Late November brought the first snow of early winter. At the end of the Chen hour, Qiqian’er emerged from the mill room and saw Siyue standing there smiling, holding a padded robe for her.

Siyue was a round-faced girl with a rather cheerful look about her. Seeing Qiqian’er come out, she shook out the robe and came forward to wrap it around her, tying the sash while whispering gossip to her grandmother at the same time.

“Grandmother, this morning that side’s daughter-in-law ran out of the house barefoot, saying she was going to knock her head against the Old Madam’s gate and die there! She also insisted the Old Madam return Young Miss Xique and the young master, and then Fourth Master came back…”

Since the masters looked down on the Fourth Branch, one could hardly expect the servants to show much respect either.

Hearing her whisper such things so charmingly, Qiqian’er pinched her nose playfully.

Of the eight maids her adoptive father had sent, Qiqian’er had grown most accustomed to using Siyue. In truth, she disliked overly obedient maids, preferring ones with lively minds, cleverness, and cheerful dispositions in every season — and Siyue was exactly such a girl. As a result, Qiqian’er had elevated her a rank, and even raised the monthly wages of Yiyue, Eryue, and Shangyue — the maids the Old Madam had grown accustomed to using — by several hundred coppers each.

The servants who had come from the She family drew double pay in this household — one portion from the She family’s accounts, and another from this side. Meanwhile, outside maids like Yiyue and the others received at most eight hundred coppers.

Wrapping herself in the padded robe, Qiqian’er walked out with Siyue.

Seeing Qiqian’er leave, Jixiang’s wife went smiling into the mill room to collect the flour sack of grain — a filial gesture from the daughter-in-law, since the master of the house was still in the palace waiting on this very thing.

Leaving the rear courtyard, Qiqian’er took the hand warmer that Wuyue had brought her, cushioning it with a soft cloth as she carried it, and asked Siyue while walking, “What did Fourth Master say? Did he go make trouble for the Old Madam?”

Siyue shook her head. “In answer to my lady, no, he didn’t. But it seems something big happened over there! Right now the Fourth Madam is wailing at home, saying she doesn’t want to live anymore. This servant didn’t hear it all — I thought my lady would be coming out soon, so I hurried back first.”

Arriving at the front courtyard gate, Qiqian’er saw Qiyue and Bayue carrying several bundles of fresh flowers inside, while Chunfen and Xiaoman and the others lined up, each carrying a potted plant with green leaves into the house.

On such a fine-snow day, having lively fresh flowers to brighten the mood was always welcome. Qiqian’er, pleased at the sight, remarked, “In this weather, it’s quite a task for them.”

Since late autumn, that Shopkeeper Ping from the little immortal garden had, for whatever reason, taken to sending someone from his shop to the residence every ten days without fail — not coming himself, but sending a manager to deliver flowers to the Relatives’ Guard Alley.

These flowers were delivered door to door along the whole alley — even to Master Cheng’s household, and to the Fourth Branch’s household as well, so as not to offend anyone.

Each delivery brought four kinds of green-leaved plants and eight bundles of freshly cut flowers.

Thanks to this small perk, Da Niu and Er Niu had been learning flower arrangement from Chen Wanru and had become quite skilled at it, now even able to select the right vase according to the shape of the flowers.

She Jixiang, following at the back, heard Qiqian’er’s question and said with a smile, “Yes, they said these were cut at sunrise in the flower room for my lady, all picked from the best sun-facing branches.”

Having said this, he approached Qiqian’er with a rather furtive expression and said, “My lady, perhaps you should go over to the Old Madam’s place. If you don’t go, this old servant suspects Yiyue will come running to fetch you any moment now.”

What could this be about now? Qiqian’er, thoroughly puzzled, held her hand warmer and headed toward the end of the alley. Before she’d even gotten there, she saw idle onlookers gathered in clusters at the end of the alley. Walking closer, she saw a crowd of former aunties gathered at the Fourth Branch’s gate, and Madam Qiao’s heartrending wails carrying from within.

“…Crying my way to the seventh gate of the underworld, meeting the golden rooster blocking the road, I’ve given up good food and drink for the five grains, oh — I call to the golden rooster to step aside…”

Seeing Qiqian’er standing there motionless, Madam Huang and Madam Zhou and the rest gave sheepish smiles and quickly dispersed.

