Chapter 49: Bao, My Girl, You Must Suffer This Grievance Once More

Aunt Xue felt a pang of disappointment when Lady Jia politely declined to help, yet she dared not press the matter further. After offering the various local specialties and gifts she had thoughtfully brought from Jiangning, she had no appetite for the welcoming banquet prepared by the Rongguo Mansion and took her leave.

Lady Wang escorted Aunt Xue as far as the second gate. Seeing her sister's desolate figure retreating in the distance, a wave of bitter sorrow washed over her, though there was nothing she could do.

Depressed and dispirited, Aunt Xue returned to the Wang residence with heavy steps.

Upon seeing their mother's dejected appearance, Xue Baochai and Xue Pan needed no explanation to realize that this excursion had yielded nothing.

Xue Baochai stepped forward to support her mother, saying softly, "You must be exhausted, Mother. Do rest for a while."

Shaking her head with a sigh, Aunt Xue grasped Xue Baochai's hand and said, "Things have come to this, and now our only recourse is to turn to Jiang Heshou. He is truly unfathomable and extremely close to the Thirteenth Prince. It was precisely because of him that the Thirteenth Prince impeached us before His Majesty, bringing this calamity upon our family. He... he has taken a fancy to you, holds a deep fondness for you, and you... you are already promised to him as a concubine. If you go and plead with him, and he in turn prevails upon the Thirteenth Prince, even if we cannot preserve your uncle's post as the Metropolitan Commander of the Capital Garrison, we can at least safeguard our family's status as Imperial Merchants!"

Xue Baochai: "..."

*This mother of mine, at it again!*

At that moment, Xue Baochai could not help but recall how Aunt Xue had previously urged her to visit Jiang Heshou in Jiangning to offer an apology.

And now, Aunt Xue was once more asking her to go and beg Jiang Heshou for assistance.

Xue Baochai's delicate fingers clenched so tightly that her silk handkerchief became deeply creased. With a distressed voice, she said, "Forgive your daughter's disrespect, Mother! This time, it was we who sought to break the concubine agreement, sending Uncle to subdue him. Uncle had a massive fallout with him and forced him to enlist the Thirteenth Prince... As a result, we brought this disaster upon ourselves, and now you want us to go and beg him for help? Is that not utterly absurd and laughable?"

With a sorrowful expression, Aunt Xue replied, "I know what you say is reasonable, but matters have reached this juncture, and only by begging him can we have any hope of keeping our status as Imperial Merchants! If the signboard of the Imperial Merchants is smashed, how could your father ever rest in peace beneath the nine springs? My child, Mother... Mother begs you, for the sake of the Xue family, to suffer this grievance once more, will you? This time, Mother will go with you to implore him, all right?"

Xue Baochai was not one prone to crying, yet at that moment she felt so wronged that her long eyelashes trembled and her eyes shimmered with tears.

In the end, she nodded. The coral bead earrings dangling against her pale cheeks swayed lightly, and she murmured, "Then let us go together."

Aunt Xue cast a glance at Xue Pan, who gave a start, terrified that this mother of his might tell him to come along as well. He had no desire to lose face in such a manner; previously, it was he who had led Prince Wang Teng to coerce Jiang Heshou, leaving him with a lingering sense of guilt toward Jiang Heshou.

Before Aunt Xue could even speak, Xue Pan blurted out, "You two go ahead. I... I won't be going."

Aunt Xue glared at him and decided not to press the matter, knowing that his presence would be of little use anyway. The crucial thing was for Xue Baochai to go.

***

Shortly thereafter, Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai boarded a carriage and headed toward the Jiang residence located in the eastern suburbs.

Just yesterday, Aunt Xue had looked down upon Jiang Heshou because of that modest and dilapidated old courtyard, while Xue Baochai had also underestimated him on the same account, harboring deep anxieties about her own future.

Yet today, this mother and daughter were actually on their way to that very same shabby little courtyard to plead with Jiang Heshou for help...

***

The three thousand taels of silver for the compensation to the Qin family had been personally handed over to Prince Zhongyi by Prince Wang Teng, who had also confessed his guilt and submitted to him in person.

Wang Teng knew full well that it must have been Prince Zhongyi who memorialized Emperor Taishun, who in turn reported to the Retired Emperor Jingning, thus resulting in the punishments meted out to both himself and the Xue family.

