Chapter 010

Chapter 10: Who Used the Dowry

One wall away in Chun Hua Courtyard, after watching the farce, Madam Tao jabbed Tao Yi Ran’s forehead hard, furious at her supposed uselessness: “If you had said earlier that the one you fancied was him, your father would certainly have fought for you first. Back when the old marquis arranged the betrothal with the Xin family, no one said the named groom had to be Tang Rong, and now look at the mess that came of it.”

“You have no idea how foul that scoundrel from the Xin family was with his words; he almost called you wanton and shameless. Luckily I hurried over and shifted all the blame onto Tang Rong, or the Tao family’s reputation would have been completely ruined and the people at home would have torn you to pieces.”

At this Madam Tao’s heart ached: “The dowry from your late mother-in-law should have been handed to you, yet they’ve forcibly lopped off thirty percent, plus a manor.”

“Let that pass, but once the authority over the household stores is handed out, getting it back is almost impossible. Even a birth mother-in-law could not do it, let alone a stepmother.”

“Just now Tang Mo secured a posting. Do you know that posting was originally reserved for Tang Rong?”

The Northern Garrison Army is packed with sons of nobility and is the place for every great house to cultivate connections; naturally not just anyone can go. Even Tang Gang would not dare guarantee room for a second son.

The more Madam Tao thought, the angrier she became. [If it had not already been consummated, she would have taken her daughter straight home.]

Tao Yi Ran was full of grievance. When she first saw that the groom was not Tang Mo she was shocked, then a rush of joy followed, and in a muddle she ended up on the bed. Only when she woke did fear hit her.

“The Heir Apparent said he will take care of this.”

“The Heir Apparent said he… is fond of me.”

Madam Tao’s face showed no joy. She did not believe Tang Rong’s exculpatory words today, so how could others? If he truly cherished her, why had he not come earlier to propose, and why had he agreed to the Xin family betrothal? This had been handled without honor. This supposedly lofty and elegant Heir Apparent did not seem as upright and capable as the world claimed, which was worrisome: “What you must do now is play the tender, wronged one and seize Tang Rong’s heart, but keep a sharp mind; do not accept as truth whatever he says.”

Hearing that Madam Wang had arrived, Madam Tao straightened herself and went to parry words with her, [feeling utterly exhausted].

Madam Xin inspected the servants in Qiu Shi Courtyard for her beloved An and, seeing none were particularly tricky, she relaxed, then shifted the topic to say they would set out for Huaijiang in seven days: “Many matters still need your father. For now, for the greater good, we are leaving you here. If one day you no longer wish to stay, send word to me; our Xin family will come together to fetch you.”

Xin An was deeply moved, hugging her mother’s arm with playful affection, then reminding her that the betrothal between the Xin and Zhou families must not change. After all, in the previous life the Xin family was implicated and the Zhou family helped mightily; otherwise it would not have ended with only the loss of the salt-merchant post and the confiscation of the family property.

“I heard Madam Zhou fell ill and is not as before. I also heard the Imperial Infirmary has a Qi Nourishing Pill with good effect. Tomorrow I will ask my mother-in-law to buy some so you can take them back.”

Madam Xin did not stand on ceremony: “That Grand Matron is a good person. The Zhou family have valued loyalty for generations. Your father is exceedingly satisfied with this match, and what matters is that your brother is delighted. Did you not see him flitting about like a butterfly before Miss Zhou, laying it on thick? Just watch; in a day or two he will have to go out and choose gifts.”

Xin An smiled, cherishing these ordinary moments of chatting with her mother.

In the afternoon, after sending off the Xin and Tao families, Madam Wang rested for a moment, then went with Tang Gang to Chun Rong Hall to speak with the Grand Matron. The Grand Matron had not shown herself today, but every report had reached her ears: “This is the best outcome. The capital will certainly chatter a bit, but so long as the three of our households keep one story, it will be fine.” Lifting her eyes toward Madam Wang, she added: “Knock some sense into the servants; no loose tongues.”

