Exclusively for the Marchioness – CH 002

Chapter 2

Six months ago.

Three days of torrential rain had dispelled the last vestiges of summer heat in the capital region. As the eighth month began, the autumnal atmosphere seeped into the fields and along the ditches.

Under the old elm tree outside the farmhouse, a thick carpet of golden elm seeds covered the ground. The old tree, cleansed by the sudden downpour, swayed and bathed lightly in the autumn breeze, refreshed and invigorated.

Du Lingjing stood before the door. Her situation was far worse than that of the old elm tree that her father had planted the year he became the top scholar in the imperial examinations—

She had been stranded in the capital region for five days due to the rain. Although the rain had stopped, calculating the days, she knew she would not have enough time to return to her hometown in Shandong before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Steward Ruan suggested to her, “Miss, you’ve been traveling north with your books. Since the wind and rain seem to be keeping you here, why not spend the Mid-Autumn Festival here? The Second Master’s family is all at their old residence in the capital; you could have a family reunion there.”

Du Lingjing considered it carefully.

After her mother passed away when she was five, her father never remarried. She followed him as he served as an official, eventually settling in the capital and living in the old residence left by her grandfather. Her father’s career rose steadily. The late Emperor favored her father, frequently summoning him to his side during his later years when he was seriously ill, eventually elevating him to the position of Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Library.

A Grand Secretary at thirty-six years old—even a top scholar would be unprecedented.

However, after the late Emperor’s death and the current Emperor’s ascension, her grandfather also passed away. She left the capital with her father to return to their hometown in Qingzhou, Shandong, to observe mourning.

Originally, her father could return to the capital and resume his official post after three years of mourning, but unexpectedly, on the way back, they were caught in a flash flood…

She was seventeen when her father unexpectedly passed away. Before his death, her father had arranged a marriage between her and the Third Young Master Jiang. Having grown up with him, she naturally had no intention of marrying anyone else. However, the third son was in poor health and passed away before their marriage.

That year, she was only twenty years old.

Her aunt, Lady Gu, had always been concerned about her being an orphan, and now, even without a fiancé, she considered her hardly an auspicious person.

Du Lingjing did not care. However, this sudden visit on a normal day would not have mattered, but it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and others might not see it as a joyous occasion.

Du Lingjing declined and simply instructed Steward Ruan to prepare Mid-Autumn Festival gifts to send to her uncle and aunt and also to prepare one for her second sister and younger brother.

“…It’s been so many years since I’ve seen my younger siblings; I wonder what they’re like. And what about my aunt? I wonder how she’s doing lately.”

Du Lingjing’s aunt, Lady Gu, had an accident last year when she went out. She barely survived but was severely injured. Most of the time, she was delirious, unable to recognize people, and confined to bed, no longer possessing her former beauty.

The steward, Ruan Gong, immediately sent someone to inquire at Lady Gu’s dowry estate on the outskirts of the capital. The servant returned in an hour, looking somewhat strange.

“What’s wrong?” Du Lingjing asked Ruan Gong to bring the servant into the hall.

The servant’s name was Chang-Pu. He stammered, unsure where to begin.

Ruan Gong kicked him. “Tell everything you found out, from beginning to end.”

Chang-Pu rubbed his backside before speaking.

“When I arrived, the Second Madam’s maids were startled to see me. I explained that we were stranded here by the rain, and then asked the questions as the young lady had instructed.”

“They said that at the Chengqing District residence in the capital, the Second Master is staying home awaiting a vacancy, and since no suitable position has been found, he’s been waiting for several months. The Second Madam is still the same, except she fell slightly ill a month ago and is now weaker, requiring expensive medicine daily. The Second Young Lady has taken over the household management and is also busy attending classes at the Gu family home. The young master went to study at an academy in Baoding at the beginning of the year and rarely returns home.”

Qiu-Lin raised an eyebrow. “Is everything not fine? Why do you look like you have a date pit stuck in your throat? You cannot swallow it, and you cannot spit it out.”

When Qiu-Lin asked this, Chang-Pu made a strained face again. Ruan Gong kicked him in the backside again. “What else? Speak quickly.”

The kick was too hard, and Chang-Pu stumbled, blurting out everything.

“I was about to leave after asking the question, but I saw many chests in the courtyard, all with patterns of sparrows on branches and twin lotus blossoms. They looked exactly like dowry chests. One was open, and inside were four bolts of bright red silk, as if they were about to be used. I asked, ‘Is the Second Young Lady getting married?’ But to my surprise, they all stammered.”

Ruan Gong and Qiu-Lin exchanged a strange look. The Second Young Lady was not yet of marriageable age.

Du Lingjing paused slightly. “Continue.”

