After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Marquis Dingguo Sun Liquan submitted a memorial stating that he had settled in Guangzhou and familiarized himself with the local customs. He believed that when the seas opened next spring, it would be an excellent opportunity to sail to the Southern Seas. He simultaneously petitioned the Emperor for permission that if any small nations along the route wished to pay tribute, they could be allowed to leave naval escorts to guide them and engage in free trade with several merchant houses designated by the imperial family.
When Emperor Zhaoming had originally prepared the fleet to sail to the Southern Seas, his plan had been to recreate the scene of myriad nations paying tribute. Sun Liquan’s words were naturally just a formality, except for that last sentence about free trade, which exposed the Emperor’s ambition: the focus of this Southern Seas expedition seemed to have imperceptibly shifted from myriad nations paying tribute to free trade.
Naturally there were voices of opposition throughout the court and countryside. After all, opening trade routes was such an undignified matter—the Emperor doing it privately was one thing, but having Marquis Dingguo openly state it in a memorial was somewhat damaging to the court’s dignity. However, since the Emperor was determined to proceed, and Grand Secretaries Jiao, Yang, and the other ministers maintained their silence, the Censorate’s small voice of opposition couldn’t amount to much.
This was just the surface commotion. The undercurrents beneath the surface couldn’t be known by all. Only families like the Xu and Yang households, deeply embroiled in political power struggles and having certain influence over court affairs, could vaguely glimpse the Emperor’s true intentions.
“This November, a naval force will pass by Guangzhou.” During a rare day off at home, Xu Fengjia sighed to Seventh Miss. “Though there’s also been some movement in the northeast, ultimately the Emperor still won’t give up… Fortunately, this naval force numbers only two or three thousand. Presumably they won’t linger too long in the Southern Seas.”
Seventh Miss couldn’t help but sigh along with Xu Fengjia. “Since this matter is settled, the court will have even more troubles from now on.”
Sure enough, barely into the ninth month, the Emperor thunderously dealt with several officials, both capital officials and local bureaucrats. The charges were uniformly corruption, impeached by the Censorate and investigated by the Yanyan Guards, with solid and complete evidence. At a glance, one could tell this had been carefully prepared for a long time—he was moving against these people.
Though these people were scattered across the land and seemed to have nothing in common, and the Emperor’s actions appeared to merely be purging corrupt officials and sweeping away corrupt practices, those with discerning minds could easily see these people’s only commonality upon closer examination: without exception, they were all disciples of Grand Secretary Jiao.
From when the Emperor began brewing plans to force Grand Secretary Jiao to step down until he actually took action—a full half year—with his methods, he naturally could leisurely arrange countless hidden threads and then casually trigger them one by one. For a time, the Jiao family was thrown into complete disarray. Duke Pingguo’s contact with the Grand Master became unprecedentedly frequent. Even Xu Fengjia often had to go to Menghua Pavilion to keep the old man company, or go to the Grand Secretary’s residence to have tea with the Grand Master. As someone close to and trusted by the Emperor, a young general with illustrious military achievements, a rising star among rising stars—at such a time, he naturally couldn’t remain uninvolved.
When he was busy, Seventh Miss naturally couldn’t be idle either. Since taking over household affairs, she had merely followed established precedents. Besides promoting the record-keeping method, she hadn’t made any major moves. This was partly to ensure a smooth transition, and partly to familiarize herself with the Xu household’s personnel and relationships. Now into the eleventh month, the season entering midwinter, with bitter cold, children catching colds and fevers, many maids and servants in various quarters falling ill, plus the winter clothing allowances for each household, coal money, the silver and rice the Xu family distributed at porridge kitchens each winter, returns from various properties, grain sold and local products delivered by estate managers, plus the various gifts and dowry to prepare for Yu Qiao’s marriage discussions—though none of these matters were major or difficult, they were certainly trivial. Moreover, many things couldn’t be encountered when not managing the household. Seventh Miss could only handle them while humbly studying and taking notes, hoping to soon have complete mastery of Xu household affairs firmly in mind and secure her position as the household’s mistress.
Since Yu Qiao’s marriage to the Fan family’s second young master had been settled, the Fan family had indirectly asked Fan Zhihong’s teacher, currently a Vice Minister in the Ministry of Rites, to serve as chief matchmaker. They had already obtained Yu Qiao’s birth date card. According to custom, Seventh Miss already needed to prepare Yu Qiao’s dowry. Duke Pingguo’s household had produced two young ladies in the previous generation—one died young and one entered the palace—so there were no old precedents to reference. One morning, she went to Qingping Garden to discuss with the Grand Madam. “I sent someone to ask the Sun family. For someone like Yu Qiao, the eldest of three daughters, her dowry should be somewhat more generous by custom. I thought since the Sun family’s eldest daughter married two years ago, we could simply request a copy of her dowry list to use as reference. That way we won’t be too extravagant and draw attention, nor too shabby that Yu Qiao will have difficulty in Yangzhou—after all, the Lianghuai region has the most wealthy people. Though the Fan family’s status isn’t equal to ours, if Yu Qiao’s dowry is too meager, it would inevitably invite mockery.”
