Chapter 118: Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" (Are You the One)

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 Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

 Chapter 118: 

 

During the time when Cui Xingzhou caused a commotion at Duke Qing’s residence, Mian Tang was personally preparing a nourishing soup for her sister-in-law.

The period after a small confinement[1] is even harder on the body than a full one, so extra care must be taken in every aspect. If any illness lingers, it could affect her for the rest of her life. Li Mama gently fanned herself as she sighed, “I wonder if the prince will be able to straighten everything out on this trip.”

Mian Tang, however, was not worried. “There’s no task your prince can’t handle. Besides, what Duchess Qing did was completely unreasonable. Even if we were to take this to the authorities, we would be in the right... Oh, and my sister shouldn’t be troubled right now. Later, have her personal maid come and help organize her dowry list. It’ll be easier for the prince to send people to retrieve it later. There’s no way we’ll let Duke Qing’s family take advantage of us!”

Li Mama, being an elder, naturally had different concerns than Mian Tang. She remarked, “We haven’t told the Old Princess Consort about this yet. If she finds out, she’ll surely be heartbroken over the eldest lady.”

Mian Tang smiled slightly. “My sister is still young, and her youth shouldn’t be wasted. There are plenty of outstanding young men in the capital. This time, we must find her a reliable and peaceful household. Once her second marriage is on the horizon, we can tell Mother. That way, we’ll spare her from worrying unnecessarily.”

What seemed like the sky falling to Li Mama appeared as nothing more than crumbling dirt in the eyes of the prince and his wife. It all seemed like no big deal to them, and Li Mama couldn’t help but sigh at how old she had become, unable to keep up with the modern ways of doing things.

Mian Tang glanced at the pot where the bass and eel stew still needed more time to cook. She instructed Li Mama to watch over it personally, then removed her small apron and left the kitchen with Bicao and a few other maids.

As they reached the moon gate connecting the inner and outer courtyards, Mian Tang saw that Lu Yi was waiting there with two of his brothers.

She asked the other maids, except for Bicao, to stand further back, then walked over and asked, “You weren’t seen when you carried out the task yesterday, were you?”

Lu Yi cupped his hands and replied in a low voice, “There was no one on the back mountain. The few of us used the wine we brought to help start the fire, and we burned a bonfire in the shape of Guanyin. Then we hid in the shadows. Not long after, monks from the temple came to put out the fire. When they saw that the fire was in the shape of the Bodhisattva, they were so frightened that they immediately knelt down to pray and recite scriptures. By that time, we were long gone.”

Mian Tang nodded and said, "Go to the market and find some children to spread a rhyme about how Duchess Qing bullied her daughter-in-law and angered the Bodhisattva, causing a divine manifestation. Let the Duke of Qing’s household earn some fame from that... Also, many commoners were affected by this incident. If we look closely, it was our fire that caused the trouble. Go give them some silver so they won’t lose their livelihoods due to their injuries."

Lu Yi, however, was indifferent. “We only started the fire, we didn’t drive carriages into the people. Why should we pay silver for that? It’s that Sun woman who should take responsibility!”

Among the four brothers, Lu Yi was considered the most clever, but he still had the stubbornness of a bandit. When his temper flared, even nine mules couldn’t drag him back.

Mian Tang’s expression hardened. “That woman is now a consort in the palace. Making her pay up would be the same as making the Emperor admit fault. I don’t have that kind of ability. Unless you want to set a fire in the palace and see if she’ll hand over the silver?”

Seeing that he had upset his chief with his backtalk, Lu Yi quickly acknowledged her orders one by one and turned to carry them out.

When Cui Xingzhou returned, the first thing he did was deliver the divorce papers to his sister, saying that the Guo family had agreed.

Cui Fu wasn’t concerned about the dowry; she was only worried that the Guo family wouldn’t allow Jin’er to stay by her side. But now, seeing that the divorce papers clearly stated that Jin’er would remain with her until he turned thirteen, she breathed a sigh of relief. Jin’er was the legitimate son of Duke Qing’s household, destined to inherit the title in the future, so naturally, his surname couldn’t be changed. By the time he turned thirteen, even if she hadn’t divorced Guo Yi by then, Jin’er would be off to school and the academy, leaving his parents behind.

The thought of never having to face the scornful face of Duchess Guo again lifted a great weight from Cui Fu’s heart.

However, there were some difficulties when it came to retrieving the dowry. Since Mian Tang was pregnant and couldn’t personally go to Duke Qing’s residence, she sent Li Mama along with three stewards to oversee the inventory and loading of the items.

Back when the eldest daughter was married off, it was during the prosperous days of Prince Huaiyang’s household. To match the status of Duke Qing’s family, the old Prince of Huaiyang spared no expense in preparing a lavish dowry for his daughter.

But after Cui Fu married into the Guo family, she realized that Duke Qing’s household wasn’t as wealthy as her own family. After all, the old prince had achieved great military accomplishments and was handsomely rewarded, not to mention that the fief was abundant and provided plenty of resources. Naturally, this made their household far more prosperous than Duke Qing’s, which was slowly depleting its wealth.

Moreover, Duke Qing’s family followed the scholarly tradition, not encouraging their descendants to indulge in outside pleasures. So after Guo Yi married, his monthly allowance was limited. However, Guo Yi had a natural affinity for socializing, and his frequent outings with his classmates often left him struggling financially and in less-than-dignified situations.

Cui Fu couldn’t bear to see her husband in such a state, so she naturally had to support him financially. Over time, Duchess Qing came to take this for granted, pretending not to notice that her son was running out of money and letting Cui Fu cover the shortfall.

Later, when Guo Yi became an official, things improved somewhat, but the debts from his earlier expenditures remained a large hole to fill.

