Chapter 169

Chapter 169: Urgency Calls for Expediency, The Hand Was a Bit Heavy

The Moon Inviting Banquet did not end until midnight. When Tang Mo and Xin An returned home, it was already very late, yet Madam Wang had not gone to bed and was waiting for them.

Xin An asked as she entered: “Has Elder Sister-in-law not come back?”

As soon as she spoke, she understood: [She has gone back to lodge a complaint.]

Tang Gang sat to the side and asked Tang Mo to describe what had happened at the Moon Inviting Banquet. Tang Mo, slightly tipsy, did not know where to begin, so Madam Wang supplied that Tao Yi Ran had returned home in tears: “Steward Zhang said she began crying as soon as she got into the carriage and insisted on returning to the Tao Family. What exactly happened?”

Xin An understood and felt a twinge of regret. [If Tao Yi Ran had made the first complaint and tomorrow brought the Tao Family to prop her up, I would have had to come forward and make everything clear. Then I could have debated the Tao mother and daughter and drowned them with spittle.] Now, stating things plainly would be far less interesting.

She said evenly: “I pinched Elder Sister-in-law and twisted her once. It was an emergency and called for expediency; my hand was a bit heavy.”

Tang Gang stared, speechless. Madam Wang, too, was momentarily at a loss.

Madam Wang recovered first and asked in a hurry: “Why was that?”

She was flustered; a direct use of hands would be hard to smooth over.

Xin An briefly recounted the matter: “I asked Steward Zhang. He said there was no message from the Crown Prince’s Manor today, so most likely Elder Sister-in-law went of her own accord.”

She explained further: “As soon as the Crown Princess arrived at the Moon Inviting Banquet, she said Elder Sister-in-law would play the zither for everyone’s entertainment. Though I do not like Elder Sister-in-law, she is the marquis’s Heir Apparent’s wife. What is her status? If the elders of the various marquis and duke households were present, her playing the zither to win a smile from them would be one thing, and no one would criticize her.”

“But today those present were people of similar age, peers meeting as equals; most of their houses are not on a par with ours. Our eldest brother is bedridden, nursing injuries, and Elder Sister-in-law wants to perform at a banquet to please the crowd. What does that make us?”

She concluded crisply: “Where does that put my elder brother’s face, the marquis’s manor’s face?”

Madam Wang exhaled in relief. [So Tao Yi Ran debased herself first.] In that case, the problem was not so great.

Rage swelled in Tang Gang’s chest as he bit out: “If the Crown Princess asked her to play, she would play?”

Xin An, seemingly unaware of his rising fury, continued with honest detail, knowing it would all be easily verified tomorrow: “When we first sat down, Elder Sister-in-law was seated next to me. I had already warned her that this was inappropriate. Elder Sister-in-law did not answer. After the Illusion Arts performance ended, the Crown Princess again mentioned the zither and called Elder Sister-in-law by name. All eyes were on her then; some gazes were frivolous and made one uncomfortable.”

“Elder Sister-in-law was eager to try. When she was about to rise, I pinched her under cover of my sleeve, then pinched her again. She cried out in pain. I claimed she was indisposed and took her out of the banquet. The Second Prince’s household physician examined her, and then Steward Zhang came to take her away.”

She added in an even tone: “I do not know what the Crown Princess intended. Was she trying to elevate Elder Sister-in-law, or humiliate the marquis’s manor?”

Tang Gang’s anger spiked. Madam Wang, seeing that was enough, sent the younger couple to rest, then turned to Tang Gang and said: “The eldest daughter-in-law truly is outrageous. Instead of staying in her courtyard to serve her husband, she runs out to show off. The Water Blossom Banquet last time clearly didn’t teach her a lesson.”

She sighed with cold judgment: “For such a woman to have entered our gates is truly our house’s misfortune.”

This struck home for Tang Gang. He had long been dissatisfied with Tao Yi Ran; were it not that the Tao Family was still useful, he would have let Tao Yi Ran conveniently die of illness and never have tolerated her prancing about.

Madam Wang, as if in passing, said: “Steward Zhang questioned the servants. They claimed she went out at the eldest’s instruction. We do not know if that’s true.”

Tang Gang’s face grew darker. Madam Wang sneered inwardly. [The pair in Chun Hua Courtyard never run out of trouble, and every bit of it points toward disaster. Heaven has eyes.]

