According to Cheng Shaoshang’s assessment, this was a banquet of unity, a banquet of harmony, a banquet of victory.
After the feast ended, everyone went about their business. Mother Cheng had drunk a few extra cups of wine and was singing and laughing—she was just short of performing a dance. Granny Hu quickly helped her back to the inner chamber to rest. Second Uncle Cheng Cheng rose and started to leave. Only then did Cheng Shaoshang notice he had a slight limp in one foot. Cheng Shi grabbed hold of him and wouldn’t let him break free, saying the brothers needed to have a “heart-to-heart talk.” Second Uncle Cheng was reluctantly dragged away.
The plump and white little Cheng Ou yawned as he was led away by Nanny Fu. The big-eyed young lady Cheng Yang followed behind her younger brother with her head lowered. Shaoshang had been eyeing her since the meal and wanted to follow and “make friends,” but who knew she’d be pulled before Madam Xiao by Lady Qing Cong, who said they needed to “see off the guests.”
The Dong family father and son left dejected and dispirited, while Dong Lu Shi left in high spirits. Madam Xiao’s actions were never ordinary—she directly assigned Lu Shi two household guards. If the Dong family father and son tried to beat her, they could intervene immediately. In a few years, once she had the Dong family inside and out in her grasp, there would be nothing left to fear.
Madam Xiao’s thoughts were meticulous. Before leaving, she instructed Dong Lu Shi with two sentences: “At this point, aside from one matter, the Dong family father and son have nothing left to control you with. If one day Cousin Dong loses his mind completely and goes to the prefecture office for a father to accuse his son, using the children to threaten you, what will you do?”
“You might as well tell them that without children, you’ll divorce and remarry. The matter of stealing and selling military supplies and encroaching on civilian fields hasn’t been settled. If they refuse to live honest lives, accusations can be filed at any time. See whether they have the lives to make trouble.”
Lady Qing Cong and Shaoshang, standing on Madam Xiao’s left and right, looked at each other. Lady Qing Cong wasn’t surprised by what Madam Xiao said, but was astonished that such words could be heard by the Young Mistress. Shaoshang was thinking: Is a father accusing his son really that serious?
Madam Xiao turned her head and smiled: “My child, what do you think of what Mother just said?”
Shaoshang was caught off guard and somewhat dumbfounded. She turned to look at Lady Qing Cong, then at the servant women nearby who were all kneeling with lowered heads seven or eight steps away along the corridor, as if they hadn’t heard any of this at all. The servant women who had originally served Ge Shi were absolutely not permitted within ten feet of them. Shaoshang raised her head to look at Madam Xiao, who was a head and a half taller than herself. She saw the green jade at her temples swaying slightly, and through the snowy color on distant branches, it transmitted a bone-chilling luminous radiance, making her fair complexion appear even more delicate and flawless.
“Naturally… naturally…” Shaoshang’s mind wandered momentarily. “What Mother said is very right.”
“Oh. Which sentence is very right?”
Madam Xiao’s gaze was clear, cold, and astute. When Shaoshang first met it, she couldn’t help feeling guilty. But if she knew how to write the character for “fear,” she wouldn’t have gone around mixing with young delinquents back in the day.
“Mother’s words are all correct—good for the Dong family and good for the Cheng family too…” Shaoshang said vaguely.
Madam Xiao’s elegant mouth corners lifted slightly with quite a bit of mocking intent. She stared fixedly at Shaoshang for a long while before saying: “Return to your room first.” Lady Qing Cong pushed the dazed Shaoshang. With another gesture, the respectfully kneeling servant women all rose and followed.
In the dead of winter, Shaoshang actually broke out in a thin sweat on her back. She quickly followed back to that cramped chamber. Lian Fang and Qiao Guo had already made the room warm and toasty. Seeing Madam Xiao’s party arrive, they quickly prostrated themselves in acknowledgment.
Madam Xiao walked directly to sit on the bed in the center of the room. With a wave of her hand, Lady Qing Cong had already dismissed all the servant women. Shaoshang quickly followed. Lian Fang hurriedly presented the mouth-rinsing fruit drink she’d prepared earlier to Lady Qing Cong, then quickly pulled Qiao Guo out with her.