Arrogant and overbearing though Wang Teng was, he understood that matters having reached this stage, he needed to curry favor with Prince Zhongyi. Only by doing so could he hope to eventually ascend to high office once more and return to the core of the imperial court.

Prince Zhongyi instructed his trusted guard, Bao Yan, to deliver the three thousand taels of silver notes to Jiang Heshou, directing him to pass them on to the Qin family.

Thus, carrying the three thousand taels in silver notes, Bao Yan mounted his horse and rode toward the eastern suburbs of the capital city. Arriving outside the gate of Jiang Heshou's small courtyard, he dismounted and knocked.

The door was opened slightly by the young page Dong Feng. Upon learning who the visitor was, the page hastened to report to Jiang Heshou.

Jiang Heshou came out personally to the doorway to welcome him. With a smiling expression, he cupped his hands and said, "Please come right in, Guard Bao!"

According to the official etiquette of the Daqing court, officials of the fourth rank and above could all be addressed as "Your Honor."

Since Bao Yan was a military official of the lower third rank, he certainly qualified.

However, mindful of the close bond between the Thirteenth Prince and Jiang Heshou—and recalling how he had shared a horse with Jiang Heshou just yesterday to escort him home—Bao Yan had told Jiang Heshou to continue addressing him as "Guard Bao."

Bao Yan followed Jiang Heshou into the inner courtyard, noticing that compared to yesterday when he had accompanied the Thirteenth Prince, the small residence had taken on a completely new look. It had been meticulously tidied and swept. The beds, couches, tables, chairs, and stools that had been haphazardly piled in the inner courtyard yesterday had all been moved indoors, and the previously empty rooms were now furnished with numerous items.

Jiang Heshou invited Bao Yan into the main hall. After they were seated, he instructed the maid Qi'er to serve Bao Yan fragrant tea.

Bao Yan retrieved the three thousand taels of silver notes from his bosom, handed them to Jiang Heshou, and informed him in courteous terms of the punitive decisions rendered by Emperor Jingning and Emperor Taishun regarding yesterday's events. Though a palace guard of the first rank in his thirties, he treated the fifteen-year-old Jiang Heshou almost as an equal and a friend.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Heshou felt inwardly satisfied; this outcome was even better than he had anticipated.

He thought to himself, *How could Wang Teng possibly come to a good end after provoking me, a son of destiny?*

The only minor pity was that the Xue family's status as Imperial Merchants was gone. Originally, he had planned to leverage the Xue family's merchant status for profit after taking Xue Baochai as a concubine. On second thought, however, a mere merchant title probably wasn't of much use to him anyway. What mattered most about the Xue family now was their wealth...

Having concluded his errand, Bao Yan prepared to take his leave. Jiang Heshou suddenly produced a silver note and slipped it into his hand, saying warmly, "Yesterday you troubled yourself to send me back, and today you've had to make another tiring journey. Please accept this meager token as tea money, and I hope you will not refuse it."

Bao Yan glanced at the note and saw it was worth one hundred taels of silver. Without feigning reluctance, he smiled and said, "You are too polite, Brother Hoshou. My thanks."

To Bao Yan, one hundred taels of silver was not a small sum, yet neither was it excessively large. Any more or less, and he might have hesitated to accept it.

Jiang Heshou escorted Bao Yan outside the gate and watched as he mounted his horse and rode away.

Clearly, he had intentionally set out to cultivate a connection with Bao Yan, the trusted first-rank guard of the Thirteenth Prince.

Clutching the three thousand taels in silver notes, Jiang Heshou walked over to the neighboring Qin residence, intending to hand the entire sum over to Qin Keqing.

Just as he stepped into the inner courtyard of the Qin residence, Jiang Heshou heard a sonorous voice announcing: "The Honorable Master Jia Zhen of the Ningguo Mansion has arrived!"

According to Daqing funeral customs, it was customary to announce the names of mourners when paying respects.

This ritual of name-announcing meant that before a condolence visitor entered the mourning hall to offer sacrifices, their identity and name were loudly proclaimed. This served as a sign of respect for the deceased, allowed the host family to know who was paying their respects, and showed courtesy to the visitor. Such announcements were particularly common among prominent and official households.

Hearing the announcement now, Jiang Heshou frowned slightly as he watched a man of nearly forty, attired in lavish and flamboyant garments, step into the mourning hall.

*Jia Zhen has arrived, huh!*