Daughter-in-law of a Noble House

Birthday Banquet 

Even though the servant was bought for me, the matriarch of the family was Guo Furen. 

During the journey, I had thought of a proper plea, and led Ah Yuan to Guo Furen as soon as we arrived at the residence, and explained the story in detail. From the past up until now, about how deep the sentiments between master and servant and the separation between the living and dead. I did not hide the matter of giving Ah Huan gold as that was from my dowry and naturally, it was up to my willingness to give. 

I had the skill of a lobbyist and somewhat added oil and vinegar, and after Guo Furen had listened to it, her face somewhat had a moved expression. 

She took a look at Ah Yuan, who had been keeping her head down, and sighed, “Since it is an old acquaintance, and it is difficult to be reunited, it is appropriate for one to lend a helping hand. Let this maid stay by your side then.”

I gave my thanks, and officially brought Ah Yuan into the Wei Residence. 

When old friends met, it was unavoidable to have a long talk. 

That night, Ah Yuan and I huddled together on the bed just like when we were in the Fu Residence back then, and chatted under the quilt for a long time.

After she listened to my story, she opened her eyes wide and sobbed incessantly. 

“Then…… does Da GongZi treat NǚJun well?” After thinking about it for quite a long time, she suddenly asked.

I smiled, “There is nothing as bad or good, my interaction with him was less than a day.”

Ah Yuan blushed and smiled embarrassedly.

“NǚJun,” She bitted her lip and whispered hesitantly, “I have met Jiyuan GongZi once.”

The mention of this name froze the smile on my face.

“Oh? When?” My voice sounded calm. 

“Last year at Zhangzhou, when one left the countryside.” Ah Yuan carefully watched my expression. “At that time, he was under the tutelage of Pang Chuo of HeBei, seemingly an advisor. At that time we were walking and he walked past us from the opposite direction, leading many troops.”

I didn’t know what to say, and after a moment, I said, “He can be considered acquainted with you all, yet he was unwilling to help?”

Ah Yuan shook her head, “GongZi wanted to help us once, that day he especially looked for us and stuffed a bag of money and valuables in Father’s hand. But, Father was unwilling to accept and said that he had vowed to not accept favours from people who had turned one’s back against righteousness.”

My heart warmed. This was indeed what Li Shang would do. Father had not misread him.

“Understood. Don’t mention him again in the residence in the future.” I said faintly. 

“I understand.” Ah Yuan nodded and suddenly smiled, “NǚJun, Father once said that there ones was a physiognomist visiting the residence to take a look at you. He had said that you have a face of good fortune.”

“Oh?”

“It is real.” Ah Yuan said, “NǚJun look, first there was TaiHou, and now the Wei Family. It is always misfortunes turned into blessings.”

I smile in ridicule. The Empress Dowager indeed saved my life but for the Wei Family….. One fears that one was unable to say precisely whether it was a misfortune or a blessing. 

Ah Yuan seemed like still wanted to say something but I nudged her and interrupted, “All right, it is getting late, it is time to rest. Don’t forget that this is not the Fu residence anymore.”

Ah Yuan pouted and went to bed. 

“Oh right, Ah Yuan.” Just as she was leaving, I called out. 

“En?” Ah Yuan turned her head back. 

I smiled and said, “In the future, it is ‘Furen’, so make sure to not make a mistake in addressing it.”

Ah Yuan startled and after a moment she nodded her head before leaving. 

*******

That night, it was tranquil and even-temperedi, but I could not sleep well at all. 

In my dream, there was always a figure appearing in front of me, who was either playing chess or playing the Qin or having a loud arrogant talk with others. Without paying much attention, he would turn his head to look towards me, and that delicate face would suddenly smile with some craftiness. 

“........ Ah Qian, does my clothes look good?” This was my voice. 

“...... Ah Qian, I heard that you have bought a white horse. Will you lend it to me tomorrow to pull a cart?”

