Chapter 50: Pledging

Wen Congqing stood up from the stool, watched Li Yanlan walking into the study, and suppressing the impatience rising in his heart, asked her, "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you I just returned from the palace and have matters to ponder? Have those silver coins that I asked you to give to the commoners as compensation been fully distributed? How on earth do you still have the leisure to wander around here? Do you realize how utterly ruined the reputation of the Marquis of Yongning's Manor will become among the people if this matter is handled poorly? By then, forget about elevating the status of the Marquis's Manor; even if we just step outside, every single commoner will spit on us, and if they don't hurl rotten eggs at us, it will only be because they are showing us mercy!"

Li Yanlan felt a chill in her heart as she listened to Wen Congqing's unhesitating reproaches. She only felt that she had entrusted herself to the wrong person all these years. Back then, even if she had been an official courtesan, had she managed to attach herself to a member of the imperial clan, she could have at least secured a position as a concubine. And even as a concubine, her life would have been far better than being the mistress of a manor holding no real power like the Marquis of Yongning's.

Yet all these years, she had wholeheartedly managed the household of the Marquis's Manor for Wen Congqing's sake, only to be met with this attitude from him in the end. How could she not feel distressed in her heart?

"This concubine did not come to disturb the Marquis's affairs without cause, but the matter is urgent, and this concubine had no choice but to come and inform the Marquis at once. For the past two years, this concubine has relied entirely on the dowry left behind by Princess Changle back then to maintain the daily living expenses of the manor. However, the Marquis startled the horses on the street earlier today, damaging quite a a few merchants' stalls, and soon we must pay compensation to those commoners. This single expense will cost the manor hundreds of taels of silver. At present, the silver remaining in the account books is only around three hundred taels. If we deduct this hundred taels, plus the expenses for the second half of the month, I am afraid we won't even be able to pay the monthly wages of the servants in the manor. Originally, this concubine thought of pawning another piece of Princess Changle's dowry, but over the years, Princess Changle's dowry has already been pawned away to a near-exhausted state, and what remains are mostly rather heavy and precious large items. If we take them out to be pawned, they will inevitably be discovered. The official seal of the Imperial Household Department is still stamped right upon them. If someone were to see it and the matter reached the Emperor's ears, what on earth shall we do?"

Because Li Yanlan was filled with sorrow, there was no longer any trace of anxiety on her face.

Since Wen Congqing had already spoken to her in such a manner, it was abundantly clear that he held no regard for her. Even if the crime of privately pawning royal property were to fall upon them in the end, and she had to shoulder a part of it, Wen Congqing could not possibly escape his share of responsibility.

That being the case, what was she still worrying about? She could simply consider it as fulfilling their bond as husband and wife over all these years.

Yet, after all this time, their affection was an undeniable fact here. Even though Li Yanlan's heart ached at this moment, she knew that successfully navigating this immediate crisis was the best possible outcome. If they could not get past it, she would ultimately have no choice but to pawn the remainder of Princess Changle's dowry; otherwise, they would simply have no way to explain themselves to outsiders, nor to the servants within the manor.

Those servants had sold themselves into servitude to the Marquis's Manor back then precisely because they saw that the manor was, by any measure, a family of military merit with some foundation of wealth; they had all come to earn a living. If the manor failed to pay their wages, goodness knows how horribly people outside would gossip.

Not only did Wen Congqing cherish his reputation, but ever since Li Yanlan became the mistress of the Marquis of Yongning's Manor, she too had grown as protective of her reputation as Wen Congqing. How could she possibly allow such a situation to occur?

"You say you want to pawn Changle's dowry? Who told you to do such a thing! Those are all items bestowed by the Emperor himself. If this is discovered, it is a capital crime punishable by decapitation! How could you dare to do such a thing? No, how many pieces have been pawned away in total over these years? How much is left in the storeroom right now? Let me tell you, even though Changle is already dead, theoretically these belongings are still meant to be handed over to that girl Wen Qiao. If you make such an arbitrary decision to pawn all these things away, how will we answer to the Emperor when Wen Qiao gets married and we cannot produce these items? You are not unaware of how much favor Wen Qiao currently holds in front of the Emperor and the Dowager Empress. If this matter becomes known to those noble personages in the palace, where will we place the face of the Marquis of Yongning's Manor? By then, it won't even be a matter of saving face—we will be put on trial for our crimes! My good woman, can you not think things through carefully before acting? Even if you had come to consult with me in the beginning, it wouldn't have resulted in such a colossal mess as this!"

Who could have anticipated that after hearing this, Wen Congqing offered no solution to Li Yanlan, but instead immediately blamed her for arbitrarily going to pawn Changle's dowry?

