Chapter 350

Chapter 351: Tang Rong Takes Another Noble Concubine

Being able to come and go from the marquisate was a heaven?sent boon for Luo Qi Wen. With the marquisate as a backer, as long as he made the list in the Imperial Examinations, his future would be markedly different.

Tang Mo could clearly feel Luo Qi Wen’s excitement. He mused that he should speak with Tang Nan again; if possible, they could befriend some poor but promising students at the Imperial Academy and, at critical moments, draw them in to become the marquisate’s retainers.

Among the powerholders of the Imperial Court, who did not have former students and old friends spread throughout the realm, flourishing like a great tree?

Luo Qi Wen worked to calm himself; the marquisate was a great tree, the young master a sturdy thigh to cling to, and he held on all the tighter.

Tang Mo said: “Once you are in the household, just focus on tutoring my two younger cousins well and strive to make my father look at you with new eyes. For other matters, keep your eyes open. My elder brother will soon leave the capital for an outside post; the next three years will be my window.”

As for arranging an accident on Tang Rong’s journey to take office, he did not intend to saddle Luo Qi Wen with that plan; the man could not yet manage it.

Luo Qi Wen agreed solemnly and decided to rein in his distractions from that day forward and delve into his studies. Such an opportunity had come with difficulty; he had to seize it hard.

That evening, Tang Mo introduced Luo Qi Wen to Tang Gang, saying that a colleague had recommended him: “His learning and temperament are good. My cousins Tang Chu, Tang Xu, and Tang Qi are still young; if the elderly gentlemen lecture them, they may not take to it.” He added: “This man is very likely to place high in the next Imperial Examinations.”

It was not hard for the marquisate to hire tutors; once the word was out, many sought introductions. Tutors for Tang Nan and Tang Hua had long been chosen and would enter the household at the beginning of next month. There were many candidates for the other three boys as well, so Tang Gang asked with curiosity: “Tell me your thinking.”

Tang Mo did not hide his plan: “If Luo Qi Wen places high, we need only extend a light hand to secure him a good post. Our marquisate is shifting from arms to letters. It is plain that neither my elder brother nor I are cut from that cloth. The branches on our great tree are still too few.”

“We lacked the opportunity before, but now, with the five younger cousins and all the scholars in our household, it is only natural to do this.”

“Our cousin Wang Shi will sit for the exams this year. I have asked carefully; his name on the list is almost a foregone conclusion.” He gave Tang Gang a meaningful look. “When the Herbal Cuisine House opened, all those people Cousin Yao Ming brought—Father, did you not covet such connections?”

Venerable teachers, scholars with bright futures—what family would not want to befriend them?

Tang Gang was tempted but still hesitant, so Tang Mo said: “Father, as the saying goes, when power is in your hand, you should wield it. If you hold power yet do not use it, is that not waste?” He added: “Today, Father has authority, and court officials flatter and curry favor. If one day you retire and are merely a marquis, that title alone will not suffice.” [The old man was stingy with power, always fearing that using it would spend it away. He would not even pull his own people up. But the more hands that add firewood, the higher the flame. How could power be used up? If you do not support your own while you hold it, how can you expect warmth when you become nothing later?]

Glancing at Tang Mo, Tang Gang said: “Call in this Luo Qi Wen you speak of. I must see his mettle.” He wondered whether Second Son’s earlier playboy ways had been an act or real; the man before him now felt unfamiliar. It seemed likely that over the next three years the second would bring many more surprises. Reluctant as he was to admit it, the second now looked more capable than the first. The elder was ornamental; the younger was substantial. He could not help but worry for his eldest son, praying that this stint of training would bear fruit, or else the marquisate’s title might change hands. He could petition His Majesty the Emperor for the ennoblement, but whether the title would land on the eldest’s head still depended on His Majesty’s nod, and the Emperor clearly favored the second. [Alas…]

Luo Qi Wen arrived at the marquisate the next evening and passed the academic tests of Tang Gang and Tang Yu without issue. Tang Gang now felt that Tang Mo had been right: should Luo Qi Wen place high, he would become a protégé of the marquisate, another branch on its sturdy trunk.

As for Wang Shi of the Wang family, perhaps he should inquire as well? “He has a tutor; there should be no problem,” said Madam Wang, puzzled as to why Tang Gang had suddenly come to care about Wang Shi; when had he ever proactively concerned himself with these relatives? Tang Gang said: “There are only three months until the examinations. He needs to prepare well. Go back to the Wang family and ask whether the marquisate can help in any way. If he needs further guidance, we can find another tutor for him, and he may consult our household’s library. One should show more care for one’s own nephew.”

This was like the sun rising in the west. Although Madam Wang did not yet understand what Tang Gang was thinking, she naturally had to thank him for such a favor; besides, once Wang Shi placed high, there would inevitably be matters requiring Tang Gang’s help.

On receiving the news, Wang Shi came quickly and borrowed more than a dozen volumes from the marquisate’s library. In the past, their cousin had allowed them to borrow freely, but an explicit word from the uncle was different; if not now, then when?

When Tang Rong learned of this, he immediately understood Tang Mo’s plan, and his chest burned with stifled anger. [I have not even left yet and he dares to occupy household resources openly. Once I am gone, he will likely have the final say in everything.]

But he had no time to act, because he was about to be a groom again.

At Madam Wang’s suggestion, Tao Yi Ran personally arranged for Tang Rong to take a noble concubine named Cao Ling Shuang, whose father was a minor sixth?rank official. As early as last year, that Master Cao had wanted to offer his daughter to curry favor with Tang Rong, but back then Tang Rong had declined for the sake of his reputation. A few days ago, Tang Gang personally finalized the match.

The entry of a noble concubine differed from that of a low?ranked concubine; with a cup of Concubine Tea, her status was established. The Cao family carried her in through the side gate of the marquisate in a small sedan. Her dowry maids and trousseau were all prepared, and Chun Hua Courtyard was decorated, lending some festivity.

Early the next morning, Tao Yi Ran drank Concubine Cao’s Concubine Tea, gave a meeting gift, and stayed for the meal. That afternoon, Concubine Cao suffered abdominal pain; the household physician diagnosed an early onset of her monthly cycle and prescribed a remedy. After two days she was fine, and no one—not even Concubine Cao—gave the matter further thought.

Xin An remarked: “The pain was too odd; perhaps she ate something unclean.” Cui Ping sighed and said: “I fear this Concubine Cao will be lonely to old age.” Turning her head, Xin An then understood and said: “It cannot be, can it?”

Tao Yi Ran was someone who only wanted to enjoy comfort. Earlier, Xin An had thought that in the previous life Tao Yi Ran had truly loved Tang Rong; over these months, that seemed less likely. She probably just wanted to rely on a man to live well; otherwise why would she, after that one time in bed with Tang Rong, refuse to be close to him again?

Cui Ping only smiled without speaking. She felt that what the Heir Apparent’s wife next door had done was a common tactic among the inner?court ladies of great houses: a noble concubine of decent birth following him to a post for three years, during which no one could oversee her. In the eyes of outsiders she would be the Heir Apparent’s wife, and if she had a child, she would become a threat to the primary wife.

Cut off that path and the threat disappears. Besides, the Heir Apparent’s wife next door already held three children, one of them a son; there was truly no need for her to go to the post and suffer losses.

Xin An quickly grasped the calculations and sighed softly, unsure how to judge it…