Right now, in front of the master of the house, she still needed to manage the situation carefully and keep this fire from reaching herself. She called sharply for Chen Xiang: “That day it was you who came to report to me that the young mistress had been pinned under rubble — and now the young mistress is alive. How do you explain that!”
Chen Xiang, scolded by Liu Yanqiao, flinched with fright. She twisted her fingers and stammered: “That day I was sent by Nanny to dry out ink sticks in the rear courtyard. When I came back, I ran straight into the earthquake. I rushed into the courtyard and saw that the main room had half-collapsed. The person pinned under the beam was wearing the young mistress’s clothes — that is absolutely true, I would not dare hide anything from the master.”
Liu Yanqiao saw that Jiang Heng was wavering and quickly pressed on: “The beam had crushed the person underneath until her head was shattered — blood everywhere, the face completely unrecognizable… It seems we identified her by clothing alone, which was indeed hasty. But — inside the young mistress’s own bedroom, wearing the young mistress’s clothes — who else could it have been?”
With the two of them singing together like this, Jiang Heng was momentarily thrown into confusion. “How could something so convenient happen? Someone went missing in this household and nobody noticed?”
“Master has no idea,” Liu Yanqiao said mournfully. “During the chaos, a dozen or so of the servants registered as household slaves ran off. Several households had lost people entirely — we could not have chased them back even if we had tried. After the earthquake, the estate was in utter disarray — not even the gates were being watched. We had to pull people from the stables just to keep the disaster victims from pouring in.”
Stated in this way, the matter seemed to have an explanation. The fire of anger that had been suspended in Jiang Heng’s chest gradually settled.
Suddenly Chen Xiang let out an “Oh!” — “The young mistress’s clothes were always prepared by Mu Xiang. Could it be that Mu Xiang snuck into the young mistress’s room to wear her clothes while she was away?”
It was as if the truth had at last come to light. Jiang Heng’s anger died out entirely. Liu Yanqiao, hearing this, dissolved into aggrieved tears.
“Master, I have followed you for over ten years. Even when the Lady was alive, those were difficult times, but I gritted my teeth and endured every one of them. Does Master truly not know my character? When the Lady was alive I showed the Lady respect; when the Lady was gone I treated the young mistress kindly, not once stepping out of line. This error occurred because I panicked and recognized only the clothes without carefully examining the body. If Master cannot forgive me, then cast me out of the estate. It is all my own doing, and I do not dare to blame Master for a single word.”
While this weeping and pleading was going on, Xue Pan and Yu Pan, who had heard the news, came rushing in with Jiang Mi — and in an instant, the room was full of weeping children.
Jiang Mi said: “If Auntie is leaving, I will leave with Auntie.”
Yu Pan only knew to wail with her mouth wide open. Xue Pan found her irritating and dragged her to one side, then called out to their father herself: “Are the four of us not worth as much as one elder sister? If Father drives Auntie away, then just wait for Elder Sister alone to provide for Father in his old age!”
Jiang Heng fell silent. Four for one — by any calculation, this was not a trade worth making. Besides, Jiang Mi was the only male heir in the Jiang family. If son and father became estranged, would this household not simply fall apart? He pressed his forehead with his hand and gave a long sigh. “I never said I was driving you out. Why must you bring the children to pressure me like this? Very well — thinking it over, the person crushed beneath that beam truly could not be identified by face or brow. The figures of girls are much the same at that age, so a misidentification is not something one can entirely blame you for.”
Xue Pan quietly exhaled in relief. She helped Liu Yanqiao back into the rose-carved chair, then turned and said: “Father, I fail to understand — since Elder Sister is not dead, why did she only appear now? Someone died for no reason and a funeral was held in this household. Whose ill luck was that meant to touch? And besides, she made it all the way to the capital without coming to find Father. Something that could have been explained in a single sentence — why take such a roundabout path? Clearly she was deliberately making things difficult for Father, trying to force Father into dealing with Auntie so she could come home and set herself up as mistress and queen.”
Jiang Heng was left with even less to say. This question had troubled him for a long while, and the matter of why Yun Pan had not sought him out — why she had gone to Duke Shuguo’s estate instead, and let Duke Shuguo humiliate him publicly before all his colleagues — had gnawed at him. Now, recalling the earlier quarrel between father and daughter, he was quite certain this legitimate daughter had done it on purpose to put him on the spot. A creature so lacking in filial piety and family feeling — even if she came back, she would only be a source of trouble. Could he truly count on her to see him through to old age?
