13
By the time Wen Huai’an left the Marquis of Nanyang’s residence feeling refreshed and clear-headed, rumors of Miss Tang Cheng boiling her fiancé alive in a large vat had already spread far and wide.
Everyone was dumbfounded, and discussions buzzed everywhere.
“Miss Tang truly has some nerve, humiliating Young Lord Wen like that. Yet Young Lord Wen actually tolerated it—unbelievable!”
“What else can he do? Young Lord Wen has difficulty fathering children. Miss Tang is only emboldened because she’s carrying his child. Once that child is gone, she’ll be cast aside for sure!”
“Even if she is cast aside, she still has the Marquis of Nanyang protecting her. She’ll still live a better life than us common folk.”
“Yes, Miss Tang may cause trouble endlessly, but she’s incredibly lucky. It’s really quite enviable.”
“I feel sorry for Young Lord Wen!”
“Hey, do you think the Marquis of Zhen’s manor will call off the engagement this time, given how recklessly Miss Tang is behaving?”
“That probably won’t happen—Miss Tang is still carrying Young Lord Wen’s child.”
“Hard to say!”
“Why isn’t anyone talking about the body-strengthening medicine? Isn’t it good?”
“Haha, don’t you know? It’s all over the capital now. Everyone knows the formula and preparation process of the so-called body-strengthening medicine. I have a relative who works at a big pharmacy. Their resident senior physician thought that the senior physician from Jihe Hall wouldn’t lie, so he prepared the so-called medicine according to the formula and steps. But it had no effect at all. It’s all fake.”
“The Marquis of Nanyang and Miss Tang colluded with the senior physician from Jihe Hall to fabricate this fraud. Little did they know that silly Miss Tang would publicly prepare the medicine and expose the formula, ruining the senior physician’s hard-earned reputation overnight.”
“People really shouldn’t lie against their conscience. Now they’ve become a laughingstock. That physician has lost his good name in his twilight years—who would dare consult him in the future?”
“Exactly, exactly!”
“…”
The capital’s common folk eagerly discussed these gossipy tidbits. They had long grown accustomed to Miss Tang’s antics and simply treated them as entertainment to relax over tea. There was no real animosity toward her—she was just a spoiled young lady.
You say Miss Tang was willful and capricious, ignorant and foolish, selfish, vain and arrogant, sycophantic, and bullies other noble ladies?
Oh, and what does any of that have to do with ordinary people like them?
She hasn’t bullied men, seized markets, stolen fertile land, or committed murder or arson. Compared to those wicked people who appear pure and kind on the surface but commit every evil in secret, she’s much better.
While the common folk remained indifferent, wealthy households and nobles, such as Madam Zhang, the wife of the Marquis of Nanyang—secretly prepared the body-strengthening medicine, clinging to the faint hope that it might work.
Without exception, none of it had any effect.
They all sneered inwardly at the Marquis of Nanyang for spoiling his concubine born daughter so foolishly that he would brazenly fabricate a fraud together with the senior physician of Jihe Hall.
Jian’an Earl’s Mansion
Liu Jintong never expected that useless fool Tang Cheng could be so reckless, stirring up trouble with some so-called body-strengthening medicine. And yet the Marquis of Nanyang and Young Lord Wen played along. Recalling Tang Cheng throwing her weight around in the Fourth Prince’s residence in her previous life, a trace of malice gradually surfaced in Liu Jintong’s eyes.
Again, it was happening again!
Liu Jintong bit her lower lip and clenched her fists.
Everyone indulged that fool Tang Cheng.
The Fourth Prince did. Young Lord Wen did as well.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t take revenge on that fool Tang Cheng just yet. Every time she heard news of Tang Cheng stirring up trouble, it brought her both satisfaction and irritation.
It was all the fault of that useless Shanhu.
If she had aborted Young Lord Wen’s child earlier, how could Tang Cheng still be so brazen?
Liu Jintong, who had been smoothly dealing with her enemies since her rebirth, had stumbled precisely over Tang Cheng—the one she looked down on the most. All her schemes had backfired.
It was utterly frustrating.
“Time is on my side!”
Reluctantly setting aside the ever-bumbling Tang Cheng, who kept demanding attention, Liu Jintong focused on dealing with the enemies from her previous life.
Many noble ladies disliked Tang Cheng as much as Liu Jintong did, wishing they could stick pins into a doll of her every day.
