Chapter 37 – Reap What You Sow

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless one for some, but for the rest of the marquis’ household, it was quite the opposite.

The Marquis of Anle had entered the palace in the afternoon and still hadn’t returned by late night. Anyone with eyes could tell that something must have gone wrong. But the Marquis didn’t hold an important post at court—he wasn’t in any high-ranking position—so even if something had gone wrong, it shouldn’t have warranted such a dramatic reaction, let alone a personal summons from His Majesty.

“Mother, it must be because Ning Zhaorou seduced Prince Jing and made His Majesty think our Marquis household is connected to him! What are we going to do, Mother?!” Ning Wanqing paced around the room anxiously, and after speaking, she angrily made to rush out and confront Ning Zhaorou.

Madam Wu quickly pulled her back and scolded her in a low voice, frowning, “How can you speak such nonsense? Keep your mouth shut!”

What business did His Majesty’s grudge against Prince Jing have to do with them? There was no reason for the entire Marquis household to be punished over something so vague. So this couldn’t be the cause. Even if Prince Jing was involved, it would likely just be a warning—nothing too serious.

Ning Zhaorou didn’t find out her father had been summoned to the palace and hadn’t returned all night until the following morning.

She couldn’t hide the surprise in her eyes. She remembered how the emperor had told her last night that he would “take care of it.” So this… was how he took care of it—by summoning her father directly?

“One of the maids serving tea in the front hall mentioned it,” Shuangwu said softly as she helped comb Ning Zhaorou’s hair. “She said the marquis could barely walk straight when he got out of the carriage last night.”

“Don’t let that kind of talk spread. Just keep it to ourselves,” Ning Zhaorou replied after turning it over in her mind, already having a few guesses. She gave Shuangwu a few reminders.

“Yes, my lady,” Shuangwu replied.

From the moment he entered the palace, the Marquis of Anle had been kneeling. Only in the middle of the night did His Majesty finally summon him.

Even now, thinking back on what the emperor had said made him tremble with fear.

“My lord, please have some hot tea. The kitchen’s had the soup simmering since earlier. I’ll have someone bring it over soon,” Madam Wu said, fussing around him attentively. Knowing he’d knelt for hours, she also had someone massage his legs to relieve the tension. Then, as if in passing, she tried to probe for the reason behind His Majesty’s summons the previous night.

The moment she brought it up, the Marquis grew furious and pushed the teacup off the table.

“I ask you—what have you been scheming with the Chengyang Bo household?” He slammed his palm on the table, ordering the servants out of the room.

Seeing his fury, Madam Wu quickly shifted gears. She covered her face with a handkerchief, acting as though she were deeply aggrieved. “As soon as my lord returned, I’ve been focused on tending to you. What could I possibly have done to deserve such accusations?”

Ordinarily, the marquis might have been fooled by such tactics and felt sorry for her. But last night, His Majesty had spelled things out in no uncertain terms—he couldn’t pretend not to know anymore.

Anger surged, and despite his injured leg, he kicked her in the knee. “Still pretending? You really think I went all the way to the imperial court for no reason?!”

How had this situation ended up reaching the emperor’s ears?!

Madam Wu was startled, the panic on her face plain to see. She carefully studied his expression, then knelt and tried to explain: “I was only thinking the two girls were getting older. Wanqing—Wanqing is my daughter, I must choose a good marriage for her. As for Zhaorou… Even though she’s not my own, she’s still the legitimate daughter of the household. The second madam from the Chengyang Bo estate had come to me, saying she’d taken a liking to Zhaorou. Since the matter with Prince Jing was clearly out of the question, I couldn’t bear to see Zhaorou left without a proper match either…”

“They just said to arrange a meeting at Lian Guang Temple. Who would’ve thought Zhaorou was in poor health? I only accompanied her partway. Now it’s all my fault—”

With that, Madam Wu covered her face and began to sob.

The Marquis of Anping looked at her suspiciously, uncertain how much of her words to believe.

Last night, the emperor finally saw him and after a long pause asked if he knew what had happened outside Lian Guang Temple.

He immediately thought of the matter where Madam Wu took the two girls to Lian Guang Temple, and Ning Zhaorou returned ahead.

Swallowing nervously, he hastily replied, “Your Majesty, my second daughter met the eldest daughter of the Shangshu household halfway down the mountain outside Lian Guang Temple. She was helped by her and thus was able to return home.”

He guessed this must be what the emperor meant. There were already rumors circulating that the Shangshu household’s daughter was to enter the palace. But how did that concern his family? Could it be that Ning Zhaorou said something inappropriate when she met the Shangshu household’s Miss An, and the emperor found out?

Yin Mingyu rubbed his forehead, not bothering to even glance at him. The mere thought made him feel sorry for the young lady. The Marquis household truly did not care for their daughters; who knew how many times Ning Zhaorou had been wronged growing up.

“The Chengyang Bo household has no ties to your Marquis household, yet they even helped you look for someone? Marquis of Anping, you really have a bold face,” Yin Mingyu said sarcastically.

The Marquis was even more confused. Had he done something wrong?

He immediately knelt, banging his head on the floor, begging for forgiveness, his heart a mess.

“If you can’t figure it out, then keep thinking—maybe by dawn you’ll come to understand,” Yin Mingyu said, then got up without another word and left.

The Marquis knelt solidly all night, his knees numb, and finally pieced some clues together.

His Majesty had specifically mentioned the Chengyang Bo household going to look for someone. Then, thinking of the An family girl on the road down from Lian Guang Temple, a thought occurred—could it be that His Majesty was worried the Chengyang Bo household had offended the Shangshu household’s Miss An while searching?

If it were just a normal search, no offense would have been caused. But if there were ill intentions, who knew what trouble might arise?

The Marquis had not slept all night, nerves on edge. Now hearing Madam Wu’s crying complaints made his head hurt even more. He slammed the table, telling her to be quiet, then looked at her coldly and asked,

“Are you truly without other intentions?”

Madam Wu’s heart tightened and she shook her head. “I could never have other intentions. It’s all for the sake of the young ladies of the household.”

“Then did the Chengyang Bo household truly take a liking to Zhaorou?” the Marquis pondered for a moment, frowning. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

Madam Wu carefully replied, “It’s the third son of the second concubine in the Chengyang Bo household. That second madam only happened to mention it briefly. I thought I’d first see what Zhaorou thought, so I didn’t tell you.”

The Marquis seemed half convinced, then shook his head. “Their status is too low.”

“Yes, yes. The illegitimate son can’t be compared to our legitimate daughters. But that second madam was quite eager. I didn’t want to directly refuse her, not expecting all this trouble to come of it.”

Madam Wu sighed.

“Pay more attention to Zhaorou. The Sacred Longevity Banquet is soon. Their marriage matters can wait until after the banquet,” the Marquis said. He felt something was off but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Deciding not to worry about it, and fearing trouble before the banquet, he told Madam Wu not to rush things.

“Yes, my lord. Then I will carefully consider things after the banquet and find good matches for both our daughters,” Madam Wu said with a smile as she got up from the floor.