Chapter 43

Chapter 43

## The True and False Heiresses 13

Upon returning to his courtyard, the Deposed Heir ordered servants to prepare a Buddhist shrine. He then set out for the Xu Family and Liu Clan to cancel the marriage arrangements.

General Xu was inevitably displeased that a settled agreement was being changed halfway through. The Deposed Heir made no attempt to hide the truth. He repeated what he had told his father, then said with a wry smile, “It would be better not to jeopardize Lady Xu’s lifelong happiness…”

He then had the generous gifts he had prepared presented to the family. “Please add these to Lady Xu’s dowry. May she marry the husband of her choice and enjoy a smooth and happy life.”

The Xu Family was at odds with the Bai Family, but it was still a respectable household. Since the Deposed Heir no longer meant to marry their daughter, they would not throw themselves into a frenzy trying to force the match. General Xu accepted the offered way out and announced that the engagement was henceforth dissolved.

After the Deposed Heir left, General Xu and his wife sat in silence for half the day. At last, Madam Xu said, “Perhaps this is for the best. No one knows what the future holds, and there is no need to worry ourselves over shadows. Letting our daughter marry in splendor as a man’s principal wife would be a great blessing for her as well.”

General Xu nodded faintly in tacit agreement.

Leaving the Xu Family, the Deposed Heir went straight to the Liu Clan and offered the same explanation. This time, matters did not proceed nearly as smoothly.

The Xu Family had agreed to marry its daughter to the Deposed Heir because of its feud with the Bai Family. It had also secured his promise in advance that Lady Xu would hold the highest status beneath the Commandery Princess and manage the household after entering the residence. Ultimately, the Xu Family had confidence in its own standing. Even if its daughter did not marry the Deposed Heir, plenty of excellent families would seek her hand.

To put it more bluntly, if the Deposed Heir had not already been married, Lady Xu’s status would have qualified her to become his principal consort. The Liu Clan was another matter entirely.

Staff Officer Liu possessed mediocre strategic ability and was not entrusted with important duties. The King of Wu was also painfully stingy and paid him only a paltry salary each month. Then fortune suddenly dropped from the sky: the Deposed Heir wished to take Lady Liu as a secondary consort. How could he not be delighted?

Staff Officer Liu had nearly floated off the ground, while Lady Liu was beside herself with joy. She had lorded it over everyone at home and shown them no end of disdain. Even Staff Officer Liu had been reluctant to offend this daughter who was about to soar onto a high branch, and let her do as she pleased.

Now the Deposed Heir had come to say he no longer wished to marry her. How could either of them accept it?

Staff Officer Liu immediately adopted the outraged bearing of a scholar whose honor had been trampled. “The Commandery Prince said he would marry my youngest daughter. Why have you suddenly changed your mind? What respectable family would take back a daughter after she had been promised and her engagement settled? If you refuse to take her, I will have someone strangle her with a rope this instant! Better that than let her stain our family honor and leave me too ashamed to face the world!”

Lady Liu also began to sob. “A virtuous woman never marries a second husband. Though I have not yet entered your residence, I already belong to the Commandery Prince. If you refuse to take me in, I would never dare force you. I would sooner hang myself than bring disgrace upon my family…”

Her figure was lush without appearing fat. Every curve seemed to know precisely where it belonged. Her face was as lovely as peach blossoms in spring, and her manner timid and delicate. Tears clung to her lashes without falling, making her a picture of vulnerable beauty.

She looked somewhat like Lady Tan in her youth.

The Deposed Heir was briefly dazed, then found himself in a difficult position. Faced with a woman who resembled Lady Tan, his voice softened. He said hesitantly, “But I have already reported to Father that I will take no secondary consort. If you enter my residence, you can only be a concubine. Your name cannot be entered into the official register, nor can you be granted the rank of Secondary Consort.”

Lady Xu came from such an eminent family that even becoming a Commandery Prince’s secondary consort would have been a concession. Lady Liu was different.

The Deposed Heir was the most powerful patron within her reach. She could not and would not let him go.

Once Lady Liu decided to marry the Deposed Heir, she naturally investigated his inner household thoroughly. The situation was actually quite simple. In the past, Lady Tan had been his only woman. Thereafter, he would have had two secondary consorts. Now circumstances had changed again. There would be no secondary consorts, only several concubines.

The difference between a secondary consort and a concubine was self-evident. Yet Lady Liu was pleased rather than worried, for one simple reason: Lady Xu would no longer be marrying him!

