With a single sentence, Madam Xiao forced back her sisters-in-law, then stood quietly to one side without another word. The new daughter-in-law Dong Lu Shi, who had been supporting the weeping Maternal Aunt Dong, quickly raised her head to glance at Madam Xiao; who knew that Madam Xiao seemed to have eyes on the side of her face, turning her head to meet her gaze directly, looking at her deeply with apparent meaning.
Dong Lu Shi’s heart filled with alarm, and she hurriedly lowered her head.
On the other side, Cheng Shi was still kneeling, explaining to Mother Cheng: “…I already told Mother in my letter that Uncle’s dishonest hands weren’t a one or two-time thing. Fortunately I was right there to patch things up where I could and cover up what could be covered. But in the Battle of Yiyang half a year ago, while General Wan was recovering from his wounds in the rear, I was transferred to lead troops under General Han’s command. I couldn’t very well take Uncle along to manage armaments under General Han, could I? Before I left, I pleaded with him repeatedly, but who knew Uncle couldn’t even endure these few months and got caught! What do you expect me to do, Mother?! Should I give up such a great opportunity to seek wealth, glory, and achievement, just to keep watch over Uncle alone?!”
Mother Cheng was momentarily speechless. She had long known her youngest brother was a thief, but relying on her son’s cover-ups, she had turned a blind eye all along. Now being questioned about it, she choked for quite a while before saying: “Then what about your uncle now? Are you going to let him die? Let the family be confiscated?” Upon hearing the words “family confiscation,” Maternal Aunt Dong cried even louder, two trails of thick yellow mucus hanging from her nostrils. Yu Cailing found it utterly disgusting.
Cheng Shi expressed difficulty very bureaucratically: “It’s not that I’m unwilling, but that I’m unable.”
Hearing this, Mother Cheng immediately began making a scene, bringing out the robust arm strength and powerful physique from her years of going up mountains and down to the fields. She kicked over the small table on the floor that had originally held Yu Cailing’s soup bowl and snack dishes, smashing the furnishings in the room into complete disarray. Then with iron-tong-like hands she grabbed Cheng Shi’s front lapels, accompanied by flying spittle as she cried and cursed: “You heartless wretch! You’re just going to watch your maternal uncle die like this… I, I’ll go report you for unfilial conduct…”
Children being unfilial could be reported to the authorities for unfilial conduct—the light punishment was fines and beatings with rods, the heavy punishment was dismissal from office—this rotten idea was contributed by Ge Shi, and Mother Cheng had used it frequently over the years to control her son and daughter-in-law with excellent results.
Cheng Shi struggled to pull at his collar, saying angrily: “Mother, go ahead and report me. Between state affairs and family matters, which is more important? Uncle’s theft has already been reported. Even if I refuse to listen to Mother’s orders to smooth things over and absolve him of guilt, even if this ‘unfilial conduct’ is reported all the way to the Emperor, I’m not afraid.”
How could Mother Cheng, a country woman, know all this? She only knew that “not listening” meant “being unfilial,” and “being unfilial” could be reported with guaranteed success each time; now hearing that there was something even greater than “filial piety”—the nation. Having run out of options, she could only wail loudly while collapsing on the bed, rolling around wildly like wild boar meat.
Yu Cailing watched with great interest, feeling the medicinal soup in her bowl growing cold, she quickly drained it in one gulp. With a show to watch, she didn’t even find the medicine bitter and hard to swallow—but unfortunately, Madam Xiao caught her in the act with cold eyes. Qing Cong had been paying attention to Madam Xiao all along, and following her gaze, also saw Yu Cailing behaving this way, unsure for a moment how to feel about it.
Madam Xiao said in a heavy voice: “A’Zhu, wrap Niaoniao up warmly and take her to my room to rest.” A play of grandmother and father fighting was not something the younger generation should keep watching.
Yu Cailing was greatly disappointed but didn’t dare resist. A’Zhu’s hands and feet were nimble as she dressed her in an outer robe and wrapped her in a large cloak, while Lian Fang and Qiao Guo on the side also fumblingly grabbed hidden pouches, cushions, and several boxes of snacks. The three of them surrounded Yu Cailing and quickly left that room, rounded the ten-some-step-long covered walkway, and slipped into another room.
This room had obviously also been hastily tidied up, with furnishings even simpler than her own room. Yu Cailing gnawed on preserved fruit while stretching her ears to listen to the faint sounds of crying and cursing from over there, imagining how the battle was going. Unfortunately, she never again encountered such a live broadcast as today’s.
