Chapter 20: A Way Out

Bidan Courtyard.

Tang Zhao was being attended to during her bath and grooming by Nanny Song and the four maids of Chunfeng, looking like a delicate porcelain doll. After finishing her breakfast to her heart's content, she reclined on a concubine chaise, waiting for someone.

Xia Mo brought up a bowl of red date, goji berry, and yam soup. "I brewed a pot, Miss. Please drink it slowly."

Outside the courtyard, Bai Cheng and the others stared at the empty large pot with mournful faces, holding their own bowls. "I could clearly smell the fragrance of the red date yam soup," they lamented.

Chao Hui’s usually expressionless face became even more blank. "I'm afraid Miss Xia Mo didn't make any for us."

Chao Yi sniffed the air and secretly swallowed his saliva.

As soon as Gu Ci entered the courtyard, he saw this group of starving ghosts salivating like fools. He immediately frowned. "What are you standing there for? Don't you have work to do?"

The crowd instantly scattered like birds and fish.

As Gu Ci stepped into the main courtyard, he saw the person who had stirred up a storm of blood and wind sipping soup leisurely, enjoying a moment of tranquil peace.

"Xia Mo, serve a bowl of soup to my husband," Tang Zhao commanded.

Xia Mo placed a bowl of soup on the low table; there wasn't a single trace of yam or red date residue in it.

Gu Ci glanced at several maids who appeared submissive and obedient on the surface but inwardly wished they could rush up and bite him. "All of you, withdraw. I have words with your mistress."

The four maids of Chunfeng did not move.

Gu Ci frowned. Whether in the military or in a Prince's manor, he had never encountered anyone who treated his commands like wind passing through their ears.

"What, did you not hear me?"

His tone was calm yet authoritative. The hearts of the Chunfeng maids trembled, but they endured and remained still.

"Go down," seeing that the man was truly becoming angry, Tang Zhao quickly ushered them out.

She was certain that Gu Ci and the Xuan Prince's Manor would not—and could not—touch her, but touching her maids would be as easy as turning over her hand.

"Yes," the four maids of Chunfeng filed out in succession, closing the door behind them.

"Quite the protectors," Gu Ci snorted coldly, his gaze unfriendly. "It's just that the mistress is courting death so recklessly that I fear they won't be able to protect her."

"I feel the same way," Tang Zhao retorted. "My husband clearly suffers from impotence yet insists on performing the duties of a husband and wife, causing such a massive joke that even requires Nanny Li to clean up the mess. It's just a pity that such explosive news likely won't be kept secret for long."

Gu Ci's face was covered in frost. "Do you think anyone would believe your nonsense?"

"Has my husband ever heard the saying? There are no rumors in this world, but once enough people speak of something, it becomes a rumor." Tang Zhao looked toward the man's waist. "A beauty in decline, a hero who cannot rise—what a pity!"

Gu Ci found it utterly inconceivable. Where on earth did this woman come from? She spoke of impotence and inadequacy at every turn. Although the customs of the Great Yu were much more liberal than the previous dynasty, surely they hadn't become *this* liberal?

Or had he been in the military camps for too long that he no longer knew how the outside world had changed?

Forget it, none of that mattered. Gu Ci closed his eyes. "I came to see you today because I wanted to..." The words "to be frank" circled his lips, but he swallowed them back. "...I wanted to explain what happened this morning."

"It wasn't that I didn't want to share a bed with you, I simply remembered an urgent matter that needed handling."

Tang Zhao smiled. *Yeah, right, I believe you.*

"The war in the Southwest has been settled, and your father will be returning to the capital soon," Gu Ci reminded her. "You have dragged the reputation of the Duke of Wei's manor through the mud; be careful, or your father will punish you when he returns."

Tang Zhao had intended to hear what nonsense he would spout, but she didn't expect to hear such important news.

"When will he return to the capital?"

"The Southwest is a thousand miles from Luoyang, and the army moves slowly. It likely won't be until next May."

"My husband is right. The journey back for Father will be perilous. I am both nervous and worried, so it is indeed inappropriate for me to consummate our marriage right now," Tang Zhao cooperated with Gu Ci's nonsense.

