“Grandma Tian, the matter of becoming a Zhuixu for the Xie family can be discussed, but our family’s house cannot be left to waste like this.
After all, I was adopted back by my grandfather to carry on the family line. To adopt a grandson, he even returned the hereditary military position of Zongqi to the main branch. Don’t you think it would be too unfair if I just packed up and left like this?”
Yes, one must always uphold a sense of righteousness in life, especially not wronging the dead.
They exchanged a hereditary military position for a continuation of the family line, and I used Pei Yubo’s branch to change my identity. Now, having just completed the mourning period, if I simply pack up and leave to become a Zhuixu, leaving Pei Yubo’s branch with nothing, that would be utterly unreasonable.
“Oh, Yuan Ge’er is absolutely right. I really didn’t consider this thoroughly enough.”
Granny Tian had only thought about how both families were educated and not bound by rigid traditions, but she had forgotten that both families had complicated circumstances. Although Pei Yuan said his elders were all gone, his biological parents were still alive. If he truly wanted to become a Zhuixu, it was possible they might not agree.
“It’s not your fault, Grandma. It’s just that my background is indeed not something to be proud of. The Xie family has property and land, and the fact that they would consider me is already me marrying above my station.”
What Pei family descendant, what a starved camel is still bigger than a horse—it all sounds like a joke when spoken aloud. Right now, I am alone and without support, with nothing to pick and choose from.
“What I mean by saying this is that I can become a Zhuixu, but I must take the ancestral tablets of the Pei family with me. As long as I live, they will receive offerings every day, and on death anniversaries, Qingming Festival, and the Ghost Festival, they will have incense offered to them.”
Pei Yuan thought it through clearly. If he didn’t seize this opportunity, he might spend his entire life muddling through in a daze.
So what if he becomes a Zhuixu? As long as the eldest daughter of the Xie family is a reasonable person, is the surname Pei such an honorable and unshakeable glory?
Matchmaking is never settled in a single conversation. Even ordinary marriages require the matchmaker to go back and forth, persuading and mediating. Otherwise, why would there be the old tradition of giving shoes to the matchmaker after a marriage is arranged? It truly is both exhausting and hard on the shoes.
Especially since Granny Tian had bound feet. After eating lunch at home and resting in her room for half an hour, she tidied up, drank some water, and went out again.
Just as she reached the entrance of the alley, her legs felt weak and she couldn’t walk any further, so she simply waved for a sedan chair. Two bearers, one in front and one behind, carried the long poles with a bamboo chair. As long as it wasn’t raining, she could sit and be on her way.
When she arrived at the Xie residence, she could hear voices from inside even while standing at the gate. The clamor made it clear that Huang Juan was still unhappy about her daughter taking in a Zhuixu and was making a scene.
Granny Tian was a clever woman. She absolutely would not enter and be a nuisance while the family was arguing. Instead, she patted a stone by the alley with her handkerchief and calmly sat down to wait.
Only when the noise inside had died down did she get up and knock on the door.
The Xie family’s courtyard had two sections. Upon entering, there was an Yingbi, and after walking around it, one reached the front courtyard. The front hall was where the family used to receive guests, and in the past, it was mostly Xie Dechang who used it.
In the three years since his death, it had been largely empty. Outsiders would not visit a household of women and children in mourning, and relatives and neighbors would be directly invited into the inner courtyard, so there was no need to use the front hall.
The side rooms on either side were Xie Dechang’s study and a guest room, respectively. For the past three years, they had been locked, only opened periodically for cleaning to prevent the rooms from falling into disrepair.
Passing through the front hall was a corridor of modest width and a moon gate, the kind of decorative feature that ordinary families, even those with some means, wouldn’t spend money on. Both the roof beams and the moon gate were made of solid materials, yet they were anything but ostentatious.
The inner courtyard beyond the moon gate was laid out in a neat, square formation, with a three-bay main house flanked by side rooms on both sides. The central bay served as the space for receiving guests and dining. Since Zhi Niang was still young and couldn’t be left to live alone, she stayed in the right-hand secondary room, while Huang Juan occupied the left.
One of the side rooms was used for storing miscellaneous items, and the other was home to the two mothers in the household.
Mama Chen was in charge of the kitchen work. She had previously worked as a cook in the back kitchen of Yun Ke Lai, but as she grew older, the demanding nature of the job became too much, so she was brought into the household as the head cook.
Mother Jiang had originally been hired by Xie Dechang as a wet nurse. When Huang Juan gave birth to Xie Wenji, it was a difficult delivery, and her milk supply was insufficient, so they had to hire a wet nurse from outside.
It happened that Mother Jiang’s husband had just passed away, leaving behind a newborn baby who was barely a month old and still nursing. So, they simply brought Mother Jiang and her child to live with them.
Huang Juan wasn’t completely without milk, and with Mother Jiang’s supply, after feeding Xie Wenji, her own son could still manage to get half-full. Supplemented with rice paste and rice water, the two of them managed to get through the most difficult years.
