Quanzhou lay in the southern reaches of Fujian — a land of flourishing people and abundant goods. Sheng Hong had served there as Deputy Prefect for several years, jointly administering and overseeing local affairs of salt, grain, river works, water conservancy, as well as the clearing of military registers and the pacification of the local population. He had compiled a considerable record of accomplishments. In these same years, the prefect himself had changed, while Sheng Hong had risen in rank in his original post. Sheng Hong was a man who cultivated good relations with ease — he had built up an extensive network of friendships with local scholars, gentry, and officials alike. When word spread that he was about to be promoted and transferred, everyone competed to hold farewell banquets in his honor over these past few days. Sheng Hong had no way to decline, and kept himself occupied with these social engagements day after day, entrusting the task of organizing the household for the move to Wang Shi.
For these past few days, stewards and serving women had been streaming through Wang Shi’s eastern courtyard like fish through a river crossing. Wang Shi, freed at last from the cloud of resentment that had hung over her for years, was busy and content. On this particular afternoon, having just managed to get the preparations roughly in order, she called several of her personal maids to count and verify the remaining items on the list, then went into the inner chamber to speak privately with Nanny Liu Kun.
Inside, against the wall, sat a large square bed-platform, spread with finely woven bedding and piled with silken quilts and thin brocade coverlets. Lying on it side by side, sound asleep, were two little girls of about five years of age. Two senior maids sat on small footstools at the edge of the platform, gently fanning them. Seeing Wang Shi enter, the two maids immediately rose to bow. Wang Shi waved a hand — gesturing silently not to make any noise and disturb the girls’ afternoon sleep — then walked directly to the bedside to look. She saw that one of the girls was round-faced and plump, sleeping with an adorable, guileless sweetness. Wang Shi’s brow unknotted itself, and something like warmth showed in her eyes. She then looked at the other little girl — who had genuinely fine and delicate features, but whose face was pale, clearly deficient in blood and vitality, and whose entire small person seemed frail and wan. Even in sleep, she had a tiny frown between her brows. Wang Shi sighed softly, tucked the thin brocade coverlet snugly around both girls, then went to sit sideways in a rattan chair.
Nanny Liu Kun asked the two maids to step outside and watch the door, then came over to Wang Shi herself, found a small round stool, and sat down — only to be pulled up by Wang Shi, who invited her to sit in the rattan chair alongside her. Nanny Liu Kun demurred briefly, then sat.
“You’ve worked hard these past days — busy inside and out, from morning to night. Now that everything seems to be largely sorted, word came this morning from Dengzhou that the inner quarters of the official residence have been prepared, waiting only for Master to arrive and take up residence. I must say — though Senior Master Wei and our Master are only cousins on the paternal side, they are even closer than most birth brothers. I don’t know how much Senior Master Wei has spent on our behalf — this is a very great kindness to us.” Nanny Liu Kun said with warmth, opening the conversation.
“The father of Senior Master Wei and my late father-in-law were brothers by the same mother. Master and Senior Master Wei are close in age — they studied together under the roof of Duke Lingguo’s household when they were young, and after leaving that household, both became disciples of Elder Yang — who was at that time still a Reader-in-Waiting in the Hanlin Academy. The elder master of that branch was at that time preoccupied with one of his concubines and paid no attention whatsoever to Senior Master Wei’s mother and the hardships she endured. My husband took considerable care of that sister-in-law and nephew. And because my husband himself had been born of a secondary line — his circumstances before being formally acknowledged were also quite difficult — he and Senior Master Wei felt a natural kinship born of shared experience. The two of them gravitated toward each other and became especially close. Senior Master Wei, though he never entered official service, has managed his household affairs skillfully, and his family is prosperous — money means little to him. Our Master and my older brother both hold official positions, and in the future we will be able to look after his children. A few coins spent on our behalf is nothing he would put any weight upon.” Wang Shi said with considerable satisfaction.
“Thinking this in your heart is all very well, but when speaking in front of Master, please say nothing of the sort — and be sure to express heartfelt gratitude toward Senior Master Wei for his generosity. And please stop bringing up your own family at every turn. Don’t forget how Lin Yiniang once fanned the flames with such talk.” Nanny Liu Kun, seeing that Wang Shi’s old habit was reasserting itself, hastened to remind her.
