Qiqian’er was quite startled to see Eldest Sister-in-law Qin Ruiniang.

The eldest sister-in-law was the wife of Huo Yunrui, the eldest young master of the Huo family. On the day the war disaster struck, the young master of the household had starved to death in the cellar, and afterward the eldest sister-in-law went mad. In the end, the eldest young master took her away and traded her for some bean cakes meant for feeding livestock. From then on, Qiqian’er had simply assumed she was dead.

She never imagined she’d see this person again. Looking at her ever-present half-smiling expression, Qiqian’er felt this person seemed to have recovered somewhat.

The people around were crowded three layers deep watching the commotion. The eldest sister-in-law stood there for a while, then was submerged back into the crowd.

The spirit medium said the auspicious hour had passed, and today the grave could not be moved after all — it would have to be postponed again to tomorrow.

Qiqian’er had no choice but to first inquire where the bones from the two graves had gone. Chen Dasheng said the Liang family had buried them carelessly somewhere in the mountains — since he knew which one was the mother-in-law, he hadn’t touched that soil.

Since it was already late, they could only let the spirit medium arrange the bones into the coffin on the spot. The burial garments for her mother’s body were all items the old madam had prepared — that was fortunate.

Qiqian’er never would have guessed that the things she had once carefully prepared for the old madam would, in the end, be used to dress her own mother’s remains.

Once the coffin was sealed, the tent temporarily set up beside the camphor tree had already been erected, and a memorial hall had been arranged inside. Female relatives from an uncle’s household in Yandu who managed household affairs had come and formally offered incense before the newly written spirit tablet.

Their etiquette was thoroughly observed.

This was a funeral for the Huo family, so it could only be handled simply on this side — after all, they couldn’t go make a nuisance of themselves at the Chen family’s door.

This was also the first time in two lifetimes that Qiqian’er had formally observed filial mourning for her mother. She had properly invited the nuns from Qingque Nunnery to chant sutras through the night; once the coffin was buried tomorrow, the nuns from Qingque would take the spirit tablet back to the temple for lifelong veneration.

What else could be done but entrust it to a nunnery? The world was vast, yet there was no place to set that small wooden tablet. That the Chen family arranged this much was already good — they even had a nunnery specially sponsored by their own clan.

Later, Earl Liu came in person to invite them, so Chen Dasheng and the brothers who had come to help went to the front. After all, there had been some misunderstanding today that needed to be resolved.

This left Qiqian’er half-seated in the tent, half-reclining on the soft couch, a wool blanket from beyond the Tan River covering her knees, occasionally adding a few sheets of burning paper to the basin for her mother.

Just as she was burning the paper, Siyue came in from outside to say an old acquaintance had come to visit.

Qiqian’er guessed immediately who it was, and ordered the person be brought in.

Before long, sure enough, it was Qin Ruiniang.

Qiqian’er actually had little impression of Qin Ruiniang. Her deepest memory was from when the eldest young master had taken a wife — they had done a full month of hard, brutal labor like livestock. And yet that month had also been a happy one, since at the very least there were two meals a day, both good things brought down from the front tables.

They ate noodles piled high in large coarse porcelain bowls, the noodles topped with all sorts of scraps and the greasy leftover flavor of others’ meals — occasionally even a piece or two of meat could be seen, which was wonderful indeed.

With their stomachs properly filled, that whole month had been a happy one.

The eldest sister-in-law had married in with over thirty carriers of dowry, and Qiqian’er, along with Wu Rong and Liu Ning, had lain over the wall, watching enviously.

Sister Wu Rong had said back then that as long as one didn’t become a concubine, even with no dowry at all, and even if one were plain-looking, one would still get married.

The others had quietly laughed at her for saying so.

Then, a year later, the eldest sister-in-law gave birth to the Huo family’s eldest grandson, and the household set up a great cauldron for fifteen days — another fifteen days of full meals.

After that, in the courtyards inside and outside the Huo household, one could always see that small-framed young woman, whose once-charming smile and lively eyes gradually, over the course of just three to five years, wore down into that same half-smiling, bitter expression.

A mother-in-law like Madam Wang was never one to be trifled with. She could mold everyone into exactly what she wanted them to be — always with that same half-smile, day after day intimidating others as though they were maggots born from her very womb. Over time, the daughters-in-law beneath her became just like her.

Qin Ruiniang patted the dust off her overvest outside the tent.

