Chapter 150

Chapter 150: Second Young Madam, shall we admire the moon together?

Auntie Cai stepped out and went straight to Concubine Yue’s quarters. Now that Auntie Cai had returned, no one was happier than Concubine Yue; she clutched Auntie Cai’s hand and poured out everything that had happened in the residence while she was away, and of course she did not spare Tao Yi Ran from her disparagement.

Auntie Cai already had the measure of things and felt those fifty taels of silver had been well spent. She held Concubine Yue’s hand and said: “You care for the Heir Apparent; the Heir Apparent knows it. Now that I am back, I will naturally help you seize your chance.”

“I asked the house physician: the Heir Apparent’s wound is about to grow new flesh and will likely itch badly. Unfortunately he cannot use medicine for it. When the physician returns in the evening, go and ask quietly how to ease the itching. Serve him well; a fine future awaits you.”

Concubine Yue quickly rose to give Auntie Cai a proper curtsy, gratitude filling her eyes. Auntie Cai smiled, then turned to glance in the direction of Tao Yi Ran’s quarters; calculation gleamed in her gaze.

At this very moment, the battle among the old and new women of Chun Hua Courtyard officially began. Tang Rong, lying in bed, knew nothing of it and was still plotting what to do next once the rumors outside subsided.

Night had fallen by the time Tang Mo returned from outside. He immediately told Xin An how the winds of public opinion had shifted, saying: “Today a salacious rumor suddenly spread about the old Grand Secretary and the Vice Minister of War; ninety-nine percent it was the work of the neighbors. These two bits of gossip are far more interesting than a neighbor being bitten by a dog, and the talk about them has dropped off at once.” There was a hint of regret in his tone.

Xin An, however, found it normal and said: “He may be injured and confined to bed, but his mind still works and his mouth can still give orders; it doesn’t stop him from directing his subordinates.”

Tang Mo sighed and said: “If I’d known, I would have made him mute.”

Xin An chuckled and said: “But we achieved our goal, didn’t we?”

Tang Mo said: “The way Father wronged you right in front of Zhuang Shi was a stroke of genius.”

After draining a cup of tea, he asked whether they should release more tidings. Xin An cautioned against excess and said: “Pretend we know nothing. From now on, follow one rule: never bring up anything we have already done. Be careful, the walls have ears.”

Even though the courtyard was staffed with their own people and they were ordinarily careful, what if?

“Caution is good,” Tang Mo agreed. He was prepared to set the matter aside. After all, Luo Qi Wen was still pulling strings in the dark; he could wait and watch the result. Unexpectedly, Xin An added: “Using a more enticing rumor to cover one’s own does work immediately, but anyone who thinks it through can guess who did it, so…”

She curved her lips into a smile and said: “We will just sit and watch the show.”

Tang Mo slapped his thigh and said: “How did I not think of that!”

Even though the old Grand Secretary had retired, his disciples still sat in the Imperial Court, and the Vice Minister of War was no pushover. Oh dear, the old fellow would likely be beset by trouble upon trouble. [But what does that have to do with him.]

“Tomorrow we go to the Liao family; are we prepared?” he asked.

“Perfectly in order,” Xin An said.

Tang Mo laughed and said: “With you here, my asking is redundant.”

“As long as you know,” she said.

After finishing the bird’s nest soup, Tang Mo asked about his mother and said: “She was in a bad state yesterday. Is her mood any better today?”

“It’s alright,” said Xin An.

“What do you mean ‘alright’?” Tang Mo stood and said: “I’ll go take a look.”

Xin An lifted her gaze and said: “She felt miserable yesterday; she can’t possibly be all smiles today, can she? There has to be a process. I talked to her, and she was much better this afternoon.”

“Some things you shouldn’t ask. As a mother, can she really admit before you how hard her life has been?” she said.

“Why bring up those long-past trifles just to make her sad,” she added.

Tang Mo sat back down and spoke earnestly: “You know my mother’s situation. Some things are hard for me, as her son, to say; mainly I’m not good at comforting others. Please, when the opportunity is right, counsel her a bit more.”

