Chapter 370: Where Does the Sudden Storm Come From?

Although it was only the Noble Consort who passed away and not the Empress, the civil and military officials naturally ceased all activities. Marriages were put on hold, birthday celebrations were simplified to just a family meal, and even those who loved songs, dances, and plays sat quietly in the study reading books. Even the wayward sons of noble families were kept indoors by their elders. The relatives of these nobles took turns visiting the palace to pay their respects; though it left them exhausted, they had no choice but to continue.

The Zhang family planned to hold a grand celebration since Zhang You had just been promoted to earl, but after Zhang Qian gave some advice following the imperial edict, all celebrations were canceled. Even gifts from friends and relatives were declined. Soon after, news of the death of Noble Consort Wang reached them. Angered, Zhu Di punished many nobles for their “improper behavior,” issuing reprimands and suspending their salaries, yet the Zhang family remained unharmed.

It was the seventh anniversary of Noble Consort Wang’s death. Although only the emperor, princes, and princesses were supposed to attend the official memorial service, with the crown prince offering his respects from Nanjing, the duchesses, marquises, and viscountesses all went to the palace—Gu family and Dongfang family included. To take care of this nearly seventy-year-old woman, Li Yun and Zhao Fen accompanied her there.

Du Wan, not being a duchess, marquise, or viscountess, only needed to attend the memorial service once after the initial mourning period, so now she was the only proper lady at home. Since she was diagnosed as pregnant, even though she was usually strong, she suffered severe morning sickness. Therefore, Feng Yuanming moved back to the Du family’s house, and Xiao Wu stayed by her side constantly, fearing any harm might come to her. Seeing Xiao Wu cheerfully snatch the tray from her hands, she gave him a annoyed glance.

“Are you saying I can’t even eat plums?”
“Miss, although pregnant women like sour foods, eating too much isn’t good!”

Because the Du family came from a scholarly background, none of their servants were under contract, so when Du Wan got married, no family members accompanied her. Only Xiao Wu, who was free, followed her. After marriage, she continued to keep her Lingxi Amber, Autumn Trace. Today, since Gu family thought Lingxi Amber was reliable, they took the two of them to the palace, leaving only Autumn Trace behind.

“Young mistress, please don’t take this lightly. Morning sickness is unpredictable. I heard from my aunts back home that plums really shouldn’t be eaten in large quantities. Didn’t the young master also give out a bunch of rules and taboos? He said it’s not only for the good of the baby in your womb but also for your own health!”
Touching her still barely noticeable belly, Du Wan saw Xiao Wu and Qiu Hen echoing each other’s words, so she simply lowered her head and ignored them. Gradually, though, her thoughts started to wander. As a child, she had often wished for siblings, but her father hadn’t returned for years. By the time he finally came back and the family reunited, her mother had almost lost all hope of having more children. Fearing that the Du family might go extinct, her mother had suggested taking a concubine, but her father said offspring were determined by fate. Only if he still had no children by the age of fifty would he choose one from his own nephews to adopt. But during those years in their hometown, had she ever seen anyone with a kind heart?
Others were surely not as good as herself. But Lady Wang had nearly lost half her life giving birth in her forties. Her mother was even older than Lady Wang—wouldn’t it be just as dangerous if she really gave birth?
“Young mistress, your mother-in-law has arrived!”
Hearing this voice from outside, Du Wan snapped out of her thoughts. Xiao Wu stood up and rushed out the door. Soon, her clear voice came from outside: “Miss, you’re pregnant and weak. I’ll go greet your mother-in-law for you! Qiu Hen, take good care of the young mistress—make sure she doesn’t get hurt!”
“That girl, I’m not some fragile porcelain doll!”
Qiu Hen chuckled beside her, reached out to touch the teacup on the table, found it cold, quickly poured out the remaining tea and made a new cup. Then she brought over another carved lacquer tray and carefully replaced the cushions on the kang chair beside her. After finishing these tasks, she came over to Du Wan with a smile, gently massaged her shoulders for a while, and said, “Young mistress, didn’t your mother-in-law write that she wanted to return to the capital before the New Year? Why don’t you talk to the young master and ask him to find a government position for your father? Nowadays, except for the eldest master, isn’t everyone in our family in the capital? It’s inconvenient for your father to be in Nanjing—even if he gets promoted.”
“Do you think the imperial court belongs to your young master, where he can appoint whoever he wants?” Du Wan knew Qiu Hen was straightforward and didn’t have much scheming ability. After teasing her a bit, she explained, “Although the emperor wants to move the capital, Yingtian remains the foundation. If your father rushes back right after getting promoted, it might not look good.”

Yet Du Wan understood in her heart that her father-in-law, Zhang Zhuo, stayed in Nanjing mainly for Zhang Yue’s reputation and to handle matters that were not suitable to be dealt with in Beijing. Fan Xiyan, whom Zhang Yue had mentioned before, was still recuperating in Nanjing. The white sugar that Zhang Zhuo had brought back had become a necessity for wealthy families; even when Xi Yu went to visit her on Lady Wang’s orders last time, in addition to various tonics like bird’s nest, tremella, and ginseng, she also brought a pack of this so-called snowflake sugar.

