Chapter Seventy-four: Unexpected Guest

  Zhang's family, accompanied by his grandson, rode a horse-drawn carriage back to their private residence on Gulou Street. They were still some distance away when they saw several carriages blocking the entrance of the alley. Judging from the luxurious appearance of the carriages, they were not ordinary sedan chairs that anyone could ride in.

  The private residence on Gulou Street is located at the entrance of a hutong, and the road is relatively narrow. With three small courtyards, it can't compare to the deep mansions of the former Nanhou Fu. There's no room to get off the carriage after passing through the second gate. When Zhang leaves or returns, she has to take a carriage outside the door, surrounded by only her grandson and two or three maidservants. Usually, even if she encounters others, they are all neighbors living in the same hutong, almost all of whom are dignified official families. Zhang considers herself an old lady, so there's nothing to be avoided. But today, with several carriages blocking the entrance of the hutong, she had to get off at the entrance, and it was really inconvenient with people coming and going.

  She frowned, and Zhao Wei said: "Sun'er go ask what's going on, please wait for a moment, grandma." Then got off the carriage. She leaned back against the headrest, just about to stretch her waist, when she suddenly heard a cry: "Old lady! Old lady!" But it was quickly stifled, as if someone had covered her mouth.

  Zhang's doubts arose, and he lifted the curtain to ask: "What's going on?"

  Lu's mother stayed in Beijing to look at the house, and her eldest son Lu Dasou's wife hurried over: "It was all the fault of the younger ones being careless and disturbing the old lady. I'll have them chased away immediately."

  "Wait!" Zhang stopped her, "Who is coming?"

  Lu Dazhou's wife hesitated for a moment before saying, "It was someone from the family of Qing Cai, the former senior maid of Madame Yuan in Xiaochang House."

  "Qinglian?" Zhang remembered the name vaguely, "Wasn't she the maid who testified against Jiang's crimes that year?" Just like Hongying. She was a capable and trusted maid by Jiang's side, but apparently not as loyal as Hongying. When Jiang's situation turned bad, she revealed all of Jiang's secrets. However, Zhang didn't ask about what happened to her afterwards. So when he heard that Qinglian's family members came to request an audience, he was somewhat perplexed: "What's going on with Qinglian?"

  Lu Dazhou's wife lowered her head and said, "That year, Yu Dainai entered the Grand Temple Prison, and the two maids by her side died one after another. Qinglian was said to have died of illness, and her family members were driven out by the local government. Later, the local government was confiscated, and they were no longer on the household slave register. They didn't even have a place to go, and it's said that they haven't been doing well in recent years. I suppose they heard that Old Madame had returned and wanted to come over to rely on her. My husband and I advised them not to come, but they wouldn't listen. Although Qinglian confessed to Yu Dainai's crimes, she later recanted and spoke again about what Yu Dainai did back then... She was also an accomplice..."

  "It's pointless to say more." Zhang sighed, people like this may sound pitiful, but keeping them around would be a nuisance. She instructed Lu Dasou's wife: "Give them ten taels of silver and let them go find their own way in life. If they can't make it in the capital, then so be it, they can try outside the city. Either way, they're already off the servant registry, it doesn't matter where they go. They should look for a job that can barely support themselves, with their abilities, it's not difficult. What's the point of keeping them here? No matter whose household it is, once people hear they have a connection to Qinglian, no one will hire them."

  Qingying has produced evidence of Jiang's guilt, which is equivalent to betraying her master. No matter how the officials and nobles in the capital view Jiang, they will not look favorably on her family members. If they want to find a good job, it would be better for them to leave and start anew in a distant place, changing their names and surnames. Anyway, no one will consider them fugitive slaves now.

  At this time, Zhao Wei ran back: "Grandmother, the old lady of the pillar country general's mansion has come to see you and is waiting for her grandmother in the flower hall."

