Chapter 096

Chapter 96: Just Chatting Under the Quilt

After the laughter faded, Tang Mo let out a long breath and felt much lighter; [despite all his confident talk, he knew his limits, and he only dared to plan something so big because he was no longer alone].

He said: “Since we have this idea, we should prepare. Tomorrow, go ask Mother to lend you Auntie Zhao for a few days so you can learn more about the world outside. I’ll dig into imperial court affairs, starting with Duke En, the Empress Dowager’s natal clan, His Majesty the Emperor’s uncles, and the princes involved. I think if we figure out the relationships among those princes, we’ll understand seven or eight parts of the whole.”

He added: “We split up for now, then compare notes before bed each night. With the two of us together, I don’t believe we can’t make a name for ourselves.”

Xin An agreed; [if you don’t understand, you learn]. There was time. They would grow quietly and reveal themselves slowly when the moment came.

She yawned and said: “Sleep, sleep; we have to get up early tomorrow.”

He planned to rise at dawn for martial training and steel himself for hard work; otherwise, even if he was sent to present himself before the Second Prince, he might not be valued. However unwilling he was to admit it, he had to face the truth that, in others’ eyes, Tang Rong’s worth far outstripped his.

It wasn’t his turn to be courted.

Xin An yawned again and, after lying down, stretched in comfortable laziness: “Tomorrow I still have to sort my dowry and see what can be given away. I almost forgot that tea. If it’s gone moldy, what a pity that would be.”

She said with a smile: “Once I attend the Water Blossom Banquet, I’ll be able to move about and listen for interesting tales from the rear courtyards. Gifts will be necessary then.”

Tang Mo hummed in assent and said: “Use anything from the storeroom as you like. If it isn’t enough, go to Mother. If there’s still a lack, tell me and I’ll think of a way.”

Already about to sleep, Xin An suddenly remembered someone and said: “Your cousin on the Wang side, Wang Shi, in just a few years will become a palace graduate, one of the emperor’s own students, basking in glory.”

“Wang Shi?” Tang Mo sat up in excitement and said: “My cousin? Wang Shi of the Wang family?”

“Doesn’t it show?” she teased.

[Well now, that was an unexpected boon.]

Xin An laughed and said: “He took off the year after you breathed your last. You missed the good timing.”

Tang Mo beamed and said: “It’s fine. This time I’ll catch it. I already have a decent relationship with him, and from now on it will only get better. I had planned to pull in the Wang family anyway. Perfect.”

Xin An yawned, flipped over, and said: “Sleep, quickly.”

She was truly exhausted. In moments her breathing turned deep and even. Staring at the mosquito net with a high lift at the corner of his lips, Tang Mo soon drifted into sleep as well.

When Chun Yang returned to the bedchamber, Auntie Wang asked, her tone shaded with meaning: “They slept in the same room again?”

“Of course,” Chun Yang replied.

Auntie Wang exclaimed, eyes full of implication: “Just chatting under the quilt!”

Both wore expressions that invited speculation; it felt as if the couple had not consummated yet were already living like an old married pair.

Auntie Wang sighed. She was an old hand at these things, yet she still couldn’t see through the two of them.

Before dawn the next day, Xin An was jolted awake by Tang Mo fussing about; to train at daybreak he insisted on finding a suitable outfit. Lai Lai finally produced one, only for him to say it didn’t look good. Irritated, Xin An gave him a kick and said: “If you have nothing to wear, then go bare-chested. You still have the nerve to be picky. The fire is already licking your eyebrows.”

She ordered briskly: “Out to train, now. I’ll supervise you, you delicate thing.”

She added, half scolding and half amused: “You talk sweeter than you sing, yet you act like training is a death sentence. We’ve been saying this for days and there’s been no movement. You expect Liao Zhi to reuse you? Liao Zhi carved his way out through blood. If you meet thieves on your rounds, steel won’t care who you are.”

