The old dowager was busy having servants brew calming concoctions for all of the madames and girls. None of the other girls had lost their composure as much as the sixth miss though, so the girl was feeling quite embarrassed. She had buried her reddened face deep into the luohan bed in the old dowager’s quarters in shame.
That a noble daughter had been scared into peeing herself left the second madame feeling like she’d lost a great deal of face. As a result, even as she sipped at her cup, her expression was rather ugly.
The third madame would never waste an opportunity to needle the second branch, theatrically sighing as she glanced at the calm Qin Yining. “Niece Yi is the solidly dependable one after all. She has senior brother-in-law’s personality and doesn’t panic when she runs into trouble. I feel that very few of the girls from our house have a personality similar to niece Yi.”
Qin Yining’s eyebrow quirked up. Was her third aunt attempting to compliment her or make enemies for her?
Indeed, various awkward expressions appeared on people’s faces at the third madame’s words. The second madame glanced over at Qin Yining and smartly decided not to fall into the third madame’s honeyed trap. However, the sixth miss wasn’t quite that circumspect; she shot up from her curled position on the luohan bed and glared angrily at the third madame. And yet, she was a junior and a concubine-born girl who’d been grounded several times by her father and the official wife. She didn’t dare set herself against the third branch since they held the reins of the family’s money, so she could only vent her spleen on Qin Yining.
“Fourth sister is incredible alright. How would any normal noble daughter like us be as experienced as fourth sister?”
‘As experienced’ encompassed a great variety of things, such as Qin Yining’s recent attendance of the peace talks and being offered to the Great Zhou host. Obviously, this kind of experience was the greatest stain on one’s reputation and the greatest insult one could use.
Some of the other girls frowned at the sixth miss’ words. Some were worried, others repulsed. But there were also those like Qin Huining who let slip a chuckle. Even some of the maids couldn’t help but blush at these words.
Any other woman would’ve been so embarrassed that they would desperately wish for a hole in the ground to burrow into. Possibly those who were less able to endure stress might’ve charged at a pillar or hung themselves to prove their innocence.
Qin Yining, however, just smiled. “Sixth sister praises me too highly. I have indeed seen a few more things than most. Setting aside the fact that sixth sister has grown up in the manor since youth, and has never witnessed the difficulties of the outside world, I’ve personally watched father’s dashing figure verbally joust during the peace talks. Such a wondrous sight is one for the annals of poetry! So although I don’t possess any talents, I really am a bit more worldly than sixth sister. As for my courage, it’s also just a bit bigger as well.”
Clever use of leverage would always triumph over brute force. Everyone’s attention was now back now back on the sixth miss peeing her pants from fright. The girl’s face instantly flamed bright red. She glared at Qin Yining, tears gathering in her eyes.
“What’s wrong, sixth sister?” Qin Yining quickly coaxed. “Don’t cry, my father’s held a successful negotiation that will be gloriously recorded in history. This is great cause for celebration; why are you crying? Or is it… that little matter? Don’t worry, don’t think too much about it. Who would gossip about this? Grandmother loves you so dearly, she won’t let anyone talk about this.”
The sixth miss cried furiously with great sniffles. The more Qin Yining spoke like this, the more it proved that her matter had already spread throughout the manor. So what if no one talked about it? Everyone knew about it!
The old dowager rubbed her aching forehead, her patience at its limit as she censured angrily, “Settle down! How can you all have the heart to bicker with each other when something so major happened today? Not only can all of you not shoulder the family’s burdens, but you even turn around to stir up more trouble instead. What use is it keeping you useless bunch of girls around?!”
Everyone rose to curtsey respectfully when they saw that the old dowager was truly angered.
“Please don’t be angry, Old Dowager.”
The sixth miss also made a hiccuping curtsey. The old dowager’s brow was tightly furrowed and she was about to launch into a longer lecture when Qin-mama deftly placed a newly filled tobacco pipe and accompanying pouch in her hands. Thus distracted, the matriarch swallowed what she was about to say and took several long drags on the pipe in an attempt to calm down.
