Knowing that Li Manniang wouldn’t joke about such matters, Mudan remained silent for a moment before sighing, “Even those as noble as they are can’t escape fate.”
Madam Cen said, “Isn’t that so? That’s why they say fortune isn’t bestowed randomly. One needs both destiny and good fortune to enjoy it. Well then, let’s make two donations for merit, praying to Buddha for the mother and child to find peace and joy in their next life.”
Madam Xue, however, thought more deeply: “This won’t affect Uncle, will it?”
Li Manniang replied, “It shouldn’t. I just hope His Highness Ning Wang can regain his spirits soon. The couple was deeply in love and had longed for this child. Who could have imagined this outcome… It’s a severe blow. He’s already fainted twice from crying today, and it took someone from the palace to finally calm him down.”
Everyone sighed again, remarking how rare it was to see such deep affection among the imperial nobility. Mudan, however, was reminded of her past life. Back then, her parents often joked with each other, asking what one would do if the other died. How long before remarrying? Her father always half-jokingly, half-seriously said, “I won’t remarry! I’ll remain faithful to you for life! In my heart, no one can compare to my children’s mother.”
Her mother, knowing it was impossible, still loved this answer very much. She would smile sweetly while accusing her father of lying.
Then her father would ask, “What if I die first? What will you do?”
Her mother would furrow her brows angrily and retort, “If you’re going to die, die early! Don’t wait until I’m old and no one wants me! It’d be better if you died, let someone else enjoy your house, your car, let someone else call your wife ‘wife’, let someone else call your daughter ‘daughter’!”
Her father, knowing her mother’s nature well, understood that this was precisely her way of showing she couldn’t bear to part with him. He would always laugh heartily, “To prevent others from taking advantage of me, I guess I’d better die then.”
Later, it was her mother who passed away early. Her father remarried just after a year. That person indeed lived in the house her father and mother had shared, drove the car they had bought together, and called her mother’s husband ‘husband’. Except for her refusal to call that person ‘mother’, everything else her mother had said came true.
Although she felt very uncomfortable with her father remarrying so quickly, she calmly accepted the reality. After all, when her mother passed away, her father was truly heartbroken, unable to eat or sleep, and depressed for a long time until that person came along and regained his spirit. No matter what, he was still her father, young with decades of life ahead. She wasn’t selfish enough to want her father to remain lonely and sad for life just to satisfy her. She comforted herself saying that having lost her mother, it was better for her father to live well than not. Her mother was her mother alone, and it was enough for her to remember her firmly.
After coming to this world, her resentment towards her father faded. She was immensely grateful that her father had that person by his side; otherwise, a middle-aged man who had lost both wife and daughter and was all alone would have been pitiful. Thinking about it this way, wasn’t it fortunate for the living that her father could recover so quickly? If her mother had any consciousness left, she would surely want her father to live well.
But she often thought, in this world, who truly couldn’t live without whom? That kind of “only you” sentiment, while not non-existent and certainly touching, was always more chance than certainty, wasn’t it? Someone like the Ning Wang would remarry before long. Even if he truly couldn’t forget Consort Qin, the Emperor wouldn’t allow the position of Ning Wang Fei to remain vacant. As years passed, when he thought of that gentle, beautiful woman again, how much would he remember? Her features would inevitably blur with time.
The young, romantic Ying Niang and Rong Niang both felt that the Ning Wang was truly devoted. Although they didn’t dare say it outright, they implied that they hoped their future husbands would be as deeply affectionate. Mudan said seriously, “Actually, no matter what happens, it’s most appropriate and wisest to consider living more.”
Ying Niang and Rong Niang were a bit stunned, not understanding Mudan’s meaning. Li Manniang and Madam Cen, however, very much liked Mudan’s words. Madam Cen reached out to hold Mudan’s hand, smiling with satisfaction, “That’s right. You should all remember, that the living are most important. People live not just for themselves.”
He Zhizhong, Da Lang, and others walked in with large strides, only catching the last sentence. They smiled, “That’s well said, but why suddenly bring this up?”
Everyone couldn’t help but chatter, explaining the situation to them. He Zhizhong sighed, “If that’s the case, let’s go donate tomorrow.” Just as he called for dinner to be served, another visitor arrived. This time it was Madam Cui, returning from Wang’s mansion and coming to pick up Li Manniang to go home.
The He family warmly welcomed Madam Cui inside. Madam Cen asked with concern, “Have you eaten?”
Madam Cui was sweating profusely from the heat, but she didn’t rush to answer. Instead, she took the tea Mudan offered and drank it all before sighing, “Eat? There wasn’t even a place to sit. Hot, tired, thirsty, and hungry. Others could go home after paying respects, but I couldn’t.”
Madam Cen quickly had someone set up a place for her and pulled her to sit between herself and Li Manniang to eat. She said, “There’s no way to avoid these things, given that Cousin is the chief historian of the Wang’s mansion. If Sister-in-law is this tired, Cousin must be even more exhausted, right? I heard many people were coming to pay respects?”
