Catching Them in the Act

Jian Zhang charged out in one breath, heading straight for Wei's Eastlight Lodge.

A peach tree grew in the front courtyard of Eastlight Lodge. He had planted it himself when Wei first arrived.

Recalling those sweet early days, Jian Zhang felt as though he had fed all his devotion to a dog.

Once the soil was dug up, medicinal dregs were indeed buried underneath.

Presumably, the child nestled in Wei's belly was not his either.

Jian Zhang was furious!

But her inner voice and the medicinal dregs alone were not enough evidence to condemn Wei.

Jian Zhang summoned his trusted servant, Chang Fu. "Collect the medicinal dregs and have someone examine what they were used for. Keep this quiet."

Chang Fu had served Jian Zhang since childhood; even Min could not order him around. Jian Zhang trusted him completely.

Jian Zhang had left in a whirlwind of haste. After his departure, the remaining servant women in Westglow Garden stared at one another.

Min had been strictly brought up, and her father was the current Vice Minister of Rites. Dignified, composed, and exceptionally steady, she remained as unshakable as Mount Tai even after Jian Zhang left.

Only, curiosity was tickling at her heart.

She held back for a moment, then decided to see whether medicinal dregs really were buried in Wei's courtyard.

"Wait here for the master. I'm going out for a moment." After giving her instructions, Min took two older servant women and headed straight for Wei's Eastlight Lodge.

If Wei really had buried medicinal dregs beneath the peach tree in her courtyard, that meant Jian Ruonan's information was true, and Xilu's marriage needed careful reconsideration.

She was not going to watch the gossip unfold. She was going to verify the truth of that inner voice.

Having absorbed Min's teachings, Jian Xilu was dignified, gracious, and composed.

Once Min left, Jian Xilu, the household's First Miss, was the highest-ranking mistress in the room.

Jian Xilu had helped Min manage the household for a year and commanded some respect among the servants. They all waited for her instructions.

Normally, she would have kept her composure and waited for her father and mother to return.

But she really wanted to verify how accurate that inner voice was.

"I just remembered something I need to do. Wait here for Madam and the Eldest Master." With that, Jian Xilu left with her personal maid as well.

Jian Xilu was not going to watch the gossip unfold either. She was going for the happiness of the rest of her life.

Jian Ruonan: *??*

Why did everyone leave?

What did they go off to do?

Wei's still lying here, isn't she?

Wei was equally bewildered. Cradling her belly, she did not know whether to keep wailing.

Min arrived at Wei's Eastlight Lodge with the older servant women. As soon as she entered, she saw Jian Zhang digging beneath the peach tree with a hoe, while Chang Fu held a heap of medicinal dregs. Soil still clung to them; they had clearly just been dug up.

Jian Zhang: "..."

Min: "..."

When Jian Xilu arrived, she saw her father holding a hoe and staring at Min, who stared right back.

"Father, Mother, what are you doing here?"

"Xilu, what are you doing here?"

"Min, why are you holding a hoe?"

"Xilu, why are you holding a hoe too?"

"Father, did you find the medicinal dregs?"

After a moment's thought, all three understood at once: they could all hear Jian Ruonan's inner voice.

Jian Zhang: "..."

So I'm not the chosen one after all.

Xilu: Wonderful! Everyone can hear her. I don't have to be afraid anymore.

Min: I hope Nan Nan speaks more of these hard truths.

After they dug up the medicinal dregs, Chang Fu took them away to have them examined.

Jian Zhang returned to Westglow Garden with Min and Jian Xilu. Seeing him return, Wei gazed at him with tender affection, one hand covering her belly and the other propping up her body.

Her fragile appearance truly could have stirred pity in anyone.

In the past, Wei would already have bewitched Jian Zhang until he scarcely knew which way was up. Now, the sight of her only irritated him. "Why is she still lying here? Carry her back already!"

Min asked, "Eldest Master, where should we place the copied Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Fundamental Vows Sutra as an offering?"

[My father really goes the extra mile. He's even praying for some other man's child. Bravo, bravo!]

Min: "..."

She could barely hold it in anymore.

Jian Xilu: Pfft-

Jian Zhang: "..."

"Copy what? We're not copying it!"

"What rotten luck!"

[Huh? Why aren't we copying it anymore?]

[Why does my father keep flip-flopping like this? Is he on his man-period?!]

Jian Zhang: "..."

What on earth was a man-period?

From her tone, it did not sound complimentary.

Wei was stunned.

What was wrong with the Eldest Master? He had been so tender and sincere just now. How had one trip outside turned him into someone who refused to acknowledge her?

After Wei left, Jian Chuxue grew lively again. Looking at Jian Ruonan, she asked, "Mother, who is this younger sister?"

Jian Ruonan felt a little nervous. This was the female lead.

As the female lead, she had certain halos surrounding her. Her family, for instance-even once everyone knew Jian Ruonan was the Marquis's Estate's true legitimate daughter, they still treated Jian Chuxue as a legitimate daughter. Afraid Jian Chuxue would feel hurt, Min even treated her better.

Jian Ruonan had never intended to compete with Jian Chuxue for affection. She only wanted to coast through life in the Marquis's Estate, eating, lazing around like a salted fish, and enjoying gossip in her spare time.