Her husband asked, somewhat worried: “Or — or we could just send it to the temple ourselves. Worst case we suffer a bit more, but at least we’d have everything settled.”

Qin Ruiniang turned to glare at his stubbled face and scolded: “What are you talking about? I can barely look after our own three living boys — how am I supposed to look after a dead one? Just listen to me on this, it won’t go wrong. That Seventh Young Lady looks like someone with a kind face, besides…” She exhaled slowly. “Thirty strings of coins a year for the offering — we can’t afford that. Let’s be honest, she’s the girl’s own niece!”

She rolled up the frayed patch on her sleeve twice, smoothed her hair down again, and once she felt she looked presentable from head to toe, only then did she enter the tent.

Once inside, she first saw the memorial hall surrounded by nuns, with two spirit tablets — one reading “Liang Jiao,” the other blank. Seeing this, she let out a breath of relief.

A maid handed her incense sticks, and Qin Ruiniang performed the full ceremonial bow with great seriousness. Only after kowtowing did she rise, supported by the maid’s hand, and turn around.

This time, she got a proper look at the Seventh Young Lady.

Never mind that her features were now delicate and refined, entirely transformed into the composed manner of a proper young lady of a great household.

What caught her eye most was the pair of embroidered shoes peeking out from under the blanket — made of tricolor brocade, ringed with plain jade beads, the beads lustrous and translucent. Such things were meant to be worn atop hairpins, yet here they’d been placed on the feet instead — even a single small bead was worth half a string of coins.

Not to mention the hidden Eight Immortals ritual-implement embroidery on the shoes — clearly done with the finest embroidery needles, the embroiderer’s painstaking, meticulous work. Such a pair couldn’t be finished in less than ten days to half a month; ordering it from a proper embroidery shop in Yandu would cost at least several dozen strings of coins.

Qin Ruiniang knew her goods well — these shoes weren’t bought. They were made by the needlework house of a princely mansion, and all the miscellaneous scraps decorating them had been taken from old, decaying heirloom items of the She family.

The old madam had been one to pick through discarded things, and it seemed Qiqian’er wasn’t much different.

Qiqian’er hadn’t risen, only looked at Qin Ruiniang with that same half-smile.

Qin Ruiniang, however, straightened her manner and formally paid respects to Qiqian’er: “This one greets the Seventh Young Lady.”

This form of address, never used before, left Qiqian’er a little flustered. She waved her hand and said with courtesy: “Oh, don’t bother with that! Someone bring a seat.”

Once a maid brought over a small stool, Qin Ruiniang sat, and only then did Qiqian’er continue: “What Seventh Young Lady is there to speak of — the whole Huo family is dead and gone.”

In the past, Qin Ruiniang had been high above someone like Qiqian’er — a child who wouldn’t even have been allowed near her.

Now, with everything so thoroughly reversed, Qin Ruiniang couldn’t help feeling a bit ashamed of herself.

Fortunately, the women of this generation of the Great Liang who had survived the war had, if nothing else, an iron will. She quickly composed herself and sat properly upright.

As for Qiqian’er, she truly wasn’t putting on airs with her — even when officials’ wives of newly appointed rank came to visit these days, she’d at most sit up with some effort and nod, showing she took the matter seriously enough.

Qin Ruiniang laughed: “You don’t know, do you?”

Qiqian’er blinked: “Know what?”

Qin Ruiniang said: “The old Huo family has been rooted in this land for so many generations — how could it be entirely wiped out! There are still people from that family. That whole cluster in their ancestral graveyard was taken away by distant clan relatives still surnamed Huo, beyond the five degrees of mourning kinship. They said something about compensation money — took several hundred strings of coins, I heard.”

Qiqian’er thought it over and sighed: “Makes sense — buried for so many generations, of course there’d be some expectation of several hundred strings. It’s already good that someone came to move the graves at all — no need to think too much of it. I’m curious though, how did you recognize me?”

One’s face reflects one’s heart, and Qiqian’er was absolutely confident her appearance was different from her past life.

Qin Ruiniang smiled her half-smile, suddenly feeling her own expression rather unpleasant, and lowered her head, fingers rubbing at the fabric of her own worn silk skirt: “If you hadn’t gone and moved that grave, there’s no way I could have recognized you.”

So that was it.

