Chapter 92: Concealment and Favoritism
When I was a painter in the Imperial Palace, I vaguely heard palace servants gossiping that jade dildos were objects used by eunuchs for male prostitution.
Feng Gao undoubtedly recognized this object.
His face first showed embarrassment, then shock, and finally, only anger remained.
Servants from the Cheng Residence had also delivered a post to Qing Yue Pavilion yesterday. Old Madam Cheng and Cai Qingyao had a friendship, and it was fitting to congratulate them on the birth of a child. Half an hour ago, Feng Gao accompanied Cai Qingyao to the Cheng Residence. Just as they reached the manor gate, they saw a servant boy rushing out, saying he was going to fetch a doctor because Boss Zhu had been scalded. He was stunned to hear this. The last time, when the Third Young Miss of the Cheng Residence held her wedding banquet, Elder Sister came and encountered great danger.
His instincts, honed by years in the Eastern Depot, made him extremely suspicious.
Who was lurking in the Cheng Residence, trying to harm Elder Sister?
He involuntarily leaped onto the wall. He saw Xiao Yin guarding a room in the backyard and rushed in.
Elder Sister was actually unharmed. She was just changing clothes.
The moment the jade dildo fell to the ground, he suddenly couldn’t understand.
What kind of scheme was this?
Who was this framed to implicate him and Elder Sister, and for whom?
The other party had skillfully exploited his suspicion and concern for Elder Sister, all to put them in such an awkward situation?
He had never used a jade dildo.
He didn’t need to.
Desire can arise from love, but love does not necessarily stem from desire. His feelings for Elder Sister were like the locust trees full of flowers in May, or the snow falling in December; intense and pure.
Footsteps approached the door.
It was Cai Qingyao.
Seeing Feng Gao jump over the wall, she was flustered and worried something had happened. After asking the servant Sang Yu where she was, she followed.
The anxiety that had been in my throat subsided.
If this scene were witnessed by unrelated people, they would surely misunderstand, and the gossip would spread, and who knows how dirty and unpleasant it would become.
Fortunately, it was her.
Fortunately, it was her.
Cai Qingyao saw the jade dildo on the ground, turned her head, and looked around in a panic.
She knew Feng Gao and I were not that kind of people, but she feared others would misunderstand.
As a mother, she instinctively felt for Feng Gao.
Her gaze towards Feng Gao held a very complex meaning.
In just a moment, she took my hand and led me out.
We walked into the courtyard, and Qin Mingxu happened to arrive as well.
I calmed myself and smiled, “Have you finished with the Chamber of Commerce matters?”
Qin Mingxu walked over and first bowed to Cai Qingyao, “Your son wishes Mother well.”
Then, he said to me, “Yes, I’m done. I was worried about you, so I rushed over. They said your clothes got dirty and you were changing in the backyard. You weren’t scalded, were you?”
I shook my head, “No.”
A figure flashed past the corner of the wall.
Extremely swiftly.
Like a gust of wind.
Qin Mingxu smiled and asked, “Is there anyone else in the room?”
Cai Qingyao quickly put on an indifferent expression and said, “No one. Just Sang Yu and I.”
Qin Mingxu nodded and said no more, then sat down with me and Cai Qingyao in the front hall.
Before long, the banquet dispersed. Feng Gao came to pick up Cai Qingyao to return to Qing Yue Pavilion, and Qin Mingxu and I took Cherry back to the residence.
I, Feng Gao, and Cai Qingyao, none of us mentioned the scene that had just occurred.
We understood each other tacitly and silently moved past it.
Some things only get worse the more they are explained. Since he hadn’t witnessed it firsthand, it was better to let sleeping dogs lie; it was best for him not to know.
I naturally believed that the familial affection between Feng Gao and me needed no explanation.
Cai Qingyao, on the other hand, did not want her two sons to develop any ill will.
But I didn’t know that Qin Mingxu’s servant boy had seen Feng Gao leap over the wall outside the manor.
Qin Mingxu couldn’t understand why his mother was so eager to conceal things when Feng Gao was clearly in the room at that time.