Madam Wang nodded, then spoke of Xin An temporarily not taking charge of the household accounts, adding that she refused the thirty percent compensation: “She said that since she married the second son, she will live properly with him. What is not hers, she does not want.”

Tang Gang gave a satisfied grunt: “She knows the bigger picture.”

Gritting her teeth, Madam Wang raised the matter of Tang Rong’s mother’s dowry: “By rights, after the Heir Apparent marries, he should keep his mother’s dowry under his own seal. Once his marriage was settled I began arranging this, only…” She handed him a ledger: “Marquis, you will understand after reading.”

Abandoning the sword for the brush is not simple. In recent years Tang Gang had greased palms all over. The marquisate’s foundation was thin, and he had been using those dowry funds; Madam Wang had recorded every expenditure with clarity.

Then she produced another ledger listing Tang Rong’s extra spending: “The Heir Apparent loves lake ink, prefers Jinzhou xuan paper, uses ash-hair brushes, and favors Shu Prefecture folding fans. Last month he even spent five hundred taels on an ivory folding fan from Qiong Prefecture; in addition, he is fond of Moon Hue Brocade and Moonlight Gauze, uses White Jade, wears a Yellow Jade Thumb Ring, carries an Openwork Red Gold Scent Sachet, and the incense in his rooms must be the Imperial Infirmary’s Cold Fragrance, worth a fortune. Some of these were in Elder Sister’s dowry, but the vast majority were purchased additionally…” The lofty and elegant young lord still had to eat, drink, and dress; if his things were inferior, how could he be called a “gentleman like jade”? That image was piled up with mountains of silver.

The more Tang Gang read, the more alarmed he became. Without the ledgers he would not have known that these years had consumed so much of his late wife’s dowry, nor that Tang Rong’s daily life had grown so extravagant. With a guilty heart, his first reflex was to shift blame: “What kind of mother are you to indulge this? Must he use all these things? Could you not restrain him?”

Madam Wang’s heart turned cold, though she wore a face of self-reproach: “Marquis, the capital is full of those who praise the high and trample the low. The Heirs Apparent of the Qing and Chang marquisates all carry themselves this way. If our Heir Apparent of the Weiyuan Marquisate looks shabby, how will others view us?” Her eyes reddened as her voice caught: “It is hard to be a stepmother. I have cared for the Heir Apparent with all my heart. I have never said a word about his using these things. From beginning to end the only one I pressed to economize was Mo’er, and in the end I still drew resentment.”

The Grand Matron had no patience for her weeping. She also knew Madam Wang was not wrong, but with sixty percent of the dowry gone, how were they to explain it to Tang Rong? If word spread, how would others view Tang Gang, the Marquis Weiyuan?

Crying, Madam Wang said she did not dare touch this again: “I have already tallied every remaining item of the dowry. I did not withhold the thirty percent compensation the Marquis promised the second daughter-in-law. I will hand all of it to the Marquis shortly. Marquis, you can speak to the Heir Apparent yourself.”

Tang Gang thought this the only way, but before he could speak the Grand Matron snorted: “In front of the Xin family you spoke of compensation. They declined out of courtesy, and you took the chance to give not even a hair. If this spreads, how will you stand in the imperial court?”

At times she felt helpless before this not-very-competent son who lacked any sense of responsibility.

“In this affair the marquisate is also at fault. They refused those dowry items because they had concerns. Send two thousand taels of silver from the private funds of you husband and wife.”

“Do not be loath to part with it. For now no one says anything, but who can speak to what comes later? We cannot leave a handle for others. You saw the Xin family’s attitude. They are not to be trifled with.”

Madam Wang drew a long breath. Rather than their joint private funds, it was in truth her own. Could Tang Gang’s stipend support anyone? Yet once Tang Gang nodded and played dead, Madam Wang could only agree.