Qiqian’er nodded in understanding, then looked at Qin Ruiniang and said: “Your complexion looks quite good now? Have you… fully recovered?”

This was exactly the opening Qin Ruiniang had been waiting for. Hearing it, she laughed: “There was never any ‘recovering’ to speak of. Honestly, I wasn’t telling you — back then I was only pretending.”

Qiqian’er was startled: “Pretending?!”

Qin Ruiniang smoothed her hair and laughed: “Yes! Pretending! What else could I do? My son was dead, I had nothing left to depend on, and my own natal family was long gone, untraceable. If I hadn’t pretended to be mad, I’d have been devoured!”

The tent fell suddenly silent. The chanting paused for a moment, and after a while the nuns resumed their sutras. Two of the younger novice nuns quietly began to shed tears.

The older nun, seeing them behave so poorly, seemingly out of habit, picked up the cloth-wrapped mallet used for striking the wooden fish and gave each of their shaved heads a couple of taps.

The little novices didn’t dare make a sound, covering their heads and ducking beneath the table.

Qiqian’er couldn’t bear to watch this and ordered: “Someone, take the nuns out to rest a while — let them have some water to soothe their throats before returning. They’ll have a long night of work ahead. I want to have a private word with my guest, no need to trouble them right now.”

This woman showed insufficient reverence toward the Buddha, yet deep down she still feared the plague god.

Siyue and a few others came in and led the nuns out. Once everyone had left, Qiqian’er finally exhaled and sat up properly.

Wuyue brought a soft cushion to prop her up before withdrawing, and Qiqian’er said apologetically to Qin Ruiniang: “Forgive me — I’m nearly two months along, and the household won’t let me exert myself.”

Qin Ruiniang glanced at Qiqian’er’s belly and sincerely offered a few well-wishing words. After a good while, Qin Ruiniang said: “My natal family is gone, and the Huo family’s old home is countless mountains and rivers away — was I supposed to just follow along with absolutely nothing to my name? I wouldn’t even have made it there. You know how difficult things were then — I was afraid… they’d end up eating me on the road.”

Yes, indeed — people ate other people in those days.

Qiqian’er invited Qin Ruiniang to drink tea, and watching her extend her hand to take the cup — her ten slender fingers exposed, nails rather long — she smiled and said: “The eldest sister-in-law was wise not to go.”

Qin Ruiniang choked a little and laughed: “What eldest sister-in-law am I anymore — they already traded me for bean cakes. It just so happened my husband was tending horses with the army at the time, and he scraped out a bit of the feed meant to fill his own stomach at night, took pity on me, and kept me.”

Qiqian’er nodded, gratified: “Good thing he kept you. I can see you’re doing quite well for yourself now.”

Qin Ruiniang still couldn’t shake that half-smiling look of hers, but her eyes now held confidence and life.

Qin Ruiniang laughed: “Ah, doing well indeed! A few years back he went with the old earl to suppress a rebellion, and I was worried sick the whole time. Later, though he lost a leg, at least he came back.

Otherwise, what would I have done? Once we reached Yandu, they took in three boys taller than me to look after — well, before I even saw any of the promised good fortune, years passed and I was the one dragging myself around tending to their son, managing the household and worrying over him all at once.

Ah, people really are cheap creatures at heart. Us girls raised behind those household gates never saw much of the wider world, so a few sweet words and you’re sold to someone for life.

Thanks to the great kindness of Marquis Chang these days, my husband’s got a bit of savings put by, and with some backing, nobody dares bully us. That’s why we opened a carriage inn and courier post at the northern gate of Yandu…”

Having finally found an old acquaintance, Qin Ruiniang grew more and more animated as she spoke, not even realizing how bright and lively her tone and expression had become.

Qiqian’er just smiled and listened, occasionally refilling her tea.

Having opened up, Qin Ruiniang continued: “…Now, in the household and outside it, everyone listens to me! He owes me, so he lets me have my way in everything. I’ve finally figured it out — the days you can breathe freely, that’s when you’re truly alive.

Stifled away in that old courtyard like before, you know how it was — that was like being a ghost! It’s all one life anyway, why not live it breathing freely? Don’t you think so?”

Qiqian’er nodded: “That’s exactly right.”

Qin Ruiniang held out her hand for Qiqian’er to see: “Don’t look at me now as just the mistress of a carriage inn — my husband holds a minor military post too, and we get some respect in the markets of the capital. My clothes may look shabby, but these hands of mine never touch dishwater.

