After the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree left, Wu Junru fell ill. It’s unclear whether her illness was real or feigned, but for the next half month, she used her illness as an excuse to close her doors to visitors, refusing all who came to see her.
Perhaps they were just coming to see the commotion.
In contrast to Wu Junru’s Courtyard, the Qingze Courtyard suddenly became lively. It was as if the people of the Dingyong Marquis’s mansion had just remembered this courtyard existed. All sorts of people came visiting, showing goodwill, and seeking favor, in an endless stream.
After all, while Wu Junru had been scolded in the Empress’s decree, Xiao Jingduo had been commended by the court and rewarded with a pile of valuables. Even the eunuch who came to deliver the decree was all smiles towards Xiao Jingduo, even hinting that he had great fortune coming his way. Those who made their living in the inner court had the keenest noses for such things. How could they not understand which way the wind was blowing? With the eldest young master clearly about to rise in power, they naturally flocked to Xiao Jingduo in droves.
Currying favor with the powerful is human nature. Xiao Jingduo understood their actions but didn’t want to deal with them. So he ordered Qiuju to reject everyone and paid no more attention to the matter.
Before the commotion in the Dingyong Marquis’s mansion had died down, Xiao Jingduo received another honor. A court official recommended him to the Imperial Academy, and the Director of the Academy approved.
That was the Imperial Academy, the highest-level central government school. It bordered the imperial palace to the north, surrounded by government offices like the Court of State Ceremonial and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. One could say that entering the Imperial Academy was like having one foot in officialdom, the most coveted place for scholars throughout the land. Moreover, the treatment at the Imperial Academy was quite generous. Students there enjoyed public funding during their studies, including clothing, meals, and other expenses paid by the court. It’s no wonder they dared to call it the “Imperial Academy” – it was undoubtedly the favored child of the imperial family.
However, everything has two sides. While the Imperial Academy had a great reputation and generous treatment, the entry requirements were correspondingly high. The Academy only admitted 300 students a year, and this was already the result of the court encouraging study and expanding enrollment in recent years. Therefore, most students at the Imperial Academy were children of high officials – a true aristocratic school.
In terms of status, Xiao Jingduo, as the eldest legitimate son of the Dingyong Marquis, naturally qualified to study at the Imperial Academy. But in officialdom, everything depends on personal connections, and the Imperial Academy was no exception. With so few spots available, even qualified candidates found it difficult to get in without someone to recommend them.
Xiao Jingduo had been worrying about where to study in preparation for the imperial examinations. He never expected that just as he was getting sleepy, someone would offer him a pillow. Before he could even think of a solution, the Imperial Academy had opened its doors to him. This was an unexpected joy.
There was no need to guess who had recommended him to the Imperial Academy – it must have been someone from the Crown Prince’s faction. He had helped the Crown Prince resolve the plague and the “ghost army” rumors, and sacrificed his reputation to bring about Wu Junru’s downfall. The Eastern Palace was returning the favor by solving Xiao Jingduo’s study dilemma.
Finding a place to study peacefully was a great challenge for Xiao Jingduo, but for the Crown Prince, it was just a matter of saying the word. Xiao Jingduo sighed. He owed the Crown Prince more and more, and his ties to the Eastern Palace were growing ever deeper.
The previous times Xiao Jingduo had solved the plague issue, he had withdrawn immediately afterwards, not involving himself in the aftermath. But judging from the Eastern Palace’s grand gesture of repayment, the Crown Prince must have benefited greatly. The strange illness that had panicked the entire country turned out to be caused by the wives of current high officials, even including the families of the Grand Councilors. Once this spread, these officials would no longer be fit for office – they’d better go home and keep their wives in check. For the sake of the great families’ and the Grand Councilors’ reputations, the true cause of the ghost handprints naturally had to be kept secret, and the Crown Prince, the victim in this farce, could only continue to suffer in silence. The Crown Prince very magnanimously stated that the matter would end there and he wouldn’t make it public. But while the Grand Councilors and various high officials might laugh it off on the surface, they would have to turn around and deal with the aftermath of their wives’ actions. After all, even well-intentioned mistakes are still mistakes, not to mention that the victim, the Crown Prince, now held leverage over them.
Wu Junru’s severe reprimand must have been a concession from the Empress. For the sake of the great families’ reputation, the Empress couldn’t say that Wu Junru was being scolded for poisoning disaster victims. She could only come up with a moderate offense, and Xiao Jingduo became the pretext. After all, Wu Junru’s favoritism and mistreatment of her predecessor’s children only reflected poorly on her own virtue as a woman, but a daughter of a great family poisoning gruel would be a scandal involving both the Cui and Wu families.
