Chapter 50: The Oriole Behind
Chapter 50: Chapter 50: The Oriole Behind
Liang Wan stepped over the shattered porcelain and headed out the door. Qiuxi looked at the debris on the floor with heartache. Such a perfectly good white porcelain vase, ruined just like that. She felt that the Lady’s mind was truly becoming more and more incomprehensible. After giving the young maid a few brief instructions, Qiuxi chased after her out the door.
Right after lunch, Liang Jiao had ordered someone to move a spring bench into the small courtyard so she could bask in the sun. Just as she was feeling drowsy, she heard voices outside the courtyard. She immediately pulled off the gauze scarf covering her face, widened her eyes, and leaned forward to look outside. The bamboo shadows were thick, making it hard to see clearly, but as soon as she heard the voice, she knew it was Liang Wan!
"My Lady, please wait for me in the carriage!"
"Alright, hurry up!"
Liang Jiao listened intently, but after exchanging just a few words, the two people outside the wall left. From the looks of it, Liang Wan was heading out. These days, she had been going to the palace every few days, which wasn’t unusual in itself. But she had just gone the day before yesterday. Going again after only a single day was highly abnormal!
With a look from Liang Jiao, the young maid beside her immediately slipped out of the courtyard. As soon as she went out, she bumped head-on into Qiuxi, who had turned back.
"Qiuxi, is the Third Lady going into the palace again?"
Caught off guard by being stopped, Qiuxi hurriedly replied, "No, the Lady is still waiting for me. I can’t talk right now—" She ran off as if fleeing.
Liang Jiao stepped out from behind the door, watching the retreating silhouette with great interest. "Being so secretive about it, there must be something fishy going on!"
In the past, Liang Wan would seize any opportunity to go see Feng Qingyue and Cui Hao. But now? After being screwed over by her so badly, Liang Jiao had to win a round back no matter what!
"Let’s go, we’re going to take a look too!" Liang Jiao said, moving to follow them, while her maid hurried to prepare.
Inside the long-eaved carriage, Liang Wan rested her chin in her hand, staring aimlessly out the window. Before long, she saw a maid in a purple dress running straight toward the carriage. Liang Wan withdrew her gaze and lazily leaned back against the soft cushions. The curtain lifted, bringing in a gust of wind as the purple-clad maid slipped inside. It was Qiuxi.
Panting slightly, she casually placed a round fan on the small table. "Why did you suddenly decide you wanted to use this one, My Lady?"
Liang Wan looked at her bright, watery almond eyes filled with confusion and spoke slowly. "Did you run into anyone from the Fourth Lady’s room?"
"How did you know, My Lady?" Qiuxi asked in surprise.
"I guessed," Liang Wan smiled sweetly. "Let’s go!"
Ever since her marriage fell through, Liang Jiao’s daily routine consisted of racking her brains to find fault with her. Thinking about how her courtyard had been searched back and forth three times under various pretexts, Liang Wan genuinely admired her persistence, though it was a pity her energy was entirely misplaced. She had finally stopped turning the courtyard upside down, only to start taking an interest in her daily whereabouts. If she had to trace back this change, it seemed to have started the day Liang Jiao hid outside the window and listened to her talking.
The RUMBLE of the carriage wheels was like a low lullaby. Liang Wan closed her eyes, the corners of her lips turning up involuntarily.
In Jinye, influenced by the tyrant, ministers seeking pleasure, entertainment, and distraction usually opted to go to the East Market. Meanwhile, in the West Market, only the decades-old teahouses stood out as somewhat prominent.
Seeing the long-eaved carriage ahead wander aimlessly for a long time—stopping only midway to visit two inconspicuous jewelry shops before Liang Wan got back in and never came out again—even the maid beside Liang Jiao was getting a bit anxious.
"What is the Third Lady going to do? If she really wants to buy jewelry, why not go to the East Market? As for this West Market, the area close to the Imperial City is fine, but the further out you go into the nooks and crannies, the more dilapidated and chaotic it becomes." The maid dropped the curtain with distinct disgust.
Liang Jiao shot her a sideways glance, answering a question with a question. "Did Qiuxi tell you the Third Lady was going to buy jewelry?"
The maid blushed and shook her head.
Liang Jiao scoffed. "She’s just trying to cover her tracks!"
"Does My Lady mean she’s not here to buy things at all? Then this is—" the maid paused. "Could she be secretly meeting someone?"
