BOUND IN MARRIAGE - CHAPTER 47

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Chapter 47

Aboard the ship, Qin Jiao was stunned for a moment. Before his eyes, save for that bowl of fish soup, the corridor was entirely empty. The Madam had clearly heard the voices of the Master and the Fourth Miss of the Huang family conversing in the study, yet she simply left. He had thought she would inevitably make a scene. Qin Jiao stood dazed for a moment. Surprised as he was, it ultimately saved him a great deal of trouble. He bore no personal grudge against Madam Xiang; he merely wished to execute the First Madam Lin's errand flawlessly. Having studied his entire life without securing an official post, he only hoped that upon returning to the capital, First Madam Lin would reward his diligence with a position. Who could have expected that right on Madam Xiang's heels, the study door would creak open. Qin Jiao turned to see the Fourth Miss of the Huang family stepping out. From the moment she entered to the moment she emerged, scarcely a few breaths had passed. It was likely they had barely exchanged two words. Qin Jiao raised an eyebrow in surprise. Meanwhile, Huang Si-niang, hurrying away from Tan Ting’s study, walked swiftly back to her cabin in profound discomfort. Nanny Zhang had been waiting for her. Having just sent the girl off, the nanny was incredibly surprised to see her return so soon. "Si-niang, how are you back so quickly?" Huang Si-niang sat by the edge of the bed in deep frustration. She knew her uncle had assigned Nanny Zhang to accompany her solely to catch Master Tan's eye, but such an act was truly shameful. Just now, bearing her brothers' essays, she had gone to the Tan Master's study. Allowed in by the servant's announcement, Master Tan had cast her a look of utter surprise. He had not even ordered the servant to serve tea, showing no intention of formally receiving a guest. He merely asked her a single question: "What is the matter, Miss Huang?" Forcing down her unease at the time, she had stepped forward, following her uncle's instructions to present her brothers' essays and request Master Tan's scholarly guidance. But upon seeing them, Master Tan merely nodded and offered a perfunctory greeting regarding her uncle and father. When Huang Si-niang recounted this to Nanny Zhang, the nanny slapped her own thigh. "You truly are too timid, Miss. Though it might have been uncomfortable at first, you managed to speak to him, did you not? Why not continue the conversation?" Huang Si-niang had indeed intended to brazen it out and continue speaking. Yet before she could even open her mouth, Master Tan cast a strange glance her way. The implication in his eyes was glaringly obvious: Why has she not left yet? Recalling that look now filled her with unbearable mortification. "Had I stayed even a few breaths longer, Master Tan would have seen right through our intentions!" To have her motives seen by a man who still had a wife, would that not be utterly shameless? Therefore, she could only leave swiftly, before he detected too much amiss. Seeing Nanny Zhang about to argue further, Huang Si-niang spoke first. "No matter what, our Denghe Huang clan is a family of heritage. Would you truly have me commit such an act that violates our ancestral virtues and ruins my reputation?" With reputation and ancestral virtues brought to the fore, even Nanny Zhang, armed with the Great Master's orders, found it difficult to say more. Her goal, after all, was to see the matter succeed; angering the Fourth Miss would serve no purpose. She immediately offered careful, soothing words. "The Fourth Miss is right. It is this old servant who is short-sighted. In any case, there are still many days left on this journey. There is no rush, no rush." With Nanny Zhang treading so carefully, Huang Si-niang, though still displeased, could say no more. The matter was temporarily set aside. The night wind off the river chilled one to the bone. Returning to her cabin, Xiang Yi sat before the desk and asked Qiao Xing to bring her usual seal-carving tools. No longer needing to expend vast amounts of energy managing the household accounts, she found herself with much more free time. Yesterday, she had just finished carving a leisure seal. Hearing her request today, Qiao Xing asked: "Is the Madam going to carve a new seal? Which jade stone will you use?" Xiang Yi watched as the maid, while speaking, brought out the box of precious jade stones the Tan Master had bought. She stopped Qiao Xing. "Use the ones I bought myself a few days ago." Qiao Xing was somewhat surprised. In the afternoon, the Madam had carefully examined the ten fine jade stones gifted by the Master. Since she had begun carving seals, the Madam had rarely used such high-quality material. Qiao Xing could not help but ask, "Is Madam reluctant to use them? Your skill has improved vastly from before; it is more than worthy of these materials." Hearing this, Xiang Yi offered a faint smile. She lowered her eyes and said nothing for a moment, waiting until Qiao