“...... Ah Qian, yesterday I sold a plum flower bottle, guess for how much? I only wanted to sell it for 100 coins, but that person gave me 150 coins!”

“Ah Qian, Ah Qian……”

The voices were mixed, I watched as Ah Qian rode his white horse, wearing brand new wedding clothes as a painted carriage followed behind him, with an unfamiliar woman sitting on it……

I woke up from the dream and gasped lightly. 

A strong dim light of night appeared in front of one’s eyes, and the soft chirp of insects could be heard outside the window. 

It was a dream…. I thought to myself, but my hand unconsciously reached to my wrist, which was empty. I lifted  the quilt and turned my body over to get up. I lit the candle before opening my jewellery box. However, after searching for it for a while, I could not find the thing I was looking for. 

Anxiety arose in my heart as I turned around to rummage through the unopened bundle wrapped in cloth, and finally found a small peach talisman in a pile of old clothes. The handiwork was simple but there was a “嫤” (jin) and “潜” (qian) words linked together. 

I sighed in relief as if relieved from a burden, and closed my eyes as I took a long breath while holding it tightly in my palms. 

Tears suddenly came out of one’s eyes, unable to be stopped.

The moonlight was like water, shining through the window still. I was able to see my shadow shrinking on the ground, just as helpless as I was those years back. 

“It is over, it is the past, you will forget about it….” In my ears, Mother’s words seemed to be ringing  again, softly soothing. 

******

As each day passed by, in a blink of an eye, one month had passed. 

Spring was almost over and the weather was already getting hot. 

I lived my days in the Wei Family Residence considerably well. Although Guo Furen was the matriarch, she was a person who was well versed in managing a family and handled the household affairs thoroughly with consideration. I knew that I had newly arrived in this household and was hence very courteous to everyone and thus lived in harmony with everyone. 

There was news from Ah Huan that he found a small house in the west part of the city, moved there with Li Shang, and he had invited a doctor specially for Li Shang. Two days ago I allowed Ah Yuan a visit and upon her return, she said that Li Shang’s health was much better as he now could get out of bed. 

Not long after, news came from the east that Wei Jue killed Dong Kuang and his three sons, incorporating their generals and soldiers into the troops and would be returning to Yongsu next month. This news stirred up the whole family’s spirit, and Guo Furen had even decided what kind of banquet should be held at the residence on the day of Wei Jue’s return. 

“ZhangSao, XiongZhangand ErXiong are all coming back!” Wei Rong smiled as she said to me. 

I smiled and instructed Ah Yuan to give her a newly made outer garment as I said, “It is GuShi’s 40th birthday banquet in two days. Keep these new clothes well and do not ruin them again.”

Wei Rong stuck out her tongue, looked at the new clothes curiously,and said with a smile, "ZhangSao is really nice.”

I smiled, “Where's SiShu? I have new clothes for him too but I do not seem to have seen him.” 

“Him?” Wei Rong raised her eyebrows, “Probably playing with those oddments.”

“Oddments?” I was astounded. 

“Yes.” Wei Rong seemed to be somewhat scornful but smiled mysteriously when looking at me, “ZhangSao still does not know about it? I will bring ZhangSao over to take a look.”

Although I was the new daughter-in-law of the Wei residence, I was after all just a newcomer, and would not be familiar with many matters and people. Wei An was one of them. 

Logically speaking, Wei An should have a closer relationship with me as he and Wei Tan were born from the same mother. His courtyard was close to Wei Tan’s but he rarely shows up. He would always have a cold expression whenever he gave greetings and would only speak a few words. I did not know the reason, and I did not like to put on a cold expression too, thus one let Wei An go with such an attitude. 

Wei Rong did not bring me to Wei An’s courtyard, instead she brought me nearby the kitchen. It was next to the firewood store. There was a simple wooden room and a small black burning kiln a few steps away. 

Before reaching the door, I already heard sounds of wood knocking from inside. 

