Chapter 284

When Lianxin heard Concubine Wu's words, her face flushed red and then turned pale. It was a long moment before she said in a muffled voice, "Then... then what if something really does happen to the First Master out there... we should make preparations early as well."

"Of course," Concubine Wu said, smoothing the creases in her lapel that Lianxin had pulled at. "If Concubine Fei hadn't nodded her head, Cairong wouldn't have told you any of this. By rights, we should also go to the First Madam's quarters to find out what Chengxin said. But as I said before—behind Concubine Fei stands the First Madam, and behind us stands the Wu family. If we get into trouble, it's the Yu family's household affair, and the Wu family is too far away to help. But if Concubine Fei gets into trouble, the First Madam, as the matriarch of the Yu household, has every right to intervene. Besides, Concubine Fei is even more anxious than we are. In this matter, you just need to follow Cairong's lead. When it's time for us to step forward, Concubine Fei will naturally come to beg us for help."

Lianxin, seeing that Concubine Wu—who usually paid no attention to anything—not only spoke with perfect clarity but made sense on every point and had a clear plan for what to do, felt greatly reassured. She couldn't help but look at Concubine Wu twice more.

Concubine Wu smiled bitterly. She thought to herself that in this world, no one was stupider than anyone else—it was simply that circumstances were stronger than people, and one had no choice but to bow one's head. She also thought of how her younger sister, though married to a merchant, was valued by her husband's family for being educated and good with accounts. From the moment she entered the household, her mother-in-law had kept her by her side to learn household management, and she had soon conceived and borne a first son. Her bitter days were finally over. With that, the faint unease in her heart dissolved like smoke, and she turned and left the narrow passageway. She sat down on the kang with a peaceful heart, and as she sewed winter clothes for her younger brother, she wondered whether she should also make a set of winter clothes for her nephew—her sister's son, who was only ten months younger than her brother.

Over on the other side, when Lady Fei saw that Concubine Wu was making no move, the hand hidden in her sleeve clenched tightly into a fist.

She thought for a moment, then asked Cairong, "Is Chengxin still in the First Madam's quarters?"

Cairong nodded.

Lady Fei sighed. "I had wanted to send a bottle of the flower dew to the First Madam and one to Zhen-jie'er, but I don't know whether Zhen-jie'er can use it. I wanted to go ask the First Madam, but it seems I'll have to wait a while." Then she instructed Cairong, "The moment Chengxin leaves, come and let me know."

Cairong quickly agreed and waited outside, watching the main courtyard for any movement.

After about the time it takes two sticks of incense to burn, Cairong came running in: "Concubine, Chengxin has left."

Lady Fei took the daphne flower dew she had prepared in advance and went to Lady Fan's quarters.

As for Chengxin—ask her anything and she knew nothing. Press her further and she would fob one off with, "These days I'm only responsible for the First Master's writing materials. Everything else is handled by Duanyan." Lady Fan was both anxious and angry—how could she have any good expression on her face? The servants who saw her naturally became fearful and tiptoed about with the lightest of steps.

When Lady Fei arrived, she felt the oppressive atmosphere—everyone wore a look of caution on their faces. She couldn't help but ask the young maid who lifted the curtain for her, in a low voice, "What's going on?"

The young maid shuddered at her words and said hastily, "I don't know anything! I don't know anything!"

"Look at you!" Lady Fei said with a smile. "I only asked casually. If it's something you can't speak of, do you think I would force you to tell me?"

A trace of gratitude appeared in the young maid's eyes, and she quickly announced through the inner chamber's curtain, "Concubine Fei has arrived."

There was no sound from the inner chamber for a long while. Just as Lady Fei thought Lady Fan would refuse to see her, Mozhuan's voice suddenly sounded in her ear: "Please, ask Concubine Fei to come in!"

The young maid quickly lifted the curtain for Lady Fei.

Lady Fei softly said "thank you" to the young maid, then walked in with a smile.

Only Lady Fan and Mozhuan were in the room. Lady Fan was reclining sideways on the daybed, while Mozhuan sat on an embroidered stool beside it. The two were sitting close together, as if sharing confidences, though both wore rather solemn expressions.

When she saw Lady Fei enter, Lady Fan didn't even raise her eyelids. It was Mozhuan who spoke on Lady Fan's behalf: "What business does Concubine Fei have?"

Lady Fei's smile remained warm and composed. As she took out the flower dew in its glass bottle, she said, "I had some free time and saw that the daphne flowers in the garden were blooming beautifully, so I followed the First Madam's example and gathered some daphne to make flower dew. To my surprise, it actually worked. I thought I'd send some to the First Madam and to Zhen-jie'er. But Zhen-jie'er has always been frail and hasn't stopped taking her medicine—I don't know whether she can use it. So I brought it over specially to ask the First Madam and Miss Mozhuan to help me take a look..."

Lady Fan, remembering the clothes Lady Fei had made for Yu Jingxiu, felt a wave of distaste. She gave Lady Fei a cold glance and was about to refuse with contempt when Lady Fei opened the bottle of flower dew. The room was immediately filled with the distinctive fragrance of daphne blossoms. Lady Fan's spirits lifted at the scent—her headache seemed much better—and she swallowed the words of refusal. Still, she said in a casual, dismissive tone to Mozhuan, "Accept it. Show it to the imperial physician. If it can be used, send it to Zhen-jie'er."

Mozhuan acknowledged with a simple "Yes."

Lady Fan extended her hand, signaling for Mozhuan to pass her the tea—a gesture that also hinted Lady Fei could take her leave.

