Madam Gu was a woman of great finesse in handling matters.
For instance, she punished the maidservant beside Gu Lan-niang on the grounds of “negligence in care,” and said that Gu Liu-lang had “acted rashly,” ordering him to copy books as a penalty.
She also, of course, confined Gu Lan-niang to her quarters, made her copy The Female Admonitions, and told her to tend to her injuries in the meantime.
Another example: after the Shangsi Festival, she paid a visit to the Chen household bearing gifts.
“I’ve come to pay my respects to the Old Madam,” Madam Gu said as she stepped into Xuancao Hall, greeting Old Madam Chen with a smiling face. “I heard that you found our lotus root starch quite palatable. I’ve just acquired some with a rose flavor and thought I’d invite you to sample it.”
That was a beautifully phrased remark. Even Old Madam Chen, who had been disinclined to see visitors since her stroke, could not help but break into a smile. “You’re too kind. You didn’t have to make a special trip just for this.”
“The weather is lovely, and I fancied a stroll as well. I do hope you’re not tired of me,” Madam Gu said cheerfully, her gaze drifting toward Cheng Danruo, who was waiting on the side. “Dan-niang is decocting medicine again? Old Madam, you are truly blessed – not only with two filial granddaughters, but even your grandniece is so attentive.”
Old Madam Chen curved her lips into a smile and said, “Lan-niang and Lian-niang are both good girls. When you reach my age, I’m sure you’ll be even more fortunate than I am.”
The two ladies exchanged pleasantries for a while, until Old Madam Chen began to show signs of fatigue.
Perceptive and tactful as she was, Madam Gu took the initiative to ask if she might call on Lady Huang.
Old Madam Chen nodded slightly and instructed, “Dan-niang, escort your aunt to your aunt-in-law’s quarters.”
“Yes.” Cheng Danruo acknowledged with a bow and took Madam Gu’s arm. “Allow me to see you there.”
“Then let me bask in a little of Old Madam’s good fortune,” Madam Gu said with a lighthearted wit, taking Cheng Danruo’s hand affectionately as they walked.
The two of them walked out of Xuancao Hall together and strolled leisurely toward the main courtyard.
Madam Gu had come specifically for her, yet now she appeared completely at ease, as if making casual conversation. “I heard from Lan-niang that it was thanks to your quick discovery yesterday – otherwise, she would have suffered greatly.”
“You flatter me,” Cheng Danruo replied with a calm expression. “My medical skills are shallow; I didn’t really help much.”
Madam Gu asked, “Even Doctor Jin said the treatment was timely and prevented the bone from fracturing more severely.”
“I only know such superficial tricks,” she said with a smile.
“I heard you learned medicine from your father?”
“Yes. My father studied under Imperial Physician Li, and later served as a medic at the Huimin Pharmacy.”
The structure of the Imperial Medical Institute was as follows: the Director held the third rank, the Deputy Director held fourth-rank, the Assistant Directors held fifth-rank, the Registrar held seventh-rank, and there were eighteen Imperial Physicians holding eighth-rank
In other words, only slightly over twenty people in the entire realm could be called imperial physicians. Setting aside their skill levels, their status was beyond question.
However, the Imperial Medical Institute could not possibly operate with only twenty-odd doctors. There were far more unranked medics and physicians-in-training. Medics ranked higher than physicians-in-training, and the assessment standard was the examination – “A major triennial examination, with three grades: first grade qualifies one as a medic, second grade as a physician-in-training, and third grade sends one back to the institute for further study.”
The fact that Imperial Physician Li had attained the eighth-rank meant his skill was already quite considerable.
At the age of fifty-six, he gave up the generous treatment at the Imperial Medical Institute and returned to his hometown to care for his ailing mother.
Both the Cheng family and the Li family were from Shanyin County, Datong Prefecture, Shanxi. Cheng Danruo’s father, under the arrangements of her grandfather, studied medicine under Imperial Physician Li.
After completing his studies, he was recommended by Imperial Physician Li to work as a minor official medic at the local Huimin Pharmacy – a government-established institution for providing medical relief to the poor.
So, Cheng Danruo had been quite fortunate in her birth – she was essentially the daughter of a municipal hospital doctor, and her father’s mentor was a big shot from the prestigious Union Medical College.
Unfortunately, war had to come along.
