Chapter 040
Chapter 40: I Came to Take My Things
Everyone turned and saw a woman in a pale blue long dress standing at the door. Her brows were like distant hills, her eyes clear as autumn water, and her skin was whiter than snow. Just by standing there, she dimmed everyone around her. She walked in slowly. Sunlight fell across her shoulders like a thin gold veil, and no one dared look down on her.
Lin Ye Lan saw Xia Meng Yan, and his heart lurched as he blurted out: “Why are you here?”
Xia Meng Yan did not look at him. She moved to Grand Madam Lin’s side, and her gaze fell on the gold brick in the old lady’s arms.
Grand Madam Lin grew wary, stepped back, and clutched the brick tighter.
Xia Meng Yan tilted her head and smiled as she said: “A kind soul went to the Xia Family just now to report that gold bricks stamped with the Lin Family crest showed up in the Ping An Marquis Manor. I didn’t expect it to be true.”
Grand Madam Lin snapped back, her anger rising as she said: “What Lin Family crest? These belong to the Ping An Marquis Manor. Xia Meng Yan, my son already divorced you. What do the manor’s belongings have to do with you?” She looked like she wanted to strike Xia Meng Yan. If that girl had not made trouble, the Ping An Marquis Manor would not have been mocked across the Capital, and there would not have been that later fire. In the end, it was all Xia Meng Yan’s fault.
She feared Xia Meng Yan would snatch the brick, so she ducked behind her son.
From the moment Xia Meng Yan appeared, Lin Ye Lan’s eyes never left her. But she did not spare him even a glance, which made him remember her hard choice at Bright Moon Pavilion.
Lin Ye Lan’s face hardened as he said: “This is the Ping An Marquis Manor, please leave.”
If the gold brick with Madam Lin’s crest was exposed, the manor could not explain it away. If someone used it to force him to return the silver to the Lin Family, he would not be able to answer to Marshal Huo. [Stay calm.]
A flash of calculation crossed Xia Meng Yan’s eyes. She curled her lip and said with a laugh: “I would like to leave, but I cannot. The old madam’s private treasury here in the Ping An Marquis Manor is holding the dowry my mother lost. That is a big matter. I reported it to the officials.”
Everyone gasped as several people said: “What? You reported it?”
Lord Wang wished he could kill the whole lot in front of him. A simple job was ruined by these fools. Now that the government was involved, the matter of the silver would be dragged into the open. How could His Majesty pocket the silver quietly now?
He could not vent his anger on Xia Meng Yan, or that would be as good as admitting guilt. He could only look to Lin Ye Lan and say: “Marquis of Ping An, your official stipend and the emperor’s rewards are all on the books. This much silver is not. You had better explain it clearly.”
Lin Ye Lan caught Lord Wang’s look and knew he had to find a reason for the silver. But there was so much of it, and the Lin Family crest was stamped on some of it; any excuse would sound false. Cold sweat beaded on his brow. [Think of something.]
Grand Madam Lin reacted first. Her face did not move much, but her tongue was quick as she said: “Explain what? Xia Meng Yan gave it to me. Now she wants it back? No way.”
Madam Jiang quickly chimed in to support her: “Lord Wang, please be fair to us. The day Xia Meng Yan forced a separation, she took her dowry away and even filled in the well the Xia Family dug for us. Now she comes to take back things she once gave away. If this keeps up, the Ping An Marquis Manor will have to take her surname.”
Hearing this, Lin Ye Lan pretended to grow stern as he said: “Meng Yan, I know you hate me. I already went to apologize. If you are still angry, blame me. But you should not slander my mother for theft. This was clearly something you gave her. To make me look bad, you reported it and claimed it was your mother’s lost dowry. Xia Meng Yan, how did you become like this?”
If they insisted those items with Madam Lin’s crest were gifts from Xia Meng Yan to the old madam, they could keep them. As for the Imperial Palace, they would deal with that later.
