After Zhu Zhao left, Qingya glanced again at the dog in the cage. It was still on high alert, staring warily at her. As soon as she stepped a little closer, it barked furiously. Though Qingya pitied it, she also feared it might bite, so she gave up on the idea of opening the cage.
Xing Pingchun came back after feeding his little horse and immediately noticed the dog in the cage. Curious, he ran over and circled it. “What a pitiful dog!”
Before Xing Pingchun even got close, the one-eyed dog struggled to its feet and started barking at him. But Xing Pingchun was bold and not the least bit afraid. Instead, he tried to tease it.
Qian Jiaoniang had cleaned herself up and came out carrying a bucket to water the garden. Xing Pingchun asked, “Mama, where did this dog come from?”
Qian Jiaoniang didn’t even look at him. “Picked it up on the road.”
“Huh? Then… can we eat it?”
A snort of laughter came from the side room. Qingya poked her head out the window and said, “Chou’er, weren’t you just saying the dog was pitiful? How come you’re already thinking about eating it?”
Xing Pingchun scratched his head. “Sister Qingya, dog meat is delicious!”
Qian Jiaoniang set the bucket down and finally noticed someone had already watered the vegetable patch. “If you so much as think of eating it, I’ll stew you first. There’s hot water in the pot—go take your bath now.”
Xing Pingchun gave an obedient “Okay!” and bounced into the house.
As Qingya brushed dust off the windowsill, she asked Qian Jiaoniang, “Chou’er gets heartbroken when he sees people die, but he has no sympathy for rabbits or dogs. What’s with that?”
“That’s my fault.” Qian Jiaoniang glanced around as if looking for something. “He’s been through hunger before. So now, when he sees anything, his first thought is if it’s edible.”
The smile faded from Qingya’s lips. So that was the reason.
Qian Jiaoniang didn’t find what she was looking for outside, so she went inside and came back out with a chipped porcelain bowl filled with water. She walked over to the dog cage. The one-eyed dog seemed exhausted from barking and was curled in the corner, whimpering softly. Qian Jiaoniang opened the cage and set the bowl inside. The dog didn’t even glance at the water—it just kept staring at her.
She crouched down and met its gaze.
Qingya called out, “Zhu Zhao said he’d bring dog food later. Don’t get too close—it’d be no joke if it bit you.”
Qian Jiaoniang responded with a simple “Mm,” but didn’t move.
When Qingya came out of the house, Qian Jiaoniang was still crouched in front of the cage. She didn’t speak, didn’t try to pet the dog—just stared at it. Qingya stood at the doorway for a long while and muttered, “This isn’t desperate measures—it’s hitting the mark.”
Whichever it was, Qian Jiaoniang later explained to Qingya what “saying one thing, feeling another” meant. She constantly scolded and belittled the one-eyed dog with her mouth, but every day she personally brought food and water. Zhu Zhao said the dog barely ate—only nibbled a bit when it got truly hungry. So Qian Jiaoniang kept trying different ways to tempt it to eat, even finding little snacks to coax it. If it happened to eat a bit more one day, she’d go out and buy more of that snack the next.
As the weather grew colder, Qian Jiaoniang cleaned out the west wing room where Xing Muzheng used to stay, making it spotless so the dog could live there. She made it a special dog bed, even embroidered flowers along the edges—fancier than the ones people used. Yet even so, the one-eyed dog still ignored everyone. It either curled in the corner or hid under the bed.
Every day, Qian Jiaoniang sat with it. She didn’t pet it, didn’t speak, just held out its favorite treats. At first the dog only stared. Then, occasionally, it would lick the treats from her hand. Gradually, it dared to eat by her feet. But if anyone else came near, it would immediately limp away and hide.
One day, it let Qian Jiaoniang hold it for a short while. She was happy for the rest of the day.
Qingya was deeply impressed. That dog only trusted Qian Jiaoniang. She and Chou’er had also tried to get close, but the dog ignored them completely.
Qian Jiaoniang said, “It sees things very clearly.”
Qingya gave her a side-eye. “Are you saying Chou’er and I aren’t being sincere with it?”
Qian Jiaoniang laughed, “No, not what I meant.”
Xing Pingchun was even jealous, feeling like his mother treated that dog better than she treated her own son.
When Xing Muzheng sent this dog as a gift, you’d think he would come by to reap some goodwill. But after spending only one day at home—like the chairs had thorns—he disappeared again and wasn’t seen for half a month. Before he left, though, it seemed he told Ah Da and Wang Yong that if Qian Jiaoniang ever left the estate again to remarry, they’d better bring back their heads.
Qian Jiaoniang came to understand: she couldn’t go head-to-head with Xing Muzheng. In the end, the two of them were tied together by blood and flesh—they had Chou’er between them. Looking back now, her impulsive decision to go to the magistrate and beat the drum… if she had really fallen out with Xing Muzheng, or if he had truly been punished, it would have dragged Chou’er down with them.
In any case, she had the imperial edict in her hand. Xing Muzheng would eventually have to let her go. For now, she was busy taking care of the one-eyed dog, spending time with Chou’er, learning to read and embroider. Life, surprisingly, was quite full.
