Zhou Sui’an had come today hoping that Linlang might have a change of heart.
Although his mother Zhao Shi had been keen for him to take Yin Shi as his next wife, Yin Shi had witnessed with her own eyes the brawl between Zhao Shi and Xie Youran that day, and it had stirred up the shadows of being bullied and abused by her former in-laws.
On this visit, Yin Shi had noticed early on that something was not right about the Zhou household. The Zhou family that had once been comfortably well-off, where everything had been orderly and well-managed, seemed to have changed beyond recognition after its female mistress was replaced.
All manner of details had given Yin Shi pause, leaving her questioning whether what she had admired before was actually Zhou Sui’an himself, or the warm and pleasant household of a minor official that Chu Linlang had built and maintained.
And witnessing this brawl between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had made up her mind for her. That very day she had begged her mother to take her away, and never again mentioned the matter of marrying into the Zhou family.
Though Zhao Shi had been eager to keep her, Zhou Sui’an himself breathed a long sigh of relief.
After experiencing so much, matters like carrying on the family line and producing heirs could not compare in importance to winning Chu Linlang back.
Even without a son—what would it matter, having only a single daughter at one’s knee?
He desperately wanted Chu Linlang to return, to set everything that had gone out of order back on the right path.
True, he had wronged her before—but they had been husband and wife since their youth. This time, he would certainly cherish Linlang and would not repeat the same mistakes.
Yet he had never imagined that Linlang would suddenly announce she was going to be married.
Zhou Sui’an was taken aback, instinctively convinced that Linlang was telling a lie to deceive him.
But when he looked out into the courtyard, those trunks and boxes plastered with the character for joy struck his eyes with a sharp and unmistakable pain.
After being struck dumb for a moment, he still could not bring himself to believe it: “You… who are you going to marry?”
Before Chu Linlang could get a word out, Zhou Sui’an could not restrain himself and pressed on urgently: “Linlang, you must not marry someone out of spite. No matter how fine he may be, how could he compare to a husband and wife who have been together since their youth? Unless he is a widower with children already, and does not mind that you cannot bear children? That kind of union forged mid-journey brings more and more problems as time goes on—how can you not consider this carefully?”
Zhou Sui’an knew well Linlang’s stubborn refusal to become a concubine. Though she was now prosperous, the scope of her choices in marriage was still narrow.
At this critical juncture, Zhou Sui’an could only pick at the critical points of self-interest, hoping to make Linlang reconsider.
Linlang glanced at Yuan’er sitting timidly at her side, and had no desire to make Master Zhou overly embarrassed in front of the child.
So before Zhou Sui’an could finish his words of disparagement, she spoke plainly and directly: “Lord Situ has never been married before. Since it is his first marriage, it can hardly be called a union forged mid-journey. Master Zhou need not worry on my behalf!”
Though Chu Linlang’s words were perfectly clear, Zhou Sui’an seemed unable to comprehend them, repeating in a daze: “Lord Situ? You mean Situ Sheng? This… how can this be possible?”
He had not known about the recent palace coup in the capital. But His Majesty’s Imperial Edict of Self-Reproach had been posted on the public notice boards of every district and county.
So Zhou Sui’an had heard the news that Situ Sheng was actually a descendant of Yang Xun.
At the time, his colleagues had gossiped that the solitary minister Situ Sheng had turned out to be the descendant of loyal and heroic forebears, and judging by the manner in which His Majesty had personally issued an imperial edict to rehabilitate Yang Xun’s name, this Situ Sheng would be a man of boundless glory and limitless prospects.
How could a young minister so deeply favored by the Emperor possibly marry a woman like Chu Linlang, who had been through one marriage already?
Could it be… that Linlang had finally relented and was willing to become a concubine after all?
Just as Zhou Sui’an began rambling incoherently, pressing Linlang on how she had changed her mind and was willing to lower herself and attach herself to someone powerful, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall: “Master Zhou, please guard your tongue. This is not your household. Do not speak wild and baseless words in the presence of this official’s fiancée!”
With these words, Situ Sheng strode in with large steps.
By his appearance, he had likely come straight from court. He wore the resplendent official robes of a First-Rank official, which made the currently Seventh-Rank Zhou Sui’an shrink several heads shorter by instinct, his confidence and composure entirely gone.
