The following morning, Minglan sat before the washstand with a fine cotton cloth draped across her chest. Yancao was washing her face for her when Danju slipped in from outside, light-footed, and bent to whisper in Minglan’s ear: “Around the third watch, Lin Yiniang was bound hand and foot and carried out — they say she’s been sent to one of the old lady’s farmsteads.” — If she had been sent to one under Wang Shi’s name, she likely would not have survived the month.
Minglan’s expression remained unchanged. She only asked, “I heard there was a commotion over at the Linqi Pavilion all night long. What happened?”
Danju’s small face flushed red. She glanced sideways at Yancao and lowered her voice: “After everyone dispersed last night, they say Nanny Liu brought a bowl of something over to the Chrysanthemum Chamber — that is, to that young miss’s quarters — and she was in agony all through the night, screaming and cursing Lin Yiniang until nearly dawn, when it finally… passed.”
Minglan’s expression darkened. She said nothing more.
When she went to pay her respects to the old lady and Wang Shi, Hai Shi was nowhere to be seen — word was she was busy dismissing the staff of Linqi Pavilion, from the head matrons down to the maids and manservants, selling some off and driving others away. In particular, Lin Yiniang’s trusted confidante, the wife of Xia Xian, who had apparently rendered great service in smoothly delivering Molan into Liang Han’s arms — Hai Shi despised her for it, and swept the lot of them out, leaving not a single one behind.
For several days running, Hai Shi wore a smile that made people’s skin crawl as she set about putting things in order — from the serving maids of Shanyue Pavilion to the purchasing staff of the kitchen, not one was spared. With that, Lin Yiniang’s grip on the Sheng Mansion, built over nearly twenty years, dissolved like smoke. Changbai, meanwhile, walked about all day with a long face. Unable to reproach his elders for their failings, he frequently stared at his son, who was just over a year old, and filled his mind with fantasies of how he would educate the child in the future as a way of working off his frustration. Little Quan’er was quite perceptive: the moment he saw his father’s stone-dead expression, he would shrink back and show two tiny rice-grain teeth in a foolish smile, as if to signal that he would certainly behave.
Sheng Hong dashed over to the old lady’s rooms several times a day to perform his filial piety, and after smiling his way through those visits, he would usually go to Changfeng’s quarters for a thorough scolding, to loosen the stiffness in his facial muscles. Wang Shi had taken on the manner of a woman with a grievance, the difference being that such a woman’s refrain was “my poor little one,” while Wang Shi’s opening line was “my poor Ru’er” — recited no fewer than ten times a day.
Every time Minglan came to pay her respects, Wang Shi would clutch Rulan’s hand and weep for half an eternity, fixing her daughter with a gaze of utter heartbreak. Watching from the side, Minglan came to the conclusion: attending a state funeral could not surpass this.
After two days of this, Rulan finally lost all patience and let out a great shout: “I’m not dead yet!” She flung Wang Shi’s hand aside and stormed off.
Wang Shi then turned to face Minglan, pressed a handkerchief to her face, and continued her lament: “Good child, you must spend time with your Fifth Elder Sister often and keep her from brooding — don’t let her get hold of needles or scissors…”
Minglan nodded dutifully, though she privately thought Wang Shi had quite misread her own daughter. If Rulan truly had a sharp instrument in hand, the first thing she ought to do would be to warn Molan to run for her life.
Wang Shi dabbed her tears; the rouge and powder on her face could no longer hide the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. As she gazed at Minglan, her expression grew distant and pensive, and she said slowly: “You really do look like Wei Yiniang. Though this nose of yours is the master’s… Do you still remember Wei Yiniang?”
Minglan was taken aback, then honestly shook her head: “I don’t remember.” In truth she had never met Wei Yiniang at all — by the time she had arrived in this body, Wei Yiniang had already breathed her last.
