Chapter 58: Deceiving
Marquis Jingyuan’s Mansion had been in a frenzy lately, scrambling for money everywhere, like ants on a hot pan.
Meanwhile, Xue Yueying was like a startled bird, hiding in Xue Mansion, her heart filled with anxiety, fearing the corruption case would implicate her own household.
But what was bound to come, eventually arrived.
Someone from the Supreme Court arrived, politely presented a calling card, and then stated that Fourth Miss Xue was involved in the corruption case of the Gold Department’s treasury silver and needed to be taken in for questioning.
Xue Lan knew the person; they served together in the Supreme Court and had even shared drinks privately. He quickly pulled the man aside, attempting to use some silver money to smooth things over.
The visitor was terrified, repeatedly clasping his hands in refusal.
“Brother Xue, please don’t. Please spare me.”
This case was too deep; no one could get involved.
Let alone a minor official from the Supreme Court, even his father, who held the esteemed position of Minister of Justice, had requested to recuse himself from the case. Xue Lan’s expression turned grim. He watched Xue Yueying weep and beg for mercy, and could only sigh deeply.
“Fourth Sister is still with child; how can she endure the suffering of prison?”
Xue Qingzhi was not in the mansion at this time, and Madam Fu watched coldly.
“If you have the audacity to enjoy such immense wealth, you must have the fortitude to endure this foul suffering.”
After speaking, she turned and left.
Xue Yueying’s cries echoed for a long time.
The entire Xue Mansion was shrouded in this somber atmosphere.
In Shou An Courtyard, the Old Madam heard the news, her chest felt heavy, and a surge of qi and blood rushed upwards.
Madam Qian attended to her, frantically trying to comfort her.
“Fourth Miss is truly a jinx, not only stirring up trouble at Marquis Jingyuan’s Mansion, but now, Xue Mansion will likely suffer along with it…”
Marquis Jingyuan’s Mansion and Xue Mansion were both noble families of the current dynasty. Who would have thought that a single dowry list would cause such upheaval? Old Madam Cui had lived for most of her life and had seen great storms, but this current situation was truly beyond her expectations.
“When I saw that dowry list, I felt something was amiss. It’s also my fault for being careless and not asking for clarification…”
Madam Qian said, “How can we blame you, Old Madam? Who could have predicted that Fourth Miss would have such audacious courage?”
As Old Madam Cui was frowning with worry, a maid parted the curtain and entered.
“Old Madam, Sixth Miss has invited a doctor to examine Ming Ge’er and has sent someone to ask if it would be convenient for Old Madam to have the doctor also check her pulse.”
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Cui immediately perked up.
There had been too many troublesome matters in Xue Mansion recently, and she urgently needed a wise person who understood yin and yang and could discern good and bad fortune to offer some guidance.
She hastily instructed the maid to help her change, and then ordered for the person to be invited to Shou’an Hall.
As Eighth Miss Xue Yue Man stepped into the Guest Hall, she heard about this matter and snorted with disdain.
“A doctor who can’t cure a sickness that many renowned physicians in the capital couldn’t fix, and Sixth Sister can cure it with just some shaman doctor she found on the street?”
“It’s fine for Ming Ge’er; he’s a fool anyway, he won’t get better. But Grandmother’s health is precious; how can she let them mess around like this…”
“I think Sixth Sister simply wants to add more trouble to the mansion; she’s looking for problems!”
Just as the Old Madam’s spirits were lifted, she was doused with a bucket of cold water, and her face immediately fell.
“I think you’ve learned your manners from a dog. I don’t know how your mother raised you to be so boisterous. When you marry into your husband’s family, you’ll likely suffer greatly.”
“Grandmother…” Xue Yue Man lowered her head and mumbled softly, “A Man doesn’t want to get married yet; she just wants to stay by Grandmother’s side.”
“Be an old maid for your entire life?”
“I’d rather be an old maid for my entire life.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
As the grandmother and granddaughter were speaking, Xue Sui led Tianshu in.
After bowing and offering greetings, the Old Madam looked at him and was stunned.
She had imagined a shaman doctor to be an old man in his seventies or eighties, with white hair and a face full of wrinkles. To her surprise, the person who arrived was a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a refined and ethereal face, sharp features, a headband tied at his forehead, and eyes that were calm yet powerful, exuding an otherworldly aura at first glance.
Beside him stood a young lady with a delicate, oval face, her eyes curved like crescent moons, her gaze clear and bright. Her hair was loosely pinned up, adorned with only a wooden hairpin. Her extremely simple attire, however, exuded a refined elegance of someone from a secluded realm.
Xue Sui stepped forward and smiled, “Grandmother, this is the shaman doctor I mentioned to you. His surname is Shu. You can call him Mister Shu.”
She then looked at Yuheng, who stood beside Tianshu.
“This is Mister Shu’s younger sister, who is also skilled in medicine.”
“Please come in, please be seated.” Old Madam Cui was very respectful, with a hint of trepidation.
“Mister Shu, Miss Shu, please come this way.”
Tianshu bowed gracefully, his demeanor elegant, and spoke unhurriedly.
“Old Madam, there’s no need to be so polite. I heard you’ve been suffering from headaches and have had trouble sleeping at night?”
Old Madam Cui sighed, beckoned a maidservant to serve tea and pastries, and then began to recount her ailments. It was mostly due to years of worrying about her children and constantly being preoccupied with the many trivial matters of Xue Mansion. As she aged, her energy waned, and various ailments began to surface.