Lady Qing Cong poured the fruit drink into two small handled cups, first offering one to Madam Xiao, then to Shaoshang.
“You and I, mother and daughter, haven’t seen each other for ten years. Some estrangement is natural.” Madam Xiao took a sip of the fruit drink and said slowly: “I don’t know what your aunt taught you. I have only one instruction for you: speak plainly. What’s the point of false words and empty talk?”
Lady Qing Cong said tensely: “Mistress…”
Madam Xiao raised her hand to stop her from continuing. Looking directly at Shaoshang, she said: “These days I’ve been too busy, with no time to speak properly with you. But your father comes to see you daily and says daily that you’re intelligent. My child, why must you pretend to be foolish?”
Shaoshang slowly set down her cup and raised her head, saying frankly: “If I don’t pretend to be foolish, how could I get by before Aunt? The more foolish I am, the more pleased Aunt becomes. If I’d been intelligent since childhood, Aunt would have found other ways to deal with me.”
Madam Xiao smiled faintly: “Therefore, you even became illiterate?”
Shaoshang, despite being a thick-skinned person, couldn’t help but blush at these words.
She had originally thought they used traditional Chinese characters here and had once confidently asked Lady Qing Cong for some books to read, incidentally hoping to understand where exactly she was now. But when Lady Qing Cong used a tray to present several heavy bamboo scrolls, she had a bad premonition. Sure enough, she didn’t recognize a single character inside. These characters, to be honest, looked somewhat familiar, as if she’d seen them in certain TV dramas or on shop signs—all sorts of crooked and twisted forms, wondrously upright and archaic, very familiar yet completely unrecognizable.
Lady Qing Cong, observing her expressions, brought out several seemingly newer bamboo scrolls. Thank heaven and earth, this time she could recognize three or four characters out of ten. She was so moved she nearly shed tears.
This exposed the depth of her cultural foundation to Lady Qing Cong. Once Lady Qing Cong knew, the Cheng Shi couple naturally knew too. Madam Xiao was fine—she’d long been mentally prepared for worse regarding this daughter raised by Ge Shi for ten years. But Cheng Shi was quite angry and shouted several more times about “divorcing that Ge Shi.”
Shaoshang mumbled: “I do recognize a few…”
Madam Xiao went straight to sarcasm: “Those few characters also count as recognition? Moreover, the characters you recognize were originally created by minor clerks. Though simple and easy to understand, many people of this time use them…” She frowned. “But the characters on pre-Qin classical texts aren’t written like these.” She just knew that trash like Ge Shi had barely any ink in her belly. Forget not thinking of teaching—even if she wanted to teach, she couldn’t teach anything good.
Shaoshang felt like she was back in elementary and middle school, being criticized daily by teachers about her studies. Gloomily she said: “I told Aunt I didn’t like reading. Aunt couldn’t have been happier.”
Ge Shi was also unlucky. The day after Cheng Shi learned his daughter was blind to characters, he took his daughter to see Mother Cheng and happened to encounter Ge Shi who had also come to pay respects to Mother Cheng (apply eye medicine). He immediately began scolding. Ge Shi quickly said it was Shaoshang herself who found it tiring and preferred play over study. Even so, she still got a good scolding from Cheng Shi.
“Second Madam is truly…” Lady Qing Cong said resentfully. “With the Mistress having such learning, she actually let your Young Mistress become, become…” Illiterate! Cheng Shaoshang silently completed the sentence for her. She could imagine how delighted Ge Shi felt each time she saw Cheng Shaoshang’s unlettered state.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lady Qing Cong forced a smile. “The days ahead are long. The Young Mistress can make it all up in the future. You don’t know—back in the day, the Mistress’s learning, not to mention in the countryside, even in the entire commandery and county, was famous…”
Shaoshang vaguely felt something ominous coming and quickly smiled: “Actually Aunt wasn’t entirely wrong. I really don’t like reading—probably took after Father…” That day, to comfort his illiterate young daughter, Cheng Shi kept saying he himself was actually quite illiterate too.
Lady Qing Cong froze, feeling for the first time in her life a sensation of “stumbling while sitting,” and looked helplessly at Madam Xiao.
