Once he had made up his mind, Chen Dasheng slept soundly through the night, and the next morning he was set to go out early.
Several old madams were out early that day, and as Chen Dasheng left the alley, he greeted everyone he met with a beaming smile.
Old Madam Tao quickly stood up and asked with a smile, “Out so early, where is the Registrar heading off to?”
Chen Dasheng answered good-naturedly, “I have some business back in Yandu.”
Seeing the old madam looking puzzled, Chen Dasheng said to her, “A’Nai, I’ll be back by afternoon.”
With that, he mounted his horse and left alone.
Seeing that he hadn’t brought a single one of his brothers, the old madam, who knew her grandson well, turned to ask Qiqian’er, “Where’s Choutou off to? Are you two scheming behind my back again?”
Qiqian’er looked up at her and said with a smile, “What would we scheme behind your back? The brothers discussed it among themselves — they want to tidy up the household, inside and out. They said they were going to find carpenters, stonemasons, tile-layers…” After hesitating, Qiqian’er finally added, “And also to buy some people to bring back…”
Unfortunately, before she could finish, the old madam bellowed in fury, “What did you say? Buy people! With the little bit of work there is in this house, are you incapable of doing it? Or am I paralyzed? I can manage everything myself! And now you want to buy people? Honestly, life has gotten so comfortable that people are getting tired of it, more and more outrageous by the day…”
The old madam’s tone was like a rocket shooting skyward! Her voice was loud and rude, startling even Old Madam Xu beside her.
Old Madam Tao, used to this, lowered her head and calmly fingered her newly made prayer beads as if nothing were happening, while worriedly glancing at Qiqian’er.
Qiqian’er, however, was not affected in the slightest. While sewing silver buttons onto the old madam’s new jacket, she patiently explained, “So is that what you mean? Tomorrow, should we go to the fields over at Quanqian and pull the plow ourselves for spring planting? Fine! I’ll pull in front, and you can crack the whip behind me! I definitely won’t say a word of complaint! I suppose it’s only right that I be your ox and horse!”
The old madam’s face immediately flushed red. Old Madam Xu and Old Madam Tao exchanged glances, both thinking to themselves: what a formidable young wife — usually so quiet, but once she opens her mouth she can talk circles around anyone!
Seeing that the old madam had gone silent, Qiqian’er continued, “And there’s more — they’re about to renovate the manor over there too, and we’ll need to hire tenant farmers. When those people arrive, shouldn’t we prepare some shelter for them to stay in? Fine! You’re so capable! Let’s go there ourselves, the two of us — with our sixth-rank imperial titles — and mix the mud, shape the bricks, and build the house ourselves, fire the tiles ourselves…”
The old madam said nothing, sheepishly closing her mouth.
Old Madam Xu pointed at the old madam, then gave Qiqian’er a particularly satisfied thumbs up.
Seeing the old madam had gone quiet, Qiqian’er still couldn’t let it go — more and more official families were moving into the surrounding area, and in her previous life, it was Madam Qiao who kept up appearances while they suffered real hardship behind the scenes.
She couldn’t bear to see the old madam suffer now, but the old madam also needed to learn how to be the matriarch of an official family. She didn’t need her to be terribly ambitious — just being like Old Madam Xu, someone who knew how to enjoy life, would be enough.
“A’Nai!” she called without lifting her head. “Some things we can’t avoid. When money needs to be spent, it needs to be spent. You see it as wasteful, but do I see it any differently? But Dasheng, and Cousin Brother and the others need to move about in society, and if things stay as they were, it’ll be bad for their official reputation… If word gets out that they’re all such distinguished figures, and someone asks around and finds out their old madam grinds her own flour and cooks her own meals at home, that would be a great unfilial act on their part!”
The old madam muttered, “What’s wrong with managing my own affairs?”
Old Madam Xu scolded her, “That’s nonsense you’re spouting…”
“You’re the one talking nonsense! What you’re saying is garbage!”
“You…!”
Worried they’d start fighting again, Qiqian’er cut in, “Times are different now. Not to mention anything else, just for our household, we need at least a steward from outside, a housekeeper, and a couple of competent old women to attend to you personally. And the residence over at Qingguan’s place also needs people to look after and tidy it… Even seven or eight people brought back might not be enough…”
Hearing that they’d have to feed people for free, the old madam was about to go into a rage, but her hand was grabbed by Old Madam Xu beside her.
