Such a wedding disturbance naturally drew someone to report it to the authorities, and before long officials from the local magistrate’s office had taken Xia Qingyun and the others away.

The matchmaker who had presided over the ceremony smoothed things over, saying it was just a few drunkards making trouble, and with that the matter was papered over and the ceremony continued.

But the second young miss of the Xie Family had shut herself in her room, her face ashen, sobbing and throwing a fit — not a trace of the joy befitting a new bride.

It was only after Zhou Sui’an went in and pleaded with her at length that she was finally coaxed out to bow before Heaven and Earth and complete the rites.

As Zhao Shi sat in the main hall receiving the formal obeisances, she could still hear the whispers of those around her. Every face smiling at her seemed to harbor some ill intent.

Zhao Shi could only force herself to endure it, but her face was utterly drained of life — gloomy and sunken as a memorial tablet at a funeral.

Zhou Sui’an’s expression was no better. But with his superiors and colleagues all present, along with many of the Xie Family’s relations by marriage, he still had to see the affair through.

And so he rallied himself and soldiered through the entire performance — though when it came time to toast the guests, he was distracted and listless, going through the motions without heart.

Those who attended the banquet whispered among themselves that the gift money they had contributed this day was truly well spent — not only had they enjoyed the feast, they had been treated to several good shows for free.

Madam He was among those enjoying the spectacle. She watched with great relish, drinking heartily all the while, and could not help but feel a surge of private admiration.

She had always said that Madam Chu was not the sort to swallow her grievances. And now here was proof — this parting blow was devastating: hiring people to disrupt the wedding ceremony!

Well, she supposed it was only right. A licentious creature like that deserved exactly this kind of reckoning. Today she had learned yet another trick!

In between watching the spectacle and trading gossip with others, Madam He suddenly remembered something.

The salt gang men had just been taken away in irons by the constables — she had no idea whether Madam Chu had any inkling of this.

She couldn’t leave it like that — she had to get word to Madam Chu first and let her prepare, so that when the constables came knocking she wouldn’t be caught off guard and say the wrong things.

Besides, the scene at the Zhou household’s wedding ceremony — the bowing and kneeling that had looked more like mourners at a funeral — was far too good not to recount in full detail. Madam He felt she would be doing Chu Linlang a disservice if she didn’t tell her every last bit, given all the money she had spent to orchestrate the chaos.

And so when Madam He had finished eating and was preparing to leave, she sent a young manservant ahead to run an errand, and made her way to Cuicui Lane to give Madam Chu a full account.

The moment Xia He heard that the troublemakers were from the salt gang, and as the manservant described their leader’s appearance, she immediately guessed it was her own elder brother who had caused the disaster. She stomped her feet in distress and asked her young mistress what on earth they should do now.

Chu Linlang had not expected Xia Qingyun to stir up such a muddle the very moment he arrived in the capital. She silently cursed her luck, sensing instinctively that this matter would not be easy to resolve.

After a moment’s thought, Chu Linlang went back to her room to retrieve some banknotes, then took the two maids and headed to the magistrate’s office, intending to buy the man’s release first.

After all, disrupting a wedding ceremony without injuring anyone was no more than a charge of causing a public disturbance. As long as one was willing to pay silver and offer an apology, such offenses typically meant at most one night in a cell before release.

But when Chu Linlang arrived at the magistrate’s office and announced she had come to secure the release of Xia Qingyun, the duty officer in charge wrinkled his nose and scowled at her: “These ruffians had the nerve to disrupt the wedding of General Xie’s daughter and Administrator Zhou — they must have had a death wish! Our Magistrate has given orders: this scoundrel is to be flogged through the night, and the mastermind behind him is to be beaten out of him before anything else can proceed. The hearing hasn’t even begun — you can’t buy anyone’s release yet. Get out of here!”

It turned out that when Xia Qingyun had caused his uproar at the wedding, Madam An — the bride’s maternal aunt — had also been present.

As she listened to those around her whisper about the second young miss of the Xie Family’s improper conduct, Madam An had been quietly gleeful on the inside.