Chang-Pu quickly said, “Then the person in charge of the estate arrived. He looked unfamiliar, and after asking, I learned he was sent by the Gu family.”

He said this man was called Gu-Jiu. This man first said a few nice words, then said the rain was heavy, and the roads were difficult to travel.

“He said that since it was inconvenient for the young lady to go to the capital, they could escort her there. He also asked when we were going back, saying they could send someone to escort the young lady… Gu-Jiu said a lot, and when I asked if there was a wedding in the family, he said no, only that the Second Young Lady was about to come of age and they were just preparing some items for the coming-of-age ceremony.”

Chang-Pu finally blurted everything out, as if spitting out a date pit stuck in his throat.

“Miss, Steward Ruan, Sister Qiu-Lin, is it not strange? If it’s the Second Young Lady’s coming-of-age ceremony, why did the others not say so directly? Besides, it looks like a dowry chest to me. Is the Second Young Lady getting married after her coming-of-age ceremony? Why are we not told about such a joyous occasion? Are we going to spoil their happiness…”

Before he could finish, Ruan Gong kicked him a third time, almost sending him flying out of the hall. “What nonsense are you spouting?”

Chang-Pu clutched his backside, looking aggrieved and frustrated.

“Alright,” Du Lingjing spoke up in time, stopping Ruan Gong’s fourth kick.

She nodded to Chang-Pu. “It’s nothing. You must be tired from running around. Go and rest.”

Her voice was like raindrops falling from the eaves, dripping into a large, water-filled vat, creating ripples.

Chang-Pu, however, felt even more indignant. He wanted to say something, but Ruan Gong’s glare silenced him. In the end, he only managed to utter one sentence. “Do not take it to heart, Miss; it’s not worth it!”

He finished speaking and ran off, clutching his backside.

Qiu-Lin exclaimed, “Hey!” Ruan Gong almost chased after him and kicked him, while Du Lingjing could not help but smile.

Qiu-Lin said, “Miss, you are still smiling?” She muttered discontentedly, “Being treated like a thief.”

Ruan Gong pondered for a moment. “Miss, are we really going to avoid this? Should we go to the capital and inquire more carefully?”

He was not sure. The young lady had been managing the library alone at home for the past few years, always adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble.

Ruan Gong looked over and heard the young lady, seated calmly at the head of the table, speak slowly.

“To understand the situation before avoiding it is to keep things peaceful; to only avoid it without understanding it might lead to strange and troublesome things.”

Ruan Gong’s eyes lit up.

What the young lady said was exactly what he was worried about. Regardless of the situation of the second branch of the family, he needed to find out the truth first.

The young woman called to him, “Go to the capital yourself.”

“Yes!”

*

Ruan Gong set off. Du Lingjing sat under the eaves reading for a while. The sky was not fully bright; instead, it grew overcast, and a light drizzle began to fall.

Qiu-Lin quickly ordered someone to take down the books that had just been hung out to dry.

“The young lady’s books never seem to dry properly. If this were in the south, they would have been moldy long ago.”

She worriedly instructed the maids to be careful, “These books are more precious than people; each one costs a fortune to buy. They are also older than people, each one a hundred years old! Do not let them get bumped or knocked over.”

The maids moved with the utmost care, as if handling a strand of hair.

Du Lingjing chuckled softly beside her.

Du’s family had been studying since her great-grandfather’s time, and her grandfather became the first scholar in the family to pass the imperial examination.

Her grandfather was a true scholar who loved books. After a short time in office, he resigned, finding the bureaucracy tedious, and returned to his hometown to dedicate himself to scholarship and teaching. His students spread far and wide, and he became a renowned Confucian scholar in the region.

The library he built was called Mian Tower. Unlike other private libraries, Mian Tower was intended from the outset to be a place where everyone could read.

When her father returned home to observe the mourning period, he further expanded the collection, inviting many book lovers and making it convenient for them to study.

After her father’s death, with her uncle serving as an official elsewhere, she took over Mian Tower and focused on searching for rare and valuable ancient books. Each new find was like discovering a treasure covered in dust, and she meticulously organized, printed, and published it.

Her initial intention was simply to prevent ancient books from being shelved, but unexpectedly, Mian Tower’s reputation spread far and wide. In recent years, it had gradually become comparable to the libraries of the great bibliophiles of Jiangnan, and Du Lingjing herself had inexplicably gained some fame among scholars.

But the renowned collection of books at Mian Tower was not solely due to the efforts of three generations of her family. Her fiancé, the Third Young Master Jiang, also devoted himself wholeheartedly to Mian Tower.

