After sending Xing Pingchun away, Qian Jiaoniang put on a smile and explained to Xing Muzheng, “My mother fell gravely ill. She had no other recourse but to come to me.”
Xing Muzheng gazed deeply at her. He didn’t respond to her words, but instead asked: “Are you all right?”
Qian Jiaoniang froze for a moment, then nodded. “I’m fine.”
Xing Muzheng said: “Your mother may have countless faults, but she is still the one who bore and raised you. Now that she’s sick, it is only natural for you to treat her.”
Qian Jiaoniang’s lips curved with a trace of bitter smile. “It’s just that the way she came was rather disgraceful.” She believed Xing Muzheng must have already heard about the carriage-blocking incident. “My family is always full of unreliable relatives.”
Xing Muzheng stayed silent. After a while, Qian Jiaoniang added: “I ask the Marquis to allow my mother to stay in the residence for some time. Once she’s recovered, I’ll have them move out. As for the costs of her treatment, I’ll make up for it later.”
Xing Muzheng said: “You are the mistress of this household. Matters of the inner court can be handled however you see fit; there’s no need to ask me. If medicinal materials are needed, just buy them. She is my mother-in-law; it is only right that I bear these expenses.”
Qian Jiaoniang’s face turned solemn. “She is not your mother-in-law. She is only my mother.” To buy a wife is different from marrying one. A wife bought with silver had no natal family afterwards — whether they lived or died, her family had no claim on her. Back when Qian Jiaoniang gave birth to Xing Pingchun, Old Madam Xing had sent word to the Qian family. Not a single person came, not even a single egg was sent. It was then Qian Jiaoniang understood this truth.
Xing Muzheng naturally thought of this too, and a flicker of regret showed in his eyes. If he had known there would be this day, he would have married her openly and properly back then. She wouldn’t now bear another scar on her heart.
“Jiaoniang,” Xing Muzheng called to her hoarsely, but no further words followed.
Qian Jiaoniang waited, puzzled. “What is it?”
Xing Muzheng only smiled faintly. “Nothing. I was just thinking of giving all the courtyards in the residence proper names. Why don’t you help me choose?”
Qian Jiaoniang knew this wasn’t what he had originally wanted to say, but she didn’t expose him. Instead, she followed his words. “The Marquis thinks too highly of me. I’ve only learned a few characters — how would I know which names are good?”
“This is our home. As long as it pleases you, it will be good.”
Home… Qian Jiaoniang lifted her eyes to look at Xing Muzheng. He waited for her response. After a moment, she said, “All right, then let’s have a look.”
Suier came in to invite them to supper, and their conversation paused.
After dinner, Hongjuan came from Mother Qian’s courtyard with news: the old lady had woken, eaten some porridge, taken her medicine, and fallen asleep again. Qian Dafu and Qian Baogui had also eaten — polishing off an entire table of dishes — and then gone to rest.
“They finished an entire table of dishes?” Qian Jiaoniang asked.
Hongjuan smiled. “Yes indeed. Steward Ding had the kitchen prepare ten dishes, and the old master and Young Master Qian ate them all, praising every bite.”
Qian Jiaoniang only smiled and asked no further. She didn’t go to see Mother Qian either, but followed Xing Muzheng to the study. Though he wanted her to choose names for the courtyards, she only praised whichever he suggested. Finally, Xing Muzheng put down his brush and told her to think of a name for their own main courtyard.
Qian Jiaoniang thought he was joking, and laughed. “If you want me to name it, then it’s simple. Life in this world is nothing more than two words: happiness and ease. So let’s call it the Kuaihuo Courtyard.”
Without hesitation, Xing Muzheng began to write it on the official register.
Qian Jiaoniang quickly grabbed his hand. “What are you doing?”
“Didn’t you just choose a name? I’m writing it down.”
“I only said it casually. And you would casually write it?”
“You mean you weren’t serious?”
Qian Jiaoniang said crossly: “How could such a vulgar name be used for the main courtyard? Aren’t you afraid people will laugh at you, saying the Dingxi Marquis has no refinement?”
Xing Muzheng smiled unconcernedly. “The greatest vulgarity becomes the greatest elegance. This name may seem crude at first, but it actually has some meaning. Besides, isn’t our shared courtyard as husband and wife meant for nothing more than ‘happiness’?”
He lingered over those two words with deliberate intonation. Qian Jiaoniang understood and her face turned scarlet. She glared at him and spat lightly, “Shameless!”
Xing Muzheng chuckled deeply.
Qian Jiaoniang clutched his hand, afraid he would really write it down. Her eyes darted about, then after a while she sighed in defeat. “I can’t think of anything.”
Xing Muzheng said: “Then take your time. Best if you not only think of a name, but also practice your calligraphy — then you can write the plaque to hang at the gate.” With a wave of his large hand, he pulled Qian Jiaoniang outside.