Xing brought over the small jade stones she had bought herself before speaking. "My skill is still too far behind that of true masters. I must continue to refine it; otherwise, once we reach the capital, the seals I make will not fetch a good price, and I will be without a proper source of income." At these words, Qiao Xing’s expression fell. "The Madam still has to work so hard..." Xiang Yi did not mind. Relying on one's own abilities to eat was always the most secure path. She gathered her thoughts, settled her mind, and continued to hone her craft. Yet just as she took the carving knife in hand, familiar footsteps sounded outside. Xiang Yi raised an eyebrow, surprised to see the Master return. Tan Ting had finished managing the clan's affairs and, without lingering in the study, had returned directly to their room. As he entered, he caught Xiang Yi's slightly surprised look. Tan Ting did not know what surprised his wife. He watched her rise and approach to help him change his clothes. "The Master has returned." Tan Ting had told her many times before that he did not require her to serve him in this manner. Seeing her walk over, he was just about to remind her again that it was unnecessary when he noticed a faint chill of the outdoors clinging to her. "Did Yizhen go out for a walk just now?" he asked, unfastening his outer garment himself without letting her lift a hand. Xiang Yi gave a soft sound of agreement, saying she had merely wandered about. Hearing this, Tan Ting thought of the fish soup from earlier. He blinked and cast a gentle look at his wife. "That fish soup was exceptionally delicious. Did Yizhen order it?" Even if she had not delivered it personally, to have such delicious soup in the evening truly warmed one's heart. But as he looked at his wife, he saw her shake her head. "It was Jian-ge'er's order." Her voice was somewhat indifferent. Tan Ting instinctively assumed she was fatigued from the boat journey. Hearing her mention Tan Jian, he let out a short laugh. "In the past, I always felt Tan Jian lacked ambition. Yet today, after reading the few essays by the Huang clan scions that the Huang girl brought over, I suddenly feel he is not entirely useless." Tan Ting shook his head in resignation. The essays Huang Si-niang had brought for his review were all penned by the scions of her main branch. Given they were presented to him, they were likely the more presentable ones; he had not expected them to be of the same caliber as the filler essays his useless brother scribbled. For a moment, it made one truly uncertain of what level Tan Jian was actually at. As he spoke to her so candidly, Xiang Yi's gaze fell briefly upon his face. It was not her place to comment on the affairs of the Huang family, so she kept her head lowered and said nothing. She was always a woman of few words, but normally, when the topic turned to Tan Jian or Yang Zhen, she would be willing to say a word or two. Yet now, she uttered not a single syllable. Only the sound of the ship cutting through the wind and churning the river waves drifted into the cabin. Within the room, there was a silent stillness. Tan Ting could not help but cast a few more glances at his wife. He saw her expression was placid, betraying neither joy nor anger. But the chill of the outside air still lingered about her. As she brought him a hand towel, Tan Ting lightly brushed her fingertips. They were much colder than usual. He could not resist the urge to take her cold hand into his own palm to warm it. But the moment their fingertips touched, she turned and walked away, seemingly completely unaware. Tan Ting's hand froze in mid-air. Earlier at the bow of the ship, when he had lightly held her hand, she had lowered her head and shied away, a trace of unease on her face, almost as if she were shy. But right now, she had simply walked away, her eyes still half-lowered, her expression completely devoid of any ripple of emotion. Tan Ting fell silent and did not speak. Watching her go to arrange the bedding, he rose, stepped outside, and called for Chunsun and the others. "Who has upset the Madam?" he asked, his face dark. But the servants merely looked at one another; none could provide an answer to this question. Tan Ting furrowed his brow. Returning to the room, he saw his wife was already preparing to sleep. She appeared no different from usual, yet Tan Ting felt deeply that something was amiss. "Yizhen." "What instructions does the Master have?" Xiang Yi, having carried the candle lamp to the bedside, asked in her usual tone upon hearing his voice. Tan Ting pressed his lips together, walked to her side, and carefully studied her expression. "Has something happened?" His sudden inquiry caught Xiang Yi off guard for a moment. She did not know how he had perceived it, but in truth, nothing of consequence had occurred; everything was merely proceeding as it ordinarily should. She shook her head and let out a helpless laugh. "The Master is overthinking. Nothing at all has happened." Smiling as she always did, she maintained that nothing was