Chapter 15: An Unexpected Turn of Events

  The grand ceremony at Qizhen Temple has ended for more than half a day, and the pilgrims have all descended the mountain one after another.

  On the winding mountain path, two women, Wang Yuehan and her maid Xiao Zhen, descended slowly in the company of a tall Taoist priest, basking in the warm glow of sunset. The young priest was Wu Ming, whose face was always gloomy. If it weren't for the fact that Master Chengzhi had received a large sum of money and ordered Wu Ming to escort the two noble guests down the mountain, Wu Ming would not have left his small hut.

  The three of them stopped in their tracks, taking a short rest under the big tree on the mountain. Wang Yuehan faced the sunset, took a deep breath to calm her disordered breathing, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on her delicate face, shining with an enchanting luster in the light of the sunset.

  Xiao Zhen leaned against Wang Yuehan's side, pointing to the distant mountain top where the sunset was about to disappear, excitedly saying something. Finally, she stuck her head next to Wang Yuehan's ear, pointing to a small wooden house on the mountain, whispering secretly, and soon provoked Wang Yuehan's low voice of blame.

  The two of them made a fuss for a while, and the shyness on Wang Yuehan's face dissipated. She turned around and came to Wu Ming's front: "When leaving the mountain gate, I vaguely heard Master Chengzhi say something to you. Why didn't you go to the town to get a certificate of proof, and then go to the county to handle a unified identity certificate issued by the National Government? Instead, you want it sent from Longhushan? Longhushan is under the jurisdiction of Yingtan, but you are a person from Huanggu Town!"

  Sitting on the stone slab, Wu Ming raised his head: "How did you know I'm from Huanggu Town?"

  Wang Yuehan was slightly taken aback: "I guessed it, your accent is a local accent."

  Wu Ming coldly stared at Wang Yuehan's eyes: "How long have you been in Huanggu Town?"

  Xiao Zhen hastily replied, "It was only last autumn that our young mistress came to this place. Old Lai left their old home in Yingtan on the fifth of July and arrived at Shangrao County on the seventh. They stayed at our Master Wang's residence until after Mid-Autumn Festival, when they took a large sedan chair to come to this godforsaken place. If our mistress hadn't still been recovering from her illness, we would have left for Nanchang long ago. Who'd want to stay here? What are you asking about?"

  Wu Ming nodded: "There's something you should have heard about. Last summer, a poor man from Wujiacun Village in Zhenxi was killed by the Chen family of Huanggu Town. Later, his son went to avenge him, but failed and was instead framed by the Chen family as ***, thrown into the county prison, and tortured nearly to death. This incident caused quite a stir at the time, and people from Huanggu Town and surrounding villages all knew about it. You can't have not heard about it, right?"

  Wang Yuehan and Xiao Zhen looked at each other in dismay, finally shifting their gaze to Wu Wei's face.

  Xiao Zhen's big eyes widened: "I heard that the person who sneaked into our mansion with a knife on that deep night was rescued by several hundred **thieves, and on the day of the jailbreak, the county town was filled with gunfire and bloodshed, with over twenty casualties among our Master Wang's soldiers alone. More than ten mansions of officials and wealthy families were burned to ashes. Later, I heard that the audacious villain even dared to return to Tianjia Village on New Year's Day to pay respects to his deceased mother, which led to a doubling of our mansion's guards until Second Young Master secretly sent over a dozen long and short guns from Nanchang. But as soon as night falls, the steward and the martial arts instructor must patrol the front and back yards, forbidding the servants from moving about, fearing that the fugitive would come again to kill people. Hmm? Why are you asking this?"

  "What do you think?" Wu Ming looked over coldly.

  Xiao Zhen was so frightened that she let out a cry and hastily retreated two steps before sitting down on the stone steps with a thud.

  Wang Yuexuan helped up Xiao Zhen, her slender body trembling slightly, her eyes filled with sorrow and pain. After a long while, she suppressed the turmoil in her heart and took a step forward, looking at Wu Ming with concern: "Have you been hiding in Qizhen Temple all along?"