Wang Shi’s expression soured. “That slander-spreading fox spirit!”
Nanny Liu Kun found it difficult to respond directly to this and so steered the subject elsewhere, saying with a smile: “The sixth young miss seems to be settling in well here? I knew the moment I heard that Master had personally carried her all the way over from the lotus pond that the sixth young miss would be staying.”
Wang Shi glanced toward the little girl on the bed platform. “This child has lost her birth mother. Sooner or later she will have to be placed in my care — I understand that. Yet somehow I still cannot quite swallow it. When the woman of the Lin surname had children, Master never thought to bring them to me as their formal mother — he talked of the bond between parent and child being too dear to be severed and let Lin Yiniang raise them herself. And now that Wei Yiniang has died, he suddenly remembers that I am the formal mother. I had intended to keep him waiting a few days before consenting — but then the official decree had just come down, and Master came striding in carrying the child with a very determined manner, set her down, and before I could say a word I was caught off guard, and so I took the child in.”
Nanny Liu Kun murmured a Buddhist blessing and smiled. “Compassion and mercy — now that is the proper approach. No matter how many concubines Master may have, you are always the formal mother — that status cannot be bypassed. Before this, it was Lin Yiniang’s fox-spirit arts that muddled Master’s judgment and threw the proper order of the household into confusion. Simply manage the household properly and raise the children with care. From what I can see, Master intends to deal with Lin Yiniang this time around — you must hold steady through it all, present the imposing manner of a proper first wife, and by all means do not throw the arrangement into confusion.”
“Deal with her? Nothing but thunder with no rain to follow — that woman is his heart and his treasure. How could he bear to?”
“Please, whatever you do, do not say such things. I can see that this time things are different.” Nanny Liu Kun shook her head and leaned in slightly closer. “Do you still remember Die’er, who served Wei Yiniang?”
Wang Shi nodded. “That girl had some backbone — she actually dared to confront Lin Yiniang directly. Her loyalty in standing up for her mistress truly honored the bond she shared with Wei Yiniang. But afterwards — I don’t know what became of her.”
Nanny Liu Kun lowered her voice. “My husband heard word from outside — that Lin Yiniang had barely banished Die’er to one of the estate properties before Master’s personal attendant Laifu went and fetched her away. She was then brought to the western courtyard, where Master questioned her at length in private for a full half hour. After that, the Old Madam herself made the decision to send Die’er somewhere — no one knows where.”
Wang Shi was highly intrigued and asked: “Is this really true? If so, then why has Master shown no outward sign of anything?”
Nanny Liu Kun rose, took up a fan from nearby, and stood beside Wang Shi, fanning her gently. “My fear is that Lin Yiniang’s silver tongue may have worked its way into Master’s heart again, softening him without his even noticing. But even if it only comes to punishing and selling off a few servants — enough to cut Lin Yiniang down to size — that alone will be a gain, and a good opportunity to act on.”
Wang Shi said nothing, calculating privately in her mind. Nanny Liu Kun, reading Wang Shi’s expression, hesitated before speaking: “It’s just that there are certain things I’m not sure I should say. If I speak, I fear you’ll think me out of place. If I don’t speak, I’ll feel I’ve failed the Old Madam’s instructions, and my conscience will not rest easy.”
Wang Shi quickly took Nanny Liu Kun’s hands and said gently: “What kind of talk is that? You and I were nursed by the same woman and grew up together — we are as close as sisters. You married a few years before me, and by rights I should have brought your whole family with me as part of my wedding household — but your husband’s family had long been among Mother’s most capable and trusted household managers, and so we were parted for these few years. Whatever you have to say, please say it.”
Nanny Liu Kun smiled and sat back down in front of Wang Shi. “Look at what you’re saying — Old Madam has always been so devoted. When you first left home to be married, she sent along so many capable people as part of your wedding household. It was only because your father-in-law’s household had long served the Old Madam faithfully that they remained behind with her in retirement. And that year when the Old Madam heard that Lin Yiniang had given birth to a son — she was so distressed she could not sleep all night, and sent for me before dawn. She sat with me and gave me careful, detailed instructions for what felt like half a day — and then had both my husband and me, along with several others, sent to you. What do you think was in her heart? Was it not simply fear that you would be mistreated in your husband’s household — fear that Changbai would be overlooked and neglected? Truly, a mother’s love for her child knows no bounds.”
