Sang Fourteen sat in silence. His fiancée’s thoughts were too simple, crying until she had hiccups. He watched coldly from the sidelines, noting that Niu Five’s eyes visible above her veil showed no trace of tears.
A maid came and whispered something in Niu Five’s ear. After glancing at Sang Fourteen, Niu Five rose. She instructed the servants to bring water for Niu Seven to wash her face and calm down. Saying she had matters to handle in the back courtyard, she left with the maid.
Servants stood at the hall entrance, leaving only Sang Fourteen and Niu Seven inside. Only then did Sang Fourteen console Seven to stop her tears.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Niu Five returned, her eyes now carrying a smile. She spoke more pleasantly to Niu Seven: “Seven, come see the new Zhao residence. You can tell Mother about it when you return, to put her mind at ease.”
Seeing her sister still thinking of their mother, Niu Seven nodded eagerly. She and Sang Fourteen followed her out, walking slowly through the residence.
“Sister, Mother still worries about you even in her illness. Could you… return to Chang’an with Seven?”
A married woman follows her husband. Zhao Xiuyuan held an official position in Nanzhao and hadn’t divorced Niu Five. Niu Seven didn’t expect her sister to leave Nanzhao and return home with her. Now that Nanzhao sought peace, with both countries at rest and friendly, even if Niu Five stayed in Nanzhao with Zhao Xiuyuan, she could still visit Chang’an. Niu Seven had this thought – even if Mother could just see sister once with her own eyes, it would ease her longing and help her recover.
Niu Five was silent for a moment before saying slowly: “I can’t return to Chang’an. Look, past this moon gate is the newly built Zhao family workshop. Though it’s just starting, it will eventually surpass the scale of Yizhou Prefecture.”
Niu Seven nodded absently, still overcome with sadness.
Niu Five turned to Sang Fourteen and asked: “Does Yang San Lang still think of Ji Yingying?”
Caught off guard by her question about Yang Jingyuan, Sang Fourteen’s heart jumped, but his handsome face broke into a warm smile: “Does Fifth Lady know Second Lady Ji’s whereabouts?”
Niu Five had already stepped across the threshold of the back courtyard workshop. Seeing Zhao Dalang and his wife standing at the entrance, both looking nervous, she couldn’t help but mock: “All the way south, I didn’t see an elder cousin and his wife fear for their lives. Now that you’re settled, you’ve become afraid to die.”
During the journey south, they lived in fear and uncertainty. Death wouldn’t have mattered then. But now settled in Nanzhao, with a residence and workshop restored to them, Zhao Dalang and his wife thought they might as well keep living. They feared failing to weave the Huanhua brocade would anger the sovereign, who might then send their whole family to be slaves in other workshops. Earlier, Niu Five had relied on her skilled maid to give Ji Yingying trouble. Seeing Ji Yingying unharmed, she had finally relaxed. Now as Niu Five led people into the workshop, Zhao Dalang and his wife couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
“The sovereign ordered Ji Yingying to dye and match silk so the Zhao family could weave Huanhua brocade. I still count on the Zhao family to make a living, and won’t ruin the brocade business.”
With these words from Niu Five, Zhao Dalang and his wife fell silent and stopped blocking the way. They let her continue with her shocked sister and Sang Fourteen.
“Sister, Second Lady Ji is in the Zhao family workshop? How did she end up here?” Niu Seven blurted out.
Afraid she would say too much, Sang Fourteen quickly interrupted: “Fifth Lady, are you taking us to the workshop to see Second Lady Ji?”
“Aren’t you Yang San Lang’s good friend? Since you know Ji Yingying is here, it would seem petty of me not to let you see her,” Niu Five said with a cold laugh. “Ji Yingying was brought to the Zhao family from the palace today. And you two arrived in Tahe City looking for me. What a coincidence.”
Sang Fourteen was startled but said steadily: “Indeed, what a coincidence.”
Arriving outside the room where Ji Yingying was confined, Niu Five pulled Seven to sit at a stone table in the courtyard, jerking her chin: “You can go in. We sisters will talk here.”
But Sang Fourteen didn’t want to leave Seven alone, afraid Niu Five would get information from her. He smiled apologetically: “Even if she’s a friend’s wife, it’s not proper for a single man to be alone in a room with her. Seven also knows Second Lady Ji, so let her come with me.”
Niu Five neither agreed nor objected. She watched as Sang Fourteen pulled her sister to wait for the old woman to unlock the door, then sat down in the courtyard.