They might previously have been entering the residence at the same time as two secondary consorts, but everyone knew Lady Xu would take precedence and Lady Liu would follow. Once they married, Lady Xu would possess the highest status, and Lady Xu would be the woman the Deposed Heir valued most. Where would that leave her?

Now Lady Xu was not coming, and Lady Tan had withdrawn to eat vegetarian meals and worship the Buddha. Would that not leave the Deposed Heir’s inner household entirely in Lady Liu’s hands?

Even if the Deposed Heir elevated several maids into concubines, their origins ensured they could never surpass her.

If her belly proved fertile and she bore a son or daughter, would she need to worry about never securing the rank of Secondary Consort?

Lady Liu did not care to think any further ahead. The immediate priority was to make the Deposed Heir nod and agree to let her enter his residence.

Her tears were pitiful, and she bore some resemblance to Lady Tan in her youth. The Deposed Heir’s heart softened despite himself. Then he considered the Liu Clan’s modest standing. If he truly took Lady Liu into his household, his father would never suspect him of trying to win political support. He nodded and agreed.

Staff Officer Liu was beside himself with joy. Lady Liu wiped away her tears and gazed lovingly at her future husband. Host and guests parted in delight, with harmony restored all around.

…

Taking a concubine naturally required none of the elaborate formalities involved in marrying a secondary consort. Besides, the northern campaign was imminent, and the old man had always detested extravagance. The Deposed Heir settled the matter that very day. The following morning, he sent men to the Liu residence and had Lady Liu carried to his courtyard in a small sedan chair.

Since she was only entering as a concubine, there was no need for a grand celebration. Her courtyard was simply decorated, several furnishings and utensils were added to the bridal chamber, and flowers made from pink silk were hung at the entrance. At a glance, the place looked bright, festive, and remarkably eye-catching.
Lady Tan’s long hair was pinned up without a single jeweled ornament. She wore plain robes, her face was haggard, and a string of prayer beads hung around her wrist. As she passed the entrance to Lady Liu’s courtyard, her expression suddenly froze.

The maid beside her looked over with concern. “Commandery Princess.”

“I always knew this day would come, but seeing it with my own eyes still hurts.” Lady Tan’s heart ached with equal parts grievance and helplessness. Without approaching for a closer look, she turned and walked toward the Buddhist shrine.

When the Deposed Heir learned what had happened, he made a special trip to see her there. Lady Tan refused to open the door. “Today is an auspicious day, with a new woman entering the residence. My husband should go and keep her company. There is nothing here but a lonely lamp and an ancient Buddha. I would hate to disturb the household’s joy.”

How could the Deposed Heir not ache when he heard the hopelessness in her words? He hesitated again and again, but finally gritted his teeth and said solemnly, “Lianfang, I told you that day that, in my heart, only you, our children, and I are a family. Those words will remain true forever!”

…

Lady Liu had risen early that morning. Several matrons from the King of Wu’s residence came to remove the fine hairs from her face. After being washed and dressed, she was carried into the residence.

A concubine could not wear red, only pink. Though Lady Liu regretted that fact, she did not dwell on it. When no one was watching, she quietly surveyed the room. Everything was exquisite, beyond comparison with the cramped and dim maiden’s chamber in her family home. Delight and triumph surged through her in waves until she felt as though she were floating.

The maids helped her bathe. Lady Liu suppressed her embarrassment and emerged beneath several pairs of watchful eyes. A matron immediately brought over a bowl of medicine and, with gentle but irresistible insistence, told her to drink it.

Holding the bowl, Lady Liu felt the bitter scent bore straight into her nose. She drew her neck back in resistance and asked, “What is this?”

The matron smiled. “This is a fertility tonic the Commandery Prince specially ordered someone to obtain.”

Lady Liu flushed crimson. Pinching her nose, she drank every last drop.

…

Zhu Yuanzhang had ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to flay the second Tan brother and recover the two hundred thousand taels of silver while they were at it. Naturally, the guards did not dare delay. However, the Tan brothers were joined at the hip and almost never apart. They often spent their evenings drinking and carousing in brothels. With so many eyes around, making a move was exceedingly difficult, and the task was delayed for several days.

As it happened, Mr. Cai had recently shaken the Deposed Heir awake. In his determination to improve himself, the Deposed Heir had also ordered the Tan brothers restrained and confined to their residence. This instead handed the Embroidered Uniform Guard the perfect opportunity.

