“No!” Old Madam Guo looked deeply at Cheng Xu and said lightly: “I’m not telling you to go ask Master Zhou. I’m telling you to properly live your life with the eldest Miss Min in the future!”
“Grandmother!” Cheng Xu cried out.
Old Madam Guo said: “If the Cheng and Min families hadn’t yet exchanged betrothal gifts, I might support you going to Master Zhou. But now your marriage to the eldest Miss Min has been settled. If you break the engagement, have you considered the consequences?”
Cheng Xu couldn’t help but mutter quietly: “But we haven’t exchanged the minor betrothal gifts yet, have we?”
Old Madam Guo laughed and said: “True, you haven’t exchanged the minor betrothal gifts. But you’ve already matched the Eight Characters and exchanged betrothal presents. According to propriety, if you were beaten to death at this time, the eldest Miss Min would either marry your memorial tablet and keep a widow’s vigil in the Cheng family, or her father and brothers would step forward to negotiate with our Cheng family to issue a divorce letter for the eldest Miss Min so she could remarry, and if our Cheng family didn’t agree, then Miss Min couldn’t marry out. Now that you know this, do you still want to go find Master Zhou?”
Cheng Xu showed a look of shame. Though he said nothing, he subsequently revealed some stubbornness.
Old Madam Guo knew he hadn’t given up hope. Sighing inwardly, she said: “If you insist on breaking the engagement, that’s fine too…”
Cheng Xu’s eyes brightened again.
Old Madam Guo said: “Fourth Master Min has served as Registrar at the Court of Imperial Stud for six years and wants to be promoted to Assistant Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud. Among those in our family who serve as officials at court, your Second Grand-Uncle has even resigned as Director of Studies, presumably unwilling to move elsewhere. Your Second Uncle, because of your father’s situation, might be sent to an external post. If sent externally, he should at least secure the position of Provincial Administration Commissioner in a strategic location.
“Your Fourth Branch’s Uncle Cheng Yuan is also capable—a Regular Graduate who is now a County Magistrate. According to Second Grand-Uncle’s thinking, it’s best to secure either Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commissioner or Fujian Provincial Administration Commissioner for your Second Uncle. The former controls the richest land under heaven, while the latter is far from the emperor with convenient operations.
“If your Second Uncle goes to Zhejiang, then we’ll find a way to transfer Uncle Cheng Yuan to Huating or Songjiang. If your Second Uncle goes to Fujian, then we’ll transfer Uncle Cheng Yuan to Zhoushan or Ningbo. This way, your father will have your Second Uncle as support, your Second Uncle will have Uncle Cheng Yuan to coordinate with, and things will be done much more smoothly.
“After a few more years, you’ll achieve success in the imperial examinations. With your uncles having gained experience in external posts, the Ministry of Personnel won’t be able to use the excuse of your father entering the Cabinet, and he could at least become a Minor Minister.
“Then transfer Uncle Cheng Yuan to places like Huguang or Dezhou to serve as Prefect, while you serve as a Section Chief in the Six Ministries. This situation will gradually unfold.
“We understand this principle, and so do other families.
“Fifth Master Min has been at the Hanlin Academy for over ten years. He was a Third-Ranked Scholar that year, and by seniority ranks above your Second Uncle. With Min Jianxing, a First-Ranked Scholar, serving as Compiler at the Hanlin Academy, there’s no point in Fifth Master Min remaining there. Now he’s also eyeing the position of Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commissioner.
“If you break the engagement with the Min family without cause, the Min family will agree but will certainly propose that we help Fifth Master Min secure the position of Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commissioner.
“If your Second Uncle fails to secure the Fujian Provincial Administration Commissioner position, your father will become very isolated at court.
“But with the support of the Cheng and Yuan families, the Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commissioner position for the Min family will be easy as taking something from a pocket—there will be no suspense.
“After a few more years, when Min Jianxing is released from the Academy, he’ll be at least a Supervising Secretary in the Six Ministries. And with his experience in external posts, Fifth Master Min can return to the capital to compete for a Minor Minister position.
“One waxes while the other wanes. Our Cheng family may end up being suppressed by the Min family by then.
“Jiashan, do you still want to break the engagement with the Min family?”
A struggling expression appeared in Cheng Xu’s eyes.
Old Madam Guo continued: “You might say that Grand Secretary Song Jingran came from humble origins yet still became Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion and Minister of Revenue, didn’t he? That’s true. You might also become Prime Minister and enter the Cabinet, but along Master Song’s path, did he ever let his father and brothers make sacrifices for him? Make concessions for him? Why should your father and uncles sacrifice and make concessions for your personal feelings? If you do this, can you face the father who gave you life and Jiuru Lane that raised you? Even if you become Chief Grand Secretary one day, when you worship your ancestors, can you face those ancestors enshrined in the ancestral hall? When you return home in glory, can you face those uncles and brothers who placed infinite hopes in you?”
A tear fell from the corner of Cheng Xu’s eye.
After a long while, he said hesitantly: “Grandmother, is there really no other way?”
“There is!” Old Madam Guo said. “You leave Jiuru Lane, you leave the Cheng family. From then on you’re no longer a member of the Cheng family, and then you can go to Baoding Prefecture to seek an audience with Master Zhou…”
“Grandmother!” Cheng Xu’s eyes held a faint glimmer of light. He said uncertainly: “But would Master Zhou agree?”
“I don’t know!” Old Madam Guo felt chilled inside, but her voice became even gentler. “After you leave the Cheng family, Master Zhou might think that since you could disregard your family’s interests, you might also disregard Shaojin after marrying her…”
“No, I wouldn’t!” Cheng Xu insisted stubbornly.
