Wu Baozhang didn’t know how she got back home. She only knew that as soon as she entered the gate, her eyes went black and she collapsed. When she woke up, it was already time to light the lamps. Her personal senior maid was holding a bowl of medicine and looking at her with a worried expression. Seeing her open her eyes, she cried out joyfully, “The First Madam is awake! The First Madam is awake!”
Rushing excitedly into her room were her wet nurse and another senior maid. The two stood by the bed, tears falling: “First Madam, you’ve finally awakened! The doctor said you caught a chill and have been unconscious for two days and two nights. If you still didn’t wake up, we would have had to go to Xinglin Alley to beg Lady Yuan!”
Caught a chill?!
Wu Baozhang struggled to sit up.
Her wet nurse and maid quickly placed a cushion behind her back.
Wu Baozhang asked, “Where is the master?”
The maid and wet nurse exchanged a glance and said, “The master’s injuries haven’t healed yet. He’s still lying in bed recuperating. When he learned you caught a chill, he had servants help him come see you once. But the doctor wouldn’t let the master get out of bed, saying he feared the wounds would reopen. So these past two days, the master hasn’t come to see you.”
Lies!
Cheng Nuo hated her to death—how could he come see her?
But Cheng Nuo was such a soft-hearted person, perhaps he really had come to see her?
Wu Baozhang felt a glimmer of hope rising and said to her wet nurse, “Help me dress. I’m going to see the master!”
The wet nurse’s expression became somewhat flustered. She quickly said, “You should rest a while longer. After you take your medicine and feel better, it won’t be too late to go see the master…”
Wu Baozhang grew suspicious and pushed the wet nurse aside with one hand, ordering the maid, “Help me change clothes!”
The maid looked at the wet nurse and didn’t dare move.
Wu Baozhang was furious: “Do you still have me, the First Madam, in your eyes? Or do you all want to be thrown out?”
Hearing this, the wet nurse burst into tears. “First Madam, the master isn’t in his room. The day after you fainted, the master was able to get out of bed. As soon as he could walk, he left the house and hasn’t returned to this day. Those serving him don’t know where he went either. The old master was very worried and sent people to look for him. According to those who reported back, the master went to find that Miss Kang the Sixth. It turned out that the Kang family’s shop had been transferred to someone else, and Miss Kang the Sixth returned to Hui County. The master, the master chased after her. He says he wants to give that Miss Kang the Sixth an explanation, wants to, wants to divorce his wife…” Having said this, the wet nurse broke down sobbing. “First Madam, what are we to do? If you’re divorced, even if the master feels sorry for you, there’s still the madam! These past two days while you were unconscious, a letter came from Jinling saying they’ve arranged for Young Master Wu to marry the second daughter of Uncle Yin…”
Wu Baozhang was so angry she nearly fainted again.
Her birth mother’s surname was Yin. This Uncle Yin was her birth mother’s brother, a notorious scoundrel in Meizhou. After her father became an official, he several times used her father’s name to oppress the neighbors. Her father had no choice but to have someone beat this uncle severely. Only then did this uncle settle down somewhat. But even so, her father still had to provide a certain amount of silver annually to support this uncle. What good could come from a daughter raised in such a family? And she was the second daughter at that. Wasn’t this ruining her brother’s future?
Who else could do such a thing but that wonderful stepmother of hers?
Wu Baozhang forced herself to sit up and asked, “Is this the madam’s idea?”
The wet nurse wiped her tears and nodded. “The madam says that Uncle Yin keeps coming to ask for money like this. If we give him silver, Uncle Yin relies on it to live and won’t go do any work at all. If we don’t give, people will say the master doesn’t acknowledge his first wife, which looks bad. Moreover, Second Miss is about to marry into the Shen family. The Shen family is quite prominent in Jiangnan. We can’t let Second Miss marry into their family and be laughed at.
“The best solution is to marry a Yin family girl into the household. If anything happens in the future, the Yin family girl can help mediate. At worst, the Yin family girl can deal with the Yin family—once the Yin family girl marries in, she surely can’t think only of her natal family and not her husband’s family, right?
“The old master agreed.
“The wedding date has already been set for this October.”
In other words, her objections would be useless.
Wu Baozhang limply lay back on the bed.
Yet not a single person from the Cheng family came to see her.
Wu Baozhang’s mind was muddled. One moment it was Cheng Lu smiling as he pinned a silk flower in her hair, looking at her with contentment and joy. The next moment it was Cheng Lu holding a copy of the “Classic of Mountains and Seas,” smiling gently as he told her stories. Then it was Cheng Lu pushing her to the ground, pointing at her nose and cursing her as a whore, and when she looked up she saw Zhou Shaojin standing behind Cheng Lu with a beaming smile… These various scenes whirled through her mind like a revolving lantern, making it hard for her to distinguish what had actually happened from what was her wild imagination. She gradually became confused and delirious.
When she fully regained consciousness, it was already early August, time to start sending New Year gifts.
Her wet nurse came to ask for her instructions, but she listlessly couldn’t muster any energy. She only asked the wet nurse in a hoarse voice, “Hasn’t the master been in charge these days? Go ask the master.”
The wet nurse’s smile appeared quite forced. “Household matters should naturally be managed by the madam. It’s just that you weren’t feeling well these past days, so some matters were handed to the master. Now that you’re awake, naturally you’re in charge of household affairs…” She said, then added in a low voice, “The eighth day of the eighth month is the hundredth-day celebration for Young Master Yun at Fourth Master’s residence at Chaoyang Gate. You haven’t gone out for quite some time. Would you like to get ready and go visit there?”