Seeing that Zhou Sui’an had come with his daughter in tow, Situ Sheng surmised his intentions in an instant.
He and Linlang were about to complete their wedding rites—he had no desire for the likes of Zhou Sui’an to spoil Linlang’s good mood.
So with a cool expression and a low, measured tone, he said: “Linlang and I have a matchmaker in the form of the Libationer, and a marriage contract—the full set of three letters and six rites is all in order. Master Zhou has no relation by blood or marriage to my fiancée. Please keep a proper distance, and in the future, if you have not been invited, please refrain from calling upon her without leave!”
Situ Sheng said these words entirely in the manner of the master of the household.
Zhou Sui’an was left speechless and breathless by this rebuff. He could only look at the tender and gentle gaze with which Chu Linlang regarded Situ Sheng, and then he finally understood that when she had said she was going to be married, every single word had been true.
Linlang… how could she do this? With no regard at all for the years they had spent as husband and wife, she was turning around and marrying Situ Sheng just like that?
In his daze, Zhou Sui’an, driven by despair, spoke with his guard entirely down: “You… did the two of you already have something improper going on back in Lianzhou? So that’s why, Chu Linlang, you were so set on separating from me by mutual agreement! No wonder you left the Zhou household and went straight to his estate to serve as his steward! I was such a fool not to see through it, and even asked Lord Situ to look after you on my behalf… you’ve been keeping me in the dark all this time…”
Listening to his suspicious, wild ravings, Linlang was furious beyond words and truly wanted to reach out and slap him twice to bring him to his senses.
But she was carrying a child and was afraid of straining herself.
Situ Sheng, however, stepped in on her behalf to discipline Zhou Sui’an.
When a slap delivered without any restraint landed across Zhou Sui’an’s face, the force sent him stumbling backward again and again, completely disoriented.
Situ Sheng coldly rebuked him: “You are not only reckless in speech, but base and vile in your heart! Chu Linlang’s character—do you not know it better than anyone? If you had not given her enough disappointment to last a lifetime, why would she have left you? Linlang is the woman of the highest character and virtue I have ever known. How much of her heart and effort she poured into the Zhou household—you know this better than I do! And how much of what you owe her have you repaid? To have the shamelessness to fabricate such filthy and groundless accusations! Zhou Sui’an—stop placing the blame for your own faults on others. As a man, to speak words that tarnish the reputation of your former wife—are you not ashamed?”
Situ Sheng himself, though he had long harbored feelings for Linlang, had maintained complete and proper conduct without crossing a single line—during the period of Linlang’s mutual separation from Zhou Sui’an, and even for a long time afterward.
How could he possibly permit this Zhou Sui’an to speak recklessly and without foundation?
The slap Zhou Sui’an received left his face burning. In the depths of his extreme disappointment and anger, the remorse and guilt that had long been buried in him was at last struck out by that slap.
Indeed—Linlang back then had been burdened by household affairs, kept busy from morning to night with matters inside and outside the home. She was hardly the sort of idle woman who went about stirring up trouble and starting romantic entanglements with nothing better to do.
At this point, Yuan’er at the side could bear it no longer. She was now something of a young lady in her own right, and she had watched every single thing that had happened at home with her own clear eyes.
Now, seeing that her mother was about to be married while her father was mouthing off without the slightest trace of dignity—even she, his own flesh and blood daughter, could not stand to watch it. She stepped forward and tugged at her father’s sleeve: “Father, listen to what you’re saying! Come away quickly! I… I’m ashamed to be seen with you!”
Having said this, she turned around with a slight bow, showing proper respect toward Linlang: “…Mo—Chu Niangzi, Lord Situ, please forgive my father’s discourtesy. He had a bit to drink before leaving the house. Words spoken under the influence—please do not take them to heart!”
Zhou Sui’an, hearing this, was indignant and started to protest that he had not drunk at all.
But the gaze Yuan’er turned on him as she looked up—it was exactly like Chu Linlang’s.
She truly was the child that Linlang had raised with her own hands. Even in the matter of subduing through bloodline authority, it was uncanny how alike they were—Zhou Sui’an instinctively fell silent, and then allowed Yuan’er to bid farewell to Chu Linlang on his behalf, letting her drag him all the way out of the estate.