Jiang Heng clenched his jaw and struck his knee hard. “I never imagined that a daughter of my own flesh and blood would join forces with outsiders to give her father a lesson.”
Liu Yanqiao heard the opening and said, with timely and sorrowful grace: “It is all my fault. The young mistress has always looked down on me because of the Lady, and recently Master spoke of formally elevating my position — naturally that would stir the young mistress’s resentment.”
Jiang Heng could not help taking the bait. He raised his voice at once: “She is a child. What business does she have in adults’ affairs?”
Yet however much he said this, what came next was not easy to manage. Duke Shuguo was waiting for him to dispose of the concubine before he could collect Si Si. But he could not treat Yan Qiao harshly without reason either — after all, she had made a mistake in identification, not committed a capital crime. She had been at the Marquis of Yong’an’s estate for over ten years. Her entire life hinged on him. Ten-odd years of feeling — not something one could simply throw aside.
“Alas!” He breathed out a long breath from the bottom of his lungs, looked out at the blazing sun beyond the window, and rose to his feet with a defeated air. “I will go to Duke Shuguo’s estate and sort this out. If it is a misunderstanding, it can be resolved…” He shook his head as he walked away. “Truly a star of misfortune from a past life — torturing me, her own father, in weather this hot…”
Liu Yanqiao watched his retreating figure and exchanged a quiet glance with Xue Pan.
By now Xue Pan had gained a genuine admiration for her mother. A few words had been enough to smooth things over with Father. It showed how much a man’s favoritism mattered. As long as you kept the master of the house captivated, no matter how great the storm, that man would shield you from it.
So when the inner household was in disarray, the one who stood to suffer was often the man himself.
Jiang Heng made the journey back from Youzhou to the capital once again. Both his thighs had been nearly rubbed raw from the saddle, and when he dismounted he could barely stand — had a servant not caught him, he would have toppled over.
Looking at the night sky, he had arrived in the capital by around the hour of Hai. This was too late an hour for a proper conversation, so he retreated to his lodgings and slept a rough night. The following morning, as soon as it was fully light, he presented himself at the gates of Duke Shuguo’s estate.
Madam Ming had long been prepared. She had already spoken with Yun Pan in advance, saying simply: “Today we will see what your father has to say. If he deals with that treacherous woman, then all can be negotiated. If he comes with smooth talk and evasions, drive him out the door — and from then on, you will be my daughter.”
Yun Pan agreed aloud, but inwardly she had a dim premonition that this meeting would not produce any real resolution.
“I have not seen Father in many days — I find I am a little afraid,” she said with a faintly embarrassed smile. “Forcing Father to dismiss Liu Shi — Father must hate me to the core by now.”
Madam Ming told her not to be afraid. “With your aunt and uncle here, even if he disowns you, we will stand up for you and see that justice is done. If he is not afraid of people pointing fingers at his back, let him go right ahead and protect that woman of his. Your future will not be ruined, and cutting ties with a father like that can only do you good.”
As she spoke, she brought Yun Pan to the front hall. Entering, she found Duke Shuguo and Jiang Heng seated facing each other, the atmosphere between them decidedly heavy.
Jiang Heng rose and bowed when Madam Ming entered, greeting her as “Elder Sister.” His gaze swept briefly to the side and landed on Yun Pan. Remembering how brokenhearted he had been when he believed her dead, now that he saw his daughter standing here alive in the flesh, much of the resentment he had been carrying along the road melted away somewhat.
“Si Si…” He blinked his stinging eyes, and a tumult of feeling rose in his chest. “Child, since you were already in the capital, why did you not come to find Father?”
Yun Pan lowered her skirts and made a bow toward him. “Father, I have caused Father worry, and I have not been a dutiful daughter. But I could not enter our home. I wandered outside for some time before making my way to the capital, and when I returned to Youzhou, rumors would have spread from every direction. My reputation could not bear it — I hope Father will forgive me.”
Jiang Heng was thoroughly blocked by her few words. He was silent for a long while before bowing his head. “You have had a strong will from childhood, Father knows that.”
