Chapter 9: Scheme

Chapter 9: The Scheme

Master Wei’s Grand Water and Land Ceremony was scheduled to last seven days.

Today was the first day. After the opening rituals, the family members were free to return home and were only required to come back on the seventh day for the Farewell to the Saints ceremony.

Xin He had originally intended to terminate her pregnancy today, but Zhou Shuisheng’s unexpected arrival forced her to put that plan on hold.

Her immediate priority was to placate Zhou Shuisheng, lest he spread rumors to Wei Mingjin.

Zhou Shuisheng demanded two hundred taels.

While it was true that the Wei family possessed immense wealth, Master Wei was notoriously parsimonious with his concubines. Since Xin He had entered the household, he had rarely provided her with new clothes, hairpins, or jewelry, let alone any silver.

But Zhou Shuisheng refused to believe her.

His response was blunt: "If you can’t pay, I’ll go to Young Master Wei. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to oblige."

Xin He gritted her teeth, seething with hatred for Zhou Shuisheng. Yet, Wei Mingjin was her Achilles’ heel, and with Zhou Shuisheng holding this threat over her, Xin He had no choice but to yield.

Finally, they agreed that Xin He would bring the banknotes on the seventh day, during the Farewell to the Saints ceremony. Only then did Zhou Shuisheng depart, seemingly satisfied.

But Xin He was consumed by anxiety. How could she possibly raise two hundred taels in just seven days?

And then there was Wei Mingjin.

They had an unspoken agreement: she would terminate her pregnancy today, and in return, Wei Mingjin would allow her to leave the household. But now she had broken her promise.

Although Wei Mingjin had treated her with care and concern on their descent from the mountain today, Xin He knew better than anyone that he was a master of superficial gestures.

She needed to provide Wei Mingjin with a satisfactory explanation for today’s events, and she couldn't afford to delay dealing with Zhou Shuisheng either.

Xin He felt trapped between a wolf and a tiger, caught in an impossible dilemma.

By the time the carriage reached the entrance of the Wei residence, dusk had already settled.

The three concubines who had remained at home alighted from the carriage and proceeded directly to the Qingwu Courtyard in the north.

Wei Mingjin never stinted on their food, clothing, or daily necessities, but without his explicit permission, they were confined to the Qingwu Courtyard, expected to live out their days in quiet seclusion.

Fang Xu deliberately lingered behind. Once the other two concubines were out of earshot, she turned to her maid and asked, "Well?"

"I checked the memorial stele garden near the pagoda. Besides a woman’s footprints, there were also a man’s." It had rained that morning, and the stele garden, being secluded, had seen no one else enter today apart from Xin He and Zhou Shuisheng.

As she spoke, the maid handed Fang Xu a cloth. "I made a tracing of the man’s footprints."

Fang Xu was utterly convinced that Xin He was carrying an illegitimate child.

To prevent his concubines from growing restless or harboring thoughts of deception, Master Wei kept them under extremely strict watch.

They were typically forbidden from leaving the household or even venturing beyond the inner gate. Since entering the Wei family, these concubines had seen no man other than Master Wei himself, save for the steward, Uncle Ming.

Thus, Fang Xu was certain that Xin He had already been pregnant before she entered the household.

However, her attempts to gather information in Shili Village yielded nothing. Coincidentally, around that time, Wei Mingjin was preparing the Grand Water and Land Ceremony for Master Wei. Upon hearing that Xin He would also attend, Fang Xu suspected that Xin He might seize the opportunity to meet her lover.

Upon arriving at Ciyun Temple, she began secretly observing Xin He.

When Xin He and Qiong Hua left, Fang Xu quietly followed. However, she lost sight of Xin He when her path was momentarily blocked by monks carrying lumber.

By the time she found Xin He again, she saw her emerging from the direction of the pagoda’s memorial stele garden.

"Yiniang, should we report this to the Young Master?" Fang Xu’s maid inquired.

"Not yet."

For now, a single footprint proved nothing. To catch adulterers, one needed to catch them in the act. They had to apprehend the two of them during a secret rendezvous.

"Keep a close eye on Xin He," Fang Xu instructed.

Her maid acknowledged the order.

Meanwhile, Xin He was in Wei Mingjin’s courtyard, explaining why she had failed to carry out her plan that day.

Xin He placed all the blame on Qiong Hua.

"Qiong Hua never left my side for a moment. It was truly impossible for me to act. But fortunately, I’ve familiarized myself with the layout of Ciyun Temple today. When the Farewell to the Saints ceremony takes place on the seventh day, I will certainly succeed." After speaking, Xin He looked anxiously at Wei Mingjin.

Wei Mingjin sat opposite her, preparing tea.

Dressed in snow-white robes, his slender, jade-like hands held a teacup. The rising steam veiled his handsome and refined features.

He offered no comment on Xin He’s explanation, merely placing the teacup before her with a gentle smile. "As I said last time, I will pretend I never heard what you said that day."

Xin He bit her lip.

Wei Mingjin was always like this—outwardly gentle and approachable, yet inwardly cold and distant. His actions were meticulously planned, leaving no room for anyone to find fault.

Xin He deeply detested his hypocritical demeanor, yet she had no choice but to humor him.

Fortunately, she had said all she needed to say. Unwilling to linger with Wei Mingjin, Xin He praised the tea a few times before taking her leave.

