Chapter 39: 038 A Stroke of Divine Genius

Fei Songnian's body was hastily carried out for burial.

Madam Zhang could not have stopped it even if she tried; had she dared step forward to obstruct, she would have earned yet another charge: a heart so vicious she would not let her husband rest in peace in the earth!

Barely two days after the burial, Fei Songnian's two nephews and eleven grandnephews came en masse to Madam Zhang's door to pick a quarrel over nothing.

"Aunt, yesterday when we were tidying the old residence, we chanced upon a will left by Grandfather. The contents of this will differ in many respects from the division of property back then; we ask Aunt to look it over."

The speaker was Fei Songnian's fourth nephew, already sixty-three years old this year.

As for the three nephews before him, they had long since died — of old age and illness.

Madam Zhang flew into a towering rage. Without even glancing at the contents, she sneered: "If you meant to forge a will, you might at least have hired a craftsman to age it. The old master passed away forty-three years ago — how can his will still look new? Even the toilet paper in my privy looks more like something the old master left behind!"

The fourth nephew said shamelessly, "It has never seen the light of day; the will has been preserved exceedingly well. Aunt should not overthink it."

"We beg Aunt (Grandaunt) to look it over!"

The whole crowd of nephews and grandnephews shouted in unison. If Madam Zhang still refused to cooperate, they would tear off all pretense of civility entirely.

Madam Zhang forced down her fury and opened the so-called will. One look, and she was instantly shaking with rage.

These scoundrels before her meant to leave her and her son only a few mu of poor land, and even wanted to seize the very house they were living in now.

They meant to exterminate them utterly!

Yet Madam Zhang had no way to resist — the charge of adultery with a grandnephew was far too grave. She might dodge the first of the month, but she could not dodge the fifteenth; once this blew up, there would be no day of peace, and her son might even be barred from the ancestral hall.

In history, how did Liu Rushi die?

Qian Qianyi was not even buried yet when his clansmen came to the door to "demand repayment of debts" and staged a dance party in the mourning hall.

The uproar dragged on for two full months; not only did they come every single day, they spread Liu Rushi's old "adultery" stories everywhere like wildfire.

To preserve the family property, Liu Rushi wrote her will, then hanged herself.

She meant to prove her integrity through death, and also to frighten off the Qian clansmen.

Yet even death was useless — the family assets were carved up all the same. Even Liu Rushi's grave was expelled from the Qian family burial ground, becoming a lonely grave at the foot of Yu Mountain.

So what if Madam Zhang was a second wife, properly wedded through formal matchmaking?

Liu Rushi was the same!

So what if Madam Zhang had borne her husband a son?

Whether he was even his own flesh and blood was in doubt!

"Come back tomorrow. Allow me to think it over further." Madam Zhang could no longer put on a fierce front; she did not even have the spirit left to quarrel.

"Then Aunt should consider it well. Do not drag things out. Your juniors will come again tomorrow."

The nephews and grandnephews finally left.

Madam Zhang sat where she was, motionless for a long time, utterly disheartened.

After weeping for a while, she summoned the maidservant who had accompanied her as part of her dowry years ago. The serving woman went off for half the day, then came back to report that the person could not be found.

Not only was the dowry maidservant herself nowhere to be found — her entire family had vanished without a trace.

Madam Zhang gave a bleak, bitter laugh and murmured dejectedly to herself: "Today I finally understand what is meant by 'when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter,' and what is meant by 'when the wall topples, everyone gives it a push.'"

After sitting blankly for a long while, Madam Zhang suddenly rose and headed for a side courtyard.

Dong dong dong! She knocked on the courtyard gate.

A middle-aged serving woman opened the door, then silently let Madam Zhang in.

Inside the side courtyard was a small Buddhist chapel, from which the sound of a wooden fish faintly emerged. Fei Songnian's last concubine, Madam Chen, was within.

After her husband's death, Madam Zhang had driven out all the concubines, leaving only this Madam Chen untouched.

Stepping into the chapel, Madam Zhang shut the door and windows tightly and pleaded, "Sister, give your elder sister another idea."

Madam Chen continued striking the wooden fish without pause: "There are no more ideas. I told Sister not to alert your maiden family, but Sister would not listen. Several lives have been lost over it, and now the situation is beyond salvaging."

Madam Zhang suddenly dropped to her knees with a thud and kowtowed: "Sister, whatever I did wrong before, this time you must save my son and me!"

Madam Chen at last slowly set down the little mallet, laying it crosswise inside the wooden fish: "I do not have that much ability. I can only save Ji'an-ge'er; I fear I cannot save Sister."

"Saving Ji'an-ge'er is enough!" Madam Zhang seized on this lifeline at once. "Sister, give your plan quickly, or those black-hearted wretches will sooner or later drive Ji'an-ge'er out of the Fei clan's gates!"

Madam Chen said unhurriedly, "There is only one way to save Ji'an-ge'er: Sister, go and die."

"What?"

