Exclusively for the Marchioness – CH 018

Chapter 18

Chong-An had never seen the Marquis laugh so silently and for so long. He was so frightened that he dared not follow the Marquis. Just then, someone brought a message, and he quickly went to the back.

However, having received the message, he dared not report it to the Marquis and could only glance at his brother, Chong-Ping.

Chong-Ping had no choice but to speak first. He then saw that the Marquis had stopped laughing, standing with his hands behind his back under the young lady’s window, looking up at the sparse stars in the sky.

Chong-Ping stepped forward and whispered his report.

“My Lord, the eldest son of the Gu family, Gu Yangsi, has just arrived at the dowry residence.”

Gu Yangsi, the eldest son of Old Lady Wan, was her only legitimate son.

The man gave a soft hum.

For some reason, Chong-An felt the air around him grow colder.

He heard the Marquis say slowly, “Just in time.”

Chong-An felt a sudden chill for the Gu family.

But then the Marquis looked towards the room.

Inside the room, Qiu-Lin had to come over and advise the young lady, “Even if you are in a hurry to make money, you must have your eyes.”

The young lady still said it was fine, but seeing Qiu-Lin about to move the lamp, she quickly stopped her.

“What if it breaks while being moved? I only have this one lamp that Third Young Master made with me.”

“Young Lady,” Qiu-Lin sighed heavily.

The young woman took the lamp herself. “I will light it for another hour and then go to sleep.”

“An hour?” Qiu-Lin was speechless.

Outside the window, in the darkness, Chong-An saw the Marquis slowly withdraw his gaze.

The next moment, a gust of wind suddenly swirled outside the window.

The half-open window was flung open by the wind, and as the windowpane creaked, something swept in and slammed into the lamp holder.

At an extremely tricky angle, the lamp went out abruptly.

Both the mistress and servant in the room were startled, wondering where the wind had come from and what in it had extinguished the lamp.

Qiu-Lin called out to Ruan Gong, “Is anyone outside the Miss’s window?”

Ruan Gong quickly looked around. “No one! Nobody here.”

“Strange…it might just be sand and gravel whipped up by the wind.” Qiu-Lin closed the window.

But the lamp went out, and Du Lingjing tried to relight it but could not.

Qiu-Lin saw the young lady sitting at the table with her eyes downcast and put down her pen.

“Qiu-Lin, do you know how to fix lamps?”

Her voice was no longer as it had been before; now it sounded like it had sunk to the bottom of the water.

Qiu-Lin quickly came over and examined the lamp closely. She did not know what was wrong either. “But there are repair shops in the capital that can fix all sorts of things. Surely they can fix this kind of Xi’an lamp. I will have Ai-Ye take the lamp to be fixed tomorrow.”

Du Lingjing stared at the lamp that inexplicably would not light, remaining silent for a long time.

But Qiu-Lin also helped the young lady up. “The lamp is broken, which is good because you do not have to strain your eyes; otherwise, you really would not be able to bear it.”

Du Lingjing still did not speak. She pursed her lips and got up.

*

In the dowry courtyard on the other side of Chengqing District, someone stood at the alley entrance for only a few breaths. The people in the courtyard did not notice anything, and then the person at the alley entrance left. In the courtyard, Gu Yangsi directed his men to carry the belongings out again.

“Anyone who bumps or scratches themselves, do not blame me for kicking them out!”

His words were the same as his mother’s, Old Lady Wan’s, but the difference was that Old Lady Wan wanted to provide her granddaughter with the most exquisite dowry, while Gu Yangsi had these fine items carried out as is.

It was not that he was being disrespectful to his niece; he had heard about it yesterday and came to see for himself, only to find his mother incredibly generous.

Indeed, his niece was going to be a marquis’s wife, but she would have no wealth or honor whatsoever, yet his mother was still giving her such a large dowry.

And Gu Yangsi, having been embroiled in the previous incident, had no one seeking his services, and his finances were immediately tight.

These fine items, rather than benefiting his niece, were better kept in his possession.

As for his mother, since the items were already being given away, it did not matter who they went to, so she might as well give them all to him.

