Ink Burns

Chapter 166 Madam, Save Me (Fat Chapter)

During Shan Yue's convalescence, Xue Xiao, who was originally in mourning at home, made two special trips to the palace, just to ask his wife for a consultation with the imperial physician. This action caused rumors in the capital to spread that "Mad Dog has fallen, his heart has been awakened to love," "Mad Dog Lord has gone completely mad," and "Mad Dog Lord has become a complete dog."

Some busybodies even dug up that Xue Xiao's sudden petition to observe mourning was the result of his wife, Lady Liu, pleading for his release at the mourning hall.

It's not surprising that the woman is favored; what is surprising is that the woman speaks and the man listens; even more surprising is that this man is the infamous Xue Xiao.

Shan Yue was quickly thrust into the spotlight.

Amidst the commotion, Madam Zhou of the Chang family, the Marquis of Guanbei, sent a letter to the Southern Mansion, ostensibly to "visit the sick," but no one knew what she really wanted.

The evil steward, Zhi, had prepared the flower room for the banquet in advance. He stood with his hands on his hips, looked around, thought for a moment, and then plunged into the long-sealed storeroom of the Southern Mansion. He found a colorful glazed pomegranate flower and boy rosewood screen, a double-eared jade flower vase, and two paintings of peach and apricot blossoms by Zhu Siming, titled "Twelve Spring Scenes." Next to the "Twelve Spring Scenes" hung a large, bright red peony painting. It was unclear who painted it, but it looked very festive.

Manager Zhi decorated the flower room in the main hall like an old woman exuding the air of a nouveau riche, with gold, jade, and wood, and hung with pretentious paintings like a hodgepodge.

Very typical vulgarity.

Manager Zhi was very satisfied. She skillfully twirled the white-glazed official kiln teapot with gold wire inlay, pointing the spout at the doorway: "Now that you are so favored, you should openly display your arrogance! Don't worry, I've worked for the Cheng family for so many years. People who have been poor for a long time and have suddenly become rich like this!"

Shan Yue recalled the paintings that filled the Cheng family's house, genuine works and fakes lined up side by side, with a winter snow scene next to a summer pink lotus painting, all in a chaotic and disorderly manner.

It's definitely a good fit.

Shan Yue thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

Xue Xiao crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, his brows furrowed in a way that was hard to describe, but he didn't say a word. Although Xue Xiao didn't express his opinion, for several days in a row, he didn't pass by the main hall flower room, preferring to walk a long way around the courtyard back to the east wing.

Shan Yue suppressed a laugh.

When Madam Zhou of the Chang family arrived, she was slightly taken aback by the magnificent furnishings of the room. As she sat down, she said in a clear, melodious voice, "Everyone in the capital says you have won Xue Xiaotian's great favor, and now it seems that's indeed true—"

Madam Zhou touched the rosewood screen; its texture was warm and smooth. Her words carried a hint of envy: "The Xue family has a deep foundation. They're a century-old family. You can easily find big items in their storeroom. Xue Taibao is still alive and well, Xue Laoda died young, and Xue Laosan is an illegitimate child. All the wealth of the main branch of the Xue family has ended up in Xue Xiao's hands."

Shan Yue observed subtly, and the dignified Lady Zhou, the wife of the Marquis of Guanbei, looked at all the things in the room, and the envy in her eyes was genuine.

Should we?
It shouldn't be.

For two generations, the Chang family has controlled the Xishan Camp outside the capital. Since the establishment of the Great Wei Dynasty, the Xishan Camp has been the monarch's last line of defense. Emperor Taizong, the groom, personally selected three hundred military households to move north to the capital. Over time, these three hundred households and one thousand elite soldiers have multiplied to the current twelve thousand elite soldiers. While other barracks may occasionally suffer from food and pay shortages, the Xishan Camp would never have its military expenses embezzled.

The Chang family is very wealthy; with inheritance from their ancestors and the hard work of these two generations, they are by no means short of money.

Even if we disregard the husband's family, the wife's family should not be poor.

Every fifty or eighty years, Xue Xiao would explain the situation in the capital to Shan Yue by the side of the river. When talking about the Grand Princess Jing'an, one cannot help but mention her consorts: yes, her consorts.

