No wonder he waited for him for so long today without him returning. The servant only said he went out to visit a friend – so this is the friend he was visiting.
Qin Shi’san did mention he would try to find a way to explain the matter to the Gao family and handle it as appropriately as possible.
When he thought about it, both the Qin and Gao families are related to the imperial family. Although they haven’t had particularly close interactions, they’ve never been on bad terms either.
Even though it’s clear that Young Master Gao won’t easily let go of his resentment toward Cheng Jiao-niang, easing the tension a little couldn’t hurt.
“What did you say? And what did he say?” Zhou Liu-lang asked.
Qin Shi’san-lang smiled.
“I spoke honestly, and he responded with equal honesty,” he said.
…
The Desheng Pavilion was at its busiest time of the day under the night sky, with laughter, chatter, singing, and music echoing through its floors.
“Sister.”
The door to Lady Zhu’s room was pulled open.
A gorgeously dressed official courtesan entered with a smile, followed by an exasperated Chun Ling.
“Lady Lu, my sister is already resting,” she called out.
But the courtesan paid her no mind and looked directly at Lady Zhu, who was sitting and reading a book.
“Are you going to sleep already?” she asked with a smile.
Courtisans kept opposite hours – wearing informal attire during the day and lavish outfits at night. At this moment, Lady Zhu, with her hair down and in casual clothes, clearly appeared to be settling in for the night and no longer receiving guests.
Lady Zhu replied that she was.
“Sister, you truly have it good now – so carefree and at ease,” the courtesan said with a smile. “Not like the rest of us, who still have to smile and flatter our patrons just to earn our keep.”
Lady Zhu lowered her head over her book and did not respond.
“Lady Lu, then you’d better hurry. Don’t let Master Wang be taken by someone else,” Chun Ling interjected.
The courtesan shot her a glance.
“Sister, my qin is damaged. Since you haven’t been using it much lately, I was hoping to borrow it for today,” she said.
“Surely the Madam hasn’t left you short of a qin…” Chun Ling muttered discontentedly.
Before she could finish, Lady Zhu cut her off.
“Take it and use it,” she said, setting down her book and offering a faint smile.
“Sister, your qin is so valuable,” Chun Ling said unhappily.
“Valuable? No matter how precious something is, if it sits unused, it’s just an object,” Lady Zhu replied. “Sister Lu’s skill with the qin is exceptional – she does no dishonor to my instrument.”
The courtesan immediately beamed, stepping forward to personally pick up the qin and express her thanks.
“Sister, you have such a way with words – no wonder you’ve earned the favor of both Young Master Gao and Lady Cheng,” she said with a smile.
“Lady Lu, if you don’t know how to speak gracefully, perhaps it’s better to say nothing. That way, you might win a bit more favor from your patrons too,” Chun Ling retorted.
The courtesan turned to glare at her.
“Oh, you little maid! That tongue of yours really knows how to offend,” she said irritably.
“I don’t depend on you for food or drink – why should I sweet-talk you?” Chun Ling sniffed.
“Chun Ling!” Lady Zhu scolded.
Chun Ling pouted and stepped back.
The courtesan couldn’t be bothered to argue further. Holding the qin, she turned and left.
“Sister…” Chun Ling stepped forward to speak.
“You may go now. I’ll read for a while and then rest,” said Lady Zhu.
Chun Ling had no choice but to assent and leave.
The room returned to silence. Lady Zhu held her book and read slowly. It had been a long time since she had such leisure for reading, and even longer since she had read without any ulterior motive – almost as if she had returned to her childhood, when her father personally guided her through her earliest lessons.
Men study for fame and rank; women study for themselves.
But she hadn’t been able to study for her own sake for long before her family met with misfortune. After being consigned to the Music Bureau, whether she was studying or mastering skills, it was never for herself – only to please men.
No, perhaps that wasn’t entirely right.
Wasn’t pleasing men, after all, also a way of surviving for herself?
In the quiet room, time seemed to stand still. She had no idea how much time had passed when suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.
