That day the family was reunited, and naturally everyone wept and wailed without end. Because there were too many clan members, Chen Dasheng and the others couldn’t bring them all back at once, so they temporarily settled the relatives at a large inn in the county town near Jiang Zhu Mountain. Afterward, they brought only the eldest uncle and second uncle back to Quanhou Street.

By the customs of Chen Dasheng’s hometown, elders of the same generation as one’s father, but older than him, could be addressed as Eldest Uncle or Second Uncle, or alternatively as Da Daye and Er Dadao.

When the Old Madam saw the returning clan members, the shock she felt was equal to Chen Dasheng’s own. That family had gone out whole and complete, and had come back whole and complete. But her own family — one glance told the story — could be counted on one hand.

It ached. Her very heart ached until it split.

In the old days, what standing the family once had — for generations, the house had been full of able-bodied men. The old patriarch had once remarked that though the Chen family was poor and without much ability, they were at least blessed with many descendants.

She had lived in constant anxiety over gains and losses, and once the guests departed, she fell seriously ill, taking more than half a month to recover.

Once the Old Madam had recovered, Ma Ergu married Pan Baqiao into the family. In the blink of an eye, the Qingming festival in April arrived, and the Chen family also erected a new ancestral hall at the foot of Jiang Zhu Mountain. Qiqian’er took charge of the matter, using an estate she had acquired near Qingfeng to exchange for an estate belonging to the Fuhe County Lord’s family. Neither side came out ahead or behind — both were satisfied with what they gained.

Three hundred li was a delicate distance — neither too far nor too near.

It was only on the day they wrote the new family register that the Old Madam, who had otherwise been very quiet, seemed to become fixated on some notion. She absolutely refused to let Qiao Shi’s name be entered into the register. Even when Chen Siniu pleaded with her repeatedly — the first time knocking his head until it bled — the Old Madam would not relent.

Qiao Shi, shocked beyond measure, went limp as mud. She went again to Quanhou Street and knelt at the gate of the old residence, weeping with utmost sincerity for three days. She brought up Xique and Ting Ge’er over and over, but the Old Madam remained cold-hearted and unmoved.

Earlier that year, Qiao Shi and Chen Siniu had already obtained a formal marriage certificate at the government office. But as far as the clan was concerned, since the Old Madam, as mother-in-law, did not recognize her, she could only be a concubine — not permitted burial together with Chen Siniu even in death, her spirit tablet forbidden from the main position in the Chen ancestral hall. From then on she could never wear proper red again, nor would she receive invitation cards from the wives who managed the households of the various mansions in society.

No one knew whether Qiao Shi regretted it. In any case, the misdeeds she had committed in private that day had likely given her no idea that her entire life’s fate would end up in the hands of the very countryside old woman she had once looked down upon.

The Old Madam could not openly declare, “My daughter-in-law secretly beat me.” But she was willing to throw away her own reputation and become a harsh mother-in-law — and there was nothing anyone else could do about it.

Even Chen Siniu himself had never imagined his mother would hate him so much — hating him enough that she was willing to let it drag his next generation down into being children of a concubine. This was precisely the fearsome power of clan law.

This matter was a textbook case of clan law outweighing state law.

During the construction of the ancestral hall, Chen Siniu jumped about trying to become clan head. However he calculated it on his fingers, he always felt the position should be his.

Well — power bullies people in just this way. When it came to receiving the clan relatives and building the estate and the family school, he never once showed his face, nor contributed a single coin. As a result, not a single man in the entire family was willing to support him, and in the end everyone put forward Chen Dazhong of the eldest branch to be clan head.

This made sense too — by proper order, the eldest branch serving as clan head was entirely legitimate.

It was a pity that he and Qiao Shi had also sold their house on Quanhou Street and moved to Yanjing. Now, even if he wanted to reconcile, even if he wanted to beg forgiveness, it would no longer come as easily as before.

Qiqian’er paid no mind to the dispute between the Old Madam and Chen Siniu. On the day of Qingming she was extremely busy herself — in the morning she had to pay respects to the Chen family ancestors, and in the afternoon she had to go to the Wenshen Temple to burn a great quantity of paper money for Eunuch Liao, burning a full two winnowing-baskets’ worth.

After burning the paper money, she also had to visit her mother’s grave near Huo Family Estate. If not for the fact that Chen Dasheng was such a good son-in-law, his wife wouldn’t even have been able to tell where her mother was buried — he was the one who properly kowtowed and burned paper at both graves.