This time the old madam truly served a great purpose — she glared unceremoniously at the old madam and said, “You old woman, you never listen to reason. Why must you make things difficult for the children? Do you think they enjoy this?”
The old madam’s lips trembled. “What’s wrong with that? If you don’t want to spend the money, just don’t do it! We have our hands and feet, why buy people at all? Back when the whole family had over twenty people, I could handle it all by myself. Why can’t I now?”
Old Madam Xu sighed helplessly. “What else can you do but buy them? We old nuisances have all held our children and grandchildren back! No matter how well they do for themselves, once we’re in our seventies and going in and out, outsiders judge the children’s filial devotion. If there’s the slightest oversight, people will gossip! They’ll say your family has become officials but still treats the old madam so shabbily…
Do you think the children have it easy? Working so hard to earn money for the family… You don’t even know — compared to us, this is nothing. In the great households of Yandu, even an unfavored concubine has four or five people serving her. Where do we even rank?”
The old madam listened, stunned, and after a long while said with a look of fear, “This — this isn’t enjoying good fortune at all. This is pure suffering. What am I to do? I — I’ve gone and caused the children more trouble again…”
Qiqian’er grabbed her hand and looked at her earnestly. “A’Nai! You’re not trouble. You’re the only blessing Dasheng and I have in this world. What do I have besides you? Who does Dasheng have besides you? Other families are all together, whole and complete, but if you were gone, and Dasheng went off, I’d be left all alone — wouldn’t that be pitiful? When Dasheng comes back, it would just be me in this house, the two of us facing each other with no one else — what would be the point of living like that? Look at Old Madam Tao’s family, look at Old Madam Xu’s family — our house can’t even fill one table for a meal. How could you be trouble?”
These words struck deep, and all three old madams began wiping away tears. After wiping for a long while, the old madam silently stroked Qiqian’er’s hand and sighed, “From now on, do as you like! I won’t interfere anymore! Only… won’t my girl work herself to death?”
Qiqian’er turned her tears into laughter and said reproachfully, “What are you thinking! Since when does being the wife of an official work someone to death? Our family isn’t short of the money to support seven or eight people…”
She leaned in and whispered into the old madam’s ear, and eventually got her laughing.
It was true, after all — the family had such a large manor now, and didn’t even have to pay taxes on it, so things really were different now, truly different.
With that, everyone laughed together. Seeing they had made up, Old Madam Xu changed the subject and said, “If you’re talking about wealth and splendor, you two haven’t seen anything yet! This old woman here has witnessed real grandeur in Shaoshang, truly! It was at my son’s superior’s household — the one who’s now a third-rank Vice Minister at court…”
Old Madam Xu had lived a few days of the noble lady’s life in Shaoshang, had even attended banquets, and began recounting it all with obvious pride.
“That year! The old master of the Vice Minister’s household turned eighty, and they threw a birthday banquet! My son was doing well for himself, so the whole family was invited. That was the first time I’d ever been out and about — oh my, that really opened my eyes…
That day, we arrived just as the sun was setting, and we weren’t even at the street entrance yet — you should have seen it… the line of carriages waiting to get in! There were at least two hundred of them! Two hundred, at the very least!
And the lanterns lining the street, made with tallow and shaped like the character for longevity, lit up the whole street as bright as day — can you imagine how many candles that cost? The Vice Minister’s family were kind people — while we ate inside, they’d set up a stage right at the street entrance and hired the best troupe in all of Shaoshang to perform for the neighborhood for three whole days! They even set out ten cauldrons to give out meat and noodles to beggars… By the time we finally made it to the back of the house, my goodness, that whole courtyard full of young ladies and wives, they really did look like little flower fairies, so beautiful, so sweet-smelling…”
Old Madam Xu suddenly stopped mid-sentence. It was nothing, really — just that a few days earlier, when her family had come with the Jiang family, two or three dozen carriages had already seemed like quite a grand procession. But now, seeing this convoy approaching from a distance, it was on an entirely different scale.
Old Madam Xu looked over and said, “That’s headed toward the checkerboard courtyard by the ancestral hall entrance, isn’t it?”
There were two more paired residences in Quanqian Manor — the kind of grand estate with one three-entrance courtyard in the center connected to four two-entrance courtyards on either side. This type of residence was so intimidating that even the group of rough countrywomen the old madam used to run with hadn’t dared to claim it back then.