Princess Jing'an had two husbands.

The first imperial son-in-law was surnamed Fu, the biological father of Princess Suiyuan and her eldest son Fu Mingbo. He was the top scholar in the imperial examination during the Zhaode era. He came from Changzhou Prefecture and his family was the Qingquan Fu family, a once-prosperous but now declining aristocratic clan. At that time, the aristocratic clans had been suppressed by Emperor Taizong and Emperor Qinzong, and many second- and third-rate families were already on their last legs. Some families were so poor that they only had clothes, cloaks, and bowls and chopsticks passed down from their ancestors. These could not be sold. Apart from the respectable items that could not be sold, the family's gold, jade, land, and so on had long been sold off to make a living.

Fu, the imperial son-in-law, came from a poor family, but he was certainly cut out to be a prince consort—handsome, upright, and exceptionally talented. He was also an excellent calligrapher and painter, and studied under the same master as Shen Dajia. After passing the imperial examination with top honors, he was chosen as the imperial son-in-law by the sixteen-year-old Grand Princess Jing'an. He held the honorary title of third rank in the court, and his paintings sold for as much as 137 taels of silver at the most prestigious art gallery in the capital, "Guan'anzhai".

A thriving career and an equally successful love life.

After being chosen as the emperor's son-in-law, he and Princess Jing'an, the younger sister of the emperor, lived in harmony and had a daughter the following year.

Perhaps everyone's fate is predetermined. While his eldest son, Fu Mingbo, was still in his womb, the Imperial Son-in-Law Fu passed away, bidding farewell to the wealth and honor he had earned.

Overnight, Princess Jing'an's hair turned completely white.

The second son-in-law is the current Prince Consort Zhou.

A year after the death of Prince Consort Fu, Princess Jing'an married Zhou Xingyun, who was then the sixth-rank prefectural judge of Suzhou. In the same year, Zhou Xingyun's younger sister married into the Chang family, a first-rank noble family and the headmaster of the Xishan Camp.

In fact, Princess Jing'an is Madam Zhou's sister-in-law.

After the Zhou family climbed the social ladder to become the Grand Princess Jing'an, Zhou Xingyun rose through the ranks to the honorary title of Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, a position reserved for the imperial son-in-law. The Zhou family also benefited greatly from this and became a prominent family in Suzhou Prefecture.

Logically speaking, Madam Zhou's family should be considered quite powerful.

Why are you so envious of these gold and jade items? Is Madam Zhou also a "Qingfeng"?

However, upon closer analysis, Madam Zhou's background is vastly different from that of the "Qingfeng" who has already appeared in the world: for example, Madam Zhu and Zhu Caijin; for example, she, they all came from humble backgrounds and were given a suitable and respectable makeover by "Qingfeng" to successfully marry into the family that "Qingfeng" needed.

The Zhou family is not.

How could the Grand Princess Jing'an possibly humble herself to marry a "green phoenix"? How could she possibly tolerate becoming related to a woman of low birth and a fabricated family background? —Shanyue deduces: Madam Zhou and Zhou Xingyun must be siblings.

Shan Yue shifted her gaze to the little girl beside Madam Zhou.

Madam Zhou did not come alone today, but brought with her a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old. The girl's face looked exactly like Madam Zhou's, with a beautiful appearance and a gentle demeanor.

Shan Yue didn't rush to respond to Madam Zhou's words, but simply smiled and asked, "Is it Yu Niang?"

On the marriage certificate between the Chang family and Xue Chen, the woman's name was Chang Yuniang.

Madam Zhou turned her head, her gaze gentle and affectionate: "It is Yu Niang."

Shan Yue then continued, “How could Xue Xiao alone swallow up the Xue family’s wealth accumulated over a century? Isn’t Xue Chen also a son of the Xue family? I am now nominally Xue Chen’s sister-in-law, so I would never wrong my sister Yu Niang. After Madam Zhu’s mourning period is over, I will carefully consider Yu Niang’s betrothal gifts and show them to you before sending them to the Marquis of Guanbei’s residence. After that, we will divide them as we see fit. Xue Xiao has never been favored by Xue Taibao, and apart from this Southern Mansion left by the Xue family’s patriarch, he deserves nothing—don’t worry, what belongs to the Xue family is Xue Chen’s, and what belongs to Xue Chen is yours.”