Once Qingming had passed and the willow catkins began to drift, Qiqian’er — who had never received an invitation before — finally received one of some standing. The Marquis Kaiguo’s household, the Chang family, was holding a flower-viewing feast at the Lícǎo Court within their Xiaoxian Garden, and had invited every married mistress of Qinwei Lane to come and enjoy the occasion.

Lícǎo referred to peonies.

Just after Qingming, as the spring waters were about to rise, it was precisely the fine season for outings and viewing peonies. So that morning, Qiqian’er set out wearing a newly made blue brocade spring gown with gold-threaded tassels.

Qinwei Lane now had six household-managing wives, but only two could attend — Qiqian’er and Pan Baqiao. As for the others, Ding Yuniang was in the middle of taking medicine to recuperate that spring; Cheng Shiniang never went out to socialize; and Zhang Wanru and Madam Lu were both heavily pregnant, and pregnant women were most cautioned against places thick with floral fragrance, lest something untoward happen.

So it was that the round, plump new bride went with her little sister-in-law in the same carriage. Being newly married, the young woman was still shy, and spent most of the ride nibbling small snacks, saying very little.

Life in Qinwei Lane was truly comfortable — whatever one wanted to eat, one could simply ask the kitchen.

Qiqian’er had been busy the entire month, and today was the first bit of leisure she’d had. Pan Baqiao said nothing, so she dozed on and off the whole ride, and was still a bit hazy by the time they arrived and got out of the carriage at Xiaoxian Garden.

Outside Xiaoxian Garden, carriages and horses gathered in throngs, fragrant breezes swirling. Old Granny Zhao, who often attended on Madam Chang, was already waiting at the gate, there solely to receive the wives from Qinwei Lane.

Seeing Qiqian’er, Granny Zhao came forward beaming to pay her respects, leading her inside while chattering, “Oh my, madam, you’ve finally arrived! The Old Madam has been waiting eagerly for you since early this morning.”

Qiqian’er smiled at this but said little in reply.

In truth, over the past two years, she had never once met any of the household-managing wives of the Chang family. For one, she had been in a mourning period; for another, she and Bao Shi had been locked in ongoing friction, with neither willing to yield to the other.

If the Chang household hadn’t been holding this flower-viewing at Xiaoxian Garden, and hadn’t sent Granny Zhao three separate times to invite her, she would not have come at all.

Once inside Xiaoxian Garden, they switched to two small bamboo sedan chairs, and the two sisters-in-law were carried by servant women deep into the grounds.

The Chang family were founding-dynasty nobility, ranking among the very top tier. The garden enclosure was naturally the largest and most extravagant — not to mention the pavilions and towers, the winding streams to either side — the peonies alone numbered in the tens of thousands within these grounds.

The sedan chairs traveled along a specially widened path leading straight to Lícǎo Court. Along the way, one saw only the maidservants of the Chang household coming and going, leading young ladies from various families about to admire the sights. It wasn’t only the flowers one could look at — the whole garden was filled with lovely young women. As spring breezes blew past, one caught whiffs of delicate fragrance, and all around, youth was in full bloom.

What a pity, though, that those riding in bamboo sedans could not get down and walk — for everyone seated in the sedans were the wives and matrons who managed their households’ affairs, and such carefree, unburdened, freely wandering days were no longer theirs.

Not long after, Qiqian’er and Pan Qiqiao were carried to the foot of an exquisite three-story wooden pavilion. The moment they stepped down from the sedans, they heard someone call out loudly: “The wives of Qinwei Lane have arrived!”

The call was relayed inward, layer upon layer, startling Pan Baqiao. Qiqian’er turned and saw her look of alarm, and reached out to pull her along inside.

Through another gate, unlike the lively bustle of the peony-filled garden outside, this wooden pavilion was quiet. It was unclear what technique the garden’s craftsmen had used, but once inside, the floral scent gave way to a light, elegant scent of flowing water, and the noise from outside faded strangely far away.

They had walked only a few steps when they heard a few plucked notes — the distant sound of stringed music tugging at the heart, drawing one upward, floor by floor.

Qiqian’er took a silk fan handed to her by a servant woman, waved it a few times, and said with a smile, “This scent is even better than outside — what fragrance is this?”

Granny Zhao came over and said with a smile, “In answer to madam, it isn’t the incense we usually use — it’s the Dashi incense that some of the young masters brought back from abroad.”

Granny Zhao led the way, taking the two sisters-in-law upstairs. As they reached a turn in the stairs, from a half-open lattice window came the sound of graceful, clear singing of poetry. Catching a phrase or two, it seemed to speak of the sun god’s crimson blossoms, first of spring on the treetops, or something to that effect — apparently the talented young ladies below had composed peony poems fitting the occasion. The girls, in their charming way, softly chanted and sang together, and once finished, crowded together to praise one another — wonderful, wonderful, how marvelously wonderful — the very sound of it was intoxicating.