Only then did Feng Mo speak up: "This Concubine Xin is truly wasted not performing in an opera troupe. Chi Yan and I clearly saw her shake off Qiong Hua today, yet now she’s spouting nonsense in front of you, Young Master."

From the moment he first met Xin He, Feng Mo had formed a very poor impression of her.

Not only would the child in her womb diminish the family fortune that rightfully belonged entirely to their Young Master, but Xin He also colluded with Wei Jingyao and his wife. The couple had frequently relied on their seniority to cause trouble for their Young Master.

"Young Master, perhaps during the Farewell to the Saints ceremony on the seventh day, I could find a way to eliminate her?" Feng Mo whispered.

But Wei Mingjin replied, "No need. I’d like to see what she’s truly planning."

On the surface, this Concubine Xin appeared delicate and pitiable, but in reality, she was sharp and cunning, though she concealed it well.

"Besides, a swift kill is so uninteresting," Wei Mingjin leaned back in his chair, idly toying with his teacup in a relaxed posture. "It’s far more entertaining to keep her around and toy with her gradually. That way, this lengthy mourning period won’t be so dull."

Wei Mingjin’s final remark was both shocking and irreverent. Feng Mo dared not respond, standing rigidly by his side like a wooden puppet.

Wei Mingjin took a sip of tea and then inquired about the progress of the search.

Chi Yan replied, "We should find the person very soon."

"If you haven’t found them by then, you’ll both be punished."

"What?!" Feng Mo’s eyes widened. "Isn’t this task Chi Yan’s responsibility? Why should I be punished too?"

"Because it was your idea."

Feng Mo: "..."

He shouldn't have spoken out of turn back then; now it was too late for regrets.

Xin He was unaware of the situation just beyond the wall; her mind was preoccupied with those two hundred taels.

Xin Youzhi and his wife were notoriously stingy—they had clearly accepted the Wei family's money, yet when she was sent to the Wei household as a concubine, they hadn't given her a single copper coin. As for Old Master Wei, he was a miser who hoarded wealth and never spent.

Fortunately, since she became pregnant, all her daily necessities—food, clothing, and expenses—were on par with Wei Mingjin's standard, and she had also acquired quite a few hairpins and pieces of jewelry.

For now, her only option was to sell her jewelry for cash.

But neither she nor Qiong Hua could handle this personally, because if she sold her jewelry herself, Wei Mingjin would immediately find out. She needed to find someone trustworthy who wouldn’t raise suspicion to handle this for her.

Soon, Xin He thought of a suitable candidate.

Since her pregnancy, the second mistress, Zou Shi, had suddenly become overly solicitous, visiting her every few days.

Xin He naturally knew what that couple was after. She had no desire to make an enemy of Wei Mingjin, so she always found excuses to avoid meeting them.

This time, however, Xin He warmly invited Zou Shi in and profusely apologized: "Since becoming pregnant, I’ve been extremely drowsy. I spend most of my day sleeping, and the maids have grown lazy. When you came to see me before, they took it upon themselves not to wake me, which made me seem rude. Please forgive me."

Zou Shi had assumed Xin He was trying to distance herself from them, given how she had avoided her every previous visit. She hadn’t expected this to be the reason.

"Between us, there’s no need to talk of forgiveness or blame. It’s perfectly normal for pregnant women to feel drowsy. When I was carrying my Xuan'er, I slept seven or eight hours a day too!" Zou Shi didn’t dwell on the past and instead pointed to the bamboo basket she had brought. "These are grapes from the Western Regions. They just arrived in Qingyuan County today, and I brought some for you to try."

"You are the kindest to me in this entire household," Xin He said, feigning gratitude, and had the grapes washed and served for them to share.

Xin He had a way with words and soon had Zou Shi beaming with delight.

Seeing that the timing was right, Xin He dismissed the servants and said in a pitiable tone, "Madam, there’s something I find hard to bring up, but I am all alone in this household. Besides you, I trust no one."

"What is it? Speak freely, and I will help you out." Zou Shi was more than eager for Xin He to turn against Wei Mingjin so that she and her husband could profit from the fallout.

"Could I trouble you to help me sell some jewelry?"

"Sell jewelry? Has Mingjin been shortchanging you?" Zou Shi’s eyes gleamed; in that moment, she had even prepared a speech to confront Wei Mingjin.

But Xin He shook her head, her delicate features filled with helplessness. "The young master takes very good care of me, but I am at the mercy of others. If I don’t have some silver to rely on, how can I keep the servants on my side? Not to mention, when you came to visit earlier, they took it upon themselves to use me as an excuse to turn you away. If I don’t find a way to win them over, I’ll truly be at others’ whims in the future."

Zou Shi agreed readily: "That’s no trouble at all. Leave it to me."

"Thank you, Madam." After expressing her gratitude, Xin He earnestly added, "But please, you must keep this matter confidential. Do not let the young master know."

"Don’t worry, I understand."

Two days later, when Zou Shi visited Xin He again, she took advantage of a moment alone to hand her the silver notes.

Xin He had a rough idea of how much the jewelry she entrusted to Zou Shi was worth—it should have fetched around two hundred taels. But Zou Shi had skimmed forty taels for herself, giving Xin He only one hundred sixty.

Xin He cursed Zou Shi’s greed inwardly but had to pretend to be grateful.

As the two were speaking, a commotion arose outside the residence, along with the distant sound of a gong.

Uncertain of what was happening, Xin He and Zou Shi both turned their gaze toward the main gate.