You know, I may not amount to much, but I can still keep a small ledger — after all, I used to manage my own courtyard back in the day. That wretch of a husband of mine says he never imagined a few pounds of bean cake would get him a golden Buddha in return — it’s practically made his year.”

Hearing this, Qiqian’er laughed too: “Then I must be worth something too — my own ancestor traded ten strings of coins and some grain for me.”

This startled Qin Ruiniang. She set her cup down briskly, glanced left and right, then leaned toward the tent entrance to check outside before letting out a breath and returning: “How can you just say things like that?”

Qiqian’er smiled, unconcerned: “Why shouldn’t I say it? Where I came from, how I was sold — my family all knows. What I have today, I owe to… my own abilities, not to anyone’s good graces.”

Qin Ruiniang was stunned into silence, thinking it over for a long while before saying, half-admiring, half-hesitant: “I never would have guessed the Seventh Young Lady had such ability in her. Then again, in that courtyard, besides that vicious old plague-hag, no one else dared make even a loud sound.”

At this, she looked toward the unmarked spirit tablet and said: “That young lady’s actual surname was Cao — her name was Baoni. I heard she was the descendant of a criminal minister from the previous dynasty. Huo Yunrui once said her family relatives had rebelled, and the whole household was locked away. Because she was so beautiful, well… someone above took notice of her.

I don’t know how many hands she passed through in between — hmph, that old Master Huo was the type to eat others’ leftovers, and he simply had to demand her from whoever was in charge at the time…”

Qiqian’er was startled to hear this: “You know about her?”

Qin Ruiniang smiled: “Of course — I was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Huo family too, after all. Tell me, why couldn’t she just let it go? Once you’re dead, what’s the use of anyone knowing who you were? Can I avenge her? Can I provide her a coffin? She’s actually fortunate — buried alongside your own old madam, otherwise where would she get this incense and candlelight?

If you ask me, being low for a while doesn’t mean you can never rise again. When hard times come, open your heart wider — you have to survive first before there’s any way out. But that one, the very first night she was brought in, before anything even happened to her, she took a pair of scissors straight to her own throat. That infuriated old Master Huo so much he had her thrown to the back hill to feed the wild beasts. I felt sorry for her at the time, so I had them quietly bury her — otherwise, I wouldn’t even know about these two graves under the camphor tree.”

No wonder, Qiqian’er thought for a long while before saying with a faint laugh: “If you hadn’t told me, I’d have assumed it was an old grave. Going by what you say, it’s only been about ten-some years — heh, she’s no aunt at all, clearly more like an elder sister.”

Qin Ruiniang smiled: “Left behind at seventeen or eighteen — she’ll never be anyone’s elder sister for a lifetime.”

The tent fell quiet. After a good while, Qiqian’er looked at the spirit tablet and asked: “You wouldn’t have come looking for me for no reason — is there something you need?”

Qin Ruiniang’s expression turned bitter, and it took a while before she said: “There is indeed something I’ve come to ask of you.”

Qiqian’er turned and smiled at her: “Go ahead and say it — is it money that’s tight, or some other difficulty?”

Qin Ruiniang shook her head, then nodded, and after much hesitation finally said with a wry smile: “Ah, it’s not that I want to borrow money from you. It’s actually — do you remember my child, Qi Ge’er?”

Qiqian’er did remember, and nodded: “Of course I remember.”

Come to think of it, this eldest grandson of the Huo family would, by generational rank, count as her own nephew.

Qin Ruiniang sighed helplessly. The grief from back then had long since been eased by time, yet it still stung: “After my boy died, the eldest young master found a box and placed him outside the ancestral hall…”

At this, she suddenly laughed and said: “I once went quietly to the ancestral hall before, but it was already being watched over. I suspect… that has something to do with you, and that salt well up in the mountains as well.”

Qiqian’er smiled, nodding openly: “That’s right! That was me.”

Once she said this, the two women, as though having settled a score and found some release, laughed together. Qin Ruiniang finally praised her: “You truly are a hero among the rouge crowd, Young Lady — I’d never dare do such a thing myself. I came quietly today because my husband, that scoundrel, is away, and the household’s been struggling. I thought I’d sneak in to grab a few things to sell for money, never expecting the court had already taken it over — gave me quite a fright.”

She patted her chest, looking small and helpless, just as she had once been.