Because she knew these rumors were ones that her own household’s concubines had leaked from the family residence.

Her elder sister’s second daughter had never shown proper respect to her as an aunt — having her name dragged through the mud was no less than she deserved!

Even if she had deliberately let those concubines overhear what they did, what of it? She hadn’t spread it with her own lips.

Even if the second miss went crying to her father about it, he would only assume it was Chu Linlang who had deliberately leaked it.

And even if they truly traced the gossip back to her household, she had nothing to fear — it would give her a perfect excuse, with the Xie Family’s own hand, to discipline those two gossipy, husband-seducing concubines in her household.

When General Xie worked himself into a fury, he was the sort who would reach for his sword. She would just see whether that old man of hers would protect those fox-spirited little minxes!

Madam An had calculated it every which way — no matter how it played out, she stood to lose nothing.

And now, as though Heaven itself had arranged it, several brutes had appeared to smooth things over for her. When the wedding descended into chaos, Madam An was momentarily overjoyed beyond measure.

She had made up her mind on the spot: she would maintain to the death that it was Chu Linlang who had hired those men to disrupt the wedding, and that the gossip had also been spread by people Chu Linlang had engaged.

And so before the wedding banquet was even over, Madam An hurriedly took a carriage to the Xie household, and embellished the whole incident for her elder sister and brother-in-law with a great deal of added detail.

When Madam Su heard that her daughter had been so utterly humiliated in public, she nearly fainted dead away from the shock of it.

She could not help but pour out her grievances to General Xie, saying over and over what a vicious and cunning woman that Madam Chu was — the Xie Family had fed a white-eyed wolf. Even if their daughter had been in the wrong, that Chu woman was too despicable in her conduct. How could she take their hush money and still tear open the wound like this?

General Xie too was incensed, and with a wave of his hand he sent his attendants to the magistrate’s office with instructions to have the troublemakers given a thorough flogging — he was determined to beat the name of the mastermind out of them.

The Xie Family might have been in the wrong to begin with, but they had been nothing short of generous in their dealings with Madam Chu.

For Chu Linlang to hire people to make a scene at the wedding and broadcast the news of her daughter’s pregnancy for all to hear — this was too vicious.

Did that Chu woman really think that by sheltering under a fifth-rank Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, she could hold the Xie Family hostage for the rest of their lives?

The Magistrate too was quick to take the hint. After all, tarnishing the reputation of an official’s daughter was no small matter. Even if he had to flay that salt merchant alive, he would wring a confession about the mastermind out of him — there was absolutely no question of releasing anyone easily.

Xia He and the others were driven away from the magistrate’s office before they could even get through the gate, and she was at her wit’s end. She turned urgently to ask Chu Linlang how they were going to rescue her brother.

If he truly endured a night of beatings, even a healthy man would be left with barely a breath of life.

Dongxue said quietly: “What are we to do? Should we still go to the Court of Judicial Review and find the Junior Minister, and get the man freed first?”

But Chu Linlang shook her head: “No. Right now the Xie Family is insisting that Xia Qingyun was acting on someone else’s orders. They believe I am the mastermind. That’s still tolerable — after all, it’s my lawsuit alone to bear. But if my employer involves himself, won’t he become the mastermind? He had originally handled the Xie Family’s matter with some leniency, precisely because he didn’t want to turn things completely sour with them. We can’t allow him to carry the blame for our affairs and make enemies at court for nothing…”

Situ Sheng’s reputation was already poor, and he had no goodwill to spare among the great households of the capital. Chu Linlang felt she could not drag him further into disrepute.

Xia He’s eyes reddened: “Then… what do we do? It’s all my brother’s fault for being so reckless — rushing off to make trouble without even asking a single question first! But if he endures a night under the rod, how will he survive it?”

Chu Linlang studied the magistrate’s office looming in the lamplight, turning the problem over and over in her mind, then made a swift decision: “Come. We go to the Sixth Prince’s residence!”

