The meditation room was unlit, the light inside as dim as dusk.
Madame Liu, the wife of the Jiangning Prefect, sat in the first seat on the left. She twirled a string of agarwood beads in her hands, her thumb repeatedly rubbing the largest Buddha head bead.
She glanced at Xu Qinghuan, who was sitting opposite her, and put on a look of elder-like affection and helplessness.
"County Princess, do not blame your Sister Wang for being impatient. Although Jiangning City is prosperous, it has strict rules. For a woman to engage in business and show her face in public, in the eyes of those gossips, it is ultimately a loss of propriety."
Madame Liu sighed, leaning forward slightly, her tone so sincere that no fault could be found in it. "Staying in this nunnery for a while, listening to scriptures, worshiping Buddha, and washing away the stench of money, is also for the County Princess's future sake.
Once the smell on you has dissipated, our families will step forward and guarantee to arrange a respectable marriage for you. Even becoming a legal primary wife is not impossible."
These words sounded well-intentioned, but they were actually a soft knife cutting flesh.
It was obvious that the so-called "washing away the stench of money" meant locking Xu Qinghuan up here until her edges were smoothed out and her contact with the outside world was cut off. By the time she was released in a year or half a year, Jiangning City would have long since changed.
As for how to deal with the Emperor?
She was just a County Princess. Such a reason was fitting and posed no moral issues.
To break free, the price to pay would be immense.
And the Xu family's little business would have long been carved up completely. As for marriage, what good family could a merchant's daughter who had been under "house arrest" match with? She would probably be considered unlucky even as a replacement wife for a foolish son in an aristocratic family.
Xu Qinghuan did not reply, only looking down at the tea leaves floating and sinking in her teacup.
Seeing this, the wife of the Tongpan, sitting below Madame Liu, took a bundle from the long table behind her. The cloth wrapper was untied, revealing a neatly folded set of gray cloth clothes.
It was a nun's habit.
Made of coarse linen with loose stitches, it exuded the shabby air of asceticism.
"This garment was specially made by Sister Wang, and the size is sure to fit." The Tongpan's wife pushed the habit to Xu Qinghuan's hand, smiling without the smile reaching her eyes. "The red dress the County Princess is wearing is too bright; it will disturb the Buddha's peace.
Change into this, and your heart will be calm. Since you are here to pray for blessings and cleanse yourself, you naturally need to look the part. Although the County Princess's title of 'Anguo' is noble, all living beings are equal before the Bodhisattva, so it is better to put it aside for now."
This was an attempt to force her to take the tonsure.
As long as she put on this skin, she would no longer be a County Princess conferred by the imperial court, but merely a nun practicing with her hair intact in this Ciyun Nunnery. This was not only a humiliation but also a fundamental erasure of her social identity.
Xu Qinghuan finally raised her head.
She did not even glance at the habit, her gaze calmly sweeping over every face present.
"The twisted gold bracelet on the Prefect's wife's wrist is finely crafted, with a small 'Wang' character imprinted at the joint. It should be last year's new model from the Wang family's 'Gold and Jade Abundance' shop."
Xu Qinghuan's voice was not loud, yet it was exceptionally clear amidst the sound of the rain.
Madame Liu subconsciously tugged at her cuff, trying to cover the bracelet.
"Madame Tongpan, the kingfisher feather jewelry on your head has a bright color. The kingfisher feathers used are top-grade tributes from the south, and they are also popular goods from the Wang family's shops. Even the silver-thread charcoal burning in this room is the smokeless kind that only the Wang family's caravans can transport in."
Xu Qinghuan leaned back, her spine pressing against the hard back of the chair, revealing a hint of sarcasm. "Those who eat someone's food are soft-spoken, and those who take someone's gifts are short-handed. You ladies are sitting here today, wearing gold and silver. I presume you are not simply here to accompany me for tea. You are here to help the Wang family hold down the lid of the pot that is going to boil me."
As soon as these words came out, piercing through the paper window of pretense, the atmosphere in the meditation room instantly turned cold.
The ladies, who had originally been putting on airs and pretending to be compassionate, could no longer maintain their expressions. They had indeed received benefits from the Wang family and had promised to show this newly arrived County Princess a thing or two today.
In their eyes, the Xu family was nothing but a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered. Since everyone had taken a share of the spoils, they naturally had to put in some effort when it was time to strike.
Madam Wang sat in the main seat and had not spoken a word. It was only at this moment that she let out a short, cold laugh.
She no longer concealed the hostility in her eyes and slammed her teacup heavily onto the table.
"The County Princess is a sensible person. Since everything is out in the open, there is no need to hide anything."
Madam Wang stood up, smoothed out her purplish-brown jacket, and looked down condescendingly at Xu Qinghuan. "This is Ciyun Nunnery, a place that the Wang family and others have supported with donations of incense for thirty years. Here, I'm afraid the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty cannot reach, the government office cannot reach, and even the Emperor's imperial edict must wait outside the door. Here, there are only family laws and clan rules."
