Chapter 257

Chapter 257: Catching Tang Gang Off Guard

After her heartfelt remark, the Grand Matron let Gan Lu help her back to her inner room. When she was settled and lying down, Gan Lu said softly: “Second Young Madam is right, and you must put your mind at ease. Madam can handle the affairs of the residence; over these years she has proven fair and thorough.”

Gan Lu added in a gentle, careful tone: “Auntie Cai has been punished, but she is the Heir Apparent’s nurse. As a stepmother, Madam cannot go too far. Second Young Madam understands this and will not resent Madam.”

The Grand Matron knew all this already, but she said that this incident had let her come to understand Xin An anew: “How could the Old Master’s choice have been wrong?”

She reflected with satisfaction: after trouble broke out, Xin An did not panic; she argued clearly in her own defense, seized the other side’s loopholes to strike back, made a proper fuss to show she was not easy to bully, and knew how to judge the moment and stop at the right time. That was exactly how the wife of the Heir Apparent should conduct herself.

As for coaxing the Hundred Treasures Ruyi out of Tang Gang, the Grand Matron could only say he deserved it. For years he had taken and never given before the Xin Family; it was time he bled.

She thought again how the second boy had, by a twist of fate, married such a fine wife. Perhaps it was because his father’s favoritism had been so blatant all these years that even the Old Master could not bear to see it, and so he gave the second boy this compensation.

Gan Lu made a suggestion that suited the Grand Matron’s heart perfectly and said: “When spring comes next year, may I accompany you to live outside for a time? Let Madam and the Marquis handle the household affairs.”

The Grand Matron agreed gladly. The two master and servant spoke in low voices as the candlelight flickered.

When Xin An returned to Qiu Shi Courtyard, Nan Feng came up to her with a grin and said: “Young Madam, you would not believe it; the neighbors were fit to burst with anger today. In the morning, when Madam and Young Madam sent generous gifts, the other courtyard kept silent. They say the Heir Apparent woke and, when he learned the truth, flew into such a rage he split his wound.”

Nan Feng chuckled and added: “At noon, when we stewed spare ribs, the Chun Hua Courtyard next door shut their door tight to avoid seeing it. But a gust of wind came along and carried the smell right over. Even Heaven is on our side. They have hoisted a rock only to smash their own feet. Serves them right.”

The rift between the two courtyards only deepened. In this round, Qiu Shi Courtyard held the advantage, and for quite some time the people of Chun Hua Courtyard would not be able to bounce back. “Earlier, because they had three pregnant women in their yard, they were strutting like peacocks,” Nan Feng said with relish, “showing off whenever they saw our courtyard’s important moments, speaking in innuendo. Look how arrogant they thought they were.”

Xin An sipped her hawthorn water in small mouthfuls, mind turning over plans for her next move. [She pondered her next steps.]

On a winter night of knife-cold wind, just before closing the gates, the doorkeeper at Duke Xiang’s residence saw several men arrive carrying a large hemp sack. They claimed to be from the Marquis Weiyuan residence and said the marquis had a gift for Duke Xiang.

Duke Xiang looked into the sack at the half-dead man in black and raised an eyebrow as he said, voice full of scorn: “What is the meaning of this? Do you intend to threaten me?”

Zhu You, laboring on the country estate, had slowly improved; he could now eat a full bowl of rice. Though Duke Xiang was satisfied with that result, it did not mean the enmity between him and Tang Gang was over. At this point he felt that in the Marquis Weiyuan household only Tang Mo was pleasing to the eye. As for Tang Rong, a dignified face masking a belly full of lechery and theft, he was no good thing at all.

Duke Xiang had already drafted a memorial to lodge a complaint. Though he, as the victim, had not pursued Tang Rong, Tang Gang had the gall to toss him a near-dead man as if to intimidate him; it was outrageous.

The man had been alive when delivered. His wounds looked grave but were mostly superficial, not harming muscle or bone. No one knew what Duke Xiang did, but soon the man in black breathed his last, and the incident became: Tang Gang had tossed a corpse into the Duke Xiang residence in deliberate retaliation.

