Only after his family’s decline did Wang Daxia understand what it meant to spend money like a landslide while saving it was like drawing silk. After saving for two months, one password box for the marriage contract wiped out everything, returning his pockets to their state from two months ago.
Wang Daxia calculated on his fingers: if he excluded the dowry his mother had left him, Wei Caiwei’s monthly income was actually more than what he earned as a Brocade Guard. Moreover, doctors earned more money the longer they practiced. In three years, he might have to live off Wei Caiwei.
Wang Daxia immediately felt a sense of crisis. He had to seize every opportunity to get reimbursements from Lu Ying! Just like how the White Lotus Sect stole firearms from the Royal Gunpowder Factory—like ants moving house, accumulating little by little. By padding each expense report just a tiny bit, the sum would be considerable after a month.
For instance, this time in Baoding Prefecture when he went boating and sightseeing with Wei Caiwei, as well as eating vegetarian food at Daci Pavilion—he included all of it in his travel expenses for reimbursement.
Lu Ying had grown up in wealth and had no concept of money, completely unaware that Wang Daxia’s expense reports contained padding. She reimbursed him quite readily, though she still found it somewhat odd: “Why do you submit more reimbursement requests than all the others combined?”
Lu Ying was born with a stern face, and her subordinates all feared her. Before they even opened their mouths, they were already intimidated. For small amounts, they simply paid out of their own pockets rather than trouble Commander Lu for signatures. Only someone bold and thick-skinned like Wang Daxia dared to claim reimbursement for everything.
After all, having Wang Daxia pay out of his own pocket for work was absolutely unacceptable. He could squeeze oil from a stone to put in his own money pouch.
Wang Daxia said without blushing or his heart racing: “The capable work harder. Thanks to Commander Lu’s trust, whether it’s major tasks like destroying White Lotus hideouts or minor ones like buying wine and writing materials to see Master Yu off, you assign them all to this subordinate. Since I handle more tasks, naturally my reimbursements are more than others.”
Lu Ying looked at the receipt: “This wine cost one tael of silver?”
Wang Daxia said: “For Master Yu’s farewell, naturally we bought the finest maiden red wine.”
Lu Ying heard this and agreed it made sense, so she picked up her brush and signed her name with flourishing strokes.
Wang Daxia carefully put away the receipt, thinking he’d pocketed one tael of silver.
Wang Daxia was different from Yu Dayou. Yu Dayou had his heart set on serving his country and people—personal honor or disgrace didn’t matter to him. Even though the nation had treated him unjustly and nearly killed this meritorious minister, even though it had wronged him countless times, he still treated the nation like a first love.
Wang Daxia believed in taking care of his own life first—his heart only had room for Wei Caiwei.
At the same time, in Machang Alley, there was another person whose heart held only one person: Li Jiubao, the flower of Machang Alley.
Upon hearing news of the maiden selection, Li Wei, who was busy repairing Lu Bing’s family tomb and memorial house at Sanlitun outside Chaoyang Gate, panicked. Though he was an illiterate mason, he knew the tragic fate of Yang Jinying and over a dozen palace maids in the Renyin Palace Incident. Given the old emperor’s age, it was unlikely he would favor new maidens or that selected maidens would gain favor and be made noble ladies in the palace. Being a palace maid carried the danger of being killed by the mad old emperor who consumed elixirs.
So Li Wei hastily took leave and returned to Machang Alley. He sent a pig’s face in sauce to a matchmaker, asking her to quickly find Li Jiubao a good family to marry into to avoid the maiden selection.
Li Jiubao was beautiful! Despite having a gambling wastrel like Li Wei as a father, when the matchmaker spread word, several well-off families were eager to try.
Li Wei only had this one daughter, so naturally he was cautious. He secretly investigated the backgrounds of several potential sons-in-law and picked two good ones to tell Li Jiubao: “…One is the eldest son of the sauced meat shop family on Drum Tower West Street—the one famous for pig’s face in sauce. His family isn’t originally from the capital but came from Tianjin Wei. However, they have a good business and make several hundred taels of silver profit from selling sauced meat each year.”