Wang Shi sighed. “It is all my fault for being so unfilial — at my age, to still be causing Mother such worry. It is fortunate that you came, reminding and coaxing me every day, and I’ve managed to rein in my stubborn temper enough to make peace with Master. And then you advised me to have Master take in another concubine — to cut into Lin Yiniang’s influence. When it comes to that — Wei Yiniang was a woman you found. Your eye for people is not bad: beautiful enough to hold his attention, yet not the kind to stir up real trouble. In the years since she came into the household, Lin Yiniang has been considerably more subdued — and now, even more so, it is thanks to you that that woman has finally made a real mistake.”
“This is all the fortune of Heaven — what has it to do with me? The trouble is — Wei Yiniang’s death is only the first stroke of the brush; there is still the second stroke left to paint. As for how Master will deal with Lin Yiniang — that remains to be seen. She may very well have talked her way back into his good graces by now. We must not relax our vigilance.”
“Hmph! If Master doesn’t deal with that woman — if he goes right back to indulging and shielding her the way he used to — then I’ll throw dignity to the wind and expose the whole affair. I’ll have a censor file a report against Master for favoring a concubine over his wife and disregarding a human life — and then let’s see how he goes on as an official!” Wang Shi slapped the side table and said coldly.
“Oh, Heavens — Old Madam was afraid of exactly this temper of yours — that’s why she couldn’t sleep all night! Please, please don’t speak such rash words. Harming others at a cost of a thousand wounds to yourself — this is cutting off a hundred of your own!” Nanny Liu Kun waved her hands urgently, pressing her to think more carefully. “If you do this — what becomes of the marriage between you and Master? What becomes of Changbai’s future? How will you live your days going forward?”
Wang Shi deflated at once. She said through gritted teeth: “Then what do you suggest? When I was a girl at home, Mother only taught me how to manage a household — she never said a word about how to manage concubines. And this Lin Yiniang is not like ordinary secondary wives — you can’t punish her freely, you can’t sell her, and on top of everything she came from the Old Madam’s household. I am simply being suffocated by all of this.”
“Have a cup of tea first and calm yourself — listen while I speak slowly.” Nanny Liu Kun poured a cup of warm tea and handed it to Wang Shi. “Master has certainly conducted himself improperly — but Old Madam says you too have made mistakes.”
“What mistakes have I made? Am I supposed to arrange entertainments and diversions for Master, buy him companions, before I’m considered a proper wife?” Wang Shi was still indignant.
Nanny Liu Kun smiled. “There you go again with those rash words. That day at your older brother’s household, Old Madam questioned several of her close senior maids carefully, and then told me that you had been at fault in certain things — and asked me to speak to you about it when I had the chance. I take a liberty today in playing the messenger. Think back to the beginning, when you had just arrived as a new bride — without a word of discussion, you dismissed Master’s two personal room attendants. And Master said not half a word in protest, nor did the Old Madam. For those first few years, you stood alone, unchallenged. It was not merely that the Old Madam treated you as an honored guest — Master too treated you with the formal courtesy of mutual respect. This first mistake was that life went so smoothly that you began to overreach. Not only did you want to manage household affairs — you wanted to manage Master’s affairs as well. His silver, his personal matters — everything had to go through your hands. Your words and actions were absolute. Every time you opened your mouth it was all about the Wang Family this, my older brother this, Master and my older brother that — how could Master feel comfortable in his own home? What man does not want a gentle and compliant wife? What man does not want a warm and soft-hearted companion? Master is not a weak or incompetent man — everyone outside says he has a very promising future. Yet you gave him the cold shoulder time after time, undermined his dignity again and again — how could he be close to you? How could he not begin to look elsewhere?”