Over the following days, Yu Cailing continued as usual eating meals, drinking medicine, sleeping, and walking three circles around the room. Cheng Shi and Madam Xiao seemed very busy, away from home for most of each day, no one knew doing what. Only Lady Qing Cong came daily to Yu Cailing’s room to sit briefly and chat, inquiring how her physical recovery was progressing.
Lady Qing Cong’s appearance was merely ordinary, but her advantage lay in clean and gentle features, with natural laugh lines at both corners of her mouth, so that even when not smiling she appeared to be smiling, making people feel close to her. Yu Cailing had originally thought she came to establish rules for her, but who knew Lady Qing Cong only made pleasant small talk, sometimes bringing delicious little snacks Yu Cailing had never seen before, sometimes a few delicate jade hairpins, gold ornaments, or earrings. Within a few days, Yu Cailing gradually let down her guard.
“The Madam and the Master brought many things for the Young Mistress, all stuck in the rear wagons, not even unpacked yet. These days there are many trivial matters—once things are settled, we can open the trunks properly.” Lady Qing Cong smiled, her hands folded and placed before her knees, sitting upright with proper posture.
Yu Cailing nodded: “Mm, New Year is approaching soon, Father and Mother must be busy.”
Lady Qing Cong’s eyes flashed once, neither confirming nor denying.
Through these daily chats, Yu Cailing learned that her formal name was actually “Cheng Shaoshang,” and that she had a twin brother named “Cheng Shaogong.” It was said that originally Grandfather Cheng Taigong had already been bedridden with chronic illness for months, appearing on his last breath. Upon hearing that Madam Xiao had given birth to dragon-phoenix twins, he was overjoyed and suddenly coughed up a thick glob of phlegm, managing to live another half year. Though he still eventually passed away, that half year was a great blessing for Cheng Shi, who was at a critical juncture in military strategic maneuvering at the time.
Everyone said this birth was auspicious. The musician Cheng Taigong was so delighted that he grabbed a passage of text, saying: “I never expected to still see these two children. The qin of Shennong had five strings; King Wen added two strings, known as Shao Gong and Shao Shang—let these be their names.”
Unsurprisingly, aside from Third Uncle Cheng who was away studying at the time, only Madam Xiao in the entire family understood what Cheng Taigong was saying; thus, the name “Cheng Niao” originally prepared for the newborn girl became her informal name.
“When will my brothers return home?” Cheng Shaoshang smiled as she accepted the new name, abandoning without regret the name Father Yu had given her.
“Young Mistress need not worry. In truth there are quite a few more wagons, horses, retinue members, and other miscellaneous items behind, requiring several young masters to oversee them. The Madam and Master rushed ahead to return first.” Lady Qing Cong said.
Hearing the words “miscellaneous items,” Cheng Shaoshang smiled slightly, understanding the implication; at the same time she found it somewhat strange why everyone in Cheng Shi’s household loved calling her “Young Mistress,” when clearly she was the only daughter of this household branch. But if one counted all three branches of the Cheng family together, Third Aunt had given birth to an even younger girl.
…
Cheng Shaoshang’s body gradually improved, but the days were so boring she felt she might fade away from tedium. She couldn’t help asking daily with hopeful tones: “How are the Dong family affairs going?”
A’Zhu didn’t hide things from Shaoshang, but she truly had no talent for gossip, her answers only having two options: “The Master refuses” and “The Master still refuses.” Occasionally exceeding expectations, it was merely “The Master absolutely refuses no matter what.”
Unlike the loyal and taciturn A’Zhu, Lian Fang who served at her side was quite calculating. She was the daughter of one of Cheng Shi’s retinue members and had helped care for a large pile of younger siblings since childhood. Seeing the Young Mistress with shining eyes yet unwillingly confined to the room, she had her own calculations. Over the following days, Lian Fang would occasionally tell Cheng Shaoshang about “good shows” heard and seen outside.
Qiao Guo didn’t understand and asked privately: “Lady Qing Cong initially taught us to speak less, listen more, and do more. Elder Sister, you keep telling the Mistress about outside matters—how can this be proper?”
Lian Fang smiled: “The Mistress and the Madam haven’t seen each other for ten years—how could she be close to us? We two will definitely follow the Mistress in the future. If the Mistress doesn’t trust us or feel close to us, wouldn’t it waste Lady Qing Cong’s efforts in teaching us? Moreover, what I’m saying is originally known throughout the entire household anyway—just letting the Mistress relieve her boredom. What’s the harm?”
Hearing this, Qiao Guo quickly thanked Lian Fang for the guidance.
