Chongfei Manual pt. 1

30

Jin Ci’s face immediately turned white as a sheet of paper, while her body went limp.

Since that wasn’t enough, Wei Kun added, “Deliberately plotting to murder her employer, cruel and unscrupulous! No one would want this kind of servant. After cutting off her tongue, she doesn’t need to remain here. Throw her in the mountain outside the city to feed the wolves and the wild dogs.”

Feeding the wolves and the wild dogs. Just thinking about it was dreadful. With those animals gnawing on her meat bit by bit, she wouldn’t have the slightest chance of fighting them off. Only a pile of bones would be left in the end. Knowing that, Jin Ci was very afraid. She knelt down and kowtowed to beg for mercy, tears flowing down her face. “Master, spare my life, this maid didn’t do it voluntarily… It was, it was the third madam who forced me…”

Wei Kun’s body stiffened up as he turned his head to ask, “What did you say?”

In order to preserve her small life, Jin Ci spoke all about how Madam Liu had made her do it. Madam Liu had said that Wei Luo liked eating Ginkgo nuts and that there were many Ginkgo trees by the gates of Ginkgo courtyard1. That if she picked several to add into the fourth Miss’ congee, it would let her get better even faster. Jin Ci made a final effort into struggling out of this. “Master, this maid is innocent… This maid didn’t know that raw ginkgo seeds were poisonous…”

Wei Kun kicked her aside. Even if she didn’t know they were poisonous, adding arbitrary things to the fourth young lady’s food was enough to prove her guilt.

Wei Kun sat down on the chair again, taking in a few mouthfuls of air as he held his forehead. He didn’t expect to get this kind of outcome.

Why would the third madam want to harm Wei Luo? He originally thought that Madam Du’s evil intentions hadn’t disappeared. That harming Wei Luo once wasn’t enough for her, so she had harmed her a second time. But it was actually Madam Liu!

*

After deliberating for a long time, Wei Kun couldn’t help but call the third Master Wei Chang over to his place.

The two brothers hadn’t sat together for a talk in a long while. All these years, they had been the same as strangers. Though they lived in the same Duke Ying’s residence, they still rarely spoke to each other. When Wei Chang came over, he naturally didn’t have a good expression. Sitting down on the ironwood chair, he asked, “Why are you looking for me?”

Wei Kun didn’t beat around the bush with him. He directly ordered for Jin Ci to be brought, then made her repeat her words from before.

Jin Ci had originally received some benefits from Madam Liu. Madam Liu had promised her that as long as she completed this task, when the time came for her to leave the residence, she would arrange for a good marriage for her. Now that it seemed that she wouldn’t make it out alive, and since her life was more important, she had no other choice but to spill everything in detail.

By the time her story was over, Wei Chang’s complexion was as black as the bottom of a pot. He asked, “Do you have any evidence?”

Jin Ci took something out from within her sleeve and placed it in front of Wei Chang. “This is what the madam gave me in advance. Master, take a look…”

It was a pair of golden earrings with jade stones. The design was ordinary and not that distinct.  However, Wei Chang actually recognized them, because Madam Liu had once scorned them, complaining that they weren’t compatible with her style and didn’t match her clothes. And now they were in Jin Ci’s hands… Wei Chang closed his eyes and tightly gripped the armrest. He didn’t speak for a long time.

Wei Kun motioned for the servants to lead Jin Ci out, coldly instructing, “Cut off her tongue and sell her away from this residence. Let nature run its course.”

One couldn’t speak irresponsibly without a tongue. Wei Kun’s act could also be taken as a consideration for the family.

Jin Ci didn’t expect that after escaping death, she would still suffer. She was instantly frightened stiff, unceasingly weeping and begging Wei Kun for forgiveness. “Master, have mercy…”

Wei Kun seemed as though he couldn’t hear anything. The guard lead her outside, held her chin still, drew out his blade, and did a swift motion that seemed to happen in a flash. Right away, blood started spurting out of Jin Ci’s mouth, dying the ground in front of her red. Her whole body was covered in cold sweat due to the pain, but she couldn’t utter a single word. Falling down, she shivered all over.

Inside the room, Wei Chang quietly sat for a while, then collected the pair of earrings with an expressionless face and got up to leave Pine courtyard2. He headed for Pear courtyard3 in the third branch house.

He had just come back from outside. Before he could even reach Pear courtyard, he had been called over to Pine courtyard by Wei Kun.

So now, he had barely stepped inside the main room, when Madam Liu came out to welcome him. Showing concern, she said, “Why are you coming back so late today? Did something delay you? Will you be having dinner? I’ll ask someone to warm up the food and bring it over.”

After saying so much, she noticed that Wei Chang hadn’t spoken a word, and even his face didn’t show the slightest expression. He was looking at her fixedly instead. Her heart panicked, but she kept calm on the surface. Putting on a small smile, she asked, “Why are you looking at me like this? Is there something on my face?”

Wei Chang was observing her – the wife he’d been married to for seven or eight years. It was the first time he felt she was so unfamiliar. He admitted that he was unfair to her, so he did anything to make it up to her. She could be rude, arrogant and willful; he would be patient and accommodating. She had some enmity with Wei Luo and Changhong; he could also understand that. But he’d never thought that her mind would give birth to harmful intentions.

That child was only six years old. What was she actually thinking?

Madam Liu grew increasingly uneasy. She stepped forward to pull him by the hand toward the round table. “The kitchen made your favorite dishes today. Come and see…”

Wei Chang stood motionless. He took out the pair of golden earrings and placed them on the table.

The earrings shone red in the setting sun’s few remaining rays of light. After Madam Liu saw them, her expression turned rigid.

Notes: Again, a whole courtyard is like a house, with a main room, a reception room, study room, bedrooms for the main wife and concubines, and other rooms. The rooms themselves can be of different sizes and they are all like one story separate mini houses. Hope you can picture that. The whole thing is the so-called branch house in the Duke’s residence.

**

Ginkgo courtyard is where Madam Du lives now, after she got banished by Wei Kun
Pine courtyard is where Wei Kun and his children live
Pear courtyard is where Wei Chang and his wife live