Chapter 312

April was the finest weather in the capital.

After a passing rain, the sky was washed clean as jade, spring flowers bloomed one after another, and everywhere trees and blossoms flourished in a riot of purple and red.

Yet Yu Huaian's mood was as dim and gloomy as the corner of a wall after rain.

Yu Jingxiu had already moved out two months ago, and just now he had sent his page boy Chengxin with a stack of bills for him to pay.

If he paid, he was merely a money-keeper—without the tally tokens of the master or the lady, once the money went out, when accounts were settled and things didn't balance, whose fault would it be?

If he didn't pay, the Yu household would sooner or later belong to Yu Jingxiu. And unlike Mama Shu—a woman who could live well enough on two mu of farmland—he was a man. A man cannot go a single day without power. Without the title of Steward of the Yu household, who would pay him any heed?

He sat there for a long while, unable to make up his mind.

Yu Huaian's personal page boy was also caught between two difficulties.

With the steward not saying what to do, all he could do was wait there; meanwhile, Chengxin on the other side was loudly insisting that the young master was waiting for him to bring back freshly baked pea-flour cakes from the Jinlan Zhai pastry shop.

The page boy thought it over and decided that Steward Yu, after all, was the steward—he had many affairs, and at worst he'd be scolded and sent to some remote post. But if he offended Chengxin, that one would hold a grudge and find ways to make his life miserable at every turn, and there would be no end to the torment.

He shut his eyes and urged Yu Huaian: "Head Steward, you must come up with a plan for this. Things like this will probably happen every few days from now on..."

The page boy's words reminded Yu Huaian.

That was right.

As long as Yu Jingxiu didn't move back, he would come asking for money every time. He could block this one time, but not the next... and over time, things would become impossible to explain.

He rose abruptly to his feet and said, "Keep Chengxin occupied. I'm going to see the lady."

At last there was a directive, and the page boy felt relieved, trotting off to the flower hall.

When Madam Yu heard why Yu Huaian had come, she gave him a cold glance. "Since when did you become Yu Jingxiu's steward?"

Sweat beaded on Yu Huaian's forehead, and he hastily bowed. "This one knows what to do now."

Madam Yu gave a soft "mm" and raised her teacup.

Yu Huaian returned to the accounts room drenched in sweat, and sent the page boy to relay a message to Chengxin: "The rules of the Yu household accounts office have always been: the tally token is recognized, not the person. Have him bring the tally token to settle the accounts."

Knowing that Yu Huaian had just come from seeing Madam Yu, the page boy went and delivered the message without the slightest fear.

Chengxin jumped three feet in the air when he heard it. "Isn't the young master busy with matters? That's why he sent me back to settle the accounts!"

The page boy, unafraid of him, smiled and said, "Brother Chengxin, that's an amusing thing to say. How are we to know whether it's you settling accounts or the young master? Brother Chengxin is an old hand in this household—best bring the tally token if you want to talk!"

This left Chengxin speechless for a long while. When he saw Yu Jingxiu, naturally he embellished the story with all sorts of added grievances.

Yu Jingxiu's face turned purple with rage.

But Madam Min urged him from the side: "It's all my fault, making the young master suffer such indignities. They were only some tonic herbs. As I said before, food tonics are better than medicine tonics. We'll just be more careful with our daily meals from now on." With that, she smiled and took Yu Jingxiu's hand, placing it on her belly, which was not yet very flat. "I think he seems to have grown a little bigger!"

Yu Jingxiu smiled and gathered Madam Min into his arms, and for the moment had no time to be angry with Yu Huaian.

While Yu Jingxiu was taking his afternoon nap, Madam Min called in the wet nurse, opened a small box, and took out a gold hairpin for the wet nurse to pawn. She also instructed her: "I'm afraid of being seen, which is why I called you into the room. You must not breathe a word of this in front of the young master. If he asks, just say we still have some savings from before."

Yu Jingxiu was sleeping fitfully, and the moment someone entered, he was startled awake. He heard every word Madam Min said.

His heart suddenly ached.

If only he had the ability to set up his own household.

The thought flashed by, and he thought of the Marquis of Xiping...

...

Meanwhile, Lady Fei was quietly reporting to Madam Yu: "...Following your wishes, I hinted to Madam Min—as long as she gives birth to a son, out of respect for the Buddha, for the sake of the grandson's standing, the lady would take her back." Here, her tone paused briefly.

Madam Yu looked somewhat impatient. "Does she have some objection, then?"

"No, not at all." Lady Fei hurriedly smiled. "It's just that I think Madam Min is a clever woman. When I said this, she listened quietly, but didn't seem to take it to heart." As she spoke, she stole a glance at Madam Yu and said hesitantly, "It was her wet nurse who, when seeing me out, spoke with hidden meaning—saying that although their family had fallen on hard times, they had once lived in silk and jade, and were no strangers to the schemes of great households. 'You have your Zhang Liang's stratagem; they have their ladder over the wall.' It all comes down to whose skill is greater."

Madam Yu flew into a rage, but before she could speak, Mama Shu entered to announce: "The young mistress has arrived!"

Lady Fei quickly lowered her eyes and withdrew to one side.

Lady Fan entered and immediately spotted her. Her already pale face turned even paler.

She respectfully paid her respects to Madam Yu and said in a low voice, "These past few days, Zhen-jie'er has been feeling a bit unwell again. The imperial physician said it was due to the change in weather. That made me think of our hometown in Nanjing. The spring and autumn there are long, while winter and summer are short. If Zhen-jie'er were in Nanjing, the ailments caused by the climate would likely be fewer..." Her eyes reddened as she spoke. "Mother, I would like to take Zhen-jie'er back to Nanjing to stay for a while. Once she is older and her health is stronger, we can return to the capital and enjoy your company again."

