“Such a worthless creature – how could she possibly bring good fortune?” the Empress Dowager exclaimed, striking the table.
“Indeed, it is all because of her that so many misfortunes have occurred.”
Gao Lingjun stroked his beard and nodded in agreement.
“Yet she does possess considerable medical skill,” he remarked. “Originally, Duke Jin’an sought to marry her precisely so that she could care for Prince Qing.”
The Empress Dowager spat in disdain.
“Medical skill? If she cannot cure Prince Qing or save His Majesty, what kind of skill is that?” she retorted. “It’s all a fabricated reputation, meant to deceive the ignorant common people.”
“But a fabricated reputation – isn’t that precisely what suits our needs?” Gao Lingjun countered.
The Empress Dowager paused, taken aback.
An exaggerated and hollow reputation for medical skill meant she could not cure Prince Qing, could not save the Emperor, and naturally would be unable to heal Duke Jin’an, whose body was already poisoned to the core. Yet the outside world would still believe she was fully capable of caring well for the Duke.
There was no need to worry that Duke Jin’an might recover; moreover, this would allow the court to maintain a favorable appearance before the public, the officials, and the imperial clan. Was that not perfectly suitable?
“Furthermore,” Gao Lingjun added, “these were the Emperor’s own spoken words. If Your Majesty follows His Majesty’s will and does not interfere or oppose it, the court ministers will also be reassured.”
A new reign brings new courtiers. The reason the ministers so strongly resisted the Empress Dowager’s involvement in governance was their fear that, unfamiliar with state affairs, she might be misled by certain individuals and disrupt the established order, unsettling longsettled interests.
After a moment of hesitation, the Empress Dowager nodded.
“Your Majesty is most wise,” Gao Lingjun said with a bow.
Upon leaving the palace, Gao Lingjun did not return home in his carriage. Instead, he entered a teahouse.
Chen Shi’ba-niang had already been waiting there for quite some time.
“My apologies for the delay,” Gao Lingjun said.
Chen Shi’ba-niang returned the courtesy.
“It is presumptuous of me to ask you here, though it is for no particular matter,” Gao Lingjun remarked, nodding to his attendant.
The attendant stepped forward and presented a small bundle.
A maid from Chen Shi’ba-niang’s household promptly reached out to receive it. When she opened it, she found several scrolls of books inside.
“These are items left behind by the late Prince Huaihui.”
Gao Lingjun said with a gentle smile.
“Few are willing to keep his belongings now, but apart from these, the rest are of little consequence. Yet, to simply discard these books would be a waste.”
So that was it. Chen Shi’ba-niang reached out and picked up one of the scrolls. Seeing that the seal of Prince Ping was still on it, her expression grew somewhat wistful.
“Yes, His Highness was a true lover of books. He often said that if books are not cherished, they are being wasted,” she replied, bowing in gratitude.
“Are you planning to leave the capital?” Gao Lingjun asked again.
Chen Shi’ba-niang nodded.
“My husband has yet to return home since becoming a presented scholar,” she said.
Gao Lingjun nodded.
“That is only proper,” he replied. “Then, let us set this matter aside.”
“Please speak freely, Master Gao. If there is anything you wish to say, you may do so,” Chen Shi’ba-niang said.
“To be honest, the Empress Dowager was quite reluctant to see you resign from teaching the princesses. Moreover, the Crown Prince is now to select a crown princess. With the Emperor and the Empress Dowager both advanced in years, the Imperial Consort ill, the Empress attending to the Emperor, and the Crown Prince in such a state, the Empress Dowager cannot handle the upbringing and guidance alone. Nor is there a mature princess to entrust with the task. Her Majesty still wishes to trouble you, Lady Chen, for some time to look after the future crown princess,” Gao Lingjun explained.
Chen Shi’ba-niang hurriedly bowed, expressing her unworthiness.
“I am but a woman of humble and uncultivated background – how could I dare take on such an important responsibility?” she said.
