This was the Wang family's greatest secret, and the fundamental reason why they could firmly hold the second highest position among the four great noble families.
Back then, Xie An and his first wife, Madam Shen, were deeply in love. In order to let their own noble daughter take the position and to completely bind the Xie family through marriage, the Wang family devised that shocking and venomous scheme.
They bribed the midwife to create the illusion of a difficult childbirth. Taking advantage of the chaos, they smuggled Madam Shen out of the estate and locked her in this sunless Ciyun Nunnery.
Then, they had Madam Wang's biological younger sister, bringing a generous dowry and the Wang family's support, marry into the Xie family as a replacement wife, becoming Xie An's second wife.
Over these fifteen years, Xie An, believing his first wife was dead, harbored guilt toward the Wang family and frequently supported them in both business and official circles.
It was also by relying on this relationship that the Wang family managed to claim the largest piece of the pie in the Jiangning Imperial Silk Manufacturing Bureau.
This was an alliance built on deception and blood.
"If the head of the Xie family were to know..." Xu Qinghuan looked at Madam Wang's pale, frightened eyes, her voice soft. "That the deceased wife he has mourned for fifteen years is not only alive, but had her tongue cut out and was locked away in a nunnery like an animal by his most trusted ally, his second wife's maiden family."
"Tell me, would the Xie family kill you first, or would they slaughter the entire Wang family first?"
Madam Wang's lips trembled. She wanted to speak but could not make a single sound.
The consequences were simply too terrifying. If he found out the truth, Jiangning City would likely see rivers of blood.
Madam Wang suddenly seemed to go mad. "How could you have it! How could you know! Who is it! Who betrayed the Wang family!"
Xu Qinghuan nimbly dodged her hands.
"If I say it out loud, would it still be a secret?"
Looking at the completely broken woman on the ground, Xu Qinghuan turned to look at the gloomy Buddha statue.
"We are all smart people. Back then, Xie An was away on business and unable to rush back, which gave you the opportunity to strike. To be honest, the Wang family and you planned it very well; it could be described as flawless."
"But what if the heavens told me, or perhaps—this Buddha."
......
The two nanmu wood doors of the Wang family's main hall were violently pushed open from the outside.
Madam Wang was dragged in by two rough servant women. Her hair bun was half undone, and her dark purple jacket was covered in muddy water. She had lost every shred of dignity expected of a noble family's matriarch.
Wang Ruhai was sitting in an armchair, rolling two polished walnuts in his hand. Seeing this, his brows furrowed tightly into a deep frown.
"What are you panicking for?" Wang Ruhai slammed the walnuts onto the table. "The dignified matriarch of the Wang family, what would people think if they saw you like this?"
Madam Wang ignored his reprimand. Swatting away the servant women's hands, she threw herself at Wang Ruhai's feet, her nails digging fiercely into his boots, her voice shaking out of tune.
"She knows... she knows everything..."
Wang Ruhai kicked her away and asked impatiently, "What kind of crazy fit is that Xu Qinghuan throwing now? Knows what?"
"Madam Shen of the Xie family."
Crack.
The prized lion-head walnut Wang Ruhai had been polishing for ten years cracked in his hand.
Deathly silence filled the hall.
Wang Ruhai slowly bent down, staring at the woman on the floor. His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, and his voice was kept extremely low, as if squeezed through his teeth.
"Who did you say?"
"The one in the backyard of Ciyun Nunnery," Madam Wang's teeth chattered. "She said she has a portrait in her hands."
Wang Ruhai only felt a deadly chill rush from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his skull. His expensive silk clothes were instantly soaked with cold sweat.
This was the Wang family's greatest fatal weakness.
If Xie An were to find out that his first wife, whom he had mourned for fifteen years, was framed by the Wang family to fake her death, had her tongue cut out, her hamstrings slashed, and was locked in a nunnery to be raised like an animal...
Xie An would go mad.
That seemingly gentle and jade-like head of the Xie family, once driven mad, could chop the entire Wang family, young and old, into pieces and feed them to the dogs.
"Who?" Wang Ruhai suddenly straightened up, his gaze sweeping around the hall.
The butler, confidants, maidservants, and old servant women.