After Tianshu took her pulse, he pressed the Fengchi acupoint on the back of her head.
“Does it hurt here?”
Old Madam Cui frowned, saying it felt like a throbbing ache.
Tianshu had her sit on a stool, calmly opened his silver needle pouch, and began to administer acupuncture in front of everyone.
His technique was skilled; the silver needles seemed like living things in his hands.
The Old Madam’s brows were tightly furrowed at first, her hands unconsciously gripping the hem of her clothes. Soon, she relaxed completely. After the acupuncture was finished, Jinshu helped her up. The dizziness had significantly improved, and the pain had disappeared…
“One needle to relieve pain. Mister’s medical skills are superb, a miraculous recovery.”
Tianshu said, “Where there is pain, there is no flow; where there is flow, there is no pain. The acupuncture administered now is merely to unblock the meridians and temporarily relieve the pain. Medicinal soup is still needed for gradual recuperation; one cannot rush…”
At this moment, the Old Madam’s pain had lessened. She looked at Tianshu as if he were a deity and felt even closer to Xue Sui.
“My Sixth Girl is so capable, inviting such a distinguished person as Mister Shu. My old bones can also benefit and enjoy good fortune…”
With trust established, their conversation became much more direct.
After a few pleasantries, the Old Madam directly asked Tianshu to divine Eighth Miss’s marriage prospects.
Xue Sui sat to the side, a smile on her lips, watching quietly without interjecting.
Tianshu pondered for a moment, “Divining marriage prospects can harm one’s fortune. I usually do not do so lightly…”
A hint of disappointment flickered across the Old Madam’s face. Seeing this, Tianshu changed his tone, “However, since Old Madam has asked, I will make an exception today. But let me state beforehand, we must first have Eighth Miss divine a character, to avoid disturbing the heavenly secrets and causing errors.”
Old Madam Cui readily agreed to everything.
As there was a distinction between men and women, it was inconvenient for Tianshu to be alone with Eighth Miss, so he said:
“I will give Eighth Miss a note, and Eighth Miss can write her answer and return it to me.”
Old Madam Cui saw that he was thoughtful and meticulous, which further reassured and increased her trust.
“Cui Zhu, quickly prepare ink and brush for the Mister.”
Tianshu, following Xue Sui’s instructions, wrote on the paper.
“There is a woman in the neighborhood, of humble origins, often bullied at home, subjected to scolding and beatings, and later driven out of her home, ragged and covered in wounds. If Eighth Miss were to see such a person, would she extend a helping hand?”
Xue Yue Man held the note, staring at it for a long time.
What kind of question was this?
This neighbor woman, wasn’t she just like Xue Liu?
After going through such a roundabout way, it was to test her feelings towards Xue Liu.
It was obvious that this so-called shaman doctor was in cahoots with Xue Liu, trying to deceive Grandmother. They were simply afraid of her marrying into a high-ranking family, hence this charade.
No matter what he said to Grandmother, she was going to marry into Duke Zheng’s Mansion anyway.
Her eldest sister married into a Prince’s Mansion, her fourth sister married into a Marquis’s Mansion; she had to marry into a Duke’s Mansion to be truly glorious.
Otherwise, why would she have meticulously sought to meet Guo Zhaoxuan at Pu Ji Temple?
What a hateful Xue Liu, trying to ruin her marriage prospects!
Xue Yue Man, without hesitation, wrote on it.
“Each person has their own fate. If someone bullies her, then she must have done something to deserve it.”
Tianshu took the note, his eyes deepening slightly, and closed his fist around it.
“I already have an idea of Eighth Miss’s answer. However, regarding marriage matters, I must speak with Old Madam privately. It is inconvenient for a young lady to be present.”
Xue Sui calmly rose and bowed, then quietly withdrew.
Upon hearing this, Xue Yue Man became anxious, “I warn you not to spout nonsense. Grandmother, he must have been invited by Xue Liu to scheme against me. You must not believe his lies…”
Old Madam Cui was angered by her behavior.
“Get out!”
Xue Yue Man pouted, her heart full of grievance, and left.
Tianshu waited until the curtain fell, and no one else was in the room, then spoke calmly.
“Eighth Miss has a pure heart and is very opinionated. Although a young lady’s marriage is subject to parental decree and the words of a matchmaker, the marriages in this world each have their own path. In the words of our kind, the red threads are secretly tied, all destined by heaven; one cannot force them.”
The Old Madam’s heart skipped a beat.
She asked softly, “May I ask, Mister Shu, what did you ask Eighth Miss just now?”
“I had Eighth Miss divine a character for her.”
Tianshu flipped his hand, unfolding the note in his palm.
No one noticed him switch the note in his hand for another.
Afterward, even if Xue Yue Man vehemently denied it, the Old Madam would have her own eyes as proof.
Tianshu said unhurriedly, “I asked Eighth Miss her view on marriage, and Eighth Miss wrote the character ‘Yuán’ (yuan).”
“The character ‘Yuán’ (yuan) can be broken down. The (si) part is like a tangled red thread, half-hidden, half-revealed, metaphorically indicating that marriage is predetermined. The (xì) on the upper right implies mutual understanding; the two have already met and made promises. Looking further down, the character (shǐ), in the hexagrams, ‘Shǐ’
signifies abundance and stability. Eighth Miss is destined to marry into a prominent family.”
Old Madam Cui looked at the character ‘Yuán’ (yuan), lost in thought.
A prominent family, that would be Guo Si Lang from Duke Zheng’s Mansion?
