Chapter 11: Rumors

May 23rd was the forty-sixth birthday of the Marquis of Dingxi. It was not a milestone year, so a grand celebration was not appropriate. However, considering they had just observed the mourning period for the Old Madam and had not held any festive activities for three years, the entire family was itching for some excitement. Consequently, they not only hired a troupe of performers but also invited relatives and friends to gather.

Since it was the Marquis's birthday banquet, the menu was personally reviewed by the Marchioness.

Rongan Courtyard was the residence of the Marchioness of Dingxi, located in the southeast main courtyard of the Marquis's manor. It featured carved beams, painted pillars, winding corridors, and connecting side rooms, presenting a magnificent and imposing appearance.

The entire Dingxi Marquis Manor had originally been the residence of a vassal prince from the previous dynasty. Before the previous dynasty fell, the prince had committed offenses, and the estate was reclaimed by the imperial court. Because of its high status, no one dared to purchase it. Such a fine residence, once left uninhabited and stripped of its vitality, would inevitably fall into decay. Coupled with the many years of dynastic changes and wars that followed, by the time it reached the hands of the Marquis of Dingxi, it was in a state of disrepair. It took two generations of renovations and expansions to restore it to the splendor it possessed during the height of the vassal prince's era.

The Marchioness, née Xiao, was naturally a person who disliked commotion; thus, loud voices were rare in her courtyard. However, at this moment, outside the reception hall of the rear corridor, a woman with narrow shoulders and a slender waist was loudly reprimanding someone. Three young maidservants, disheveled and in disarray, were kneeling before her.

When Nanny Zhou walked over, she happened to witness this scene. Recognizing that one of the young girls was the daughter of a nanny under her command, she stopped in her tracks.

"...Tear that mouth to pieces, go take a beating, and call your parents here. Get out of here immediately and never set foot in Rongan Courtyard again for the rest of your lives..." the woman barked through gritted teeth.

The young girls were so terrified that they kowtowed, weeping and begging for mercy.

"What is going on here?" Nanny Zhou asked as she approached.

Hearing the inquiry, the woman turned around. She was about sixteen or seventeen, with a long, thin face and delicate features. She wore a crimson short waistcoat over a cream-colored inner garment, cinched with a spring-green sash.

Nanny Zhou recognized her as Jinchai, a third-class maid in this courtyard.

"What are you doing, Miss? The Marquis's big day is approaching; how can you lose your temper so easily?" she said.

Nanny Zhou was a steady-tempered woman who rarely spoke up in front of others or behind their backs. Among the many people the Marchioness employed to run errands, she seemed unremarkable. However, from the very first day she had followed the Elder Madam Xie into marriage until now—ten years after the younger Madam Xiao had married in—she had continued to manage the storerooms of both sisters. Since the Old Madam's passing, she had even begun to gradually take over the manor's main treasury, which spoke volumes of the trust placed in her.

Jinchai did not dare to be presumptuous in front of her. Her long face immediately filled with smiles as she performed a formal greeting.

"Nanny Zhou has arrived," she said, glancing at the sobbing girls kneeling on the ground. "These little rascals are not only being lazy and shirking their duties, but they were also caught gossiping together. You surely know, Nanny, that the Eldest Madam most dislikes such chirping and troublemaking..."

Nanny Zhou nodded, casting an inadvertent glance at the kneeling girls.

"Sister, Sister, we won't dare do it again! Please forgive us this once..." one of them cried, clutching at a straw as she kowtowed and wept.

"And you lot—since you have come here to serve, do you not know the rules?" Nanny Zhou spoke up.

The three girls immediately kowtowed to her again, even raising their hands to slap their own faces.

"The Marchioness is in her room. Stop making a scene. If she hears this, it will only cause her distress," Nanny Zhou said with a frown.

"Quickly, get out of here!" Jinchai urged upon being reminded.

The three girls, feeling as though they had received a grand pardon, kowtowed a few more times before scrambling to their feet and running off.

"If there is a next time, I will never forgive you!" Jinchai called out after them.

"Is the Marchioness busy?" Nanny Zhou asked with a smile.

"Yes, she is reviewing the menu. Nanny Liu, Nanny Su, and the others are all with her," Jinchai smiled. Seeing that no one was around, she took Nanny Zhou's arm and walked a few steps quickly, whispering, "Nanny Zhou, have you heard about *that* matter?"

Having just scolded the young girls for gossiping, she was now impatient to gossip herself. Nanny Zhou pursed her lips in a smile.

"About whom?" she asked.

"It's..." Jinchai looked left and right before lowering her voice, "the one from Qiutong Courtyard."

Nanny Zhou's heart thudded twice; she could guess what she was about to say.

It seemed that, almost imperceptibly, rumors had begun to circulate in the nooks and crannies of the Dingxi Marquis Manor. Whether it was during the late-night vigils when people felt drowsy, or when they were lying in bed resting after a long day's labor, the story of the Young Mistress of Qiutong Courtyard returning from the dead was the most heated and refreshing topic of conversation.

Nanny Zhou closed the lid of the incense burner with a gentle, silent movement. Wisps of white smoke drifted through the room, dispelling the stifling heaviness of the summer afternoon.

