Chapter 45: Aunt Ping’s Plan

Competing for favor was useful in one's youth, but now that selfish, aging man was no longer a prize worth fighting over.

If she could get Tang Pinshan to open a shop for her as well, with such silver funds to rely on, the household servants would naturally learn to be obedient.

Even if she had no sons to depend on in her old age, she would still be able to live comfortably.

Aunt Ping felt an overwhelming wave of regret, resolving to bring the matter up at the very first opportunity upon returning.

While Aunt Ping was preoccupied, Qin Mu was far from idle.

It had been more than a month since his birth mother's departure; she would certainly have left the inn long ago. Moreover, he had made inquiries everywhere during the previous period, yielding no news whatsoever.

Having largely abandoned hope of finding his mother himself, Qin Mu seized the opportunity while reviewing account books at the shop to pay a few copper coins to a young beggar, instructing him to drop a note at the entrance of the Wannian County Yamen.

Whether this act would help Aunt Yuexi extricate herself, Qin Mu had no way of knowing.

Lady Liu had already fallen ill, and her authority over household management had slipped from her grasp. With Aunt Ping harboring ambitions for the family property, and with his own occasional instigations, the days ahead would give Lady Liu plenty of headaches.

If he could also manage to deprive the future Lady Sun of a source of happiness, he was more than willing to give it a try.

Whether it was Aunt Ping auditing the accounts of Lady Liu's shop or his own clandestine delivery of a message to the yamen, both were covert affairs. Naturally, when questioned by Mrs. Tang, Qin Mu revealed nothing, speaking only of unrelated trivialities.

Realizing she could extract nothing from him, Mrs. Tang had no choice but to drop the matter.

Another night passed. Four days had already gone by since the Qixi Festival; Lady Liu lay on her bed at death's door, while the second daughter-in-law directed the maids in boiling herbal medicine.

The household was shrouded in gloom, save for Tang Pinshan, who remained entirely at ease, setting out every day to check on the progress of the investigation.

Prince Zhao merely held a nominal title at the Jingzhao Prefecture and did not handle official business, a minor sixth-rank official like Tang Pinshan had no chance of encountering him. However, after hanging around for two days, Tang Pinshan had struck up conversations with several fellow officials of the same rank at the yamen, and they had arranged to go boating together once this affair blew over.

Aside from him, there was Aunt Ping, radiant with renewed vigor. Her private stash of dowry money was nearly depleted, but now that a new path lay before her, her spirits were naturally soaring.

If Lady Liu were to simply pass away alongside Tang Yuexi... that would be even better!

Second Young Master Tang genuinely cared for his sister, spending these past few days scouring every channel available to him for news, and today he finally reaped some results.

"Mother, I heard from the officials that someone delivered a note to the yamen entrance, saying that Sister... might be with a theater troupe!"

"A theater troupe? What is the meaning of this? Second Lad, go quickly and bring her back! No matter how much silver it takes, Mother is willing to pay!" Upon hearing news of her daughter, Lady Liu instantly regained her energy, struggling to get out of bed in her sickly state to welcome her back.

Tang Erlang pressed her back down, comforting her, "Mother, we have only received word just now; there is no reliable confirmation yet. However, the City Guardmen are already searching the theater troupes on the streets, and they will surely find her very soon!"

"Yes, with the City Guard involved, those scoundrels are bound to be caught. Second Lad, what has your father been doing these past few days?" Lady Liu steadied herself and inquired about Tang Pinshan's whereabouts.

At the mention of his father, Tang Erlang's expression relaxed slightly. His father had gone to the Jingzhao Prefecture every day, staying from the opening of offices until closing time, showing far more dedication than usual.

"Father leaves early and returns late every day, supervising the handling of the case at the Jingzhao Prefecture!"

Lady Liu was somewhat surprised, but her mind was soon put at ease. Yuexi was the couple's only daughter; no matter how indifferent Tang Pinshan was to domestic matters, he would inevitably be anxious and distressed.

Yet, at that very moment, the man who ought to have been worrying over his children was sitting on Aunt Ping's bed. Clutching the keys to the storehouse with a face full of bitter resentment, he wheezed, "Viper! Not only does she take in dozens of taels of silver every month, she pockets my monthly stipend and even begrudges me a bit of pocket money for wine!"

