HomeA Cup of LoveYi Ou Chun - Chapter 49

Yi Ou Chun – Chapter 49

Those who had been ready to burst into loud wailing suddenly stopped, like bubbles suddenly churning up from a riverbed, breaking apart midway into countless tiny fragments, reaching the surface with no force left—just a soft rustling before dissipating into nothingness.

Madame Hu abruptly stood up, her temples throbbing uncontrollably. She thought she had misheard and hurriedly asked again, “She’s back? How did she return?” What she wanted to ask was how the person had entered the gates—horizontally or vertically.

Qing Ru was anxious, not understanding why something that seemed so certain could suddenly take such a turn. Yet she couldn’t ask. The servant boy said, “The Commander of the Palace Guard, Lord Shen, and the Third Young Master of the Danyang Marquis’s household brought her back. They’re at the gate now and heading toward the garden.” She watched her mother’s expression change from hesitation to confusion, from terror to joy, each subtle shift like a great millstone turning. As she watched, she detected something spine-chilling beneath the forced smile.

“Amitabha Buddha,” Madame Hu’s eyes filled with tears. “Truly, heaven has eyes…”

Everyone in the room went out to receive them. People were already entering through the moon gate.

At the time between late afternoon and early evening, an angry cloud still lingered in the southwest corner of the garden. A slight touch of red, mixed with the darkness from the shadows beneath the grass at the wall’s corner, created a strange world. Someone walked through that chaos, wearing crimson silk beneath armor. Removing the helmet revealed a flawless face, and he clasped his hands in greeting Old Madame Xie, “Old Madame.”

Old Madame Xie hadn’t yet recovered her composure and nodded hurriedly, “Commander… Commander’s arrival…”

Everything happened too suddenly. When everyone thought the Fourth Miss was likely dead, they didn’t expect her to return to the mansion with such a ceremony. Madame Hu had made preparations earlier—she had imagined that even if Qing Yuan could escape death, a young lady who had been missing for a day and night could never hold her head up in the Xie family again. She had a hundred ways to deal with this concubine-born daughter who had brought shame to the family, whether marrying her off to a farmer or sending her to become a nun in a temple; the Fourth Miss would never be able to rise above her station in this lifetime. But she had returned, and with Shen Run and Li Congxin, no less. Madame Hu suddenly felt genuinely terrified—Shen Run was in charge of investigations and criminal cases; did his presence mean that those who had acted were all in the Palace Guard’s custody?

Old Madame was the world’s foremost judge of situations. Her earlier vague notion of preferring death to dishonor had now been completely replaced by joy. Seeing Qing Yuan enter behind Shen Run, she rushed forward several steps with outstretched hands, crying, “My flesh and blood, you nearly frightened your grandmother to death! Where did you go for this day and night? I sent your brothers to search all of Youzhou, why couldn’t they find you?”

Qing Yuan was also quite skilled at putting on an act. She appropriately threw herself into her grandmother’s embrace, choking with sobs, “Grandmother, on my way back from Bichen Temple, I encountered brigands. They killed the servant driving the carriage. If the Commander hadn’t happened to pass by, I wouldn’t be in this world now.” As she cried, she glanced at Shen Run from the corner of her eye. He was the only one who knew the truth, and he seemed to admire her tearful performance. After his initial surprise, he quickly adopted a knowing look.

Old Madame naturally had to thank Shen Run, “What can I say? Commander, you are our family’s savior. Last time you helped our master out of trouble, and this time you saved the Fourth Miss’s life. This debt of gratitude, even if ground to powder, our Xie family could never repay.”

Shen Run, seasoned in official circles, maintained his modest demeanor, saying it was nothing, “Just a small effort. I happened to be passing by on official business and would have helped even if it wasn’t your family’s young lady. Finding out it was Fourth Miss, I suppose it was fate.”