And because the residence was perfectly square, like squares on a checkerboard, they’d taken to calling it the Left and Right Checkerboard Courtyards.
This extravagant procession was clearly headed for the right Checkerboard Courtyard.
Qiqian’er looked up too, and saw a full seventy or eighty household guards, swords at their waists, mounted on tall horses, surrounding the family carriages in tight formation — truly a procession so long you couldn’t see the last carriage from the first.
Perhaps tired from the journey, a group of more than a dozen veiled women descended gracefully from the carriages, attended by a crowd of maidservants, each surrounded by her own cluster of nursemaids and maids.
Qiqian’er smiled. What good neighbors!
She recognized this household — it belonged to Tang Jiuyuan, a renowned official of Daliang, the future Minister of Personnel, currently the fifth-rank Bureau Director of the Ministry of Justice, and the third son-in-law of Li Zhang, Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.
The procession waited in orderly fashion outside the Checkerboard Courtyard gate — so many carriages, so many people, yet hardly anyone raised their voice…
The old madams were all struck dumb with awe.
Qiqian’er had lived here her whole life, yet had never once set foot inside the Checkerboard Courtyard. Though the Tang family lived here, they rarely mingled with the other officials’ families in the back alleys, at most exchanging polite neighborly courtesies during festivals.
But on the day Chen Dasheng’s spirit was carried out for burial, when she was utterly devastated and trudging back alone from the graveyard, she had come across a small palanquin waiting for her on the road. The nursemaid attending it said the family’s matriarch, worried something might happen to her walking alone, had sent someone to wait there and escort her home…
That was the true bearing of a great clan — thoughtful, considerate down to the most tender, vulnerable places in a person’s heart.
In a life so cold and bitter, such rare kindness stayed with Qiqian’er even now.
As for the Checkerboard Courtyard on the left, under the big willow tree — that belonged to the family with whom she shared a blood feud over a murdered child. She remembered that just as clearly, and would never forget it.
“Girl? Qiqian?”
The old madam noticed her granddaughter-in-law standing motionless, watching with an expression she’d never seen before — one carrying a cold, chilling edge. Unsettled, she reached out and shook her shoulder.
Qiqian’er’s eyes cleared instantly, and she asked with a smile, “Nai? What is it?”
The old madam pouted. “What, envying their wealth now? Looking down on our humble little Chen family?”
This old madam!
Qiqian’er burst out laughing, lowering her head to continue her needlework as she said, “What are you even thinking? That’s just a fifth rank — only one rank above your grandson. What would I envy? Look at that family — at least four generations living together, all cramped and crowded, twenty or thirty family heads bickering over trivial matters day in and day out! Our household is so much more peaceful — why would I envy them?”
Hearing this, the old madam grew displeased, feeling she’d been shortchanged, and asked, “What? Just fifth rank? That’s about the same as Xiaohua! Are — are we shortchanging Xiaohua on his courtyard, then?”
As soon as the old madam said this, Qiqian’er understood what she meant — she felt their family’s courtyard was too small, that they were being cheated.
Qiqian’er thought about it for a moment — that was true! Tang Jiuyuan was fifth rank, and Xiaohua was also fifth rank? Tang Jiuyuan could brazenly live in the Checkerboard Courtyard without a second thought — so why should Xiaohua be stuck in a two-entrance courtyard in the guard’s alley?
That Tang Jiuyuan had a first-rank father-in-law, but their own Xiaohua had His Majesty himself! Plus an earl father, and two viscount elder brothers! What was wrong with him living in a Checkerboard Courtyard?
They’d simply been too timid, too small-minded!
Qiqian’er set down her sewing basket, lowered her head, cupped the old madam’s face, and planted a loud kiss right on her forehead. Then she turned and dashed into the house.
The old madam, looking utterly disgusted, rubbed furiously at her forehead — half angry, half embarrassed — grumbling, “Has she gone mad! Mad!”
Old Madam Tao and Old Madam Xu, meanwhile, looked at her with open envy — such a devoted junior relative was something neither of them had, not even half of one.
Before long, Qiqian’er came out holding a large sheet of fine rice paper in one hand and a bowl of ink in the other, saying to the old madam, “Nai! Let’s go! Time to claim a courtyard for Xiaohua!”
When that family arrived, they’d just have to eat their loss!
Ha! Just thinking about it made her happy!
