Nan Yong’s wife respectfully replied, “Yes,” and accompanied Shiyiniang to inspect the trunks and cases that Xu Sijie had nearly finished packing.
Shiyiniang gazed at the neatly arranged trunks and cases, then looked at the maids who were continuing to pack things with light, careful movements, and fell into silence.
The maids in Xu Sijie’s room were of varying ages, some older and some younger.
Shuangyu and Xi’er had both been gifts from her in the past. One was eight years older than Xu Sijie, the other five years older.
Three years ago, Shuangyu’s family had arranged a marriage for her; she was only waiting until she came of age to be released from service. Having long since lost any competitive spirit, she was unwilling to offend anyone and had cultivated a temperament of serene indifference. Most matters around Xu Sijie were handled by Xi’er. Shiyiniang had considered that once Xu Sijie moved to the outer courtyard, Nanny Nan Yong would no longer be able to attend him personally, so she had selected two exceptionally clever girls from among the junior maids — one called Qingyu, one called Moyu — neither of them more than eight or nine years old.
She had originally thought that as long as she was there in the inner courtyard to oversee things, there would be nothing to worry about. And with Xi’er watching over things in the outer courtyard, she felt at ease. But ever since the incident on Sanjing Hutong, she had been quietly unsettled in her heart.
Thinking on this, she asked Nan Yong’s wife, “If I remember correctly, your Niu’er is the same age as Jin Ge’er, isn’t she?”
Nan Yong’s wife was startled, then said, “Madam has such a good memory — she turns exactly ten this year.”
Shiyiniang went with her to Xu Sijie’s inner chamber.
“You know the household rules. To prevent the young masters from being raised entirely in the company of women, once they reach the age of ten they are moved to the outer courtyard. The wet nurses and head nannies who attended them closely from childhood are none of them permitted to follow, and their daily needs of food and clothing are managed entirely by their personal senior maids.”
This was also to prevent wet nurses or head nannies from exploiting the affection built up through years of service, stirring up trouble with their masters for personal gain.
Nan Yong’s wife’s expression dimmed slightly.
She had raised Xu Sijie with her own hands, yet his situation was the most awkward of all — openly and in secret, she did not know how many times she had shielded him from malicious gossip. Now she could no longer stay by his side to look after him, and she did not know what lay ahead for him. She worried about him no matter how she thought about it.
“…These past years you have served alongside Jin Ge’er, and your Niu’er has often come to visit, sometimes helping you with small tasks for Jin Ge’er. She is a very capable girl. If you are willing to part with her, why not let Niu’er come to serve beside Jin Ge’er?”
Niu’er had turned ten, and she had been thinking of finding a position for the girl — ideally near Xu Sijie, so that if anything happened with him, she could learn of it promptly. Now that Shiyiniang had brought it up on her own, it was like finding a pillow just when she needed to rest. Nan Yong’s wife was overjoyed beyond measure. She immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times to Shiyiniang. “Many thanks to Madam for this honor. I will certainly instruct Niu’er to serve Fifth Young Master well.”
Shiyiniang stepped forward herself and took her hands. “You raised Fifth Young Master from childhood. What he was like when he first came, and what he is like now — your contribution to that is beyond measure. Niu’er is your own flesh and blood. What could I possibly be uncertain about?” She added, “When you have a free moment, come into the manor to see Niu’er, and take the opportunity to look in on Fifth Young Master as well, and come visit me. As for the monthly allowance, by the household’s rules, during the first year of service one is provided with food and clothing only. After one year, she may receive the allowance of a fourth-rank junior maid, and if she does well, she will advance from there.”
Nan Yong’s wife understood her meaning and quickly said, “Madam, please be at ease. I will certainly go often to check on Fifth Young Master, and will come regularly to pay my respects to you as well.”
Shiyiniang nodded, then went back to discuss with Xu Lingyi the date for the move. “Why not make it the end of this month? The second day of the second month, when the Dragon raises its head — Teacher Zhao will also be back by then. Jin Ge’er can invite Teacher Zhao and Zhun Ge to sit with him in his own rooms.” She added, “I also want to add a two-room workshop behind his main building for him to use as a workroom. What do you think — would that be all right?”
The rooms where Xu Siyu lived had a rear storage room in addition to the main rooms. Building a similar extension for Xu Sijie would not be out of the ordinary.
Xu Lingyi had no particular opinion. In matters such as these, if Shiyiniang said it was fine, then it was fine.
