Old Madam Chen on the other end wasn’t in as good spirits as they were, nor did she have the mood to go to Changfeng Tower to enjoy Jinling delicacies. After casually eating her meal, she began instructing Huazhi to make a trip to the residence of the newly arrived, decisive great-aunt of the Chen family: “Ask great-aunt to send someone out to inquire when the Old Master will return.” It was supposed to be going out for a lunch banquet, but who eats lunch from noon until evening? In a few days, he would need to go to the Ministry of Revenue to submit documents and go through the procedures to officially take up his post. There was also a whole mess of affairs at home—just a few days ago he was so busy he couldn’t get away, so how was it that now he’d been gone for so long once he left? She couldn’t help but worry that something was about to happen.
Huazhi agreed and went, returning to report: “Great-aunt says she’s already sent someone out to search for him. There should be a reply soon, and she told you not to worry.”
Old Madam Chen couldn’t help but be anxious. A few days ago, she’d still been immersed in the joy that Chen Mingyu would soon become a prince’s consort, but these past few days her husband had scared her into constant alarm—these last several days, Old Master Chen had again been sleeping consecutively in his study, every day discussing who knows what with those strategists. Usually when it got to this point, it meant something had gone wrong. Old Madam Chen had lived through the imperial examination incident. To have survived that with her life felt like a dream already. Now she constantly felt the dream was about to end, worried and frightened to the point she couldn’t eat or sleep.
Chen Mingyu came to keep her company and chat. These past few days she’d been learning household management under this great-aunt’s tutelage, kept so busy she couldn’t get away. The first thing she learned was that from now on, all matters concerning her own quarters would require her own decisions. This great-aunt of the Chen family was a formidable person. Chen Mingyu got no favors whatsoever under her hand—at their very first meeting, the great-aunt had picked through all her faults, saying her deportment wasn’t proper.
If one’s deportment wasn’t proper, one had to learn. The great-aunt spoke with Old Master Chen about it, and immediately requested two nannies from the Deshan Hall in Jinling, which specifically housed former palace servants who’d been released with nowhere to go, to come back and teach proper conduct. Thus she only now had time to come keep Old Madam Chen company and have a proper conversation: “Grandmother, please don’t be too anxious. Grandfather has just arrived here, so having many social obligations is unavoidable. Perhaps he was pulled back home by Grandpa Feng. This sort of thing happened before when we were in the capital.”
Old Madam Chen nodded. Seeing her arrive, the oppressive gloom in her heart lessened considerably. She then discussed other matters with her: “That great-aunt has arranged the inner household affairs extremely well. Though she’s rather strict, her seniority is high and her character is upright. You should learn some things properly from her.”
Chen Mingyu naturally wouldn’t say anything against it. As long as she could return to the capital’s social circles again, she was willing to do whatever was asked. Moreover, the Chen family was making these arrangements for her sake in the first place. She docilely nodded in agreement, then served Old Madam Chen a bowl of bird’s nest congee. Just as she was telling Old Madam Chen some amusing stories, they were interrupted by Second Master Chen suddenly bursting through the door.
She hurriedly stood up to pay her respects to Second Master Chen, but Second Master Chen had no time for her. He stepped forward several paces, passing by her, and anxiously told Old Madam Chen: “Something’s happened! Father has been arrested by the Jinling Prefect!”
The smile on Old Madam Chen’s face hadn’t yet had time to fade before it froze there on her face. After a long moment she finally reacted, sitting bolt upright in shock: “What did you say?!”
“They say Father instructed Yang Qing to collude with male prostitutes intending to harm Young Master Wang and frame Song Yan, and that Father personally confessed to it.” Second Master Chen didn’t even have time to sigh. He only felt events piling up one after another, overwhelming him: “I said before, there was no need to rush into conflict with the Song family like this. Our family hasn’t even secured a foothold in Jinling yet, and we dare to do such things right under the Jinling Prefect’s nose—”
If he had such cleverness, Old Master Chen wouldn’t have needed to scheme for the Chen family’s future by planning to rely on their status as imperial relatives to preserve wealth and honor. Old Madam Chen glanced at him but had no time to bother with him. She struggled to calm herself and asked: “Where did this news come from?”
Second Master Chen stamped his feet and sighed: “It was sent from Duke Feng’s residence, saying even Censor Shi knows about this matter now. Though the Investigating Censor’s official rank is small, his authority is substantial. Since Father personally admitted to instigating this case, and he hasn’t yet gone to the Ministry of Revenue to complete his appointment procedures, he’s now been detained by the prefectural yamen.”
Old Madam Chen didn’t know who this Censor Shi was. Her first reaction was to seek Duke Feng’s help: “Our two families have always had exchanges. This time the Old Master was able to escape guilt, Duke Feng put in no small effort behind the scenes. The Jinling Prefect has been his colleague for so long, surely there’s some friendship between them? You should make a trip to Duke Feng’s residence.”
Second Master Chen shook his head, his face ashen as death: “Mother, what do you understand? Right now Duke Feng has also gotten himself contaminated with trouble for having managed Father’s affairs. He’s busy gathering people to write a memorial of apology. He stated clearly that he dares not get involved in this matter.”
Old Madam Chen sat dumbly on the couch, feeling her head beginning to throb in waves. She covered her head and looked toward her son, momentarily at a loss: “Then according to you, what should we do now?”
What to do?! Second Master Chen sat down heavily in a chair and gritted his teeth: “Your son will send in his name card and first go to Prefect Lin’s place to probe for information, then try to find connections to Censor Shi to see if that path can be navigated.” He paused, carefully considering whether there was anything else he should be doing, then added: “Should we also write a letter asking the Prince to help? After all, we were doing this for his sake—”
This so frightened Old Madam Chen that she nearly leaped up, immediately shouting sharply: “Silence! Do you not want your life?!”
Matters had different degrees of urgency and severity. Though Old Master Chen’s collusion with male prostitutes to harm people and frame others sounded shocking, it might not necessarily be fatal. But if they implicated the Eastern Palace and Prince Dongping, that would truly be courting death!
Only after Old Madam Chen’s scolding did Second Master Chen realize what he’d said. He immediately abandoned that thought and went out to prepare tomorrow’s gifts, but somehow his heart felt inexplicably uneasy—something was wrong about this whole affair.
At the time, Father had spoken so nicely with Yang Qing, but now the ones who ended up in prison were Father and Yang Qing instead. The Song family and Wang family people were completely unaffected. First, he as the son had no idea what else they’d actually discussed and plotted. Second, as a newcomer who hadn’t even properly established connections, he couldn’t even find people to approach.
The next day, Second Master Chen gathered his spirits and went to the prefectural yamen for an audience, but didn’t even make it through their gate. Going to Father’s acquaintance Duke Feng’s residence, this time even Duke Feng refused to see him. As for the various other ministry presidents, they too closed their doors to him. He bustled about all day yet didn’t manage to see a single person who could help. By the time he returned home, he was completely dazed.