Chapter 49 Cowardice

Right now, however, he could only deduce that the matter might be connected to Wen Chongqing’s second wife, yet he was powerless to dig any deeper to uncover the true cause.

For this very reason, he had stationed people to keep a close watch on the Marquis of Yongning's Manor over the years, hoping to see if that woman would make any further moves. Yet, more than a decade had passed, and she remained as quiet as still water, as if nothing had ever happened. This constantly led Xiao Zheng to suspect whether he was merely being overly paranoid, though his gut told him that a matter of this gravity required patience and deep excavation, which was why he had restrained himself all this time.

This did not mean, however, that deep down in his heart, he had forgiven Wen Chongqing.

After all, had it not been for Wen Chongqing’s cowardice, or perhaps his deliberate connivance, Changla could never have possibly met her death within the walls of the Marquis's estate.

He had also genuinely cherished the young girl Wen Qiao, never expecting that his fondness for her would end up bestowing quite a few benefits upon Wen Chongqing.

So be it; let him treat this as a strategy of elevation before destruction—to raise Wen Chongqing high up first, so that when the man eventually fell, he would taste the full bitterness of the descent.

"Very well, I am aware of what you have mentioned. In a couple of days, Qiao girl will return to the Marquis of Yongning's Manor, and you need not fret over it here day in and day out. There is only one condition: the child has just been brought back from the countryside, and while I do not demand that she lead a life of supreme luxury in the manor, you must ensure that no one dares to bully or humiliate her. If it ever reaches my ears that Qiao girl is unhappy at the manor, Lord Wen, you had best tread carefully."

The words Xiao Zheng uttered seemed laden with a deeper meaning, and a glance at his gaze revealed a profound distrust of the Marquis's household.

After all, back in the day, when Wen Chongqing was desperately petitioning to marry the princess, he had made similar vows right here in the Imperial Study.

The exact same location, the exact same words.

Leave aside Xiao Zheng; even Wen Chongqing felt as though he were looking at his past self, a slight tremor running through his heart, terrified that the Emperor's words implied some hidden discovery.

"Your Majesty, Qiao girl is my very own flesh and blood; how could I possibly fail to cherish her with all my heart? Besides, she has suffered a great deal over the past few years, and Your臣 pities her far too much to ever let her endure further grievances. Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Qiao girl is, after all, the biological daughter of myself and Changla. Although I took a second wife in the intervening years, it was solely because the inner household required someone to manage its daily affairs, and all this time, my heart has remained faithful to the memory of Changla."

Wen Chongqing could rattle off such hypocritical platitudes endlessly without ever repeating himself. As long as it pleased the Emperor and elevated his own standing in the capital, he could utter the most insincere falsehoods without a single blush or a quickened pulse.

Furthermore, Wen Qiao was nothing more than a young girl who had spent her entire life living in the boondocks, completely devoid of anyone who genuinely cared for her. Even if there were that old hag who had taken her in, she was not bound by blood, and their relationship would always carry a certain distance. When the time came, it would take no more than a few smooth words from him to make the girl beam with joy; how could she possibly harbor any resentment toward him?

Wen Chongqing never once entertained the thought that Wen Qiao had been reborn, nor did he imagine that she no longer had any use for his so-called paternal love. Did he still foolishly believe he was her sole remaining relative in this world? Wen Chongqing had drastically simplified the situation.

Naturally, Wen Qiao was entirely oblivious to all of this right now, nor could she have ever anticipated that Wen Chongqing would actually enter the palace simply to secure her return to the manor. Had she known, she would likely have only sneered, dismissing him as a madman playing the fool.

Otherwise, Wen Qiao truly could not fathom any other reason for Wen Chongqing to go to such lengths.

Ah, incorrect—there was one other reason: his own boundless vanity.

"Very well, the hour is late, you should hurry back. In the future, unless there is an urgent matter of state, do not seek an audience at this hour. I am occupied with affairs from dawn till dusk; where would I find the leisure to listen to your idle chatter? Moreover, if you truly missed Qiao girl so dearly, how could I possibly have detained her and refused to let her return? You need not put on such a theatrical display before me anymore. I am well acquainted with your temperament and nature."

Once the Emperor finished speaking, Wen Chongqing’s expression darkened somewhat, though he dared not utter a word of dissent. He hastily acknowledged the decree and hurried out of the palace.