He couldn’t understand why both his mother and wife were lying to him.
Ever since the mystery of his birth was revealed, he had carried a heavy burden in his heart.
He had loved and respected his mother for twenty years. Upon learning he was not her biological son, he was terrified. He feared their mother-son relationship would change. He tried his best to make everything remain as it was before.
But today, he realized things were different.
His mother, who never lied, could lie for Feng Gao.
In his mother’s heart, Feng Gao was her son.
And he himself was merely the result of a mistaken love.
His father had abandoned Feng Gao, leading to Feng Gao becoming a eunuch.
That night, on Shenju Mountain, Zou Cheng said, “Director Feng is so devoted; it’s a pity he became a eunuch.” Feng Gao’s expression was complex when Zou Cheng said this.
Even an outsider could see Feng Gao’s deep affection.
Was his affection for Sang Yu truly just that of siblings?
He remembered the slap Sang Yu had given him for Feng Gao’s sake last time. At that moment, all he thought was that Sang Yu didn’t trust him. He compared himself to Cheng Huaishi. Later, he had blamed himself, thinking that the deceased was gone, and comparing himself to Sang Yu’s deceased ex-husband was not the act of a man of integrity.
Now, he understood.
He wasn’t inferior to the deceased Cheng Huaishi; he was inferior to the living Feng Gao.
Yet, he had no right to be angry. Because, if not for the child-swapping incident, his entire life would have belonged to Feng Gao. This was the most heartbreaking sorrow.
The matter did not escalate.
Zheng Residence.
Zou Cheng held a teacup and took a sip, mockingly saying, “Eldest Young Master Cheng, didn’t you say you could handle it?”
Cheng Cangshi replied with a fawning smile, “The timing was calculated perfectly. Who knew, who knew…”
Ever since he collected Wang Yuzhen’s body from the mass grave, his hatred had never subsided. He and Wang Yuzhen were husband and wife, deeply in love. When he truly touched her cold corpse and saw her brutally beaten by beggars in the prison cell, he knew his wife would never return. Her death itself was so cruel. How heartless Zhu Sangyu was.
Who is to say Wang Yuzhen didn’t miscarry her child?
Just based on her remarriage after losing her virtue, it’s not impossible that she deliberately aborted the child herself after the incident at the Cheng Residence, seeing it as a burden and a pretense.
She had previously tricked him into writing a confession. This woman was always cunning.
Cheng Cangshi had connected with Zou Cheng a month ago.
He wanted to use the Zheng Residence as a stepping stone for revenge. Zhu Sangyu’s household would surely be in turmoil, and her reputation ruined.
The Zheng Residence wanted to use him as a tool for division. Feng Gao was extremely intelligent and difficult for outsiders to deal with; only those close to him could be targeted.
Using the Third Sister’s banquet as an excuse, he devised a plan and confidently guaranteed its success.
However, Qin Mingxu and Feng Gao did not turn against each other as Cheng Cangshi had predicted.
Cheng Cangshi was rebuffed by Zou Cheng.
They both thought the matter had failed.
Fate always takes unexpected turns.
Cheng Cangshi’s scheme was originally clumsy.
However, by a twist of fate, due to Cai Qingyao and my concealment, this scheme created a crack in Qin Mingxu’s heart.
The fact that Cai Qingyao and I both favored Feng Gao, rather than Qin Mingxu seeing us using a jade dildo, was the most significant harm to Qin Mingxu.
His mother and wife both valued Feng Gao more than him.
Qin Mingxu said nothing. In his occasional moments of distraction, he felt as if he were in a desolate land, utterly forlorn.
In November, when the second snow fell in Jiangnan, Qin Mingxu accidentally discovered a secret.
A secret about Zou Cheng.
After Zou Cheng said on Shenju Mountain that if he died, his trusted subordinates would publicize Qin Mingxu’s sins, Feng Gao chose not to kill Zou Cheng but had his subordinates track Zou Cheng, attempting to find evidence to destroy it. However, Zou Cheng was experienced and cautious in his actions, and after three months, there were still no clues.