wrong, and having spoken, prepared to retire for the night. Tan Ting remained silent. Furrowing his brow, he watched his wife for several long breaths, hoping to glean an answer from her, but ultimately saw nothing. Over the next two days, she no longer went to the bow or stern to catch the breeze as she had when they first boarded. If Tan Ting did not return to the cabin, he practically would not see his wife. He simply had someone move a writing desk into their cabin, remaining there himself unless he had to receive someone. The ship's cabin was not large, and with him squeezing in like this, Xiang Yi truly did not know what to do. Then, one day, he called to her just after opening a letter. "Yizhen, the Jiangxi examination fraud case is being retried." At these words, Xiang Yi's back went ramrod straight. Tan Ting knew she had been harboring thoughts of this matter, so he handed the letter directly to her. "The Crown Prince's intent is very clear; he truly means to investigate this thoroughly. Not only has he ordered a joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices, but he has also temporarily dismissed the officials from the implicated aristocratic clans, bringing in officials from humble origins to preside over the case." Looking at the characters in the letter and hearing Tan Ting's words, Xiang Yi could not suppress a surge of emotion. This was the Crown Prince giving an opportunity to the commoner class! It was a thorough investigation that no great clan, no matter how powerful, could suppress! If they could overturn the Jiangxi fraud case today, could her father's corruption case be retried tomorrow?! Seeing her hands trembling as she clutched the letter, Tan Ting could not stop himself from stepping forward and wrapping her in his embrace. "I have never fully understood the circumstances surrounding my father-in-law. Once we reach the capital, we will find a way to clear his name. How does that sound?" Xiang Zhiyuan's corruption case all those years ago had been a monumental scandal that shocked countless people, a case already sealed with a final verdict. How could it be brought up again? Xiang Yi herself did not know when such an opportunity might arise, perhaps she would have to wait until the Crown Prince ascended the throne. Yet the man holding her had actually spoken these words. Xiang Yi could not help but turn her head to look at him. He carried not half a trace of jest; instead, he looked back at her with resolute eyes, a complete departure from his previous attitude. She had intended to say that this was a matter for the Xiang family and had nothing to do with him, but under that gaze, she found herself momentarily unable to utter the words. Though she had no intention of asking for his help, Xiang Yi carved his goodwill into her memory. The arrival of this news also meant that her sworn brother, Vice Prefect Yang, and the others were safe. The next steps would depend on the outcome of the Three Judicial Offices' joint trial. The case was not complex, but the trial process was convoluted, having spanned many years. Previously, the imperial court had even dispatched an imperial envoy to investigate, yet to no avail, a clear testament to the aristocratic clans' ability to blot out the sky with one hand. Now that it had been brought out into the open, though a good thing, it could very well trigger widespread upheaval. The very day he received the letter, Tan Ting dispatched messengers to Qinglong and all the gathering places of the Tan branch families, ordering all Tan clansmen to speak and act with extreme caution, ensuring they absolutely did not conflict with the commoner populace at this critical juncture. Having sent the letters, he ordered the ship to accelerate, pressing northward with all haste. In the days that followed, news of the Jiangxi Wuming examination fraud retrial spread far and wide. Perhaps it was precisely because of the exposure of the great clans' tyrannical overreach—snuffing out the imperial examinations, the sole path of upward mobility for the humble, that even before a verdict was reached, the matter was already boiling over among commoner scholars. Furthermore, many frustrated, unrecognized commoner scholars, having caught wind of the news from unknown sources, began writing about the Jiangxi fraud case, mixing truth with fiction, until even the ordinary populace knew of it entirely. As Tan Ting’s party sailed north, during their resupply stops at riverside prefectures and counties over the past two days, they could feel the clamor and chaos in the market streets—a dark, suppressed momentum rising. The commoner populace had originally lived swallowing their pride under the heels of the aristocratic clans. They could endure working as tenant farmers, doing odd jobs, and struggling just to eat, but the great clans had now extinguished their very last hope. Without the path of the imperial examinations, what did these people have to look forward to? Were they doomed generation after generation to be exploited by the great clans, serving