As dawn broke on a calm day following a still night, Ming Tan rose for her morning meal. She learned that the Marquis and his wife had left early, seemingly headed towards the Duke of Ling’s mansion.
A faint smile graced her lips, and her mood lifted. She even finished an extra half bowl of porridge.
The day before, the Marquis of Jing’an and his wife had visited the Duke of Chang’s mansion to discuss breaking off the engagement. Ming Tingyan and Bai Jingyuan, both quick-tempered, clashed fiercely. Their discussion grew increasingly heated.
Midway through, they nearly stormed off to the Duke of Ling’s residence, ready to beat Liang Zixuan to a pulp and force him to atone with his life.
Fortunately, the ladies of both houses intervened with gentle persuasion. After much deliberation, they decided to approach the matter diplomatically before resorting to more forceful measures.
After all, Ming Tan was an unmarried lady. If the situation escalated, it would not only be detrimental but also embarrassing, potentially affecting her future marriage prospects.
Of course, if the Duke of Ling’s household feigned ignorance and stubbornly clung to the engagement, they couldn’t blame the Jing’an household for airing all the dirty laundry. Did they think they could deny everything?
However, upon arriving at the Duke of Ling’s mansion, they discovered that denial was indeed the chosen strategy.
Lady Li, the Duchess of Ling, sat at the head of the room. Though caught off guard by the Marquis of Jing’an and his wife’s early morning visit to break off the engagement, she quickly regained her composure. Feigning ignorance, she exclaimed in surprise, “What are you saying? How could our Zixuan have become involved with his cousin and fathered an illegitimate child before welcoming his principal wife? Such accusations shouldn’t be made lightly.”
Ming Tingyan slammed the table in anger, “Stop this charade! Weren’t you the ones who orchestrated that ‘falling into the water and rescue’ scene, fearing the truth would come to light? It’s utterly shameless!”
They even knew about that incident.
Lady Li’s palms grew sweaty, but her face remained pleasantly composed. “Marquis, I’m not sure I understand. Wasn’t it our Zixuan who fell into the water?”
Lady Pei hurriedly calmed Ming Tingyan, preventing him from losing his temper further.
Lady Li was right – it was Liang Zixuan who fell into the water during the Lantern Festival, and it could only be him. Even if they knew about the scheme behind it, they couldn’t openly discuss it without damaging Ming Tan’s reputation.
After steadying Ming Tingyan, Lady Pei turned to Lady Li and spoke calmly and directly, “Lady Li, let’s dispense with the pretense. My husband and I have come to break off the engagement because we’ve uncovered the truth of the matter.
“Forced unions rarely end well. Given how your Liang family has insulted our Ming family’s legitimate daughter, if you agree to break off this engagement amicably, both sides can part ways peacefully. We can go our separate ways and avoid future conflicts. If you disagree…”
She trailed off, leaving the consequences unsaid.
Hearing this, Lady Li realized the gravity of the situation. The smile froze on her face. However, she had prepared for the worst and wasn’t without a strategy.
Composing herself, she forced a smile and said, “You misunderstand our Duke of Ling’s household. My niece from my maiden family did stay with us for a while. She came to us after losing both parents, and I took pity on her. Doesn’t your household also have a distant cousin staying with you? Every family has relatives visiting.”
Lady Li continued, “My niece had been hoping I’d find her a match. She prefers a quiet life and doesn’t care for the bustle of the capital. As it happens, I found her a good match in our hometown. She left happily, packing her things to return home. By now, her husband’s family should be preparing for the wedding. Before leaving, she mentioned that while the capital is nice, she couldn’t get used to it and probably wouldn’t be able to visit me again.”
Changing tack, Lady Li glanced at the Duke of Ling, who had remained silent, and softened her tone, “Regarding the engagement with your family, both the Duke and I have always held it in high regard. The Duke has been eagerly awaiting the Marquis’s return to the capital to proceed with the marriage plans.
“Since the founding of our great dynasty, noble titles have been hereditary. But no family’s path has been entirely smooth. Take the Marquis of Cheng’en’s household – one moment all was well, the next they were in trouble. The Duke has always thought that with our families joined by marriage, we could look out for each other, preventing outside manipulation.
“Of course, if we’ve offended you in any way, we ask for your understanding. As long as Zixuan’s marriage proceeds smoothly, everything else can be discussed.”
The Duke of Ling, an ineffectual official with a mediocre personality, let Lady Li handle household affairs. He simply nodded in agreement, “Precisely, precisely.”
Lady Pei, who had prepared responses, suddenly fell silent.
