Yun Pan was astonished by her wild idea, and knowing that she was grasping at straws in desperation, she laughed: “A’Jie, stop making trouble — how can something like this be treated as a joke?”
“Truly, I am not joking with you — I mean it!” Mei Fen seized on this lifeline as though her life depended on it, and said urgently: “Did you not say so yourself — in this day and age, everyone marries blindly. Going to live in any household afterward is all the same. If that is the case, Duke Weiguo’s household is not of a low rank; I have also seen that Li Chenjian — he has a decent, respectable appearance; he would not be beneath you. Your match with Dongchang Commandery Duke’s household has fallen through; you will need to settle an engagement sooner or later regardless. Why not betroth yourself to Duke Weiguo? This way you resolve my urgent need, and your own marriage is settled too — a solution that serves both of us at once. Say yes, Younger Sister.”
She spoke with such conviction that it clearly was no joke. As she spoke, she gripped Yun Pan’s wrist and made to get up: “Come, let us go see Mother and ask her to think of something.”
Yun Pan was thoroughly bewildered by her and hastily backed away, stopping short: “A’Jie… A’Jie… marriage is not a game — how can one just swap people in and out like that? Duke Weiguo’s household chose this match because they had their eye on Uncle’s prestige in court; not every girl can marry into Duke Weiguo’s household. Besides, when I entered the capital last time, it was Duke Weiguo who helped me — the man has already seen me and knows my background. If you try to deceive him and he pursues it, and a grievance is brought before His Majesty, the faces of both our families would be utterly ruined, and who knows how many people’s official careers would be destroyed.”
Mei Fen had been full of enthusiasm, but after hearing all this she deflated helplessly, and sank in a daze onto the daybed, her spirit gone from her. The tears flowed by the jugful, and she kept muttering to herself: “What is to be done… what is to be done…”
And yet once the thought of the substitute bride had taken root, there seemed to be no stopping it. No matter how she thought about it, she wanted to try. Heedless of Yun Pan’s reasoned dissuasion, she struggled to her feet and dragged her in one go to stand before Madam Ming.
Madam Ming saw the urgency on Mei Fen’s face and did not know her scheme, puzzled: “What are you dragging your sister in here for? Just look at her — dripping in sweat from head to toe!”
Mei Fen ignored everything else; she pushed Yun Pan forward and said: “Mother, let Si Si go in my place! As long as Father and Mother acknowledge Si Si as a daughter, she will be Duke Shuguo’s household’s proper legitimate daughter, and a match for Duke Weiguo would be perfectly fitting.”
Madam Ming was left bewildered by this flight of fancy; after quite a long while, she reprimanded her sharply: “Preposterous. You do not want to marry, so you send your sister in your place — a matter this large, can our single family decide it?”
Yun Pan was also thrown into a fluster by her, and said with a red face: “A’Jie, doing this — you will make it impossible for me to stay in the household any longer…”
“Si Si, never mind what she says — she has taken leave of her senses and I have no idea what kind of brain she has to come up with such a harebrained scheme!” Madam Ming’s eyes went wide with fury. “Everyone has their own fate in marriage — what makes you think you can pair up anyone however you please? Your sister came to this household because of your uncle’s foolishness; and here you are, more foolish than your uncle! Let us hear no more of this — if your father finds out, he will beat you!”
Mei Fen felt deeply disappointed; this idea had won not a single person’s endorsement. She felt increasingly put out, and in the end flounced off in a huff back to Zilanyard.
Madam Ming collapsed into her seat and pounded the table: “What is to be done — I see Mei Fen’s thinking is somewhat off.”
Yun Pan thought of the account Mei Fen had given of the pond incident, and asked about the cousin from the aunt’s household. Even now Madam Ming still felt that Mei Fen had been mistaken, saying only: “He Xiao was always a well-behaved child — back when we took Mei Fen to her aunt’s home, He Xiao looked after her very attentively, constantly asking after her, calling her ‘little sister’ this and ‘little sister’ that. But that time Mei Fen insisted it was He Xiao who pushed her into the water — the whole business made us very sorry toward He Xiao and put him through an injustice.”
Parents can be like this sometimes — busy smoothing things over for their children, without caring about the substance of the matter.
“But what if everything A’Jie said was true?” Yun Pan ventured. “What fear could have made her unwilling to step outside the gate for ten years — has Aunt ever thought about that?”
Madam Ming was startled for a moment, but quickly shook off that thought: “She was only six years old then; in all the panic and confusion it would be easy to have seen wrongly. The main thing is that He Xiao was a child we watched grow up — always proper and measured, never once doing anything out of turn. Today he is famous throughout the capital, even the prime minister goes out of his way to invite him to banquets. To say he pushed Mei Fen into the water — I simply cannot reason my way to that conclusion.”
