Much of the credit for the improved atmosphere in the room that day went to Wen Yiniang’s cheerful chatter.
Just then Binju came in carrying a bowl of goat’s milk for Shiyiniang. Wen Yiniang looked on with a laugh. “Nearly a bride herself, and still not taking a few days off? Could it be that, since she’s about to leave, she can’t bear to go — and wants to attend on Madam a few more times while she still can?”
Binju flushed scarlet and stood with her head lowered, saying nothing.
Shiyiniang watched Binju’s expression with evident pleasure.
Wen Yiniang could see it plainly and smiled. “So the date has been set?”
Binju gave a faint, barely audible “Mm.”
Shiyiniang said, “The twenty-sixth of this month.”
Da Xian was getting on in years, and the Wan family did not wish to let things drag on further. They had sent the wife of Liu Yuanrui back and forth four or five times to negotiate the date. Seeing that they were in earnest, Shiyiniang had given her consent.
“There ought to be a proper celebration.” Wen Yiniang’s face lit up as though she were marrying off her own sister. “Has everything been prepared? Is there anything inconvenient to procure on short notice? I remember that for a bride’s trousseau, a complete set of the household wooden items is essential. The Wen family has a wood goods shop in Yanjing. Shall I arrange for a set in pine?”
Binju lowered her head, face still red, and murmured, “Madam has already seen to everything. Thank you for your kind thought, Wen Yiniang.”
Wen Yiniang turned to her own maid, Qiuhong. “Go and bring thirty taels of silver — consider it my contribution for Binju’s wedding flowers.”
Binju quickly declined.
Shiyiniang smiled faintly.
Thirty taels: not fifty, not twenty — precisely thirty. It was clear that word had gotten out about the Grand Madam’s gift of forty taels for Binju’s trousseau.
“Since Wen Yiniang is offering, you should accept it,” Shiyiniang said. “Just remember to give Wen Yiniang a proper bow of thanks on the day.”
Seeing that Shiyiniang had spoken, Binju stepped forward, gave Wen Yiniang a curtsy, and expressed her thanks.
Qin Yiniang saw what was happening and said, “Then I will also give thirty taels.” She directed her maid Cuier to fetch the silver, then smiled at Binju, “I’m afraid I’m not like Wen Yiniang, whose family runs a shop — I can’t be as free-handed as all that. This is just a small token of goodwill. I hope Binju won’t think it too little.”
“Qin Yiniang is too generous,” Binju said, stepping forward to thank her.
Wen Yiniang laughed from the side. “You bring out thirty taels and call it ‘a small token of goodwill’ — how is that not being free-handed?”
Qin Yiniang grew flustered. “How could I possibly be as well off as Wen Yiniang? Giving these thirty taels is already a stretch — last year before the new year I gave fifty taels for oil lamp offerings at Ci Yuan Temple; just the other day I gave济宁 Reverend Master Ji Ning twenty taels for incense and candles, and another fifty taels for Reverend Master Ji Ning to recite the ‘Pure Heart Incantation’ for the Second Young Master… I have no income like you. I am very short on funds.”
When she brought this up, Wen Yiniang gave an awkward laugh and glanced over at Shiyiniang. Seeing that Shiyiniang was simply listening with a faint smile, she felt somewhat reassured and was just about to change the subject when a sound came from the direction of the washroom. Everyone turned toward it, and there was Xu Lingyi walking out, wearing a sapphire-blue plain gauze straight-collared robe.
Both yiniiang immediately composed their expressions and curtsied in greeting.
He cast Qin Yiniang a cold sideways glance. “Reciting what incantation?” It was clear he had caught a fragment of the conversation.
Qin Yiniang turned pale with fright and said hurriedly, “No, no — there was no incantation! There truly was no incantation!” Then, looking as though she was afraid Xu Lingyi would not believe her, she added forcefully, “There really was none!” And then she looked to Shiyiniang as though seeking help.
Qin Yiniang was only a yiniang of servant origins — how broad could her horizons be? And with figures like the Grand Madam and the Fifth Madam as her “models,” her belief in such things was only natural.
“We were just talking about Binju’s situation,” Shiyiniang said with a smile, stepping in to smooth things over. “Both yiniiang gave thirty taels each toward Binju’s trousseau.”