“Don’t worry, Old Dowager.” Qin Yining smiled during the lull. “I just met with father. He’s heading into the palace at the moment, most likely for a banquet. He’ll return soon and you’ll soon be reunited.”
She watched her grandmother’s face closely and noted that although the old dowager looked slightly happier, her frown still lived in the wrinkles of her brow. “Our family is about to step into the height of glory. Father has accomplished an unparalleled meritorious deed, and the emperor is sure to reward him handsomely. Honor and glory will brighten our doorstep, and all the credit goes to the old dowager for raising children well.”
These words comforted the old dowager greatly, and she made a noise of agreement after taking a few more pulls on the pipe. With that, it seemed that her anger had abated.
When the group saw that the old dowager had been pacified with a few words from Qin Yining, they privately heaved sighs of relief. The third madame began coyly fawning over the matriarch again, with the others joining in to agree every so often.
Only the sixth miss remained quietly sobbing off on the side, quite aggrieved. Qin Huining was sitting next to her, providing comfort in low murmurs. The two would frequently cast looks in Qin Yining’s direction and put their heads together to whisper some more.
Qin Yining didn’t care what they were saying about her at all. Only incompetents would fear direct confrontation and resort to talking behind one’s back. Now that she’d accompanied her father on this trip and witnessed matters that affected the bigger picture, as well as the blood shed to achieve it, she felt that her mind had been greatly broadened. Such miniscule matters were so… petty in comparison. They were just something to be dealt with when they arose.
She was worried about her parents, and wary of this mysterious force behind the assassination attempt. She didn’t care about the group who’d gone after the the trash emperor’s life, nor the fate of the trampress. She was focused on those who’d been dressed as Great Zhou soldiers and had come for her father. Would they try again, given this attempt had failed?
If the main negotiator of Great Yan from the recently successful peace talks was assassinated, this would be a provocation towards both Great Yan and Great Zhou, wouldn’t it? Great Zhou would think that the Yan government was looking down on them or wanted to weasel their way out of the terms, whereas Great Yan would suspect that Great Zhou wanted to rip up the accords.
Who would benefit if the two nations continued their war? The Miao territory that bordered Great Yan? Or the Tatars to the north of Great Zhou?
Contrary to Qin Yining’s expectations, the palace wasn’t exactly the picture of merriment she’d described to the old dowager. In fact, pin drop silence had fallen over the imperial study. Qin Huaiyuan was kneeling on the black marble floor. The stone, so polished that one could clearly see one’s reflection, mirrored the solemn expression of his downturned face. The only sound that broke the oppressive silence was the the emperor’s footsteps as he paced in front of Qin Huaiyuan, his hands behind his back.
“How about that, how about that, huh!? I’ve broken my back for this country for thirty five years, and in return, get gifted with an assassination attempt! And it’s still that group of people who came to kill me?!”
“Please quell your anger, Your Majesty.” Qin Huaiyuan kowtowed.
“Quell my ang
er? How can I quell my anger?!” The emperor angrily picked up the secret missive that one of the silver-masked men had just delivered and threw it in front of Qin Huaiyuan. “Take a look at this, how do I quell my anger?!”
Qin Huaiyuan’s heart thumped violently as his eyes flicked over the contents. His expression changed dramatically; all color draining from his face.
“Your Majesty!” Qin Huaiyuan kowtowed loudly three times from his kneeling position on the floor. “Your subject’s entire family is loyal without question! To the very end! Even if Your Majesty wished for this subject to die, this subject wouldn’t have the slightest reluctance! Please investigate this matter well, Your Majesty!”
The emperor minutely relaxed when he saw the normally refined immortal Qin Huaiyuan truly panicking. He thought carefully for a moment and broke into a smile, completely different from his hopping fury from seconds ago. He gently reached out with a single hand to help Qin Huaiyuan rise.
“We naturally know of beloved subject Qin’s wholehearted devotion to the country. Your wife is also currently a guest in the palace. But you’ve read the secret report. We will not allow this group of assassins to live any longer. So, all you need to do next is to play out a scene with Us. We will be at ease then and will reward you handsomely.”