Gu Yangsi came again tonight. He had also temporarily pawned a courtyard nearby and had his belongings moved there, giving instructions to everyone.

“No one is allowed to tell the old lady about this,” he said, adding, “No one is allowed to say a word. Just pretend you do not know; keep it all to yourselves.”

He was the master; who dared disobey him? They turned around and started carrying the things they had just brought in back out, huffing and puffing.

Gu Yangsi was in a good mood. Asking his mother for money would be too embarrassing; pawning and selling the items now would be much easier.

He repeatedly urged his men to hurry so they would not be discovered.

Unexpectedly, just then, the previously dark alleyway suddenly burst into bright light.

A group of soldiers, torches held high, ran straight towards Gu Yangsi and his group.

Gu Yangsi was unaware of what was happening, but fearing recognition, he quickly retreated.

Just then, the leading soldier flashed his badge.

“Action by the Shuntian Prefecture. Is this the courtyard where the Du family kept their dowry?”

“This is common knowledge,” someone replied.

“It is indeed the Du family’s residence.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the leading soldier asked directly.

“And who are you?”

“We are… of course, from the Du family.”

The leading soldier laughed.

“The Du family? Instead of guarding the dowry in the middle of the night, you are moving it out? I think you lot are thieves!”

He suddenly shouted to the soldiers behind him, “Seize them all!”

Before Gu Yangsi could react, his arms were bound, and he was taken to the Shuntian Prefecture office.

…

The men who went out last night had not returned, and Old Lady Wan found out this morning.

But the old lady never expected this. “You say the master is there too? Why is he there?”

The man dared not speak directly; he had gone out to urinate the night before and had narrowly escaped punishment. He could only say, “The master was worried they might do something wrong, so he went to keep an eye on them. He never expected to be mistaken for a thief and arrested!”

The servant tried to cover for Gu Yangsi, but Old Lady Wan smashed her teacup right in front of his face.

“Still dare not tell the truth?!”

The hot tea made the servant’s hands tremble. Old Lady Wan’s tyrannical power was overwhelming; he could not withstand it any longer and told the truth.

Upon hearing the truth, Lady Liang, standing nearby, could not help but cover her mouth.

Her husband actually wanted to take his niece’s dowry.

Her face burned, while Old Lady Wan seemed to have a date stuck in her throat, unable to speak for a long time.

“…That shameful thing…how is he now?”

The servant had just returned from the Shuntian Prefecture prison with a letter from Gu Yangsi. “Master requests that Old Madam quickly prepare some silver, saying it’s a misunderstanding and to ask the Shuntian Prefecture to release him immediately.”

Gu Yangsi was too embarrassed to reveal his name; after all, he held an official position through connections, and if people knew, he’d be a laughingstock.

Old Lady Wan was troubled and immediately ordered the steward to get the man out quickly.

She added, “Do not let anyone know.”

Firstly, it was incredibly shameful, and secondly, the discovery of the substitute marriage would cause trouble.

However, the steward returned several times, shaking his head awkwardly at Old Lady Wan.

“The Shuntian Prefecture says the arrested man’s identity is unclear, and that our master has not admitted to being the head of the Gu family, so they fear there’s more to the story and cannot release him.”

Old Lady Wan was astonished; her plan to secretly ransom him had failed.

Did she really have to go and bring her son back herself?

Just then, a message came from outside. “Old Madam, something terrible has happened! The Shuntian Prefecture government has posted a notice asking everyone to identify someone. The notice has a portrait of our master on it!”

Gu Yangsi refused to acknowledge himself, yet the government had posted his portrait directly.

Old Lady Wan’s vision blurred. Without hesitation, hoping that as few people as possible would see the portrait, she changed her clothes and went to the Shuntian Prefecture office in Lingchun Ward.

Upon arriving at the government office, however, she found the entire street crowded around the notice board, pointing and commenting on the portrait.

“Oh, does that not look like the eldest master of the Gu family in Huanghua Lane!”

The portrait was exceptionally well-painted; anyone could recognize him at a glance.

