After the Little New Year, the festive atmosphere grew even more intense.
The entire estate was swept spotlessly clean. Large red lanterns hung along the covered walkways. Lush, leafy flowering trees were placed outside every doorway. The kitchens were busy heating oil and preparing braised meats. The New Year’s gift money and new clothes had all been distributed, and every face was lit with a beaming smile.
Eleventh Sister consulted with Hupo on the arrangements for the New Year period: “…Before the fifteenth of the first month, try to make sure everyone gets at least two days of rest.”
Hupo nodded with a smile.
Two twenty-four-panel Hunan silk skirts, urgently made by the needlework room, arrived.
“These plum blossoms are beautifully embroidered,” Hupo said admiringly. “I had no idea the needlework room had such skilled hands.”
Eleventh Sister nodded and asked the serving woman who delivered the skirts: “Whose work is this?”
“It’s Ou’er’s work,” the woman said with a smile, then lowered her voice. “She’s the younger sister of Cui’er—the one who used to serve Qin Yiniang and later died of illness.”
Eleventh Sister fell silent.
The serving woman grew alarmed and dropped to her knees with a thud. “Please forgive me, Madam. Please forgive me. The work was urgent and the weather so bitterly cold, and several of the needlework girls had caught cold on top of it. This Ou’er has only just entered service, but her needlework is truly outstanding, so we had her embroider a few plum blossoms. It’s entirely our fault for not thinking carefully—we didn’t consider that she is still in mourning…”
“Rise,” Eleventh Sister said. She knew the woman had misunderstood and had no intention of explaining. She gestured to a little maidservant to help her up and said, “Cui’er was a good girl. Pass a word to her younger sister—now that she’s in service here, she must do her duty well.” She then had Hupo bring out five taels of silver to reward Ou’er: “The flowers are beautifully done. I’m very pleased with them.”
The serving woman, seeing that Eleventh Sister harbored no blame, accepted the silver with overflowing gratitude and withdrew with effusive thanks.
Eleventh Sister then asked after Yan Rong: “How is she getting on?”
Hupo smiled. “Very formidably, it seems. I think Brother-in-law Cao has rather lost his authority at home.”
Eleventh Sister looked at the radiantly beautiful Hupo after her marriage and couldn’t resist teasing her: “I imagine Brother-in-law Guan and Brother-in-law Cao must have plenty to talk about when they’re together.”
“Madam!” Hupo flushed red with embarrassment and turned away to put the skirts in order.
Xu Lingyi came in.
“Oh, new clothes have been made.”
Eleventh Sister rose to help him change his outer garment. “They’re for wearing when we make New Year calls.”
Xu Lingyi said, “Have two cut-silk jackets made for our Jin Ge’er as well—he’ll be visiting relatives too.”
“He’s barely a month old. Using cut-silk brocade for baby jackets is wasteful, and besides, I’m afraid it might scratch his skin.” Eleventh Sister immediately objected, and then added, “Are we really taking Jin Ge’er along to make New Year calls?”
Ever since that day when the Old Marquise showed that she very much wished to see Jin Ge’er, Eleventh Sister had been bringing him along on every visit to the Old Marquise’s rooms. Although the weather was cold, keeping him wrapped in a fox-fur cloak was quite warm. But visiting other households was a different matter—sometimes they might not even find the hosts at home, and most of the time there would be long stretches travelling in the carriage. The child was still far too young for that.
“The Emperor, the Empress, and the Crown Prince have all sent palace attendants with word to bring the child into the palace during the New Year to be seen.”
There was no way around that, then.
“Then all the more reason not to make cut-silk jackets,” Eleventh Sister said with a smile. “That would be excessive extravagance.”
“When calling at the palace for New Year, who doesn’t wear the finest things they own? A cut-silk jacket on Jin Ge’er is entirely appropriate.” Xu Lingyi felt Eleventh Sister was being too cautious. “But if you’re worried about the fabric scratching his skin, then just make him a little cloak!”
If Xu Lingyi kept on like this, it would be hard for Jin Ge’er not to grow up into a spoiled wastrel.
Eleventh Sister felt her early education plans dissolving into darkness.
She said with a touch of reproof, “My Lord, no matter how fine a thing is, it’s only good if it’s comfortable to wear. Cut-silk brocade is beautiful, but it’s stiff. Wouldn’t the Songjiang triple-weave cloth that the Old Marquise gifted us be so much better—lightweight, soft, and warm?”