Qin Huaiyuan felt both his hands and feet grow clammy, but he had no choice other than to lower his head. “All shall be in accordance to Your Majesty’s wishes. This subject will follow to the end of everything!”
* * *
Chapter 121: Breaking Out
Chapter 121: Breaking Out
Back in the Qin Manor, the old dowager was happily ordering servants to prepare a sumptuous dinner banquet, and had posted men every fifty steps on the roads that Qin Huaiyuan was certain to take on his way home. She had given explicit orders to have a carriage bring news the moment the lord was sighted.
The group remained in the Garden of Loving Piety to keep the old dowager company. The happy atmosphere permeating the air was even warmer than the one around new year’s. It obviously wouldn’t do for Qin Yining to return to the Venerable Study Hall first, so she had to stay and partake of the gathering.
However, this wait stretched into a four hour vigil. Even as dusk fell, Qin Huaiyuan still hadn’t returned, and the old dowager was beginning to worry.
“Even if there is a palace banquet being held, there’s no reason for them to stay so late. What kind of banquet runs so long?” The emperor should consider the family more if he’s keeping my son behind! I haven’t seen him in so long! But the old dowager feared the emperor in the end, and swallowed her complaints, opting to inwardly nag him a thousand times over instead.
The third madame was best at currying favor, so she smiled when she saw the old dowager’s impatience. “Senior brother-in-law’s great merit marks his name as one for the halls of fame. It’s only natural that the emperor would keep him to talk a while longer. Only he would have such a special honor. Anyone else might spend their entire life waiting for such treatment in vain!”
“That’s right, grandmother.” Qin Huining chimed in. “We’re all Qins, so it’s easy for us to see father, but other officials and court peers? It’s probably hard for them to even talk to father normally, so they’ll definitely make use of today’s banquet to have a good chat with him!”
Qin Huining had spent fourteen years as the old dowager’s most doted upon and favored grandchild, but had found herself suppressed in every way possible after Qin Yining’s return. Now that she was once again by the old dowager’s side, she was both gratified and excited. Naturally, Qin Huining used every trick in her arsenal to make the old dowager happy.
Scenes of Qin Huaiyuan being surrounded by adoring peers crystallized in the old dowager’s mind. When she dwelled on the fact that her son was the one being feted by everyone, and how filial he was normally, the old dowager felt as if her heart had been immersed in honey. She couldn’t help but laugh heartily.
The third madame and Qin Huining started teasing the old dowager when they saw how happy the matriarch was. The sixth, seventh, and eighth miss also clustered around them, lifting the old dowager up into immense delight.
Qin Yining sat removed from that group with the third miss, the two sipping tea and chatting randomly in low voices. They weren’t of a mind to join in the fawning action at all. The third miss was already engaged and her wedding day wasn’t far off. Besides, she’d always had a nature detached from worldly strife and desires. Qin Yining on the other hand, had completely seen through the old dowager and no longer sought her deeply cherished wish for pure, familial love from her grandmother. The old dowager didn’t like her or née Sun at the moment anyways. Qin Yining wasn’t the sort to offer her right cheek when her left cheek was struck.
Just as the house full of females were chattering and tittering happily, rapid footsteps suddenly sounded from outside. The vague tones of a man’s voice filtered inside to them.
“It must be Meng’er.” The old dowager looked to the door with a smile.
However, the door curtains lifted to reveal Qin Huaiyuan’s body servant, Qitai! The servant thumped to his knees as soon as he entered the house.
“Old Dowager! Something’s happened in the palace!”
The old dowager’s smile, as well as everyone else’s, froze on their faces.
“Speak! What’s happened?”
“In response to Old Dowager, a grand banquet was held in the palace for the various officials. The lord and madame was in attendance, and the emperor commended the lord, bestowing the position of the Marquis of Anping!”
“But that’s wonderful!” the third madame cried out joyfully.
