Mudan was at a loss with the invitation, having no experience in such matters. While simply sending money or goods would be easy, finding a thoughtful gift was the most challenging task in the world. After pondering for a while and finding no suitable ideas, she put the invitation away. She ordered the servants to set the table, planning to leave early before the sun became too fierce. Her goal was to finish the errand at the Zhu Duke’s mansion and then seek Madam Bai’s advice.
By the hour of Si (9-11 AM), the couple had arrived at the Zhu Duke’s mansion. Unlike yesterday, Jiang Changyang refused to enter directly. Instead, he properly wrote a name card and sent it in, then asked Mudan to step down from the carriage. They stood together at the main gate, waiting patiently for an announcement from inside.
The gatekeeper, knowing it wasn’t appropriate to keep them waiting outside, tried to invite them in, but to no avail. Left with no choice, he took the name card inside to find someone. However, after searching for a long time, everyone seemed busy with their tasks. He couldn’t find anyone who could relay the message to the inner courtyard, and he didn’t dare to intrude.
He was so anxious he could barely stand still. After standing in the sun for a while, he thought to himself, “They weren’t received yesterday, so they surely won’t be received today, especially with all the commotion inside. Who would care about this matter?” Although it wasn’t his fault, he knew the young master would likely take out his frustration on him. Better to avoid it altogether. So, without informing Jiang Changyang, he found a shady spot to rest and washed his hands of the matter.
Now, why was the usually well-ordered Duke’s mansion in such disarray, with not even a servant available to relay a message? This chaos began early in the morning. When the Old Madam heard from Bai Xiang about Lady Du injuring her waist, she sent away the younger servants and scolded Jiang Zhong: “How could you be so brutal with her? Couldn’t you have talked it out? If you’ve crippled her, what will you do?”
Jiang Zhong, knowing full well how much force he had used against Lady Du, grew more annoyed at her deliberate act to frighten everyone. He sneered, “How could she be crippled? She’s just pretending. If I let her intimidate me this time, we’ll never have peace in this house again.”
The Old Madam was shocked. “What do you mean? How could there be no peace?” In her mind, Du Shi was the epitome of gentleness, virtue, and capability. What did he mean by no peace? When Wang Ayou was here, that was when there was no peace. Now that Jiang Changyang had arrived, that was when there was no peace. Life had become unbearable.
Jiang Zhong initially felt it difficult to speak about these troubling matters, not wanting to burden her. But under the Old Madam’s persistent questioning, he reluctantly said, “Do you think she’s a good person? The trouble with Yun Xiao is certainly connected to her. The marriage between Da Lang and He Shi ultimately was also due to her meddling behind the scenes! She’s afraid that Da Lang and Zhong’er will become too strong and take the title, so she wants to ruin Da Lang completely before she can rest easy.”
The Old Madam could hardly believe it. “But she’s always been persuading me, and she’s never said or done anything… You shouldn’t believe random gossip…”
“Am I the kind of person who believes just any rumor?” Jiang Zhong interrupted her sternly. “That’s precisely what’s most frightening. On the surface, she seems to care more about Da Lang than we do, even more than his flesh and blood. Even when everyone thought Da Lang had framed Zhong’er, she never said a single unkind word. She’s done all the good deeds and said all the right things, while we’re made out to be the villains. Think carefully, hasn’t she always failed to persuade you, instead making you even angrier each time?” He knew exactly what she had done, yet there was no trace of evidence. What cunning and skill this required!
The Old Madam’s face reddened slightly, unwilling to admit that she had indeed been led by the nose by Lady Du all along. After a long silence, she said, “You don’t have any evidence for all this, do you? Is it just your speculation?”
Jiang Zhong was momentarily at a loss for words. Lady Du had been too clever; he indeed couldn’t find any evidence. He knew how to investigate, but this Duke’s mansion was no longer under his or the Old Madam’s control. On the surface, it bore the Jiang name, but behind the scenes, it had almost entirely become the Du family’s domain.
The Old Madam then stood up. “If that’s the case, we can’t speak of it openly. Your quarrel with her is just an ordinary dispute. She’s been in our family for twenty years, praised by everyone inside and out. We should still go see her, get someone to treat her illness, and show the concern we ought to show.”
Jiang Zhong replied coolly, “I won’t go. I want to see how long she can keep up this act. However, I do have something to discuss with you, Mother. No matter how disobedient Da Lang is, it’s still our family matter. If it gets out, it’ll make us all look bad. If we investigate further, we’ll need to stand united against outsiders. If you can endure it, please bear with it for now.”
His implication was for her to stop pretending to be ill. The Old Madam felt a surge of anger and snorted with a gloomy face, “I’ve done everything for him, and what good has it brought me? He thinks I’m an old fool, easy to bully. Does he think he can bully me however he likes, to avenge his mother?”
“Mother!” Jiang Zhong wished he could grab the Old Madam’s shoulders and shake her awake. How could she not understand that this wasn’t about personal grievances, but about the family’s reputation?
