Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Madam Chang acted as though she had not heard her husband’s improper words and warmly invited them to sit.
Realizing this household did not forbid conversation at meals, Cheng Miao chatted casually with her.
Unexpectedly, Madam Chang guarded her history closely. She never revealed her birthplace, and after a long conversation, Cheng Miao had not even learned her maiden name.
Master Chang’s remarks did at least complete Cheng Miao’s assumed identity.
The Qiao and Chang families had once been close. But after a great fire at the Qiao Residence, much of the business had slipped away despite Miss Qiao inheriting leadership.
The Qiao household now teetered on collapse. Officially, the siblings had come to congratulate the Chang family on its new children. In truth, they sought aid.
“Sister-in-law, are there any strange tales around here?” After breakfast, Cheng Miao drank tea with the couple. One glance prompted Lin Zhu to ask smoothly.
Master Chang had known Qiao Shui as a child but had never met Qiao Mu and did not know his temperament.
A boy his age might naturally be curious about strange stories, making Lin Zhu the best person to ask.
Madam Chang looked at him curiously, as though she did not understand.
Lin Zhu tried to appear inquisitive, but years of study had not made him an actor. With a wooden expression, he repeated, “I heard there might be stories about ghosts?”
“Ha ha! Mu’er loves jokes,” Master Chang laughed. “How could ghosts exist in broad daylight?”
Cheng Miao smiled along. “My brother has always loved odd tales and gathers every rumor he can find.”
Madam Chang shook her head with an indulgent smile, but her words were suggestive. “You mustn’t mention such things too often. Speak of them enough, and what didn’t exist might come to be seen.”
Lin Zhu appropriately looked unconvinced. Madam Chang said no more and merely smiled at the siblings.
When the atmosphere recovered, Cheng Miao again asked to meet the children. This time, Madam Chang readily ordered the wet nurse to bring them.
Cheng Miao peered at the nearly identical babies. “Twins! Sister-in-law, you’re truly blessed.”
Madam Chang froze, then laughed until tears appeared. “Only the child on the left is mine. The one on the right belongs to my younger sister.”
Cheng Miao blushed at her mistake. She then learned that Madam Chang had brought her sister from their hometown, and the families had become doubly related when the younger sister married Second Master Chang.
On the way back, Cheng Miao frowned deeply. Lin Zhu sighed. “This instance gives us no clues, and it’s unexpectedly peaceful. We’ve been here almost a day. I really don’t know what to do.”
Cheng Miao did not comfort him. Mental resilience had to be trained personally. “The Chang family is deeply wrong. Master Chang’s attitude toward Miss Qiao is strange. Madam Chang ignored it, yet she seems wary of any mention of ghosts.”
Lin Zhu nodded and idly kicked stones along the path. “It felt like she was warning us not to mention spirits inside the Chang Residence. Why pave the garden with these little stones? They’re slippery and hurt to walk on.”
Following his gaze, Cheng Miao saw that the garden paths used no popular bluestone slabs. Instead, a dense layer of tiny pebbles covered them.
She grew thoughtful. “The hint, Lady of Cao… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.”
Lin Zhu knew almost nothing outside the gaokao curriculum, but he confidently assured her that Lady of Cao appeared in neither textbooks nor related material. At least that narrowed the possibilities.
Cheng Miao thought until her head ached, but the answer still refused to come. She sent Lin Zhu off with some silver to question the older servant women as planned, then returned to her room alone.
She had eaten too much at breakfast, so she told the servants not to prepare lunch.
It was the hour of the afternoon rest. Servants dozed beneath the covered corridor while cicadas chirped now and then, not loudly enough to be bothersome.
Cheng Miao was still sorting through her thoughts when someone knocked.
“Shui’er, are you in there? Your cousin came to see you.”
Master Chang looked like an utterly ordinary middle-aged man. The faint scholarly air about him even made him seem rather refined. Yet Cheng Miao could still sense something oily and lecherous beneath the surface.
“I’m resting.”
The Qiao siblings had come to ask him for help and were currently living under his roof, so she could not reject him too bluntly.
Still, Cheng Miao had tested him at breakfast and discovered that Master Chang seemed entirely accustomed to Miss Qiao’s cold attitude.
Perhaps he was especially tolerant because her parents had died. Or perhaps Miss Qiao had always treated him this way.
If it was the latter, then his inappropriate remarks at the table took on a far more troubling meaning.
Master Chang was indeed unfazed by her tone. To Cheng Miao’s surprise, however, he simply lifted his foot and stepped inside despite her refusal.
In this feudal era, strict boundaries separated men and women. Whether or not a male cousin entering a young woman’s private room was proper, Cheng Miao had explicitly said she was resting. His complete lack of hesitation made his intentions toward Miss Qiao obvious.
Cheng Miao rose and stared at him coldly. Her right hand was hidden behind her back, gripping the Fishbone Dagger she had taken from her Space Backpack. Her face might as well have had the word “Leave” written across it.
Master Chang acted as if he could not see her expression. Rubbing his hands, he sat beside the table and poured himself a cup of tea.
“We haven’t seen each other in so long that we’ve grown distant,” he said with a broad smile. His gleaming eyes traveled openly over Cheng Miao.
Her lips curved without warmth. Given the circumstances, Miss Qiao could lose her temper without going OOC. “You’re too polite, Master Chang. Our ancestors were family friends. Calling us cousins was merely a way to suggest closeness.”
As though she had reminded him of something, Master Chang’s smile deepened. “Exactly. We aren’t truly related. The Qiao family is barely holding together now. I’ve made you this offer before: become mine, and I guarantee you’ll live in wealth and comfort. You won’t have to exhaust yourself handling business in public anymore.”
He had offered before.
Cheng Miao retreated until her lower back met the rosewood table holding a celadon vase. Her face remained blank. “When did you make such an offer? I don’t remember it.”
Master Chang stroked his beard and narrowed his glittering eyes. He seemed to recall something unpleasant, and the corners of his mouth dipped. “Years ago, I told your father I wished to marry you. Unfortunately, he rejected me outright and severed ties with the Chang family. You brought your brother here seeking refuge yesterday. Surely that means you’ve finally reconsidered.”
The Chang and Qiao families had once been social equals. Only one thing could have made Master Qiao refuse him on the spot and cut off all contact.
“Taking me as a concubine hardly counts as marrying me.” Cheng Miao watched his face, unwilling to miss the slightest reaction.