Qitai kowtowed. “That is wonderful, but the empress immediately said afterwards that a hero such as the lord should have beauties serving him. She’d chosen Lady of Handsome Fairness, Lady Lu, and Lady of Talents, Lady Xu, as gifts to increase the lord’s household. The two imperial concubines currently enjoy great favor from the emperor, but he didn’t object at all.
“However, the senior madame rejected the empress on the spot and the two started arguing. The empress upbraided that the senior madame was eaten by jealousy, while the madame railed that the empress was a ‘trampress’ that wrecked families and plotted against loyal subjects. The madame’s words were exceedingly pointed, so angering the empress that she gave the order to sentence the senior madame to death by poison wine!”
It was deadly silent inside and everyone’s face white as a sheet. Qin Yining’s brain was was buzzing loudly. She carefully considered Qitai’s demeanor and wanted to read some flaws from his speech and expression. However, his anxious and worried look didn’t ring false.
Née Sun really did harbor significant vengeful resentment towards the emperor and empress. But even so, she wouldn’t have the courage to insult the empress unless she was backed into a corner. The feud between the Suns and Caos wasn’t fresh, and although née Sun might feel hatred, she hadn’t started anything with the empress when she entered the palace on the first of the new year.
In the days that Qin Yining had been away, née Sun had spent a decent amount of time in the palace. Nothing had happened during that period, so it could be seen that the bouts of humiliation and setbacks in the manor had caused her to accept reality. Besides, née Sun’s heart was filled with Qin Huaiyuan. If Qin Yining looked at things with an impassive eye, she felt that the blow of Qin Huaiyuan taking née Cao as a concubine was greater than all the Sun males being executed.
To someone who was so wholeheartedly devoted to her husband, this was just a bestowment of two imperial concubines to her husband. All she needed to do was to welcome them home and house them well. It wasn’t as if Qin Huaiyuan didn’t have concubines, so why would she insult and berate the empress? Is something else at play here? But the matter had already occurred, so she couldn’t just leave things to luck!
“Qitai, explain the circumstances in detail to me.”
“In response to
the fourth miss,” Qitai nodded. “I didn’t see what happened with my own eyes. The lord sent a eunuch out to me after it’d happened. The eunuch was shaking all over and didn’t dare say another word. I’m guessing that the empress was in a terrible rage. You know that the emperor dotes on the empress and can’t bear to see the hint of anything bad happening to her. The senior madame really… this time… really…”
…is really asking for it, and there’s no one who can hold her back!
Qin Yining rubbed the throbbing center of her forehead and spoke a few quiet words to Songlan. The maid nodded and circled past the shocked group before anyone had a chance to recover and take note of what she was doing. She lifted her skirts and ran out from the Garden of Loving Piety.
“Grandmother, what do you think should be done in this situation?” Qin Yining turned to curtsey at the old dowager.
“What should be done?!” The old dowager finally recovered from her stunned state and angrily crashed her brass pipe into the table, chipping off a large chunk of the black lacquer from the side table engraved with patterns of clouds. “You have an idiotic fool of a mother! How dare she insult the empress! Don’t take people down with her if she wants to die! Let her die! Our house at least would be clean afterwards!”
Although she’d anticipated such a reaction from the old dowager, sudden numbness spasmed Qin Yining’s heart when she heard such cruel words. It was as if a large ladle of ice cold water had been dumped over her head in the heart of winter, freezing her from inside to out.
“Grandmother, although mother is impulsive, it’s all because she genuinely loves father. She’s been a Qin daughter-in-law for twenty-Old Dowager years. That makes her half your daughter as well…”
“Shut up!” The old dowager interrupted with yelling of her own. “Half a daughter? Pretty, empty words! If I had a daughter like this, I would’ve long since drowned her in the latrines! She’s a completely ignorant dunce and a bitch that should be sliced to pieces by a thousand cuts! She can’t do anything decent and can’t give birth to shit, and now she wants to doom my son as well! Don’t she dare drag down my family even in death!”
Return of the Swallow c1-644 Page 78