The Old Madam reluctantly said, “I can’t just let this go with empty words. Shouldn’t he and his wife come before me and show some filial piety before we can settle this? That’s how others will believe it, right?” She needed to save some face.
Jiang Zhong agreed that this was necessary. Jiang Changyang was unruly, and Mudan came from a humble background. Even though she had stayed with the Liu family for a year, the Liu family wasn’t known for their etiquette. It was indeed appropriate for them to come before the Old Madam, show respect, and perform their filial duties. He agreed, “That can be arranged. Didn’t they come yesterday? They’ll likely come today as well. When they do, don’t be too harsh with them. Those two children aren’t bad at heart.”
Before he could finish speaking, they heard a commotion outside. The Old Madam shouted, “What ill-mannered servants dare to make such a racket here! What’s going on?”
Hong’er quickly went to inquire and returned, speaking softly while watching their faces, “Everyone is saying that the kitchen isn’t providing meals this morning. They can’t work on empty stomachs and went to find the lady to intervene, but they couldn’t even enter the courtyard…”
The Old Madam looked at Jiang Zhong, but he was in no position to handle such matters. He could only look back at her. The Old Madam left with no choice, told Hong’er, “Go ask the kitchen what’s going on. If they’re taking money but not working, they should be dismissed immediately.”
Just then, the kitchen matron came in hurriedly, “It’s not that we refuse to work, but even the cleverest cook can’t make a meal without rice. The weather’s been hot lately, and we can’t store food for long. The vegetables for the mansion are usually delivered early each morning, but today no one came. We managed to prepare meals for the main family members, but we had no way to feed the servants. Even if you kill me, I can’t do the impossible. We could serve porridge, but we’re almost out of firewood too.”
So the responsibility shifted to the buyers. Several of them came with bitter faces to explain their plight: “We got up early and waited for the lady to issue the tally tokens so we could withdraw money to buy daily necessities. But the lady is ill today, and without the tally tokens, the accounting office won’t release any funds…” It turned out that Lady Du managed the household finances very tightly, never allowing money or goods to be withdrawn without proper authorization. The tally tokens were essential, even if the person wasn’t present.
The Old Madam and Jiang Zhong exchanged a glance, realizing that the root of the problem still lay with Lady Du. Seeing usually obedient people suddenly rebelling, and rebelling effectively, the Old Madam became very angry. She said coldly, “Summon someone from the accounting office to explain!” She couldn’t believe that the mansion couldn’t function without Lady Du. Who did she think she was frightening?
The accounting staff, all of Lady Du’s people, came quickly but claimed there was no money left, and Lady Du held all the keys. Jiang Zhong could imagine that if they went to ask Lady Du for the keys, she would surely ignore them. To have to beg for access to his own money—how could this be? Filled with rage, he scolded, “If the accounting office has no money, what have you been doing all along? If you can’t do your job, then leave!”
The accountant panicked and hurriedly explained, “It’s not that we never have money, but coincidentally, we ran out today and haven’t had a chance to request more from the lady. These past few days, there have been many congratulatory gifts for birthdays and weddings, which depleted our funds. If the Duke doesn’t believe me, you can send someone to check. I wouldn’t dare lie even if I had ten heads.”
Then four stewards arrived with tally tokens, complaining, “These are tasks arranged yesterday. We need to send a wedding gift to one family, attend a funeral at another…”
What a scheme! Jiang Zhong was so angry he could hardly contain himself. The Old Madam also said with a stern face, “Let me go see this daughter-in-law of mine. She’s truly skilled at managing the household. It seems the entire family can’t function without her!” With that, she was no longer ill and got up, supported by Hong’er, to confront Lady Du. Whether her submissiveness was genuine or feigned would be revealed by how Lady Du reacted to her presence.
After the Old Madam left, Jiang Zhong also planned to leave, intending to go to the court to handle Yun Xiao’s matter. This household was still under his control; he couldn’t let them do as they pleased! However, he had barely taken a few steps when the kitchen matron grabbed him again, saying, “My lord, we managed to quell hunger for breakfast with some cold water, but what about lunch? And dinner?”
Jiang Zhong glared at the accountant and scolded, “I don’t care how you do it, but get the money out immediately, or you’re all fired!” He then berated the group of stewards, “Do what you’re supposed to do. If you can’t figure it out, anyone who can’t do their job can leave.”
But he couldn’t even make it out the main gate before being blocked by Lady Du’s sister-in-law and several nephews. The sister-in-law was in tears, asking what crime Lady Du had committed to deserve such a beating. The nephews, with stern faces, cited classical texts and demanded that he provide a reason for his actions.
This was a case of the guilty party filing the lawsuit first. Jiang Zhong was so furious he nearly fainted, yet he had no way to defend himself. Every time he tried to speak, the Du family members would bring up past incidents of Lady Du’s self-sacrifice, praising her kindness, gentleness, and capabilities. They swarmed around him, pushing him towards Lady Du’s room, insisting on summoning the Old Madam to clarify matters face-to-face.