Chapter 266

Madam Yu saw that her son, contrary to his usual behavior, had not interrupted her conversation with Lady Fan. She assumed that her words had moved Yu Jingxiu, and thought that although her son doted on his wife beyond all measure, he was not confused when it came to important matters. Greatly relieved, her expression softened considerably. "This is a matter for your own household—you should decide it yourselves! However, you cannot keep dragging this out. The Mid-Autumn Festival gifts are due to be sent soon, so this is the perfect opportunity to inform Eldest Aunt of this matter and let her share in your joy!"

The implication was that the matter needed to be settled before the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts were sent.

In the capital, gifts were customarily sent to Nanjing on the first day of the eighth month.

Today was already the twenty-sixth day of the seventh month.

Lady Fan listened, biting her lip involuntarily, but remembering Yu Jingxiu's earlier admonition, she smiled and acknowledged with a "yes," casually flipping through the almanac and setting the date for Yu Jingxiu's taking of a concubine for the twenty-eighth day of the seventh month.

Madam Yu nodded slightly, her demeanor even warmer than before. She even picked up Zhen-jie'er and played with her for a moment.

Yu Jingxiu could not help but breathe a sigh of relief, and then a strange feeling rose in his heart.

That Lady Fei had been right—as long as he didn't meddle in these matters, his mother would treat Lady Fan much more kindly.

Returning to his own courtyard, he unconsciously glanced toward the rear wing where Lady Fei lived—the main hall blocked it completely from view, and he could see nothing, yet for some reason, an image surfaced in his mind of Lady Fei sitting under the dim lamplight doing needlework.

The thought flashed by, and Yu Jingxiu was startled.

What was wrong with him?

Why would he think of such things!

He shook his head, as if trying to cast away the image that had just appeared in his mind, and strode quickly into the main hall.

On the twenty-eighth, the Yu household only set up two tables in the outer courtyard, inviting several of Yu Jingxiu's familiar fellow examinees and colleagues in the capital to come and celebrate. As for Lady Fei, she was led by Lady Fan's wet nurse to kowtow respectfully to Lady Fan and offer the mistress tea.

Lady Fan looked at Lady Fei, who was plain in appearance and submissive in manner, and was quite satisfied. She bestowed upon her a set of silver hair ornaments and said some words about "serving the master well and bearing children to expand the Yu family," then sent Lady Fei back to her room without having her observe seniority with Concubine Wu, who stood off to the side.

The maidservant attending Lady Fei was named Cairong. She had formerly been a minor maid in the outer courtyard, and because she was diligent and clever, when the inner courtyard needed to select maidservants, she had gone through Yu Huaian's connections and been assigned to serve at Lady Fei's side.

She smiled as she brought a cup of tea to Lady Fei and whispered, "Elder Aunt, you are a relative of the First Madam, and the Young Mistress didn't have you offer tea to Concubine Wu, so shouldn't you rank above Concubine Wu?"

Lady Fei, who still wore a smile on her face, suddenly furrowed her brow and said, "I entered the household after Concubine Wu, so naturally I rank after her. Need that even be said?" She continued, "I don't know how your mother taught you before. But since you've come to my room, you must follow my rules here—don't say a single word that shouldn't be said, and don't ask a single question that shouldn't be asked. Do you understand clearly?"

Cairong was greatly startled.

She hadn't expected the kind and amiable Lady Fei to suddenly turn hostile.

She quickly knelt on the ground: "This servant would never dare again..." Her voice trembled with fear.

Lady Fei looked at her with a slight smile and bent down to take Cairong's hand.

"I'm not scolding you," she said earnestly in a low voice. "It's just that our position is humble, and we cannot afford the slightest carelessness or presumption. Since we've been brought together, it must be fate. I only hope you can regard me as your closest person. As long as we can consult each other and remind each other of things, even the greatest difficulties can be weathered together. Don't you think that's the way of it?"

Cairong nodded repeatedly.

Lady Fei then smiled and instructed her: "Have the nurses bring in water for washing up!"

Cairong was taken aback.

Today was the day Lady Fei was elevated to concubine—was the master not coming to spend the night?

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but remembering what Lady Fei had just said, she swallowed them back down, acknowledged the order respectfully, and went to call the nurses to bring in water. She helped Lady Fei wash up, then helped her change into a casual rose-red lined jacket before going to prepare the bed.

A nurse announced joyfully from behind the curtain: "The master has come!"

Lady Fei, who was sitting before the mirror applying scented balm, smiled slightly and rose to greet him.

The curtain was lifted, and Yu Jingxiu walked in, somewhat drunk.

Lady Fei hurriedly supported Yu Jingxiu and loudly instructed Cairong to prepare hangover soup.

Yu Jingxiu waved his hand, pushing Lady Fei away, and said in a deep voice, "No need... just give me a cup of strong tea."

"How could that do!" Lady Fei said, undeterred, stepping forward to take Yu Jingxiu's arm again. "Night drinking is harmful to the body." She added, "Or perhaps I should have Cairong go inform the Young Mistress?"

"No need!" Yu Jingxiu took a deep breath, sobering up somewhat, and said, "Zhen-jie'er has just settled down to sleep—don't wake her."

When Lady Fei heard this, she said, "Then let me serve you by washing your face?" Without waiting for Yu Jingxiu to respond, she went straight to fetch water.

Yu Jingxiu did feel somewhat uncomfortable and didn't refuse, washing his face.

Cairong brought in the hangover soup.

Lady Fei served it to Yu Jingxiu, then smiled and said, "Elder Master, please rest early!" As she spoke, she moved the goat-horn palace lantern from the kang table to the brocade stool by the bed, then turned and placed two books on the stool, saying, "If you're bored, Elder Master, you can read! I'll squeeze in with Cairong for the night, so as not to disturb your reading.With that, she went around the screen and rustled her way onto the imperial concubine's couch where Cairong was on night duty.

