Chapter 19: The Flute is Overplayed

  Hua Buqi, as the Duke of Wu Guo, not only married two wives but also took in four concubines. However, he seemed to have little luck with women; first, his wife Ping gave birth to a pair of twin daughters who died of illness, and later two of his concubines also died of illness. Now, only Concubine Hong and Concubine Zhang remain.

  Zhang had a son who died from drowning. She now lives alone in the Garden of Memories, rarely coming out except during Chinese New Year.

  Hong's daughter, Hua Bingning, was twelve years old and only eight years old. She was very naive and some people even said she was a bit silly. However, Hong herself came from a scholarly family and had a delicate appearance. Her words and deeds were always calm and composed, very dignified. If her family hadn't declined, it's likely that Gu's family would have been inferior to hers in all aspects.

  Even if Gu's family was dominant in the imperial court, Hua Buqi still gave her face, and every month there were six or seven days when he would stay at Hong's house, unmoving. In the past, when Gu's family tried to use various methods to pull him away from Hong's side, Hua Buqi simply ignored them. Later, when Gu's people made too much noise, he became so angry that he killed all of those people in a fit of rage.

  From then on, Gu's family did not dare to make trouble again. The few days when Hua Buqi was at the Hong's house were the most irritable and depressed days for Gu's family. At this time, the people around her had to be careful or simply avoid her.

  It was night, and in Da Cheng Garden, the lantern shadows swayed back and forth.

  Gu's lay on a rattan rocking chair, eyes closed and gently swaying.

  Mother Zhou knew she was feeling unwell at the moment, so she quietly fanned her on the side without making a sound and occasionally used a handkerchief to wipe away her sweat.

  The whole Dacheng Garden was quiet, and on these few days every month, some maidservants would go to rest early, not daring to offend the mistress of the house.

  "Do you know? I just saw the owner of Xiangfang Zhai, and it's said that Master himself invited him to custom-make new jewelry for Madame Hong."

  "How come you haven't seen it? Xiāng Fāng Zhāi is the most famous jewelry store in the capital, and the designs created by the masters there are even liked by the princesses in the palace. If not for the high price, I'm afraid the threshold of Xiāng Fāng Zhāi would be crowded to pieces."

  "So, Master is really good to Mistress Hong, giving her all the best things... I don't know about Madam..."

  Two maidservants' voices came from outside the wall, sometimes loud and sometimes soft. Madam Gu suddenly stopped rocking in her chair and grasped the rattan armrests so tightly that her fingers turned white.

  Mother Zhou's expression solidified, and she immediately stood up. "Wait a moment, madam. I'll go take care of those two foul-mouthed things right now!"

  Gu's family didn't make a sound, and Zhou Mama turned around and opened the courtyard door to go out. She heard the sound and saw two maids standing in the corner of the wall, talking with gusto. She gritted her teeth and hissed, "You lowly servant girls, shut up!"

  The two girls immediately shut up, seemingly also recognizing her voice, and without caring about anything, they fled to the other side of the corridor. Old Lady Zhou was furious, and suddenly shouted: "Guards, quickly catch those two little prostitutes who dare to be insolent here!"

  Those two maidservants heard her calling for someone and ran even faster. Madame Zhou called out while chasing after them, but after turning just two corners, they vanished into the darkness. She was familiar with every nook and cranny of the entire Duke's estate, and she had always been brave. She was certain that the two little maidservants were hiding in some dark corner, so she closed her eyes and listened carefully, immediately hearing a rustling sound coming from the adjacent wing of the house.

  She let out a cold laugh, and at this time, Hongmei, Hongxiu, and several other maids and house servants had already rushed over upon hearing the noise. She nodded her head, and they immediately ran towards that side room. A servant kicked open the wooden door, and immediately, cries of alarm were heard from inside.

  Someone lifted the lantern to take a look, but saw that on a bamboo mat in the house, two bodies were entwined together. The arrival of the crowd had shocked the man and woman, who were now embracing each other in terror, staring at the crowd with wide eyes.

  "Zong Sheng? Liu Lian? How are you two?"

  Hongxiu immediately recognized who the coward was, Liulian was so scared that her body trembled and she buried her head behind Zhongsheng's back.

  Zhong Sheng picked up a piece of clothing and draped it over her body, using his hand to shield the harsh light.

  Unexpectedly, it was the two of them, but they ruined the chance to catch those two cheap maids. Old Lady Zhou's eyes were cold and stern, "A fine pair of wild mandarin ducks, if you want to be together, you should choose a good day for it. Come, tie up these two dogs and take them to Dacheng Garden, await Madame's verdict!"