The well-traveled Madam Xiao smiled inwardly, thinking: The rumors about this girl outside are completely wrong. But that’s fine—she’d had enough of idiots like Ge Shi. With idiots, no matter what you say they don’t understand. You have to tear apart all pretenses and see blood before they know fear. Intelligence is good—better than stupidity.
“Then learn slowly.” Madam Xiao said. “Your father was busy with farm work from childhood, then constant campaigning afterward. He only began studying literature after reaching the age of establishment. Now he can read court memorials and regional reports from various places without obstruction.”
Shaoshang groaned inwardly but could only acknowledge.
Madam Xiao continued: “These past days you’ve also witnessed the household affairs. Do you think your father and I have been too aggressive and overbearing?”
“How could I think that?” Since things were out in the open, Shaoshang dared to answer. “The Dong family relies on Grandmother’s favoritism and acts like a bloodsucking leech attached to Father. Helping once or twice is a small matter, but I heard Father say they also bully common people outside. What if they create a major disaster in the future?” She worked hard to imitate the manner of ancient speech she’d heard these past days, feeling she could bluff her way through.
If it were any other great family’s matriarch, even if teaching her daughter, she wouldn’t so directly expose the elders’ ugly behavior to the public or frankly discuss private shameful matters. However, Madam Xiao had encountered great hardship in her youth and most hated raising children ignorant of the world’s dangers. And Cheng Shaoshang had practically had no mother in her previous life, and in this life was counterfeit goods—naturally she didn’t know what proper mother-daughter interaction looked like, so they discussed things frankly and openly. In truth, the correct answer at this time should have been “Elder affairs—how can we juniors presume to comment?”
But Madam Xiao had clearly put all the blame on Ge Shi’s “failure to teach and reckless indulgence.”
“However…” Shaoshang hesitated slightly and glanced at Madam Xiao. She actually always felt Madam Xiao had long seen through her true nature. Pretending to be foolish and muddled would only provoke her disgust and make her think worse of her character. Better to speak truthfully.
Madam Xiao said: “Speak plainly—it doesn’t matter.”
Shaoshang said: “Since they committed wrongs that Father caught them at, why not directly have the authorities deal with them? After all, they’re family—execution won’t do, but I heard Father say exile can be imposed. Why not send them to a distant region? Wouldn’t that be cleaner?”
Madam Xiao frowned: “How does a small child like you know what exile is? With those father and son’s bodies accustomed to eating, drinking, and playing, would they have any chance of survival in exile? That would truly violate human harmony. However…” She suddenly smiled mockingly. “I also considered this method. Do you know why I didn’t use it?”
“Why… not?” Wasn’t it because it violated human harmony? You said so yourself—why ask me?
Madam Xiao bent down and said softly to Shaoshang kneeling on the floor: “Think it through carefully yourself.”
Having said this, Madam Xiao rose and left, leaving Shaoshang alone to ponder slowly.
Lian Fang and Qiao Guo quickly entered to help Shaoshang change out of the brand new deep robe, wipe her face, wash her hands, rinse her mouth, then tucked her into the heated bedding, drew the thick curtains, and gently and softly “requested” that she take an afternoon nap.
Shaoshang wanted to laugh. Arranged in this position, what else could she do but nap? Lying on the bed, she suddenly recalled a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair from town in her previous life. That mother-in-law cursed her daughter-in-law as a thief, subsidizing her natal family for so many years. Now she’d even stolen the money for her grandson’s school district apartment to help her natal family’s who-knows-which brother or sister set up a wedding home. She absolutely insisted her son divorce. She didn’t know if they divorced in the end, but that family’s man angrily went out to work and refused to give money to his wife anymore. The son also followed Grandma and refused to acknowledge his mother, so the daughter-in-law changed to cursing the man on the street all day for being heartless.
Essentially, Old Lady Cheng wasn’t a thorough and pure brother-supporting demon, not like that daughter-in-law who would rather she, her husband, and children eat chaff and swallow vegetables just to let her natal family live a comfortable life. Otherwise… well, Madam Xiao probably would have had to violate human harmony. Actually, the Dong family grandfather and grandson should thank Old Lady Cheng—otherwise who knows what methods Madam Xiao would have used to deal with them.
…
Very fortunately not having violated human harmony, Madam Xiao returned to her temporary chamber to find Cheng Shi already half-reclining on the bed, full of wine smell, the parts of his face not covered by his thick beard quite flushed.
