A few days later, Zhou Cuilian brought Qian Jiaoniang a land deed—the very shop space Xing Muzheng had bought for her. All the red seals were already stamped, only the owner’s name line was left blank. Zhou Cuilian said it was Lord Marquis who told her to bring it so that Jiaoniang could write in her name.
Qian Jiaoniang studied the deed for quite a while. She could now read every character on it. She looked over it two or three times, but still did not lift the brush. Zhou Cuilian had already ground the ink for her, and seeing her hesitate, grew anxious. “Sister Qian, why haven’t you written your name yet? Once you do, this deed will be yours.”
Qian Jiaoniang smiled, but tucked the deed away. “There’s no rush for this.”
Zhou Cuilian, naturally an impatient and fretful sort, had gradually shed the shadows of her past, and her words had grown lively again. “How can this not be urgent? This is a land deed! Good things shouldn’t be put off—don’t let the cooked duck fly away. We women, not born into wealth, how could we ever have such a thing in hand? Sister, though you are now the Marquis’s wife, you were born poor. Surely you don’t have any private property of your own. Now that Lord Marquis is willing to give you property, you mustn’t refuse! Even if only to leave it to Chou’er in the future, it’s worth it!”
Her words tumbled out like spilling beans, quick and urgent. Qian Jiaoniang found it crisp and amusing. Zhou Cuilian saw her smiling and grew even more anxious. “Ah, Sister Qian, I’m talking about serious matters, why are you laughing at me?”
“I’m not laughing at you. I just think you sound nice when you speak.”
At that, Zhou Cuilian’s face dimmed. “Sister, are you saying I’m too talkative again? I just can’t help myself.”
“No, no,” Qian Jiaoniang hurriedly said, raising her hand, “if I ever thought that way, may I be struck by thunder! I just meant it sounds nice. You speak so quickly, yet each word is clear— isn’t that a skill? Not something just anyone can do.”
Hearing her sincere explanation, Zhou Cuilian blushed slightly. “I only learned a bit of guankou…”
And with that, the matter was dropped. In the end, Qian Jiaoniang still did not sign that deed.
That night when Xing Muzheng returned, he looked at her with a smile full of hidden meaning, yet said nothing— as though waiting for her to speak. Xing Pingchun came home from the academy, and during the meal chattered endlessly about the day’s amusements there.
Originally, Qi Momo had told Qian Jiaoniang in private that at the table there was a rule of “no talking while eating, no talking while sleeping.” But Qian Jiaoniang thought: nowadays Xing Pingchun’s studies are heavy, after meals he still has to practice martial arts, and not long after that he goes to sleep; sometimes there’s still homework from the tutors. Where is there much time left to chat with her? Besides, it was only the three of them—mother, son, and Xing Muzheng—at meals. Since Xing Muzheng did not mind, Qian Jiaoniang did not insist on the rule. Some things mattered more than rules.
After dinner, Xing Pingchun ran off. Qian Jiaoniang had eaten a bit too much and planned to walk in the garden to help digestion. She asked Xing Muzheng if he would come; he said nothing, only silently walked ahead.
In the rear garden, summer flowers were blooming brightly, but it was not as pretty as the old residence. Xing Muzheng was dissatisfied and was already having people redesign it. For now, however, he had kept aside one patch of ground for a grape arbor, another for a vegetable plot. Grape trellises were easy to set up, grapes easy to grow—now they already stretched in a lush green expanse, quite beautiful. But as she walked there with Xing Muzheng, Qian Jiaoniang couldn’t help remembering that night of her birthday beneath the golden grape trellis. Her face flushed; she tugged at Xing Muzheng’s hand and turned off the stone path toward the vegetable beds.
On the way, Qian Jiaoniang brought up the matter of the deed. Xing Muzheng had been waiting, expecting thanks; instead he heard her say: “The marquis’s kindness, I dare not accept. This property—better let the marquis keep it first.”