“Then I’ll have Steward Bai get the workshop finished before the end of the month.”
Shiyiniang nodded. She dispatched a steward from Steward Bai’s side to work day and night on the workshop addition, while she herself busied herself finding a personal attendant for Xu Sijie.
By the end of the month, though the workshop still carried the sharp, pungent smell of fresh whitewash, Xu Sijie nevertheless moved in — after paying his respects to the ancestral tablets and bidding farewell to the Grand Madam.
Shiyiniang then began preparing for the Girls’ Festival on the third day of the third month.
The Grand Madam had been extremely pleased by the birth of Cheng Ge’er, and had said privately to Nanny Du more than once, “When Shiyiniang gives me another grandson, and Zhun Ge marries the Ninth Miss of the Jiang Family without a hitch — then I will be content. I can close my eyes and go meet the old Marquis and the Xu family’s ancestors.” And so for this year’s third-day-of-the-third-month celebration, the Grand Madam displayed tremendous enthusiasm. “…Invite all three of the great opera troupes. Let them perform for three consecutive days. Madam Liang the Elder’s wife, Madam Dou the Elder’s wife — send an invitation card to each of them. And the Grand Madam of the Gan family,” the Grand Madam said with a smile, “that poor, gentle, and virtuous soul — let her come out and take her mind off things, so she does not sit alone at home, grieving with no one to comfort her. If she has any reservations, tell her I am inviting her to come and have a talk with your Second Sister-in-law.” By the end of her words, the smile had faded and her tone carried a touch of wistfulness.
The old lady had reason for saying what she did.
There had been another incident at the Loyal and Diligent Earl’s household.
At the start of the new year, someone had lodged a complaint alleging that they had sold a courtyard to two different buyers. As ill luck would have it, one of the buyers was a close nephew of Elder Dou, and the other was an uncle from Fan Weigang’s own family on his father’s side. The courtyard was in a prime location, and once the fraud was exposed, neither party was willing to yield. Both had brought their deeds to the Shuntian Prefecture magistrate and filed suit. Lanting had come to find Shiyiniang; Xu Lingyi wrote a letter to Fan Weigang, and Fan Weigang’s uncle withdrew his lawsuit. Elder Dou had somehow learned of the case and ordered his nephew to find another residence. But the Gan family had been unable to return the thirty thousand taels of silver that the two parties had originally paid for the courtyard. The Gan family wanted to sell the courtyard at a different price, but as word had already gotten out, others were reluctant to get entangled in the matter, and for a time they could find no buyer. Madam Gan then brought her several young sons and daughters to kneel before the Grand Madam of the Gan family in tears, begging the Grand Madam to, for the sake of the children, produce funds to help in this moment of crisis — if the Gan family could not produce the money to repay the others, the marriage prospects of all the children would be affected.
The Grand Madam of the Gan family momentarily softened her heart and handed over the deeds to two of her shops. By the time the Grand Madam’s elder brother learned of this and hurried over, the Loyal and Diligent Earl had already sold the shops.
As Elder Dou and Elder Fan were both pillars of the Emperor’s court, they feared that others might exploit this affair for political ends, and naturally said nothing of it publicly. The Gan family declared to the outside world that it had been a mistake made by a steward, and then promptly and willingly produced the money, so the matter was quickly put to rest. But as the Xu family had been directly involved, Xu Lingyi had made particular inquiries into the Gan family’s affairs, and Lanting had also not concealed certain things from her. Shiyiniang came to know that the Gan family, on account of the unsettled state of the seas these recent months, had not only lost the profits they had previously earned at sea, but had also sunk their principal into the venture; the Gan family was now a hollow shell.
When she next met with the Grand Madam of the Gan family, Shiyiniang spoke to her in a frank, intimate manner. “Once it happens once, it will happen twice. I see that you must either find a way to take hold of the family’s affairs yourself, or else steel your heart and wash your hands of all their business entirely — let the Gan family sell off their fields and land. Then, when you produce your own personal savings to live on, they will not only look to you for direction, they will be grateful to you. As things stand now, even if you had mountains of gold and silver, it would not survive their scheming.”
The Grand Madam of the Gan family stared in shock. “Let the Gan family sell their fields and land? How — how could that be done?”
