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So many people were heading in the same direction that even the servants of the residence grew curious. Before word had reached the reception hall, Madam Lu and Madam Guo were already struggling to keep their conversation going.
“My son has been gone so long. Could he have lost his way?”
“Madam Lu, rest assured. When I sent someone to lead him there, I had my most capable maid accompanying him. How could he possibly have gotten lost? Perhaps he drank too much at the banquet and is feeling unwell. Shall we go and take a look?”
Madam Guo had long since grown tired of speaking with Madam Lu, but had been unable to find an excuse to leave.
Now that she had this opportunity, she suggested they go outside, hoping the situation might improve. Madam Lu was naturally worried about her son and readily agreed. The two women walked toward the privy.
They chatted and laughed along the way, though each was harboring her own secret thoughts.
Madam Guo could hardly wait to be rid of the mother and son, while Madam Lu felt increasingly uneasy. Her heart was fluttering with anxiety, as though something dreadful were about to happen.
Just as they reached the privy, before either of them had time to speak, an older servant woman came hurrying over. She whispered a few words into Madam Guo’s ear. The smile was still on Madam Guo’s face, but in the next moment, a chilling coldness flashed in her eyes.
“Quickly, go see whether Young Master Lu is still in the privy!”
“Yes, Madam!”
The women servants stood outside the door and called several times, but no one answered. Madam Guo’s heart sank further and further.
Madam Lu, however, had no idea what had happened. Thinking that something might have befallen her son, she immediately grew alert.
“What is going on? Where is my son?”
Madam Guo’s anger surged into her chest, and she promptly turned it on Madam Lu.
“Madam Lu had better hope your son is still in that privy. Otherwise, I’m afraid this will be difficult to explain!”
Madam Lu was utterly bewildered and was about to ask what she meant when the servants sent to investigate suddenly cried out in alarm.
Madam Guo hurried over. The moment she saw her trusted maid lying unconscious on the ground, apparently struck from behind, she knew the report she had just received was true.
She and her daughter understood each other perfectly. Both knew that today’s affair could no longer be settled peacefully.
Thinking of the vast disparity between the Qiao and Lu families, and how their years of scheming had brought them no advantage, Madam Guo cast aside her husband’s warning. She immediately began shouting and fanning the flames.
“Well, well! Our worthy nephew truly wants the best of both worlds. Did you know, Madam Lu? He actually harassed Miss He in the Snow-Bearing Pavilion! That is the He family of Southern State! This time, your Lu family will suffer for it!”
With that, she led her people toward the Snow-Bearing Pavilion.
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As she went, she shouted at the top of her voice, wishing nothing more than to make the affair as spectacular as possible. Since their mistress had acted so boldly, the maids and older servants followed suit.
The perfectly orderly Vice Minister’s residence instantly descended into chaos.
Everyone hurried toward the Snow-Bearing Pavilion. From their words, it sounded as though Young Master Lu was about to violate Miss He. The scene was unbearably awkward.
Madam Lu was scolded without the slightest understanding of why.
Could it be that her son had truly taken a fancy to that young lady from the He family? Or was her son so charming that Miss He had developed feelings for him as well?
For a time, the notion that he might have harassed her did not even enter Madam Lu’s mind. Instead, she began wondering: if a daughter of the He family also wished to marry into their household, then between her and Second Miss Chi, who would be the wife and who the concubine?
What a shameless fantasy. She was positively reveling in it.
Madam Guo was nearer to the Snow-Bearing Pavilion, so she reached the courtyard gate several steps ahead of everyone else. But before she could enter, a jumble of shrill screams suddenly erupted from within.
The color drained from Madam Guo’s face, though her eyes gleamed with excitement. She immediately cried out,
“Miss He, are you all right?”
“Worthy nephew! You must not ruin Miss He’s chastity!”
Chi Guiwan and Madam Qin, the Marchioness, who were a dozen or so steps behind her, were horrified when they heard this. They hurried forward at once.
Chi Guiwan in particular was drenched in sweat, from both the blazing sun and, more importantly, her fear for He Lingyi.
He Lingyi was the only person in the entire residence who had treated her with genuine kindness. If anything happened to her, it would be because she had offended someone while protecting Chi Guiwan. Chi Guiwan absolutely could not allow such a thing to happen.
Lifting her skirts, she ran into the courtyard and saw a large circle of maids and older servants whom Madam Guo had brought with her. Every one of them stood rooted to the spot, their faces deathly pale.
“It’s over. Something must have happened!”
With that, Chi Guiwan desperately shoved her way through the people blocking her path. But the sight before her left her stunned.
Her second younger sister, Chi Guiying, had had her clothes torn to shreds. The older servants and maids who usually followed her were in no better condition, each of them disheveled and bedraggled. Some were weeping and wailing, while others cried that they could not go on living.
Chi Guiying herself sat blankly on the ground, bloodstains visible beneath the hem of her dress.
“Second Daughter! Second Daughter!”
Madam Guo had never imagined that she would come to witness someone else’s misfortune, only to find it had happened to her own daughter. She rushed forward in shock, immediately removing her outer robe and covering the girl with it.
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Tears streamed down her face, her eyes filled with a mother’s anguish.
“Second Daughter, what happened to you? Don’t frighten Mother. Say something!”
But no matter how hard she shook her, Chi Guiying remained unresponsive. She stared blankly into the distance, as though her soul had been hollowed out.
“What… What happened here?”
Behind Chi Guiwan, Madam Qin, the Marchioness, had finally managed to push her way through. She was equally astonished by the sight before her. Having experienced such matters herself, she could tell at a glance that all of them had suffered a calamity.
But who could be so audacious as to commit such an outrage openly within the Vice Minister’s residence?
Her expression immediately turned grave. She pulled Chi Guiwan to her side and instructed Nanny Pang behind her, “Quickly, send someone to summon Vice Minister Chi. Also inform the Marquis and the Second Young Master. Have them bring men to surround this courtyard. The culprit cannot have gone far!”
“Yes, Madam!”
The servants from the Marquis of Hai Bo’s residence were in an entirely different class from those of the Vice Minister’s household. They proceeded in perfect order, carrying out every instruction without omission.
Vice Minister Chi was in Concubine Zhao’s room, preparing to rest, when he heard that something had gone wrong at the Snow-Bearing Pavilion. He was scared nearly out of his wits.
“What? Are the Lu family trying to destroy my entire residence?”
Cursing as he hurriedly dressed, he dashed outside with a murderous expression on his face. If anything had happened to He Lingyi under his roof, how would he answer to the He family of Southern State—and to the Crown Prince?
The more he thought about it, the greater his headache became.
Why had this marriage become such a source of torment?
He hurried away without once noticing that Concubine Zhao, who had already removed her clothes, was pretending to call after him in bewilderment.
Only after he had gone did Concubine Zhao wipe the arrogance from her face and reveal a mocking, derisive smile.
Hmph. At last, the retribution had come.