Xia He and Dongxue were both startled and immediately protested that this could not work. With the Xie Family’s reputation now in ruins, Princess Xie — the Sixth Prince’s consort — must surely be furious.

If Madam Chu went there, would she not be walking into the tiger’s den to be dealt with at their pleasure?

But Chu Linlang felt that the one who tied the knot must be the one to untie it. She had originally negotiated the terms of her separation from the Xie Princess consort. Now that a misunderstanding had arisen, she needed to go and explain herself to the Sixth Princess Consort.

Even if the Sixth Princess Consort refused to believe her, she still had to make the effort — at the very least, she could not allow Xia Qingyun to be beaten to death inside.

Unfortunately, this time she could not even get past the gate of the Sixth Prince’s residence.

The moment the Sixth Princess Consort heard it was Madam Chu requesting an audience, she had a message passed through the gateman: the Sixth Princess Consort had just heard that something had gone wrong at her younger sister’s wedding, and had been upset by the news. As she was with child and feeling unwell, she was not seeing visitors.

Rebuffed at the door, Chu Linlang thought for a moment, then once again asked the gateman to pass a message.

But this time, the name she gave was no longer “Madam Chu, an old acquaintance from Jizhou” — it was “Madam Chu, head steward of the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review’s household.”

The gateman thought she was unwell in the head — this was plainly the same person, was it not?

But Chu Linlang smiled apologetically and pressed a very generous silver ingot into his hand, spoke a few more coaxing words, and asked him to trouble himself to make one more trip inside. If she succeeded in getting in, she would reward him with another ingot.

The gateman weighed the silver in his hand and decided that even a scolding was worth it, and turned to carry the message.

This time quite a while passed before a nanny appeared at the gate, stone-faced, and ushered Madam Chu inside.

It was, all in all, the first time Chu Linlang had come to call on the Xie Princess Consort without the title of Zhou Family wife.

The Xie Princess Consort showed none of her former warmth and cordiality, only asking from behind a curtain in a cool tone: “Has the Steward Chu come bearing some message from the Junior Minister?”

Chu Linlang had entered the Prince’s residence today entirely on the borrowed prestige of the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. She hastily knelt and paid her respects, saying with a smile: “This visit is not on my employer’s business — it is a personal matter of my own. I was bold enough just now to borrow my employer’s name to gain entrance, and I have come to offer my apologies to the Princess Consort.”

The Xie Princess Consort gave a cold laugh: “We Xie Family have wronged you in ten thousand ways — how could I possibly presume to accept an apology from the head steward of the Junior Minister’s household?”

Chu Linlang said quietly: “The men who went to cause trouble at Muyu Stone Lane today were salt boatmen I have been supporting. They have been away from the capital for a long while and had absolutely no idea that Administrator Zhou and I had parted ways by mutual consent. Unable to find anyone, and being young and hot-blooded, they misread the situation and disrupted the wedding. If they are to be punished for causing trouble, there is the law to determine their sentence — I would not dare plead for leniency on their behalf. However, there is one matter I feel must be made clear, lest the Old General and yourself remain in the dark and be deceived by others, only for some irreversible mistake to be made later.”

The Xie Princess Consort was convinced this woman was two-faced and had been going everywhere to ruin the Xie Family’s name. Hearing Chu Linlang speak this way, she felt true anger and contempt in her heart: “Oh? What misunderstanding could there be? Our Xie Family can no longer show our faces in the capital — we owe it all entirely to Steward Chu’s good offices. I am most grateful for your concern. But spare yourself the trouble of worrying on our behalf.”

Chu Linlang pretended not to hear the cold sarcasm in the Princess Consort’s words and spoke in an unhurried tone: “The mistakes that are mine, I must certainly own. But I have no reason to take the blame for wrongs that are not mine. Princess Consort — you know my character well enough to know I am not the sort to do something foolish and then come running to beg your forgiveness. Do you truly believe that I would take the Xie Family’s settlement money and then be unable to hold my tongue — going around everywhere ruining the second young miss’s reputation?”