Even so, such a background was enough to soften Madam Gu’s expression, and she praised, “Indeed, a family with a deep scholarly tradition in medicine.”
“You flatter me,” Cheng Danruo said humbly.
Madam Gu let out a sigh, patted her hand, and said with feigned helplessness, “Why so humble? If Lan-niang had even half your good sense, she wouldn’t have fallen down the mountain.”
Now comes the real meat of the conversation.
Cheng Danruo perked up and said, “It rained a couple of days ago, and the moss on the mountain hasn’t dried completely. Miss Gu must have stepped on a slippery patch and lost her footing – it wasn’t because she was being careless.”
“Oh? I thought she had spotted some flower or butterfly and gotten distracted with mischief,” Madam Gu said in surprise.
Cheng Danruo thought for a moment, then smiled. “I recall there’s a pavilion up on the mountain. Perhaps she wanted to go inside and rest for a while, but the steps were slippery…”
Madam Gu studied her carefully for a moment, then gave a satisfied smile. “So I wronged her after all.”
She brushed past the matter lightly, asked a few more casual questions like “What books do you usually read?” and naturally brought the small talk to a close.
They had arrived at the main courtyard.
Lady Huang was already waiting for her. The two exchanged formal greetings, then fell into familiar pleasantries.
“Is Lan-niang’s injury serious or not?” Lady Huang expressed her concern first.
“No worries,” said Madam Gu. “We had Doctor Jin take a look at her. He said that with proper rest for ten days to half a month, she’ll be fine.”
“That’s good to hear.” Lady Huang acknowledged, then smiled at Cheng Danruo. “Dan-niang, you’ve come at just the right time. Go see Rou-niang and Wan-niang – you sisters should have a chat together as well.”
“Yes.” Cheng Danruo took the hint and excused herself.
She walked slowly, and from a distance, she could still hear Madam Gu’s voice: “We really have Dan-niang to thank for this. If she hadn’t happened to pass by, that foolish girl would have suffered far more.”
“She’s always been warm-hearted. I just hope she hasn’t caused you any trouble,” Lady Huang said with a laugh.
The two of them entered the house chatting, and soon their voices faded away.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Cheng Danruo’s mouth. She rounded the winding corridor, passed through the moon gate, and arrived at the small courtyard next door. This was called Jinxia Court, where Chen Rou-niang and Chen Wan-niang resided, along with their respective concubine-mothers.
The two young ladies were the mistresses of the household and lived in the south-facing two-story building, while their concubine-mothers, being servants in status, could only occupy the east and west side chambers. Such clear demarcation of rank also conveniently facilitated the master of the house, Master Chen, in conducting certain activities not fit for young eyes.
The weather was fine today, and Chen Rou-niang and Chen Wan-niang had gathered together, doing needlework by the window.
“I’ve come to see my two younger cousins,” said Cheng Danruo.
Chen Rou-niang’s eyes flickered. “Well, this is a rare visitor. Que’er, bring tea.”
“Yes, miss.” The maid served hot tea. It was steaming, but the fragrance was weak – one could tell at a sniff that it was not good tea.
Cheng Danruo betrayed no reaction and instead admired their embroidery. “These handkerchiefs are beautifully embroidered.”
“Recently, Master Sun taught us her unique embroidery technique,” Chen Wan-niang replied with a seemingly casual air. “She said that with this skill alone, one could be considered to have achieved a fair level of proficiency in women’s needlework.”
Master Sun was the embroidery teacher the Chen family had hired for their daughters. She had formerly been an embroideress at the Suzhou Weaving Bureau but had left due to an eye condition that prevented her from working, and subsequently became a private tutor for the Chen family.
Her Suzhou embroidery was second to none – her work was so lifelike that even a small piece could sell for dozens of taels of silver.
Though the Chen daughters did not need to rely on such skills to make a living, once they married in the future, being able to make a few pieces for their husbands’ families would demonstrate their prowess in needlework and earn them greater respect.
This was a show-off, without a doubt.
Cheng Danruo asked, “Is that so?”
“Of course.”
“How nice.”
A perfunctory reply.
Chen Wan-niang was thoroughly deflated. It was always like this. This distant older cousin was clearly penniless, yet she always put on that unaffected, unruffled air. What was wrong with a little envy? Shouldn’t she be envious of her?
How annoying.
