Chapter 261

Third Sister's husband downed a cup of wine, then turned to find Hao Jianfeng gone. Looking again, Fifth Master Fu's seat was empty too.

A single oversight among a hundred precautions! In the end, they had failed to stop Fifth Master Fu.

Third Sister's husband smiled wryly and drank a cup on his own initiative. Amid the clamor, he stepped out of the private room and saw Hao Jianfeng and Fifth Master Fu standing in the stairwell, deep in conversation.

Hao Jianfeng wore an indignant expression, while Fifth Master Fu spoke endlessly with a face full of grievance.

Third Sister's husband gave a bitter smile and summoned his personal attendant: "Go tell the mistress that it's getting late—if we don't set off soon, we'll be delayed. Ask her to urge Lord Fu. If Lord Fu can't get away at the moment, have the mistress leave first."

The attendant acknowledged and hurried off.

Third Sister's husband returned to the private room.

Having finally managed to strike up a conversation with Hao Jianfeng, Fifth Master Fu was far from satisfied and naturally unwilling to leave now. But Hao Jianfeng had learned what he wanted to know and felt it no longer mattered whether he paid Fifth Master Fu any attention.

Back in the private room, after drinking half a cup of wine, he signaled to Lord Jiang that the banquet should be wrapped up. Lord Jiang did not disappoint—he rose abruptly with a smile: "...We still have a journey ahead, and if we delay any longer, we won't reach the post station in time for lodging. Gentlemen, please continue drinking at your leisure; I'll take my leave first. Next time I come to the capital, I'll treat everyone to a round."

The gathering was held to see Lord Jiang off, and with the guest of honor leaving, the drinking naturally came to an end.

Everyone saw Lord Jiang into his carriage.

Fifth Master Fu had said so much, and thinking he had yet to secure a promise of help from Hao Jianfeng, he felt it necessary to have a serious word with him. As Lord Jiang's carriage receded into the distance, he saw Scholar Zhou, Lord Zheng, and others exchanging bows and farewells. He edged his way toward Hao Jianfeng.

But Hao Jianfeng, feigning drunkenness, clasped his hands to the crowd: "A thousand cups are too few when drinking with a kindred spirit. But today I've had more than enough. I need to lie down, so I'll be off first. I hope you gentlemen will forgive any discourtesy. Tomorrow I'll host an apology feast at Penglai Pavilion." With that, he nimbly climbed into his own carriage, let the curtain fall, and the carriage clattered off down the road.

Fifth Master Fu stood somewhat dumbfounded, an inexplicable unease creeping over him.

He carefully recalled Hao Jianfeng's every move just now, but Lord Wang came over to offer his respects: "Lord Fu, safe travels. When you return to the capital, we must gather properly again."

Fifth Master Fu hurriedly returned the courtesy and exchanged a few pleasantries, leaving him no time to ponder further. He could only suppress his confusion for the moment.

Meanwhile, as soon as Hao Jianfeng's carriage had left Shilipu, he sat up immediately, full of energy, and instructed the driver: "To Lord Wu's residence on Shi Family Lane."

There was not a trace of drunkenness about him.

The driver acknowledged loudly, cracked his whip, and headed for Shi Family Lane.

Lord Wu had just returned from the yamen, and the two met right at the doorstep.

"Let's talk in the study." Hao Jianfeng shot Lord Wu a meaningful glance.

Without a single question, Lord Wu led Hao Jianfeng straight to the study. Once the attendant had served tea, he dismissed all the servants before leaning in: "Is something urgent?"