"Then we shall wait until the Duke of Wei returns to the capital to discuss consummation," Gu Ci negotiated. "During this time, we shall sleep in separate beds. You sleep on the bed, and I will sleep on the floor."

Fine, Tang Zhao nodded.

"Furthermore, if you are going to do something, tell me beforehand so I am informed," Gu Ci said resentfully. Whether it was donating property or telling people he was "incapable," he at least deserved some psychological preparation!

*Oh,* Tang Zhao blinked.

"If there is anything you need my help with, just say so," seeing that she had become honest, Gu Ci didn't mind offering a small kindness.

*Mhm!* Tang Zhao got off the chaise, walked to the brazier, opened the lid of the ceramic jar, scooped out a full spoonful of yam and red dates, and placed it into the bowl next to Gu Ci.

The two sat opposite each other sipping soup, tacitly throwing the morning's events to the back of their minds, never mentioning them again.

Since the masters had reconciled, the servants naturally made peace as well. Xia Mo resumed her routine of brewing soup for everyone in the Bidan Courtyard.

Bai Cheng, Chao Hui, and the others held their soup bowls with tears in their eyes.

The peace in Bidan Courtyard lasted for two days before someone started causing trouble again.

The cause was still those shops and manors.

As the disaster relief proceeded in an orderly fashion, the gates of Luoyang returned to normal traffic. Merchants from all over Great Yu flooded into Luoyang, competing to bid on the dowry Tang Zhao had donated.

As the auctions for the lands and shops concluded one by one, the new owners naturally wanted to drive out all the original managers, stewards, and workers to install their own confidants.

Thirty-seven shops and tens of thousands of acres of land had kept the hundreds of servants and family members of the Duke of Wei's manor well-fed and prosperous. In the blink of an eye, they were cast onto the streets, living in conditions worse than the refugees. Who could accept such a thing?

Manager An, a confidant of the An clan and the head steward of Tang Zhao's dowry, felt deep resentment. Driven by malice, he secretly gathered most of the managers and stewards and, with the tacit permission of Lady An, marched upon the Xuan Prince's Manor.

"Please, Eldest Miss, save us! We truly cannot survive like this!"

Chunfeng barked an order, "Silence! Before you stands the Lady of Zhaoshan County, appointed by His Majesty himself. Who dares to disregard social hierarchy!"

Although the status of women in Great Yu was lower than that of men, imperial relatives were an exception. To highlight the nobility of imperial women, Great Yu law stipulated that any woman with a title must be addressed by that title, even after marriage.

Although Tang Zhao was not of the imperial bloodline, she held a titled rank, and thus the same rule applied.

Whenever Manager An thought of how Tang Zhao's title was obtained, his heart bled with hatred. However, the dignity of a County Lady was far beyond what a mere slave like him could compare to. He could only swallow his anger and wait for another day.

"Please, County Lady, save us!"

"County Lady, please save us! We haven't eaten for three days!" elderly people and children in rags wailed behind them.

"Make them be quiet," Tang Zhao said softly, standing under the eaves of the corridor.

"Yes," the black-clad guards stepped forward and began kicking and punching the middle-aged men who were wailing the loudest.

After dealing with seven or eight people who were faking their tears, the Bidan Courtyard became so quiet one could hear a pin drop.

"It is not that I refuse to save you. I am even willing to save refugees with no kin or connections, let alone you, who have managed my and my biological mother's dowry for so many years. Even if you have no merit, you have certainly put in the labor."

Tang Zhao scanned the crowd. Aside from a few people looking at her earnestly with tearful eyes, everyone else lowered their heads and shrank back, not daring to meet her gaze.

"However, in the end, your status is not legitimate. Although you are nominally part of my dowry, your service contracts are not in my hands. Tell me, on what grounds should I save you?"

When she married, she had only requested the service contracts for Nanny Song and the four maids of Chunfeng from Lady An. What did the others have to do with her!

"This... County Lady..." Manager An was also at a loss. If this news got out, the already tarnished reputation of the stepmother would become utterly ruined.

"Please, County Lady, show us a way to survive!"