The Beauty Within the Gates
Chapter 95
The Eldest Madam Wei approached Wen Shuse and asked after the Old Madam Xie. “I heard Old Madam has arrived. How has her health been?”
Wen Shuse nodded. “Many thanks for Madam Wei’s concern. Old Madam is doing well.”
But these were only polite words. The Xie family’s eldest branch had suffered a calamity. Although Master Xie had brought about his own death, to Old Madam, it was still the grief of a white-haired elder sending off a black-haired child. Having endured one of life’s greatest sorrows, she had grown much more haggard than before.
The Xie family’s eldest branch still remained in Fengcheng, and it was also one of Old Madam Xie’s lingering worries.
Eldest Madam Xie had gone mad, and all the household affairs had fallen onto the Second Young Master’s shoulders, but he had never been reliable to begin with. He only knew how to indulge in wine and pleasure. Now that trouble had struck the family, he could neither lift a hand nor shoulder a burden. Not only did he refuse to take responsibility, but his temper grew worse. Whenever Second Young Madam and the child cried too much, he would simply slap his thigh and leave, not returning home for days.
Second Young Madam held a nursing infant in her arms. At first, she also cried, made a scene, and threatened to hang herself, but what use was that? She had already married into the family, and she already had a child. She did want to throw herself into the river and end it all, but she could not bear to abandon the baby. So, she forced herself to gather her spirits and hold the household together.
There were still two unmarried young ladies in the household. In the past, they had been the ones picking and choosing among others. But once Eldest Master Xie died, it became others’ turn to pick and choose them. The Eldest Young Lady was fortunate to have been betrothed earlier, and was only waiting for the wedding day. The Second Lady, however, had rejected one match after another, and now she had been completely left aside.
Before Second Master Xie and Second Madam left Fengcheng with Old Madam, they had once considered bringing the Second Young Lady to the Eastern Capital to arrange a marriage for her. But the Second Young Lady barred the door tightly with a wooden bolt and shrieked, “Even if I cannot marry in this lifetime, I don’t need heartless, ungrateful relatives like you coming here with your hypocritical kindness!”
The Second Young Lady had been spoiled by Eldest Madam Xie since childhood, and her temper was both foul and stubborn. In her heart, she had always resented the second branch for standing by and doing nothing in the matter of Master Xie’s death. Seeing her act like this, Second Master and Second Madam did not force her any further. They simply took Old Madam and left Fengcheng.
With chaos breaking out in court, Second Master and Second Madam were anxious to hurry on their way, so they rode horses along the official road. Old Madam’s body could not withstand such strain, so Second Master and Second Madam had Aunt Cao and several maidservants accompany her by water instead.
The day before yesterday, after Wen Shuse left the restaurant, Second Madam had already brought Old Madam to the newly purchased residence.
At first sight of Old Madam Xie, Wen Shuse nearly did not dare recognize her. Not only was her complexion much more haggard, but she had also grown thinner. Only when she saw Wen Shuse and Xie Shao did a little life return to her face. Perhaps it was because the journey had exhausted her, but her spirits had not been very good these past two days. Second Madam stayed by her side, serving her without leaving even half a step.
Eldest Madam Wei did not know the true situation, so she said, “In a couple of days, I’ll pay a visit to pay my respects to the Old Madam.”
“Eldest Madam Wei is very thoughtful.”
Eldest Madam Wei smiled. “Young Madam Xie, why are you still being so polite with me?”
The last time Xie Shao had been injured, Eldest Madam Wei had brought Wei Yun to visit him, so the two women were already familiar with each other.
Her own son had received Young Madam Xie’s kindness in Fengcheng, and in the end, several of them had escaped from the Southern City together. This bond had also drawn the two families closer.
Eldest Madam Wei did not hide the matter from her. She found a place with no one around and said to her, “Although the Eastern Capital, being under the Son of Heaven’s feet, is prosperous and lively, there are many people and many mouths. Everyone has a clever, calculating heart. You may treat others sincerely, but others may not necessarily appreciate it.”
No matter what, the Wen family’s eldest branch still bore the surname Wen. They were Young Madam Xie’s maternal family. Even if the marriage could not be arranged, she still had to give them a warning.
“The other day, I sent a matchmaker to the Wen family to propose marriage. I had originally intended to ask for the Eldest Young Lady to be matched with my Yun’er. But the Eldest Madam did not give me an answer. Marriage is a matter of mutual willingness, so I can understand that. I assume Eldest Madam must have other plans. But yesterday, Madam Zhu from the Marquis Mansion suddenly sent someone to my home to propose a match. I do not know whether I am guessing correctly, but according to the matchmaker, when she went to the Wen family the day before yesterday, the Countess was there as well.”
