Xie Wenzhao came back to his senses from his chaotic thoughts. He looked up at Qu Hanyan, smiled gently, and asked her, “What’s wrong with you today? Are you not feeling well? Has the doctor come to take a look?”
Qu Hanyan shook her head and said nothing.
“Then what’s wrong?” Xie Wenzhao asked. “I heard your qin music today… you seem a bit unhappy.”
“No.” Qu Hanyan replied coldly.
However, the little maid beside her, Ling’er, almost opened her mouth at the same time as her, speaking out for her grievance: “Marquis, you don’t know.”
Xie Wenzhao asked: “What is it that I don’t know?”
Before Ling’er could speak, Qu Hanyan frowned and interrupted her, saying, “Ling’er, withdraw.”
Ling’er shut her mouth reluctantly, her lips pouting so much they could hang an oil bottle.
Xie Wenzhao laughed and said, “It’s fine, just say it.”
Ling’er pursed her lips, glanced at Qu Hanyan, and said indignantly, “It was this morning—our young lady followed your instruction and went to Jixue Courtyard to pay respects to the madam, but not only did the madam go back on her word, she even scolded the young lady.”
Upon hearing that Qu Hanyan had been scolded by Meng Fu, Xie Wenzhao’s first reaction was to shake his head: “Impossible.”
Ling’er exclaimed, “How is it impossible? So many people saw it! When has our young lady ever suffered such wrongs?”
Qu Hanyan opened her mouth to stop her: “Ling’er, stop talking.”
Xie Wenzhao still didn’t believe it. Although he hadn’t spent much time with Meng Fu, she had been married into the Marquis Manor for several years now. He believed he somewhat understood her. She was just like one of those main household madams who walked straight out of a book—gentle, virtuous, neither arrogant nor impatient, thorough in conduct, composed in advance and retreat. She didn’t get jealous or suppress the concubines. Many times, she was even willing to give the various concubines some convenience.
All these years, Xie Wenzhao had never heard of Meng Fu scolding anyone.
Today, one of his colleagues from the Ministry of Revenue returned from the palace and was sighing that the sun must have risen from the west today. If Meng Fu were to scold someone, then perhaps the sun really had risen from the west.
“Then I’ll go to Jixue Courtyard to have a look later,” Xie Wenzhao said, appeasing Qu Hanyan. “Your health is not good—don’t get angry. I’ll think of a way to help you change your courtyard.”
Qu Hanyan lowered her head. No smile could be seen on her face as she said lightly, “It’s not much to me, only I’m afraid that if Marquis you go, the madam will scold you too.”
Xie Wenzhao immediately laughed. Ever since Qu Hanyan entered the manor, she hadn’t smiled much—now she could even joke?
How could Meng Fu possibly scold someone? Scold him?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
If Meng Fu were to scold him, then the roosters in the manor would be able to lay eggs.
The more Xie Wenzhao thought about it, the more amusing he found it. He really didn’t know what exactly had happened this morning to make Qu Hanyan say something so interesting.
—
In Jixue Courtyard, Qingping stared at Li Yue, who was practicing boxing in the courtyard, her face full of shock—her mouth half-open, eyes wide. She had maintained this somewhat dumbfounded expression for a full quarter of an hour. She once even thought of claiming she hadn’t fully woken up from sleep—otherwise, this world would be too fantastical.
She wouldn’t even dare to dream that one day, their madam would cut her skirt short, tie up her sleeves, and practice boxing in the courtyard—practicing until she was drenched in sweat, with a forceful and fierce posture…
Qingping really wouldn’t have dared to dream such a dream even in her sleep.
Li Yue continued practicing for another half-quarter of an hour before finally stopping due to her body being unable to hold up. After coughing twice, she paced slowly around the courtyard, adjusting her breathing.
That morning, after sending away all the concubines, he had originally intended to leave the manor to inquire about news from the palace. But he had barely taken a few steps before he was panting heavily, feeling dizzy and blurred in vision. Add to that Qingping’s chirping non-stop by his side, he almost thought he was going to die.
He certainly couldn’t die outside, so Li Yue returned to Jixue Courtyard and sent a few servants out to gather information. Fortunately, even though this madam had an overly gentle temperament, she still had quite a bit of authority among the servants. Once he gave the order, they scurried off to handle things.
