Chapter Ten

There was no wind or rain all night, and the next day dawned clear. When Mingtan got up and was having her morning meal, she heard that the marquis and his wife had gone out early together, apparently heading toward the Duke of Ling’s residence.

She curved her lips into a smile, in a very good mood, and even had an extra half bowl of porridge.

Yesterday the Marquis of Jing’an and his wife had gone to the Duke of Chang’s residence to discuss the breaking of the betrothal. Ming Tingyuan and Bai Jingyuan, both hot‑tempered men, had clashed, and the more they talked, the angrier they became.

The argument nearly escalated into bloodshed; the two of them were on the verge of storming the Ling Guogong residence, trampling Liang Zixuan into the ground and forcing him to die to atone.

Fortunately, the two ladies intervened with earnest pleas and coaxing. After negotiations between the families, they ultimately decided to first offer formal rites and only resort to force if necessary — a “ceremony before conflict” approach to withdraw from the engagement.

After all, Ming Tan is a girl; if the matter blew up, she would suffer both loss and humiliation, which could harm any future marriage prospects.

Of course, if the Ling Guogong household feigned ignorance and stubbornly clung to the match, they shouldn’t be surprised when the other side exposed every disgrace publicly — one incident after another — and then how could they possibly deny it?

But it was only upon arriving at the Lingduke’s residence that they realized—they really dared to deny it!

Madam Li of the Lingduke sat at the head. Though she had been caught off guard by the Marquis Jing’an and his wife coming early to break the betrothal, she soon composed herself and put on an air of complete ignorance, exclaiming, “What are you two talking about? What do you mean my son Xuan didn’t welcome his proper wife into the house, and instead got tangled up with his own cousin, even fathering an illegitimate child? Such things must not be said lightly.”

Ming Tingyuan slammed the table in anger and shouted, “Don’t play dumb! You’re only trying to cover things up, even staging a drowning rescue! It’s utterly shameless!”

They even knew about this matter.

Lady Li’s palms were sweating, but her face still bore a smile: “What is the Marquis saying now? I don’t quite understand. The one who fell into the water was my Zixuan, wasn’t he?”

Madam Pei hurriedly soothed Ming Tingyuan, keeping him from flying into a rage.

Lady Li was not wrong: the one who fell into the water during the Lantern Festival was Liang Zixuan, and it could only have been Liang Zixuan. What they knew of the plot behind it could be left unspoken; it must never be aired openly, lest Ming Tan’s reputation be harmed.

Having calmed Ming Tingyuan, Madam Pei turned to Lady Li, looked her in the face and said calmly: “Madam Li, let’s not beat around the bush. There’s no need for any more detours. The Marquis and I came today to break the engagement, and we have already ascertained the whole course of events.”

“A forced melon isn’t sweet. Your Liang family has so dishonored the legitimate daughter of the Ming house. If you withdraw from this match properly, marry elsewhere suitably, our two families can go their own ways—no more interfering in each other’s affairs, and it won’t come to life-or-death. If you refuse…”

She left the threat hanging, not saying more.

Mrs. Li heard this and knew things were bad; the smile at her lips stiffened. But she had prepared for the worst and was not without countermeasures.

Steadying herself, she forced a smile and said, “What nonsense is that? I think you two must have some misunderstanding about my Duke Guo’s household. Earlier my maternal cousin’s daughter stayed in the residence for a time—her parents had both passed away and came to seek kinship. I took pity on her and let her lodge here for a while. Besides, your family also had a distant cousin girl living with you, didn’t you? Which household doesn’t have a few relatives?”

Madam Li continued, “My niece has been wanting me to find a good match for her, but she’s fond of quiet life and doesn’t care for the bustle of the capital. So I arranged a fine match for her back home; she’s happily packed her things and returned. I imagine over the past couple of days her husband’s family has been preparing the wedding. Before she left she even said that although the capital is nice, she can’t get used to living here and probably won’t be able to visit me again.”

Changing tone, Madam Li glanced at the rather inconspicuous Duke Ling and softened her voice considerably: “As for the match with your household, Your Grace and I have always placed great importance on it. His Grace has been eagerly hoping that the Marquis would return to the capital soon so we could put this marriage on the agenda.”

“Come to think of it, since our family’s great ancestor entered the court, our title has been inherited without interruption, but no family’s road has been entirely smooth. Take the Cheng’en Marquis’s household for example: all seemed well, and then suddenly trouble struck. His Grace has long thought that if our two households were joined in marriage, we could look out for each other afterward and not be so easily manipulated by others.”

“Of course, if we’ve done anything to offend you, we hope the Marquis and Madam will be forgiving. As long as the marriage for Zixuan goes smoothly, everything else can be negotiated.”

The duke is incompetent in office, dull in temperament, and household matters are all left to Lady Li to decide. When Lady Li said this, he nodded along: “Exactly so, exactly so.”

