Second Master Cheng tossed the firecrackers into the courtyard.
With a sharp crack-crack, explosions rang out one after another, and soon fireworks were shooting into the night sky, bursting into clusters of shimmering blossoms.
“Look! Ground mice, ground mice!”
The nursemaid laughed and jumped as she held the little boy, pointing at the spinning firecrackers squealing across the ground.
“The capital really is wonderful.”
Second Madam Cheng was wrapped in a brown cloak trimmed with golden thread, the soft fox fur making her complexion glow. Ever since putting it on, she hadn’t wanted to take it off. Watching the colorful fireworks soar high above and the ones on the ground darting about like living creatures, even she – let alone the children – couldn’t get enough of the joy.
“We never saw anything like this back in Jiang-zhou.”
“Madam, these are the finest fireworks from the Li family workshop,” a maid said excitedly.
“I asked around – these fireworks sell for ten coins apiece on the market, and even then, they’re hard to get!” someone added quickly.
Ten coins each?
Second Madam Cheng looked at the fireworks bursting one after another, her heart pounding – how much must all this have cost!
“But our household didn’t pay for them,” another maid said with a grin. “They were personally sent over as a gift. Our First Young Lady is Master Li’s teacher, after all – these few fireworks are nothing! You should’ve seen the New Year’s gifts the Li family sent – tsk, tsk, tsk…”
A grand merchant family of the capital!
So this is what capital magnates are like!
And not just the Lis – thinking of the steady stream of visitors these past few days, the towering stacks of visiting cards, and the boxes and chests carried one after another into the storeroom, Second Madam Cheng clutched her chest to steady her racing heart, lest she faint from excitement.
Coming to the capital had been the right choice!
They should have come long ago!
“Jiao Jiao, Jiao Jiao!”
Thinking of something, Second Madam Cheng quickly turned around and called out.
She saw, under the eaves on the opposite side of the courtyard, a young lady standing with two maids attending on either side – Jiao Jiao – who turned at the sound. Beside her stood Cheng Si-lang.
“Jiao Jiao, are you cold? Are you scared? Come here, come…” Second Madam Cheng beckoned to her.
But just as she lifted her hand, Cheng Qi-niang darted up and threw her arms around her.
“Mother, I’m scared too,” she said.
Second Madam Cheng glared at her and pushed her aside, still calling for Cheng Jiao-niang.
Cheng Jiao-niang shook her head and bent her knees in a graceful curtsey.
“I’m not good at staying up late, so I’ll take my leave first,” she said.
“Then go to bed early,” Second Madam Cheng said quickly with a smile, then turned to tell the servants not to set off any more fireworks, lest they disturb her rest.
“Can you make all the neighbors stop setting them off?” Second Master Cheng said coldly from the side. “Can you make the whole capital stop?”
Second Madam Cheng shot him a glare.
“Why are you being so impossible!”
“Hmph – such affectation,” Second Master Cheng snorted.
By then, Cheng Jiao-niang had already turned and walked away. The two maids beside her, having heard his words, turned back with displeasure written on their faces.
“Uncle,” Cheng Si-lang couldn’t help calling out.
“Si-lang,” Second Master Cheng said flatly, “the imperial exams are coming soon. Even though it’s the New Year, you shouldn’t neglect your studies. Go read.”
Having said that, he paid them no further attention, turning away with a dark face to deal with the little boy in the nursemaid’s arms, who was struggling to grab at the fireworks.
“What are you doing? If you don’t like her, just ignore her,” Second Madam Cheng said in a low voice. “Why provoke her?”
“I just can’t stand that look on her face – like the whole world owes her something,” Second Master Cheng snorted. “Always putting on that mysterious air. No wonder people want to drag her to court.”
Second Madam Cheng chuckled and nudged him with her elbow.
“She hasn’t gone far yet,” she whispered with a laugh.
“Hah, you think I’m afraid of her?” Second Master Cheng snorted again. “What if I scold her a few times – or even hit her? I’m her father! How dare she defy me!”
“Father, don’t hit me,” Cheng Qi-niang tugged at his sleeve and said.
Second Master Cheng instantly broke into a smile.
“How could I bear to hit my Qi-niang? You’re the most obedient one,” he said with a laugh.
The boy in his arms was already squirming impatiently, reaching out toward the courtyard.
“Come on, come on – Father will take you to set off fireworks,” Second Master Cheng said cheerfully, stepping down the stairs with the child in his arms.
“Watch carefully – those things can be frightening,” Second Madam Cheng called after him in warning.
Cheng Qi-niang was already smiling as she nestled up beside her mother.
“Mother, I want to go too,” she said.
Second Madam Cheng quickly held her back.
“No, you may not,” she said. “If the sparks land on your face or hands and leave marks, that would be terrible. Our Qi-niang is so pretty – we can’t have that.”
Cheng Qi-niang laughed happily, leaning against her mother’s side, watching as Second Master Cheng took a firework from a servant and lit it himself.
The sizzling hiss of fireworks filled the courtyard, mingled with bursts of laughter and shouts of delight.
Just outside the gate, Ban Qin couldn’t help but turn back for a look.
Bright lanterns glowed; fireworks fell like snow; the brilliance of sky and earth reflected one another. The family, dressed in brocade and blossoms, laughed and leaned close together in perfect joy and harmony.
“Ban Qin.”
The maid called sharply, brows raised in warning.
“What’s there to look at? Move along.”
Ban Qin answered softly and withdrew her gaze, turning to hurry after her.
“Sister,” Cheng Si-lang sighed, then his eyes brightened. “Do you like fireworks? I can set them off too.”