Shan Yue paused, her voice softening, sounding weak as if she had just recovered from a serious illness: "I understand your criticism. I come from 'Qingfeng' and would never forget my roots."

The medicine, which was supposed to be given for ten days, was delivered a day late by the Chang family. In addition, Shan Yue experienced extreme joy and sorrow, which depleted her energy and blood, and she almost lost her life.

When Madam Zhou heard Shan Yue's words, she was overjoyed. Her eyes lit up with delight, making people wonder whether she was trying to help her old friend's son or coveting the Xue family's wealth by associating the young lady with Xue Chen.
When Madam Zhou heard Shan Yue say the word "knock" again, the smile on her lips became somewhat uneasy: "Don't blame me for being a day late. I'm just following orders. I'll deliver whenever I'm told to. If anyone's going to knock, it'll be someone else knocking on you."

They were practically about to blurt out the title "Grand Princess Jing'an".

"I know, I understand," Shan Yue hurriedly said. "It's because I tried to negotiate with the Grand Princess before, which displeased her, and that's why she gave me this hard time—one must learn from one's mistakes. I'm like a chicken egg, and she's like a mountain. I dare not bargain again."

At Hanshan Temple, Shanyue traded her "widespread fame" for "Xue Xiao's mourning period".

Although Qingfeng agreed, she was certainly not happy about it, so she used the time limit for administering the medicine to control Shanyue.

The result was that the person was nearly killed.
Seeing that Shan Yue was so sensible, Madam Zhou's expression returned to normal. She placed her hands on her knees and said in a clear and melodious voice, "It's good that you understand."

Shan Yue smiled, her lips pursed, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Chang Yuniang, who was beside Madam Zhou, constantly glancing outside.

Shan Yue's eyes lit up and she smiled, "Why don't you go to the lakeside pavilion for a stroll? The weather is getting warmer now, so you can take a boat ride. Oh, today is the 28th. Erlangjun should be observing mourning at the lakeside in Beifu. If you are lucky, you might be able to catch a glimpse of him from afar."

Chang Yu's mother looked at her expectantly.

Madam Zhou was surprised by how sensible Shanyue was!

From the distribution of the Xue family's wealth to giving advice to Yu Niang on every matter, everything was done to her satisfaction!
“Go, go—” Madam Zhou agreed: “A meeting from afar is enough. Although we are from a distinguished family and have a marriage agreement, there is still a difference between men and women. We haven’t seen each other much since we came of age, so we must know our manners and not act recklessly.”

Chang Yuniang's cheerful departure showed that she was also very satisfied with the marriage.

Shan Yue narrowed her eyes: Xue Chen is indeed very good-looking, perfectly combining the elegance of Xue Taibao and the delicate features of Zhu Caijin. Having grown up in a prestigious family, he has a gentle and modest demeanor when he is not speaking.

Of course, his selfishness, weakness, and cowardice were immediately apparent when he spoke.

The door to the flower room closed, and Shan Yue then spoke respectfully and gently: "Madam Zhou, have you come today with any instructions?"

Perhaps because Shan Yue was so sensible, Madam Zhou spoke with less of her former arrogance and more casualness and intimacy: "It's not so much about giving instructions. It's just that a lot has happened in the capital recently, and we need to communicate with each other, so that we don't end up burying our heads in our own work and causing conflict."

Shan Yue lowered her eyes and waited patiently for Madam Zhou to ask her questions.

"Did Xue Xiao manage to touch the 'Azure Phoenix'?" Madam Zhou asked.

Startled, Shan Yue looked up abruptly, her voice becoming sharper: "What?!"

Then, his gaze lingered unconsciously on the most expensive rosewood screen among the flowers.

"What?" Shan Yue exclaimed urgently, "No, no way! Why would you say that, Madam? What will I do if he finds out about 'Qing Feng'?! He'll discover my identity sooner or later! Then, what will become of my title as a third-rank noblewoman, my status as the Jade Plate Lady, and my favor in the capital? It will all be nothing but fleeting smoke."

Shan Yue grabbed Madam Zhou's sleeve: "Madam, save me! Madam, save me!"