“Lady Lu, my sister is already asleep…” Chun Ling’s voice called out.
“Asleep? How could anyone sleep at a time like this?” a woman’s voice retorted, and the door was pulled open abruptly.
Lady Lu hurried in, her face flushed with wine.
“Sister,” she said urgently, “something terrible has happened.”
Lady Zhu looked at her.
“I just heard from Master Wang that someone went to Young Master Gao and told him the conflict with the Cheng family was all because of you,” she said anxiously.
Lady Zhu smiled faintly.
“Well, it was because of me,” she replied.
“No, it wasn’t like that,” Lady Lu said, sitting down and glancing toward the door before lowering her voice. “It was the Thirteenth Young Master of the Qin family who said this was all your scheme – that you were using the Cheng family to free yourself from Young Master Gao’s attentions. He claimed that the Fourth Young Master of the Cheng family was entirely innocent, that he had never even interacted with you, and that you deliberately summoned him here to stir up conflict between the two families.”
When the name “Thirteenth Young Master of the Qin family” reached her ears, Lady Zhu abruptly sat up straight. But as the words that followed sank in, her mind seemed to explode into chaos.
She could no longer make out what Lady Lu was saying – her ears were filled with a clamor of indistinct noise.
“…Sister, you must be on your guard…”
“…Now you’ve managed to offend both families…”
“…I have to go now – I was in the middle of entertaining guests and slipped away just to warn you…”
“Sister! Sister!”
Someone was shaking her fiercely, and the sharp pinch on her arm brought physical pain. It was this that finally snapped Lady Zhu back to reality. She looked blankly at Chun Ling.
“Sister, are you alright?” Chun Ling asked worriedly.
Lady Zhu shook her head.
“He said… it was all my doing…” she murmured, tears slipping down her cheeks.
“Sister! Sister!” Chun Ling began to cry even faster than her, sobbing, “It’s all my fault! I’ll go and explain to Young Master Qin!”
As she stood up to leave, Lady Zhu reached out and grabbed her.
“What would you even say to him? He’s not wrong – it is because of me,” she said.
“Sister!” Chun Ling dropped to her knees, weeping bitterly with her face to the floor. “Sister, no, it’s not you! How could he say such a thing? How could he speak about you like that! For the sake of that Lady Cheng, how could he falsely accuse you like this? He doesn’t understand anything!”
For the sake of that Lady Cheng…
Lady Zhu smiled again.
“He should say that,” she said. “He should say exactly that – it’s the right thing to say. Everyone protects those they care about, doing everything they can to help them, support them, shield them…”
“But he still shouldn’t harm you for Lady Cheng’s sake!” Chun Ling cried. “Sister, you’ve been nothing but sincere to him. If it weren’t for him, how could you have ever…”
“Shut up!”
Lady Zhu’s voice rose to a sharp cry.
Chun Ling trembled in fright and looked up at her, not daring to weep any longer.
Lady Zhu seemed startled by her own voice as well.
That harsh, piercing, almost shrew-like tone – was it still the same voice she knew so well, the one praised as melodious as a lark’s?
This ugly sound…
Was it because of the unbearable truth she suddenly never wanted to recall again?
It wasn’t for his sake that she refused to entertain Young Master Gao. It wasn’t, it wasn’t, it wasn’t!
Lady Zhu’s hands clenched tightly at her collar, shaking her head desperately as if she could shake off all those memories and make them disappear.
“He did nothing wrong. That’s what sincerity is.”
“But in this Desheng Pavilion, there is no sincerity. I have never been sincere toward anyone. Do not speak such words again.”
Chun Ling looked at her through her tears.
“Sister,” she sobbed.
“Haven’t such words and such actions harmed enough people already?” Lady Zhu said.
Chun Ling responded with a sob and kowtowed, pressing her forehead to the floor.
“Sister, please don’t be sad,” she choked out, her voice trembling with emotion.
I’m not sad. I’m not sad.
Lady Zhu tightened her grip on the book in her hand and turned to look into the bronze mirror.
I must live well – I must live a good life.