Xu Lingyi saw that Shiyiniang had changed the subject. He glanced at Qin Yiniang but chose not to press further, and followed Shiyiniang’s lead instead. “After all, Binju is the first one from your quarters to be married out.”
Wen Yiniang agreed readily. “That’s right! It’s been years since there’s been a joyful occasion in our quarters — I’m planning to go and help out!”
Xu Lingyi said nothing.
Wen Yiniang’s eyes swept the room and she said with a smile, “Madam, Wan Da Xian’s parents are out at the estate. They are new arrivals and don’t know many people — the place is remote, and it’s inconvenient to come and go. It seems to me that Madam might as well have a couple of side rooms opened up in the servants’ compound for a new bridal chamber, and hold the wedding right here in the household. Wouldn’t it be far more lively with all the music and fanfare?”
Binju, seeing everyone discussing her wedding, quietly slipped out of the room.
“I think it is better to follow the Wan family’s wishes and have the bride brought to the estate,” Shiyiniang said with a smile. “The Wan family has set up their household altar there, and holding the wedding ceremony here wouldn’t be quite proper. Besides, Binju is going as a daughter-in-law — she is not some goddess being enshrined at home. If everything is done Binju’s way from the very start, there will be nine chances in ten that she and her mother-in-law will fall out over such things later.”
“My goodness!” Wen Yiniang laughed even more brightly. “How wise of Madam. I was only thinking of how to give Binju a grand send-off — I never thought things through to that point.” As she spoke, she shot a quick glance at Xu Lingyi. Seeing him look toward Shiyiniang with a gentle smile and an approving nod, Wen Yiniang felt, for some reason she could not quite name, a slight chill in her heart. Her words, from that moment on, were somewhat distracted. “…Anyway, there will be plenty of opportunities later on… no need to start off on the wrong foot with the mother-in-law over such things…”
And so it was that on the twenty-fifth of the second month, the day the trousseau was laid out, she took her leave of Shiyiniang after her morning greeting and departed for Gold Fish Lane. By custom, a maidservant leaving to be married would return to her family home beforehand — she was not permitted to depart for marriage directly from her master’s courtyard. For a girl like Binju who had no parents nearby, one could either become the sworn daughter of a head nanny and be married from the nanny’s home, or rent temporary lodgings outside to serve as the bridal chamber. Shiyiniang chose neither option, and instead arranged for Binju to be married from Gold Fish Lane.
Gold Fish Lane was dressed in lanterns and colorful banners. Liu Yuanrui stood at the gate in a crisp new sapphire-blue Hangzhou silk outfit, personally greeting guests. Seeing Wen Yiniang’s carriage, he came forward himself to bow in welcome, had the threshold board removed, and let the carriage pass inside.
The inner courtyard was being presided over by the wife of Liu Yuanrui.
She was dressed in a vivid red silk jacket with a pair of double-happiness gold-gilded hairpins in her hair, looking thoroughly festive and radiant.
“What a rare honor to have Yiniang here!” the wife of Liu Yuanrui said, stepping forward to greet Wen Yiniang and moving half a step ahead to lead the way. “Nanny Du, Nanny Tian, Nanny Wan, and Miss Zhuxiang are all having tea in the east wing…”
Wen Yiniang’s footsteps faltered slightly. “Nanny Du has come?”
The wife of Liu Yuanrui’s face was wreathed in smiles. “She has, she has. Arrived at the crack of dawn. Nanny Tian and Nanny Wan came with her. It was only Miss Zhuxiang who was a little behind — she said Madam had something she wanted her to pass on to Miss Binju, so she was delayed.” As she spoke, she guided Wen Yiniang toward the east wing.
—
Meanwhile, Qiao Lianfang irritably pushed away the small bowl that Embroidered Eave held out to her. “Set it aside for a moment — I’ll drink it later.”
“Miss!” Embroidered Eave pleaded. “Just now you also said ‘later’… You need to recover quickly!”
“Recover!” Qiao Lianfang’s large eyes brimmed with tears. “What use is recovering? The Marquis has no desire to see me at all.” Tears slid down her pallid cheeks onto her white padded jacket, leaving faint blotched marks. “He had Shiyiniang lock me up in this courtyard, forbidding me to take even half a step outside…”
Embroidered Eave’s expression dimmed as she lowered the medicine bowl with listless hands.
