Chu Wang Fei

by Ning er

  Yun Qian Meng saw that Ji Shu Yu was worked up, she knew that the matter of her uncle being attacked by an assassin was extremely upsetting, so she led her jiumu to a table to sit down. She said in a placating tone. “Jiumu, don't be so anxious. Heaven helps the worthy, jiujiu will be fine. This yatou of mine knows some things about the art of healing. Later, let her have a look at jiujiu's prescription. If she finds something amiss let us get other physicians to make a new prescription. The assassination attempt on jiujiu was a situation we had no control over, but we have full control of the matter of preparing medicine. We won't allow anyone to exploit any weaknesses. I ask jiumu to please relax and not let this matter affect your health. If those vile people found out, isn't it that when friends feel sorrow enemies will feel happy? But tell me, which physician did you call today?”

  Ji Shu Yu saw Yun Qian Meng's calmness and it warmed her heart. She suppressed the rage and grief in her heart and carefully explained the events from last night. “Last night Chen wang sent people over to search through this area and had even sent some soldiers to go through the other buildings. Later in the night, when your jiujiu came out of the study to go to this room to rest, he saw a figure on the way. Your jiujiu hadn't even made a sound yet and that person already raised his sword. Unfortunately your jiujiu was not able to dodge the strike and received a direct hit. In the confusion after your jiujiu collapsed that shadowy figure fled the scene. Mother immediately called for Nie taiyi, but Nie taiyi has been sick with a cold for days now and is in bed himself. The steward had no choice, fujun's injury was couldn't be made public, so he could only go to a small medicine shop and get a doctor from there, who would have thought that it almost cost your jiujiu's life.”

  Saying this, Ji Shu Yu could not help but shed tears in her heart. If Meng'r had not made the discovery, Qu Ling Ao would be a corpse right now.

  Yun Qian Meng listened attentively to Ji Shu Yu's words and felt that the events seemed to be too coincidental.

  Nie taiyi conveniently got sick today!

  The person behind the scenes apparently knew that Fu Guo Gong Fu would keep this matter secret. Aside from Nie taiyi they would not call for any other doctor.

  But even if Fu Guo Gong Fu wouldn't call for an imperial doctor, the capital had many hospitals. How did that person know which hospital the steward would go to? Did somebody follow the steward? It was such a short period of time, how could any one bribe the doctor?

  This matter was planned so well that there were no gaps, it made one suspicious. Yun Qian Meng furrowed her brows perplexedly.

  “Jiumu, we must eliminate all the suspicion people in the fu. Regarding the matter of jiujiu's medicine, if jiumu trusts Meng'r, let this matter be put into the hands of Mengr's yatou.” When Yun Qian Meng thought how that the medicine from before was prepared by her aunt's dowry yatou, Yun Qian Meng could only temporarily suspect it was someone from those present.

  Ji Shu Yu approved of Yun Qian Meng's words, especially since it was Yun Qian Meng's yatou who discovered the poison in the medicine. If that yatou had evil intentions, she wouldn't have pointed the matter out. She nodded her head in agreement.

  “Furen, laotaijun is asking you to go to Rui Lin Yuan. She said that er laoye, er furen, san laoye and san furen have come to the fu!” laotaijun's personal yatou announced from the outer room.

  Yun Qian Meng and Ji Shu Yu locked eyes, both understood the meaning behind each other's looks.

  It looked as if this matter was linked to Qu Yan and the others. This matter was strictly kept secret by Fu Guo Gong Fu. The Empress Dowager herself did not yet know, how could they know so fast? They even came so early in the day.

  “Who let them in?” When Yun Qian Meng asked this question, Ji Shu Yu could not help but look at her in bewilderment, not understanding what she meant.

  “Biao xiaojie, the steward led both laoye and furen in.” The yatou replied respectfully. Yun Qian Meng's brows knitted at this response.

  Yun Qian Meng relaxed her brows and smiled at Ji Shu Yu. “Meng'r will go together with jiumu to see the other two jiujiu and jiumu.”

  Ji Shu Yu was naturally happy to have Yun Qian Meng go with her. She did not know why, apart from laotaijun, fujun, and her own children, Ji Shu Yu unexpectedly had the most confidence with her by her side, she could feel calm, so she nodded.

  “Ying Xia, Yuan Dong, you two keep watch here. Do not let even a housefly in.” Yun Qian Meng commanded.