All these people were looking at him.
Wang Ruhai felt that all these people looked abominable at this moment, as if the word "traitor" was written on everyone's face.
The matter from fifteen years ago was done flawlessly. That midwife had died long ago, and the participating doctor had also accidentally fallen into the water.
Aside from a few core members of the Wang family, no one knew.
How could Xu Qinghuan know? And even produce a portrait?
A mole.
There was a mole in the family.
"Close the doors," Wang Ruhai's voice was cold and gloomy.
The butler was taken aback. "Master?"
"Lock the backyard doors dead." Wang Ruhai pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped the cold sweat from his palms. "Tonight, everyone who has entered this room and served the Madam, count every single one of them."
He threw the handkerchief on the ground and stepped on it.
"Dirty hands and feet, stealing the master's property. Beat them to death with clubs."
The rain in Jiangning City poured even harder.
The sound of the rain was a good thing; it could cover up many noises.
Such as the muffled thuds of clubs striking flesh, the whimpers of people whose mouths were gagged, or the friction of corpses being dragged across bluestone paths.
The lights in the Wang family's backyard stayed on all night.
Early the next morning, several flatbed carts covered in black cloth were quietly transported out through the side gate, heading straight for the mass grave outside the city.
The news quickly spread to the other families.
The Xie Estate's study.
Xie An was copying a piece of calligraphy. After hearing his spy's report, his brush did not stop, he merely curled his lips.
"Cudgeled over twenty servants to death?"
The spy kept his head bowed. "Yes. They said the Madam lost a string of Eastern pearls bestowed by the Emperor, and an investigation revealed it was an inside job."
Xie An's brush moved like dragons and snakes, writing the character for "Endurance" on the rice paper.
"Wang Ruhai is doing this for me to see, and also for that County Princess Xu to see." Xie An set down his brush and looked at the character.
"Yesterday, his stupid wife offended someone at the Ciyun Nunnery, and today he cleans house. This is him stating his position, wanting to use a bitter-flesh trick to smooth things over."
"His bones are too soft." Xie An picked up his teacup and took a sip. "After all, they started as merchants and cannot present themselves on the grand stage. The moment they encounter a slight issue, they panic and throw away even their face."
Little did he know, Wang Ruhai was truly on the verge of losing his life this time; how could he possibly care about saving face.
The next day.
Liu Estate.
Xu Youde was hugging his golden abacus, pacing back and forth in the main hall. His thick-soled cloth shoes were practically wearing a hole through the floor tiles.
"He's here, he's here!" The doorman rushed in, stumbling and crawling. "Master! The head of the Wang family is here! He brought a lot of people!"
Xu Youde's legs gave out, and he plopped down into an armchair. The abacus in his arms crashed to the floor with a clatter.
"We're doomed... He's here to silence us." Xu Youde's plump face went deathly pale. "Daughter, your father told you long ago not to provoke these local tyrants, but you refused to listen. Now look, they've come right to our door. Should we hide in the secret tunnel?"
Xu Wuyou stood by the door, hugging his sword, his face livid. "What secret tunnel? Dad, you hide in the back. I want to see just how many heads this Wang Ruhai has for me to chop off."
Xu Qinghuan sat in the seat of honor, holding a teacup in her hand, slowly and methodically skimming the tea leaves.
"Let him in."
A short while later, Wang Ruhai entered.
There was none of the shouting and killing that Xu Youde had imagined. He hadn't even brought along that butler who always looked down his nose at people.
Wang Ruhai wore an extremely plain straight gown. Holding a red sandalwood box in his hands, his wrinkled face bloomed into a wide smile the moment he entered the door.
"Lord Xu, County Princess, please forgive my presumptuous visit and the intrusion."
Wang Ruhai walked up to Xu Youde. Without waiting for the servants to serve tea, he picked up the teapot from the table and poured a cup for Xu Youde himself. His posture was as humble as a newly apprenticed shop boy.
"Yesterday, my ignorant wife offended the County Princess. I have already taught her a severe lesson upon returning home, and I have come specifically to apologize to the County Princess."