Wang Shi gazed at Minglan’s fresh, flower-like face, and something flickered in her eyes. Then she leaned back against the soft cushions of the kang, her spine finally at ease, and said languidly: “Your temperament also takes after Wei Yiniang — honest, untroubling. Although Ru’er is the elder sister, all these years it has been you who has deferred to her time and again. My dear child, I’ve put you through so much.”
Minglan immediately lowered her head with shy modesty: “We are sisters — there’s no question of giving way or not.” She privately thought Wang Shi also had quite misread herself.
Wang Shi drew Minglan close and patted her small hand gently, sighing: “Though you did not come from my womb, these years I have treated you as my very own. I had thought that with your looks and disposition, you would certainly be matched with a fine family and an excellent husband. What a pity — that unruly Molan ruined this good match for you.”
Minglan kept her face flushed and her voice small: “The old lady always says that marriages are ordained by Heaven. Perhaps this good match was meant for Fourth Elder Sister — in the end we are all daughters of the Sheng household, so it is the same.” What was the point of telling her this now?
Wang Shi frowned, finding energy from somewhere, and raised her voice: “You foolish child — don’t you know? The several times the Yongchang Marquis’s wife came to our residence, it was you she had taken a liking to!”
Minglan bowed her head lower, murmuring hesitantly: “She flatters me. Fourth Elder Sister… also has her good points. I… though I am not as close with Fourth Elder Sister as with Fifth Elder Sister, I can still see something of that.” She was not skilled at performing warm sentiment, and controlling her emotions was becoming rather difficult — should she be even more enthusiastic? She must not appear to have deep sisterly feeling for Molan, or Wang Shi would be displeased.
Minglan stood with her head lowered, her face thoroughly red, her two small hands twisting together in helpless agitation, from time to time peeking up at Wang Shi like a little bird. Wang Shi ached with exasperation — once again she sank back against the cushions, her hatred for Molan growing all the stronger within her: if this honest, obedient Minglan had been the one to enter the Yongchang Marquis’s household, how wonderful that would have been?!
In truth, Minglan genuinely sympathized with Wang Shi. Wang Shi was not the ideal principal wife, but she was not the worst kind either. Though she had never shown any particular concern for Minglan, she had also never ground her teeth in hatred or schemed to secretly harm a concubine’s daughter. Little Changdong, who had grown up at her side, might not have been given a high standard of care, but he had at least grown up healthy and straight.
So Minglan did as Wang Shi had suggested and went to Taoran Pavilion. She found Rulan sitting at the mirror stand with her hair loose; the pear-wood frame with its carved patterns held a sheet of bronze mirror polished to extraordinary brightness, which reflected the girl’s youthful, sprightly face. Little Xique stood beside her, dipping a brush into hair oil fragrant with osmanthus and carefully working it into Rulan’s strands with gentle smoothing motions.
Seeing Minglan arrive, Little Xique turned her head and smiled: “Sixth Miss, come and have a look — our miss’s hair has been so much better recently! It’s all thanks to the osmanthus oil Sixth Miss sent over — our miss finds it wonderful.”
Rulan heard this and was displeased, giving a cold snort: “Meaning without it, my hair is just a pile of straw?”
Little Xique kept smiling, feigning reproach: “Oh, my miss — Sixth Miss is a guest here, surely I’m allowed to pay our guest a compliment! If miss doesn’t mind the embarrassment, from now on I’ll praise miss first, without fail!” Rulan stuck out her lower lip.
Minglan sat to one side, watching as Little Xique coaxed Rulan along, subtly complimented her, and at the same time directed the junior maids to bring tea, all without stopping her hands for a moment. Minglan could not help but admire her — the wife of Liu Kun had not let her own daughter serve as Rulan’s personal maid but had chosen this girl instead, which showed real discernment. The Wang family had sent over such a person — they really did dote on Wang Shi — and yet now Wang Shi was so distressed. How pitiful the heart of a devoted mother.
Once the maids had been sent away, Rulan immediately said sulkily: “You needn’t keep coming to check on me — I’m perfectly well!”