So she did not hold out much hope for Min's introduction.

To her surprise, Min drew her into her arms, her voice gentle as water. "This is your fifth younger sister, Ruonan."

Seeing Min and Jian Ruonan being so affectionate, Jian Chuxue asked somewhat resentfully, "Which concubine's courtyard is Fifth Sister from? Why haven't I seen her before?"

Min said, "Fifth Sister is my own daughter."

Jian Ruonan: *!!*

She acknowledged me just like that?!

[That's my real mother for you! Blood is thicker than water!]

[My real mother is the GOAT!!]

[Beautiful Mother, I LOVE YOU! I'll wave the banner for you!!]

Min: "..."

Jian Chuxue asked, "Really? Then why haven't I seen her before?"

"That's because..." The investigation's results were not back yet. Strictly speaking, she should not have been so hasty to acknowledge her daughter, but the more Min looked at Jian Ruonan, the more she liked her, and she felt impatient to claim her.

Though the results were not back, Jian Ruonan's parentage was all but certain.

Min looked at Jian Zhang and tossed the responsibility his way. "Ask your father."

Everyone's gaze fell on Jian Zhang. He cleared his throat. "Go back and serve your confinement first. I have something to discuss with your mother."

Jian Chuxue: "..."

Only after sending both Jian Xilu and Jian Chuxue away did Jian Zhang study Jian Ruonan carefully. With her fair skin and large, dewy eyes, she looked as though she and Min had been cast from the same mold.

Their bearing, however, was different.

Min was dignified and gracious, the very picture of a marquis's household mistress; Jian Ruonan was timid and meek, a country girl who had never seen the world.

But Jian Zhang had heard her inner voice and knew that beneath her timid exterior, she was wonderfully lively.

Jian Zhang and Min went into the inner room, leaving Zang Chun and Zang Qiu to take Jian Ruonan to rest in the Green Gauze Alcove.

"My lord, how should we handle this?" Min asked.

"We'll tell outsiders that Ruonan was in poor health, and Master Chengyuan of the Temple of National Grace said she had to be raised in Jiangnan before the age of ten to avert calamity and receive blessings. Now that she's ten, we've brought her home. When the time comes, teach her some etiquette and take her out visiting. That will do."

Great Xia followed Buddhism, and Master Chengyuan was renowned far and wide. With his name behind their story, no one should question it.

He simply needed to make the arrangements beforehand.

"I'll speak to Mother."

The Old Madam was superstitious. Back then, she had been critically ill and nearly died. Later, a wandering monk came to the estate and said Jian Ruonan brought misfortune upon her relatives. After Jian Ruonan was sent away, the Old Madam miraculously recovered.

The concern was that once Jian Ruonan returned, every headache or fever the Old Madam suffered would be blamed on her.

Presumably, Madam Zhou had been behind the wandering monk as well.

"Then what about Chuxue?" Min felt conflicted. The little daughter she had once cherished at the very tip of her heart had suddenly turned out not to be her own flesh and blood. It left an uncomfortable thorn in her heart.

When Jian Chuxue called her Mother just now, it had felt terribly awkward.

"If being around her makes you uncomfortable, avoid her from now on. In another few years, we can give her a dowry and marry her off," Jian Zhang said. "Where will Nan Nan stay?"

"Nan Nan will stay with me for now." After being separated from her biological daughter for ten years, Min wanted to raise her herself.

Jian Ruonan enjoyed a lovely nap in the Green Gauze Alcove. By the time she woke, it was dinner time, and the maids had laid out the meal in Westglow Garden's main room.

After washing her hands, Jian Ruonan sat at the gem-inlaid luohan table.

Both Jian Zhang and Jian Xilu attended Jian Ruonan's first meal at home. Min had borne four children in all: two daughters and two sons. Her elder son, Jian Huayuan, was away on official business and would return in a few days, while her younger son, Jian Huateng, attended the Imperial College and came home once a week.

Two concubines stood beside them, helping serve the dishes.

[Exactly how many concubines does my father have?]

[Men are all big pig's trotters.]

Jian Zhang: "..."

Where were these pig's trotters? Wasn't there only pheasant?

Min placed a piece of pheasant in Jian Ruonan's bowl and instructed Zang Chun to arrange a dish of pig's trotters stewed with snow peas the next day.

As Jian Ruonan ate, that familiar mechanical voice sounded-

System: [There's gossip.]

Jian Ruonan: [Let's dig in.]

The other three people at the table stirred.

Chewing a rib, Jian Ruonan savored the food while digging into the gossip.

[Wei really has some nerve! She's meeting her lover in the little grove by the courtyard's west side gate!]

[She only just miscarried, and she already can't wait?!]

[Oh, oh, oh! She's hugging her lover and telling him all about her grievances!]

[When Wei cries, she really is a pear blossom bathed in rain. Who could possibly resist that?!]

Jian Ruonan shoveled a mouthful of rice into her mouth, then looked up.

[Huh? Why has my father disappeared again?!]

Min and Jian Xilu exchanged a look, inwardly quipping, He's gone to catch them in the act.

Damn it, we really want to go watch too.