Chapter 37: Wan Niang

Chapter 37: Lady Wan

Everyone noticed Qiu Shuiyi's unusual mood.

Xin Tao whispered to Xin Liu with a sigh, "Miss likes the prince so much. If she doesn't get her way, how heartbroken she'll be."

Xin Liu nodded in deep agreement.

Even Madam Mei had sensed it.

After finishing dinner and washing up, she sat by the table in her robe, going over the account books. After a while, she suddenly let out a long sigh.

The Marquis of Yun'an, who was reading a book by the lamplight, looked up puzzled. "Why the long sigh?"

Madam Mei put down the account book. "Do you know what the gate guard told me earlier?"

"What did he say?" The Marquis of Yun'an turned a page.

"He said that on the night of the Lantern Festival, it was someone from Prince Duansu's household who sent Yi'er back."

His movement paused. The Marquis of Yun'an finally shifted his gaze from the book, astonished. "Really?"

"It's absolutely true! The ones who escorted her back were Guard Shang and Guard Zuo, who are always at Prince Duansu's side."

Madam Mei continued, "I initially thought perhaps Yi'er happened to meet the prince, and he sent someone to see her home. But the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. That night, Yi'er clearly left the mansion with Jinbai."

The Marquis of Yun'an remembered.

That day, his daughter did indeed go out with his eldest son.

"I asked Jinbai about it. Guess what I heard, Marquis?"

The Marquis of Yun'an adopted a listening expression, following Madam Mei's lead. "What did you hear?"

Madam Mei slapped her thigh. "That night, Jinbai had just left the mansion when Yi'er sent him away. Sensing something amiss, he turned back and happened to see Yi'er getting into Prince Duansu's carriage."

"They clearly had arranged to meet."

On the Lantern Festival, a young maiden not accompanying her elder brother but instead going with an unrelated man—the implication was obvious.

The Marquis of Yun'an hesitated. "Does Yi'er truly have feelings for Prince Duansu..."

He left the rest unsaid, but Madam Mei understood.

"Exactly. I found out that Prince Duansu has been out of the city these days, his whereabouts unknown. Haven't you noticed Yi'er's spirits seem to have left with him?"

"But Prince Duansu has been betrothed to Ying'er since childhood."

Madam Mei walked over and sat beside the Marquis of Yun'an. "Yi'er has never cared for Prince Duansu. Since they are both daughters of our Qiu family, if the two of them truly have feelings for each other, Marquis..."

Her soft hand gently covered the back of the Marquis of Yun'an's hand. Tears glistened in Madam Mei's eyes, her face pleading. "Marquis, please do this for Yi'er."

"Now, now, my dear. She is my daughter too. I've owed her for sixteen years. If she desires something, I will certainly comply."

The Marquis of Yun'an casually tossed the book aside and took Madam Mei's hand.

Madam Mei smiled through her tears.

"Seeing Yi'er so downcast these days pains me as well. Since Jinbai passed the imperial examinations, I thought of taking her to Chengming Temple to lift her spirits."

Some time ago, Qiu Jinbai performed excellently in the spring imperial examinations, ranking in the top five of the first tier. Moreover, during the palace examination, he gained the emperor's favor and was personally appointed as the Tanhua (Third Place Scholar).

"And also... to pray for Ying'er."

Madam Mei's tone lowered.

The Marquis of Yun'an drew her into his embrace. "If you want to go, my dear, then we'll go."

...

The day they left the mansion, the weather was pleasant. Qiu Shuiyi changed out of her winter clothes and into lighter spring garments.

Getting rid of the heavy layers made her feel much lighter, and her mood brightened considerably.

Chengming Temple was located on Fuyun Mountain outside the city. The mountain peak was lush with greenery, wreathed in rolling mist.

Peach blossoms had just begun to bloom, clusters of pink dotting the clouds and mist like a beauty hiding her face, hesitant to speak.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, the path ahead was blocked by several carriages.

It seemed quite a few ladies and young misses had come to Chengming Temple to fulfill vows.

