That evening, after rushing about all night with nothing to show for it, Old Madam Chen sent someone to the Qin residence to fetch Chen Mingyu. Seeing Chen Mingyu’s gloomy face full of melancholy, she thought the girl must have suffered some grievance at the Qin household. She gathered her spirits and asked: “Are you not getting along well with the Qin young ladies?” Yet if Chen Mingyu was willing, there were very few people she couldn’t win over. Old Madam Chen let a servant massage her temples as she looked at Chen Mingyu.
Chen Mingyu pressed her lips together and shook her head. She moved forward to sit beside Old Madam Chen, tilting her head up to look at her and ask: “Grandmother, this time… will we end up like the Su family and the Wang family?”
Would they end up like the Su family and Wang family—reduced to having the men exiled and the women sold into slavery? Or perhaps even worse? Though Chen Mingyu was a young lady who didn’t understand much about court affairs, she had previously heard her uncle and his advisors discussing this matter in Jinling. They all said that the furor over the spring examination leak scandal hadn’t completely died down yet, and less than three months later, Grandfather had caused such a huge incident, even provoking Censor Shi to submit a memorial that cursed His Majesty as well. His Majesty’s fury toward Grandfather must be extreme.
Old Madam Chen stared blankly at her granddaughter for a long moment before the grievance and fear she’d been hiding in her heart finally showed. She pulled her granddaughter into her embrace, her voice even choking slightly: “Should that day truly come, Grandmother won’t let you suffer alongside us.” She lowered her head to look at Chen Mingyu, smoothing the creases on her forehead stroke by stroke: “Grandmother will definitely arrange your future properly. Rest assured.”
So matters had truly become this severe. Chen Mingyu’s heart turned to ashes as she hugged her knees and curled up on the carpet at Old Madam Chen’s feet, tears falling like broken strings of pearls. She truly couldn’t understand why she had fallen to such a state. She clearly hadn’t done anything wrong, she clearly hadn’t committed any offense, yet her future prospects and honor were all bound together with the family. Old Master Chen had gotten into trouble, and all those high positions previously promised to her, all that wealth and glory—it had all vanished without a trace.
“What other methods are there?” She looked toward Old Madam Chen through tear-filled eyes, her words accompanied by tears as large as beans spilling from their rims: “Grandmother, what other methods could we possibly have? I heard people at the Qin residence mention today that even Eunuch Feng has been implicated and has now been thrown into the imperial prison. Eunuch Feng merely dined and drank with Grandfather, yet he still suffers such implication…”
Old Madam Chen gripped her hand and squeezed it. Once she had calmed down, Old Madam Chen fixed her with a penetrating gaze: “Since you already know, I won’t hide it from you. You’re right—this time our family faces more danger than fortune.” She sighed as she looked at Chen Mingyu: “Not only Eunuch Feng—now even your second uncle and your eldest brother have been imprisoned for trying to use connections.”
Chen Mingyu’s eyes widened. She couldn’t quite describe what she felt in her heart—perhaps when the blows came too thick and fast, one stopped feeling the pain.
Seeing her vacant stare, Old Madam Chen sighed and patted her shoulder to bring her back to her senses before looking at her seriously and asking: “Grandmother will arrange a path for you to take. Will you agree to it?”
Chen Mingyu looked up blankly at Old Madam Chen. She didn’t know what path they could possibly have left to take now. The road ahead was clearly blocked—she couldn’t see any hope.
What drove her nearly to madness was that Song Chuyi, whom she’d once thought of as standing on equal footing with her, was still perfectly fine. Not only was she fine—she was very likely to become the Imperial Great-Grandson’s consort. That was the position she herself had dreamed of, the position that should have been hers.
What virtue or ability did Song Chuyi possess that the Imperial Great-Grandson would personally petition the Empress to issue an edict reproaching Madam Wei for her sake? Zhou Weizhao even handled such a small matter for her! The tears on her face had already dried. With a cold, detached smile on her face, she looked at Old Madam Chen and shook her head: “Grandmother, what path is left for us to take? There’s no way forward.”
At this point, she truly regretted not having listened to Eunuch Feng back then—she should have simply bashed her head against the Song family’s gate together with Grandmother. If that had happened, at least the Song family wouldn’t have escaped unscathed, right?
Old Madam Chen glared at her: “Nonsense!” Seeing that Chen Mingyu had finally returned to her senses, she continued: “As long as matters haven’t reached a dead end, don’t say such things about having no way forward. The worst result is nothing more than your grandfather and the adult males being beheaded, with the women sold into slavery. But since ancient times, there’s always been precedent—disaster doesn’t reach married daughters. If you marry, these matters won’t implicate you.”
Chen Mingyu’s eyes widened. But who would be willing to marry her now? Surely she wasn’t expected to marry some peddler or common laborer? She’d rather die than that.
Old Madam Chen didn’t give her time to catch her breath before asking: “What do you think of the Qin family’s Fourth Young Master?”
The one who had escorted Chen Mingyu back today was precisely the Qin family’s Fourth Young Master.
Chen Mingyu let out a bitter laugh: “Grandmother, the Qin family’s Fourth Young Master is Madam Qin’s legitimate youngest son. How could the Qin family agree?”
Old Madam Chen’s gaze turned dark and cold. She gave a sneering laugh, her tone rather mocking: “She’ll agree. And if she doesn’t agree, I have other methods.”
Chen Mingyu couldn’t stop her eyelids from twitching as she looked at Old Madam Chen. A thread of hope rekindled in her heart—she wanted to live well, but she didn’t want to be sold into slavery to live a life worse than death. Now Old Madam Chen had given her a path, the best path she could possibly choose at this moment, and her heart felt as if it had come alive again.
Old Madam Chen stroked her head, her gaze somewhat distant. After a long while, she finally sighed: “Or perhaps… it need not necessarily be the Qin family.”
Chen Mingyu’s heart gave a lurch. She felt an ominous premonition, then heard Old Madam Chen say: “The Fan family wouldn’t be a bad match either…”
Chen Mingyu felt increasingly as if she were lost in clouds and fog. She tightened her grip on Old Madam Chen’s hand, her voice taking on a tremor: “Grandmother, what are you saying? I don’t understand…”
Old Madam Chen smiled and lowered her voice, leaning close to Chen Mingyu’s ear to whisper softly: “Your grandfather prepared a large dowry for you in the past, intending to give it to Prince Dongping. Now that your grandfather has fallen into this situation, who would dare take silver to speak on his behalf or handle affairs for him? No one has such courage. Grandmother will use it to find you a good marriage match.”
She paused, seeing Chen Mingyu lean her face back slightly, then continued: “Grandmother has no other wishes left. I’m so old, naturally I’ll accompany your grandfather down below. It’s just that you must live well, live prosperously and successfully. Don’t think the Imperial Great-Grandson seems so magnificent and vigorous now—his fate in the future may not necessarily be so good. They may not necessarily meet a good end…”