At court the next morning, Duke Xiang publicly struck first, catching Tang Gang completely off guard. He had never imagined Duke Xiang would dare to be the thief who cried thief. The two shouted themselves red-faced on the spot until the Emperor, face dark, interrupted them. Afterward they continued their dispute in the Imperial Study until the Emperor threw down the memorial, and only then did they quiet down. He gave them three days to investigate and make everything clear; if they failed, severe punishment would follow.

Originally, Tang Rong’s latest “accident” had been successfully concealed. This quarrel, however, pushed him to the eye of the storm. Whether Tang Rong would “thank” his dear father for such painstaking efforts was unknown, but the people outside truly did not know what to say about his string of misfortunes.

Someone sighed in conversation: “How can a person be this unlucky? How many times is this now?”

Another said: “He must have offended someone; this run of bad luck is too uncanny.”

A third wondered aloud: “Could he have collided with something unclean? How else do you explain it?”

Once or twice could be happenstance; so many times meant something was wrong. Some even speculated that Tang Rong and Tao Yi Ran’s Eight Characters were incompatible; otherwise, how could two people who had gone smoothly before marriage become beset with disaster once together?

“I say the Tao family’s daughter is too forceful,” one voice judged.

Another countered: “No, the match was spoiled. I heard that back then the Old Marquis set eyes on a girl of the Xin Family at first glance. After returning in triumph, the Grand Matron of the marquisate even took the Xin girl’s birth characters to the Astronomical Bureau, and they said her Eight Characters were excellent.”

“I think that must be it,” someone else said. “Haven’t you noticed how the second young master’s days have grown ever more prosperous since his marriage? My master says his work has gone well; just the other day he rendered another service and earned merit…”

As the year’s end approached, the capital was already lively, and Tang Rong’s affair added rich fodder for tea-time talk. Fortunately, under Madam Wang’s control, the marquis’s residence remained calm, and stray rumors were kept outside the gates.

Xin An was not afraid of Tang Gang investigating. First, the beating of Zhao Wen and Ma Qi had occurred some time ago; second, Tang Mo had arranged things in Tang Rong’s name from the start. Any investigation would only trace back to Tang Rong.

When Lin Yao invited Xin An to admire chrysanthemums in hopes of learning the inside story, Xin An did not hide matters before her and poured out her grievances, saying: “Call it my poor fate. And just my luck, my husband happened to be away from home these two days. If my heart were not clean, I would certainly have been framed again.”

Lin Yao could hardly believe her ears. She had never imagined Tang Gang’s favoritism would go so far. Patting Xin An’s arm to comfort her, she said: “Let me tell you, those who are favored beyond reason rarely meet good ends.”

She waved a hand and added with calm conviction: “Look around at nobles and commoners alike; the one favored without rhyme or reason is generally the one who accomplishes nothing, while the one not favored often lives better.”

Xin An joked with a little grin: “Then what am I to do? I happen to be the one my father favors.”

Lin Yao laughed and tapped her: “Your father loves you, but he is not unfair to your brother. What is wrong with a father cherishing a daughter who has married out?”

Then, putting on an air, she pinched her fingers as if calculating fate and said: “I divine that you are blessed with great fortune.”

Xin An played along with a bow and said: “The immortal’s predictions are indeed efficacious. To thank the immortal for her protection, this humble believer offers a box of sea cucumbers of the finest quality. This treasure not only nourishes the foundation and strengthens the essence; when taken by a man, it grants the vigor of dragon and tiger.”

She presented it with mock solemnity and said: “May the immortal accept it with a smile.”

“You wicked girl,” Lin Yao laughed, and she darted forward to tickle Xin An’s ribs as she teased: “How dare you make sport of this immortal? See if I do not punish you. I will get a full pound and pour it down Second Younger Brother Tang’s throat, and we shall see whether you can handle the consequences.”

Xin An burst out laughing and begged for mercy between giggles: “Hahaha, good elder sister, spare me; hahaha, immortal, forgive me.”