Chapter 045
Chapter 45: Cleaning House
Jian Ping kept pace behind his master and reported in a low voice: “Heir Apparent, the men have been thrown on the main road.” He had just seen his master standing alone in the dark, looking so pitiful that he felt wronged on his behalf, and he asked carefully: “Why not tell Miss Xia that all of this was to protect her?”
Duan Yi Chen’s lips trembled, his weakness laid bare to the night as he answered: “I am already in trouble. Why should she suffer with me?”
He stood where Xia Meng Yan had just passed and breathed in the faint powder scent she left behind; his long, bony fingers moved through the night air, as if to catch the trace of that scent.
“Heir Apparent, forgive my boldness,” Jian Ping said, knowing only a little yet understanding enough to speak, “no matter who marries into your house, the Eldest Princess will not be pleased, so why not choose someone you truly like?”
Duan Yi Chen lifted his eyes to the road Xia Meng Yan had taken, his gaze like an ice cave as he said: “That filthy place is not worthy of her.”
Xia Meng Yan did not know he was outside. Right now she felt at a loss, and Chun Yue’s tears had not stopped since they met. The maid wiped her eyes so they would not fall on the wound and kept applying medicine with great care, afraid to hurt her master, as she said: “With a cut this deep, how can it not hurt? It is my fault for not knowing martial arts and failing to protect you.”
“It is not your fault,” Xia Meng Yan said. “They came prepared. If it had not worked this time, they would have tried again.” She thought of Lin Ye Lan’s words, and her voice turned cold as she added: “You reminded me. It is time to clean house.”
She stayed at the villa for one night, then the next day took the Xia family’s carriage back home.
“Second Master, the Eldest Miss has returned,” a servant boy reported in a hurry.
Xia Xing Yan’s eyes lit up; he looked toward Madam Wan and said: “Hurry and inform Mother.”
Madam Wan nodded and led people straight to Old Madam Xia’s courtyard.
Back at Autumn Lotus Court, Xia Meng Yan had just changed clothes when Su Ran arrived with an invitation. Chun Yue wanted to refuse, but Xia Meng Yan stopped her and said: “All right.”
She wanted to see how the second branch would bite the hand that feeds them.
In Old Madam Xia’s room, Xia Xing Yan pulled a long face and said in a voice that sounded righteous for the Xia family’s sake: “Mother, if I had not gone out, we would not even know Meng Yan was kidnapped. She stayed out all night with a man and brought shame on us. Can the girls of the second branch still marry after this?”
Old Madam Xia’s cloudy eyes brightened as she asked: “Is this true?”
“Mother, with a matter this big, how would we dare lie?” Madam Wan said, seated beside the old madam as she kneaded her legs. “The gatekeeper says Meng Yan returned at dawn.”
“Shameless thing. Why did she not die outside,” Old Madam Xia snapped, the beads in her hand going still. “Today the First Branch must drive her out.”
Xia Xing Yan and Madam Wan shared a pleased look and said no more.
Since Xia Meng Yan had come home, the Xia family had not known peace. Not only were the girls of the house gossiped about, but even the allowances for each branch had shrunk. When they argued about splitting the household, they thought it was only talk, but the First Branch truly acted. Now the second branch could not shop freely; even adding a dish to the table needed thought. Madam Wan could not stand such days. Two days ago, Xia Xing Yan met Lin Ye Lan on the road. One wanted to drive Xia Meng Yan out, and one wanted to remarry her. They hit it off at once. One ruined her name outside, the other helped push inside the house. Since Xia Meng Yan did not return last night, it meant Lin Ye Lan’s side had worked. If they made the scandal big enough, even if the First Branch wanted to keep her, they would have no face to ask.
Xia Meng Yan knew the second branch had bad intentions. She meant to wait at the door to watch the show when she saw Xia Ping Yuan arrive.
Her brows drew together: [Did Grandmother even call Father? Does Mother also know about last night?]
Father and daughter understood each other at once. Xia Ping Yuan spoke first: “Your mother does not know. Did you get hurt last night?”