Wen Shuse was taken aback.
She was shocked that Eldest Madam Wei had taken a liking to the Eldest Young Lady Wen, and even more shocked that Eldest Madam Wen had actually refused.
The head of the Wei family was an Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The Wei family had a strict and upright household style. Madam Yang was General Yang’s biological daughter and was very much favored by him. As for Young Master Wei standing before her, whether in family background, character, or ability, he already counted as a fine match in the Eastern Capital.
If even Wei Yun was not good enough for her, then who exactly did she intend to marry? The Heavenly King himself?
“If I have guessed wrong, Young Madam may simply pretend she never heard it.” By now, Madam Wei finally understood why her son wanted to find a young lady like this one. After looking at the smile on Wen Shuse’s face for a while, even her own mood seemed to brighten along with it.
“Young Madam, rest assured. My Wei family may not be a household of immense wealth and rank, but we have only this one son before us. We are not seeking power or nobility. We only wish to find a girl of upright character. As for the marriage with the Marquis Mansion, I have already refused it. As for the Eldest Young Lady Wen, I suppose my Wei family and the Wen family simply have no fate after all.”
Wen Shuse understood. She thanked Eldest Madam Wei and said, “To have received Madam’s regard is already an honor. It is my Wen family that lacks such good fortune.”
As she spoke with Madam Wei, she saw that the hour was about right, and the two of them came out of the imperial garden together. They had just stepped down from the corridor when they saw Eldest Master Wen, whose face was pale and ashen.
After seeing that divine shrimp at the banquet, Eldest Master Wen had not felt at ease for even a moment. Eldest Madam Wen had not told him the truth. Once the banquet ended, a colleague who was usually on good terms with him pulled him aside. In his anxiety, the man could no longer care about propriety and directly reproached him.
“Minister Wen has always acted cautiously. How could you be so muddleheaded this time…”
After Eldest Master Wen heard everything, his head went faint, and he staggered several steps on the spot. Only after his friend supported him did he recover. He walked out step by step, looking for Eldest Madam Wen. Before he found her, he first saw Wen Shuse.
Seeing this, Eldest Madam Wei did not disturb them any further. She greeted Eldest Master Wen, bid farewell to Wen Shuse, and returned to the banquet.
Earlier at the banquet, Eldest Master Wen had also seen her and Xie Shao. He had only nodded from afar in greeting and had not spoken with them.
The last time Wen Shuse had gone to visit, Eldest Madam had looked down on her and sent her out the door. To this day, Eldest Master Wen still felt too ashamed to face her. He barely managed to squeeze out a smile and greeted her, “Gao Xian.”
Wen Shuse dipped in a curtsy. “Eldest Uncle.”
“Last time, when Young Master Xie was injured, Eldest Uncle was unable to go visit him. Please apologize to Young Master Xie on my behalf. Another day, I will personally come to call on him.”
He truly had no heart to continue speaking with her. “You go on and stroll about slowly. I will go look for your aunt.”
Wen Shuse saw his complexion and knew that he was now aware of everything.
In the past, she had never spoken with this uncle about the family’s serious affairs. But today, she could not hold herself back. She called out to Eldest Master Wen and spoke frankly.
“Uncle, if you continue indulging in things like this, then in the future, it will not only be your official career that suffers. The younger members of the family will also be implicated. Uncle is someone who has read the books of the sages. Some principles, you understand even better than I do. When a wife is virtuous, her husband suffers fewer misfortunes. When children are filial, their father’s heart is at ease. Whether in officialdom or in the household, one must beware of those who covet petty gains. As a junior, I originally should not be saying these words. But like Uncle, I, too, bear the surname Wen. We are all members of the Wen family. I do not wish to see the Wen family driven to the end of the road.”
Seeing Eldest Master Wen’s face grow even paler, tinged with shame, Wen Shuse continued, “Just now, Eldest Madam Wei told me that the other day, she sent someone to the Wen family to propose marriage. She wished to ask for Eldest Sister’s hand, but Aunt kept delaying and refused to give an answer. I do not know whether Uncle is aware of this matter.”
Eldest Master Wen’s expression changed, surprise showed in his eyes. Clearly, he had known nothing of it.
“When the Wei family sent someone to the Wen family to propose marriage, Madam Zhu from the Marquis Mansion was also present. I do not know what Aunt and Madam Zhu discussed, but yesterday, Madam Marquis went to the Wei family to propose a match. Eldest Madam Wei came to explain it to me today. The Wei family is not the sort of family to hold grudges, so they did not agree to the Marquis Mansion’s marriage proposal. As for Eldest Sister, the Wei family will no longer consider her either.”