Qin Mingxu had once suspected that Zou Cheng had already destroyed the evidence. Things that didn’t exist were the ones that could never be found. Zou Cheng held non-existent things as his most secure trump card.
However, Qin Mingxu was not entirely certain of this guess.
The situation remained at a stalemate.
Neither side made any further moves.
That night, the sky was filled with snowflakes, dancing in the air, as light as mist.
Qin Mingxu dispatched dozens of ships of goods at the ferry terminal and returned late. As the end of the year approached, winter clothing for the festival was in high demand. Halfway back to the residence, his horse carriage broke down. The remaining distance was only two or three li. He was worried about Sang Yu and Cherry, so he got out of the carriage and walked back.
Flying blossoms entered the house, and green bamboo turned into jade branches. The snow on the road crunched underfoot. The shops lining the road were closed, with faint scents of wine and rouge wafting out.
He walked briskly, getting closer and closer to the Qin Residence. He carried a jade hairpin for Sang Yu and milk crisp candy for Cherry in his arms.
At an alley entrance, a disheveled woman suddenly crashed into him, wailing desperately. Several men were chasing her from the alley. The woman screamed, “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!”
Qin Mingxu felt her voice was familiar.
He looked at the woman.
He suddenly remembered.
It was Miss Hong from the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. Six months ago, his father had died while having intercourse with her.
The men behind her were ferocious. Who was chasing her?
Miss Hong’s eyes were unfocused, and her shoulders trembled. Desperate to survive, she seemed to have lost her reason and tightly gripped Qin Mingxu’s wrist, saying, “Save me, save me, I… Young Master Qin, I… I have a secret to tell you…”
Qin Mingxu looked ahead and shouted, “The constables are so diligent, out on patrol even in such heavy snow.”
The men hesitated slightly upon hearing the word “constables.”
Just then, the Qin Residence’s steward approached, “Young Master, the servant boy reported that your carriage broke down, and I was just preparing to fetch you…”
Qin Mingxu pulled Miss Hong over and got into the carriage. Seeing this, the men retreated into the alley and scattered. They seemed cautious, afraid of their actions being exposed.
Qin Mingxu brought Miss Hong to the manor’s gatehouse.
The stove in the gatehouse was burning brightly, and Miss Hong kept rubbing her hands. Qin Mingxu ordered a large bowl of warm water to be brought, which she took and drank greedily.
Qin Mingxu asked, “You said earlier you had a secret to tell me. You can tell me now.”
Gradually recovering from her fear, Miss Hong regained some composure. Her eyes darted around as she sized up Qin Mingxu, calculating.
“Can Young Master Qin lend me eight thousand taels of silver?”
Qin Mingxu neither agreed nor refused, merely asking, “What do you need so much money for?”
“My younger brother owes gambling debts. If I can’t produce this money, I… I will have to have my brother’s hands and feet cut off.” As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.
“I am a businesswoman. I handle matters one by one. Why should I help you?” Qin Mingxu said slowly.
“I, I, I will tell you a secret.” Miss Hong gritted her teeth.
“What kind of secret is worth eight thousand taels?” Qin Mingxu asked casually.
“Master Qin’s death was not as it seemed!”
Qin Mingxu’s heart skipped a beat, but he calmly replied, “Didn’t the yamen already rule on this matter? You have no evidence and are just trying to deceive me out of some money.”
This provocation made Miss Hong anxious, “I have! I have evidence!”
Qin Mingxu smiled faintly, “You couldn’t even save your own life just now. How can I believe you can safeguard evidence?”
Miss Hong stood up and closed the door.
“Master Qin did not die at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion,” she said in a low voice. “He did come to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion that day, but after only a few words with me, he was called out through a side door. He was sent back not long after, still warm, but already dead. I took money and covered up the matter.”
“Who was it that called my father out?”
“Zou Cheng.” She said it with great resolve.
Zou Cheng’s face appeared before his eyes. Qin Mingxu let out a soft breath, the air brushing past his lips and tongue, like a viper finding a crack, slithering quietly.