Xu Lingyi hadn’t given it much thought. Cut-silk brocade was valuable, yes, but it wasn’t as if the family couldn’t afford it—he had simply thought that since the other children all had some, Jin Ge’er should have one too.
Hearing her words, he smiled. “Then you decide. Make Jin Ge’er a pretty new outfit, and we’ll take him along to make New Year calls.”
Just a nice new outfit—that would do perfectly!
Eleventh Sister turned this over in her mind, then smiled and nodded.
A little maidservant came in to report: “Madam, Fourth Aunt from Bowstring Lane has arrived!”
It had been since the three-day return visit after Twelfth Sister’s wedding, when Eleventh Sister and Xu Lingyi had gone back to meet the family, that the two of them had not seen each other again.
“Please show Fourth Aunt in right away!” Eleventh Sister said, rising to go greet her in the main hall.
Luo Fourth Madam was dressed in a sapphire-blue gold-threaded brocade jacket with full sleeves, her hair neatly combed into a round bun and adorned with a large crimson layered gauze palace flower. Though she looked very capable, her brow carried a trace of anxiety. It was plain she had come with something on her mind.
“Eleventh Aunt,” she smiled and greeted Eleventh Sister with a bow. “Wu Xiaoquan’s wife brought some dried fish yesterday. With just a few days until the New Year, I’m sending a little to each household to give everyone a taste.”
“You’ve gone to so much trouble, Sister-in-law.” Eleventh Sister smiled and ushered Luo Fourth Madam to the large kang by the window in the eastern side room. Hupo went out to receive the things from the serving woman. “How are Elder Brother and Elder Sister-in-law? Have they said anything about when they’ll come up to the capital?”
Luo Fourth Madam’s expression eased considerably as she smiled in reply.
“Elder Brother had originally planned to come to the capital in the first ten days of the eleventh month,” she said, taking the tea a little maidservant had brought and sipping it. “But then Sister-in-law became pregnant. Elder Brother decided on the spot to set off after the Lantern Festival instead. Fearing we’d worry, he specially sent someone to bring word.”
“Sister-in-law is with child!” Eleventh Sister was both startled and delighted. “Mao Ge must be eight years old by now… This is truly wonderful news!”
“Indeed!” Luo Fourth Madam said with a smile. “That’s exactly why Elder Brother pushed back the departure.”
“We must write a letter to offer our congratulations.” Eleventh Sister smiled, and the two of them chatted at length. It was only gradually that Luo Fourth Madam’s conversation moved toward the real purpose of her visit. “…Twelfth Aunt got married and the Maoguo Duke didn’t even come for a toast. I’m not going to make overtures where they aren’t welcome. But your Elder Brother says, no matter how others behave, we do what we should, and as long as our conscience is clear, that’s what matters. I thought it over and felt he was right. So I decided to deliver her things first, then come here to see you and have a proper chat between sisters-in-law. But who would have thought that when I left Tenth Aunt’s place, I ran right into Fifth Aunt…” At this point she stopped, and the gaze she turned on Eleventh Sister held something complex and unclear.
Eleventh Sister was very surprised. The hand holding her teacup paused slightly. “You ran into Fifth Sister?”
Luo Fourth Madam nodded and said carefully, “Fifth Aunt told me she had come to check in on Tenth Aunt since the New Year was almost here. Hearing that I had come to deliver dried fish, she accompanied me to see Tenth Aunt together.
“Silver Bottle came out to greet us and looked quite embarrassed—she said Tenth Aunt was unwell and couldn’t receive visitors, and she asked us to excuse her. I was about to leave the things and go. But then Tenth Aunt suddenly came walking out herself. In a loud voice she said to me—” At this point she looked somewhat flustered. “—A married daughter is like water poured from a bucket. No matter how much money the Luo Family has, it belongs to the Luo Family. She is now a Wang Family daughter-in-law—born for the Wang Family, bound to the Wang Family in death. She has nothing further to do with the Luo Family, and there is absolutely no reason for her to go back to the Luo Family asking for money. If Fifth Aunt feels wronged and can’t swallow this grievance, she should just go with Eleventh Aunt back to the Luo Family to demand money. She said to stop making her the go-between.”
Eleventh Sister simply did not know what to say.