With the blazing sun overhead and his blood surging upward, Eldest Master Wen felt another wave of dizziness.
Knowing who he was looking for, Wen Shuse pointed the way for him. “Aunt has already left the palace.”
Eldest Master Wen, struggling to keep his composure, made his way unsteadily to the carriage before the palace gates and hurried home. Sure enough, Eldest Madam had already returned.
As soon as the banquet dispersed, Eldest Madam Wen found herself caught in the center of a whirlpool. Gazes from every direction turned toward her.
That Sixth Young Lady Yang was especially difficult to deal with. She blocked Eldest Madam Wen’s path and said bluntly, “The dishes from Mixian Tower today were truly eye-opening, especially those two divine shrimp. Such majestic size. Even Her Highness the Noble Consort did not get to eat them.”
She fixed her gaze on Eldest Madam Wen and asked, “But I heard that Eldest Madam Wen had already eaten them the other day. I wonder what they tasted like?”
Eldest Madam Wen knew she had caused a great disaster. Her face flushed red, then turned pale. For a long while, she could not utter a single word. Just as the atmosphere grew tense, the Noble Consort left her seat and walked over.
Everyone bowed. Eldest Madam Wen did not even dare raise her head.
The Noble Consort’s words, however, were gentle. “You may rise. Today is the Crown Prince’s palace banquet. Everyone should be at ease and enjoy yourselves.”
Only after the Noble Consort had walked past did Eldest Madam Wen, as if possessed, raise her head. Her gaze happened to meet the Noble Consort’s as she turned back to look at her from ahead.
The Noble Consort smiled lightly.
Though she did not say a single word, that smile nearly took Eldest Madam Wen’s life.
How could she still dare remain in the palace? She did not even have time to inform Eldest Master Wen before fleeing the palace as if escaping for her life. After returning to the residence, she sat inside her room, trembling with fear. No matter what the younger ones asked her, she refused to say anything.
Now, seeing Eldest Master Wen, she hurriedly rose from her chair and called out nervously, “Master…”
Eldest Master Wen did not answer, nor did he speak. He slowly walked over and sat down on the soft couch beside her. Compared with when he had been in the palace, his expression was now much calmer. For a moment, one could not tell whether he was pleased or angry.
Eldest Madam Wen had never seen him like this before, and the panic in her heart grew even worse. “Master, I truly did not know those divine shrimp were tribute goods for the palace banquet. If I had known, I wouldn’t have dared to eat it even if I had a hundred times the courage!”
Her voice rose. “I’ve known all along that the second branch had no good intentions. Earlier, they hid it from us and claimed they had gone bankrupt, while secretly taking over Mixian Tower. Was that not because they were afraid we would benefit from them? This time, their hearts are even more vicious. They actually gave us tribute goods. That wretched girl wants our lives…”
Eldest Master Wen did not say a word. Only after she had finished speaking did he raise his head and instruct his servant, “Prepare brush and ink.”
Eldest Madam Wen did not know what he intended to do. In the past, whenever she had made a mistake, he would get angry and point at her nose while scolding her. This time, he was so quiet instead, and it made her heart hang in suspense.
The servant quickly brought over a brush and ink.
Right in front of Eldest Madam, Eldest Master Wen wrote out a divorce letter. When he finished, he handed it to her. “You had best not tear it up. Even if you do, I will simply write a second one. Only, I cannot guarantee that the wording will still be this polite.”
The Eldest Madam Wen could read. She stared at the divorce letter with wide eyes and did not react for a long time. Only after a long while did she finally raise her head, look at Eldest Master Wen, and ask in disbelief, “Master, you want to divorce me?”
“A deed of separation letter,” Eldest Master Wen explained. The anger in his chest had already been drained away completely during the carriage ride back. What remained was only disappointment.
What separation letter? What divorce letter? Were they not all the same thing?
He actually wanted to cast her out.
She had been married into the Wen family for more than twenty years. She had borne Eldest Master Wen two sons and one daughter. She had looked after his entire household, old and young. Now that she had endured until her beauty had faded and age had crept in, he actually wanted to divorce her?
Eldest Madam Wen’s expression changed. The half-dead guilt on her face vanished completely. “What right do you have to divorce me? Wen Zhongqiao, where is your conscience?”
Eldest Master Wen did not speak. His attitude remained firm.
