Chapter 238

Chapter 238: Not Afraid the Neighbors Won’t Make a Move

Some things were words Tang Rong hoped would be spoken by Auntie Cai, and Auntie Cai did not disappoint. She sighed and said: “This is not something an old servant like me should say, but from the beginning the Heir Apparent ought to have lived next door in Qiu Shi Courtyard. Qiu Shi Courtyard is more open and spacious than Chun Hua Courtyard; in scenery and layout it surpasses Chun Hua Courtyard, and it is eminently proper; even without understanding feng shui, one can see it is a good place.”

She went on softly: “All the refurbishing and furnishings were done according to the Heir Apparent’s station, at no small expense. When everything was ready, Madam invited a Daoist master, claiming the courtyard was too large to store wind and gather qi, and in the end forcibly swapped the much smaller Chun Hua Courtyard to the Heir Apparent, while Second Young Master moved into the wide and splendid Qiu Shi Courtyard.”

Tang Rong knit his brows: “Mother may not have had any other intention.”

Understanding him, Auntie Cai knew that with his position some things were inconvenient to say; as his nursemaid, she had to speak plainly today. She lowered her voice and said: “The Heir Apparent is kind-hearted and has always been filial to Madam as if to his own mother. He even handed over his late mother’s dowry for Madam to manage. But people’s hearts are hidden behind the ribs; who can say she has not hatched other designs?”

She pressed on: “After all, Second Young Master is Madam’s own son. Look at him now, living in Qiu Shi Courtyard; compare it to how he used to be in the manor—does the Heir Apparent still remember? Put the two side by side and anyone with eyes can see. I am certain this bears Madam Wang’s hand. Madam and Second Young Master must have done something in secret; I fear even the Heir Apparent’s accident cannot be unrelated to them. In Second Young Master’s eyes, the Heir Apparent stole his wife.”

She clicked her tongue: “Second Young Madam has a bit of money, but can that compare to Eldest Young Madam’s maiden family? Second Young Master must surely resent the Heir Apparent.”

She added, each word distinct: “It might even involve Second Young Madam. Anyone can see who is stronger between the Heir Apparent and Second Young Master. The Xin Family married their daughter in to be the Marchioness, and now she has become a Second Young Madam with no future. Can she feel anything but hate?”

Tang Rong stirred the pear soup with the spoon handle, idly turning it: “Aunt, I have thought about these things, but Mother treats me well, and Second Brother is outwardly respectful. I cannot, without cause, blame them for my ill turns.”

He set the spoon down and said mildly: “If Father knew, he would be angry. Aunt, do not speak this way again; if it spreads, it will sound ugly.”

“Heir Apparent,” Auntie Cai urged earnestly, “you are the Heir Apparent of the marquisate and will one day be the Marquis, the head of this household. You cannot let Madam and Second Young Master bully you like this.”

Tang Rong looked helpless: “What can I do? Am I to tell Father that Mother is harming me? Or that Second Brother is harming me? With no evidence, only guesses? How can a claim about feng shui stand up?”

He sighed again, rose slowly, and said: “Aunt, go before the Bodhisattva for me tomorrow and offer a stick of incense. These months I have been under a cloud of ill luck; nothing goes smoothly. It is late. Go and rest.”

Watching his desolate back, Auntie Cai frowned and turned to look toward the neighboring Qiu Shi Courtyard. Qing Mo, who had kept silent all along, edged up and whispered: “Aunt, you must think of a way to help the Heir Apparent. If this bad luck keeps up, none of us will fare well. You do not know how vexing it has been for him outside; his assignments go poorly, and even the Marquis treats him much less warmly than before. We have to find a way to help the Heir Apparent.”

Auntie Cai nodded and told Qing Mo to keep his mind on his duties and, more than ever, not to relax the watch on the house next door. Qing Mo agreed readily; next he would find out from which angle Auntie Cai planned to act and pass the word to Nan Feng. If Nan Feng had not sent him medicine, the grass on his grave would already be growing.

The next day Nan Feng told Xin An that next door might soon take action. Xin An curved her lips in a slight smile and said: “Tell Qing Mo to press Auntie Cai to come up with something quickly.” She thought, [We are not afraid the neighbors won’t make a move; we only fear they keep shrinking back.]

Nan Feng promptly went to Auntie Wang and asked for ten taels of silver to handle a matter. Auntie Wang asked no questions and gave them at once; when Nan Feng had gone, she turned to Xin An and smiled: “That girl handles matters more and more crisply. But she belongs to Madam. Is it really fine to send her on these errands?”

Xin An asked in return: “Even if she reports every detail to Mother-in-law, what will Mother-in-law do?” She added calmly: “Not lifting a finger to help is already an act of self-restraint. We have not laid everything bare between us, but there is an understanding.”

Auntie Wang thought it over and found it so. Madam’s mind was not ruined; their young lady was helping Second Young Master, who was Madam’s own son. She smiled wryly: “I was overthinking. Is Young Madam still not planning to let Auntie Cui Ping move into the courtyard to serve?”

Xin An paused, then recalled that Auntie Wang would have to go home to prepare for her son’s marriage come spring. She said gently: “I had quite forgotten you will be marrying your son in spring. Do this then: find Auntie Cui Ping, assign her the tasks she should take on, and have her serve in the courtyard by day; she need not sleep here at night. Also explain things clearly to Chun Yang and Chun Lv. For now, keep the storehouse keys in my room, and from now on just come by every few days.”

Smiling, Auntie Wang nodded: “I should not be going back at such a time, but thinking of the New Year, I fear I cannot help much with the festivities. Auntie Cui Ping is more needed now.”

“Please do not say that,” Xin An said with a squinting smile, taking her hand. “In my eyes, only my own mother outranks you. I have always regarded you as an elder, so there is no need to be so formal with me. If there is anything, tell me.”

She added with easy warmth: “After you go back, tidy up the eastern courtyard with the plum tree for Wang Fu’s wedding. Afterward your whole family can live there. It is spacious; when there are little grandchildren, they will have room to run. Our new residence should be lively for the New Year as well; I must trouble Aunt to watch over and arrange things.”

Auntie Wang thanked her with a laugh: “Many thanks for Young Madam’s favor.”

Xin An also told her to take one hundred taels to handle the arrangements: “Later choose a few items from the storehouse; consider them the betrothal gifts I am adding for Wang Fu.” Deeply satisfied by such grace, Auntie Wang resolved to tell her son and husband to serve with even greater diligence.

After only a single day, rumors rose in the manor, saying Madam Wang favored her own son and schemed to give the Heir Apparent’s Qiu Shi Courtyard to Tang Mo; but for her plotting, the bride would not have gone to the wrong courtyard; Tang Rong would not be meeting misfortune at every turn. Their words faulted Madam Wang for not being a kind mother and laid all blame at her feet.

Xin An heard at once and told Steward Zhang to keep the servants’ tongues in check; anyone who dared disrespect the mistress, regardless of whose person they were, would be sold that instant without mercy.

No sooner had Steward Zhang gone than the pregnant Tao Yi Ran next door said her belly felt uncomfortable. The manor physician examined her for a long time and found nothing amiss. Tao Yi Ran then said she felt flustered and uneasy, while Auntie Liu and Auntie Cai kept chanting Amitabha, saying they feared she had offended something.

Xin An sneered: “Are they preparing to say that that courtyard is unfavorable for carrying a child, or that my husband and I bring them ill luck?”