Wang Shi slumped back in the rattan chair. Thinking of the tender warmth of those early days of marriage, a wave of heartache swept over her. In those days, which of her girlhood friends had not envied her? Her husband’s family, while not among the highest and most powerful, was certainly comfortable and distinguished. She did not need to stand on ceremony before a formidable mother-in-law. There were no concubines to vex her. Her husband was handsome and able, gifted and accomplished, with a promising career ahead of him — the prospect of one day being awarded an official rank as the primary wife was not out of reach.
She could not say exactly when it had started — Master had grown more and more distant toward her, had stopped sharing his private thoughts, and she, for her part, had simply thrown herself into striving and competing, wanting to manage everything herself, wanting to hold the Sheng Mansion firmly in the palm of her hand. Then, right at the height of her ambitions, Lin Yiniang had appeared out of nowhere from the side — and from that point on, she had made one wrong move after another, watching Lin Yiniang grow stronger and more entrenched with each passing day.
Nanny Liu Kun studied Wang Shi’s expression with cool eyes and, sensing that her words were taking hold, continued: “Old Madam says that since ancient times, a woman who marries must depend upon her husband. To focus not on securing Master’s heart but only on the management of money and household positions — that is to put the cart before the horse.”
After a long pause, Wang Shi nodded slowly and took a quiet sip of tea.
Nanny Liu Kun felt relieved. She picked up the fan nearby and began to wave it gently. “You are naturally a direct and straightforward person — how were you to know the cunning tricks of fox spirits? Lin Yiniang and Master had developed a private intimacy without you even being aware of it. If you had discovered it early — while the situation could still be managed — and quietly reported it to the Old Madam, who would then have Lin Yiniang promptly married off to someone outside, Master could hardly have objected, and Lin Yiniang’s fate would have been sealed. But by the time the matter had blown up beyond all control, even the greatest commotion could no longer accomplish anything. This was the second mistake.”
Wang Shi smiled bitterly. How could she not have regretted this from the very beginning? She could only blame herself for negligence — she had never paid the slightest attention to whatever went on in her mother-in-law’s quarters.
Nanny Liu Kun continued: “Finally — and most crucially — Old Madam says that you yourself were not strict in your own conduct and have fallen short in proper observances. And because of that, you have no standing from which to speak against Master.”
Wang Shi bristled and was about to argue back at once — only to have Nanny Liu Kun gently press her shoulder and offer a calming gesture. “Please don’t be hasty — listen while I convey this fully. Old Madam says: you, as a daughter-in-law, did not present yourself in daily attendance before your mother-in-law — not even morning and evening greetings — and yet visited her only twice a month. When you did visit, you kept a cold expression, said very few words, and then left. Your mother-in-law’s food, clothing, residence, and daily comforts — you gave not a thought nor did you make any arrangements whatsoever. By any common standard, this is a grave failure of filial duty. And so when you stand before Master, even if you are in the right about everything else — on this single point alone, you have no voice. No matter how distant the Old Madam’s manner may be, no matter how little she welcomes interruptions — you must at all times fulfill the full observance of courtesy and filial propriety.”
Wang Shi fell silent. This remark had struck the precise weak point. In truth, more than a few people in the Quanzhou social circles had quietly whispered about the state of their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship. Several of her close friends had also mentioned this to her and urged her to pay more attentive court to her mother-in-law — lest she be criticized. At the time, she had not taken it to heart. The Old Madam had herself excused her from daily attendance, and she had been happy to comply.
Nanny Liu Kun observed the flickering uncertainty in Wang Shi’s expression, understanding the thought behind it, and said slowly: “There is always benefit to be found in showing proper devotion to one’s mother-in-law. The first benefit is for your own reputation. Back in the day, the father of Senior Master Wei’s household also caused a great scandal by favoring his concubine over his wife — yet Senior Master Wei’s mother served her mother-in-law with such exemplary devotion that all of Jinling came to know of her filial piety. And because of that, the elder master could not touch her.”
Wang Shi found this highly persuasive and fell silent. Nanny Liu Kun pressed on: “Second — when Master conducts himself in ways contrary to proper conduct, you cannot say a word to him directly. But the Old Madam is fully entitled to speak. In the old days, when Master wanted to assign estates and shops to Lin Yiniang — the moment you said a word against it, people would say you were jealous and intolerant. But if the Old Madam had been willing to say two words at the time, things would never have come to what they are today.”
