Liang Chen Mei Jin

Chapter 348: Discovery

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Madam Chen only asked Yingyuan a few questions before sipping her tea and saying calmly, "From now on, the child will stay and be raised by my side. I see that it’s inconvenient for you to serve Second Master while taking care of him."

Yingyuan had been smiling, but her expression faltered at these words. Her eyes shimmered with hesitation, like rippling water.

The child sat in the wet nurse’s arms, still unable to speak, staring blankly at his birth mother.

Madam Qin also spoke up, "It’s inconvenient for you to raise the child. Now that you’ve returned to the Chen Family, focus on serving Second Master properly. Once he returns, you’ll be elevated to the status of a concubine. For now, you’ll stay in the Second Household. The Lotus Pavilion where Concubine Zhao lives still has space for another resident."

Yingyuan’s face paled as she curtsied gracefully to Madam Qin. "Greetings, Second Madam. This humble one is of the Liu family. I haven’t yet had the chance to pay my respects to you."

Her status was too low—had it not been for bearing a son, Madam Chen wouldn’t have even bothered to see her. Naturally, no one had introduced the people present to her.

From the tone of the conversation, she immediately realized this was Second Master’s lawful wife.

When she was outside with Second Master, their love had been deep, and he had doted on her. At times, she had almost forgotten he had such a family far away in Beizhili. Though Madam Qin was older and not particularly beautiful, her dignified and noble bearing was something Yingyuan could never match.

Back then, she had thought that as long as two people loved each other deeply, nothing else mattered. But now that she had arrived at the Chen Family, she realized nothing was as she had imagined. Her child would be raised by others, and until Second Master returned, her position in the Chen Family remained ambiguous. Even if she were elevated to concubine later, what difference would it make? Second Master had more than one concubine—he couldn’t possibly favor her alone.

Madam Qin’s gaze lingered on Yingyuan’s face, making her too afraid to raise her head.

However, Madam Qin didn’t press further and merely acknowledged her with a hum before withdrawing her gaze.

Yingyuan followed the matron out. When the child saw his mother leaving, he burst into loud wails.

The wet nurse, startled by the child’s cries, quickly hushed him, afraid of displeasing Madam Chen. Madam Chen had her take the child into the green gauze cabinet to nurse him. Gradually, the cries subsided, replaced by the sound of the child suckling.

Madam Qin didn’t spare the child another glance.

After Madam Chen retired to rest, Gu Jinzhao left the Bamboo Pavilion. The weather was gradually warming up—though it was only April, the sunlight was already scorching. Xiuqu brought over a paper parasol to shade Jinzhao, smiling as she said, "In another month, the ice you stored during winter can be used. We can make red bean syrup over shaved ice—it’ll be refreshing to eat. Adding some hawthorn would make it even more appetizing..."

Jinzhao, worried that the cold might harm her health, shook her head with a smile. "I wouldn’t dare eat that. But we could make some for Xuanyue—he loves icy treats. He ate most of the frozen pears I stored during winter."

"Ninth Young Master is quite peculiar. In winter, he made a sweet treat with goat’s milk and ice, even sharing it with us servants. It was delicious."

Jinzhao remembered this incident—Chen Xuanyue had boiled half a bucket of goat’s milk down to a small bowl of cheese, then mixed it all into shaved ice.

He had no idea how expensive that goat’s milk was...Gu Jinzhao shook her head. "He's always acting on whims."

Suddenly, someone called out to her from behind—it was Madam Qin's voice.

Gu Jinzhao turned around and indeed saw Madam Qin approaching, surrounded by attendants.

Was she going to ask about the "slim horse"? Gu Jinzhao guessed inwardly, already forcing a smile onto her face. Madam Qin stopped her and pointed to a lakeside pavilion not far away, inviting her to sit together. The two-story pavilion was exquisitely carved and painted. Soon after, Madam Qin dismissed her attendants.

Picking a dried apricot from Gu Jinzhao's compartmented box, Madam Qin asked slowly, "Sister-in-law, this Liu woman is a Yangzhou 'slim horse,' isn't she? How long have you known about this?"

So it was indeed about Liu. Gu Jinzhao had thought Madam Qin would beat around the bush a bit more.

Given their existing rivalry, Madam Qin probably disliked her even more now. Gu Jinzhao didn't hide the truth. "Over three months. Mother asked me to assist them, so I didn't mention it to you, Second Sister-in-law. Besides, it's not exactly something easy to bring up... If you blame me, I won't argue."

But Madam Qin laughed. "Why would I blame you?"

She continued, "If I were to blame anyone, it should be Second Master or myself. I would never blame you. I just wanted to ask—was it Second Master's idea for you to take care of her?" Without waiting for Gu Jinzhao's reply, she shook her head with another laugh. "Never mind, I'm being foolish. Without Second Master's approval, that woman wouldn't even know which way the Chen family's gate opens. Mother has always favored Second Master—it's not like I don't know that..."

Gu Jinzhao sighed. "Second Sister-in-law, don't be too hard on yourself. You've borne three sons, you're the rightful wife, and you have the Qin family's support behind you. Why bother with someone like her?"

Madam Qin was taken aback.

Gu Jinzhao understood women like Madam Qin all too well. No matter how capable or shrewd they were, their husbands were their entire world, capable of swaying their emotions at will.

"Why trouble yourself with concubines and bed-warming maids? Just live your life, Second Sister-in-law. Let flowers bloom and wither as they may—haven't you heard the saying, 'No man is always fortunate, no flower blooms forever'?" Gu Jinzhao smiled. "The only one who will always remain by Second Master's side is you, Second Sister-in-law."

