Chapter 45: Throwing a Tantrum

Three days later, the people sent out to search for medicine returned.

Madam Cheng gave repeated and explicit instructions that the medicine must be carefully guarded, and she ordered the maid brewing the medicine to stay by the earthen pot every single second without leaving.

The flames in the stove flickered weakly, and white smoke billowed from the mouth of the medicinal pot.

Brewing medicine was a tedious task that required constant attention to the heat—it could neither be too strong nor be allowed to go out.

The young maid held a small fan, gently fanning the stove. She leaned in to sniff the aroma drifting from the pot, then glanced at the hourglass beside her. It was almost time.

Suddenly, she felt a turbulent churning in her abdomen.

Clutching her stomach, she cried out, "Auntie Pang, come and watch the fire for me for a moment. I need to go to the outhouse."

The servant on duty today happened to be another woman, rather plump and fitting her name. Auntie Pang responded, walked over, and took the small fan, saying, "Go ahead without worry. Leave this to me."

The young maid said, "Then you must watch it properly. I'll be right back."

Just then, two girls dressed as maids walked into the kitchen.

One of them called out, "Auntie Pang, Concubine Zhang said the osmanthus cake made last time was quite good, except that the floral fragrance wasn't rich enough. She wants to eat osmanthus cake again today. This is the osmanthus honey her relatives brought from Wucheng. Come and divide it into portions to store away."

Auntie Pang replied, "I'm watching the fire here and cannot pull myself away. Just put it over there, and I'll tidy it up later."

The other maid said, "You had better come and put it away now. This osmanthus honey easily attracts little bugs and bees. Let me watch the fire for you instead."

Auntie Pang knew that Concubine Zhang was someone who could not afford to be offended. After all, the household currently relied on the Second Master to hold things together. Should the Second Master become the master of the house in the future, wouldn't everyone have to live according to Concubine Zhang's pleasure?

She stood up and said, "Alright then. Watch it carefully and don't let the fire go out."

After Auntie Pang left, the young maid used a damp cloth to carry the medicinal pot beneath a crabapple tree, poured out all the liquid inside until it was completely empty, and then carried it over to the water vat, opened the lid, and began refilling it with cold water. As she prepared to stand up, she raised her eyes and saw Mother Jin's furious face.

With a loud crash, the medicinal pot dropped to the ground, shattering into pieces. The medicinal dregs and liquid splashed everywhere.

Hearing the commotion, Auntie Pang rushed over from the storeroom. Seeing the young maid cowering and kneeling before Mother Jin, she hurriedly hurried forward and knelt down as well.

She reached out to scoop up the medicinal dregs on the ground, stammering, "This—how did it get knocked over? I only let you watch it for just a brief moment. And why is the pot by the water vat instead of on the stove?"

The maid originally responsible for brewing the medicine returned. Looking at the scene of devastation, she felt as though the sky had collapsed. She hastily bent her knees and knelt down too.

"Mother Jin, I'm sorry. I—I just went to the outhouse. You can have Madam punish me; I deserve to die."

She knew how important this medicine was, but her stomach had suddenly started hurting—she couldn't very well soil her trousers. Besides, she had been as quick as she could. Who could have imagined that such a huge disaster would happen in just this short span of time?

Overwhelmed with remorse, she began slapping her own face.

While wallowing in self-blame, Auntie Pang grabbed Concubine Zhang's young maid by the side and snapped, "I told you to wait a moment, but you insisted on calling me over and over. Now look! Eldest Master's medicine is ruined again. Who can afford to pay for this? Can you?"

"Enough, stop arguing," Mother Jin said sternly. "Auntie Pang, Xiaoyu, this has nothing to do with you. Stay here."

She then pointed at Concubine Zhang's two maids and said, "You two, come with me to see Madam."

The two maids exchanged a glance and cautiously followed behind Mother Jin as she headed toward Jufu Hall.

Madam Cheng sat in the grand armchair without a word, lowering her gaze to look at the two young maids kneeling below.

Concubine Zhang also swayed gracefully in from outside the courtyard, her rouge-red dress making her look all the more striking and vibrant.

After offering a formal bow to Madam Cheng, she glanced at the two kneeling maids and began to reprimand them with a completely expressionless face.

"You two, what is the meaning of this? What did you do to provoke Madam into such a towering rage?"

The two maids kept their mouths shut, lowering their heads almost until they touched their knees.