Madam Xiao showed no surprise at all. Methodically she removed hairpins, ornaments, rings, and pendants, then had Qing Cong help her bind up her sleeves. Very skillfully she loosened Cheng Shi’s collar, exposing his chest full of sweat and heat. After servant women brought a large basin of hot water, she personally wiped and applied hot compresses for her husband. Cheng Shi leisurely awoke, accepted the sobering soup and drained it in one gulp, grinning foolishly at his wife: “Yuan Yi.”
Qing Cong and several servant women accustomed to serving all covered their faces and secretly giggled. Madam Xiao glared at Cheng Shi, removed her sleeve bindings, dismissed everyone, and sat beside her husband. “I told you to have a good talk with Second Brother—instead you got drunk like this!”
Cheng Shi wiped his face with a hot cloth while saying: “Second Brother has been taciturn for so many years, I didn’t even know how to broach the subject with him anymore. These past days when I talked to him about moving residences, he always remained silent. When I got anxious, he’d just say he needn’t move and could stay here to study. It made me so angry… cough… His leg is just a bit inconvenient, that’s all. If I didn’t take advantage of Second Brother being somewhat drunk this time to pour him a few more cups, how could I get him to speak his heart?”
Madam Xiao leaned closer and asked: “So, this time he was willing to speak?”
Cheng Shi draped the hot cloth over his face and said in a muffled voice: “He only repeated over and over to me, ‘Elder Brother, you haven’t wronged me—it’s me who’s useless.’ My sleeves are full of his tears.”
Madam Xiao also froze, recalling the past, and sighed: “In our family, Second Brother has suffered the most grievance.”
Cheng Shi pulled off the cloth and said quietly: “When young, the family was poor with no money to send him to study. Later during the chaos of war, we did get to know several Confucian scholars. Someone offered introductions to go study under Old Master Sang at White Deer Mountain, but…” His eyes filled with tears. “We were fighting and killing outside—someone had to look after the family. He volunteered to stay behind and let Third go.”
Madam Xiao’s tears fell: “Later when Third Brother succeeded in his studies and received the Emperor’s commendation and appointment to office, Second Brother was happier than anyone. Only… only it’s such a pity for him…”
Cheng Shi wiped his tears: “He’s different from Third Brother. He studies not to become an official or get rich, but simply because he loves researching classical texts and scriptures. This time, I must fulfill his wish!”
Madam Xiao said joyfully: “Second Brother agreed?”
“Finally he nodded!” Cheng Shi breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking about it, he added mischievously: “It was good to have Third go to White Deer Mountain to study back then. That rascal resembles Father the most and won the heart of Master Sang’s treasured pearl daughter. Now our family has one foot through the threshold. With someone to introduce us, any great scholar’s school will do.”
Madam Xiao decisively slapped the bed: “Good! After New Year we’ll send Second Brother out. Perfect timing—I need to freeze out that cheap woman!”
Mentioning Ge Shi, Cheng Shi was also full of anger: “Freeze what? Just divorce her directly! With such a wife daily criticizing him as useless and a good-for-nothing by his side, no wonder Second Brother became so dispirited! That cheap woman—if she only stirred up trouble in the inner quarters, that would be one thing. But she actually took it upon herself while we were away to sell A’Ding’s family! If not for urgent military matters at the front, I would have returned immediately to whip her! Cough… Ge Taigong doted on her so much. If she looked down on Second Brother, she should have remarried earlier—the Ge family wouldn’t have refused! Why must they regard each other with such disgust?”
Madam Xiao said sarcastically: “You think she never considered remarrying?” She considered it over ten years ago!
“Then why didn’t she remarry?” Cheng Shi was quite regretful.
Madam Xiao gave him a look: “Don’t concern yourself with this matter.” As she spoke, she arranged her clothing as if to go out.
Cheng Shi said curiously: “Where are you going?”
Madam Xiao turned back and said coldly: “That cheap woman just received a thorough humiliation from us at the table. Just now while you were at Second Brother’s place, she couldn’t very well go there. Now that you’re back, won’t she go cry and make a scene with Second Brother? We’ve already returned—are we still going to watch Second Brother be bullied by that cheap woman?!”