Chapter 16 The Stripping of Office Ma Ting looked upon Lady Chen with surprise as the faint smile left her lips. "Old Mrs. Li, that is a weight I will not bear. Besides, what transpired upon the pleasure boat is no secret in Ming City." Her eyes lifted, her tone clear and unwavering. "Your son offended the Eldest Princess that day. Instead of hastening to mend the matter, you find the leisure to trouble me here at Greenpeak Temple?" Lady Chen's heart jolted. All of Ming City knew the Eldest Princess was upright and unyielding. She was never one to tolerate insult. That day, her son had ruined her enjoyment. Even if she held her tongue for the sake of the marquis, the ministers at court-men who were meant to be fence-sitters-would never remain silent. Realization struck, and Lady Chen bit hard upon her frustration. She glared at the young woman who stood so calmly before her. "Ms. Ma, you show me a different face today. So, all that obedience was nothing but a performance." Ma Ting smoothed her sleeve with composed elegance and turned to leave, her voice cool. "I still have duties to attend within the ancestral rites. With that, I bid you goodbye. Safe travels, though I will not be seeing you off myself." Without another glance, she walked toward the meditation chamber. Lady Chen trembled with fury, yet her son's peril pressed heavier upon her thoughts. She cast one last venomous look at Ma Ting's back before she rushed away with Madam Feng to the waiting carriage. Inside the meditation chamber, Ma Ting accepted the cup of tea Ding Jie handed her and drank slowly. The maid's face glowed with delight. "Ms. Ting, you must have driven Old Mrs. Li into a rage today. That was marvelous!" Ma Ting smiled faintly and drew a folded letter from her sleeve, placing it in Ding Jie's hands. "Now that fewer eyes are upon us, send this letter out." Ding Jie blinked, startled, then hesitated when she saw the handwriting on the envelope. "Ms. Ting, Old Mrs. Ma cut ties with the Lang family long ago. Even if this reaches them, I fear they will not..." Ma Ting recalled her aunt's words. Many years ago, her mother had quarreled bitterly with her grandfather to marry her father, who had been a poor scholar. In anger, her grandfather declared the family bond severed, yet he still sent ships laden with dowry. If he truly wished to break ties, he would never have given her so much. 1/4 Later, when her father was sent on disaster relief, her mother left her in her aunt's care and never returned. The night her aunt heard the tragic news, she suffered a heart attack and died. From that time onward, the vast Ma Residence's residents had dwindled to Ma Ting alone. In recent days, she had studied the old records and her mother's dowry. She could not shake the belief that the so-called severing letter concealed deeper truths. And her aunt's sudden death... Her eyes shifted with troubled thought before she pushed the memories aside. "Deliver it. If the Lang family refuses, we shall face it afterward." "Yes, Ms. Ting." Clutching the letter tightly, Ding Jie hurried out. Left to herself, Ma Ting grew restless. She rose and chose to walk through the front courtyard of Greenpeak Temple. Lady Chen, worried sick for Li Han, hurried back from Greenpeak Temple to Marquis Sunfair's Residence. The moment she stepped inside, she seized a maidservant by the arm, her brows furrowed. "Has the marquis returned?" The maidservant recoiled and shook her head quickly. Lady Chen let out a heavy breath of relief and loosened her hand from Madam Feng's hold. "Old Mrs. Li, have no fear. Both the marquis and Master Han counseled His Majesty wisely. "And besides, the talk at the river banquet was no more than rumor. No one can rightfully place the blame upon Master Han. Nothing ill will come of it." Madam Feng's assurances softened Lady Chen's distress. She settled into the main hall and lifted a cup of tea to calm herself. Yet, when Ma Ting's face rose in her thoughts, anger surged anew. She struck the cup down against the table with a sharp crack. "You should have seen the Ma family's arrogance when I went there today. They looked upon me as if I did not even exist! "A girl without a father dares to look down on me? She has grown far too bold!" The longer Lady Chen dwelled upon it, the hotter her fury grew. She turned sharply toward Madam Feng. "Have you talked to Dame Hong regarding the matter I asked?" Madam Feng nodded quickly and answered, "This very month, Ma Residence shall not receive a single request for an audience." Lady Chen's expression eased at those words, her mood lifting slightly. But before she could even sip her tea, Li Han was hurled across the threshold, sent sprawling into the hall by Marquis Sunfair's merciless kick. His face was thunderous. "Marquis, what are you doing?" 2/4 Lady Chen rushed to shield her son, terror seizing her as she clutched him to check if he had been gravely hurt. "What am I doing? Ask this worthless fool!" Marquis Sunfair's roar reverberated through the chamber. "The Eldest Princess brought the incident upon the ship to His Majesty's cars! "Not only did His Majesty shame me before the entire court for fathering such a disgrace, but he stripped this wretch of his post!" Lady Chen cried out, her voice breaking with shock, "What?" From the corner of her eye, she saw He Xinying hurrying ih. Rage overtook her, and she shoved aside Madam Feng's arm. She stormed forward and struck He Xinying hard across the cheek. "You shameless wretch! Was it you who urged the event on the ship? My son has ever been upright. He would never sink to such vile tricks. Was it your doing?" He Xinying, having overheard the fury in the back courtyard, had rushed in to speak for Li Han and earn his favor. Instead, she was met with a stinging blow the instant she stepped inside. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she pressed her cheek and bowed her head. She stumbled back. "Old Mrs. Li, it was not me. I would never... I-" "Silence!" Marquis Sunfair's roar crushed all sound. His temples throbbed with rage. Lady Chen cast He Xinying a last venomous glare before turning to lift her son from the floor. "Marquis, I shall visit the Eldest Princess myself and beg her forgiveness." "Enough!" The marquis' snarl cut her words short. His gaze shifted to Li Han, sitting silent and broken. He exhaled deeply, his voice heavy. "What use is that now? His Majesty has already removed him from office. Even if you prostrate yourself at the palace gates, nothing will change. "The only chance that remains is for this fool to seize first place at the poetry competition. Only then might I entreat for his redemption." Still fuming, he drove another vicious kick into Li Han's side before striding out of the hall. Once he was gone, Lady Chen's eyes hardened with malice. "Han'er, I have already instructed Dame Hong. "This month, the Ma family will find no suitors for Ma Ting. Once we wed her into this house and take her dowry, you may repay her for all the grievances she put you through. Strike back as you see fit." At the mention of Ma Ting, Li Han's gaze darkened. His pride wounded, his post stripped away, his heart burned with hatred. "Do not worry, Mother. I shall see to it. I will make certain Ma Ting wastes her life within this house, bound in misery, and regretting every choice she has ever made." 3/4 Though stripped of honor, Lady Chen still yearned to test the Eldest Princess' will. With gifts in hand, she hurried away to the palace, intent on another attempt. Once the others had left, He Xinying crept closer. Her cheek still burned red, and she tugged at Li Han's sleeve. "Han, my face hurts terribly. Will you see if it is swollen?" Already seething from everything thus far, Li Han grew even more impatient the moment He Xinying started sobbing. He yanked his sleeve from her grasp. "Every concubine goes through their mother-in-law's wrath. I tire of your ceaseless crying. If you must weep, then go and weep elsewhere!" He Xinying stood frozen, struck by his coldness. By the time she turned back, he was already storming away, his resentful figure retreating into the shadows. There was no place for her in his heart. 4/4