The old madam, quite alarmed, stood up and stammered, “Really — really going? I was just saying it! You — you’re actually taking it seriously!”
Qiqian’er, holding the ink bowl with righteous confidence, said, “You’re the one who said it, aren’t you? Our Xiaohua! He’s a proper fifth-rank Roving General, raised as His Majesty’s own adopted son! Why should he have to live crammed in this shabby alley? That would be a disgrace! Let’s go, let’s go!”
With that, she carried the ink bowl and walked along a side path, skirting around the procession of people and horses, straight to the left side of the ancestral hall…
The old madam, feeling uneasy, muttered the whole way that Qiqian’er was asking for trouble, but Qiqian’er coaxed her, saying, “Once Dasheng gives you a great-grandchild, and if there end up being more children, won’t the house get crowded? How far will we need to spread the kids out? Won’t it be outside the manor otherwise? Let Xiaohua take this side, and we’ll take over his old courtyard!”
Hearing this, the old madam immediately stopped objecting, and instead followed along behind Qiqian’er with a broad smile, praising her the whole way for doing well.
“Residence of Chang Lianfang, Deputy Chiliarch of the Forbidden Guard Golden Feathered Front Guard, Roving Cavalry General of Great Liang”!
Qiqian’er looked at the towering, magnificent gate before her, and thought back to when she used to cower behind that willow tree, crying in fear — and felt both self-deprecating amusement and a sense of release.
But she’d barely finished writing when someone nearby shouted at her, “Hey, you woman! What are you scribbling on this gate for?”
Qiqian’er startled and turned to look — she saw two men jump down from the millstone platform over there. Leading them was an old constable in his forties or fifties, and beside him walked a middle-aged man in a dark green silk robe with a pointed mouth and rat-like features.
Hmph! Old acquaintances!
The two men hurried over, but by the time they reached the gate, they saw the characters already written on the grand entrance.
Heavens above! This was a disaster!
The old constable had been eyeing this residence for days, hoping to earn a nice reward for it. Who could have guessed that the moment he looked away, a commoner woman would come and claim it?
Recently, the houses in Quanqian Manor had caught the eye of mid-level officials. Residences in Yandu depended on imperial grants, and those who didn’t receive one could only buy — and even buying was impossible for those whose former dynasty had just fallen and who wished to return home.
As such, this prime piece of property in Quanqian Manor had drawn countless covetous eyes. Qingfeng had plenty of good houses too, but without access to water routes, they were terribly inconvenient to live in.
The old constable naturally wasn’t willing to back down, but seeing Qiqian’er and the old madam dressed in commoner’s clothes, he was about to open his mouth to intimidate them when the man beside him yanked at his sleeve.
The middle-aged man could read, and after glancing at the characters on the gate, his heart immediately tightened — the Emperor’s own personal guard! He looked again carefully at the name “Chang Lianfang,” feeling he’d heard it somewhere before, though he couldn’t quite place it.
Since even he felt he’d heard the name before, this wasn’t someone to offend.
So he looked Qiqian’er and the old madam up and down, forcing out a smile as he said, “Might I ask — which household do you two ladies work for?”
How could such an important matter have been handled by sending out just two housekeepers to claim the residence? Surely they weren’t trying to fool him?
Qiqian’er, hearing this, grew furious and glared at the man without any courtesy. “How rude! Which household are you from? Didn’t your master let you scout the place beforehand before sending you out? You should be careful with your words!”
This man was just an outside errand-runner, sent on this task by the household’s chief steward. He hadn’t even met his own mistress more than a few times.
As such, he was immediately intimidated into silence.
Seeing the man mumbling and unable to respond, Qiqian’er pointed at Chang Lianfang’s name on the gate and scolded sharply, “Truly, your eyes must be blind! How unlucky must your master be, to send out someone who can’t tell status from a mile away, inviting disaster upon them! If you don’t understand, go ask around about this name — you don’t even need to ask anyone else…”
She then looked at the old constable and said, “Judging by your attire, you’re from the Qingfeng government office? Go back and ask your prefect who this young master is! Even if your third-rank prefect himself came here, ask him — would he dare claim Young Master Chang’s residence?”
Qiqian’er looked at this matter with a cold sneer. “Whose household are you from?”
The steward, of course, didn’t dare answer.
Qiqian’er looked proudly at her own hand and said, “No matter whose household you’re from, it won’t matter who comes! Even with three times the courage, just ask him if he dares! Let’s go!”