Madam Mei instructed Uncle Zhong to wait a moment until the path cleared before proceeding.

Qiu Jinbai had entered the Hanlin Academy and was on duty today, so only the mother and daughter were on this trip.

Qiu Shuiyi lifted the carriage curtain, her lively eyes scanning around. She gently sniffed; the fresh scent of grass and trees filled her lungs, clearing her mind.

The carriages ahead remained motionless for a long time. Qiu Shuiyi turned back. "Mother, let's get down and walk for a bit."

Madam Mei agreed. "Alright."

With the help of their maids, the mother and daughter got out of the carriage.

Just as they steadied themselves, an extraordinarily luxurious carriage came charging recklessly towards them.

Qiu Shuiyi, quick-eyed and swift-handed, pulled Madam Mei back, just in time.

Her willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed, her eyes sharp as knives, she demanded sternly, "Who do you work for? If you had injured someone, how would you compensate?"

"Miss, my apologies. This coachman is newly hired by me and probably hasn't adjusted yet. I'll make sure he's properly reprimanded upon returning. Please don't hold it against him, miss."

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a lovely face.

The young woman had fair skin, was dressed in splendid attire, with willow-leaf eyebrows, a delicate nose, cherry lips, and an elegant demeanor, like a pure lotus blooming on a river in the Jiangnan water towns.

Beside her sat a matron, also clad in silk, her hair bun adorned with numerous pearl hairpins, looking a bit out of place. Her skin was slightly rough, her hands calloused, clearly no stranger to hard work.

She pointed at the coachman and scolded, "You damned fool! If you had injured any lady or miss, or hurt my daughter and precious golden grandson, I'd have your hide!"

Like a common scold, she berated him until he was muttering apologies.

What a strange pair of mother and daughter.

After scolding, the matron turned to Qiu Shuiyi, apologizing, "It was an accident, miss. Please don't be angry, don't be angry."

Before Qiu Shuiyi could speak, Madam Mei had collected herself and whispered, "This is the wife of the Hereditary Prince of Huaiping."

Qiu Shuiyi remembered.

She had Xin Liu advise the butcher's daughter who had been defiled by Hong San to find a way to entrap Ji Rui.

That girl was quite resourceful. She had her parents take her along when they went to the Prince of Huaiping's estate, then found a way to send away Ji Rui's attendants. She directly forced a bowl of medicine down his throat and consummated the union that very day.

After the incident, the Jiang couple refused to leave the Huaiping estate, wailing and insisting that Ji Rui take responsibility.

Ji Rui detested them and naturally refused.

Princess Duanshu also looked down on this family's behavior, only conceding to offer the girl a concubine's status.

Jiang Wanniang stood behind her parents, disheveled and weeping silently, then without a word ran out of the estate.

A young girl with disheveled clothing, weeping like a pear blossom in the rain as she ran through the streets, naturally attracted attention.

Before long, word spread throughout the capital that the girl assaulted by the rapist had now been defiled by his accomplice, the heir of Huaiping.

For a time, the Prince of Huaiping's estate stood at the center of the storm, with scholars gathering daily at its gates to write articles denouncing them.

Princess Duanshu put up with it for a month, then pressured Ji Rui to welcome Jiang Wanniang into the estate with the status of a secondary consort.

When they arrived at the Jiang family, they learned that Jiang Wanniang was already one month pregnant.

The Jiang family declared that if they wanted this child, their daughter must be given the position of principal consort.

The delegation from the Huaiping estate was dumbstruck.

Ji Rui was furious, grabbing a stick and vowing to beat Jiang Wanniang to death.

In the past, Princess Duanshu had indulged him in whatever he did, but this time he intended to kill his own child—the grandson she had long awaited.

For the first time, Princess Duanshu showed a firm hand in front of Ji Rui. She ordered him bound, stayed at the Jiang residence for a long time, and upon returning, petitioned to have her installed as principal consort. Not long after, Jiang Wanniang was married into the estate with great fanfare.