Wei An was wearing a single robe and sat on a low bed, engrossed in wedging a piece of wood into a plank. He was so engrossed that the sweat-drenched his hair. 

“You are messing around with these things again. Have you memorised the homework the teacher gave us?” Wei Rong said. 

Wei An looked up and startled as he saw Wei Rong and I standing at the door.

“It’s none of your business.” Wei An said faintly, got up and gave me a bow, “ZhangSao.” After that, he continued to keep his head lowered to fiddle. 

Wei Rong seemed to be used to it and pouted. 

I looked at Wei An’s handicraft and felt that it was interesting. After looking around, I saw that the small wooden room was filled with wood, bamboo, and some odd-looking half-completed items on the floor. I saw that there was a variety of ceramics on a wooden shelf. There were small people and animals too. 

“Are these all made by SiShu?” I asked curiously. 

“En.” Wei An replied. 

I picked up one of them and said, “This dog is not bad.”

“It is a tiger.” Wei An said. 

I was embarrassed and placed it back before picking up another object, “This deer is realistic too.”

“It is a horse.”

“This woman…..”

“It's a man.”

I turned my head back and saw Wei An was looking at me with his face a bit red, seemingly annoyed. 

“A man…….HAHAHAHA….” Wei Rong, who was at the side,  laughed so hard that she could not breathe. 

I was somewhat embarrassed and left the wooden shelf to walk to Wei An. I looked at the pieces of wood that Wei An was putting together and after understanding for a while, I was sure that it was correct, and said, “Are you making a carriage?” 

Wei An did not lift his head, “En.”

I took a look at it again, “It does not look like the usual ones.”

“Those ones are not good enough.” Wei An wiped his sweat, “It’s easy to break, the axles don’t work well, and if it encounters muddy waters, it will get stuck on the road.”

Wei Rong disagreed, “All carriages are like this. Horses pull it, humans drive it. There is no need for you to spend this much thought on it.”

Wei An ignored her. 

I felt that I was the one making Wei An uncomfortable and thought that it was better that I left sooner. So I handed the bag of new clothes to Wei An, “These are the new clothes that are made for SiShu. May SiShu accept it.”

Wei An looked at that cloth bag in surprise, his hand stopped moving. 

“ZhangSao made it, quickly give thanks.” Wei Rong said. 

I quickly said to Wei Rong, “SiShu is busy. Let’s not disturb him.” After finishing, I pulled her and turned around to leave. 

*****

If the Wei Family could have an audience with the Emperor due to a new bride entering their family, then it was not a surprise that Guo Furen could invite hundreds of officials and their family members to attend her birthday. 

In front of the gate of the Prime Minister’s residence, there was a long queue of horse carriages. In addition to the families of important officials in court, there were many families of Wei Jue’s battalion lieutenants. Guo Furen highly valued them and especially vacated the back gardens to entertain them. She greeted the guests at the hall and especially sent me to receive them, so that they would not feel left out. 

Looking at the garden that was filled with women who were talking cheerfully and wittily, I could not help but think of those officials that helped Wei Jue besiege cities. Wei Jue also treated them very well, at least he had used all means to win them over. 

Being warm and urging others to drink was a must-have technique for the noble women of Chang'an. Back then, I used to follow Mother around and thus had long mastered it without a teacher. Due to the hardship and chaos of war, many military officials only set up families after Wei Jue chose a capital thus there were very few women from the countryside and many of them were neat looking daughters of ornamental scholars. 

This was way easier for me. At least they could understand my graceful words of persuasion to eat. 

After being busy for a while, I saw that there were fewer guests streaming in and felt exhausted. After handing it over to the servants, I headed back to the back of the hall for a drink. 

“Ah Jin?” Just as one was about to go up the stairs, one heard a voice suddenly called out from behind. 

Upon turning around, I saw a young married woman with splendid clothes standing behind, looking at me with a face full of hesitancies. 

I looked at her face and remembered, “Yuying?”