Hmph, must have been too well-fed lately — during times when three meals weren’t guaranteed, no one had time to watch a spectacle like this.

Once the crowd scattered, Madam Qiao’s wailing grew even louder. Listening carefully — oh? This was mourning-wailing, wasn’t it? Already at the seventh gate?

In rural custom, when a woman wails for the dead, she typically starts from the first gate before King Yama’s hall, the Gate of Homeland Longing, and works backward from there. The customs varied somewhat by region, but no matter how one wailed, the “seven-day” mourning ritual for a deceased relative always required this sort of performance.

Listening for a moment, Qiqian’er thought to herself — the feud between the Old Madam and this Fourth Sister-in-law truly could never be resolved. Now she’d started sending mourning-wails toward the Old Madam. What was this about today? Had her adoptive father sent Nanny Dai over to manage her too strictly? Or was it about the children again, threatening the Old Madam with her life once more?

She had no interest in the Fourth Branch’s affairs — it wouldn’t help matters either way. Ever since Madam Qiao had secretly struck the Old Madam so many times, the Old Madam would never reconcile with her in this lifetime. What backing did the Old Madam rely on now? Because of the Xique matter, she had forcibly taken custody of the Fourth Branch’s two children to raise herself.

Was this revenge? Or was she creating trouble for herself?

Never mind — let the elders sort out their own affairs.

Madam Qiao’s wailing was too mournful to bear, so Qiqian’er, unwilling to listen further, entered the old residence. The moment she stepped into the east room, she saw a vase of lively flowers already arranged on the Old Madam’s kang table, while Xique, her face wrapped in cloth, sat tracing red-ink calligraphy characters with a small brush. Her mother wailed to shake the heavens outside, yet this child sat utterly expressionless and motionless, her wrist steady in a way that seemed almost unnatural.

Watching her like this, Qiqian’er felt a pang of sadness inside — it seemed that clever little sprite of a girl, Xique, who used to talk cleverly to whoever she met, was truly never coming back. Meanwhile, Fourth Uncle’s son, Chen Lanting, was in the arms of the hired wet nurse, Nanny Xie, feeding noisily.

Seeing Qiqian’er enter, the Old Madam coughed once. Sanyue, who had been teaching Xique to trace characters, picked her up, and Nanny Xie also set down her lapel and bowed to Qiqian’er before the whole group filed off to the adjacent west side room.

That room wasn’t cold either — there was plenty of charcoal.

Now that Chen Siniu was on duty at the Fuel and Firewood Office, though the household still burned kang-fires, they no longer needed to use rough firewood — they now used top-grade charcoal, all of which the Old Madam had personally paid to stock for the whole household.

Properly priced charcoal on the market sold at about a hundred thirty coppers per fifteen catties, but Chen Siniu got it at fifty coppers per unit, and that wasn’t even the honest price — he skimmed at least ten coppers off every unit for the household himself.

Inside, the room was pleasantly warm. Once Qiqian’er had removed her padded robe, the Old Madam, wrapping herself in the small quilt, could no longer contain her excitement and said, “You already know, don’t you?”

Qiqian’er pursed her lips. “I just came from the mill room — what would I know? I only heard the wailing next door as I walked to the end of the alley. Those former aunties were gathered several layers deep — not even embarrassed about it. It’s not as if you haven’t already let people carry the children back for her to see!”

The Old Madam let out a satisfied huff. “Hmph! Bodhisattva says one must honor one’s parents — those who are unfilial bring calamity upon themselves. Even the Bodhisattva sees this truth clearly. Amitabha, I’m not cursing her, mind you — I only wish her well, I pray to Guanyin Bodhisattva every day that everyone stays well! I’m only saying this is the karma the Bodhisattva has ordained — you must accept it, isn’t that right?”

Qiqian’er asked, puzzled, “What exactly are you talking about? All this talk of the Bodhisattva out of nowhere — Grandmother, I really don’t follow.”

The Old Madam had always been patient with Qiqian’er, and even hearing her complain didn’t upset her. If anything, she seemed rather eager to share, though she supposed the Bodhisattva wouldn’t approve of her gloating, so she restrained herself and, pointing toward next door, said, “Your Fourth Uncle brought her news this morning — her first husband, and the son she had with him, died ages ago! Dead! Both of them!”

Qiqian’er was startled and looked at the Old Madam in shock. “Dead? What died? Who died?”