Hinting that if she had any grievances, she could take the opportunity to tell the Cheng family elders.
Now Cheng Wen increasingly had to rely on the First Branch of the Cheng family. If the elders of the First Branch spoke up, Cheng Wen wouldn’t dare disobey.
Cheng Lu’s words “you’re not even worthy of carrying Shaojin’s shoes” echoed in Wu Baozhang’s mind again.
She immediately became so angry she gritted her teeth, her hands clenching into tight fists.
Make her curry favor with Old Madam Guo and look at Zhou Shaojin’s face… Not a chance!
But if she didn’t go… how could she break this deadlock?
Having regained consciousness, Wu Baozhang quickly began to face her predicament.
“The master still hasn’t returned?” she asked her wet nurse. “What has the old master been doing these days?”
The wet nurse looked at her timidly and shook her head, saying in a low voice, “The master hasn’t returned yet. The old master has been busy at the shop these days.” After a moment’s hesitation, she added, “However, that brother from over there came a few days ago. I heard he brought six hundred taels of silver, the income from the estate over there. He also said that side wants to discuss with the old master about selling two plots of prime paddy fields, and using the silver to help supplement expenses here…”
“Over there” meant Cheng Wen’s mistress.
Zhou Shaojin listened with a cold laugh: “Six hundred taels of silver. Who is she trying to fool? The old master gave her those few shops that earn two or three thousand taels of silver annually…”
The wet nurse said helplessly, “But she can still humor the old master. Look at the madam—she won’t part with a single hair. Last month she even sent word asking the old master to send her two thousand taels of silver, saying her nephew from her natal family was about to get married and she had to give a generous gift. Then look at that brother from over there—he even eats at the same table as the servants…”
“Enough, enough.” Wu Baozhang got a headache listening to this. “Don’t tell me these things in the future.”
The wet nurse didn’t dare speak anymore.
She also felt it was wrong to meddle in the father-in-law’s affairs. But hadn’t Wu Baozhang instructed her to keep watch before?
Wu Baozhang felt she was better off unconscious.
She sighed and instructed her wet nurse, “Prepare clothes and accessories for me! On the eighth, I’ll go to Chaoyang Gate for the banquet.”
The wet nurse happily went to prepare.
Wu Baozhang sent someone to pay respects to her father-in-law—since she had awakened, she should at least greet her father-in-law. It was just that with Cheng Nuo not at home, mother-in-law and son-in-law should keep their distance, so she sent someone over.
The person who returned hadn’t seen the father-in-law and reported to her: “The old master was talking with that brother from over there. Hearing that you’d awakened, he had ginseng sent to the kitchen to stew chicken soup for you. He says you should rest well and go to Chaoyang Gate on the eighth to celebrate for Young Master Yun.”
Wu Baozhang nodded absentmindedly.
In the study, Cheng Wen’s brows were furrowed so tightly they could crush a mosquito.
He paced around the room while asking, “Is this your idea or your sister’s idea?”
There was another man in the room, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. His features were proper, his clothing plain, but he had a steady demeanor that made people feel he was reliable and trustworthy.
“It’s my idea,” the man said. “My sister doesn’t find it hard following you. But the children are growing up. In a few years they’ll need to study and take exams. If things continue so muddled, what will happen to them? My sister wants to go to Hangzhou Prefecture. She asks you to use your connections to register the children’s household registration in Hangzhou Prefecture. From now on, she and the children will live in Hangzhou Prefecture. That’s our hometown anyway.
“When I came to the capital and saw the situation at home, I thought you might as well help the young master marry that Miss Kang.
“You’re from an official family and don’t know about some things. In Hui County, most people are merchants. Many men trade outside for ten or twenty years without returning home. They can’t very well have no one to serve them—all the children born would be illegitimate sons, right? So they marry a wife locally, managing both ends…”
Cheng Wen had also heard of such things.
He had once looked down on such families.
But now… he couldn’t help but be moved.
If Cheng Nuo followed that Miss Kang the Sixth to Hui County, then he could send Lady Wu back to Jinling to be filial to his mother-in-law. The one he kept outside could bring the children and live with him in the capital. Although Miss Kang the Sixth came from a merchant background, at least her background was clear. Lady Wu had no children, so if they had children and registered them in the Jinling genealogy later, without legitimate sons everyone would be the same, eliminating the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate.
The more Cheng Wen thought about it, the better this idea seemed. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it appeared.
He called the steward in somewhat excitedly and had him prepare a generous gift to send to Chaoyang Gate: “…to celebrate Young Master Yun’s hundredth-day celebration.”
Matters concerning offspring were important. If he could get the First Branch to agree, this matter would be foolproof.
After all, Lady Wu’s father was an official of the fourth rank, senior grade. Who knew if he might be promoted to a third-rank regional governor someday? If Lady Wu then relied on her natal family and refused to acknowledge the children born to Miss Kang the Sixth as legitimate, or claimed Miss Kang the Sixth was their family’s concubine and that concubines have no private property, then seized Miss Kang the Sixth’s family fortune without leaving a penny for his grandson but instead subsidizing her natal family—that would be trouble!
This matter had to be properly arranged, leaving Lady Wu no chance to turn things around!