Chapter 56: Paving a New Path
“That’s good. If you need anything, just tell me. I’ll do my best to help,” Madam Wei said.
“Thank you, Sister-in-law. I won’t stand on ceremony with you,” Wen Mingqian replied.
“Seven years have passed in the blink of an eye. You’re no longer the Wen Mingqian you once were.” Since her return, Madam Wei had observed Wen Mingqian’s demeanor and speech, noting she was like a completely different person.
“Indeed! The Wen Mingqian of the past is long dead,” Wen Mingqian said with a wry smile. “Seven years is enough time for a person to be reborn.”
“It’s because these seven years were too difficult. Otherwise, even seventeen or twenty-seven years might not have caused such a drastic change in someone’s disposition,” Madam Wei sighed. “What’s past cannot be changed, but the future can still be pursued. From now on, you must be well.”
After seeing Madam Wei off, Wen Mingqian began to select spices, grinding them finely, and then sifting the finest powder through gauze.
She mixed them according to the proportions and stored them away.
She then took out several types of flower seeds and ground them into powder one by one.
She was engrossed, as if the task at hand was the most important thing. As for tomorrow, that would be dealt with tomorrow.
Consort Song was naturally displeased after being reprimanded.
Granny Yang and the others tried to console her, saying, “Little Madam, don’t take this to heart. Let’s just see what she can do tomorrow. In the end, she’ll have to follow our plan.”
“What happened today is one thing, but I just feel something is off with Wen Mingqian,” Consort Song said. “Could she really have a way to persuade Zhu Hui? If she actually succeeds, it will be terrible.”
“She can’t, Little Madam. She’s just putting on a show!” Granny Yang said. “If she had a method, why wouldn’t she have said so earlier?”
Consort Song’s heart was in turmoil, with no peace.
“Little Madam, please take care of yourself. Don’t worry yourself sick over this; it’s not worth it,” Granny Yang said.
Consort Song suddenly frowned, her hand unconsciously covering her lower abdomen. “I feel a heaviness in my lower abdomen,” she said.
Granny Yang and the others were startled and quickly said, “Little Madam, please lie down on the bed. We’ll go and fetch a doctor right away.”
Consort Song said, “I need to go to the restroom.”
However, when she took off her clothes, she saw several dark brown bloodstains on her undergarment.
“Oh no!” Consort Song’s complexion changed. “What should we do?”
“It seems the fetal qi has been disturbed. Little Madam, please go back to bed,” Granny Yang and the others helped her back to the bed.
Consort Song felt an increasing ache in her back and a heaviness in her abdomen.
The doctor arrived shortly after and, after taking her pulse, said, “The fetal condition is not very stable. You must be careful. I’ll prescribe some medicine to calm the fetus. You must also rest well and recuperate. Try not to get up these days.”
At this point, Consort Song truly regretted her actions, realizing she shouldn’t have caused such a commotion.
After lunch, Wen Mingqian took a nap. When she woke up, she heard about Consort Song’s fetal qi being disturbed.
“She deserves it! It’s her own fault!” Zhang Ma said without sympathy. “Even heaven can’t stand it anymore.”
“Does Old Madam know about this?” Wen Mingqian asked.
“She probably doesn’t. First Madam knows, though. I heard she went over there herself to check,” Zhang Ma said.
“We don’t need to go over there. We don’t want to add to their troubles,” Wen Mingqian smiled. “Besides, Master is not home, so we don’t need to put on a show for anyone.”
The next morning, Wen Mingqian left with her son and Zhang Ma.
Although Consort Song was resting and recuperating, she was still preoccupied with this matter. She had already instructed Granny Yang, “Tomorrow, send two reliable people to quietly follow them. Find out exactly where they went. Make sure they aren’t using this as an excuse to escape.”
A little over an hour later, Granny Yang entered to report to Consort Song, “They’ve returned. The people who followed them said they did indeed go to the Zhu family and came out in about half an hour.”
“Did it succeed?” Consort Song asked.
Granny Yang shook her head. “That’s unknown.”
“They should have gone to Old Madam’s. Go and inquire,” Consort Song urged anxiously. “If it didn’t work out, we’ll have to push her.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll go now,” Granny Yang said, hurrying off.
At this time, in Old Madam Gong’s room, Gong Rang and his wife were also present.
As soon as Wen Mingqian entered, Old Madam Gong eagerly asked, “How did things go today?”
“Old Madam, please send away all unnecessary people first,” Wen Mingqian said. “It’s best to avoid too many people talking.”
Hearing her say this, Old Madam Gong’s heart filled with hope, because if the matter hadn’t succeeded, there wouldn’t be much to discuss.
“Lord Zhu has agreed to re-examine Master one more time, and then he will be allowed to return,” Wen Mingqian’s words were like a stone dropped into water, stirring up a thousand waves in everyone’s hearts.
“Really?!” Even Gong Rang found it hard to believe. “Sister-in-law, how did you persuade him?”
“It’s like this. Ever since I heard that Master was in trouble, I’ve been thinking day and night about how to save him,” Wen Mingqian said unhurriedly. “Later, I learned that the root of the problem lay with Lord Zhu Hui. I then thought about how to persuade him to show some leniency.
At first, I had no idea. It wasn’t until I learned about Lord Zhu’s early life. He lost his father at a young age, and his widowed mother raised him through hardship.
Lord Zhu was extremely filial to his mother. If Old Madam Zhu said anything, he would never disobey her in the slightest.
Several years ago, Lord Zhu’s mother passed away. Before she died, she asked Lord Zhu to enshrine her ashes at Dizang Nunnery in the suburbs.
Unfortunately, three years ago, a flood struck the outskirts of the capital, destroying Dizang Nunnery. The whereabouts of Lord Zhu’s mother’s ashes became unknown.
Since then, Lord Zhu had searched countless times but never found them.
I’ve spent these past few days hiring people to search around the original site of Dizang Nunnery. I didn’t dare to hold out much hope.
Unexpectedly, heaven has shown mercy, and our ancestors have blessed us. I actually found them.
Because those bone ash porcelain jars were specially made, they have the name of the deceased and the names of their children. Moreover, Old Madam Zhu’s bone ash porcelain jar has Lord Zhu’s own handwriting on it, so there’s no mistake.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is!” Old Madam Gong suddenly understood. “Even if you offered him mountains of gold and silver, it might not have moved Zhu Hui. But he couldn’t ignore his mother’s ashes.”
“Yes! The reason I didn’t let First Master handle this matter was because First Master is an upright gentleman, and he’s a colleague of Lord Zhu. It wouldn’t be appropriate to coerce him like this.
But I’m different. As a mere woman, it’s acceptable to use some tactics to save my husband.
I used Old Madam Zhu’s ashes as a threat, demanding that Lord Zhu release my Master.
If he refused, I threatened to throw Old Madam Zhu’s ashes down the ravine.
He pondered for a long time before gritting his teeth and agreeing. However, he also insisted that we keep it absolutely secret and not spread it around, otherwise his official career would be over.”
“Of course, of course. As long as the second son is released, why would we ruin his reputation?” Old Madam Gong said.
“Yes, I also told Lord Zhu that Master was not involved in embezzlement in the first place. Even if he was slightly negligent, it’s not a serious offense. His actions wouldn’t be considered bending the law for personal gain,” Wen Mingqian said. “Old Madam, if Concubine Song still insists on Chang An being a substitute, please do not agree.”
