Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Soon, Liang Bozhan rushed over, clearly in a frantic state—his robe belt was tied incorrectly, and his shoes were on the wrong feet.

"I will certainly provide Young Master Huai with an explanation for this matter. Eldest Brother, please do not be angry."

"An explanation? What kind of explanation can you give? It wasn't enough that you ruined my chances for the imperial examinations back then, and now you intend to harm my disciple?!"

At these words, Liang Bozhan dropped to his knees with a thud, his eyes red-rimmed as he pleaded, "Eldest Brother, please do not speak of me in such a way! I had no knowledge of what happened back then, nor was it my doing. You cannot wrongly accuse me like this!"

Liang Boqing snorted coldly, "Then what exactly happened tonight? Is this how you've been managing the household all these years? Even a mere maidservant dares to attempt a bed-climbing scheme! If word gets out, the entire city of Yangzhou will laugh themselves silly!"

Liang Bozhan had no retort. The responsibility for this incident indeed lay with him, so he could only swallow his frustration and immediately ordered the household steward to conduct an overnight investigation.

There were thirty-four maids and older female servants in the residence at the time. To ensure no one was overlooked, Steward Liang Li gathered everyone and had them line up outside the courtyard.

In the dead of night, everyone had just been roused from their beds and stood around drowsily, unaware of what was happening.

Liang Li said with a stern expression, "Which maidservant went to Young Master Huai’s room tonight? Step forward now."

The women exchanged glances, all shaking their heads in denial. Although they were responsible for attending to the household’s daily needs, they seldom came to the elder master’s courtyard. Liang Boqing had his own personal attendants and servants and disliked strangers entering his quarters.

Since no one confessed, they had to investigate one by one. With just over thirty people, the process was quick. After questioning each of them, four suspicious individuals were identified—all of whom had gone out that night.

The four maidservants were all around the same age, about eighteen or nineteen years old. They knelt on the ground trembling, unsure of what was happening.

Liang Li pointed to one of them and said, "You first. What is your name, and what did you go out to do tonight?"

The maidservant quickly kowtowed and said, "This servant is called Xiaoxia. After dinner, I had a stomachache and went to the outhouse for about fifteen minutes before returning to my room. I didn’t go out again after that."

"To the outhouse?"

"T-truly, it’s the absolute truth! I had such a bad case of..."

Liang Li frowned. This maidservant was crude in behavior and plain in appearance, unlikely to be the type to climb into someone’s bed.

"Next!"

"This servant is called Qingya. I work in the kitchen. After dinner, I went to the kitchen to work. Matron Zhang told me to peel a basket of garlic for use tomorrow. Although no one saw me, the garlic I peeled is still in the kitchen, and my nails are split from peeling it."

Qingya stretched out her hands, and indeed, the nails on her thumb and index finger were cracked. The steward said nothing but glanced at the kitchen matron standing behind her.

Making someone peel so much garlic in the middle of the night was clearly bullying. These old hands, having served in the household for many years, acted as if they were mistresses themselves, ordering people around without a second thought.

The third maidservant was named Chunchao. She was far more striking than the others—tall and slender with delicate features. Even dressed in rough clothing, her beauty was undeniable.

Liang Li narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, asking, "Chunchao, what did you go out to do tonight?"

"I-I didn’t do anything. I just felt stifled and went out to get some air. I returned in less than fifteen minutes."

"Get some air?"

Chunchao lowered her head nervously. "This servant wouldn’t dare lie."

The last maidservant was honest and directly admitted to having sneaked out to meet someone—with Liang Bozhan’s illegitimate son, no less. Enraged, Liang Bozhan summoned his son and gave him two hard slaps across the face.

All four claimed they had not entered Chen Qinghuai’s room, and it was unclear who was lying.

As the standoff continued, Chen Qingyan whispered something into his cousin’s ear.