The Deposed Heir’s men guarded both the front and rear entrances of the Tan residence. The Tan brothers could not have escaped even with wings, but that posed no difficulty to the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The guards slipped inside, knocked the second Tan brother unconscious, gagged him, drew their knives, and set to work.

The Tan Family had once possessed considerable wealth and prestige. Though it had declined over the years, even a starving camel was still larger than a horse.

Lady Tan herself had scarcely endured any hardship. Her second brother, a parasite who lived off his sister, had suffered even less. After Lady Tan married, his life grew more comfortable still. With the King of Wu’s eldest legitimate son as his brother-in-law and patron, he was like a mouse that had fallen into a jar of honey, surrounded by delicacies and free from every material concern.

Halfway through the procedure, searing pain woke him. The moment he understood what was happening, every hair on his body stood on end and terror robbed him of all control. He could only hate himself for being so useless that he had failed to remain unconscious until death.

One could hardly blame him.

Anyone who was suddenly knocked unconscious in the middle of the night, only to awaken and find a man in black crouched before him doing such a thing, would probably struggle to accept the situation with good cheer.

The second Tan brother’s final stage of life was anything but peaceful.

Once the work was finished, the Embroidered Uniform Guard pocketed the money and left without a trace.

Not long afterward, a young servant who had risen to relieve himself noticed something amiss.

Why was there still a light burning in the Second Master’s room at this hour?

Had the servants attending him earlier forgotten to extinguish it?

Puzzled and bleary-eyed, he yawned and made the worst decision of his life.

The young servant gently pushed open the door and entered. A person was sitting in the middle of the room. Just as he wondered why his master was not asleep in bed, he suddenly noticed that the master’s color was wrong.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

After one piercing scream, the servant’s lower body spasmed. Warmth spread between his legs, and he collapsed limply to the floor.

The scream alerted the servants patrolling at night. When they realized the sound had come from the Second Master’s room, panic seized them. They hurried over in a group. The moment they entered, they saw the young servant sprawled unconscious on the floor, his face deathly pale. Then they looked farther into the room…

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Half of their master sat inside the room. The other half fluttered before the window.

Twice the horror.

…

No one had expected the Second Master of the Tan Family to die suddenly, much less under such a brutal punishment.

The sleeping eldest Tan brother was quickly awakened. Thoroughly displeased, he climbed off his concubine and stumbled over in a daze to take a look. On the spot, he treated everyone to a demonstration of wetting himself in terror, then fainted dead away.

The surrounding servants jumped in alarm. Some pinched the flesh beneath his nose while others poured liquor into his mouth. After considerable effort, they managed to bring him around and begged him to decide what should be done.

The eldest Tan brother covered his face. Peering cautiously through his fingers at the two grisly halves of his younger brother, he immediately turned away again and said with lingering terror, “First… first get him… get him down…”
The servants: “…”

Every fiber of their beings resisted, but they had no choice but to grit their teeth and step forward.

Then one of the second Tan brother’s trusted attendants crept forward, trembling, and whispered into the eldest Tan brother’s ear, “First Master, the hundred thousand taels of silver in Second Master’s keeping are gone.”

“Oh. Gone… What?!”

The eldest Tan brother answered blankly before the words struck home. Forgetting everything else, he stumbled back to his room to look for his own hundred thousand taels.

Nothing.

The box where he had hidden the money was empty.

His banknote for a hundred thousand taels had vanished, just like the one in his younger brother’s possession.

Together, the two notes amounted to the exact two hundred thousand taels they had swindled from their sister several days earlier.

Two hundred thousand taels in banknotes had vanished, and his brother had been flayed and left dead in his room.

Who had done it?

Across the whole vast realm, who had such a fondness for flaying people?

The eldest Tan brother had a vague suspicion, but he dared not voice it.

He was afraid.

To that man, he and his brother were no better than stray dogs in the street. Killing them would be killing them, nothing worth troubling over.

He dared not think of revenge, much less of the missing two hundred thousand taels. He only wanted to find his sister as quickly as possible and hide himself securely behind her skirts.

He did not dare remain in the Tan residence.

“I have to leave. I have to leave now!”

After trembling for a long while, the eldest Tan brother finally forced out those words. A last shred of clarity remained in him. He ordered the room sealed immediately and forbade anyone from spreading the news. Everything else would wait until daylight, when his brother-in-law could come and handle it.