But Old Madam Guo remained unmoved and said directly: “He might be unwilling to marry his daughter to you; or he might feel that you gave up everything to marry Shaojin, that you’re a man of true feeling, and marry Shaojin to you. But no matter what, this is your own decision, and you must bear the consequences of your decision. So when you decide to break the engagement with the Min family, you need to think clearly—if you leave the Cheng family but fail to marry Shaojin, will you regret it? If you don’t leave the Cheng family, you definitely cannot marry Shaojin—can you accept that…”
“I can’t accept it, I can’t accept it!” Cheng Xu said in a low voice.
Old Madam Guo gazed at Cheng Xu for a moment and said softly: “Look at you—wrong on the left, not good on the right. You want to be the young master of Jiuru Lane’s Cheng family, and you want to marry your ideal beauty Zhou Shaojin, but where in this world are there perfect things?
“You didn’t fight for yourself before, and now you’ve gotten yourself into this situation and can’t accept it.
“Jiashan, this is actually what we commonly call cowardice and weakness! You don’t dare fight for what you want, and when you feel regretful you’re unwilling to bear the consequences.
“Like you are, even if the family paves a golden path for you, you’ll walk it unwillingly and will eventually be pushed down by those who desperately seek it.”
Cheng Xu looked at Old Madam Guo in shock.
Old Madam Guo said calmly: “Jiashan, recover from your injuries properly and prepare to marry the eldest Miss Min! Some opportunities, once lost, are lost forever. Just remember one thing: your father and uncles owe you nothing and have no obligation to bear the consequences of your willfulness. What you do, you take responsibility for—don’t drag others down with you.”
Cheng Xu’s eyes slowly dimmed.
Old Madam Guo turned away from the bed and called for Biyu and Feicui to enter: “For the next couple of days you don’t need to do anything else—just properly attend to the Young Master. When the Young Master’s injuries have mostly healed, you should be ready to marry out. At that time I’ll have substantial rewards for you.”
The two curtsied together and said: “We don’t dare accept the Old Madam’s substantial rewards. This is what we servants should do.”
Old Madam Guo nodded and went to the adjacent study.
“Some opportunities, once lost, are lost forever!”
“Your father and uncles owe you nothing and have no obligation to bear the consequences of your willfulness!”
“Master Zhou might think that since you could disregard your family’s interests, you might also disregard Shaojin after marrying her, and be unwilling to marry his daughter to you!”
“Or he might feel that you gave up everything to marry Shaojin, that you’re a man of true feeling, and marry Shaojin to you!”
…
Cheng Xu’s mind was in chaos, constantly echoing with Old Madam Guo’s words.
In the reception hall, Wu Baozhang stood in the center answering Cheng Chi’s questions: “I thought that since Cousin Cheng Gao’s bride had just entered the family, and I happened to have nothing to do in the afternoon, and there were only Cousin Cheng Jia and the second Miss Zhou in the household, and I had been friendly with them when I was a maiden, I thought to invite them both to sit with Cousin Cheng Gao’s bride. It could be considered welcoming her to Jiuru Lane. But when I entered the cave, I discovered…” Her face flushed completely red, looking too embarrassed to continue.
But Cheng Chi acted as if he didn’t know what she was hesitating about, saying gently: “What exactly did you see? Everyone here is family. You might as well speak plainly!”
An attitude of getting to the bottom of things no matter what.
Wu Baozhang couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.
Aren’t you afraid I’ll say something unfavorable to Cheng Xu?
But when she saw Cheng Chi’s calm face that seemed confident and in control, her heart began to waver.
With everything in their favor—timing, location, and people—even Cheng Lu thought it was a sure thing, yet the result was completely beyond their expectations… Who knew what had gone wrong?
It was clear that although the Second and Third Branches spoke well, they actually no longer had control of the situation!
Though she wanted to see Zhou Shaojin’s humiliation, she had no intention of implicating herself.
“I saw Ji Ying beating Young Master Xu!” In just a few moments, Wu Baozhang decided her position and said honestly and properly: “Young Master Xu barely fought back a few times before being beaten to the ground by Ji Ying, groaning without any movement. As if still not satisfied, Ji Ying viciously kicked Young Master Xu several more times before stopping.”
Cheng Shi and the others were in an uproar.
Cheng Chi acted as if he hadn’t heard and asked Wu Baozhang: “What were the second Miss Zhou and her personal maid doing?”
Wu Baozhang said reluctantly: “Chun Wan stood in front of the second Miss Zhou, standing to the side watching Ji Ying beat Young Master Xu.”
Cheng Chi said: “When Chun Wan stood in front of the second Miss Zhou, did she spread her arms protecting the second Miss Zhou? Or was she holding Miss Zhou’s shoulders?”
If Zhou Shaojin had been taken advantage of by Cheng Xu, Chun Wan should have spread her arms protecting the second Miss Zhou, right?
Wu Baozhang said: “She spread her arms protecting the second Miss Zhou.”
Cheng Chi said: “You may go to the side room to wait for now.”
Wu Baozhang curtsied and withdrew.
Cheng Shi thought Cheng Chi would interrogate Huanxi and Da Su who served Cheng Xu, but who knew Cheng Chi called in Chun Wan instead. He repeated what Wu Baozhang had said to Chun Wan, then finally asked: “Why did you spread your arms to protect the second Miss Zhou?”
She had been trembling and hugging the Second Miss at the time, not spreading her arms to protect the second Miss Zhou!
Chun Wan was somewhat confused.
But thinking of what Nanny Shang had said to her on the road when she called her from Hanbi Mountain Lodge, she immediately said: “Fists and feet have no eyes. I was afraid that when Ji Ying and Young Master Xu were fighting, our Second Miss would be accidentally injured!”