  Zhang heard that it was an old friend and didn't care about the people in Qing's house anymore, hurriedly smiled and said: "It's really late, how early or late did you come? Why didn't you send someone to deliver a message first? If I had known she came earlier, I wouldn't have stayed at the Guangping King's mansion until so late." After finishing speaking, under his grandson's support, he got off the carriage and hastily entered the house.

  Lu Dazhou's wife followed her all the way to the gate, then glanced around and ordered the maidservants to follow before turning back to face the two people whose mouths were tightly covered. Her expression was unpleasant: "Have you eaten leopard gall? Have you forgotten what our master said last time? How dare you come seeking an audience with our family's elderly lady?"

  Those two were a twelve or thirteen year old little maid and a thirty or forty year old middle-aged servant woman, both of whom had their mouths covered by the servants under Lu Dazhou's wife and couldn't make a sound. Upon hearing Lu Dazhou's wife's words, the middle-aged servant woman remained silent, but the little maid glared fiercely at her, struggling with all her might. Zhang Shi had already entered the mansion gate, so Lu Dazhou's wife no longer restrained herself and ordered that they be released.

  The little girl scolded angrily: "We just want to see the old lady, what are you? You're just like us, Mei Xiang is a sworn sister, who's more noble than whom? What attitude do you have in front of us?! We have our own reason for seeing the old lady, if she can't tolerate us, she'll say it herself, what are you blocking for?"

  Lu Dazhou's wife let out a light snort, shook out several pieces of silver from her sleeve pocket and flung them at her face: "Got it? You think the old lady is willing to see you? Just now you saw how the old lady said it, give you a few taels of silver, tell you to go to other places to make a living, don't stay in the capital anymore. Next time we meet again, won't be as harmonious as today!"

  Xiao Yatou couldn't believe it: "Old Madam would never say that! She must not know what we want to tell her, let us go see her!"

  Lu Dasou's wife scolded her: "Stop daydreaming, isn't it just for a few silver coins? Take the money and get out of here quickly! If you don't leave, I'll call the authorities!" After saying that, she turned around and left.

  The little girl wanted to chase after him, but was pulled back by her companion. She didn't understand: "Aunt Tu, why are you pulling me?"

  That Auntie Na said: "Can't you see? That Lu Dasao's wife won't let you meet the old lady, we'll have to think of another way."

  Xiao Yatou's eyes turned red: "How big is that woman's temper? Wasn't it just that Xiaochangfang had a hard time with them and almost got her husband thrown into prison? That wasn't our doing, we were still driven out by Xiaochangfang. Not to mention looking at us with sympathy, pulling us up, but instead not allowing us to see Old Lady, what kind of logic is this?"

  "I told you from the beginning. You'd better not come over, whatever it is, we'll say it for you." Aunt Tu looked at her and said, "No matter how wronged you feel in your heart, no matter how unjustly your sister died, but you're also from the East Wing since childhood, Old Madam probably won't take you in. You insisted on coming, now even we can't see Old Madam, I have proper business to attend to!"

  Xiao Yatou felt extremely guilty: "I'm sorry, Tu Shu. I didn't intentionally try to harm you, I just wanted...wanted to let Old Madam know that my sister died unjustly..." As she spoke, she began to cry. "My sister died for testifying against Dajie, didn't she? My sister took the blame for Second Master and Second Mistress's death, doesn't she deserve some credit? My grandfather is still ill, and we don't have money to hire a doctor or buy medicine. Besides Old Madam, who else can help us?"

  Auntie Tu sighed, bent down to pick up the few pieces of broken silver, and weighed them: "There are also two taels of silver here, I reckon it's enough for your grandfather to see a doctor and get a few doses of medicine. Let's get through this first, then we'll think of another way to deal with Old Lady's place. If all else fails, I'll just pawn that silver bangle!"

  Xiao Yatou's crying stopped, and she looked up in surprise: "Tuzi, didn't you say that the silver bangle was given to you by someone else, and it was a token to be handed over to Old Lady for inspection? Are you really going to pawn it?"