A marrying daughter represents her natal family’s reputation. The Grand Madam naturally wouldn’t create difficulties for Yu Qiao in this matter. She nodded with a smile. “Good. Besides what the official household provides, this old woman will personally contribute one thousand taels to add to her trousseau, so she’ll have some ready silver to use.”
Seventh Miss paused before smiling. “Grandmother truly dotes on Yu Qiao.”
Generally, a concubine-born daughter’s dowry consisted mainly of land and furniture, with a few boxes of jewelry. Ten or twenty thousand taels of silver could disappear without a trace, so there wouldn’t be much dowry she could use freely. The Grand Madam offering one thousand taels in one go would be extremely generous in an ordinary household, but paired with the Grand Madam’s status, this one thousand taels seemed rather stingy.
The Grand Madam had been fairly amiable toward Seventh Miss lately, neither openly nor covertly mocking her. She casually asked a few more questions. “Is the Fan family’s matchmaker respectable? Has Fengjia met the new son-in-law’s elder brother?” She didn’t really care about the answers and waved her hand to signal Seventh Miss. “Go on and attend to things. The twelfth month is approaching—there’s so much to do at home.”
Seventh Miss rose with a smile and left Leshan Residence with Little Huangpu.
With New Year approaching, the work at Mingde Hall had originally fallen entirely to Seventh Miss alone, but with her two lifetimes of experience, she deeply understood the principle of delegating authority. She had actually assigned tasks to each trusted maid and servant according to their abilities. Therefore, though New Year was approaching, it was the maids and servants who grew increasingly busy and frantic, while Seventh Miss herself only needed to oversee things casually without worrying too much.
This time visiting Leshan Residence to consult the Grand Madam, she had few maids available and could only bring Little Huangpu. Fortunately, though young, this girl was steady and proper in her manner and hadn’t embarrassed Mingde Hall.
A few days ago there had been a snowfall. Little Cuijin was wrapped in silver, looking extremely serene. Seventh Miss walked shoulder to shoulder with Little Huangpu, gazing at the winter scenery in the garden. Her interest was suddenly piqued, so she strolled with Little Huangpu to the exterior of Liushang Pavilion and smiled. “Before I married, we had over twenty plum trees in our Jiangnan garden. Consort Ning lived in the plum grove. In winter, even with the north wind howling, we sisters would still pick plum blossoms and swing on swings in the grove. These two plum trees outside Liushang Pavilion bloom early. I wonder if the Jiangnan plum blossoms have bloomed yet.”
Little Huangpu’s face showed deep longing. “Hearing Young Madam speak of Jiangnan, I truly wish to visit Suzhou. They say above is heaven, below are Suzhou and Hangzhou. If the capital is already this wonderful, imagine how much better Suzhou must be—I truly can’t imagine!”
Seventh Miss glanced at her with a smile, her words laden with meaning. “If that’s all you hope for, there’s nothing preventing me from fulfilling it. But if you hope for more than that, you’d better say so plainly.”
Her hint was quite obvious. Little Huangpu couldn’t have missed it. The little maid blinked, still showing a trace of doubt. “With this servant’s status, what good things could I hope for? I can only follow Young Madam’s arrangements. Whatever Young Madam tells me to do, I’ll…”
“You’ll do whatever I tell you?” Seventh Miss shot Little Huangpu a look. “If I told you to investigate the situation at Leshan Residence, would you do it?”
Little Huangpu froze completely.
She wasn’t stupid. Her thoughts racing, she remembered how Seventh Miss’s people had been especially attentive and cultivating toward her recently.
She’d thought it was because Young Madam liked her skillful hands, so the senior maids also valued her accordingly. She hadn’t expected that Young Madam had noticed that her several sisters all worked as hairdressing maids in various parts of the residence…
Little Huangpu actually felt relieved. She raised her head, boldly looked at Seventh Miss, then lowered it again and mumbled, “If Young Madam commands, this servant naturally would die ten thousand deaths without hesitation.”
Seventh Miss smiled. “Oh?”
She said nothing more but led Little Huangpu all the way back to Mingde Hall.
Little Huangpu was anxious the whole way, afraid she’d misunderstood Young Madam’s meaning, and afraid what Young Madam wanted her to do was something unconscionable. Her heart in turmoil, she followed Seventh Miss into Mingde Hall. Not watching her step, she cried out and was tripped by something, falling heavily on the brick floor.
Giggling laughter immediately came from a corner. Si Lang poked his head out, then ran off somewhere. Wu Lang, however, still leaned out half his body, drawing a finger across his cheek to shame Little Huangpu. “Sister is clumsy!”
When Seventh Miss looked down, she saw someone had left a wine jar there. She couldn’t help but laugh. “These two children are so naughty, deliberately waiting there to watch people trip.”
