Chapter Fifteen Miscalculation

  In a moment, people who were just talking in their respective places all gathered in the main hall.

  Chen Yan's side was nothing to worry about, but the eldest son of the Dongchang Hou Mansion, Jin Congjia, was a little chubby and still young. He had been cooped up in the house for too long and was getting restless. Chen Bing, on the other hand, was not pleased. The Dongchang Hou Mansion was just like their own, a noble family, but it was her father's influence that had helped them secure their title. She had met Jin Congyou, the eldest son of the Dongchang Hou Mansion, a few times and although she found him somewhat endearing, she envied her older sister who had married into the imperial family as the Princess of Jinwang. So when those two handkerchief-wielding ladies mentioned that Chen Yan's brother was tutoring the third prince of Wu, she immediately perked up and began to ask all sorts of questions.

  Madam Ma was even more annoyed, she and Madam Li of the East Changhou had just discussed the marriage proposal, when suddenly someone from the Lianxiang Institute came to say that the old lady had invited them, so they had to come over together with Madam Li. As for Madam Xu, today she happened to say that her body was not feeling well, Chen Tang took this as an excuse to leave early, and she didn't come at all.

  Madam Zhu seemed to have not seen Madam Ma's forced smile, nor did she glance at Chen Bing's disheartened face. She simply smiled and started talking about the plum blossom viewing during the Lantern Festival. Indeed, although Madam Li had received the invitation, she was after all not as familiar with the imperial family as Madam Zhu, who was the grandmother of the Jin King's consort. When Madam Zhu mentioned that several princes and dukes from the royal family would also be attending, including an invitation from the Jin King's consort to a few ladies-in-waiting to view the plum blossoms, she immediately abandoned her plan to settle the marriage for now.

  It is known that since the Taizu Emperor established the rules, whether it was marrying a princess or a county lord's daughter, or even a meritorious relative or an imperial son-in-law, they could obtain corresponding official positions based on their own merits. They would not be hindered in their careers just because of a marriage. As a result, the emperor's daughters were actually easier to marry off than before. With one's own hereditary marquis title, marrying a county lord's daughter was not difficult at all.

  As soon as she had this thought, Mrs. Li would not stay for long and soon found an excuse to take her leave. Chen Lan sat beside Zhu Shi, seeing people leaving after Zhu Shi took a deep breath, and quickly took over the cup of ginseng tea from Lu'e's hand and presented it to her. Before Zhu Shi could drink it, Chen Bing couldn't help but mock: "I wonder why Sanmei suddenly disappeared without a trace, it turned out that she came halfway to serve the old lady, really thoughtful."

  Chen Huan glanced at Mrs. Ma and smiled: "Third sister just left so early, is she still remembering what happened in the East Changhou Mansion? The lady of the East Changhou Mansion has already apologized, Third Sister should consider the face of her elders."

  Chen Lan had some sympathy for the second wife's situation, but Chen Bing's cold ridicule and Chen Huo's fueling of the fire made her recall her own experiences over the years, as well as the unexplained fall into the water at the East Changhou Mansion. The thread of pity instantly dissipated, and she remained expressionless. Sure enough, Zhu Shi furrowed her brow and asked Green Lotus beside her, "Hasn't she arrived yet?"

  The green awning looked out and then said cautiously: "People have been gone for a while, and there is still a long way to go outside the courtyard. It's almost time."

  This nonsensical talk finally made the people in the house realize something, and Mrs. Ma also became somewhat uneasy, hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth to ask: "Is there anything you want to instruct, Old Lady?"

  The words had barely fallen when a voice came from outside: "Old lady, Liu Guan has arrived."

  Upon hearing this, Madam Zhu also ignored Mrs. Ma and immediately ordered: "Pass down the order that no one in the Lianxiang courtyard is allowed to move around freely or step out of the gate! Go and lift the door curtain, help me get out!"

  The Hou Mansion had always been strict about the distinction between inside and outside, and except for close friends and relatives, few men were allowed to enter the inner courtyard. Even the steward of the house, Liu Qing, was not an exception. Therefore, it was surprising that Zhu Shi directly let Liu Qing into the inner courtyard and gave orders not to allow anyone to move around freely. The people in the room were all startled. As soon as Chen Lan heard this, she immediately helped Zhu Shi up, and Madame Ma also woke up with a start, hastily making eye contact with Chen Bing. However, before Chen Bing could come forward, Qing Lian had already rushed ahead and supported Zhu Shi from the other side, so she had to awkwardly retreat.

  Madam Zhu sat in the Nanmu armchair in front of the screen, saw that the door curtain had been hung high with jade hooks, and Liu Qing, the housekeeper, was kneeling outside the threshold. She let out a soft sigh. Until Green Lotus Jade Pomegranate and a group of servant girls retreated to the outer courtyard, the room was filled with her own legitimate descendants, she said faintly: "Tell everyone about the news from before."

  Liu Qing responded with a respectful "yes" and looked around the room full of people, swallowing hard before recounting the message that had just been delivered from the Wang Manor. As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Bing shouted in a shrill voice, "You're talking nonsense! How is this possible?"