Madam Qin looked up at Gu Jinzhao as if seeing her clearly for the first time.

She knew these principles well, but when it came to her own situation, it was as if her vision had been clouded.

She hadn't expected Gu Jinzhao to be willing to say such things to her.

Gu Jinzhao added, "Just idle words, Second Sister-in-law. Take them as you will."

Madam Qin remained silent. As Gu Jinzhao prepared to leave, she called for Xiuqu to tidy up the compartmented box.

Only when she stood up did she hear Madam Qin murmur softly behind her, "Thank you..."

Gu Jinzhao smiled and shook her head again. "What's there to thank me for? A fool won't understand no matter how much you explain. You already knew the truth, Second Sister-in-law—I just helped you see it clearly. Besides, it's easy for others to talk without bearing the burden themselves. Who knows how they'd react if it were their own situation!"

Madam Qin laughed too. "Sister-in-law, you should be managing the household. Mother should have chosen you instead."

For once, the two of them were unexpectedly amicable.

Gu Jinzhao didn't believe Madam Qin's words and didn't take them seriously, letting the moment pass with a smile.

When she returned to Osmanthus Hall, she saw Luo Yongping waiting to see her, accompanied by his two sons who had come to pay their respects.

Now, Luo Yongping's eldest and second sons were both managers at shops in Xianghe. Both were highly capable.If it wasn't something important, Luo Yongping wouldn't have come to see her. As her chief shopkeeper now, he was constantly busy with work. Realizing this, Gu Jinzhao had Mama Song take Luo Yongping's eldest and second sons to the kitchen for some food first.

After seating Luo Yongping in the flower hall, he immediately produced an account book.

"Madam, this is the ledger for the silk shop that Manager Chen assigned me to manage. I noticed some anomalies and thought to show you. Moreover, the amounts involved are quite substantial..."

He pointed out several entries. "On the fifth day of the third month, the Hangzhou silk shop in Qingping Lane of the capital inexplicably recorded an extra thousand taels, supposedly from selling a batch of Hangzhou silk. But the raw silk inventory didn't increase—where did this extra silk come from? And a thousand taels is truly excessive—even the best-selling Hangzhou silk would only bring in a few hundred taels per month at most."

Gu Jinzhao took the ledger to examine. The accounts were indeed irregular.

But how could this be? Even if someone were cooking the books, no fool would just hand money over like this!

Luo Yongping continued, "It's not just this shop—other places show similar discrepancies. When I asked Manager Chen about it, he said it was on Third Master's orders, that he was supplementing your dowry. This only deepened my confusion. Who supplements someone else's money like this..."

At first, Gu Jinzhao didn't understand, but upon hearing Luo Yongping's words, she felt a chill run through her.

If it was Third Master Chen's doing, then she roughly understood what it meant...

"Summon Cao Ziheng here," Gu Jinzhao told him. "Have him come immediately—there's something urgent I need to ask him!"

Luo Yongping was startled by her reaction and didn't dare delay, promptly sending servants to fetch Cao Ziheng from the shop where he managed accounts.

Cao Ziheng happened to be handling business in Wanping.

Without even changing his clothes, he hurried straight to the Chen Family.

Gu Jinzhao spoke with him at length. She then called for Mama Song and Manager Zhao to inquire about recent arrangements concerning the third branch and the family estate.

Only then could she confirm—Third Master Chen was paving their escape route!

He was transferring funds from his private treasury into her name. Properties suddenly sold off by the third branch had also been transferred to her. The sudden increase in guards at Crane Extension Tower wasn't to protect Third Master Chen—it was to protect her...

She didn't know what other arrangements Chen Yanyun might have made!

Though she knew rationally that Chen Yanyun's actions were likely the best choice, she couldn't help feeling unsettled. If all the guards were protecting her, what about him? With all the money transferred to her, wouldn't he be left with nothing?

He had assured her confidently that their plans were well-prepared and there would be no issues. But with preparations reaching this extent—were they truly without problems?

Gu Jinzhao took a deep breath and instructed Mama Song to wait at the outer courtyard, to inform her the moment Third Master Chen returned.

She waited for him in their room.

Third Master Chen had just returned from meeting with Li Ying when he received the servant's message. Thinking Gu Jinzhao had something urgent to discuss, he went straight to Osmanthus Hall.

Candles lit the room where Gu Jinzhao was reading.

Removing his official headdress, he approached. "What's the matter? You seemed in such haste to see me..."

Concerned something might be wrong, he had hurried back without delay.

Gu Jinzhao didn't know where to begin. Calmly, she asked, "You've transferred all the funds from your private treasury to me?"Chen Yanyun sat down beside her. "Yes, that was money I had from my early days managing the family estate. It's enough for you to use as capital. Since the money originally belonged to the estate, I couldn't give it to you directly, so I falsified the accounts... What, is this what you wanted to ask me about?"

Gu Jinzhao couldn't help but feel her eyes redden as she clutched the sleeve of his court robe. "Chen Yanyun... explain this to me clearly. Are you making arrangements for after your death in case of an accident? You said before that the chances of success were very high..."

Chen Yanyun sighed helplessly. He hadn't expected Gu Jinzhao to have already figured it out. At the time, he had said that to reassure her.

"...Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she pressed on. "You're always like this—never changing no matter how many times I tell you."

Chen Yanyun gently took her hand and said softly, "How could I tell you? This matter is already dangerous enough, and you're pregnant. Not telling you was for the best. The person we're dealing with is Zhang Ju Lian, someone who can turn clouds into rain with a flick of his hand. I can't guarantee complete..."