Chunfen came from behind carrying Wu Lang, also laughing. “The Heir had someone deliver it this morning. He said it’s strong liquor from the north—he wants to soak dates in it. Wu Lang was tripped by it earlier and refused to let anyone move it, insisting on waiting to see someone else trip. Only then would he be satisfied.”
She tapped Wu Lang’s nose and asked, “Now that Sister Huangpu has tripped, will Wu Lang show mercy and let us move the wine jar away?”
Wu Lang rolled his large eyes, about to say something more, but seeing Seventh Miss’s darkened expression, he didn’t dare speak and obediently nodded.
Such a small child was already so troublesome. Having suffered a setback himself, instead of thinking how to warn others so they wouldn’t suffer too, he had to see others also fall victim before he’d be happy…
Seventh Miss frowned, about to scold Wu Lang, then sighed.
Forget it. She wasn’t his birth mother. Many things she said wouldn’t carry the same legitimacy. Later when he began studies, with teachers instructing him and Xu Fengjia as a strict father, presumably by the time he grew up, Wu Lang would change.
She pinched Wu Lang’s cheek but still couldn’t help saying softly, “Do you know what ‘do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire’ means? Fu Ge doesn’t like falling down—does Little Huangpu like it? If you so love sharing misfortune, next time your brother makes a mistake, you’ll be punished together too, alright?”
Wu Lang looked confused, blinking, seemingly not understanding Seventh Miss’s meaning. He just uneasily looked away, avoiding eye contact with Seventh Miss. Seventh Miss sighed. “From now on, discipline them a bit more strictly. When such things reach the elders, it easily invites long lectures… Remember that, all of you?”
Chunfen didn’t dare say much, only meekly agreed. Seeing Wu Lang about to cry, she lowered her head to softly coax him as she carried him into the east wing.
Even after changing clothes, Seventh Miss remained lost in thought.
“Why is Miss so distracted after visiting Leshan Residence?” Lixia came in to report and, seeing Seventh Miss’s odd expression, asked with a smile. Only then did Seventh Miss come back to herself. She couldn’t help touching her own belly.
“Si Lang and Wu Lang aren’t my own children. When I think they might grow up to be wastrels, I truly worry. If I have my own children in the future, from the time they’re born until they grow up and have children themselves—wouldn’t that be over thirty years of worry?”
Without waiting for Lixia’s answer, she rallied her spirits. “Go fetch Little Huangpu. I was so lost in thought earlier that I forgot to discuss the actual business with her.”
Little Huangpu quickly entered the room.
In this brief interval, the little maid seemed to have figured out quite a bit. Her attitude had become more composed and confident, and toward Seventh Miss she no longer showed the five or six parts fear she used to.
“I haven’t yet asked what you’re seeking.” Seventh Miss examined her carefully, though her gaze became somewhat unfocused. “If you don’t know me, you can ask these senior sisters… As long as you serve me wholeheartedly, I will never mistreat anyone. Your Sister Bailu, when she worked for me, only wanted to marry safely and not become anyone’s concubine. What your Sister Lixia wants, you can ask her yourself—in short, one thing: those who work for me, I will never mistreat them. Little Huangpu, think it over yourself. Do you want to work for me or not? If you’re unwilling, it’s fine—just say so.”
Little Huangpu took a deep breath, her voice like a mosquito’s buzz. “For this servant to serve Young Madam is naturally worth dying ten thousand deaths.”
She carefully observed Seventh Miss’s expression and added, “It’s just that this servant has only one lifelong wish—like Second Sister, to marry into a scholar’s family and become a young madam. Thinking it over, the only path to achieve this wish is…”
Before she finished speaking, Seventh Miss already understood her meaning.
She smiled.
“You want to enter the palace to serve Consort Ning? Good. You’re an ambitious girl.” Seventh Miss praised her with interest. “Among the maids around me, none have such wonderful aspirations as yours—naturally I can fulfill this for you.”
But Little Huangpu showed no joy, only took a deep breath, waiting for Seventh Miss to continue.
“However, there are several things I’d also very much like to know.” Seventh Miss held up one finger. “First, I want to know if there have been any major developments at Leshan Residence recently. Has Grandmother been moving her assets around, for instance, converting her dowry estates and privately accumulated properties over the years into cash?”
“The second matter will trouble your other sister.” Seventh Miss held up another finger. “I want to know what the relationship between Elder Sister-in-law and Elder Brother is really like, how many times Elder Sister-in-law has gone out these past months, what kind of people she usually associates with—you understand my meaning?”
She wanted intelligence on First Young Madam, so she needed an informant to report all the details of First Young Madam’s daily life.
Little Huangpu took a deep breath, hesitated briefly, then gritted her teeth. “Young Madam commands, and this servant will certainly serve unto death!”
Seventh Miss immediately let out a satisfied breath.
No matter how capable Bailu was, without some time, it would be difficult to truly penetrate the Xu household servants’ social network. Someone like Little Huangpu, with relatives throughout the residence and several sisters serving as hairdressing maids to the masters—such a well-informed person—if she could be entirely at Seventh Miss’s disposal, the matters ahead would be much more convenient.