Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 111

Xia Heng sat on a mazha folding stool scrubbing the flowered cloth panels of her padded jacket. As she worked, she kept glancing at the soap curing beside her room.

*Sigh. If only it were ready a few days sooner. Then I could wash my clothes with the new soap.*

It had already been late by the time they finished dinner yesterday.

Zhao Siyan had specifically instructed her to wash her clothes clean this morning.

When the three members of the Xiao Family arrived, Xia Heng had only just finished washing the cloth panels and hung them out to dry.

By the time she received word and reached the main hall, Cang Chuli, Mo Qing, Mo Bai, and Chuqing were already there.

Madam Xiao was holding Chuqing’s hand and pouring out her gratitude. Chuqing’s face was bright red, and all she could say was, “It was nothing, truly.”

Her eyes lit up at the sight of Xia Heng, as though she had spotted her savior.

“Ah Heng is here! Madam Xiao, Ah Heng was the one who told us to rescue Miss Xiao. I didn’t know anything.”

With that, she darted behind Xia Heng and pushed her forward.

Madam Xiao was simply too enthusiastic. Chuqing could not bear having her hand held and being thanked like this!

“Ah Heng!”

Madam Xiao made a seamless transition. She stepped forward and grasped Xia Heng’s hand instead.

“We truly owe everything to you this time!”

Xia Heng looked toward Xiao Yaqing and Xiao Huan standing nearby.

Xiao Yaqing shrugged, indicating that she was helpless too.

There seemed to be red marks on Xiao Huan’s face. He gave Xia Heng an awkward smile.

“If you had not been attentive enough to watch over Yaqing, even I, her own mother, cannot imagine what might have happened!”

“Auntie Xiao, please don’t say that. I merely paid a little more attention.”

“What a good child! Such a good child!”

Madam Xiao patted Xia Heng’s hand, her eyes reddening again.

“May I ask how Miss Xia discovered that Yaqing was in danger?” Xiao Huan asked.

After the words left his mouth, he realized they sounded ambiguous. When his wife and daughter both glared at him, he hurriedly tried to repair the damage.

“I don’t mean anything else!

“I only wanted to ask whether Miss Xia noticed something suspicious.”

Xia Heng also thought the Xiao Family should be warned.

Whenever she had tried to tell Xiao Yaqing before, the system had censored her. Moreover, Huyan Lie’s present actions had already deviated from the original novel.

This scene had never occurred in the book. That meant the plot was already developing in directions unknown to her.

Experimentally, she looked only at Madam Xiao and chose her words with care.

“In the middle of the banquet, while everyone was drinking, I saw one of Huyan Lie’s attendants report something to him.

“I have always felt there was something wrong with him, especially the inexplicable way he acts toward Yaqing.

“So I looked at Yaqing’s seat. She was already gone by then, and that was when I became worried…”

Everyone fell silent for a long while. Madam Xiao looked anxiously at her daughter.

“Huyan Lie?”

Xiao Yaqing frowned as well.

“I have hardly met him more than a few times…”

Xiao Huan lowered his head in thought before saying, “In any event, all of you have our thanks.”

“Uncle and Auntie Xiao are far too courteous,” Cang Chuli said.

Madam Xiao shot him a displeased look.

“We are speaking to these children.

“As for you!?

“You and that girl Yaqing are both fools. One of you was drugged, while the other failed to realize anything was wrong for so long. You even dragged these children into searching everywhere for you!”

Xiao Yaqing was already accustomed to it. After returning home yesterday, her mother had spent a long time suffering from delayed fear and blaming herself for not noticing sooner.

Once Xiao Yaqing finally comforted her, Madam Xiao started scolding her daughter instead. Later, when her father woke up, everything became his fault.

In the end, her mother had spent half the night cursing both the Wang Family and whoever plotted against her.

Cang Chuli could only close his mouth in silence.

Why did something seem wrong here?

When he attended the Xiao Mansion banquet some time ago, had Madam Xiao not considered him perfect in every respect? How had he become a fool now?

“Come. You four, follow me.”

Madam Xiao led them into the adjoining room.

“These are thank-you gifts for you. You absolutely must not refuse! They express your Uncle Xiao’s and my gratitude!”