Not only had Fifth Sister buried herself in the pursuit of money, she had been stirring up Eleventh Sister to do the same!
Tenth Sister had specifically mentioned her name—which meant Fifth Sister had probably said something to Tenth Sister, leading Tenth Sister to mistakenly believe she was involved. Otherwise, why would Luo Fourth Madam have come under the pretext of delivering dried fish to gauge her reaction?
Realizing this, she stated her position clearly: “Whatever the other sisters may do, I cannot speak for them. But when I married, Mother did not shortchange me, and I absolutely will not go to Elder Brother asking for a supplementary dowry. Fourth Sister-in-law, if you’ve been worried about this, you may set your mind completely at ease.”
“Eleventh Aunt has misunderstood.” Luo Fourth Madam gave a wry smile upon hearing this. “What kind of person Aunt is, others may not know clearly—but I know very well. It is only because when I left Tenth Aunt’s place I had a few words with Fifth Aunt, and Fifth Aunt insisted this was something she and you had agreed upon together, and that because of the bad feeling between Tenth Sister and you, she was acting as go-between on your behalf…” She said diplomatically, “I felt this matter had to be brought to Aunt’s attention, so that you wouldn’t end up bearing the blame without even knowing it.” Then she added pointedly, “Between you sisters, there is still Twelfth Sister standing in the middle!”
“Thank you, Sister-in-law!” Eleventh Sister was genuinely grateful. “I’ll have a proper talk with Fifth Sister. And I’ll send word to Twelfth Sister’s side as well.”
“There’s no need for that,” Luo Fourth Madam said with a smile. “I’ll be going to Twelfth Aunt’s to deliver dried fish anyway. You just have a word with Fifth Aunt.”
Fifth Sister was Luo Zhensheng’s own blood sister, so there were naturally some things Luo Fourth Madam found difficult to say directly.
Eleventh Sister thanked her, and Luo Fourth Madam paid her respects to the Old Marquise before returning to Bowstring Lane.
Eleventh Sister sat in the study writing a congratulatory letter to Luo Zhensheng. But her mind kept drifting back to Fifth Sister’s affairs, and the more she thought about it, the more unreasonable Fifth Sister seemed. Having grown up in the First Madam’s household, having married Qian Ming—though she had suffered some financial hardship, she was still better off than most people. How had she become so utterly consumed by money?
Eleventh Sister set down her brush and let out a sigh.
Sixth Yiniang had only thought about winning more benefits for Twelfth Sister, without carefully thinking about Twelfth Sister’s own position. Even when Eleventh Sister herself had first married into the Marquis’s estate, the scale of her dowry had not been very different from Fifth Sister’s and Tenth Sister’s—precisely to be fair to all, to avoid stirring up conflict among the sisters. This time, regardless of whether Fifth Sister managed to obtain any money, the rift between her and Twelfth Sister would most likely be sealed from this point on.
Xu Lingyi, sitting cross-legged on the Zen chair with its large crimson Yun brocade cushion, had noticed that ever since Luo Fourth Madam left, his wife had seemed distracted. Now her brow was creased with worry. He asked “What’s wrong?”, slid his feet into his shoes, and came to sit beside Eleventh Sister, saying gently, “Did something difficult come up from Bowstring Lane?”
Eleventh Sister felt troubled, and Xu Lingyi was sitting beside her with such a gentle expression. She thought for a moment, then told him the whole story. “…Tomorrow is already New Year’s Eve. I suppose we should at least wait until after the fifteenth of the first month before I say anything. But I’m worried about what she might get up to in the meantime…” She looked genuinely torn.
Xu Lingyi thought for a moment and said, “I think it’s better if I go and speak to Zichun about this matter.”
“That doesn’t seem right,” Eleventh Sister said. “When men speak of things, they bring it all into the open. What if Qian Ming doesn’t know about this? Then we’d be creating a rift between husband and wife.”
Xu Lingyi was unmoved. “If Zichun doesn’t know, then that’s all the more reason to tell him—acting behind her husband’s back like this, with no regard for him at all, is bound to cause serious trouble sooner or later. Better to have Zichun keep her in check before things get out of hand than to have an impossible mess on our hands later. And if Zichun does know…” His eyes flickered with meaning. “A man of integrity knows what lines must not be crossed. A man who knows and still allows this—even if he enters official life—I doubt he’ll ever amount to much.”
—