Madam Cui frowned deeply, “Indeed. He’s been standing in the sun all day, constantly greeting people, without a moment’s rest. To make matters worse, the weather today is so hot and stuffy, without a breath of wind. I’m really worried he might get heatstroke. The worst part is, His Highness the Ning Wang has fallen ill. He simply doesn’t know which way to turn.”
The news of the Ning Wang falling ill was far more worrying to the Li family than the news of the Ning Wang Fei’s passing. After all, they had staked everything on the Ning Wang. He Zhizhong, being considerate, said, “Don’t worry, the Ning Wang is just overwhelmed with grief. He’s usually in good health, still young, and has the imperial doctors treating him. There shouldn’t be any major issues. He’ll naturally recover in a few days.”
Madam Cui sighed, “May Buddha bless him.”
After dinner, as Madam Cui and Li Manniang were about to leave, Mudan, Madam Cen, and Madam Xue saw them out. Madam Cui affectionately held Mudan’s hand, seemingly having completely forgotten about the troubles at the Ning Wang’s mansion, and kept praising Mudan. Mudan didn’t know what Madam Cui’s intentions were, so she just smiled.
As Madam Cui spoke, she suddenly turned to the topic of Mudan’s marriage: “A woman’s most beautiful years are these few. We should treat Mudan’s marriage as a top priority and handle it promptly. We need to choose carefully, select meticulously. With ample time, we won’t miss out on a great opportunity.”
Madam Cen’s heart skipped a beat, thinking that Madam Cui must have heard about Li Xing meeting Mudan at Fayou Temple yesterday. She thought this was Madam Cui’s way of nipping trouble in the bud and taking preventive measures, which annoyed her. She smiled insincerely and said, “Sister-in-law is right. I’ve always kept Mudan’s marriage in mind. She suffered last time, and this time I won’t let her marry into such a family again! If there’s even a hint of someone looking down on her, I certainly won’t let her suffer that humiliation!”
By “such a family,” similar to the Liu family, didn’t she mean an official’s family? And “even a hint of someone looking down on her,” wasn’t that referring to her own family? Although Madam Cui understood clearly that Madam Cen’s words were directed at her, she feared that Madam Cen might truly be upset and make future meetings awkward. So she quickly pretended not to have caught Madam Cen’s meaning and played dumb: “Yes, yes, a girl like Mudan, so lovable, we must choose carefully.” Feeling unsettled, she turned back to look at Mudan: “Mudan, we’ve watched you grow up since you were little, always treating you like our own daughter…”
Before Madam Cui could finish, Li Manniang pulled her hard, signaling her to shut up and leave. Madam Cui’s mouth was full of bitterness. She didn’t want to do this either, but after seeing what happened at the Ning Wang’s mansion today, she felt she had to prevent future troubles.
Mudan pretended not to understand her meaning and gracefully bowed to her: “Thank you for your concern, Aunt. Mudan has always remembered your kindness and would never dare to forget it.”
The next day during breakfast, He Zhizhong solemnly announced the plan for the family property distribution that he and Madam Cen had discussed. Everyone reacted differently, but most were in disbelief.
Madam Cen calmly observed everyone’s expressions. Concubine Yang, Madam Zhen, Madam Sun, Lang, and Sixth Lang quickly went from shocked to delighted. Madam Bai, who had the most sons, couldn’t hide her dissatisfaction. Concubine Wu was panic-stricken: “This won’t do, this won’t do. There’s an order of seniority and hierarchy, this won’t do.” Her words naturally caused displeasure among Madam Zhen, Concubine Yang, Sixth Lang, Madam Sun, and others, but Concubine Yang still followed her lead, saying, “That’s right, why bring this up out of the blue? It’s as if we’re about to split up.”
Madam Cen inwardly sneered and slowly said, “Of course, it’s not now. As long as the master and I are alive, this family won’t split up! Only when the family is united can everything prosper. We just want everyone to have a basis. As long as you continue to work and behave as before, no one will miss out on the benefits in the future. The more you earn now, the more you’ll get then. The less you earn, the less you’ll get! Stop wasting time on those pointless, harmful actions! If we catch anyone, regardless of who it is, the punishment will certainly not be light!”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Although some were still dissatisfied, most people’s interests were protected, and the atmosphere became much more cheerful and relaxed compared to before. Mudan observed from the side, breathing a huge sigh of relief. In her view, Mr. and Mrs. He were wise family leaders. This approach was like a chairman distributing shares to employees. While there might still be conflicts of interest among employees, the overall direction benefited everyone, so even if there were disputes, they would be within limits.
The He family couldn’t interfere with the affairs of the Ning Wang’s mansion. After making the agreed-upon merit donations for Consort Qin’s mother, the family focused on their matters. After six or seven days of hectic preparation, Fang Garden finally began construction as scheduled.
Mudan accompanied Wu Lang, leaving early and returning late, inspecting the construction site daily. Occasionally, Monk Fuyuan would also ride his donkey to offer guidance. Everything went smoothly at first, until one day, due to the need to alter the waterway, the river drawn from the Huang Canal brought Mudan a not-so-small trouble.