Madam Zhang sprang up, finally erupting again. Pointing at Madam Chen, she cursed furiously: "You venomous woman, seizing the chance to settle old scores, are you? Even at a time like this, you still scheme. So what if I cuckolded my husband — I am still a second wife, properly wedded into the Fei family! And what are you? The daughter of a disgraced official, a filthy lowly concubine! Even if you brought about my death, what good would it do you? Sooner or later someone will sell you off!"

Madam Chen was not angered. She smiled and explained: "From the moment Sister's maiden family intervened, the situation became uncontainable; there is no longer any room to maneuver. Why not let Sister's death turn you into the pivot point of the game? That way your son's life can be preserved. As Sister herself said, I now depend on the Fei family. Ji'an-ge'er and I share glory and share ruin — how could I possibly harm him?"

Madam Zhang collapsed to the floor, trembling with fear: "Speak!"

Madam Chen walked over unhurriedly, bent down close to Madam Zhang's ear, and slowly laid out her stratagem.

Madam Zhang listened; her face turned the color of dead ashes, but a sliver of hope finally rose in her eyes. She ground her teeth and said, "Fine, I will do as Sister says. I will go and die this very day!"

……

The two walked out of the side courtyard together. Madam Zhang personally wrote a letter, then opened a chest and sorted through the estate her husband had left behind.

Before long, Fei Yuanjian was summoned.

In just a dozen or so days, Fei Yuanjian's character had utterly changed. Wherever he went, the household slaves whispered about him behind his back. When he sneaked out, the children of the clan mocked him as a bastard, and the followers who once trailed him kept far away and would not play with him.

At first Fei Yuanjian had been furiously indignant, hitting anyone who spoke ill of him — only to be beaten up badly himself many times over.

Gradually, Fei Yuanjian grew silent, no longer daring to set one step beyond the family gate.

"Ji'an'er, come here!" Madam Zhang called.

In his heart, Fei Yuanjian was full of resentment toward his mother as well. He walked over without a word, refusing even to call out "Mother."

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Madam Zhang rose and said to Madam Chen, "Sister, please sit."

Madam Chen did not decline; she sat down in the seat Madam Zhang had just occupied.

"Ji'an'er, kneel!" Madam Zhang barked.

Fei Yuanjian was utterly baffled. Though unwilling, he knelt anyway.

Madam Zhang added, "Kowtow. Call her Mother — she is your real mother!"

"Huh?" Fei Yuanjian stared, tongue-tied.

They all said my real father wasn't my real father — how is my real mother not my real mother either?

Madam Zhang explained, "Your father is indeed your real father. I am not your real mother. I did conceive back then, but I miscarried before three months."

Madam Zhang produced a key and pressed it into Fei Yuanjian's hand. "Though not my own flesh, all these years I have still treated you as my own child. After I die, obey your real mother in all things. Study hard, and avenge me in the future — I was driven to death by those clan cousins and clan nephews of yours!"

Fei Yuanjian's mind had already crashed; he had lost all capacity for thought.

"Go," Madam Zhang said, waving her hand.

Madam Chen dragged Fei Yuanjian away. With Madam Zhang's letter in her own hand, they slipped out quietly through the back gate and headed straight for Hanzhu Academy.

Madam Zhang then summoned a steward of the household. "Fei Min, these thirty-some years, I have treated you well, have I not?"

"Whatever orders the Madam has, this old servant will not utter a single word of refusal," Fei Min said, kneeling.

Madam Zhang smiled. "The Master has passed, and the household is in turmoil. Even my dowry maids have fled with their whole families and the money. I know you must have your own plans as well."

Fei Min hastily denied it. "Madam, do not let your thoughts run wild. This old servant is absolutely loyal to the core."

Madam Zhang slapped down several sheets of paper and said slowly, "These are the indenture contracts for your entire family. Take them to the yamen and you can establish your own household."

Fei Min looked up in astonishment.

Madam Zhang slapped down several more sheets. "This is the title deed for one hundred mu of land. Giving it to you directly is useless — someone else would surely seize it."

The land deed was indeed useless. The land was too close to the clansmen's holdings; a mere household slave could never hold onto it.

Madam Zhang pointed at a chest and said, "Call your most trusted servants and divide the silver cash inside among you. I ask nothing else of you: for the next three days, whoever comes to this house to make trouble, beat them all out. After three days, you may take the indenture papers and the land deed and seek the protection of the headmaster of Hanzhu Academy. He will help you regain your freedom, and he will help you redeem those one hundred mu."

"What is the Madam planning?" Fei Min was both startled and overjoyed.

"If I do not die, this matter cannot end," Madam Zhang actually laughed, and waved her hand. "Go."

Fei Min immediately kowtowed. "Madam, take care of yourself."

That very day, the household slave Fei Min gathered his trusted men, divided the silver, and took up staves to defend the family residence.

Madam Zhang went alone to the Henglin ancestral hall. All along the way, people jabbed fingers at her back and cursed her.