Xia Heng and the others gaped at the gifts piled across half the room.

“This pile is fabric. Yaqing said your clothes were soiled, so I selected materials that are fashionable, comfortable, and attractive.

“When the time comes, a tailor from one of the Xiao Family’s clothing shops will come measure you and make the garments. These fabrics are suitable for winter clothes, while those are for summer.

“Ah Heng and Chuqing can wear these pink satins. They’ll make you look bright and lively!

“Mo Qing and Mo Bai can wear these colors. They are dignified and hard-wearing!”

Then she guided Xia Heng and Chuqing toward two boxes of jewelry.

“I noticed neither of you wears much jewelry. Young ladies ought to dress themselves up! Don’t worry, these pieces aren’t expensive. Auntie knows what is appropriate!”

As she spoke, she inserted a carved hairpin into each woman’s hair and glared at Cang Chuli in passing.

She had no idea what Mingxu was thinking. He stubbornly refused to let her redeem that girl Heng’s indenture.

Madam Xiao now found everything about Ah Heng delightful. It was a terrible pity for such a good girl to remain a servant.

After what she had done to save Yaqing, Madam Xiao would gladly accept her as a goddaughter!

Now she could only give the girls inexpensive jewelry. Anything too valuable would exceed what their status allowed and give outsiders a weakness to seize upon.

She would have to speak to Mingxu another day. No girl would like a man who was so stingy!

Xiao Huan walked over to Mo Qing and Mo Bai.

“I know the Zhenbei Army is most skilled with spears. I commissioned someone to make two for you. They will take some time to finish, but I’ll have them delivered once they are ready.”

Madam Xiao moved several steps farther and pointed to the jars and crocks behind her.

“These contain the wine on which the Xiao Family first built its fortune—Drunken Spring Breeze. Over here is fruit wine, and these contain alcohol.

“The Xiao Family has little else worth mentioning. These are our most famous products, so we prepared some of each for you.”

The four stared at the assorted wines and alcohol lining an entire wall.

“Auntie Xiao… Are you hoping we’ll bathe in alcohol?” Xia Heng murmured.

Madam Xiao covered her mouth with her handkerchief.

“I was wondering how Yaqing learned to speak so amusingly lately. So she learned it from you!

“If the weather were not cold and our other caravans had returned, Auntie Xiao would have more good things to give you.

“And there is this. You are not allowed to refuse!”

Madam Xiao produced four pouches and gave one to each of them, including Mo Qing.

“Just the four of you had to look after both Mingxu and Yaqing. This is what you deserve! No one can take it away from you!”

“Auntie Xiao, you are far too generous. We truly cannot accept this!”

Before Xia Heng could finish, Madam Xiao took Xiao Yaqing in one hand and pulled Xiao Huan with the other. After bidding Cang Chuli farewell, she turned and jogged away without giving them any chance to stop her.

Xia Heng’s outstretched hand remained suspended in midair. The four stood holding their pouches and staring at one another.

Mo Bai squeezed his pouch and pulled out a silver note.

The moment he unfolded the silver note, his vision seemed to blur and both hands began to tremble.

“T-Ten thousand taels!”

The other three opened their pouches as well.

Xia Heng stared at the ten-thousand-tael silver note in her hand. They truly were mother and daughter. Even their extravagant generosity was identical.

“We… We have to return this, don’t we? I’ll go after Madam Xiao.”

Chuqing was growing anxious as well. Why had they given so many objects and so much money on top of them?

Cang Chuli said quietly from the side, “Keep it. Since Auntie Xiao gave it to you, she will not accept it back. Besides, we truly did owe the outcome this time to all of you.”

With the general’s permission, the four put away their silver notes. Mo Bai even patted his pocket uneasily.

Cang Chuli watched his servant tuck the silver note into a pocket at the front of his robe.

It was not that he was envious.

The General’s Mansion of Northern Pacification had always subsidized the Zhenbei Army and its retired veterans, in addition to paying compensation for injuries and deaths.

Its expenditures had exceeded its income year after year. If Cang Chuli had not seized Huyan Dan’s private fortune on this campaign and received imperial rewards, the readily available cash in his hands might truly have amounted to less than what these four possessed together.