Four Seasons Brocade – CH 079

Chapter 79 ☆、

Only Lady Luo felt that all the manpower and resources she had spent these past few days were well worth it, having witnessed such a unique and lively spectacle.

“Heavens! Is this not your Third Master’s runaway concubine? I saw her once at Daci Temple a few years ago. I am not mistaken, am I?” Lady Luo exclaimed in astonishment to Lady Cui. “How come she’s still in the capital? And who is this child?”

Huan’er, in the arms of the wet nurse beside Concubine Wang, was already terrified. He burst into tears, reaching out to Concubine Wang and crying, “Mother, I want my father! I want my father…”

This child was special; while others cried for their mothers when frightened, he alone wanted to find his father. However, the Eldest Master did indeed dote on this child, so a father-son bond was not surprising. Just look at his name—it was clear he was born of a concubine; even his name contained the character “jade,” like Rong Min and Rong Jie.

“Who is your father?” Lady Cui asked abruptly. She had not quite grasped the situation yet.

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“Is it not the Third Master of your Duke of Anguo’s mansion?” Second Madam Jin née Luo asked knowingly.

“No, Eldest Master, Eldest Master,” Huan cried, but even so, he would not allow anyone to change his father. He was still a bit confused and just kept calling out “Elder Master, Eldest Master.”

This meant the adulterer was someone else. Now it would not be hard to find out.

Lady Cui knew that family scandals should not be aired in public, so she immediately ordered someone to tie up Concubine Wang and take her back to the Duke’s Mansion. Si-Qi and Si-Qin, quick-witted as ever, sent someone to the yamen to inform the Third Master of the Rong family.

Lady Cui was not an outsider; she recognized the servants chasing after Concubine Wang—servants of the Duke’s Mansion, trusted confidants of the First Madam. That cry of “Eldest Master!” immediately made Lady Cui understand everything. She was so angry she could not speak, leaning back against the carriage shaft to steady herself.

Lady Luo naturally wanted to comfort her.

Lady Cui quickly refused, apologizing, and returned to the carriage. The group hurried back to the Duke’s Mansion, but fortunately, Si-Qin persuaded Lady Cui to go and meet Third Master Rong halfway and return together.

Lady Cui slapped her forehead. Yes, she was extremely bad at handling affairs, especially such important matters; naturally, she should let Third Master Rong make the decisions.

So the couple met halfway and entered the Duke’s Mansion together, going straight to the main room.

After Zi-Shan finished recounting everything in detail, a maidservant called out loudly from the courtyard, “Miss, Third Master and Madam have returned to their room.”

Ah Wu stood up. “Bring me my jade-green silk fan.”

Although it was early summer, it was not too hot yet. The fan was something she had just taken out of her fan case. Ah Wu had not used it this year, but now she carried one to hide her unease. When she did not know what to say, she could pretend to admire the fan’s surface.

Ah Wu’s jade-green silk fan was indeed a rare item, but to the untrained eye, its value was completely incomprehensible. This small fan alone cost several hundred taels of silver.

The fan surface was woven from the rare and precious golden-threaded beauty-tears bamboo. Only the tenderest part of the bamboo stalk’s outer layer was peeled off using a special method, making it as thin as Xuan paper, translucent yet waterproof.

The bamboo strips, some green and some yellow, were used by the craftsman to weave a lively and adorable picture of chicks pecking at insects. The green background contrasted beautifully with the yellow bamboo, forming a pair of fluffy chicks, while the tear-like spots transformed into insects—a truly masterful piece.

Ah Wu loved the unique design of the fan and the natural beauty of the bamboo strips, but the strips were so thin and translucent that many people could not even guess that it was made of bamboo.

Ah Wu took the fan from the Zi-Zhui and went to Lady Cui’s room.

In Lady Cui’s room, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. None of the servants in the mansion was stupid; they had all heard something, and seeing their master’s expression, they did not dare utter a sound.

The maid lifted the curtain for Ah Wu. Someone inside had already informed Third Master Rong and Lady Cui. Ah Wu entered and greeted, “Father, Madam.”

Third Master Rong looked somewhat embarrassed. Seeing Ah Wu, a hint of awkwardness appeared on his face. As a father, he felt it was shameful that his daughter knew about this. Third Master Rong opened his mouth but did not know how to begin.

Ah Wu said understandingly, “Father, I’ve heard everything.”

Third Master Rong’s face instantly flushed red.

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On the way, Ah Wu carefully considered her words. “Father, what did Grandfather say?”

Speaking of this, Third Master Rong felt a tightness in his chest, wanting to punch and kick, but being a scholar, and the other party being his father, he could only endure it. “Your grandfather reprimanded your Eldest and Second Uncles and wanted to punish Concubine Wang. That child is, after all, your Eldest Uncle’s flesh and blood. Fortunately, he’s young and does not remember anything, so he wants to bring him into the mansion.”

Ah Wu had already anticipated that Duke Anguo would try to smooth things over, to make a big deal out of a small one, and to make a small one disappear.

“Is this all there is to it?” Ah Wu half-covered her face with her fan. “Grandfather is so biased.”