Once outside the gate, Yuan’er climbed up into the carriage first and looked down at Zhou Sui’an from her elevated position, her tone heavy with disappointment: “Was there ever anyone as disgraceful as you? Anyone who didn’t know better would think it wasn’t you who drove your former wife away to seek comfort elsewhere! Seeing that Mother has found such a fine match, you couldn’t even keep your mouth shut and offer a blessing—you had to run your mouth without restraint? Do you think Lord Situ is still the minor adviser to a prince back in Lianzhou? What official rank does he hold now—he could crush you with one breath, couldn’t he? I didn’t want to come here with you today at all, but you insisted on bringing me along! And even after coming, you couldn’t do anything decent—just offended people with empty, groundless words… What sins did I commit in a past life? Saddled with a father like you!”
Her slender figure still looked like a child’s, yet when it came to delivering a scolding, she was thoroughly seasoned—a true mirror image of Chu Linlang!
Zhou Sui’an wanted to rebuke her for her defiance and lack of filial piety, for daring to speak to her own father in such a manner. But Yuan’er declared with full force: “Stop standing there! What are you waiting for? Get in the carriage!”
Zhou Sui’an obediently got in the carriage out of sheer instinct. By the time he was seated, for some reason a wave of grief surged up from within him, and right there in front of his daughter, he let out broken, sobbing cries.
Yuan’er did not look at her father’s undignified display of distress. Instead, her thoughts turned to how Chu Linlang had insisted on her education, wanting her to be accomplished enough to distinguish herself and break free from the Zhou household one day.
She now understood fully the depth of her mother’s intent, and she grieved quietly for herself—for not being Chu Linlang’s birth daughter.
But knowing that her mother could marry such an outstanding and towering man as Lord Situ, Yuan’er felt a joy that came from the very bottom of her heart.
After so much bitterness, comes sweetness at last. Even the richest and most abundant fortune—her mother, who had toiled and suffered in hardship for so many years, was deserving of it all.
The sudden marriage of First-Rank official Situ Sheng of the current dynasty was something that set every household in the capital buzzing and in an uproar.
After all, even the most extravagant theatrical performance would not dare write a storyline this far-fetched.
What was Chu Linlang’s background and history, that she could actually marry a talent as exceptional and outstanding as Situ Sheng? One must understand that Situ Sheng was by no means a common man of no rank—he was the legitimate grandson of the late Great General Yang Xun!
For a time, some gossiping women speculated that perhaps this match had been arranged by His Majesty himself.
Even with the Imperial Edict of Self-Reproach issued and Yang Xun’s name rehabilitated, His Majesty still harbored some wariness toward the blood of the Yang Family. Having Situ Sheng marry a divorced woman who could not bear children—was this not a blatant attempt to cut off the man’s line of descendants?
And besides, Chu Linlang was apparently the jealous sort—word was that it was precisely because her former husband had taken a concubine that she had made such a scene and demanded a mutual separation. If that was so, would not Lord Situ be taking a fierce and domineering woman through his doors who could not even produce heirs?
Or perhaps this Chu Linlang, during her time serving as Situ Sheng’s steward, had gotten hold of some compromising secret of his, and used it to force the man into submission and secure the position of his principal wife?
Thus, with regard to this ill-matched union, rumors and speculation proliferated on all sides.
Yet regardless of all this, none of it could stop the wedding from proceeding.
Chu Linlang was at last seated in a tall-carried palanquin of eight bearers, dressed in brilliant and resplendent bridal attire, and set out as a proper bride.
Though the marriage had been arranged in haste, the gifts bestowed by the Crown Prince Consort and the Empress Dowager were lavish and weighty—gold vessels and jade ornaments, red bridal lacquerware, furniture, bolts of fabric, and bed furnishings. To which His Majesty had additionally bestowed ten more carrying loads of gifts, and Situ Sheng had drawn from his savings accumulated over many years to make up the betrothal gifts—all of it together constituted a magnificent procession of bridal gifts stretching unbroken for ten li.