The hand Xu Youde used to hold the teacup trembled like a sieve. The boiling hot tea spilled all over the back of his hand, yet he did not even feel the pain.
Was Wang Ruhai possessed by an evil spirit?
Or was this tea poisoned?
Xu Qinghuan set down her teacup. The porcelain base struck the tabletop, making a crisp sound.
"Lord Wang is too polite. It was all for the sake of the people of Jiangning, so it cannot be considered an offense."
Hearing the phrase "for the sake of the people of Jiangning," the corner of Wang Ruhai's eye twitched violently.
She was dropping a hint.
If that "commoner" at Ciyun Nunnery was let out, the entire Wang family would be wiped out.
"The County Princess is truly righteous." Wang Ruhai placed the red sandalwood box on the table and pushed it toward Xu Qinghuan. "This is a small token of my appreciation, to help soothe the County Princess's shock."
Li Sheng stepped forward and opened the box.
Inside, there was no gold, silver, or jewelry, only a few thin sheets of paper.
Xu Youde leaned over to take a look, and his eyes almost popped out of his head.
They were land deeds.
There was also a contract stamped with an official seal.
"This is the deed for the mulberry orchard in the south of the city, and..." Wang Ruhai's voice grew a bit hoarse, "ten percent of the shares in the Wang family's textile business."
Hiss.
Xu Youde gasped, nearly biting his own tongue off.
Shares.
That wasn't just money; that was a hen that laid golden eggs. It was the lifeblood of the Wang family.
Had Wang Ruhai gone mad?
"What is the meaning of this, Lord Wang?" Xu Qinghuan did not even bat an eyelid. "One does not accept a reward without having earned it."
"The County Princess has just arrived in Jiangning and is unfamiliar with the place and the people. You will need some capital to do business." The smile on Wang Ruhai's face looked worse than crying. "The Wang family has operated in Jiangning for many years. Seeing the County Princess as such a young talent, I am delighted and wish to make a friend. Consider this... my pledge of allegiance."
He called it a pledge of allegiance, but it was actually hush money.
More importantly, it was money to buy his life.
Giving away ten percent of the shares would severely cripple the Wang family, making it difficult for them to maintain their position among the four great noble families.
But he had to give it.
Xu Qinghuan held that secret in her hands, capable of having the entire Wang family executed at any moment.
Rather than waiting for Xie An to show up at his door with a blade, it was better to cut off his own flesh to feed the wolf. If he fed the wolf enough, he could at least save his life.
Xu Qinghuan reached out and picked up the contract from the box.
A flimsy piece of paper, yet it weighed as much as a thousand pounds.
"I have received Lord Wang's sincerity." Xu Qinghuan handed the contract to Li Sheng behind her. "Since we are friends, from now on in Jiangning, certain things that shouldn't be said and rumors that shouldn't be spread will naturally disappear."
Wang Ruhai's body relaxed, and the breath he had been holding in his throat was finally swallowed.
As long as Xu Qinghuan was willing to accept the money, this matter was temporarily resolved.
"The County Princess is absolutely right." Wang Ruhai wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Then I will not disturb you any longer. Another day, I will invite the County Princess to my estate to listen to an opera."
With that said, without waiting for Xu Youde to reply, Wang Ruhai turned and left. He walked so fast it was as if a ghost were chasing him.
It wasn't until Wang Ruhai's figure disappeared behind the screen wall that Xu Youde finally came to his senses.
He snatched the box from Li Sheng's hands, flipped the papers over and over again, and even brought them to his mouth to bite them.
"It's real... this is real..."
Xu Youde plopped down on the ground, hugging the box, his expression a mix of crying and laughing.
"Daughter, did you cast some sort of hex on him? Those are the shares of the Wang family's textile business! Even if the Prefect went to ask for them, he might not give up a single fraction, so how could he just obediently deliver them to our door?"
Xu Qinghuan stood up and smoothed out her skirt.
"A hex?"
She walked to the door and looked at the pattering light rain outside.
"Father, this is called winning people over with virtue."
"What kind of virtue?"
"The virtue of holding his weakness in my hands, forcing him to accumulate some good karma."
(Good morning, my darlings. Because I need to catch a train home today, I'm just posting one chapter this morning!)