“Your family affairs come first, and as for your claim of being uncultivated – that cannot be said,” Gao Lingjun said with a light laugh, rising to his feet with a touch of emotion. “After all, the Crown Prince is a man of diminished faculties. Even with careful selection, there is always the fear of another Jia Nanfeng emerging, one who could bring ruin to the court.”
“My Lord!” Chen Shi’ba-niang said, “With important ministers of the court present, such a thing would never occur.”
He had forgotten that her father was one of the key ministers assisting in governance -this was practically an insult to her father.
Gao Lingjun quickly bowed in apology.
“Yes, indeed. This is the Emperor’s realm, and it was originally the late Prince Huaihui’s realm. No matter what, it must not be allowed to fall into ruin,” he said, bowing once more before taking his leave.
Chen Shi’ba-niang returned the courtesy, watching as Gao Lingjun departed. Her gaze then fell back upon the books, and she reached out to gently stroke them.
“Sister!”
A voice suddenly called from outside the door.
Chen Shi’ba-niang started, looking up to see Chen Dan-niang’s head poking through the doorway.
“Why are you here all alone drinking tea?” she asked, eyes wide.
“What are you doing here?” Chen Shi’ba-niang replied, picking up the books as she walked out.
“Grandfather and I came to watch some variety shows,” Chen Dan-niang said with a giggle. “I saw your carriage outside and thought you had already gone home.”
Chen Shi’ba-niang smiled faintly at her but said nothing in response.
“Come watch the show with us, or else once you leave the capital for such a distant place, the people there will speak with a different accent, and the operas they sing will surely be different too…”
Chen Dan-niang chattered on and on, while Chen Shi’ba-niang simply watched her with a smile. Smiling, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“Sister?” Chen Dan-niang noticed she had halted and looked up to see Chen Shi’ba-niang gazing at her thoughtfully. “What’s wrong?”
She reached up to touch her own face.
“Has my makeup smudged?”
Eleven-year-old Chen Dan-niang had already begun accompanying her mother and sisters on social outings, and she now wore light makeup. Being in the early stages of learning, she often lacked a bit of confidence.
Chen Shi’ba-niang chuckled.
“No, it hasn’t,” she said, reaching out to gently tap Chen Dan-niang’s nose before taking her hand. “Let’s go.”
“Sister, are you coming with us to watch the play or not?”
“After watching, we can still go home for dinner. Father is at home today.”
“When are you leaving? Once you leave, will you never come back?”
The chattering, lark-like voice continued without pause.
Standing at the entrance of the teahouse, Chen Shi’ba-niang looked at her.
“No,” she finally replied.
“Won’t you ever come back?” Chen Dan-niang asked with a sorrowful expression.
“No, I’m not leaving,” Chen Shi’ba-niang answered with a faint smile.
Chen Dan-niang looked somewhat surprised and was about to ask more when her gaze shifted to the street.
“Ah? Isn’t that Ban Qin?” she exclaimed, immediately forgetting the previous conversation and pointing ahead.
Ban Qin?
Chen Shi’ba-niang looked over and saw, just as described, an open summer carriage passing by on the street, with two maids seated inside.
“Why are they crying?” Chen Dan-niang asked with a frown, already stepping forward. “I’ll go ask them.”
Chen Shi’ba-niang reached out and pulled her back.
“They are currently in mourning, so it’s only natural for them to cry,” she said. “Don’t go disturb them.”
Chen Dan-niang stopped in her tracks and let out an “oh,” watching the carriage pass by on the street.
“They are really grieving so deeply,” she sighed, her brows still furrowed.
The maid beside Ban Qin tugged at her sleeve and looked ahead.
“Don’t cry anymore,” she said softly. “We’ll be home soon. Don’t let Miss see.”
Ban Qin nodded, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief, but her tears continued to flow uncontrollably.
“Where did you go?”
Seeing them enter, Lady Huang couldn’t help but ask.
“We…” Ban Qin hesitated, unsure how to answer.
The maid spoke up first.
“We went to the gravesite,” she said.
Lady Huang responded with an “oh,” looking at their tear-swollen eyes and sighing.
“Alright, hurry inside now. Don’t stir up sorrow for your mistress,” she reminded them.
