After their marriage, Chu Lian didn’t head back to Beijing again, because his grandfather and uncle had sent word that things there had pretty much settled down. His presence would be pointless by now, besides, hearing that he had just gotten married, they suggested he stay in Shibao Town.
Chu Lian followed his grandfather’s arrangements, stayed at home to accompany Wang Xiangxiang, and devoted himself to dealing with Dongfeng Restaurant.
One day, Acheng hurried back from outside and whispered something into Chu Lian’s ear. He entered the room with a smile on his face, "My lady, I have some good news for you."
"What good news?" Wang Xiangxiang was flipping through some miscellaneous records at the table, simply to pass the time.
"Stop looking at those; it’s tiring. You need to rest." Chu Lian approached the table and snatched the booklet of records from Wang Xiangxiang’s hands.
"All I do is eat and sleep, sleep and eat all day long. It’s unbearably boring." She was being honest. Since she had married into the Chu Mansion, she felt she was becoming useless, with everything taken care of by others. Now she was left with nothing but eating and sleeping. And that had been just for half a month, yet she felt she had gained weight.
"Bored? Shall I have someone sing a tune for you?" Chu Lian suggested, holding Wang Xiangxiang’s hand.
"Let’s not. Those tunes are not even as good as Xiaoxiao’s singing," Wang Xiangxiang responded with a purse of her lips, not beating around the bush, "Last time, Wen Nuan told me that Xiaoxiao’s Grand Theater is really popular, with lots of programs and fantastic shows. The ones you’re talking about would surely be utterly boring. No, I won’t watch them."
Chu Lian: "..." Are they really that bad? Those singers are also well-known performers.
"What was the good news you were talking about just now?" Wang Xiangxiang then asked.
"Oh, right, this piece of news will definitely make you happy, I’m sure it’ll keep you in high spirits all night," Chu Lian said with great confidence, believing it to be a truly joyous development.
"Stop keeping me in suspense, out with it!"
"Li Fuyou is impotent now!"
"What?" Wang Xiangxiang was extremely surprised at this news. Li Fuyou became impotent? No wonder his thinking was so distorted; such a thing would be hard for any man to accept. But she was still a little skeptical, "Husband, who told you this?"
"It’s all over the streets now. My intention was to use Li Fuyou’s scandal to distract from our own affairs, but just as that news had begun to spread, Li Fuyou went and sealed his own fate."
"How did he seal his fate?" Wang Xiangxiang asked, puzzled.
"Last night, he went to Huaman Building and called for the top courtesan, Mudan. Since he was impotent, he nearly tortured Mudan to death."
"What?" Wang Xiangxiang stood up, alarmed, "How is Mudan doing?"
"My lady, do you know Mudan?" Seeing Wang Xiangxiang’s worried expression, Chu Lian was surprised. Mudan was the top courtesan at Huaman Building, and Xiangxiang seemed quite acquainted with her.
Wang Xiangxiang nodded and explained, "Mudan is a big client of mine; she’s brought me a lot of business, and we get along very well and have great rapport."
"I see. Although Mudan was severely mistreated, she didn’t die. Because of that incident, Li Fuyou had to compensate with a thousand taels of silver." Chu Lian smiled at this. This time, Li Fuyou had really lost on both fronts – his wife and his soldiers. The affair was causing a huge stir outside, and it would certainly give Li Fuyou enough trouble to deal with.
Seeing Xiangxiang’s concerned appearance, Chu Lian continued, "My lady, don’t worry, that Mudan is fine."