RMSPT _ 10

Chapter : 10

Has Xie Zhaoshen Returned to the Capital?

Even her younger cousin would rather knock him unconscious than submit to her. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she couldn’t possibly have been the one who drugged him.

And when she thought back to how odd her mother-in-law had been when she called him to the greenhouse, the answer became crystal clear.

Madam Meng’s expression flickered with discomfort. She couldn’t very well admit that she had planned to humiliate Chu Yun, only for her own son to suffer the consequences instead.

Meng Zhuo wasn’t stupid. He immediately asked, “Then back then, when my cousin fell into the water, was that also—”

“That’s enough!”

Madam Meng suddenly stood up and cut him off. “Who do you think I did all of this for?! It was for the good of you and your father! Even though Grand Tutor Chu is gone, Chu Yun still has a hefty dowry, and Grand Tutor Chu had many disciples. All of this is immensely helpful for your father’s and your official careers.”

Meng Zhuo opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words to refute her. On one hand, he felt wronged at having to marry a woman he didn’t love. On the other, he knew perfectly well that his mother was right.

Without Chu Yun, his father wouldn’t have risen through the ranks so quickly over the years, and he himself wouldn’t have been so highly regarded among his fellow scholars.

Seeing Meng Zhuo’s crestfallen look, Madam Meng couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsher. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Liu Sisi standing nearby and said reluctantly, “You take good care of Zhuo’er these next few days, but don’t you dare lead him astray with your nonsense. If I find out you’ve been neglecting his health, I’ll have your hide.”

Liu Sisi quickly nodded obediently.

Seeing her compliance, Madam Meng’s brow relaxed slightly. With a sigh, she left the room.

After she was gone, Liu Sisi collapsed to the floor as if she had narrowly escaped death, then quietly let out a relieved smile.

Ever since Madam Meng had brought her to this courtyard, she had been watched like a hawk. At the slightest displeasure, Madam Meng would beat and scold her, humiliating her for her lowly birth and accusing her of leading Meng Zhuo astray.

Yesterday, she had bribed a young maid in Madam Meng’s service, hoping the girl would deliver a message to Meng Zhuo for her—words of longing and affection—so she could figure out a way to be taken out of the Pine Crane Courtyard.

After arranging that, she had tried to sneak back, but inadvertently overheard Madam Meng and Nurse Liu plotting beneath the window.

She never would have imagined that a family as well-off as the Mengs would scheme against their own daughter-in-law’s dowry—something even modest households would find disgraceful!

Not that the dowry had anything to do with her. She was only worried that Meng Zhuo might be swayed by the young mistress.

She had only just entered the household and could not afford to lose his favor so easily.

So she found the young maid again, paid her extra silver, and had her find an opportunity today to secretly swap the positions of the two cups.

According to her plan, once Nurse Liu carried the tea over, she would rush to the greenhouse, find some excuse to drive Madam Meng away, and then have a proper intimate moment with the young master, coaxing him into taking her back with him.

But who knew that the moment she showed her face, Madam Meng would order her confined to the Buddha hall? She was frantic, terrified that she had bungled things and inadvertently pushed the young master and young mistress together.

Fortunately, the gods smiled upon her—the young master was carried back under the influence of the drug, and Madam Meng had no choice but to send for her to “treat” him.

Though the path had been winding, in the end, all was well.

And because she had been locked away in the small Buddha hall early on, no one suspected her. What’s more, to appease Meng Zhuo, Madam Meng had finally relented and allowed him to take her away.

How could that not be a blessing in disguise?

————————————-

“Bad news, bad news, miss!” Zhaixing burst through the door in a panic, only to find her young mistress lounging on the couch with her legs crossed—a rather unladylike pose, yet rendered utterly elegant by Xie Zhaoshen’s carefree and languid demeanor.

Xie Zhaoshen said, “What’s the rush? Speak slowly.”

Zhaixing said, “Nurse Li has locked the courtyard gate! She says you’ve been disrespectful to your mother-in-law and has placed you under house arrest!”

