Upon hearing Ding Shi’s words, Su Hongmeng found them reasonable. The expression that had just begun to relax on his face tightened once more, and he said coldly: “Even back in the old hometown, there’s no peace of mind!”
As he walked into the old estate, Su Hongmeng noticed that the stone slabs in the courtyard appeared to have been recently relaid. They were small, square-cut stones, and between the gaps, rounded pebbles had been set in raised formation — underfoot, the surface was anything but smooth and easy.
Su Caijian, walking alongside, caught her foot on one and could not help but exclaim softly: “When we came back to pay respects at the ancestral shrine a few years ago, wasn’t the courtyard paved with fine bluestone? Why has it been changed to this?”
The steward offered an apologetic smile: “It was at the First Young Miss’s instruction, my lord. She seldom gets about these days, and the pebble surface is just right for stimulating the pressure points under the feet as she walks…”
On hearing this, the second young master, Su Jinguan, curled his lip and laughed at Su Guiyan: “Of all us younger ones, only Elder Sister has deep pockets — she holds the money and silver your late mother left behind, so even having the old estate’s stones relaid doesn’t require touching the communal funds… When you get the chance, talk some sense into Elder Sister. Part of that money was left to you by your mother too. If she squanders every last coin of it, what kind of business is that?”
The “mother” he referred to was the late Hu Shi — the eldest daughter of the Hu family, incense merchants of Suzhou. The Hu family’s incense trade had enjoyed a period of flourishing business in its day, and they had been generous with Hu Shi’s dowry when she married.
However, there had come a time when the Su family’s finances ran short, and half of the dowry Hu Shi had brought with her was used to fill the gap.
Later, just before Hu Shi passed away, she had given what remained of her dowry in its entirety to her two young children. She had even specially engaged a government scribe as witness, and invited elders from both the Su family and her own maiden family to count out the banknotes and landholdings. She stated plainly that after her death, she would leave behind only a young daughter and a son still in swaddling clothes — this dowry would be the foundation upon which the two of them could stand firm in the Su household. Not a single coin of it was to be touched by anyone; it would be managed on the children’s behalf by her own personal nanny, Tian Shi.
Those fertile fields were leased to familiar tenant farmers, yielding steady income through drought and flood alike each year. While the sum was not especially large, it was more than enough to cover daily needs and clothing. Should any misfortune befall these two children of hers, she asked the elders of both families to act as masters of the matter and donate all the money and landholdings to a temple or convent as incense-burning funds — it would at least accumulate merit for her ill-fated children in the next life.
These words had placed Su Hongmeng in an acutely embarrassing position at the time. What outsiders did not know was that he had already become entangled with Ding Shi by then — and it was precisely this that had broken Hu Shi’s heart, leaving her so grief-stricken that her already ailing body gave out with startling suddenness.
Hu Shi’s words, on the surface, were the dying entrusting of her children to others’ care — yet between the lines, they dripped with distrust toward the Su family’s future mistress of the house, out of fear that she might scheme for the money and harm her children. That was why she had made such a seemingly outlandish declaration about donating everything away.
The dead are to be honored above all else. With Hu Shi having made such a formal scene of it, Master Su could not argue against her. Besides, the Su family had long since recovered its fortunes and was flush with wealth — he had never had any intention of coveting his wife’s small dowry. And so Master Su had complied with Hu Shi in everything, giving all of the late wife’s dowry over to her children.
As for the few coins spent on relaying the courtyard floor — that was hardly any hardship at all for Su Luoyun.
All the same, hearing the third young master’s words, Su Hongmeng still knitted his brows in disapproval.
Su Luoyun had been an unconventional girl from childhood. At the age of twelve, she had taken Nanny Tian with her to the farmstead and retrieved all the tenant account books that Hu Shi had left her, taking all the money and silver firmly into her own hands.
At the time, he had felt it was no good thing for a young girl to take control of money and property so early, and had accordingly given Luoyun a stern and earnest lecture on the matter.
But that child had used her late mother’s dying words to stop his mouth, saying only that this was what Hu Shi had left for her and her brother — how she chose to spend it was no concern requiring her father’s effort.