The door was pushed open again. Seeing it wasn’t Zhao Xiuyuan, Ji Yingying smiled, curtsied, and greeted them: “Seven, Lord Sang. I heard from Deputy Commissioner Zhao’s wife that you two traveled thousands of li seeking family. I’m so happy to see you here in Nanzhao.”
“Second Lady Ji! How did you come here? Ten Four and I saw…” Niu Seven grabbed her hand, questions spilling out rapid fire. Ji Yingying pinched her hard, making Seven stop in time. She had already slipped the letter in her palm into Seven’s hand.
Ji Yingying stepped back two paces and sighed: “You saw me entering the palace on the way to the Zhao residence, right? The sovereign summoned me, ordering me to weave the new Huanhua brocade developed by the Yang family. So I was sent to the Zhao family workshop.”
If she were Sheng Fengze’s person, he absolutely wouldn’t let her come to the Zhao family workshop. San Lang must have misunderstood something. Seeing Ji Yingying cut off Seven’s words and pass something to the Fifth Lady right in front of him, Sang Fourteen knew something was amiss.
“Deputy Commissioner Zhao’s wife let you two see me, actually wanting to ask you to take a message to my San Lang. Someone longs to see him. Every day he delays coming, I suffer another day of torment. If he doesn’t come, I won’t survive! Isn’t that right?” For the last sentence, Ji Yingying raised her voice, turning to shout out the window.
Niu Seven looked bewildered. Sang Fourteen quickly caught on: “Regardless, now that we’ve seen you, I’ll naturally inform San Lang.”
From outside came Niu Five’s giggling laughter: “Since you’ve met, that’s that then. If I don’t want to act, my husband won’t wait anyway.”
Knowing there were ears beyond the wall, Sang Fourteen said quietly to Ji Yingying: “Take care of yourself.” He pulled the still-confused Niu Seven and left the room.
Ji Yingying didn’t speak. She had done what she could. Whether she could escape the Zhao residence was now up to fate. Fortunately, Niu Five didn’t know Yang Jingyuan was already in Nanzhao and had met with her.
Niu Seven wasn’t stupid. Leaving the room and seeing her sister’s look of satisfaction, she understood most of it. She couldn’t help crying out: “Sister, even now, do you not regret? Back in Yizhou Prefecture you already hated Yang San Lang, but now you still use Second Lady Ji to threaten him. You’re already married! Father, for you, for you…”
She was too upset to continue speaking.
“For me? If they cared about me enough to risk their lives, why did they neglect me when I was sick? Let me scratch my face until I wished for death?!” Niu Five shouted, so agitated her veil trembled, “Father was a third-rank commander! When even a merchant dared refuse marriage and shame him, why didn’t I see him punish the Yang family? If my parents loved me like a precious jewel, why couldn’t they help me vent this anger before I went mad?”
Niu Seven was so frightened she couldn’t even cry. Earlier when Yang Jingyuan said if Fifth Sister didn’t repent, he wouldn’t show mercy, Niu Seven had privately determined to protect her sister no matter what.
Seeing her silence, Niu Five said bitterly: “You grew up pampered, betrothed to Sang Fourteen since childhood. Your fiancé is willing to travel thousands of li with you. Do you know what kind of person my Zhao Second Lang is? He’s worse than a beast! Why should I live such a miserable life? Father died in battle for me? Mother fell gravely ill for me? Did they ever think about my whole life? If I hadn’t proposed marriage to the Zhao family, after I turned twenty, they would have sent me to become a nun in a temple.”
“It’s not like that!” Niu Seven cried out, grabbing Niu Five’s hand and pleading, “Sister, don’t say anymore. Parents truly cared for you…”
Niu Five yanked her hand away, saying coldly: “You two should leave quickly! While I still have some feeling of blood kinship, don’t come to offend my eyes again!”
Sang Fourteen couldn’t ask for more, pulling Niu Seven to leave. When Niu Seven tried to speak again, Sang Fourteen’s pull didn’t budge. He glared at Niu Seven angrily: “Will you listen to me or not?”
Niu Seven’s body went soft, obediently letting him lead her away, still looking back longingly at her sister: “I’ll come see you tomorrow…”
Once out of the workshop, Sang Fourteen said harshly: “Your sister has gone mad! If you speak well of her again, I’ll divorce you!”
Niu Seven wailed loudly but dared not say another word, docilely following him out of the residence.
The two didn’t know that Zhao Xiuyuan, who had rushed back, stood watching them from a corridor corner. He called a servant: “Follow them.”