Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress-Chapter 1299 - 1305 Rumours Arise (7)

After lunch, Cai Wei left with Liu Xi. It wasn’t yet the time she had arranged to meet with Xiang Yun, so she went back to the house that she used as a storage and brought out a set of sourwood furniture from her boudoir’s space. She also moved the matching set of Golden Silk Nanwood and sandalwood furniture, which was part of her bridal gifts stored at the mansion, inside.

This set of sourwood furniture was nominally a gift for Cai Lian’s dowry, but in reality, it was to support the reputation of Third Aunt Mu and Third Uncle Mu. The two of them made a living through snack trading and couldn’t afford decent furniture. Mother had given them brocade clothes, bed hangings, Ding kiln vases, and decorative objects; however, if they paired these gifts with their own crude furniture, it would make them appear incongruent and shabby. Therefore, by placing this set of furniture, it would not be as conspicuous as displaying yellow pear wood or sandalwood, nor as shabby as their own crude pieces—it was just perfect!

After arranging the furniture, she went to the storage and took fifty pieces of glass, twenty sheets of fine leather, a box of various pearls, twelve pieces of jade of different sizes, several boxes of expensive rouge and powder from Mi Fangzhai, several scrolls of calligraphy and paintings by famous artists, and sealed one hundred taels of gold as a congratulatory gift. She packed up a large pile of items and then called for Liu Xi, instructing him to go back to the palace to fetch a few carriages to deliver these things to Third Uncle Mu and Third Aunt Mu.

By the time she finished her tasks, the hour to meet Xiang Yun had arrived. When she arrived at Zhenbao Pavilion, she did not see the horse carriage from Duke Li Guo’s Mansion or Xiang Yun’s horse carriage at the entrance, which puzzled her. She donned her hood and went down to inquire inside the shop.

Upon seeing the empress’s boss arrive, the shopkeeper hurriedly came out to greet her, attentively inviting her to rest in the elegant room upstairs with some tea and snacks. Cai Wei declined and inquired about Xiang Yun’s whereabouts.

The shopkeeper said, "Boss, I’m afraid Madam Mo Shao won’t be able to make it today. I just heard one lady gossiping with another that this morning, Madam Mo Shao’s horse carriage got spooked on Sishui Street and hit quite a few people. I’m not sure how the young madam herself is doing."

Upon hearing this, Cai Wei hurriedly contacted Chang Mei with her thoughts. Before, she had sent Chang Mei to protect Xiang Yun’s safety, and she never expected such a big accident to happen without the monkey informing her.

Receiving the master’s message, Chang Mei said guiltily, "Master, I’m to blame. This morning, while I secretly followed the young madam into the city, I saw a wild pear tree on the roadside and stopped to eat a few pears, not realizing that such a big incident would occur in just the time it took to eat a few pears. But rest assured, the young madam is safe, unharmed, and she is now at Yishan Hall taking care of those who were injured by the horse carriage."

Relieved to hear that Xiang Yun was safe, Cai Wei ordered Chang Mei to continue watching over her and to report back immediately if anything else happened.

Chang Mei agreed wholeheartedly and focused on the movement inside Yishan Hall.

The injured people who had been hurt by the horse carriage were all soothed. Xiang Yun, being generous, not only compensated them with medical fees but also provided ample compensation based on the severity of their injuries. With silver in hand, the people naturally quieted down.

The people were quiet, but little did they know that this event had already caused a stir in the capital city.

At this moment, in the streets and alleys, and in the tea houses and taverns, everyone was enthusiastically discussing the matter. The fervor of the discussion exceeded even the heat of the day the prince was deposed.

Since ancient times, people have a natural curiosity for peering into the privacy of others, especially for the privacy of noble families. Thus, having witnessed a thrilling performance of a mother from a side house stopping a horse to plea injustice, and a handsome man heroically saving a beauty, the capital burst into lively discussion. Everyone was talking about it, and after a morning of spreading and fermentation, it had developed into several versions flavored with amorous undertones.

One version went: After marrying into the State Duke’s Mansion, the daughter of the Marquis of Jian’an Mansion suffered her husband favoring his concubine over his wife, forcing her to hide in a manor. Unwilling to endure loneliness, the young madam secretly had an affair with a handsome man there. Upon discovery by her husband, he desired to kill them both to cover it up. Today’s incident of the spooked horse on the street was his doing. In the end, the young madam was rescued by the handsome man she was involved with. It is said that the deep and unyielding affection between the young madam and her lover was evident for all to see. They even exchanged loving glances publicly, and the young madam coquettishly flirted with him right on the street!

An alternate version was even more outrageous: it was said that the Young Madam had already fallen for the handsome savior while at her parents’ house, but the Marquis and his wife, in their bid to climb the social ladder, forced them apart by breaking apart the pair of lovebirds. The young madam had no choice but to part ways with her lover. After marrying into the mansion, her husband discovered she was not of perfect body and therefore banished her to the manor. The favored concubine saw this as an opportunity to rise to power and arranged a perfect murder on the street; however, unexpectedly, the lover who had been secretly following the young madam rescued her. After narrowly escaping death, she passionately embraced her lover right there on the street...

The third version: in Duke Li Guo’s Mansion, young master Li favored the concubine and destroyed his official wife. To promote the concubine to official status, he killed the official wife’s wet nurse and banished the official wife to the manor. Outraged, the neglected wife schemed to send the concubine to prison. The concubine’s mother, unable to tolerate this, came to seek revenge, deliberately spooking a horse to teach her a lesson, but the plot went awry when a knight, who had long harbored feelings for the official wife, saved her...

The fourth version...

The fifth version...

As rumors spread wildly, by nightfall, this heated topic had evolved into over a dozen versions, with each being relayed with convincing detail, even identifying supposed eyewitnesses!

Such rampant gossip naturally reached the ears of Duke Li Guo’s Mansion.

Upon learning of these rumors, Duke Li Guo, having heard just a few versions, was so infuriated that he urgently summoned the imperial physician. The Old Madame was trembling with anger, pounding on the table and insisting that the Prefect of Ying Tianfu be called over to hunt down and severely punish those responsible for spreading rumors.

Although Mo Yuanshan was angry, he remained relatively rational. He counselled the Old Madame, "Mother, as the saying goes, ’The mouth of the people is more to be feared than the river.’" Now that the entire capital city was abuzz with these rumors, how could capturing a few rumor-mongers stop the people’s chatter?

"Then what do you propose we do? The reputation of our Duke Li Guo’s Mansion is now completely tarnished..."

The Old Madame beat her chest in a display of heartbroken agony.

Seeing the Old Madame’s distress, Mo Qingshan quickly knelt down and said, "Mother needs not worry. I will send someone to call back that sinful couple and we must come up with a foolproof plan to prevent our mansion’s reputation from being destroyed in an instant!"

The Old Madame, unable to think of a better idea, agreed.

Without further ado, Mo Qingshan called for Housekeeper Han and ordered him to immediately bring people to the manor to fetch Mo Zili and his wife.

Housekeeper Han, understanding the gravity of the situation, immediately took people and sped to the manor. There, they found only the young master present; the Young Madam had not yet returned!

Noticing Housekeeper Han’s unexpected late visit, Mo Zili realized something must be amiss and pressed him for a reason.

Pressed for an answer and already fearful of Mo Zili, Housekeeper Han dared not conceal anything and relayed the circulating rumors to Mo Zili in full.

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