The Old Madam smacked her lightly. “You’re not that old — why are you acting so slow-witted? Madam Qiao, of course! Wasn’t she remarried to your Fourth Uncle afterward? All these years, the money she’s been skimming from our household — wasn’t it all going to subsidize that side? Just recently your adoptive father sent Nanny Dai over to teach her proper conduct, and Nanny Dai said your Fourth Uncle absolutely must formalize the marriage documents with her, otherwise the household’s descendants would have no proper standing.

“So! Your Fourth Uncle sent someone to Madam Qiao’s hometown, and wouldn’t you know it, the moment they arrived, they were shocked — her first husband and their child had died long ago! Killed by chaotic troops! All these years, the money she’d been skimming had gone to support her former mother-in-law and her two younger brothers-in-law from that first marriage! The person sent there came back saying that side had built themselves a grand estate! Hmph! How could they afford to build such a grand estate? Wasn’t it all skimmed harshly from our own family? I won’t say anything malicious before the Bodhisattva, but wouldn’t you agree that’s exactly the retribution she deserves?”

Qiqian’er’s heart was utterly astonished. She thought — this hadn’t happened in her previous life! In her previous life, Madam Qiao had always lived smoothly as the wealthy lady of the house… no, that wasn’t quite right either. That side had always demanded money, so eventually the truth was bound to surface — it simply hadn’t mattered to her and the Old Madam back then. So why would this woman show such an ugly side in front of them now?

She supposed Madam Qiao must have hidden away and cried through it, ultimately enduring and getting through it in the end.

The Old Madam, beside her, seemed torn between wanting to say “she deserved it” and “this is karma,” but feared Guanyin Bodhisattva watching, so she held back with visible difficulty. Finally, having swallowed down that satisfying rush of emotion, she sneered coldly. “It’s not that I’m cursing her, Qian’er — but tell me, isn’t she wicked? Skimming money from our family’s very lifeblood to subsidize that side — I respected her as a good mother, but does that mean our family’s children don’t matter? Our Xique — you know how lively and bright she used to be! And now? Like a simpleton!

“Can I not resent her for this? And she still wants to touch our family’s children? To hell with that! From now on, let her give birth as much as she likes — this old woman can afford to raise them all, a hundred children if she wants! But that wretched woman won’t get her hands on a single one of them — let her wait and see!”

Xique’s face bore more than a dozen deep scratches from clawing, and Madam Qiao had endured even that in her eagerness to curry favor with wealth. As for the wounds on the boy’s body, when the Old Madam had the child brought over for inspection, she’d fainted on the spot.

The child’s body was covered head to toe in bruises, green and purple. Later, when Madam Qiao made a fuss demanding the children back, not a single household on Manquan Back Street had supported her — everyone simply felt this woman didn’t deserve to be called a mother.

So now, both were gone — the ones from her first marriage, and now these two as well. In the end, after all her scheming, Madam Qiao had come away with nothing but an empty basket after fetching water from the well. What exactly had she been after?

Yiyue brought up a plate of fried crisps, but with the wailing next door so pitiful, Qiqian’er couldn’t bring herself to eat alongside such misery. The Old Madam, however, had no such scruples, picking up a piece and eating a couple of bites before saying, “Old Madam Tao came again last night.”

Hearing this, Qiqian’er’s face filled with distaste. “Why is she everywhere we turn?”

The Old Madam said, “Oh come now! What’s wrong with her? Isn’t Xique still stuck in that dark pit because of her? A person needs to have a conscience — she was good to you once, and that debt of gratitude must be remembered, or the Bodhisattva won’t forgive you either. That’s just how people should be — if someone shows you one part kindness, you can’t possibly repay them tenfold. Only fools give back tenfold. We’ll give three parts back — and on the strength of those three parts, if she wants to put in a good word for the old Yang family, well, let her say it.”

Hmm? Something wasn’t right here. The Old Madam’s tone today had a soft edge to it.

Qiqian’er looked at her grandmother with a strange expression, but the Old Madam wouldn’t quite meet her eyes, and instead pinched a crisp and said, “They’re saying — they’re saying they’ll pay ten thousand taels in compensation. I keep thinking, Master Cheng did say his medicine works well, and given more time, one might not even be able to tell. Once the little girl grows up and puts on makeup, no one would notice at all! When the time comes, we could find her a good family — even a dowry of five thousand taels, and Xique wouldn’t lack for a good match. Don’t you think?”

