Chapter 70

Chapter 71: Cherries (Part 1)

"Has the Xu family sent cherries?" The matriarch's eyes showed a flicker of confusion. "Please invite those two maids in!"

Nurse Xu smiled and said, "It is said that the cherries were gifted by Her Majesty the Empress. The elder madam specially sent them over for us to try."

The matriarch nodded, and Nurse Xu smilingly invited the two maids from the Xu family in.

The two maids paid their respects to the matriarch, explained their purpose, and the matriarch expressed her thanks, exchanged a few polite words, gave them a reward, and had Nurse Xu escort them out.

She opened a small, finely woven bamboo basket. On the green leaves lay a handful of cherries, red like agate, very beautiful.

The matriarch called for Luoqiao: "Keep half for the elder master, and send the other half to the elder lady."

Luoqiao nodded and left.

When she arrived at the elder lady's place, she encountered Fourth Young Master Luo Zhensheng.

His face was flushed, and upon seeing Luoqiao enter, he hastily greeted her and then took his leave.

Luoqiao thought it was odd.

Normally, the Fourth Young Master would always joke around with them when he saw them. Why did he seem to flee in such a panic today?

The elder lady also seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further and quickly asked her, "Is there any errand from mother?"

Luoqiao then put the matter aside and smiled, "Her Majesty the Empress gifted some cherries to the Xu family, and the Xu family sent some over. The matriarch asked us to bring some for the elder lady to try."

"How beautiful!" The elder lady was very pleased and called for Xinglin: "Send half to the elder master and half to Brother Rui!"

Xinglin nodded and left, also rewarding Luoqiao with a plain handkerchief.

Luoqiao thanked the elder lady and turned to leave, only to see Luo Zhensheng talking to the coachman, Xiao Liu. As he spoke, he pulled a few taels of silver from his sleeve and handed them to Xiao Liu. Just as Xiao Liu reached out to take it, he looked up and saw Luoqiao, quickly pushed the silver away, and ran off.

Luo Zhensheng couldn't help but look over and saw Luoqiao.

He walked over somewhat awkwardly: "I wanted him to help buy some food, but who knew he would be so snobbish!"

Luoqiao smiled slightly: "It's a pity that Brother Xincai isn't here. Otherwise, he could have handled it well."

But in her heart, she thought, "In matters of external procurement, who would turn down such a good deal? It's just that I happened to see it, so it's embarrassing. I should leave early; maybe Xiao Liu will come back on his own to buy things for the Fourth Young Master!"

Then she exchanged a few polite words with Luo Zhensheng and turned back to her room.

In the evening, when the elder master returned, the matriarch hurried to serve him and change his clothes: "Have you eaten?"

The elder master, while letting the matriarch help him undress, nodded: "Yes, I ate at the third brother's place."

The matriarch then had Luoqiao bring out the cherries: "...sent by the elder madam, said to be gifted by Her Majesty the Empress. Although not much, it's the thought that counts."

The elder master acknowledged with a hum, washed his face, sat on the kang, and said, "The third brother's position has been settled; he's been appointed as the Education Commissioner of Sichuan."

"Really!" The matriarch was delighted. "That's wonderful news!"

The elder master nodded: "It's said that the Marquis pulled some strings."

The matriarch's expression slightly faltered, and she hesitated, "What about your position..."

"I'm afraid it's not going to work out!" The elder master sighed deeply.

The matriarch's heart skipped a beat as she sat down beside him and asked in a hushed tone, "What happened?"

"Today, I had a long talk with the third brother. Since the Emperor has appointed Chen Zixiang as the Prime Minister, it means he is determined to push through the new policies. I am aligned with Elder Liu; as long as Chen Zixiang is in power, I have no chance of rising." The patriarch sighed bitterly, "I couldn't see the forest for the trees. Today, my third brother spoke frankly, and I woke up from a dream, understanding the reason." He shook his head as he spoke.

The matriarch hesitated, "Is there no other option?"

"There is," the patriarch said self-deprecatingly, "if the new policies fail to be implemented."

The matriarch fell silent.

"In court, one fears being on the wrong side," the patriarch lamented, "and even more fears changing one's stance. Back then, Elder Liu specifically instructed me to oppose the tea tax issue. The second and third brothers did not participate at that time, which is somewhat better, but I absolutely cannot support the new policies under these circumstances."

The matriarch, having lived in the government office with her father in her early years, naturally understood the patriarch's meaning. As the patriarch said, holding firm without admitting mistakes maintains one's integrity. If one changes stance, no matter who is in power, they will not be reused.

"Then, are we to return to Yuhang..." The matriarch couldn't hide her disappointment.

"Isn't there still Brother Xing?" Though he said this, there was a faint sense of melancholy in his expression.

The couple sat in silence for a long time.

Someone passed by the window, emitting low, cheerful laughter.

The matriarch felt a surge of anger, stood up, and was about to scold loudly. But when she looked up and saw her dejected husband sitting across from her, she feared he would think she was making a big deal out of nothing and venting her anger, thus tarnishing her reputation for virtue. The words on her lips turned into, "Where is Luoqiao? I asked her to bring the cherries, why is it taking so long?"

