Nanny Shen had been about to continue speaking when she heard the soft pitter-patter of dripping — and felt a warm patch spreading on her side.
“Oh my, my little treasure! You have bestowed all your good fortune upon this old servant!” Nanny Shen exclaimed with a gleeful laugh. “This old servant is most grateful to our Huai Ge’er.”
As for the culprit himself — Xiao Pei — he had already surrendered to drowsiness and drifted off to sleep, unable to hold out any longer. His two tiny fists were tucked neatly before him, his long lashes trembling slightly, his little mouth working in gentle murmurs — as though he were in the midst of some delightful dream.
Lin Shi was glad enough to take the opportunity and use it as a graceful exit, sending Nanny Shen on her way so that she might have a moment of quiet.
“Nanny Shen, go quickly and change your clothes.” Lin Shi said. “Everything you said just now — I have taken it all to heart, and I will be more careful in my conduct going forward.”
“This old servant will withdraw now.”
After Nanny Shen and Qing He had departed, Lin Shi let out a long breath. The nanny’s words had burdened her with a great deal of worry, and whether to believe them or not, she had not yet been able to think it fully through.
……
From the moment Pei Shaohuai’s mind had cleared, he refused to take his mother’s milk.
At six or seven months, this was, conveniently, just the right time to begin eating soft foods.
Lin Shi had no choice but to have the kitchen prepare all manner of things in varied combinations — steamed egg custard, steamed minced meat, pureed fruit, five-grain porridge…
Although Nanny Shen was one who spoke rather too freely and with rather too little foresight, she was in truth a loyal servant, and she said privately to Lin Shi: “It is one thing to bear a child, and another thing entirely to raise one. Everything that enters Huai Ge’er’s mouth must be attended to with care.” And so, bowl by bowl and dish by dish, Nanny Shen always insisted on personally overseeing the preparation before anything was brought to Lin Shi’s quarters.
Pei Shaohuai, with his adult mind, spent his days in much deliberation — consuming considerable energy — and his appetite was accordingly robust. Under Lin Shi’s devoted care, the infant had grown considerably sturdier: his cheeks plump and rosy, and with a tiger-eared cap on his head, he was altogether an adorable sight.
When the Old Madam learned that her eldest grandson had begun eating soft foods, she too was greatly delighted. She procured many fine ingredients, and every few days would have the child brought to her so they might share a meal together.
……
On this particular day, the nanny from the Old Madam’s quarters came again to Zhaolu Courtyard.
“My respects to the First Madam.” Nanny Zhou curtsied, smiling warmly. “The Old Madam sent someone to Shili Restaurant early this morning to collect some ingredients — for the freshness of it. The minced meat has just been steamed, and she has asked me to bring young Master Huai over to have a taste.”
Lin Shi had no objection to the child being brought to visit his grandmother — yet inwardly, she felt a quiet, growing unease.
The Old Madam had at first sent someone over every few days to take Huai Ge’er, but it had grown gradually more frequent, until now there was scarcely a day that passed without some new pretext being found to carry him away — and the visits were growing longer and longer.
The child she herself had borne, kept away from her side for half the day at a time — Lin Shi naturally felt a pang of discontent at this.
Lin Shi handed Huai Ge’er over to Nanny Zhou’s arms, then turned and instructed Nanny Shen: “Nanny Shen, take some of the young master’s clothing and go along with them — so that if the young master wets himself, there will be a change of clothes.” Her true intention, of course, was to send someone along who could bring him home at the proper hour.
Nanny Shen understood and replied: “Yes, Madam.”
“If I may, First Madam — the young master’s clothing is already prepared in the Old Madam’s quarters; everything is at the ready, so there is no need to put anyone else to the trouble.” Nanny Zhou continued with her warm smile, adding: “The last time, young Master Huai relieved himself on the Old Master — and the Old Madam even praised young Master Huai for his cleverness, saying he had deliberately chosen his grandfather as his target, to let the Old Master share in the child’s blessed energy…… Afterward, the Old Madam had people prepare a great many changes of clothes and coverlets for young Master Huai, so that there would always be something ready to hand.”
Pei Shaohuai, upon hearing this, felt thoroughly aggrieved. What did she mean by “deliberately choosing his grandfather as his target”? The last time he had relieved himself on the old patriarch of Jingchuan, it was only because that little old man kept scrubbing his face with that goat-beard of his — bristly and terribly itchy.
He had been left with no choice but to resort to that particular countermeasure in order to escape his torment.
Lin Shi had not anticipated that her words would be so neatly deflected back at her by Nanny Zhou.