“Where are we going now?” Qian Jiaoniang asked, bewildered.
Xing Muzheng turned his head toward her. “Why, back to the room — to be kuaihuo.” Those two words had pleased him even more.
The blush that had just faded on Qian Jiaoniang’s face came rushing back. “That’s not happiness, that’s debauchery!”
Xing Muzheng laughed heartily.
Yet though he was impatient in dragging her away, he was incomparably gentle in their intimacy. So gentle that Qian Jiaoniang nearly thought he was not the same Xing Muzheng. So gentle that she melted into his arms and forgot all her troubles.
She thought she would be unable to sleep that night, but her eyelids soon grew too heavy. Just before falling into slumber, she heard a soft murmur by her ear: “Jiaoniang, don’t be afraid…”
She wasn’t afraid. Qian Jiaoniang wanted to retort, but couldn’t form the words. She sank into dreams.
***
From that day on, the three members of the Qian family officially settled in the Marquis’s residence. Steward Ding arranged for several maids and older women to serve them in their daily needs. Each day, Qian Jiaoniang came to deliver medicine to Mother Qian and help her eat. Qian Liniang never came again — not that she didn’t want to, but because Jiaoniang had given instructions not to let her in.
But just two days later, another person came claiming to be Jiaoniang’s elder sister. Steward Ding dared not be careless, and went to report to Qian Jiaoniang. At the time she was feeding medicine to Mother Qian. Qian Dafu, sitting to one side, clapped his thigh. “It must be Meiniang who’s come!”
The visitors turned out to be Qian Jiaoniang’s eldest sister, Qian Meinian, and her husband, Carpenter Zheng. Qian Meinian was four years older than Jiaoniang; normally, she was always fussing about, busying herself without ever staying still for a moment. From the moment she received Qian Liniang’s letter, she had felt uneasy. Back then, their parents had sold Jiaoniang for the sake of their younger brother, and for all these years there had been no contact. Now that something had happened, they suddenly came looking for her—whether in reason or sentiment, it didn’t sit right. What’s more, Jiaoniang was now a lady of rank. If their poor relatives came barging in and others learned of it, wouldn’t that make Jiaoniang a laughingstock? Qian Meinian tried to persuade their parents otherwise, but while she was out raising money, they vanished with both themselves and the handcart.
Qian Meinian guessed at once that her parents must have gone to Yuzhou with her brother, and she grew increasingly uneasy in town. She worried both about Mother Qian’s illness and about their family putting Jiaoniang in a difficult position. Seeing this, Carpenter Zheng shut up his shop, took the money they had managed to scrape together, and set out with Qian Meinian for Yuzhou. Qian Meinian first went to see her second sister, and sure enough, learned that their parents were at the Marquis’s residence. She had no time to bother with Qian Liniang’s snide remarks; she and her husband hurried straight to the Marquis’s gate to request an audience.
Over the years, Qian Meinian had always carried a heavy guilt toward this younger sister. She had been firmly against their parents selling a daughter, but in the Qian family, daughters had no say. Her protests were useless. She had always hated herself for not being born a son—for if she had been, she could have earned more money to support the household, and they would not have had to sell Jiaoniang to a soldier’s family.
Now, seeing Qian Jiaoniang again after so many years, tears flowed without stopping. She clutched Jiaoniang’s hands and could not let go. Jiaoniang still thought well of her sisters in her heart, but after her dealings with Qian Liniang, her feelings had cooled somewhat. Looking at her eldest sister’s thin face, plain clothing, and the single silver hairpin she wore, Jiaoniang knew her life must still be hard. Yet seeing her husband comforting her so tenderly, in a way that seemed genuine, she thought at least her sister had a good man.
So Jiaoniang allowed Qian Meinian and Carpenter Zheng to stay at the residence as well.
Mother Qian’s illness had dragged on so long that it had become quite serious. In the first few days, apart from eating and taking medicine, she slept constantly. Jiaoniang had many matters to attend to—reading, practicing characters, and playing the zither were daily necessities; the household always had affairs that required her decision; and she had to teach her apprentices embroidery. Bolts of embroidery fabric arrived every day, and she had to inspect them one by one. Thus, as soon as Mother Qian lay down to sleep, Jiaoniang would vanish from sight.
Qian Baogui behaved himself for two days, but by the third, he was thoroughly bored. He had grown bolder since arriving, reassured by seeing Jiaoniang personally serving their mother, and so he dared to pester her about Marquis Xing.
Since they had come to live in the Marquis’s residence, Xing Muzheng had never once visited their courtyard, nor summoned the Qian family to meet him.
Want to show your support? Go donate at Paypal or Ko-fi to show your appreciation! Want to get early access to at least 10+ chapters in advance? Go to my Patreon to join now! :)