Madam Pei, who had a response ready, suddenly fell silent.

They were all clever people; by the time Lady Li had spoken this far, she too understood. The words had three meanings:

First, the man has already been sent away with a distant marriage and will never return to the capital; the scandal can never be exposed, so your Hou residence need not worry.

Secondly, the Marquis of Ling’s household should proceed with the marriage as planned. Right now, with the Cheng’en Marquisate in trouble, it’s clear the Emperor is reluctant to strike them down—hard to say if this is a prelude to a purge. If we form a marital alliance, kinship links will bind us and make it much harder for others to manipulate or control the situation.

Thirdly, as long as you don’t call off the engagement, we can negotiate any demands you make.

This matter already touches on court politics and what concessions the Ling Marquisate might make to smooth over this marriage, so Madam Pei is neither fit nor able to decide on Ming Tingyuan’s behalf.

She had grown up within a grand, secluded household and knew all too well that in many cases familial sentiment and obligations came long after practical interests. Even if the man a daughter married was far from ideal—or not even fully honorable—there were still noble families willing to offer their daughters in exchange for the necessities they desired.

Looking at Ming Tingyuan again, his expression was unreadable.

He did not speak, and the hall fell silent for a moment.

Just as Madam Li was about to show more earnestness, two maids hurried in from outside, flustered and pale; in their haste they performed their curtseys half-heartedly.

Madam Li was about to scold them when one maid, panting, said, “Madam, outside the residence, outside the residence…”

“Aunt, cousin! What on earth did Zhu’er do wrong that you treat me like this? I carried Ming’s child for ten months and gave birth to him. It was clearly agreed that when a Miss Ming married into the house, I would be taken as a concubine and Ming’s son entered the family register…”

Before the maid finished speaking, the faint sound of a woman’s piercing wails drifted from outside.

“…It would be one thing to send me away, but why must you marry me off as an extra wife to the estate steward? Why do you do this to me! Cousin, aunt!”

At the sound, Madam Li’s face instantly darkened with fury.

Weren’t they all sent away? How did she come back again!

Ming Tingyuan’s face darkened so much it could drip; without thinking he slapped the table and thundered, “Such contemptible character and you still dare covet my Miss Ming — a whole family of fools and poisonous women! Whether you break off this engagement or not, it’s broken off!”

After saying that, he hurled the betrothal token to the floor and rose in anger.

Since that woman had made a scene outside the residence, there was no chance of the Duke’s household making any further concessions; this match could not possibly continue, and there was no need to quietly withdraw from it. With that in mind, Madam Pei also hastily stood up.

Outside the residence, Zhu’er held the child, weeping loudly. A crowd gathered, all critiquing and gossiping about the Lord of the Lingguo Duke’s household, pointing fingers and whispering.

Madam Pei and Ming Tingyuan didn’t look back; they boarded the carriage and left in high spirits.

Only when they arrived back at the mansion and disembarked did Madam Pei quietly ask, unable to help herself: “Marquis, if that woman hadn’t caused a scene, would you have…”

Ming Tingyuan understood what she meant. He frowned, surprised, and said, “What nonsense are you imagining? Mingtan is my daughter. Although I, Ming Tingyuan, may not be a saint, I wouldn’t sell my daughter for personal gain! Besides, whatever the Lingguo Duke’s household could offer is nothing worth my coveting!”

Earlier he had kept silent because he hadn’t yet fashioned the words to insult her with! The madam would look at him like that! He snorted and swept his sleeve as he strode forward.

Lady Pei stood behind, staring at his retreating figure, frozen for a moment—

In fact, the one who returned to the Jing’an Marquisate before Lady Pei and Ming Ting was the little maid sent by Ming Tan to gather intelligence.

The little maid recounted, in detail, what had happened in front of the Duke of Lingguo’s residence to Ming Tan.

Mingtan listened, dazed, the bird’s nest congee by her hand instantly tasteless: “You mean the Lady of the Duke ordered that woman to marry the steward of the estate as a concubine, and the woman ran away, cradled her child and cried out in front of the Duke’s mansion?”

“Yes, miss. This matter… has already caused a commotion…”

Ming Tan: “…”

She wanted to call off the engagement, but even more she hoped the elders of both families would sit down and find a respectable excuse to quietly annul it. That way, the damage to her reputation would be minimized. Once the fuss died down, she’d think of ways to deal with the Duke’s household.

Earlier, fearing her father would be unwilling to make enemies of the Duke’s family on her account, she had deliberately staged that play, driving her father’s anger toward the Duke’s household to its peak so he would take the initiative to withdraw the betrothal.

Besides, she knew the Pei family—given their usual thoroughness, they wouldn’t allow her father to act rashly, and they would very likely consult her maternal uncle and aunt as well. As long as even some of them truly had her best interests at heart, the council’s decision would certainly go the way she wished.