So, still in his inner garments, Tang Mo was driven from the bedchamber by Xin An. She herself, draped in a thin robe, sat beneath the eaves to keep watch while he trained. [This was, after all, a pampered young master of a marquis’s house; aside from receiving partiality, the greatest hardship he had likely endured was studying and the martial training of childhood.]

In the first glimmer of dawn, the Qiu Shi Courtyard was bright with lamps. Seated beneath the eaves, Xin An stared unblinking at Tang Mo. Though she didn’t understand martial arts, she shook her head helplessly and said: “Our elegant Second Young Master hasn’t trained in a long while. He can’t quite remember his forms. He almost tripped himself just now.”

What had he said before?

That he would go seek instruction from his old martial master. He probably still hadn’t gone.

Lai Lai laughed dryly at the side and said: “Second Young Master’s skills are actually not bad. Well, before he was fifteen, they were not bad.”

Xin An yawned and said: “More practice will do.”

Tang Mo felt both embarrassed and anxious. He had imagined he would move with ferocious style, but he had forgotten most of the forms. If Xin An hadn’t been watching, he would have given up today, deciding to wait until after seeking instruction from his master to practice again. He forced himself through two sticks of incense, then hastily called it: “I’m exhausted.”

Drenched in sweat, he accepted the sweat cloth from Xin An as she said: “Clearly your body is still weak. When my father sends my physician, you should have a proper examination and some tonics to adjust your health.”

She encouraged him gently: “If you keep training daily, even if you don’t become some great expert, it will strengthen your body, which is good.”

[At this stage, encouragement mattered most.]

Lai Lai reported that the hot water was ready. Tang Mo also felt his own frailty and, worried he might die early again as in his previous life, decided the sweat was worth it.

When he had changed, Xin An stepped back two paces to admire and said: “You look very handsome.”

She added, bright-eyed: “I think you look different after martial training, livelier in spirit. Chun Yang, Chun Lv, don’t you think so?”

Primed by her signal, the two maids bobbed their heads and delivered praise at speed: “Second Young Master does indeed look more spirited than yesterday.”

“It’s a very fresh, clean look. Even your bearing feels different.”

Even Lai Lai chimed in from outside the door and said: “Young Master looks more handsome. Keep training for some days, strengthen your bones and sinews, and you’ll become one of the capital’s most comely gentlemen.”

Tang Mo floated a little, pleased with himself. Pinching the flesh at his waist, he muttered that recently it had been all rich meats and heavy wine and now he had extra padding there. He said grandly: “Since you all say so, this young master will practice every day and strive to become the number one handsome man in the capital.”

Everyone, including Xin An, lowered their heads with laughter. Soon Nan Feng arrived with breakfast. After they ate, Tang Mo, energized, went out to his duties.

Once he had left, Xin An unhurriedly tidied herself. Calculating the hour, she left to pay respects. Today differed from usual: when she reached the Chun Rong Hall, Tao Yi Ran was already there, standing in the courtyard and waiting for the Grand Matron to rise.

Xin An greeted her with mild surprise and said: “Elder Sister-in-law?”

[How novel; I thought she meant to stay cooped up in the Chun Hua Courtyard forever.]

Tao Yi Ran turned her head and said with a thin smile: “Younger Sister-in-law, you’ve come?”

Xin An said with a smile: “Elder Sister-in-law has come to pay respects? Is your health any better?”

Feeling there was mischief behind Xin An’s smile, Tao Yi Ran replied, face composed: “It was only a passing discomfort. Nothing serious.”

Xin An said, all sweetness with a hidden barb: “So that’s how it is. Aunt Tao has been saying you were born with a constitutional weakness and must be nourished with centenarian ginseng and the most rare medicines. Even an ordinary person couldn’t stomach bowl after bowl of such heavy tonics. I was truly worried for you.”

Seeing Tao Yi Ran always put Xin An in a mood where she could not speak plainly; if she didn’t needle her a few times, she felt she had lost out.

Tao Yi Ran forced a smile. In front of Xin An she refused to look inferior; how could a salt-merchant’s daughter be compared with her?