Du Wei, who was serving nearby, heard their conversation clearly and knew the matriarch's temper was rising. She hurriedly said, "Matriarch, I'll go check." With that, she quickly went to the antechamber.

The antechamber was brightly lit, with Luoqiao, Coral, Daimao, Jade... all present. They were all frantically searching the room like headless chickens.

"What's going on?" Du Wei asked urgently, "The matriarch is urging, why haven't the cherries been brought up yet?"

Luoqiao looked up, her face as pale as paper.

Jade beside her anxiously said, "What should we do? What should we do?" She added, "Who was guarding here just now? Call them one by one and ask. I don't believe the cherries could have flown away!"

Du Wei then understood—they were looking for the cherries.

"No," Daimao's face turned pale, "If this matter escalates, it might be hard to contain!"

"At this point, what does it matter if it's contained or not?" Coral's face was even paler than Luoqiao's, "We must inform the matriarch immediately. Otherwise, the longer it drags on, the more uncomfortable the matriarch will feel... It's better to explain properly. If the matriarch is pleased, maybe it will be fine."

At this critical moment, Luoqiao calmed down, "I will report to the matriarch."

She straightened her back and walked out.

"Luoqiao," Du Wei called out to her, briefly summarizing what the matriarch and patriarch had just said, "...it might not be the right time."

Luoqiao's face turned ashen.

After a long pause, she forced a smile, "Even so, we can't just stand here doing nothing!" With that, she strode out.

Coral clenched her fists in anger, "Find it! Today, we must find out who stole the cherries! I don't believe she could have eaten the cherries and the porcelain plate they were on!"

Daimao hesitated, "Should we inform the matriarch... after all, she is in charge of this household. Maybe she can intercede for Luoqiao."

Upon hearing this, Jade immediately ran out, "I'll go ask the matriarch."

Coral called out, "Hey!" but Jade had already disappeared.

Coral stomped her foot in frustration, "This reckless fool! Doesn't she realize that approaching the matriarch now might make her think we're accusing her?"

Upon hearing this, Daimao was about to chase after her.

Coral sighed, "Let it go, it's too late to chase after her now." She added, "We might as well go and see if we can lend a hand."

Daimao thought it made sense and went with Coral under the eaves.

As they approached, they heard the lady of the house say, "...it's just a plate of cherries, gone is gone, we'll have someone buy more from the East Gate tomorrow!"

"The mistress is right," the lady's voice was laced with cold disdain, "it's just a plate of cherries, yet someone is sneaking around coveting them. If it were gold, wouldn't they blink an eye? Am I living in my own house or in a den of thieves?"

Just then, they saw Di Jin accompanying the mistress.

Coral and Daimao hurried to greet her, "Mistress..."

The mistress's expression was grim, she nodded at them and entered the room.

The three of them listened intently.

At first, it was unclear, only that the mistress's tone was urgent, and she said nothing. Later, her voice suddenly rose a few notches, and they could hear clearly, "...it couldn't have just disappeared. Lock the doors and search for me!"

The mistress responded with a "Yes," and instructed Dujuan to call Hang Mama and Jiang Mama to search the main courtyard and the backyard separately.

Jiang Mama, knowing that the backyard housed several young misses, led the older women to knock on the corner door and then stood still.

One of the older women asked, "Mama, what's wrong? The mistress is waiting for our report."

Jiang Mama smiled, "Most likely, what's lost in the main courtyard is still there. Let's wait until they finish searching there. No need to offend the young misses for nothing."

The older women fell silent—the backyard housed three young misses, one destined to be a noble's wife, another a scholar's wife... Jiang Mama was indeed clever.

Everyone followed Jiang Mama, listening intently to the commotion in the main courtyard.

Soon, they heard an older woman who had gone with Hang Mama to search the rooms report, "Hang Mama, the plate wasn't found, but we found a few cherries."

Jiang Mama was pleased, winked at the older women, and then walked over leisurely, "Mistress, we found nothing here."

The mistress waved Jiang Mama and the others away, her attention fixed on Hang Mama.

"Show me!"

The older woman hurriedly handed over the cherries on a blue-and-white porcelain plate.

A young maid there whispered in defense, "Mistress, I didn't steal any... I really didn't..."

Jiang Mama looked over and saw it was Di Jin from the Fourth Young Master's room.

The mistress didn't even glance at her and went to the lady of the house.

Di Jin was in tears, but she kept glancing towards the east wing, "I really didn't steal any..."

Behind the open door of the east wing, a few young maids peeked out, but none stepped forward to say a word.

Soon, the mistress came out, looked coldly at Di Jin, and said, "Lock her in the woodshed for now. We'll deal with it tomorrow!" Then she looked at everyone, "Everyone, go back to your duties!" Naturally, the older women took Di Jin and locked her in the woodshed.

Di Jin struggled, "Fourth Young Master, Fourth Young Master, I really didn't steal any..."

The door of the east wing stood silent, the dim light stretching long on the white stone steps, soft yet achingly lonely.