The Jiang family was originally a prominent local family of scholars and farmers, with many members holding high positions in the imperial court during the previous dynasty. However, after the founding of this dynasty, talented individuals became scarce, except for the third son, who stood out by achieving the highest rank in the provincial examinations at the age of sixteen.

Unfortunately, the third son was sickly from childhood, and the pursuit of knowledge took its toll. After achieving the highest rank, his health deteriorated further, forcing him to discontinue the imperial examinations.

The third son poured his limited energy into her Mian Tower collection, even using the Jiang family’s money to acquire Song dynasty editions at great expense and store them in the collection, which were then printed and distributed under the name of the Du family.

She said this was not right. “We are not married yet, and others will inevitably gossip. Besides, Mian Tower is not my dowry, and I do not intend to take it with me.”

The third son laughed, coughing between laughs, and softly called her name.

He called her “Quan Quan,” a name he secretly gave her. Once, her father overheard it and exclaimed, “Quan Quan is still water; Qianyun, this name is wonderful!” This made them both blush for half a month.

At that time, Jiang Zhuxiu, courtesy name Qianyun, laughed and said, “Quan Quan, are you not overthinking things? My expensive purchase of Song Dynasty editions has nothing to do with our marriage.”

She was taken aback, her face flushing. “Then what are you planning to do?”

Third Young Master smiled at her. “I just want to take advantage of your Main Tower to fulfill my desire to curry favor with the Song Dynasty.”

In recent years, many people favored ancient Song Dynasty editions, some even to the point of being obsessive. She did not know when Third Young Master had also become so obsessed with the Song Dynasty.

She heard Third Young Master say, “I once made a grand vow to collect a hundred Song Dynasty books and become the foremost sycophant of the Song. But you know my health; if—and I mean if—my life is not long enough, I beg Quan Quan to collect a hundred Song Dynasty books for me and gather them in Mian Tower for people to read.”

His words became a prophecy.

In the seventh year of Yinyou, she had just finished mourning her father, and only three months remained before her wedding to Qianyun.

He left resolutely in the snowy night, abandoning her alone in the icy world…

The snow that year was heavy, and Mian Tower teetered on the brink of collapse in the blizzard. Qiu-Lin knelt before the study door, pleading with her, “Miss, you cannot keep yourself locked in the study anymore! Mian Tower is about to collapse! Third Master’s books will also collapse in the snow!”

Grandfather, Father, and Qianyun—why did they leave her with so many things?

But her grandfather built a tall building, and her father entertained guests; she could not let it collapse in her hands.

But the grand ambition someone had made was far from fulfilled. He naively wanted to collect a hundred Song Dynasty books, leaving her half his fortune, perhaps expecting her to serve him for the rest of her life.

But she could only muster her spirits and force herself to manage Mian Tower, searching for rare Song Dynasty editions for her beloved Third Young Master in this desolate world…

There were too many book collectors in the world who were devoted to the Song Dynasty; Song Dynasty books were priceless, and Du Lingjing had only collected seven or eight in the past three years.

Unexpectedly, news came from Jinan a few days ago that Song Dynasty books had been leaked. She immediately left Qingzhou to pursue the trail of these rare ancient books, collecting one after another, until she had collected eight in one go and had traveled north all the way to the outskirts of the capital.

Seeing that it was about to rain again, Du Lingjing was not worried about not being able to collect the books in time. She looked at the gloomy sky.

“That river to the west almost breached its banks earlier. Has anyone gone to repair it after the rain stopped yesterday?”

Qiu-Lin quickly inquired with the people in the village, but since the rain had stopped, no one paid any more attention to the river. Just then, raindrops began to fall in strings from the eaves.

Qiu-Lin exclaimed, “Ah! Are you worried that if another downpour causes the banks to breach, our village might be doomed?!”

However, the rain had already started again, and there were only a few people left in the nearby villages. Braving the rain to protect the banks was too risky.

Du Lingjing remained silent, deep in thought.

Qiu-Lin frowned, looking at the heavy rain outside. “It does not seem like the rain is going to stop. Perhaps I should take you and the books and leave the village for higher ground?”

But the roads outside were muddy, and the nearby hills were quite a distance away. Just then, Chang-Pu came running excitedly through the rain. “Miss, soldiers have come to repair the dike! There are so many of them!”

Chang-Pu said they were from a nearby camp. “I do not know why they are here, but at least they will keep it from flooding us!”

Du Lingjing was slightly taken aback, then turned and told Qiu-Lin to order some food to be prepared. Once the food was ready, she instructed Chang-Pu to drive the carriage, and she went to the dike herself.

The rain was torrential, and the river’s current was surging, violently pounding the banks. If it breached, the villages and fields below would be devastated. Many elderly people from nearby villages had come, discussing with the soldiers how to dredge the river.