  The two people saw that not only was Yun Qian Meng giving them a very important task, she was also testing their loyalty. They immediately proclaimed that they understood. They did not dare be remiss.

  Yun Qian Meng personally supported Ji Shu Yu as they exited the inner room. They saw Qu Fei Qing sitting in the outer room with a look of hate on her face. She must have heard every word of their earlier conversation.

  When she saw the two people come out, Qu Fei Qing suddenly stood up from her chair and coldly asked. “Mom, Meng'r, does this matter really have anything to do with san shu?”

  “Fei'r, we don't have any proof. Even if we know who the perpetrators are, we can't just accuse them or else they could make a false counterplea. Understand?” Ji Shu Yu saw her daughter's excited expression and immediately lectured her in a low voice.

  Yun Qiang Meng who was standing beside her had already transformed all her hostile feelings into a smile. Ji Shu Yu sighed in her heart, when will Fei Qing be more like Meng'r. When that happens she would have nothing to worry about.

  When Qu Fei Qing heard her mother's words her eyes turned red and she was about to open her mouth to argue, but she saw Yun Qian Meng slightly shake her head, so she suddenly bit her lip to suppress her words.

  “Biaojie, let us all go together to see those four noble visitors.” Yun Qian Meng smiled as she walked towards Qu Fei Qing, pulling her hand, they left for Rui Lin Yuan.

  “A small leak can sink a great ship.” As soon as they had stepped out of Qing Song Yuan, Yun Qian Meng whispered these words into her ear.

  Just now her aunt's expression was full of worry for her cousin excessive naivete. Yun Qian Meng had invited her to go with them to Rui Lin Yan to toughen Qu Fei Qing up. After all, her father would not be able to protect her for her entire life. Qu Fei Qing had to learn how to survive. Living in a large yuan, a good and honest heart was not enough. If one did not want to be bullied by others, one had to learn how to protect herself.

  Ji Shu Yu understood Yun Qian Meng's intentions. From her tired eyes rose a look of praise.

  The three people had yet to set foot in laotaijun's room when they heard the voice of an aggressive and overbearing voice. “Today mother's complexion is not good. What could have happened to make you this way? Erxi will have somebody come over to examine mother and make a prescription.”

  The elderly woman had barely finished speaking when from the side, Qu Yan said in a loud voice. “Quite right, mother is old. She has to take better care of her body. I don't know how da ge and da sao are taking care of mother. It's so late and they still haven't come to pay their respects! If I or si di lived in this fu, we would thoroughly wait upon mother.”

  When Qu Fei Qing heard them mention a doctor, as if as a pretext to harm her own grandmother, as well as seeing this pair of husband and wife fabricate accusations against her own parents, it made her eyes turn red with fury. But this time she did not have the urge to charge in angrily and only showed a cold smile. She and Yun Qian Meng stood on either side of Ji Shu Yu supporting her by the arms and entered the room as the yatou at the door opened the curtains.

  “San jiujiu, san jiumu, it's Meng'r's fault! Meng'r came today to pay respects to zumu very early in the morning, making zumu get up so early. Now she looks so tired.” Yun Qian Meng said this as she entered the room with a smile on her face. Her eyes gazed fixedly at the four people beneath laotaijun, sweeping a look over their appearances, Yun Qian Meng couldn't help but smile coldly. They really could not let go of even the tiniest sliver of cha
nce. Clearly they knew that her uncle was severely wounded, and they deliberately brought up her uncle, using false pretenses to expose this matter. These vicious hearts were indeed too contemptible.

  Those four people did not expect to see Yun Qian Meng at this moment so they looked at her in astonishment. Qu Yan was the fastest to regain his composure. His eyes held a smile, with a face full of tenderness and a warm tone said, “I did not know that Yun Qian Meng has come to know how to be respectful! When last time Jing Qing came back from houfu she praised you so much! I and your jiumu could not believe it but now we can see that it is really the case. But Meng'r, you came to houfu so early, were you able to pay your respects to the old madame in xiangfu?”

  Qu Yan's words were meandering and circuitous. Slyly mocking how Yun Qian Meng appeared to be currying favor with the powerful and influential laotaijun and being indifferent to the old madame whose status could not compare to laotaijun's. He was hinting at how Yun Qian Meng was forgetting her own family name. Clearly she was the descendant of the Yun's, yet she came to ingratiate herself in Fu Guo Gong Fu.

