Within the Anping Marquis Estate, Li Wanqing had been full of anticipation, waiting for Lu Qingge to make a stunning impression at the Spring Flower Banquet. To her dismay, the moment Lu Qingge returned, she locked herself in her room, and Lu Jin’an’s expression was ghastly.
Alarmed, Li Wanqing hurried to Wensi Hall. "Qingge, did something go wrong at the banquet?"
Lu Jin’an frowned deeply but shook his head. "No. In fact, she even received praise from the Empress!"
Li Wanqing felt an immediate wave of relief. That was good, so very good! But Lu Jin’an’s next sentence nearly stifled the breath in her lungs.
"However, the Empress wishes for Qingge to marry the Fifth Prince."
The words made the world spin around her. "The Fifth Prince? Are you mistaken?" She gasped. "The Fifth Prince has no power or influence; he doesn’t even compare to an ordinary scion of a noble house. If Qingge marries him, everything will be ruined."
Lu Jin’an understood this better than anyone. Great families relied on their children’s marriages to consolidate power. Furthermore, if Qingge married well, it would only benefit him. He had initially hoped that if Qingge could catch the First Prince’s eye, even becoming a secondary consort would be an excellent outcome. But the Empress’s words had shattered his plans. He had tried to salvage the situation, but Qingge’s nonsensical replies had only served to cement the Empress’s intent, leaving him unable to protest.
Now that the Empress had spoken, even those families in the capital who had previously shown interest in Qingge would likely be too afraid to come forward. This path was completely dead.
Li Wanqing began to wail and lament before him. Finding her presence overwhelming, Lu Jin’an brushed her off with a few perfunctory words and had someone escort her away. The only way to change the current situation was for the Empress to retract her request. But how could he make that happen?
As he pondered, a possibility occurred to him. In his previous life, a famine in Yizhou had led to refugees flooding the capital, which had enraged Emperor Yongan and resulted in the purge of many officials. Although the Minister of Revenue, Wang Zhengping—who was responsible for overseeing the matter—had not been implicated, rumors had circulated among the common people because he was a relative by marriage to the First Prince’s maternal family, and the First Prince himself had been dragged into the scandal.
This had not yet happened. If he could use this as a bargaining chip, perhaps he could get the Empress to relent. But executing such a plan perfectly would be a difficult task.
After leaving Wensi Hall, Li Wanqing still felt deeply suffocated, so she went to find Lu Qingge. Lu Qingge was throwing a tantrum in her room, shattering tea sets while her maids stood by with heads bowed, not daring to make a sound. Seeing this, Li Wanqing’s own anger flared up.
"Throwing a tantrum—what good does that do you?" Li Wanqing scolded. "The Marquis Estate is already struggling to make ends meet, and we spent a fortune at the Zhaofeng Pavilion just so you could look your best at the banquet. It’s bad enough that you failed to catch the First Prince’s eye, but now you’ve gone and caught the attention of that Fifth Prince!"
Already feeling aggrieved, Lu Qingge burst into tears. "Do you think this is what I wanted? Do you think I want to marry that Fifth Prince?" She cried. "He’s a fool and a wastrel, not even fit to stand beside the average young lord. I’d rather die than marry him!"
Li Wanqing didn’t want it either, but with the Empress having spoken, there was no easy way out. Her eyes darted around, and she whispered, "Doesn’t the Second Young Master of Minister Wang’s family have an interest in you?"
Lu Qingge looked up. "Mother, what do you mean?"
Li Wanqing paused. "As you said, the Fifth Prince is inferior to any other noble. And now that the Empress has spoken, no other noble family would dare to propose, even if they were interested in you. Why not marry Wang Shuyue? It would put an end to the Empress’s intentions."
Lu Qingge was tempted, yet still hesitant. "But he is just a lowly Wang Shuyue, a second son at that. How could he possibly be a match for me?"
Li Wanqing shook her head. "Not so! Although he is a second son, his mother, Madam Chen, runs the household! She is no pushover, and the eldest son has no mother to rely on. If you marry into that family and provide a grandson, you will certainly be the mistress of the house in the future. Most importantly, the Wang family and the Ji family are kin by marriage. If you and Wang Shuyue are wed, the Empress will find it difficult to interfere!"
Lu Qingge was swayed. "Really?"