“If you marry into their family, you’ll be the eldest daughter-in-law. You can eat pig’s face in sauce to your heart’s content, and you’ll inherit the business in the future. Their eldest son isn’t tall and is slightly plump with a blessed countenance. He doesn’t work the counter but keeps the books, making the abacus click rapidly—clearly someone who knows how to manage a household.”
“The other is a big landowner I met while working at Sanlitun—a scholarly family. He’s somewhat older, and his first wife died. He wants to find a beauty as his second wife. During Dragon Boat Festival, when you brought zongzi and rice wine to us at Sanlitun, he saw you and has kept you in his heart ever since. He’s asked me about you several times. I declined because of his age, but thinking about it now, he’s a xiucai. If you marry him, you’ll be a xiucai’s wife. If you have a son in the future and he studies hard and takes the imperial examinations, he might even earn you an official title someday.”
Given Li Jiubao’s background and family circumstances, these two candidate men were carefully selected from among many.
Li Wei said: “Choose whichever you want and tell father quickly. I’ll give them a definite answer, and we can complete the three letters and six rites this month.”
Li Jiubao said indifferently: “One fat, one old—how should your daughter choose? Let father decide. One has money, the other has land and status. Your daughter will follow her husband wherever he leads—both seem like they could provide a living.”
Li Wei pondered for a moment and said: “Then let’s choose the eldest son from the sauced meat shop. It’s close to home, so we can look after each other. Sanlitun is too far, and with those deep courtyards, if you suffered any grievances, your brother and I wouldn’t know.”
Li Jiubao appeared submissive: “Everything is according to father’s decision.”
Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief. Li Jiubao had once threatened to die rather than not marry the castrated Chen Jingji to become a living widow. He had been forced to agree, but fortunately Chen Jingji was sensible and voluntarily gave up Li Jiubao to enter the palace as a eunuch.
Li Jiubao’s heart had turned to ash, and she no longer mentioned Chen Jingji. It seemed this matter had passed. Once Li Jiubao married and had children, she would probably forget what Chen Jingji’s name even was.
Li Wei stood up: “I’ll go reply to the matchmaker right now.”
“Eat first before going.” Li Jiubao said: “I’ve stewed a chicken, just waiting for father to come home for dinner.”
Li Jiubao had made a pot of chicken stewed with mushrooms, using the Tieling ivory mountain hazelnut mushrooms that Wei Caiwei had given her. The fragrance was intoxicating. Li Wei ate with gusto, and Li Jiubao bought him a bottle of wine—good quality huadiao wine.
Li Wei took a sip and immediately felt it go to his head: “This wine must be expensive.”
Li Jiubao poured wine for her father: “Father rarely comes home, so naturally we should have something good to eat.”
Huadiao was different from Li Jiubao’s home-brewed rice wine—this wine was strong. Li Wei was swaying after drinking half a bottle.
“Good wine with good food—once this wine is opened, it doesn’t keep well, so might as well finish the whole bottle.” Li Jiubao continued urging him to drink. Li Wei was naturally fond of drink and became thoroughly intoxicated.
“Father is drunk—take an afternoon nap and go find the matchmaker after you wake up.” Li Jiubao helped Li Wei to the bedroom, took off his shoes, and asked: “Father, where is the household registration kept at home?”
Li Wei, befuddled by drink and off his guard, mumbled: “In the hidden compartment under your mother’s memorial tablet.”
No wonder I could never find it!
Li Jiubao waited until Li Wei was snoring before closing the bedroom door. She lit three incense sticks before her late mother’s spirit tablet: “Mother, your daughter is unfilial and truly cannot obey father’s wishes to marry. Your daughter will never marry in this lifetime, nor will she foolishly dream of bearing children. She only wants to be closer to that person—closer still.”
After offering incense, Li Jiubao opened the hidden compartment at the base of the spirit tablet and took out the household registration. She wrote a simple letter for her father—Li Jiubao’s writing had all been taught by neighbor Chen Jingji. She placed the letter on her dressing table along with all the silver money she had saved over the years and several pieces of jewelry her late mother had left her.
Li Jiubao took only a set of spare clothes and shoes, carrying a simple bundle, and took the household registration to the Shuntian Prefecture yamen to register for maiden selection.
