A maid stepped forward to block their path: “Madam Ji, Second Miss Ji, please rest inside.”
Madam Ji said casually: “We wish to observe the ceremony in the front hall. Please lead the way.”
The maid bowed and refused: “This servant was ordered to attend to the madam and young miss here. Please don’t make things difficult for us servants.”
Madam Ji didn’t force the issue but, gripping Ji Yingying’s hand tightly tested another approach: “It’s dull to sit idly in the room. Might we walk around and admire the surroundings?”
As long as they didn’t leave the Vine Garden, anything was permissible. The maid silently stepped aside.
Ji Yingying’s hand was squeezed painfully by her mother, making her grow nervous as well. She let her mother lead her around the courtyard.
The study’s window was open facing the courtyard. Instead of a desk by the window, there stood a newly made embroidery frame. Madam Ji’s heart nearly stopped in terror. How could there be an embroidery frame in Zhao Xiuyuan’s quarters? Recalling Zhao Xiuyuan’s previous proposal of making her daughter a secondary wife, she instantly understood for whom this embroidery frame was prepared.
How dare the Zhao family? What gave them the confidence to forcibly take her Yingying? They were neighbors, and the Ji family wasn’t dead yet. The Zhao family wouldn’t dare openly steal Yingying away. What made Madam Zhao so bold as to set this place up in advance?
Countless questions arose in Madam Ji’s mind. Without telling her daughter, she returned to the room to sit and wait for Madam Zhao’s arrival.
“Mother.” Ji Yingying sensitively detected something amiss.
Madam Ji said calmly: “Have you forgotten what Mother taught you? The sky won’t fall. There’s always a way.”
Many years ago, she had been trapped in a courtyard with Master Ji by her legitimate sister’s scheme. Master Ji had anxiously tried to climb over the wall with a ladder. She had stood calmly in the courtyard, watching him scramble about. Even then, she thought: the sky won’t fall—at worst, she’d marry him. At least he was an honorable man.
The sky wouldn’t fall. The Zhao family couldn’t force a marriage. As long as she and Ji Yaoting lived, Yingying would never marry into the Zhao family.
Night fell, and the wind carried the sound of gongs, drums, and suona. The servants brought dinner. Though the dishes were exquisite, neither Madam Ji nor Ji Yingying touched their chopsticks.
“In an unsafe place, better to die of thirst or hunger than eat,” Madam Ji had grown wary and would no longer consume food from the Zhao family.
Lamps were lit in the room. Mother and daughter sat quietly.
Presumably, after the bride had been sent to the bridal chamber, Madam Zhao finally entered the Vine Garden with Governess Gu and a group of servants.
She glanced at the untouched meal and sneered: “Is Madam Ji afraid I’ve poisoned it?”
Madam Ji replied calmly: “You’re right. I am concerned.”
Madam Zhao hadn’t expected such frank admission. She snorted and sat down: “Madam Ji, I’m also tired today, so I’ll be direct. This is Second Young Master’s Vine Garden, the finest residence after the Moon Brocade Hall in the Zhao family compound. The new young madam’s Water Garden is farther and more secluded from the main courtyard. Your Second Miss won’t be wronged living here.”
So they did intend for Yingying to live here. Madam Ji glanced at her daughter, seeing her remain calm and quiet, and felt somewhat satisfied with the results of recent training: “I don’t understand Madam Zhao’s meaning. My daughter won’t be a concubine, and has already refused Second Young Master Zhao’s proposal to be a secondary wife…”
“Hehe!” Madam Zhao covered her mouth and laughed. Her crimson wide sleeve half-covered her face, the embroidered flowers at the cuff reflecting a cold, piercing light in the lamplight. She laughed freely as if hearing an enormous joke.
“Madam Zhao!” Madam Ji shouted sternly, “Since Madam Zhao invited us here for this matter, I can answer you now—this is absolutely impossible! My daughter will not live here.”
