The Emperor had not been managing state affairs much these past few years.
First, his health was poor and his spirits low. Second, the two Imperial Princes had grown up and been assigned duties.
Especially after the Crown Prince was invested, he presided over court affairs, and the Emperor almost never saw the ministers anymore.
However, Minister Liang was a senior official in the court, backed by the Yang family, and held considerable favor before the Emperor, so being summoned to the palace was not surprising.
When Chu Lan heard this, she felt quite reassured, certain that Minister Liang would severely punish that young Deng.
Before long, Minister Liang returned, but his expression was not pleasant. There were even tea stains on his shoulder, as if someone had splashed them there?
Who would dare splash tea on Minister Liang?
Chu Lan couldn’t help staring at Minister Liang’s shoulder. When Minister Liang saw him, his expression showed some anger, but in the next moment he suppressed it and even took the initiative to greet him, “Master Chu, sorry to keep you waiting,” and asked what he needed.
Chu Lan recounted what happened with Chu Zhao, emphasizing how arrogant Deng Yi had been, saying bitterly, “That girl made a mistake, and only Minister Liang could discipline her. It’s not his place to meddle. Who does he think he is?”
Minister Liang’s expression was gloomy, but he did not immediately summon the Commandant of Justice. After a moment of silence, he said, “Master Chu worries too much. Deng Yi cannot discipline Miss Chu, nor can I. This was merely children’s play. We parents should each scold them a few times and have the nannies teach them proper rules.”
Chu Lan was somewhat stunned. What did this mean? When the incident first erupted, Minister Liang had not spoken this way—he had clearly said it was not a trivial children’s matter—
“Don’t mention this matter again,” Minister Liang seemed to be struggling to restrain himself. “It’s all in the past.”
In the past? Chu Lan was about to say something more when a steward from the Liang residence hurried in and whispered a few words to Minister Liang. Chu Lan watched as Minister Liang’s face seemed to be plunged into a dye vat, changing colors before finally turning black as a pot bottom.
“How dare—” He was about to rebuke, but in the next moment suppressed it again. Looking at Chu Lan, “Master Chu, this matter ends here. Don’t mention it again in the future, and you and I should not meet anymore.”
With that, he flicked his sleeve and left, as if he didn’t want to look at Chu Lan for even another moment.
Not meet anymore?
Was this forgiveness or not? Chu Lan stood there unable to react.
When he came out and got into the carriage, the servant beside him handed over a letter, saying it was from the Second Master.
Chu Lan took the letter and tossed it on the table.
“What did he say?” Jiang Shi hurriedly asked.
Chu Tang had already reached out to take the letter and open it herself, reading aloud to her mother as she went: “Uncle says the matter of A’Zhao’s scuffle with Miss Liang has been resolved, telling us not to worry or ask about it further. At the end he also says thank you for our troubles and apologizes for the inconvenience.”
Jiang Shi stared blankly for a moment: “So that’s it? The matter is just done?”
“It must be so. Otherwise, how could A’Zhao have been released from the holding room and even dared to go to the Liang residence to make such bold statements?” Chu Lan said. “And Minister Liang—when he saw me, what was that attitude? Saying this matter was in the past, and when the servant came to report about Chu Zhao, he still held back his anger—”
Hearing her father reach this point, Chu Tang let out a long sigh: “Uncle is truly formidable. He’s in the border commandery where the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away, while we continue to bear this hateful imposing presence on his behalf.”
Jiang Shi angrily slapped the table: “Fine, fine! Let them, father and daughter, do as they please, never mind whether we live or die.”
Chu Lan said nothing, his brows tightly furrowed, seemingly helpless.
What could be done? As the eldest brother, he simply could not control this younger brother.
Chu Tang brought tea to Chu Lan, asking curiously, “Whose connections did Uncle use? To actually be able to suppress Minister Liang?”
Uncle still had connections to use? Hadn’t he exhausted all his options over ten years ago?
Chu Lan looked at the tea, thinking of the tea stains on Minister Liang’s shoulder—
In the palace, the Crown Prince was fond of martial arts, and the Third Imperial Prince was arrogant. Never mind splashing tea—even beating court officials was not unheard of. However, would the Crown Prince or Third Imperial Prince concern themselves with such a trivial matter? One was busy with archery and lifting stone locks, the other busy with reading and oblivious to all else—they couldn’t possibly care about two little girls fighting—
In the palace, there was only one person who was idle and free, yet capable of splashing tea on Minister Liang: His Majesty.
This Chu Ling had indeed appealed to His Majesty! When it had been agreed that he would use his last breath to petition His Majesty to grant Chu Ke an official position!