At the Marquis of Nanyang’s residence, Tang Xin listened as her maid Jinshu told her about how her cheap fourth sister Tang Cheng had boiled Young Lord Wen in a large vat. The more she listened, the more uncomfortable she became. A breath seemed to stick in her throat, making her miserable.
She felt indignant on behalf of her male idol, Wen Huai’an.
Tang Cheng had truly gone too far, tormenting Young Lord Wen just because she carried his child in her belly.
Tang Xin gazed at the vibrant, competing flowers in her courtyard, struggling internally.
She wanted to help her idol escape his suffering. She also wanted to keep a low profile and avoid the stigma of stealing her own sister’s fiancé, ruining her own reputation.
She was not like Tang Cheng, with her tarnished reputation, her delusional fixation on the Fourth Prince, and the protection of her biased father the marquis.
She hoped the Duke of Zhen’s manor would call off this engagement.
“Jinshu, what is Fourth Sister doing right now?”
“Answering Miss, Fourth Miss is taking her afternoon nap,” Jinshu replied with her head bowed.
“Isn’t she soaking in the medicine?” Tang Xin was surprised.
Jinshu shook her head.
“No.”
Tang Xin frowned, displeased. “Fourth Sister is truly too much. Father dotes on her so much, and yet she still puts him through all this trouble.”
Just then, a maid announced from outside that Chen momo, sent by Madam Zhang, had arrived, bringing newly tailored beautiful and exquisite dresses along with fine jewelry.
Tang Xin’s heart sank at the news.
She really did not want to attend the Old Princess of Cheng’s birthday banquet.
She truly did not understand what her mother (the original owner’s mother) was thinking—wanting her, the legitimate daughter of a marquis of the third rank, to marry a mediocre and incompetent husband, placing her beneath that concubine born daughter, Tang Cheng.
A seed of resentment toward her cheap mother Madam Zhang took root in Tang Xin’s heart, and she decided she would passively resist when the time came.
…
Tang Cheng took a comfortable afternoon nap. After washing up, she began leisurely soaking in the medicinal bath.
Nothing that happened in the Peony Garden could be hidden from others.
The news that Tang Cheng was soaking in the medicine spread, and the Marquis of Zhen’s manor soon learned of it. The duchess, Madam Min, was both angry and anxious.
“Can’t this Fourth Miss Tang just behave for once?”
Her grandchild couldn’t withstand her repeated torment.
Break off the engagement—it must be broken off!
They could not afford a daughter-in-law like this.
“Go summon the young lord.”
Madam Min thought of the messy rumors outside and her son, who had returned home and was already preparing generous gifts for Miss Fourth Miss Tang. Her dislike for Tang Cheng, her future daughter-in-law, only grew. If Tang Cheng kept this up, she doubted the child would survive.
Better to break off this troubling engagement sooner.
At least then she wouldn’t have to worry about it.
“Yes, Madam.”
The young maidservant accepted the order and left.
A moment later, Wen Huai’an arrived. Dressed in a dark black brocade robe, his posture was straight and tall, his brows handsome and eyes bright. The sickly pallor that had once marred his handsome face was gone, and he looked radiantly energetic.
The maidservants in the main hall were all stunned, their cheeks flushing as their hearts raced like startled deer.
The Duchess of Zhen, Madam Min, was also astonished by her son’s transformation, which was like a complete rebirth. She dismissed all the maids and elderly servants, then spoke with a mixture of surprise and urgency.
“Huai’an, has your health truly recovered?”
Wen Huai’an gave a slight nod.
“Yes, it has.”
“Wonderful! Huai’an, did you encounter a miraculous physician living among the common people?” After her initial delight, Madam Min looked at her son with hopeful eyes.
“No. It was the body-strengthening medicine that Tang Cheng prepared.”
Wen Huai’an shook his head.
“But isn’t that medicine useless?” Madam Min’s smile faded, and she looked at her son with a strange expression.
“Mother, rumors cannot be trusted.” Wen Huai’an pressed his thin lips together.
Madam Min still did not believe him. Everyone knew the body-strengthening medicine was fake.
Seeing his mother’s distrust, Wen Huai’an did not explain further. In truth, after returning to the manor, he had also sought out physicians to prepare the medicine, but the results had been completely ineffective.
Perhaps Tang Cheng had stumbled upon the right method by accident.
“Mother, why did you summon me?” Wen Huai’an asked.
The Duchess of Zhen, Madam Min, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and fixed her gaze on Wen Huai’an.
“Huai’an, Miss Fourth Miss Tang is not suitable for you. This engagement must be broken off.”
**