Li Yanlan let out a cold laugh. The man who had once kept her housed outside the manor and sworn grand vows of eternal love to her seemed to have died. Now that she had served as the mistress of the Marquis of Yongning's Manor for all these years, all she saw was this man's callous and thin-skinned nature; she could no longer detect even the slightest trace of the affection he once held for her.

At this thought, the tone of Li Yanlan's voice grew sharp and biting.

"An arbitrary decision by me? If not for my arbitrary decisions, this Marquis of Yongning's Manor would have collapsed countless years ago! How could it possibly have maintained its present glorious facade? Since the Marquis puts it this way, why don't you come up with a solution and tell us how this matter should be resolved. For all these years, I have managed the household finances of the manor. Every single expense and every account book has been kept right in my room, recorded with absolute clarity, and every coin has been spent out in the open where anyone can see. If the Marquis has anything to say, why not go through the account books yourself? Even the private silver that the Marquis sent to me monthly back when you kept me outside the manor—I never spent a single coin of it carelessly. What expenses were not needed when living outside the manor back then? Because my heart ached for the Marquis having to face Princess Changle inside the manor, I never once took the initiative to ask the Marquis for even half a tael of silver; it was all given to me by the Marquis of your own accord. After I returned to the manor, every single one of those silver coins was brought back along with me. Over the years, I have wished I could split a single tael of silver into two to spend it, and even those funds were used to subsidize the manor's expenses. Throughout all these years, I have harbored not a shred of selfishness, devoting my heart and soul to the interests of the Marquis's Manor. Yet in the end, the Marquis actually turns around and resents me for privately pawning the dowry that Changle left behind. I ask the Marquis, if not for Changle's dowry, and if not for my arbitrary decisions, how could the Marquis's Manor have established itself in the capital? In these days, where does the money for the Marquis to go out drinking come from? Where do the expenses for the manor spring from? Relying solely on a woman like me, how great is my ability to sustain the expenditures of the entire household? Let the Marquis think carefully: of everything I have said today, which sentence is not entirely reasonable? If, after I have spoken thus, the Marquis still has objections, then I truly have no other way."

With that, Li Yanlan let out a cold scoff and walked out of the study. She still needed to hurry back and stop Lan Qin from pawning the precious items within Changle's dowry.

Since Wen Congqing had spoken so sternly just now, she too had awakened to the gravity of the situation.

If the Emperor were truly to discover this, it was feared that none of them would escape culpability. Moreover, since Wen Congqing had all these years remained supposedly ignorant of Changle's dowry being pawned, when the time came to assign blame, the burden would likely fall entirely upon her shoulders alone. What on earth was she to do?

At this thought, Li Yanlan quickened her pace. Fortunately, upon returning to her courtyard, she saw that Lan Qin was still directing several servants to carry things outside.

The items had not yet left the manor and could still be intercepted.

Li Yanlan breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly stepped forward to stop them.

"Carry these things back inside; there is no need to pawn them. The Marquis said he will find a way to deal with the matter of the silver. Lan Qin, come back with me. We no longer need to worry about the finances of this Marquis's Manor."

When all was said and done, Lan Qin was also someone who had been bought into service years ago, not a hereditary bondsmaid born and raised in the manor. Naturally, she harbored no notion of sharing honor and disgrace alongside the Marquis's Manor. Even though she had spent these years getting along with Li Yanlan and shared a certain fondness with her, it could not outweigh her desire to preserve her own safety.

After all, she still had family living outside the manor, and the silver she had earned over the years had all been sent back to support them.

The only reason she had been so enthusiastic about pawning Changle's dowry was simply to ensure she could smoothly receive the following month's wages.

If Wen Congqing claimed he had a solution, she naturally would not remain so eager.

Lan Qin instructed the footmen to stop and move the goods back inside, then briskly followed Li Yanlan back into the room.

"Madam, did the Marquis truly say that he will find a way to handle all the manor's expenses? If this matter is not handled well, I'm afraid the servants within the manor will have a great deal to say."

"Whether there is a way or not is entirely the Marquis's own affair; it has nothing to do with me. I once believed that after all these years of affection, the Marquis would at the very least show some consideration, but I never expected that those grand vows of eternal love from the past would now drift away like smoke. Times have changed, and the person of yesteryear has long since turned his heart elsewhere. Since the Marquis no longer treats me as he once did, why should I continue to painstakingly manage this vast Marquis's Manor for him as I did before? Lan Qin, you are an old hand who has stayed by my side. Over all these years, you have witnessed with your own eyes how much energy I have poured into the Marquis's Manor. Yet today, for the Marquis to treat me thus, my heart has truly turned cold. Enough, saying too much has no meaning; let us simply wait and see how the Marquis handles this matter. If it can be resolved, I can finally ease my mind and stop constantly fretting over this ordeal. Ah, but if there truly proves to be no other way when the time comes, we will still have to go pawn the Princess's dowry. Even though speaking of such a thing is unseemly, it is still far better than letting the people in the manor instantly discover that we have run out of provisions. It is just that I still harbor some worries regarding the Emperor's side. If the Emperor were to learn of this, it is inevitable that the Marquis's Manor will suffer yet another upheaval."