Yu Jingxiu was quite surprised.

But being able to sleep in peace and quiet was still something he welcomed.

As for reading, he was dizzy and lightheaded—how could he possibly manage it?

Yu Jingxiu blew out the lamp, pulled up the quilt, and lay down on his side.

Lady Fei, seeing the room darken, finally opened her eyes and stared blankly into the pitch-black room.

Before coming to the capital, the elder madam had instructed her that Madam Yu disliked others meddling in her household affairs. So she had prepared her trunks and cases but had not arranged for personal maids or matrons to attend her. As the elder madam put it: "Rather than letting the Second Madam be on guard, it's better to open your arms and let her see for herself." But she had also told her: "Once you go over there, even if I have the heart, I won't be able to help much—everything will depend on you."

Thinking of this, she turned over.

In the darkness, her eyes grew ever brighter.

...

In the adjacent room, Lianxin was also tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Concubine Wu was woken by her and yawned, saying, "What's the matter with you?"

Lianxin, hearing her casual tone, felt anxious and sat up straight, saying, "Concubine, how can you still sleep? Do you know? The Elder Master went to Lady Fei's side chamber! And today was Lady Fei's first day entering the household, yet the Eldest Young Madam didn't even have her serve you tea..."

"Alright, alright." Concubine Wu yawned again as she listened. "I'm not worried, so why are you?"

"Concubine..." Lianxin angrily struck the quilt.

Seeing that she was truly anxious, Concubine Wu advised her: "Even if I rank first, so what? In the end, doesn't it come down to who weighs more in the Elder Master's heart? We worked hard to escape that situation—don't jump back into it." With that, she waved her hand to signal Lianxin to stop talking and go to sleep quickly.

Lianxin had no choice but to lie back down.

Concubine Wu decided to be thorough in her kindness. Early the next morning, after watching Yu Jingxiu leave Lady Fei's side chamber, she went to offer Lady Fei congratulations.

Lady Fei returned the greeting with a smile, and together with Concubine Wu, went to pay their respects to the Eldest Young Madam.

Madam Yu nodded slightly upon hearing this and privately said to Mama Shu: "You see, some things really do need to be said openly!"

Mama Shu smiled and replied, "Yes, it's still Madam's methods that work."

As the two were speaking, Grand Secretary Yu returned.

Madam Yu and Mama Shu stepped forward to greet him.

Grand Secretary Yu handed his official hat to Madam Yu and said, "Have Depu report to the Ministry of Personnel on the second day of the eighth month—as the censor for inspecting Shandong."

Madam Yu couldn't help but sigh softly.

She also understood that one could guard against thieves for a thousand days, but not guard against them forever. She couldn't keep her son hiding at home all day just because she feared Zhao Ling's retaliation.

The matter of her son going to the Censorate had already been decided a few days earlier—he was to go to Hebei. Both the Jizhou Regional Commander's office and the Xuanfu Regional Commander's office were in Hebei. Now her son was suddenly being sent to Shandong instead. Clearly, although her husband thought her words were somewhat alarmist, he still harbored some hidden concern.

Didn't this indirectly prove that Zhao Ling was indeed not someone to be trifled with?

Madam Yu mused, "What do you think—should we find a few capable household retainers with martial skills for Depu?"

Grand Secretary Yu thought for a moment and said, "Then let's do that!"

Madam Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Yu Jingxiu felt his father was making a mountain out of a molehill, but knowing that angering his father could send him straight back to the Messenger Office with a single word, he didn't refuse the family's arrangements.

Lady Fan, seeing this, began to grow uneasy.

She whispered to Mozhuan: "Could that Zhao Ling really be so formidable? For the sake of a woman, would he disregard his own future? Help me find out—what kind of person is this Zhao Ling, exactly?"

Mozhuan acknowledged the request but wore a hesitant expression.

Lady Fan asked, "What's wrong?"

Mozhuan thought for a moment, then said somewhat haltingly: "A few days ago, I heard some of the servants say that when Concubine Wu returned to the Wu residence, she seemed to have gone to visit Mrs. Zhao..."

Lady Fan was stunned, then flew into a rage, saying, "Does my mother-in-law know about this?"

"It seems she doesn't," Mozhuan said. "It was the coachman who escorted Concubine Wu back to the residence who grumbled about it and let it slip unintentionally."

Lady Fan's face darkened. "Think of a way to get this matter to my mother-in-law."

Mozhuan nodded.

A few days later, Madam Yu summoned Concubine Wu for a talk.

"You're quite familiar with Mrs. Zhao?"

So it had come to light after all!

Concubine Wu knew her movements couldn't possibly be hidden from the Yu family, and had been waiting for someone to confront her.

She had gone to the Zhao residence on her own—it had nothing to do with Mrs. Zhao. If they wanted to beat or scold someone, let them come at her.

She felt she had nothing left to fear anyway. At worst, it was death!

After all, living held no meaning for her anymore.

With that in mind, she said outright, "I know of Mrs. Zhao, but Mrs. Zhao doesn't know me."

Madam Yu was taken aback.

Concubine Wu went on bluntly, "I could see Mrs. Zhao was a very kind person, so while I was back visiting the Wu family, I went to see her. However, Mrs. Zhao said she had some rift with the Yu family and told me not to visit her again." She widened her eyes and asked Madam Yu, "Madam, how could our family have a rift with Mrs. Zhao? I don't think she's the type to hold a grudge."

Madam Yu was so furious she was speechless for a long while. She had Lady Fan confine Concubine Wu to her quarters, and the next day went to see Madam Wu.