Chapter 275: Great Joy and Great Sorrow

Although she had anticipated that no gifts might be required for the Crown Prince’s Birthday Festival, the Marquis of Baoding’s household still began preparing early in May, intending to send them to Nanjing when the time came. Lady Lu never dealt with trivial household matters, so it was all up to Zhang Qing to take care of these things. Thus, when news reached the palace that day, Lady Lu couldn’t help but express her feelings to Zhang Qing in the main hall.

“This year it’s fine, but last year was the Crown Prince’s fortieth birthday, and the emperor still ordered that no gifts be given for his Birthday Festival. The celebration was rather quiet, with only a few close ministers offering their regards. Normally, on the Birthday Festival, the emperor would host banquets in the Wenhua Hall for officials from various departments, the Imperial Secretariat, the censorial bodies, the Imperial Guards, and other officials from across the country. Yet even that has been omitted this time.”

Most of the older generation of heroes who had contributed to the Jingnan Campaign were no longer alive; those left were mostly from the second generation. To maintain their titles and privileges, some things were even more difficult than one could imagine. For example, the forty-two silver peach figurines prepared this time could be remade if they couldn’t be sent out, but if nothing was prepared, any mishap might be used against them later.

As the eldest daughter-in-law of the Marquis of Baoding, Zhang Qing had also paid respects to the Crown Princess in Nanjing, so she couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious now. But what was more important now wasn’t the Crown Prince’s Birthday Festival—it was another matter. After thinking for a while, she said, “It’s okay that no gifts are being given; everyone already expected something like this might happen. I just think the emperor might spare my uncle on the occasion of the Crown Prince’s Birthday Festival. After all, the message from Princess Chenliu has been around for days, yet there’s still no news.”

At this, Lady Lu smiled. Although she had sons and daughters of her own, she had always liked Zhang Qing—clever, capable, and kind-hearted. She immediately took her hand, seated her beside herself, and said earnestly, “The emperor always acts according to his own will. Whether it’s executing or releasing someone, he doesn’t consider whether the Crown Prince’s Birthday Festival is approaching. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent Brother Yue to Qingzhou to oversee executions at this time. Since Princess Chenliu has already sent word, we might as well wait patiently. Relying on our husband is useless; he can’t do anything about this.”

Seeing Zhang Qing nod, she suddenly remembered something Meng Jun mentioned when he returned earlier: “I heard your uncle brought back a Puyi woman this time. He was even criticized by the censors a few days ago. He’s not young anymore—how could he become as infatuated as the young? I remember your aunt isn’t easy to get along with. If things don’t stay peaceful in the family, it won’t matter if he succeeds in his career.”

Although she had heard some rumors occasionally when returning home, Zhang Qing didn’t feel comfortable commenting on matters involving her elders, so she just smiled and claimed to be unaware. As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were discussing what to do with the prepared birthday gifts, the bamboo curtains in the main hall were suddenly flung open in a rush—it was Baoxia, Zhang Qing’s maid from her dowry.
“Madam, First Madam, Master… Master has been released!”
“How quickly!” Lady Lu blurted out before realizing her mistake and quickly corrected herself, “Neither Master nor Jun mentioned a word about this. Such an important matter, and there was no news at all in advance… Ah, enough of that. Has he left the Jinyiwei prison or already arrived home? Is he injured or in any trouble?”
“I don’t know either. It was someone from Master’s household who sent word. I happened to be by the Cuihua Gate and heard it, so I rushed here to inform Madam first!” Baoxia explained hurriedly before bowing, “By now, the maids in the inner courtyard must have brought him in. Madam and First Madam will hear confirmation in a moment.”
Although Marquis Baoding Meng Ying and Meng Xian were of different statuses, the two brothers had once had a good relationship. So Lady Lu couldn’t bear to wait inside any longer. She called out to Zhang Qing and stepped out through the curtains. Before she could step down the steps, a maid led an older woman in. At first glance, both Lady Lu and Zhang Qing recognized her as Lady Wu’s personal maid, Lady Xia.
Seeing Lady Lu and Zhang Qing standing at the door, Lady Xia hurried forward and bowed, saying, “I report to Lady Baoding, First Madam—my master arrived home just an hour ago. He’s fine, though somewhat weak. Since he hadn’t received any news earlier, he rode back by himself. It was only when he reached the door that everyone found out, and the young masters and ladies were overjoyed.”
“It’s good that he’s out. It’s good. Amitabha—sister-in-law, you’ve finally waited long enough!”
Lady Lu, who was already a Buddhist, couldn’t help but join her palms together, reciting a passage from the scriptures while holding her prayer beads. Zhang Qing, thinking of Meng Min managing the household, supervising her younger siblings, and taking care of the sick Lady Wu, also felt relieved. After waiting so long, Meng Xian had finally returned.

