Chapter 220

Madam Wu's expression shifted slightly at these words.

The Zhao family had initially claimed that their elders, lacking proper judgment, had bullied Zhao Ling because he was from a collateral branch—a widow and orphan with no one to support them—in an attempt to seize his property. Such matters occurred in any prominent household. Now that the Zhao family was willing to lower their heads and settle this dispute, and had offered sufficient "sincerity" to request her mediation, she was happy to play the peacemaker. But when matters reached the point of elders kneeling to their juniors... things were clearly not so simple.

Even if the Zhao family showed "sincerity," if that "sincerity" was like a hot potato that would burn her upon contact, it wasn't worth it.

She immediately felt the urge to withdraw, and a hint of resentment grew within her toward the Zhao family for deliberately concealing information.

However, having just accepted their favors, she couldn't simply turn her back on them so quickly. Thus, she had to maintain appearances at least. Scolding the Zhao family members: "Do you know who Zhao Ling is now? He is His Majesty's trusted favorite minister, a young general who has just won a great victory! Their household is not a vegetable garden gate that you can enter and exit as you please! Even I must find an appropriate opportunity to visit the Zhao residence—and you want me to bring your Eighth Madam along? Whoever came up with this ridiculous idea!" Then her tone softened slightly, and she continued, "Don't be anxious. In a few days it will be the Double Ninth Festival. By custom, I should go to deliver festival gifts. When the time comes, I'll probe Mrs. Zhao's stance."

The man quickly said, "Thank you, Madam Wu." Then added, "May I ask what gifts you plan to bring? Since you're acting on behalf of our Zhao family, we can't have you spending your own silver. Would five hundred taels be sufficient?" He smiled and explained, "You know, we are small faces—if I've said anything improper, please be generous and don't laugh at me."

When she visited the Zhao residence, she would spend at most ten taels... Even if she had a request of Fu Tingjun, twenty taels would be the absolute limit.

Madam Wu mused inwardly, feeling that this Zhao family member was quite sensible. Her earlier resentment dissipated considerably, and her expression softened slightly as she said vaguely, "I'll figure out how to handle it."

In other words, she agreed to accept the Zhao family's five hundred taels.

The Zhao family members couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She wasn't afraid that Madam Wu would ask for an exorbitant amount; she was afraid the silver couldn't be given at all and matters wouldn't proceed smoothly. By the time Zhao Ling made his move, Madam Wu's price would no longer be the issue.

She then asked Madam Wu with a fawning smile: "What do you think—should we also try to work through Lord Zhao's connections?"

Madam Wu could hardly hide her astonishment: "You mean you haven't already tried Lord Zhao's connections?"

She had assumed the Zhao family had hit a wall with Zhao Ling and that was why they sought Fu Tingjun instead.

"We did try!" the Zhao family member said with slight embarrassment. "Perhaps we didn't find the right person—Lord Zhao wouldn't even acknowledge us." Then flattered Madam Wu, "But you, Madam, have connections reaching to the heavens—you spoke with Mrs. Zhao right away."

A nameless fury suddenly rose in Madam Wu's heart.

This Zhao family—how much more were they hiding from her!

She couldn't help raising her voice: "What exactly happened? According to what you've said, Lord Zhao left home at a young age. But there are many people with the same name—how did your Zhao family, which has always operated in the Jiangnan region, recognize Lord Zhao? And how did you learn about his family affairs?" By the end, a sharp edge had crept into her expression.

Seeing Madam Wu's anger, the Zhao family member's heart pounded with anxiety. Hastily forcing a smile, she said: "Truly, we haven't hidden anything from you, Madam. Our family's Eighth Master learned of Lord Zhao's affairs entirely because Shopkeeper Ye San of Datong Firm let something slip after drinking. When our Eighth Master later asked about it, Shopkeeper Ye San denied everything completely. The more our Eighth Master thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed, and he sent people to investigate for the better part of a year before daring to confirm it. Thus, although we knew Shopkeeper Ye San was close to Lord Zhao—and that he'd become the head manager of Datong Firm's capital branch because Zhao Ling had introduced him to meritorious officials like Qin Feiyu—we couldn't very well ask Shopkeeper Ye San to intervene on our behalf..."

Madam Wu felt the Zhao family's explanation was reasonable, yet she had a nagging sense that something was off. But she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, so she let the matter drop and offered some lukewarm reassurances: "Don't worry. These next couple of days, Mrs. Zhao is busy with her brother-in-law's betrothal gifts. Once that's settled, I'll visit Mrs. Zhao right away."

Although the Zhao family member sensed Madam Wu's coolness, she had no choice—she couldn't find me, and having already entrusted matters to Madam Wu, changing course now would mean Madam Wu would wash her hands of the affair entirely. Not only would their earlier investment go down the drain, but whoever they found next might not have Madam Wu's connections. She had no choice but to grit her teeth and accept it, bowing and scraping with a torrent of pleas.

Madam Wu was annoyed that they didn't know how to read the room, and frowned: "Since you've already inquired about the Zhao family's situation, you should also know that Mrs. Zhao can make decisions on the Zhao family's behalf, right? If you can't get through to Mrs. Zhao, then don't expect to persuade Lord Zhao either."

With the conversation having reached this point, the Zhao family members had no choice but to offer their apologies and take their leave.

Once outside, they couldn't help but feel somewhat aggrieved, and their expressions were slightly sour when they reported back to Eighth Master Zhao.

