Chapter 96: Growing Discord
My heart was filled with wisps of clouds, sometimes stretching, sometimes moving.
“Mingxu, what is it?”
“I heard the King of Burma has surrendered. After this battle, the chieftains on the southern border have all returned to the Ming court. The common folk in the markets are all cheering! There’s even a troupe that has written a new play called 《The One-Eyed Dragon Conquers the Southern Border》. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to see it,” he said excitedly.
I pondered, “The court has won a great victory, it is indeed good news. The Great Chieftain will be back soon, and if our Cherry knows, she will surely be very happy.”
Qin Mingxu shook his head, “The Great Chieftain will not return to Shenju Mountain. He has achieved such great merit that he will surely be enfeoffed as a General, and His Majesty will grant him a manor in the Capital City, making him a new noble official of the court.”
He will definitely come back.
He will not stay in the Capital City to be some new noble.
When he left, he said, “Whatever merit I achieve, whatever career I build, my ambition is not here. I only have a passionate heart to defend against invaders and protect the people.”
The war is won, the Burmese have surrendered, and the people of Yunnan are safe, that is enough.
It is not in vain that he fought with his life.
The Wuling Flower he yearns for, which blooms year-round, awaits him.
“Sang Yu, why haven’t you drunk your prenatal medicine?”
Qin Mingxu saw that the medicine bowl on the table had not moved and asked. He called a servant boy and ordered a new bowl to be brewed.
I thought of the murder case at Cai Le Workshop and lowered my head, fiddling with the charcoal fire, and casually said, “Mingxu, is there anything else you want to tell me?”
He looked at me with confusion, “What’s wrong?”
“A major case has occurred in Yangzhou City, Zou Cheng is dead. Do you know?” I asked in the tone of a couple chatting about everyday matters.
Zou Cheng died on the last day of the second lunar month, and Qin Mingxu returned late on the last night of the second lunar month. Zou Cheng died at Cai Le Workshop, and Qin Mingxu went to the Four Seasons Restaurant to deliver winter quilts. Cai Le Workshop was right next door to the Four Seasons Restaurant. The very strange scent on Qin Mingxu that night…
I didn’t know if he was involved in this matter at all.
Subconsciously, I hoped he would answer my question with a clear conscience. I hoped my associations were wrong.
“Yes, I saw the notice posted by the government office. The case has already been closed,” he said, sitting down beside me, his expression as usual, as if discussing the weather or business.
The servant boy brought in the freshly brewed prenatal medicine, and Qin Mingxu personally fed it to me.
“Sang Yu, life is unpredictable and makes one sigh.”
I gazed into his eyes, where there was openness and also peace.
I drank the medicine he brought to my lips, sip by sip, and smiled.
Yangzhou City was not large to begin with, and coincidences were not strange.
It’s good that there’s no connection.
Yes, it’s good that there’s no connection.
“Sang Yu, I won’t hide it from you, I actually went to Cai Le Workshop that day—” he said solemnly, putting down the medicine bowl.
I waited quietly for him to continue.
He said, “You know about my father’s death, and Miss Hong was involved. When I arrived at the entrance of the Four Seasons Restaurant, she saw me and said she wanted to tell me something about my father. Then…”
The winter dusk arrived quickly and was short. The sunset seemed to suddenly break, disappearing without a sound, leaving only a blood-red streak in the sky.
Before he could finish speaking, a voice sounded from outside the door.
“Elder Sister—”
It was Feng Gao’s voice.
I held my belly and happily got up, saying, “Dou Ya is back.”
Feng Gao entered from outside wearing a black casual robe. It was very cold weather, yet he was accustomed to wearing little. His deep black clothing made his thin lips appear even more intense and alluring.
I noticed a middle-aged woman standing behind him, with her hair styled in a low bun and a serene expression.
Feng Gao reached out to help me sit down, “Sister’s belly is so big, be careful.”
I smiled, “It’s not that delicate.”
“Sister is the most delicate,” he said, pointing to the woman behind him, “This is the midwife from Guangfu I mentioned in my letter.”
The woman stepped forward and respectfully bowed to me and Qin Mingxu.
Qin Mingxu called the steward and instructed him to prepare an empty side room in the courtyard for the midwife to stay in, and to arrange all furnishings according to the manor’s guest etiquette. The steward agreed and took the midwife away.
I said to Feng Gao, “I thought you would have sent someone to deliver her. I didn’t expect you to come yourself.”
Feng Gao sat by the stove with me and said, “Firstly, I don’t feel at ease entrusting anything related to Sister to others; I feel more at peace doing it myself. Secondly, my return to Yangzhou is also at His Majesty’s command.”
