“Enough!” Third Master frowned as he watched her. “I’ve thought it through myself. Though the scale of Jian Ge’er’s wedding won’t be as grand as Qin Ge’er’s, the guests who come and go will all be close friends. Families like Fourth Brother’s and Fifth Brother’s will certainly not hold back on gifts of significant value — while at the same time, the number of banquet tables will be fewer, without all the miscellaneous guests. When it’s tallied up, we may not come out short at all!”

Third Madam heard this, and her weeping gradually subsided. She turned around, dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and looked at Third Master: “Then… then have you sorted out with Mother — that we will handle Jian Ge’er’s wedding ourselves, without troubling Eleventh Miss or Dandan?”

She of course had already done that calculation herself, but her concern lay elsewhere.

Last time, with Qin Ge’er’s gift money — she had not seen a single coin of it. If Eleventh Miss were to preside over things again, the wedding would not be able to draw on the grandeur of the Marquis Yongping household, and the gift money received would go into the public accounts — would that not be a complete loss, with nothing to show for it?

Third Master thought of the Grand Madam’s words, and a look of hesitation crossed his face.

Third Madam saw it and knew the matter was not so simple. She broke into tears again: “Mother is being far too partial — one cannot expect a horse to run and yet refuse to feed it. Look at Xin Jie’er’s first birthday — and then at Jin Ge’er’s one-month celebration… and Shen Ge’er, I hear, is to have three hundred tables. The saying goes, there are four great joys in life: ‘A long drought and the arrival of welcome rain; an old friend met far from home; the bridal chamber on the wedding night; one’s name posted on the examination board.’ Nothing is said of first birthdays or one-month celebrations — which shows what weight is given to the wedding night. Would Jian Ge’er’s wedding be considered less than Shen Ge’er’s first birthday?” Having said this, she stood through her tears and moved to sit at Third Master’s side. “My Lord, I am not trying to compete with anyone. But Shen Ge’er’s first birthday comes first, and Jian Ge’er’s wedding follows — it’s no more than two months between them. Even if we don’t make comparisons, our relatives who witness both will surely talk. If my sisters-in-law ask me about it, how am I to respond?”

A flicker of hesitation crossed Third Master’s face.

Seeing it, Third Madam’s heart lifted. She gave a few soft, whimpering sobs and went on: “Others may not understand these things, my Lord, but surely you do. In this world, those who help you in your hour of need are few; those who kick you when you’re down are many. As things stand for us now, in the eyes of those who look down on the lowly and fawn on the powerful, we are already regarded as three parts lesser. If we continue to shrink and cower, we may soon have no ground left to stand on at all among our relatives. My Lord, I’m not ashamed to tell you — the day I went to deliver Jian Ge’er’s betrothal card as you instructed, I happened to run into Madam Huang and Eleventh Miss. Both of them had maids, and Yupan showed their maids to seats in the passageway. But Xingjiao was left standing out in the courtyard… My Lord, today it is her. Tomorrow it will be us…”

Third Master said nothing. But his expression grew somewhat dark.

Third Madam’s gaze shifted, and she added one more prod: “I know — if it weren’t for me, the household wouldn’t be in this state. It’s all my fault… I ruined your career… But I did it all for this family, and for the children. Among all the sisters-in-law, apart from the twelve annual sets of clothing allotted by the household, have you ever seen me make an extra garment for myself? Add a single piece of jewelry? Even during those two years when I oversaw the household affairs, I never spent a coin of the shared budget on myself…”

“Say no more!” Third Master’s voice came out somewhat hoarse.

His wife had followed him through the years, and for all her faults, she had given her whole heart to this household. Without that, they would not have built up what they had, and she would not have been so often reprimanded by her brothers-in-law for not helping them with money.

“I’ll go speak to Mother.”

A smile quietly appeared in Third Madam’s eyes.