Before many days passed, A’Zhu discovered Lian Fang spreading tales and originally wanted to scold her. Who knew Lian Fang smiled and defended herself: “Gossiping means fabricating baseless matters and distorting them to curry favor with the masters, but what this servant says has not half a bit of falsehood.”
Seeing A’Zhu’s expression still dissatisfied, she continued: “Lady Qing Cong often praises our Mistress for being reasonable and capable, not inferior to men, saying the Mistress helped manage household affairs from age six or seven. Are we to keep the Young Mistress smothered in bed covers for her entire life, never letting her know about the wind and rain outside? If what I say is wrong, you can beat and scold me as you wish. Letting the Young Mistress know about matters both good and bad allows her to learn to distinguish, doesn’t it?”
A’Zhu looked at Lian Fang for quite a while, thinking: Though these words aren’t wrong, this maidservant is somewhat insufficiently steady.
But then thinking that letting the Young Mistress know some of the elders’ grievances was good, lest she dwell on ten years of nurturing affection and become distant from her birth parents, she said no more afterward, only watching secretly.
Lian Fang’s eloquence differed from A’Zhu’s like heaven and earth. When relating rumors, she was vivid and expressive, and Cheng Shaoshang finally felt the days had some flavor.
It turned out that after mother and son parted unhappily that day, Mother Cheng cursed and swore she would pay out of her own pocket to smooth things over for Maternal Uncle Dong. Unfortunately, though her money box emptied by half, she didn’t see any effect—instead she saw Maternal Uncle Dong being escorted in a prisoner’s cart. The siblings embraced and wept bitterly. According to the servant women who went along, Maternal Uncle Dong looked utterly haggard and wretched.
After Mother Cheng found several more confrontations with her son equally useless, she brought out the ultimate technique of “hunger strike”—it was said that several Empress Dowagers of the previous dynasty often used this tactic against their Emperor sons. Unfortunately, Mother Cheng had suffered hunger in her early days and was now terrified of starvation. These years she couldn’t enjoy a meal without meat. After just two meals of fasting, she couldn’t endure it. According to the servant women in the kitchen, Mother Cheng’s first meal after resuming eating consisted of one smoked chicken, half a roasted goose, two sauce-preserved pig trotters, three large bowls of wheat rice, and she even found a physician to prescribe medicine for digestion.
While Mother Cheng created turmoil on her end, the Dong family situation became even more dire. Maternal Cousin Dong was also detained, and the Dong family’s outer estates and shops had already been sealed for investigation. But Dong Lu Shi’s performance was excellent. To show she couldn’t let Mother Cheng “fight alone,” she sold off over twenty concubines from Maternal Cousin Dong’s quarters in one go, gathering quite a large sum of money for Mother Cheng to “make do with.” Mother Cheng immediately felt this was truly a good niece-in-law cultivated over a hundred lifetimes.
The most recent news was that these days Maternal Aunt Dong came daily to cry for a while. This day after her meal, Mother Cheng drank two cups of wine. Wine emboldens people—she directly grabbed a small fabric-cutting knife and once again went to threaten her son, saying that if he refused to save him, she would die before his eyes, then go report him for unfilial conduct—Cheng Shaoshang deeply felt there was a problem with this sequence.
Unable to endure the harassment, Cheng Shi casually said: It’s not that there’s no way to save Maternal Uncle Dong—I’ll just take the blame for this crime myself, saying that all of Maternal Uncle Dong’s theft was done at my command. Then I’ll go get beheaded in exchange for Maternal Uncle Dong, our family will be confiscated in exchange for the Dong family. Mother, how does that sound?
Mother Cheng immediately fell silent. Though she doted on her brother, she absolutely never thought of exchanging her son for her brother. Who knew that Maternal Aunt Dong on the side got inspired and blurted out: “Nephew is a high official—even if he commits a crime, nothing will happen to him at most, just a fine. Why not have nephew admit to this crime?!” Once the words left her mouth, both Mother Cheng and son turned deathly pale with anger.
Others thought it even more fortunate that the Dong family was incompetent, unable even to enter the prison bureau to see Maternal Uncle Dong. Otherwise, if they colluded together, Maternal Uncle Dong might truly falsely accuse the Cheng family.
Cheng Shi immediately flew into a thunderous rage. Not caring whether anyone heard, he shouted at Mother Cheng standing in the hall: “Fine! Of all virtues, filial piety is foremost. As long as Mother gives the order, I’ll go to the Northern Army Prison right now to confess! Afterward Mother can live with Second Brother and Third Brother!”