"Yes!" Li Wanqing said with conviction. "I will go speak to your father about this. Though it may not be a high-ranking marriage, it is still far better than marrying the Fifth Prince!"
Lu Qingge stopped her, saying, "Mother, wait! Don’t tell my brother yet."
"Why?" Li Wanqing asked in confusion.
"I intended to decline the Empress’s suggestion today, but he insisted on accepting it," Lu Qingge said, resentment in her voice. "He clearly wants me to marry the Fifth Prince so he can use it to his advantage."
Li Wanqing assumed Lu Jin’an was simply short-sighted. Though the Fifth Prince was a royal and aligned with the First Prince, he held nothing but a title. She nodded in agreement. While the Wang family could not compare to royalty, they were inseparable from the Ji family, and Wang Zhengping held a position in the Ministry of Revenue. Once Qingge became the mistress there, she would have enough wealth to subsidize the Marquis Estate—it would be an excellent outcome.
Spring blossomed, and all things hummed with life. As the days crept forward, Su Jinhuan stood under the veranda of Fuhuan Courtyard, watching the three inches of spring sunlight slanting into the courtyard. The breeze was perfect. She already had a lead on the Yizhou matter. Given how obsessively Su Jincheng was working, she expected he would uncover the truth before long. However, this matter absolutely could not be brought to light by Su Jincheng first. The Wang and Ji families were closely tied to the Empress in the palace; if Su Jincheng were to expose it, he would be making enemies in the court too soon. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down—the principle was the same.
"Miss, we’re back!" Xiyin entered the courtyard with Lianshu. With the weather warming up, Su Jinhuan had sent them to the Xiaoyao Teahouse to buy the dragon-pattern pastries that Su Jincheng loved, hoping to use the gift as an opportunity to probe his thoughts.
"Good! Sit and rest for a moment," Su Jinhuan said.
Lianshu leaned in with a mysterious expression. "Miss, Miss, guess what Xiyin-jie and I saw?"
"Oh?" Su Jinhuan prompted.
Xiyin stepped forward. "Enough, stop keeping the Miss in suspense." She turned to Su Jinhuan. "At the Xiaoyao Teahouse, we saw Lu Qingge and the young master of the Minister’s Estate heading into a private room upstairs."
Lu Qingge? Su Jinhuan pondered for a moment and understood. It seemed Lu Qingge had been pushed into a corner and, rather than accept her fate with the Fifth Prince, had chosen to cling to the Minister’s Estate. Since the Minister’s Estate was kin to the Ji family, the Empress would find it difficult to intervene. As for which young master it was, Su Jinhuan had already guessed it was the second son, Wang Shuyue.
But this Wang Shuyue was no good. In her previous life, Lu Qingge had been arrogant, yet foolish, and was easily seduced by Wang Shuyue’s sweet words. She had insisted on marrying into the Minister’s Estate, despite Su Jinhuan having heard of the man’s various depravities from Su Huaize and having tried to dissuade her repeatedly. She had even convinced Lu Jin’an to have Li Wanqing reject the match, which only made Lu Qingge resent her.
Three years later, the wife of a Vice Minister of Revenue had petitioned the Censorate, accusing Wang Shuyue of murdering her daughter. She had wept before the Censorate, presented a letter written in blood, and then dashed her brains out right in front of the building. The incident caused a massive stir, and Emperor Yongan ordered his Imperial Guards to investigate. It was discovered that Wang Shuyue had used his status to kidnap women, engaging in debauchery and taking pleasure in torturing them. Over several years, thirty-eight women had been tortured to death by him and buried in the flower gallery of the Minister’s Estate.
Emperor Yongan was furious and ordered Wang Shuyue to be executed by the lingering death. Though Wang Zhengping managed to save his own life through the Empress’s protection, he was stripped of his position, and the Minister’s Estate withered away into obscurity. At the time, Lu Qingge had already been married and living a blissful life. When Li Wanqing learned of the truth, she was paralyzed by fear, yet Lu Qingge had been too proud to even offer a word of thanks. Instead, she had followed Bai Xiluoge and had Su Jinhuan driven into the back courtyard of the Anping Marquis Estate.
Su Jinhuan’s smile faded. In this life, it was only fitting that Lu Qingge returned to the fate that had always been destined for her.