“The Old Madam says that once young Master Huai has eaten and slept his afternoon nap, he will be sent back to you, Madam.” Nanny Zhou gave another curtsy, and with that, tucked the baby under her arm and turned to carry him back to deliver her report.
Lin Shi watched her son being carried away, then turned over what Nanny Zhou had just said in her mind — and found the feeling in her chest growing more and more unsettled.
She could see clearly what the Old Madam intended, and yet there was no way to refuse. If the Old Madam were to take Huai Ge’er entirely into her own keeping, her husband would not necessarily take her side.
The more she thought, the more aggrieved she felt, until her feelings spilled out of her in quiet weeping: “Huai Ge’er is still so small a child……”
Nanny Shen stood beside her and offered comfort: “Young Master Huai was born of Madam. So long as Madam is unwilling, are they going to come and take him by force?” This was her way of urging Lin Shi to stand firmer.
“For her to take action openly, I would at least have the chance to refuse. As it is, she finds a new pretext every single day to take him away, and only when evening is nearly upon us does she send him back.”
Lin Shi had not yet devised a way to counter this — for now, she could only respond to each move as it came.
……
……
On the other side of the household, Pei Shaohuai had been carried by Nanny Zhou to the Old Madam’s quarters.
As fortune would have it, Pei Shaohuai’s father — Pei Bingyuan — was also in the room, clearly having come specifically to dine with the Old Madam. He ordinarily kept entirely to his books, rarely appearing even once in ten days or half a month; today, having a free moment, he had come.
Pei Bingyuan was a man past thirty, lean in frame, with a slight willowy slenderness. He wore a round-collared long robe of ink-blue Suzhou silk, his hair simply bound, without any ornamental accessories — the very picture of a scholar, clean and neat.
His appearance, too, was well-formed: eyes deep-set, jawline slightly angular. If one were truly to find fault, it would only be that his brows ran too smoothly across his face, lacking a certain sharpness of spirit.
Pei Shaohuai thought to himself: with both his father and Lin Shi possessing such fine looks, he himself, when he grew up, would very likely be no different.
Pei Shaohuai recalled that in the novel, this father of his was described as gentle by nature — modest, courteous, and disinclined to compete or cause conflict; he rarely let his expression sharpen against others. His greatest virtue was his gentleness, and his greatest flaw was precisely the same.
The novel also described Pei Bingyuan as someone who spent his entire life immersed in reading and examination preparation — yet after passing the level of Maocai, no matter how hard he tried, he could advance no further. His achievements were decidedly limited. Correspondingly, he had little interest in the household’s affairs and seldom involved himself.
In the original novel, the fact that Pei Shaohuai had been allowed to grow into a wastrel was, in no small part, the result of Pei Bingyuan’s failure to act.
……
“Old Madam, young Master Huai has been brought.”
The Old Madam was dressed in a broad robe of deep brown, her hair bun streaked with white — but her frame was still quite vigorous. Upon seeing Huai Ge’er, her face broke into a wide smile, and she reached out her hands at once: “My dear little grandson, come let grandmother hold you.”
Pei Shaohuai had grown into a handsome child — well-behaved, with bright and clever eyes — and being the eldest legitimate grandson, he was naturally the apple of the Old Madam’s eye.
“You there, his father — hold him for a moment too.” The Old Madam passed the infant into Pei Bingyuan’s arms.
Pei Bingyuan had sired quite a few children by now, and yet his manner of holding a baby was still somewhat unpracticed. He pinched the infant’s cheek and said with mild detachment: “Haven’t seen you in a while — you’ve plumped up considerably.”
That pinch, applied with no particular consideration of force, was genuinely painful — and Pei Shaohuai found himself concentrating all his energies on trying to summon forth a stream of urine to let fly at his father, so as to teach him to be more careful.
Fortunately, Pei Bingyuan only held him for a brief spell before passing the infant back to the Old Madam — and thus narrowly escaped the fate of being relieved upon.
The three of them then shared a meal together. Pei Shaohuai obediently ate the minced meat in great mouthfuls, and the Old Madam, delighted by the sight, chuckled away to herself, murmuring: “So long as our Huai Ge’er likes it, grandmother will prepare good things for you to eat every single day.”
Pei Shaohuai, unable to speak, could only think to himself: “My eating so heartily is purely for the sake of growing up strong and healthy — it’s not really a matter of liking or not liking.”
……
After the meal, Pei Bingyuan did not hurry to leave, but remained to chat idly with the Old Madam.
