Chapter Seventy-Two: The Troublemakers Had Arrived

In the second branch of the Xie household, across from the day couch in the inner chamber of Madam Xie the Second, stood a middle-aged man of pleasing looks. He wore a long robe with broad sleeves, a tall cap, and flowing bands, the whole of his dress bearing the air of a cultivated gentleman. Yet age had padded his frame, so the delicate charm of his youth was no longer to be seen, and the finery only made him seem fussy.

Madam Xie the Second had never had a good temper to begin with, and at that moment she was quarrelling with him in full fury. “That wretch was born of a concubine. I refuse to believe she had the power to command the servants in this courtyard unless someone was backing her. You know very well who has always been favoring her. Do not tell me this had nothing to do with you!”

“And what do you want? Didn’t I return the child to you? You beat, killed, and punished people to your heart’s content. You would not even spare Fifteenth Miss and hurriedly married her off. What have I said to you? What more do you want from me?”

“You think this can make up for the agony of being parted from my child? That Fifteenth Miss was plainly born of a low-born servant, yet I dote on her to this day because you all kept me in the dark and made me suffer so! And now you turn around and ask me what more I want? Then let me ask you this: what kind of conscience did you grow that you could tear mother and son apart? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?!”

“In any case, I have already apologized to you, and Father has already punished me. Right now, let alone money, I cannot even step out of this courtyard gate. Your child has come home safe and sound, while I have lost so much. I have not even settled accounts with you yet, and you dare turn around and be dissatisfied with me?”

“You are simply, you are simply—”

Seeing how badly Madam Xie the Second was raging, the man showed no intention of stopping. With a snort he said, “What am I simply? If you think so little of me, then let us divorce. It is not as though I am the one insisting on keeping you!”

“Xie Second, have you no conscience at all—”

Madam Xie the Second burst into sobs. Yes, the man arguing with her was none other than her dear husband.

The reason for their quarrel was enough to chill the heart. Madam Xie the Second had beaten the concubine who had swapped her child to death; the matter had blown up, and Xie Feng naturally learned of it. He confined his son and even wanted to drive him out of the house, but because Madam Xie the Second had at least brought the child back, Xie Feng ultimately kept Xie Second. Still, he would not let him leave the house, and if he did go out, he was given no money. Accustomed to ease and indulgence, Xie Second found this impossible to endure.

Moreover, with his beloved concubine dead and his cherished daughter married far away, he bore Madam Xie the Second deep resentment, and so he deliberately picked fights with her.

Madam Xie the Second had endured for years; now she too wanted to vent, and so the two of them argued ever more fiercely.

But asking Madam Xie the Second for a divorce would be asking a fool’s question. She was already in her thirties; if she separated and remarried, she would never find a good household. Besides, the son she had only just recovered had not yet taken a wife. If she lost the position of mistress now, his marriage prospects would be ruined. After all, they were members of the Xie clan, but the main branch still towered over them. Good fortune might not necessarily fall into their laps, and she did not dare gamble.

Even though her feelings for this newly recovered son were not yet deep, she still had to stand as his guardian.

Seeing that his wife would only curse him and would not leave, Xie Second grew bored and was about to depart. At that moment, Madam Xie the Second’s wet nurse, who had come with her as part of her dowry, gave a soft cough at the door.

The wet nurse was one of her most trusted confidantes. She knew that unless something important had happened, the woman would never interrupt her quarrel with Xie Second. There must be a reason.

Madam Xie the Second glanced at Xie Second as if he might be eavesdropping. That contemptuous look enraged him. With a sweep of his sleeve, he turned and strode out.

Only then did the wet nurse come in.

Madam Xie the Second kept her eyes on her. The wet nurse knelt and sat back on her heels before saying, “Madam, someone just came to bring word from outside. They say Young Master Six has been seduced by Miss Six of the Xue family and refuses to come home. He is staying at the Xue residence these days, and even when the Prime Minister ordered him to go to the schoolhouse, he would not go.”

“What does Young Master Six have to do with me?” Madam Xie the Second looked at the wet nurse as if she were speaking nonsense.

The wet nurse: “...”

Then Madam Xie the Second understood at once. The Young Master Six of this moment was her own flesh and blood!

It was all that little wretch’s fault, which was why she had never been close to her son.

Madam Xie the Second frowned. “Which Xue family are you talking about?”

She knew many people of the Xue surname. After all, they were the Xie family. But there was one Xue household she truly despised: the family into which the granddaughter of the Dowager Lady’s maternal niece had married. That old mistress of the Xue clan, along with her granddaughter Miss Eight, had made her lose face before the Dowager Lady, and she had never forgotten it.

Ironically, if not for Xue Fanzhi, Madam Xie the Second would still have been kept in the dark after her son was swapped. But that did not stop her from disliking Xue Fanzhi in the least.

Her son had always been her own; sooner or later she would reclaim him, and she owed no gratitude to anyone. But if the Xue family dared set their hands on her son, they had best not blame her for being ruthless.

The wet nurse knew her mistress’s tastes and, sharing her disdain for the Xue family, said, “My dear madam, who else could it be but that Xue family? The one related to the Dowager Lady through her maternal niece. The messenger said Young Master Six is at the Xue household, and he is quite close with the sixth young lady of the third branch.”

Madam Xie the Second had already been in a foul temper. Hearing that it was that loathsome Xue family, her rage only surged higher.

She snapped, “Absurd! Then have you sent someone to check? Is Young Master Six truly not at home? Is he at the Xue household?”

Because Young Master Six had previously been a concubine-born son, Madam Xie the Second had of course never bothered with him. She would not even spare him a glance.

So she did not know what Young Master Six did all day.

Only after he had just been recovered, and because the child was already grown, did she feel a little closeness toward him, but she was still extremely unaccustomed to it. She merely had his room changed, gave him some clothes and money, and told him to study diligently; beyond that, she made no further arrangements.

The problem was that she had never imagined this child would be so disobedient as to run about everywhere.

The wet nurse nodded. “When this servant came over, I had already asked around. The young master is not at home. He has not returned for several days, and he has not been staying in the house!”

Then the person was very likely at the Xue residence.

Madam Xie the Second’s face grew darker and darker. In truth, her son was already grown, of marriageable age, and as a young man it was only normal for him to be out socializing. Even if he had gone chasing some girl at her house, that could be understood. But the Xue family?

A girl of the Xue family?

Though she was not close to her son, she could not possibly let him marry a woman of the Xue clan. She would not even be worthy of a noble concubine. If a girl of the Xue family insisted on entering the Xie household, then she would be treated as nothing more than a bedservant.

“Prepare the sedan chair!” Madam Xie the Second had made up her mind. With a dark face she said, “I am going to the Xue household to see whether their daughters are truly so worthless that they lose their heads the moment they see a man. To dare seduce people and even set their sights on my son—I will see to it that they learn their lesson!”

By and by, Madam Xie the Second rode in a four-bearer sedan chair to the gate of the Xue family mansion at the far end of Willow Street. Relying on the fact that she was of the Xie family, she did not even present a visiting card. She ordered the servants to tell the Xue gatekeeper directly, “We are of the Xie family. We wish to see your master!”

The head of the Xue household was Xue Yang, but most guests who came to the residence were there to see the old general.

When the gatekeeper heard that it was someone from the Xie family, he assumed they must have no connection with the main branch and were surely here to see the old matriarch. He did not inquire further. Seeing that the visitor’s temper seemed poor, he courteously escorted them straight to the study of the second branch, and then went to report to the old general.