Chapter 011
Chapter 11: Stab First
Her parents did not mention the two hundred thousand taels at all. Instead, they supported her in seeking a divorce, and Xia Meng Yan felt a storm of emotions. [In my last life, why didn’t I see the truth? I only made my parents suffer.]
She rested a hand on her belly, comforted by the thought that her parents were here and her baby was safe: “Father and Mother, please don’t be angry. This is hard to handle. The Xia Family is not a noble house, only a household with a Hanlin Academician. If Father weren’t so capable and allowed to serve before His Majesty, people from the Marquis Manor would have stormed over long ago.”
Madam Lin looked at her with worry and called softly: “Yan’er.”
Her daughter had fallen for Lin Ye Lan at first sight, only to be betrayed by the man she liked. A mother could only imagine how much that hurt. Yet instead of making a scene, the child was thinking of the Xia Family, which made Madam Lin ache even more.
Xia Meng Yan understood her parents’ hearts and spoke calmly: “Father and Mother, don’t worry, I’m really fine. To tell the truth, I already regretted it on the road to the Northern Fortress Pass. Lin Ye Lan picked at everything about me. Even though I was pregnant, he still rushed day and night without stopping. At first I told myself duty came first, but when I saw Nanny Cheng, I understood everything.”
She let a cool smile touch her lips: “But I’m not easy to bully. Since Huo Ying Zi made trouble for me, I won’t let her live comfortably. Her people violated villagers, the camp is in chaos, and rumors in the Capital are raging. Even if she returns with merit, she won’t win His Majesty’s favor.”
[They killed me and my daughter in my last life. This time, I’ll let them learn what it means to beg for life and find no relief.]
Madam Lin’s eyes reddened as she said: “It was we who misjudged him and wronged you.” When she thought of her daughter being hunted at the Northern Fortress Pass, she wished she could fly there and take the blade for her.
Xia Ping Yuan rose to his feet with a cold face: “This is not over. I will write a memorial right now.”
He was a close attendant at the emperor’s side and never overstepped. But this time he meant to impeach the Ping An Marquis without mercy.
Xia Meng Yan stopped him with a steady voice: “Father, word of today’s events is already spreading. If you openly impeach the Ping An Marquis now, His Majesty may think you are taking revenge for a private grievance. The Huo Family Army has many problems. I remember you keep some evidence. Why not start with the Huo Family Army tomorrow?”
The Huo Family’s military achievements overshadowed the throne. His Majesty had likely long wanted to trim them back but had lacked a chance. If Father tore open the first seam, and if the emperor truly had the will, he would send people to dig deeper.
Xia Ping Yuan blinked. Not long ago, his daughter had pleaded for the Frontier Garrison, saying those men had it hard and asking him to show mercy when possible. Why the sudden change? He couldn’t help thinking: one Huo Ying Zi and Yan’er’s whole outlook has shifted.
Of course, Xia Meng Yan would not tell him that she had held back before because Lin Ye Lan begged her to. Now that they would divorce, there was no need to worry about his face.
She laid out her plan in a low voice: “The Huo Family Army is deeply rooted at the Northern Fortress Pass. No matter what, let’s stab first. Make His Majesty grow tired of the Huo clan bit by bit, then pull them out by the roots when the time is right. Father can start with the soldiers assaulting women and children.”
“As for Qiao Sheng and the others’ crimes,” she added calmly, “once His Majesty sends people to investigate, there will be results. When Marshal Huo is held to account, Huo Ying Zi won’t escape.”
Madam Lin agreed at once: “Our daughter is right. First ruin the Huo Family Army’s name, and let that old Huo waste a year for nothing.”
“Fine, I’ll listen to our daughter,” Xia Ping Yuan said, pleased. “But we don’t even need to look far. Their Capital branch is filthy already. It won’t be hard to deal with them.”
He was secretly delighted. Many colleagues envied him for serving so close to the throne, sneering that he flattered and lacked a scholar’s backbone. In the past, when he “whispered in the emperor’s ear,” his daughter would frown. Now she herself wanted him to impeach the Huo Family. Did this mean she recognized his way of doing things?
The more he thought, the more energized he felt. He almost wanted to rush into the palace right then: “Rest easy, daughter. Wait for my good news tomorrow.”
When the matter was settled, Xia Meng Yan thought of the person who always opposed the main branch and asked with a trace of worry: “If I return to the manor, will Grandmother be angry?”
Madam Lin knew her daughter worried for her, and her heart softened: “Yan’er, don’t worry about me. This is not up to her.”