Pan Baqiao, having only just become a household-managing wife, stopped in her tracks at the sound. Holding her fan, she turned her head to look down, though it was unclear what exactly she saw — her eyes simply sparkled.

Seeing her like this, Qiqian’er laughed and said, “Now, now — don’t even think about it. From now on, occasions like that, you won’t be able to squeeze into. What, feeling envious?”

Pan Baqiao laughed softly at this, and leaned in to whisper to Qiqian’er, “Sister-in-law, you don’t know — at gatherings this refined and elegant, they never call for me. Occasionally, when I’m thick-skinned enough to go anyway, it’s only because I’m greedy for the pastries they don’t touch. Those girls all have literary talent, which I lack — so I just enjoy the good snacks they don’t eat. What a waste it would be otherwise~”

Pan Baqiao had brought the smallest dowry of any wife in Qinwei Lane. Whatever betrothal gifts Ma Ergu had given, her family had sent back exactly that much as dowry, not one extra copper coin tucked away.

Yet Ma Ergu loved her all the same — especially when she sat at home clicking away at her abacus beads, that foolish, honest man would gaze at her with a besotted look, practically drooling.

Just as Qiqian’er had said, when it came to skill with account books, no one in the Pan family could rival her. Unassuming as this Pan Baqiao might have seemed in her previous incarnation of fame, the other five wives of Qinwei Lane combined could not calculate the household accounts as quickly as this youngest sister-in-law. Ever since she’d arrived, Qiqian’er and Zhang Wanru had entered something like an immortal’s leisure, and life had grown ever more delightful since.

Accompanied by the warbling from below, Qiqian’er’s mood grew especially good. She and Pan Qiqiao continued upward, and finally came upon an enormous cloud-patterned stone screen. Granny Zhao stepped back, and a servant led the way, lifting the bamboo curtain and calling inward, “Old Madam, the wives of Qinwei Lane have arrived!”

A moment later, a booming voice of an old woman called back from within: “Hurry in! This old woman wants to see just what kind of firecracker this one is!”

Hearing this, Qiqian’er couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Fanning herself, she slowly walked in, passing through layer upon layer of misty gauze curtains, until she finally peeked in and saw a large gathering of old madams and matrons.

And those inside saw a fair-skinned, plainly elegant, sweetly pretty young wife, her eyes curving into crescent moons with her smile.

She said lightly, “Just like this, is it!”

The room immediately broke into laughter.

An old woman with sparse, graying eyebrows and hair, wearing a seasonal diamond-patterned spring gown, though advanced in years yet wearing court powder, with fresh peony blossoms tucked in her hair, beckoned to Qiqian’er and said with a smile, “Good child, come here quickly, let A’Nai have a good look at you.”

For over two years now, this young wife had been going back and forth in friction with Bao Shi, repeatedly troubling this old woman to act as go-between and smooth things over.

Now, seeing the woman’s kindly manner, it finally stirred a bit of conscience in Qiqian’er.

She walked over, and a servant brought a cushion. Qiqian’er set aside Pan Baqiao and went to kneel, receiving a teacup handed by the servant, raising it above her head, and bowing: “Your grandson’s wife respectfully wishes A’Nai good health and peace.”

The Old Madam back home had long ago taken Chang Lianfang in as a nominal grandson, and Choutou and Chang Lianfang were sworn brothers besides. In terms of favors received, this Chang family’s Old Madam should, by any reckoning, also be Qiqian’er’s nominal grandmother.

The Old Madam accepted the teacup with a smile, lowered her head and studied Qiqian’er carefully for a moment, and finally burst out laughing: “Hmph, today I’ll accept this tea of yours. But tomorrow, when my third son comes home, we’ll have another such fuss — and by then, this fine treatment, this old woman will have to endure it all over again.”

After speaking, she took a few sips of tea and added, “You, now — you’re exactly as I imagined. Just the straightforward, spirited sort I like best.”

For the Chang and Chen families to become formal in-laws by pact, it would properly have to wait for the men of the households to return and preside over the matter. Today was merely the women of the inner quarters meeting each other first, getting acquainted — a bit of private warmth between them was permissible too.

Still, the proper courtesies could not be skipped — meeting an elder for the first time required a kowtow.

Once the Old Madam finished her tea, she had a servant woman bring over a gilded, mother-of-pearl-inlaid two-tiered dowry box.

Qiqian’er received it with both hands, then passed it back to Siyue, and accepted another cup of tea, raising her eyes to look at the Old Madam.