After this incident, Wu Junru’s reputation was completely ruined, and she was essentially abandoned by the Wu family as a married daughter. However, in an era where filial piety was paramount and children were not supposed to speak ill of their parents, even if children had every reason to do so, this also dealt a huge blow to Xiao Jingduo’s reputation. Xiao Jingduo himself didn’t care, but the Eastern Palace couldn’t stand idly by. So they tried their best to clear Xiao Jingduo’s name, claiming that the smallpox-contaminated cup was accidentally discovered by a chief physician from the Imperial Medical Office during a visit, and that Wu Junru’s mistreatment of Xiao Jingduo was reported by others. They maintained that Xiao Jingduo had done nothing throughout the entire affair and remained wholeheartedly filial to his stepmother. Although this explanation was laughable, it could at least salvage some of Xiao Jingduo’s reputation.
Thanks to Wu Junru, the Wu family’s reputation also took a major hit, and the Cui family didn’t fare well either, facing mockery from the Eastern Palace. The head of the Cui family painfully gave up a piece of the pie to the Crown Prince. He was angry but had nowhere to vent, so he could only direct his anger at the Wu family.
The head of the Wu family also felt wronged. Who he would take his anger out on was self-evident.
But none of this concerned Xiao Jingduo. He wasn’t interested in how the Crown Prince was playing chess with the great families in the court, nor was he concerned about whether the infamy of reporting his stepmother would follow him for life. All his attention was focused on his upcoming journey to the Imperial Academy.
The news of Xiao Jingduo going to study at the Imperial Academy spread quickly, once again sparking a wave of visits to Qingze Courtyard in the Dingyong Marquis’s mansion. This time, even Xiao Jingduo’s cold attitude couldn’t dampen these people’s enthusiasm.
A stark contrast formed within the mansion. Even the old madam began to stir, belatedly realizing the value of her eldest grandson and wanting to draw him in for her own use.
When Xiao Jingduo went to pay his respects to the old madam in the morning and evening, she revealed her plans: “Duo’er, we’ve been too busy before to arrange staff for you. Now that you’re back, it’s time to put the maids in Qingze Courtyard in order.”
Xiao Jingduo glanced behind the old madam and saw Xuelan standing there with a smile. He inwardly sneered, knowing it was Xuelan’s idea to try and place her people around him again.
Without hesitation, Xiao Jingduo refused: “There’s no need. I’m used to it now, and it’s nice to have some peace and quiet.”
“That won’t do. You’re the eldest legitimate grandson. Even the young ladies Yufang and Yuli each have two personal maids, four second-class maids, and a matron to manage them. You’ve lived in Qingyuan Temple for three years, and now that you’re finally back, I’ve been too busy to arrange staff for you. You’re the rightful eldest grandson, but you only have Qiuju by your side. How can this be?”
The old madam had some nerve to say this. Xiao Jingduo had been short-staffed for five years, and she claimed to have forgotten for a while, but how could she forget for five years? Xiao Jingduo couldn’t be bothered to argue with her about this. He originally didn’t plan to add staff, but Qiuju alone was indeed too busy, and he couldn’t be without any attendants. So after a brief consideration, Xiao Jingduo agreed.
“Alright.”
The old madam was overjoyed and quickly waved her hand to bring forward the maids she had arranged.
“According to custom, you should have two first-class maids, four second-class maids, two personal attendants, and four errand boys. Counting Qiuju as one first-class maid, and considering that treacherous maid Furong has been sold off, you’re still short five maids and six male servants.” The old madam called the maids over and had them line up in front of Xiao Jingduo. “Duo’er, Haitang is a clever girl. I’ll assign her to you as a first-class maid to serve you personally. These four can be second-class maids, doing needlework and bookkeeping daily. As for sweeping, laundry, and other heavy work, there are other rough-work maids to do those.”
Haitang, dressed in an egg-yellow short-sleeved dress, stood prettily at the front of the line. She had delicate eyebrows and a small face, with slightly upturned eyes that gave her a clever look. The other four maids wore green dresses and kept their heads lowered obediently, their appearances much less striking compared to Haitang.
Xiao Jingduo glanced at them briefly before looking away. The old madam continued to introduce them: “This is Haitang, and behind her are Xiqin, Xiqi, Xishu, and Xihua. Your father has already prepared the manservants for you. They’re staying in the outer courtyard, ready at your call. I heard the Imperial Academy only allows one page boy. You should choose one to take with you.”
