Chapter 7
The birthday banquet had become a farce, and the guests all dispersed.
Qingyan asked me to come to her courtyard.
I had barely stopped walking when a maid presented a wooden box.
Hesitantly, I lifted the lid. Ten small gold bars shone so brightly that I could scarcely keep my eyes open.
“I didn’t know your tastes, so I thought I would thank you with gold. Is it to your liking?”
It certainly was!
I closed the lid with a beaming smile, barely able to stop grinning.
“You needn’t have been so generous, Miss Mu.”
But she bowed to me solemnly.
“I gave you no warning before asking you to testify today. I truly had not intended to call on you so abruptly.”
“I thought the jewelry I bought would be enough to expose Lu Chong’an. But he shamelessly kept twisting the facts. I had no choice but to ask for your help.”
Her remorse was plainly sincere. Besides, having accepted the money, I could hardly hold it against her.
“It’s all right. I’ve disliked him for some time. It’s not as though he lacks money. Who did he think he was insulting with those freebies? If I’ve helped you see the truth and escape that misery, then I’ve done a good deed.”
Scolding him had not quite satisfied me, so I went on.
“And that cousin of his! Of all the times to develop a stomachache, it had to be right when you were about to exchange the jade pendants. Who knows whether she did it on purpose?”
Qingyan first glanced out of the window. Only after making sure no one was there did she give a mischievous smile.
“She didn’t. I had her drugged.”
My eyes went round as bronze bells.
Qingyan explained patiently, “Once I learned the truth, I decided to end the betrothal. Naturally, I couldn’t let us exchange those pendants.”
“So I had a maid put something in her tea at just the right time. Lu Chong’an treasures her so much that he was bound to lose his head.”
“Then I could confront him, and it would all follow naturally.”
Everything that had happened at the banquet fell into place in my mind. I couldn’t help asking,
“And did you arrange for that little girl to answer?”
Every powerful guest there knew how the world worked. No one would speak up lightly without understanding the situation.
Qingyan smiled. “She’s my niece.”
I was shaken.
The Grand Secretary’s daughter indeed. Meticulous in her thinking, with every contingency accounted for.
The heir had picked the wrong woman to cross.
That night, after returning from the Grand Secretary’s residence, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.
I was terrified that he would send men to smash up my shop in the morning and drive me out of the capital.
But then I thought of those ten whole gold bars beneath my bed!
And the corners of my mouth rose of their own accord.
What was the point of running a shop, if not to make money?
My purse was well filled now. Wherever I went, I could live comfortably.
My spirits lurched up and down all night. The next day, I lay slumped over the counter with enormous dark circles under my eyes.
Everything in the shop went on as usual. Instead of troublemakers, it was Qingyan who arrived.
Several young ladies came with her.
“Mistress, my friends would like to choose some jewelry.”
I immediately called the assistants over to serve them, while I kept Qingyan company.
She glanced discreetly at the shadows under my eyes, as though she could see what was troubling me.
“Don’t worry. Lu Chong’an may behave poorly, but the duke’s family still cares about its public reputation.”
“Yesterday’s scene is known throughout the capital, and everyone saw you there.”
“Believe me, if anyone came to cause trouble in your shop now, everyone would immediately assume Lu Chong’an was responsible.”
“Put your mind at ease. He won’t dare touch you.”
Her words made me smile.
Once again, I marveled at how little escaped her.
“You’re both wise and kind, Miss Mu. Losing you is his misfortune.”
That seemed to stir the hurt she had only just managed to suppress.
Her eyes dimmed. “He only came to propose because he wanted my father’s power.”
I cursed myself for bringing up the very thing I shouldn’t, and didn’t know what to say.
She smiled, letting it go. “But I’m hardly any better. Father agreed to the match precisely because Lu Chong’an has neither scholarly nor martial ability.”
“A marriage to a family like that reassures His Majesty.”
Put that way, it sounded rather like an exchange of interests.
“I’d noticed what was going on between him and Xianghe long ago. I had meant to turn a blind eye.”
“But to humiliate me with free gifts? He must harbor quite a grudge against me.”
“If he chooses to strike first, he can hardly blame me for striking back. Unless I give him a bitter lesson, he’ll think he can walk all over me.”
Beneath her sleeves, Qingyan’s fingers clenched white. Speaking of it had rekindled her anger.
I was just about to comfort her when a familiar figure entered.
I looked closely. Xianghe!
Qingyan saw her too. She immediately schooled her expression into composed dignity.
Xianghe came straight toward her and dropped to her knees with a thud.
“Sister, I’ve finally found you.”