Chapter 20: She Would Cry

In a remote corner, with no way to escape, even the breeze that blew felt indifferent.

Tang Wanning’s palms were damp with sweat. She clenched the hairpin against her neck. “I advise you, Young Master, to think it through. Acting on impulse could very well mean mutual ruin. You won’t get what you want, and you’ll only make the aftermath worse.”

“Scared now? How adorable.”

Young Master Li merely loosened his collar. “Don’t be so tense. I’m not going to harm you. I only want one thing that’s on you right now.”

“What’s that one thing?”

“Anything will do, just something that’s on you.”

Tang Wanning understood at once: what he wanted wasn’t merely an object, but a token, something that could be presented to elders as proof! Anything on her person now… could serve as that token?

How could that be possible!

Tokens were important because they weren’t simply any random item. Such things must have provenance, a story. At a glance, one could tell whose it was, and they were never given away lightly. Could it be that if she casually threw away an unmarked silk ribbon or knot, that would count as a token? That didn’t sound right.

But Young Master Li was so confident, as if anything she tossed aside, however ordinary, could immediately become a token and win the elders’ consent. That made no sense, unless… This had been arranged in advance! No matter what object she had, once Young Master Li presented it to Madam Zhou, he could claim it as a token, embellish it with a story, and allege it was something Tang Wanning cherished and never parted with!

Her clothes and accessories, though chosen by her, had all passed through Madam Zhou’s hands before reaching the household. Which of them would Madam Zhou not recognize, and which would be hard to invent a story about?

So this was by no means an accident. It was a trap planned long ago!

Young Master Li stepped forward two paces. “Listen, I don’t want your life, nor do I crave your body. Of course, you have no chastity to speak of anymore. That night you gave yourself to some scoundrel in some house, didn’t you!”

Tang Wanning narrowed her eyes in anger. “Shut up!”

Young Master Li kept advancing. “Be obedient, put down the hairpin, let me take one thing, and I guarantee we’ll both be fine after. If you’re not obedient…” a cruel gleam surfaced in his eyes, “if you’re hurt or maimed, I’ll wheel you in a wheelchair or carry you on a stretcher to marry you into my house. When you die, I’ll even enshrine your spirit tablet in my ancestral hall! Miss Tang, you’re so clever, you must know what that means.”

Tang Wanning’s breath tightened and sweat at her temple stung into her eye. The man came step by step, closer and closer, almost within arm’s reach!

With a whoosh, suddenly a pebble flew over and struck Young Master Li’s shoulder straight on.

The pebble was tiny, about the size of a soybean and not seeming to carry much force, yet Young Master Li staggered, stumbled backwards several steps, lost his footing and fell. As he moved, the small stone fell into his lap, and only then did he see clearly that it was not a pebble at all, but a copper pellet!

In an instant his expression changed from shock to sheer terror, then turned pale and even trembled slightly. The next moment he scrambled to his feet and ran without looking back, bolting like a runaway mutt as if the lord of the underworld were at his heels, as if he would be dead if he didn’t move fast.

The wind passed silently and leaves twirled down.

Tang Wanning exhaled a long breath, put the hairpin down, shook her aching arm, and felt as if she’d been dreaming.

She put the hairpin back in her hair, patted her face, and looked at the dent in the ground where Young Master Li had fallen… that pebble had been so small, did he have to fall like that? Such an exaggerated fall, and then turning tail as if he had seen a ghost?

But his running was fine by her. The crisis here was resolved, no more fretting required.

Tang Wanning brushed her skirt and made a polite bow toward the direction the pebble had been shot from. “Thanks to my benefactor for stepping in to help. Would it be convenient to meet so this young lady may thank you in person?”

The surroundings were utterly silent. No sound, no sign of anyone.

As she prepared to step closer, another copper pellet flew out and landed exactly an inch in front of her foot.

Tang Wanning picked up the round little copper pellet and understood the benefactor’s refusal to meet. “Since meeting is inconvenient, I won’t press you further. My surname is Tang, I am the orphaned daughter of the eldest son of the House of Earl Xuanning. I don’t have much to offer as thanks, nor anything truly valuable. Whenever you find it convenient, you may come to look for me. If you have other requests you may state them. I’m a guest out today, so it’s inconvenient to stay here. I will take my leave first. Please take care, benefactor.”

Tang Wanning left, and the scene soon returned to calm.

Eunuch Tian stood by the wheelchair, puzzled. “Why didn’t His Highness appear?” Doing a good deed should be known to others! Otherwise, where would all those tales of repaying life-saving favors with marriage come from?

Zhao Cong explained, “She will cry.”

Eunuch Tian stared at him. “Huh?”

“Earlier someone defamed her, saying she gave her purity that night to the head of the house she was sent to and… she looked like she wanted to cry,” Zhao Cong explained seriously. “If she sees me and thinks of that, she’ll cry.”

Eunuch Tian couldn’t believe his ears.

But none of that actually happened! How could something that didn’t happen prompt such emotions? And cry at the sight of you? Miss Tang was putting on an act just now, pretending to be weak to test the waters. Didn’t you notice? Also, the point of what the man in black was saying wasn’t to insult you! Why are you focusing on the wrong thing! Why do you seem a bit pleased that others are slandering you and saying that you and Miss Tang were involved with each other when you weren’t? That’s really unbecoming of you!