Old Lady Wan quickly sent someone to the back, then presented a formal invitation to the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

But things seemed to be deliberately playing tricks on her; the Prefect of Shuntian was not there, supposedly out of town. Old Lady Wan could not see the official, and her subordinates were powerless to make a decision, only saying that, at most, out of respect for her, they could remove the portrait from the notice board.

Although the portrait was removed, so many people had seen it, and some with sharp eyes even spotted Old Lady Wan’s carriage.

Instead of retrieving her son, Old Lady Wan returned to her residence, only to hear rumors spreading throughout the capital.

While the loss of face was minor, the most important thing was that suspicion had begun to arise.

“That’s the Du family’s dowry residence. What were the Gu family doing going in and out there? Could it be that they want to replace the eldest young lady of the Du family with the second young lady, making the second young lady the Marquis’s wife?”

This speculation caused a huge uproar throughout the city.

The Du family’s young lady’s marriage was already a hot topic, and now no one could stop the rumors. In just half a day, it seemed the entire capital knew that Old Lady Wan wanted to marry her granddaughter to Marquis Lu.

Lady Liang was at a loss, unable to redeem her husband from prison while listening to the city’s turmoil reaching their doorstep.

“Mother, what should we do? Everyone can see it; I am afraid the palace and the Marquis’s Mansion know too.”

At this point, Old Lady Wan calmed down and composed herself.

She had the head maid rub her forehead, took a sip of tea, and then spoke.

“Since everyone knows, there’s no need to hide it anymore. Let them say what they want; I will only consider the opinions of the palace and the Marquis’s Mansion.”

If no one from the palace came, it meant they’d tacitly agreed to marry either of the Du family’s daughters; after all, they were both Du Yijing’s granddaughters, and that was what the imperial decree originally stated.

As for the Marquis’s Mansion, since the palace did not interfere, it meant either daughter was acceptable; it was up to the Marquis to choose whomever he wanted to marry.

Although the eldest young lady of the Du family had a Grand Secretary father, he had been deceased for many years; the second branch of the family was not as prominent, but the second young lady was the maternal granddaughter of Old Lady Wan.

Early the next morning, Du Zhiqi brought his daughter, Du Runqing, to Old Lady Wan’s Rongyu Hall.

Like Lady Liang, the father and daughter were completely at a loss regarding this sudden turn of events.

Du Zhiqi worried about the palace. “Will the Emperor be displeased? After all, Qing’er was not even of marriageable age when the imperial edict was issued.”

Old Lady Wan glanced at him. “You are overthinking it. The palace does not bother with your family’s trivial matters.”

She added, “If the palace is dissatisfied, a eunuch should be coming down to give them a heads-up by now. Have you seen anyone?”

Neither the Du family nor the Gu family had seen anyone from the palace.

Du Zhiqi breathed a slight sigh of relief.

But Du Runqing asked her grandmother in a low voice, “Will the Marquis acknowledge me?”

Old Lady Wan beckoned to her and pulled her into her arms.

“Have you forgotten how the Marquis helped you before? Your fate with the Marquis was preordained. Would he reject you and insist on marrying your sister? She’s just a helpless orphan, only carrying your uncle’s name. Now she insists on separating the family property; with your two branches separating, she will have nothing left. You, on the other hand, still have your maternal grandmother.”

Anyone with eyes could see which choice was more practical.

These words finally calmed the young girl’s mind.

Until the sun was high in the sky, there was still no movement from the palace.

Du Zhiqi felt much more relaxed, and Old Lady Wan smiled. Du Zhiqi complimented her, “Mother-in-law, you truly are the Matchmaker of the Capital; you’ve got it all figured out.”

Old Lady Wan’s brows relaxed, and she simply instructed people to keep a close eye on the Marquis’s Mansion.

They would not interfere in the palace; they would only wait and see what the Marquis’s Mansion thought.

The Marquis’s Mansion remained completely silent until the sun began to set. Suddenly, news spread that men from the Northern Garrison of the Jinyiwei had arrived and taken the eldest master of the Gu family away from Shuntian Prefecture.

Why would the Jinyiwei take Gu Yangsi for no reason?

