Reporting the matter to the authorities meant that Second Miss Zheng was truly furious.
She treasured her reputation above all else, because aside from her reputation, she really had little else.
The authorities quickly sent people to investigate.
They discovered that the ones spreading the rumors were mostly people living near the Marquis Residence—beggars, small vendors, and residents of the nearby streets.
As for where the gossip originally came from, the officials searched for two days but still couldn't find the source.
"I just heard someone else say it."
"People were talking about it in the teahouse. I don't remember who said it. What, isn't the Zheng family's Second Miss a widow?"
"Why would the Wen family send a separate invitation to the Second Miss? When a wealthy family hosts a birthday banquet, it's not like a young ladies' gathering. Unmarried girls don't get their own invitations."
The matter became impossible to clarify.
Zheng Yutan sent someone to return the invitation card to the Wen family. She specifically sent her maid Lanpei and instructed her to throw the invitation directly at Madam Wen's face.
Madam Wen was so embarrassed she wished she could disappear into the ground.
Naturally the Wen family became angry as well. Madam Wen summoned her son and scolded him harshly.
Wen Zhao had never expected things to turn out this way. He felt extremely wronged.
After being humiliated by Second Miss Zheng, Madam Wen didn't dare take it out on the Marquis Residence, so she vented her anger on her future daughter-in-law instead, planning to get even through Zheng Qian in the future.
She hadn't even finished venting her anger before her own mother-in-law summoned her and scolded her again.
"She's only a concubine-born girl. By giving her so much face, how will Mei'er hold her place in the Marquis Residence?" Old Madam Wen snapped.
Madam Wen tried to defend herself.
"Wasn't it because she's useless? Back then we thought marrying the Zheng family's legitimate eldest daughter would bring honor. Only later did we realize she's treated worse than even her concubine-born sister at home. Neither the Marquis nor the Old Madam pays attention to her. Instead, they favor the Second Miss…"
"They may be blind and foolish, but are you blind too?" the old madam snapped angrily. "Do you know how many people are using that abacus now?"
"What about the abacus?" Madam Wen asked, confused.
The newly introduced abacus was indeed extremely useful and easy to learn.
The Wen family were merchants, so naturally they had already gone to Jade Pavilion to buy and learn it. They had purchased seven or eight of them.
Madam Wen had even bought a gold one, which made many people envious.
In wealthy households, not only accountants but even madams and young ladies were proud to learn how to use the abacus.
Just selling these abacuses alone was bringing Jade Pavilion enormous profits every day. The business was flourishing.
But what did this have to do with Zheng Qian?
"She was the one who sold the abacus idea to Jade Pavilion," Old Madam Wen said in frustration. "You socialize everywhere all day—did you never ask about it?"
Madam Wen was stunned.
"That… that can't be true, can it?"
The old madam sighed deeply.
Madam Wen was shocked, and then immediately furious.
"Such a profitable thing—why didn't she give it to our family? I heard Jade Pavilion is earning tens of thousands of taels a day selling these abacuses."
"You still have the nerve to say that?" the old madam scolded. "When have you ever treated her as your daughter-in-law? Every time you visit the Zheng family, you only go to flatter that old witch and that little vixen. Did it never occur to you that your own daughter-in-law—the legitimate eldest daughter—is the true face of the Wen family?"
Madam Wen's face burned with embarrassment. After being scolded so fiercely by her mother-in-law, she couldn't say a single word.
She was both angry and embarrassed. This whole matter had been handled terribly, leaving her scolded from both sides.
Meanwhile, in the Jing'an Marquis Residence, the servants had already been forbidden from spreading rumors about the Second Miss. Some people were also actively trying to clear her name.
Naturally, Huining Courtyard also heard about it.
"The person who started this rumor has quite a vicious tongue," Nanny Dai said. "If someone in the future doesn't investigate properly, they might think it's true."
"The Second Miss is already eighteen this year, the same age as our Eldest Miss, yet she's still not engaged," Caiyuan said. "Our Eldest Miss was delayed because of the mourning period for Old Master Wen. But she's different."
Nanny Dai replied, "Isn't it because she's too picky? I heard Prince Yu wanted to take her as a secondary consort, but she refused."
"She wants to be the main consort. Everyone knows that," Caiyuan said.
Prince Yu was the Emperor's second son.