Chu Lan stamped his foot, let out a long sigh of “Aiya,” and dashed the tea to the ground.
“In our Chu family, is only his daughter a person? Are the rest of us not human? He wants to die himself and doesn’t care if the Chu family lives or dies!”
Jiang Shi obviously understood as well. Both angry and anxious, she tried to console Chu Lan while cursing Chu Ling.
Chu Tang was accustomed to such scenes. Since childhood, whenever the Second Uncle was mentioned, her parents would complain and then get angry.
As for the old troubles Uncle had caused the family, she didn’t really feel them deeply. After all, growing up, she had never lacked playmates. She was clever, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She knew how to speak well. Even if someone looked down on her, she could persuade them with just a few words, and could even make others criticize that person instead—
However, the trouble Chu Zhao had caused, and after all these years of silence, Uncle could still resolve it for her.
That meant Uncle still had connections.
If Uncle’s connections were used on her behalf, it would be icing on the cake.
What a pity—using them on Chu Zhao was such a waste.
……
……
The Chu Lan family was in a bad mood, and the Liang family was in an even worse mood.
Yan Shi was angry, Miss Liang was wiping away tears. They had waited with difficulty for Minister Liang to return, but before they could speak, he stopped them.
“Enough, I already know everything.”
Seeing Minister Liang’s expression, Yan Shi was startled. Taking another glance at his shoulder, with a woman’s eye for detail, though the stain had dried, she immediately recognized it as tea.
“What happened to you?” she asked. “How did your clothes get soiled?”
As she spoke, she stepped forward to wipe it clean and wanted to change his official robe for him.
The anger that Minister Liang had been accumulating could be freely vented at home. He flung his wife’s hand away: “His Majesty splashed it!”
Yan Shi stood frozen in place. Miss Liang also stopped crying, her face pale as she looked at her father.
The maidservants in the room all froze as well. One servant woman came to her senses and quickly ushered everyone out, closing the door.
“Master, what happened?” Yan Shi asked in a trembling voice. “You—what trouble did you get into?”
His Majesty had not been managing court affairs for quite some time now.
“Did Zhao Shi slander you?”
Seeing that his wife and daughter were terrified, Minister Liang shook his head: “Don’t be afraid. It’s nothing serious, and it has nothing to do with the Zhao family, the Third Imperial Prince, or the Crown Prince. It’s because of that Chu Zhao. His Majesty asked me why, when my grandson can already run around, I would bully a young girl. Then he splashed tea on me and said I was worthless.”
Because of that Chu Zhao? Both Yan Shi and Miss Liang stared blankly, thinking they had misheard.
“His Majesty knows about Chu Zhao?” she asked, stammering.
Minister Liang let out a derisive laugh: “How would His Majesty know about her? It’s because of Chu Ling. Chu Ling must have complained to His Majesty.”
Yan Shi didn’t know whether to feel relieved or more anxious: “Chu Ling actually dared—”
“What’s so strange about that?” Minister Liang sat down, releasing a breath. The pent-up frustration lessened considerably. “Back then, he could point at His Majesty’s nose and curse him. Lodging a complaint against me—what’s surprising about that?”
Yan Shi said in a low voice, “It’s not surprising that he complained. What’s surprising is that His Majesty actually listened to him.”
Not only listened to him, but even scolded Minister Liang.
Minister Liang’s expression darkened: “I think it’s not actually because of Chu Ling. It must be that Noble Consort Zhao slandered me. These days, the Zhao clan wants too many things, reaching too far. They find me obstructive, so His Majesty probably listened to slander and was dissatisfied with me, so he vented his anger.”
His Majesty couldn’t very well rebuke Minister Liang in Noble Consort Zhao’s name, so using the children’s matter was perfectly appropriate. Thinking this way made it reasonable, but Yan Shi’s breath still couldn’t ease.
“Speaking of which, things have really been going badly lately. The Zhao clan has set their sights on you, Master, and the Yang family is of no use either,” she said. “We spoke to the Xie family about the betrothal, but they actually backed out.”
Hearing this, Miss Liang lowered her head and continued wiping away tears.
Minister Liang’s expression grew dark again.
Actually, during this period, the family’s bad mood was not because of that Chu Zhao. Chu Zhao hitting Miss Liang—the one disgraced was Chu Zhao, the Chu family. They suffered no loss. In fact, it was a perfect opportunity to cover up other matters, avoiding having to look worried and inviting speculation and inquiries.
“How could such an absurd thing happen?” he said. “I’ll write to Third Master Xie and ask why they went back on their word. The Xie family must give us an explanation.”
As he said this, he slapped the table.
“The Yang clan and Zhao clan are one thing, but the Xie clan hasn’t even become a national uncle yet.”