Xin An asked: “And those are things that are easier for me, as the daughter-in-law, to say?”

“Today I only spoke lightly,” she continued. “Your mother is proud; she doesn’t want her natal family to know how hard things have been. The one person with standing to advise her, her maternal aunt, doesn’t know the inside story and so cannot help. She’s bottled things up for so long that the few words she said to me today were probably because she couldn’t hold them in any longer.” [No one understands this better than I do; wasn’t that me in my previous life.] [Just thinking of it feels suffocating.]

“She looks down on herself because she thinks her natal family lacks standing and because she is a second wife,” Xin An said.

“You have to take things lightly. Look at me now: what’s wrong with being a merchant’s daughter? I may have no power, but I have money. I could crush a few nobles to death with silver,” she said.

Tang Mo laughed and said: “At the end of the day, the first step is to be shameless.”

Xin An was speechless. [He really managed to strangle such a fine day with his talk!]

Ping Qiu, who attended on Madam Wang, came to deliver a message that everyone would dine separately that night. Auntie Wang hurried to have things prepared. Tang Mo told Lai Lai to have someone buy crispy fried chicken and orange-scented smoked goose, and also to fetch a jug of white liquor and a jug of fruit wine.

“Set it up in the pavilion in the residence’s garden, and hang two more lanterns,” he said.

Turning to Xin An, he added: “These days it’s neither cold nor hot, and the moonlight is fine; let’s not huddle indoors to eat.”

Xin An asked with a smile: “Your elder brother is still recuperating. You, dining among flowers and under the moon, aren’t you afraid people will talk?”

“Injury isn’t death. What should I fear?” said Tang Mo.

In good spirits, he extended his hand, laughter in his eyes, and said: “Second Young Madam, will you admire the moon with me?”

Xin An chuckled. Her gaze fell, almost inadvertently, on the hand before her; she bent slightly to look more closely, then raised her eyes and smiled, saying: “I just realized our second young master has quite a handsome pair of hands.”

His fingers were long and the joints distinct. She placed her own hand in his palm, curiosity brightening her eyes, and asked: “Calluses?”

Smiling, Tang Mo took her hand and led her toward the door, saying: “Calluses mean I’ve been putting in the work.”

“I haven’t slacked off a single day lately,” he said.

Those first days of picking up his training had been truly hard. After so long without exertion, even a few casual swings of his arms set his heart racing, sweat beading on his forehead, and his limbs aching and weak. With every punch he wanted to quit, to sit down, to stop, and he found all sorts of reasons to persuade himself to give up. But whenever thoughts of his previous life surfaced, he felt unwilling; he did not want Xin An to look down on him, and he still had responsibilities of his own to shoulder. [I won’t let Xin An look down on me. I still have duties I haven’t taken up.] So each time he wanted to give up, he grit his teeth and persisted.

Fortunately, once he endured that spell, things turned a corner. In recent days he clearly felt his body lighter, his steps steady, his arms strong; the results were obvious.

Hand in hand, they walked side by side along the path, the full moon accompanying them overhead. Xin An inhaled deeply and slowly released a long breath, turning to look at Tang Mo without speaking. After a moment she clearly sensed his nervousness; the corners of her lips lifted slightly. It had to be said that her fondness for Tang Mo was growing by the day.

He had good looks, a decent figure, a temperament that was not bad, and a mind that worked well. How had she, in her previous life, found him ghostlike and despicable? With different stances, even the person seemed to change; the myriad flavors of it were hard to believe without living through them.

“What are you laughing at?” asked Tang Mo.

He kept feeling she was teasing him, though she had not said a word. Xin An turned and smiled, saying: “I just suddenly felt that our second young master has quite the air of a refined and handsome gentleman.”

[Our second young master?]

[Refined and handsome?]

Tang Mo straightened his back, nodded with mock solemnity, and said: “Second Young Madam has always had a discerning eye; do not doubt yourself. It isn’t a sudden feeling, it is… as it has always been!”