"If I say you are sick, you are sick. If I say you need quiet meditation, you must obediently kneel here and chant scriptures. Xu Qinghuan, do you really think that holding an imperial edict allows you to walk sideways in Jiangnan? In this Jiangning City, we set the rules."
As her voice fell, a neat, muffled sound suddenly came from outside the door.
Thud, thud, thud.
It was the sound of dozens of wooden staffs striking the bluestone floor simultaneously. Dull, oppressive, and carrying a compelling murderous aura, it even caused the window frames of the meditation room to tremble slightly.
Those were the martial monks raised by the Wang family in the nunnery.
This posture meant they intended to use force directly.
Xu Qinghuan sat in her chair without even changing her posture. She even picked up the cup of tea that had long since gone cold and took a sip. The bitter tea slid down her throat, making her mind clearer than ever before.
"Family laws? Clan rules?"
Xu Qinghuan put down the teacup, her fingertips tapping lightly on the table. "Since Madam Wang likes to talk about rules so much, let's have a good chat about the rules of these various families."
Her gaze shifted, landing on a woman sitting in the corner. That was a lady from a branch of the Zhao family, who usually relied on the Wang family and was the most submissive.
"Madam Zhao," Xu Qinghuan suddenly spoke.
Madam Zhao trembled and looked up in some terror.
"I see that the longevity lock hanging around Madam Zhao's neck is a bit old in color, but the meaning is nice, engraved with the four words 'Peace Every Year'." Xu Qinghuan tilted her head, as if genuinely admiring the piece of jewelry. "If I remember correctly, this should be the only relic left to her son by the third concubine of the Zhao family's third branch, who died in childbirth five years ago, right?"
Madam Zhao's face instantly turned deathly pale, and she subconsciously clutched her collar.
"How strange," Xu Qinghuan chuckled lightly, but her eyes pierced over like knives. "How could the relic of a concubine who died in childbirth be hanging around the neck of the primary wife?
Oh, I remember now. That night, the midwife responsible for the delivery seemed to be a distant cousin from Madam Zhao's maiden family. I heard that when the third concubine died, she was still carrying a male fetus in her belly. Was that a case of getting rid of the mother to keep the child, or... getting rid of both?"
"You... you're talking nonsense!" Madam Zhao screamed. Unable to hold onto her teacup any longer, it fell to the ground with a crash and shattered into pieces.
The surrounding ladies suddenly turned to look at Madame Zhao, their eyes filled with shock and uncertainty. Although everyone implicitly understood these hidden domestic scandals, this was the first time such secrets had been laid bare in public.
Xu Qinghuan did not stop.
Her gaze turned to the other side, landing on a lady from a branch family of the Xie clan.
"The illegitimate daughter of the Xie family's second branch was said to have died suddenly last year, and even her funeral was held in a rush," Xu Qinghuan said in a mild tone. "But how come I heard that she is currently still in Yangzhou? The food provided by the thin horse troupes is not easy to swallow, especially for a pampered young lady. I heard that because she refused to receive clients, her left leg has already been broken."
The Xie family lady swayed on her feet, biting her lip so hard that all the color drained from her face.
The entire meditation room was dead silent, with only the sound of the rain outside the window and Xu Qinghuan's steady, terrifyingly calm voice.
Everyone felt as if they had been stripped naked and thrown into the public eye. The bright and beautiful silks and satins they wore seemed to have transformed into sheets of indictment filled with evidence of their crimes.
"Shut up!"
Madame Wang finally snapped back to reality. Her face was ashen, her chest heaving violently, and she slammed her hand on the table. "Spreading malicious rumors! This crazy woman has lost her mind and is spouting nonsense! Guards! Come in! Gag her mouth and drag her to the back mountain!"
The doors were violently pushed open, and several martial monks armed with staffs barged in, bringing a damp chill with them.
Xu Qinghuan did not move.
She simply took a gentle sip of her tea before slamming the cup heavily onto the tea table in front of her.
It had to be said, the tea was indeed exquisite.
Bang!
This loud crash actually drowned out the thunder outside. The teapot on the table bounced from the impact, splashing boiling hot tea all over the surface.
"Madame Wang, I advise you not to make a move. If I cannot return home completely unscathed today, the Xu family members waiting opposite the Xie manor will not forget to hand a certain something over to Xie An.
You had better pray that your esteemed family's Left Vice Minister of Personnel and the Wang family faction in the royal court can withstand the wrath of Grand Secretary Xie."
The distance between the two of them was less than half a foot.
As soon as Madame Wang heard "Wang family" and "Grand Secretary Xie," a trace of panic subconsciously flashed through her heart.
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
At this moment, she actually wanted to step back instinctively. But with the chair right behind her, she had nowhere to retreat.
Xu Qinghuan leaned in slightly, whispering into Madame Wang's ear. Her voice was very soft, audible only to the two of them, yet it felt like a chilling wind blowing from the depths of hell.
"Madame Wang, do you really think you executed that matter flawlessly?"
Five updates today?
Humbly begging for your comments, reviews, and update requests online, my darlings.
Should I say goodnight?)