Li Mama sternly questioned each expense. Duchess Qing, feeling the pressure, angrily retorted, "She has her own tastes, buying the finest clothes and jewelry—gold hairpins and whatnot—so she must have spent the money herself. Why should Duke Qing’s household be responsible for that?"

Li Mama’s face darkened as if it had been splattered with ink, her expression grim as she replied, “Our eldest lady has said she couldn’t be bothered to ask for the small change, considering it as charity for a fallen household. But when Madam celebrated her 50th birthday, she was dissatisfied with the furniture in her own room and took a liking to the huanghuali[2] set from our eldest lady’s dowry, requesting a similar one. Your son’s six months' salary wasn’t enough to purchase even a single carved bed, so our eldest lady had no choice but to lend the money to maintain appearances under the guise of filial piety. That entire set of huanghuali furniture is still sitting comfortably in your room. Don’t you think it’s time to settle that account?”

That money had come from one of the businesses in Cui Fu’s dowry, with clear records to back it up. They had all the evidence they needed to take the matter to the authorities. Duchess Qing was so furious that her hairpins shook in her anger, and she spat bitterly, “Since she’s no longer my daughter-in-law, I have no need for her false display of filial piety. Go to my room and pack up that shabby furniture! Let the Cui family take it all away!”

Li Mama, calm and unhurried, flipped another page of the ledger and said, "When Duke Guo first came to the capital and needed to build connections, he borrowed a sum from our eldest lady. Now that he’s risen in rank, it's not our lady who’s benefiting from it. That amount also needs to be repaid."

The old Duchess Qing wasn’t having it. She stiffened her face and said, “That was something agreed upon between husband and wife, it has nothing to do with Duke Qing’s household.”

Li Mama, having already received instructions from Mian Tang, smirked and said, “That money was spent to ensure Duke Guo’s steady rise in the capital. Without it, how could he have gained a foothold here? The entire Duke Qing’s household has benefited from it. How can you say it has nothing to do with the family?”

Duchess Qing glared and snapped, “Don’t talk to me about that! Whoever spent it, go ask them! Guo Yi has already found an excuse to leave the capital on an inspection tour, so go ahead and find him if you want!” She stubbornly refused to admit to anything, thinking the Cui family wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. 

They’re both from prestigious households, yet how could they be so petty? How could they shamelessly demand back every penny like this?

Li Mama wasn’t the least bit flustered. She repeated Mian Tang’s instructions word for word, “If your household is facing difficulties, our eldest lady won’t make things hard for you. After all, she’s now without a husband to rely on, just a helpless woman. So, if need be, she can swallow her pride and go door to door asking the same people that Lord Guo once visited for help. I’m sure those noble lords would still have enough dignity not to shamelessly keep a divorced woman’s dowry money. We’ll be on our way now. If we hurry, we should be able to visit three or five households before the day ends...”

Duchess Qing was alarmed. If Cui Fu really resorted to such underhanded tactics, her son would offend countless influential families in the capital. How could he possibly maintain his position at court then?

"Stop right there!" Duchess Qing hurriedly called out to Li Mama, her eyes bulging in frustration as she rolled them repeatedly. Finally, swallowing her anger, she said through gritted teeth, "I’ll pay the money!"

After Li Mama counted the silver notes and confirmed that the dowry items hadn’t been swapped or tampered with, she instructed her people to load the boxes and leave.

The long convoy, filling up ten large carts, made a grand procession as they returned to Prince Huaiyang's residence.

Since many of the furnishings had been borrowed by Guo Yi to furnish his new mansion in the capital, with everything now taken back, the entire hall of Duke Qing’s residence appeared desolate and empty.

Although the Duchess of Qing had no affection for Cui Fu, she couldn’t bear to see so many of her possessions taken away. Watching as each item was carried off, the bitterness in her heart was indescribable.

Guo Yi’s newly favored concubine, Yu Rao, seeing her mother-in-law’s displeasure, sweetly approached to comfort her, “Mother, it’s good they’ve taken it all away. Now you won’t be reminded of that woman and feel even more irritated.”

Duchess Qing, already looking for someone to vent her frustration on, became even angrier at the sight of Yu Rao. She snapped, “At least when Cui Fu came into this household, she brought dowry chests. And you? Though you’re just a concubine, you should’ve at least brought something to add to the household. Yet you came in practically empty-handed, only bringing a mouth to feed. How can you possibly help your husband?”

Now that Cui Fu was gone, the Duchess no longer felt satisfied with the concubine she had personally chosen. All her pent-up sarcasm and meanness was directed toward Yu Rao, a daughter from her own family’s branch. In her mind, she was already planning to find a better, more prestigious match for her son, one that would make the Cui family see that her son would never be short of good matches!

Yu Rao’s eyes reddened from the scolding, but she could only kneel and endure the harsh words.

The servants of Duke Qing’s household all shook their heads in silence—no wonder even such a good-natured woman like Cui Fu couldn’t stay. With a mother-in-law like this, anyone would be unlucky to marry into this family!

After getting her dowry back, Cui Fu felt more secure and could now focus on properly recovering from her confinement.

However, Mian Tang couldn’t relax. When Cui Xingzhou returned, he found Mian Tang poring over several thick registers.

Cui Xingzhou walked over and gently massaged her delicate shoulders, saying, “Weren’t you tired enough from yesterday’s ordeal? What are you working on now that’s straining your eyes?”

Mian Tang pointed to the books and said, “These are the rosters of the servants in the estate. I need to go through them again... I fear this place isn’t as clean as it seems!”

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[1] Small confinement refers to the recovery period after a miscarriage or stillbirth, while full confinement refers to postpartum recovery after childbirth.

[2] Huanghuali: A type of rare and highly valuable hardwood often used in Chinese antique furniture.

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