Chapter 130

Chapter 130: Is Your Mother-in-law This Lenient?

From the moment Xin An recommended Luo Qi Wen, Tang Mo had people investigate him thoroughly, so he naturally knew that today was the deadline for Luo Qi Wen to repay his debt.

Tang Mo said with a calm smile: “All I did was ask the pawnshop owner to tell the debt collector to be especially aggressive today, nothing more.”

As for why he did not step forward and help Luo Qi Wen under the banner of cherishing talent, that was because he was the second son of a marquis. [The marquis’s household is not something just anyone can attach themselves to. Only what is hard-won will be cherished.]

Xin An did not care how Luo Qi Wen was secured; so long as he was secured, that was enough. A man that eager to climb upward would know what to do as soon as he was given an opportunity.

The two quickly boarded a carriage and headed for Lakeside Pavilion, which Tang Mo had chosen in advance. As he had said, Lakeside Pavilion was distinctive. The restaurant sat beside the lake, and the best seats were out on the water: a terrace supported by piles driven into the lakebed, with tables placed along the edge of the platform so that you need only lift your eyes to see the flower boats drifting across the surface.

By then the setting sun had melted into the night, a bright moon hung high overhead, and lanterns illuminated the darkness like scattered stars. The flower boats on the lake were made exquisite by the glow of the lights, and faint strains of silk-and-bamboo music drifted over the water. It was a night that belonged to the flourishing age of Great Qian, particularly resplendent.

Tang Mo had reserved a spot long ago. No sooner had they sat than the server brought cold dishes. Tang Mo ordered fruit wine and said with satisfaction: “Scenery like this deserves a drink.”

Xin An did not refuse. She had come to enjoy this glittering, indulgent life and was willing to try anything new. She said with a laugh: “This is my first time dining amid a view like this, so of course I should have a cup.”

Tang Mo, a touch pleased with himself, asked: “Isn’t this place good?”

Xin An answered with an approving grin: “Quite excellent.”

She added that they should come boating another time and said with interest: “A night cruise on the lake must be fun as well.”

Tang Mo agreed without a second thought, placed a piece of rabbit meat into her bowl, and said warmly: “Given our situation, we should be out and about, trying every good food and every bit of fun we can. Think of it as making up for things.”

Xin An nodded with a soft smile and replied: “You are right.”

When the fruit wine arrived, Tang Mo poured it himself. The two raised their cups together to toast the good day.

While they lived at ease, Tang Gang was once again flying into a temper at the manor. To prove he was a competent father, he had made special inquiries about Tang Mo’s current tasks and had even found a way to resolve Tang Mo’s immediate difficulty, preparing to return and demonstrate his importance. Instead, he learned that Tang Mo had actually gone out to dine with his wife.

He fumed to the household: “One after another, as soon as they marry, they forget who they are. It is outrageous, all of it outrageous.”

In his eyes, indulging in romance was a sign of a lack of ambition. Tang Rong had already disappointed him on that score, and he had not expected the same from Tang Mo. He snapped: “Is there no food in this house that he had to go out to eat?”

Madam Wang stepped forward and said evenly: “It is only a husband accompanying his own wife to dine outside. He has not neglected his duties.”

She added with measured patience: “They have not been married long. At such a time, when their affection is at its height, it is entirely normal for a young couple to go out for a turn in their leisure. Marquis, why be angry?”

Tang Gang was vexed. He was not truly angry about a meal outside; he was angriest because he felt his two sons, once married, had grown distant and slipped from his control, and even Madam Wang was now contradicting him. How could that not infuriate him? There was also Xin Kuan, far away in Huaijiang, who had put one over on him as well.

Yet these were not things he could speak aloud. He forced his voice into righteousness and said: “A man who has a family should put his mind on proper matters. If his head is full of food and drink, what good can come of it?”

Madam Wang countered without flinching: “In a month of thirty days, the Marquis returns to dine at home fewer than ten times. Is that also thinking only of food and drink?”

