Four Delicate Offenders – CH 016

Chapter 16. Young Women Are, After All, Just Playthings.

These words made Jiang Heng dizzy. What did it mean that it had nothing to do with him, and what was this Xiang Zhufen…?

He remembered that Xiang Junjie’s family only had two sons and two daughters. Where did a third daughter suddenly appear, and judging from the situation, she was very much related to him.

Jiang Heng frowned. “Brother Jingqing, you are usually so straightforward; why are you being so roundabout today? It was my mistake not to come to the mansion to inform you; I will personally apologize to my elder sister and brother-in-law later; you do not need to keep me in suspense like this. My daughter, Si Si, is gone; I’ve lost my beloved daughter. Who can understand this sorrow? You speak of canceling our household registration and claiming you have few family members; what exactly are you trying to do?”

To his surprise, the Duke of Shu rolled his eyes at him, “Did my words offend Marquis Jiang? Instead of venting your anger, Marquis Jiang, why not go back and ask your concubine what she’s been doing behind the master’s back? Marquis Jiang, men value loyalty and know how it should be used when needed. Ignoring your proper wife and daughter to pamper your concubine will only invite ridicule. Young women, after all, are just playthings, like side dishes. Who serves spicy gourd as the main course when entertaining guests? You, on the other hand, are blindfolded and manipulated by a mere concubine. I am only saying a few words because my sister-in-law married you; otherwise, I would not even bother looking at you.”

The Duke of Shu either did not scold or, when he did, he could unleash a torrent of scathing military criticisms and troop-training rhetoric for three days and three nights without repeating himself.

The colleagues returning home after court, seeing the commotion, did not hurry back. In the vast square between the left and right gate towers, groups of officials stood, ears pricked, all sensing something was amiss and eager to see how Jiang Heng would handle the situation.

Jiang Heng was thoroughly humiliated this time, his ears burning with embarrassment. To be lectured at his age was truly unbearable. Now that the County Princess was gone, they were, to put it nicely, Brothers-in-law; to put it bluntly, just fellow officials in the same court. He was not even working under the Duke of Shu, so why should he endure his mockery?

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However, he had to save face. He took a deep breath and said, “This is a family matter of mine; I would not dare trouble the Duke of Shu with such concerns…”

But before he could finish, the Duke of Shu interrupted him. The veteran general’s fierce, battle-hardened nature resurfaced overnight. Spittle nearly landed on Jiang Heng’s face as he pointed at him and launched into a tirade, “You filthy, muddle-headed wretch! You are a disgrace to the court! You cannot even tell if the person in the coffin is your own daughter! The affairs of the office are entrusted to you, and you are just a mess waiting to happen! I bet you were just hoping your wife and daughter would die so you can legitimize your concubine, and the two of you can live your filthy lives in Youzhou! That young woman said the one who died was Si Si, and you did not doubt a thing. I ask you, did you even see the face beneath the gold paper? Are you blind, or are you just making things up? If you do not give me an explanation today, we will go to the officials and settle this!”

Jiang Heng’s mind went blank. He nearly fainted. This sudden news left him bewildered. He just stared blankly, repeatedly asking, “What did you say? What did you say?”

The Duke of Shu suddenly felt that talking to such a fool was beneath him. Even when the County Princess was around, he had not seemed this muddle-headed. Now that the mistress was gone and the concubine was in charge, the man looked gloomy and listless. He’d been talking to him for half a day, and the man looked like he had not woken up yet—it made him seethe with rage.

With a flick of his sleeve, the Duke of Shu turned to leave, but Jiang Heng blocked his way.

“Brother-in-law, are you saying Si Si is still alive? Is she in your residence?” He hesitated for a moment. “Then…then…who was buried in your house?” He thought for a moment, then realized something was wrong. “Si Si has never traveled far; how could she be in your residence? Brother-in-law, are you joking with me, or have you made a mistake…”

The Duke of Shu’s eyebrows shot up. “Do you think we are like you? Can you not even recognize people? Go back and ask your beloved concubine why she changed the gatekeeper on the day of the earthquake, forcibly preventing Si Si from entering. Fortunately, she received help from the Duke of Wei and arrived safely in the capital. Had she encountered someone with ill intentions, she might have met the fate that your beloved concubine wanted.”