Being astute, she understood the three implications in Lady Li’s words:
First, the girl had been sent away to marry and would never return to the capital. The scandal would never come to light, so the Marquis’s family could rest easy.
Second, the Duke of Ling’s household still desired the marriage alliance. With the recent troubles of the Marquis of Cheng’en’s household, it was clear the Emperor was displeased and using them as an example. This could be a sign of a broader purge. If their families were united by marriage, it would be harder for others to manipulate them.
Third, as long as the engagement wasn’t broken, they were open to negotiation on any other terms.
These implications touched on court politics and the concessions the Duke of Ling’s household might make to preserve the marriage. Lady Pei couldn’t and shouldn’t make such decisions for Ming Tingyan.
Having grown up in the inner courts, she knew that personal feelings and familial bonds often came second to political interests. Even if the prospective groom wasn’t ideal or even a decent person, noble families weren’t above trading their daughters for needed leverage.
She looked at Ming Tingyan, whose expression was unreadable.
His silence led to a moment of quiet in the hall.
Just as Lady Li was about to further express her sincerity, two maids rushed in, looking flustered. In their haste, they barely managed a proper greeting.
As Lady Li was about to reprimand them, one maid, breathless, said, “My Lady, outside the mansion…”
“Aunt, Cousin! What have I done to deserve such treatment? I carried Mingcun for ten months, and you promised that once the Ming family’s daughter entered the household, I’d be taken as a concubine and Mingcun would be added to the family registry…”
Before the maid could finish, a woman’s anguished cries could be heard from outside.
“…Sending me away is one thing, but why marry me off to the estate manager as his second wife? How could you do this to me? Cousin, Aunt!”
Hearing this, Lady Li’s face darkened terribly.
Wasn’t she supposed to have been sent away? Why had she returned?
Ming Tingyan’s face also darkened, and without hesitation, he slammed the table in anger, “Such deplorable character, yet you dare to aspire to my Ming family’s daughter! A family of fools and vipers! This engagement is over, whether you agree or not!”
With that, he threw the betrothal gifts to the ground and rose in fury.
Now that the woman was causing a scene outside, any concessions from the Duke of Ling’s household were meaningless. The engagement could not continue, nor was there any need for a discreet dissolution. Realizing this, Lady Pei quickly stood up as well.
Outside, Zhu’er clutched her child, weeping bitterly. A crowd had gathered, all criticizing and gossiping about the Duke of Ling’s household.
Lady Pei and Ming Tingyan didn’t linger to watch. They boarded their carriage and departed swiftly.
As they disembarked at their mansion, Lady Pei couldn’t help but ask softly, “My Lord, if that woman hadn’t caused a scene, would you have…”
Ming Tingyan understood her implication and frowned disapprovingly, “What nonsense are you thinking? Ming Tan is my daughter. While I may not be a paragon of virtue, I would never sell my daughter for political gain! Besides, anything the Duke of Ling’s household could offer isn’t worth my consideration!”
He had been silent earlier because he hadn’t yet organized his words of rebuke! To think his wife would view him in such a light! He let out a “hmph” and strode forward, his sleeves swishing.
Lady Pei, following behind, gazed at his back, momentarily stunned.
—
The little maid Ming Tan had sent to gather information returned to the Jing’an Marquis’s mansion before Lady Pei and Ming Tingyan.
The maid recounted everything that had happened at the Duke of Ling’s residence to Ming Tan.
After listening, Ming Tan was bewildered. The bird’s nest soup beside her suddenly lost its flavor. “You’re saying the Duchess of Ling arranged for that woman to marry the estate manager as his second wife, and she escaped, crying and holding her child in front of their mansion?”
“Yes, Miss. The matter… has become public knowledge…”
Ming Tan: “…”
She wanted to break off the engagement, but she had hoped the elders of both families would sit down and find a respectable excuse to do so discreetly. This way, the damage to her reputation would be minimized. Once the storm had passed, she could then find ways to deal with the Duke of Ling’s household.
Earlier, fearing her father might be unwilling to antagonize the Duke’s family for her sake, she had deliberately staged that scene to push her father’s anger towards them to its peak, prompting him to suggest breaking the engagement.
Moreover, knowing Lady Pei’s usual thoroughness, she was certain her stepmother wouldn’t let her father act impulsively and would likely consult with her uncle and aunt. As long as they genuinely considered her welfare, the outcome of their discussion would align with her wishes.
Events had indeed unfolded as she had envisioned, but she hadn’t anticipated that the Duchess of Ling would be so cruel to her niece, forcing her to flee and recklessly expose everything!
