Chapter 135

Chapter 135: Another Verbal Mauling from Madam Wang

The bout between father and son ended with Tang Mo pocketing the silver. Tang Gang, furious, flung the brush on the desk. He could do nothing else, so he raged in impotence, then stormed out to confront Madam Wang. Yet the moment he saw her he lost his nerve. Madam Wang looked at him coolly and asked, “What is it, Marquis?”

Tang Gang drew a long breath. [He could not afford to offend her either. When had it started that he felt a twinge of dread whenever he saw Madam Wang?]

[Mother and son are so alike; when they needle me, they show not an ounce of mercy.] He wanted to step inside, hesitated, then went in after all. He opened by asking whether Xin An had been filial since entering the house, whether she knew propriety and sense.

“And how has she offended the Marquis?” Madam Wang’s tone was poor. She could tell at once what cogs his mind was turning. Inwardly she spat; outwardly she gave no quarter: “What more do you want from her? On her wedding day her own bridegroom ran off to sleep with his younger sister-in-law. She did nothing and drew endless ridicule. Does the Marquis not know what people outside are saying about her?”

“She did not make a scene and swallowed a grievance this colossal. That is filial piety enough. From now on, whatever she does, so long as it is not outrageous and does not bring disaster to the marquisate, the marquisate must indulge her.”

“Because the marquisate owes her.”

“Have you not noticed how the eldest daughter-in-law avoids appearing before her whenever possible; that is guilt.”

Tang Gang had meant to get Madam Wang to go warn Xin An. Instead the bride-swap was dragged out again. His temper surged and he said to Madam Wang, “Ever since the two children married you have been biased. You take it too far.”

Madam Wang flared like a gamecock. “The Marquis says I am biased?” she shot back, “And the Marquis has the gall to say I am biased?”

“If that is how you want it, then today we will lay it all out and see who is biased…”

Tang Gang had forgotten. The Madam Wang of today was no longer the gentle Madam Wang of old. With her true nature fully revealed, she would no longer wrong herself. In this residence, aside from the Grand Matron, she could refuse anyone’s face. And Tang Gang was her most loathed target; she was always waiting to grind his face into the floor with words.

Once domineering only at home, Tang Gang retreated step by step, regretting bitterly, and fled the bedchamber in embarrassment: “Shrew, you shrew, I cannot make you see sense.”

“I will sleep in the study tonight.”

Seeing him beaten back, Madam Wang rolled her eyes, summoned a trusted maid and gave a few instructions. Before long she learned about the arrangements for the study that night. She snorted, “Serves him right.”

That night a rain fell. In the morning people woke to find the air much cooler. More folks were out on the streets. In the afternoon, as Tang Mo was walking back with colleagues from the Northern Garrison Army, Luo Qi Wen stepped out from behind a large tree. The corner of Tang Mo’s mouth lifted. He tossed him a bit of broken silver and told him to go to the teahouse, find a good private room, and wait.

Toward dusk, leaving the Northern Garrison Army, he ran into Liao Zhi. Over these days Liao Zhi’s opinion of him had shifted, helped by his wife’s occasional comments in his ear. Tang Mo greeted him, “Commander Liao.”

“Mm,” Liao Zhi replied. Only a little older than Tang Mo, he was half a head taller, broad-shouldered and well-featured. Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, his posture looked all the more striking. “Heading home?” he asked.

“I have arranged to meet someone at a teahouse,” said Tang Mo.

Liao Zhi nodded, “On your next day of rest, bring your wife to my residence for a meal,” he said, then added before Tang Mo could answer, “My wife’s idea.”

Without waiting for more, he strode forward. Someone was already leading his horse to him. Soon only the sight of him riding away remained.

Zhuang Shi came up and asked, “The Commander is inviting you to a meal?”

His eyes were full of envy. Tang Mo sighed, “I still do not know if that is good or bad.”

“That must be good,” Zhuang Shi said, slinging an arm over his shoulder, “Would anyone invite you to dinner for a bad thing? Sister-in-law is a rare help at home. How is it you have such good fortune?”

By now everyone in the Northern Garrison Army knew Tang Mo had a good wife, and that she had been swapped to him by his brother. Such was fate. Tang Mo laughed and said, “I told you, heaven’s arrangement.”

Seizing the chance, Zhuang Shi invited him: “I will set something up later. Ask Sister-in-law to come too. We can all bring our families and have a proper chat.”

The changes in Tang Mo since joining the Northern Garrison Army were plain to all. People knew a bit about his household as well. These days most no longer rejected him; many thought him generous and forthright and were willing to associate with him. Tang Mo agreed with a smile. After they parted, he headed to the teahouse.

With more pedestrians, the streets had grown livelier. Upstairs in a private room, Luo Qi Wen, who had already finished a pot of tea, finally saw Tang Mo arrive. He rose early to greet him. After the courtesies, the two sat. The server brought fresh tea. Only after wetting his throat did Tang Mo look at Luo Qi Wen and ask, “So you have thought it through.”

Luo Qi Wen rose again and said, “This student is willing to serve the young master with the labor of a dog or horse.”

Tang Mo motioned for him to sit: “I lack nothing. Tell me, what kind of labor do you propose to offer?”

The private room Luo Qi Wen had chosen was on the second floor, with the street to the right. It maximized the chance of avoiding eavesdropping. At this hour there were few patrons; upstairs, they had the only table, which made talk convenient.

[In Luo Qi Wen’s chest ten thousand horses thundered past. There were many nobles in the capital, but also many scholars. For someone like him, whose learning was not outstanding, with no family support and no mentor to promote him, to win a noble’s patronage was easier said than done.] Whether he could change his situation depended on whether he could persuade this second young master of the marquisate today. He drew a deep breath, skipped the empty pleasantries, and said directly, “I have heard something of Second Young Master’s affairs. I believe that as the marquisate’s legitimate son, Second Young Master has the right to vie for the title.”

“Though unworthy, I am willing to exhaust myself to help Second Young Master achieve this.”

Tang Mo smiled. “Why should I contend for the title? Is it not better to be a wealthy idler?”

Nervous to the point of pain, Luo Qi Wen clenched his trouser leg under the table and said, “From the matter of Second Young Master’s marriage, one can see that being a wealthy idler is not easy for you.”

“Bold as I may be,” he continued, “I have inquired widely about the marquisate these last two days. If I am not mistaken, Second Young Master’s days in the residence are not pleasant. If they were truly leisurely, the Second Young Madam would not be so often out of the residence.”

“To speak plainly, if the heir apparent inherits the title, Second Young Master’s days will only be harder than now.”

[The life of the powerful was far from him, but by analogy even common households mostly passed inheritance to the eldest son. Whether those below lived well depended on whether the eldest was generous. For a bride to be swapped on her wedding day, this second young master’s standing in the marquisate could not be high.]

Tang Mo chuckled. “Even if you are right, what can you do?”

Leaning forward slightly, Luo Qi Wen said, “If Second Young Master does not despise me as dull, I am willing to serve as your vanguard, to do all I can to secure your rightful interests and remove your troubles.”

Tang Mo snorted. “When you have lived your own life into this state, how am I to trust you?”

[If not for Xin An saying this man was decent, given his circumstances, it would be hard to believe he possessed any great wisdom.]