Hearing this, the Xie Princess Consort sat bolt upright, swept aside the curtain, and fixed her gaze on Chu Linlang kneeling on the floor: “If not you, then who? Are you going to tell me that it was our own Xie Family who let this matter out?”

Chu Linlang half-raised her head and said with certainty: “Does the Princess Consort truly not know — this matter really did come from within the Xie Family.”

She then recounted, in full detail, everything she had heard from Madam He: how the concubines from the household of the Xie Family’s in-law, the An Family, had eavesdropped and spread the word.

The Xie Princess Consort had not believed it at first. But to her surprise, Chu Linlang was able to name the An Family’s concubines specifically — her account was so coherent and detailed that it could not have been fabricated on the spot.

After Chu Linlang had finished speaking, she said quietly: “This is hardly a secret. If the Princess Consort is inclined, have someone seized and follow the thread upward — it will all become clear soon enough. And the way Madam An has been so careless with such sensitive information makes it hard to say whether this was not deliberate on her part.”

The Xie Princess Consort knitted her brows, still unconvinced: “But she is my own maternal aunt — she could have no possible reason to ruin her own niece’s reputation!”

Chu Linlang gave a small, rueful smile and shook her head at the Xie Princess Consort, saying in a low voice: “You are well aware that I am a very different person from who I once was — I no longer sit in some deep inner courtyard all day. I run errands for my employer on the farms and in the shops, and in doing so I have come to know many attendants from other households. Some things can only be heard from a position of low standing. Since I have already come this far in saying all this, I might as well play the villain and lay everything out in the open.”

And with that, she briefly explained how the An Family’s nephew who managed the waterways had been taking bribes under the names of General Xie’s household and the Sixth Prince — extorting commissions from passing boats.

Of course, Chu Linlang had no evidence for any of this, nor did she dare mention the matter of the An Family’s nephew having detained the Crown Prince’s vessels.

But she had laid this trail of clues here today — if General Xie was so inclined, he would eventually be able to uncover the truth.

As long as the Xie Family understood that the An Family was a source of calamity, and that the gossip had been spread by someone else — and if she then returned to the Xie Family the silver she had received from them — perhaps she might douse General Xie’s fury and find some way to first get Xia Qingyun freed.

The Sixth Princess Consort was about to dismiss all of this as absurd when the door was suddenly shoved open with a bang.

The person who entered was none other than the scrawny Sixth Prince himself.

Ever since falling out with his revered teacher, things had been going badly for him in every direction. Recently, after being roundly scolded by his Imperial Father, he had lost all appetite, and his arms and legs had grown even thinner than before.

Just now, when Chu Linlang had entered by invoking the name of the Court of Judicial Review’s head steward, he had also heard the young attendant’s report, and had initially assumed his teacher had taken his fourth older brother’s advice, was willing to reconcile with him, and had sent someone to pass word. His heart had leapt with joy.

But unfortunately, he had sat in the reception hall for quite some time without anyone appearing. When he inquired, he was told that the head steward from the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review’s household had gone to see his Princess Consort.

The Sixth Prince had just crept outside the door, bent double, pressing his ear to the door to eavesdrop.

Other matters aside, when he heard Madam Chu say that someone from the An Family had been using the names of General Xie and his own name to extort commissions on the waterways, he was immediately seized by a cold shudder!

Because just a few days earlier, the Crown Prince — who ordinarily treated him as though he were invisible — had specifically invited him to the Crown Prince’s residence for a drinking session.

That drinking session had left Prince Liu Ling in a somewhat foggy haze. He had only half-listened as the Crown Prince talked of shipping affairs and matters relating to his fourth older brother, responding with vague murmurs throughout.

Yet the import of what the Crown Prince was saying had made him uneasy and fearful.

The words had carried an ominous undertone — roughly to the effect that throughout history, brothers who had stood on the wrong side had left not even their bones intact.

The Crown Prince had said he did not have many grown brothers, but he dearly hoped his delicate, beansprout-thin sixth younger brother would live to a ripe old age.