  His word sounded innocent enough. But if one were to mull over it carefully, things ran very deep. Yun Qian Meng's own uncle is the houye, but when it came to the ability to take advantage of people, Qu Yan was better. It was no wonder that when waizumu made him leave Fu Guo Gong Fu after marriage, or else jiujiu would have been plotted against much sooner!

  “Meng'r is very filial. Moreover, Meng'r is Ruo Li's child, so she is houfu's child. She holds a dearer place in my heart than even Zhang Qing and Fei Qing.” Laotaijun couldn't bear to see people speak badly about Yun Qian Meng.

  She was already unhappy when Qu Yan and the others arrived earlier, but after hearing Qu Yan say such things, laotaijun was furious.

  When Qu Fei Qing heard laotaijun's words she immediately rushed to Yun Qian Meng's side, intimately pulling her arm and saying with a smile. “What zumu said is true! Meng'r is clever and lovable and sensible. Naturally she'll become the favorite in people's hearts! Why aren't the other meimei here? It stands to reason that while they don't live in the fu, they also cannot break the rules, paying respects to zumu is a major event, how can they be like this and not follow the rules?”

  Tan shi saw that today the da xiaojie was unexpectedly eloquent. Those shrewd eyes swept over Yun Qian Meng, then put on a fake smile. “Jing Qing, that child, was not careful and caught a cold. She might pass the illness to laotaijun, so she didn't come. Now, we've been here for a long time, how come we still haven't seen dage? Dasao, where is houye?”

  Ji Shu Yu had come prepared, she only smiled at Tan shi and spoke in a gentle voice. “Dimei today, why did you come to be concerned about fujun's business?”

  At these words, Tan shi's face blanched, inwardly gritting her teeth. She wanted to slap Ji Shu Yu in the face. What concern? But if other people hear her say these words, she would get a reputation for being a woman that did not have any sense of propriety.

  Thinking it over, Tan shi cast a worried look at Qu Yan, but saw that his face was composed. Only then did she slightly relax, but it took her a while to be completely at ease.

  “Mother, it's like this. These days son's official business has met with a problem. I wanted to consult with houye. Let Xiang Lian and dimei stay and keep mother company with conversation to relieve the boredom. Son and si di will go to Qing Song Yuan to find houye.” Qu Yan said this, and passed a look to Qu Fu. Both of them stood up together and made to leave.

  Chapter 80: Part 1: Misfortune does not come singly | Chu Wang Fei

  “Both jiujiu have not visited houfu in a long time. It would be best to chat with waizumu for a while! Work can be done any day, why hurry to do it at this moment? Moreover, jiujiu is currently not in houfu, if you were to go to Qing Song Yuan it would be for nothing!” Yun Qian Meng said with a light smile, preventing Qu Yan and Qu Fu from leaving. They were forced to look at her, their brows quickly furrowing.

  “How is that possible? Just now, the steward said that houye was in the fu.” When Tan shi saw that Yun Qian Meng was deliberately making things difficult, she quickly opened her mouth to speak in fear that her husband would lose this perfect opportunity.

  She scarcely realized that her words would make everybody in the room turn to her, each with a different expression. Qu Yan's eyes in particular were filled with rage, only then did Tan shi realize that she had fallen into Yun Qian Meng's trap and said the wrong thing. Embarrassed, she staggered from the pressure of Qu Yan's gaze so she quickly lowered her head and did not speak anymore.

  “I didn't know that the houfu's steward, who manages the household, also manages his master's whereabouts. Steward Zhang must be getting old and muddled.” Laotaijun had understood Yun Qian Meng's intentions and quickly added with a cold voice.

  Laotaijun was all imposing for those unused to her. Even if her words were casual, she was still able to inspire fear in Tan shi and Bai shi.

  Bai Shi, who sat bowed beside Tan shi glared hatefully at her, inwardly rebuking her for saying too much. Her own husband and brother-in-law who were on the verge of getting their wish could lose everything, all because of her loose tongue.

  Qu Yan was unable to reprimand Tan shi at the moment. When he heard laotaijun go along with Yun Qian Meng's words, those scheming eyes turned to her. He carefully examined her and made sure to engrave her words into his memory.

  “Your son and the others exchanged a few words with the steward when we arrived, we did not expect houye to be unavailable. This being the case, your son and the others can accompany mother and chat. We'll just wait for houye to return.” Qu Yan immediately turned the situation around and smiled warmly as both he and Qu Fu returned to their seats with cool composure.

