Chapter 065
Chapter 65: Want to Leave the Capital
Hearing this, Lin Ye Lan felt humiliated and angry. He had humbled himself to give Xia Meng Yan a way down, yet she refused because she had a new choice already. She wanted his son to call another man father. Dream on.
He said curtly: “I will investigate. Thank you for telling me, Second Miss Xia.”
Xia Qing Yao watched him leave in fury, her own feelings mixed.
Nanny Li asked in confusion: “Second Miss, what are you doing? Why stir up the Marquis of Ping An against Lu Rong Fang?”
A lonely look flashed in Xia Qing Yao’s eyes, and tears fell without her noticing, as if she had suffered a great wrong.
“Second Miss, why are you crying? Did this old servant say something wrong?” Nanny Li hurried to hand her a handkerchief.
Taking it, Xia Qing Yao looked up and said: “Mother keeps saying older sister is scheming and uses me as a stepping stone, but I didn’t believe it. Older sister treats me so well. How could she secretly flirt with Young Master Lu?”
“Second Miss, why put yourself through this?” Nanny Li sighed. Even after a divorce, the eldest miss still had high matches seeking her. Second Madam had always competed with the main branch, so of course she did not want Second Miss to fall behind in marriage. But Second Master was only a small official in the Capital Suburbs. How could they reach a powerful noble house? Second Madam drilled Second Miss day after day. Over time, even a good-hearted person would begin to doubt, let alone a simple one like Second Miss.
Nanny Li softened her voice: “Second Madam’s words are said in anger. Young Master Lu is handsome and stands behind Consort Ping. In the Capital, he can choose any noble lady he wants. Why would he pick the eldest miss?”
Xia Qing Yao dabbed away tears and tested: “Really?”
Nanny Li nodded and straightened the pins in her hair: “Second Miss is smart and lively, and you are a legitimate daughter. You will marry well.”
Xia Qing Yao nodded hard. Nanny Li was right. She would find a good match in time.
Xia Meng Yan did not know Xia Qing Yao had misunderstood her. She was speaking with Madam Lin about Lu Rong Fang.
Madam Lin, who had been unwell these days and was hiding at home to avoid running into Madam Wan, was surprised when her daughter sent for her. She had thought it was about the pregnancy, but instead heard this. She asked in a hush: “You are saying Lu Rong Fang proposed in person? Did you tell your father?”
Xia Meng Yan shook her head: “Father has not returned yet. I want to hear Mother’s thoughts first.”
Madam Lin thought over the Capital rumors about Lu Rong Fang: “I have not met him. Years ago, at a banquet, I met his birth mother. She was poised and calm, more like the household’s leading lady than a concubine. As for the rest, I don’t know. People say Lu Rong Fang’s talent is above the Lu heir apparent, yet for years there has been no talk of discord between the main wife and the concubines.”
Xia Meng Yan understood. Mother meant that Lu Rong Fang’s birth mother was not simple. She could keep the Lu family head close and also hold the Lu estate in hand. Her methods were strong.
She asked softly: “Mother thinks this marriage would not be wise?”
She had not wanted to marry at all. But a person without sin can still be blamed for the treasure she holds. Her dowry and her mother’s dowry had made the Capital noble houses jealous. Their visits and hints would sooner or later bring trouble.
Duan Yi Chen’s words flashed in her mind. She felt it was bitterly funny: a concubine-born son with a principal wife and an heir apparent with a secondary consort were half a dozen of one and six of the other. Duan Yi Chen would surely look down on her choice.
Madam Lin knew that life was hard for a divorced woman, and even harder when she carried a child: “When your father returns, we will make quiet inquiries. If Lu Rong Fang is truly as you say, your father and I will help him become head of the Lu Family.”
Xia Meng Yan nodded. If Lu Rong Fang played coy and sweet-talked, she would be uneasy. His frankness, calling it a deal and saying both sides would get what they needed, oddly made her feel steadier.
She answered gently: “Daughter will follow Mother’s lead.”
Looking at her daughter’s rounded belly, Madam Lin felt a wave of guilt: “I misjudged a man and made you suffer.”
Xia Meng Yan shook her head: “Mother, with you and Father, I don’t feel wronged.”