“He must still be blaming me. Blaming me for losing the child!” Qiao Lianfang buried her face in the pillow and began to weep. “How was I to know that medicine shouldn’t be taken in such amounts…”
Embroidered Eave wept as well.
They had gone to so much trouble — bribed Imperial Physician Wu with silver to get word to Madam. Madam had then persuaded Qiao Madam herself to personally deliver the Daoist Master Changchun’s secret remedy… At the time, they had both believed it was salvation found in desperation. That very night, following Qiao Madam’s instructions, they had rearranged the wardrobe and the bed, and then, keeping it from Nannies Tian and Wan, had tried a single pill. The next morning Qiao Lianfang was no longer vomiting, and was eating with appetite again. They were overjoyed. Fearful that the two nannies would discover the secret medicine, and reasoning that since it was clearly effective, more must be better — the second day they took two pills. Taking two made them feel full of energy, so the third day they took two pills again… But in the middle of that night, the abdominal pain began. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, blood appeared. Qiao Lianfang barely survived. Not only had she lost the child, but she had ended up confined on top of it all.
Yet what was done was done. What use was regret now?
Embroidered Eave wiped the corners of her eyes and quietly consoled Qiao Lianfang. “Miss, you are still young — there will be chances in the future. The most pressing thing now is to nurse yourself back to health. Only by recovering your health will you be able to conceive again. Otherwise, even if the Marquis’s anger passes, if your body is ruined and you cannot conceive, it will all have been for nothing.” She brought the bowl to Qiao Lianfang’s lips again. “Miss, this medicine must be taken while it is hot!”
Qiao Lianfang, between sobs, wiped her tears and let Embroidered Eave help her drink the medicine. She took a piece of twisted sugar and held it in her mouth.
“How is it that neither nanny has come by today?” She lay back listlessly and asked idly.
The miscarriage was treated as a minor confinement. Although Nanny Tian and Nanny Wan were still attending her, Qiao Lianfang felt that they were no longer as attentive as before.
At that thought, a wave of displeasure moved through her.
Embroidered Eave knew perfectly well how the two nannies had changed of late, but was afraid of stirring Qiao Lianfang’s temper. After a moment’s hesitation she lowered her voice. “I heard that Binju from Madam’s quarters is being married tomorrow. Both nannies have gone to offer their congratulations.”
Qiao Lianfang seethed with sudden fury. “Going to offer congratulations — and both of them had to go at once.” She felt it was plainly an excuse not to attend on her, and said with bitter sarcasm, “She is nothing but a maidservant, after all. If it were Shiyiniang’s own sister getting married, wouldn’t they go and lick the soles of her shoes? For all the weight I gave them — giving each of them ten taels and a bolt of brocade the moment they arrived…”
Embroidered Eave was thinking that the two nannies were, after all, the Grand Madam’s own people, and she did not want to ruin the relationship with them entirely. She quickly said, “The two nannies have been cooped up rather tightly these days as well. It is rare to have a proper excuse to go out. Miss, please don’t be upset. The two nannies said they would go early in the morning and return by the afternoon.” She glanced around at the light in the room. “By the look of the hour, they should be back soon!”
Her words had barely faded when the voice of Pearl Bud came from outside the window lattice: “Both nannies are back!”
“Indeed!” Nanny Tian called out in a cheerful voice. “Oh, what a pity you couldn’t see it — that trousseau of Binju’s… tsk, tsk, tsk! I’ve been with the Xu family for over forty years now, and the only comparable display I’ve seen was when Xiangyi from the Grand Madam’s quarters was married off. But Xiangyi was a different case — she had served the Marquis during the home mourning back in the old days and earned her distinction. As for Binju… well, this truly proves the saying — it doesn’t matter how capable you are. What matters is what master you serve.”
“Keep your voice down!” Nanny Wan’s voice cut in to interrupt Nanny Tian. “Mind you don’t wake Qiao Yiniang!”
“Oh, a person gets carried away when she’s feeling pleased!” Nanny Tian laughed. “I’ll say no more, I’ll say no more.”
She said she would say no more, yet her voice did not drop by so much as a fraction.
—