When the conversation turned to Lin Shi having acquired several new nannies and maidservants from her own family, the Old Madam grew somewhat irritated and complained to her son: “It is not that I am deliberately provoking her — but bringing in this many servants from her family’s side carries a certain implication of building up her own contingent. What if word got out? It would make people think this Earl’s residence cannot afford to buy its own servants…… If she had simply said the word, I would have sent her a few steady women from my side. There was no need for this.”
She added: “After all, they are not from a proper great household — small-minded ways.”
Lin Shi bringing people from her family to cultivate her own circle of servants carried a suggestion of fortifying her own position, and the Old Madam naturally found this disagreeable.
Pei Bingyuan, being of a gentle disposition and disinclined to involve himself in disputes between the women of the household, offered soothing words: “What daughter-in-law would ever ask her mother-in-law to provide her with servants? Shizhen first gave birth to Ying Jie’er, and now she has given you Huai Ge’er — she is managing two children on her own; of course she is short-handed…… If you, Mother, had not proactively sent servants to her earlier, and she has now gone to the Lin family for help, how can you fairly fault her for not knowing her place?”
Shizhen was Lin Shi’s given name.
What Pei Bingyuan was saying was this: if the Old Madam had offered to send servants and been refused, then she might rightly say Lin Shi had behaved improperly. But since she had made no such offer, she had no grounds to fault Lin Shi for providing for herself.
At this, Pei Bingyuan went a step further on Lin Shi’s behalf: “Mother, you know as well as anyone what the household’s servants are like — especially some of the older nannies. If Shizhen brings a few women from home who are used to serving her and willing to listen to her, at least Huai Ge’er will be properly looked after — isn’t that what you want?…… In the end, it’s only a matter of a few servants — a small thing, hardly worth troubling yourself over. When I go back, I’ll also speak to her and tell her to consult you on matters going forward.”
With these words, the Old Madam found herself reconsidering her own part in the matter. She waved her hand: “Enough, enough — I am not such a petty person.”
Pei Shaohuai had listened to every word, and he thought to himself: his own father did, after all, have some sense, and some ability to reason with others. Only — he waited until things came to a head before saying a word or two about them. He managed something when it fell directly under his notice, but in the day-to-day, if he heard nothing and saw nothing, he let it be, never taking the initiative to inquire or to intervene.
What a pity.
“You were the one who insisted on marrying her — I could not dissuade you, so in the end I gave my consent.” The Old Madam began to dredge up old history, murmuring: “Yuan’er, tell me — with a family like ours, we could hardly be short of good matches. It was just that you were too stubborn…… Take your aunt’s daughter on your mother’s side, Lanxi — she has family standing, she has breeding, is she not a hundred times better than this woman? And yet you simply would not look at her……”
She had not finished before Pei Bingyuan interrupted her: “Lanxi hasn’t married to this day, Mother — why do you keep bringing her up?…… In any case, whoever I married, she would be living with you, not in the same room as me — so what does bearing and appearance have to do with anything?”
Then he gestured toward the handsome little infant and said: “Shizhen has given you such a clever and fine-looking grandson — how can you keep bringing up old grievances, Mother?”
The Old Madam, at this, burst into sudden laughter, saying again and again: “All right, all right, I’ll say no more.” Her son’s words were not without sense — if she had taken Lanxi instead, there was no guarantee that this particular fine-looking grandson of hers would have come to be.
Pei Shaohuai thought with a wordless sigh — truly, in a mother-in-law’s eyes, the girl one’s son didn’t marry is always the best of all possible choices…… But in Pei Shaohuai’s estimation, the real question was not whom Pei Bingyuan had married; it was that within this household, everyone ought simply to attend to their own role and maintain their own sphere. Then and only then could harmony be achieved. Mutual interference and manipulation only caused things to grow more entangled.
“Has there been any progress with Lian Jie’er’s marriage prospects?” the Old Madam thought to ask, then added, “Once next summer has passed, she will be of age for the coming-of-age ceremony — it really cannot be left much longer.”
Lian Jie’er — Pei Ruolian — was the eldest granddaughter of the Earl’s residence, Pei Shaohuai’s elder half-sister born of the same father, the daughter of the late Ning Shi. She had been born in the sixth month, and so the character for “lotus” had been chosen for her name.
Pei Shaohuai pricked up his ears and listened carefully.
He could only remember that his eldest sister had been betrothed to a good family — but precisely how good, and in what way, had slipped from his memory.
Unexpectedly, Pei Bingyuan turned his face to one side, shook his head, and said: “I am afraid a suitable family will not easily be found for the time being.”
This…… was not how Pei Shaohuai remembered it.