Wang Shi slapped the arm of the rattan chair and exclaimed quietly: “Exactly so! At that time, I was truly muddled — I only knew how to quarrel and make scenes with Master, rather than going straight to the real pressure point. All that fussing accomplished nothing, while that woman was simply free to benefit from the chaos. Thank goodness you have set me straight today — now I understand how it all came about. Looking back, I was indeed at fault.”
Nanny Liu Kun quickly added one last persuasion: “Now that you’ve seen it clearly, that is what matters. Let’s not speak of what has already passed — from this point forward, we must think and plan carefully and not allow ourselves to be maneuvered and manipulated again.”
Wang Shi let out a long breath and clasped Nanny Liu Kun’s hands, her voice catching slightly: “All these years I have done nothing but posture and assert myself, and without realizing it I have come to this situation. Going forward, I shall need you beside me more than ever.”
Nanny Liu Kun quickly turned aside and said she could not accept such praise. Just as the two — mistress and attendant — were in the midst of this exchange of courtesies, one of the small girls lying on the square bed platform stirred slightly. Yao Yiyi quietly stretched out her legs, which had gone numb from lying still so long, and opened her eyes to the barest slit to glance at the small girl asleep beside her. That was Sheng Rulan — sleeping like a little pig, with the faintest soft snore escaping her lips. She was clearly genuinely asleep.
Yao Yiyi swore on the mudslide that she had absolutely not been eavesdropping on purpose. She had woken long ago and simply could not be bothered to move or to speak. And so she lay there with her eyes closed, only to find that these two older women had apparently decided to use this very spot as their private conversation room — starting from topics of moving house and raising daughters, sweeping all the way through love and resentment and grudges and schemes. Growing ever more animated, ever more absorbed in the drama of it all. Yao Yiyi, for her part, had grown too embarrassed to pretend to wake up.
Through it all, she could still hear Nanny Liu Kun: “… Our Master is no fool. He has navigated the official world smoothly and his mind is sharp — please do not try to outwit him, as that will only bring about disaster. You are a direct and honest person — how could you match Lin Yiniang in those winding, scheming fox-spirit tactics? What you need to focus on right now is this: above — you must pay proper filial court to the Old Madam. From what I observe, Master holds the Old Madam in genuine respect. Even if you cannot manage morning and evening attendance, at least alternate your visits, going every other day or so, to inquire after her health and warm-up — even if it is done for show, do it so convincingly that it looks entirely sincere. Below — you must raise the sixth young miss with genuine care and devotion. Master carries considerable guilt toward Wei Yiniang. The more kindness you show the sixth young miss, the more it will remind him of how Wei Yiniang died — and at the same time, it will show you as benevolent and motherly. Over time, his heart will drift back to you.”
Yao Yiyi found that Nanny Liu Kun was a remarkably artful speaker. What she was urging, stripped down to its essentials, was simply this: come now, take a good look in the mirror — we need to be realistic here. Competing with Lin Yiniang on the ground of feminine charm is basically a lost cause. But don’t despair — if you can’t be the dazzling romantic lead, you can still be the steady, upright supporting pillar. Just look after your mother-in-law and take care of the children — play the devotion card, the virtue card, work through the maternal connection. That’s still a very strong hand to play.
Nanny Liu Kun was not done: “… The sixth young miss has barely been eating these past few days and hasn’t been speaking — you’ll need to keep a closer eye on her. She’s a girl, and a secondary-born one at that — she’ll get no share of the family property in the end. When the time comes, put together a dowry and marry her out, and that will be that. Meanwhile, she can keep the fifth young miss company, can’t she?”
Yao Yiyi kept her eyes firmly shut. She was even less inclined to stir now. To think — a person of promise and ability, reduced to such a situation. It was genuinely beyond her to express her feelings adequately. What’s more, this body and her own spirit did not seem to be in very comfortable harmony — it kept making her feel chronically unwell, without even a proper sensation of hunger. Yao Yiyi, still refusing to accept reality, remained firmly on strike.