Concubine Wang was, after all, Third Master Rong’s concubine, and now that she had caused such a stir in the capital, Duke Anguo’s handling of the matter seemed unfair, clearly belittling Third Master Rong. Everyone’s eyes were sharp; even if Third Master Rong were to divide the family property in the future, everyone would understand his difficulties.

Tears welled in Third Master Rong’s eyes. As the saying goes, a man does not easily shed tears unless he is truly heartbroken. Third Master Rong was completely drained. He was utterly disappointed by the Duke of Anguo’s favoritism. No matter how hard he tried, he could not compare to his two good-for-nothing sons.

Originally, Third Master Rong only harbored deep resentment towards his stepmother, the Old Madam, and had only a moderate relationship with his two half-brothers. But after this incident, the already thin brotherly affection had almost completely vanished, and with the Duke of Anguo’s favoritism, even the last vestiges of blood ties had disappeared.

Third Master Rong sighed deeply. Lady Cui, feeling both aggrieved and angry, held back her voice, afraid of further upsetting Third Master Rong.

“This matter has ruined the reputation of our Duke’s Mansion,” Ah Wu reminded Third Master Rong, warning that this incident would damage his official reputation.

But what Third Master Rong and Lady Cui were thinking about was Ah Wu’s marriage. With such a disgraceful uncle, who was even cursed for not keeping the stone lions in the mansion clean, what good marriage could Ah Wu possibly have? The Fourth Young Lady’s marriage was already settled, and there was no need to worry. The Fifth Young Lady was one of the two beauties of the capital, and her reputation was well-established, so the impact would not be significant. Only Ah Wu—Rong Jichang was the victim, and now this was going to harm Ah Wu as well. Third Master Rong simply could not tolerate it.

“My Lord, can we not divide the family property?” Lady Cui finally could not hold back any longer.

Third Master Rong sighed again. “Father will never agree to divide the family property.” His eldest and second sons were useless; they would all depend on him, their younger brother, for support in the future. Regardless of how the Old Madam and the others dealt with the third son, the Duke of Anguo only demanded that the Third Master Rong give selflessly, treating him completely as a stepping stone for his two older brothers. He would never allow the Third Master Rong to divide the family property and live independently.

“Why? Poor Ah Wu…” Lady Cui sobbed, collapsing onto the couch.

Ah Wu comforted Lady Cui, then fanned herself with her fan, saying, “I am lucky; that Concubine Wang is pitiful too. When Father went on his mission abroad, everyone said you would not come back. Second Uncle dared to bully her in our courtyard. Second Aunt wanted to beat Concubine Wang to death, so she ran away, only to be snatched away by Eldest Uncle. Father was not home, my brothers were not home either, and Mother and I were outnumbered and could not protect Concubine Wang.” Ah Wu covered her mouth with her fan, her voice choked with sobs.

Third Master Rong looked at Ah Wu strangely but did not delve into it. Instead, he pondered the key point in Ah Wu’s words. Yes, while he was away on his mission, Concubine Wang had cheated on him. If he insisted that his two brothers had forced her, it would not just be a matter of infidelity but rather the abuse of the widow and orphan of the third branch of the family. This would remove Third Master Rong from the reputation of having a dirty backyard; it would all be his two brothers who were beasts.

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Many in the family knew that Concubine Wang had been forced into this situation by the Second Master. If only Concubine Wang could firmly maintain her story…

But how could Concubine Wang possibly help them?

Ah Wu continued, “That child is pitiful too. I heard his name is Huan’er, so Uncle must love him very much.” Even his name was the same as the young masters in the mansion. “But that child is still young, and Uncle, as a father, sometimes cannot even take care of him properly. With his background, if he were raised by the First Madam, I am afraid he would not fare well. Concubine Wang is unlucky; she encountered such a thing, and as a weak woman, she could not resist. Father has long since grown tired of her. Although she’s a disreputable person, she’s still a human being. Why does Father not persuade Grandfather to sell Concubine Wang far away so that Huan’er will not resent him for killing his mother later?”

Ah Wu was not trying to use Concubine Wang; she genuinely pitied Concubine Wang’s life. Although Concubine Wang brought this upon herself, Ah Wu had been involved in the affair, and Ah Wu did not want her to lose her life.

“What? That vile woman—is her living not a disgrace to your father?” Lady Cui was straightforward and did not understand the intricacies of the situation.

Third Master Rong waved his hand, stopping Lady Cui from continuing. “Ah Wu is right. Concubine Wang is a weak woman, forced into this situation. It’s just that I was away on a diplomatic mission and could not take care of you, women and children, leaving you to be bullied and trampled on like this. She has had a hard life; saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, especially with Huan’er involved. Let’s consider it an act of kindness. I will go and persuade Father tomorrow.”

Having said this, Third Master Rong gave Ah Wu a wink and said, “I am feeling troubled. I’ll go sit in the study. Ah Wu, come and read to Father.”

Ah Wu knew that Third Master Rong would not hide this from her and nodded. Lady Cui, knowing that Master Rong was troubled, did not linger, only instructing that someone be well taken care of and sending some refreshments.