  Wu Ming reluctantly nodded: "Can't afford to provoke, can't avoid? Let's not talk about this anymore. Thank you and Xiao Zhen for helping me clean up so many things, it saved me a lot of trouble. Don't worry, I'll leave in two days, the world is big and I'll find my own place to settle down. From now on, don't come here again either, the mountain road is not easy to walk, and right or wrong can't be clearly said."

  Wang Yuehan was silent for a moment, then turned around and helped up Xiao Zhen, whose hands and feet had gone soft: "Xiao Zhen don't be afraid, rumors are not to be believed, Wu Daozhang is not the kind of fierce bandit they said he was. Otherwise, he wouldn't have risked his life to save us in the broken temple. Don't be afraid, you go down the mountain first and wait for me, I'll talk to Wu Daozhang for a bit and then come back."

  Xiao Zhen was at a loss, frequently nodding her head and turning to leave, but after walking a few steps, she turned back again. Seeing Wang Yuehan gesturing for her to leave, she hastily and flusteredly quickened her pace down the mountain.

  Wang Yuehan looked at Wu Ming, who was expressionless, and after a while, she mustered up the courage to ask: "So, you already know your own origins, and also know who I am?"

  Wu Ming nodded silently, his deep eyes revealing no emotions, as if he didn't care about any of this.

  Wang Yuhe gently stroked her hair blown by the mountain wind: "From the moment I saw you, I've been guessing that you look too much like Chen's older brother who passed away. I also heard a lot about you, and my heart was full of doubts, but I couldn't confirm them, nor did I dare ask anyone in the mansion. Later, when chatting with Third Aunt, she told me the whole story from beginning to end, and I finally knew your background, knew about your mother's hardships... I'm so sad."

  Wu Ming stood up: "This matter has nothing to do with you, all right, take care of yourself!"

  "Wait!" Wang Yuehan chased up the two-level stone steps, her eyes flushed with a hint of red, her face full of an irrepressible reluctance: "Can you tell me where you're going?"

  Wu Ming's figure paused, slowly turning around, his eyes revealing a rare sense of sadness and warmth: "I don't know either, maybe Shanghai, maybe Guangzhou or even Hong Kong, let's take it one step at a time."

  Wang Yuehan looked up at Wu Ming with a despondent expression and couldn't say a word.

  Wu Ming let out a long sigh, turned around and strode up the mountain. As his figure disappeared at the bend above, Wang Yuehan's eyes were already brimming with tears, and she sat down weakly on the stone steps, crying.

  The night had fallen, and in the main hall of the Chen Mansion in Huanggu Town, lanterns were hung high, creating a solemn atmosphere.

  Chen Ji-yao sat upright in the main hall's taishi chair, his eyes slightly closed and his complexion not looking good. To one side sat a woman in her forties with a plump figure, round face, pale skin, and regular features; it was clear that she had been very pretty when young, and if not for her slightly large mouth and thin lips, could be described as elegant and refined. She wore a dark blue silk blouse with a floral pattern, her hair was shiny and neat, and the golden phoenix hairpin on her head quivered frequently.

  A tall, imposing butler in a black velvet livery stood behind the woman, four sturdy and sharp-eyed housemen were distributed on either side of the hall, and everyone's eyes were focused on the coachman kneeling in the center of the main hall.

  The flustered coachman had truthfully reported the process of sending Madame Wang Yuehuan to pray at the Zhenzhen Temple today, and said that he was careful not to delay on the way back and forth. However, he could not explain why it was dark before he arrived home, only repeatedly explaining that Madame Wang descended the mountain a bit late, and didn't arrive at the foot of the mountain until after sunset, then hurried home without any further delay.

  "Get out!"

  The cart driver scrambled up amidst the shrill scolding of the woman, repeatedly apologizing and bowing as he fled.