“My Lord!” She spoke softly. “I promise I’ll do as you say from now on — I won’t bring you any more trouble. Jian Ge’er has his post now, Qin Ge’er has his hereditary privilege, the income from the two estate farms is more than enough for us to live on, and the two shops on East Main Street bring in another thousand taels a year. We’ll shut our gates and live our own peaceful life — a good life, no worse than anyone else’s.”

Third Master gave a slight nod.

Yet when he came before the Grand Madam, he could not find the words to raise the matter.

“…I’ve said it before — though you’ve divided off from the household, with me here, and Fourth Son being the generous man he is, things will go on just as before.” The Grand Madam sat beside Jin Ge’er as he concentrated on solving his linked iron rings, speaking to Third Master in easy, familiar tones. “Following the usual practice, fifty taels from the public funds for Shen Ge’er’s first birthday — the rest, Fifth Son and his wife will see to themselves.” She looked up at Third Master. “You’ve been by my side all these years — I’ve never shown favoritism with any of you children, and you needn’t worry about your own. The three hundred taels for Jian Ge’er’s wedding — once the accounts from the shops across the various regions come in for the first half of the year in the seventh month, your Fourth Sister-in-law will have it arranged.” Then she smiled and said, “Madam Huang conveyed our wishes to Madam Wei, and the Jin family felt the wedding date was set a bit hastily — they thought it should wait until the fifth month of next year at least. But when they heard that I had personally chosen the date, they agreed. I think, while the summer days are still long and the weather dry, it’s best to have the new rooms readied without delay. Jian Ge’er is now a sixth-rank official, and the Jin family is such a proper, respectful family — when the time comes, you must not give that young Miss Jin any cause to feel slighted.”

Just then, Nanny Du came in with a large red gold-flecked invitation card: “Grand Madam, the estate office has sent this over — the Tang family is holding a ceremony to welcome a nephew’s bride.”

The Grand Madam took the card: “Let me see…”

Yupan quickly fetched the Grand Madam’s spectacles.

The Grand Madam glanced at it and passed it to Nanny Du: “In the future, send things like this to Fourth Madam first!”

Nanny Du quickly smiled: “Fourth Madam has already received one. The Tang family’s people said this was sent to you personally.”

The Grand Madam nodded, then turned back to Third Master: “It’s not without reason that people say the poor have great pride. The poorer one is, the more fearful of being looked down upon, and the greater the need to put on a grand display. When Madam Tang married off her son’s bride, she sent only one invitation to our family. This family, out of some fear that we might not attend, has sent us three. As they say…” She stroked Jin Ge’er’s brow as he bent over his iron rings in deep concentration, then, seeing that his forehead was dry and without a drop of perspiration, finally said: “Oh yes — you came here specially. Is there something on your mind?”

Third Master smiled pleasantly: “No, nothing. The Board of Astronomy and Astrology confirmed the two birth characters are compatible, so I came to check whether the date for the small betrothal gift has been set yet. We’ll need to start getting ready on our end.”

The Grand Madam gave a satisfied nod and said: “Although this match was my idea, there are certain proprieties you should observe — you were not hovering around like this when the eldest young mistress-in-law first entered the family, were you? The same applies to Jin’s wedding. Do not get overly involved.” Then she laughed: “You, take a leaf from my book. Whatever you like or dislike — keep it in your heart. Otherwise, how can a household ever be at peace?”

Third Master smiled and quickly said, “Yes.” Seeing that the Grand Madam had lowered her head to pat Jin Ge’er’s hand and say “Can’t get it — we won’t try anymore. Let’s rest today and try again tomorrow,” he stood up: “Mother, I’ll take my leave then.”

The Grand Madam gave an “mhm,” glanced at him briefly, and returned her gaze to the linked iron rings in Jin Ge’er’s hand: “Go on. Replastering the rooms and repainting the eaves — that’s the real work for a man to be doing!” She made no mention of hiring cooks or erecting a festive awning.

Third Master smiled ruefully to himself, and could only respond with a quiet, “Yes.”