Eldest Madam Wen’s heart sank. Even her voice began to tremble as she cried, “What wrong have I done? I merely ate a mouthful of divine shrimp. Did the rest of you not eat it too? Everyone in the Wen family, old and young, ate it. And now you want to throw all the blame onto me alone? Do you think that by divorcing me, you can regain His Majesty’s favor and erase the Noble Consort’s prejudice against us? Wen Zhongqiao, what fine calculations you have made…”
Eldest Master Wen’s brow twitched. The anger he had suppressed earlier slowly stirred up again, and his chest tightened in waves. Even so, he still held himself back.
Now that the two of them had torn away all pretense, he did not ask that they part with full dignity, only that they do so as peacefully as possible. He slowed his voice and said to her, “Considering that you have looked after Old Madam for me all these years, and considering that you bore and raised my children, this separation letter is the greatest leniency I can give you. As for the household property, look it over. Whatever you like, you may take with you.”
Seeing that he was serious, Eldest Madam Wen could no longer maintain even a trace of good temper. She tore the separation letter apart in one motion. “What right do you have to divorce me? I have stayed in this family for more than twenty years. What reason do you have to divorce me?”
“Why can I not divorce you?” Wen Zhongqiao listed each reason for her to hear. “You abandoned the elderly Old Madam at home, disregarding whether she lived or died, and came to the capital alone. This is unfilial. You spoke too much and sowed discord, causing disharmony between my Wen family’s eldest branch and second branch. You coveted petty gains and pushed my Wen family into the teeth of the storm. This is unvirtuous. You listened to slander and ruined a good marriage opportunity for the children. This is immoral.”
Unfilial, unvirtuous, and immoral. Which one of these was not enough reason to divorce her?
That he had tolerated her until now was already the utmost benevolence and righteousness. In his heart, he had remembered that following him all these years had not been easy for her. He knew she liked living well, and he had been working hard too.
Whenever she had done something wrong, had he not tried to reason with her? And had she ever listened even once?
She had refused to change, no matter how many times she was taught. If this continued, the Wen family would be buried in her hands.
When he was five years old, he was abandoned by his birth parents. He had survived by picking up rotten vegetable leaves to eat. By fortune, the Old Master Wen took him home and raised him by his side. A home and the love of parents, these were more important to him than anything else.
No one was allowed to destroy them.
But Eldest Madam Wen did not agree with any of this. She retorted, “When have I ever ruined my own children’s marriages? Our Eldest Young Lady is about to have her marriage arranged. The other day, Madam Zhu from the Marquis Mansion personally sent word, saying that once an auspicious day was chosen, she would send a matchmaker over. She wanted to betroth our Eldest Young Lady to the young marquis. Once the Eldest Young Lady is married, she will be the Shizi’s wife of the Marquis Mansion. How glorious that would be…”
Eldest Master Wen’s gaze was calm. He was already utterly disappointed in her. He told her plainly, “Madam Zhu went to the Wei family yesterday to propose a marriage.”
Eldest Madam Wen froze. The color instantly drained from her face, and she murmured, “How is that possible? She said it herself. She told me to refuse the Wei family’s proposal…”
Eldest Master Wen glanced at Eldest Madam’s deathly pale face and no longer wished to look at her for another moment. He rose and said to her in a gentle voice, “Since you tore up the separation letter, I will write another one later. If you tear that one up as well, then I can only give you a divorce letter. I have already sent someone to the An family to notify your father and your maternal relatives. In a few days, they will come to the Eastern Capital to take you back. As for the children, bid them farewell properly. In the future, they will still acknowledge you as their mother. Whether they continue to associate with you or not will be entirely up to their own wishes. I will not interfere.”
The calmer he was, the more Eldest Madam’s heart sank. He truly intended to divorce his wife.
Return to her maiden family? Where would she find the face to do that? She was old enough to have grown children. Was he trying to force her to die?
Only then did fear finally begin to rise in her heart. No longer caring about her dignity, she hurried after him and grabbed Eldest Master Wen’s sleeve, pleading bitterly. “Master, Master, I was wrong. Please forgive me just this once. From now on, I will listen to whatever you say. I beg you, do not divorce me. I am already a parent myself, and I even have grandchildren. If you divorce me and send me back to Fengcheng, what face would I have left to go back and see my parents?”
Eldest Master Wen slowly pulled his sleeve out of her grasp, inch by inch. He looked at her calmly. “Madam An, the affection between us as husband and wife is already gone. Your dignity was not lost by my hand, but by your own words and deeds. My greatest wish in this life has always been for the family to be safe and well. So please, let me go as well. My Wen family can no longer tolerate you.”