And the phoenix coronet and ceremonial bridal robes that Chu Linlang wore were likewise a gift from His Majesty—extraordinarily precious and of the highest quality!
It was only upon seeing this grandeur and splendor that people suddenly recalled: this woman of humble merchant origins, who had once been a divorced wife—her network of connections was formidably impressive.
Not only was she the Auspicious and Blessed Lady personally conferred by His Majesty, with the privilege of entering and leaving the Empress Dowager’s palace chambers, but she was also the close schoolmate and intimate friend of the new Crown Prince Consort Tao Yashu—said to be as close as sisters. And this wedding ceremony itself even had the Crown Prince and Crown Prince Consort personally in attendance as witnesses to the marriage!
For a common woman who had once been a divorced wife to have, through her own efforts alone, carved out such a standing in the world—not to mention that she was a genuine beauty, striking and captivating to behold, a true great beauty indeed!
Thinking on it this way, it could hardly be said that Lord Situ had been coerced into marriage.
For that cold and stern man, once notorious as a merciless official, had not let the smile fade from his face even once since sitting astride his horse today.
Added to this, the way he turned his head to gaze back at the bridal palanquin from time to time—such behavior was indistinguishable from a man who could not wait to enter the bridal chamber. No matter how one looked at it, he bore no resemblance to a man who had been forced to marry an unsuitable woman against his will.
And so certain rumors, in the face of this pair of newlyweds, found themselves largely demolished without needing to be contested.
As Linlang sat within the tall palanquin, the emerald beads and broken jade adorning the curtain swayed and clinked against one another—a fitting reflection of Linlang’s own swaying heart.
At this very moment, dressed in magnificent finery and seated within the palanquin, she felt as though she were in a dream, barely daring to believe that she had truly married Situ Sheng.
And at that moment, the red-robed man seated upon the tall horse ahead turned his head and looked back, his gaze steady and his smile gentle, gazing in her direction through the palanquin curtain.
She could not help but smile. This time, she was married again. And yet she felt none of the apprehension and confusion of a new bride—only the steadfast certainty and sweetness of facing the rest of her days hand in hand with the man before her.
The wedding procession advanced amid the sounds of music, winding onward without end. On both sides of the street, crowds had gathered like mountains and seas.
Within the crowd watching the spectacle, one woman, concealed beneath a heavy hood, allowed her expression to twist with subtle bitterness.
She was none other than Tao Huiru—who had disappeared with her son for a considerable time.
When the Crown Prince had been deposed, she had feared that her own schemes and actions would be exposed and she would be implicated, so she had grabbed her bewildered son and fled in haste.
Before leaving, she had leaked the secrets of Situ Sheng’s true identity to the Crown Prince, fully intending to ruin Situ Sheng’s prospects and send him to die with no place left for his burial!
At first, the situation had developed in a manner that was still somewhat satisfactory—Situ Sheng, just as she had anticipated, was imprisoned in chains and on the verge of losing his life.
But what she had never imagined was that a sudden turn of events would follow. Not only did Situ Sheng emerge completely unharmed, but His Majesty had personally composed an Imperial Edict of Self-Reproach to be made public to all under heaven, repenting his recklessness of years past in punishing a meritorious official’s family and tarnishing the unsullied reputation of old General Yang Xun.
His Majesty had furthermore issued a decree posthumously bestowing upon Yang Xun a hereditary title of Marquis.
This meant that any direct descendant of Yang Xun’s lineage would be eligible to inherit the title!
Yet that Situ Sheng had no idea what was good for him—he had tactfully declined His Majesty’s suggestion to change back to the Yang surname and insisted on remaining the adopted son of the Situ family.
Tao Huiru, through secret communications with her brother, had come to know these hidden circumstances, and could no longer bear to remain in seclusion.
Even if Situ Sheng despised her to the bone, he could not deny that Tao Zan was his blood brother!
For the sake of her son’s glorious future, Tao Huiru was willing to stake everything. The first matter at hand was to make Situ Sheng acknowledge Tao Zan as his brother.
So today, on the day of Situ Sheng’s wedding, with the doors full of guests—this was the most opportune moment for the brothers to recognize each other!
Tao Huiru had long since thought it through: she would stake everything and everything, and would make her son inherit the title of Marquis no matter what!