Chapter 131 Like Me
The fire was difficult to extinguish in the sweltering summer heat, and water was hard to find on the earthen hill. In the end, it burned down a small part of the hill.
Fortunately, after returning to the city and taking stock, Xu Rong's side had no casualties. This result was thanks to Prince Qing. The guards of the Prince's mansion were familiar with the mountain roads and pointed out a path away from the fire, which allowed them to follow Prince Qing down the mountain in time.
The bandits weren't so lucky. They didn't know how terrible the wildfire was. Their initial intention in starting the fire was just to force Lin Xin and the others out. As a result, the fire spread, killing half of them while playing with fire. The other half were caught red-handed by the guards of the Prince's Mansion. They were taken back to the city and, on the Prince's orders, thrown into the government office.
Such a mad act as arson is not something an ordinary person would do. The captured bandits, in a state of panic, gave their confessions in the main hall of the government office: "...The Marquis is pressing us hard, he absolutely needs the life of the Second Young Master—no, Imperial Envoy Lin. We are servants of the Marquis's household, our whole family is in the Marquis's hands, we dare not disobey. Moreover, the Marquis said that this is a rare opportunity, we don't need to be afraid of going too far, if things go wrong, just push it all onto Prince Qing, no one will suspect anything."
Presiding Judge Zhou Qianxian was both shocked and furious. He couldn't help but pick up the gavel and slam it down heavily: "Absurd! Outrageous!"
Zhou Qianxian wasn't the only one who found it absurd and bizarre. After the confessions and the prisoners were transferred to Beijing, it sparked a wave of public opinion in the capital.
This time, the Duke of England couldn't simply cover it up by acting as a mediator between the Lin and Xiao families. All the long-buried truths were brought to light. Among the high-ranking officials and nobles, even Xiao Shan's background was no longer a secret. It is said that Prince Qing personally casually included a secret letter, stating that Marquis Xiao was using Xiao Shan as leverage to demand his cooperation in eliminating Lin Xin. However, Prince Qing was a law-abiding prince, so how could he possibly plot against the imperial envoy? Therefore, he not only refused his demands but also intervened in time to save the imperial envoy.
It's hard to say who threatened whom, but it's true that Lord Xiao sent people to hunt him down and set fire to the mountain, and it's true that Prince Qing rescued people and sold grain to provide disaster relief afterwards. So what can Lord Xiao, who was several moves behind, argue about?
If he really eliminated Lin Xin, whom he considered a disgrace, in Pingliang, the emperor, who had always been suspicious of Prince Qing, might believe that it was Prince Qing who did it. Prince Qing, who had been a thorn in Lord Xiao's side for many years, might then be removed as well.
But there are no "ifs".
Compared to the case of Lord Xiao's failed assassination attempt on the imperial envoy's second son and his failed attempt to frame Prince Qing, the murky affair between the Duke of Zheng's mansion and Prince Qing was not so eye-catching. It wasn't until August, when Zhou Qianxian and his entourage completed their disaster relief work, executed Prefect Zheng, and stabilized the situation in Pingliang, that Duke Zheng was stripped of his important position in the capital for his disrespect before the emperor.
By this time, the relevant verdicts against the Xiao family had already been handed down.
The punishment was far harsher than that given to the Duke of Zheng's family. The first step was to strip them of their titles and confiscate their property. For such a prominent family, a simple search would uncover a whole host of crimes. In the end, all the adult males of Lord Xiao's branch of the family were sentenced to exile three thousand miles to the frontier. The female members of the family received no additional punishment, but they lost their titles and their property. The disparity alone was enough to drive a person crazy.
Throughout the entire process, no one stepped forward to plead for the Xiao family.
It wasn't that Lord Xiao was such a bad person that he didn't have a single reliable relative or friend. Rather, those who weren't influential enough couldn't get to the emperor's side and had no way to plead for him; those who were influential enough spread the word privately, and everyone knew about Xiao Shan's affair—which was too taboo, so no one dared to approach him.
“Prince Qing is truly not to be underestimated. His Majesty has not made any move against the Duke of Zheng’s mansion for so long. I originally thought that His Majesty had seen through Prince Qing’s intentions and was unwilling to do as he planned…”
In the Duke of England's mansion, the Duke stroked his beard and sighed deeply.