That mention of fate made Qing Yuan’s heart skip a beat, and she even forgot to cry. Old Madame naturally noticed this too, and having grasped the situation, she continued with pleasantries, glossing over it. Then, seeing Li Congxin, she quickly addressed him as Young Marquis, saying earnestly, “I never expected to trouble you again. We had no choice in our desperation. When Lun’er said he would ask Chunzhi, I let him go.”

Li Congxin smiled, “I didn’t help much, I just heard Fourth Sister was at the Palace Guard and went to escort her back.”

Since there had been a fright but no harm done, it was cause for celebration. Madam Jiang spoke up from the side, “The Commander and Young Marquis specially brought Fourth Miss back, you must be tired from the journey, please come in and rest.” She lowered her voice to instruct Yue Jian, “At this hour they’ll likely stay for dinner, hurry and make preparations.”

Yue Jian accepted the order and turned to give instructions. Those serving tea and those on kitchen duty all busied themselves. Madam Jiang’s overstepping suited Madame Hu’s seemingly lost state perfectly.

This wouldn’t do. Madame Hu collected herself and called to Yue Jian, “There probably isn’t enough time, no need to prepare. Ordering a ready-made feast from the Hongxi Restaurant would be quicker.”

Yue Jian acknowledged and hurriedly summoned servants to go out.

Turning to enter the main room, even if she was disgusted to death, she had to act out the scene of maternal love and filial piety. Madame Hu held Qing Yuan, saying tearfully, “My child, last night frightened the Old Madame, and frightened all of us. We thought you should have been back by then, but when the garden was being locked up, the gate guards came to report you hadn’t returned home. I was anxious and sent servants out to ask, but it was like a mud ox entering the sea—not a trace of news. The Old Madame was worried sick about you, crying until her eyes were swollen. My heart was pulled between concern for you and consoling the Old Madame, like being suspended over the fire. Thank goodness you’ve returned. Before your father left for battle, he repeatedly instructed me to take good care of the household. If anything had happened to you, how could I have faced your father!”

Madame Hu spoke with great emotion, crying as she talked. Those who didn’t know better might truly think she was a compassionate principal wife.

Since she wanted to put on a grand show, Qing Yuan naturally had to play along, comforting her: “Mother, don’t cry. Look, I’m perfectly fine! See, I haven’t even scratched my skin. I don’t know if it was my mother’s spirit in heaven protecting me, or if those bandits were just incompetent. Anyway, that gang of thieves has all been caught by the Palace Guard, and they’re being interrogated strictly now. Sooner or later, they’ll find out who bribed them, who gave the orders, and we’ll get an explanation.” As she spoke, she gently pulled away from Madame Hu’s grasp, fixing her eyes on her with a profound smile. “I expect the bandits must have made inquiries beforehand, knowing I was the Provincial Governor’s daughter. Mother, think about it—they dared to act against me knowing I was from the Governor’s household, either because they had nothing to fear, or because they knew my low birth made me easy to bully. If this had happened to Second Sister, what then? I fear the garrison troops would have already been mobilized to raid their hideout.”

How could Madame Hu not hear the barbs in her words? They were all clever people and had long understood everything; now they were just keeping up appearances. Bringing up Qing Ru for comparison was quite pointless—when the King of Hell wants someone dead, could that fate be transferred to another? Madame Hu wiped her tearful eyes and said, “Among you sisters, except for Qing Ru, none were born to me, but my heart treats you all the same. You’re young and don’t understand the ways of things. The garrison troops are public servants, we can’t mobilize them privately. Never mind you, even if it had been your Second Sister, we couldn’t have done anything. Fortunately, you’ve returned safely—this is the greatest fortune amid misfortune. Take a few days to recover and calm your nerves. I know you’ve been exhausted lately with your aunt’s affairs, and then yesterday’s incident—even someone made of iron couldn’t withstand all this.”