After Xiao Jingduo received his honors, Xiao Ying also realized he had been negligent these years, letting his eldest son grow up too freely. Xiao Ying was a man with a strong desire for control. Regardless of whether his eldest son still held a grudge about the past, he wanted to keep him under his thumb for his peace of mind. The first thing to do was naturally to arrange staff for Xiao Jingduo and plant his own eyes and ears.
All these manservants were Xiao Ying’s people, including the page boy Xiao Jingduo was about to take to the Imperial Academy.
Xiao Jingduo interrupted the old madam: “I’ve already prepared a page boy. There’s no need for grandmother to worry about it.”
“When did you prepare this? Is this person reliable?” the old madam asked hurriedly.
Xiao Jingduo didn’t actually have such a page boy, but he nodded without blinking: “It’s been prepared for a while, but he hasn’t arrived these past few days.”
The old madam gave up the idea of forcibly arranging a page boy for Xiao Jingduo. If it had been prepared early but wasn’t by Xiao Jingduo’s side, didn’t that mean the page boy was arranged by some important figure and hadn’t been sent over yet? The old madam thought of the inexplicable rewards and good fortune Xiao Jingduo had received these days, and the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. She didn’t dare offend this important figure, so she immediately dropped the subject of the page boy.
“Since the page boy is prepared, I won’t interfere. Take these girls back with you first. The manservants will come to pay their respects to you later. Oh, I almost forgot, your courtyard doesn’t have a matron in charge yet. Let me think which capable matron…”
“I don’t need one,” Xiao Jingduo flatly refused.
“All your sisters’ courtyards have one, even Little Tiger has two matrons. How can your courtyard not have a matron in charge? Duo’er, don’t be stubborn. Having a matron to help manage the maids will save you a lot of trouble.”
Xiao Jingduo inwardly sneered. All six attendants were Xiao Ying’s people, these five maids were of unknown origin, and now they wanted to plant a matron as well? Did he look that easy to manipulate?
“I don’t need one. They can take orders directly from me. I don’t need anyone else to manage things for me.”
The old madam was embarrassed and exchanged a troubled look with Xuelan. Xuelan forced a smile and tried to smooth things over: “Well, if the young master doesn’t want one, then let’s forget it.”
“Alright then, we’ll do as you say.” The old madam sighed. Xiao Jingduo was extremely stubborn, and once he decided on something, no one could change his mind. If he insisted on not having a matron, what could the old madam do? She didn’t even dare to force her grandson now, fearing he might refuse to take anyone at all. The old madam sighed again. She was the grandmother, the highest-ranking and most powerful figure in the inner court, yet why did she have to be so cautious about arranging a few maids for her grandson?
The situation became awkward, and the old madam felt like sending her guest away. So she said, “Alright, it’s getting late. You should go back and rest. Take Haitang and the other four girls with you. The Qingze Courtyard should be able to accommodate them, right?”
Xiao Jingduo smiled sarcastically. If she was worried his courtyard wasn’t big enough, why didn’t she bring up the subject of changing courtyards? The old madam’s thoughts were easy to guess. The best-located and largest courtyard, Ningyuan, was reserved for Wu Junru’s son Xiao Jingye. So the old madam was afraid Xiao Jingduo might bring up the subject of courtyards, since according to custom, the largest courtyard should belong to the eldest legitimate son.
Xiao Jingduo didn’t want to leave Qingze Courtyard. He wouldn’t stay here for long anyway, so it didn’t matter where he lived. Therefore, he couldn’t be bothered to expose the old madam’s little schemes. Since she had spoken, Xiao Jingduo also took the opportunity to say, “Grandmother, take care. Your grandson takes his leave.”
Xiao Jingduo had come alone, but he returned with five maids, which startled Qiuju. Fortunately, while Qingze Courtyard was remote, it was spacious enough, so bringing back so many people didn’t make it feel crowded. Although Xiao Jingduo didn’t like these maids, since he had brought them back, he had to arrange accommodations for them.
The main building of Qingze Courtyard had five rooms, which was where Zhao Xiulan had lived. After Zhao Xiulan left, Xiao Jingduo had preserved the main building as it was, only using it when receiving guests and keeping it locked at other times. He still lived in the east wing as before. The east wing had two rooms, with the inner room being the bedroom and the outer room converted into a study. In the west wing, the inner room stored valuable items, while the outer room was where Qiuju lived.
Qiuju led Haitang and the four maids Qin, Qi, Shu, and Hua to familiarize themselves with the courtyard. When they reached the west wing, Haitang looked around and expressed admiration: “The eldest young master has so many gold and silver rewards?”
