She had not even known about Qingqing and the others gambling at night, yet how had Yan Qing found out? Without question, this was also her arrangement — she had only needed to have a few maids draw Qingqing and the others into a gambling game, letting them taste the sweetness at first, and they would quickly become hopelessly addicted.
While they were busy brewing medicine and sleeping, she had then sent someone to secretly swap the medicine of the Old Matriarch and the Marshal. As for the new herb added to the Old Matriarch’s medicine, Qian Lan had taken the advice of a medicine merchant at the time. Thinking back on it now, the Yan Family made their business in medicinal herbs, and that merchant was very likely one of Yan Qing’s people — because only by adding a bitter herb to the Old Matriarch’s medicine could the Old Matriarch fail to distinguish between the current medicine and the previous batch.
And this particular herb was a standard ingredient in the Marshal’s tonic soup.
What Qian Lan could not figure out was when Yan Qing had learned that the Marshal was taking a tonic soup, and how she had so precisely determined its herbal composition.
She suddenly recalled what a young maid had mentioned one day — that while delivering the Marshal’s tonic soup, she had happened to run into Shi Ting, who personally carried the soup inside at that time. The Marshal had been asleep.
That young maid had been cautious: after Shi Ting left, she had checked the tonic soup and found nothing unusual. Looking back now, Shi Ting must have used some method to take a sample from the soup.
At this thought, Qian Lan broke out in a cold sweat. She pressed her hands tightly to her sides, her nails nearly digging into her flesh. The trust she had painstakingly built with the Old Matriarch was now on the verge of being utterly destroyed.
“Mother, you cannot blame Lan’er for this.” Seeing Qian Lan kneeling on the ground weeping like a pear blossom in the rain, the Marshal’s heart immediately ached for her. “I chose to drink the tonic soup myself — it was I who asked Lan’er to make it. Lan’er did advise me against it; I simply refused to listen.”
The Old Matriarch paid no heed whatsoever to the Marshal’s explanation, for in her eyes, whenever something went wrong in the household, the fault always lay with the woman.
Back when she and the Old Master of the Shi Family were together, no matter what happened, the Old Master would leave her to resolve it on her own — whatever the problem, it was her responsibility. In this household where men ruled outside and women ruled within, men held absolute dominance; even when they were at fault, it was because the women had failed to be virtuous and dutiful.
So when Shi Ting had said that the reason he and Yan Qing had no children yet was his fault, the Old Matriarch had believed only two or three parts of it. In her deeply ingrained thinking, failing to bear children was the woman’s fault — the woman was the one with the problem.
“Has the Marshal not always listened to your every word? If you had advised him, wouldn’t it have worked?” The Old Matriarch’s tone was cold. “The Marshal is already past fifty years of age, and you are still tormenting him like this — do you resent that he has lived too long?”
The Marshal hastily said, “Mother…”
“Hold your tongue.” The Old Matriarch rebuked him sharply. “Look at yourself now — not a shred of the Marshal’s authority left. I have heard that the study in your library has grown overgrown with weeds, and that when officials come to discuss affairs with you, they can only go to the study at Zhuo Xin Garden. Zhuo Xin Garden is the inner courtyard — is that a place for discussing governance? You have neglected your proper duties and indulged yourself in bedroom matters. Do you no longer want this territory of Bei Di? When that time comes, not only will I have no way to explain myself to the Old Master — what face will you have to show your ancestors?”
The Old Matriarch’s words were stern and severe, and even the Marshal dared not make a sound.
After the Old Matriarch finished speaking, the only sounds were her rapid, labored breathing and Qian Lan’s soft sobbing.
“Old Matriarch, please do not let yourself fall ill from anger.” San Yitai quickly rubbed the Old Matriarch’s chest to soothe her, then turned to instruct the maids, “Someone come quickly — bring water.”
Yin’er hurriedly handed over a cup of water. San Yitai attended the Old Matriarch as she drank half the cup.
The Old Matriarch looked at Qian Lan kneeling before her and shook her head with a sigh. “I originally thought you were a virtuous and sensible woman. You have truly disappointed me.”
Faced with the Old Matriarch’s reproach, Qian Lan could not utter a single word. Any further explanation at this moment would only be cover-up — she had no ability to defend herself at all.
“From today on, the Marshal’s tonic soup is to be stopped.” The Old Matriarch called a maid in from outside the door. “Zhi’er, you will follow the Madam to Zhuo Xin Garden and henceforth be solely responsible for the Marshal’s food and drink.”
The maid called Zhi’er quickly gave a slight bow. “Yes, Old Matriarch.”
Upon hearing this, Qian Lan’s heart immediately went cold. The Old Matriarch was sending someone specifically to watch over her — from now on, whatever she wanted to do, she would have to avoid this Zhi’er.
Yin’er and Zhi’er were a pair of sisters who had served beside the Old Matriarch since childhood. Yin’er was more approachable — give her a little something and she would still pass along a few words. But this Zhi’er was rigidly principled and absolutely loyal; in her eyes, there was only one mistress: the Old Matriarch.
Qian Lan knew that this time she had completely and thoroughly lost the Old Matriarch’s trust.
“I am old and prefer quiet. From now on, without my permission, no one is to come to my courtyard.” The Old Matriarch said, “But neither can you use my staying out of things as an excuse to make this household a place of chaos and foul air. When I am gone, how will you account for yourselves to the Old Master?”
