Chapter 27: Deep in Thought, Fearing the Worst

  Some things can't be thought about too much, once you think about it, the more you think, the scarier it gets.

  Zhang was silent for a while before speaking in a hoarse voice, "Isn't that impossible? Zhao Jiong wouldn't do such a thing. Although the Duke is old now and had many injuries from battles when he was young, they can't be seen from the outside. The imperial physician often comes to our house to take his pulse and has mentioned that the Duke needs to take good care of himself."

  Zhang Chaoyi sneered, "The imperial physician only said to take care of your brother-in-law, when did he ever mention that his life was in danger? Sister, think carefully, after your brother-in-law passed away, did you carefully examine the body? Was there really not a single unusual sign on him?"

  Mrs. Zhang couldn't answer his question because she hadn't actually seen her husband's last moments. She was at the Pillar State General's mansion celebrating his birthday and knew nothing about what had happened at home. By the time Wang Si sent someone to fetch her back, Zhao Jiong and his wife had already dressed the Duke in his burial clothes and placed him in the coffin. The Duke was old, so the coffin had been prepared long ago, as well as the longevity clothes and shoes, which were remade every year and were ready-made. Because it was after the Dragon Boat Festival and the weather was getting hotter by the day, the Jiangnan Marquis's mansion hadn't prepared enough ice to keep the body from decomposing too quickly, so Zhao Jiong and Niu Shi had done all the necessary work ahead of time. When Mrs. Zhang returned home, she saw her husband with a white cloth over his face. In her grief, she wanted to throw herself on his corpse and wail, but was held back by Niu Shi, who begged her to control her emotions. At the time, she didn't think much about it, but later, due to excessive grief, she fainted again. When she came to, the coffin lid had already been nailed shut.

  Now that I think about it, something is not right. The Dragon Boat Festival was already very hot, and according to the usual custom, the ice blocks should have been stored in the warehouse long ago. However, this year the ice warehouse in the mansion belonged to Niu Shi, who said there were none. Zhang Shi suspected that she might be unfamiliar with the old customs since she had just taken over the household chores, or perhaps she was intentionally going against her mother-in-law. But wasn't it possible to buy some on the spot? How much silver could a few blocks of ice cost? For the Jian Nan Hou Mansion, it was nothing more than a drop in the bucket. Why couldn't they find any ice to preserve the body of the deceased Duke, so that before the Emperor had even sent someone to offer condolences, Zhao Kuang and his wife had already nailed shut the coffin of their late father?

  Zhang thought the more she thought, the more terrifying it was. This was different from Zhao Kuang's intention to kill her and Zhao Jiong's family. She was a stepmother, and Zhao Jiong and Zhao Kuang were half-brothers with the same father but different mothers. There was also a struggle for inheritance of titles among them. Zhao Kuang could have killed them out of greed or to eliminate future troubles. However, the Duke, who was Zhao Kuang's biological father, had always been extremely fond of him and disregarded his first wife's opposition by registering Zhao Kuang under her name as a legitimate child and granting him the title of Crown Prince. Even after the birth of a legitimate son from his second marriage, he never considered depriving his eldest son of his position as Crown Prince. Such a loving father who only thought of Zhao Kuang's well-being gave Zhao Kuang no reason to harm him.

  Zhang told his thoughts to Zhang Chaoyi, and then said: "I know you hate him viciously in your heart, but this kind of rebellious and unrighteous thing, without evidence or proof, how can we easily say it out loud? In that case, even if we were originally reasonable, we would be regarded as unreasonable by others."

  Zhang Chaoyi also understood that his words were a bit shocking, but he felt extremely suspicious: "Not that I'm being paranoid, but Zhao Jiong may have done something so treacherous. Sister, when you return to the capital, be sure to find the servant who was on duty at home that day and ask him clearly. Maybe Zhao Jiong did something to offend your brother-in-law? He may not have done it intentionally, but with his foolish appearance, he might have done something foolish that enraged your brother-in-law, causing his old illness to relapse. That Liu Taishi they invited, isn't he usually on good terms with the people in their house? Two years ago when I visited my sister and brother-in-law in the capital, within ten days, I saw Liu Taishi come to their home three or four times to take the pulse of the people in the small room. Maybe there were some clues left on your brother-in-law's body that he helped cover up, otherwise, why would Zhao Jiong not let you see your brother-in-law's last face and then nail the coffin shut?"