The Old Madam smiled and pulled forward a woman seated beside her — dressed in a pale blue silk robe, petite in build, with a round, blessed face and innocent eyes, lips curved in a smile — and said to Qiqian’er, “My child, this is your nominal mother!”

Holding her tea, Qiqian’er studied Chai Shi carefully. Well, how to put it? This matron had made quite a stir across half of Yanjing, all because she often chased her own husband up onto the rooftop with a real blade in hand, capable of pursuing him half a street and trampling countless roof tiles in the process.

Occasionally, when Marquis Chang went too far in his conduct, the household of Marquis Kaiguo would even see mother- and daughter-in-law join forces to beat him together — giving him a black eye and swollen face was nothing unusual.

Chai Shi burst out laughing, revealing a pair of deep dimples. This matron was simply an honest, straightforward soul without a scheming bone in her body. In the past, at home, she and her eldest daughter-in-law had accumulated no small grudge, but because of her position as mother-in-law, she couldn’t openly clash with her, so she quietly stewed in resentment instead — the beatings she gave Marquis Chang were also, in a sense, on account of her good son, sent out by her husband in exchange for a pig, so to speak.

This eldest daughter-in-law hadn’t been well chosen, and the second daughter-in-law, Xia Shi, was no better — her only fault being that she never said what she meant directly. She would cry in a clingy, roundabout way, worrying and fretting and making you guess!

And so the second son had also been “traded,” so to speak, for a winding little stream of a problem, and Chai Shi felt she simply couldn’t go on living.

Three generations of household-managing daughters-in-law in the Chang family — none of them, in truth, were necessarily bad people; they were all simply plain, ordinary women of the world. It was just that the pairings hadn’t suited well, and so it became like needle against wheat-awn, each pricking at the other.

Otherwise, this old Chang family could never have become the only three-generation household in all of Yanjing that hadn’t split apart early.

Once enemies became mother- and daughters-in-law, the old Chang household had grown accustomed to constant chaos, each side certain they were the most wronged person in the world. Among them, the eldest daughter-in-law, Bao Shi, on account of her smug attitude and her petty, calculating, scheming little mind, had earned first place on the Chang family’s most-detested list.

In a noble household, even when resentments built up in the heart, they couldn’t be shown outright, so everyone simply suffered in silence.

This went on until the third son set up a chess pavilion in Qingfeng, and until Bao Shi extended her reach toward Qiqian’er, only to be repeatedly slapped across the face and cheek without mercy by her — that was when spring finally came to the Chang family.

In this world, petty scheming and calculation feared nothing more than being confronted openly. And so, that year, all three generations of household-managing matrons in the Chang family ate several extra bowls of rice, each gaining a full five jin in weight. And because Bao Shi had been dealt such setbacks, Xia Shi suddenly became close confidantes with the Old Madam and the matron, sharing private matters — and so Bao Shi’s standing in the family plummeted, her words gradually carrying less and less weight.

In this world, there was truly no such thing as sisters-in-law who could keep tormenting each other forever without consequence.

As Chai Shi extended her goodwill, Qiqian’er smiled sweetly and offered tea, saying, “Peace and blessings to my nominal mother, ten thousand blessings to my nominal mother.”

Even if she’d grown up looking like a pig, Chai Shi would have loved her to death anyway.

Chai Shi accepted the tea briskly, and rather than take just a sip, drained it in one go. Finished, she clapped her hands with a flourish, and four young maidservants came in together, carrying a three-tiered dowry box between them.

The sheer scale of this startled even Qiqian’er, who thought to herself — the Old Madam had already given a full box of what must be jewelry and hair ornaments; for the daughter-in-law’s side to give even a bracelet or a hairpin would already be proper without overstepping etiquette. That this family could get along at all was truly a miracle.

Chai Shi didn’t feel she’d done anything wrong at all. She gestured grandly at the boxes and said to Qiqian’er, “Daughter-in-law, your mother prepared these for you long ago. Today I’m only giving you part of it — tomorrow, when our families go through the formal rites, your nominal mother will give you even more…”

Qiqian’er didn’t dare let her finish, and quickly stood up, smiling as she said, “Many thanks, nominal mother — but I wonder, where are my two elder sisters-in-law?”

Chai Shi had a habit of rambling on like a parrot, utterly without restraint, and seeing Qiqian’er’s cautious manner, she laughed and said, “This child of mine is quite careful indeed. Rest easy — your second sister-in-law gave birth to her second son only a few months ago, and is staying outside the city; with all these flowers and blossoms about, she’s worried it might disturb the child. As for your eldest sister-in-law, I told her — she said her teeth ache today, so she won’t be coming!”