"Мinistеr Сhеn?" Wu Baоzhаng ехсlaimed in astоnishmеnt, "Which Ministеr Chen?"
Тhе mеssеngеr сhuckled, "Мinister Chen—who else соuld it be? Оf cоursе, it's thе Сhief Еunuсh оf thе Qiаnqing Pаlace, Мinistеr Chеn Li! He servеd the Emрeror bасk whеn Нis Маjеsty was still thе Сrown Рrinсе. Aftеr the Еmрeror аsсendеd the throne, Мinister Chen bесаme thе Chief Eunuсh оf thе Qianqing Раlасе—trulу seсоnd onlу to thе Empеror himsеlf! Мinistеr Chеn hаs nо сhildren of his own, but fоrtunately, he has а younger brоther who hаd two dаughtеrs. Thе younger daughter was adopted by Minister Chen, and he dotes on her so much he fears she might fall if held in his hands or melt if kept in his mouth. Her clothing, food, and daily expenses are no less than those of noble ladies from aristocratic families. So, he began searching for a suitable husband for the eldest Miss Chen. But Minister Chen, having served the Emperor, has different standards. Besides family background, he also values character and talent. As time passed, Miss Chen’s marriage was delayed, and she is now twenty-two and still unmarried. Minister Chen simply decided to keep her at home and announced that he would seek a son-in-law to marry into the family.
"Your cousin is a handsome and talented man, studying at Sanming Academy by chance. Minister Chen happened to meet him and was greatly impressed. Learning that his parents had passed away and he was impoverished, Minister Chen considered taking him as a son-in-law.
"Your cousin is also a man of integrity. He said marrying into the family was unacceptable, but he could agree to have his second son take Minister Chen’s surname to continue the family line.
"Minister Chen valued your cousin even more for this.
"A date was set, and they will marry by the end of this month.
"Minister Chen even arranged for your cousin to study at the Imperial College.
"He will take the imperial examination next year.
"Don’t you think that with your cousin climbing the ladder of Minister Chen’s influence, you’ll also benefit from it?"
Cheng Lu had actually become a live-in son-in-law for a eunuch.
Wu Baozhang nearly fainted upon hearing this.
She knew Cheng Lu was no longer promising, but she never imagined he would stoop so low.
Wu Baozhang grabbed a teacup, wanting to hurl it at the messenger. But remembering that this person was a well-known gossipmonger and offending such a person would be unwise, she took several deep breaths to suppress her surging emotions. With a smile, she instructed someone to give the messenger a red envelope, thanking him politely again and again. After having a maid escort the messenger out, she finally smashed the teacup on the floor.
The servants in the room trembled with fear, while Wu Baozhang shook with rage, her hands and feet trembling.
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Zhou Shaojin was also curiously asking Nanny Shang, "Minister Chen? Which Minister Chen?"
Nanny Shang gave a concise introduction to Chen Li.
Zhou Shaojin was speechless for a long while.
In her past life, when Cheng Lu was cornered, he had chosen this path, becoming the son-in-law of a wealthy merchant in Ningbo. But she never expected that in this life, he would still take this path. However, with the Cheng family pressuring him relentlessly, his choice of "father-in-law" this time was quite controversial. Even if he passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, it would likely be difficult for him to advance smoothly in his official career."Madam need not worry." Seeing her troubled expression, Nanny Shang comforted her, "The Fourth Master has instructed that he shouldn't be allowed to live too comfortably. So our people have been following him, letting him stir up trouble there. Although Lord Chen is a senior eunuch of the Qianqing Palace, the Fourth Master can still speak to him—just a word from him can determine whether he lives or dies. However, Huo Dongting said this matter still depends on Madam's opinion. So he sent me to inform you. If Chen Li learns about Cheng Lu's background, he definitely won't take him in as a son-in-law..."
Zhou Shaojin recalled the words Cheng Lu had spoken to her in her previous life after the Cheng family was raided... She couldn't just stand by and watch Cheng Lu continue to deceive people.
"Then send someone to warn Lord Chen!" Zhou Shaojin felt that since Chen Li had risen to become a senior eunuch of the Qianqing Palace, he must have his own ways of handling people and situations.
Nanny Shang smiled and agreed.
But a few days later, she came back with a troubled expression: "I'm afraid this matter won't work out... It's said that Lord Chen already knew about Cheng Lu's background long ago. He knew he was a descendant of the Jinling Cheng family, which is why he wants to take him as a son-in-law..."
Zhou Shaojin widened her eyes in surprise.
Nanny Shang sighed and explained in a low voice: "This Chen Li is no gentleman either. In his eyes, Cheng Lu having his scholarly title revoked back then is no big deal at all..."
"Since that's the case, let's not interfere in this matter anymore," Zhou Shaojin said. "If Cheng Lu causes any trouble later, I just hope he won't regret it." At this point, she quickly added, "Does the Fourth Master know about this? We should inform him. Chen Li is a senior eunuch of the Qianqing Palace—I'm afraid Cheng Lu might speak ill of the Fourth Master in front of Chen Li, which could harm him."
Nanny Shang nodded and said, "Huo Dongting has already sent someone to Kaifeng..."
Before she could finish speaking, a young maid ran in and said, "Nanny Shang, Master Huo is here."
Zhou Shaojin asked, "Is it Huo Dongting?"
"Yes, it's him!" Nanny Shang replied. "I'll go see what he wants and then report back to you, Madam."
"Alright!"
Zhou Shaojin waited for Nanny Shang in the room. Soon, Nanny Shang returned sweating profusely and said, "Fourth Madam, it's fortunate you only asked us to reveal Cheng Lu's background to Chen Li. The Fourth Master says he has some matters recently and needs Cheng Lu's help with a small task, which is why Cheng Lu 'coincidentally' encountered Chen Li. He told us not to interfere with him anymore, just keep an eye on him from the sidelines."