Qiqian’er couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation and asked, “And the remaining five thousand taels?”

The Old Madam answered matter-of-factly, “For her brother’s bride price, of course!”

The old Yang family had been rather unlucky. At the founding of the Great Liang dynasty, twelve censors had jointly submitted a memorial impeaching Yang Shisheng, the Assistant Magistrate of Qingfeng, for falsely claiming imperial kinship and failing to properly manage his household — quite an achievement, that.

The Emperor, knowing exactly who Yang Shisheng was, promptly stripped the entire family of their official status.

Yang Shisheng and his son only then discovered that the women of their household had, back in the inner quarters, created quite the formidable enemy for them.

What kind of family was the Chen family? The Chen family’s Fourth Branch might lack accomplishment, but that hardly gave you the right to look down on them! Their granddaughter had been bullied by several young ladies of your household one after another — how could any decent person tolerate that?

The Chen family’s Fourth Branch might be unable to rise in status, but even when they came begging to buy a few mou of cheap land, how dare you treat them so cruelly? The old family patriarch was still alive after all — the Chen family’s Gate-Guarding Marquis was She Qingling’s adopted son for his old age, the man the Emperor trusted above all others in the realm, arranged to sleep every night in the outer hall. And what exactly was your Madam Wen in comparison?

Since late autumn, Chen Dasheng hadn’t been able to return home at all — when the family wanted to see him, they could only take a carriage to Yandu to visit.

Because of a single mad nun, the palace’s female relatives were now all housed outside the palace — even the Empress Dowager herself hadn’t kept her usual quarters this time, having gone to hide in a temple instead.

No one quite knew what the Emperor was thinking, only that he’d sent someone rushing to notify the Qin She sect, yet had not harmed the mad nun at all. Just so he could sleep soundly at night, Chen Dasheng and his brothers had taken to setting up floor bedding in the Emperor’s outer hall.

As things stood now, whenever Qing Buyi appeared, everyone got to watch Lao Dao strip half-naked in the middle of the night once again — truly, it’s hard to describe the scene properly — so word of it was kept quiet outside, with only the explanation given that the Emperor suffered from nightmares and needed his most trusted men guarding him to sleep peacefully.

Having offended such a family, the old Yang family grew more and more frightened by the day, wishing they could tear Madam Wen to a thousand pieces without it being enough to satisfy their anger.

But Madam Wen was heavily pregnant — she couldn’t be killed, nor could she be divorced, so old Yang the Third, in a fury, sent her off to a temple to atone for her sins instead.

The entire Yang family now had but one goal — to placate the Chen family’s anger. For this matter, they’d spent an enormous sum by their standards: a full ten thousand taels.

No one knew what benefits they’d promised Old Madam Tao behind the scenes to get her to serve as go-between. Their own Old Madam had never in her life seen ten thousand taels — she didn’t even have five thousand to her name.

Qiqian’er, of course, knew her grandmother was tempted, but she spoke up seriously all the same. “Grandmother, this matter has already alarmed so many relatives — Father has already taken action himself. If you accept ten thousand taels to let this go, our family won’t be able to hold our heads up in Qingfeng, here in Yandu. We can’t take this money.”

Nor could the matter simply be dropped! That fat wretch of a son would never again get to play the young master of a Vice Minister’s household — now that Great Liang had just been founded, if she didn’t suppress the entire Yang clan’s official prospects for at least five years, she’d have lived this life for nothing.

Ten thousand taels of flesh being torn painfully from the Old Madam’s own body left her feeling the loss keenly, and she tossed the crisp aside, looking rather sullen.

Seeing her upset, Qiqian’er suppressed a laugh and coaxed her, saying, “Grandmother, in fifteen days Elder Cousin Meng is getting married. That little widow’s family sent over the dowry list just last night. If you have nothing else to do, why not review it and help make sure everything’s proper for Elder Cousin Meng?”

The Old Madam loved this kind of excitement most of all. Hearing this, she immediately abandoned the matter of the ten thousand taels, swung her legs off the kang table, and asked excitedly, “They’ve already sent it? Isn’t it usually sent the day of the wedding?”

Qiqian’er nodded. “It’s the custom on Qingfeng’s East Street — the groom’s side sends the betrothal gifts, and the very next day the bride’s side sends the dowry list.”

The Old Madam asked, “So how much did your Elder Cousin Meng give in betrothal gifts?”