  The lady is in a bad mood, and it just so happens that she can use these two to vent her grievances.

  Before long, Zhong Sheng and Liu Lian, who didn't even dare to speak a word of pleading, were dragged out of the Da Cheng Garden. Zhou Mama walked quietly in front of Madame Gu, who was still closing her eyes and gently swaying, "Madam, the two maidservants have escaped, but it's been discovered that Zhong Sheng and Liu Lian were having an illicit affair at Fu Yuan. What do you think..."

  "Gu's family didn't make a sound, and after a while, she waved her hand and said: 'Don't bother, these two cheap maids dare to flatter here, it must be Hong's cheap person trying to irritate me. Today, let her have her way, another day will be her turn.'"

  "Those Zhong Sheng and Liulian..."

  "What else can be done? Zhong Sheng is the only son of Zhong Zhanggui, and this time Long Rui was favored by Mo Qiwei, thanks to his cleverness. Liu Lian is also a loyal maid, let them go."

  "But many people in the garden saw that if nothing was done about it, the atmosphere in the garden would probably deteriorate."

  "Never mind, just lock them up for now and let them go when things calm down..."

  Zhou's mother passed away.

  As they watched Zhong Sheng and Liu Lian being taken to the secluded woodshed, Hua Zhe Yu and his three servants emerged from the shadows, exchanged a smile, and then split up in three different directions.

  The bound Zhong Sheng and Liulian were pushed into the woodshed by several house slaves, "You two are not small in courage, nor do you see what day it is today. You dare to rush to the knife of the lady at this time, don't you want to die?"

  As Zhong Sheng was someone who often appeared in front of the Second Young Master, the household servants didn't dare to do anything to him, but some of them couldn't help but mock and tease, "Something like this has happened, do you want me to call the Second Young Master over to plead for mercy on your behalf?"

  Zhong Sheng hummed a tune and ignored him. The two house servants left uninterestedly and locked the door behind them.

  Everything went black before his eyes.

  The durian, which had been frightened out of its wits, sobbed: "Today is the day of the lady's birthday, and we were caught like this. Given the lady's temperament, she will definitely not let us off lightly. Why didn't you let Zhao San go and call Second Young Master earlier? Perhaps Second Young Master would have interceded on our behalf out of some sentiment."

  Zhong Sheng said with a guilty conscience: "Sorry, you've suffered because of me today. Actually, the second young master is now drunk and unconscious, calling him would be useless. But don't worry, my father still has some influence in front of the lady, once he receives the news, he will definitely plead for us. Believe me, we won't have any trouble, at most the lady will drive us out of the mansion, but it's not bad if we get married outside."

  Just as he was comforting Lychee, a faint footstep sound came from outside the hut.

  "Shh, be quiet, Old Lady Zhou only ordered us to pour the oil, but not to let those two inside discover us... If they shout for help before we set fire and call in people to put it out, how can we appease the lady's hatred?"

  "...it's a pity for the durian, but who told her not to be more reserved, and the lover didn't even choose a good day..."

  The faint whispering sound disappeared in no time, and the night wind blew by, bringing with it a strong smell of kerosene that wafted in through the gaps in the broken wooden wall. The durian was so frightened that it trembled, "Did you hear that, madam wants to burn us to death without anyone knowing, we shouldn't have done this today..."

  Zhong Sheng gritted his teeth in the darkness, "I never thought that my father would do so much for the lady, but she's willing to put us to death just because of one thing that didn't go her way. It's too ruthless! Even if I become a ghost, I won't let her off..."

  At the same time, Qiner had already dragged Zhong Zhanggui out of the house overnight. "Hurry up, hurry up! Zhou Mama has secretly ordered that your son and Liulian be burned to death in the woodshed together. If you're late, it might be too late."

  ”

  When they heard that their son had been ordered to be executed, Zhong Zhanggui and his wife Tian rushed out in a hurry. Before they reached halfway, Yu Rang suddenly appeared from nowhere and said urgently: "Someone has already poured oil on the fire just now, so quickly go to Dacheng Garden to beg for mercy from the lady."

  Zhong Zhanggui was so anxious that he was dizzy and disoriented. Without saying another word, he hastily took Tian Shi to the Dacheng Garden.

  "Zhong Zhanggui, it's already the third watch of the night, what are you doing running here?" Hongmei looked at him strangely as she saw someone rushing into the garden.

  "Madam... madam... My son knows his mistake, please forgive him... I kowtow to you..."