“Your grandfather is calling you!”
Before Cao Lingcheng could even react, he was shoved into a dark alley. Several men quickly surrounded him. Terrified, he tried to run, but looking around, there was nowhere for him to escape.
At that moment, he must have regretted leaving the pleasure quarters earlier. If he had stayed, he wouldn’t be trapped here now.
“Who are you? Let me tell you my father is an official of the imperial court! If you dare lay a finger on me, I will make sure you die without a proper burial!” Cao Lingcheng shouted, trying to threaten them as more men in black robes closed in around him.
But they only looked at him with disdain.
“An imperial official? You could be an official, or even a prince of the blood but if you’ve offended the wrong people, you’ll die just the same.”
Without another word, the group of men rushed at him. After that, the alley was filled with the sound of his screams of pain. Cao Lingcheng had never been beaten so badly in his entire life.
He was later found by an old man selling fried cakes. Seeing Cao Lingcheng’s face swollen like a pig’s head, the old man was terrified and immediately called for officers from the county office.
In the end, Cao Lingcheng was carried back to the Cao residence by his family. When Cao Jianfeng saw his son, he could barely recognize him.
“Lingcheng? Lingcheng?” He called twice, his voice trembling, but there was no answer. Cao Lingcheng might have been idle and uneducated, but he had always been the most beloved child in his father’s heart. To see him beaten like this…
“How did you attend to your young master? You let him wander around all night stumbling drunk, and this is how he comes back beaten and bruised?”
Inside the main hall, Cao Jianfeng was furious. The attendant who had been with Cao Lingcheng stood trembling, not daring to speak.
This was hardly his fault. It was Cao Lingcheng himself who had gotten drunk, gone to the pleasure houses, and brought this trouble upon himself. But now that things had gone wrong, the blame was being placed entirely on him.
“Master, please have mercy! I stayed close to the young master all night, I swear it! But he went into the brothel, and when I tried to stop him, he hit me with a wine jug. Look at my hand, Master!”
The attendant held out his right hand. There was a deep gash across it, still oozing blood, looking very gruesome.
“Bao Yan, go quickly and fetch the doctor! How could this injury be left untreated all night? It should have been seen to immediately!” Lingyun ordered. She looked from a distance and saw that the wound went all the way to the bone, with pale white tissue visible beneath the blood.
“Thank you for your understanding, Third Miss. I truly did not mean to abandon the young master… but I really could not control him…”
He sighed again and again, helpless.
“Every life and every person’s health matters. You have been injured; go and rest first.” Lingyun turned to Cao Jianfeng. “Father, what do you think should be done?”
But Cao Jianfeng was thinking only of his useless, injured son. He had no mind for anything else.
“Hurry! Summon the best doctor in the city to treat Cheng’er!”
Meanwhile, Aunt Peng was still under house arrest. When she heard what had happened to her son, she panicked instantly.
“What happened? How could Cheng’er get hurt?” Even though she was usually calm and calculating, she lost her composure now. Cao Lingcheng was her son, the very foundation of her position and power in the Cao family.
“People say the young master got drunk, hurt his own servant, and was beaten by strangers on his way out of the brothel. But… Concubine, the young master has never made enemies with outsiders. I am certain this was done by someone inside this household,” said Zhu’er, putting on a serious, knowing expression. She was Aunt Peng’s most trusted and capable maid.
“Someone inside… do you mean Liu Ruoyan and her daughter?” Aunt Peng asked. She sat by the bed, looking at Cao Lingcheng as he slept, her heart aching with pain.
She took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead. He tossed and turned, clearly in great pain and unable to rest. Seeing this, Aunt Peng was filled with distress.
“Concubine, think about it soon after the young master returned from their courtyard yesterday evening, he was attacked. If that isn’t their doing, who else could it be? And besides, that Cao Lingyun is always full of cunning tricks and hateful schemes!”
With Zhu’er fueling her anger, Aunt Peng began to plan her revenge. She could not be certain Cao Lingyun was responsible, but she was almost sure of it.
“That wicked little slut! She is always the one giving Liu Ruoyan advice. If not for her, we would never have been placed under house arrest. She thinks she rules this household but she forgets that I have been here for over twenty years! My roots run far deeper than hers ever will!”
Aunt Peng turned and looked at herself in the bronze mirror. Lines were beginning to appear at the corners of her eyes. Time had taken away her youth and beauty, but it had not taken away her skill in the “art of war” within the inner household.
And this kind of war was very different from battles on the battlefield. For women, knowing when to appear weak and helpless was far more powerful than being strong and competitive.
“Concubine, the tasks you gave me are almost done. But when shall we make our move?”
Aunt Peng smiled and walked toward the bed of daffodils in the room. They were in full bloom, filling the air with fragrance. But suddenly, her smile turned cold and sharp.
“No hurry. We will take our time. If we act too quickly, we are more likely to leave traces and be discovered. By the way has the Master been sleeping in his study these past few days?”
“He was there a few days ago, but now he has gone back to Madam Liu’s quarters. Concubine, if we do not do something soon, I fear the Master’s heart will turn completely away from us,” Zhu’er replied anxiously.
Aunt Peng did not answer. She sat down and slowly fanned herself with a silk fan.
“Do you really think Liu Ruoyan’s place is some kind of blessed paradise? If their marriage were truly harmonious and loving, would I still be here today? The truth is, the Master has always looked down on her because she comes from a merchant family. She puts on such high and mighty airs, but does she even realize what she really is?”
“You are right. She is only the daughter of a merchant family. She married into this household acting as if she were royalty, truly believing the Master doted on her. Even after bearing him two children, she still never won his favor.”
“Tomorrow, go and invite the Master to come here. Tell him Cheng’er’s health has taken a turn for the worse and ask him to come see his son.”
Aunt Peng knew very well that with his face swollen like a pig’s head, Cao Lingcheng certainly looked sick enough to require his father’s attention.
“Ah, I see why you wanted the young master moved here. As long as he is staying in this courtyard, the Master has a proper reason to come visit you, and no one can say a word against it!”
Aunt Peng stood up and walked slowly forward, swaying her hips gracefully. Every movement she made was full of charm and allure.
Meanwhile, Lingyun was sleeping soundly, completely unaware that a plot against her and her mother was already being set in motion.
“Miss! If you don’t get up soon, the sun will be high in the sky!” Bao Yan shouted beside the bed.
Lingyun simply covered her ears with the blanket. When will these early mornings ever end?
“Honestly… when will this life stop being so hard? I’m so tired I could just die,” she mumbled, frowning and getting out of bed with great reluctance. She was truly fed up with everything.
“Miss, isn’t the Young Duke coming to visit you today? Why aren’t you hurrying to get ready? What if he sees you looking like this?” Bao Yan stood by the bed, hoping the thought of the handsome young man would give her some energy.
“Let him see me however I am!” Lingyun replied lazily.