His legs shaking like chaff in a sieve, he tottered to the residence gates, where the Deposed Heir’s men stopped him as expected.

Only yesterday, these men had been pests sent by his brother-in-law to spy on him. Now they were lifelines. The eldest Tan brother all but threw himself against them and stammered, “Take me away! I need to see my brother-in-law! I need to see him right now!”

The Deposed Heir’s men did not yet know what had happened inside. They shook their heads and refused.

Eyes wild with fear, the eldest Tan brother clung to the leader’s sleeve. “My brother is dead! I dare not stay here. Please take me to my brother-in-law. Please!” His knees buckled as soon as he finished, and he dropped directly to the ground.

The guards at the gate were all trusted men of the Deposed Heir. Knowing how deeply he cherished Lady Tan, how could they dare accept such a grand obeisance from her eldest brother?

They hurriedly told him to rise, then sent someone into the residence to investigate.

The eldest Tan brother shrieked and urged them on like a madman. “Let them investigate! The rest of you, take me away now! I need to see my brother-in-law, immediately!”

His eyes bulged, their whites veined with blood. Clutching his hair, he looked half deranged from the shock. “I am going to die! I am going to die! Take me away, hurry!”

Seeing that he was in a truly wretched state, the leader did not dare detain him by force. He ordered his subordinates to inspect the Tan Family residence, while he himself escorted the eldest Tan brother to find the Deposed Heir.

It was already deep into the night. The Deposed Heir had retired to Lady Liu’s room. The leader brought the eldest Tan brother there and said an urgent matter required the Commandery Prince’s attention, but the attendants did not dare disturb him rashly.

This was his wedding night, a moment of the utmost importance. Summoning the Commandery Prince away now might earn them a furious scolding, and it would certainly offend Lady Liu.

The former Hereditary Grandson and Miss Baozhu had both been sent away, while the Commandery Princess had withdrawn to the Buddhist shrine to eat vegetarian meals and worship the Buddha. Who knew which way the wind would blow from now on? No one dared take such a risk casually.

Besides, they knew the eldest Tan brother well. He was nothing but a wastrel. What great emergency could have brought him to the Commandery Prince so suddenly?

Perhaps he only meant to complain on his sister’s behalf, deliberately lure the Commandery Prince away, and humiliate Lady Liu.

The attendant had little desire to pass on the message, but he knew the guard leader well and did not wish to embarrass him. After some thought, he said, “The Commandery Prince is occupied and cannot receive visitors at present. The Commandery Princess, however, is available…”

The leader considered that the Commandery Princess was the eldest Tan brother’s sister, making it easier for the siblings to speak openly. Besides, the Second Master of the Tan Family was dead. His sister would have to be informed sooner or later. The leader nodded in agreement.

The attendant summoned two older maidservants. Together with the guards, they escorted the eldest Tan brother, who looked as though he had lost his soul, to Lady Tan.

Lady Tan was kneeling before a statue of the Buddha, dressed in plain robes, a deep melancholy shadowing her brow. Here, she had only a lonely lamp and an ancient Buddha for company, while passion tossed the crimson sheets in Lady Liu’s courtyard. How could the contrast fail to cause her pain?

As she grieved, someone came to report that her brother had arrived. Something had happened at home, and he had come to ask his sister to take charge.

The hour was late, and a terrible premonition seized Lady Tan. She ordered them to bring him in. Her brother stumbled inside in a daze. The moment he saw her, it was as though he had found something to cling to. He fell to his knees with a thud, wrapped his arms around her legs, and burst into loud sobs. “Sister, save me! Our little brother has been killed!”

Lady Tan felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Bending down, she seized his collar and demanded sharply, “What did you say? Who… who was killed?!”

The eldest Tan brother wailed, “Sister, our little brother was killed! He is dead!”

The terrible news froze Lady Tan in place. Her complexion shifted violently between green and white. Suddenly, she spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed directly onto her eldest brother.
Panic erupted all around. “Commandery Princess!”

“Hurry and fetch a physician! Summon the Commandery Prince as well!”

…

The Deposed Heir had only just consummated the marriage with Lady Liu. They lay awake in each other’s arms, Lady Liu nestled against his chest with all the tender coyness of a young bride. The Deposed Heir felt somewhat guilty toward her and responded distractedly to her murmured words.

The atmosphere inside the bed curtains was warm and intimate when someone knocked at the door. An urgent voice called from outside, “Commandery Prince? Something has happened to the Commandery Princess. They ask that you come and take charge!”