So it is clear how difficult it is to change a first impression formed long ago. Never mind that Mei Fen had lost heart — even Yun Pan, who stood entirely outside the matter, felt deeply the despair of having nowhere to turn.
Madam Ming had had a genuinely dreadful day, utterly exhausted by Mei Fen’s antics. At moments the resentment surged up inside her and she almost wanted to wash her hands of the whole affair and see what would become of her. Only she felt guilty for dragging Yun Pan into this like a spinning top, afraid that coming to stay here had made the child uncomfortable in body and spirit.
“After today, you need not concern yourself with your sister’s affairs anymore. I had originally hoped you could help persuade her; now I see she has gone into some kind of stupor that no one can snap her out of. Still, there is one thing she said that was quite right…” Madam Ming looked at Yun Pan with warmth and said gently: “To take you as a daughter and let you stay on long in our Duke’s household. You do not know how dearly Aunt cares for you — since you came to be near me, I cannot let you suffer the slightest grievance.”
For someone shut out by her own family, hearing such words — the warmth of it was beyond description.
Yun Pan’s eyes reddened; she bowed her head and said: “How fortunate I am to have Aunt — even though my own home has no place for me, there is still Aunt who loves me.”
But beside them Nanny Yao made a teasing remark: “Madam is mistaken — even if you take her as a daughter, there will come a day she marries out. If Madam truly wants to keep the young mistress in the household long term, the only way is to betroth her to our Young Master. Cousins marrying is nothing unusual elsewhere — in our household, it would be a charming tale too.”
The warmth Yun Pan had felt a moment before was completely shocked away by Nanny Yao’s words. Mortified, she stuttered: “Nanny, please do not… do not jest — Elder Brother is a brother of this very household; I have absolutely no such thoughts.”
Nanny Yao was Madam Ming’s own dowry nanny; she would not have dared make such an offhand remark without first knowing Madam Ming’s intentions.
Madam Ming saw the shock on Yun Pan’s face and said with a smile: “Nanny is only teasing you — do not take it seriously. But, speaking of it, you have been in your brother’s company for half a day — what do you think of his character?”
As for Xiang Xu’s character, there was certainly nothing to fault. The saying “time reveals a person’s heart” was no doubt true, but whether one’s conduct was upright or not could sometimes be judged in a single glance.
Yet with Nanny Yao having paved the way, she now felt awkward offering any evaluation, so she weighed her words and said simply: very good. “Elder Brother looks after me very well. Mother only ever had me, and I have always envied Elder Cousin Mei for having such a devoted elder brother.”
With such a “devoted elder brother,” it was clear there were no other intentions. Madam Ming was perceptive; hearing this, she understood, but still mentioned in passing: “Your uncle comes from a military background — years of campaigning left him with ailments all over his body, and he does not wish to see your brother enter the military and go through harsh training. Hexu also loves reading; he currently holds a post at the Imperial Academy, and in another year or two he will certainly be entering the court as an official…” She noticed Yun Pan gazing at her blankly, and suddenly felt the absurdity of it all. She laughed at herself and said: “Enough, enough — what is the point of saying all this! You have just come back from outside without even catching your breath, then spent half the day in this commotion with your sister — you must be exhausted. Go and rest. Do not take what she said to heart; once she has let off steam, I will give her a proper scolding.”
Yun Pan acknowledged this, tidied her skirts, gave a slight bow, and withdrew from the main room.
Watching her walk away toward the courtyard gate, Madam Ming murmured: “From what she said, it seems she has no such feelings for Hexu.”
Nanny Yao tucked her hands and said: “Girls are modest by nature, and she is, moreover, a daughter of a Marquis’s household. Even if the Marquis has been foolish, she was raised under the County Princess’s guidance since childhood and naturally observes propriety.”
Madam Ming rested one hand on the low table with the air of someone who had seen through the red dust of the world, murmuring: “These past years I had indeed been thinking of finding good matches for the children — not that connections need be useful later, but simply preserving the family’s wealth without squandering it would be enough. But look at the mess Mei Fen has made of things — as if we were pushing her into a vat of oil to boil. She has latched onto such a fine household yet gives no explanation, and that is deeply worrying. I thought it over just now: the master’s title cannot climb higher for someone of an outside lineage; when Hexu enters officialdom, there is no need to rely on others’ help — with a little maneuvering within our own family, there is nothing that cannot succeed. Let him choose someone he himself likes in the end. One Mei Fen has already worried me into grey hairs — if I add Hexu on top of that, I will not survive.”