Tang Wanning casually picked up the little copper pellet and turned it over in her hand, slightly bothered. How should she deal with it? Throwing it away felt inappropriate. It was the benefactor’s hidden weapon and she’d picked it up in front of them. If it had been a pebble she could have tossed it away without a second thought, but this little copper pellet was rather cute and well made…

Why did her hand have to be so nosy at that moment! She should have just pretended not to see it.

Oh well, never mind, Tang Wanning thought, and tucked the little copper pellet into her pouch, setting off to find her way back. Before she could get her bearings, she ran into Tang Wanlan.

“What are you doing here?” Tang Wanning looked around to confirm the place was secluded and nobody would have wandered in by mistake.

Tang Wanlan adjusted her hair, a perfectly natural smile at her lips. “I drank a bit too much earlier and went out for a walk, somehow I ended up nearby. I heard voices that sounded familiar, like my sister’s, so I came to take a look. So my sister really is here. Were you arguing with someone?”

She even glanced behind Tang Wanning as she spoke.

Tang Wanning thought: you’re just in time. She smiled sweetly, showing no trace of nervousness. “Perhaps you misheard, sister.”

Tang Wanlan didn’t press further. She sighed lightly, somewhat troubled. “After walking so far, my sweat is showing, and earlier Prince Ping was clingy so I left my handkerchief with him and forgot to take it back. Sister, may I borrow yours for a bit?”

Tang Wanning had no reason to doubt her. The other girl truly was sweating, she could see it. Just as she reached to comply, she suddenly realized she couldn’t. Her handkerchief… was still on the armrest of that wheelchair!

She hesitated.

With that pause, that hesitation, she couldn’t help but notice Tang Wanlan’s expression: a flicker in her eyes, a hint of calculation… She suddenly thought of something: a handkerchief was a personal item carried close to a girl’s body, scented with her unique perfume and embroidered with her preferred pattern. If it fell into the hands of someone with ill intent…

“Oh, my handkerchief got dirty earlier, so I washed it and left it to dry somewhere else.”

“Where did you leave it to dry?” Tang Wanlan asked anxiously. “This is someone else’s house! How could you be so careless, Sister?”

Tang Wanning’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Never mind. It’s hung in a very hidden spot, no one will find it.”

Tang Wanlan bit her lip. “Then you must remember to fetch it, Sister.”

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

“Actually…” Tang Wanlan glanced at Tang Wanning’s hair. “There’s something else I want to ask a favor. Later when I return, I’ll be going into the wives’ circle. I’ve only just married and am unfamiliar with some rules. Someone just picked on the style of my hairpin and it’s awkward to explain away. Yours looks perfectly suitable, so Sister, may I borrow it for a bit?”

Tang Wanning’s expression turned playful. “Borrow? Or are you asking me to give it to you?”

She was now absolutely certain Tang Wanlan was doing this on purpose! Asking for a handkerchief once might have been accidental, but asking for a hairpin a second time was definitely not a coincidence!

Tang Wanlan grew angry. “What’s wrong with borrowing something? Why are you so stingy? Isn’t it okay if I swap with you? My headpiece was purchased personally by Prince Ping and is far more valuable than yours!”

Tang Wanning, however, looked at her. “Does your mother know you’re doing this?”

Tang Wanlan’s eyes flickered. “What are you saying, Sister? I don’t understand…”

“Stop playing dumb.”

Tang Wanning had seen through it. Young Master Li had appeared too forcefully and too confidently, so he must have struck some bargain with Madam Zhou. Madam Zhou was ruthless. When she wanted to stir things up she didn’t bother with finesse, but she would insist on one thing: not to implicate Tang Wanlan.

If Madam Zhou had laid the groundwork and sent Young Master Li in, she would never involve her own daughter. Any mishap would be smoothed over and covered by herself. Tang Wanlan appearing here meant that she was doing this privately. She wanted to poke her hand in, to fan this fire, and it was definitely done behind Madam Zhou’s back.

“You saw what happened just now, didn’t you?” Tang Wanning stepped forward two paces and stared at Tang Wanlan. “You intended to steal my personal item and hand it to someone surnamed Li? Why would you want to do this personally… you’ve always been ambitious. If you do anything, you’d only do something that would profit you greatly. What’s going on? If you do this well, it’ll be killing several birds with one stone? Not only would you get rid of me, but you’d also help Prince Ping and secure his favor toward you?”

Tang Wanlan was horrified, her face blanching as she stepped back. “What nonsense are you talking about? I don’t understand!”

Seeing her fear, Tang Wanning grew even more certain. This wasn’t ignorance at all, it was full understanding. “I advise you, sister, to heed your mother’s orders. If you invite trouble yourself, you’ll ruin yourself all the faster.”

“I just wanted to borrow something. If you don’t want to, fine! No need for such snide sarcasm!” Tang Wanlan shouted angrily, then sulked and turned away to run.

Tang Wanning felt the haul of information from this adventure was substantial: not only were the Li and Wang families involved, but the Second Prince was tangled up too. She didn’t know whether it was shared interests or a shared secret.

She didn’t think Tang Wanlan knew everything. After all, the more one knows, the more cautious one becomes. Tang Wanlan was bold but not foolish. She must have seen only one facet and perceived opportunity, hoping to curry favor…