Listening as the sound of the watch drum slowly faded, Master Xiang sighed. “I have already given Yizhen my word on this matter.” The lines of his face showed a degree of fatigue. “Once the mourning period following the late Marquis Yongping’s wife has passed, we will exchange birth characters…”

Madam Xiang stood there, her face flushed crimson, her chest heaving rapidly.

She stared at her husband, who showed no sign of wavering. Then suddenly she rushed to the doorway and called out loudly to her personal attendant: “…Have the manservants prepare the carriage. Tell the three misses to pack their luggage. We are going to my maternal uncle’s home right now.”

Master Xiang rushed over and caught his wife’s arm. “Rong Niang, please — don’t do this! When you think about it, Siyu is not a bad lad…”

“And you can say that out loud!” Madam Xiang was so agitated her eyes had gone red. “Born of a bondservant, and you call him not bad?”

“Rong Niang.” Master Xiang’s expression darkened. “A hero does not ask about origins. When choosing a son-in-law, talent must come first. Do not be so shortsighted!”

“Yes, talent must come first when choosing a son-in-law.” Madam Xiang’s voice carried a sardonic edge. “I wonder whether the Second Young Master of Marquis Yongping’s household has passed first in the examinations as top scholar, or second as second scholar? I fail to see what great talent there is to speak of.”

The personal attendant on one side glanced at the young maids serving in the hall and made a signal. The room quietly emptied of people, and the attendant thoughtfully pulled the main hall doors shut behind her.

“He grew up at Yizhen’s side. How could Yizhen not know what he is like?” Master Xiang persevered in trying to bring Madam Xiang round. “Moreover, Yizhen is now all alone. If Rou Na were to marry there, she could also keep her aunt company…”

“Yizhen, Yizhen — all you think of is Yizhen!” Madam Xiang erupted in fury. “Have you ever thought of Rou Na? She is our daughter — obedient and sensible…” Tears began to fall. “How can you bear for her to go and kneel in servitude to that concubine Qin, who was born of a bondservant? And the current Marquis Yongping’s wife is barely two years older than Rou Na. That is her own lawful mother-in-law. They say daughters-in-law always have to endure until their own day comes — but if our Rou Na truly were to marry into that household, when would that day ever come? Is she to spend her whole life under a mother-in-law’s thumb?” She took hold of Master Xiang’s sleeve, lifting her tear-streaked face to look up at him. “Husband, I am not unmindful of Elder Sister’s position in all this. I know that when you were a child, Father-in-law — your adoptive father — could have taken the Fifth Brother, who had just turned one, but chose instead to bring you back, already twelve years old, and without regard for your face personally began teaching you himself, guiding your brushstrokes by hand…I, too, as a daughter-in-law, am grateful to Father-in-law to my dying day. When Yizhen was married, only thirty-six trays of dowry were listed — but Mother-in-law gave her six thousand mu of good farmland, an oil press, and the family’s entire library. Do you think I didn’t know? I held my tongue because she was Father-in-law’s own flesh and blood — and it was entirely right that a son should receive property while a daughter should receive personal things. But even now, when she shows not the least gratitude, she is using my daughter as a favor to bestow on the Yongping Marquis household. Husband. You might as well give me three feet of white silk and be done with it. I will never agree to this match.”

She began to weep openly.

“Rong Niang, Rong Niang…” His wife’s words brought a dampness to the corners of Master Xiang’s eyes as well.

His birth mother had died young, and his birth father had remarried. His stepmother gave him a half-brother, and from then on looked upon the child from the first marriage with disfavor. He was left hungry and cold, and on the pretext of having no good teacher available, he reached the age of ten without having begun his studies. His paternal uncle had no son of his own and wished to adopt one. Originally he had his eye on the Fifth Brother, who had just turned one. But seeing how hard his life was, the uncle set aside his wife’s objections and brought him — already twelve years old — into the household. Fearing the shame of it, his uncle personally began teaching him at home, guiding his brushstrokes by hand. After two years, once he had a solid foundation, his uncle finally hired a private tutor to teach in the household. This matter had later become a source of lifelong regret for his adoptive mother, who fretted over it even on her deathbed. And so at his adoptive father’s passing, he had made a solemn vow at the old man’s bedside — as long as he had a mouthful of rice to eat, his younger sister would always be fed first.

And today. He had not only passed the examination and attained a fourth-rank official post; he had also inherited the ancestral properties his adoptive father had accumulated over generations. Meanwhile the cousins of the original family, locked in bitter scheming and mutual destruction, had one by one been wiped out, until only one younger half-brother remained, who had squandered the family’s wealth and now depended on him for his livelihood.

Thinking of all this, his resolve to marry off his second daughter strengthened.

“Rong Niang.” Master Xiang helped his wife to sit on the heated platform by the window in the inner room. “The reason that portion of the dowry was not listed in the gift register at the time was, firstly, because the Third and Fourth Masters of the Xu family were both in the midst of marriage negotiations. Yizhen feared it might put the other families in an awkward position and cause friction between the sisters-in-law. Secondly, it was Madam’s own wish — she wanted to give her own personal dowry to Yizhen. It is an old saying that sons receive the family estate while daughters receive personal goods to take with them — there is nothing unreasonable about that…”

Madam Xiang, hearing her husband’s tone take on the air of persuading her not to quarrel with Xiang Yizhen over the estate, felt fury surge up within her.