Xie Zhaoshen sat up abruptly. “Really? That’s great news!”

Zhaixing said, “What’s so great about it?! It’s house arrest!”

Xie Zhaoshen said, “So what? Now I don’t have to get up early to pay my respects, and better yet, I don’t have to see that old hag and that useless waste’s faces.”

Not that he would have bothered paying respects even without the house arrest, but having a legitimate excuse certainly made slacking off feel much more justified.

Zhaixing was dumbfounded by this reasoning, but… but it actually made sense?

However, when mealtime came, Nurse Li personally delivered the food. Zhaixing opened the food box to find bland, watery dishes that didn’t even give off a wisp of steam.

Zhaixing said, “Are you sure this is right? My young mistress doesn’t care for this kind of food.”

Nurse Li said, “Oh, my dear little ancestor, what do you think this is? This is house arrest. Did you expect delicacies from land and sea?”

“But—” Before Zhaixing could finish, Nurse Li ordered the door shut.

Zhaixing trudged back into the room, head hanging low, carrying the food box. Her eyes were red-rimmed. “The Meng family is too much. You’ve only just recovered from your illness, and they won’t even give you a hot meal.”

Seeing that she was about to cry, Xie Zhaoshen immediately thought of Chu Yun—how she could cry for an entire day as a child, impossible to console—and quickly said, “Stop, stop, stop! Cut it out!”

Zhaixing let out a hiccup and held back her tears.

Xie Zhaoshen said, “If the Mengs won’t feed us, we’ll just go out and eat.”

Zhaixing looked bewildered. “Huh?”

Zhaixing’s confusion persisted from the moment Xie Zhaoshen rolled up his sleeves and climbed over the wall, all the way until the two of them were sitting in a private room at Tianxiang Restaurant, eating and drinking to their hearts’ content.

Even with a chicken leg stuffed in her mouth, Zhaixing felt like she was dreaming.

Sneaking out over the wall with her young mistress during house arrest to feast—how thrilling… Surely nothing could be more exciting than this.

Following her mistress’s lead, Zhaixing took a big bite of chicken. Delicious.

Xie Zhaoshen ate with greasy lips. Mindful of the indigestion from overeating last time, he stopped at eighty percent fullness and had the remaining dishes packed up by the waiter to save for a midnight snack.

After three days of house arrest, Xie Zhaoshen showed none of the decline Madam Meng had anticipated. On the contrary, he was glowing with health and had even put on a little weight.

By the fourth day, the mistress and maid could scale the wall and make their way to the restaurant with practiced ease.

But this time, as they descended the stairs, they overheard diners in the main hall discussing a certain battle.

“In an instant, the wind and clouds surged. General Xie seized his spear, charged two hundred li across the snowy plains, and struck down the fleeing general of the Shuomo army. With their leader dead, the Shuomo forces scattered in utter defeat, offering their surrender, returning the cities, and presenting fine horses and beauties as tribute.”

“Truly a hero born in youth!”

“With such a fine general, why should our Great Yong ever worry about border security?”

The hall was filled with praise. Beneath her veil, Xie Zhaoshen’s face was brimming with smug satisfaction, and his steps unconsciously slowed.

He really should have Chu Yun hear of his heroic exploits with her own ears. Back when she broke off their engagement, she had declared that he was only good at bullying people at home and would tremble in fear at the sight of the enemy—that had made him furious.

“I heard General Xie was supposed to pass through Jiangzhou. I’ll definitely wait at the city gate to catch a glimpse of his majestic presence!”

“Pfft, you’ll be out of luck then. General Xie was indeed going to take a detour through Jiangzhou, but the emperor issued an urgent summons, so he turned back long ago.”

“What?”

Xie Zhaoshen’s heart clenched. He strode over in three quick steps, grabbed the man by the collar, and demanded, “What did you just say? Say it again clearly! Xie Zhaoshen has returned to the capital?”