After arranging this, Li Yue lowered his head and looked at himself again. This body was indeed too weak. He didn’t know how long he would stay in this body. Being so delicate made him feel very insecure. Thinking it over, taking medicine alone was definitely not enough—he had to train his body too.
Thus, the scene that made Qingping feel like the whole world had turned magical came to be.
Li Yue had barely walked for a while when the servants he sent out in the morning all returned. Along with them came several elderly men from Ronghui Hall. Back in the day, during the hunting siege at Jun Mountain, the old marquis had saved the former emperor. These old servants who had followed the old marquis had contributed greatly as well. Now that they were old, the Marquis Manor couldn’t drive them out, so Ronghui Hall was built to support them.
Every mid-month, they would come to Meng Fu to ask for silver. Nowadays, their sons and grandsons had all married and started families—their expenses increased, and so did their appetite.
Last month, each of them asked for thirty taels. This month, they were planning to ask for even more. The madam had thin skin, and cared about the face of the Marquis Manor—it would be difficult for her to outright refuse. And besides, with such a large estate, the Marquis Manor surely wouldn’t be short of this bit of silver.
They were full of confidence in this trip today, already thinking about how they would speak later, just waiting for Meng Fu to open her mouth and ask.
But then, Li Yue didn’t pay attention to them at all. He sat on a stone stool, listening to the servants report that they had not heard of any major happenings in the palace.
He furrowed his brow slightly, not very satisfied with this result. But then he thought again—never mind. At least no word had come from the palace saying the emperor had passed away. That could be considered a good thing.
Seeing that his expression wasn’t good, the servants instantly felt an increase in pressure. The madam very rarely showed such a heavy expression to them. Could it be she was blaming them for being useless? So they hurriedly began detailing everything they had seen and heard during their trip out.
Most of it was useless to Li Yue, until he heard someone say: “When we came back, we passed by the Wei Manor and saw Lord Wei getting out of the sedan. He looked extremely pleased.”
Li Yue’s face darkened in an instant. That old fox Wei Jun’an had returned to the Wei Manor beaming with joy—looks like the matter of the performance evaluation had most likely failed. And given this madam’s soft and compliant personality, it had probably failed miserably.
His face was like still water, not saying a word. It was clearly the blazing heat of summer, yet the servants felt as if the air around them had frozen. Just one glance from Li Yue made their hearts surge with the impulse to kneel and beg for mercy.
The few old men who had prepared to step forward and ask for money swallowed their spit and silently drew back the foot they had extended.
Li Yue swept a glance over these servants, withdrew his gaze, and didn’t pay them any mind. He stood up and began pacing around the stone table. Though he had a big temper, he never vented his anger on the innocent. Everyone in this courtyard was rather innocent—those officials like Wei Jun’an weren’t here before his eyes—so he could only forcibly bottle up the anger in his chest. Holding it in was quite suffocating.
Meng Fu’s body was weak, and the more Li Yue walked, the more irritable he felt. The servants in the courtyard followed near and far along with his steps, all holding their breath in anxiety. They had never seen the madam in such a fretful state—just what had happened?
Li Yue thought: that old fox Wei Jun’an rarely smiles at people. If he had returned smiling this time, he must have taken no small advantage in court. But now, having become Meng Fu, he couldn’t enter the palace, nor could he go to the Wei Manor.
Thinking about this made Li Yue even angrier. It was rare for him to feel so constrained by this and that.
“Madam, please stop,” Qingping gathered her courage to step forward, lightly grabbing Li Yue’s sleeve and said softly, “The Marquis has come.”
“What did he come for?” Li Yue pulled his sleeve from Qingping’s hand and asked impatiently.
“This servant doesn’t know either,” Qingping paused for a moment, then added with some worry, “But I heard the Marquis came from the direction of Tingshui Pavilion. Could it be that Concubine Qu lodged a complaint to him?”
Li Yue said coldly, “She’s the one in the right now?”
And she still has the nerve to complain?
Qingping thought to herself: whether she’s in the right or not—doesn’t that still depend on what the Marquis thinks? And the Marquis’s heart had always been biased.
“Fine if he came, let him roll here.” Li Yue said.
He happened to have a stomach full of fire and nowhere to let it out—now that unlucky wretch Xie Wenzhao was coming right to him.