The Emperor was, after all, the sovereign; no matter how infuriating his words might be, Wen Chongqing could do nothing to him. To act otherwise would be the grave crime of treason and contempt for imperial authority, one that would implicate the entire Marquis's estate. How could he possibly dare?

Wen Chongqing returned to the manor in great haste. For reasons unknown, everything seemed to go awry today; as he approached, his carriage horses took fright, causing the Marquis's equipage to tear wildly through the broad avenues, smashing numerous commoners' stalls along the way.

Though burning with suppressed fury, he was entirely helpless and could only order Li Yanlan to swiftly compensate the commoners for their losses, lest the Marquis's Manor acquire a foul reputation among the populace.

Yet, because he never concerned himself with household management, he remained blissfully ignorant of the cost of daily necessities. Over the years, they had survived entirely on the remnants of Princess Changla’s dowry and the meager funds Li Yanlan had brought with her upon entering the manor, which barely sustained their routine expenses.

On the surface, the Marquis of Yongning's Manor appeared glossy and splendid, but beneath the veneer, it had long since been operating at a severe deficit. Since Wen Chongqing paid no heed to such domestic matters, he had no inkling of the financial hardships the household currently faced.

Li Yanlan had opened her mouth to broach the subject on several occasions, only to swallow the words back down each time. The Marquis already shouldered the heavy burdens of the court; she would spare him these trivial household worries whenever possible. After all, a considerable portion of Princess Changla's dowry remained, and even if they exhausted all of it, it would suffice for quite some time—even if the optics of doing so were somewhat unseemly.

Yet Changla was already dead, and the imperial court had never once mentioned reclaiming the dowry.

Li Yanlan simply feigned ignorance, acting as though she knew nothing at all.

Otherwise, if the entire financial burden of the Marquis's Manor fell squarely upon her shoulders, she would be hard-pressed to produce gold coins even if she were a mythical beast, let alone maintain the daily livelihood of an entire household. This was especially true given that Wen Chongqing frequently went out for banquets and social drinking of late; it would hardly do for him to constantly rely on others to foot the bill. Consequently, the financial shortfall within the manor grew ever wider.

These grim realities had never once been voiced to Wen Chongqing, yet today's compensation alone would cost upwards of a hundred taels of silver. If she did not pawn another piece of Changla’s dowry, she feared she would not even be able to disburse the servants' monthly wages by the end of the month.

Harboring these anxious thoughts, Li Yanlan abruptly turned on her heel and hurried back, leaving Wen Chongqing utterly bewildered, before he flicked his sleeve in annoyance and retreated to his study.

It was bad enough that things had gone poorly outside; upon returning home, his own wife had actually dared to give him a sullen face. Yet, cherishing their childhood bond, Wen Chongqing excused her temper as mere foul mood and chose not to haggle over it with her.

Regardless of the manor's financial straits, funds had to be procured to maintain his social facade outside. If word got out that a dignified Marquis had to rely on others to treat him to wine every single time, how disgraceful would that sound? Not to mention any aspirations of elevating his status in the capital—people would undoubtedly be laughing behind his back!

Li Yanlan hurried back to the inner courtyard and immediately commanded her personal maid, Lan Qin, to rush out and pawn yet another item from Princess Changla’s dowry, fearing it might otherwise be too late.

If those commoners were to come knocking on their doors demanding compensation personally, the reputation of the Marquis's Manor would be utterly ruined. It was far better to resolve the matter quietly before the creditors arrived, which might even put Wen Chongqing in a slightly better mood when he learned of it.

Neither husband nor wife had any inkling of the other's predicament. Wen Chongqing naïvely believed that a vast manor like theirs, even if wealth was not overflowing, should at least have no trouble covering household expenses. Meanwhile, Li Yanlan observed Wen Chongqing's frequent outings for wine and assumed his standing in the capital must have risen significantly, which, coupled with the fact that Wen Qiao was now in the palace and might bring future favors to the family, convinced her that Wen Chongqing's fortunes were on the rise. If that was the case, why did he never bring back any substantial funds when he went out drinking?

Was not the acquisition of power meant to bring back wealth so that their lives might become more comfortable?

Continually pawning the first wife's dowry was unsightly in the extreme; if outsiders ever caught wind of it, the Marquis of Yongning's Manor would become the laughingstock of the capital, with everyone treating them as a joke. How could Wen Chongqing fail to understand such a simple truth?

Yet he remained entirely indifferent, obsessed only with carousing and drinking outside while contributing zero practical benefits to the household.