Chen Qinghuai spoke up bravely and said, "The person who came earlier left in a hurry and tore a piece of cloth from their clothing on my bed frame…"

Before he could finish, Chunchao was seized by two servants.

"Sir, I’ve been wronged! I truly never entered Young Master Huai’s room."

Liang Boqing stood up and walked over with his hands behind his back. "When Qinghuai was speaking, everyone else was looking at the hems of others’ clothes. Only you looked down at your own clothes. Do you have anything else to say in your defense?"

"I’ve been wronged! I only lowered my head—I wasn’t looking at my hem!" She tried to argue, but Liang Li didn't give her a chance.

He sent someone to search her room, where they found a cache of gold and silver jewelry—items far beyond what a maidservant could afford. Unable to explain their origin, she was accused of theft.

According to the law, theft of goods worth less than ten coins warranted thirty lashes; more than ten strings of cash warranted fifty strokes of the cane; and more than a hundred strings meant face-branding and exile. Her jewelry totaled nearly a hundred strings of cash—enough to have her branded and exiled.

Only then did Chunchao become terrified. She kowtowed desperately, pleading, "Spare me, Master! Spare me! Someone paid me to get near Young Master Huai! They said that if I succeeded, not only would I become his concubine, but I would also receive a lot of silver!"

Liang Bozhan angrily demanded, "Who instructed you to do this?!"

"I don’t know. I only know that a servant named Liang Er from the outer courtyard contacted me. He was the one who gave me all these jewels."

Coincidentally, this Liang Er was Liang Li’s own nephew. His father served under Second Master Liang Botao.

Liang Li’s face turned ashen as he looked at the two masters. "I will go fetch Liang Er at once!"

Liang Bozhan understood everything now. Everyone had witnessed how much importance his elder brother placed on his three disciples. By orchestrating this, Second Brother could both provoke Elder Brother and frame him—a clever killing two birds with one stone scheme.

Second Brother had long envied his control of the family estate, but he never expected him to resort to such methods!

Liang Boqing, too, quickly figured it out. Wearily, he waved his hand and said, "Take this maidservant away and hold her under guard. Everyone else may return to their rooms. Not a word of tonight’s events is to leave these grounds. If I find out anyone has spoken of it, they will not go unpunished!"

"Yes!" Liang Li promptly ordered the servants to take Chunchao away while the others returned to their rooms to rest.

After all that excitement, no one felt like sleeping. They simply sat down in their master’s room.

Liang Boqing comforted Qinghuai, saying, "You did very well not to be tempted by that maidservant. Remember, in your future official career, you may encounter all sorts of situations. These dirty tricks, though simple, are often the most effective. They can disrupt your household, and if your inner quarters are not at peace, your family will suffer. You must remember this."

Chen Qinghuai and Chen Qingyan nodded in understanding. There were advantages to growing up in a small town—most men took only one wife and seldom took concubines.

Their fathers had each married only one woman, so both of them inherently believed that a man should take only one wife.

"Second Brother will come tomorrow morning. I will make sure he explains this matter clearly and gives Qinghuai justice."

Chen Qinghuai mumbled, "Maybe we should just let it go..." Liang Botao was already getting on in years, and besides, the incident hadn’t caused any irreversible harm.

Chen Qingyan gently pulled his younger brother’s sleeve and shook his head. This matter wasn’t just about Qinghuai—it was part of the rivalry among the three brothers in their master’s family. It was best for them not to get involved.

They waited until daybreak when Liang Li took some men to Second Master Liang’s residence and had everyone brought over.

When Liang Botao arrived, he played ignorant. "Elder Brother, why have you called me here so early? What’s happened?"

Liang Boqing sent everyone away, leaving only himself, Liang Botao, and Third Brother Liang Bozhan. "There’s no one else here now. There’s no need for play-acting. That maidservant was acting on your orders, wasn’t she?"

"Elder Brother, what are you talking about? I don’t understand."