“Fifth Elder Sister, are you truly not the least bit angry?” Minglan said somewhat indistinctly, nibbling on a plump fresh red jujube. “Fourth Elder Sister aside, what about Cousin Yuan? You’re this unmoved — that worries me more than anything.” If Rulan had flown into a great rage, Wang Shi might have felt a little reassured. When things were too unnatural, they naturally aroused unease.
Rulan tilted her chin back and let out a sharp “Ha!” from her throat. She swept up her hair and came to sit beside Minglan, laughing coldly again and again: “You haven’t met my maternal aunt — a formidable woman, and only Grandmother could hold her in check. When I was young, I used to go with Mother to Grandmother’s family every year during my time in Dengzhou, and, well, I saw plenty. My uncle does care for me, but how much use can that be? Look at Elder Sister — her husband is not bad, good at taking care of his wife, and the old lord of Zhongqin is a good man too, and yet the inner quarters have still been stuffed with all manner of chamber-warming concubines and yiniangss. Ha! When a mother-in-law wants to make a daughter-in-law’s life miserable, it’s as easy as a pig swallowing a ginseng fruit — but when a daughter-in-law wants to restrain a mother-in-law, now that is difficult. Mother has never suffered at a mother-in-law’s hands — how would she know?!”
Minglan was astonished. One should look at a person with new eyes after just three days apart — somehow, without her noticing, the reckless and unthinking Rulan of earlier years had grown into someone clear-headed. Compared to herself, who had only grown taller without growing any wits at all, Minglan felt thoroughly ashamed.
Rulan helped herself without ceremony to the mandarin orange segment Minglan had just peeled and stuffed it into her own mouth, then continued: “And another thing — that Wang cousin of mine has always been mealy-mouthed and craven, nothing but filial obedience, and I’ve never been able to stand that. Ha — Aunt thinks she’s found some treasure. With Cousin Yuan’s character… ha ha, just wait and see — she’ll have plenty of hardship ahead!” The more she talked the more animated she became, and she placed another orange in Minglan’s hand, gesturing for her to keep peeling.
Minglan suddenly understood Rulan completely. In truth the two of them were very similar. In the days when a dark cloud hung over the entire Sheng Mansion, only these two sisters felt a strange and incongruous sense of ease — for while their reputations had been tarnished by the affair, they had, from another angle, smoothly freed themselves from marriage prospects they had not wanted.
Perhaps she had been lost in thought — once Minglan had finished peeling the orange, she put the segments in her own mouth and handed the peel to Rulan.
…
A few more days passed, and the old lady chose an auspicious clear morning to set out for the Yongchang Marquis’s household, bringing only Nanny Fang with her. Wang Shi had originally offered to go along, but the old lady looked at her for a moment and said coolly: “Whether we go hat in hand or come to open confrontation, it is better that I go alone — it also leaves you some room to maneuver.”
Although the old lady had agreed to undertake the task of proposing the match, she had been proud all her life, and every time she thought of the matter she felt as if she had swallowed a fly. For the past few days she had been wearing a stern expression for everyone she met, and Wang Shi dared not utter a word.
The Yongchang Marquis’s household was within the inner ring of the imperial city — a journey there and back took well over an hour — and it was not until the beginning of the early afternoon that the old lady returned. The moment Wang Shi heard the news, she came flying from the main chamber; just as she stepped over the threshold of Shou’an Hall, she happened to see Minglan cradling a bowl of warm bird’s-nest porridge, leaning in beside the soft couch to attend the old lady: “…I have sent Cuiping to set out the meal. Won’t you have some porridge to tide you over first?”
The old lady was clearly exhausted, yet she was still glaring and scolding: “It’s this late and you still haven’t eaten — do you think you’re an immortal? I’ve worked so hard to keep some flesh on your bones — do you think it’s easy?!” Minglan, her scalp prickling from the scolding, stuck her tongue out cheekily.