Aunt Ping's eyes were gentle as she raised a hand to stroke his chest and soothe him. "Pinlang, those shops are the Eldest Sister's dowry, and all their revenues are her private property. That she usually contributes to household expenses is already a sign of consideration. It is only regrettable that this concubine has no silver of her own; otherwise, when Pinlang goes out to entertain friends and host banquets, you would not be stretched so thin."

Though her words were soothing, she was sneering inwardly.

Tang Pinshan's official stipend was limited and far from sufficient to maintain the expenses of a large household; it was entirely thanks to the subsidies from Lady Liu's dowry shops that they managed, yet this man still complained it was not enough.

The depression in Tang Pinshan's heart was largely dissipated by Aunt Ping's few words. When Aunt Ping had entered the capital, she was not entirely empty-handed; the old scholar had also given her a hundred taels of private money.

However, having lived under Lady Liu's thumb for years without a monthly allowance, and having to secretly supplement Tang Pinshan's purse on the side, she would have spent every last coin long ago had her embroidery skills not been passable enough to make scented sachets and embroidered pouches for extra cash.

Tang Pinshan had long been aware of these things. Hearing Aunt Ping bring them up now, a sudden pang of guilt arose in his heart. "Ping'er, these past years husband has wronged you. I will go find a shop for you to manage right away!"

"Ah! Is Pinlang speaking the truth?"

This time, Aunt Ping's astonishment was not feigned. She knew the household finances inside out; apart from the chickens, ducks, rice, and flour sent from the country estates, the storehouse ledgers showed a pitiful mere dozens of taels of silver. Could Tang Pinshan actually have private wealth hidden away?

Tang Pinshan put on a mysterious air. "Just wait a few days and listen for the good news!"

He had been chatting congenially with several officials at the Jingzhao Prefecture, remarking that fresh fruit had been all the rage in the capital in recent years, and prices had been climbing steadily—to the point where, when they gathered to compose poetry and discuss literature, they could not even afford a single fruit platter.

He thought it might be profitable for the few of them to pool their funds and open a fresh fruit shop. They wouldn't even need to turn a profit; as long as it ensured they could enjoy a fruit platter at any time, that would be enough.

Now that Aunt Ping had mentioned Lady Liu's shops, Tang Pinshan considered giving her a share in the fruit shop venture, which would also serve to express his apologies.

Although the shop was yet nothing more than a distant dream, Aunt Ping was still overjoyed. Customers who bought fruit platters were invariably wealthy and noble; at the very least, it sounded far more prestigious than Lady Liu's grocery store and inn.

On the fifth morning after the Qixi Festival, amidst the hazy morning light, just as the night-soil cart entered the narrow alley, several startled cries rang out: "Quick, come help! There is a dead body here!"

There were no dead bodies, but there were a few living souls.

In a corner of the alley where chamber pots were piled, a woman with a black blindfold over her eyes and her hands and feet bound lay unconscious. Had it not been for the eye-catching, brightly colored gauze robes she wore, she would have been overlooked as a mere pile of discarded debris.

The patrol guards, who had been waiting in the city throughout the night, rushed over upon hearing the cries. They quickly bundled the woman into a carriage and instructed the night-soil collectors to keep their mouths shut.

All of this transpired in the dead of night, completely unknown to ordinary folk. As the sky grew fully bright, several households in the city received the news, instantly plunging into a mix of joy and sorrow as piercing wails rang out.

Upon hearing that Tang Yuexi and Yuanyang had been sent back, Lady Liu scrambled out of bed, struggling as she made her way to the bedchamber to see her daughter.

Inside the side room, Tang Yuexi refused to allow anyone else to enter, immersing herself entirely in a wooden bathing tub as she scrubbed frantically at her skin.

As she washed, she wept bitterly, terrified to her core.

In that pitch-black room, although she and the other female had stayed quietly in the corner, the strange, decadent scent lingering in the air and the sounds of the woman's moans—sounding simultaneously like pleasure and weeping—emanating from the darkness had been both spine-chilling and fever-inducing.

She felt as though the worldview she had held for over a decade had been utterly shattered, her sense of shame teetering on the brink of collapse.

Moreover, a man had muttered strangely that if she could be as obedient as that other woman, she would be allowed to eat, sleep, and eventually be set free.

Hearing her daughter's miserable weeping from within the room, Lady Liu felt as though the heavens were collapsing. Disregarding everything, she burst through the door, grabbed Tang Yuexi, and asked with trembling lips, "Are you well? Are you well? Have you suffered..." That most unacceptable question remained trapped in her throat, one she dared not voice.