Seeing the mother and daughter rise to leave, Madam Zhao stopped laughing: “Madam Ji, look carefully—are these IOUs in your eldest son’s handwriting and seal?”
Governess Gu placed a box beside Madam Ji’s table and lifted the lid.
IOUs? Written by her eldest son? Madam Ji looked down at a box full of contracts. She picked one up to examine closely. “…Credit for one hundred bolts of fine raw silk, principal and interest totaling 210 guan. Principal and interest to be repaid by the fifth month.” The signature and seal were indeed Ji Yaoting’s.
This was for raw silk purchased on credit when helping her sister with silk dyeing. Two thousand bolts of raw silk, including interest, totaled 4,200 guan—equivalent to 4,200 taels of silver. She had instructed Ji Yaoting to buy on credit from workshops other than the Zhao family’s. The terms were five or six months. Now, all the IOUs for these two thousand bolts of silk were in the Zhao family’s hands.
Last month, her eldest son had purchased a large quantity of dyes. The family accounts only had seven or eight hundred taels in cash. Next month, the Ji family needed money for his wedding. Madam Ji silently calculated their debts, hoping her sister would send someone to repay within two months. She placed the IOU back in the box and said steadily: “Rest assured, Madam Zhao, since the Zhao family now holds these credit notes, the Ji family will certainly repay principal and interest on time, without delay. The earliest of these accounts isn’t due until the third month—isn’t the Zhao family rather early to demand payment?”
Madam Zhao chuckled, in an excellent mood: “Listen to how Madam Ji puts it. The Zhao family is known for our benevolence. Our families have been neighbors for decades—we can discuss matters reasonably. Talk of demanding payment sounds so unpleasant.”
Ji Yingying had been restraining herself from interrupting. During this past month and more, Zhao Xiuyuan hadn’t come again—so this was the Zhao family’s plan. She had an impulse to stand before Zhao Xiuyuan and demand clarity. Was this his idea, or was it his elders’ scheme to protect the secret of that “Melody by the River” painting? He knew her character. The more he acted this way, the more she would refuse to marry him. If he knew his mother would use these IOUs as leverage and still allowed it… Ji Yingying lowered her gaze, hiding the hurt in her eyes.
Madam Ji was pondering whether the Zhao family had another move planned. Did they know the Ji family couldn’t repay these thousands of guan in just three or four months? Had something gone wrong with her sister’s silk? Madam Ji felt blood rushing to her head, her vision swimming. She gripped the armrest tightly. No, that was her sister. After twenty years without contact, how could she be connected to the Zhao family? She must be overthinking.
“Then what is Madam Zhao’s intention?”
“Since Second Miss Ji refuses to marry our Second Young Master as a secondary wife, we won’t force the issue. I invited you here to discuss an alternative. If Second Miss Ji is willing to serve in our Zhao family as a servant for one year, weaving brocade for us, these debts will be considered her wages.”
It was like a thunderbolt striking the Ji mother and daughter.
Be a servant in the Zhao family for a year? Ji Yingying suddenly raised her head, her large eyes brimming with tears. She stood up, asking in a murmur: “Madam Zhao, is this Zhao Xiuyuan’s wish? He wants me to serve as a Zhao family servant for a year to repay the debt?”
Madam Zhao looked up, savoring her expression. Wasn’t this girl always wild and sharp-tongued? That pale little face, that pitiful appearance on the verge of tears—how delightful. She felt the frustration in her chest suddenly dissipates, bringing immense satisfaction: “This Vine Garden is my Second Son’s residence. See, the embroidery frame by the study window was specially prepared for you by him.”
Ji Yingying’s legs weakened, and she collapsed back into her chair.
Madam Ji took a deep breath: “Madam Zhao, though the Ji family’s means are modest, we needn’t resort to selling our daughter to repay debts! We take our leave!”
She rose with Ji Yingying to leave. Madam Zhao laughed coldly: “Madam Ji may leave whenever she wishes. However, Second Miss Ji must stay.”