The Grand Madam instructed Jin Ge’er: “Say your farewell to Third Uncle!”

Yupan quickly lifted Jin Ge’er down from the kang.

Jin Ge’er, after wrestling with the iron rings for nearly an hour, had grown thoroughly fed up. He performed his bow, then pouted and said, “Safe travels, Third Uncle.” His adorable little expression made even Third Master — whose mood had been a touch gloomy — break into an involuntary smile. After all, he was a grandfather-in-law now himself — and perhaps before long, there would be a lively and loveable little grandchild in his home, just like Jin Ge’er!

Seeing her husband return, Third Madam — who had been in the middle of instructing Xingjiao to fetch a jar of Jinhua wine from the storehouse so she could sit with Third Master and share a few cups when he came back — quickly smiled and went to greet him. She helped him change his clothing and served him a bowl of iced sour plum soup with her own hands, then smiled: “What did Mother say?” A trace of hope had crept into her gaze involuntarily.

Third Master could not help but look a little awkward. He lowered his voice: “Mother said the three hundred taels for Jian Ge’er’s wedding from the public funds will be sent over once the shops’ accounts for the first half of the year come in during the seventh month. The Jin family has already agreed to the eighth-month date, and she wants us to quickly ready the new rooms.”

Still no word on who would oversee Jian Ge’er’s wedding.

Third Madam was taken aback.

Third Master continued: “Didn’t you say you were worried about Jian Ge’er’s wedding looking too modest? I thought it over carefully. The Jin family agreed to the date so readily partly because Jian Ge’er now has a proper post, and partly because Mother personally arranged the match. For Jian Ge’er’s wedding, it would be best to ask Fourth Sister-in-law to preside. With her involvement, families like the Marquis Weibei’s Lin household and the Marquis Zhongshan’s Tang household, and perhaps even the wives of Elder Dou and Elder Councilor Liang, might come to attend the wedding. The scene might end up even more lively than when Qin Ge’er was married!”

First he talked about the three hundred taels from public funds coming in the seventh month, then about the Jin family agreeing to the date out of respect for the Grand Madam, then about the grandeur of the wedding…

Third Madam’s eyes went wide with disbelief: “And where would the accounts table be set up?”

Third Master mumbled vaguely: “The accounts table would naturally be at Sanjing Hutong.”

“And who would manage it?” She knew her husband too well to let him slip past her on this — Third Madam pressed forward relentlessly.

Third Master hemmed and hawed: “We’ll figure that out when the time comes…” Then he changed the subject. “Once we’ve eaten, let’s settle on which room will be the new bridal chamber. Gan Laoquan can start finding craftsmen earlier…”

“My Lord!” Third Madam buried her face in her hands and burst into tears. “My own son is getting married, and someone else is presiding over it, someone else is collecting the gift money… There’s no way to live like this!”

Third Master sat there, his brow creased into a deep “川” furrow.

Nanny Du wrung out a handkerchief that had been soaking in well water and handed it to the Grand Madam.

The Grand Madam wiped Jin Ge’er’s face with it and said: “If Third Master comes again, just let me know.”

She meant she would not see him.

Nanny Du smiled and carefully answered “Yes,” then asked Jin Ge’er: “Sixth Young Master, shall I bring you some iced lotus seed soup to drink?”

Jin Ge’er ignored her and went on fiddling with his linked iron rings.

“Sixth Young Master!” Nanny Du called to him softly, a touch of concern in her expression.

“Leave him be.” The Grand Madam smiled. “Second Son was just like this as a child. Other children, if they couldn’t solve something, would simply set it aside — but he would play with something until he had mastered it completely, inside and out.” Her tone carried a breath of wistfulness. “Go and bring the lotus seed soup. I’ll feed it to him myself!”

Nanny Du went to comply, but quickly turned back in, and said in a low voice: “Third Master has come.”

The Grand Madam could not conceal her disappointment. She said: “Tell him I’ve gone to rest.”

—