To verify his words, the Duke of Shu searched through the crowd. Just then, the Duke of Wei came out of the palace gate. Duke of Shu called out to him, “Come and tell Marquis Jiang how you met his eldest daughter that day and how you sent her to the capital.”

Everyone looked at the Duke of Wei. A man of noble birth, caught up in this kind of trouble, he inevitably seemed out of place. However, the originally chaotic situation became believable because of his words.

He remained composed and dignified, the blazing sun overhead and his crimson official robes highlighting his refined and gentle features. Standing before the orderly stone wall of the gate tower, he tucked his hands behind his back and truthfully recounted, “That day, I was ordered to provide disaster relief. Around dusk, soldiers brought two women to the garrison. One of them claimed to be the daughter of the Marquis of Jiang’s household and wanted to go to the Duke of Shu’s residence. Seeing that it was getting late and fearing they might have difficulty traveling, I ordered two servants to escort them to the capital.”

Jiang Heng finally choked on his words, utterly bewildered by this farce. He pondered for a long time, then gestured blankly with his hands, saying, “Then…then I was also in the capital. Why did she not come to find me…?”

The Duke of Wei smiled, pursing his lips. “I was also wondering about this. Marquis Jiang was clearly in the capital, so why did your daughter go to the Duke of Shu’s residence?”

Jiang Heng’s face finally turned ashen. That weak, feeble remark was a clear emphasis on his failure as a father.

Ask anyone in the entire Youzhou, and they’d all know the commotion at the Founding Marquis’s residence. After all, such a misunderstanding of legitimate and illegitimate children was despicable. The Duke of Wei agreed to send her to the capital not only because of his marriage agreement with the Duke of Shu’s family, but also because he’d heard about the current state of the Founding Marquis’s household!

This question put him in an awkward position. While it was good that she was not dead, the commotion caused by a young woman, making his father a laughingstock, instantly shattered his joy, turning it into resentment.

Jiang Heng hastily bowed to the Duke of Wei and the Duke of Shu, saying, “My daughter has been unruly and has caused you both a lot of trouble. I apologize in advance. Since she is at Brother Jingqing’s residence, I will take her home immediately and dare not trouble my elder sister and brother-in-law any further.”

Unfortunately, the Duke of Shu was unmoved, glaring at him coldly, “Taking her home is easy, but who knows what your concubine will do to harm her next time? You, as her father, do not care about your daughter’s reputation at all, but we, as her aunt and uncle, feel sorry for her. Forget about taking her home; dealing with that troublemaking brat is the most important thing.”

This was a question of life versus death. He wanted to take the child back, but punishing Liu-niang for it put him in a dilemma.

Looking around, Jiang Heng saw that his colleagues were watching with great interest, clearly eager for a spectacle. He softened his tone, lowering his voice, “Brother-in-law, let’s discuss this privately. With so many eyes watching, discussing matters of the inner quarters in public is simply beneath our dignity.”

“Marquis Jiang, you still care about dignity?” Duke of Shu sneered. “Do not waste my breath with those idle words. One sentence: deal with that concubine, then come to my residence to fetch her. If you still cannot bear to part with your woman, then she will change her household registration and take our surname, Xiang.”

The Duke of Shu, true to his military background, acted decisively. Having uttered his harsh words, he turned and boarded his carriage, giving Jiang Heng no further chance to argue, and ordered his servant to drive towards Dongyulin Alley.

This good show ended without a clear conclusion, leaving the officials, whose duties had become somewhat monotonous, somewhat disheartened. Anyway, the incident had already occurred, adding another interesting topic to the conversation. Everyone feigned confusion, sympathy, or understanding of the man’s predicament, maintaining awkward yet polite smiles as they went to find their respective carriages.

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The Duke of Wei was also about to leave when Jiang Heng, at a loss for what to do, called out to him.

“Duke of Wei…” he said, his brow furrowed in a troubled expression, his hands tucked into his sleeves, “Since my daughter has introduced herself, why not send someone to escort her back to the mansion? With the authorities involved, the gatekeepers would not dare to stop her.”

The Duke of Wei was a gentle man; perhaps due to his frail health, he lacked any harshness, unlike his two cousins.