Wang Shi steadied herself, walked in unhurriedly, straightened her skirts, and gave a bow. Minglan rose and returned the courtesy, then invited Wang Shi to sit. Minglan could see Wang Shi was restless — wanting to ask but not daring — and she cleared her throat and cautiously inquired: “Grandmother… so, how did it go?” Wang Shi looked at Minglan approvingly, very pleased.
The old lady cast Minglan a dismissive glance and addressed Wang Shi directly: “The twenty-fifth of this month is a propitious day — the Yongchang Marquis’s wife will come to formalize the engagement. Prepare yourself properly. …Here, this is the birth-date document for young Han of the Liang family — take it and set it against Molan’s to see if they are compatible.” As she spoke she drew from her sleeve a large red gold-speckled envelope and placed it in Wang Shi’s hands. The old lady seemed to recall something, and the corner of her mouth curved in a sardonic smile: “At this point, even if the birth dates are incompatible, there is nothing to be said.”
Wang Shi held the birth-date document, her jaw nearly dropping. She stared up at the old lady at a forty-five-degree angle, completely dumbfounded, her lips moving as she tried to ask about the process, yet she could never quite bring herself to open her mouth. Minglan was itching to ask as well, but before she could, the old lady turned to her: “Go tell them to lay out the meal in the right side chamber, then go to the inner room and fetch me two pills of Gegen Cao Dan.”
The implication was clear — the conversation to follow was not suitable for the ears of unmarried young women. But the inner room was right next door, so the old lady’s meaning was: you may listen from there, but don’t let me catch you doing it.
This was the art of speech in ancient times. Minglan touched her nose and obediently withdrew.
Only once Minglan’s silhouette had disappeared behind the curtain did Wang Shi lower her voice: “Daughter-in-law has been useless and made things hard for you, Old Lady… Truth be told, it is daughter-in-law’s fault for not keeping better watch over the household. How could Molan be so foolish — to do something so reckless, without a single thought for the consequences!” As she spoke she pulled out her handkerchief again and wiped her eyes.
In the adjacent room, Minglan took issue with Wang Shi’s assessment. After Hualan had married out, Molan had become the eldest daughter still at home. She and her mother had used the Sheng Mansion’s reputation to leverage Sheng Hong, and the marriage prospects of Rulan and Minglan to press Wang Shi and the old lady, forcing the whole family to bustle about on Molan’s behalf. The Liang Han affair, though it appeared impulsive and reckless, was in fact the product of careful calculation by Lin Yiniang and Molan — and judging by the outcome, though Lin Yiniang had been sacrificed, the objective had been achieved.
“Enough of your weeping.” The old lady’s expression was blank, her tone brisk: “My concern is not solely for Molan — it is for the Sheng family’s face and the marriage prospects of the younger girls below. Stop your sniveling — nothing irritates me more than watching people wail and whine!”
Wang Shi dried her tears at that and asked instead: “Old Lady is right — everything is for the Sheng family’s sake. May daughter-in-law ask: how did Madam Liang come to agree?”
The old lady gave a few cold laughs: “This whole generation of yours loves to think itself clever. Think it through — which family’s daughter could the legitimate Yongchang Marquis’s household not find, even if he is the youngest son? Why would they need to come scraping to ask for a concubine’s daughter from the Sheng household? Were you truly so easy about letting Minglan go out to meet people? When a pie falls from the sky you just swallow it whole, without fear of poison?!” Every word was laced with sarcasm.
Wang Shi’s face reddened. She knew the old lady was calling up old accounts, and she dared only say softly: “Daughter-in-law had heard that this young master Liang is a decent sort, and thought… since Madam Liang had taken a liking to Minglan, perhaps it would be possible…”
The old lady’s eyes landed on her like a bolt of cold lightning, and Wang Shi dared not go on.