Eighth Master Zhao was well aware that this was a thankless task of warming one's face against someone else's cold rear. After comforting the messenger, he couldn't help but ponder Madam Wu's words. After a long moment of contemplation, he instructed the woman: "In that case, why don't you go and find out about Mrs. Zhao instead! Rather than spending money on Madam Wu, it would be better to spend it all on Mrs. Zhao. If you don't have the opportunity to make contact right away, at least learn about Mrs. Zhao's preferences, so that when the day of the visit comes, you'll know how to handle things."

The woman accepted the order and left.

Meanwhile, Madam Wu, after seeing off the Zhao family, sat on the large kang by the window in a daze. It wasn't until Lord Wu returned from his official duties that she suddenly collected herself and helped him change his clothes.

Lord Wu noticed she seemed distracted and couldn't help asking: "What's wrong with you? You seem out of sorts?"

"Nothing, nothing." Madam Wu didn't want Lord Wu to know, so she quickly responded with a smile, but when she looked up and saw the concern in his eyes, she hesitated again.

After so many years of marriage, how could Madam Wu hide anything from Lord Wu?

Seeing this, Lord Wu said: "Which family are you helping out with this time?"

Madam Wu gave an embarrassed laugh, thought for a moment, and then told Lord Wu everything about the Zhao family asking her to mediate with Zhao Ling.

After hearing this, Lord Wu's face showed surprise, then his expression darkened, and he complained in a low voice: "How foolish of you! Why didn't you consult me before getting yourself involved in this!"

Madam Wu had already been feeling uneasy, and hearing Lord Wu say this, her face changed dramatically, and her voice became urgent: "What's wrong? Is there something improper about this?"

Lord Wu said gravely: "Think about it—what kind of place is Datong Trading House? And Shopkeeper Ye San, who has risen and fallen several times—what kind of person is he? If he were the type to let things slip after drinking, how would the owner of Datong Trading House dare to put him in charge of the Kyoto branch? And of all things, it had to be about Zhao Ling..."

Before he could finish speaking, Madam Wu's face had already turned as white as paper.

"Husband," she clutched tightly at Lord Wu's sleeve, "are you saying that... that all of this was deliberately done by Shopkeeper Ye San?" As she spoke, her brows knitted tightly together. "But... but what would Shopkeeper Ye San gain from doing this?"

"Fool!" Lord Wu couldn't help saying. "Without Zhao Ling's approval, would Shopkeeper Ye San dare to tell the Zhao family about this matter? Now that the Zhao family knows about Zhao Ling's affairs, you've seen it yourself—the Zhao family fears his retaliation and would rather pay out their own silver to resolve their old grudge with him. Zhao Ling, without making a sound, has forced the Zhao family to spit out all the property they had seized from his family back then, and on top of that, he's made a tidy profit... Even an upright official finds it hard to judge family disputes, and even taking this to court wouldn't have achieved what he did—gaining both profit and preserving his reputation!"

Madam Wu was dumbfounded: "Then... then what should I do?"

"What else can you do?" Lord Wu was also somewhat irritated. "I told you long ago not to get involved in these messy affairs, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened—Zhao Ling has a hold over you..." As he spoke, thinking of how Zhao Ling had effortlessly ensnared the Zhao family, he felt a chill run through his body. "No, I need to go speak with Lord Qin..." He stood up abruptly and instructed Madam Wu, "Hurry, help me change!" A rare look of panic appeared on his face.

Madam Wu was alarmed, feeling as though her hands and feet wouldn't obey her. She frantically called for a maid to help her change, while she herself circled around Lord Wu: "This shouldn't have anything to do with us, right? I was just passing along a message? I meant well..."

Lord Wu shot Madam Wu a glare and said in a low voice: "Say no more! Dirty laundry shouldn't be aired in public. In the Ministry of Personnel, he registered his relocation to Chang'an County in Shaanxi, and whenever the Emperor speaks of him, he says he's a southerner with a northerner's appearance—clearly he doesn't want anyone to know about his family affairs. You've poked a hornet's nest, and here you are still making a racket without knowing what's good for you!"

Madam Wu's legs went weak with fear, and she slumped onto an embroidered stool nearby, tears streaming down her face: "What's to be done? What's to be done?" Then, in a panic, she grabbed the floor screen beside the moon-gate doorway and pulled herself up: "I... I'll go find Mrs. Zhao! You don't understand—Lord Zhao holds Mrs. Zhao in the highest esteem and affection. Not only has he never touched any of the women in the army, but even when the big merchants doing business along the Nine Borders sent stunning beauties to him, he refused them all... I'll go talk to Mrs. Zhao. As long as Mrs. Zhao agrees to step in, Lord Zhao will certainly let bygones be bygones!"

At this point, it was a matter of treating a dead horse as if it were still alive—whichever path could be opened, she would take it!

"Then go quickly!" Lord Wu said, and having finished dressing, he went out the door.

Madam Wu's spirits lifted, and after freshening up, she went to the Zhao residence.

Fu Tingjun was in the middle of discussing A Sen's marriage with Yuwei when she heard that Madam Wu had come to call. She felt somewhat annoyed by her presence, but still instructed Zhenzhu, "Please show her to the hall for a talk!"

Zhenzhu acknowledged the order and quickly brought Madam Wu in.

Fu Tingjun stepped forward with a smile, but before she could even utter a word, Madam Wu, with tears in her eyes, grabbed her hand and said, "Dear sister, you must save me this time!"

She was momentarily stunned.

Madam Wu then rattled off the whole sequence of events in a flurry: "...I truly meant well, hoping to help Lord Zhao resolve this legal dispute..." She dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, "If it weren't for my husband, I wouldn't have realized what a huge mistake I'd made... My husband also felt that we had acted wrongly in this matter, so he went to plead with Lord Qin to intercede on our behalf... I know that Lord Zhao holds you in the highest regard, sister, so I came to you..."