She asked coolly: “The Tao Family will surely come tomorrow to demand an explanation. Does the Marquis wish to see them?”

Tang Gang’s voice went cold: “See them. How can I not?”

He tamped down his fury and brooded that the Tao Family was a plague god; ever since becoming in-laws with his household, the marquis’s manor had known no peace. They were cunning besides, having hinted earlier that they had spent a great sum to push Tang Rong in front of the Crown Prince, as if they had rendered tremendous merit. Do they forget he is the Marquis of Wei Yuan? Is it so difficult for the marquis’s Heir Apparent to stand before the Crown Prince?

He scoffed inwardly: [As the beam above is crooked, the one below is too.] Old Madam Tao is a lowborn woman, and the seed she bore cannot be brought to the stage.

Madam Wang said: “Marquis, it would be best to go to Qiu Shi Courtyard and ask clearly how Tao Yi Ran ended up at the Crown Prince’s Manor today. Then we will be prepared for tomorrow.”

She had long awaited the moment when this father and son would fall out with the Tao Family. “I will go,” Tang Gang said.

At this moment he was deeply dissatisfied with Tang Rong and more than a little disappointed. [A single woman, and he cannot deal with her because he cannot bear to; he neglects to discipline her; knowing she is flirtatious and restless, he still dared to let her go out alone. Truly insensible.]

Hardly had Tang Mo and Xin An closed their door when Tang Gang arrived at Chun Hua Courtyard. Tang Rong already knew that Tao Yi Ran had gone back to the Tao Family weeping and was full of doubts; hearing that his father had come, he had a bad feeling.

He greeted him: “Father.”

He had long since been able to move about at will, though he could not walk too fast, lest he tug at the wound and feel pain. Tang Gang looked at him coldly, without asking after his injuries. He was about to speak when Auntie Cai came in with tea. Tang Gang could not stand the sight of her and, with a single look, stopped her in her tracks. He did not sit. His gaze settled on Tang Rong as he asked: “Why did Tao Yi Ran appear at the Moon Inviting Banquet today?”

Tang Rong was momentarily tongue-tied. Some things can be thought, or said by others, but he himself must never say them. He chose his words carefully and replied: “Today, while checking the storeroom, we found a painting by Master Liu Xingzhi. Earlier I heard the Crown Prince liked his work, so I had her carry it to the Crown Princess as a gift. When I was injured, the Crown Prince sent someone to inquire after my condition, so this counts as a token of thanks.”

He added, almost defensively: “Perhaps the Crown Princess invited her to go.”

Tang Gang snorted: “I think she wanted to go herself and found such a pretext.”

His eyes seemed to pierce Tang Rong through: “Do you know why the Crown Princess took her to the Moon Inviting Banquet?”

Tang Rong frowned slightly; from his father’s tone this did not sound like something good. He asked: “Did something happen?”

Tang Gang did not hide it. He repeated Xin An’s account word for word; he trusted Xin An would not dare lie and that what she said must be true.

He concluded, voice low: “The Crown Princess is from the Xie Family; she cannot be without measure. This must have been deliberate.”

He pressed on: “Tao Yi Ran dallied with the Second Prince and was warned by the Second Prince’s Consort. The Crown Prince must know this. Tell me, then, what is the Crown Princess’s intent?”

Tang Rong eased himself into a chair, supporting himself on the table; his face turned first green, then white. He had expected Tao Yi Ran to be mocked, but not like this.

Tang Gang continued mercilessly: “Had it not been for your second sister-in-law tonight, our marquis’s manor would have lost all face. That Tao Family woman wanted to use our face as a stepping-stone to show off. Since she has gone back, do not let her return.”

He finished with a command: “The Tao Family will surely come tomorrow. Make your decision early.”

Pitying his misfortune and resenting his weakness, Tang Gang did not know how to scold him further. He tossed out a final judgment: “Indecisive men cannot achieve great things.”

With that he turned to go. After two steps he stopped, turned his head, and added: “Though you are recuperating, do not be too greedy for food and drink.”

After Auntie Cai returned, Concubine Yue was allowed to attend to Tang Rong in his room every day. She seemed eager to feed him eight doses of tonics a day. In a short time, Tang Rong grew rounder, his face shiny with oil, ruining the handsome refinement of a gentleman that he once carried with ease.

Tang Gang saw him and felt his eyes ache.