Madam Ming could not abide watching him fail to examine himself but rush straight to reproaching the child. She said in a stern voice: “You are a man — you know nothing of a girl’s situation. Men travel the world seeking grand ambitions, and everyone applauds them for it. A girl who is away from home for a single night is considered improper, and gossips will dare to spit at your very door. You expect Si Si to find a good match in the future? My younger sister had only this one child, raised with every care until she was this age — I will not stand by and let a lowly concubine of slave stock ruin her. You have come here today. There is nothing else to say — just tell me what you intend to do with that woman in your rear household. Si Si is the legitimate daughter of a marquis. She has not the ruthlessness to compete with that woman, nor would she stoop to do so. I believe that the Marquis of Yong’an is a man who values face and observes propriety. You must have rushed back to the capital overnight specifically to clean house. Am I right in that assessment?”
Jiang Heng had always been a little afraid of this wife of his brother-in-law. She and the County Princess Yuyang were two entirely different kinds of people. The County Princess had been patient and gentle, but this woman was like a female general — the moment something displeased her, she could dress you down until you could not lift your head.
He rubbed his hands and, with careful words he had been rehearsing since before he arrived, said with apparent sincerity: “When I returned, I questioned everyone carefully about what happened that day and found the maidservant who had previously attended Si Si. That was when I learned that a girl named Mu Xiang had put on Si Si’s clothes without permission, which caused Liu Shi to mistake her for Si Si. This was all a misunderstanding from beginning to end — there was no conspiracy behind it, and Elder Sister need not worry. I have already punished Liu Shi severely, and when Si Si returns home, I will have Liu Shi apologize to her in person. Elder Sister, our household suffered a great blow with the Lady’s passing last year, and this year we have only just begun to recover. I truly cannot endure any more upheaval. Liu Shi has been in the household these years and has raised three children. To drive her out or sell her off for something like this — I would have no way to face those three children, and the household would fall apart entirely.”
When he had finished saying all this, Yun Pan felt her heart go cold to the soles of her feet. She understood then that she had lost not only her mother, but now her father as well.
Grief and disappointment left her speechless. She retreated behind Madam Ming and could not bring herself to look at her father any longer.
Madam Ming knew what was in the girl’s heart. She pressed Yun Pan’s hand lightly and addressed Jiang Heng: “You cannot account to those three illegitimate children, so you have no choice but to fail your legitimate eldest daughter — is that what you are telling me? You have seen that Si Si has no mother to stand up for her, so you are openly taking advantage of her. Fortunately she is clever enough to know that household is no place to return to, and that you, bewitched by that woman, would never take her side. In the future, when word spreads all across Youzhou that she was away overnight and her reputation is ruined, the two of you can use that to find a righteous excuse to demean her, to silence her, to keep her from opposing your plan to formally elevate that concubine of slave stock — is that not so?”
Jiang Heng had no words in response to Madam Ming’s scolding. On the side, Duke Shuguo finally stood up, heaved a long sigh, and said simply: “Enough.”
“By my reckoning, you do not lack for a legitimate daughter — with so many illegitimate children, someone will bring you glory in the end. Since that is how it is, why make things difficult? Wash your hands of her. In the future, you and your concubine and your illegitimate sons and daughters can live out your pleasant little life in peace. As long as you can withstand the impeachment, the iron pot will still stew the goose. But Marquis, do not forget how you rose to where you are today. The proverb says one generation plants the tree and the next sits in its shade, and when you lie awake at midnight, you ought to die of shame.”
Duke Shuguo had no more desire to argue. He clasped his hands behind his back and walked out.
Madam Ming looked at Jiang Heng with hollow eyes and asked: “Marquis, do you intend to give Si Si no answer at all?”
Jiang Heng was also in turmoil. He looked at his legitimate daughter, then thought of the people back in Youzhou, and finally wrung out an ambiguous sentence: “Actually… I think Si Si is doing quite well here with Elder Sister. Why not — why not let Elder Sister be inconvenienced for a while longer, and once a suitable marriage is settled, I will prepare a dowry and have it sent here… I will entrust all arrangements to Elder Sister.”
Having said this, he could not bear to remain any longer. He did not even dare to look at Yun Pan again. He threw out a hasty “Si Si, mind your aunt,” then turned without looking back and walked out of the front hall. Coming face to face with Xiang Xu, who had just arrived, he did not even stop to greet him but quickened his steps and was out the door.
Madam Ming was so furious she could barely speak. “Has there ever been such a useless, nonsensical father in this world!”
She looked again at Yun Pan. The girl’s eyelashes were veiled in mist, but she forced out a faint smile. “Aunt, please do not be angry. I always knew it would come to this. I only feel sorrow for Mother — the ways Father hurt her must have been a hundred times worse than this.”