Chapter 3 Situation
"Now?" Zhuang Dongqing asked.
The maid was poised and graceful. "I know that young master is not fully recovered yet, so there is no rush. Madam specifically instructed that young master should go slowly after he is fully prepared. We must not let him catch a cold on the way, like last time at the ancestral hall, and cause him to fall ill again."
Zhuang Dongqing: "..."
Forcing a smile that threatened to break, Zhuang Dongqing said, "Thank you, Madam."
The maid bowed again and left decisively.
Zhuang Dongqing sighed.
Liu Fu: "Young Master, shall we change our clothes now?"
No rush.
Let him digest first.
Let's think this through first.
"But aren't you afraid of upsetting Madam if we're late?"
Zhuang Dongqing said sincerely, "Even if she's happy, she probably doesn't really like me, right?"
Liu Fu was speechless for a moment, then scratched his head and said, "Oh, right."
"..."
"Never mind, let's pack up and leave."
These past few days, Zhuang Dongqing's understanding of the Zhuang family came entirely from Liu Fu. She had never met the master, mistress, young master, or young lady, and she didn't know much about their temperaments. Thinking it was better to avoid trouble, Zhuang Dongqing finally backed down.
Liu Fu tidied up the room, covered the charcoal brazier, and asked Zhuang Dongqing which cloak he should wear.
Actually, there are only two pieces in the wardrobe. One is a new one made last year, and the other looks only a bit old on the outside, but has actually been patched several times on the inside. Since I'm going to see my wife, I naturally have to choose the better one.
After getting ready to leave, Zhuang Dongqing didn't feel anything while in the courtyard, but as soon as she stepped outside, a gust of wind blew, and she couldn't help but shiver.
It's so cold.
She hunched her shoulders, relieved that the holiday season was over and things would get warmer soon.
Their courtyard was really remote, and Zhuang Dongqing had only just recovered from his illness. When he walked into the madam's courtyard, he felt chilled to the bone, and he started coughing softly again.
The steward beside the lady, Liu Mama, said to the two of them, "The lady has just gotten up to recite scriptures, please wait a moment, Second Young Master."
Zhuang Dongqing replied politely, "It's alright."
Liu's mother glanced at him in surprise, and seeing that he was coughing, she instructed the maid to lead them to a room on the side to wait.
Upon entering the room, a wave of warmth washed over him. The maids served tea, and after taking a couple of sips, Zhuang Dongqing felt his limbs begin to warm up.
I glanced at the charcoal brazier and sure enough, the charcoal was different from the one in their house. It produced little smoke, didn't smell pungent, and didn't seem to use much.
It's good to be rich.
Zhuang Dongqing felt a little jealous and lowered her head to drink her tea.
"How long will this take?" Liu Fu muttered, looking around.
"Just wait," Zhuang Dongqing simply said.
He had a general understanding of the situation at the Zhuang family mansion.
Master Zhuang was a Beijing official, though not of high rank. His ancestors were farmers. When he took the imperial examination, his wife's family took a liking to him and he married a young lady from the capital. With the help of his wife's family, he was able to stay in the capital to work, even though his official position was only so-so.
The original owner was the second young master of the Zhuang family, the only illegitimate son.
He was the same age as him, but only half a year younger than his eldest son, which was during his wife's first pregnancy.
In wealthy families, concubines and maids had to drink contraceptive soup at this time. No one knows how the original owner of this body came to be, but Zhuang Dongqing could never know, because the concubine died of illness a few years after giving birth to the original owner of this body.
The subsequent son and daughter were born to the wife. Although there was no shortage of concubines in the mansion, none of them had any more children.
It's quite normal that the original owner wasn't favored by the lady.
Knowing full well that he was in the way, Zhuang Dongqing waited patiently.
After three cups of tea, Liu Fu moved several times behind Zhuang Dongqing, and Zhuang Dongqing's eyes gradually became vacant. Finally, the sound of the curtain being lifted rang out.