Cheng Jiao-niang smiled at him.
She lifted her head to look at the night sky.
This year, the Li family’s fireworks soared no less brilliantly than those she once made for the Maoyuan Mountain brothers.
She didn’t know whether it was Li Mao’s doing or the Li family’s idea, but the Li family had insisted on sending her a share of their profits.
Cheng Jiao-niang paid such matters no mind – her maids handled them all.
Now the night was at its fullest, fireworks blooming one after another, lighting up half the sky.
Just like the time the Cheng family mansion burned down…
Back then, for the Yang clan, that too must have been a moment of universal celebration.
“I don’t really like fireworks,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, lowering her gaze from the night sky. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I never expect anything, so I never feel disappointed.”
Cheng Si-lang sighed again.
“Brother, you should go study. I’ll go to bed,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, bending her knees in a graceful curtsey before rising again. “Besides, don’t I still have you? Affection and care don’t depend on numbers – they depend on sincerity. If it’s true, one person is enough.”
Yes – she still has him.
Cheng Si-lang smiled and nodded.
“Then rest well. I’ll go study.”
They saluted each other once more and went their separate ways.
Inside her room, two servants and two maids were waiting. When they saw her return, they quickly bowed.
The charcoal brazier glowed warmly, fresh incense was burning, and the water and late-night meal were both still hot. The maid glanced around, satisfied, and nodded.
“Ban Qin!”
A little maid came running in, breathless with excitement.
“Are we still giving out the money?”
Earlier they had prepared a whole basket of coins to hand out to the servants once the fireworks and firecrackers were done. But before the celebration had ended, Cheng Jiao-niang had already been driven out.
The maid snorted softly
“Give it out,” she said, her gaze sweeping over the five or six people in the courtyard. Then she smiled faintly. “It’s the lady’s money – so it should go to those who serve the lady. You all split it among yourselves.”
At those words, everyone in the courtyard froze.
“Miss Ban Qin, do you mean… all that money – just for the few of us?” an older maid asked in disbelief, pointing to herself and the others.
“That’s right. Don’t you want it?” the maid said with a smile.
Who wouldn’t want money!
The maids and servants in the courtyard snapped out of their daze and all dropped to their knees, bowing deeply.
“Thank you, my lady, for the reward!” they cried in a jumble of voices, so excited that some of them were nearly shouting off-key.
It was a whole basket of coins! A whole basket! It had originally been meant to be divided among all twenty-four servants in the household – inside and out – but now it was theirs alone, the five of them!
Heavens!
Ban Qin waved her hand.
“Go have some fun. I’ll stay here. You can all enjoy yourselves tonight,” she said.
The maids and servant women bowed again, then, brimming with joy, clustered around the little maid who had brought the message and rushed off toward the basket of money.
On the morning of the first day of the New Year, Second Madam Cheng’s heart was pounding so hard she could hardly get out of bed.
“A whole basket of money!” she said.
“Yes, a full basket!” the maid beside her said eagerly, her face flushed with emotion. “And it was all divided among just five people! Five! Madam, that’s enough to equal a lifetime of rewards for each of them!”
The five had quietly split the money among themselves the previous night, but no secret could be kept long in the household – it spread before dawn, setting all the servants abuzz with envy and outrage.
Why hadn’t they been with the First Young Lady then?
Or why had the First Young Lady left so early?
“What wastefulness,” Second Madam Cheng muttered. “How could she bear to give it away?”
“The First Lady didn’t say a word – it was all that Ban Qin who decided it,” the maid said quickly.
After observing things for two or three days, Second Madam Cheng had more or less figured it out – this Ban Qin wasn’t just managing all the household expenses of the Cheng family, but also oversaw every business and estate under Cheng Jiao-niang’s name.
So she was someone like that Steward Cao back in Jiang-zhou.
Indeed, just the same – look at the way she treated money as if it were nothing…
Still, at least she was spending it on their own family.
Second Madam Cheng’s mood brightened at once. Generosity was good – what she feared most was stinginess.
“Come, help me change,” she said.
The two maids, just as delighted, opened the wardrobe and brought out a brand-new set of clothes, adorning her with fresh hair ornaments and accessories.
“Thinking about it now,”
Second Madam Cheng paused, gazing into the bronze mirror at her richly dressed reflection,
“The things I asked for before the New Year were still far too few.”
At that very moment in the northwest, as the first rays of New Year sunlight poured down, the gates of Longgu City swung wide open. Crowds filled the area inside and outside the gate, and when they saw lines of soldiers and horses appearing along the main road, the whole city erupted in commotion.
Only now – upon the army’s return after half a month of relentless campaigning – did the New Year truly begin for Longgu City.
Before the gate, two mounds had been piled up: one of captured spoils, the other of severed heads.
Families rejoiced at the return of their loved ones, while others who had lost theirs wept in despair – the two emotions met and tangled at the city gate.
“…We really were worried when we set out,” one officer was saying as he and several others pushed their way through the crowd toward the inner city. “The rations we carried weren’t nearly enough.”
“Not enough indeed,” another said. “To move quickly, we had to abandon most of what we had…”
At that, the other officers looked at him in astonishment.
“With so little, how did you manage to hold out so long – and even return in triumph?”
The dust-covered officer laughed heartily.
“For that, we have Young Master Zhou to thank,” he said, turning to look back. His eyes soon found a young officer riding in the midst of another column of troops. “Liu-lang, come here!”
Though the surroundings were noisy, the young officer heard him clearly and looked up at once. Under the sunlight, his face – weathered and thinned by wind and frost – appeared all the more resolute.