"Guess who I ran into today?" A hint of excitement flickered across Hao Jianfeng's brow. "I went to see off Jiang Sen, the Shandong Administrative Officer, and ran into Secretary Fu at Shilipu." He recounted the whole affair to Lord Wu. "...So it turns out Yu Jingxiu and Fan Dashen's daughter had a private understanding, and then he wanted to break off the engagement. The Fu family, left with no choice, had to agree. They announced that Madam Fu had died of illness, but in reality arranged for her to cultivate herself at the family shrine. Who would have thought that when Huayin suffered a famine, refugees stormed the shrine. Madam Fu fled in panic under the protection of her maids and was rescued by Zhao Ling. Then, with the Emperor's decree and the Grand Empress Dowager's blessing, she was married to Zhao Ling."

"Madam Fu later found him, but he didn't dare acknowledge his daughter. This caused a rift between them, and she'd rather help Shen Renshi than him!"

Lord Wu's spirits lifted at this, showing considerable interest.

"'The Fu family, left with no choice, had to agree,'" he said to Hao Jianfeng with a smile. "You actually believe such nonsense?"

Hao Jianfeng chuckled. "Who's right and who's wrong doesn't matter. What matters is that we now know the relationships between these families. If anything comes up, we can plan our response in advance."

Lord Wu agreed wholeheartedly on this point.

He smiled and took a sip from the teacup beside him. "So what do you have in mind?"

Hao Jianfeng answered with a question of his own: "What do you think—should I help Secretary Fu by trying to persuade Mrs. Zhao?"

Such family matters were always a case of each side having their own justification. Meddling usually made things worse, and if one wasn't careful, one could offend both parties. It was a classic thankless task. And Hao Jianfeng, having managed the Ministry of Personnel for years, was well-versed in dealing with people—how could he not know this? His real purpose was simply to find a natural opportunity to integrate himself into the Zhao family.

How could Lord Wu not understand?

"Not good!" he said without a second thought. "Zhao Ling is vindictive and holds grudges. We don't even know what he's thinking yet. Charging in rashly like this wouldn't be wise."

"When we went to see Lord Jiang off that day, Lord Shen was also present," Hao Jianfeng said with piercing eyes. "Whatever Lord Fu told me, Lord Shen will surely learn of it soon enough. What if we approach him first?"

Lord Wu nodded thoughtfully and smiled. "That's not a bad idea. But from what I've seen, Shen Renshi is quite slippery—he may not be easy to deal with."

"This is a matter concerning the Zhao family," Hao Jianfeng said with pointed meaning. "His surname is Shen. If he tries to block us from pleading on behalf of father and daughter, it would be indefensible both in reason and in propriety, wouldn't it?"

Lord Wu cast an appreciative glance at Hao Jianfeng.

Hao Jianfeng, however, let out a sigh heavy with feeling. "I'm at my wit's end here. By the time the grand secretaries make their positions clear and we try to sidle up to them, we'll be yesterday's news—Qian Donglin and Chen Danting won't remember us at all." His tone was thick with helplessness.

Lord Wu's expression darkened at these words.

Footsteps sounded from beyond the door.

He furrowed his brow.

A young servant announced from behind the curtain: "My lord, the mistress requests that you come to the main hall to speak with her."

Lord Wu's face sank. "Didn't you tell the mistress that I have guests?"

"I did!" The servant's voice trembled slightly but he dared not remain silent. "The mistress said—she said that Concubine Wu has arrived, and she's brought gifts for the Fourth Miss—brought many things... She asks that you go and exchange a few words with Concubine Wu, no matter what."

Even if Concubine Wu were not Yu Jingxiu's concubine—even if she were Grand Secretary Shen's concubine bearing congratulatory gifts—he would not lower himself to receive her in the parlor.

Madam Wu could not possibly make such a basic error.

That left only one possibility.

Concubine Wu had brought news from the Yu household.

And that news was important to him.

The thought flashed through his mind in an instant. Lord Wu rose to his feet and said to Hao Jianfeng, "Let me go see what this is about. I'll be right back!"

Hao Jianfeng knew the intricacies of the Wu family relations well and naturally understood who this Concubine Wu was. And since Madam Wu knew full well that Lord Wu was meeting with guests yet still summoned him to the main hall immediately, it was clear that the Yu household had received some very important news.