Now, all of upper Beijing knew about this scandal. How could she, Ming Tan, save face?
As Ming Tan reeled from this news, Lady Pei came to see her.
Noticing Ming Tan’s poor complexion, Lady Pei understood immediately. As she entered, she asked, “Has Tan’er already heard about the events at the Duke of Ling’s residence?”
She dismissed the maids and sat down, speaking softly, “Although this turn of events was unexpected, you wanted to break off the engagement, and now your wish has been granted.”
Ming Tan was taken aback: “You knew all along.”
“The letter from the Bai family arrived early yesterday morning. How could I have waited until lunchtime to find you?”
After all, Lady Pei managed the Jing’an Marquis’s household; nothing escaped her notice. Moreover, Ming Tan was the young lady she had raised; she knew Tan’er wasn’t one to merely cry and wail when faced with difficulties.
Ming Tan lowered her gaze, remaining silent for a moment: “Mother, I was wrong. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know how to begin, and also because this marriage was arranged by my birth mother…”
“No need to say more, I understand everything.”
How could she not understand? For young ladies of noble families, marriage had never been a matter of personal choice. If Ming Tan couldn’t even be sure of her father, how could she place her hopes on her stepmother?
Lady Pei had intended to have a heart-to-heart with Ming Tan about her father, to improve their father-daughter relationship. However, with her father having just returned to the capital, no amount of talk could replace personal experience. Moreover, with the engagement ending so scandalously, Ming Tan likely had no energy to think about other matters at the moment.
“Alright, let’s not dwell on this anymore,” Lady Pei said, holding Ming Tan’s hand and helping to tidy her hair. “Mother knows you’ve been wronged, but having everything out in the open isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If we had quietly broken off the engagement with some polite excuse, you would have always felt uneasy about it.”
Ming Tan: “…”
She felt a tiny bit comforted.
—
Regardless, the engagement was finally broken off.
However, within a day, the scandal of the Duke of Ling’s household spread throughout the capital. Both inside and outside the mansion, people spoke of the young Miss Ming with either sympathy or a barely concealed schadenfreude beneath their sympathetic words.
Ming Tan hadn’t heard these rumors herself, as she hadn’t left her courtyard. Since Lady Pei’s departure, she had been sitting at her table, directing her maids to pack her luggage.
She had no intention of cutting her hair and devoting herself to a life of chastity for a scoundrel like Liang Zixuan, nor did she want to take her own life needlessly. So, after discussing with Lady Pei, they decided on the pretext of seeking blessings at a Buddhist temple, allowing her to temporarily avoid the situation and maintain her innocence.
“The spring chill hasn’t passed yet, so pack that silver fox embroidered cape. You can wear it at night if it gets cold.”
“Not this one, it’s made from fabric that was fashionable two years ago…”
“Is this a new outfit? The pattern looks quite familiar. Never mind, it doesn’t match well with the embroidered shoes we’re taking. Let’s set it aside for now.”
Lüe was packing with great enthusiasm. Suxin, however, couldn’t help but remind her, “Miss, we’re going to a temple to pray for blessings. Wouldn’t dressing like this be a bit too ostentatious?”
“Is it? I specifically chose some plain-colored clothes,” Ming Tan looked at the packed trunks uncertainly. “If it’s too showy, then let’s reduce it a bit.”
—
At night, in the southern study of the Prince of Beidi’s mansion, a secret agent reported in a low voice:
“…Those families with little connection to the Cheng’en Marquis’s affair are seeking ways to distance themselves, using the channels Your Highness predicted earlier.
“Additionally, as Your Highness anticipated, when the Duke of Ling’s household incident broke out today, the Empress Dowager summoned people to the palace before the gates were locked. As for the Jing’an Marquis’s household, they have prepared five carriages to send their Fourth Miss out of the mansion to pray for blessings and temporarily avoid the situation.”
Hearing this, Jiang Xu, who had been focused on a military treatise, suddenly put it down: “Five carriages? What are they loaded with?”
The agent paused, belatedly realizing that his detailed report might have misled the Prince. He lowered his head in shame and said, “Nothing special, Your Highness. It’s all the Fourth Miss’s clothing and personal items.”
Earlier, he had also suspected the Jing’an Marquis’s household might be using this opportunity to transport something, so he had secretly investigated the stables. However, he found only women’s clothing, shoes, accessories, hairpins, as well as bed curtains, incense burners, complete tea sets, and the like.
Jiang Xu: “…”
Did she think she was going to the imperial selection for concubines?
How absurd.