  "Even if we don't have any proof, it's all the same as long as we can see the old lady. If we can't see her, what's the use of keeping the proof? Let's hurry up, saving people is urgent."

  At this time, in the flower hall of the small mansion, Zhang Shi and the old lady of the Zhu Guo Jiang Jun Fu were hugging each other and crying bitterly. The two had been bosom friends for many years, but since Zhao Jun Gong's death five years ago, they had not seen each other again after parting ways at his birthday banquet. Today, they were reunited, and both were somewhat emotional, so Zhao Hui and the old lady's maid tried to comfort them on the side.

  After crying for a while, the two old ladies calmed down, wiped away their tears and sat down hand in hand to talk.

  The old lady of the General's mansion, after being saluted by Zhao Wei, hurriedly helped him up and looked him up and down for a while before sighing: "You were just a child back then, only as tall as my waist. You followed your grandmother to our house as a guest and ran around in the courtyard, so adorable. In the blink of an eye, you've grown this big, just like your father, as if from the same mold. Looking at you now, I feel like I'm dreaming, as if I saw your father's appearance when he was young."

  Zhao Wei's eyes were red-rimmed and she lowered her head in silence. Zhang also choked back tears, saying: "That's right, sometimes when I look at him, I feel like I'm seeing his old man."

  The old lady of the General's mansion saw her sadness and hurriedly comforted her, saying: "Old sister, don't be sad. If his father knew he had grown up to be so capable, he would definitely be delighted."

  Zhang smiled slightly and held her hand without saying a word.

  The old lady of the General's mansion saw this, and after saying a few words to her, she made an excuse to let Zhao Wei and the maidservants all withdraw, before pulling Zhang Shi's hand and asking: "That day I heard my daughter-in-law say that you met at the Guangping King's mansion, I don't know how the Guangping King's injury is now? Is it really true that he can't see?"

  Guangping King was blinded by his injuries and had just submitted a letter to resign from the position of Crown Prince. This matter was an open secret in the aristocratic circles of the capital, but ordinary people did not know about it, only that he had suffered extremely severe injuries and could no longer serve as the Crown Prince. However, for the wife of the pillar country general's mansion, knowing this secret was naturally not a difficult task.

  "Your Highness's injury is secondary, the most important thing is that the poison is very potent. It was this poison that damaged his eyes, if it wasn't for the imperial physician treating him in time, I'm afraid he wouldn't have even been able to save his life. Now all we can do is slowly nurse him back to health, perhaps there will be a turn for the better in the future."

  The old lady of the General's mansion also felt a little sad: "It's rare to have such a good prince, can't it be true..." She paused for a moment, "I don't know who the new prince will be yet. If I had my way, I think the eldest son of Prince Guangping is quite suitable. He's not young anymore and he's clever and sensible, he could be made crown prince. Unfortunately, the emperor only chooses from among his sons, and Prince Guangping doesn't even speak up for his own son."

  Zhang was startled and hastily said, "Why not choose one of the several princes, but instead establish a crown prince? Have you forgotten the upheaval of the previous dynasty? I think Guangping King would rather have Le'an King as the heir."

  "This is also true." The old lady of the General's mansion nodded, "Le'an Wang and Guangping Wang were born to the same mother, a bit older, and smart, but in the past, they didn't like to take care of things, always hiding behind Guangping Wang, looking inconspicuous. However, if you must choose one of the princes as the new crown prince, he is much stronger than the others." She lowered her voice: "At least a hundred times stronger than the sixth prince."

  Zhang Shi was puzzled: "The sixth prince is still young, he's just a companion, who can surpass his several older brothers and make him the crown prince? Why did elder sister mention him?"

  The old lady of the General's mansion coldly smiled and didn't answer her question, instead asking: "I'll ask you a question, young one. You must tell me honestly. The birth mother of the Sixth Prince, Concubine Zhu Li, in the past... has your family ever offended her?"