With that, Qiqian’er finished speaking and, pulling the old madam along, walked off with her head held high.
The old madam had always been naturally afraid of officials, and halfway down the road she asked tremblingly, “You — you girl, what nonsense are you spouting! Aren’t you bringing trouble down on Xiaohua?”
Qiqian’er, feeling thoroughly satisfied inside, replied, “Oh, A’Nai, do you really think Xiaohua is such an easy target? That’s only with you! You can put your heart at ease! Not to mention those two not daring to even ask the Qingfeng prefect — even if the prefect himself came in person, he’d be hoping to build good relations with him!”
The old madam didn’t understand the twists and turns of officialdom, but hearing Qiqian’er speak so confidently, she said, “Really! That impressive?”
Qiqian’er nodded firmly at her, and the old madam felt her legs go weak, leaning against the wall as she said, “I won’t live to see the end of this! My life’s being shortened! People bowing to me wherever I go now — me, a country old woman — this — isn’t this shortening my life!”
Qiqian’er, feeling immensely satisfied, supported her and said, “Stop imagining things! Back when he was in the wounded soldiers’ camp, if it weren’t for your careful attention, who knows what he would have suffered! Besides, you took care of him as if he were your own grandson, and our Dasheng is his sworn brother! And now the Chang household doesn’t deny this connection either — they’ve acknowledged it! You even accepted their New Year gifts, so that makes you his adopted grandmother! From now on, you can’t act so timid anymore…”
At this point, Qiqian’er looked down at her own commoner’s clothing, then looked at the old madam, thinking to herself that she really hadn’t thought this through — being mistaken for a steward’s wife… She’d have to smarten up the old madam’s appearance once they got back…
The two of them returned to the entrance of Gongbu Alley, and the other old madams each went back to their own homes.
With that, Qiqian’er brought the old madam back to their own courtyard.
However, this pair had no idea that Old Madam Xu, once home, immediately sent her household’s chief steward out to gather information.
By lunchtime, the chief steward returned and reported to the old madam, “Old Madam, Madam! That young mistress from the Guard Alley really did claim the left Checkerboard Courtyard.”
Old Madam Xu looked at her eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Ye, who asked the steward, “What about the Yang family’s steward? Did he say anything? Did he just accept it?”
The steward said with an astonished expression, “This one watched for a while, and saw the young mistress from Guard Alley scold that steward! After scolding him, the young mistress took the old mistress and left! They didn’t seem the least bit afraid! After they left, those two men stood around for a while, discussing something, and then this one saw them hurry off toward the Ministry of Rites Alley — seems they didn’t dare claim that courtyard after all.”
Madam Ye nodded, then asked, “Do you know what the young mistress wrote on the gate?”
“Yes, after they left, this one went over to look! The young mistress wrote: ‘Residence of Chang Lianfang, Deputy Chiliarch of the Forbidden Guard Golden Feathered Front Guard, Roving Cavalry General of Great Liang.'”
For all this time, Qiqian’er had never once invited the Hu family to visit, and so they, in turn, would never take even one extra step into their alley.
Naturally, the Hu family never invited the old madam and Qiqian’er to their residence in Gongbu Alley either, and Qiqian’er wouldn’t casually go knock on their door.
As such, hardly anyone knew about this connection to Chang Lianfang — Madam Qiao and the others couldn’t even read, so there was nowhere for them to even mention it.
Madam Ye waved the chief steward off, and once he was out of sight, her eyes gleamed with a strange light as she stared at her mother-in-law with astonished admiration.
Old Madam Xu, well aware of what kind of person she was, snapped, “What are you staring at me with those blind eyes for?!”
Ordinarily, Madam Ye would have already been seething with resentment. But today she wasn’t angry at all — instead, she smiled and said, “Don’t be upset, old ancestor, I was just lost in thought!”
Old Madam Xu, knowing exactly what kind of person she was dealing with, sneered, “Let me tell you something! Those people over there, old and young mistress alike, are honest, good people! If you dare turn those scheming thoughts of yours on them, you’d better believe I’ll pull your guts right out of you…”
Old Madam Xu’s father had been a butcher!
Madam Ye, thoroughly embarrassed, forced herself to endure it, but privately began paying even closer attention to Old Madam Xu’s comings and goings, terrified of the slightest carelessness.