Unexpectedly, Lady Fei, who was usually quite perceptive, seemed not to notice. She stood there smiling and said, "Speaking of which, I encountered something interesting while picking daphne flowers." Without waiting to see whether Lady Fan was interested, she continued directly, "Do you recall Old Woman Liu, who tends the flower gardens, First Young Madam? When I went to pick daphne flowers, she was complaining to Nurse Li, who was on duty. She said her old man had been complaining of back pain every day lately, but she was too busy repotting and grafting the garden flowers to find time to accompany him to see a doctor. So she told her old man to go see the doctor himself. When her old man came back, he said the doctor diagnosed it as an old ailment that would require daily acupuncture to cure. Otherwise, as he aged, he might end up bedridden and unable to get up. Old Woman Liu was frightened out of her wits, but she couldn't get away, so she gave her old man the key to her silver box and told him to seek treatment first. Who would have thought—when she finally finished her work in the garden and went to check, all her years of savings were gone. Panicked, she rushed to the doctor to ask about his condition. Only then did she learn that her old man hadn't been going to see the doctor at all these past days—he'd been infatuated with a widow who lived next door to them..." Before she could finish, she noticed Lady Fan and Mozhuan exchange a glance.

A smile quickly rippled across Lady Fei's lips, then vanished like a pebble sinking into a lake: "At the time, I just listened. But today, Cairong told me that Old Woman Liu's old man beat her and even wants to divorce her!" She laughed heartily and said, "First Young Madam, don't you find that amusing! At their age, aren't they ashamed? Besides, Old Woman Liu's old man is short, skinny, and scrawny—only Old Woman Liu treats him like a treasure. That widow is probably just trying to wheedle a few coins out of him to spend..."

Lady Fan's expression turned quite sour. She scolded Lady Fei, "A woman's worst fault is a wagging tongue. When did you become like those lowly old women, spreading gossip and stirring up trouble?"

The rebuke left Lady Fei's face flushing red and pale by turns. She murmured, "I saw everyone talking about it, so I thought I'd share it with you, First Young Madam, to give you a laugh..." Then she quickly added, "First Young Madam, I won't dare do it again."

Lady Fan's expression softened slightly. This time she said bluntly, "If there's nothing else, you may return to your room."

Lady Fei bent her knees in a curtsey and returned to the side chamber, but instructed Cairong: "I couldn't very well tip Mozhuan in front of the First Young Madam. I have a bottle of rose flower water here—not as fine as daphne, but still pleasantly fragrant. Go to the front courtyard and chat with the maids in the First Young Madam's quarters. Find an opportunity to give this flower water to Mozhuan."

A woman's love of beauty prompted Cairong to bring the flower water to her nose as soon as she took it—indeed, the fragrance was delightful. She smiled and acknowledged the task, then headed to the main courtyard.

Before long, she returned.

"Concubine," Cairong pouted, "the First Young Madam had Mozhuan go do something. The moment I approached, Mozhuan gave me a good scolding..."

"Oh!" Lady Fei raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps Mozhuan is in a bad mood today! You know how it is—when you're on duty, you sometimes suffer a little grievance. Don't take it to heart. We'll try again when Mozhuan has some free time."

Cairong laughed at this, nodded happily, and stored the flower water in her own trunk. But though she tried several times to find an opportunity to give it to Mozhuan, she never managed to run into her. When she asked others, everyone only knew that the First Young Madam had sent Mozhuan on some errand—but exactly what it was, no one could say.

Several days passed, and then it began to rain. The patter of raindrops beat against the leaves, and water fell from the eaves in thin lines, splashing everywhere.

Everyone stayed indoors, either doing needlework or chatting idly. When evening came, they all retired to bed early.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the main hall.

In the stillness of the night, it seemed all the louder.

Those who heard it were startled. Those who wished to curry favor or considered themselves respectable hurriedly dressed and went to see what was happening, while others who were lazy hid under their covers, pretending not to hear.

Concubine Fei quickly instructed Cairong to light a lamp: "Let's go over and see as well. Perhaps something has happened to Zhen-jie'er..."

Cairong dared not delay. She hastily helped Concubine Fei dress, then fetched an umbrella and escorted her toward the main hall.

On the way, Cairong couldn't help glancing back.

Concubine Wu's room was pitch black.

Cairong couldn't suppress a light snort, then tilted the umbrella further toward Concubine Fei.

The rain drifted down at an angle, quickly soaking half of Cairong's body.

Cairong paid it no mind. When they reached the veranda of the main hall, she noticed that although the hall was brightly lit, the doors were tightly shut, and from within came Lady Fan's shrill voice, though the words were indistinguishable.

Several maidservants and older female servants who had arrived earlier stood off to the side, their faces filled with fear, not daring to make a sound. Some even slipped quietly back into their own rooms.

Cairong sensed something was wrong and hurriedly tried to pull Lady Fei back.

Lady Fei, however, stepped forward a few paces and pounded forcefully on the main hall's door: "Eldest Master! Eldest Mistress! What has happened?" She then called out to Mozhuan, "Miss Mozhuan, open the door quickly, it's me, Lady Fei!"

Cairong's heart tightened with anxiety, and she called out "Auntie," but at that moment, the door creaked open.

Mozhuan stood there with a cold expression, blocking the light from the hall and also blocking the entrance: "It's the middle of the night, why aren't you sleeping? What are you doing here..."

Cairong saw a flash of determination cross Lady Fei's brow as she shoved Mozhuan aside and walked in, saying, "Eldest Master, Eldest Mistress, what is going on here?"