So this was the world of women—open attacks and hidden arrows, back and forth. Many words require careful listening to understand their underlying meaning. Most great families were like this: wherever there were women, there was strife. But while ordinary families might at most cut off relations after a quarrel, in the Xie family, one could lose their life if not careful. Fortunately, Qing Yuan could handle herself, so Shen Run turned his full attention to Old Madame Xie.

Lanterns burned in all four corners of the flower hall, their white glass shades casting a soft, celestial blue light that didn’t feel so stifling. Old Madame was extremely courteous in inviting the Commander to take the seat of honor. After some polite refusal, Shen Run graciously sat down.

The earlier alternating joy and sorrow had mostly dissipated by now. Shen Run gestured for Old Madame to be seated and said in a deep voice, “As I happen to be handling this case, I must report its details and progress to Old Madame. Looking at this case now, it doesn’t appear to be a common robbery. The criminals knew Fourth Miss’s background—if it were for money, they wouldn’t have chosen to act when Fourth Miss was at the temple arranging memorial services. If it were for abduction… a gang of brigands making such a commotion to kidnap one young lady doesn’t seem worth the effort. Moreover, Fourth Miss is still young, her beauty not yet fully apparent. There are many more beautiful women in Youzhou city. If the bandits had targeted Fourth Miss for her beauty…” He cast a fleeting glance at Qing Yuan, then slowly shook his head, “They wouldn’t have such poor taste. Since it wasn’t for money or abduction, Old Madame should consider whether the Xie family has made enemies who might seek revenge by first targeting Fourth Miss.”

Old Madame pondered for a long while, “Our Xie family has always been kind to others, we’ve never had any feuds…” As she spoke, she glanced at him, thinking this Commander Shen was truly cunning. Speaking of greatest enemies, who else could there be but Fu Chunshan, whom he had helped bring down last time? But the Palace Guard had dealt with the Fu family thoroughly from top to bottom. Even if there were survivors, they’d be too busy trying to stay alive to think about revenge against the Xie family. After much thought, she still shook her head, “We haven’t been back to Youzhou for decades. We certainly haven’t made any enemies.”

Shen Run made a sound of acknowledgment, then looked at the young lady who was displeased with his deliberately disparaging remarks. Her indignant expression was ineffably adorable. His mood greatly improved, and he said casually, “If it’s not targeting the Xie family, could someone be specifically targeting Fourth Miss? I doubt that’s likely—how could a young lady from a sheltered household offend anyone? I’ve encountered Fourth Miss twice now, and she seems very proper, not the type to inspire hatred.”

These words were quite artfully spoken, building layer upon layer, first disparaging then praising, and with just a few casual remarks, he had directed that hidden fire toward Madame Hu.

Everyone in the family knew that since the Fourth Miss’s return, things had never been good with Madame Hu. This mistress of the household had a heart as small as a needle’s eye—she could accommodate idle servants born to the household but not a legitimized concubine-born daughter. Moreover, a few days ago, Qing Ru suffered a hidden loss to Qing Yuan over the jade pendant affair. Who knew if Madame Hu hadn’t decided to go all the way and secretly arranged to eliminate Qing Yuan?

Thus, the gazes of those present deliberately or unconsciously drifted toward Madame Hu, but the mistress remained very composed. With such unwavering composure, probably even if witnesses were brought before her, she wouldn’t bow her head and admit guilt.

Shen Run slightly tugged at the corner of his mouth, noticed a white piece of fluff that had somehow landed on his official robes, raised his finger to brush it away, and said in a measured tone with lowered eyes, “Please rest assured, Old Madame. As long as that gang of brigands remains in my Palace Guard, I have ways to dig deeper and uncover the mastermind behind this. I have a peculiar habit—unsolved cases weigh constantly on my mind. Until the true culprit is captured, the Palace Guard will continue to be concerned about Fourth Miss’s safety. Fourth Miss is a witness in this case, and if needed, I may summon her to the office for questioning at any time. I also ask Old Madame to do me a favor—ensure Fourth Miss remains completely unharmed until the case is solved. If there are any more mishaps, then I would have reason to suspect there are traitors within the Xie household. At that point, any other crimes committed by that gang of bandits would also be partially attributed to the Xie family, and then the dignity of the Xie family’s centuries-old lineage could not be preserved.” After this thoroughly intimidating speech, he changed to a smile and said, “Old Madame must have heard of the Palace Guard’s methods!”