As for that Yang family that had wanted the Checkerboard Courtyard, who did they think they were? Bragging in Shaoshang that their Yang clan was connected by shared ancestry to the Grand Marshal’s Yang family!
Pah! That kind of talk couldn’t fool anyone who actually knew the truth! If your family really were connected by blood, why couldn’t you even get into Yandu? Why wouldn’t the imperial clan even acknowledge you?
They were all former officials from Shaoshang — everyone knew everyone else’s business! The real deity here was the young Earl from the Chang family!
No, actually — the biggest deity of Quanhou Manor lived right in Guard Alley — especially that adopted son of Grand Attendant She, the young mistress’s husband, the Registrar. That was the truly distinguished figure in Yandu.
She had thought that was already impressive enough, only to discover that alley also concealed His Majesty’s adopted son! Oh my! What incense had her own family burned in a past life to end up connected to such real power…
Thinking of this, Madam Ye smiled so sweetly, as though she were the most filial and virtuous of daughters-in-law in the world, and said respectfully and gently to Old Madam Xu, “Old ancestor, dear ancestor, tomorrow, this daughter-in-law will use her own private savings to have two new sets of jewelry made for you, how about that?”
As for what others thought of her, Old Madam Chen naturally had no idea — she only knew now that her Choutou was a simpleton!
She was furious! Grabbing her grandson’s ear, she scolded him, “Choutou! It’s not that A’Nai wants to lecture you, but now that you’re respectable and have a fast source of income, you must cherish it well and work hard for His Majesty!
We mustn’t cause trouble, understand? His Majesty! Your teacher has been so good to you, you mustn’t become a corrupt official! That’s the kind of thing that gets you struck by lightning! Those big stones that fell from the sky in Qingfeng City are still warm!”
Chen Dasheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and not knowing how to comfort A’Nai, could only look pleadingly at Qiqian’er.
Qiqian’er was worried too — she’d told Chen Dasheng to first buy one reliable household to bring back, but who could have guessed… he’d brought back twenty people instead.
It happened that on his way back to Yandu, Chen Dasheng had spent the whole journey thinking about how to properly arrange things for his wife. But the more he thought, the more he realized his wife had just turned sixteen after the New Year — still just a young girl.
So, treating his teacher as a father figure, he went to find Master She.
Grand Attendant She was especially pleased that his student came to him for everything — even this matter of secretly harming his own uncle, he hadn’t hidden it from him! What deep affection that showed — practically laying his heart bare for him to see!
Deeply moved, Grand Attendant She went straight to find the Minister of Works, and after the two of them discussed it for a while, a new office called the Forest Survey Bureau was established under the Ministry of Works’ Firewood Bureau, from that point on.
This was a minor seventh-rank office, and its function was simple: to survey and investigate the mountain forests around the area of Yandu, cataloguing what kinds of trees grew there, how old they were, and what they were suitable for as building material.
Yes — this was an office where you spent your days climbing mountains and had no time to come back down. A truly thankless post.
Whoever had some troublesome underling they couldn’t manage, within half a day, the Forest Survey Bureau’s twenty clerk positions were completely filled — and Chen Siniu ended up as the head of the office, the Chief Director!
What’s more, Chen Siniu bore an even heavier burden — he had to accompany the survey teams up the mountains year-round, while also handling the Firewood Bureau’s duties, tallying which types of forest were suitable for making charcoal. Every year, after logging was done, he also had to replant fast-growing trees like acacia and oak suited for charcoal-burning on the cleared land. Whatever amount the court used each year, he had to lead people to replant that same amount — and make sure the trees actually survived…
Through all this, Chen Dasheng learned two lessons: his wife’s ruthlessness was only on the surface, and his teacher, with a single stroke, had arranged a lifetime of hard labor for his fourth uncle.
There would never be a second fool in this world willing to take the position at the Forest Survey Bureau, and no matter how well you did the job there, it would remain a mere seventh-rank office forever.
Every year, plenty of people died at their posts there — one more, Chen Siniu, wouldn’t be missed.
Once everything was arranged, She Qingling asked his student where he was headed next. Chen Dasheng, being honest as ever, explained that his wife felt the old madam needed a change in her way of living, and that they needed to buy a servant to attend to her.
As luck would have it, She Qingling had by now entered the palace, and while his household still had quite a few of its former old servants, he no longer needed so many of them.