When the Sixth Prince left the Crown Prince’s residence, even the insoles of his shoes were soaked through with sweat.

He felt he had somehow been inadvertently drawn into some matter he wanted no part of, but with no former teacher at his side to help him read the situation, he was genuinely at a loss.

Just now, when he heard Chu Linlang say that an An Family official who managed the waterways had a habit of detaining vessels and demanding kickbacks in his name, the Sixth Prince felt as though his two meridians had been suddenly unblocked — everything became clear to him at once.

No wonder the Crown Prince had spoken of detained vessels, and had advised him to hold his tongue and protect himself.

That was the root of it all! Someone had used his name to detain the Crown Prince’s vessels!

Having worked this out, the Sixth Prince did not wait for his Princess Consort to say anything foolish — he burst through the door, half-running with stooped shoulders, came to stand before Chu Linlang, and with a smile personally helped Madam Chu to her feet, saying again and again: “The floor is cold — how can I ask Madam Chu to kneel while she speaks?”

That display of solicitous concern made even the Princess Consort a little jealous, and she began to suspect that the Sixth Prince had long harbored designs on this Chu woman’s beauty, and had finally found his chance to draw close to her.

The Sixth Prince offered Madam Chu warm words of consolation and personally escorted her out of the gate. It was quite some time before he returned.

Holding back her tears, the Princess Consort asked the Sixth Prince why he was being so cordial toward a woman who had tarnished her own family’s reputation.

And those words nearly caused that slender imperial beansprout to explode into a full head of cauliflower!

The Sixth Prince jabbed a finger at her in a towering rage, demanding to know what kind of relatives her family kept — how dare they use his name to pull off such swindling schemes?

If Madam Chu had not come today and exposed the An Family’s vile doings, he might never have known until his own head had already rolled!

Such corrupt and lawless officials — they deserved to die ten thousand times over!

Listening to the Sixth Prince’s words, the Sixth Princess Consort’s face went pale with shock — especially when she heard him say that the Crown Prince had personally come to warn him. She felt her heart lurch with dread.

Her younger sister’s petty scandals were — at worst — a matter of losing face. The worst that could happen was that the wretched girl’s children would carry the stain of their mother’s disgrace for the rest of their lives.

Reputation, once dirtied, could still be washed away by time.

But if the Sixth Prince offended the Crown Prince, the entire Xie household would be dragged down in ruin!

The Sixth Prince had just been publicly rebuked by His Majesty and made to kneel in the study as punishment — it was the talk of the court. The little store of imperial favor he had once enjoyed was rapidly being exhausted.

If the An Family people were truly foolhardy enough to go on blackening her father’s and the Prince’s name, then dying ten thousand times would not be too severe a penalty for them!

That day, without even waiting for the Sixth Prince to finish his tirade, the Xie Princess Consort hurriedly ordered a carriage and rushed to the Xie household.

Meanwhile, the Sixth Prince waved for someone to be brought and sent his personal calling card ahead to the magistrate’s office. Whatever else happened, he could not allow the magistrate’s office to beat to death someone who belonged to the Junior Minister’s household.

Those inner household stewards were just like the favored senior eunuchs at His Imperial Father’s side — crafty and long of memory, and not to be offended.

He had already offended his former teacher. If he were now to make an enemy of the teacher’s female head steward, would any hope of reconciliation between master and student not become even more remote?

As for Chu Linlang — she had come with a great many arguments prepared, fully intending to persuade the Sixth Princess Consort.

But before she had finished half of what she meant to say, the Sixth Prince had barged in, apologized to her with great warmth, and then personally escorted her out of the Prince’s residence.

Dongxue and Xia He had been waiting at the gate in an agony of suspense for quite some time. They finally saw the Sixth Prince personally walk Madam Chu out through the gate.

Watching the Sixth Prince speak to Chu Linlang with such gentle attentiveness… surely their young mistress hadn’t had to endure some indignity, make some sacrifice, in exchange for being treated so by the Sixth Prince?

Even Chu Linlang herself was completely bewildered.

