Chapter 137

Chapter 137: Tao Yi Ran Encounters Tang Mo at Night

The days passed unhurriedly. After the first two months of bustle, Xin An finally settled into a steady rhythm. She paid her daily calls, admired flowers and strolled through courtyards, and occasionally went out to banquets or met friends for tea and opera. She grew more composed with each day.

Fang Da had already begun the renovations of Herbal Cuisine Pavilion. The chef had been found, and he was already testing dishes with Qin Bai.

The Xin family residence finished its repairs. Wang Jin and his son began assisting Fang Da. With hands to spare, Fang Da turned to refurbishing the four shops on Ying Hui Street, and he contacted familiar traveling merchants to ready new stock. He could barely catch his breath for work, but his energy was high.

By this time Tao Yi Ran’s confinement had been lifted, yet she still did not step beyond Chun Hua Courtyard. She remained sequestered within, playing the virtuous wife and mother. If she was not arranging to make autumn garments for Tang Rong, she was tinkering in the little kitchen. She lived as if in a secluded peach-blossom spring, as though the world outside had nothing to do with her.

Having gotten his hands on her dowry, Tang Rong was not eager to let her go out. The Tao family matter still lingered. The Second Prince still looked at him strangely. He feared that if Tao Yi Ran went out she would cause some fresh trouble.

He felt only middling affection for Tao Yi Ran, but he cared a great deal about the Tao family’s situation. Yet even with father and son joining forces, they could not keep Master Tao posted in the capital. He was once again assigned to the provinces. Just then came news that the Tao family’s Grand Matron was gravely ill.

Master Tao submitted a memorial, requesting to remain in the capital one more month, lest anything happen to his aged mother and he be left with lifelong regret.

The imperial court granted the request.

When Nan Feng brought Xin An the news, Xin An frowned and said with quiet suspicion: “How did a grave illness appear out of nowhere?”

Nan Feng passed on the rest with precise care: “Qing Mo reports that lately the Marquis Heir Apparent and Master Tao have been speaking in private often. Even he cannot get close when they confer. Yesterday the Heir Apparent went to the Crown Prince’s Manor, and Qing Mo could not get through the gate.”

Nan Feng had forced and coaxed Qing Mo into agreeing to pass along Tang Rong’s movements, but the man refused to do more. Xin An had not pressed him further once she knew his limits. Now her mind raced. With this as their bargaining chip, she could guess why Tang Gang and Tang Rong had begun consorting closely with Master Tao. They were seeking some pathway to attach themselves to the Crown Prince.

“It is courting death,” she muttered, a cold glint in her eye. “The Crown Prince does not lack for supporters.” The Second Prince had forced his way to the throne, which only proved how steady the Crown Prince’s position remained.

By the pattern of Tang Gang and Tang Rong’s minds, they would try to stuff in as much silver as possible. But did the marquis’s household have silver? In the end, they would likely set their sights on his father.

Unfortunately, his father’s reply had not yet arrived, and Xin An’s relationship with the Second Prince’s Consort had not gone further. She thought for a moment and formed a plan: Tang Rong had been too busy of late. It was time he had a forced rest.

Perhaps because summer was ending, night fell earlier. Returning from martial training, Tang Mo took the path back toward Qiu Shi Courtyard. Just as he passed through the second gate, he encountered Tao Yi Ran.

Whether by habit or some darker impulse, she avoided daylight and liked to walk at night, and she preferred pale garments as she wandered a small garden. Her sudden apparition startled him.

She smiled and called out first, drifting toward him with a softness he disliked: “Second Brother, you are back?”

He had meant to act as if he had not seen her, but when Tao Yi Ran approached, the contrast with Xin An’s bright, richly dressed splendor made her austere makeup and muted air feel unpleasant, like a specter drifting through the household.

He answered without warmth, perfunctory and polite: “Sister-in-law, are you waiting here for my elder brother?”

Tao Yi Ran halted two paces away and replied with demure calm: “The night breeze is cool. I came out for some air.” She lifted her eyes and let a just-right smile touch her lips, her gaze flicking over him. “Second Brother seems much leaner.”