Du Zhiqi was puzzled, but Old Lady Wan remained calm.

“Commander Wei is not in the capital, so it could not have been his order. The one who took him is the Northern Garrison Commander. If I remember correctly, the Northern Garrison Commander is from the Yongding Army, is he not?”

The Northern Garrison Commander from the Yongding Army—Lu Shenru’s man.

Now, even without Old Lady Wan’s explanation, everyone in the capital’s streets and alleys had guessed it.

“It seems the Marquis has already made his choice.”

“Who did the Marquis choose?”

“Of course, it’s the Second Young Lady of the Du family! Did he not rush to get his future uncle away? Perhaps letting the Shuntian Prefecture release him directly would have embarrassed him, so sending him to the Jinyiwei… Giving him the title of assisting in the case sounds better.”

The crowd suddenly understood. “That’s right, who would choose an orphan girl over Old Lady Wan’s granddaughter? She’s useless.”

On the street, Chang-Pu, who was on orders to gather information, was furious upon hearing this.

“You all underestimate him! If you are so capable, go to Qianxing District and gamble; see who the Marquis chooses!”

The crowd found him amusing. “What, are you working for the Eldest Young Lady of the Du family?”

Chang-Pu did not answer but simply pulled out ten taels of silver. “Do you dare?”

Some people thought he was a fool, but why not take the fool’s money? Quite a few people actually went with him to Qianxing District and bet their entire fortunes. When Ruan Gong found Chang-Pu, he saw that Chang-Pu had pawned his belt and even his trousers. Hearing that Chang-Pu had pawned his young lady to marry the Marquis, Ruan Gong slapped him across the face.

“My young lady is determined to return to Qingzhou. What do you mean by pawning her away? Are you deliberately trying to oppose her?”

Chang-Pu was extremely aggrieved. “Master Gong, I am just so angry! Why do they all fawn over that old woman Wan and look down on my young lady?!”

These words made Ruan Gong pause.

He released Chang-Pu. “Forget it, forget it. Once this is over, we will go back to Qingzhou and never get involved with these snobbish people again.”

The two returned to Chengqing District to report back to Du Lingjing.

Ruan Gong said, “There are all sorts of talk outside. But they say the Marquis had the Northern Garrison Commander take away Master Gu, which is a sign of his favor. That probably means he’s agreed to marry the Second Young Lady.”

Du Lingjing nodded in agreement. “I hope so.”

…

At the Gu Mansion in Huanghua Ward.

Old Lady Wan sent someone to wait at the Jinyiwei gate. She expected her son to come out in the evening and come home immediately.

But she waited and waited until it was completely dark, and he still had not returned.

Old Lady Wan’s eyelids twitched twice.

Du Zhiqi also felt something was amiss. If the Marquis had really taken his “future uncle” away and was not letting him go home in the evening, was he going to keep him overnight?

He simply stayed with his daughter, hoping for news tonight.

Everyone waited in Rongyu Hall.

They waited from dusk till midnight, but no news came until the eastern sky began to lighten. Suddenly, the Gu family’s steward rushed in, reeking of blood.

Everyone turned to look at him. Old Lady Wan asked urgently, “What’s the situation?”

“Reporting to Madam, the Northern Garrison Commander is holding our master captive, but he’s leaked information saying he’s suspected of treason!”

“What?!” Old Lady Wan nearly collapsed. “What happened?!”

Du Zhiqi was also astonished, and Du Runqing’s face turned deathly pale.

Lady Liang urged the steward, “Speak quickly!”

The steward did not speak immediately. Instead, he took a blood-stained garment with a pungent stench from his robes.

He placed the garment on the ground with trembling hands.

“The Northern Garrison Commander said…”

“Said what?!”

“They said…the Marquis himself said that our master is in the imperial prison…he’s being beaten to death!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Lady Wan collapsed into the armchair behind her. Du Zhiqi stared, his eyes wide with disbelief, at the blood-stained clothes reeking of blood.

Du Runqing was stunned. The little girl had never imagined such an outcome. Her voice trembled.

“How could this be? How could the Marquis do this?!”