…
With a sharp clatter, Young Master Gao flung the golden cup to the ground in irritation.
Two trembling maids hurried forward to pick it up.
“Get out!”
At his roar, the two maids reacted as if granted a pardon, scrambling out of the room in haste.
These past few days, the young master had been cooped up at home like a caged beast, his temper growing more frightening by the day. Already, two maids had been beaten so severely they could no longer rise, and it was clear they had only days left to live. Every servant attending him was on edge, terrified they might be the next to suffer.
“Fourteenth Young Master, I think Young Master Qin has a point,” a retainer advised cautiously. “This matter is indeed quite suspicious.”
“Suspicious?” Young Master Gao sneered. “Of course it’s suspicious. But so what?”
The retainer looked somewhat puzzled.
“Young Master, if that’s the case, shouldn’t we avoid falling into someone else’s trap? Antagonizing this Lady Cheng will only make certain people very happy,” he said. “Moreover, before the master left, he reminded us that now is not the time to deal with Lady Cheng. The urgent matter is the appointment of the Crown Prince…”
“Why should the Crown Prince’s appointment be a cause for concern?” Young Master Gao interrupted impatiently. “Isn’t it a foregone conclusion? Are they not going to appoint Prince Ping, but instead that fool?”
“It’s best to be cautious in all matters,” the retainer replied with a calm smile.
“Cautious – precisely why we must be cautious of that Cheng lady,” Young Master Gao retorted coldly. “Qin Shi’san is right, and I know it. This time, we were played for fools. But that Cheng lady is also vile.”
“If she knew she was being manipulated, why didn’t she apologize and admit her mistake?”
“Claiming she had no choice but to act – making this affair seem absurd would have been the best approach. Otherwise, it could be used against us.”
“But if she had apologized and admitted her mistake, wouldn’t that still make the situation absurd? Why should I become the laughingstock of the entire city? It’s clear she is malicious and holds no respect for our Gao family.”
Young Master Gao, thinking about how he had been lying low at home like a dog with its tail between its legs – unable to show his face – and realizing this humiliating situation would drag on for a long time, furiously smashed the last remaining teacup in front of him to the ground.
“This is utterly infuriating!”
“This is utterly infuriating!”
At the same time, Second Master Cheng was also slamming his hand fiercely on the table. In front of him stood several teacups and saucers, but he couldn’t bring himself to smash them.
After all, that was money. The family was already so strapped that they could barely put food on the table, counting the days until the end of the month or the start of the next, when the interest from the shops would finally come in.
“Master, is Young Master Gao still refusing to see you?” Second Madam Cheng asked.
Second Master Cheng let out a heavy sigh, his expression growing even darker.
“I’ve tried requesting an audience many times and called in numerous favors, but all of them…” He shook his head and slammed the table again. “It’s all because of that wretched girl and Si-lang’s mess!”
As he spoke, he stood up.
“What’s infuriating is that wretched girl is still living comfortably with the Zhous, and Si-lang is hiding in his courtyard to ‘recuperate’ – while I’m left to deal with all the trouble and consequences!”
Second Master Cheng seethed with resentment.
“I’ll submit another petition to strip him of his jinshi title. That should show everyone I’m not just putting on an act.”
Before his words faded, a sharp sound of spitting was heard from outside the hall.
“You disgraceful wretch! How dare you even think of stripping my son of his jinshi status!”
Second Master Cheng and Second Madam Cheng were momentarily stunned.
“That… sounded like Brother’s voice?” Second Master Cheng said.
Second Madam Cheng gasped and looked toward the door.
“It’s not just ‘like’ – it really is Brother!” she exclaimed in surprise.
Outside the door, First Master Cheng, draped in a cloak and covered in the dust of travel, strode in leaning on his cane. The sharp, rhythmic taps of his cane seemed to pierce straight through Second Master Cheng’s eardrums.
“You shameless wretch! How dare you stir up trouble with the younger generation -take a good look at yourself first!”
“You good-for-nothing! Before you even think of accusing a junior, I’ll charge you with dividing the family estate and hiding assets!”