Quite a few people inside and out heard this. Servant women and stewards all said their old Madam had truly gone mad. Only Madam Xiao hid in her room with a faint smile—abuse has no kind words, and once a dispute starts, even the best affection will be wounded.
At this point, Mother Cheng’s wine-induced stupor was frightened away. She exerted herself to deliver a resounding slap to Maternal Aunt Dong’s face, then wilted away in her room refusing to come out. Even when she later heard that Cheng Shi ordered the household servants to never again let Maternal Aunt Dong step half a foot into the Cheng family residence, threatening to break the legs of whoever let her in, Mother Cheng dared not utter a word. Matters remained deadlocked like this until Dong Lu Shi came to apologize on the third day.
According to Lady Qing Cong’s account (as relayed by Lian Fang), in the Dong family father and son—the old one loved wealth, the young one loved women, and Maternal Aunt Dong was muddled goods. Dong Lu Shi was the Dong family’s only clear-headed person; however, this clarity was also bought with much suffering.
The Dong and Lu families were originally both prosperous farming families. The two family patriarchs early on arranged a marriage contract for their grandchildren. Who knew that Dong Taigong died early, combined with the chaos engulfing the realm, and the family fortunes declined daily, while the Lu family could still maintain itself. Lu Taigong, keeping faith, still married his young granddaughter into the Dong family where they couldn’t even eat their fill. In the first few years, Maternal Uncle and Aunt Dong treated this new daughter-in-law fairly well. Who knew that Comrade Cheng Shi was too capable—within a few years he rose in status. Seeing the Cheng family brothers’ new wives either wealthy or noble, the Dong family old couple felt their daughter-in-law’s eyes weren’t eyes and nose wasn’t a nose. If not for the fact that Dong Lu Shi had already borne several children and was skilled at flattery, she would probably have been divorced long ago.
No one knew what Dong Lu Shi said to Mother Cheng. They talked from daybreak straight through to noon, until Mother Cheng’s temper was completely dissipated. By evening she hesitantly sent someone to summon Cheng Shi and Madam Xiao, expressing surrender.
When Mother Cheng’s summons arrived, Cheng Shi and Madam Xiao were dining together with Cheng Shaoshang, incidentally cultivating parent-child affection. Seeing the uneasy appearance of the maid kneeling at the threshold, Lady Qing Cong smiled and said: “This is somewhat earlier than the Madam predicted. It seems this Lu Shi has excellent eloquence.”
Madam Xiao smiled without speaking and rose to leave. Before going out, Cheng Shi didn’t forget to instruct his daughter: “Niaoniao, eat on your own, and have more meat!”
Cheng Shaoshang’s posture of rising and lifting her arms paused momentarily before she said: “Yes. This daughter respectfully sends off Father and Mother. Father and Mother, please return early.”
The girl’s voice was soft, like kneading a dough of flour. Cheng Shi’s heart was pleased, and he nodded with a smile before going out.
Cheng Shaoshang then knelt again and lowered her head to eat gloomily. A’Zhu on the side found it somewhat strange. Lady Qing Cong saw this and smiled: “Young Mistress, don’t be unhappy. The Madam and Master will often come to dine with you in the future. Today there truly is business.”
Cheng Shaoshang responded in a low voice.
Unfortunately, even the astute Lady Qing Cong guessed wrong—Cheng Shaoshang wasn’t thinking about that. She disliked others calling her “Niaoniao” because she herself had an informal name, called “Ling Nan,” though the person who called her that had already passed away.
…
Every time she entered Mother Cheng’s chambers, Madam Xiao felt dazzled. Mother Cheng’s requirements for the room were very simple: wealth, wealth, and more wealth. From floorboards to tables, bed furnishings to seating—wherever gold inlay was possible, it was all inlaid with gold thread and gold cloth.
At first Mother Cheng spoke with some embarrassment, but once the floodgates opened, she spoke more and more smoothly. She grabbed Cheng Shi’s hand, with snot and tears, saying: “…Your nephew’s wife spoke well—who can I rely on when I’m old, if not my son? These years you’ve sought achievements through blood and fire, only then could I live these good days of eating meat and drinking wine. How could I value your life and death less than others…”
Cheng Shi and Madam Xiao exchanged glances, both remaining silent.
Mother Cheng continued crying: “Your maternal grandfather on his deathbed told me to look after the family more, but I didn’t keep watch. Your other maternal uncles—the dead are dead, the scattered are scattered, leaving only this one. I felt I’d wronged my deceased parents, which is why I wanted to subsidize the Dong family more. From now on if you’re unwilling, can’t I just stop meddling…”
Madam Xiao’s heart looked at Lu Shi with new respect—in just half a day she had completely turned Mother Cheng around. She glanced at her husband. Cheng Shi understood and said: “Mother, what else did Nephew’s Wife Lu say?”