The old lady said coldly: “A decent sort? I doubt it very much. I have only just returned to the capital and have had no opportunity to look into this Liang Han’s character — but from Molan’s episode alone, I can tell he is not a clean-living man when it comes to matters between men and women. Granted, if a young unmarried woman had truly been in a precarious situation and he lent a hand, that might be one thing — but once he had pulled her out of danger, why go further and carry an unmarried young woman all that way? What were the manservants and servants doing? And in broad daylight, in full public view — was he not raised with any education or propriety? Does he not know this kind of thing ruins a young woman’s reputation?”
These words prompted nothing but admiration from Minglan in the next room. The old lady might hold forth brilliantly on other matters, but when it came to human nature and the ways of the world, she was simply no match for someone who had observed life for a lifetime. It was not that Wang Shi had failed to think of this — it was that she simply had not bothered to think about it. As long as her own daughter was not the one marrying Liang Han, what did Liang Han’s character have to do with her?
Wang Shi looked rather abashed, forcing a smile a few times, and said: “Even so, Old Lady, since you had the reasoning to hold over them, Madam Liang surely could not push back much.”
The old lady set down the white porcelain bowl of bird’s-nest porridge with a heavy thud on the kang table, her tone icy: “Would you believe me if I told you that a dashing young gallant like that would behave himself properly during a period of national mourning? So I had someone look into it — ha! It turns out that a distant female cousin from the household of the wife of Madam Liang’s eldest son — by the concubine — had moved into Liang Han’s quarters over a year ago. Ha — the moment the national mourning ended, that young lady’s belly started to swell. To avoid things getting awkward, it’s unclear whether it was conceived during the mourning period or not. Ordinarily one might let it pass, but the Liang family are founding ministers of the dynasty, a family of aristocratic rank — if the matter were to get out, even if nothing could be definitively established, they would still be stripped of a layer of skin!”
Wang Shi’s spirits rose dramatically, her eyes brightening. She leaned in and said: “So that’s it! With such a great handle on the Marquis’s household, they still dare to look down their noses at others — who do they think they are? Old Lady — with this leverage, how could they possibly refuse to come and propose the match!”
The old lady watched Wang Shi’s emotions written openly on her face and could not help but sigh inwardly — then consoled herself that a daughter-in-law not overly gifted with intelligence had its own uses too. She sighed and said: “My dear daughter-in-law, you are being too optimistic. Madam Liang had never liked that young woman to begin with and would have been delighted to use the matter as a pretext to slip her a bowl of abortion medicine — but Liang Han absolutely refused, and is pressing to take on a formal wife instead, so that the young woman can enter the household and serve tea as a proper concubine, giving the child a legitimate status. Truth be told, the Yongchang Marchioness is not without her difficulties either. All these years, her elder son by the concubine has distinguished himself considerably in the military — praised on all sides — and the old Marquis holds him in the highest esteem as well. Now that the concubine son’s wife is kicking up a fuss, it is indeed a tricky situation to manage.”
Wang Shi this time did not dare rush to offer an opinion. She thought it over and then said: “I understand now. With all this commotion inside and outside the household, Madam Liang is currently in a predicament — she wants to deal with the young woman but does not want her son to suffer. When Old Lady came to call, with kind words and a well-reasoned position, Madam Liang found it a convenient slope to descend. …Still, given the manner in which she is entering this marriage, I wonder whether our Fourth Miss will be able to live well in the future?”
The old lady recalled the airs Madam Liang had put on earlier in the visit, and a surge of resentment rose within her. Wang Shi was still there gloating, and the old lady lowered her voice and said sharply: “Stop rushing to watch Molan’s misfortune — you had better think quickly about Ru’er instead!”
At the thought of Rulan, Wang Shi could not help but feel her eyes grow red again. She let her head droop and said tearfully: “Before all this, things were going so well — but now… The capital is a big place. When it comes to finding a son-in-law, you might say it’s easy — there are plenty of officials and wealthy men. But then again it’s not easy either — so many are unknown quantities. Some are of unknown character, with no reliable background to speak of. Right now daughter-in-law is entirely at a loss and begs the Old Lady to give guidance.”