  Zhang furrowed her brow, also raising a few points of suspicion. It was certain that Liu Taisheng and Xiaochangfang were on good terms. In fact, the county magistrate had his own usual doctor, but on that day when something happened, Zhao Jiong invited Liu Taisheng instead. At the time, she didn't think there was anything unusual, but now thinking about it, it wasn't very reasonable.

  She promised her brother that after returning to the capital, she would find the servants who were on duty in the mansion on the day of the county lord's death and ask them clearly. If this doubt can be resolved as soon as possible, it would be good. However, these servants may not be so easy to find. She remembered that shortly after that, she and her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson were driven to live in a side house, and the attendants around her were almost scattered. The middle-aged woman took over the management of the mansion, Jiang Shi cooperated, and many positions were replaced by new people. The original people were arranged elsewhere, and it would take a lot of effort to find them again in the future.

  Zhang Chaoyi felt quite satisfied when Zhang's wife agreed. He just thought that Zhao Kuang had a great suspicion in the death of County Gongye, and he was so hasty to dress up and wrap the body, not even waiting for his stepmother who went out to attend the banquet to come back. As the saying goes, "反常即为妖" (anything abnormal is a monster), Zhao Kuang couldn't possibly have no problems at all.

  "He then entered the main topic of today: 'Sister, no matter what the final result is, Zhao Jiong is incompetent and unworthy to be the Duke of Jianan. Shouldn't you petition the Emperor to take back that title?'"

  Zhang's eyes widened: "The title? Take it back?" She didn't quite understand Zhang Chaoyi's meaning: "Younger brother, Zan'er is no longer in this world, who would you take the title for?"

  "Alas, Wei Ge Er!" Zhang Chao-yi said with a sigh of frustration. "The title should have been passed down to the eldest son by birthright. If not for your husband's favoritism towards the eldest illegitimate son, it would be my nephew who inherited the title of Duke of Jian Nan! Now that he's gone, naturally his eldest legitimate son Wei Ge Er should inherit it. My good sister, haven't you thought about this? Wei Ge Er is still young and has already lost both parents. Although he has you as a grandmother, you're not getting any younger either, and being a widow, how many more years can you take care of him? I think Wei Ge Er's spirit doesn't seem quite right; probably the fall into the water damaged his vitality. Don't you worry about his future prospects? If there was a title to inherit, he wouldn't have to worry about not having a good life in the future."

  Madam Zhang's mind was momentarily confused. As the daughter of a scholarly family, she had always believed that only reading books and taking imperial examinations was the right path. Therefore, since her son Zhao Jiong had a talent for reading, she didn't think it was a big deal if he couldn't become the heir, and she looked forward to him passing the imperial examination and becoming an official in the future, entering the cabinet and becoming a high-ranking minister. To her, the marquis title was just a few hundred taels of silver rice per year, plus a set of formal attire for attending court. After her son died, her grandson was also clever and studious, so she continued to take the imperial examination, and in the future, he would still have a high-ranking position. She really hadn't thought about letting her grandson fight for that title.

  Zhang Chaoyi and Zhang Shi were born of the same mother, both from a family of scholars. How could he not understand her thoughts? He sighed: "Sister, even with a title, one can still study hard. The Taizu Emperor did not prohibit people with titles from taking the imperial examination, only that they would be stricter than others and cannot enter the top three. It's actually not necessary for Weige to fight for this title. Having the title of Jianshou Hou is nothing wrong. If he doesn't want this title, who else should get it? Zhao Jiong committed such a great mistake, how can he still be allowed to proudly hold the title of Jianshou Hou? If the Emperor takes away his title, wouldn't that be letting him off easy and allowing his son to continue stepping on Weige's siblings' heads?"