But the Sixth Prince had said it was all a misunderstanding and that the person would be released tonight. She chose to take him at his word and went to wait outside the magistrate’s office.

And so when the sky had grown fully dark, Chu Linlang led the others to wait at the magistrate’s gate.

After a while, they finally saw Xia Qingyun emerge from the magistrate’s office with his gang of salt brothers, one half of his face swollen purple.

Xia He marched over in a fury and gave her brother’s shoulder a hard thump: “Is this any way to do things? Do you have any idea how long our young mistress spent pleading for you today?”

Xia Qingyun had taken a beating inside and had few places on him that weren’t tender. His sister’s thump made him stagger from the pain.

When he heard what his sister had said, he looked over with remorse at Chu Linlang, who had been standing quietly to one side all along.

The young mistress standing in the lamplight was just as strikingly beautiful as he remembered — but when those limpid eyes looked at him, he felt such shame that he could hardly lift his gaze to meet hers.

Chu Linlang had no desire to say more in front of the magistrate’s office and simply said it was fine, they could talk when they got back.

They were all staying at an inn, and at this hour they would likely return to find the kitchen fires put out and no food to be had.

Besides, they had injuries that needed tending.

Chu Linlang checked the time and knew her employer had been returning late in the evenings recently, usually not until the hour of Hai. The hour was still early.

And so Chu Linlang led them all back to Cuicui Lane first.

At the gate, Dongxue first lit a fire basin and had them each step over it to drive away any ill fortune.

They were all famished, not having eaten. Fortunately there was ready-cooked braised pork in the pot, and the two maids made noodles — braised pork noodle soup — and set it before them.

When Xia Qingyun accepted his bowl of noodles from Chu Linlang’s hands, his heart was overwhelmed with complicated feelings. He could not bring himself to look at her and only asked in a low voice: “Young mistress, I… I didn’t mean to cause you trouble.”

Chu Linlang used her chopsticks to fish out a large piece of braised pork and drop it into his bowl, then said calmly: “It’s already sorted — let’s not bring it up again. From now on, I have nothing more to do with the Zhou household. There is no need for you to have any further words with the Zhou Family people.”

Xia Qingyun had already learned from his sister that the young mistress was now working as head steward at the Junior Minister’s residence.

Looking at her — dressed in dark indigo, her hair arranged in a style that seemed old beyond her years — and watching her bustle constantly at the stove, entirely the picture of a household steward woman, he felt a tightness in his chest.

In his heart, the young mistress was someone to be cradled in the palm of one’s hand and tenderly cherished. How could she be serving as a servant girl?

Xia Qingyun’s eyes stung with unshed tears. He swallowed hard against the lump in his throat: “Young mistress, you’ve been put through hardships. If I had known sooner, I would have come back earlier…”

Chu Linlang saw the look on his face and couldn’t help but laugh. She pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to him, saying gently: “Come back earlier for what? As long as you manage the salt boats well and prosper out there, that’s all I need to feel at ease…”

Xia Qingyun stared, transfixed, at the young mistress’s lovely smiling face. The large hand that reached to take the handkerchief lost its composure for just a moment — and closed over Chu Linlang’s hand.

And at precisely that moment, the master of the Junior Minister’s residence slipped quietly into the courtyard with his young attendant.

It turned out that with so many people coming and going, and the fire basin set up at the entrance for everyone to step over, Dongxue had forgotten to close the main gate — it was only pulled to, not latched.

When Situ Sheng returned, he did not need to knock. He simply pushed the gate open and stepped lightly into the courtyard.

He had caught the wafting fragrance of braised pork just a moment ago and had surmised that Linlang had made noodle soup for him — a small smile had come to his lips.

But to his surprise, as he turned around the moon-gate, he found a tall, dark, muscular young man — one hand holding what should have been his bowl of noodle soup, the other hand gripping someone who belonged in his courtyard.

This profoundly offensive intrusion caused the smile on Situ Sheng’s face to cool and recede, his gaze sharpening like a torch as he raised his voice and asked: “Have I… come back at an inconvenient time?”