Chapter 034
Chapter 34: Schemes
Grand Madam Lin sent the nanny away, and the room held only mother and son.
Lin Ye Lan did not dare meet his mother’s eyes, [afraid she would ask why his elder brother had not saved her that day].
Grand Madam Lin asked with a cold gaze that her paralyzed face could not hide: “Are the officials from the Ministry of Works still at the Marquis Manor?”
She had woken up in this place and, after asking around, learned it was the residence of Marquis Xuan Ping. She kept thinking about the secret room in the next courtyard. She could not speak of it to anyone, so she could only worry in silence.
Lin Ye Lan nodded and said, “Mother, you mean the silver.”
Grand Madam Lin glanced warily toward the door. Lin Ye Lan understood, tiptoed to the threshold, yanked the door open to check, then shut it and came back to the bed.
She said in a low voice: “Those silver ingots carry the Lin Family’s marks. Find a way to melt them down.”
Seeing the bare furnishings of the room made her angry. She had not lived in a place like this for decades. Now she wanted to bring that silver into the open and spend it properly.
Lin Ye Lan frowned and asked, “Mother wants to use that silver?”
The two hundred thousand taels were only with him for now. In the end, they still had to be sent to the Huo Family.
Grand Madam Lin’s mouth tilted, and drool slipped out. She wiped it with a handkerchief and said, “Before, with Xia Meng Yan here, all the Marquis Manor’s expenses were paid by her. Now you two have divorced. What money will keep the Marquis Manor running?”
Lin Ye Lan looked shocked, his brows knotted: “Since my marriage, the whole Marquis Manor’s expenses were covered by Xia Meng Yan? What about my monthly stipend and the rewards from His Majesty? Mother did you not use those?”
Eyes full of calculation, she squeezed his hand and said with pride: “Those are what you risked your life to earn. Of course I kept them safe for you. Xia Meng Yan is just a merchant’s daughter. Using her dowry already gives her plenty of face. What’s the big deal?”
“Mother,” Lin Ye Lan shot to his feet. He remembered that two months after their wedding, Xia Meng Yan had asked him about the household budget, and he had told her: “You are the mistress of the house, so arrange the accounts as you see fit.” He never guessed the Marquis Manor was already an empty shell.
He said, “How can the Marquis Manor live off Xia Meng Yan’s dowry? How am I supposed to face her?”
Before, he could put on a marquis’s airs without guilt. Now that he knew the truth, even posturing made him feel hollow.
Grand Madam Lin waved him off and said: “Why panic? You act like you don’t know, and I will shoulder this. What matters now is the manor’s expenses.”
When Lin Ye Lan explained that the silver in the secret room would have to be sent to the Huo Family sooner or later, Grand Madam Lin objected: “You risked beheading and got no benefit at all. I don’t care. If the Huo Family eats meat, we should at least drink some soup.”
“Mother, this matter can become big or small. In the future I still have to serve under Marshal Huo.”
“Then bring Xia Meng Yan back,” Grand Madam Lin said at once. She did not want to touch her own money. Lifting her chin at him, she said, “Go make a scene at the Xia Family. She is carrying your child. If she won’t return, then go every day. You are a man. You can always find a wife. But if she is pregnant, divorced, and the gossip starts, she will be stuck at her parents’ home for life as an old miss.”
Seeing him hesitate, she pointed to her face and said, “If she doesn’t come back, who will hire Divine Physician Luo to treat me? Am I to live with a paralyzed face forever?”
Lin Ye Lan felt stifled. [He thought he would return to the Capital to rest and heal, but everything had gone beyond his control.]
He said, “I will find a way to treat Mother’s illness. But we cannot touch the two hundred thousand taels in the secret room. If Marshal Huo blames us, I cannot bear it.”
Grand Madam Lin rolled her eyes and flicked her hand impatiently: “I know. Until Xia Meng Yan returns, keep your distance from that Huo Ying Zi.”
She had not expected one Xia Meng Yan to be tied to so many things. It felt like the Marquis Manor could not function without her. If she had known Xia Meng Yan was so useful, she would have kept her no matter what.