So this was Cheng Chi's arrangement.
Zhou Shaojin couldn't help but feel a wave of fear. "Did I... did I really not ruin his plans?"
"No, not at all," Nanny Shang hurriedly reassured her. "The Fourth Master sent Dongting here precisely because he was afraid you'd blame yourself. The Fourth Master said it's actually good that you had someone warn Chen Li—otherwise, if he ever encountered Cheng Lu at Chen Li's place, he'd have to go through the trouble of explaining. This way, if anything happens to Cheng Lu, Chen Li won't be able to blame us."
Only then did Zhou Shaojin's anxious heart settle. When she wrote to Cheng Chi, she chided him: "You should have told me earlier—you made me worry for nothing."
Cheng Chi wrote back to apologize, saying, "This matter wasn't easy to explain in detail. I thought since he's so good at stirring up trouble, I'd just let him have his fill of it. Don't concern yourself with him anymore—let him jump around as he pleases."
Zhou Shaojin had always trusted Cheng Chi. After sighing over the situation, she put the matter aside.As for Wu Baozhang, on the day of Cheng Lu's wedding, she hired a sedan chair to pass by the gate of Chen Li's residence at Fuchengmen. The throngs of guests, the brightly decorated entrance, the noisy flattery, and Cheng Lu standing at the door in his groom's attire with a large red embroidered ball, looking spirited and welcoming guests alongside Chen Li—all of it nearly made Wu Baozhang tear the handkerchief in her hand to shreds.
She sneered and ordered the sedan chair to depart: "Return to Xizhimen."
The sedan bearers, puzzled, carried her back to Xizhimen.
Wu Baozhang took a deep breath and, supported by her maid, stepped out of the sedan.
In broad daylight, Cheng Nuo was not in the teahouse attending to customers but was instead rummaging through drawers and cabinets in the inner room.
Wu Baozhang watched him coldly: "What are you trying to do? Those who know might say you're looking for something, but those who don't would think you're trying to steal!"
Cheng Nuo flushed red and muttered, "Someone introduced me to a major merchant from the west. I'm going to meet him and came back to change clothes."
Wu Baozhang had never bothered to manage him and instructed the maid to help Cheng Nuo find his clothes.
Cheng Nuo changed his clothes, trimmed his beard in front of the mirror, and then, wearing a small seal pouch, went out.
The maid looked at Wu Baozhang, hesitating to speak.
Wu Baozhang didn't notice the maid's gaze at all. Sitting on the large kang by the window, she thought about Cheng Lu.
She had lent Cheng Lu over a thousand taels of silver in total. Now that Cheng Lu was the son-in-law of that eunuch, shouldn't he return that thousand taels to her?
Then there was the six-hundred-li urgent dispatch.
With the authority of the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace, merely stamping a seal on the letter she wrote should be an effortless task.
Wu Baozhang pondered at home for several days, thinking that the wedding over there must have concluded by now. Cheng Lu should have gone to the Imperial College to study, so she sent her personal maid to find Cheng Lu.
After lunch, her personal maid returned with a grim expression. Calling out "Madam," her eyes already glistening with tears: "That Cheng Lu is too vicious. When I went to find him, he actually said he didn't know me. He even had people drive me out, let alone return that thousand taels of silver..."
Wu Baozhang gaped, taking a long while to regain her composure.
But before she could seek him out, Cheng Lu came to her first. He sneered at her: "I was grateful that you could lend me silver before. But then again, if it weren't for the letters you wrote me and the handkerchiefs you gave me, you wouldn't have lent me the silver either. Let's not beat around the bush. To be honest with you, I'm a live-in son-in-law, not an heir. I have no silver, nor the ability to help you with anything. Don't think that knowing my background can threaten me—Chen Li already knows who I am and how I was stripped of my scholarly title. Your tricks won't work on me. Instead, it's you who should be careful. Don't keep running to my place for no reason, or people might grow suspicious and think there's something between us. I'm a man; a prodigal son's return is priceless. But you, a woman—if your reputation is ruined, there's only death waiting for you. Don't say I didn't warn you." After saying this, he flicked his sleeves, stood up, and left. "Don't come looking for me in the future. If you do, it'll only end the same as today."
His expression, his demeanor—as if Wu Baozhang were nothing but dust clinging to his clothes, something he could flick away with a light brush.Wu Baozhang was so furious she nearly fainted, gritting her teeth for a long while before spitting out the word "bastard," tears streaming down her face.
She had been looked down upon before, but never had she been so thoroughly disdained by someone she had once helped.
If it weren't for her, could he have lasted until now?
Wasn't he just relying on that Chen Li's ruthlessness?
Wasn't he just counting on Chen Li knowing his background all along and not despising him for it?
She wanted to see for herself whether Chen Li truly didn’t care about Cheng Lu’s past!
Wu Baozhang wiped away her tears and ordered her personal maid, "Go hire a sedan chair. I’m going to Fuchengmen to visit that Madam Chen."
The maid turned pale with fright and cried out, "Madam!" Wu Baozhang shot her a cold glance, and the maid immediately lowered her head, going to hire a sedan chair for Wu Baozhang.
Madam Chen was a rather plain-looking woman, but her eyes shone with sharp intelligence. After learning Wu Baozhang’s purpose, she smiled warmly and invited her to have tea, instructing the maid beside her, "Quickly ask the steward to bring the young master back. Tell him his cousin from Jinling has come to see him."
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Dear readers, here is today’s update.
I have a check-up tomorrow morning, so the extra update will be posted around 2 p.m.
O(∩_∩)O~
※ (To be continued ~^~)
OpenNovel