as slaves beneath their horses' hooves? The Tan family was also a renowned aristocratic clan. When their ship docked for supplies, they could palpably sense the shift in the commoners' attitudes toward them on the piers. Previously, an abundance of dockworkers would crowd around, eager to work for the Tan family; but these past few days, the people they encountered cast them cold, glaring looks. Seeing this, Tan Ting demanded even greater speed from the ship, eager to reach the capital as soon as possible. Yet ironically, the more they pushed for full speed, the more prone they were to accidents midway. The Tan family's ship struck a massive boulder that had rolled down from the mountains into the river. Though no major damage was done, they were forced to halt temporarily for repairs. The ship anchored by the shore at a place called Lingshui County, and they had no choice but to lodge there for the night. Lingshui itself did not boast any particularly massive aristocratic clans, but it did have minor ones. The grand clans usually still cared somewhat for their reputation and would not exploit the commoners too severely, but the minor clans were a different story. As their party walked through the Lingshui county seat, they incessantly heard commoners covertly cursing the local Feng and Xue clans. A heavy hostility hung over the streets, and the sound of clamoring was ceaseless. Not wishing to invite trouble, Tan Ting's party kept a low profile, staying the night in an inn not far from the county yamen. The area near the yamen was much more normal. Having traveled at full speed for several days, everyone was thoroughly bored on the ship. Seeing that many wished to go out for a stroll, Tan Ting decreed they could only move about on this Yamen Street and were not permitted to wander far. Everyone understood the gravity of the situation and assented to his command. Noticing that his wife had spent the past few days solely carving seals in their room, devoid of the enthusiasm she had during the first few days of the voyage, Tan Ting put down his work and offered to accompany her for a walk. Xiang Yi repeatedly declined, saying it was enough for her and Qiao Xing to wander about on their own, but faced with the man's tightly pressed lips, she had no choice but to agree. However, they had barely taken a few steps when dispatches arrived from both Qinglong and the capital. In such sensitive times, Tan Ting could not afford to ignore news from any quarter. As it was getting late anyway, Xiang Yi took the opportunity to suggest he return first. Tan Ting cast a stifled glance at his wife. It was almost dark; if he went back and came out again, the markets would surely have dispersed. He did not agree to her suggestion; instead, he found a seat in a nearby teahouse, intending to seek her out once he had handled the matters. Since he had made this decision, Xiang Yi naturally could not say much more, and promptly departed with Qiao Xing. Tan Ting, still uneasy, specifically assigned a guard to follow by her side. This place likely possessed a rich scholarly tradition in the past, as there were quite a few stationery shops. Yet presently, they all seemed rather desolate. Xiang Yi picked out a few sticks of ink for Xiang Yu and left it at that. Turning back toward the teahouse, she unexpectedly spotted the two young ladies of the Huang clan in the distance. Nanny Zhang, who was accompanying them to the capital, said something unknown to Huang Liu-niang, then had a maid lead the younger girl away. Only Huang Si-niang remained before the teahouse doors. Neither Tan Jian nor Yang Zhen were anywhere to be seen. Nanny Zhang pressed a tiered pastry box into Huang Si-niang's hands and gave her a gentle push in the direction of the teahouse where Tan Ting was seated. Xiang Yi’s footsteps halted on the street. The sky had grown almost completely dark. The guard beside her asked, "Is the Madam not returning to the teahouse?" As he spoke, Huang Si-niang, carrying the pastry box, stepped gracefully inside. Nanny Zhang and Qin Jiao stood guard on either side of the entrance. Xiang Yi withdrew her gaze and turned around. "Let us stroll elsewhere a bit longer." The sky grew increasingly dark, a black curtain draping heavily over the restless county seat. Xiang Yi wandered elsewhere for a time; many shops were already closing their doors. Just as she was hesitating over whether to return, a sound pierced her eardrums, crashing over them like sudden thunder and lightning. "Murder! Murder!" Xiang Yi and the others were utterly shocked, looking toward the source of the screams. There, in the half of the sky shrouded by the black curtain, flames had erupted into the heavens at some unknown moment, tearing a massive, gaping maw into the night. In the very next breath, a mob of people suddenly surged out from nowhere, charging straight toward Yamen Street where Xiang Yi and her group stood. In mere moments, the panicked, fleeing tide of humanity completely scattered them.

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