Ashes to Crown

Chapter 42: Chapter 6: Not Going Smoothly

In recent years, the Emperor has paid little attention to court affairs.

One reason was his poor health and lack of energy; another was that his two sons, the Princes, had grown up and were assigned their own duties.

Especially after the Crown Prince was formally invested, he began presiding over the court, and the Emperor rarely met with his ministers anymore.

However, Liang Siqing was a veteran courtier, backed by the Yang Family, and held considerable influence with the Emperor. It wasn’t strange for him to be summoned to the palace.

When Chu Lan heard this, he felt reassured. He was certain Liang Siqing would give that Deng Xiaocheng a harsh lesson.

Before long, Liang Siqing returned, but his expression was grim. There was even a tea stain on his shoulder, as if someone had splashed it on him.

Who would dare splash tea on Liang Siqing?

Chu Lan couldn’t help but stare at Liang Siqing’s shoulder. Seeing him, Liang Siqing’s expression flickered with annoyance, but he suppressed it the next moment. He even took the initiative to greet him, ”Mr. Chu, you’ve been waiting long,” and asked what the matter was.

Chu Lan explained the situation with Chu Zhao, emphatically describing how outrageous Deng Yi had been. He said resentfully, ”That girl made a mistake, and only Lord Liang has the right to discipline her. It’s not his place to interfere. Who does he think he is?”

Liang Siqing’s expression was dark, but he didn’t immediately summon the Minister of Imperial Guard. After a moment of silence, he said, ”Mr. Chu, you are overthinking it. Deng Yi cannot discipline Miss Chu, and neither can I. This was just some childish squabbling between our daughters. As parents, we should each scold our own a little and have the nannies teach them more about etiquette. That will be sufficient.”

Chu Lan was stunned. ’What does he mean?’ When the incident first occurred, Liang Siqing hadn’t spoken like this. He had clearly stated it was not some trivial matter between children—

”Don’t bring this up again.” Liang Siqing seemed to be holding back his anger with great effort. ”It’s all in the past.”

’In the past?’ Chu Lan was about to say more when a steward from the Liang Mansion hurried in and whispered a few words to Liang Siqing. Chu Lan watched as Liang Siqing’s face went through a series of changes, like being dunked in a dye vat, before finally settling into a color as black as the bottom of a pot.

”Outrage—” He started to shout but caught himself the next moment. He looked back at Chu Lan. ”Mr. Chu, let’s leave this matter as it is. Don’t mention it again in the future. And we should not see each other again.”

With that, he flicked his sleeves and stormed away, as if he couldn’t bear to look at Chu Lan for another second.

’Not see each other again?’

Chu Lan stood frozen on the spot, unable to react.

By the time he came out and got into his carriage, a servant beside him handed him a letter, saying it was from the Second Master.

Chu Lan took out the letter and tossed it onto the table.

”What did it say?” Mrs. Jiang asked hurriedly.

Chu Tang had already reached out, taken the letter, and opened it to read. As she read, she relayed the contents to her mother: ”Uncle says the matter of Ah Zhao fighting with Miss Liang has been resolved. He told us not to worry and not to ask about it anymore. Finally, he thanked us for our hard work and apologized for troubling us.”

Mrs. Jiang was stunned for a moment. ”So, that’s it? The matter is over just like that?”

”It must be. Otherwise, how could Ah Zhao have gotten out of jail and dared to run to the Liang Mansion to spout such nonsense?” Chu Lan said. ”And Liang Siqing... the way he looked when he saw me, saying the matter was in the past. Even when his servant came to report about Chu Zhao, he suppressed his anger—”

Hearing her father get to this point, Chu Tang let out a long, quiet sigh. ”Uncle is truly formidable. He’s out in the Border County, where the mountains are high and the Emperor is far away, while we’re left here to bear the brunt of his ’awe-inspiring’ actions that only earn us resentment.”

Mrs. Jiang slammed the table in anger. ”Fine! Just fine! Let that father and daughter do whatever they want! They don’t have to care whether we live or die.”

Chu Lan said nothing, his brow deeply furrowed in apparent helplessness.

’What could he do?’ As the elder brother, he had no control over his younger sibling.

Chu Tang brought a cup of tea to Chu Lan and asked curiously, ”Whose connections did Uncle use? To be able to suppress Lord Liang?”

’Uncle still has connections to call upon?’ Chu Lan thought. ’Didn’t he burn all his bridges over a decade ago?’

Chu Lan stared at the tea, thinking of the tea stain on Liang Siqing’s shoulder—

’In the palace, the Crown Prince is a martial enthusiast, and the Third Prince is arrogant. Forget splashing tea, they’ve been known to strike courtiers. But would the Crown Prince or the Third Prince bother with such a trivial matter? One is busy with archery and lifting stone locks, the other is so engrossed in his studies he sees nothing else. It’s impossible they’d care about a fight between two little girls—’

’There is only one person in the palace with both the leisure and the authority to splash tea on Liang Siqing: His Majesty, the Emperor.’

’So Chu Ling really did go to His Majesty! And he’d clearly promised to use what little energy he had left to beg His Majesty to grant Chu Ke an official post!’