On Lady Liu’s very first day in the residence, Lady Tan meant to show her who was mistress here?

What intolerable bullying!

Lady Liu’s expression changed. She clenched her teeth in resentment, but did not intend to speak rashly before she understood the situation. Yet before she could gently urge the man beside her to go and see what had happened, the Deposed Heir had already leaped from the bed, thrown on a robe, and hurried outside without the slightest reluctance to leave her.

Lady Liu sat on the bed in stunned silence and watched him stride away, his face taut with worry. Humiliation and rage mingled within her. The room’s jubilant decorations remained, but to her, they had become a vast mockery.

“Bitch!” The corners of Lady Liu’s mouth slowly lifted into a sinister smile. Clutching the quilt, she squeezed the words through her teeth. “We shall see who wins!”

…

When the Deposed Heir arrived in haste, Lady Tan was still unconscious. Her face was deathly pale, while great patches of blood stained her plain robes, a shocking sight.

He roared in fury, “What happened? Why would the Commandery Princess suddenly cough up blood?!”

The surrounding servants all turned toward the eldest Tan brother. The Deposed Heir’s dark, baleful gaze followed.

With his brother’s death hanging over him, the eldest Tan brother had painfully recovered a fragment of his intelligence. He clung to his brother-in-law’s leg and said, “Brother-in-law, no one else can know about this. I can only tell you…”

Suppressing the urge to kill him, the Deposed Heir dismissed the servants, then kicked him away. “What happened?”

With his life at stake, the eldest Tan brother kept his account exceedingly brief. “Our little brother is dead, and the banknotes worth two hundred thousand taels that we took from Sister are gone!”

“And…” His eyes darted away as he trembled. “Someone… flayed our little brother. There was blood everywhere. Brother-in-law, I am scared!”

The instant he heard that the banknotes worth two hundred thousand taels had vanished, the Deposed Heir formed a vague suspicion.

The King of Wu’s army was stationed in Huaizhou. What petty criminal would dare rob the brothers of the King of Wu’s daughter-in-law at such a time?

Still less could any ordinary thief slip into the Tan Family residence unseen by the men he had posted at its front and rear gates.

Once he heard how the second Tan brother had died, he understood even more clearly who was responsible.

Of course, the Deposed Heir thought with a bitter inward smile. Given the old man’s temper, how could he not be enraged after two hundred thousand taels in banknotes were handed away?

Embezzling sixty taels earned a man a flaying. Two hundred thousand taels…

The old man could have him flayed until not even bloody scraps remained.

And the killing was also intended as a message to him and Lianfang.

The Deposed Heir wet his dry lips and asked the eldest Tan brother, “You did not spread word of this, did you?”

“No!” the eldest Tan brother hurriedly replied. “Only the people close to us know. Several guards and trusted servants in the residence know our little brother was flayed to death. The attendants outside only know that he died.”

“Oh, right.” He suddenly remembered something. “The men you posted were guarding the gates. When I left, they were about to go inside. I do not know whether they will tell anyone…”

The Deposed Heir smiled bitterly. “Do you think they are fools? One look at a killing done by flaying, and who would not know who ordered it? Stop trembling. They will clean up everything afterward.”

The eldest Tan brother was terrified. “Brother-in-law, save me! I am afraid! What if the old man does the same thing to me that he did to our little brother? Then…”

The Deposed Heir struck him across the face, knocking the rest of the words back into his belly. “What does any of this have to do with the old man?!”

The eldest Tan brother froze, then nodded in terror. He slapped himself across the mouth and said, “I was confused. My brother was killed by bandits. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the old man!”

The Deposed Heir asked, “How did your brother die?”

This time, the eldest Tan brother answered at once. “Bandits stabbed him in the heart. Not even an immortal could have saved him.”

The Deposed Heir sighed. “Do you know what to say in front of your sister?”

The eldest Tan brother nodded like a chick pecking at grain. “I know. I know.”

Then, with a smile uglier than tears, he asked, “Brother-in-law, will those bandits come after me too?”

The Deposed Heir sneered. “If he truly wanted your life, would you still be standing here speaking to me? Remember this lesson and behave yourself from now on. Otherwise… you have already seen how you will end.”

The moment the eldest Tan brother recalled that horrific scene, his legs began trembling uncontrollably and cold sweat poured down his back…

Shaking like a sieve, he stammered, “I-I-I understand! I will never dare do it again!”