Looking at Xia-shi's unsophisticated peasant appearance, Ji Man thought that it probably wasn't her. Besides, it had been too easy to catch her assailant. It seemed more like someone was trying to frame Xia-shi.
In contrast, Liu Hanyun seemed especially active today. She was normally a very quiet person, but today she had followed them here and found fault with Xia-shi several times.
Thinking of how Liu Hanyun had tried to persuade her to not allow Haohao to become the marquis's heir and how Liu Hanyun had a son of her own, Ji Man felt suspicion growing in her heart. She pursed her lips and said, "How about we wait until tomorrow and take our time investigating this matter?"
Slightly frowning, Liu Hanyun said, "Madam, it's already reached this point. Why do you want to wait until tomorrow instead of making a resolute decision now?"
Xia-shi raised her head to look at Liu Hanyun and said, "I haven't done anything to offend you. Why do insist on blaming me? This matter really has nothing to do with me. Madam has even said that she wants to investigate this matter more before deciding. Why are you insisting on pushing this crime onto my head?"
"You..." Liu Hanyun pursed her lips and her brow slightly furrowed.
Marquis Moyu glanced at Liu Hanyun and considered for a while before saying, "It really is getting too late, and we're going to disturb Haohao from his sleep if we keep talking. Let's just do as Sangyu said. Let's save this discussion for tomorrow."
Liu Hanyun lowered her head and said, "Since neither my lord nor Madam are anxious about settling this matter, then Hanyun naturally has nothing to say."
Ning Yuxuan added, "En. As for the matter of promoting you to the position of secondary wife that I mentioned before, let's do it at the same time as Haohao's first birthday."
"Many thanks, my lord." Liu Hanyun didn't linger here. After saluting, she turned around and left.
Xia-shi patted her knees as she stood up. Hearing the sound of a baby crying in the next room, she slapped her thigh and said, "Aiya, my Haohao!"
Without saying another word, she hastily left too. It seemed that she was very worried about Haohao.
Ning Yuxuan's brow relaxed. Looking at Nie Sangyu, he said, "Xia-shi doesn't know anything. You have to take extra care of her. Sometimes, you'll have to protect her more too.
Ji Man raised her eyebrows. Clutching her cloak, she coughed a few times before saying, "This servant understands."
---
In the end, the blame for the extremely ridiculous incident of someone pretending to be a ghost was placed on Xia-shi's head. But, since Xia-shi was needed to take care of Haohao, and the marquis had already signaled that he wanted her punishment to be lighter, Ji Man only punished her with not getting a monthly allowance for the next six months. Still, the food, clothing, and other necessities that she was provided with wouldn't be any less than before.
---
Liu Hanyun was holding Xi-er, and her expression didn't look good as she said, "Madam, are you thinking that Hanyun is deliberately not getting along with Xia-shi?"
Ji Man silently thought; wasn't that just the simple truth? But, she outwardly comforted her by saying, "You don't have to overthink things. It wasn't a big deal. It's not like a ghost would scare me anyways. Since the marquis isn't willing to perform an in-depth investigation, let's just put it behind us."
Liu Hanyun opened and closed her mouth, but in the end, she sullenly swallowed down the words that she wanted to say. Holding Xi-er, she didn't say another word.
---
When Haohao's first birthday came, Ji Man was a bit absent-minded. This day wasn't that far from when she had given birth to her own child. Xia-shi had probably conceived her child around the same time as her during the Southern Trip.
Although Wen Wan had been enjoying the living standards of an honored concubine since the day that Marquis Moyu had brought up the topic with Ji Man, everyone still had to wear new clothing that was appropriate to the changes in their status on Haohao's birthday celebration. And so, Liu Hanyun was wearing a light pink dress when she brought Xi-er over in her arms.
Since they were still in the three-year mourning period for Old Madame, the birthday banquet couldn't be too big or special. Instead, it was just the entire household sharing a meal together, then there would be a birthday grab and an official recording of Haohao becoming the marquis's heir.
(T/N: The birthday grab (zhuazhou) is a tradition where parents place a variety of items in front of their child on his or her first birthday, and the child will grab one of the items. Whatever the child chooses is said to determine his or her future inclination and proficiencies.)