Such an incorrigible, unruly daughter — how could Su Hongmeng bear it? On the spot, he had summoned the Su family elders and stated plainly: although Hu Shi’s dowry was none of his business, if the raising and education of these children was also to be none of his business, then they might as well say so openly — let Su Luoyun take her brother and go make her own way in the world, and henceforth there would be no need to bear the Su family name.
At that time, her maternal family’s business was gradually declining, and she could not take her brother and go seek refuge with the Hu family.
Even if the siblings were to set up their own household in the future, Su Guiyan could manage well enough if he went into trade — but if he pursued an official career, that path would be hopeless. The Wei Dynasty did not prohibit the children of merchants from sitting the civil examinations by imperial grace, but a son cast out of his family for defiance, his name disgraced, would find even the preliminary childhood examinations impossible to pass.
For the sake of her brother’s future, Su Luoyun — who had never yielded to anyone — at last relented. Although Su Hongmeng would not manage her dowry, every single coin she spent henceforth would require her father’s approval.
Yet ever since Su Luoyun lost her sight in both eyes, Su Hongmeng had begun to turn a blind eye to her somewhat larger expenditures. In any case, all that Hu Shi had left was that small sum — barely enough to put together a presentable dowry, at best.
If Su Luoyun did not wish to marry, and did not wish to leave any of it for her brother, squandering it all was fine too.
After all, if the Su family’s new ancestral tablet could be kept content with just a bit of money spent freely, he was quite willing to part with the coin to avert any calamity. And besides, what Luoyun spent was none of the communal household funds.
The other young masters and misses of the Su household were terribly envious of their elder sister’s well-stocked purse. The Su family’s ancestral teachings had always been against raising idle, extravagant heirs, and Su Hongmeng — though he spent lavishly enough on his own daily comforts — was habitually tight-fisted with his children, emulating the style of a family of upright scholars. The monthly allowance for the young masters and misses of the household was pitifully small.
Seeing now that their elder sister lived so freely and comfortably at the old estate, how could they not be consumed by both envy and resentment?
Su Caijian, having been spoiled all her life, walked into the main hall only to find that the floor inside had also been set with pebbles. Her pampered, tender feet could not endure it, and after quietly murmuring a few words to Ding Pei, Ding Shi called a maidservant to fetch the thick felt mat used to cover the floor during ritual ceremonies from the storeroom, and had it laid out across the ground.
With the thick felt underfoot, those soft embroidered slippers with their thin soles were far more comfortable. Just then, Su Guiyan — who had been silently standing to one side all this while — could not help but speak up: “Elder Sister uses pebbles on the floor most likely because, not being able to see, she has made markings on the ground to help her get around without bumping into things. Now that we’ve covered the floor, I’m afraid…”
The two siblings exchanged letters from time to time about daily matters, and Su Guiyan knew the purpose of these pebbles.
Before he could finish, Su Jinguan cut him off with contempt: “It’s not as though she lacks maidservants and matrons at her side. Even if she had no eye ailment, there would be people to support her — could she really fall?”
Su Guiyan fell silent out of habit. He knew his elder sister’s temperament better than anyone — she was the most unyielding person under Heaven. How could she bear to walk everywhere leaning on someone, groping her way along?
Thinking of how his elder sister had looked in those first days of her blindness — so grief-stricken she refused to see anyone — the fifteen-year-old boy’s eyes slowly grew red-rimmed. Without the guidance of the pebbles on the floor, when his elder sister came to greet their father shortly, she might well make a sorry spectacle of herself. And she was the last person who would ever want to show weakness in front of others…
But his words had evidently not entered his father’s mind. Su Hongmeng had started to respond, but was interrupted by his stepmother, who steered the conversation sideways onto the miscellaneous matter of paying respects to the local clan relatives.
Then the whole family sat gathered around the table, taking tea and light refreshments. Ding Shi idly instructed a maidservant to place the copper basin used for rinsing hands near the doorway, saying the room was too dry and a little extra moisture in the air would help.
A moment earlier, the moving of furniture to lay down the felt mat had left the tables, chairs, and standing cabinets all shifted out of place, leaving the main hall somewhat disordered. Old Feng suggested calling someone to tidy up, but Ding Shi said there was no hurry — they could put it all back in order when the master took his midday rest.
While everyone was drinking their tea, Ding Shi glanced up and caught sight of Nanny Tian — who served Su Luoyun — standing at the entrance to the main hall with the maidservant Xiangcao.