Leaving the courtyard, Lin Ye Lan knew his mother wanted him to remarry Xia Meng Yan for the sake of the Marquis Manor, not for him. With the manor’s thin family wealth, marrying into a high noble house would mean his mother and elder brother would be looked down on. Marrying an equal would bring a bride with strong family backing that his mother could not control. Only someone like Xia Meng Yan, from a family a step above ordinary officials and with a rich dowry, could fill the manor’s empty coffers and still be easy to handle.
Without noticing, he walked out the main gate. The things he once despised were now what he needed.
He turned back to look at the house behind him. He was a marquis with battle merit, yet Marquis Xuan Ping had tossed him into a place like this, sure he would not dare make trouble. [And he truly did not dare.] With the Eldest Princess backing Marquis Xuan Ping, was he going to throw his life away by picking a fight?
Lin Ye Lan sighed softly. [He had been away from the Capital for just over a month, and everything seemed to have changed.]
Xia Meng Yan knew nothing of the Lin mother and son’s plans, because Wang Mang had arrived in the Capital.
They sat in the courtyard while Yue’er and Li Hua, now neat and clean thanks to the maids, played nearby. In just a few days, both children had plumped up.
Wang Mang clenched his hands, unable to look away from his sister as he said, “Miss, you have raised them well.”
With him, they never lacked food or clothing, but they lived in fear. His sister’s head injury left her listless and tired all the time.
“Elder brother, elder brother,” Yue’er ran over with a handkerchief, smiling, sweat beading on her forehead as she said, “Elder brother, play with me.”
“All right,” Wang Mang said, and then he chased the two children around the yard with the handkerchief.
Nanny Song came in, saw the scene, and smiled as she said, “So this is Yue’er’s elder brother.”
Wang Yue’er had delicate brows and bright eyes. Small and cute, she was well behaved even after her head injury. The maids serving the two little misses liked them very much. Wang Mang, on the other hand, was tall and burly. No one would believe they were siblings at a glance.
Resting her chin in her hand, Xia Meng Yan watched the three of them play. [It felt like the days before she married in her past life, when she wore men’s clothes to sneak out, only to be scolded by her mother when she returned, as mischievous as a little monkey.]
She asked Nanny Song, “Any news from Heir Apparent Duan?”
Nanny Song shook her head and said, “Our watchers report that the people at Marquis Xuan Ping’s residence are very alert. Even the servants sent out to buy supplies keep their mouths shut.”
Xia Meng Yan frowned slightly. Based on what they had, Duan Yi Chen was still inside that residence.
Wang Mang brought his sister over. Xia Meng Yan nodded to Nanny Song.
Understanding, Nanny Song wiped sweat from Yue’er’s brow and said, “Are you hungry? Come with nanny to eat.”
Wang Yue’er looked at her elder brother, unwilling to leave.
Wang Mang patted her head and said gently, “Go with nanny first. Elder brother will come in a little while.”
Happy with that answer, the two children followed Nanny Song away.
Xia Meng Yan poured a cup of tea and set it by Wang Mang’s hand: “Divine Physician Luo has agreed to come to the Capital. He should arrive in the next few days. If nothing urgent comes up, wait and go after he examines your sister.”
At the mention of Divine Physician Luo, Wang Mang shot to his feet and bowed, saying, “I am a rough man and don’t know fancy words. If my sister can be cured, whenever you need me, just say the word.”
She had sought out Wang Mang because he had been forced into banditry, was good at martial arts, and at heart was decent.
She said, “Tell me about what happened at the Northern Fortress Pass.”
Wang Mang did not put on airs. He explained that the Huo Family Army had been besieged by villagers. Later, they heard the Court would send people to investigate the Northern Fortress Pass accounts. Marshal Huo made a quick decision, executed five soldiers, and gave the villagers condolence silver.
“I left when the Court’s people had already arrived at camp,” he said. “Several elder clansmen of the Huo Family were there. They won’t be easy to deal with.”
Wang Mang was not stupid. He knew that being able to avenge himself and also make the Huo Family Army stumble was all thanks to Xia Meng Yan’s planning.
He asked, “Miss, are you going to move against the Huo Family Army?”
Xia Meng Yan shook her head and said, “They want to use me as a stepping stone.”
You trust the people you use. Since they would work together later, he needed to know at least part of her grievance with the Huo Family Army.