San Yitai quickly said, “Old Matriarch, may you live a hundred years — please do not speak such words.”
“Everyone grows old.” The Old Matriarch waved her hand. “I only want to see my children and grandchildren filling this house and the family at peace while I am still alive. Marshal, you are not only the master of this Shi Mansion — you are the master of all of Bei Di. Think carefully before you act, and never let a moment of infatuation ruin your true duties. When that time comes, not only will I have no way to account for myself to the Old Master — what face will you have to show your ancestors?”
Fearing the Old Matriarch would work herself into a fury, the Marshal lowered his head and dared not speak a word.
“Very well, everyone go. Family shame must not be spread outside — the matter ends here.” With that, the Old Matriarch’s sharp gaze fell upon Qian Lan. “I trust you will conduct yourself with care.”
After returning to Zhuo Xin Garden, Qian Lan sat on the small couch. Though her eyes were still somewhat swollen and red, she had long since shed her last tear.
The tears she had shed before the Old Matriarch had been performed — not a single drop had fallen since she left the Southern Courtyard.
To her, tears were the most worthless of things, useful only as props for playing a scene.
“Where is the Marshal?” Qian Lan picked up the tea that Xique had poured for her and took a sip.
“Meeting with the Second Young Master and the Seventh Young Master to discuss affairs.”
Qian Lan let out a sigh. “There is no need to go to the Southern Courtyard anymore. The Old Matriarch likely has no wish to see me.”
“Madam, the trust you worked so hard to build with the Old Matriarch — is it truly to be ruined just like this?”
“I was negligent and careless. I never anticipated they would strike through the Marshal’s tonic soup.” Qian Lan shut her eyes tightly and drew in a deep breath. “And it was arranged so seamlessly, each link connecting to the next, the information sealed so airtight.”
“Madam, although you manage the inner courtyard, before you arrived, the inner courtyard had always been under the control of Er Yitai and the Seventh Young Mistress. There is no telling how many people in this courtyard are theirs — doing something underhanded in secret would be the easiest thing in the world for them.”
Qian Lan said, “What about Zhi’er?”
“In the kitchen.”
“Doing what?”
Xique made a sound of contempt. “Inspecting the kitchen provisions. She says it is the Old Matriarch’s instructions — all those tonic and Yang-restoring items are to be thrown away, and none of them are ever to appear again.”
With Zhi’er present, Qian Lan felt somewhat hamstrung in everything she did. From now on, whatever she did would likely be reported back to the Old Matriarch.
Yet Zhi’er was the Old Matriarch’s person — she could not touch her at all. As long as the Old Matriarch lived, completely controlling the Marshal would not be so easy.
Qian Lan lowered her head, her gaze falling on the tea in her cup, a dark, somber shadow rising in the depths of her eyes.
~
“What expression do you suppose Qian Lan is wearing right now?” Yan Qing pulled the rabbit-fur collar of her cloak close around her, watching as Shi Ting built a swing for her in the courtyard.
It was the dead of winter, yet he did not seem to mind the cold at all, wearing only a long robe.
Yan Qing felt somewhat regretful about something she had said to him before. She had only mentioned offhandedly that the view here was lovely and that it would be even better with a swing.
She had said it in passing without thinking much of it, yet he had gone out and bought the tools needed to build one. Regardless of the cold weather, he had gotten to work in the courtyard with a steady hammering.
Those hands of his were capable of making guns and cannons — a mere swing was naturally no challenge.
Yan Qing thought of the wheelchair he had built for her; though she no longer needed it, she unexpectedly felt a pang of reluctance to part with it. The gun hidden inside that wheelchair had truly been a wonderful thing for self-defense.
“She wants to manipulate the Marshal, so she must first ruin the Marshal’s health.” Shi Ting said. “Just like those empresses and empress dowagers in ancient times — when the Emperor was too ill to hold morning court, they would seize the opportunity to take control of everything.”
“Now that the Old Matriarch has sent a trusted maid over, Qian Lan should restrain herself for a while.” Yan Qing walked behind him and reached out to cup his ears in her hands.
His ears had been reddened by the cold; the moment she cupped them, warmth returned instantly. “Would you like to go back inside and warm up with some hot water? You have been out here freezing for half the day.”
Shi Ting’s hands continued their work without pause, the sound of hammering quite pleasant to the ear. Hearing her words, he gave a gentle smile. “I want to finish this before we depart, so you can sit on it.”
He pointed ahead with the hammer in his hand. “Is that direction all right — facing that way? You can see the distant mountains and also see Er Dan’s small garden.”
“Whatever you say.” Yan Qing gently rubbed his ears, teasing him with a smile. “A swing made by Director Shi’s own hands — I wonder what price it would fetch?”
“Who would buy such a thing?” Shi Ting said with a helpless laugh.
“Of course people would. Those young ladies who admire Director Shi, for instance — if word got out that Director Shi made this with his own hands, I imagine they would have to hold an auction just to get their hands on it.”
“I had no idea so many people admired me.”
“You visited the Medical Academy once, and since then you have become the talk of all those young women during their leisure time. Those few who caught a glimpse of you boast to everyone they meet. You are now the most celebrated figure at the Medical Academy.”
“Is it really that exaggerated?”
“It seems Director Shi has not yet formed an accurate assessment of his own face.”
Shi Ting raised an eyebrow slightly and continued with his work.
At this moment, Jin Shan walked in and said, “Young Master, the Military Police Division called — they are asking you to come over.”