“Husband, you and I have been man and wife for twenty years. Can you think me that kind of person?” Her voice was hard as she interrupted him. “If I had wanted to make an issue of these things, why would I have waited until today?” She fixed her eyes on him. “After all these years, has there been any lack of consideration from you toward her? The ceremonial gifts for Mid-Autumn Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, New Year — and warm and cool clothing for every season — have I ever uttered a word of complaint? And what of her? She is asking you to arrange your daughter’s marriage but she consulted her brother rather than her sister-in-law. Has she ever once taken me into account…”

From the moment she learned at midday of Yizhen’s purpose in coming, husband and wife had been quarreling ever since. Madam Xiang’s words kept coming back to the same two grievances — why had Elder Sister-in-law arranged a match for her niece by consulting the brother rather than the sister-in-law; and in what way had she, Madam Xiang, ever failed her, to deserve having her daughter treated in this manner.

Master Xiang knew that no matter how long they went on, his wife would only be expressing these same two grievances.

He did not want to keep going in circles with Madam Xiang. He asked her directly and plainly: “Tell me — is your objection to the match itself? Or to the fact that Yizhen did not consult you?”

Madam Xiang was brought up short. Then she said: “I object to both.”

“Very well. Let us take the match first.” Master Xiang drew on the calm and reason he applied to official affairs. “When all is said and done, your only objection is that Siyu’s birth mother was a bondservant and thus of low standing. But however low his origins, he is still Marquis Yongping Xu Lingyi’s eldest son, registered in the ancestral records. Otherwise, why would the Xu family be seeking a match with our Xiang family? And for that matter, if the Marquis can show such consideration for his own brothers, how much more so for his eldest son Siyu.”

“I —” Madam Xiang had barely opened her mouth to reply when Master Xiang raised a hand: “Let me finish.” He went on: “The Marquis is only twenty-eight this year. He will live at least another thirty years. As for the title and such things — surely nothing will come of that until after he is dead? In the meantime,” he added, with a cool glance at his wife, “rather than setting your hopes on things that are nowhere near happening, it would be far better to take advantage of the Marquis’s years of strength and vitality and set up a separate household. Would that not be worth a hundredfold more than marrying into some ordinary official’s family? And that concubine — surely she would not follow Siyu into their own household rather than serve the proper wife? Now, as for the matter of Yizhen not consulting you.” Master Xiang’s eyes flashed with a brief irritation. “Just how was Yizhen supposed to consult you? When Rou Jin was making offerings to the Smallpox Goddess, Yizhen moved heaven and earth to obtain the antidote from the palace. And what did you say? That medicine from an unknown source could not simply be taken. You had the maid put it away in the cabinet right in front of Yizhen’s face. When Yijia was ready to begin his studies, it so happened that the old teacher who had once taught Yizhen the classics and histories was living at leisure, and she recommended him to you. And what did you say then? The child is too young — better to finish learning the Thousand Character Classic before starting on the classics…”

Master Xiang’s voice grew louder as he spoke, and Madam Xiang’s complexion grew worse. She could contain herself no longer and jumped to her feet: “All you do is blame me — why not say something about Elder Sister-in-law? What did she say at the time?” Madam Xiang gave a cold laugh. “What did she say when I showed her the antidote my own sister-in-law had sent? That she didn’t know where it came from, so better to be safe. As if hers was the only medicine and my sister-in-law’s was poison! And when Yijia was starting his studies, yes, she did recommend a teacher. And what did she say about it? That poetry and song were all frivolous pursuits, and only the Hundred Schools of Thought were serious learning. As if she were the only literate person in the world, the only one who had ever truly studied the classics and understood propriety!”

“When did Yizhen ever say that poetry and song were frivolous pursuits?” Master Xiang was utterly dumbfounded. “She only said that the teacher your brother had introduced for Yijia placed too much emphasis on poetry and literary composition. Since Yijia will be sitting the imperial examinations, it is better to put that energy into the Commentaries on the Four Books. And this was also something your late father-in-law used to say. You are completely distorting the facts!”

“I am distorting the facts!” Madam Xiang’s eyes flared open in fury. “When have I ever distorted the facts? It is a plain fact that she is using my daughter to do the Yongping Marquis household a favor…”

“Enough, enough,” said Master Xiang, shaking his head slightly, deciding that discretion was the better part of valor. Otherwise Madam Xiang, driven by shame and anger, would start picking at trivial matters again. “These are all old grievances; let us not bring them up again. What we are speaking of now is our children’s marriage. We cannot let it be held up because of a quarrel with Yizhen…”

Madam Xiang laughed with the bitterness of extremity: “Why would I quarrel with Elder Sister-in-law? What grounds would I have to quarrel with her? Husband is quite right. This is our children’s marriage — it must not be held up over such things. Rou Na is the flesh of my heart, and I cannot bear for her to go and suffer. I will not agree. And you, for Elder Sister-in-law’s sake, are set on agreeing. That being so, I think there is no need to listen to me, and no need to listen to you either. Let us go and settle it with my father — my father and your late adoptive father were old friends, and he once served as Prefect of Shuntian, versed in the laws of Great Zhou, having adjudicated more cases than can be counted. He will not let you twist the truth as you please.” With that, she called out loudly for her personal attendant.

Having to run back to her father’s house and involve her uncle every time something did not go her way!

Master Xiang was incensed: “Very well. I have long wished to speak with Father-in-law myself. Let us say back then, when Elder Sister-in-law was widowed and the Xu household was in upheaval — any decent sister-in-law would have gone to offer comfort. But not you — you absolutely insisted on accompanying me to my post. Not only that, you left behind only a handful of old servants to manage the house, and sent all the stewards, manservants, maids, and matrons — some dismissed, some taken to the posting. When Yizhen came back to her family home, there was no one to receive her properly. All right — while we are at it, let us go and tell Father-in-law the whole story. Let him tell us how the laws of Great Zhou would rule on that!” He did not so much as glance at Madam Xiang, and went straight to the door to call the head steward. “Prepare the carriage. My wife and I are going to call on her maternal uncle.” And that left Madam Xiang standing there at a complete loss.