Chu Lan stamped his foot, let out a long, frustrated sigh, and smashed the teacup on the floor.

”In this Chu Family, is his daughter the only one who matters? Are the rest of us not human? He’s on his deathbed, and he still doesn’t care if the Chu Family lives or dies!”

Mrs. Jiang had clearly understood as well. She was both furious and frantic, trying to console Chu Lan while cursing Chu Ling.

Chu Tang was used to such scenes. Ever since she was a child, whenever her second uncle was mentioned, her father and mother would complain and then get angry.

She didn’t have strong feelings about the old stories of her second uncle causing trouble for the family. After all, growing up, she never lacked for companions. She was smart, well-versed in the four arts of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and was an eloquent speaker. Even if someone looked down on her, she could win them over with a few words and even get others to criticize that person—

’Still,’ she thought, ’Second Uncle, who has been silent for so many years, was able to solve the trouble Chu Zhao got into.’

’That means Second Uncle still has his connections.’

’If Second Uncle’s connections were used for her, it would be like adding flowers to a brocade.’

’What a pity. Using them on Chu Zhao is such a waste.’

...

...

While Chu Lan’s family was in a bad mood, Liang Siqing’s family was in an even worse one.

Mrs. Yan was furious, and Miss Liang was wiping away tears. They had waited anxiously for Liang Siqing to return, but before they could even start complaining, he had cut them off.

”Enough. I already know everything.”

Seeing the look on Liang Siqing’s face, Mrs. Yan was startled. Then her gaze fell upon his shoulder. With a woman’s keen eye for detail, she immediately recognized the tea stain, even though it had dried.

”What happened to you?” she asked. ”Why are your clothes dirty?”

As she spoke, she came forward to try and wipe it, intending to help him change out of his official robe.

Having been bottling up his anger, Liang Siqing could finally unleash it at home. He flung his wife’s hand away. ”His Majesty splashed it!”

Mrs. Yan froze on the spot. Miss Liang also stopped crying, her face pale as she stared at her father.

The maids and servants in the room were all stunned. One of the female servants came to her senses, quickly ushered the others out, and closed the door.

”My lord, what happened?” Mrs. Yan asked, her voice trembling. ”What... what trouble have you gotten into?”

His Majesty hasn’t concerned himself with court affairs for some time now.

”Was it the Zhao Family? Did they slander you?”

Seeing his wife and daughter terrified, Liang Siqing shook his head. ”Don’t be afraid. It’s not a huge deal. It has nothing to do with the Zhao family, the Third Prince, or the Crown Prince. It was because of that Chu Zhao. His Majesty asked me why, at an age where my own grandson can already run, I was bullying a little girl. Then he splashed tea on me and said I was worthless.”

’Because of that Chu Zhao?’ Mrs. Yan and Miss Liang were both dumbfounded, thinking they had misheard.

”His Majesty knows... Chu Zhao?” she asked, stammering.

Liang Siqing scoffed. ”How would His Majesty know of her? It’s because of Chu Ling. Chu Ling must have complained to His Majesty.”

Mrs. Yan didn’t know whether to be relieved or more nervous. ”Chu Ling... he actually—”

”What’s so strange about it?” Liang Siqing sat down, letting out a long breath, and much of his frustration seemed to dissipate with it. ”Back then, he dared to point at His Majesty’s nose and curse him. What’s so surprising about him lodging a complaint against me?”

Mrs. Yan said in a low voice, ”It’s not strange that he complained. What’s strange is that His Majesty actually listened to him.”

Not only listened, but also scolded Liang Siqing.

Liang Siqing’s expression darkened. ”I don’t think it was because of Chu Ling. It must have been Consort Zhao whispering poison in his ear. Lately, the Zhao Family has been wanting too much, reaching too far. They see me as an obstacle. His Majesty probably believed her slander and took his anger out on me.”

It wouldn’t be proper for His Majesty to reprimand Liang Siqing in Consort Zhao’s name, so using the children’s squabble as a pretext was fitting. Thinking of it this way made it seem logical, but Mrs. Yan still couldn’t relax.

”Speaking of which, things have been going so poorly lately. The Zhao Family is targeting you, my lord, and the Yang family hasn’t been of any help,” she said. ”And after we agreed to the marriage with the Xie family, they actually went back on their word.”

At this, Miss Liang lowered her head and continued to wipe her tears.

Liang Siqing’s expression darkened once more.

The truth was, the family’s bad mood these past few days wasn’t really because of Chu Zhao. When Chu Zhao hit Miss Liang, it was Chu Zhao and the Chu Family who lost face. The Liangs hadn’t suffered any real loss. In fact, the incident was a convenient cover to hide their other troubles, preventing their gloomy expressions from attracting speculation and questions.

”Such absurdity,” he said. ”I will write to Third Young Master Xie and ask him why he went back on his word. The Xie family must give us an explanation.”

He slapped the table as he said this.

”The Yang and Zhao Families are one thing, but the Xie family... they haven’t produced an Imperial Uncle yet.”