Xing Muzheng’s brows drew together. “What do you mean, dare not accept?”
Qian Jiaoniang glanced at him, then said, “Since it was the marquis who paid the silver, it is naturally the marquis’s shop.”
His frown deepened. Still dividing his from hers. He had thought to give her some private property to put her at ease, yet she refused to accept.
His displeasure was plain. Of course Qian Jiaoniang understood it was his goodwill, and her refusal was somewhat a slap in the face. So she smiled and said: “Then the marquis may hold it for me. Once I’ve opened my own shop and earned enough, the marquis can sell the shop back to me.”
Xing Muzheng fixed his gaze on her for a long moment, thoughts turning over. At last, he too smiled. “Shopkeeper Qian speaks with reason.”
She had thought he might give her a cold face, but unexpectedly he teased her instead. She coughed lightly, brushed her cheek with a hand, and smiled brightly. “Then thank you, marquis, for your indulgence.”
Xing Muzheng chuckled twice, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked a few steps ahead. “Since it’s business, I have a proposal. Don’t know if Shopkeeper Qian will honor me?”
“What proposal?”
His voice was slow, deliberate: “I’ve long heard of Shopkeeper Qian’s skirt of ‘flowers blossoming with every step,’ which amazed all the noble ladies, and even moved the Second Prince’s consort to exchange a jade bracelet for it. I’ve envied it for a long time. I wonder if Shopkeeper Qian might stitch a robe for me instead. That deed can count as the payment.”
Qian Jiaoniang turned in surprise. His dark eyes gleamed with amusement. She held her breath a moment, said nothing.
He pressed her: “What does Shopkeeper Qian think?”
She recovered herself. “The marquis flatters me. Clothes I make are not worth so much. Besides, you are my husband—what wife needs to be paid to sew her husband clothes?” By the end her voice faltered; after all, she had not yet made him a single garment.
“The Second Prince’s consort’s jade bracelet is worth far more than this shop. And in business, business is business. Since my lady refuses her husband’s gift, then her husband must resort to an exchange of goods.”
At such words, Qian Jiaoniang knew he was determined to put the deed into her hands. To refuse further would be petty. She gazed at him for a while, then finally smiled. “Then I must thank the marquis for his generosity.”
He nodded, put an arm around her shoulders, and led her back. “Come then.”
“Where to?”
“To sign the deed. You haven’t signed it yet, have you?”
Few people pressed so hard to give a shop away. Qian Jiaoniang let herself be led back indoors. Xing Muzheng personally ground the ink; she solemnly signed her name: Qian Jiaoniang.
Setting down the brush, she gently blew on the still-wet ink. Seeing the deed was truly hers, her eyes curved with smiles, lips lifting high. Something she had never dared dream of—she had property of her own. In the future, even if she left the marquis’s household, even without her maiden family, she would have a place to go. The thought gave her much peace of mind.
Xing Muzheng, seeing her so happy, thought her smile carried a girlish innocence. His heart grew warm. He wished he could stuff her hands with more deeds and fields, just to keep her smiling like this forever.
“Since the deed is signed, as your husband I’ll first congratulate Shopkeeper Qian: may your wealth flow boundless, and your business prosper greatly.”
Her smile grew broader. “Many thanks, many thanks. Well said, well said.”
Xing Muzheng was charmed by that look. Suddenly inspired, he went on flattering his wife: “Shopkeeper Qian is clever as ice and snow. Surely before long you’ll make a great fortune—buy up all the shops in Yuzhou and turn them into embroidery houses.”
Qian Jiaoniang burst into laughter at the image. All the shops in Yuzhou turned into embroidery houses? Then what would the townsfolk eat and drink—survive on embroidery alone? She couldn’t hold back and laughed aloud. Xing Muzheng, seeing her so delighted, also broke into laughter.
Their mingled laughter floated out of the room, making the maids outside smile too.
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