Chapter 034: At Any Cost!

At that time, on the other side, the members of the Huo family had spent the entire night bustling about, tending to Huo Wenshan’s injuries. Ironically, they were the last to learn of the rumors circulating outside. Huo Wenshan had been so severely beaten that one arm was dislocated, his right leg and another arm fractured, with countless bruises covering his body; he was in such a state that not only was entering the palace to teach the crown prince and the other young princes impossible, he could scarcely get out of bed in the near future.

Early in the morning, when the Huo family sent word to the palace requesting leave for him, the emperor showed concern, urging him to rest and recover, and even specially ordered Tao Renzhi to deliver an oral decree to the Jingzhao Prefecture, instructing Prefect Hu Tianming to solve the case swiftly and punish the criminals severely. Yet, by noon, on the way to dine at the empress’s palace, they heard from the maids and eunuchs a tale that had spread throughout the palace, a notorious story that so enraged them they smashed the jade Buddhist prayer beads in their hands on the spot.

Fortunately, Tao Renzhi had been so busy inventorying the emperor’s private treasury the day before that he forgot to send someone out of the palace to deliver the decree, and after this incident, he dared not mention it again.

Hu Tianming, for his part, conducted a proper investigation for several days, but Huo Wenshan and his four sedan bearers hadn’t caught so much as a glimpse of the assailant—not whether they were male or female, young or old, tall or short, fat or thin… They knew nothing. How could he investigate further?

Of course, Hu Tianming didn’t believe for a moment that none of the Huo family members had seen the attacker’s features; rather, he understood from the rumors circulating in the streets that there was an unspeakable reason, something inconvenient to disclose. Since the parties involved weren’t willing to speak, there was no need to pursue the matter earnestly; meddling might only offend people and bring trouble upon himself. Thus, the case naturally became an unsolved mystery, left hanging without resolution.

Huo Wenshan lay bedridden, waiting for days without any result, and finally blamed Hu Tianming for dereliction of duty, clamoring for him to come and confront him, vowing to submit a formal complaint against him.

But Hu Tianming never appeared, nor did the Huo family invite any censors with whom they had connections to visit. Even Huo Yunhua, his eldest daughter whom he valued and cherished most, had not come to see him for several days.

Lady Tian’s health was so poor she could barely care for herself; Huo Yunhao did come daily to pay her respects, but her reserved nature failed to win Huo Wenshan’s favor, making her visits meaningless.

Huo Wenshan felt his illness had made his family lax and disobedient, which only worsened his temper. Eventually, after repeated angry outbursts and pounding on the bed, one attendant beside him finally broke down and, in vague terms, revealed the truth everyone knew but kept hidden “for his own good.”

His external wounds had nearly healed by then, but upon hearing this, Huo Wenshan coughed up blood on the spot, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted, his illness worsening.

The Huo household was thrown into chaos once again.

But all this is secondary.

At this moment, in the Marquis of Dingyuan’s residence, Lady Meng was still anxiously fuming over her daughter’s marriage.

The old matriarch was determined to enter the palace herself to deliver the birthdate, and Lady Meng could neither stop nor persuade her. As the old lady said, there could be no more tampering with the birthdates; both the emperor and empress were not fools. One such incident could be dismissed, but if two mismatched birthdates appeared in succession—

They would surely grow suspicious, no matter how slow-witted they might be.

Yet Wu Qingqiong’s birthdate was favorable, born not in an unlucky hour, and nine times out of ten the marriage could not be avoided.

Lady Meng rushed back to the southern courtyard and sank heavily onto a stool.

Shurong hurried over with a cup of water: “Madam, please have some water and calm yourself. Third Miss’s situation isn’t settled yet, so don’t worry—perhaps…”

“What do you know!” Lady Meng could not bear any hollow comforts at this moment and barked angrily.

Shurong was startled into silence.

Lady Meng gulped down the water, feeling a little calmer, but the more she thought, the more suffocated she became. Unable to swallow her resentment, she slammed her hand on the table and ground her teeth: “It’s all that little wretch from the Huo family’s fault!”

That little wretch Huo Yunhua truly had long arms; it wasn’t enough to ruin her daughter once, now her hand had reached even into the Marquis of Dingyuan’s residence!

A growing malice brimmed in Lady Meng’s eyes as she gripped the edge of the table.

“Go find out everything about Huo Yunhua. I want to know every detail; the more thorough, the better,” she said, each word laced with venom.

Shurong immediately understood: “Madam wants to teach her a lesson?”

After suffering such a loss, not making amends was certainly not Meng Shuxuan’s style.

Lady Meng’s gaze landed on the orchid in the corner: “A lesson? Isn’t she fond of scheming and meddling? I’ll find an opportunity to teach her properly.”

“Understood!” Shurong nodded, then paused, puzzled. “But it’s strange. Yesterday, Second Miss stormed over, but in the end, there was a lot of noise and little action. She’s lost her marriage, yet she just let it go so easily?”

“She?” Lady Meng sneered, “I think she never cared much for the marriage to begin with. That little wretch’s interference merely granted her wish; she’s probably secretly pleased now. Go, take care of this matter first. You’re relieved from attending to me these next few days.”

“Yes!” Shurong replied as she left, her mind filled with a hundred unsolved questions—

This family truly was peculiar! Second Miss, upon hearing she was to marry the crown prince, showed no joy whatsoever. Now Third Miss was to be promised to him, and Madam acted as though facing a catastrophe, losing all composure. Was the crown prince truly so unwelcome?

Shurong departed, weighed down by her thoughts, just as Shurui entered with freshly brewed mint tea, offering it to Lady Meng: “This is mint tea, just made, to clear the heat and soothe the temper. Please try it, Madam.”

Lady Meng took it with a cold expression.

Though Shurui was reserved, she knew what had been troubling Lady Meng these days and ventured, “Madam, since you’re worried that Third Miss may not cope well with life in the palace, perhaps you could write to the Marquis and ask him to devise a solution?”

Lady Meng had just taken a sip of tea when she retorted, “He won’t agree!”

“Then…” Shurui hesitated, sharing Shurong’s confusion, “It may not be such a bad thing. If our young lady is truly promised to the crown prince, she’ll become a royal consort. When she grows up and matures, Madam won’t have to worry so much anymore!”

“Silence!” It was a casual remark, yet Lady Meng was enraged once again, hurling the tea bowl out into the courtyard.

Shurui, terrified, knelt at once: “Your servant deserves punishment!”

The two little maids tending the flowers in the yard vanished instantly, like frightened birds.

Lady Meng stared out at the blazing sunshine and declared, word by word, “I will never let Qiong’er enter the palace!”

No matter… the cost.

——— Side note ———

Guess what Lady Meng’s big move will be? The first to guess correctly will get a reward when the secret is revealed later! Though it’s a bit difficult…

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