By the time she reached the ancestral hall, many clansmen had also rushed over at the news. A torrent of every kind of foul language came crashing down on her.

Madam Zhang laughed coldly, cut her finger, and wrote in blood on the main gate of the ancestral hall — My person is pure; I offer my death as proof!

"What is she doing?"

"She wouldn't really be seeking death, would she?"

"That woman has been overbearing so long, she's even thrown tantrums in the ancestral hall before. Would she be willing to die?"

"True enough."

"Coming to the ancestral hall again today, and even writing 'pure' in blood — I'm afraid she means to put on a show."

"Hmph, she's already dragged the Fei clan's face through the mud. Even if she sang opera in the ancestral hall for three days straight, no one would believe her!"

"..."

Madam Zhang stepped back a few paces, turned and gave the clansmen a cold sneer, then suddenly broke into a sprint and dashed headlong into the brick wall beside the ancestral hall gate.

Blood gushed forth. She collapsed and did not rise.

The crowd was horrified. They all surged forward to gawk, yet not one person went to fetch a doctor to save her — all feared getting entangled with her for no reason.

Hanzhu Academy, the headmaster's study.

Madam Chen produced that letter. "Please, sir, read it."

The letter's contents were roughly threefold:

First, Madam Zhang was pure; there had been no adultery.

Second, the assets left behind by Fei Songnian — Madam Zhang had already compiled an inventory. Fifty percent was to be donated to the academy as educational property; thirty percent was to be handed over to Fei Yuanlu to dispose of; only twenty percent was left to her son.

Third, she begged Fei Yuanlu to uphold justice and to protect her son until he came of age.

Fei Yuanlu finished reading the letter and cried out in horror, "How did it come to this? My aunt was out of her mind! Quickly, come with me to the ancestral hall!"

By the time Fei Yuanlu arrived, Madam Zhang had already bled out and died.

Fei Yuanlu ordered her body to be properly laid out, took the letter to the clan head, and then convened a council of the clan elders.

The meetings went on for days, each branch bickering endlessly.

One day, the sound of wind and percussion instruments suddenly arose — they were actually going to erect a memorial archway for Madam Zhang.

The archway's horizontal tablet was personally inscribed by County Magistrate Feng: "Chaste and Ardent Heroine."

The couplets on the two side pillars were composed by Fei Yinghuan, the sole juren.

The Fei clan's reputation was preserved, and the family had even gained an extra Heroine Archway.

Hanzhu Academy reaped the benefit: the fifty percent of Fei Songnian's assets all became educational property under the academy's name.

Several major clan branches also benefited, each receiving a share of the thirty percent of assets.

Fei Yuanjian would not be expelled from the clan, and he could even keep twenty percent of the family property — all because his mother had proven her purity with death.

At the foot of Hanzhu Mountain, inside a thatched hut.

Zhao Han had some doubts and asked, "Teacher, did we do wrong? One person was angered to death, and another driven to death."

"What do you think?" Pang Chunlai asked in return.

Zhao Han thought carefully. "Right or wrong is not the crux of the matter. It is simply that we had no other choice — because we, too, were forced."

Pang Chunlai exclaimed in admiration, "That answer far exceeds your teacher's expectations. You have already transcended the notion of right and wrong. A man who does great things should be thus." Then Pang Chunlai admonished him, "In handling affairs, do not fixate on right and wrong, but always remember to hold benevolence and righteousness in your heart. Without benevolence, righteousness, and morality, the heart has no bottom line — how then would you differ from a petty man chasing profit?"

"Your student will remember this," Zhao Han said, cupping his hands.

Pang Chunlai shook his head again with a sigh. "That Madam Zhang was always arrogant, overbearing, and looked down on everyone. I took her for an ignorant shrew. I never imagined she could prove her integrity with death, and arrange her final affairs so thoroughly. Remember this, always remember: in this world, never underestimate anyone. Do not always think yourself clever and treat everyone else as fools. The moment you do, you are not far from death!"

Zhao Han was equally shocked by this, and deeply agreed.

A shrewish woman like that had actually been able to draft such a will.

Donating fifty percent of the estate to the academy instantly seized the moral high ground.

Leaving thirty percent for Fei Yuanlu to distribute immediately shifted the core of the conflict onto Fei Yuanlu, the academy head.

The moment Fei Yuanlu became a beneficiary, he was bound together with Lady Zhang and her son, transformed into the boy's guardian, and dared not touch the remaining twenty percent of the family property.

With Lady Zhang's death, it became the pivotal point on the board — no one could place a stone there.

Meticulous in scheme, decisive in sacrifice, extraordinary in execution!

(Yesterday's rewrite list got two major authors wrong. Re-recommending: Yixi Chengdao's "Era of the Global Deities," a super-mystical, super-sci-fi age of gods; Wo Ye Hen Juewang's "Eerie Stream Cultivation Game," an eerie game bleeding into reality.)

(End of Chapter)