Qiqian’er answered, “All the money he’d saved up this autumn was sent over — three hundred strings.”

The Old Madam was startled and exclaimed, “My! Even a widow’s betrothal gift, halved, still comes to three hundred strings? Widows right under the Emperor’s feet certainly come at a price.”

Qiqian’er naturally understood what the Old Madam was thinking, so she sent Eryue to fetch Meng Wanquan. Once she’d sent the girl off, she turned back to the Old Madam and said, “No one has as sharp a mind as Elder Cousin Meng. That widow’s family has only an elderly mother left; her husband’s family has no one left either. She’s bringing her mother along with her two sons into this remarriage, seeking nothing but protection. Aside from the portion of the family assets set aside for her two sons, she can bring at least five thousand strings as her own dowry chest.

“No matter how you look at it, because of that arm of his, Quanzi Ge’s prospects for advancement in this life are already capped at this level — and it’s precisely because of his arm that this Widow Lu was willing to marry him at all. If his arm were whole, I doubt that Widow Lu would have agreed so readily. Grandmother, that woman is a clever one.”

The Old Madam didn’t quite follow this logic, so Qiqian’er leaned in and whispered in her ear, “If my Elder Cousin Quanzi’s arm were whole, he’d surely rise in official rank eventually — and if he rose in rank, that widow might worry she couldn’t hold onto him.”

Hearing this, the Old Madam immediately grew indignant. “What’s wrong with five thousand strings? How much did the Aru family give, hmm? I’m not boasting, but there isn’t a single bad seed in our whole Relatives’ Guard Alley! What, is she scheming against our Quanzi too?”

While Chen Dasheng and the others had been away, the Old Madam had relied entirely on Meng Wanquan for care — the bond between this grandmother and grandson ran deep.

Qiqian’er quickly reassured her. “Grandmother, you mustn’t look down on her. I actually think it’s easier living with someone who has a clear head about things. If you’d found someone like that Madam Wen from Rites Ministry Alley, wouldn’t three generations of trouble have come crashing down on you? My Elder Cousin Quanzi’s mind is sharp enough… Besides, if he truly cared for her, would he have kept running to Qingfeng City for a whole year straight? Both sides are willing here — why are you getting so worked up?”

Qiqian’er gave the Old Madam a thumbs up, and the Old Madam pursed her lips, about to say something more, when the wailing next door suddenly fell silent. The Old Madam tilted her head to listen for a moment and said, “I suppose she’s worn herself out from crying?”

Before she’d even finished speaking, an old woman came running from next door, saying, “Old Madam! Old Madam! Our Fourth Madam is coughing up blood.”

The Old Madam’s expression startled briefly. Seeing Qiqian’er say nothing, she cursed toward the doorway, “She’s coughing up blood — what’s her husband doing about it? He’s right there in the house, isn’t he? Why come ask me? Get out of here!”

This old woman was Granny Shi, one of Madam Qiao’s own servants, bought cheaply from a broker for eight strings of cash — the sort who could do a bit of everything but was skilled at nothing.

Once Granny Shi had shuffled off in embarrassment, the Old Madam huffed angrily at Qiqian’er, “She’s coughing that up for my benefit — this must be your Fourth Uncle sending her to bring word.”

Qiqian’er didn’t pass judgment on her elders and simply asked, “Grandmother, have you told my Fourth Uncle about the three years Madam Qiao spent striking you?”

The Old Madam’s hand, pinching a crisp, paused. She didn’t answer Qiqian’er’s question — even now, as a mother, she still shielded him.

As the two sat in awkward silence, someone else entered the courtyard.

Meng Quanzi was dressed sharply today, wearing rabbit-fur ear muffs, his hair combed slick and shining, dressed in a lake-green old silk sable robe, his padded boots matching the same old silk fabric.

The Old Madam had initially felt some dissatisfaction about him marrying a widow, but seeing him dressed so neatly from head to toe, she found herself won over after all.

Meng Quanzi came in smiling and casually tossed a gold-flecked red booklet onto the kang, bowing playfully to the Old Madam. “Ah, our old ancestress looks radiant today! Your grandson kowtows to you — may you enjoy health and longevity!”

The Old Madam burst out laughing at this, glancing at him with mock reproach. “You shameless thing. In just a dozen or so days you’re getting married, and only now do you deign to show your face? Tell me — where have you been running off to these past two months? Don’t tell me you’ve already been staying at your bride’s house making trouble before the wedding even happens?