After Wen Wan was once again called Mistress Wen, she seemed to very quickly walk out from the shadow of Yun-er's death. Her face was like a beautiful blooming peach flower.
There was also a faint smile on Liu Hanyun's face from her promotion to a secondary wife. And, once Qi Siling had regained control over the household accounts, she also wore slightly more lavish clothing. The only person that was feeling dissatisfied was Nie Chenyu.
Nie Chenyu, who had been quite favored lately, was still only a concubine and had to sit next to Mu Shuiqing. Nie Chenyu's face was livid today, but given Nie Clan's current state, she didn't have the means to demand a promotion in her status. She hadn't been able to get pregnant either, so she could only sit in a desolate corner with Mu Shuiqing and watch.
For some reason, Xia-shi had come to the birthday celebration wearing a red gown. Holding Haohao, she was smiling quite happily. But, as soon as Xia-shi entered the main hall, Ji Man's lips twitched.
During ancient time banquets, only the main wife was allowed to wear red, even a secondary wife or side consort could only wear hues of light pink. But, Xia-shi had casually entered the room wearing bright red.
The room full of people stopped talking, but Xia-shi didn't notice. With a bright grin, she brought Haohao over to the marquis and said, "Haohao has been very well-fed today. He'll definitely grab something good later!"
Marquis Moyu looked at her from top to bottom. With a fake smile, he asked, "Who gave you the clothes that you're wearing right now?"
"My clothes?" Xia-shi lowered her head to look. Smiling, she said, "I made these clothes myself. They said we're going to celebrate Haohao's first birthday today, so I should wear slightly more colorful clothing. Out of all the fabrics they sent over, this one looked the best, so I used this one. My lord, what do you think?"
Ning Yuxuan lightly smiled. He stretched his hands out and took Haohao, then he turned his head to the side and said to Nie Sangyu, "Take her to have her clothes changed."
Ji Man nodded and stood up to lead Xia-shi to Feiwan Courtyard.
Not understanding what was going on, Xia-shi blankly looked at Nie Sangyu as she followed after her. "What? Does this gown not look good? It can't be, ah. I can see that Madam's dress looks pretty good."
Ji Man sighed and said, "It is pretty good, but I'm the only one that can wear this color."
Xia-shi scratched her head in puzzlement. "Why? Are you worried that someone will look better than you in this color?"
Ji Man didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She turned her head to look at Xia-shi and said, "In your village, did they not have the rule that only the main wife can wear red?"
"Nope." Xia-shi shook her head at a complete loss. Afterwards, she somewhat panicky said, "Have I done something wrong? Someone sent over this fabric. I didn't know that I couldn't wear it, ah."
Ji Man nodded. "I know you're not clever, so I won't blame you. Just come with me to change into something else."
Xia-shi finally obediently followed after her. After reaching Feiwan Courtyard and changing into a light purple dress that belonged to Nie Sangyu, she returned to the birthday celebration in high spirits again. Holding Haohao again, she said, "Madam's clothing feels so comfortable."
Liu Hanyun glanced at her. Nearby, Wen Wan sneered and said, "Of course Madam's clothing is comfortable, but you need to have the right qualifications to wear it."
Not understanding her words, Xia-shi looked at Wen Wan for a moment. Then, she lowered her head and teased Haohao.
There wasn't much happiness on Ning Yuxuan's face today. Instead, there was a faint trace of fatigue.
After the meal, it was time for the birthday grab. Xia-shi placed Haohao on the ground, plopped down nearby herself, and exuberantly shouted, "Grab the dagger in front of you. Grabbing the brush is okay too. Go on, grab it!"
Nie Chenyu was so annoyed by Xia-shi's noisiness that she couldn't resist saying, "Mistress Xia, what a child grabs is up to the child. There's no use in you shouting."
Xia-shi twitched her lips and finally sat back down in silence.
Haohao opened his eyes wide and looked at the pile of things in front of him. He crawled over and surprisingly grabbed a gold ingot.
Qi Siling smirked. "The heir will definitely enjoy a wealthy future."
For this family, the gold ingot wasn't considered a good item to choose. After all, this was an official's family, so it would naturally be better if the son could be talented in scholarly and military affairs.