Madam Wang would no longer indulge him in the least. Tang Gang, repeatedly provoked, had reached the end of his patience; but when his gaze met Madam Wang’s, he lost some of his nerve, worried she would cast aside decorum and quarrel with him, which gave him a headache. In the end he could only fling his sleeves and leave.

Madam Wang turned away, openly disdainful. [She even wondered what on earth those virtuous, gentle twenty-odd years she had performed were for; she had swallowed her grievances all those years for nothing.]

That night Tang Gang ultimately did not manage to wait for Tang Mo, because Tang Rong returned first, bringing Lord Tao with him and saying there was an urgent matter to discuss. They had only just begun to speak when Tang Gang led them to the study, and he no longer spared a thought for Tang Mo. No fourth person knew what the three of them discussed. When Tang Mo and Xin An returned, Lord Tao had not yet left; they did not think much of it, assuming he had come to ease relations between the two families.

Early the next morning, Xin An went to the Second Prince’s Manor with gifts. Those who had been told in advance that she would come led her inside. The manor was not as large as she had imagined, but it was extraordinarily sumptuous and elegant.

A maid bowed and said with practiced courtesy: “Please wait a moment, Second Young Madam.”

The manor’s maids were well trained. After leading Xin An to a side hall and serving tea, the maid stood quietly in a corner.

After the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the Second Prince’s Consort arrived. Her complexion was rosy, a light sheen of sweat on her brow, and she wore airy ramie rather than the opulence she had displayed at the Water Blossom Banquet. She asked with a cordial smile: “Have you waited long?”

Xin An rose and replied with composure: “It is I who came early and disturbed Your Ladyship’s rest.”

After the courtesies, the tea was changed a second time. The Second Prince’s Consort lifted a hand and the attendants withdrew outside. She then said frankly: “I am very curious. You were switched to a different marriage partner, yet you do not seem to mind.”

She tilted her head and added with clear interest: “You even seem a bit pleased?”

Xin An sighed inwardly, [unsure why Her Ladyship was so concerned with this], and then smiled. She said without dissembling: “To tell the truth, I was indeed somewhat pleased.”

The Second Prince’s Consort said, intrigued: “Speak, let me hear why.”

Xin An offered a reasonable explanation: “I come from a salt merchant family. I did attend a few years of school and can read a little, but to be the Heir Apparent’s wife and perhaps one day the Marchioness might be a bit beyond me.”

She continued candidly: “Once it was changed to the second son, I no longer had those worries. Life became much lighter. One lives a whole lifetime; to live it comfortably is naturally best.”

The Second Prince’s Consort looked unconvinced and asked: “Is that all?”

Xin An gave a wry smile and said: “What happened had already happened, and there was no room for me to choose. Once I had entered the marquis’s household, I could only think of it this way.”

The Second Prince’s Consort nodded, satisfied: “That is more like it.” She spoke with directness: “It seems you are a sensible person who can seek advantage for yourself even in adversity.”

Xin An fell quiet. [She genuinely did not know how to respond.]

The Second Prince’s Consort shifted the topic and asked with cool curiosity: “Tell me how Tao Yi Ran is doing.”

Xin An answered truthfully: “After returning from the Water Blossom Banquet, she fainted and has since been nursing her health in her courtyard.”

The Second Prince’s Consort did not believe it. She already knew about the Tao family’s trouble and that Madam Wang had gone to Count Chang Ning’s manor, so she guessed the marquis’s household was informed as well. She pressed: “Do you really not know any inside story?”

Xin An shook her head and said: “I only know that my elder sister-in-law went in person to apologize at Count Chang Ning’s manor. After returning, she has not set foot outside her courtyard.”

The Second Prince’s Consort asked sharply: “So she is under confinement?”

Xin An nodded. A cold smile touched the Second Prince’s Consort’s lips as she said with disdain: “Only confinement? Is your mother-in-law this lenient?”

Xin An lowered her gaze in silence. [There was nothing she could say.]