Who in this world didn’t know of the Palace Guard’s darker side? They had cleared many cases but naturally had their share of false convictions too. They were a group of thugs in fine clothes, any one of them being the son of some official, a gang that relied on their power to commit violence. They could devise hundreds of ways to torture people, such as the water chair or stone bath—names that didn’t sound like much but made one shiver when explained in detail.

Old Madame naturally understood the weight of Shen Run’s words. Though every word seemed to be about official business, they were all secretly protecting the Qing Yuan. She couldn’t yet figure out the mystery within, feeling something was amiss, but couldn’t say much. She could only agree, smiling, “Before Fourth Miss testifies, she is first and foremost a daughter of our Xie family. Even without the Commander’s instructions, I will naturally take the utmost care.”

Shen Run nodded, stood up, and cupped his hands in greeting, “Having safely returned the person to your noble household, I have completed one major task. Many urgent official matters are waiting at the office, so I shall take my leave now.”

As soon as he moved, those guards who had marched straight in to stand at the door stepped forward, their heavy footsteps suddenly startling everyone’s hearts.

Madame Hu seemed to have been submerged in a deep pool for a long time, only now struggling to the surface from the choking undercurrent. She gathered her strength and said, “The household has prepared a modest feast. Commander, why not stay for the meal before leaving?”

Shen Run said it wasn’t necessary, “Another day when there’s an opportunity, I’ll come to impose on your household again.”

The Palace Guard’s people moved like a gust of wind—arriving like a sandstorm and departing like clouds swept away by the wind. For a moment, everyone in the main room felt lost, standing in a daze for a while. Then, remembering Li Congxin was still there, they put on their smiling faces again to attend to him.

“Since the Commander has official duties to attend to, let’s proceed to dinner!” Old Madame showed a tired smile to the Young Marquis. “This incident has disturbed so many people, it makes us embarrassed. Now that Fourth Miss has returned without a scratch, the great stone in my heart has finally dropped to the ground. Young Marquis, please, let’s go to the flower hall for the meal. We’re all our people anyway, no need to stand on ceremony with separate tables.”

However, Li Congxin did not follow Old Madame’s words. He turned to look at Qing Yuan and said, “It was extremely fortunate that Fourth Sister encountered the Palace Guard on duty yesterday. If not for the Commander’s rescue, the consequences would have been unthinkable. I escorted her back today firstly to give Old Madame and Zhenglun an explanation, and secondly because I have something to report to Old Madame in person.”

The Young Marquis’s solemn expression made everyone present alert. Some ten pairs of eyes stared at him—they had already received too many shocks today, and hearts that had just settled down were raised again. Old Madame nodded, discouraged yet resigned, “Whatever the Young Marquis has to say, please speak freely.”

He stepped back two paces, standing on the huge fine brick in the center of the main room, and made a deep bow to Old Madame Xie, then another to Madame Hu. In a clear voice, he said, “I, Li Congxin, though unworthy, wish today to propose marriage to the Xie family’s Fourth Miss. I had previously discussed this with my mother, but due to various misunderstandings, it instead caused Fourth Miss to suffer undeserved suspicion, which was truly my fault. Today I report to Old Madame—this is my decision alone. As long as Old Madame and Fourth Sister agree, tomorrow I will ride swiftly back to Hengtang to inform my parents, prepare the three letters and six ceremonies, and present the betrothal gifts to Fourth Miss.”

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