Chapter 049

Chapter 49: Madam Tao Begins to Regret

The small affairs of the estate were quickly settled. Lounging with one leg crossed, Tang Mo ate a sweet melon fresh from the field and said with satisfaction: “Sweet. Will you have one?”

Beside him, Xin An took it, bit in, and said: “Sweet.”

She asked softly: “Who are you reserving that grain for?”

Tang Mo spat out a melon seed and replied with a grin: “Naturally, it is for the jasmine plan.”

[When Prince Jin regains favor and returns to the capital, how could one show up empty-handed? A few pots of flowers would not be enough to prove sincerity.]

Xin An smiled in contentment, about to speak, when a cook came and said: “Er Shan has brought a few boys with a bucket of small fish. They want them fried in oil. It will use quite a lot of oil. They say the young madam promised.”

Xin An folded her hands at her waist and said simply: “Yes.”

She then explained with a smile: “I thought they were delightful to watch, and they were endearing, so I said I would invite them to eat together.”

With permission given, the woman was pleased and nodded: “Fish the size of a finger should indeed be fried. Let those boys clean them themselves. You didn’t see it, young madam, they were like little mud monkeys, yet grinning from ear to ear.”

Her own son was among them, and catching such a lucky treat was a fine thing. Seeing her leave happily, Xin An felt cheerful as well. She turned to Tang Mo and said: “You know, I love to see this. Give people a small kindness and they are joyful and grateful, instead of thinking it is their due or that you did too little, which is tedious to the heart.”

Tang Mo understood that feeling completely and said: “Yes, it makes one feel it was worth giving, and even that one can give more. That is satisfying.”

He rose and said with bright spirits: “Come, the Grand Matron and Mother went to the lotus pond and have not yet returned. Let us go see how much fun it is.”

The hours that followed were spent tossing aside all those messy worries and playing with happy hearts. They admired flowers and fished with the Grand Matron and Madam Wang, ate fried minnows with the boys, wove flower crowns with the estate girls, went to the mountain to pick mushrooms with the foragers. There was always something interesting to do, and the smiles never left their faces. [For a little while, life felt simple again.]

While they were carefree, the people who remained at the Marquis’s residence also drew easier breaths. First, Tao Yi Ran finally stepped out of the Chun Hua Courtyard and wandered the gardens with maids and old attendants, admiring blossoms and feeling that without those eyesores around, even the flowers looked more radiant.

Next, Tang Rong’s spirits improved. In a short time he tasted the benefits of being the one in charge and felt that even the air was especially clear.

Even Tang Gang, buoyed by his good mood, forcibly took a maidservant without her consent, feeling rather proud of himself afterward. Many servants secretly despised this, but no one dared speak out.

Madam Tao seized the chance to come calling. Her brows were knotted with worry. She had thought that with Tang Rong as the Heir Apparent of the Marquisate and enjoying an excellent reputation outside, the Tao family would at least bask in a little reflected glory. Instead of any glow, they had become a target of ridicule and had not gone out for several days.

She pressed the matter with a tight voice as she asked: “What exactly is going on?”

She had come today to get to the bottom of it. Tao Yi Ran did not hide anything and recounted recent events in full. The more she said, the deeper Madam Tao’s frown grew. She had not expected the Marquis’s household to be such a mess. So much trouble had erupted in just a few days.

Madam Tao said with chilly clarity: “Your mother-in-law is truly skilled. After a maneuver like this, will you and your husband still have a voice before her?”

She was a veteran of inner-courtyard life and knew at once what Madam Wang was plotting. But she turned her words after a beat and added: “It is still your father-in-law who mishandled things and left himself exposed. When someone makes a scene, he holds no ground.”

As for Tang Rong being beaten, she did not care much, so long as the Ministry of Rites posting did not end up in someone else’s hands.

Tao Yi Ran’s eyes reddened. She went on to speak of Xue Yu’s pregnancy and how Ying Yue exploited the gap, and Madam Tao nearly choked on her anger, yet could only swallow the bitter pill. Tang Rong had never been meant to be the Tao family’s son-in-law, and they had no formal right to interfere. But that a bedchamber maid had wormed into the gap so soon after the wedding left Madam Tao baffled. She said curtly: “Explain this carefully. How did it happen?”

After hearing the details, she scolded with frustration: “He was beaten so badly, and you could not stay to look after him? Why did you go to sleep in a room alone?”

Tao Yi Ran lowered her eyes and stayed silent. She did not dare say that Tang Rong’s appearance had been truly frightening. More importantly, the gentleman she had imagined as warm as jade had suddenly become such a sight. All that talk of moonlike purity and upright grace shattered like a dream in that instant. The blow to her heart was no small thing. In that moment, she felt he was merely so-so, beaten by a few street ruffians into a state beyond recognition, utterly wretched. [She could not accept the gap, and all she wanted was to run.]

Not knowing these thoughts, Madam Tao continued to press the practical point: at such a time, what better moment was there to deepen a couple’s bond? Yet Yiran had not been there, and the opportunity fell to a bedchamber maid who had served close by, already sharing a few embers of affection. With a bit of attentive care now, she said with acid insight: “I fear that once he heals, you will be made to drink concubine tea.”

Thinking of a future with an eldest son by a concubine and a household with a secondary wife, Madam Tao fumed, yet could find nowhere to vent. Regret welled up sharper than ever. She said, grasping at a comparison: “Earlier, your father met Tang Mo at a restaurant. Tang Mo was treating his father-in-law to drinks. Your father said that at table Tang Mo was extremely respectful and eager to please, and Boss Xin praised him again and again. Afterward we learned that for several days Tang Mo had been keeping the Xin family company. He bought all kinds of fine items from the Imperial Medical Bureau to honor the elders, and whenever he went to call he carried large bundles in, even inviting a few friends to join for meals.”

She concluded, her tone heavy: “In every respect, he was considerate and thorough, giving his father-in-law full face.”

She did not spell out the rest, but Tao Yi Ran understood. Since the wedding day’s formal return to her parents’ house, Tang Rong had not visited the Tao family again, let alone invited her father to a meal.

Madam Tao asked bluntly: “And how does Tang Mo treat that Xin family girl?”

Tao Yi Ran’s gaze dimmed. Despite her unwillingness, she could only answer frankly: “He accompanies her to pay morning and evening respects every day. He took her out to play for a full day and returned only after dark. This time, he brought her to the estate for a short stay.”

Madam Tao probed further: “Was it not specifically to take your mother-in-law to relax?”

Tao Yi Ran shook her head and said: “It was arranged earlier, without mention of taking Mother. Only later did they include her.”

Madam Tao felt even worse, but there was no turning back now. “Tang Rong is the Heir Apparent after all, and his father favors him. You must spend the effort to make him heed your words. Everyone has rise and fall. When he goes out again after he recovers, he must bring bodyguards. If he is well, you can be well. This has only just begun. The days ahead are long. Do not lose heart.”

The words were to comfort her daughter and herself both. She added with measured resolve: “Next month the Duke En residence is hosting a banquet, and the Marquis’s household has been invited. By then, attend with poise and dignity. Show your bearing and grace. You can outshine the Xin family in at least one regard. In time, you will be the mistress of the household.”

Tao Yi Ran nodded. Madam Tao could not bring herself to reproach her further. Soon mother and daughter were whispering together about how to win Tang Rong and how to surpass Xin An. If possible, they would also trip Xin An up a little, so that household management would be in their hands sooner and, above all, so that Yiran would conceive soon. Madam Tao summed it up coolly: “Never mind what that girl is carrying. Even if she bears a son, he is a concubine’s child, a concubine’s child only, nothing to fear.”