Under Xin An’s discipline, Tang Mo had become a young man on the rise. He rose early every morning to train, and in the evening he went straight from the Northern Garrison Army to the martial hall. The soft flesh that rich food had nourished was gone. Soon he would show ropey muscle. He was slimmer now, sharper, and he looked handsomer and more spirited.

He had no wish to tangle with her. He made to go. She stopped him again, eyes brimming with tears before her lips had formed the words: “Are you… doing well?”

The corner of Tang Mo’s eye twitched. He thought the pair truly were made for one another. Xin An had said the first words Tang Rong ever spoke to her were nearly identical. What was that supposed to mean?

She started a confession, voice trembling: “I know it was I who…”

He cut her off, voice blunt: “Sister-in-law.” Then he reminded her with cool clarity: “My elder brother treats you well. Why cling to the past?”

He flicked a glance toward Qiu Shi Courtyard and ended it cleanly: “My affairs do not require your concern. Madam is waiting for me in Qiu Shi Courtyard. Please suit yourself.”

Without waiting for her to continue, Tang Mo strode away. He felt only foul luck. In such dark night, anyone who knew would say an elder brother’s wife had stopped a younger brother to speak. Anyone who did not might think he still pined for Tao Yi Ran. [What a poisonous way to try to tarnish my name.]

Watching his swift retreating figure, Tao Yi Ran breathed a faint, mournful line: “He bears a grudge against me after all.”

A maid stepped up promptly to console, her tone implying much: “Before the wedding, the second young master never knew where to put his eyes when he saw the young madam. He never said a word, but he must have felt something. It is only natural he has complaints now. With the young madam’s looks and unmatched talent, how many men could see you and not be moved?”

Tao Yi Ran said nothing aloud, but in her heart she agreed. Aside from money, she truly could not think where she was inferior to that salt-merchant’s daughter. It was only natural that Tang Mo still had thoughts of her.

Had Tang Mo known what she was thinking, he would have wanted to chop off the feet that had carried him there at that hour. If he had come back earlier or later, he would not have met her. Yet when he entered Qiu Shi Courtyard, his face showed no ripple. He went in cheerfully.

Since Xin An had publicly rebuked Chun Yang, the maids had become punctiliously respectful toward Tang Mo. One fetched water, another brewed tea, a third hurried over with a chilled bowl of mung-bean soup, so that the moment he returned, he enjoyed the best of comforts.

When he had finished the soup, Xin An told him about Tang Rong and gave orders for Luo Qi Wen: “The Grand Matron’s illness is suspicious, and attaching themselves to the Crown Prince is my conjecture. But before my father’s letter arrives, do not let those few caper so freely. Think of a way to make your father or Tang Rong rest for a while.”

Tang Mo answered at once, the hint of a grin showing his willingness to play dirty: “That is easy. We can use the same neighbor as before. It will even give that woman a reputation for jinxing her husband, which helps you.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than zither music rose in the night air. Xin An tilted her head to listen and did not need to guess whose hands were on the strings. She said with cool indifference: “It seems someone is in a fine mood.”

She turned back and continued speaking, ignoring the music.

Annoyance prickled Tang Mo, and he could not hold it in. He told her about the encounter just now and demanded, half incredulous, half disgusted: “Do you think those two are ill? Truly, does a shared quilt not produce two types of people? Do they both believe their charm is without equal?”

A sudden nausea flickered through Xin An, sharp and cold. [How disgusting.] She said evenly, her memory like a knife: “She said those very words to Tang Rong in the previous life. Perhaps she thinks that whichever man ends up with me has been wronged.”

Tang Mo scowled and jerked his chin toward the window: “Is the zither being played for you on purpose?”

Her expression did not change. She sipped tea to tamp down her annoyance and said with practiced disdain: “She often used this trick before, playing the zither in the middle of the night without any regard for others, to lure Tang Rong.”

Then she set down her cup with a quiet click and allowed herself a sliver of threat: “She had best pray she does not fall into my hands. Since she loves to play, I will make sure she plays to her heart’s content.”