Jiang Heng’s slightly reproachful tone did not anger him; he merely smiled faintly. “Your family is convinced your daughter is dead. If I were to force her back, and something went wrong, I would not be able to explain it to Marquis Jiang. I originally thought that since Marquis Jiang was in the capital, your daughter would naturally go to find him at the Duke of Shu’s residence. I did not expect…” He paused slightly, then continued, “It’s fortunate I was ordered to go to Youzhou that day. If it were not for the government escort, even if your daughter had not encountered any villains, her reputation would likely have been ruined if she returned to the Marquis’s residence after a night away.”

He finished speaking, nodded slightly, and walked past. But those meaningful words made Jiang Heng seriously consider their implications.

A young girl—any slight mistake could lead to utter ruin. Thinking about it now, it was indeed a close call. The return of his child was the best consolation for Jiang Heng after the near-death experience. However, dealing with Liu-niang was a dilemma for him. After all, she had given birth to three children after entering the household, and he still felt some reluctance to part with her when he recalled the past. However, he had lost face in front of many colleagues today, which fueled his anger. If she truly had such a vicious heart, he was determined to expel her from the family.

Thinking of this, he felt an urge to slap her to death. He fiercely ordered a servant, “Bring me a fast horse; I need to return to Youzhou immediately.”

Riding a horse was much faster than taking a carriage. A carriage journey would take a day, while a horse could cover the distance in half a day.

Meanwhile, in the Marquis’s residence, Liu-niang was instructing the gardeners to move flowers. The feeling of being in charge of everything at home was an unprecedented sense of comfort and ease.

“Move this begonia to the underside of the corridor,” she pointed with the handle of her round fan. “The sun is very strong; do not let it die from the heat.”

Just as she was busy, a maidservant came in to report that the Master had returned. Liu-niang was slightly taken aback. Calculating the time, the journey seemed a bit off. Knowing that the matter could no longer be concealed, she instructed the maidservant to tell Chen-Xiang to escort her to the front hall to greet the Master.

As expected, Jiang Heng entered with a displeased expression. His eyes, red from the wind and jolting from the long journey on horseback, glared at her, making her heart skip a beat.

But she still had to force herself to act and approach him politely, offering a cool towel and saying, “My Lord, you must be tired from your journey. We thought you would not be back until the evening, so we were just planning to have a bowl of congee for lunch…” As she spoke, she instructed a servant, “Go and get My Lord a bowl. He must be hungry after such a long journey; please have something to eat.”

To her surprise, Jiang Heng snorted angrily and shoved her aside.

Liu-niang stumbled, her face pale. “My Lord, what’s wrong? Did I do something wrong to anger you?”

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Jiang Heng was furious. Pointing at her, he said, “This is all your doing! I ask you, Si Si is clearly still alive; why are you so certain she’s dead? Who was it that was placed in the coffin and sent off? What exactly happened on the day of the earthquake? You’d better tell me the truth!”

Liu-niang’s eyes widened in surprise. “The Young Lady is alive? Amitabha! The Young Lady is actually alive?” After the initial surprise, a look of bewilderment crossed her face. She murmured to herself, “But she was clearly trapped under the collapsing beam that day; how could there be a mistake…? …My Lord, did you truly see the young lady, or are you just hearing rumors? I personally handled her funeral arrangements, and I was the one who sent her off.”

Jiang Heng gritted his teeth and said, “After court today, the Duke of Shu told me personally that Si Si was at his residence. How could he be wrong?”

Liu-niang was stunned. “Youzhou is over a hundred miles from the capital… How did the Young Lady end up at the Duke of Shu’s residence?”

This was indeed beyond her expectations. The people she sent to inquire about Yunpan’s whereabouts had checked all four city gates, and no one had seen them leave the city. She had always assumed she was trapped somewhere within the city and could not escape, which was why she had not returned. She never expected her to be at the Duke of Shu’s residence.

Logically, a young lady from a humble family would only ever have traveled as far as the Quanqing Temple outside the city. She couldn’t have traveled over a hundred miles to seek refuge with her not-so-close aunt. Who knew that Yunpan had such extraordinary abilities? It seemed she had truly underestimated her.