So, as the teacher, he took it upon himself to select from among the She family’s chief steward’s younger son, She Jixiang, and his wife, along with a well-trained kitchen matron, a seamstress, and several young manservants and maids — and had them, twenty people in total, brought back to Chen Dasheng.
When an elder bestows a gift, one dares not refuse. Seeing all these people, Qiqian’er, too, was thrown into distress!
This teacher of Choutou’s really had no idea of the hardships of common folk — Chen Dasheng earned only a modest salary each month, and suddenly the household had twenty more mouths to feed…
Chen Dasheng was troubled too, and sat gloomily on the courtyard steps, staring pleadingly at his wife. He was never good at handling this sort of thing…
While the old courtyard fretted over this, Chen Siniu’s household was filled with delight instead. Chen Siniu, who had been discontented for so long, had taken to sitting at home drinking away his sorrows.
With all the commotion outside, he grumbled inwardly — what had gotten into Lan Xiang, that she’d become so inattentive lately, letting a bunch of vulgar women from the back manor gather in the house chattering away!
Madam Qiao, too, was troubled, but life had to go on. Now that things had stabilized for her family, she wanted to get the household — inside and out — properly organized. Since there was more to be purchased going forward and she needed help, she prepared a fine meal and invited Madam Guo-Yang, Madam Yu, and Madam Gao over, coaxing them along by having them help tidy the house afterward.
The women arrived cheerfully and ate happily. Once the meal was finished, they were just about to put on their work clothes to help Madam Qiao with a few small chores when they heard a knock at the courtyard gate, and someone outside calling, “Is this the residence of Director Chen of the Ministry of Works’ Firewood Bureau?”
Madam Qiao froze and glanced at Chen Siniu, who looked equally stunned.
The person outside called again, and Chen Siniu finally hurried to put on his shoes and rushed out.
After a good while, he came back in, beaming with excitement, and without a thought for who else was in the room, he swept Madam Qiao up and spun her around in delight, then laughed loudly, “Ha! Ha! Wife, wife! Heaven has blessed us! Heaven has blessed us! Ha ha…”
Madam Qiao scolded him coyly, “My lord! My lord! Put me down, oh — put me down…”
It was only then that Chen Siniu remembered his wife was pregnant!
He grinned sheepishly and carefully set her down. “These past days have been hard on you, Lan Xiang!”
Madam Qiao swatted him and scolded, “When you marry a man, you take the good with the bad! Whether it’s hard or not is my own choice, my lord! Who was it that came looking for you outside?”
Chen Siniu smiled with restrained pride and, glancing at the astonished women around him, said proudly, “Well, the Ministry of Works has assigned me a new post — I’ll be reporting to the Yandu office.”
All the gloom in Madam Qiao’s heart vanished at once. Feeling faint, she steadied herself with a hand to her forehead and asked Chen Siniu, “Really? Congratulations, my lord! What wonderful news… What exactly did the messenger say?”
Chen Siniu now hesitated a little. “Not entirely clear, but they said the Ministry of Works’ Firewood Bureau has opened a new office called the Forest Survey Bureau! The higher-ups saw clearly that I was honest, sincere, and hardworking, and gave me the position of Chief Director, in charge of the entire office…”
Madam Qiao felt even more lightheaded. Was her dream of becoming an official’s wife finally coming true? After all that suffering, all that hardship — had Heaven finally opened its eyes?
Madam Qiao swayed unsteadily, and seeing her color turn poor, Chen Siniu quickly helped her sit down on the edge of the kang. “Lan Xiang, I’m hesitant myself, which is why I only just now told you clearly what the messenger said! To survey the mountain forests of Great Liang means being away in the mountains year-round, and with you pregnant now…”
Seeing Chen Siniu hesitate, Madam Qiao immediately reached out and covered his mouth. “It’s fine! My lord… I’m fine, I’ve endured hardship before, you know that, I can endure anything! Now that you’ve finally earned the favor of your superiors, from now on…”
She couldn’t continue. The road here had truly been so difficult.
Thinking of this, Madam Qiao clutched her belly, tears streaming down, and said to Chen Siniu, “My lord was born to accomplish great things in this world! Leave the household to me! I’ll manage everything properly for you — it’s only because of us, mother and child, that you must suffer this hardship out there…”
Chen Siniu gazed at her lovingly, shaking his head firmly. “Lan Xiang! I’m willing! You know that!”
Oblivious to everyone around them, the three women — Madam Guo-Yang and the others — exchanged glances and shivered in unison.