It was autumn, the air was cool and refreshing. In the open pavilion, there were wide chairs and a round table, with tea and fruit plates, all of which were fragrant and clean. It was as if it were another world from the heat and sweltering heat of Pingliang.
Xu Rong, who came with Lin Xin to pay a visit to the Duke of Ying, said: "His Majesty knows Prince Qing well, and Prince Qing also knows His Majesty's heart well."
These two brothers, who had fought for the throne, were essentially the same in temperament and conduct. The emperor knew, of course, that Prince Qing wanted to cause trouble for the Duke of Zheng's family, but his imperial suspicions made him unable to escape the trap.
The British duke pondered for a moment, then smiled: "Indeed, quite remarkable. Human nature..."
He shook his head and sighed slowly, "Forget it, it's better not to talk about the affairs of the imperial family. We, as subjects, just need to do our jobs well. Brother Xin, you have been away on this imperial envoy for a long time and are quite tired. Now that you are finally back, you should rest at home for a couple more days."
Lin Xin returned to the capital the day before yesterday, spent a whole day meeting with the emperor to report his mission, and came to the Duke of Yingguo's residence early this morning.
Lin Xin shook his head and said, "I'm not tired."
He paused for a moment, then stood up and bowed to the Duke of England: "I have come here to apologize to the Duke and the old lady."
Even if the Changxing Marquis's family deserved their fate, they were still the husband's family of Madam Xiao. Half of their downfall was due to him. If not handled properly, the relationship between the two sides could easily become awkward and distant.
The Duke of England smiled, a hint of bitterness in his eyes, but also a sense of gentle relief: "Good child, how can you be blamed? With what Xiao Yuanhong did, it's no wonder he ended up like this. With his limited abilities, he tried to harm you and Prince Qing, but in the end, he harmed himself. If he didn't get this retribution, then Heaven would be blind."
Lin Xinfang sat down, and Xu Rong asked, "How is the old lady's health? I just went to request an audience, but the servants said that the old lady is resting in bed and will not receive guests."
“The old woman is really not feeling well.” The Duke of Ying nodded slowly. “She can’t get over it. That good-for-nothing Yingyu, because I refused to plead for Lun’er, said we were heartless and wanted to sever ties with her family.”
This was a family scandal, but since he no longer considered Lin Xin and Xu Rong as outsiders, he spoke frankly. After this incident, the Duke of Yingguo also lost interest in this daughter, and his words became indifferent.
Xu Rong was surprised, but then she realized that this was exactly Madam Xiao's temperament.
"Enough, children and grandchildren have their own fortunes, you don't need to take it to heart." The Duke of Yingguo comforted them instead, "At least the Emperor showed mercy and left the women with dignity, not ordering them to be exiled as well. I have bought them a house in the suburbs of the outer city, let them go there on their own."
Xu Rong nodded silently, and out of respect for the Duke of England, she did not offer any opinion. As they were talking, a maidservant hurried in from outside, bowed, and said, "Your Excellency, someone from the eldest daughter's side has come to say that she is not well and requests that someone from the manor go to check on her."
The Duke of England was taken aback. Even though he had fallen out with Madam Xiao, she was still his own daughter, and he was still shocked to hear this. He hurriedly asked, "Wasn't she in good spirits when she came over a while ago? How come she's not well anymore?"
The maid had gotten the details from the messenger: "It's because Madam Lun took the eldest daughter back to her parents' home and hasn't returned. A few days ago, she sent someone to the mansion outside the city to say that she wanted to divorce Master Lun. The eldest daughter fell ill in anger. At first, she forbade the servants to say anything, but today she can't even eat or drink, so the servants got scared and ran to the mansion to report it."
Lin Xin and Xu Rong looked at each other in bewilderment.
This is truly unexpected. Xu Rong hadn't expected Chang Shuyin to have the courage to put the proverb "when disaster strikes, everyone flies away" into practice, but considering the years Chang Shuyin had spent in the Xiao family, it wasn't so surprising after all.
However, the shock was too much for Madam Xiao, causing her to become bedridden.