Ding Shi smiled and raised her voice: “Nanny Tian, why do you not enter the hall to pay your respects?”
Nanny Tian had been standing silently all this while, her eyes — set deep within their wrinkled folds — scanning the main hall inch by inch. Only when Ding Shi called out to her did she step forward slightly, and with neither servility nor arrogance, dropped into a proper bow: “This old servant saw that the master and mistress were deep in pleasant conversation, and feared to disturb your enjoyment. I had intended to wait until there was a pause in the masters’ words before presenting my respects.”
Nanny Tian was an old retainer left behind by Madam Hu, and one of the loyal servants entrusted with the children at Hu Shi’s deathbed. She was a woman of few words by nature, and rarely went anywhere outside the young miss’s courtyard. In ordinary times, even Ding Pei could find no fault with her conduct.
Hearing Nanny Tian’s explanation, Ding Pei smiled: “We are all family here — what is there to disturb? Since you have returned, it means Yun’er has returned as well. Where is she now? The master has been looking forward to seeing her.”
Nanny Tian lowered her head and replied: “When the First Young Miss arrived, her skirt was splashed with mud from the carriage wheels. She needs a moment to wash and tidy herself before presenting herself to her elders. Fearing that the master and mistress would be kept waiting, she sent this old servant ahead to report, and I will go back shortly to escort the First Young Miss here.”
Su Hongmeng waved his hand: “Understood. Tell her there’s no need to go to great trouble with her appearance — we are all family here. Even coming in casual robes would be perfectly fine. Shortly, her mother and I will need to rest a while before going to the county to visit friends and attend an evening banquet. Have her come and observe the proper courtesies — that will be enough.”
Nanny Tian swept her gaze silently around the main hall once more, offered another bow, and hurried away with the maidservant.
Su Caijian felt a general unease wash over her. She had thought she would not need to see her elder sister at all — how could she have imagined that the very moment of her return would bring her face to face with her?
It was not that she feared Su Luoyun — only that, thinking of her elder sister’s sharp-edged words, she suspected this encounter would likely bring fresh unpleasantness. She had been pampered all her life, with others handling every troublesome matter on her behalf. Only when facing her elder sister did she feel uneasy, burdened by that gnawing guilt within her heart.
Yet thinking of how Su Luoyun had looked when she left home — hair disheveled, gaunt and haggard — she felt a measure of comfort return.
From childhood onward, people had always compared the two of them, measuring Caijian against her elder sister Luoyun. In her sister’s presence, Su Caijian had never been the one who stood out. But now — surely no one would ever again compare her to a blind woman. Was this not, in its own way, a case of enduring through the clouds until at last the moonlight broke through?
She was still turning this thought over in her mind when footsteps sounded again at the doorway, and a fleeting, ethereal figure appeared first at the threshold of the main hall.
Su Caijian looked up. The woman stepping through the door had a slender, graceful figure; a plain, elegant robe with cloud-patterned sleeves made her appear even more slender and at ease. Her jet-black hair was coiled into a cloud-shaped topknot piled atop her head, revealing a smooth and fair neckline, and a full, bright forehead. Her brows were dark and delicately arched, yet the outer corners tilted ever so slightly upward — lending her less of the fragile softness typical of young women, and instead a touch of a man’s bold spirit.
On that fair, clear face, what was most striking of all was her pair of eyes — slightly upswept phoenix eyes that held within them a faint luminous gleam, drawing one’s gaze involuntarily to linger.
Yet beautiful as that pair of eyes was, they lacked a certain vitality. They gazed steadily toward a fixed point in the void ahead, without a ripple of expression or a dance of light within them.
The vacant gaze in no way hindered that woman’s light and agile step. She went straight ahead, brushing off the maidservant behind her, stepped over the threshold, skirted around the water-filled basin set on the floor, and moved with dainty steps — coming to a firm, composed halt three paces from the table. She then offered an elegant bow: “Father, Mother — your daughter was too late in coming to receive you. Please mete out whatever punishment you see fit.”
Su Hongmeng was somewhat taken aback. He rose to his feet involuntarily and waved his hand before the woman’s face, barely daring to believe what he saw: “Luoyun… has your eyesight returned?”