Grand Madam Lin’s eyes flicked toward the gate and saw many onlookers peeking in. With wolves ahead and tigers behind, she had to settle the matter in public. She flopped to the ground, crying and wailing as she said: “There is no justice. When you liked him, you sent gifts to the Marquis Manor every day. Now that you climbed to a higher branch, you want to kick us when we are down. How can a young lady be this cruel? Thank goodness my son divorced you; otherwise I might have died without knowing how.”
Xia Meng Yan watched coldly. She remembered how in the last life, whenever Lin Ye Lan was in danger, he always slipped by in the end. So it had been Grand Madam Lin’s schemes behind him all along. It was a good trick. If she were still her past self, she would have panicked by now. But she was no longer the soft and yielding Xia Meng Yan.
Grand Madam Lin’s move worked at first. In just a few breaths, the common folk outside began to take her side: “Everyone knows the Xia Family’s legitimate daughter liked the Marquis of Ping An. She ran to the Marquis Manor every day, sending the best things in the Capital by the cartload. Even if she doesn’t like him now, she cannot ask for the gifts back.”
Another voice added: “That’s right, and if she gave them to the old madam, how can she shamelessly ask for them again?”
A third voice muttered: “A noble house cares most about face. Why report to the yamen over this?”
Hearing the talk, Grand Madam Lin cried even harder.
Lin Ye Lan glared and let out a low groan as he said: “Xia Meng Yan, have you done enough? I already agreed to the separation, and you still pick a fight. What more do you want?” His servant gasped and cried out: “Marquis, are you all right? Did your wound reopen?” He turned on Xia Meng Yan in anger and said: “The marquis guarded the Northern Fortress Pass for years and kept the people safe. How dare you smear him like this?”
Xia Meng Yan listened quietly. Her eyes swept over everyone and settled at the doorway. Then she spoke, calm and firm, as she asked: “Before today, I let things slip and called it bad luck. Now I will ask only one question: who would give her mother’s dowry to a man, and not just anything, but heavy gold bricks?”
The crowd fell silent. It sounded reasonable. Sending fine gifts to someone you like might make sense. But giving away your mother’s dowry, especially gold bricks, did not.
She raised her voice and pointed at the chests: “These gold bricks are not only my mother’s dowry, they were also the last fallback my maternal grandfather left my mother. Even if I had lost my mind, I would never give something so important to someone else.”
She pointed at Lin Ye Lan and said: “The Marquis of Ping An is a new favorite of The Court, and Grand Madam Lin often attends noble banquets. For people of that rank, if I wanted to please them, I would send calligraphy and paintings, antiques, or glass ornaments and jewelry. Why would I send such heavy yellow metal? If noble houses heard that, they would laugh until their teeth fell out.”
The more the people listened, the more they felt she was right. Noble houses liked to act cultured. Gold bricks were so heavy they could crush a person. If word spread, they would be branded greedy. And this was not one brick; it was several.
Lin Ye Lan’s heartbeat stumbled as he saw the crowd turning. He snapped: “Xia Meng Yan, be quiet. You know the truth. If you keep making trouble, I will not mind facing His Majesty to settle it.”
Xia Meng Yan leaned in close and said, in a voice only the two of them could hear: “Good, let’s face His Majesty. We will talk about why this silver never reached the Northern Fortress Pass.”
“You did this on purpose,” Lin Ye Lan said, eyes widening in shock. He finally saw the plan: Xia Meng Yan did all this to get back the silver from before. But how did she know the silver was in the Ping An Marquis Manor?
Hatred flashed in Xia Meng Yan’s eyes as she stepped back and said: “Blame the Marquis Manor for its greed.”
This was a trap Lin Ye Lan could not break.
At that moment, Xia Ping Yuan arrived with men from the Censorate. He pointed at the middle chest and shouted: “The gold bricks my madam lost are right there. My lord, you can check them yourself.”
Lord Wang’s face turned dark when he saw the Censorate officers. He shot a look at his trusted aide, who quietly slipped back and then left.
Xia Meng Yan noticed and did not care. She had already gotten what she wanted.