Things indeed began to unfold as she had imagined, but she did not expect the Duchess of Guo to be so vicious toward her own niece that she would force her to flee, heedless of everything, and make a public scandal!

Now all of Jingdu knew about this disgrace—how could Ming Tan’s reputation remain intact?

Ming Tan was reeling from the blow of the news, and at that moment, Lady Pei happened to come by to see her.

Mrs. Pei saw her complexion had turned poor and, understanding, walked in while asking, “Have you already learned about the matter with the Duke of Ling’s residence, A-Tan?”

She sent the maids away, then sat down and said softly, “Although this was unexpected, if you wanted to break the engagement, you could say your wish has been granted.”

Mingtan was startled for a moment. “You already knew.”

“The letter from the Bai household arrived early yesterday morning; it couldn’t have waited until after lunch for you to be told.”

After all, the Jing’an Marquis’ residence is run by the Pei family; no stir could escape her notice. Besides, Ming Dan was a daughter raised by her—she knew well that Ming Dan was by no means someone who would simply cry and wail when trouble came.

Ming Dan lowered her eyes and was silent for a long moment. “Mother, it was my fault. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know how to begin, and besides, this marriage was arranged by my birth mother…”

“No need for more words. Mother understands everything.”

How could she not understand? In a great and noble household, a young woman’s fate in marriage is never her own. She had no certainty about her biological father—how could she place her hopes on herself?

She had wanted to speak candidly with Ming Tan about her father, to deepen their father-daughter understanding. But her father had only just returned to the capital; no matter how much she said, her own experience would feel more real. Besides, with the marriage made such an embarrassment, she couldn’t bring herself to think of anything else for the time being.

“Enough, let’s not talk about these things anymore.” Madam Pei took her hand and smoothed her hair. “Your mother knows you’ve been wronged. Now that it’s been torn apart, it isn’t entirely bad. If he had quietly backed out under some respectable pretense, you’d always feel upset inside, and that wouldn’t be good.”

Ming Tan: “…”

It felt as if she had been consoled, even if only a little—

Whatever the case, at least this marriage was finally off.

In just a single day, the scandal of the Duke Ling’s household had spread throughout the capital. When people mentioned Miss Ming of the Ming family, some spoke with sympathy, while others couldn’t hide a certain gloating in their pity.

Ming Tan didn’t hear any of those rumors, because she hadn’t left the courtyard at all. Since Madam Pei had left, she sat at the table directing the maids as they packed.

She didn’t want to sever her hair as a declaration because of a scumbag like Liang Zexuan, nor did she want to hang herself and waste her life, so she and Madam Pei agreed on a pretext: they would go to a Buddhist temple to pray for blessings and, for the time being, avoid the public eye. That way she could appear innocent and blameless.

“The spring chill hasn’t passed yet. Take that silver-fox embroidered cloak with you; if it’s cold at night you can wrap it around.”

“This one won’t do; it’s fabric that was in fashion two years ago…”

“This is supposed to be a new dress? Why do the pattern and colors look so familiar. Oh well, it won’t match the embroidered shoes we’re taking, so set it aside.”

Lü E packed with great energy. Su Xin couldn’t help but remind her, “Miss, we’re going to the temple to pray. Dressed like this, won’t it be a bit ostentatious?”

“Would it?” Ming Tan glanced at the trunks they had packed and said uncertainly, “I deliberately picked some plain-colored clothes. If it’s too showy, then we’ll tone it down.”

At night, in the study on the south side of the Prince of Dingbei’s residence, the covert guards were whispering reports:

“…A few families only tangentially linked to the Cheng’en Marquis’ household are all looking for ways to distance themselves, trying to find routes to extricate themselves, just as Your Highness predicted earlier.

“Also, after the matter at the Duke Linguo’s residence came to light today, the Empress Dowager—again as Your Highness anticipated—summoned people into the palace before the gates were locked. As for the Jing’an Marquis’ household, they’ve prepared five carriages to send that Fourth Miss out of the residence to offer prayers and lie low for a while.”

Hearing this, Jiang Xu, who had been staring down without lifting his eyes, suddenly put down the military manuscript in his hands: “Five carriages? What’s in them?”

The dark guard hesitated, and belatedly realized that by speaking so specifically he might have led the prince to misunderstand. He lowered his head in shame and said, “It’s nothing—just the fourth miss’s clothes and utensils.”

Earlier he had also thought the Jing’an Marquis’s residence was trying to ship something under cover, and had even snuck into the stables to snoop around, only to find women’s garments, shoes and socks, hairpins and ornaments, as well as gauze canopies, incense burners, and a complete tea set.

Jiang Xu: “…”

Thought he was going to a selection-of-brides, did he.

I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean.