The heat of the day had not yet dissipated. As Magistrate Jiao lifted the sedan curtain, he felt the wave of heat wash over him. Coupled with his unease, his expression was rather grim.
Steward Niu, who had been waiting for a long time, paid no mind to the sweat on his brow and hurried to greet him. "My Lord."
"How is Lianyu's condition?" Magistrate Jiao asked in a deep voice. He took the handkerchief offered by a maid and wiped his face, then continued into the house. "What did Doctor Luo say?"
Steward Niu first handed Magistrate Jiao a cup of cool tea before replying, "To answer my Lord, Doctor Luo examined the second young master this morning. His wound is no longer serious and only needs to scab over. Doctor Luo prescribed two medicinal diets..."
After a while, the sound of water could be heard from the inner chambers.
Washing away the sticky sweat from his body, Magistrate Jiao finally felt comfortable as he sat in the bathtub. He closed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Go to Madam's place for dinner in half an hour."
"Yes, I will go and inform her now." Steward Niu's face lit up with joy. After rumors about the second young master's marriage began to circulate in the manor, the Lord and Madam had argued and parted on bad terms. Today, the Lord was proactively going to Madam's place for dinner, which was truly cause for celebration.
Through the screen, Steward Niu was not afraid of Magistrate Jiao noticing the joy on his face. He turned and left the room, giving a few instructions to the maids waiting outside the door, then returned to the room to serve.
As soon as Magistrate Jiao returned to the manor, Concubine Huang had someone watching the front courtyard. Now, she was busy in the small kitchen. Even with a maid fanning her, she was sweating profusely in no time due to the heat.
"Let this soup simmer for a while longer, then chill it in the well water," Concubine Huang stirred the pot with a spoon. The overwhelming aroma did not whet her appetite, but she still ordered, "That pot of nourishing soup is for Lianyu. Be careful, it's made according to the medicinal diet prescription. Don't add any other ingredients."
"Yes, this old servant is watching. Please rest assured, Madam," the old嬷嬷 replied. She understood Concubine Huang's meaning, which was a concern that someone might be plotting against the second young master through his food.
Madam Jiao managed the Jiao manor's household affairs, but Jiao Lianyu was Magistrate Jiao's designated heir. Therefore, Concubine Huang kept a low profile in the manor, yet many servants had already pledged their allegiance to her.
"Serve this stir-fried lotus pond first, and don't let the steamed duck with fermented glutinous rice lose its steam," Concubine Huang gave a few more instructions. After confirming that the dishes for tonight were all to Magistrate Jiao's liking, she left the small kitchen, which felt like a steam room.
"Madam." Before Concubine Huang could return to her courtyard to bathe, a twelve or thirteen-year-old young maid ran over quickly. After hastily performing a curtsy, she said, "The front courtyard just sent word that the Lord has gone to Madam's place."
After speaking, the young maid hunched her body, not daring to look up. In the morning, the Lord had said he would return for dinner, especially since it was Madam's birthday today, and the second young master had suffered such great injustice.
But who would have thought that after promising so readily in the morning, the Lord would break his word upon returning from his duties in the afternoon? He changed into casual clothes and went to Madam's courtyard. If this got out, Madam would become a laughingstock of the manor.
Her hand, clutching the handkerchief, tightened abruptly. Concubine Huang, despite her efforts to suppress it, could not control the ferocious expression on her face.
The maids and old women serving her now lowered their heads. Concubine Huang was usually gentle and understanding in front of the Lord, but they, as servants, knew her methods.
"I never expected Madam, with her official family background, would resort to such unseemly tactics." Concubine Huang spoke with a smile that was not a smile, almost openly accusing Madam Jiao of being shameless and snatching her husband at her age. How desperate for a man she must be!
"Never mind. Have the kitchen send the dinner over in half an hour," Concubine Huang said again, then gracefully led her maids and old women towards her courtyard.
...
Unlike Concubine Huang, who prepared dishes Magistrate Jiao loved for dinner, half of the dishes on Madam Jiao's table were to Magistrate Jiao's taste, and the other half were prepared according to Jiao Lianping's preferences.
Also, unlike Concubine Huang, who bathed and changed, then sat before her dressing table to meticulously comb her hair and apply makeup, looking more beautiful than flowers.
Madam Jiao, as usual, glanced at Magistrate Jiao with a lukewarm attitude.
A moment later.
"New injuries compounded by old ones, and you don't know to be careful about your diet?" Madam Jiao shot Jiao Lianping a cold glance, successfully stopping his action of picking up food.
Steward Niu, who was serving the dishes, understandingly moved the braised pork knuckle with cured ham from in front of Jiao Lianping to another spot.
"Thank you for your concern, Mother. Son will only eat this blanched cabbage," Jiao Lianping said with a cheeky smile. He indeed picked up a piece of cabbage with his chopsticks and ate it slowly.
Magistrate Jiao knew that Jiao Lianping had a dispute with Qiu Huaixin at the entrance of the Qiu family's villa, but he truly didn't know that Jiao Lianping had also gotten into a fight with Qiu Huaixin. Now, with a bruised and swollen face and that unreliable smile, he looked like an incompetent dandy no matter how you looked at him.
However, considering that the other person involved in the fight was the young son of Minister Qiu, Magistrate Jiao swallowed his scolding, his expression becoming somewhat displeased.
Not hearing any reprimand, Jiao Lianping disregarded the rule of not speaking while eating and not speaking while sleeping. He put down his chopsticks and looked at Magistrate Jiao, "Father, have you done anything to wrong your son and me?"
It was not surprising that Jiao Lianping would ask this. After all, except for the first and fifteenth of each month, Magistrate Jiao rarely returned to the inner courtyard to dine with Madam Jiao. He was either in the front courtyard or at Concubine Huang's place.
Furthermore, Jiao Lianping had fought with Qiu Huaixin today. Given Magistrate Jiao's usual temper, he would definitely have severely reprimanded him. Jiao Lianping felt that Magistrate Jiao had done something guilty, which was why he was making amends to them.
His already unpleasant expression turned as dark as ink. Magistrate Jiao tightened his grip on his chopsticks, but ultimately restrained his anger, "No talking while eating!"
Magistrate Jiao found the meal tedious, but Madam Jiao and Jiao Lianping were in good spirits.
After the maids cleared the table and brought tea and fruit, Jiao Lianping glanced at the grim-faced Magistrate Jiao and said with ill intent, "Mother, according to our Jiao family's rules, how much silver should be prepared for a concubine's son's wedding?"
"It's just an engagement," Madam Jiao interjected. Besides, even if it were a wedding, it would not be a division of the family. Jiao Lianyu was currently only a concubine's son and not an official. Therefore, according to the rules, even if his marriage progressed from the betrothal to the formal proposal, the betrothal gifts would not exceed three thousand taels.
Jiao Lianping held his teacup and smiled, completely disregarding the anger in Magistrate Jiao's eyes. He fearlessly continued to provoke, "If Father is unwilling to let your beloved son be wronged, then you can only divide the family first. This way, you can prepare as much betrothal gift as you want, and it won't break the rules."
Jiao Lianping was the legitimate son and the eldest son. When he married Madam Chen, the betrothal gifts Madam Jiao prepared for him amounted to only five thousand taels, almost double that of a concubine's son. Of course, the private endowments were Madam Jiao's personal savings, not public funds, so no one could say anything.
If the second son, or a concubine's son, married and the betrothal gifts exceeded those of the legitimate eldest son, it would inevitably lead to criticism that Magistrate Jiao did not distinguish between legitimate and concubine-born sons. Of course, after dividing the family, it would be different. Since they would be two separate families, there would be no need to follow the rules for the legitimate son's marriage.
Madam Jiao glanced at Jiao Lianping, signaling him to stop, and then asked, "Today is Concubine Huang's birthday. Did you come to my place to discuss anything, My Lord?"
"Lianyu has come of age, and the age difference with Miss Qiu is too great. This marriage is off," Magistrate Jiao finally stated his intention.
After talking nonsense all evening, Jiao Lianping, who had just taken a sip of water to moisten his throat, choked in shock. He took the handkerchief handed by a maid and wiped his mouth. He no longer cared about his disheveled appearance and blurted out, "Father, what did you just say?"
Madam Jiao was also startled at this moment. Although her expression quickly returned to calm, Magistrate Jiao still caught the surprise in her eyes.
Recalling what Zhan Feiyu had written in her letter during the day, Magistrate Jiao felt a pang of regret. He should have believed his wife. The marriage between Lianyu and Miss Qiu was definitely not orchestrated by his wife, otherwise, her expression would not be like this now.
Madam Jiao finally understood the reason for Magistrate Jiao's unusual behavior tonight. She sneered, "I made the decision to arrange this marriage. If you want to break it off now, please resolve it yourself, My Lord."
Madam Jiao would not go back on her word. As for the previous rumors, since she had already borne the ill repute, she would not "go back on her promise."
No matter what Jiao Lianyu was plotting, Madam Jiao had no intention of interfering with the marriage. If he wanted to break it off, Magistrate Jiao had to do it himself.
"Everyone outside is saying that Mother, in order to control the concubine's son, arranged for him to marry the daughter of a convicted official. Now that the marriage is off, won't people outside say that Mother had to break it off under Father's pressure? With all this back and forth, Jiao Lianyu has gained a good reputation and suffered no losses, while we mother and son have been made the villains!"
Jiao Lianping scoffed, pulling at the bruises on his face, which caused him pain. But even so, he could not hold back his words, "Jiao Lianyu gets all the benefits. He's dreaming too much!"
Jiao Lianping could imagine how the rumors would spread. Jiao Lianyu would be portrayed as a pitiable concubine's son who was constantly bullied. He was a talented young man, but his legitimate mother was unkind, and his legitimate elder brother was not harmonious. With malicious intent, they arranged for him to marry the daughter of a convicted official, hoping to ruin his official career.
Fortunately, Magistrate Jiao, his father, was wise and discerning, saw through Madam Jiao's scheme, and therefore canceled the marriage. The villainous legitimate mother and elder brother became a laughingstock. Jiao Lianyu truly gained both substance and reputation.