  This alarmed Ji Shu Yu and the rest.

  It was easy enough to exchange a few pleasantries and wait for Qu Yan and others to leave but if they were determined to stay until dark, she would eventually run out of excuses.

  Ji Shu Yu and Qu Fei Qing turned to look at Gu laotaijun yet the old lady merely accepted a cup of tea from a yatou and slowly took a sip. Her face was tranquil and indifferent as she sat there drinking her tea showing no traces of anxiety or fear.

  When the both of them saw laotaijun like this, their nervousness abated for them to return to their respective seats. The room, now quiet, only the clinking of the teacups could be heard in the stifling atmosphere.

  Tan shi saw that nobody was talking and felt awkward so she tried to change the mood. Her mocking eyes fixated on Yun Qian Meng as she laced her voice with pity. “I heard that last night Chen wang entered Meng'er's chamber. Did it scare you, Meng'er? Really! Mother, dasao, this Chen wang is too much. Even though they were previously engaged, she is still a precious, unmarried xiaojie. How could a man just go into her chamber? Meng'er, what were your yatou and pozi doing? Didn't they even try to stop him? If word gets out, how will you live it down?”

  When she finished, Qu Yan and his group all had faces full of derisive smiles. Qu Fei Qing slammed her teacup on the table, face growing dark. Laotaijun only shifted her half-lidded eyes to gaze at Tan shi, a cold smile formed at the corner of her lips.

  Yun Qian Meng raised her eyes to looked at Tan shi, a slight smile on her face, she replied in a polite manner, “Thank you for san jiumu's concern. But, as jiumu said herself, you only 'heard'. Of course there is no truth in those rumors. Since father's position as prime minister is influential and extensive, it's unavoidable to unconsciously offend some people. But father is honest and uncorrupt, so it is difficult to find any faults with him. Some vile people took advantage of last night's events to defame Meng'er, hoping to bring shame on father, but the truth lies in facts. Last night father was home in the xiangfu. How could he allow Chen wang to enter the rooms of a woman's courtyard. Surely san jiumu, coming from an upstanding household with great moral integrity, would not stoop to following the herd. Why listen to words that people speak that ignore the truth? Could it be that s
an jiumu is not afraid of harming the relationship between our families?”

  Yun Qian Meng had replied with a calm composure, her tone was neither too fast nor too slow, betraying no worry. Upon hearing her sweet tone on top of everything else, the conversation came to a stop as the other participants were unable to form a reply.

  Tan shi saw that Qu Yan did not speak to come to her aid and neither did Gu laotaijun support Yun Qian Meng. Yun Qian Meng's words had just ridiculed her conduct and lack thereof, implying that she was similar to one of those crass women from the marketplace that liked to start quarrels. She was again embarrassed and grew incensed. She immediately replied, “Meng'er, jiumu can't turn a blind eye to these words! As they say, wind from an empty cave is not always without cause! If there wasn't a shred of truth to them, where could the rumors have started from? After all Meng'er lost her mother when she was small and Yun xiang is always very busy, how can he properly teach his daughter? If this matter were to get out, I am afraid that Fu Guo Gongfu would be the one to lose face!”

  It seemed that Tan shi had been thoroughly muddled by Yun Qian Meng, words inappropriate to the occasion came out of her mouth. It provoked Qu Yan into glaring at her with all of his energy, but she was enjoying herself and would not let herself be stopped. She would continue until Yun Qian Meng was drowning in tears.

  But Yun Qian Meng was unsympathetic. Tan shi's words, however unpleasant, only caused Yun Qian Meng to smile more, and eventually a sound of mirth escaped from her lips. It made laotaijun and Ji Shu Yu look at her with worry.

  After Yun Qian Meng laughed her eyes grew cold. “San jiumu knows that Meng'er lost her mother at a young age, yet is being very aggressive to a girl with no mother, certainly lacking the refinement of elders. San jiujiu and san jiumu's health is well, so why does Jing Qing biaojie go to Chen wangfu by herself? What causes Fu Guo Gongfu to be ashamed is biaojie forgetting etiquette. Where could Jing Qing biaojie have learned this from? Even though san jiujiu is concubine-born, Jing Qing biaojie should take care not to make Fu Guo Gongfu lose face.”