Returning to the room, Lady Lu sat at the western end of the kang and summoned Lady Xia to question her in detail. Only after learning that Meng Xian had not suffered much under the Jinyiwei did she feel relieved. She kept Lady Xia around to chat about household matters and also inquired about Lady Wu’s condition and Meng Min’s marriage. This chatter lasted for most of an hour. Just as she was about to send Lady Xia away, another maid rushed in, staggering, her face turning pale and blue, her voice filled with panic.
“Madam, my lady, it’s terrible! People from the Meng family in Fengsheng Hutong have come to report that the eldest madam… the eldest madam has passed away!”
At these words, not only did Lady Lu, who was reciting prayers, shudder, but even Zhang Qing, who had just felt relieved, was stunned. Lady Xia, who had been overjoyed moments before, staggered at this shocking news and suddenly fainted. The maids and servants in the room were also shocked—although they knew Lady Wu’s illness was only a matter of time, who could have imagined that just after Meng Xian was released and Lady Wu sent word of good news, she would die so suddenly?
“Someone… get a carriage ready! We’re going to the Meng family’s house in Fengsheng Hutong!”
Regaining her composure from the shock, Lady Lu immediately raised her voice and gave orders. Seeing Zhang Qing still standing there, she hurriedly reminded her, “This is not the time to panic or grieve. Go back to your room and change into other clothes. We’ll go there together. Although Fourth Maid is clever and sensible, she surely won’t know what to do in such a serious situation. Also, remember to bring along all the reliable people who have handled funerals before, and have the accounting department ready at all times!”
Zhang Qing finally snapped out of it and quickly led Bao Xia and Ying Chun out of the courtyard. Instead of going straight to her room, she went to the small meeting hall, knocked on the gong, and gathered all the maids to assign tasks before rushing off to change. As she was a young bride, her trunk contained few plain-colored clothes. After some effort, she found a white silk dress and a white gauze shirt. Bao Xia and Ying Chun helped her get changed, then went inside to change as well.

By the time the three of them finished preparing and went to meet Lady Lü at Chuihua Gate, half an hour had already passed. Lady Lü had changed into simple clothes, with slightly reddened eyes. She was already aware of Zhang Qing’s earlier arrangements and didn’t blame the eldest daughter-in-law for being late. Soon, everyone stepped out and boarded the vehicles. Since they didn’t know the situation at the Meng family’s residence in Fengsheng Hutong, Lady Lü brought almost all the helpers she could, including plenty of white cloth and raw and woven linen. In total, seven vehicles were filled with people and supplies. When they got off at the Meng family’s gate, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law saw the white lanterns hanging there. Despite being prepared, they were still stunned.

Since a group of servants had been dismissed in Qingzhou earlier and another group after returning to Beijing, the Meng family’s mansion, though still large, had fewer servants than before. There was only one gatekeeper at the door. Seeing a long line of carriages stop outside, he glanced at them for a moment before running inside, forgetting to come out to greet them. Seeing this, Lady Lü knew the household must be in chaos. She quickly led Zhang Qing inside and left two reliable male servants at the gate.

Entering the outer courtyard through the screen door, they saw no one in sight. Almost at the end of the path leading to Chuihua Gate, Zhang Qing finally saw a butler running towards them, which made her frown.

“Second Madam, First Madam, I’m truly sorry for the delay. With such a major incident, everything is in disarray…”

“The more chaos there is, the more we must stay organized. At least two people should be stationed at the gate—one to go inside and report, leaving the other at the gate. There’s hardly anyone from the main gate to here. What if some villains break in?” Lady Lü rebuked him sternly. Seeing the butler nod repeatedly, she pointed to the people behind her and said, “At this moment, the master and your young masters and ladies are probably too shocked to act. I’ve brought people here; assign them all to sort things out first.”

The butler had been worried about having no resources to work with, but hearing Lady Lü’s words, he was overjoyed. He stepped back and kowtowed three times loudly, saying, “I am deeply grateful for your kindness, Second Madam! I dare to ask that you and First Madam go inside quickly. The Fourth Miss has fainted from crying, the master is stunned, and the young masters and ladies are also in a panic.”

Hearing this, Zhang Qing quickly supported Lady Lu and led her through the hanging flower gate into the inner courtyard. There, people were everywhere, all moving around chaotically like headless flies, with no apparent order at all. If she had seen such a scene in the past, Zhang Qing would have scolded them without hesitation, but now she had no time for that and could only hurry inside. When they saw Meng Min’s small courtyard in the far north, they heard waves of heart-wrenching cries, mixed with a loud wail.

“Girl Qing, listen—could this be the voice of the eldest master?”

“Probably… I think so.”

As she spoke, Zhang Qing felt mixed emotions. After all, her own father had also spent time in the Jinyiwei prison, and he was still in Jiaozhi, with only a letter arriving every few months. Although Meng Xian had finally escaped prison, he returned to find his wife dead—such grief was hard for anyone to imagine.

Surrounded by those sounds of sorrow and despair, Lady Lu could hardly move. After a long while, she finally sighed deeply: “My sister-in-law endured so much hardship, and finally saw her husband released—she could die in peace now. But for the fourth girl, her world has collapsed…”