**
Madam Xiao's illness was more serious than Xu Rong had imagined.
The servant who came to deliver the message didn't finish his sentence. In fact, Madam Xiao's health had been deteriorating since the confiscation of her property. She was strong-willed by nature, and at this time, she couldn't bear to be laughed at by others. She desperately tried to hold on, and even when she came back to her parents' home to argue, she didn't show any emotion. However, Chang Shuyin's departure dealt her a heavy blow, and she could no longer hold on. Her illness came on like a landslide, and within a few days, it had developed into a very serious condition.
When the Duke of England arrived, Xu Rong learned from the servants that not only Chang Shuyin had run away, but also Aunt Ruan.
Consort Ruan was taken away by Xiao Shan and her entourage. It was quite fortunate, really. Xiao Shan's marriage prospects had been bleak for years, until finally, a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations was chosen. Lord Xiao, fearing complications, rushed to marry her off, precisely during the time Lin Xin and Xu Rong were in Pingliang. Less than two months after the marriage, the Xiao family fell from grace. As a daughter who had married out of the family, Xiao Shan not only escaped the fallout but also had the opportunity to rescue Consort Ruan. Otherwise, without Lord Xiao's support, Consort Ruan would have suffered greatly in the hands of Madam Xiao.
To some extent, this also accelerated Madam Xiao's illness. Those who opposed her and those she disliked all remained unharmed, while only her own family suffered misfortune. How could she swallow this insult?
But when she saw the Duke of England walk in, she mustered a little strength and weakly reached out her hand to him: "Father, please save Lun'er, redeem him. What kind of place is the border? How can he endure such suffering..."
The British Duke's worried expression turned cold.
"Father, please save him," Madam Xiao repeated, cursing Lord Xiao, "That heartless bastard Xiao Yuanhong ruined Lun'er, ruined my whole life! He deserves to die a horrible death! And that vile woman Chang, she actually abandoned Lun'er—"
Xu Rong stood next to Lin Xin outside the curtain, not intending to go in.
She felt that Madam Xiao wouldn't want to see them, and she had no interest in going in to argue with Madam Xiao. Since Madam Xiao still had the energy to scold so many people, the situation didn't seem so bad.
But living like this might be—no, it must be—worse than death for Madam Xiao.
She lost the face she valued most. She was determined to protect her son, who was willing to sacrifice others to serve hard labor on the border. All the wealth and dignity she had built up through her tyranny and domineering ways for most of her life vanished.
Xu Rong thought it was great.
Justice may not fall from the sky, but justice will eventually come.
**
They didn't linger long at Madam Xiao's place, only glancing at the eldest son—the child Zhi Tao had left behind. Chang Shuyin left with her own daughter, ignoring the eldest son, who remained at Madam Xiao's. He was still too young to understand human affairs and didn't know what the adults were worried about. He cried for a while when the environment first changed, but after living outside the city for a few days, he calmed down again. When Xu Rong went to see him, he was sitting on the kang (heated brick bed) which was much worse than the Changxing Marquis's residence, being fed porridge by his wet nurse.
Xu Rong didn't know how to coax a child, so he just watched for a while. After the child finished his porridge, he called out the wet nurse and said, "If there are any difficulties here that you can't solve, go to the Yongjing Marquis's residence to find me."
This was something she had promised Zhi Tao before.
The wet nurse was taken aback for a moment, her eyes reddened, and she secretly glanced at Madam Xiao's bedroom before turning back and hurriedly saying, "Yes, yes, I understand."
**
Each layer of autumn rain brings a layer of chill.
Xu Rong enjoyed a leisurely and carefree life back at the Yongjing Marquis's residence. Lin Xin, after a three-day leave, returned to his duties at the Hanlin Academy, occasionally bringing back the latest news. For example, Duke Zheng had committed another minor offense and was ordered to reflect on his actions behind closed doors; Chang Rong, who had been transferred to the Ministry of Justice in the capital due to the Zheng Prefect case, was only dismissed from his post because no concrete evidence was found, but upon returning home, he received a severe reprimand from Duke Zheng, to the point that Duke Zheng's wife tearfully sought a good doctor throughout the city; and the third-ranking scholar, Lü Boming, always wore a cold expression at the Hanlin Academy and had argued with his colleagues twice in three days…
"What's all the commotion about? Is it about the eldest daughter's background?" Xu Rong asked lazily.