The Lin Family were wealthy merchants from Jiangnan. Madam Lin had come to the Capital with her father to check their shops and fell in love at first sight with Xia Ping Yuan. Old Madam Xia despised her merchant birth and refused the match no matter what. Xia Ping Yuan was stubborn, too. He put off marriage until he was nineteen. In the end, they had no choice but to let Madam Lin enter the door.
All these years, Old Madam Xia had mocked Madam Lin often. Now that Xia Meng Yan was returning pregnant to divorce, Old Madam Xia would surely make a scene.
After soothing Xia Meng Yan, the couple left Autumn Lotus Court. On the way, Madam Lin said with her jaw set: “If your mother dares to drive our daughter back to the Marquis Manor, then you and I will divorce.”
“You, you,” Xia Ping Yuan laughed to placate her, “why drag us into it? Yan’er is our daughter, so we decide. As for Mother, just ignore her.”
“And what about the second branch,” Madam Lin muttered. “I can stomach their gossip in front of your mother most days. But if they dare to kick our daughter when she’s down, I’ll make them eat grass.”
It was not idle talk. The Xia Family had books but little silver. If not for Madam Lin’s support, the whole manor would have been drinking the northwest wind. Some people had no gratitude and even put on airs before her. For Xia Ping Yuan’s sake, she had let it pass. But now that Yan’er was home, if she heard one spiteful word, Madam Lin would cut their monthly stipends and throw them out of the Xia Manor.
Xia Ping Yuan squeezed her hand and said warmly: “Our daughter isn’t fragile. She was just worrying about us.”
“After all this, I’d rather she cried in my arms than held it in,” Madam Lin said, and tears fell.
“Our daughter has grown up,” Xia Ping Yuan murmured, drawing her close.
Xia Meng Yan did not know her parents were so worried. After a quick wash, she asked after Li Hua and Wang Yue’er. When she heard they had been placed in Listening Breeze Courtyard, she nodded: “Send reliable people to serve them. Meet their needs as much as possible.”
“Yes, Eldest Miss,” Chun Yue said, hurrying off to give orders.
On her familiar bed, weariness washed over Xia Meng Yan, and she slowly closed her eyes.
The incident at the Xia Manor gate spread through the Capital like wind.
In tea shops and alleys, people whispered with shock: “Did you hear? The Ping An Marquis wants to kill his wife.”
Someone gasped and said: “What, really? That’s too cruel.”
Another snorted and said: “A man must be ruthless to rise. He’s climbed high now. I heard it’s Marshal Huo’s daughter, Huo Ying Zi. The two were already together at the Northern Fortress Pass. If not for the imperial marriage decree, the Ping An Marquis would never have married the Xia Family’s legitimate daughter.”
A listener frowned and said: “Then Miss Xia is completely innocent.”
A bolder voice added: “Not only innocent, but she lost her dowry too. The Ping An Marquis wants to kill his wife to fake an accident and swallow Miss Xia’s dowry.”
Someone asked with disbelief: “Miss Xia’s dowry is over two hundred chests. Why would the Ping An Marquis want so much silver?”
A man lowered his voice and said: “The State Treasury is empty. Soldiers at the Northern Fortress Pass aren’t being paid on time. The Huo Family Army has to find money themselves.”
“That still doesn’t justify killing his wife,” a woman protested.
“You don’t understand,” someone said darkly. “If Miss Xia ‘has an accident,’ Huo Ying Zi can take her place and marry in, and the Ping An Marquis gets the two hundred chests for free. Two birds with one stone.”
Tongues clicked. People shivered at the sheer viciousness.
The rumor swelled all night. By the time Xia Meng Yan heard it, the story had become that the Ping An Marquis had joined hands with the Huo Family to set a trap and cheat the Xia Family out of silver.
She thought it over and decided someone was helping her. Otherwise, it wouldn’t spread this fast.
She guessed right. It was Duan Yi Chen. The moment he learned what had happened at the Xia Manor gate, he sent men to seed the Capital with talk, the dirtier the better.
He sat cross-legged before the ancestral tablets of the Duan Family and bit into a steamed bun, his tone careless as he said: “What Huo Family? If they dare touch my person, even the King of Heaven will kneel to the young master.”
Song Yu, his aide, asked in a low voice: “Heir apparent, this touches the Huo Family Army. Should we inform the marquis?”
Duan Yi Chen didn’t even look up: “From what I know of Uncle Xia, court will be lively today. Father should already know.”