Chapter 337 — A Return Gift

When the news reached Song Cen's ears, his mouth twisted with rage. He drove a kick straight into Zeng Wu's belly. "Go! Round up every one of those gossiping wretches, give them fifty lashes apiece, and sell them all off to the slavers!"

Zeng Wu doubled over, clutching his stomach.

But the rumors had already spread through the entire household. Was he supposed to sell off every serving woman in the mansion?

A thought flashed through his mind, and he seized upon a bold idea.

The Lord of the Zhenguo Estate merely wanted to kill a chicken to frighten the monkeys. Why not take this chance and hand over those few who had always looked down on him?

Then they would see who dared despise him again!

His mind made up, Zeng Wu scrambled to his feet, answered "Yes, my lord" with due deference, and was about to withdraw when Tao Jun, standing nearby, blocked his way.

"Wait!" He bowed to the Lord of the Zhenguo Estate. "I think this matter still requires careful deliberation. Better to first get to the bottom of where these rumors came from before we decide anything."

Zeng Wu heard this and sighed inwardly.

The Lord of the Zhenguo Estate always listened to Master Tao. With Master Tao speaking up like this, his plan to use public authority for private revenge had gone up in smoke.

The thought had scarcely passed when Zeng Wu watched in astonishment as Song Cen leapt up, his face mottled blue and white with fury. "Careful deliberation! Deliberate on what? Did you not hear? The Yizhi Hall has bought up quantities of incense candles and white mourning cloth! What are they planning? To curse me to death? That unfilial wretch—what decency is there left to show him? If I do not beat to death those who dare to spread such nonsense in the Zhenguo Estate this very year, who knows what more unspeakable things will be whispered next! I have endured him long enough. This time, do not expect me to endure it any longer!"

Tao Jun regarded the raging Song Cen and shook his head helplessly. Still, he raised his voice and called out "Lord of the Zhenguo Estate" before saying, "Now is not the time to lose your temper and punish people—now is the time to think about how to clear your name!"

"Clear my name!" Song Cen was taken aback.

"Precisely!" Tao Jun said gravely. "Think about it. If these rumors reach the Emperor's ears, what will His Majesty think?"

Song Cen's mind was slow to follow. He said blankly, "What has this to do with His Majesty?"

Tao Jun had no choice but to lower his voice. "You have been ill for a very long time now, yet the post at the Five Armies Command cannot simply be left vacant forever. If word of this reaches the Emperor, and if someone with ill intentions fans the flames, then your post as the Seal-Holding Commander…"

Most likely someone else would take his place?

And once he lost the office of Seal-Holding Commander of the Five Armies Command, what would he have left to hold Song Yan in check?

Song Cen's heart gave a jolt, and he gradually calmed down. But the moment he grew calm, he was so furious he could have spat blood. He said resentfully, "Am I to just let this go?"

"…" Tao Jun could only console him. "The Lord of the Zhenguo Estate should put the bigger picture first. If you want to deal with a few gossiping serving women, there will be plenty of time for that later—why do it now? Others will think we are shamed into anger and trying to cover up your illness. If the Emperor were to send palace eunuchs to inquire after your health, or even have the Imperial Medical Academy submit your prescriptions for review, that would be trouble indeed!"

Song Cen's hands clenched into fists, his nails digging into his palms.

"No. I will not let that little beast off so easily," he said, his eyes bloodshot as he paced around the room—savage as a beast trapped in a cage and unable to find its way out. "Every dog in this household has a pair of snobbish eyes. If I let that little beast off just like this, what will I have left to keep those dogs in line…"

He had somehow laid the whole blame at Song Zhi's door.

Tao Jun smiled bitterly. "Lord of the Zhenguo Estate, I doubt this was the Heir's doing. If it were the Heir, he would have long since bribed those eunuchs to poison the Emperor's ear against you. Why would he resort to such a childish trick?"

These words made Song Cen pause, and in his heart he had to admit Tao Jun was right. Yet to admit it and believe that Song Yan was not behind this—that he was most unwilling to do. For a moment his expression shifted, dark and light by turns, inscrutable.

Tao Jun saw it clearly and at once spoke to Song Cen in a tone of consultation. "Why not end your sick leave in the next couple of days and return to your duties at the Five Armies Command, while I investigate where these rumors truly began?"

Song Cen said nothing. He kept circling the room, but he no longer mentioned having Zeng Wu seize anyone.

Tao Jun breathed a sigh of relief.

Song Sui found it strange and asked Yan Che, "Who started this rumor? Father has been forced to declare himself recovered—he must be furious!"

Yan Che smiled. "I found it strange too. I looked into it, but could find no thread to pull. If the Heir wishes to know, I can have Du Wei investigate further. Perhaps he might turn something up?"

"Never mind." Song Yan said, "As long as Father recovers, this matter will collapse on its own. Father now sees me as a thorn in his eye and a spike in his flesh. Anything that does not flatter him, any word that does not please him, he will take to be my doing. I have no wish to invite that suspicion. Let him be!"

Yan Che smiled and brought up another matter related to this one. "The business of the Lord of the Zhenguo Estate having those men abduct Suxin and the others—do you think we should tell the Lady, so that she has some idea of it and can be more careful in what she does hereafter? The old servant Chen Sou and the guard Duan by the Lady's side are no ordinary folk. Once they know the ins and outs of the matter, they will find ways to keep the Lady safe—better than us sitting here doing nothing."

Song Dan said, "Of course we must tell the Lady." Then he thought that he had been out all day and had not yet seen Dou Yan, and wondered what she might be doing today. Suddenly he felt a powerful urge to hurry home.

He rose to his feet. "I must enter the palace tomorrow. Master, you should rest early as well!"

Yan Che saw Song Yan out of the study.

Song Zhi's figure soon vanished beyond the hanging-flower gate.

Wuyi, who had been pouring tea in the study earlier, appeared at Yan Che's side and said hesitantly, "This was the Lady's doing. Is it proper not to tell the Heir?"

"What is improper about it?" Yan Che smiled. "The Lady did not harm a single hair on the Lord of the Zhenguo Estate's head. She merely complained a few words in private, and those careless maids and serving women spread them abroad. What is there to make such a fuss about—and to carry it to the Heir's ears? The Lord of the Zhenguo Estate and the Heir are, after all, father and son, but the Lady and the Heir are husband and wife. The Lady is wholeheartedly devoted to the Heir. We who serve them ought to be glad of it."

Wuyi nodded and smiled. "I think the Lady's way of doing it was quite satisfying too. Now the Lord of the Zhenguo Estate will not dare fall ill so casually again, will he?"

Yan Che laughed.

Dou Yan, who had heard that Song Cen was fully recovered and had already returned to his duties at the Five Armies Command, laughed as well.