Chapter 61
Chapter 61: Madam Bai’s Plan Falls Apart
The Eldest Young Madam’s courtyard was locked.
Inside there were cries and also voices arguing.
“I must go tell Father and Mother,” they could faintly hear the Eldest Young Madam’s voice. “This cannot be dragged out.”
There were also voices trying to persuade her.
“Eldest Young Madam, you mustn’t. Let’s think of another way!”
“If you tell Lord Marquis and Madam, none of us in this whole room will survive. We can’t bear that.”
“Eldest Young Madam, you are also responsible. You are the young madam of this courtyard. Think of yourself!”
Some maidservants were crying too.
The young maidservant who came to report said that the little young master Luo Li Qin was in a coma.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan heard the broken phrases from inside. It boiled down to one thing: everyone in the courtyard was stopping Madam Wen from telling the truth about the child’s coma. They wanted to invite a physician themselves and secretly treat him, so they would not be blamed by the Marquis Manor and Madam.
Outrageous!
The Marquis of Zhen Nan did not bother to give orders to maidservants or old maids. He walked straight up and pounded on the door: “Open the gate!”
A flash of cold light passed through the Marchioness’s eyes. She still needed to stall a bit longer, to wait for Dharma Master Hui Neng to arrive.
So she pulled on the Marquis of Zhen Nan and said: “Lord Marquis, don’t frighten your daughter-in-law. This is your daughter-in-law’s courtyard. You are the father-in-law. How can you just force your way in?”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan shook her off: “If anything happens to A Qin, no one in this courtyard will live.”
That was his eldest legitimate grandson.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan did not care much about his sons and daughters, but he liked that clever, cute little grandson very much.
He was truly anxious.
The Marchioness said: “Let’s wait for Dharma Master Hui Neng first.”
As soon as Hui Neng came, everything would be easy to handle. Before night fell, they could bring Bai Ci Rong back home.
But the Marquis of Zhen Nan could not wait. He kept pounding on the door. When those inside still refused to open it, he raised his leg and kicked.
He was a military general, and very strong. With a few kicks, he broke the courtyard gate open.
Madam Wen and all the maidservants and old maidservants came out of the house together.
“Father-in-law…” Madam Wen was crying as she knelt before the Marquis of Zhen Nan. “Father-in-law, your daughter-in-law has no way to live. Such a big thing has happened. I truly don’t know what to do.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan asked anxiously: “Where is the child?”
The wet nurse pulled on Madam Wen and said: “Eldest Young Madam, calm down. No matter what you have to say, you should say it to Lord Marquis and Madam in private.”
“No, I want to say it openly. I don’t want to cover up my shame,” Madam Wen cried.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan really wanted to step past them and go inside to see the child, but Madam Wen and all the maidservants and old maids were kneeling all over the ground.
The Marchioness pretended to scold them when she saw this: “Such a small matter, why are you so panicked? Let us in at once.”
Madam Wen wiped her tears and said: “Yes, yes!”
The wet nurse and the maidservants helped her up and moved aside to make way.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan asked: “Which room does A Qin stay in?”
The wet nurse shivered with fear and pointed to the east side room.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan went in at once.
The Marchioness hurried in after him.
But the room was empty.
Madam Wen and the group of maidservants and old maids were sobbing and wailing.
“Where is A Qin?” The blood rushed to the Marquis of Zhen Nan’s head.
“Xiang Lan, go and bring the little young master back,” Madam Wen said, her voice thick with tears. “Father-in-law, Mother, you two are the only ones I can rely on. Only the two of you can save me.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan was beside himself with worry, and this muddle-headed daughter-in-law was driving him mad.
This woman kept crying. No one knew where the child had been carried off to, yet she was still here apologizing and begging for mercy.
“Where is A Qin? Where are you going to bring him back from?” the Marquis of Zhen Nan shouted.
Madam Wen and the others seemed shocked awake.
She stopped crying and opened her eyes wide to look at the Marquis of Zhen Nan, then at the Marchioness: “A Qin… he is just a little child. I was afraid of scaring him…”
“How is he?”
“…So I had someone carry him out to play,” Madam Wen said.
“What?” The Marchioness’s expression changed. “Carried him out to play? Don’t you lie to me!”
Madam Wen shrank back, very timid: “Mother, I…I did not say anything to anyone. Please don’t be angry. A Qin, he…”
The hand hidden in the Marchioness’s sleeve trembled a little.
She realized something was wrong.