The current Emperor had five sons: the second prince Prince Yu, the fourth prince Prince Rong, the fifth prince who had been named Crown Prince, and the sixth and eighth princes who were still young and had not yet established their own households.
The other princes had all died young.
Among these princes, only the fifth prince was born of the Empress. Although the Emperor disliked him, he still made him the Crown Prince.
Since ancient times, when establishing a crown prince, priority was given to the eldest or the legitimate son.
If the Emperor had a legitimate eldest son, then the choice of crown prince was unquestionable. However, many emperors' eldest sons were not born of the Empress.
If a concubine-born eldest son was capable enough, his status as "the eldest" could allow him to compete for the throne.
Prince Yu, the second prince, was ambitious but not particularly intelligent. Since he knew the Emperor disliked the Crown Prince and he himself was capable and favored by the Emperor, he harbored some improper ambitions.
However, since he was neither the eldest nor legitimate, there were not many officials in the court supporting him.
In such circumstances, he should have married the daughter of a powerful minister to strengthen his political position.
Yet he was deeply infatuated with Zheng Yutan.
He wanted to marry Zheng Yutan as his main consort, but the Emperor did not agree.
The Zheng family valued Zheng Yutan partly for this reason. If the second prince ever succeeded in becoming emperor, Zheng Yutan becoming his consort—even just a secondary consort—could allow the Zheng family to rise to great prominence.
After all, the Zheng family had originally risen to power through an imperial consort.
Zheng Yutan might allow the Zheng family to restore its former glory.
Back and forth like this, her marriage had been delayed.
Zheng Yutan herself wasn't anxious. She thought very highly of herself and believed she was stunningly beautiful. She didn't care about her age.
After all, Prince Yu was still firmly wrapped around her finger.
"Prince Yu also wants to marry her as his main consort, but the royal family doesn't agree. This matter is hard to predict," Xiuzhu said.
Zheng Qian gently stroked Ah Chou's back, then scratched under his chin. Watching the cat rub itself against her hand, she felt completely satisfied and ignored the maids' gossip.
Hongluan stood nearby smiling, saying nothing but secretly enjoying herself.
She had finally helped her mistress vent some of her anger.
Her mistress had told her to take some money and bribe beggars—specifically the ones on the street outside the Jing'an Marquis Residence—and have them spread the rumor everywhere.
The rumors from those people would quickly reach the gatekeepers, and from there spread into the household.
After all, aside from servants, who would be so interested in gossip about the Second Miss?
Although the Second Miss was very beautiful, she wasn't particularly famous across the entire capital.
Once the servants and masters inside the Marquis Residence heard the rumor, it created the illusion that everyone in the world already knew.
Second Miss Zheng had exploded with anger.
"The whole world? My goodness, have some shame. Do the common people of the entire world even know who she is?" Zheng Qian laughed.
It was like gossip from the past: when some insignificant celebrity bought trending searches online, everyone would be confused and say, "Who is this? Don't care. Just go away."
The Second Miss's gossip would probably get the same reaction once it left the street of the Marquis Residence.
So when the Zheng family reported it to the authorities and made such a huge fuss, the officials of the Jingzhao Prefecture were probably extremely embarrassed.
Reporting such a trivial matter to the authorities.
Zheng Qian had spent less than two taels of silver and managed to make the Second Miss panic once. She felt she had been quite ruthless.
"Spreading a rumor takes one mouth, but refuting it takes worn-out legs. That saying is absolutely true," Zheng Qian laughed as she carried her cat back to her room.
Hongluan followed behind her with a grin.
"Miss, it's so amusing. Everyone in the household is talking about the Second Miss now."
"It is a bit mean though. After all, it was the Wen family trying to flatter her. She's innocent in this," Zheng Qian said. She didn't know that Zheng Yutan herself had demanded the invitation from the Wen family and assumed it had been their own decision.
"She's not innocent at all!" Hongluan immediately protested. She hated how the Second Miss constantly stepped on their Eldest Miss.
Zheng Qian laughed.
"Alright, alright. She's not innocent. Don't shout."
She gently stroked the cat's head, and she and Hongluan secretly laughed again.
This incident dealt Zheng Yutan quite a blow, because the Second Miss truly believed she was famous throughout the world and that everyone knew her gossip.
Second Miss Zheng had simply overestimated herself and ended up making herself furious.
That part had nothing to do with Zheng Qian.