The two maids bowed and quickly went in.
“Ban Qin, why didn’t you say it was the Fourth Young Master’s grave we went to?” Ban Qin whispered as they walked.
“Going to a grave is considered inauspicious, but going to the Fourth Young Master’s grave – that’s not the same,” the maid replied.
Ban Qin paused, taken aback.
“Inauspicious?” she asked.
“Of course. Wasn’t the place we just visited unlucky enough?” the maid retorted with a hint of disdain.
Ban Qin couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
“Ban Qin!” she exclaimed, patting the maid’s arm, caught between tears and laughter.
As they chatted, they stepped into the courtyard. Cheng Jiao-niang, who was sitting under the corridor watching two young maids play with a bird, turned her gaze toward them.
“Miss, we went out for a while,” the maid said.
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded, her gaze lingering on their faces.
Their makeup was smudged, their eyes swollen from crying, and their noses were red…
Ban Qin lowered her head to hide her face, while the maid forced a smile.
“Just thinking about it still makes me sad,” she said.
Cheng Jiao-niang responded with an “oh,” glanced at them, and then withdrew her gaze.
“Then we’ll go freshen up,” the maid said, quickly pulling Ban Qin toward the side room. Halfway there, she suddenly stomped her foot and turned back.
“Miss, you know I wasn’t telling the truth,” she said. “You didn’t believe me, and you didn’t ask – yet it makes me feel even more uneasy keeping it to myself.”
Ban Qin stared at her in astonishment.
It seemed Ban Qin was truly heartbroken this time, her behavior turning erratic and peculiar.
Cheng Jiao-niang looked at her and smiled faintly.
“Then, where did you go? Why did you cry so much?” she asked.
“Ban Qin and I went to the Prince Qing Residence,” the maid replied.
The two young maids playing with the bird under the eaves heard this and immediately stopped what they were doing, their expressions startled. They quickly set down their things and stepped back, lowering their heads.
As the maid recounted their visit, Ban Qin couldn’t help but cover her face and weep again.
The maid, being the one telling the story, didn’t cry this time.
“What is there to cry about?” Cheng Jiao-niang said with a light laugh.
“They are just too much,” the maid said. “Why do they even doubt you, Miss?”
“But they aren’t doubting,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied. “What they said is all based on facts.”
The maid looked up at her.
“He was not the ruler, nor am I bound by loyalty as the highest virtue. When faced with a choice, filial piety comes first – naturally, I would choose my family above all else,” Cheng Jiao-niang said. “So, they have no grounds for questioning, and I certainly wouldn’t feel upset or aggrieved over their doubts.”
The maid and Ban Qin stared at her, stunned.
In truth, that was indeed how it was.
It should have been that way from the start!
The thought crossed the maid’s mind, and she grew indignant once more.
“Yet everyone would do the same. I haven’t even questioned them,” she said angrily.
“But people often forget that they, too, are part of ‘everyone,'” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
They remember only what they demand of others, forgetting what they themselves might do in the same situation.
“Once you forget, troubles arise.”
“Exactly, let them be the ones troubled then,” the maid said resentfully.
While the mistress and her maids were still talking, Lady Huang hurried in.
“Sister, someone from the palace has arrived. They say… they say there is to be a wedding,” she said, her voice trembling.
A wedding?
Both the maid and Ban Qin looked over in astonishment.
Cheng Jiao-niang also seemed surprised.
“What wedding?” Fan Jianglin asked.
“Inspector Fan, you jest,” the eunuch said with a polite smile. “This was already settled by His Majesty’s own decree – the marriage between Lady Cheng and Duke Jin’an.”
Fan Jianglin’s expression turned shocked.
“This… this is still valid?” he blurted out.
The eunuch’s face instantly darkened.
“Preposterous! How dare you treat His Majesty’s own word so lightly?”
News of Duke Jin’an’s impending marriage to Lady Cheng spread like the wind, reaching far and wide in less than a day. But before the public had time to discuss and celebrate, another piece of news followed closely behind.
Duke Jin’an had refused the marriage.