Suddenly, the silver-red curtain in front of the room was lifted high, and Qiu Shi stepped in first. She had always preferred plain colors over extravagance, wearing only a indigo vest over her silk robe. Seeing Du Wan stand up to greet her, Qiu Shi quickly reached out to support her, her face showing an undisguised smile of relief, though her gaze lingered on her daughter’s abdomen for a while.

After the mother and daughter met, Du Wan asked Qiu Shi to sit in the east corner, while she did not sit beside her but moved closer to her instead. After taking the tea offered by Qiu Hen and handing it over, she asked curiously, “Mother, why didn’t you bring Chunying with you today?”

Qiu Shi, who had been smiling, gradually changed expression upon hearing this. Glancing at Qiu Hen and Xiao Wu, she hesitated to speak. The clever Xiao Wu sensed something was wrong, quickly pulled the clueless Qiu Hen out, and after the door curtain was closed, it took some time before Qiu Shi finally sighed and said, “I came today partly to see you and partly because I have a matter I need your advice on. Strange things have been happening at home these past few days. First, one of the guard dogs in the outer courtyard died suddenly. Then, Lao Liao, who went shopping, broke his leg for no reason. After that, a pool of blood was found in the kitchen. The most outrageous thing is that this morning, the few notes your father wrote last night were torn to pieces.”

Initially thinking it was some difficult family matter, Du Wan gradually frowned upon hearing such bizarre occurrences. Noticing her mother’s cold hands, she was startled and asked more details. After pondering for a while, she asked again, “What did Father say about this?”

“That cold-hearted man of yours—what else could he say?” Qiu Shi, who had always obeyed her husband wholeheartedly, felt somewhat helpless now. “Your father said it’s nothing unusual; there are no ghosts or gods in this world, and most of these things are done by humans. If those who do this have malicious intentions, it’s impossible to prevent them, so it’s better to let them act as they please. But he doesn’t even consider that if the notes were torn today, what if it were official documents tomorrow?”

Zhang Yue finished his tasks this morning quickly and happened to return for lunch. Just as he reached the door, he heard the last sentence and pulled back the curtain to enter. He saw only his mother-in-law, Lady Qiu, and Du Wan inside; the others seemed to have gone somewhere else, which puzzled him. He immediately asked, “Mother-in-law, you just said something was broken—a memorial. Which memorial?”

Lady Qiu hadn’t expected Zhang Yue to return while she was still speaking. Remembering her husband’s strict instructions not to tell him anything, she felt some regret. She had intended to change the subject vaguely, but as an honest person, she couldn’t withstand Zhang Yue’s keen curiosity. After a few questions, she eventually revealed the whole truth.

Knowing that the Du family valued discipline and that it was unlikely to be the servants causing trouble, Zhang Yue thought of Du Zhen’s advice from his last visit. Though days had passed, those words suddenly came to mind. The possibility made his brows furrow even more as he kept pondering it over and over.

After killing hundreds of people in Qingzhou, the once-powerful White Lotus Sect fell silent overnight, and its leader, Tang Sairen, disappeared without a trace. The attempt on his life during that trip was also blamed on the White Lotus Sect, leading to Governor Liu Zhong personally leading troops to suppress them. The scattered remnants of the sect were either killed or dispersed. The Du family wasn’t a noble household with many guards; Yuan Fang had even sent people to watch them for a while, but after months with no activity, those guards were withdrawn. Now, more than a year later, strange activities had resurfaced—could it really be the White Lotus Sect?

Though puzzled, Zhang Yue didn’t dare neglect the matter. He made an excuse to go to the outer courtyard and summon Hu Qi, explaining the situation to him. After Hu Qi changed clothes and left quietly, Zhang Yue returned to his room and comforted his mother-in-law once again. After lunch, Lady Qiu insisted on leaving, so he pretended to have work to do at the yamen and personally escorted her to the Du family’s residence in Yangshu Alley. As they left the alley, he couldn’t help but look around.

He had once thought the quietness here made it a perfect place to settle down, but now he realized it was far too secluded!

Not long after Zhang Yue left on horseback with Zhao Hu and several others, two people emerged from a small tavern at the corner of the street. One of them, slightly thinner, glanced in the direction of the dust and smoke before whispering to the person beside him, “Third sister, he’s probably already discovered it. Do we still need to stay here?”

“After seeing what happened tonight, it’s time for us to leave,” said Tang Sair, dressed in a green cotton robe and black cloth shoes, looking like a candidate taking an imperial examination. Unlike Tang Qingshuang, who was gritting her teeth with no expression on her face, she continued, “Though those master and disciple are ruthless, don’t forget our purpose here. Only without those nobles and powerful figures can the world truly be clean. As for their so-called cruelty or being butchers, they’re just knives held by others. If they’ve used us, how can we not demand repayment? We must make them fight until blood flows in rivers!”
Tang Qingshuang nodded reluctantly before snorting coldly, “I get it. All members of the royal family are the same kind of scum!”