"How wonderful!" Madam Yu said with a half-smile. "If you think Nanjing's climate isn't suitable enough for Zhen-jie'er's recovery, why not just take her back to the Fan family? You were perfectly healthy when you lived with the Fans, but your health has declined steadily since marrying into our family—clearly the Fengshui of the Fan household nurtures people. A daughter takes after her mother; perhaps Zhen-jie'er has inherited your constitution, and once she's at the Fan residence, all her ailments will vanish."

"Mother!" Lady Fan stared at Madam Yu, unable to hide her shock and dismay.

Madam Yu didn't even bother to pick up her teacup and directly instructed Mama Shu: "See the young mistress back to her quarters! If she wishes to return to Nanjing, most of our household has already come to the capital with me, and there's no one to look after the old residence. Just send the young mistress and Zhen-jie'er straight to the Fan family to stay for a while! When Depu has time, he can go fetch her whenever he pleases."

Mama Shu was also annoyed with Lady Fan for not knowing her place.

At this moment, the mistress was shielding the eldest young master from the front, yet not only did Lady Fan fail to stand with the mistress, she wanted to return to Nanjing and wash her hands of the matter entirely!

Thus, she no longer showed Lady Fan her former respect and grabbed her arm firmly: "Young mistress, let me escort you back!"

Lady Fan hadn't expected Mama Shu to dare treat her this way. Caught off guard, she stood there dazed, her movements somewhat sluggish.

A young maid rushed in, panic-stricken: "Madam, Madam, please come quickly! The master has suddenly collapsed in his study. Steward Yu sent me to tell you—he's already sent for a physician."

"What!" Madam Yu was greatly alarmed. Forgetting Lady Fan entirely, she scrambled off the kang, slipped on her shoes, and ran toward Grand Secretary Yu's study.

Without a second thought, Mama Shu released Lady Fan and followed.

Lady Fei glanced at Lady Fan, then hurried out after Mama Shu.

The maids and matrons needed no further prompting—they all rushed off in a flurry toward Grand Secretary Yu's study.

In an instant, the vast room was left with only Lady Fan.

Mozhuan walked in, a hint of hesitation on her face: "Eldest Young Mistress, should we go take a look?"

Lady Fan thought for a moment and said, "We'd better go." If she attended to her father-in-law alongside her mother-in-law, the latter would find it hard to bring up sending her back to the Fan family.

Mozhuan nodded and helped Lady Fan to Grand Secretary Yu's study.

Knowing that Madam Yu and the other women would be arriving, Grand Secretary Yu's retainers and advisors had already withdrawn. Only young boys no more than three feet tall or maidservants remained to attend around the study.

By the time Lady Fan arrived, the imperial physician was already there, speaking with Madam Yu: "...Do not move Grand Secretary Yu. This is a case of rage overwhelming the heart. I will apply a few needles; once his heart energy gradually calms, he will wake."

Madam Yu expressed her endless gratitude and retreated with the other women to the side chamber, dragging Yu Huaian along to question him about what had happened.

Yu Huaian's gaze flickered, and his tone was evasive: "Mr. Hu came to see the master, saying the eldest young master was embroiled in some legal trouble. The moment the master heard it, he collapsed. I was scared out of my wits and only thought of fetching a physician—I haven't yet had the chance to ask Mr. Hu what it was about."

Mr. Hu was one of Grand Secretary Yu's advisors.

Hearing this, Madam Yu's heart pounded wildly, and her face went white as a sheet. She quickly said, "Go fetch Mr. Hu at once!"

Yu Huaian breathed a quiet sigh of relief and turned to bring Mr. Hu over.

Before Mr. Hu had even steadied himself, Madam Yu demanded urgently: "What happened to Depu?"

Mr. Hu glanced at Madam Yu, looking somewhat hesitant.

Madam Yu grew frantic: "The master is unconscious right now, and you're all keeping things from me. If anything happens to Depu, how—how am I supposed to go on!" Her eyes reddened, and a sheen of tears glistened in them.

Only then did Mr. Hu speak cautiously: "A man surnamed Guo, who once served as a county magistrate's deputy, has accused the eldest young master of 'murdering a husband and seizing his wife'..."

"Murdering a husband and seizing his wife?" Madam Yu was left speechless. "That—that's impossible! If Depu were a lecher, he'd have a house full of concubines by now, and I'd be surrounded by grandchildren. Could there be a mistake? Or perhaps Depu offended someone, and they're deliberately trying to smear his name..." With that, Madam Yu's spirits rallied, and she declared loudly, "That must be it! Depu has served as a censor for these past few years and handled several major cases. Offending people is unavoidable—this must be their retaliation!"

Mr. Hu's gaze toward Madam Yu carried a flicker of pity.

Lady Fei saw it clearly, and her head buzzed as if struck. For a long moment, she could not collect herself, and by the time she did, chaos had erupted all around her.

Mama Shu and Yu Huaian and the others crowded around the unconscious Madam Yu, calling out "Madam!" while Mozhuan and the rest clustered around Lady Fan, who had collapsed limply to the side, crying "Young Mistress!" A quick-witted maid hurriedly announced, "I'll go fetch the imperial physician!"

Her gaze cut straight past all this commotion and landed on Mr. Hu, who stood there shaking his head with a helpless expression.

Lady Fei pondered briefly, then quietly stepped forward to Mr. Hu's side.

"Mr. Hu," she said, offering him a respectful bow. "I am Lady Fei, concubine of the eldest master. Is there any room left to turn things around for the eldest master's situation?"