It was only a single jar of pickled eggplant, but it represented the Old Madam’s attitude, especially her attitude toward Jiang Lingyuan.
Everyone in the manor was shrewd enough to understand its meaning.
From that moment on, they all became noticeably warmer toward Jiang Lingyuan.
At breakfast, Third Madam Lu, who rarely spoke, took the initiative to say, “Mother, my cousin came to visit yesterday. She mentioned wanting to arrange a marriage for A’Chen. The girl is the legitimate second daughter of the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. From what I heard, she seems like a good match. I wonder what you think?”
Since her husband was born of a concubine and held no official post, instead managing the household’s internal affairs, Third Madam Lu had always kept a low profile.
But this concerned her own son’s marriage, so she wanted to speak up on his behalf.
After hearing her, the Old Madam replied,”There’s no need to rush into arranging a meeting. First, find out more about the young lady herself.”
Lu Chen, the manor’s Fifth Young Master, was neither particularly gifted in letters nor in martial arts. Like his father, he could only assist with managing the family’s domestic affairs.
His only real advantage was being born into the Duke of Yu’s manor.
Jiang Lingyuan immediately recalled all this.
It made her curious.
Why would the legitimate daughter of a fourth-rank civil official’s family take the initiative to propose such a match?
The Old Madam’s lukewarm response suggested she had reached the same conclusion.
Third Madam Lu had only been testing the waters.
Seeing the Old Madam’s ambiguous attitude, she became somewhat uneasy.
In the end, she merely said, “I’ll investigate the young lady more thoroughly.”
The Old Madam nodded before turning to the Eldest Young Madam.
“Speaking of marriages, I remember the sixth young master of the Duke of Qin’s household is getting married soon, isn’t he?”
The Eldest Young Madam immediately replied,”The invitation arrived yesterday. The wedding is set for the sixth day of the third lunar month.”
Second Madam Lu joined the conversation.
“If I remember correctly, he’s marrying a young lady from the third branch of the Duke of Zhenguo’s household?”
“That’s right,” Fourth Madam Lu answered. “They’re cousins, so they’ve known each other since childhood.”
Her own daughter had reached marriageable age, so she paid close attention to the eligible young men from the various ducal and marquis households.
The Old Madam smiled.
“When the time comes, I’ll go join in the festivities. I imagine all those old friends of mine will be there.”
She was referring to the old lady of the four great ducal houses.
Naturally, the Old Madam of the Duke of Zhenguo’s household wouldn’t attend her own granddaughter’s wedding, but the old lady from the other three ducal families certainly would.
The moment Jiang Lingyuan heard the words “Duke of Zhenguo’s household,” her attention sharpened.
The result, however, disappointed her.
The Duke of Zhenguo’s household was proceeding with wedding preparations as usual. That meant they probably knew nothing about what was happening in the northwest.
What about the imperial court?
For the rest of breakfast, Jiang Lingyuan remained distracted.
By the time she returned home, her mind was filled with growing unease.
She had a nagging feeling that the situation in the northwest was far more serious than it appeared. Yet she had no idea what she ought to do.
After returning to Yilan Courtyard, Jiang Lingyuan was stunned by what Nanny Rong brought her.
In Nanny Rong’s hands was half of a tiger tally.
Her face was deathly pale.
That half of the tiger tally alone was enough to mobilize one hundred thousand troops stationed in the northwest.
Jiang Lingyuan felt as though she were holding something that burned her hands.
“This…?”
Normally calm and composed, she found it difficult to remain so.
Nanny Rong’s voice trembled.
“The Duke of Zhenguo has disappeared. Before vanishing, he entrusted the tiger tally to Ji Zhengye.”
Ji Zhengye was the leader of their northwestern merchant caravan.
Jiang Lingyuan took a deep breath, “I understand.”
“I’ll keep it safe for now, but we have to find a way to deliver it where it belongs.”
She firmly believed that, unless he had been left with no other choice, the Duke of Zhenguo would never have allowed something so important to end up in her hands.
Completely at a loss, Nanny Rong suggested,”My lady… perhaps we should tell the Old Madam directly?”