Liang Jiao’s eyes were filled with disdain. "If she actually just went to buy jewelry, wouldn’t it be a waste of the money I specifically spent to hire this carriage?" To avoid being discovered by Liang Wan, she had purposely hired a separate small carriage.
Unexpectedly, just as she finished speaking, she heard the maid exclaim in surprise.
"My Lady! It stopped! It stopped!"
Liang Jiao rolled her eyes at her. She really couldn’t keep her composure. Was there a need to make such a fuss?
She reached out and quietly lifted a corner of the carriage curtain. Not far away, Liang Wan was being helped out of her carriage by Qiuxi. As she steadied herself, she didn’t forget to look around the long street, seemingly terrified of running into an acquaintance. Liang Wan suddenly glanced in their direction, startling Liang Jiao so much that she jerked backward. Her heart pounded—THUMP THUMP THUMP—she had almost been spotted!
The curtain dropped. Liang Jiao peered through the gap again, but couldn’t even catch half a shadow of Liang Wan! Furious, she yanked the curtain open and glared fiercely at the maid. "Hurry up and go see!"
The maid scrambled out of the carriage. When she returned, she reported that it seemed they had entered a teahouse.
Blaming her now was useless. Besides, the more secretive Liang Wan acted, the more there was to uncover!
"Let’s go. I want to see exactly what she’s up to!" Liang Jiao let out a cold laugh, lifted her skirts, and stepped out of the carriage, heading straight for the teahouse.
Upstairs in a private room of the teahouse, Liang Wan ordered a pot of tea. She leisurely poured herself a cup and leaned against the window, watching the women hawking and peddling groceries on the street, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts.
In the past, she had worked just as hard. She had sold groceries, herbs, and even embroideries. Whether it was the dog days of summer or the dead of winter, she had lingered on the streets. At first, she couldn’t open her mouth, couldn’t utter a sound. She wished she could hide in a corner and never be seen by anyone. But after several days without making a single penny, with her Mother-in-law falling ill and Cui Hao hitting brick walls everywhere, reality forced her to bow her head and yield. So, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and clumsily mimic the other vendors.
Later, perhaps because her embroidery was of good quality and reasonably priced, she actually managed to sell a few pieces for a while. Unexpectedly, even this meager business invited envy. Street ruffians from nowhere blocked her every day, making it impossible for her to sell anything. Even if she switched streets, it was the same story. Cui Hao felt bad for her and told her not to go out. It was also around this time that Feng Qingyue learned of their situation. Not only did she lend them money and send them supplies, but she also took the initiative to introduce her to the female relatives of officials—
"My Lady?" A soft voice yanked Liang Wan back from her memories to reality. Qiuxi took two steps forward.
Holding her teacup, Liang Wan turned around and gave Qiuxi a slight smile. "A grand reunion. How wonderful!"
BANG. A door was suddenly kicked open.
Immediately after, triumphant laughter abruptly ceased, replaced by a howl like a slaughtered pig.
"What are you doing? Who is he?!"
Liang Wan casually set her cup on the table. The afternoon sun was a bit glaring, and the shouting from next door was rather grating on the ears.
"No, Ajiao, listen to me, it’s not what you think—"
Mrs. Zhang clutched her lapels with one hand and reached out to grab Liang Jiao with the other. Just as she was about to touch her sleeve, Liang Jiao mercilessly slapped her hand away.
"Don’t touch me!" Liang Jiao glared, completely hysterical. She simply couldn’t believe it. The Second Madam, who managed the Liang Mansion so impeccably top to bottom, had actually snuck off to a teahouse to tryst with a man! Even more unbelievably, this promiscuous woman having an affair was the very woman she had called Mother for over a decade!
The middle-aged man hadn’t expected anyone to barge in halfway through. Pulling up his pants, he felt an immense loss of face, terrified that this wailing and screaming would alert more people. He looked out the door anxiously and awkwardly, but there was no sign of his attendants anywhere.
"I’m going to tell Father!" Liang Jiao snapped back to her senses. With red eyes, she turned and bolted for the door. Before she could even get close, the door SLAMMED shut ahead of her.
"You can’t go!" Mrs. Zhang half-commanded and half-threatened. Disregarding her open lapels, she grabbed her fiercely with both hands.
"Now you know fear?" Liang Jiao sneered and broke free from her grasp. "When you were doing this disgusting thing, why didn’t you know fear?"
SLAP. Liang Jiao stared in disbelief at the man in front of her, her eyes wide with absolute fury. "What gives you the right to hit me?!"
The middle-aged man grew furious as well. "Because I am your Father!"