Ning Yuxuan pursed his lips and subconsciously glanced at Nie Sangyu.
With her gaze focused on Haohao, Ji Man was lost in her thoughts.
Holding onto the gold ingot and not paying attention to Xia-shi's mumbling, Haohao actually turned around and crawled to Nie Sangyu's side. He dropped the gold ingot by her feet.
Everyone was shocked. Ji Man was struck dumb for a bit, then she leaned over and picked up Haohao and the gold ingot. "Haohao, are you planning on earning money and giving it to me to show filial piety?"
Nie Chenyu burst out in laughter. "Older sister, be careful with your words. They might make Mistress Xia furious. After all, Haohao is her biological son. Even if he's going to show filial piety, there's an order of priority."
"He's a child that knows filial piety." Ning Yuxuan stretched his hands out and took Haohao into his arms, then he took off a fine jade accessory from his waist and hanged it on Haohao's neck.
Xia-shi widely smiled again. Seeing that Ning Yuxuan was happy, she jubilantly said, "It's naturally the best to have a filial child."
After the informal ceremony was completed and everyone dispersed her own courtyards, Liu Hanyun brought Xi-er with her to Feiwan Courtyard.
She asked, "Madam, do you still think that Xia-shi is someone that can be allowed to stay?"
Ji Man poked at the jade waist accessory that was carved with the word "Ning" and said with a smile, "It's not an issue of whether or not she can stay. The marquis likes Haohao, and Haohao needs someone to care for him. Xia-shi is Haohao's biological mother."
With a serious expression, Liu Hanyun said, "Forgive Hanyun for speaking bluntly, Xia-shi isn't a simple person. Since Haohao is the heir, then he should be given to you to raise. And yet, the marquis insists on having Xia-shi raise him. What will you do in the future once the marquis passes away and the little heir had grown up without having any affection for you?"
Ji Man thought; by that time, she should have already fulfilled her goal and returned to modern-day to eat watermelon while enjoying air conditioning.
"Moreover, Xia-shi continues to act inappropriately, but the marquis keeps tolerating her behavior. If one day Xia-shi does something that harms you and the marquis pardons her behavior by using the excuse that Xia-shi doesn't know the rules, will you really not feel wronged?"
Ji Man raised her eyes and interrupted her, "Hanyun, you've changed."
Liu Hanyun was startled.
"In the past, you wouldn't have cared about stuff like this." Ji Man looked at Xi-er, who was nestled in Liu Hanyun's arms. "Is it because you have a child now, so the things you want have increased?"
Lightly biting her lip, Liu Hanyun didn't deny the accusation.
"It's better if you don't get forget your original self." Ji Man patted her shoulder. "If you stay the same as before, then the marquis will treat you the same as before. You'll have Xi-er to take care of you for the rest of your life, so you don't need worry about the future either."
The room was silent for a while, then Liu Hanyun stood up and said, "Madam, you were right to lecture this servant. This servant will withdraw first."
"Be careful with walking. It's slippery outside because of the snow." Ji Man waved her hand.
Did she seem like someone that was easily manipulated? Xia-shi was someone that the marquis wanted to protect. There was no way that she wouldn't recklessly try to harm her.
---
Soon, the title and related fiefdom for the second prince was announced. She didn't know who had privately talked with the emperor, but the second prince, who was usually ignored by the emperor, was surprisingly given Zhangjun as his fiefdom. Zhangjun was a wealth territory that was very close to the capital. It was a pretty good place.
Although the second prince was getting a title before the first prince and third prince, this almost meant that the second prince wasn't in the running for the position of the crown prince anymore. And so, Zhao Zhe and Zhao Jue didn't have anything to say. In contrast, Pengyue came over to thank her before leaving for Zhangjun.
"I won't forget the promise that I made to you," Pengyue seriously said, "If you ever meet with difficulty, Ah Li and I will definitely do our best to help you."
Smiling, Ji Man agreed, "Okay."
Errong had already returned to Jing Province, and one after another, many people in Nie Clan had been demoted to a lower rank. Although the third prince was still regarded highly by the emperor, Nie Clan seemed to be on the precipice of a crisis.
T/N: The title of this chapter (When falsehood is taken for truth, the truth becomes falsehood) is a line from Dream of the Red Chamber.