Liang Bozhan said urgently, "The maidservant was instructed by Liang Er, and Liang Er’s father serves under you. How can you claim you didn’t know?!"

Liang Botao replied with a tight smile, "Third Brother, I don’t understand what you’re saying either. What do you mean, I instructed this? Do you have proof?"

"Fine, fine! Must we drop all pretense for you to admit it?!"

"If you want to condemn someone, you'll never be short of pretexts!"

"Enough, both of you stop arguing!" Liang Boqing slammed the table, and the two fell silent.

Having stayed up all night, the elder brother looked quite pale, coughing twice with a fist pressed to his lips. "Second Brother, I already know about the time you hid a cheat sheet for cheating in my inkstone years ago. I never brought it up all these years because Father pleaded with me on his deathbed, asking me not to hold a grudge against you out of brotherly affection. But why have you still not changed your ways?"

Liang Botao's face instantly drained of color. "Elder Brother, what are you talking about?"

"The day before the provincial examination, you entered my study and swapped my inkstone. The one you replaced was hidden under the five-drawer cabinet in the east wing."

"No, no... I didn’t..."

Liang Boqing continued, "After I was accused of cheating in the imperial exam, I had every person in the household investigated. The servant responsible for cleaning saw you sneak into my study, and I found the swapped inkstone. If it weren’t for Father stopping me, you would have been sent to the family estate long ago."

"No, impossible..." Liang Botao kept shaking his head, unsure whether he couldn’t believe his elder brother knew everything or that their father had stopped him from punishing him.

"Otherwise, why do you think Father separated you from the household early and let you live on your own?"

Liang Botao collapsed to the floor, cold sweat streaming down his forehead. His heavy, fleshy face trembled like a soaked fat pig, a sight that evoked disgust.

Liang Bozhan said, "Liang Er has already confessed. His father gave him plenty of gold and silver jewelry to have a maid climb into my bed and frame me, while also ruining the reputations of the three gentlemen. Unfortunately, you miscalculated—Elder Brother’s disciples are all men of noble character!"

Liang Botao suddenly burst into loud sobs. "Is it my fault? Can you really blame me! We’re only two years apart, and since childhood, I’ve always been compared to you. You’re the eldest legitimate son, the one Father favored most—exceptionally bright, almost a prodigy. You got all the best things in the world."

"Yet I, also Father’s son, was always the butt of jokes!"

"That year when I was six, on a cold winter day just like this, Father took you out to visit friends. I wanted to go too. At first, he refused to take me, but after I pestered him relentlessly, he finally brought me along—only he wouldn’t let me enter the house. I had to wait in the carriage with the servants."

"In Yangzhou, the November weather was freezing. I sat in the carriage waiting and waiting until the sun set, and you still hadn’t come out. I was both hungry and sleepy, and when I returned, I fell seriously ill. But Father didn’t even say a single word of comfort to me!"

"How could this be? What kind of father does that?!"

Liang Boqing had long forgotten this incident, but it was true that in his youth, his father often took him out to visit friends. Because Liang Boqing was precocious and had an astonishing memory, he had mastered the Four Books and Five Classics at a very young age, becoming a source of pride for Father Liang.

Every time they went out, Father would show him off. Over time, Liang Boqing grew reluctant to go, as he was no monkey and disliked being gawked at by crowds.

He never imagined that childhood events would wound his half-brother so deeply.

Liang Bozhan, standing nearby, said, "No matter what, this is no excuse for harming others. Father favored Elder Brother because he was capable. If you had been capable, wouldn’t Father have favored you too?"

"Don’t talk like you’re above it all! If it weren’t for your mother’s seductive tricks, could you have managed this vast family estate?"

"How dare you insult my mother?!" Liang Bozhan lunged at him, and the two men in their forties tumbled together like children.

Liang Boqing, furious, slammed the table again. "Let go! Both of you, stop fighting! Somebody, come quick!"