Hearing from Li Yanlan's words that the monthly wages would still be distributed, Lan Qin ceased to fret so anxiously. Listening to Li Yanlan's musings, she did not take them too deeply to heart.

After all, she was merely a servant; there was only so much interference she could manage regarding her masters' affairs.

As long as her money continued to be paid out to her, she cared little for the rest.

"What words are these, Madam? In his heart, the Marquis surely still holds a place for you; it is simply that the Marquis has been exceedingly busy lately, which Madam has seen with her own eyes. Back then, if not for the Marquis, Madam, you would still be suffering. How can you say the Marquis holds no place for you in his heart? Even as the years grow long, the affection between the Marquis and Madam ought only to have grown deeper. Besides, I can see that the Marquis still cares for Madam."

Hearing her speak thus, Li Yanlan only offered a bitter, self-deprecating smile and shook her head, saying nothing further.

Princess Changle's dowry still rested undisturbed within the storeroom. She did not send anyone to touch it again, yet strictly following Wen Congqing's instructions, she still drew out a little over one hundred and twenty taels of silver from the storeroom to compensate those merchants.

Just as Wen Congqing had anticipated, even though those merchants harbored some lingering grievances in their hearts, Wen Congqing's gesture had bought up their entire stockpiled inventory in one stroke, which practically meant they no longer needed to toil away shouting out sales on the streets.

For a time, Wen Congqing's reputation among the common folk improved quite noticeably.

Before one knew it, the next day arrived.

Wen Qiao had not yet mentioned the matter of interpreting the diagnosis for Xiao Jingheng to the Dowager Empress; perhaps the Dowager Empress was entirely unaware that Xiao Jingheng had been poisoned, merely assuming that Xiao Jingheng had suffered from prolonged malnutrition over the years, which explained why he had grown up so frail and thin.

Presently, Wen Qiao had not yet spoken to the Emperor concerning Xiao Jingheng either. If she were to bring this up with the Dowager Empress as well, the Empress Dowager would inevitably find herself caught in the middle, trapped in a difficult dilemma.

On one side were Wen Qiao and her own flesh-and-blood grandson, while on the other side was her very own son the Emperor. No matter how one looked at it, it was a deeply tangled knot. Wen Qiao simply decided not to speak of it to the Dowager Empress, sparing her unnecessary headaches.

The Empress Dowager had only recently recovered from a severe illness and was hardly suited to expend further mental energy on such minor troubles. Whatever Wen Qiao could resolve on her own, there was no need to burden the Dowager Empress with it, lest she be made to worry to no purpose.

"Third Imperial Cousin, please remove your outer robe first. I am preparing to administer the acupuncture for you, Third Imperial Cousin."

Upon arriving at the Imperial Princes' Quarters, Wen Qiao carried her medicine box and spoke in a gentle voice.

On this trip out, she had brought only the maid Huaping with her and had left Daiqiao behind. Because Huaping was generally more composed, once certain matters were explained to her, she would keep them clearly in mind and never let slip a word.

Daiqiao, on the other hand, was not necessarily the same. Perhaps because she was slightly younger and had never suffered any hardship within the palace all these years—having served exclusively by the Dowager Empress's side and interacted primarily with the palace attendants serving the Dowager—she naturally lacked such worldly shrewdness.

Whether Huaping's composure was innate or the result of family misfortunes, Wen Qiao could not be certain.

At the time, Wen Qiao had merely casually investigated their backgrounds without probing deeply into the tragedies that had occurred behind their family doors. Huaping's native family had been far from happy, which likely explained why, at such a tender age, she had already learned to look past the bitter hardships of the mortal world.

Xiao Jingheng nodded, sat up on the bed, and removed his outer garment.

Nanny Zhao watched from the side. Although she felt somewhat uneasy in her heart about the propriety of the act, it was ultimately for the sake of curing Xiao Jingheng's poison, so she refrained from saying much more, fearing only that if word of such matters leaked out, it might cast a shadow over Wen Qiao's reputation.

It was not that Nanny Zhao was overly cautious for her own sake, but rather that she feared that if malicious gossip were to spread about a fine young maiden like Wen Qiao, she might not be able to bear the emotional toll.

However, there were only four of them present in this room, so presumably no one would spread tales outside.

After a moment of silent reflection, Nanny Zhao kept her words to herself. She stepped forward to assist Wen Qiao by sorting out the retrieved items alongside Huaping, then retreated to stand quietly to the side, making no further movements.