Chapter 242
Chapter 242
Old Madam Shen herself had only learned of the rumors circulating through the residence that morning.
One of the matrons serving her had gone to the kitchen to give instructions for breakfast and overheard someone whispering that Ji Hanyi had been abducted by mounted bandits.
The matron had reported it upon her return.
Old Madam Shen had never heard a word of the matter. She had intended to question Shen Si that morning, but attending court was important, so she had held her tongue. She could not, however, keep herself from turning on Ji Hanyi.
If it was true, and even the servants were talking about it, did people outside the residence know as well?
What would become of the Shen Residence’s reputation?
Ji Hanyi looked down at the shards of fine celadon scattered by her feet. Her heart tightened. Studying the fury on Old Madam Shen’s face, she thought for a moment and gradually guessed the reason for it. Yet she calmly shook her head. “I do not understand what Mother means. I have never done anything wrong.”
Seeing Ji Hanyi continue to deny it only made Old Madam Shen angrier. “You still mean to hide it? Do you truly think you can keep such a thing secret?”
“I knew something was strange. The things from the palace were delivered back first, yet you did not return.”
“I heard mounted bandits appeared in the streets that day. Did you encounter them?”
“Where did they take you?”
Ji Hanyi now understood exactly what Old Madam Shen meant.
But Shen Si had already told her that the streets had been in chaos that day. Gu Yan had carried her into the carriage, taking great care to protect her reputation by wrapping her so thoroughly that no one could have recognized her.
The carriage had borne no emblem of the Shen Residence. The guards were their own men and had long since been sworn to silence. No outsider could possibly know.
Reassured by that knowledge, Ji Hanyi noted that Old Madam Shen spoke of mounted bandits. Evidently, she did not know that Ji Hanyi had been abducted by mountain bandits. The rumors in the residence were baseless, most likely spun by someone who had caught wind of a fragment of the truth and deliberately exploited it.
The more pressing question was how those rumors had begun inside the residence.
Ji Hanyi straightened her back slightly. After a brief moment of thought, she said with calm composure, “On the day I left the palace, I learned that Mother was gravely ill. I meant to visit her, but she feared passing the illness to me, so I decided to go to the temple and pray for her instead. I first sent someone to inform the Marquis, and I also had Wen’an return to the residence with a message for Mother-in-law.”
“Moreover, the Marquis personally brought me back from the temple. Even if the rumors were true, would he not care?”
“And even if I truly had been abducted by mounted bandits, it would not have been my fault.”
Old Madam Shen’s face remained cold. She stared sternly at Ji Hanyi without the slightest softening. “If nothing happened, why would such rumors arise in the residence?!”
The reasoning was absurd, but Old Madam Shen was her elder. In the old madam’s mind, whatever the cause, once such a thing befell a woman, the woman was to blame.
For one fleeting moment, Ji Hanyi could not understand it. She remembered the *Rules for Women* and *Admonitions for Women* she had studied since childhood. Every passage governed a woman’s speech and conduct, binding her to chastity.
Why, then, did everyone accept without question that a man might have three wives and four concubines?
When a husband died, his wife was expected to remain chaste, yet a widower could remarry almost at once.
Why did women themselves never seem to find any of this unjust?
The thought came to her without warning. She had always behaved exactly as a sheltered young lady should, disciplining her every word, gesture, and expression. Yet suddenly she felt that things should not be this way.
Ji Hanyi raised her eyes to Old Madam Shen and said softly, “I have always observed the rules in word and deed and have never behaved improperly. After leaving the palace that day, I traveled directly to Dazhao Temple. I never took the road back to the Shen Residence. The next morning, the Marquis came early to bring me home.”
“Besides, no one outside is spreading this story. Why did it begin inside the residence first?”
“Where did the people here hear it, and what does whoever began it intend?”
Each of Ji Hanyi’s questions made Old Madam Shen pause.
Indeed, setting aside whether the story was true, how had the rumor begun inside the residence? The incident had occurred only a day earlier. No one outside knew, yet the residence somehow did?
There was certainly something suspicious about that.
Old Madam Shen’s piercing gaze remained fixed on Ji Hanyi. “I will leave the rest aside for now. Answer me one thing: were the things I just asked you true or not?!”
Ji Hanyi lowered her eyes, her expression serene. “Even if I denied it ten thousand times, Mother-in-law would not believe me. Why not wait until the Marquis returns and ask him?”
“He was the one who brought me home. If Mother-in-law cannot trust me, surely you can trust the Marquis.”
Old Madam Shen regarded this usually quiet daughter-in-law in silence. Ji Hanyi was unexpectedly deft with words, leaving the old madam unable either to condemn her or to let the matter drop.
She wanted to find fault, yet everything Ji Hanyi had said made sense.
Naturally, Old Madam Shen did not want any scandal to emerge. However much she disliked Ji Hanyi, the young woman was now a member of the Shen Family and her own daughter-in-law.
She drew a deep breath and glanced again at Ji Hanyi’s hand. Madam Bai’s earlier remark had lodged like a thorn in her heart. For such an injury to appear at this particular time, for no apparent reason-could it truly be a coincidence?
Had she really simply fallen?
If the rumors were true, Old Madam Shen could not bear it. She would consider it an unbearable humiliation.
She desperately wanted the truth. Yet Ji Hanyi sat so composed and tranquil, as if untouched by worldly cares. Even under Old Madam Shen’s furious questioning, she had shown neither panic nor fear. She did not look like someone who had endured such a scandal.
Taking another deep breath, Old Madam Shen asked, “Then what do you think should be done now?”
Ji Hanyi remained calm. Looking up at her, she said quietly, “I do not believe these rumors arose without reason. They should be investigated, but first we must stop them from spreading.”
Old Madam Shen studied her for a long moment, feeling a trace of admiration for her composure.
This was indeed no time to attack one another within the family. If someone had deliberately started the rumors, doing so would only play into that person’s hands.
Her expression eased slightly. She turned to Nanny Li. “Go and bring me the two matrons you heard gossiping in the kitchen.”
Nanny Li answered hesitantly, “I only heard a few words at a crossing near the kitchen. By the time I reached it, no one was there. I do not know who was speaking.”
Old Madam Shen’s face darkened. “Then bring everyone from the kitchen. I intend to see who dares wag their tongue about their masters.”
Nanny Li hurried out to carry out the order.
Ji Hanyi sat upright to one side, her expression natural and unchanged, as though nothing had ever happened.
Old Madam Shen looked at her several more times. Ji Hanyi’s willingness to investigate meant she had nothing to hide. That was good news, and the dread that had gripped the old madam’s heart finally began to ease.
Nanny Li soon summoned everyone from the kitchen. The Shen Residence was vast, and its kitchen employed many people. Though she tried to keep the commotion quiet, the cooks, scullery maids, laborers, kitchen stewards, and purchasing servants still filled the entire courtyard.