Other girls were brought by family members in carriages or hired vehicles, tearfully bidding farewell as if it were a final parting. Only Li Jiubao relied on her own two legs to walk from Machang Alley in Wanping County to the Shuntian Prefecture yamen in Daxing County, with a thin layer of sweat on her forehead and nose tip.
Li Jiubao handed her household registration to the registrar compiling the roster. Maidens had to be from clear family backgrounds—without household registration or unclear origins, they weren’t qualified to participate.
The registrar looked at the household registration, which read:
“One household, Li Wei. Resident of Machang Alley, Wanping County, Shuntian Prefecture, registered in the third year of Yongle reign, craftsman status. This household currently has three people.
Males, two: Adult males, two: Himself, thirty-eight years old. Son Li Dalang, eighteen years old.
Females, one: Daughter Li Jiubao, fourteen years old.
Property: Three-room tile house.
This registration is given to Li Wei for safekeeping.”
The registrar looked behind her: “Where are your family members? The registration clearly states you have a father and elder brother.”
Li Jiubao said: “My brother is working at Sanlitun and couldn’t get away. Father was supposed to accompany me, but he fell ill, so this civilian girl came on her own.”
The Li family registration showed craftsman status—a humble household. It was normal for Li Jiubao, dressed simply without money for transportation, to come on foot.
The registrar recorded the household registration and handed her a number plate: “Go in.”
Li Jiubao took the number plate, bowed, and entered the yamen gates.
By the time Li Jiubao had passed through two rounds of preliminary selection and undressed to verify her virginity, it was already evening. Li Wei woke from his drunken stupor to find his daughter gone, but saw the silver money, jewelry, and letter piled on the dressing table.
Li Wei couldn’t read, so he begged a neighbor to read it. The neighbor said: “Your daughter has gone for maiden selection.”
Li Wei frantically ran home, opened his late wife’s spirit tablet—it was empty inside. His daughter had taken the household registration.
Li Wei ran all the way to the Shuntian Prefecture yamen, making a commotion and demanding to take his daughter back, saying: “…My daughter is already betrothed to the eldest son of the sauced meat shop on Drum Tower West Slope—we just haven’t completed the ceremony. Marriage is a major matter requiring parents’ command and matchmaker’s arrangement. She doesn’t understand yet.”
Li Jiubao had stunned everyone at today’s selection, and the Shuntian Prefecture yamen was counting on several beauties from their jurisdiction being chosen to report success to their superiors. Never mind that the engagement wasn’t officially sealed—even if it were, as long as she hadn’t actually married, it didn’t count.
The martial captain at the gate advised: “Would a sauced meat seller dare compete with the emperor for a woman? He must be tired of living! Your daughter is beautiful—she’s caught the attention of our prefect and is being given high hopes. He’s paid out of his own pocket for new clothes and jewelry for her and ordered people to train her well. She’s sure to be selected. I advise you not to make trouble and go home to await good news.”
Prefect Wang Niqiu had also been driven to distraction by the maiden selection recently. Everyone was reluctant to participate, and those who came forward voluntarily were mostly plain and vulgar—he couldn’t even stand to look at them, let alone the emperor and princes who were accustomed to beauties. It was rare for a beauty like Li Jiubao to “walk into the trap” on her own—he had seen her personally and she truly was a treasure!
So he ordered people to take good care of her. When Li Wei came demanding his daughter, he naturally refused to let go.
Li Wei was just a craftsman household with no recourse—he had to accept fate and returned home dejected.
Li Jiubao passed smoothly through all stages and was sent to the Chuxiu Palace in the Forbidden City to await selection. Maidens from all over the capital region were separated and reassigned to rooms—two per room. Li Jiubao entered her room to see a round-faced, round-eyed maiden sitting cross-legged on the large kang by the window, crunching sunflower seeds and drinking brown sugar water. Seeing Li Jiubao, she immediately shared half her sunflower seeds with her like an old friend: “Come, let’s eat together.”
Author’s Note: The Ming Dynasty harem’s Produce 101 has officially begun—let’s see which young lady can debut in the center position!