Chapter 115
Chapter 115: Trump Card
Chun Yue came in as soon as Xia Meng Yan woke up and reported with excited eyes: “Big miss, the Qiao Family is here.” She added what the maid from the front yard said, then finished with a hint: “They brought a lot of things.”
Hearing there were gifts, Xia Meng Yan’s mouth curled in a cold smile. [How laughable. They didn’t come for their own son. They came to beg for someone else’s daughter. What great sense of timing.]
She flicked her fingers and told her maid: “Send someone to listen in.”
Chun Yue nodded and sent a quick-minded maid to the front yard to gather news.
Before long, the maid returned and said Old Master Lin was inviting Cousin Miss to the front hall.
Xia Meng Yan weighed it for a moment, then looked at Chun Yue and decided: “Give me a pale, worn-out look.”
If her maternal grandfather wanted her in the front hall, there must be something he needed. Otherwise he would not ignore her health and call her out.
When attendants helped her into the front hall, the room was already full of people.
Old Master Lin stood at once and urged gently: “Slowly, don’t rush.” Seeing his granddaughter’s poor color, he regretted calling her out at all.
Master Qiao glanced at Xia Meng Yan’s face and looked surprised. He had thought the Lin Family were exaggerating; he had not expected her injuries to be this serious.
Xia Meng Yan gave Master Qiao a polite nod, then sat below Old Master Lin and asked evenly: “Maternal grandfather, you called me here; is there something you want to discuss?”
Before Old Master Lin could answer, Master Qiao barked at someone beside him, his tone sharp with anger: “Kneel and kowtow to Miss Xia. Admit what you did.”
Only then did Xia Meng Yan notice the young woman standing behind him.
The girl’s clothes were plain, and her fabric was cheaper than even what the Lin Family’s steward aunt wore.
With a thud, the girl dropped to her knees in front of Xia Meng Yan. Her face was bruised red and blue. As she kowtowed, she spoke in a shaky rush: “I was confused and pushed the Zheng Family’s eldest miss to target Miss Xia. It’s all my fault. If Miss Xia wants to beat or punish someone, please do it to me.”
Xia Meng Yan widened her eyes and acted startled as she said: “What is this about? I don’t even know this miss.”
The girl turned in panic toward Master Qiao. He forced a stiff smile at Xia Meng Yan and explained with effort: “This is Qiao Shan’s sister, Qiao Yue. She relies on her elder brother. Somehow she heard that he died because of Miss Xia, so she secretly coached the Zheng Family’s eldest miss to cause trouble. After we returned that day, I questioned the servants in my manor and learned it was Qiao Yue’s doing. When all is said and done, this is the Qiao Family’s fault. Miss Zheng was deceived. I brought this disobedient girl here today to explain it face to face. Miss Xia can vent her anger however she wishes.”
Tear tracks streaked Qiao Yue’s face. As soon as Master Qiao finished, she seemed to get a signal and began to kowtow again and again.
The dull thuds echoed in the quiet hall and sounded frightening.
Old Master Lin’s face darkened when he saw blood bead on her forehead, and he shot back at Master Qiao: “What are you doing, Master Qiao? Dragging out one person and trying to close the case. Do you take the Lin Family for easy prey?”
Master Qiao lowered his tone at once and tried to smile it away as he said: “Brother Lin, don’t misunderstand. We are sincere. We wouldn’t dare try tricks.” Then he turned and scolded the girl: “You usually look honest. I didn’t expect you to play games like this. You even stained the Lin Family’s floor. You’ll answer for that when we get back.”
Qiao Yue flinched, quickly dabbed up the blood with her handkerchief, and stepped to the side with small, careful moves.
Xia Meng Yan took a long look at Qiao Yue. The girl’s every move was timid and weak. From the moment she entered, Xia still hadn’t gotten a clear look at her face. [A girl like this, favored by Qiao Shan? Who would believe that.]
She thought of the rumor she had spread. Counting the days, Prefect Zheng should know by now. The one who should have appeared was Zheng Ming Lan, yet Qiao Yue had been sent instead. [Prefect Zheng’s meaning is already clear: don’t admit, don’t avoid, and use the Qiao Family as a shield.]
She now understood why her grandfather had asked her to come. This involved a prefect. If you call it big, it was an affair between an official and merchants; if you call it small, it was just youngsters being careless. She was the victim, so her maternal grandfather wanted her to decide.
She weighed the lost chance and judged them coolly: [If the Zheng Family had apologized at once, we all could have walked away in peace. Now they want to muddle through. It feels like they’re playing us.]
