Chapter 20: Not Easily Deceived
“Madam, we are wronged! We are merely actors, how could we have any malicious intentions?” The troupe leader and deputy troupe leader both looked wronged. “It is indeed our fault for bringing the wrong costumes. How about we halve today’s performance fee as our apology?”
“You two must have been actors in your younger days, no wonder your performance is so realistic.” Wen Mingqian watched them with amusement. “I’m not trying to withhold your wages, I just want to know who instructed you to set a trap for me?”
“Madam, what are you talking about? That is absolutely not true!” The troupe leader and deputy troupe leader continued to protest. “We don’t even know what’s what. Your residence asked us to perform, so we came. No one instructed us!”
“I still have guests to attend to, so I’ll be brief.” Wen Mingqian’s smile faded, and a frostiness appeared in her eyes. “This is your newly arranged play script, presumably prepared specifically for today. You thought that since I had been away from the Capital City for a long time and was out of touch, you could get away with it.
Fortunately, I read the script. It turns out there is a lot of substance to it. On the surface, it is a play, but in reality, it is a veiled satire of the Marchioness Jiangxia. If you honestly confess, I will spare your lives.
But if you continue to deny it, I will hand this script over to the Marchioness Jiangxia right now and see if she will let you off!”
It turns out this play is about a wealthy young lady named Jin Qichun who falls in love with a poor scholar, Liu Xianqing. Miss Jin, disregarding her elders’ objections, uses her personal savings to fund the scholar’s journey to the Capital City for the imperial examinations.
Of course, in the end, the scholar successfully passed the exams, returned home in glory, and married Jin Qichun.
On the surface, there is nothing particularly outrageous about this. Plays like “True Love’s Encounter” and “Phoenix Seeks His Mate” have similar content.
It’s just a story of a talented scholar and a beautiful lady falling in love at first sight, leading to a happy reunion.
However, if one knew some of the inside story, they would not see it that way.
The Marchioness Jiangxia, Madam Qian, has a niece from her maternal home named Qian Suqiu. Before the age of fifteen, she lived with her father in Yingzhou.
A few years ago, she returned to the Capital City. As her aunt, Madam Qian often brought her to her residence, caring for and educating her as if she were her own daughter.
Unexpectedly, when Miss Qian reached the age of budding romance, she became involved in a secret affair with Yang Mubai, the tutor hired by the family.
Yang Mubai knew that the Qian family would not agree, so he arranged to elope with Miss Qian.
Unexpectedly, Miss Qian’s maidservant later reported them, and the family then confined Miss Qian.
Madam Qian even took it upon herself to expel Yang Mubai, forbidding him from residing in the Capital City.
Who would have thought that Miss Qian would be unable to bear it and commit suicide?
As a result, Madam Qian felt immense self-reproach, and this became a hidden worry for her.
In the play, the name Jin Qichun corresponds to Qian Suqiu, and Liu Xianqing corresponds to Yang Mubai.
It was clearly intentional.
Moreover, Liu Xianqing is also a tutor. To mirror the situation so closely, if one still couldn’t see the allusion, they would have to be an idiot.
Even more sinister, the play script also briefly mentions that the two had already consummated their marriage, clearly implying that Miss Qian was no longer innocent.
Although the play script later provided a happy ending, in reality, Miss Qian had already died. How could there be a later event?
If this play script were performed, it would be equivalent to publicly stripping Madam Qian bare. Even with her excellent composure, she would not be able to tolerate it.
Upon hearing Wen Mingqian reveal the crux of the matter, the two were instantly drenched in cold sweat.
They had sensed something was amiss before, but they didn’t know the full story and were greedy for the promised benefits, so they hadn’t investigated further.
“At this point, are you still not going to confess quickly?!” Zhang Ma said angrily. “Are you waiting to see a coffin?”
“You should be grateful that I discovered this before the play was performed, otherwise, would you have come out clean if the play had been staged?” Wen Mingqian admonished them. “I also know that the person who instructed you must have given you benefits beforehand, but that money is probably not enough to buy your lives, is it?”
Hearing this, the two turned even paler, their faces covered in cold sweat.
“Madam, a few days ago, after you finalized the play, someone approached us and asked us to change to this performance. They indeed gave us two hundred taels of silver.” The troupe leader confessed honestly. “At first, I hesitated and dared not accept. But he said it was fine, it was just a play. Even if something happened, we could just say it was a fabricated script. Why take it seriously? Who could do anything to us?”
“Yes, yes, and we also read the script. There was nothing truly inappropriate about it,” the deputy troupe leader added. “So we agreed. We had no knowledge of the Qian family’s affairs, so naturally, we didn’t think of that. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have dared, even if we had a hundred times the courage.”
“You’ve been blinded by the seductive scent of a fox spirit!” Zhang Ma cursed. “What can two hundred taels of silver do? You have offended the powerful figures in the Capital City. While it may not cost you your lives, they can easily frame you with any charge, and you could be exiled or conscripted, easier than crushing a bug!”
“That person must have told you that if anything goes wrong, just push it onto me. After all, I invited you here, right?”
At this point, Wen Mingqian had a clear understanding of Consort Song’s entire scheme.
First, she found someone to bribe the troupe to change the play at the last minute.
She wanted to catch me off guard. After all, the plays had to be performed, and changing them at the last minute wasn’t unheard of.
Wen Mingqian was busy attending to guests and likely didn’t have time for a thorough review. Moreover, she had only recently returned and wouldn’t know about the Qian family’s affairs.
As long as this play was performed, it would definitely offend the Marchioness Jiangxia.
And by then, it would be extremely difficult for Wen Mingqian to salvage the situation, as the troupe members, to protect themselves, would also try their best to shift the blame onto her.
They would simply say that the host family requested the performance, and they were merely following orders. Who would question that?
“Madam, we know we were wrong. We will never dare to do it again. We will change the script now.” Seeing that they couldn’t fool Wen Mingqian at all, the two pleaded desperately. “We beg you to be merciful and let us go!”
“Zhang Ma, I’ll leave the rest to you. I need to go back and attend to the guests,” Wen Mingqian said.
“You go ahead, Miss! I’ll handle everything,” Zhang Ma replied. “I guarantee there won’t be any more mistakes.”
The play had already reached its fifth act. Wen Mingqian smiled and said to everyone, “It’s getting late, let’s begin the feast!”
Before she finished speaking, a maidservant who had been following Feng Tianzhu hurried over, panting, “The Heir Apparent is missing.”
Madam Wu was alarmed upon hearing this and quickly said, “Didn’t I tell you to watch him carefully? How could he be missing?”
“Where is Chang An?” Wen Mingqian also asked.
“He can’t be found anywhere,” the maidservant said, wringing her hands. “The Heir Apparent and Gong Fourth Young Master were painting face masks under the shade of the trees. I just went to relieve myself, and when I came back, they were gone. Let’s call more people to search for them!”
Liu Cuiyi quickly said, “Perhaps the two children have gone off to play somewhere. There are no dangerous places in this mansion, so there’s no need to worry.”
However, Madam Wu knew her child’s disposition. If he were frightened, it wouldn’t be a laughing matter. She said to Wen Mingqian, “Second Madam, please send some people to look for them. Children can be mischievous, and it wouldn’t be good if they got hurt.”
Wen Mingqian quickly said, “Don’t worry, I’ll personally lead people to search.”
Madam Wu, still worried, naturally followed. Liu Cuiyi also came out, wanting to help Wen Mingqian find the children.
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