He too was curious about what had happened on the Yu side.

Hao Jianfeng didn't stand on ceremony. "I'll wait for you here."

With the relationships between the Zhao, Yu, and Fu families growing increasingly murky, Lord Wu needed someone with a clear, level head to help him analyze the situation.

"I'll be back shortly." Lord Wu gave a few instructions and followed the servant to the main hall.

In the main hall, Concubine Wu, her face full of unease, wrung her hands anxiously and murmured to Madam Wu, "As for Uncle—perhaps you should speak to him... I've said everything I can say. Saying more would just be repeating myself..."

Madam Wu took Concubine Wu's hand and comforted her with a kindly smile. "Your uncle sees far and wide—his perspective is different from us women of the inner quarters. What I ask you may not be what your uncle cares about, and what I haven't asked might be exactly what your uncle wants to know." She added, "Don't be nervous. Your uncle is an amiable man. When the time comes, just say whatever you need to say. Whatever you do, don't hold anything back—that would only lead your uncle astray."

Concubine Wu's peripheral gaze fell upon Madam Wu's hand—fair as jade from careful upkeep—and she sighed inwardly.

Madam Wu spoke sweetly, but her grip was like a pair of pincers, impossible to break free from. She was clearly being held here by force. What could she possibly say?

The Third Young Mistress of the Wu family had given birth to a daughter, and proper relatives naturally came to offer congratulations. She was merely a concubine—what standing did she have to be there? Yet Madam Wu, after the child's full-month celebration, had sent her personal mama to invite her back to the residence, saying things like "You've always been closest to the Third Young Mistress—you really should go see her." Though Madam Yu was displeased, thinking it wasn't a proper occasion for visiting relatives, she still prepared congratulatory gifts and sent her over.

She had been wondering to herself what Madam Wu could possibly want with her. But the moment she entered the residence, Madam Wu began probing her about everything that had been happening in the Yu household lately.

She didn't know what Madam Yu had discussed with the Young Master, but some days ago, the Young Master had formally taken both of the young ladies from Nanjing—who were his cousins—as concubines, and they now served in the First Young Mistress's quarters. But since they were nominally relatives, the First Young Mistress couldn't very well order them about. On top of that, Zhen-jie had suffered another bout of illness recently, leaving the First Young Mistress increasingly irritable. She wanted to send the two cousin-ladies to live with her in the rear wing rooms. Miss Fei, who had come over from the Fei family on the First Madam's side, was obedient enough and quietly moved next door to her. But Miss Chen, who had come from the Third Madam's side, was a troublemaker—she moved over as told, but then went crying to the Young Master, claiming the First Young Mistress couldn't tolerate anyone and lacked the bearing of a proper mistress of the household. The Young Master, annoyed by the whole affair, placed Miss Chen under house arrest. Miss Chen immediately went to Mama Shu, demanding to return to Nanjing.

The eldest mistress was so furious that she nearly fell over backward, unable to utter a single word for a long while.

The eldest master then shouted that Miss Chen should be sent away.

Whether Miss Chen did this to spite the eldest master or because she truly no longer wished to remain in the Yu household, she turned around, packed her belongings, and went straight to Madam Yu. There, she kowtowed and took her leave, begging Madam Yu to show mercy and allow her to take along the dowry trunks she had brought with her.

How could Madam Yu allow a concubine to manipulate her?

Without saying another word, she had someone escort Miss Chen back to Nanjing.

From that day on, Madam Yu never spoke another word to the eldest master.

No matter how the eldest master tried to jest and joke before Madam Yu afterward, she simply refused to exchange a single word with him.

And now, Madam Wu had summoned her, only to inquire in detail about these trivial matters of the Yu household...

At this thought, she could not help but lift her head to look at Madam Wu.

Yet in Madam Wu's eyes, she caught a glimmer of worry and gravity.