Mother Jin despised this kind of hypocritical pretense after committing misdeeds. Casting a cold glance at her, she said, "Weren't the actions of Concubine Zhang's maids carried out under your instigation? Or is Concubine Zhang trying to wash her hands of this and deny responsibility?"

Concubine Zhang looked at Mother Jin with an expression of utter astonishment and asked, "What did I instigate them to do? You must not randomly accuse innocent people!"

"You, an innocent person?" Mother Jin was so angry smoke practically came out of her nostrils. "You instructed your maids to lure Xiaoyu and Auntie Pang away, pour out Eldest Master's medicine, and replace it with plain water—"

"You can eat anything, but you cannot talk nonsense! If my maids made a mistake, beating or scolding them is entirely up to Madam's discretion. How can you claim I deliberately incited them?"

Mother Jin glared fiercely. "Aren't your maids under your jurisdiction? Would they dare do this without your orders?"

"Oh my, everyone listen to this. What kind of talk is that from Mother Jin? In the Cheng family, everyone from top to bottom, including you and me, belongs under Madam's management. Could it be that if any of us makes a mistake, we can pin the blame on Madam and claim she ordered it?"

"You, you, you..." Faced with Concubine Zhang's insolent attitude, Mother Jin felt like she could grind her back teeth to pieces. "You are twisting logic and arguing arbitrarily."

Mother Jin was Cheng Ji's wet nurse. Before Master Cheng and Cheng Ji fell ill, even Concubine Zhang had to show her a degree of deference. But now that the tides had turned in the Cheng family, she barely held Madam Cheng in high regard, let alone a mere wet nurse.

Madam Cheng already had her own conclusion in her heart by this point. She had been frustrated by a lack of evidence during the previous suspicion, but this time, following Su Yunqing's method, she had used fake medicine to flush them out.

Yet Concubine Zhang refused to admit it to the death, insisting firmly that she knew nothing about the matter.

The two maids also voluntarily took on the blame. The maid who had poured out the medicinal liquid insisted stubbornly that she had accidentally spilled the medicine and was forced to add water out of desperation, refusing to implicate Concubine Zhang no matter what.

Seeing Mother Jin and Concubine Zhang still locked in a fierce, sword-drawn argument, Madam Cheng shouted in vexation, "Enough!"

Concubine Zhang closed her mouth, twisted her waist, curtsied, and said, "I beg Madam to investigate clearly and restore my justice."

Unable to suppress her fury, Mother Jin grabbed the chin of the maid who had poured out the medicine and slapped her across the face. "Tell me the truth, or I'll smash your mouth to pieces. Speak!"

Suddenly, Concubine Zhang collapsed limply onto the floor, throwing herself down and wailing aloud!

"Master, please wake up and see what this is all about! They are trying to extract a confession through torture! Every day at home I burn incense and chant sutras, sincerely praying for you and Eldest Master to remain safe and recover quickly, yet they are splashing dirty water on me. I am wronged..."

Mother Jin looked at Madam Cheng, who shook her head slightly at her. Left with no choice, Mother Jin let go of the young maid, so angry she pressed her fist against her chest.

"I clearly saw you pour out the medicinal liquid and then add plain water. How did it become an accident? Doing such wicked deeds and telling such lies, aren't you afraid of retribution?"

The maid wept and said, "This servant really was careless. I have sinned, and I confess; please let Madam punish me. But as for forcing me to pin this matter on Concubine Zhang, even if you beat me to death, I cannot speak such a conscience-destroying lie!"

One side refused to confess to the death while shouldering all the blame—after all, a maid making such a mistake would only result in being driven out or sold off.

Under the laws of Great Liang, aside from imperial approval, officials at all levels lacked the authority to execute criminals, let alone resort to private torture.

The other side refused to admit guilt, made a public scene, rolled around the courtyard, wailed and made a fuss, lacking only the act of finding a rope to hang herself!

Standing behind Madam Cheng, Su Yunqing massaged her shoulders. Although this Concubine Zhang was neither wise nor dignified, she certainly excelled at making unreasoned trouble. Dealing with such a person was genuinely difficult.

Because Madam Cheng herself was now in a dilemma.

For a moment, everyone in the courtyard fell silent, leaving only the sound of Concubine Zhang's heaven-shaking, earth-shattering wails.

"Making such a scene in my parents' courtyard—what kind of decency is this?"

Following this stern rebuke, Cheng Xiao appeared behind Concubine Zhang with an ashen face.