Chapter 114
Chapter 114: Help
After spreading rumors to test the Qiao Family and the Zheng Family, Xia Meng Yan planned to refuse all visitors for the next few days.
After dinner, she lay on the couch to avoid being seen.
She had worked herself ragged these days; her legs felt swollen and slick, as if soaked in water, shiny enough to scare her when she looked at them.
After they ate, Chun Yue and Nanny Song began to massage her.
Xia Meng Yan closed her eyes and felt the pressure was stronger than usual, so she let out a pleased hum, then said: “The pressure is good today.”
The person kneading her legs said nothing, and the force did not change.
She turned on her side and spoke in a soft, spoiled voice: “And my waist too, it really hurts.”
The hands on her legs paused.
Seeing no pressure on her waist, she thought Chun Yue was tired, so she teased with a mock complaint: “The baby isn’t even born yet and I’m already out of favor, Chun Yue, you’re playing favorites.”
As soon as she finished, a pair of hands pressed down on her waist, and she smiled in satisfaction.
After a while, she felt it was odd, so she asked lazily: “Chun Yue, why are you so quiet today, did someone say nasty things again?”
Since she had come to the Lin Family, there had been plenty of gossip. People did not dare talk in front of her, but what they said in private was awful.
Chun Yue and Nanny Song had run into it twice already and almost got into shouting matches.
She sighed and coaxed them: “You’ve been wronged. Tomorrow go out and buy two pieces of jewelry, let them choke on their jealousy.”
A gentle voice, carrying a hint of anger, floated over her head: “Did someone from the Lin Family bully you?”
Xia Meng Yan’s eyes flew open. She yanked the hand away on reflex and stared, shocked and confused, then glanced toward the door. [Chun Yue, that wretch, who do you belong to exactly.]
Duan Yi Chen did not get angry; instead he worried she would pull her wound: “I was wrong, don’t strain the cut on your waist. I just came to look in on you. If you’re fine, I’ll leave.”
She kicked at him without much goodwill, and Duan Yi Chen caught her leg, feeling secretly delighted: [Kicking me means she’s fine; looks like coming tonight was the right move.]
She snorted and pushed him verbally: “Stop making excuses. Leave now, hurry and go.”
He had no other great skills, but he was perfect at catching the meaning between her words, so he answered smoothly: “I saw your waist hurts. Chun Yue’s hands aren’t strong enough. My pressure works better.”
She stewed a little, yet she was grateful that Duan Yi Chen had pulled her out of the Qiao Family’s mess. [Two lifetimes now, and only Duan Yi Chen has stayed true to me.] But his status was too high, and she could not reach him.
She steadied her voice and asked: “What did your people find out?”
Duan Yi Chen let his hands fall back to her legs and kept massaging as he reported: “The Qiao Family’s second-branch daughter once saved Prefect Zheng’s legitimate son. The Qiao Family handled it quietly without bragging, so Prefect Zheng allowed his son to keep in touch with them. After a while, he and that girl started to like each other. The Qiao Family’s standing isn’t high enough, so Prefect Zheng won’t agree. When you got into trouble this time, the Qiao Family rushed to step in to please the Zheng Family and pave a path for their daughter.”
Xia Meng Yan listened and thought the Qiao Family was far too eager, so she judged them in her heart: [They haven’t even figured out who they offended, yet they’re already clinging to a powerful thigh. Aren’t they afraid of getting crushed? No wonder the Qiao Family never rises; short-sighted. One prefect scares them into obedience.]
She pressed for clarity: “So Prefect Zheng truly didn’t know what happened with the Qiao Family?”
Duan Yi Chen curled his lip and answered with a sneer: “How could he not know. He’s just pretending to be stupid.” He added with dry scorn, “My men watched Zheng Ming Lan. After you left, she led people straight back to their manor.”
Xia Meng Yan stroked the plum blossoms on her handkerchief. The seamstress’s double-sided embroidery looked vivid no matter which face was up, as if she could smell real plum fragrance with her head lowered.
She let her smile sharpen and said lightly: “Since Lord Zheng is forgetful, we should remind him.”
Seeing the sly tilt of her mouth, Duan Yi Chen knew this little fox was about to trap someone, so he chuckled and agreed: “I’ll follow your lead.”
At a breakfast bun shop the next morning, two people waited for buns and chatted about the rumor: one snorted and said: “The Qiao Family really knows how to curry favor, even getting someone else to apologize for them.”
The other waved him off and replied: “You don’t get it. The offender is Prefect Zheng’s legitimate daughter. Who would dare offend that?”