  The woman then let the family members retreat, stood up and walked to Chen Jiyao's face, which was iron-green: "Master, you've all heard it. What kind of incense did your daughter-in-law burn that took so long? The ceremony at Zhen Guan Temple ended at noon, and people from the town who went to burn incense had already returned early, except for your daughter-in-law. It's just a few steps down the mountain, and she can walk back and forth in an hour. Why did she only come down to the foot of the mountain at night? She is not a little daughter-in-law with three-inch golden lotus feet. If we provoke some gossip, where will our Chen family put their face?"

  "All right, all right! Tomorrow morning when she asks for peace, just say a few words of warning to her. You are the first wife, and it's your duty to discipline the family members." Chen Jiayao stood up impatiently, feeling inexplicably entangled in his heart.

  "Master, you should also scold her! She thinks she's so high and mighty just because she read a few books in the provincial city. Ever since she entered our Chen family, she's been putting on airs, looking down on everyone with that stuck-up face of hers. What right does she have? The Wang family may be a big clan, but she's just a concubine's daughter from a side branch - what nobility is there in that? If it weren't for the sake of Eldest Brother Wang, I wouldn't be so tolerant of her! It's hard being me, Master. All I know is that as a Chen family daughter-in-law, one must behave properly. She's not that crazy, talented woman from Nanchang city anymore. A married woman should guard her virtue, but she's always going out and showing off without any shame. Last time, if it weren't for her going into the city to get some new book, how would we have invited disaster from the government troops? And now, who knows whether she's still clean or not? If you and Third Mistress continue to spoil her like this, I fear that one day our Chen family's face will be completely lost!"

  "That's enough!"

  Chen Ji-yao glared at the old lady, "After the Spring Festival, I told you repeatedly to send your daughter-in-law to Nanchang quickly, let her and Kang Er live their own lives, and also give birth to a boy or girl as soon as possible to carry on the family line. If you're worried, you can go with them! But you kept dragging your feet, talking nonsense, whose fault is it if things don't go well? Hmph!"

  "Old master......"

  Chen Ji-yao turned and left without looking back, the old lady was so angry that she stomped her feet, seeing Chen Ji-yao heading towards San Niang's courtyard, the old lady suddenly felt extremely wronged, holding her heart and crying tears like rain.

  The steward, who was hiding aside, hurried up to support her: "Sister, this matter is not over, but you can't stay stiff like this, otherwise it will only make your brother-in-law disgusted."

  "This is murder! I've been married to the Chen family for 28 years, given birth to two sons for the Chen family. How can he treat me like this? That vixen from Dongyuan only gave birth to a daughter, didn't even give the Chen family a single heir, yet he's always doting on her and favoring her, is it because I'm old and worn out?" The first wife wailed in tears, leaning against her brother.

  "Shh, sister, keep your voice down! Think about it, as the legitimate wife and mistress of the Chen household, who is more respected than you? The reason things have turned out this way is that you're too kind-hearted. Your brother-in-law's tone just now was saying that you haven't managed the household well! You hold all the power, so why not use it? In my opinion, take advantage of today's incident to establish your authority. If Kong'er's wife can't be touched, can't that little vixen of a maid by her side be dealt with? The master has erred, the servant is guilty - bring that maid in for questioning and don't worry about not finding any evidence! Even if she's beaten to death, it's what she deserves. The law won't intervene. Use this incident to make an example out of someone and let everyone in the household see who's really in charge!"

  The old lady came to her senses, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that her brother's words were reasonable. She suddenly felt enlightened and her blood boiling, she wiped away the tears on her face with one hand, gritted her teeth and ordered: "You go, call Qingping from my room to take a trip to Xiyuan, bring that splashing girl to my room, and also bring the two old women from the kitchen together. Today I must vent my anger, humph! If I don't show my power, it won't do!"

  The housekeeper smiled slyly: "That's right! Sister, in my opinion, the young lady is probably problematic, otherwise why would she be involved in so many troubles? You go back to your room and rest, I'll go order someone to bring that sharp-tongued maid over, let a few women go up and give her a good scolding, see if her mouth is harder or the board is harder, maybe we can even dig out some unspeakable things."