Wei Shao rose and left early the next morning, before dawn. He was going to Wuzhong City to personally escort his grandmother, Madam Xu, back to Yuyang. The round trip would take about three or four days.
Wei Shao naturally didn’t require Xiao Qiao’s attendance when he got up. But Xiao Qiao soon rose after him as well.
It was impossible to sleep in late like she used to in Xindu, where she could do as she pleased.
Morning and evening greetings to the parents-in-law were a duty that sons could skip due to various obligations, but daughters-in-law had no excuse to avoid it. Even knowing that her mother-in-law despised her, she had to go through this formality.
After finishing her toilette, she prepared to go to the east room. As she left her room, she instinctively glanced at the box Wei Shao had asked her about last night, only to find it was gone.
When Xiao Qiao arrived punctually at the Mao hour (5-7 am) to stand in the corridor outside the main room of the east wing, waiting for Madam Zhu to summon her, the entire servant circle of the Wei family was buzzing about what had happened the night before.
According to the vivid accounts circulating among the servants, the Madam had sent someone to eavesdrop on the Young Master and his new wife, but the Young Master discovered it and flew into a rage, drawing his sword and splitting the door.
Madam Zhu wasn’t particularly well-liked among the household staff. With such an extraordinary incident, the servants naturally gossiped about it enthusiastically behind her back.
Xiao Qiao and the maids serving outside the east room stared at each other for quite a while before a stern-faced housekeeper surnamed Jiang, who served by Madam Zhu’s side and whom Xiao Qiao had seen yesterday, came out and said she could enter.
Xiao Qiao entered the same room as yesterday. Madam Zhu was still sitting upright on the couch in the same posture. However, Zheng Shu was nowhere to be seen.
Madam Zhu’s expression was very unpleasant. When Xiao Qiao entered and paid her respects, she slightly turned her head away without saying a word.
Housekeeper Jiang said coldly, “As a wife of the Wei family, there are some rules you should know. Since Madam didn’t have time to instruct you yesterday, this servant will do so on her behalf. Listen carefully, Young Madam.”
Xiao Qiao respectfully replied, “Please instruct me. I dare not disobey.”
“As a wife of the Wei family, you must be well-versed in wifely etiquette, strictly adhere to wifely virtues, be filial to your parents-in-law, maintain harmony within the family, cultivate virtue in appearance, speech, and deeds, be respectful and obedient without defiance, refrain from personal indulgences, and not interfere in external affairs. Have you remembered all this?”
Xiao Qiao repeated it once and responded with a “Yes.”
“Very good. Madam hasn’t had her breakfast yet. Would the Young Madam like to go to the kitchen and personally make a bowl of soup for Madam?”
Xiao Qiao slightly raised her eyes to look at Madam Zhu.
Her eyes were half-open, half-closed.
It wasn’t really about not having had breakfast and wanting Xiao Qiao to make something. It was an attempt to make her do menial work and then torment her further. Xiao Qiao was certain that if she went to the kitchen to cook, when she brought it back, Madam Zhu would find endless faults and make her redo it over and over. That would be the least of her worries – if Madam Zhu claimed to have an upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea, or even food poisoning that left her bedridden, Xiao Qiao would be in real trouble.
Seeing Xiao Qiao not moving, Housekeeper Jiang’s face showed a cold smile. “What’s the matter? Is the Young Madam unwilling?”
Xiao Qiao already had an excuse prepared. It was ready-made and just needed to be used. She said, “I wouldn’t dare refuse. Cooking for my mother-in-law is my duty. How could I shirk it? It’s just that there is indeed a slight inconvenience. Grandmother’s sixtieth birthday is approaching. When I learned of this, I made a vow before the Buddha to hand-copy the Sutra of Immeasurable Life as a blessing for Grandmother’s longevity. The sutra text is extensive, and Grandmother’s birthday is drawing near. Although I’ve been diligently copying every day, progress is still limited. I’ve been working on it morning and evening, not daring to slack off for a moment. If Grandmother’s birthday arrives and I haven’t fulfilled the vow I made before Buddha, I fear it would go against my original intention and be incomplete.”
“There’s one more thing,” Xiao Qiao paused, then continued, “To show my sincerity, I also vowed at the time that until the sutra was completed, I would abstain from meat and not touch any non-vegetarian food. The kitchen, being a place of meat and fish, I fear entering it now would be impure. I beg for my Mother-in-law’s understanding. Once I’ve finished copying the sutra, I’ll come to attend to Mother-in-law’s needs.”
After speaking, Xiao Qiao lowered her head.
She was confident that by invoking Madam Xu, this great Buddha, Madam Zhu wouldn’t be able to force her anymore.
Buddhism was flourishing in Luoyang now. According to the information Spring Maiden had gathered, Old Madam Xu was also a Buddhist devotee. What could be more important than copying a sutra as a birthday gift for the Old Madam and praying for her blessings?
Sure enough, Madam Zhu’s expression became even more unpleasant.
The room fell silent. After a moment, Xiao Qiao finally heard Housekeeper Jiang say reluctantly, “If that’s the case, you may go.”
Xiao Qiao bowed to Madam Zhu again, then rose and took her leave. Returning to her room, she changed into loose, casual clothes and lay on the couch. Recalling the expression on Wei Shao’s mother’s face earlier, she felt like laughing but also a bit worried.
She wasn’t concerned about the sutra.