A while ago, when Concubine Song became pregnant and did not lose the child, the Marchioness had written a letter to Yuhang, asking the Bai family to arrange for people to enter the manor.
To her surprise, the people from the Bai family and their gifts had arrived today. That part had been unexpected.
What she herself had planned, though, was for Luo Li Qin to fall into a coma.
There were several maidservants in Madam Wen’s courtyard that the Marchioness had sent in. A young maidservant watched the child’s every move. Just as the Marchioness had expected, the child finally slept as if dead.
That would definitely alarm the Marquis of Zhen Nan.
But unexpectedly, the child was not in his room. Madam Wen was even saying he had been carried out to play.
Just then, a little child’s happy voice rang out at the door: “Grandfather, Grandfather!”
His voice was loud, but he pronounced it more like “zhou,” which made it sound extra cute.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan stepped over the threshold. He saw his little grandson running happily in the courtyard, healthy and rosy-cheeked. It was like drinking a cup of ice water on a burning summer day. His whole body felt refreshed.
He half crouched down: “A Qin.”
The little child threw himself into his arms and hugged his neck: “Zhouzhou, Zhoufu.”
The Marquis of Zhen Nan burst out laughing.
The Marchioness swayed on her feet.
How could this be!
She shot a vicious look at the maidservant who had gone to report earlier.
That maidservant looked as if struck by lightning. She stared blankly at the lively little young master in front of her.
The little child called “Grandmother” again.
The Marchioness’s face did not recover its color for a long time, so the Marquis of Zhen Nan glanced at her and asked: “What is wrong with you?”
“I am happy,” the Marchioness said. She moved closer and took the little child’s hand, forcing a big smile. “A Qin has grown taller again today.”
Then she looked at Madam Wen.
That glance was full of poisonous hatred: “The child is fine. What were you all making such a fuss about?”
Madam Wen’s eyes were swollen: “Mother, it’s because…”
The wet nurse boldly grabbed Madam Wen’s hand: “Young Madam!”
The Marchioness’s plan had failed. Her heart was full of disappointment and anger, and she was also upset over how to clean up the mess next. Her temper rose, and her voice became sharp and high: “You old hag, what are you hiding for your master?”
Madam Wen shook off the wet nurse and, ignoring all the maidservants and old maids in the room, said to the Marquis of Zhen Nan and the Marchioness: “The other day, Grandmother heard that A Qin kept fussing at night, so she sent over a pair of golden qilin statues to guard the house for the child.
“Who knew that just now, that pair of golden qilin went missing. Early this morning, I saw A’Yin come over. He even asked about the qilin on purpose. When he left, he went into this room. I vaguely saw him take something out.
“That pair of golden qilin was given by Grandmother. Together they weigh three jin. How could I ever pay that back? He should not have taken them. Even if he doesn’t think of the child, he still shouldn’t take Grandmother’s things without asking.
“With such valuable items lost, which one of the maidservants and old maids in my courtyard, including me, could get away from this?
“I wanted to go and confront him and make him return them. I also wanted to ask Father and Mother to stand up for me and give this daughter-in-law some justice. But my maidservants and old maids all stopped me.
“They said the Eldest Young Master only took them to play with. We could just quietly ask for them back and must not stir things up. If he is accused of ‘stealing,’ the Eldest Young Master would lose face. He is going to be the heir apparent in the future.”
When she finished, the whole room went silent.
This was exactly what the Marchioness had forced her to explain clearly.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan held his grandson and then looked at the Marchioness. He gave a calm order: “No one is allowed to leave this courtyard. Madam Wen, close the gate. No one may step out, not even half a step.”
The Marchioness panicked: “Lord Marquis, A’Yin, he…”
“Madam, this matter is very suspicious. We can slowly check the accounts later. I will first go get the golden qilin back,” the Marquis of Zhen Nan said coldly.
He smiled at Luo Li Qin, then handed him over to the wet nurse.
The Marquis of Zhen Nan strode out.
The Marchioness wanted to follow, but Madam Wen herself closed the courtyard gate.
Tears filled her eyes: “Mother, Father-in-law told you not to go out.”
The Marchioness raised her hand, wanting to slap her: “You dare block me?”
The maidservant who had come with Madam Wen as part of her dowry rushed over and hugged the Marchioness’s leg: “Madam, please calm down. Please spare our Eldest Young Madam.”
While things were in chaos here and the Marchioness was burning with anxiety, wanting to go to Luo Yin’s outer study to take a look, the Old Madam and Luo Ning arrived.