He paused and said, “Consort Zheng recently gave birth to a Prince. His Majesty is greatly pleased and has ordered fifteen thousand taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury to be used for the celebration. Furthermore, he has bestowed favors upon the imperial relatives. Consort Zheng’s father has been promoted to First Class Earl, and Consort Zheng’s brother has been promoted to First Rank Left Commander. Ten thousand bolts of silk have been awarded. I have been ordered to deliver this imperial decree.”
“You are the Director of the Eastern Depot, why must you deliver an imperial decree? There are so many eunuchs in the Imperial Palace,” I asked.
“His Majesty wishes to demonstrate his importance of this Prince and his favor towards the Zheng family. He wants everyone in the court to know his attitude.”
Feng Gao seemed a little heavy-hearted and unwilling to continue the topic. He gently placed his hand on my belly and said, “I had originally planned to return by the end of this year to accompany Sister. Now, there are some complicated matters in the Imperial Palace that are difficult to explain to Sister in a short time… In short, Sister should know that I am working hard to return as soon as possible.”
The trouble he spoke of might be related to the Prince, or the Empress Dowager. He couldn’t say, and I couldn’t ask.
I just said softly, “I know, Dou Ya, I know.”
Night fell, and the winter moonlight stretched the amorous tree shadows. Outside, the courtyard was desolate, and a trace of cold hung on the sparse treetops, condensing into a sense of tranquility. The stove fire and moonlight of this night could not foreshadow what kind of earth-shattering wave the newborn infant in the Forbidden City would bring to our lives. Later historical records clearly documented all of this. The struggle for the succession, brought about by the Prince born to Consort Zheng, was called the greatest catastrophe and upheaval of the Wanli era.
And we were merely insignificant grains of sand in this catastrophe.
“Sister, you should rest. I’m leaving,” Feng Gao said, standing up.
He finally glanced at Qin Mingxu, who was sitting beside me, smiled, and said, “Young Master Qin, there is an account book from the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau with you. I would like to take a look.”
Qin Mingxu quickly stood up.
“Please—” Feng Gao said.
“Director Feng, please—” Qin Mingxu cupped his hands.
The two left one after the other.
They then turned to look at me again.
Pregnancy makes one sleepy. The embers in the stove burned red, and I basked in the warmth, feeling lazy and drowsy. As soon as I got into bed, I dozed off.
I didn’t know that the account book Feng Gao mentioned didn’t exist at all. He wasn’t asking Qin Mingxu to look at an account book, but had important words of caution. He had always been a highly vigilant person, and nothing could escape his notice. However, because Qin Mingxu was my husband, he deliberately showed favoritism and did not investigate thoroughly. This “unwillingness to investigate thoroughly,” born of good intentions, caused him to misjudge the situation somewhat.
Sometimes, to breach a river dike, all it takes is an ant. To pry open a metal plate, all it takes is a fine needle.
Feng Gao’s warning to Qin Mingxu was the ant, the fine needle.
Qin Manor, behind the rockery in the garden.
Feng Gao and Qin Mingxu stood facing each other.
Neither of them carried a lantern.
It was pitch black.
They couldn’t see each other’s expressions.
“What is this account book that Director Feng mentioned? I don’t recall having it,” Qin Mingxu asked.
Feng Gao said indifferently, “I was just afraid Sister would worry, so I found a way to cover up your shame. What have you done, don’t you know yourself?”
Qin Mingxu was displeased and said, “What have I done? Director Feng should tell me.”
“The major case at Cai Le Workshop, do I need to say more?”
“I didn’t kill anyone.”
“Heh, if you didn’t kill him, did King Yama do it? Zou Cheng is dead, and no one threatens you anymore. Your father died at the hands of that courtesan, and she is dead, so you have avenged yourself. Why is it that everyone who had enmity with you is dead? Young Master Qin, in front of me, please be accountable. I am not here to harm you, I am here to help you. Since I am wholeheartedly protecting Sister, I cannot make things difficult for you,” Feng Gao said.
To this day, he couldn’t understand why Qin Mingxu wouldn’t tell him the truth.
Feng Gao’s reprimand left Qin Mingxu speechless. The phrase “please be accountable” seemed to assume that he had done it, leaving no room for defense. The sentence “Since I am wholeheartedly protecting Sister, I cannot make things difficult for you” further ignited the anger he had suppressed for a long, long time and hurt his pride as a man.
To Qin Mingxu, Feng Gao’s warning was no different from a threat.
Qin Mingxu smiled slightly and said, “Director Feng holds a high position and great power, so no matter how you wrong me, I can do nothing. However, my wife does not need others to protect her.”
Feng Gao fell silent.
This sentence was undoubtedly the most piercing to him.
Qin Mingxu had precisely struck the most painful and hidden spot in his heart. The moonlight in his eyes shattered, so much so that he couldn’t pick it up no matter how he reached for it.