In her previous life, she had grown up in a family of scholars. Both her parents were university professors, and influenced by this environment, she had learned calligraphy from a young age, practicing for over a decade. She could imitate Zhao Mengfu’s small regular script beautifully. Due to her weak constitution and frequent illnesses since birth, she passed away in her twenties. Somehow, she had awakened as the current Xiao Qiao. Previously in Dongju, to pass the time, she had gradually copied a volume of the currently highly revered Sutra of Immeasurable Life on silk. Books were precious in this era, so when she married, she had casually packed and brought it along. If it was to be used as a birthday gift for the Old Madam, she could just have it mounted in a few days.
What worried her was that although she had deflected Madam Zhu’s difficult request this morning by using the Old Madam’s birthday as an excuse, this excuse could only be used for a few more days. After Madam Xu’s birthday passed, if Wei Shao’s mother continued to make things difficult for her, how should she respond?
Thinking about the future, if she had to continue living in this back-and-forth with Wei Shao’s mother, Xiao Qiao suddenly felt life would be joyless, and everything seemed bleak.
……
A few days later, Xiao Qiao went out to a mounting shop in the city to have the sutra mounted.
Actually, given the Wei family’s status, they could have easily called someone from the shop to come to them. But this was a birthday gift for Madam Xu, and even though Xiao Qiao was prepared for it to be unappreciated by Madam Xu, she still hoped to have it mounted as perfectly as possible. Going to the shop herself would give her more choices in patterns and colors. So that afternoon, she sent word to the east room, ordered a carriage to be prepared, and set out.
This was her first time going out.
Yuyang City was quite large. After three generations of the Wei family’s governance over several decades, the registered households in the city alone exceeded ten thousand, with a population of several hundred thousand. Houses lined both sides of the streets, with an endless stream of vehicles, horses, and people. Goods from both north and south were readily available.
The best mounting shop in the city was located on a street in the eastern part of the city. Because the street was narrow and crowded with pedestrians, Xiao Qiao had the carriage stop at the entrance of the street, several dozen steps away. She entered the shop accompanied by Spring Maiden and another maid.
Her beauty was truly outstanding. Just walking these few dozen steps attracted many gazes. Passersby turned to look at her, with some even turning back for another glance after passing by.
Xiao Qiao entered the shop. Although she didn’t reveal her identity, the shopkeeper had a keen eye for people. Seeing that she was young, only about fourteen or fifteen, but dressed as a married woman with elegant attire and a beauty that was hard to look at directly, he knew she must be a new bride from one of the great families in the city. His attitude was very respectful. When Xiao Qiao took out the copied silk scroll and unrolled it, the shopkeeper’s eyes lit up, and he praised, “I’ve mounted countless scrolls in my life, but this is the first time I’ve seen such graceful and elegant calligraphy. May I ask whose hand it is from?”
The Zhao style naturally couldn’t be seen in this era, and Xiao Qiao was merely imitating it. She vaguely deflected the question with a few words and explained her purpose. Upon hearing it was a birthday gift for the Old Madam of the Wei family, the shopkeeper didn’t dare to be negligent and immediately brought out many color samples and patterns.
Xiao Qiao slowly selected, finally settling on a pattern called “Red Silk Golden Bars.” However, the shopkeeper shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, this Red Silk Golden Bars has already been ordered by another customer. It’s the only one. If the Young Madam needs it urgently, perhaps you could choose another?”
“If she likes it, let her have it! I can change to something else!”
A loud voice suddenly came from the doorway.
Xiao Qiao looked up to see a man who appeared to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, dismounting from a sturdy horse. He tossed the reins to his attendant and strode into the shop.
This man was very robust, with a heroic air about him. Although dressed in casual clothes, his demeanor was quite domineering and nonchalant, indicating he was likely a person of status. As he approached, his bright eyes fixed on Xiao Qiao, revealing a hint of amazement at her beauty.
Xiao Qiao was accustomed to men’s gazes. But this man’s gaze contained a kind of pressure, with an imposing quality.
She instinctively felt uncomfortable and turned away.
The shopkeeper, however, recognized this man. With a fawning smile, he hurried forward and bowed, saying, “Lord Wei, the birthday scroll you ordered will be ready tomorrow. We’ll send it to your mansion then. How could we trouble you to come in person?”
This man surnamed Wei said, “I just returned from Dai Commandery today and happened to pass by, so I thought I’d check on it.” As he spoke, his eyes kept darting back to Xiao Qiao’s figure.
The shopkeeper smiled and said, “How could we delay something for the Old Madam’s birthday? My Lord can rest assured!”
The man surnamed Wei smiled without speaking, gesturing for him to attend to Xiao Qiao.
The shopkeeper was briefly stunned, then understood. He quickly smiled at Xiao Qiao and said, “The pattern the Young Madam liked earlier was indeed the one Lord Wei had ordered. But Lord Wei said that if the Young Madam likes it, he’s willing to let you have it.”
This man happened to be surnamed Wei and had mentioned something about a birthday gift for an Old Madam.
Xiao Qiao instinctively turned her head to look at him, only to meet his gaze still fixed on her. She couldn’t help but frown slightly.
“There’s no need. I’ll choose another,” she said coolly. She pointed to another pattern, agreed on a date, left a deposit, and without looking at the man again, turned and left.
The man watched Xiao Qiao’s retreating figure and then gazed at her in the distance as she boarded the carriage waiting at the street entrance. As he was lost in thought, the shopkeeper approached and said, “What a coincidence, the silk scroll this Young Madam wanted to be mounted is also a birthday gift for your family’s Old Madam. But she didn’t mention which family she was from.”
The man’s face showed surprise. He hesitated for a moment, then took the reins from his attendant and mounted his horse.
Xiao Qiao returned to the Wei family, and this small incident soon slipped from her mind. By evening, news came that Wei Shao had brought the Old Madam back home.