As Lin Xin took off his official robes, he turned to her and replied, "Yes. Editor Lü is always suspicious that people are talking about him behind his back."
“He’s just having some bad luck,” Xu Rong shook his head. “It’s understandable that he’s feeling upset.”
Not only was his wife's family property confiscated, but her background was also questionable. For a court official like Lü Boming, being associated with Prince Qing was worse than having an exiled father-in-law.
Bai Fu, who came over to pour tea, couldn't help but interject: "Won't he upset the eldest daughter? The eldest daughter is quite pitiful. She finally got married, but this is the result."
“It’s not a bad thing for the eldest daughter,” Xu Rong said lazily. “The eldest daughter has the ability to take Aunt Ruan away. Even if she can’t take her back to her husband’s family, the fact that she has been provided with a different place to live shows that she can still make ends meet in the Ruan family.”
"Then this Scholar Lü is a good person."
"That's not necessarily true. The eldest daughter's problem can bring down Marquis Xiao, but it can't bring down Prince Qing—that's why Prince Qing took the initiative to expose this matter. As long as he doesn't rebel, the Emperor can't really do anything to him in order to appease the princes. With Prince Qing safe, Scholar Lü has lost a marquis father-in-law, but gained an invisible prince father-in-law. Do you think he would dare to mistreat the eldest daughter?"
After realizing what was happening, Bai Fu couldn't help but laugh: "He wouldn't dare."
"That's how it is. However, there's plenty of time. If Scholar Lü can settle down and focus on his work, he might still have a chance to turn things around." Xu Rong said, yawning as he felt his eyelids drooping again.
She's been easily fatigued lately, but she was perfectly fine when she came back from Pingliang. Lin Xin was a little worried, so he sat down and took her hand: "Where do you feel unwell? Let's get a doctor to take a look."
Xu Rong slowly leaned against him: "I've already sent Hong Liu out to tell her brother that he's invited her."
Xiao Liu and the others were eventually returned to Prince Qing and went back to the capital with him.
"Did you lose your strength in Pingliang?" Lin Xin asked with concern and seriousness.
"No, I've already rested." Xu Rong said vaguely, "I roughly know what happened... Let's wait for the doctor to come."
Seeing that she was about to fall asleep while talking, Lin Xin didn't dare to disturb her. He was anxious, so he had to sit up straight so that she could lean on him more comfortably.
"The doctor has arrived."
Hongliu's clear voice rang out. She had grown up and become more composed, leading the middle-aged doctor into the room in a very professional manner.
Xu Rong opened her eyes and woke up. She moved to the round table, and the doctor sat down on another chair. He first looked at her face and then asked her to extend her hand to take her pulse. The three maids, Bai Fu, Qing Zao, and Hong Liu, stood around her expectantly.
Lin Xin: "..."
He was pushed out and had no choice but to stand aside, staring at the doctor's hands.
"Hmm..." The doctor gave a long "hmm," withdrew his hand, stood up and cupped his hands: "Congratulations to this young lady, it should be a pregnancy pulse, but the pregnancy is still in its early stages. I will come back for a follow-up visit next month to confirm it."
"It's true!"
The maids cheered in unison. They were in charge of Xu Rong's daily life and knew exactly how she changed clothes every month. Her period was late and Xu Rong's mood was a little strange. The maids had already guessed what was going on before the doctor came.
"Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Grandmother!"
"..."
Lin Xin finally came to his senses, opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. He took a step forward, but still couldn't say anything. His eyes were bright, and he showed a slightly silly smile.
This was the first time in his life he had laughed so foolishly, which made Xu Rong laugh as well. She looked down and touched her still flat stomach, thought for a moment, and said first, "Good boy, you know how to pick your time."
If it were discovered in Pingliang, that would be a huge problem.
The maids tactfully stepped aside, and Lin Xin finally stood in front of her. He reached out to touch her, but hesitated, and finally cautiously and lightly touched her clothes before concluding with certainty and eagerness: "Like me."
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