“I’m warning you, Quanzi, if you keep this up, you’ll ruin your wife’s reputation. With this kind of disrespect, once she comes here, no one on Quanhou Street will ever treat her as a woman from a proper family.”

Xiazhi and Xiaode carried in a brazier as Meng Wanquan sat down, warmed himself for a moment, and said with a smile, “How could that be? Grandmother, I went far away — after all, I’ve got a household and career now too. Across from me lives the Yu family, and they’re always so warm and lively, reunited as a family… I wanted to go back to my old hometown and see, thinking maybe, if heaven had eyes, I might find some relative left there, even a distant one, that would be enough…”

The room fell silent at this. After a good while, Qiqian’er finally cleared her throat and asked, “So… so how did it go? Did you find anyone?”

Meng Wanquan shook his head with a bitter smile. “Ah, wishful thinking! It’s all underwater now. I just paid my respects from the shore. That whole area back home, seven or eight li around, is all flooded now. Even if I had a relative left, there’d be no way back for them. Ah well! I suppose I was greedy to hope…”

Not wanting to dwell on the topic, he pointed toward the neighboring courtyard. “Grandmother, it’s rather noisy on your side today — is that Fourth Uncle back again, and she’s found someone to back her up, coming to make a scene at you again?”

The Old Madam’s eyes widened, and her face filled with disdain. “As if he’d dare! It’s Madam Qiao’s first husband and son from her earlier marriage — both dead! They’ve been dead for several years, and she only found out today.”

Meng Wanquan, startled at this, quickly set the matter aside and pointed to the dowry list on the kang instead. “Grandmother, look, they’ve already sent it over for you to review — my future wife certainly comes with a hefty dowry!”

The Old Madam proudly tossed her head. “So what if she’s well-off? Isn’t my grandson a proper official of the court himself, a seventh-rank gentleman? Is he not good enough for some widow? Don’t be ridiculous! I can’t read myself — have Yiyue read it out to me. I want to hear it.”

Before long, Yiyue came in and began reading the dowry list aloud to the Old Madam.

“Five prosperous shops on Qingfeng South Street, three hundred fifty mou of land, one large Eight Immortals mirror, one small Eight Immortals mirror, two sets of full-ground gold hundred-sons-and-grandsons bed curtains, six pairs of Blessings-Wealth-Longevity-Joy vases…”

This was truly a wealthy widow. She’d included quite a substantial dowry down to the smallest details — aside from having less in cash for the dowry chest itself, on the surface it truly wasn’t inferior to Zhang Wanru’s dowry, and she came with a mother-in-law and two lively grown sons besides.

Meng Wanquan, presumably, was drawn to the lively, bustling household she offered as well.

The Old Madam made no secret of her love for wealth. Though she’d harbored some reservations, hearing the extent of this dowry, and with Qiqian’er adding a further comment that this woman had once managed a proper household and was literate and capable, she felt reassured.

The elderly always worried most about whether their children would live well — naturally she hoped they’d have ample means, with plenty of money in the household to feel secure.

While the Old Madam rejoiced on this side, unbeknownst to her, in the room next door, Madam Qiao sat dazed on the floor. Having cried herself out of strength, she laughed bitterly at last. “Heh~ What exactly have I been after, all this time?”

Chen Siniu said nothing, simply took a towel from the copper basin beside him and wrung it out to wipe Madam Qiao’s face himself.

Say what you will, but this root of the old Chen family did have its merits — whatever the color of one’s heart, black or white, once a Chen family man married a wife, he always treated her properly.

Chen Siniu might get anxious and strike Madam Qiao, but he never once thought of driving her away. Even though Madam Qiao had wronged Xique, had cost him so much money, had made him the laughingstock of everyone, had thrown his own dignity to the ground beyond recovery — he still refused to let her go!

He simply kept thinking to himself… I swear, from now on, all of you just wait. Once I rise in rank and make my fortune, I’ll grind all your smug faces into the dirt, and you’ll regret every bit of this!

This was a man harboring resentment in his heart, scheming in his mind, yet cowardly all the same — a villain who dared not even harm anyone beyond his own front door. Whoever pitied him, whoever tolerated him, that was the very person he bullied — the most cowardly breed of villain in the world.

