Chapter 26: Lingyue Pavilion
Consort Song remained in hiding to avoid the spotlight, so Zhang Ma led people to tidy up Lingyue Pavilion.
On an auspicious day, Wen Mingqian and her son moved in.
Gong Xu had accompanied the chief officer on an inspection tour and would not return for about half a month, leaving only Wen Mingqian and her son in the mansion.
Even the butler was temporarily replaced by Zhang Ma, as Steward Chen was still recovering from his injury.
In reality, his foot had been fine for a long time, but since Madam Song and Gong Xu were both away, he decided to request leave as well.
This way, if anything were to happen, he would not be involved.
One morning, Wen Mingqian walked into the moon gate, holding her son’s hand.
Granny Zhu, who had been transferred back from the manor outside the city, was sweeping in the courtyard. Upon seeing Wen Mingqian, she quickly stopped her work and stepped forward to pay respects.
“Greetings, Madam. Thank you for your help; my son-in-law can now get out of bed,” Granny Zhu said with teary eyes. “The doctor at Xinglin Hall, Doctor Zhou, said that in three months, he will be as good as a healthy person.”
“That’s good news, so you can rest assured,” Wen Mingqian said with a smile.
In fact, Granny Zhu’s son-in-law’s injury was not that severe; he simply couldn’t afford a good doctor, which led to the delay in his recovery.
He was young and had a good constitution, so if treated properly, he would naturally recover quickly.
“This is all due to Madam’s kindness,” Granny Zhu said with a tearful smile. “Chun’e said she will definitely come to the mansion to kowtow to you, Madam.”
“There’s no need to kowtow; just visiting is fine. I haven’t seen her in so many years, and I’d like to see her,” Wen Mingqian said kindly, showing no airs even to her servants.
Her past experiences had taught her that arrogance was not to be tolerated; only virtue and capability could lead to success.
“Yes! Yes!” Granny Zhu replied repeatedly. “She was overjoyed to hear that Madam still remembered her. She’ll tidy up her affairs and come to pay her respects in the next couple of days.”
Granny Zhu was called to this courtyard by Zhang Ma. Almost everyone in the mansion belonged to Consort Song’s faction, so they had to find ways to cultivate their own people as soon as possible.
After finishing, Granny Zhu went back to her work. Wen Mingqian not only allowed her entire family of three to come to the city but also gave her money for her son-in-law’s treatment.
Her whole family was deeply grateful and didn’t know how to repay her kindness, so they could only do their best in their work.
“Miss, this courtyard has been neglected for many years. Although we’ve done our best to tidy it up, there might still be some unsatisfactory areas. Do you see anything that needs to be changed?” Zhang Ma asked.
Wen Mingqian looked at the clump of secluded bamboo hiding a winding corridor, a half-pond of water lilies spread across the pond, and the pavilions and connecting corridors that were still vaguely reminiscent of their former appearance. However, her own state of mind could never return to what it was.
“It’s all pretty much the same; let’s leave it as it is,” Wen Mingqian said.
“The bed curtains in the room have all been replaced with new ones, and some of the windows were warped and didn’t close tightly. We’ve already had them measured for new ones.”
“We’ve instructed them to paint them outside before bringing them in to replace the old ones, to avoid strong odors,” Zhang Ma said. “Fortunately, the weather is getting warmer now, so it’s fine to make do for a while.”
“There’s no rush; there’s plenty of time,” Wen Mingqian said as she walked across the connecting corridor. To the east, rockeries were piled up, and next to them stood a half-withered osmanthus tree.
She raised her hand and touched the trunk, recalling the autumn she left the Gong Family. The osmanthus tree was in full bloom then.
At that time, the entire courtyard was filled with a sweet, intoxicating fragrance. A Shou and A Hui were discussing picking more to make osmanthus candy.
This was because Wen Mingqian loved osmanthus candy very much, and the child in her womb also liked it.
At that time, she was full of anticipation for the child’s arrival, never imagining that her fate would be drastically overturned in just a few days.
She had lost too much, and each loss was irreversible.
From then on, she was like this osmanthus tree, only having half a life left.
“Mother, are you thinking about the past again?” Gong Changan’s eyes, like glazed glass, held concern and worry.
“Mother still has you,” Wen Mingqian lowered her head and smiled, her relief outweighing her heartache. “The hardest days are over.”
“Miss is right. Look at the spring scenery in this garden; it will always overcome the harsh winter of Shuangxi,” Zhang Ma also sighed softly.
Yes, the past winter had ultimately not claimed Wen Mingqian’s life; she had struggled until the spring warmth arrived.
If seven years of hardship couldn’t extinguish her vitality, she would only become more composed and resilient in the future.
“Zhang Ma, I want to go to the back hall to burn incense. Please prepare paper and brush for me,” Wen Mingqian released her son’s hand. “Changan, you play in the courtyard for now!”
Zhang Ma understood and turned to leave. She returned shortly, carrying a large copper basin filled with paper, brush, incense, and candles.
Wen Mingqian entered the back hall, lifted the faded embroidered curtain, and walked into the small room on the west side.
This room was not sunny, and since no one had lived there for a long time, there was an unpleasant musty smell.
A rolled-up old bedding was placed on the head of the bed, somewhat disheveled, with faint traces of disturbance from years past.
Zhang Ma had long ago offered to clean this room, but Wen Mingqian refused.
She looked up at the ceiling beam, where there were axe marks.
Any room where someone had hanged themselves would have a cut made on the beam, supposedly to prevent the ghost from seeking a replacement.
This was A Shou’s bedroom from that year, and also where she had hanged herself.
Wen Mingqian squatted down, smoothed out the paper, and picked up the brush to write a paper tablet for A Shou.
She placed it on the table and then lit the incense.
For so many years, Wen Mingqian had burned paper to offer sacrifices on A Shou’s death anniversary, but because she was in Shuangxi, she could only offer sacrifices from afar.
The fire flared up, illuminating Wen Mingqian’s face.
Her lips were tightly pressed, her eyebrows lowered. Although there were no tears, sorrow permeated her entire being.
She knew that A Shou had died unjustly.
She wanted to know the truth of A Shou’s death.
But so many people had stopped her back then, not allowing her to get close.
“A Shou, what grievance did you suffer? Why haven’t you even appeared in my dreams all these years?” Wen Mingqian murmured. “I’m back, and I will avenge you and clear your name. If your spirit is near, please witness the wicked receiving their retribution.”
When the incense was almost burnt out, Wen Mingqian took A Shou’s paper tablet and burned it in the copper basin as well.
Just as the last bit of fire was about to die out, the ashes in the basin suddenly swirled up, dancing like butterflies. One piece gently landed on Wen Mingqian’s hand…
Zhang Ma lifted the curtain and said in a low voice, “Miss, the First Madam of the Zhou Family has arrived.”
Wen Mingqian quickly composed herself, stood up, and said, “Please entertain her with tea first. I’ll change my clothes and go see her.”
Liu Cuiyi had brought her two daughters today, the elder one being six years old and the younger one four.
“I left early that day you hosted, Sister, when I saw you talking to Little Madam Feng,” Liu Cuiyi said with a smile. “I heard you’re moving courtyards today, so I brought the children to congratulate you. We’ll have lunch here, so Sister should have asked someone to prepare it earlier!”
“Granny Zhao brought some things the other day, and I told her you must come today if you were free.” Wen Mingqian picked up Liu Cuiyi’s younger daughter and examined her. “She’s so beautiful, just like you.”