That did seem the safest course of action.
After thinking for a long moment, Jiang Lingyuan nodded.
“I’ll think about how to explain it. I’ll go this afternoon.”
At this point, she truly had no other choice.
She might as well tell the truth.
Everything she knew about the northwest had to be revealed without holding anything back.
Turning to Xunxia, she asked, “Is the Duke at home today?”
Although the Duke of Yu had already handed over all his official authority, retaining only his hereditary title, he remained the unquestioned head of the Duke of Yu’s manor.
All major decisions still rested with him.
Xunxia had only just begun accompanying Nanny Rong outside the manor and had immediately stumbled into such a serious matter.
She was badly shaken.
Still, she answered at once,”Today, no carriages have left the manor except those used for purchasing supplies.”
So he was at home.
Jiang Lingyuan waved everyone away.
“You may all leave. I need some time to think.”
She barely touched her lunch.
Estimating that the Old Madam had finished her afternoon rest, she immediately headed to Songhe Courtyard with Nanny Rong.
Hearing that Jiang Lingyuan had come alone, the Old Madam raised an eyebrow.
“What brings her here at this hour?”
Nanny Cui smiled.
“Fourth Young Madam didn’t say. She’s even wearing the same clothes she had on this morning, and some of them are wrinkled as though she didn’t even have time to straighten them.”
Although she hadn’t interacted with Jiang Lingyuan much, she knew the young woman was meticulous about her appearance.
For her to appear like this could only mean something extremely urgent had happened.
Unable to guess the reason, the Old Madam instructed, “If she’s come alone, it must be important. Tell the young ladies not to come over this afternoon.”
The moment Jiang Lingyuan saw the Old Madam, she took a deep breath.
She immediately knelt and presented the half of the tiger tally.
“Grandmother… my nanny brought this back today.”
The Old Madam was momentarily stunned by the sight of the tiger tally.
She recovered almost instantly.
“Send for the Duke. Tell him I have an urgent matter.”
Then she turned back to Jiang Lingyuan.
“Get up. We’ll wait until your grandfather arrives before discussing everything.”
There wasn’t the slightest hint of blame or suspicion in her tone.
Instead, Jiang Lingyuan found herself at a loss.
The Old Madam gently patted her hand, “Don’t be afraid. This isn’t the sort of matter that will lead to your entire family being executed. Once you reach my age, you won’t panic so easily.”
She smiled reassuringly,”Besides, if the sky falls, it’ll be us old folks who hold it up first.”
Although she said so lightly, the Old Madam privately recognized just how remarkably calm Jiang Lingyuan had already been.
The fact that the tiger tally had traveled all the way from the northwest to the capital without attracting the slightest attention was something even the Eldest Young Madam might not have managed.
The Duke of Yu arrived very quickly.
When he saw the half of the tiger tally on the table, his expression didn’t change in the slightest.
Instead, he looked at Jiang Lingyuan with a faint smile.
“You were willing to marry to our family because of what was happening in the northwest, weren’t you?”
Jiang Lingyuan stared in surprise.
“You knew?”
The Duke’s expression became serious.
“You probably don’t know the full story. Last autumn, the Turkic Khagan died of illness. After several princes fought for the throne, the Third Prince became the new Khagan and formed a marriage alliance with the Kingdom of Dameng. The situation in the northwest hasn’t reached the point of open conflict, but it certainly isn’t peaceful either.”
“The imperial court has been watching the region closely. Yet the reports coming from the Duke of Zhenguo have consistently claimed that everything is fine.”
“That, in itself, is highly abnormal.”
Jiang Lingyuan nodded.
“My grandmother was always on close terms with the Duke of Zhenguo’s household. Over the years, my businesses have been able to operate smoothly largely because of their protection, so we’ve maintained some contact.”
“But beginning last winter, the messages sent by the Duke of Zhenguo became increasingly unreasonable.”
“I felt something was wrong then, so I sent my own people to investigate. They discovered nothing. Then, at the beginning of the second lunar month this year, the Duke of Zhenguo suddenly appeared at one of my shops in the northwest. He handed something to one of my people…”
“and left in a hurry.”