Qiqian’er thought for a moment and asked: “So — how difficult was it? How did you get through it?”

Qin Ruiniang’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she said with great pride: “Ah! We made it through the greatest calamities, crawled out of piles of the dead — what’s left to fear now? You don’t know, I was already pregnant then, with three country children at home who didn’t dare even step outside. What could I do? Either we all starve to death together, or you find a way. You have to eat, you have to keep living!

So I gritted my teeth, and with my belly big as it was, I marched straight to that scoundrel’s old army camp and told the soldiers there — like it or not, I was family, four and a half mouths to feed. Either we starve, or you gentlemen show some mercy and lend a hand.”

Qiqian’er listened, dumbfounded. Truly, in her past life, with her own useless, spineless nature, she’d been a hundred times inferior to this Qin Ruiniang.

She asked, puzzled: “I remember you used to be afraid to even speak loudly, worried you’d startle yourself.”

Hearing this, Qin Ruiniang patted her own leg and laughed carelessly: “I’ve been through things since then — reborn into this life, wasn’t I already mad once before? What’s one more risk? Later, the officers at that camp were decent men, and they gave our family the job of hauling livestock dung.”

She looked at her own hands and laughed: “Those were hard times. My husband — we didn’t know if he was alive or dead up front, every day some news said he’d died! Only later did we learn he’d only lost a leg — he just couldn’t bear to abandon us, and was struggling to survive too.

We had no cart, so the four of us each carried a basket on our backs. Before dawn we’d go to the horse yards, and back and forth we’d haul dung to the composting grounds more than ten times a day. A full day’s hard labor earned us forty coins — enough to keep us from starving!

My daughter was born on the road during all this — her nickname is Chou Mei’er. The moment she was born, I tore off a strip of my skirt to wrap her in and carried her home in the dung basket. I never even had a proper month of confinement after birth — I just gritted my teeth and got us through that year… Now things are so much better, I’m content. It feels like a whole lifetime of suffering got left behind in those few years.”

Qiqian’er drew a breath, filled with admiration, and reached out to take Qin Ruiniang’s hand: “I live on Qinwei Lane, off Quanhou Street. Just go there and ask around — everyone knows me. From now on, don’t overthink things, just come visit as family. By the way, what’s your husband’s surname?”

Qin Ruiniang laughed: “That old thing’s surnamed Han, given name Shipeng. He’s a minor cavalry officer in the Left Route Army now.”

Qiqian’er nodded seriously: “Good, I’ll remember that. From now on, during festivals and holidays, we’ll exchange gifts properly…” She paused, then asked: “Listen to us rambling on and on — Sister-in-law Han, you’ve said quite a lot, but what exactly did you come to ask me for?”

Qin Ruiniang laughed at herself: “Ah, look at my head, gone half-mad, truly! It’s about my boy from my first marriage — Qi Ge’er! You’re not distant from him either, he’d have to call you Auntie too. Since I’ve had the grave moved, and his remains found and placed properly at the charity mortuary, I’m just waiting until my husband and I pass on ourselves, so his older brothers can take us all back home to be buried…”

She rubbed her hands together and smiled at Qiqian’er: “I just — I wanted to ask a favor of you! Don’t take offense, but my boy died so wrongfully, I’m afraid his spirit holds resentment and might go astray, learning bad things, turning into a vengeful ghost…

I’ve asked around, and I know your family sponsors Qingque Nunnery. A year’s fee to house a spirit tablet there comes to about thirty strings of coins. My eldest son hasn’t even taken a wife yet, and you know how precious daughters are these days, especially in Yandu — we have to look after the living first, don’t we? Either way, we simply can’t afford the tablet fee. I was hoping to piggyback on your good arrangement, send him along to Qingque Nunnery to ease his resentment too. What do you say — would that be alright?”

That was nothing at all — Qiqian’er nodded readily: “Of course. Go get him and bring him over, and tomorrow I’ll have the nuns take him back with them.”

Qin Ruiniang was overjoyed to hear this. She stood to leave, but after a few steps, something occurred to her, and she turned back to say seriously to Qiqian’er: “Look at my head — his auntie, I often see your sister Wu Rong around Yandu these days.”

Qiqian’er was utterly astonished: “She — she’s not dead?”

Qin Ruiniang glared: “What kind of talk is that! Bad people get their just deserts, but we’re good people! Why on earth would we die?”