  Mrs. Ma was also pale, but she didn't scold her daughter, only hoping that the fact was just nonsense as Chen Bing asked. However, Liu Qing, who knelt outside the door, didn't raise his head, and his voice was very low, but the words he spoke were still clear: "Second Miss, I dare not deceive you, it is indeed a message from the Jin Wang Fu, sent by that reliable long-following servant who often comes to our house. The Wang Fu and our family have a close relationship, how can they joke about such an important matter? I've already sent someone out to investigate, and there will be news coming back soon."

  At this moment, the room was quiet, and then there was only a faint sound. Chen Huan, who was sitting in the chair, kicked over the footrest due to tension. When she was busy picking it up, she bumped into a small table next to her, and a teacup on top of it fell to the ground and shattered. Seeing the servant girl like this, Mrs. Ma was furious and could no longer maintain her usual gentle motherly demeanor. She scolded loudly: "You're really something that can't be shown in public! You've never seen or heard anything before, have you? All you know is how to waste things!"

  "That's enough!" Madam Zhu slapped the armrest heavily, seeing Mrs. Ma shut her mouth in anger. She then ordered, "One is flustered and at a loss, another is shouting and screaming, and the letter hasn't even arrived yet!"

  After training, she said to Liu Qing: "You go out now and restrain the people in the outer courtyard from making any rash moves. If someone comes to the door, receive them with respect! Second sister-in-law, the inner courtyard is handed over to you, go to the Shuijing Hall to preside over and assign tasks, and restrain the servants in various places. The more it is at this time, the more the family cannot be chaotic!"

  If it were an ordinary day, Madam Zhu would have naturally agreed to whatever Mrs. Ma said, but at this moment she felt her heart racing out of her chest and even speaking was becoming difficult. It wasn't until Old Mother Zhu came in from outside to support her that she could barely take a step forward. After Mrs. Ma and Liu Qing left, Madam Zhu sternly instructed the younger generation, then sent someone to send them to rest in the east wing of the Lianxiang courtyard, leaving only Chen Lan by her side.

  As soon as Mrs. Ma left, Chen Lan knew that if this matter was true, the second aunt would not last long. When Chen Bing and Chen Huo came out of the main hall, they were also disheartened and might not be able to do anything useful. Not only these women, but even Chen Qing and Chen Han from the third house, her own brother Chen Yan, when taken away by others, looked like they had been frightened too much. If she hadn't received the news beforehand, she would have been just as bad off as them. Even now, she could still feel her legs trembling slightly.

  This is an era where a single word from the Son of Heaven can decide the life and death, honor and dishonor of a family!

  As she was turning over various thoughts in her mind, she suddenly felt someone grab her hand. When she came to herself, she found that Zhu Shi was examining her carefully and hastily lowered her head. Immediately afterwards, a faint sentence was heard by her ear.

  "Lan Er, are you afraid?"

  Chen Lan really wanted to muster up the spirit to say that she wasn't afraid, but as the words reached her lips, she nodded slightly and then shook her head again. Finally, she said in a low voice: "Of course I'm scared, but when it comes down to it, being scared doesn't do any good. I just think that our Chen family has been passed down for over a hundred years, weathering countless storms, and won't collapse because of something so trivial."

  "Well said!"

  Madam Zhu smiled slightly and turned her head to look outside. The door curtain was still raised high, and the cold wind rushed in from the doorway, as if it wanted to turn the warm room into a cold world. Even the maid, who was lightly dressed, was shivering with fear. However, Madam Zhu's waist remained straight until a figure hastily ran in from the corridor outside the courtyard and up the steps into the house.

  "Old lady!" It was Zheng's mother who came, and it was unclear whether she had blown too much cold wind in her hurry or was unable to calm down from the shock, her face was somewhat pale. "I just returned from the Temple of National Protection, and I happened to run into the Imperial Guards on the road. The Second Master has already been taken away, and when I arrived at Yangning Street, a large group of Imperial Guards rushed towards our house, so I hurriedly went around through the back door!"

  At this moment, Zhu's calm face suddenly changed, and Chen Lan also felt a chill on the back of her neck. Almost in an instant, she saw Zhu beside her tightly grasping the cushion under her head, her face somewhat ferocious, and hurriedly stretched out her hand to hold it firmly. When she saw Zheng Mama rushing forward in panic, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

  As far as she knew, Second Uncle Chen Jiu was in charge of the imperial army's horse grazing in the suburbs. If it were just a matter of horses dying or being short-handed, being imprisoned and questioned would be the worst that could happen. Why would the Embroidered Uniform Guards come to their house? Could it be that they wanted to confiscate their property? Heaven forbid, if things had indeed reached that point, perhaps this trip to prison was not just a matter of punishment, but also involved other sinister motives!

  Zhu's face turned ferocious as he grasped the armrest tightly: "This damned wretch, what has he done?"

  P.S: Monday will have an extra update of one chapter, wuwuwu, the number of clicks and recommendations are too disproportionate...