He was Xique’s own father, yet when the Yang family came bearing ten thousand taels in supplication, he didn’t dare make that decision himself — because now he couldn’t afford to provoke his own mother, who now had powerful backing and no longer needed him. From that point on, he knew he’d been in the wrong, and turned instead to currying favor with the Old Madam.

If he’d had any backbone as a man, he’d have brazenly taken the greed for what it was and said, this matter is settled, I’ll take the silver! That would at least have been an honest bit of profit. But he didn’t dare — unable now to afford offending the entire family, he could only suffer night after night, his liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys all aching with frustration, until finally, unable to bear it any longer, he’d strike Madam Qiao, then turn around afterward and swear to her, I hit you, but I had no choice, don’t be afraid, I still want you.

Yes — if he no longer wanted Madam Qiao, then there would be nothing left in this world that belonged to him at all.

Madam Qiao, too, had to endure it — she had no way back either.

Madam Qiao took the warm towel and wiped her face, then, filled with despair, leaned on Chen Dasheng’s — no, Chen Siniu’s — arm and sat up. She’d only just steadied herself when she spat out another mouthful of blood.

Chen Siniu, unable to bear the sight of blood, closed his eyes and reached out to take the towel. “I’ve sent for the doctor for you — try to hold off coughing up more until then. You know I can’t stand this sort of thing — can’t you just bear with it a little?”

Madam Qiao looked at Chen Siniu, then around at this pitiful room, and suddenly thought — what exactly have I been chasing all my life?

At that moment she found herself thinking of her Xique, and of her son named Lanting. Clutching at her heart, which ached as if a hole had been torn through it, Madam Qiao pleaded, “My lord, I know I was wrong. Let me kneel and kowtow to you, all right? I’ll go apologize to the Old Madam — can you go beg her, ask her to give our children back to us?”

Chen Siniu’s body trembled. He slowly turned his back to her and reached out a hand, saying, “Then… then do you want another warm towel? Let me get you a fresh one…”

Madam Qiao’s face grew gradually more despairing, and in the end, despair turned to laughter — laughter that grew louder and louder until it seemed to burst through the very roof…

The Old Madam had just been discussing the dowry happily when she heard the sound from next door turn strange. She said to Qiqian’er, “Qian’er, that sound doesn’t seem right to me. Don’t tell me she’s gone mad?”

Qiqian’er shook her head. “Rest assured, she won’t go mad. Whatever else you might say about her, when it comes to sheer strength of will? Grandmother, between the two of us, we don’t have half the resolve that woman does. Her heart was forged from the biggest hammer a blacksmith ever swung — things we couldn’t bring ourselves to do, thresholds we couldn’t bring ourselves to cross, none of it fazes her in the slightest. Go mad? As if. Even if my Fourth Uncle dropped dead this instant, you’d see she still wouldn’t go mad.”

How true it is that no one in this world understands you better than your rival. In the neighboring courtyard, Chen Siniu was retreating step by step, his arms crossed protectively over his chest.

And Madam Qiao, her mouth full of blood, advanced on him step by step with a sinister smile, saying, “Siniu, we’ve lost even our children — we have nothing left at all!”

Chen Siniu, afraid she’d truly lost her mind, stammered out words of comfort. “How could that be? Xique, Lanting — wherever they go, they’re still our children, aren’t they? How could we have nothing?”

Madam Qiao no longer wished to argue with him. She lunged forward, pinning Chen Siniu onto the bed, and bit down hard on his chin. “Nothing is nothing! I said nothing! Nothing!”

Chen Siniu, in pain, didn’t dare cry out for fear of losing face, and pleaded instead, “You — let go of me, stop biting, it hurts! Nothing, nothing! I’ll listen to you, I’ll listen to you… you, let go of me, let me get you a towel?”

Madam Qiao released his chin, sat up, and pleaded through tears, “Let’s have more children~ Siniu, my lord! Let’s have a few more babies, I know I was wrong…”

Chen Siniu hesitated for a moment, then reached out and embraced Madam Qiao. “Then… then let’s have more… if you want more, we’ll have more!”

Having finished listening to the entire thick dowry booklet, the Old Madam stroked this great treasure and said to Meng Wanquan with a smile, “Quanzi, you’re truly a fortunate man. Guanyin Bodhisattva got it exactly right — everyone’s fate is already arranged long in advance! Wouldn’t you agree?”