She let the mask slip and said straight out: “Master Qiao, you already know the truth. Why put on a show here; it tires the eyes.”
Master Qiao had not expected her to be so blunt, and he couldn’t keep his face from tightening. Standing beside him, Qiao Yue watched his color go from white to green and, for some reason, felt a small stab of happiness.
Xia Meng Yan kept her voice level and added: “Even if you and my grandfather aren’t close friends, you at least meet and chat from time to time. I thought I would hear a few true words.” Her tone stayed mild, but each word landed heavy as she went on: “I already understand Lord Zheng’s thoughts. Having you come or not makes no difference. Please take a message back to him: Zheng Ming Lan injured the Xia Family’s legitimate daughter and looked down on the Lin Family’s Cousin Miss.”
She lifted her chin a hair. [Since the Zheng Family wants to press with power, let’s see whose backing is stronger. Father once talked the Huo Family right out of the capital; he can just as easily see Lord Zheng demoted.]
Master Qiao heard the warning and turned to Old Master Lin with a more earnest face as he confessed: “This one is on me. I wanted to curry favor with Lord Zheng, so I used Shan’er’s matter to open the door. Lord Zheng only learned of this yesterday. He sent me today to ask Brother Lin and Miss Xia for your wishes. As parents, we pity our children. Miss Zheng hasn’t married yet. If the rumor spreads that she harmed a pregnant woman, future marriage talks will be hard. If his status didn’t tie his hands, he would have come to apologize in person.”
Old Master Lin’s expression did not change. He heard that truth only because they were out of options. There was no sincerity in it.
Xia Meng Yan decided to press the point and said: “Since you represent Lord Zheng to discuss this, you should have already thought about compensation. Let’s hear it.” She turned her head toward Nanny Song with a small nod.
Nanny Song understood at once, went to Qiao Yue’s side, and said with respectful warmth: “Miss Qiao, let this old servant take you to treat that cut first.”
Qiao Yue seemed flattered and glanced at Master Qiao. Seeing no objection, she followed Nanny Song out.
Master Qiao finally laid a card on the table as he said: “The Lin Family is big and rich; silver isn’t what you lack. Lord Zheng proposes this: the Lin Family can have the first pick of a three-year salt license in Man Lin City. After that, the rest will be divided among the others.”
Old Master Lin blinked, clearly taken aback.
Xia Meng Yan’s lip curved. [Lord Zheng really loves his daughter; giving out a three-year salt license just like that.] She let her eyes flick over the gifts on the table and thought with a chill of trade: [No merchant is without guile.] She guessed Master Qiao had wanted to swallow the salt license himself; when he found her too hard to handle, he finally showed his trump card.
She asked in a light tone to test him: “Only a three-year salt license?”
Master Qiao’s mouth twitched, and his face looked worse than crying as he answered: “If Miss Xia doesn’t believe me, you can ask Lord Zheng yourself.”
She smiled without warmth and replied: “I will.”
Master Qiao felt a twist in his gut. He was lucky he had revealed the salt license. If it came out later, the ones who would suffer would not be just the Qiao Family, but the Zheng Family too.
They spoke next about Qiao Shan’s matter. Master Qiao took out silver to compensate. Old Master Lin did not press further. The dead should have their accounts closed; it was not good to push too hard.
When they finally left the Lin Family and got into the carriage, Master Qiao let himself breathe a little easier.
Qiao Yue poured a cup of tea for him and asked sweetly: “What’s wrong, father?”
He drained it in one go, then looked at the bandage on her forehead and said with rough kindness: “You were wronged today. When we get back, ask the steward for one hundred taels.”
Joy flickered across Qiao Yue’s face. Her mother was an unloved concubine, and Qiao Yue hardly existed in the Qiao Family’s eyes. One hundred taels was already a lot for her, so she answered quickly: “Daughter only wanted to share your burdens. I didn’t think of other rewards.”
Master Qiao felt too irritated to play nice and waved off the modesty as he said: “I told you to take it, so take it.” He paused as a thought came, then gave her a look up and down and asked: “How’s your pipa practice I told you about last time?”
She lifted her chin and reported: “It’s already well polished.”
He nodded once and ordered: “Good. Get yourself ready over the next few days.”
Qiao Yue didn’t know why her father wanted her to practice, but she had secretly sought a teacher. She wasn’t on the level of a master, but she had made some progress.
Master Qiao lifted the carriage curtain and stared at the gilded plaque of Lin Manor, then muttered to himself with a mix of envy and dread: “With someone in the capital backing them, they’ve got real confidence.”