Relief loosened Xia Meng Yan’s heart. She did not hide it; she lifted her sleeve to show the wound and said: “Second Uncle and Lin Ye Lan worked together inside and out.”
“Traitors who eat at home and help outsiders. Do they think I dare not deal with them,” Xia Ping Yuan said, his face so dark it looked like it might drip water.
Grand Madam Lin, seeing Xia Ping Yuan, had just opened her mouth to say, “Master, drive her out. The Xia family does not need such a shameful girl, you—” when a sharp crack cut her off.
Before she could finish, Xia Ping Yuan struck Xia Xing Yan across the face.
She sat bolt upright and shouted: “What are you doing? He is your own brother.”
Catching the blow off guard, Xia Xing Yan clutched his cheek and stared in disbelief as he said: “Elder Brother, you hit me?”
Xia Meng Yan walked in and sat down calmly. Since her father was willing to stand up for her, she could sit with her child and watch.
Looking straight at Xia Xing Yan, Xia Ping Yuan said coldly: “Do I need to tell Mother what you did?”
Old Madam Xia paused, stunned.
Hearing this, Xia Xing Yan understood his elder brother must know something; he turned and knelt before the old madam. Spoiled from childhood, he knew exactly how to sway her: “Mother, you know me best. What outrageous thing could I do? Elder Brother must be misled and has misunderstood me.”
Old Madam Xia saw the red mark on his face and felt heartbroken; she snapped: “Even if the second one is foolish, he is not as bad as your daughter. She would not stay in her husband’s home and insisted on coming back to shame us. Now she stays out all night, making the whole house lose face, and you still hit your brother. I think you do not want to hit him; you want to hit me. Come then, strike my chest. Kill me, so I do not block your eyes.”
“Is that really how you see me, Mother?” Xia Ping Yuan asked. His tone was calm, but the calm was the warning before a storm.
Old Madam Xia had never seen the eldest son like this, and for a moment she felt afraid as she said: “What kind of tone is that? Speak plainly.”
Only now did Xia Meng Yan realize that in the past her father had simply refused to argue with the second branch; when someone crossed his line, even Old Madam Xia’s support could not shield them.
“Last night Yan’er was kidnapped,” Xia Ping Yuan said directly. “We have already learned the truth. The Marquis of Ping An and Second Brother did it. If Heir Apparent Duan had not passed by, saved her, and kept it quiet, what I would be seeing today would be Yan’er’s corpse.”
A divorced woman insulted again would not live on; knowing his daughter, he was sure of it.
Xia Meng Yan’s heart gave a hard thump; she had not expected her father to know her so well, and her eyes grew hot. She had not felt wronged when Lin Ye Lan stabbed her in the back. She had not felt wronged when Duan Yi Chen betrayed her. But hearing her father’s words, a sour grievance welled up: [So Father was never as uncaring as he looked. He has been watching me the whole time.]
Old Madam Xia, hearing the second son named, reflexively shielded him as she said: “You lifted your hand on nothing but wind. With no proof, you dare to hit him.”
Kneeling at her knee, Xia Xing Yan put on a wounded face and said: “Meng Yan is my niece. How could I join with an outsider to harm her? The Marquis of Ping An must be sowing discord.” He was not entirely lying; he had only set people to watch Xia Meng Yan and had not kidnapped her.
Knowing his brother and his mother too well, Xia Ping Yuan clasped his hands behind his back, sarcasm in his eyes as he said: “Whether it is slander or not, you do not need to explain to me. The Dali Court will come to take you.”
“What?” Old Madam Xia stared. “That place swallows people. Once you go in, you do not come out. How can you stand by and watch your brother be wronged?”
“Whether it is a wrong or not, Second Brother and the Marquis of Ping An will face each other in public,” Xia Ping Yuan said.
“No,” Old Madam Xia cried, leaping to her feet.
Hearing the words Dali Court, Xia Xing Yan’s smugness fell into an icy pit: [How did such a good plan end up like this?] He stammered: “I will not go to the Dali Court. Elder Brother, I was tempted by the Marquis of Ping An. It really was not my idea.”
Madam Wan wanted to clap a hand over his mouth: “Fool, why confess so fast.”