The more Li Yanlan pondered this, the more incensed she became, until even the sight of Lan Qin standing before her stirred irritation within her breast.

"Did this mistress not command you to hurry out and pawn another piece of the dowry left behind by Princess Changla? Are you deaf? Why are you still planted here like a wooden post? Can my orders no longer move you?"

Already plagued by internal agitation, the sight of Lan Qin lingering in place without moving only fueled her wrath, sharpening the edge of her reprimand.

Lan Qin stood her ground, hesitating for a long moment before finally speaking: "Mistress, it is not that this servant is unwilling to execute your orders promptly. It is just that there is very little left of the dowry Princess Changla left behind. The piece pawned off a few days ago was the very last small trinket. Whatever remains in the storehouse now consists mostly of substantial, high-value treasures. To take those out for pawning would inevitably draw suspicion. Furthermore, those are imperial manufactory items bearing the official seals of the Inner Directorate; to pawn them off so recklessly is bound to invite disaster."

Upon hearing Lan Qin's words, Li Yanlan paused slightly, a flicker of hesitation crossing her features as she struggled to determine her next course of action.

Yet if she did not pawn them, how were they to cover the household expenses when the time came? If she did proceed, those large items would be easily recognized, and should the palace dispatch investigators to demand accountability, how could she possibly explain herself? Was she to confess that the Marquis of Yongning's Manor was so destitute it had to hock the first wife's dowry merely to survive from day to day?

Leave aside Wen Chongqing; even she would lose all face if she heard such gossip circulating through the capital. How could Wen Chongqing maintain his footing in official circles then?

After turning the matter over in her mind, Li Yanlan gritted her teeth and hardened her resolve. "Just go and do it. I will explain the matter to the Marquis later and have him think of alternative solutions. But if we do not raise funds through pawning right now, we truly will not have enough to keep the hearth burning. What else is there to be done? No matter—even if I tell the Marquis, he may not have any better ideas. Go ahead and execute the task first, and I shall ponder a remedy later."

Since Li Yanlan had spoken thus, Lan Qin had no further recourse; ultimately, the blame would fall upon her mistress's shoulders anyway.

Though Lan Qin had served Li Yanlan loyally for years, she had originally been purchased by Wen Chongqing midway through their affairs, back when Li Yanlan was still kept hidden as his external mistress in a small courtyard. Because Li Yanlan was the daughter of a convicted criminal who had faked her death to escape the Ministry of Rites' music bureaus, her identity was intensely sensitive. Any exposure would inevitably spawn complications.

Thus, Wen Chongqing had only dared to purchase a single maidservant for Li Yanlan, unable to hire additional staff lest word of her existence leak out and deliver a devastating blow to his career.

He had indeed concealed the secret masterfully over the years. Before taking Li Yanlan as his second wife, he had even sent her away to the countryside for a period, returning later to inform the Emperor that he had married a simple rural woman solely to assist with managing domestic affairs.

Countryfolk were known for their unpretentious simplicity and would hardly inflict harm upon children, so the Emperor had raised no objections and granted his consent.

A mere woman of rural origins could never eclipse his most cherished younger sister, Changla; the Emperor had seen no reason to be difficult with Wen Chongqing over such a trifle, as he was no tyrant prone to micromanaging his ministers' marital affairs.

Later on, Xiao Zheng had indeed dispatched agents to discreetly investigate Li Yanlan's background, though perhaps his subordinates had grown lax, failing to uncover any anomalies. Over the years, Wen Chongqing had continually reinforced the narrative surrounding Li Yanlan's origins. When the Emperor eventually recalled the suspicious circumstances of Changla's death and ordered a fresh investigation, nothing tangible could be unearthed, leaving them with no choice but to merely keep a watchful eye on Li Yanlan to see if she made any further moves.

Yet, as no useful intelligence had materialized over the years, the Emperor himself had gradually begun to wonder if he had been overly suspicious in targeting such an ordinary rustic matron.

Meanwhile, Li Yanlan hurried off to find Wen Chongqing. The Marquis was still seated in his study, brooding over the Emperor's chilly demeanor earlier that day, when hurried footsteps outside announced the arrival of Li Yanlan.

Assuming she was merely throwing another unreasonable tantrum to vie for his favor, a profound wave of weariness and annoyance washed over him.

He had originally intended to nurse his foul mood by spending the night in the quarters of his newly acquired concubine, but now that Li Yanlan had appeared, he remembered their childhood bond and felt he could not deny her a modicum of face.