Chapter 968: Chapter 964: The End (8)
The most important thing is that when the Third Prince framed the Fujian Shen Family and secretly tried to murder Eldest Brother back then, although Old Madam Shen wasn’t the direct culprit, she was indirectly involved. That’s why Fourth Brother had Shen An arrange the meeting place with Shen Ji at Qingyang Slope this time.
"Then what about Fourth Sister-in-law?" The First Madam thought of Xiqiu alone in the palace with her life or death unknown, and her heart clenched. "Will she be in danger?"
Xiao Yanyi recalled Xiqiu’s illness in the palace, and his heart sank as well...
Tong Xiyan stubbornly got into the sedan chair and said in a hard tone, "To the Tong Mansion." The matrons carrying the sedan heard Madam say so and could only look to Zhou Bohan. Zhou Bohan sighed, then nodded to them, silently following behind the sedan to escort Tong Xiyan back to her parental home.
As soon as she arrived at the mansion, she went straight to the First Master’s study. There, she unexpectedly found the whole family gathered: Tong Shen Zhi, Madam Jiang, Madam Xia, Madam Luo, and Tong Minzhi were all present. She ignored everyone and anxiously asked, "Father, how did Sixth Sister end up being kept in the palace? What exactly does the Empress mean by this?"
Tong Xiyan, with her belly protruding, was walking fast. The sight made Madam Jiang’s heart leap in fright. She hurried over to support her. "Don’t panic, sit down first and then talk." Tong Xiyan sat down, and right after that Zhou Bohan also entered the courtyard. Madam Luo quietly helped the pale-faced Madam Xia to withdraw.
When Zhou Bohan took a seat, the First Master finally spoke. "All of you, don’t panic." As he spoke, he told them about Xiqiu’s message relayed through the eunuch. Tong Xiyan immediately said, unable to hold back, "Would the Empress use Fourth Sister’s safety to threaten us and the Xuanning Marquis Mansion?" She had more or less guessed some of the truth behind Shen Ji’s death.
Before the First Master could speak, Tong Minzhi opened his mouth. "No. Old Madam Shen has plenty of ways if she wants to avenge Lord Shen. There’s no need for such extreme measures. Everything they’re doing is for the Eldest Prince’s future. If they really did that, wouldn’t they be cutting off their own way out?"
The First Master gave Tong Minzhi an approving look. Tong Xiyan pressed further. "Then tell me, what exactly do they want?"
Tong Minzhi just shook his head and glanced at the First Master and Tong Shen Zhi. "Precisely because I can’t figure out the Empress and Old Madam Shen’s purpose that I’m so worried."
"Father." Tong Xiyan looked toward the First Master. The First Master’s thick brows were tightly knitted as he replied, "If I’ve guessed right, they’re keeping Sixth Girl in the palace most likely to hint that Grand Commander Xiao should withdraw of his own accord. Only that can explain what they’re doing."
Zhou Bohan and Tong Shen Zhi both remained silent, but Tong Xiyan and Madam Jiang looked stunned when they heard this. Madam Jiang asked, "That is to say, if Sixth Sister can’t be used to threaten our son-in-law, would the Empress simply use Sixth Sister to... cow him into submission?"
That possibility could not be ruled out! The First Master glanced at the worried faces in the room and said coolly, "No. Don’t let your imaginations run wild. The Emperor will be returning to the capital soon. The Empress and Old Madam Shen won’t act recklessly."
His words were not very convincing. Tong Xiyan’s body swayed, and Zhou Bohan immediately supported her by the waist. "Xiyan, are you all right?"
"I’m fine." Tong Xiyan’s eyes reddened. "I’m just worried about Sixth Sister."
Tong Minzhi also clenched his fists tight, his eyes full of indignation and anxiety.
Now they could only wait—wait for the right time.
The room was deathly quiet. Tong Xiyan wiped away her tears, looked around, and softly asked Madam Jiang, "Eighth Sister hasn’t come back?"
"No." Madam Jiang gently shook her head, and Tong Xiyan’s brows furrowed in open disgust.
Meanwhile, Tong Xiyu had just had dinner prepared and personally went to the study to invite Second Master Lou back to their room. "Second Master, dinner is served." As she spoke and walked over, she saw Second Master Lou with his head bent over some writing. Noticing Tong Xiyu leaning over to look, he said, "You go back first. I’m in the middle of something; no need to wait for me." He lowered his head and continued.
Tong Xiyu saw that it was a memorial to the throne and said with a smile, "Husband, are you drafting a memorial? Allow me to grind the ink for you."
"You don’t understand this either. No need for you to stay here." After that he gave Tong Xiyu a casual glance, then frowned and asked, "I heard your Fourth Sister has gone back home. Why didn’t you go visit her?"
Tong Xiyu froze, not quite understanding what Second Master Lou meant. His tone cooled as he went on, "Your Sixth Sister entered the palace and still hasn’t come out. On top of that she fell ill. You’re not worried?"
"Ah?" Tong Xiyu’s face flushed at once. "I...I was going to wait until after I served you dinner, then tell you and ask to go back for a look."
Second Master Lou set his brush down, displeased. "It’s just one meal. I can go eat with Mother later, or at Grandmother’s if need be. You..." He shook his head. "You’ve got your priorities backward." With that, he stood up and closed the memorial in his hand. "I’m going out for a bit. Eat by yourself." Then he left the study.
Tong Xiyu stood there, watching Second Master Lou’s quickly disappearing back, and her heart grew colder and colder. It wasn’t that he treated her badly—when he cared, he would ask after her and show concern—but that concern was limited to matters inside their bedchamber. Beyond that, he would not let her meddle at all, much less ask for her opinion. For example, some days ago, when the Tang Family and the Qian Family finalized the engagement, because Old Madam Tang had been in poor health for a long time, the two families agreed to bring the wedding forward. For such occasions of exchanging gifts between two households, each branch of the mansion would send its own gift, and then the public fund would send an additional one.
But when she took people to the storeroom to choose the gifts to be sent, she learned that Second Master Lou had already sent the Tang Family’s gifts long ago.
She’d been stunned at the time because he hadn’t mentioned a single word about it to her beforehand. That evening, seeing that Second Master Lou was in a good mood, she cautiously brought it up, only for him to brush it off lightly. "I just happened to handle it while I was at it."
This was inner-courtyard business, and he had simply done it without so much as a word to her?
That matter aside, there was also the investment in inns and restaurants in Fujian together with the main branch. He had taken eight thousand taels of silver from their room and sent it to Fujian, and she had only heard about it from Eldest Sister-in-law...
At that time, right in front of Eldest Sister-in-law, her face had felt like it was on fire.
And today was the same again. It was as if, in his eyes, she was nothing more than a garment—clothing he wore on his body. As long as it looked good on the outside and kept him warm, anything else had nothing to do with that "garment" at all...
Aggrieved, she sank into the chair behind the desk and stared blankly toward the doorway.
Tong Xiyang slapped the woman in front of her across the face. Her opponent’s cheek instantly swelled red, but Tong Xiyang was still fuming. "Just mind your own business. What I choose to do is none of your concern!"
The woman immediately dropped to her knees and kowtowed. "This maidservant understands, this maidservant understands."
Tong Xiyang didn’t even look at her and waved her hand. "You may go. I know full well what to do about Third Young Master’s marriage. As for which family he’ll marry into, which match he’ll make—that’s not something you need to worry about." After a pause, she added, "Go down."
Tong Xiyang raised her tea and took a sip. Thinking of Xiqiu in the palace with her fate unknown, she let out a cold laugh. "The higher you stand, the harder you fall. I’m just waiting to see how you die."