A butcher's daughter who had been defiled leaped to become the principal consort of a prince's heir, a spectacle that left the capital's residents dumbfounded.

When the news reached the Marquis of Yun'an's estate, even Qiu Shuiyi was taken aback for quite a while.

Now, seeing the person in question, she was three times more surprised.

Such a determined woman actually possessed such a gentle, tender appearance.

Gazing at Jiang Wanniang's faint smile inside the carriage, Qiu Shuiyi raised an eyebrow. "I wonder if this coachman was hired by Princess Duanshu or by the heir himself?"

Jiang Wanniang was an extremely intelligent woman; otherwise, she could not have reached her current position.

With this question from Qiu Shuiyi, she immediately grasped the underlying implication, her sharp gaze like silver needles piercing the coachman.

The coachman trembled, burying his head deeply, not daring to look at Jiang Wanniang.

What more was there to understand?

Madam Hu's eyes nearly burst with rage. She rushed forward, kicked the coachman off the carriage, agilely jumped down, and rained blows upon him like a storm, beating him until he wailed incessantly.

As she beat him, she cursed, "You heartless wretch! How dare you harm my daughter and grandson! See if I don't beat you to death!"

"Spare me, Madam! I had no choice! It was the heir! The heir forced me!"

Madam Hu's mouth never stopped. "You're no good, and that Ji Rui is black-hearted too! An heir, actually capable of harming his own child! Pah! What kind of scum is he! If I don't show him what I'm capable of, my name isn't Hu!"

Madam Mei, born into wealth, had never seen such a woman making a scene before and was momentarily stunned.

Qiu Shuiyi shot a glance at Xin Liu and Xin Tao. The two maids understood and surrounded Madam Hu, shielding her from prying eyes.

Seeing this, Madam Hu stopped, took a breath, and said, "You're a kind-hearted girl, but I'm not afraid of losing face. Anyway, if word gets out, the one who'll be more humiliated is that heartless heir of Huaiping who tried to kill his own child!"

The last sentence was spoken loudly, causing nearby onlookers to show astonished expressions, whispering among themselves.

Both mother and daughter were clever people.

With all the surrounding families being respectable, even if Ji Rui tried every means to rid himself of Jiang Wanniang, who would dare marry their daughter to a man capable of killing his own child?

This essentially severed Ji Rui's escape route completely.

Qiu Shuiyi felt admiration. "It seems I meddled unnecessarily. Please forgive me, Auntie."

Over the past month, Madam Hu had met many high-ranking officials and nobles, but this was the first time she encountered a noble young lady from an aristocratic family who treated her so kindly. She withdrew her hands, grinned, and stood there uncertainly, looking at her daughter.

Jiang Wanniang remained relatively composed, her hand gently resting on her still-flat abdomen, her eyes dark and inscrutable.

She forced a slight smile. "My mother is used to dealing with common folk. Please don't mind her, Miss."

Qiu Shuiyi smiled. "Auntie has a straightforward temperament and can protect her family. That's a good thing."

Madam Hu immediately raised her eyebrows proudly.

Jiang Wanniang's expression softened considerably. "I have urgent matters to attend to and must leave now. If there's an opportunity in the future, I'll speak with you in detail."

She glanced at the carriage behind Qiu Shuiyi and the others, memorizing the family emblem, then called to Madam Hu, "Mother, let's return first."

Madam Hu dragged the coachman back onto the carriage, threatening fiercely, "Drive properly! If anything happens to my daughter and grandson, I'll take the lives of your entire family!"

The coachman nodded obsequiously.

The Prince of Huaiping's carriage swayed as it turned back the way it came.

As for what happened afterward—Madam Hu furiously berated Ji Rui and the coachman in front of Princess Duanshu, while Jiang Wanniang's tearful grievances happened to be witnessed by the sisters, County Mistress Jiayi. The sisters-in-law joined forces to fan the flames, infuriating the grandson-yearning Princess Duanshu, who directly placed Ji Rui under house confinement—but those events can be told later.