A smile immediately appeared on Yuying’s face as she stepped forward to hold my sleeve, and said, “Ah Jin, I indeed did not recognise incorrectly!”

I looked at her and likewise smiled emotionally. 

Qiao Yuying, daughter of the DaXingLing, Qiao Zhen, was one of my playmates in Chang'an. After coming to YongZ]zhou, I had seen many familiar faces and they were all those who used to be in court with Father. This was not difficult to explain as the Emperor moved the capital from Chang'an to here, of course the officials would follow after him. However, Yuying was the second female that I was acquainted with after Xu Ping, and it lifted my spirits up.

“Where are you now? How are your parents?” I held her hand and asked. 

The smile on Yuying’s face dimmed slightly, and she said, “My Father is still here, Mother…..” She did not continue and lowered her head to wipe her eyes. 

I looked at her expression and knew that she was not doing well. 

Yuying told me that when Chang'an was chaotic and invaded by the army, her family fled to avoid disaster. In the midst of the chaos, her mother and younger brother were killed by roving bandits. She followed her father to and fro until they heard that the Emperor declared Yongzhou as the capital before returning.  Wei Jue reinstated Yuying’s father’s official position, the DaXingLing. Yuying was now married to Wei Jue’s BuJiang, Xu Cong and was currently settling down. 

After hearing her narration, it was hard for me to avoid sobbing. However, similar stories like this existed everywhere. Even the one who loved to cry the most would become numb to it after listening to too many of it. 

I sighed softly and could only caress Yuying’s hand while comforting, “The deceased have departed and you are safe now. Furen would be able to rest contentedly.”

Yuying nodded and looked up at me, “Ah Jin, at that time you….” She paused as soon as she started speaking, and there was a look of cowardly yet ashamed inquiry in her eyes.”

I knew what she wanted to ask and shook my head, “Yuying, there is no longer the need to mention the past.”

Yuying’s eyes slightly welled up with tears and after a few moments, she took a deep breath and smiled, “You are right, the past has passed. Ah Jin is now living well. One heard that you are married to ChengXiang’s Da GongZi.”

I nodded. 

“How does Da GongZi treat you?” Yuying’s face was filled with curiosity and envy, “One heard that ChengXiang designated you as the his daughter-in-law himself! Ah jin you are really amazing, must know that there are numerous people in Yongdu that want to marry their daughter off to Da GongZi!”

She still likes to inquire about all sorts of things just like in the past but she had skillfully avoided my past of marrying to Laiyang. Those years were neither short nor long but were able to turn an ignorant young girl into a tactful married woman. 

After changing the topic, Yuying obviously became a lot more excited as she pulled me and chatted about a lot of things. 

“Ah Jin, have you met Da GongZi back in Chang'an?” Yuying asked me.

“No.” I shook my head. 

“I have seen him before.” Yuying giggled and said, “Do you still remember when the Late Emperor once selected noble youths into the YuLin troops?”

Upon seeing my surprised look, she was somewhat proud, “Ah Jin, those year when you were restricted within the Palace with TaiHou, didn’t you see those youths of YuLin? Da GongZi was one of them.”

“Really?” This indeed made me curious, because no one had ever told me before. 

“I saw it with my own eyes.” Yuying said, “I even know who Da GongZi liked at that time…”

My gaze came to a halt. 

As if realising that she had made a slip of tongue, Yuying's expression changed as he raised her hand to cover her mouth. 

“Oh?” I smiled calmly and asked, “Who?”

Yuying’s expression was somewhat awkward as she smiled embarrassedly, “Ah Jin, if I say it, don’t take it to heart.” After saying that, she bit her lip and whispered to my ear, “It’s Xu Ping JieJie. At that time, I went to the palace with my mother for a banquet, and Xu JieJie entrusted me to pass a handkerchief to Da GongZi.”

I was startled for a moment and thought back to Empress Xu’s eyes quietly watching during my audience with the Emperor.