“You…” The old lady braced herself against the soft couch’s armrest to sit up straight, patted Wang Shi’s shoulder, and sighed: “You made a mistake with Rulan’s marriage. It is quite right to carefully select a son-in-law, but you cannot have your eyes on the bowl while eyeing the pot — that’s not making a match, it’s making enemies. …And your dear sister!”
The old lady gave the armrest a heavy slap, displeasure plain on her face: “Changbai’s father worked so hard for the Kang family — when their son sought a position, when their daughter needed a match, whenever they came to us, did we not attend to their affairs wholeheartedly? And see what she did in return — scheming behind our backs to undermine my granddaughter’s prospects! Does she think the Sheng family is a charity?! Yun’er is one thing — she is now a daughter-in-law of the Sheng family, so in the future… After this, barring the new year and major festivals, you are to have as little to do with the Kang family as possible!”
Wang Shi’s own elder sister from her maternal family had behaved badly, and Wang Shi’s face burned. The old lady’s every word was well-founded, and it was her own daughter who had suffered for it — so Wang Shi joined in with a few criticisms of the Kang family’s wrongdoings.
Having given vent to her feelings and had a proper outburst, the old lady felt considerably better in her temper. She waved her hand and said: “Very well. Now that Changbai’s wife is helping you manage this household, stop being sick and listless every day — get yourself well properly so you can busy yourself with Ru’er’s marriage arrangements. I will also look around and see if there are any suitable families. You need not be anxious — the girl has only just come of age; don’t act rashly and settle for the wrong person. Choose carefully — what matters most is that he is a good man!”
This was Wang Shi’s favourite topic. She nodded with the enthusiasm of a pestle pounding grain. Seeing the old lady about to get down from the kang, she immediately crouched down in a great show of filial devotion to put on the old lady’s shoes. The old lady braced a hand on Wang Shi’s shoulder as she slipped them on, and once Wang Shi raised her head, the old lady seized her wrist, fixed her eyes on hers, and said solemnly: “When the Yongchang Marquis’s household comes to formalize the engagement, you are to attend to things properly without making difficulties or creating mishaps. Only when Molan has entered that household smoothly and without incident can what happened before be cleanly wiped away. You will still have a full hall of grandchildren in the future — you must not ruin your reputation. Do you understand?”
Wang Shi felt thoroughly disgruntled at heart, but thinking of her own flesh and blood, she gritted her teeth and nodded. The old lady released her grip, softened her tone, and said: “As for the dowry, you need not worry. The master handed over to me all the property he had given to Lin Yiniang, and I have divided it equally between Changfeng and Molan. When Molan goes to her husband’s home, I as her grandmother will add another thousand taels of silver in the customary manner.”
Wang Shi’s arithmetic was quite good. She calculated roughly: the dowry was neither particularly rich nor particularly thin — it did not surpass Hualan’s, but would not embarrass the family before the Yongchang Marquis’s household either. She herself needed only to provide some servants and host a banquet, and was quite willing to agree.
Seeing that Wang Shi had agreed to everything, the old lady was most satisfied: “When Changbai’s wife was dismissing the staff of Linqi Pavilion the other day, she recovered a great deal of gold, silver, and valuables from the head staff and their associates in wrongdoing. Since Ru’er was implicated by Molan in all this, let those be added to her trousseau as supplementary gifts.”
Wang Shi still had that much sense — she immediately broke into a smile full of sweetness and warmth: “Listen to what Mother says — Ru’er and Minglan are as close as can be, always together, so however much Ru’er gets, Minglan cannot have less. Half each for the two of them, I say. Minglan is about to come of age as well — it’s high time she had a few sets of bright new clothes made. I’ll go right away and place an order at Tianyi Pavilion, and a set of gold and jade hair ornaments certainly cannot be left out…”
…