Thinking of Minglan, he felt warmth spread through his chest. He drew in a slow breath and said: “The difference is not that she is incapable. It is that she is unwilling. She is not like you — somewhere inside her there is a line she will not cross. She knows what can be done and what cannot. The sort of vicious and ruthless deeds you have committed? Ha.”
Long before they had wed, he had quietly investigated the inner workings of the Sheng household. As far as Minglan was concerned, the most imaginative plot she could conceive was probably shedding a few tears in front of her father, or taking an unguarded moment to slip a chunk of pig fat onto a sister’s seat. A character like that was perhaps a little circumspect and overly scrupulous, yet it was upright and admirable — a character one could trust completely.
Listening to the affection woven through every word the man spoke, Man Niang was consumed with jealousy and hatred; a fire roared to life within her. She was just drawing breath to unleash several vicious words when Gu Tingye suddenly crouched down before her and looked her in the face. “The decision about Chang Ge’er was one you made for him yourself. You know what I am: when I have said something, I do not take it back. In this life, Chang Ge’er will never be entered into the Gu family register. Let him establish his own household under his own name.”
“And what… do you intend to do with us?” Man Niang said hollowly.
Gu Tingye rose and considered for a moment. “You cannot remain in the capital. I will have people escort you back to your hometown in Mianzhou. There you may acquire land and begin your life afresh. I will speak to the local officials — no one will make things difficult for you and your child. As for Chang Ge’er — consider that he has no father.”
“And… what about me?” Man Niang’s eyes filled with desolate tears. “Is this how my life ends?”
Gu Tingye regarded her with cold contempt. “Back then I offered to take Chang Ge’er from you, so you could go and marry well. But you said you were already at your age — there was no good match to be found — and that if you had no child left to you, you would have nothing left to depend on. It was for the sake of those words that I left Chang Ge’er by your side. What — you’ve changed your mind now?”
Man Niang looked up at him, dazed. “Do you despise me so utterly that you cannot even bear to lay eyes on me?”
“To tell you the truth.” Gu Tingye studied her for a long moment, then said quietly, “I am afraid of you.”
Cunning, patience, tenacity — Man Niang was like the spider-woman from Nanny Chang’s old tales, who spun web after web, dense and adhesive, and once she had fixed upon her prey, ensnared it alive, until struggle as you might, you could not escape. If she were allowed to go on entangling him, he had the feeling it would come to only one end — killing her. Being away from her felt like escaping into open air.
“Let me leave you with one thing to remember.” Gu Tingye walked to the door, then turned and looked back at Man Niang, still sitting on the floor. “If you find yourself in some urgent difficulty, you may have someone bring word to me. Chang’er is my blood after all — I will not stand by and do nothing. But if…”
His face was as cold as frost, his eyes carrying a deadly chill, as he said slowly, “You dare set one foot in the capital again — or seek me out under any pretext whatsoever — regardless of the circumstances — once — only once — and I will make sure you never see Chang Ge’er for the rest of your life.”
The last thing he left unsaid, but Man Niang knew him too well. She knew that if things truly came to that, after taking Chang Ge’er away, the time would have come for him to deal with her entirely.
Having said all this, Gu Tingye thrust the door open and stepped outside with a single stride. Overhead was a blazing sun; from the forest on the hill behind the garden came a clear breeze, refreshing and invigorating. He drew in a long, deep breath and said in a low, firm voice: “There is court early tomorrow morning. Have the horses and carriage made ready.”
Hao Dacheng answered with proper deference: “This servant receives the order.”
Gu Tingye also turned his head slightly, gazing off in the direction of Xuanzhi Garden, and gave a cold smile. The time had come to settle accounts with them as well.
※※※
Author’s Note:
Man Niang is actually a rather fascinating archetype of ancient times.
As someone from the very bottom of society, she was in fact immensely strong-willed, and never once regarded her own origins as degrading. She approached Gu Tingye as an equal seeking love — her air of helpless fragility was nothing but a tool.
It is very hard to say whether this person is good or bad. Put in flattering terms, she possessed a modern spirit, breaking free from feudal decay. Put in unflattering terms, it was wishful thinking bordering on delusion.
Old Cao’s verdict still says it best: humble in station, yet ambitions soaring to the heavens.
…
Let me add a few words here.
In the past several chapters, this author may have depicted Minglan proceeding too smoothly, causing everyone to forget something very important.
This marriage of Minglan’s is entirely a marriage above her station. What was her position to begin with? Nothing more than the concubine-born daughter of a fourth-rank official. Even with excellent personal qualities — beautiful, clever, and well-liked — she is still, in the end, the concubine-born daughter of a fourth-rank official.
In the capital, fourth-rank officials are so plentiful you can grab a handful. According to the official ranking systems of the Ming and Qing dynasties, rank four sits at the upper tier of the middle ranks — it is only above that threshold that one reaches the truly high-ranking first and second degrees. Yes, Changbai’s prospects are indeed promising — but they remain prospects only, not yet turned into fruit. How many promising young officials never managed to advance?
So even if Qi Heng had been cuckolded, Princess Pingning still looked down on Minglan as a daughter-in-law. Because on a practical level, marrying Minglan offered no great advantage.
Furthermore: Gu Tingye’s marrying Minglan was something he pursued with every scheme and stratagem at his disposal — driven by genuine feeling, of course — but on a practical level, this marriage was entirely a case of Minglan marrying above herself. Of course, she herself had never wished to do any such thing.
On one side: fourth-rank officials by the handful; on the other: a son of the hereditary nobility, the Emperor’s trusted confidant, a high-ranking official wielding real authority. With such a stark disparity, the Sheng family as her paternal household had essentially no leverage whatsoever. When Rulan quarreled with her husband’s family, Wang Shi could storm over and let loose a torrent of abuse. But if Minglan were to quarrel with Gu Tingye — who could speak up for her? Who would dare? Changbai? Sheng Hong? Or Elder Brother-in-law Yuan?
They were all dependent on Gu Tingye’s goodwill — they had little enough to spare for anything else.
If Minglan were to quarrel with Gu Tingye, practically every relative she had — except for Grandmother Sheng — would urge Minglan to bear with it, not to provoke this most prestigious of son-in-laws.
This is exactly why Grandmother Sheng always hoped Minglan might marry into the He family. That was the reasoning behind it all.
This is also precisely what makes the situation so sorrowful.
From beginning to end, Minglan, when it came to Yan Hong and to Man Niang, was clearly burning with curiosity — yet she never once asked a single question, let alone dealing with Man Niang herself.
That woman had once occupied an important place in Gu Tingye’s heart. No matter how Minglan handled Man Niang, it would leave behind some unfavorable impression in Gu Tingye’s mind — and so she simply stepped back and kept her hands clean.
The He family: the marriage hadn’t even been formally discussed, yet Grandmother Sheng could march over and make her displeasure plainly known. But the Gu family? Once inside a Marquis’s gate, it ran as deep as the sea. Never mind that Gu Tingye had already sent Man Niang far away and given Minglan every consideration of propriety and feeling — even if Gu Tingye broke his word and brought Man Niang into the household as a concubine, what could the Sheng family do?
Divorce? A formal separation? A letter of repudiation? If things came to that kind of rupture, it would only be Minglan who suffered.
Perhaps the way this author writes feels light and easy, but attentive readers can still see, in every line of the text, that Minglan has in fact always been living with great effort. She tends her home and her marriage with earnest care and caution, never once permitting herself the arrogance of one secure in being doted upon.
Circumstances are stronger than any individual. This is simply reality.