At that moment a voice boomed outside the curtain: “Whoever bullied my daughter, I will chop him now.” The curtain lifted and Xia Ping Yuan stepped in.
Madam Lin turned her head, a private sorrow in her eyes.
Seeing this, Xia Ping Yuan looked at his daughter: “What is this? I heard Yan’er was wronged, yet your mother is the one crying.”
“I’m fine,” Madam Lin said as she steadied herself. “Since you are back, there is something to discuss.” She told him about Lu Rong Fang’s proposal. “Yan’er is stuck between high and low because of us. Even if it is a deal, it is a possible way forward. Master, check his character in secret. We cannot be wrong again.”
Xia Ping Yuan refused at once: “No need to check. I disagree. If he dares admit it is only a deal, he has little true heart. He is no different from that heartless Marquis of Ping An. If he wants to be a shield, he is not qualified.”
Worried, Madam Lin turned to her daughter: “Yan’er, perhaps wait a while. We will keep looking. There may be someone better.”
In the last few days many visiting cards had arrived. She knew those men wanted the dowry, not her daughter, so she had rejected them all.
Xia Meng Yan smiled, held Madam Lin’s hand, and said with playful warmth: “Mother, I don’t want to marry. When the child is close to being born, I plan to leave the Capital and find a quiet place with clear mountains and water, then raise the child there.”
“You want to leave?” Madam Lin was startled, then she thought it might be best. If her daughter gave birth in the Capital, gossip would never stop. Anger during the month of recovery and a weak body were both harmful. It would be better to rest outside.
Xia Ping Yuan was not surprised. His daughter was bold and straightforward and did not cling to sad places: “Leaving is good. Come back after a few years.”
A steward came to call for Madam Lin about house matters. She comforted her daughter a bit and left.
Xia Ping Yuan glanced toward the door. His old retainer understood and whispered to Nanny Song. Soon the room was cleared.
Xia Meng Yan frowned, guessing her father had something serious to say.
Xia Ping Yuan spoke in a low voice: “Last time you said His Majesty was secretly drawing certain court officials to his side. I investigated. I found a few censors who act neutral, but whenever His Majesty makes a major decision, they appear at key moments and help push it through.”
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He went on: “So I suspect that among the princes, each one has men who actually answer to His Majesty.”
Xia Meng Yan’s hand tightened. “The Emperor has planted his own people among the princes?” It sounded reasonable, yet also strange.
She asked, steadying her voice: “Did these families also send visiting cards?”
Xia Ping Yuan nodded: “I did not expect the hand behind this to be His Majesty. But thinking again, it makes sense. The State Treasury is empty. Two hundred thousand taels is no small sum for the Emperor.”
Xia Meng Yan disagreed: “If His Majesty wanted silver, he could bring rich merchants’ daughters into the palace. Why go in a circle and use me? It does not add up.”
She drew a breath and said what mattered most: “I cannot guess His Majesty’s aim, but there is one thing we must solve now. Either I leave the city at once, or I use Lu Rong Fang as a shield for a time, then find a reason to break the engagement.”
Xia Ping Yuan rubbed the thumb ring on his hand, his face grave. After a long moment, he sighed: “I fear the Lu Family will not let you break so easily.”
Xia Meng Yan’s lips curved in a cool smile: “Father, don’t worry. Since it is a transaction, I will decide when it ends.”
She thought: [I am already divorced. If I am cast off again, I may as well take the lamp and the scriptures. But if Lu Rong Fang tries to climb higher and breaks the match first, then I will be the injured party.]
Xia Ping Yuan concluded: “Whether you leave the Capital or not, do not agree to the Lu Family for now.”
“I understand,” she said. “We stall.”
If Lu Rong Fang wanted to be a shield, he needed the strength to hold. If others crushed him first, that would simply be a pity.
The next day, Xia Meng Yan received a letter from Lu Rong Fang inviting her to meet at Green Mountain Temple. Chun Yue, seeing the post written under the names of the Lu Family’s women, whispered a reminder: “This maid saw the Lu Family’s people also visit the second branch. Second Miss is likely going too.”
“Second sister is going as well?” Xia Meng Yan wondered if Xia Qing Yao was there to cover for them, or if Lu Rong Fang had some other plan.