Besides, the rank of Founding Marquis’s household was not low for an outer lineage, and the legitimate daughter was sought by a hundred families. Just now at Zilanyard she had noticed Xiang Xu standing there fixed in a daze, staring at the curtain behind which Yun Pan had gone — and Madam Ming had seen the whole thing. She had made up her own mind: however disgraceful Jiang Heng might be, he would not cast off his own daughter. When the day came for Yun Pan to return home, she would go right ahead and settle the betrothal — Yun Pan would leave, and then a few days later be welcomed back to the Duke’s household. This way, first, she would be spared further humiliation; second, a perfectly proper pleasing daughter-in-law would be gained. How wonderful!
Only this plan of Madam Ming’s had not yet been discussed with Duke Shuguo when the Duke learned that Founding Marquis’s household had held funeral rites — and his fury had nowhere to vent.
That day at court, they dealt with Youzhou’s disaster situation in audience. After court was dismissed, the officials withdrew from Daqing Hall, passed through the wide central path, and filed out through the Yide Gate. Duke Shuguo walked with his characteristic unhurried stride toward the rear, while Jiang Heng walked some distance ahead of him.
He had been holding back all morning, waiting to see whether Jiang Heng would take the initiative to inform him of Yun Pan’s “death.” But he waited and waited; by the time they were nearly about to each take their separate carriages, still not a single word of explanation had come from Jiang Heng.
A man who had fought through years of battle had no sand in his eyes. Duke Shuguo finally could hold back no longer; a voice like a great bell — “Marquis Jiang, please wait” — rang out and drew many colleagues to turn their heads and stare.
Jiang Heng naturally also caught the scent of gunpowder. He turned back to face Duke Shuguo, cupped his hands in a salute: “Brother Jingqing — to what do I owe this?”
Duke Shuguo paced over with a smile that did not reach his eyes: “I hear your household held funeral rites not long ago — why no word to us? We are relatives after all.” Seeing Jiang Heng’s expression turn awkward, he gave a long sigh. “This bout of natural disaster has brought suffering to so many families — I never imagined your household, too, would… May I ask who it was who passed? Judging by how simply it was conducted, it must have been a concubine. Alas — last year the County Princess departed, and this year yet another person is lost. Your household suffers loss after loss; it is truly heartbreaking.”
Duke Shuguo’s character Jiang Heng understood perfectly well. He was not normally the sort to involve himself in such trifling matters, yet today he had launched into this whole sarcastic, insinuating speech — he had evidently caught wind of something.
Jiang Heng could not help but feel a wave of dejection. Speaking of Si Si pained him, but this was a family matter, and outsiders had no right to question him. So he steadied himself and said: “I was just about to inform Brother Jingqing. During the earthquake… it was my eldest daughter who perished. I had originally meant to send someone to report the mourning to your household, but, as Brother Jingqing says, last year Elder Sister passed away, and this year Si Si too is gone — I was also afraid that Elder Sister would be overcome with grief and harm herself, so I kept the news from her.”
“So it was consideration for my wife.” Duke Shuguo tucked his audience tablet and said: “But Brother Yuzao should not forget — on her deathbed, the County Princess entrusted Elder Sister to watch over Si Si. Now the child has met with misfortune, and you have not even sent a word of notice. It seems you have forgotten that the child still had an uncle and an aunt to depend on!”
Impatience churned inside Jiang Heng, yet he dared not let it show. He forced a bow and said: “Not sending word immediately was my negligence; truly, with such an event in the household, I have been too overwhelmed to attend to anything. Brother Jingqing is a reasonable man — surely you would not hold this against me.”
Duke Shuguo paced slowly in a small circle, then gave a cold smile: “Hold it against you — of course not. But there is one thing I cannot fathom: how can a man believe every word a concubine says? If someone used the earthquake as a pretext to harm Si Si, and you were not at home, would Si Si not have died an unjust death?”
Jiang Heng’s devotion to shielding his concubine was truly attested to by the sun and moon. His color changed; barely restraining himself, he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth: “Duke Xiang, my household has just suffered great calamity — it is already difficult enough. Why must you fabricate things from nothing and stir up trouble?”
Duke Shuguo fixed him with a long, measuring look, and finally curled his lower lip in contempt: “Very well. Since Marquis Jiang insists that Si Si is gone, there is nothing more to be said. I presume Si Si’s household registration has already been cancelled — from this day forward, everything concerning her has nothing to do with Marquis Jiang. My household has long been short of people; in days to come, I shall give the child a new name — Xiang Zhufen. I think that suits her very well.”