  Zhang thought about the situation and indeed felt disgusted. But if the title was lost, no one in the Zhao family would inherit it, and with the emperor's respect for the Duke of Guangping, it was impossible to let the Zhao family and the Duke of Guangping lose their reputation. In this case, the best result was indeed to let Zhao Wei inherit the title.

  After careful consideration, Zhang made a solemn decision: "I will write to the King of Guangping and ask him to memorialize the Emperor on this matter."

  Zhang Chaoyi secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  The current emperor and empress have no sons, only a daughter named Princess Nanyang who died young. Among the princes, the eldest son was born to a palace maid and died early without even receiving an official title. The second prince, Prince Yanling, was born to a concubine and is mediocre in talent and timid in nature, not suitable for important tasks. The third prince is Prince Guangping, whose mother, Consort Jiang, also gave birth to the fourth prince, Prince Le'an. She is the highest-ranking among the consorts who have given birth to princes. The fifth prince's mother, Consort Wang, was once favored but was demoted to a cold palace for being arrogant and disrespectful to the empress, which also affected the fifth prince who is no longer seen by the emperor. The sixth prince is currently the most favored son of Imperial Concubine Zhu, still an infant, so it's hard to predict his future. Among these princes, Prince Guangping is currently the most trusted and used by the emperor, and everyone in the court thinks he will be a good candidate for the throne, probably to be formally appointed in two or three years.

  You have a future son-in-law to support Zhang's family, and you're not afraid of being outdone by Zhao Jiong and his family.

  Zhang just returned to the old mansion and had a long conversation with Wang Siping, the guard leader of Guangping Wangfu, and Zhang Chaoyi. She was already very tired, and her fatigue couldn't be hidden from her face. Seeing this, Zhang Chaoyi excused himself first, planning to come over later to accompany her for dinner.

  But Zhang Chaoyi left, and Wang Siping, who had been standing silently on the side, did not leave. He looked up at Zhang several times, wanting to speak but hesitating, and then swallowed his words and didn't dare open his mouth.

  Zhang didn't bother to play any tricks on him: "Old Wang, if you have something to say, just say it, don't make such a strange face."

  Wang Siping took another step forward, bowing his waist even lower, and spoke in a voice that was almost inaudible: "Old Madam, you just said to Second Uncle's wife that the Marquis had no reason to disobey the Duke, and would not be unfavorable to the Duke. Actually... there is a reason."

  Zhang's whole body shook, looking at him in disbelief.

  "Old Madam, you also know that on the day the Duke suddenly passed away, I was ordered by him to audit the accounts. I had only just begun when I heard the terrible news. In fact...the accounts of those shops in the East Four Towers were always managed by Master Hou and his wife. The Duke was furious, saying that 200,000 taels of silver were missing from the accounts, and that Master Hou had spent it on things he shouldn't have. He ordered me to investigate. Before I went to the accounting room, I asked Master Hou's wife for the account books. They asked me what I wanted them for, and I truthfully told them it was because the Duke wanted to inquire about something. They seemed a bit flustered at the time, although they did hand over the account books. Perhaps it was because of this matter that they angered the Duke, but it's also possible that it wasn't."

  Mrs. Zhang was somewhat stunned, those few shops she knew were given to her husband by the Duke after she gave birth to their son, in order to comfort his eldest son's heart, the ownership still belonged to the public, only allowing them to eat interest, at least six thousand taels of silver per year to support them.

  She had always avoided getting involved in the affairs of these shops, only knowing that they were very profitable, with annual earnings of around 700,000 to 800,000 silver coins. However, for some unknown reason, their income had greatly decreased since a few years ago, and last year it was only 400,000 silver coins. It's not like their business had declined either. If one were to say that Zhao Kuang and his wife had embezzled public funds for personal use, it wasn't entirely impossible. Given the county magistrate's favoritism towards his eldest son, at most he would just receive a reprimand, so why was he so furious?

  Where did Zhao Jiong spend all his money?