Zhuang Dongqing quickly got up, and amidst the scent of sandalwood mixed with the crisp sound of beads clinking, a plump and dignified middle-aged beauty slowly entered.
Her hair was adorned with gold and jade ornaments, and she held a string of white jade prayer beads. She had fair skin and was dressed in fine clothes, but her expression was indifferent. When she spoke, her tone was also authoritative: "I was ill for a while, and you don't recognize me?"
He didn't even look Zhuang Dongqing in the eye.
Zhuang Dongqing was stunned. Liu Fu whispered the answer from behind, "Call her Madam, Young Master."
Zhuang Dongqing then belatedly bowed and tried to make amends, saying, "May you be well, Madam."
The lady sat down in the main seat, took a sip of tea, glanced at Zhuang Dongqing with a cool look, and then waved her hand, saying, "Alright, sit down."
For a while, all that could be heard was the clinking of teacups and the tinkling of prayer beads. Zhuang Dongqing sat upright, his eyes closed and his mind focused, but his clasped hands were slightly sweaty in the long silence.
"I'll punish you with a game. Do you know you were wrong?"
"I know I shouldn't have stayed out all night and ruined the family's reputation."
The lady lifted her eyelids in surprise. Feeling the gaze on her, Zhuang Dongqing sat up even straighter. "Father's punishment is justified. There will be no next time."
The lady raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly, "You admit your mistakes quickly, don't you?"
Zhuang Dongqing just kept her head down.
"Alright, let the master handle this matter. He was the one who punished you in the first place."
"..."
"I called you here today for something else."
The tea lid lightly touched the rim of the bowl, making a crisp clinking sound. Zhuang Dongqing's nerves tensed up, and then she heard a woman's voice ask, "Are you aware that things haven't been peaceful in the capital lately?"
"I've heard some of it."
"Oh, what did you hear? Tell me?"
Zhuang Dongqing had no choice but to bite the bullet and stammer as he recounted the events of the officials' confiscation of the property.
Madam: "That's pretty close to the truth. But do you know why they got into trouble?"
The question touched on Zhuang Dongqing's blind spot, and Zhuang Dongqing hesitated before replying: "Embezzlement and perversion of justice? Favoritism and corruption?"
"That's just the superficial reason."
Suddenly, the conversation shifted, and she asked, "Ling'er said that you stayed overnight at Guangyue Terrace that day because you got drunk while covering for someone else?"
Zhuang Ling is the third son of the Zhuang family and the younger brother of the original owner of this body.
Liu Fu did mention it before. He wasn't the only one at Guangyuetai that day; Zhuang Ling was there too, but the two brothers weren't on good terms and weren't even at the same banquet.
"It should be."
"should?"
Zhuang Dongqing then said, "I fell and hit my head in Guangyuetai that day, and I also fell headfirst in the ancestral hall. When I woke up, I couldn't remember many things. The doctor said that I hit my head and that I would only get better after the bruises dissipated."
Madam then raised her head and looked directly at Zhuang Dongqing. Liu Mama went out for a while and whispered a few words in Madam's ear when she returned. Madam frowned but did not dwell on the matter.
He asked sharply, "Then what do you still remember?"
Zhuang Dongqing: "I remember some things from my childhood, and I recognize almost everyone in the manor..."
The lady interrupted him, "Do you remember what happened that night?"
"I only remember... getting drunk... falling asleep... how I got drunk, and who I was drinking with, I can't remember yet."
Silence.
Utterly quiet.
The lady's gaze was like a searchlight, scanning Zhuang Dongqing carefully from top to bottom, as if she wanted to tear him apart.
Zhuang Dongqing felt a little sweat on her forehead from being stared at, but she didn't dare to wipe it away.
"So, you don't remember which friend it was?"
"Yes."
With a thud, the teacup was slammed down, and Zhuang Dongqing's heart skipped a beat.
Another deathly silence fell. The lady sighed and said with annoyance, "Forget it. You're like this anyway, you won't understand anything more. I'll just tell you directly."
