Chapter 019
Chapter 19: More Loss Than Gain
Xia Meng Yan laughed, almost amused: “Grandmother, I must be very powerful to harm my second uncle’s career like that. Did it never occur to you that he has stayed an Eighth Rank Official so long because of you?”
“Xia Meng Yan,” Old Madam Xia barked, almost jumping up.
Xia Meng Yan kept an innocent look: “I’m only guessing. Grandfather was talented and should have risen, but he was sent out for years with no promotion. After Father left our hometown for the capital, Grandfather’s record looked even worse, and he died depressed. Now Second Uncle’s situation is the same. Why not move back to our ancestral home? Maybe then his career will finally turn.”
Her words painted Old Madam Xia as a jinx to husband and sons. The old lady trembled with anger and almost fainted.
Madam Wan hurried to smooth things over: “How could Second Master’s career be tied to mother?”
“Then how is it tied to me?” Xia Meng Yan’s voice turned cold. “Second Uncle has sat as an Eighth Rank Official for years. If he had ability, he would have been transferred into the capital long ago. You want to use my matter as a wedge. It won’t work. Better explain how you sold me.”
Madam Wan’s eyes flickered: “What do you mean, ‘sold’?”
“If the Ping An Marquis Manor had not given you enough benefits, how would you dare to betray your own family?” Xia Meng Yan spoke plainly.
Old Madam Xia had already lost face and now pretended to be too angry to stand. Madam Wan glanced at her and felt bitter. [She is an elder, so what if she throws a fit? All she loves is face. No wonder she was provoked.]
Madam Wan straightened and said, half sobbing and half bold: “So what if it’s true? The main branch lives well. How could you understand the second branch’s hardship? Elder brother is a Hanlin Academician and can serve before the throne. Elder sister-in-law’s family is rich. The silver that slips through their fingers could keep us for a year. You have both power and money, so of course you do not feel our pain. Second Master and I are not as capable as you. We only want the family to live in peace and safety. If there is a chance to move up, we try our best. We finally had a chance to transfer inside the city, but now…”
She lowered her head and cried: “The Ping An Marquis Manor only asked me to persuade her. I worried that Meng Yan would suffer while carrying a child, so I went to mother for a way. I never thought it would bring your suspicion. Now you two are pleased. But what about Second Master? What about the unmarried girls in this manor?”
Old Madam Xia nodded in secret. Madam Wan had a head on her shoulders. One played kind, one played stern; together they would force Madam Lin and her daughter to agree.
She added, voice heavy: “Your elder brother came to the capital early. Back then, the second son held up everything at home. He had to study and care for my illness. He suffered a lot. Later he finally passed the exam. The rank was not high, but he still got an office. Only then could our family gather in the capital.”
Xia Meng Yan chuckled. Old Madam Xia’s eyes cooled: “What are you laughing at? Do you know how many cold looks and insults your second uncle suffered outside the city?”
“I cannot feel what he felt,” Xia Meng Yan said, unable to listen any longer to the twisting of right and wrong. “Father told me that when he went to the Imperial Examinations, grandmother gave him only two taels for travel. He left a month early, got sick on the road, and still did not dare see a physician. He held on with sheer grit. I want to ask, when Grandfather was still a prefect, how could there not be enough silver to send a son to the capital?”
“You know nothing,” Old Madam Xia snapped, growing darker. “There were many mouths to feed and many expenses. Your grandfather was an honest man. Even the two taels were squeezed from my teeth.”
“How much did grandmother give Second Uncle when he went up for the exams?”
“You…” She faltered.
“Twenty taels,” Xia Meng Yan said, eyes full of scorn. “After Grandfather died and the Xia Family lost its income, we somehow became richer.”
It was a thorn in Father’s heart. Whenever he spoke of it, his eyes dimmed. The same two sons, yet the difference was so great.
Old Madam Xia looked away: “It was so long ago. How could I remember?”
“Of course grandmother doesn’t remember, because Father was the one hurt,” Xia Meng Yan said coldly. “You say the second branch suffers because of me. Fine. Then let’s split the family. From now on, whether the main branch does well or badly has nothing to do with the second branch.”
Old Madam Xia froze. Split the family? Impossible. With the second son’s nature, he would starve after a split.
Madam Wan also went blank for a moment. She had not expected Xia Meng Yan to say it out loud.
Old Madam Xia slammed the table and shouted: “Do you want me dead? As long as I live, don’t even think about splitting.”
“Then let’s split the residence,” Xia Meng Yan said evenly. “From now on, the two branches manage their own household matters and bear their own gains and losses. That way the main branch won’t have to carry the second branch’s weight.”
“You…” Old Madam Xia clutched her chest. “Physician. Hurry and call a physician.”
Su Ran started to run out, but Xia Meng Yan blocked her: “Su Ran is a maid my mother bought with her own silver. Second Aunt, why don’t you go invite the physician yourself?”
“You… unfilial child,” Old Madam Xia gasped. “Madam Lin, is this the good daughter you raised?”
Madam Lin finally set down her burden and said coolly: “All the servants in Xia Manor were bought with my silver. If mother feels wronged, you can buy your own.”
“This is not the time to fight,” Madam Wan pleaded, anxious. “Elder sister-in-law, please hurry and get the physician. If mother truly has an accident, people will call elder brother unfilial and that will make His Majesty dislike him.”
Madam Lin kept her back straight: “If I send for the physician and mother has an accident, I will be blamed. Better that you go yourself. Mother faints every other day and falls ill every third day. If she has lived this long, a short wait won’t make the difference.”
“You…” Old Madam Xia found herself speechless.
Xia Meng Yan did not care to watch the show any longer. She took Madam Lin’s arm and left.
Duan Yi Chen, meanwhile, had entered the palace to show the Separation Letter to Emperor Xuan Ming and was soundly scolded for it. He went home grinning, planning to visit Xia Manor at dawn to share the good news, but Marquis Xuan Ping stopped him.
Marquis Xuan Ping glared at his son and asked, fuming: “Divorced?”
Duan Yi Chen waved the Separation Letter with a flourish. Marquis Xuan Ping aimed a kick, which Duan Yi Chen dodged. The marquis barked: “You brat, you really did it?”
“Father,” Duan Yi Chen said without fear, “every word I said is true. I like Xia Meng Yan.”
“What did His Majesty say?” Marquis Xuan Ping paced the room, not knowing how to scold his son. Of all the girls, he had to pick a divorced woman carrying another man’s child.
“What could he say,” Duan Yi Chen answered with a shrug, “so long as there is silver.”
Marquis Xuan Ping blinked, then understood the hint. Xia Meng Yan’s maternal grandfather was a rich merchant. One move, and he could lay down two hundred thousand taels. Who would not envy that kind of wealth? Using his own son to fill the army’s pay, Emperor Xuan Ming’s calculation hit him right in the face.
Duan Yi Chen saw his father fall silent and added with a sly look: “It’s not my fault. His Majesty has the intention. I can’t help it.”
“Get out,” the marquis snapped. “Do you think I don’t know what you’re plotting? Were you the one who brought up the shortage of military pay to His Majesty?”
“Injustice, Father,” Duan Yi Chen said with a grin. “I know Mother would never agree, so why would I do it on purpose?”
As they spoke, Jian Ping stood outside the door as if with urgent business. Duan Yi Chen glanced at his father and said cheerfully: “I’ve got something to do. I’ll come back for my scolding later.”
“Get lost,” Marquis Xuan Ping said, waving him away.