“Sometimes you must tear down before you can build. Stripped of its outward splendor, the adults may find it unbearable — but if the children learn to live with their feet firmly planted on the ground, that may not be such a bad thing.” Shiyiniang understood that she was producing money out of fear of having nowhere to turn if the Gan family fell. “Think carefully over what I’ve said.” She then changed the subject and smiled. “It’s been some time since you last saw Jin Ge’er, hasn’t it? He’s gone to Liufang Grove to row a boat. Shall I have Nanny Gu bring him to you?”
Jin Ge’er was lively and adorable, with a sweet tongue. To the Grand Madam of the Gan family, who had no children of her own, simply hearing his name softened her heart.
Her face immediately brightened with a cheerful smile. “Let him play, let him play.” And with that she stood up. “Let us go see him!”
Xu Siyu was not at home. The one looking after the children that day was Xu Sijian.
Though he was attended by maids and servants, Shiyiniang was still somewhat uneasy. She went with the Grand Madam of the Gan family to Liufang Grove.
Jin Ge’er had sharp eyes, and spotted them from a distance, waving from the boat and calling out “Mother!” and “Grand Madam!”
The maid rowing the boat quickly brought it to shore. Jin Ge’er threw himself straight into Shiyiniang’s arms, acted spoiled for a moment, then took the Grand Madam of the Gan family by the hand. “Why have you come to our house? Let me take you for a row!” This set everyone laughing.
Shiyiniang, however, let her gaze move quietly away and asked Xu Sijian without changing her expression, “Why don’t I see Zhun Ge’er and Jin Ge’er?”
Madam Jin quickly said, “Fourth Uncle and Fifth Uncle said rowing was dull and went to Grandmother’s.”
The Grand Madam was in the main hall listening to opera.
When the Grand Madam had suggested inviting all three great opera troupes, Shiyiniang had kept this in mind and deliberately arranged for the Deyin troupe to perform on the final day. After the excitement of the first two days, on the third day having Xu Sijie absent would not strike anyone as unusual.
But some things needed to be caught before they could take root. She gave the instruction in the same calm, unhurried tone she always used, telling Zhuxiang, “Go look in on them — I would not want either young master to have no one attending to him.”
Zhuxiang acknowledged this and left.
Shiyiniang and the Grand Madam of the Gan family sat in the waterside pavilion beside Liufang Grove and watched the children row.
Shiyiniang’s words from earlier had left the Grand Madam of the Gan family with a somewhat dazed expression.
Madam Jin’s laughter, bright as silver bells, and the children’s innocent, carefree play slowly drew the Grand Madam of the Gan family back to her senses.
She said hesitantly, “I hear that Duke Chengguo’s Qiao family sold off all their shops in Shandong and Shanxi before the New Year. A few days ago they also sold two farming estates passed down from their ancestors. One of their sons, who had previously been in talks to marry the daughter of the Commander of the Five-District Constabulary — that match seems to have come to nothing this spring…”
Having lived within the Gan family for decades, never once having thought of leaving, she was suddenly being advised to let go. Even knowing full well that this choice would be most advantageous to herself, she could not bring herself to decide… Shiyiniang could understand how she felt.
“I heard about this from Fourth Madam Tang,” Shiyiniang said. “From the way she spoke of it, the Qiao family owes a considerable sum. Not only to their own, but to others as well. The Marquis of Zhongshan was afraid the Qiao family would not be able to repay him, and had Fourth Madam Tang seek out Madam Qiao on two separate occasions.”
“Fourth Madam Tang is a sharp-minded woman. If she told you this, she must have been entrusted by the Marquis of Zhongshan to sound out your household.” The Grand Madam of the Gan family tensed slightly. “What did the Marquis say?”
“The Marquis already knew about it long ago,” Shiyiniang said. “Duke Chengguo also sought the Marquis out over this matter. The Marquis said the two families were old friends. If it were merely a temporary difficulty, the Xu family would naturally help. But since the Duke Chengguo’s household was now selling off their ancestral property to raise funds, the Xu family could not involve itself — lest it appear as though we were taking advantage of their misfortune. He sent Duke Chengguo away with a response that was neither harsh nor yielding.”
The Grand Madam of the Gan family let out a long breath. “And that person at your house — did she not cry and make a fuss?”
“Whether she cried or made a fuss, I couldn’t say,” Shiyiniang smiled. “In any case, none of it has reached my ears.”
The Grand Madam of the Gan family seemed about to ask something further when Zhuxiang came walking over.
—