Mother Cheng firmly remembered Dong Lu Shi’s words—show weakness, must show weakness—and said mournfully: “She said, as long as you advance in rank and establish achievements, the Dong family will naturally benefit. Having your uncle serve in the military is undermining your foundation, dragging you down.” Speaking to this point, her tone changed, grinding her teeth: “It turns out over these years, the Dong family hasn’t saved much money either—it was either taken by your nephew to frolic with women, or taken by your vicious heartless maternal aunt to subsidize her natal family!”
Though Mother Cheng herself loved subsidizing her natal family, she hated others subsidizing their natal families. She had scolded Madam Xiao for several years over initially subsidizing her natal family. Now knowing that much of the money she subsidized her brother with had been moved back to her sister-in-law’s natal family, she was naturally furious beyond measure. In her heart she calculated which day she’d have time to kill her way to their door and give Maternal Aunt Dong a good beating by grabbing her hair to vent her anger.
“My son,” Mother Cheng patted Cheng Shi’s arm repeatedly, “just save your uncle this once. They have fields, they have houses—they won’t starve or freeze. From now on I absolutely won’t come trouble you again!” She turned to Madam Xiao: “From now on, household matters will all be decided by you. I’m old—just enjoying peaceful blessings is enough.”
Madam Xiao’s gaze was like a deep pool, ripples unmoving. Having been in the room this long, she finally spoke: “It seems Mother-in-law has thought things through. Actually Uncle is not unsaveable…”
Originally Mother Cheng was wiping tears while secretly rolling her eyes. Before Madam Xiao’s words were finished, she leaped three zhang high, shouting furiously: “Ha! Your uncle was indeed framed by you two heartless ones, just to manipulate me. I am your mother, your mother! Yet you dare do this—I’m going to, I’m going to…”
“What will Mother-in-law do to me?” Madam Xiao coldly interrupted. “What can Mother-in-law do to me?”
Mother Cheng was momentarily speechless. Cheng Shi remained completely still. The room fell utterly silent.
Madam Xiao slowly rose, closing the door curtain more securely, then turned and said: “Just divorce me, no more. I expect Mother-in-law has also heard some rumors—these years in the cities, beyond the battlefields, I’ve also made some modest achievements. Setting aside whether you can force the Master to divorce me, even if divorced, so what? I’m still alive—”
She smiled faintly, her mouth corners rising in a peculiar mocking arc, enunciating each word: “I’m still alive. Whether others are still alive is another matter.”
Mother Cheng felt as if doused with a bucket of ice water, frozen in place.
Madam Xiao quietly watched her for a while, then said: “Lu Shi said so much—did she not mention this?”
Mother Cheng’s body gradually began trembling. Her son used her brother to manipulate her—it wasn’t that she hadn’t thought of using her daughter-in-law to manipulate her son, but Dong Lu Shi’s words rang clearly in her ears:
“I heard outside that Sister-in-law Xiao treats wounded soldiers on the battlefield, comforts common people amid war chaos. Many people up and down praise her—even the court issued commendations. Even if you force the General to divorce her, so what? Can she starve to death, freeze to death, die of shame? It would only make everyone say you’re muddled and vicious. The General’s bellyful of anger would still be directed at the Dong family. Could your brother and nephew still have their lives?! After your hundred years, the General will just welcome her back—she’ll still enjoy blessings surrounded by children and grandchildren. But the Dong family…”
Looking at Madam Xiao’s face cold as ice, Mother Cheng’s voice stuck in her throat. With trembling fingers, she turned to Cheng Shi: “My son, you’ll just watch her bully me like this?”
Cheng Shi said heavily: “I know Mother always feels I favor Yuan Yi, but Mother, think about it—was I like this the moment I married? Over these ten-some years, what Yuan Yi has done, what Mother has done—I’ve watched it all one by one.” He turned to glance at his wife, then looked back at Mother Cheng: “—Yuan Yi’s meaning is my meaning. The Dong family cannot continue to be indulged. Mother, you should rest too. What you shouldn’t manage, don’t manage from now on.”
Mother Cheng sat heavily on the floor, her whole body powerless, unable to speak or curse. Cheng Shi felt pity in his heart. He looked up at Madam Xiao, saw her nod slightly, and then said: “Go back to your room first and have someone close the doors tightly.”
Madam Xiao looked at Cheng Shi with a faint smile and said: “Yes.”