Chapter 15: Everyone for Themselves

Although Master An was not eligible to attend the imperial court, he could still gather news from his colleagues. He chimed in, "Father is right. The Minister of Revenue intends to withhold the military pay for the Northwest Army to fund disaster relief. Naturally, the Prince Xuan's Mansion is unwilling to comply, so they have pushed the little wench to donate her wealth. This way, the Prince Xuan's Mansion can preserve the military funds without losing a single soldier!"

With tears welling in Lady An's eyes, Master An gave a meaningful look. Madam An, leading a group of female relatives, stepped forward to offer comfort.

Being handled with such care, Lady An's emotions improved slightly. She stated her purpose: "The Prefect of Luoyang has been demanding the dowry that Lady Song lost. I have sent almost all of it back to my maiden home. You must find it quickly so I can take it back."

The smile on Madam An's face froze, and the other female relatives retreated discreetly.

Grand Dowager An was the first to strike. "Zhenniang, how can one ask back things that were sent to their maiden home? Besides, if the Prefect of Luoyang wants them, just make up an excuse to dismiss him. Why bother coming back to cause discomfort for your own family?"

"Mother, do you think I don't want to? It is hateful that the little wench left a contingency; she actually gave the dowry inventory directly to the Prefect of Luoyang! That man named Yin used the list to check every single item, demanding an explanation for exactly what was missing and why! Otherwise, why would I have come back to my maiden home to demand things!"

"It is also your fault for being too ostentatious, showing off every good thing you have," Lady An said, pointing at the gold hairpin on Madam An's head. "Sister-in-law was flaunting that gold hairpin everywhere two days ago, and she was seen by Madam Yin. She went back and told him immediately!"

"If you had hidden them secretly so no one knew, I could have easily made excuses!" Lady An grew angrier as she spoke.

Madam An looked embarrassed and pulled the gold hairpin off, hiding it in her sleeve.

"What are you hiding now, Sister-in-law? You have to hand it over regardless!" Lady An said irritably.

Ever since Lady An had taken over the management of the Duke's household, the amount of fine goods moved back to her maiden home over the years was countless. Not only the women of the An family, but even the men were loath to part with them.

Master An gripped the exquisite Hetian jade pendant at his waist and said hesitantly, "Father, perhaps..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a burst of wailing and howling. "Madam, Old Master, Master An, something terrible has happened!"

In a single day, Lady An had already heard "something terrible has happened" three times. Amidst the immense shock, a sharp, dense pain radiated from her abdomen.

She groaned, "My stomach... my stomach hurts so much."

Nanny Zhao turned pale with fright. "Quick, someone come! The Madam has been startled! Fetch the physician, quickly!"

The child in Lady An's womb was the future heir of the Duke of Wei's mansion. If anything happened, Master An acted decisively: "Quick, prepare a carriage! Send the Duchess of Wei back to her mansion!"

Facing Lady An's startled gaze, Master An comforted her, "Sister, how can an outside physician be as good as an imperial physician? Our family's fifth-rank official status does not qualify us to invite an imperial physician to our home for a consultation. Sister, you should hurry back to the Duke's mansion and use an invitation to summon an imperial physician!"

"Yes, yes," Lady An was sweating profusely from the pain and naturally could not see Nanny Zhao's hesitant expression. She was ordered by Madam An to be carried out in a sedan chair.

Inside the hall, Old Master An breathed a sigh of relief. Once his daughter returned to the Duke of Wei's mansion, if anything went wrong, their family could wash their hands of the matter.

Master An, still preoccupied with the recent crisis, hurriedly ordered someone to come in.

Steward An scrambled into the room, crying out in a shrill voice, "Old Master, Master An, it's bad! The Five Cities Military Command has brought men to seal all our shops, and all the goods inside have been emptied!"

"What?" Master An was enraged. "How dare that brat!"

He kicked a pearwood chair aside and paced back and forth. "This is truly lawless! Tomorrow, I shall certainly submit a memorial to the court to impeach the Five Cities Military Command!"

Old Master An gripped the sandalwood armrest tightly. "Which shops?"

Steward An remained motionless on the floor, his whole body trembling. "All... all of them."

*Bang!*

Old Master An slammed his palm hard against the table. "Good, good, very good! Yin Wei truly leaves no face for my An mansion at all!"

"Father, what do we do now?" Master An gasped in heartache, clutching his Hetian jade pendant as if someone might snatch it at any moment. "The shops are all sealed; how will we live in the future?"

After ten years of fine food, luxurious clothing, and beautiful jade, how could they return to their former state of poverty and destitution?

"Give the order: find everything Zhenniang sent over, as well as the land deeds and property titles. Tomorrow morning, deliver them to the Luoyang Prefectural Office with great fanfare!" Old Master An said, his eyes bloodshot, emphasizing every word.

"If Father does that, wouldn't we be telling the whole world that our An family only stands in Luoyang by forcibly seizing the dowries of orphans and vulnerable women?"

"Then what else should we do? Once the shops are sealed, anyone with eyes will know why. Do you intend to stubbornly refuse to acknowledge the debt?"

Seeing that his eldest son truly thought this way, Old Master An cursed, "Did you not hear Zhenniang say that the little wench has the dowry inventory? Who cares if you acknowledge it or not? Once the shops are sealed, do you think you can dare to keep them open? Do you still want to keep your position as a Vice Director in the Ministry of Rites?"

"The only way now is to pin everything on Zhenniang to preserve the An family!"

Master An's eyes widened. "Pin... pin it on Zhenniang?"

"It is a desperate measure. You must keep your official post, the men of the An family must marry, and the women must be wed. This infamy cannot be borne by the An family!" Old Master An half-closed his eyes. "We can only do Zhenniang wrong."

"What Father says is right," Master An murmured. "After all, my sister is already married and is carrying the heir. Even if she was confused and made a mistake, the Duke of Wei's mansion will not be heartless enough to punish her, considering the child."

"But regarding my aunt..." Master An hesitated. His sister was merely beautiful, but his aunt... Master An shuddered.

"I will handle your aunt," Old Master An interrupted. "Go and make the arrangements."

"Yes," Master An bowed and left with Steward An.

Old Master An returned to his study alone and sat in silence until dawn. He personally prepared ink and paper, wrote a letter, and handed it to his most trusted old servant. "You must deliver this personally into the hands of the Great-Aunt."

The old servant took the command and departed.

The Duke of Wei's mansion, which had been noisy all night, finally fell quiet.

Nanny Yu assisted the Old Lady, who had been praying in the Buddhist hall all night, as she emerged. She poured a cup of tea. "The Madam's pregnancy has been stabilized. The house physician emphasized repeatedly that she must not be subjected to any more shocks, otherwise..."

Seeing that the Old Lady did not wish to hear more, Nanny Yu tactfully fell silent. "Someone from the main family has arrived. It is my elder brother."

The Old Lady's hand paused while drinking tea. "Let him in."

The old servant knelt respectfully and performed a grand salutation, pulling an envelope from his robe and holding it above his head. "The Old Master instructed that the Great-Aunt must read this personally."

Nanny Yu handed the letter to the Old Lady.

Looking at the tightly sealed letter, the Old Lady's heart sank. She tore it open, and as expected...

"Go back and tell my dear brother: this is the last time."

The old servant acknowledged the command and left.

*Clatter!* A "Fu Lu Shou" blessing cup smashed onto the floor.

(End of Chapter)