Chen Wan-niang sat back down sulkily in front of her embroidery frame and ignored her.
Cheng Danruo shook her head.
Intrigues in the inner chambers as portrayed in literature and drama: every sentence a veiled jab, poisoning and framing, trysts and catching adulterers, drowning plots and ambushes.
Intrigues in the inner chambers in real life: junior-high-school girl dynamics.
Though she was living under someone else’s roof and could not avoid being slighted and mocked, dealing with her sisters was not particularly difficult.
Or… not too difficult.
“Oh my, if it isn’t the young miss from the main house. What a coincidence.” A woman came swaying gracefully up the stairs from below, wearing a red damask jacket and a white silk skirt, with a pair of emerald-green lotus shoes on her feet.
Chen Wan-niang immediately broke into a smile.
“Madam had me make some pastry snails, and I saved some specially to bring for you.” She was Lady Mo. Her looks were not of the highest order, but she had a gentle and winsome charm. She tapped her daughter lightly on the tip of the nose and added with a smile, “Do try some too.”
Pastry snails were a Suzhou specialty, made from cow’s milk and sugarcane syrup, with swirls on the surface resembling snail shells. They melted in the mouth the moment you ate them. Only someone with exceptional skill could make such a difficult confection – it was a craft Lady Mo had learned from her “mama” back in the day.
Whenever important guests came to call, Master Chen or Lady Huang would have her go into the kitchen and prepare a batch of pastry snails, and more often than not, they would earn lavish praise from the visitors.
Cheng Danruo did not pretend to be above it all and said with pleasure, “It looks delicious. Thank you.”
Lady Mo gave a slight smile. “You flatter me. I have only these meager skills to offer.”
She was being modest, but Cheng Danruo knew better than to take her lightly.
In truth, the most cultured person in the entire Chen household was not Lady Huang, but Lady Mo. Her name was Mo Xin, and she was a classic example of a “lean horse” – a courtesan trained from childhood to be a high-class concubine or entertainment for the elite.
It was said that she had been sold at a very young age and grew up studying arts alongside her sisters – well-versed in reading, incense-burning, playing the qin, and cooking – and she had also been bound with the infamous three-inch golden lotuses.
After her training was complete, she was purchased at a high price by a merchant and presented to a high-ranking official as a gift.
Lady Mo had been given to Master Chen by his superior – or, to be precise, by his superior’s wife. The merchant had sent the “lean horse” to the superior, and the superior’s wife, in turn, passed her down to her husband’s subordinate.
A good subordinate knows how to relieve his superior of his burdens.
Master Chen was not exactly a lecher, but since the custom of raising “lean horses” was prevalent in Jiangnan, and the gift came from his superior, he brought the woman home.
Lady Huang naturally did not care for such a seductive creature, but since her husband’s superior had direct authority over him, she could not afford to make an enemy out of him. She had no choice but to endure it, planning to pass the concubine on to someone else after they were transferred to a new post.
As for Lady Mo, she was well aware that a woman like her had no other way out. No one would ever redeem her, and her family had long since taken her sale money and disappeared without a trace.
For her entire life, she would either be a minor wife to this man or a minor wife to that man.
The more she was passed around, the less she was worth.
What could she do? Her best option was to make the most of her youth and value while she still could – quickly bear a child for some man and secure his heart, so that she would not be sold off again.
A roof over her head, and not ending up in the streets as a prostitute or dying of illness in an alley – that was the greatest luxury she could hope for.
Therefore, she was fated never to be like Lady Li, who could live out her days in peace simply by being loyal to Lady Huang and respectful to Master Chen.
Lady Huang needed Master Chen’s consent to sell her, but Master Chen could pass her on with a single word.
She had no choice but to use every means to win Master Chen’s favor, and before Lady Huang, she had to grovel and grovel, humble herself to the very dust.
Because she had always been respectful and cautious, Lady Huang gradually set aside her thoughts of selling her, and Master Chen would summon her to his study every now and then to add fragrance to his sleeve. Though her beauty had now faded, with the merit of bearing him a son and a daughter, she could be considered half a member of the Chen family.
If only Fifth Young Master Chen Zhigong would strive a little harder, if only Lady Huang would soften a little, if only Master Chen would be a little more sentimental – then perhaps, after her beauty had fully withered, she would not be sold off to outsiders and be forever separated from her children.