"You came in first place in the last college entrance exam, and with the spring imperial examination just around the corner, you'll probably be on the list as well."
"Since one is to enter officialdom, one must naturally know the principle of self-preservation. The current emperor is over sixty, and the princes are all grown up. My family is a small and insignificant one, and we cannot afford to get involved in the entanglements between the crown prince and the princes..."
Actually, it wasn't very straightforward, but Zhuang Dongqing had read the book and knew that the main plot was about the struggle for the throne.
But the Crown Prince? The Crown Prince is still alive!
Zhuang Dongqing was bewildered.
Madam Zhuang: "That night, the Crown Prince, the Prince of Dingxi, and another noblewoman were also there. Not long after you returned, Guangyue Terrace was sealed off by the Prince of Dingxi's personal guards, who claimed that someone had poisoned the Prince... The three officials who have been convicted were all interrogated by the Prince of Dingxi, and a eunuch in the palace has also been punished..."
Zhuang Dongqing's brain was already overloaded.
He raised his head, his eyes so clear that the lady was speechless.
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Yes, yes... but... I don't quite understand..."
"..."
The lady took a deep breath. Zhuang Dongqing had a feeling that he had done something wrong and started scratching his hands.
"Alright, you're still not thinking straight." The lady pressed her temples. "Just remember, don't try to associate with anyone indiscriminately lately."
"OK."
His tone was obedient and sincere.
lady:"……"
*
After sending Zhuang Dongqing and his servant away, Liu Mama was massaging the lady's head, with Buddhist prayer beads pressed under her palm, making it difficult for the lady to breathe.
"Do you think this little brat is trying to scam me?!"
"Every time you come here, you're neither here nor there. It's rare to see you being obedient like this, but you're just putting on an act for me!"
Madam Liu: "Does Madam think that the Second Young Master is deliberately pretending to be ignorant because he doesn't want to reveal his familiarity with the Sixth Prince?"
Recalling Zhuang Dongqing's behavior, the lady felt annoyed: "...She couldn't possibly pretend to be that stupid."
"Fine, it's just a test anyway. Since he refuses to tell me the truth, I don't need to tell him that the Sixth Prince specially invited him to the Spring Banquet to back him up."
"It would be better if, seeing the Crown Prince's weakness, he, like his father, started to play both sides and drag the whole family down with him..."
*
Even after walking some distance from the main courtyard, Zhuang Dongqing was still dazed and her mind was in turmoil.
Having been here for so long, he has figured out the situation at the Zhuang family mansion and which book he is inhabiting.
But before today, these two existed independently and did not intersect.
Yes, Zhuang Dongqing still doesn't understand who she is in the book.
I don't remember there being a person with the same name.
His wife's words seemed to clear away the clouds and reveal the sun, offering him some guidance.
It turns out, the story hasn't even begun yet.
The book begins after the incident of the deposed crown prince. The crown prince is still alive, which means...
Zhuang Dongqing stared blankly at the sky, but the expansive view did not broaden his mind. He felt as if there was a breath stuck in his throat that he could not exhale, and he felt extremely depressed.
In other words, the previous turmoil was just the appetizer; the real storm in Beijing is still brewing.
The matter of deposing the crown prince was of great importance and involved many people. Many of the surviving supporting characters changed their names and switched allegiance to other princes.
The original body...
hiss.
Zhuang Dongqing rubbed his forehead.
Thinking about what happened before gives me a headache.
His words about hitting his head weren't made up; he really did bump his head and got a big bump that he could still feel when he had a high fever. It looks like it's gone now, but he still gets a headache whenever he thinks about the original owner's past and the plot of the original book he read.
The doctor said it was temporary, and that it would take time for the blood stasis to dissipate, but it was hard to say exactly whether it would take three days, three months, or three years.
"..."
Zhuang Dongqing sighed heavily; all the debuffs had been stacked on him.
Why,
I just hope he's not a villain.
No one should be this unlucky!
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