Fortunately, when Du Lingjing arrived, they had already devised a plan, but it would not be a quick fix. Taking advantage of a brief rest, Du Lingjing delivered the food and tea to them.

She did not mention her family’s name, only saying she was from a nearby village, and then left. But the cart wheels got stuck in the mud, forcing her to get out temporarily.

As soon as Du Lingjing stepped out, she felt a gaze fixed on her across the river.

She turned her head slightly.

The rain, like a damp veil, blurred her vision.

On the high embankment across the river stood a man dressed in dark brocade robes. The luster of the robes dimmed slightly in the rain, but it made the dark jade belt cinched at his narrow waist stand out brilliantly.

Under a wide umbrella, his gaze fell across the rain, landing on her, as if frozen in place.

But Du Lingjing could not find any familiarity in his vaguely visible face.

She did not recognize the man and turned to ask, “Besides the generals and soldiers from the nearby camp, are there any others here…”

The man across the river possessed an extraordinary air about him. He stood with his hands behind his back, followed by others. Du Lingjing paused. “Any other nobles?”

Qiu-Lin had inquired about this earlier when she brought him food.

“Miss, that man is probably,” she lowered her voice slightly, “…the Marquis of Yongding.”

“The commander-in-chief of the Yongding Army in the Northwest?” Du Lingjing raised an eyebrow. “Marquis Lu Shenru, the Marquis of Yongding?”

Qiu-Lin said softly, “I heard that the Imperial Concubine recently went to the temporary palace with Prince Hui to fast and worship Buddha, but with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, the Imperial Concubine and Prince Hui need to return to the palace before then. If the dikes breach and the bridge is destroyed, the Imperial Concubine and her party will not be able to return.”

“So, it was Marquis Lu who dispatched the nearby troops?”

Qiu-Lin nodded.

Consort Lu, from the Lu family of the Marquis of Yongding, was the elder sister of the young lord before her, born of the same mother.

Since this matter involved the nobility and the imperial court, Du Lingjing refrained from further inquiry.

This Marquis Lu, the commander-in-chief of the border army and a close advisor to the Emperor, was twenty-five years old and already a figure of immense power among the military.

Du Lingjing was a complete stranger to him, and she had no intention of associating with such a powerful official.

The torrential rain obscured the view in the distance. Just then, the carriage emerged from the mud. She climbed back into the carriage and drove away in the downpour.

The carriage receded into the distance, the sound of hooves gradually fading away, leaving only a blurry silhouette in the woods, transforming into fallen leaves, swaying and drifting into the wind and rain.

The dike reinforcement project was mostly complete. A general came to report, “My Lord, there’s no need to worry; the dike is safe.” He added, “After the rain stops, I will inspect the bridge on the dike again. Her Highness and Prince Hui will surely be able to cross safely.”

The general was not sure if he had satisfied the Marquis, so he secretly glanced at him.

He saw that the Marquis was looking at the woods on the opposite bank with his hands behind his back, seemingly lost in thought. He hesitated, wondering whether to ask him anything, when the man slowly withdrew his gaze.

The Marquis had arrived with a calm expression, but now the general immediately noticed a hint of gentleness and pleasure in his eyes.

He began by saying, “Thank you for your trouble. The soldiers have worked hard, and their merit in protecting the Emperor has also relieved the people’s urgent needs. I, Lu, will speak on your behalf before the Emperor, and the amount of charcoal and grain for this winter will double.”

His voice was much lower and hoarser than usual. The soldiers beside him had initially thought this Marquis was unapproachable and domineering, but his gentle and considerate manner—both praising the generals and seeking rewards for the soldiers—was unexpected.

Everyone was both surprised and delighted. “Thank you for your trouble, Marquis! We will do as you command!”

The man politely gestured for his attendant to stay and assist him. “I cannot stay any longer; I must take my leave.”

The more polite he was, the less anyone dared disrespect him.

The general who had spoken earlier hurriedly went to see him off, but the Marquis raised his hand to stop him.

Seeing that the Marquis of Yongding did not linger and turned to leave, his gaze seemed to linger on the woods across the river.

*

The capital city.

The torrential rain pounded against the windowpanes, and Ruan Gong did not hear the person opposite him clearly.

“When is the great joy you mentioned about the Du family?”

Seeing his pale face, the person opposite him quickly repeated himself.

“Within ten days. I said that within ten days, the Du family will rise to prominence thanks to this great joy!”

A joyous occasion should make everyone happy.

But Ruan Gong’s face turned pale, his heart pounded uncontrollably, and a cold, indistinguishable sweat broke out on his back.