Lifting the curtain made of pink pearls, Nanny Zhou entered the eastern wing. A woman in her mid-thirties was reclining on the kang, her eyes closed as if sleeping. She had high cheekbones and a full figure, dressed in a common grey-blue cambric top with black satin trim and a pea-green silk skirt. Perhaps because she was taking a midday nap, she had removed her hair ornaments, leaving only a gold-and-kingfisher-feather hairpiece.

A young maid, barely old enough to have grown her hair long, was diligently fanning her.

Nanny Zhou walked over, took the fan from the girl, and waved her off. The young maid tiptoed out of the room.

"What are they saying?" she suddenly asked.

The question was so abrupt it could have startled anyone, yet Nanny Zhou remained entirely unruffled, as if the two had been chatting all along.

"Madam," Nanny Zhou said, continuing to wave the fan, "there are so many matters weighing on your mind in this household; there is no need to pay attention to such petty tricks and trivialities."

This was the Marchioness of Dingxi, Madam Xie.

"First, it was that she committed suicide by hanging..." she said slowly, her eyes still closed. "The maids were wailing all over the courtyard that she was dead, and then, when people came to see, she was alive again. They even say she went to the underworld, drank the soup of Meng Po, and met the Old Madam. I didn't know that she, who was usually as wooden as a block, actually had such a talent for spinning lies."

As she spoke, she opened her eyes and made a move to sit up. Nanny Zhou smoothly and promptly placed a large bolster beneath her hands so she could sit in a reclined position.

"They say that old hag pushed her back... what a lovely way to put it. Since that dead old hag is the one who allowed her to return, shouldn't she be the one held in highest esteem in this house?" A faint smile appeared on Xie's face—a smile that flickered on her lips, appearing gentle and kind. However, if an outsider had heard those words, they would have been terrified, thinking they were in a dream.

The Old Madam of Dingxi, her mother-in-law, was referred to by her as "that old hag."

Nanny Zhou remained composed.

"No matter what she says, let her say it. It is merely a passing wind; once it passes, it is gone." She brought over a cup of tea and said softly, "Madam need not concern herself."

"She was silent for three years, and now, suddenly, she has started singing." Xie took a sip of the tea and gently wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, her expression a mix of a smile and a frown. "Could it be that she thinks since Cheng-ge is coming back, she can try her luck again?"

Nanny Zhou fell silent for a moment.

"If you have something to say, say it," Xie said, sensing her hesitation.

"That day, I happened to pass by Qiutong Courtyard and saw a young maid running. When I asked, she said Su Mei from Concubine Zhu's courtyard was being punished by kneeling by the Young Mistress," Nanny Zhou said.

"Su Mei?" Xie pressed her temple. "The one who dresses provocatively all day and is paraded in front of the Marquis by Concubine Zhu?"

"Yes," Nanny Zhou said with a smile.

Xie said nothing more, a lukewarm smile passing over her face.

"We are all too familiar with Miss Qi's temperament. Forget making a maid kneel; she wouldn't even dare to speak harshly to a servant. So, after I heard about it, I knew I shouldn't interfere, but I couldn't help but go and take a look," Nanny Zhou continued. Although she hadn't mentioned it lately, for some reason, the image of that woman leaning against the door and smiling occasionally flashed before her eyes, leaving her feeling somewhat unsettled.

"What did she look like?" Xie asked.

Nanny Zhou looked up at her.

"It was as if... as if she had become a different person," she said.

Xie looked at her, her expression strange, as if she wanted to laugh and lose her temper at the same time.

"Are you saying she really did drink the soup of Meng Po, lost all her past memories, and was reborn as a new person?" she asked.

Nanny Zhou felt awkward, unsure of how to react. To be precise, she truly did not know what she was trying to say; she simply felt that way.

"It seems the words our Young Mistress says are truly not lies." Xie laughed again and stood up to stretch her shoulders. "To think that even an elder like you, Nanny Zhou, would believe such rumors. It seems only a ghost could have taught her such tricks. She truly must have gone to the underworld and met that dead old hag."

She laughed, laughing so hard she had to bend over.

"Madam, this old servant is ashamed," Nanny Zhou said, bowing her head awkwardly.

"Investigate it." Xie abruptly stopped laughing, her eyes narrowing slightly. "The ones causing trouble in this world are never ghosts, but only people. Go and investigate. See who is pulling the strings behind the scenes. It is quite an unconventional approach, using that useless thing as a pawn."

Nanny Zhou responded solemnly, but felt even more ashamed. She had been foolish; despite her age, she hadn't thought of this. However, a flicker of confusion and doubt still crossed her mind...

The Young Mistress she had seen that day—the aura she exuded, the way she spoke, and everything else—did not seem like something that could be taught by someone else. Even when the Old Madam had personally mentored her for two years, the result was still...

"Why aren't you going yet?" Xie frowned, interrupting Nanny Zhou's distraction.

Nanny Zhou did not dare to think further and hurriedly hurried out.

Xie watched the swaying bead curtain for a moment before sitting back down.

"That old hag was always good at scheming..." she said slowly. "But as the saying goes, man proposes, but God disposes. No matter how good the scheme, it cannot withstand the fact that Heaven will not keep her a moment longer. Heaven will not keep her. She has been dead for three years, yet people still dare to use her name to stir up trouble. Truly overestimating themselves..."