The first nodded and judged the situation: “True. The Lin Family are rich merchants, but merchants can’t compare with officials. It makes sense the Qiao Family would take Prefect Zheng’s side.”
The second clicked his tongue and sighed: “Pity the Lin Family’s Cousin Miss. I heard she’s badly hurt and still stuck in bed.”
The first spread his hands and spoke like it was a rule of the world: “That’s how it is: scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants. Merchants are at the bottom. Even if the Lin Family wants to stand up for their kin, they can’t.”
Someone walked past them, paused at the word “Zheng,” listened long enough to understand, then hurried away.
When Lord Zheng heard the serving lad’s report, his face went cold and hard. He felt his good name, built over years, was ruined just like that.
He demanded an answer at once: “How could something this big happen and no one tell me?”
The steward broke into a sweat and spun an excuse as fast as he could: “The Qiao Family said they had a way to convince the Lin Family. That’s why madam did not report it to you.”
He regretted it already. If he had known the Qiao Family were so useless, he would have contacted the Lin Family early and not ended up this passive.
Lord Zheng snapped and pounded the truth home: “Fools. The injured one is the Lin Family’s Cousin Miss, and she’s from the capital.” He felt a powerless ache. He had never thought his daughter was foolish before, but now he saw it clearly only by comparison.
He reminded them of the stakes: “A Lin Family daughter married into the Xia Family in the capital. I have warned you many times not to offend the Lin Family.”
He gave a bitter laugh and corrected himself: “And now look. You didn’t just offend them. You offended the Xia Family itself.”
He cut off the talk and ordered: “Bring those two fools here.”
The steward obeyed and went to fetch them.
Soon the brother and sister arrived. Before Zheng Ming Lan could even salute, his palm cracked across her cheek as he shouted: “Unfilial girl, you will ruin the Zheng Family sooner or later. Tomorrow I will find a marriage for you. Once you go, don’t come back.”
Zheng He Yi saw his sister stagger and hurried to catch her as he protested: “Father, why are you hitting sister?”
Zheng Ming Lan had been spoiled since childhood and had never been struck. She covered her face with a trembling hand and complained, aggrieved: “Father, what did I do that made you this angry?”
Lord Zheng paced the room in fury while the steward explained the rumors spreading outside.
Zheng He Yi finally understood why his father was angry, so he tried to argue the family clear: “How can people talk like that. The Qiao Family made that decision on their own. What does it have to do with us?”
Man Lin City had many merchants, and the Lin Family was the leader among them. Many of Lord Zheng’s political successes needed the Lin Family’s support. For years, the Zhengs and Lins had lived in peace without friction.
Zheng He Yi tried to smooth it over and said: “Father, sister was impulsive. No one expected Miss Xia to fall. If we explain it clearly to the Lin Family, it will be fine.”
Lord Zheng stopped in front of his son and cut off that hope: “If only it were that simple.” In the eyes of others his eldest son might be excellent; in the capital, he was nothing. He pressed the hard fact: “Xia Meng Yan’s father, Xia Ping Yuan, was just promoted to Hanlin Academy Chief Academician. Now his daughter is injured under my watch. What do you think he will do?”
Zheng He Yi’s face darkened and he asked in a low voice: “Hanlin Academy Chief Academician? Father, is that certain?”
Lord Zheng had also been surprised when he first heard it. Xia Ping Yuan liked to keep to himself, but he had turned out lucky. He explained plainly: “He was promoted one month ago. The news reached us two days back. I thought you would never cross paths with Xia Meng Yan. I didn’t expect not only a meeting but also that you would end up injuring her.”
Zheng Ming Lan at last understood the heart of it: Xia Meng Yan’s father had advanced, and her own father was wary of him. She still tried to defend herself as she pleaded: “Father, I truly didn’t mean it. Xia Meng Yan was too arrogant. She threw herself down on purpose to frame me.”
She could not admit she had wanted to speak up for Big Sister Qiao. Father already looked down on the Qiao Family. If he knew the truth, he would never let Big Sister Qiao enter their gates.
Lord Zheng shut the door on excuses and laid down the rule: “I will have the beating and the fall investigated. In the meantime, you will behave and stay inside the manor. You are not to go anywhere.” He turned to his son and asked coolly: “What do you think we should do?”
Zheng He Yi had followed his father for three years. Even if he never passed the exam, he could still serve as a strategist, so he answered after a quick thought: “This matter can be made big or small; it depends on what Miss Xia wants. We already missed the best time to act. Since the Qiao Family wants to take the lead for us, we should make our move through them.”