This wasn’t untrue. Although Xiao Jingduo wasn’t favored in the family, his constant strokes of luck had allowed him to accumulate considerable assets. Three years ago, when he was sent to Qingyuan Temple to observe mourning on the Crown Prince’s orders, the Eastern Palace bestowed many valuables on him. However, Xiao Jingduo had no expenses at the temple – not only were food and lodging free, but even writing materials were provided by the temple. He even managed to save some money. After returning to Chang’an, before he could spend any money, he encountered the plague, followed by lavish rewards from the palace. The Emperor’s generosity was extraordinary. Now all these rewards were piled up in the west wing, with fabrics, gold, and silver almost spilling onto the floor. It was inevitable for outsiders to be shocked when they first saw this.
Haitang hadn’t expected the seemingly unfavored eldest young master to be so wealthy. But before she could feast her eyes any further, Qiuju forcibly pushed her out and locked the inner room of the west wing in front of her: “We’ve seen the west wing. Let me show you the back rooms.”
Qingze Courtyard faced south with the main building in the north, spacious and bright, warm in winter and cool in summer. The east and west wings were on either side, and the back rooms were a row of rooms at the base of the south wall, facing away from the sun, hence the name “back rooms.” Haitang looked at these rooms with disdain: “I’m also a first-class maid. Why should I live here?”
Haitang’s eyes darted around, and relying on her good looks, she turned and ran to Xiao Jingduo: “Young master, the back rooms don’t get any sunlight and smell musty. I don’t want to live there.”
Qiuju caught up just in time to hear this and angrily called out: “You!”
Haitang’s words were clearly aimed at Qiuju. They were of the same rank, but there was only one room in the wing, so it was clearly time to compete for favor and skills. Haitang was beautiful, with a sweet voice and knew how to act coquettishly. With these trump cards, she had always been successful in the inner court, not to mention facing a male master.
However, Xiao Jingduo calmly looked at Haitang and said: “What, are you suggesting that I move out the rewards from the Emperor and the Crown Prince in the west wing to let you live there?”
Haitang was confident and determined, but this unexpected response caught her off guard. Her face immediately turned red, and she stammered in a low voice: “That’s not what I meant… I wouldn’t dare…”
“It’s good that you know you wouldn’t dare,” Xiao Jingduo said. “Get out, I want to read.”
Haitang left, feeling aggrieved. Qiuju held back her laughter with great effort.
Xiao Jingduo was cold and ruthless. Haitang could only swallow her grievances and clean out the largest room in the south building as her room. The other four second-class maids weren’t so lucky – they had to share rooms, two to a room. In the end, one room in the south building was left for storing miscellaneous items.
As Haitang cleaned, she complained: “The young master is really… If he moved to the main building, wouldn’t that free up space? Such a large main building is left empty, while we have to squeeze in here.”
Hearing this, Qiuju laughed coldly: “You can say that in front of me, but if the young master hears it, don’t blame him for turning on you.”
Haitang was frightened and immediately realized that Lady Zhao was Xiao Jingduo’s sore spot. She shut her mouth and didn’t dare mention it again.
After settling Haitang and the other four maids, Qiuju finally had time for other tasks. She brewed a pot of hot tea and was about to bring it to Xiao Jingduo when Haitang suddenly snatched it away.
“Sister Qiuju, you’ve been tired all day. Let me take care of trivial matters like bringing water to the young master.” Haitang smugly carried the tea set, turning to walk towards the east wing.
Qiuju naturally wouldn’t allow this and chased after Haitang to grab it back. The other four maids also gathered around, each trying to persuade their side. The usually quiet Qingze Courtyard had never seen such a commotion, and Xiao Jingduo felt a headache coming on inside.
This was too much. He shouldn’t have brought these maids back at all.
As the six maids were arguing in the courtyard, the door suddenly opened behind them. They turned back in confusion to see Xiao Jingduo standing in the doorway, his face like frost.
“Either be quiet, or leave Qingze Courtyard,” Xiao Jingduo said coldly. “After the Imperial Academy starts, I will be living in the dormitory. During the time I’m staying at the mansion, if you don’t follow my rules, don’t blame me for being unsentimental.”
Haitang and the others immediately wilted, but then they reacted, exclaiming shrilly: “What? Young master, if you’re not living in the marquis’s mansion, who are we supposed to serve?”
“That’s for you to figure out. You’re the ones who wanted to come back with me,” Xiao Jingduo said, dismissing Haitang’s intentions. “I’ve already arranged with the Director of Studies to move to the Imperial Academy when classes start. Whatever thoughts you all have, it’s best to put them to rest. I advise you for the last time, find a better position for yourselves as soon as possible.”
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