Later, when the household no longer needed a wet nurse, Mother Jiang didn’t leave. She took on the miscellaneous chores around the house, and most of the inner garments for Xie Jiujiu and her younger siblings, as well as the delicate clothing for the girls, were made by Mother Jiang.
Her son, Tang Quan, was about the same age as Xie Wenji. As children, they played together, and since Xie Wenji was frail, Tang Quan would often help him out in fights outside.
Neither he nor Mother Jiang were sold into servitude; they were considered long-term laborers for the Xie family. In recent years, Tang Quan had been studying alongside Xie Wenji, and he often ran errands for both household and external matters, already capable of being treated as an adult.
It was he who opened the door when Granny Tian arrived. As soon as he saw her, he grinned and said, “Granny, you’ve finally come. If you hadn’t, the eldest young lady would have been worried sick.”
“Has Madam Huang been arguing with the eldest young lady again?” Granny Tian walked in on her bound feet, calling out loudly for Huang Juan as she went. “This match I’m arranging this time is nothing but perfect in every way. Madam, please don’t be angry anymore.”
“Granny Tian, why are you here again? Didn’t I say I don’t agree to Jiujiu taking in a husband? This matter simply won’t happen.”
“How can it not happen? Mother, you told us clearly before that since the second child is frail and Zhi Niang is still young, I would be in charge of the household. Since I’m in charge, my word should count.”
Xie Jiujiu had already been so worn down by her mother’s pestering that she had retreated to her room and refused to come out. But now, hearing Granny Tian’s voice, she hurried out to greet her. Granny Tian wasn’t someone who acted without reason; if she had left in the morning and returned in the afternoon, it must mean there was news from the Pei family.
In the secondary room of the main house, Huang Juan wore a headband, looking as if she had been made ill by Xie Jiujiu’s stubbornness. Her eyes were swollen from crying, as though Xie Jiujiu wasn’t trying to bring a husband into the family but a calamity.
“Mother, I’ve talked myself hoarse these past few days. Why can’t you understand this reasoning?”
“Well…” It was still because she feared Xie Jiujiu wouldn’t find a husband to her liking, worried that a live-in son-in-law wouldn’t stand as tall as other families’ sons-in-law when out in public, and that if life didn’t go smoothly, he might take his frustrations out on her.
What’s more, I fear that a son-in-law who initially seems perfect in every way might, over time, find it difficult to live as a live-in husband, and what was once seen as perfection could turn into flaws at every turn.
“But what about Wenji!” Having almost run out of arguments, Huang Juan caught sight of her son following Xie Jiujiu into the room and suddenly thought of another reason.
“Our family isn’t without a son. If you bring in a son-in-law now, what will happen to the family property when Wenji grows up and starts his own family?”
Hearing this, Xie Jiujiu couldn’t help but laugh. She had been waiting for her mother to bring this up. Xie Wenji patted his forehead in exasperation. Oh, dear mother, after all this time, you’ve finally thought of the most important issue.
“Mother, have you forgotten that we’re still registered as merchants? When Father was alive, he was already making arrangements to change this boy’s status. He’s thirteen now, and in a few years, he’ll be taking the imperial exams. Whether he passes or not is one thing, but I’m determined to change his merchant status.”
Once his merchant status is changed, aside from the family’s farmland and property, Yun Ke Lai cannot be his.
If he really manages to earn the title of Xiucai, he’ll be entitled to eighty mu of tax-exempt land. Naturally, the family’s farmland would then be registered under his name. And if he goes on to pass higher-level exams, would our family’s modest assets still be an issue?
If he doesn’t pass, that’s a matter for many years from now.
“Mother, they say that if you don’t plan for the future, you’ll face immediate troubles. Our family can only take things one step at a time, dealing with the problems at hand. As for what the future holds, we’ll have to live long enough to see it first.”
“What about the second child? What does he say about this?” Huang Juan could tell whether her daughter was placating her or genuinely getting angry, and right now, Xie Jiujiu was clearly growing impatient and displeased.
This eldest daughter had been taught everything by her husband. Though she wasn’t raised exactly like a son, he made sure she learned everything. When Xie Jiujiu lost her temper, Huang Juan truly felt a bit intimidated.
“If Yun Ke Lai can be reclaimed, it should belong to my sister. I’ll listen to whatever my sister says.”
Xie Wenji was well aware of his sister’s plans for him—he was meant to take the imperial exams. Given their family’s circumstances, relying solely on the restaurant business wasn’t enough. He was determined to strive for a career in the civil service, even if he had to push himself to the limit.
“I never wanted my sister to marry out anyway. Even Zhi Niang, when she grows up, there’s no rush to find her a match. Maybe by then, if I’ve made something of myself, I could even bring in a younger son-in-law for you.”
When Xie Dechang passed away, Xie Wenji was only ten years old—still a child, and not in the best of health. Most family matters were handled by his elder sister, Xie Jiujiu, and he truly didn’t want her to marry out.
“Besides, with my sister’s temper, who besides us could put up with her?” Even as siblings, a single wrong word at home could leave him fuming. How could an outsider possibly tolerate her?
“Oh, stop it. What do you mean, ‘who could put up with me’? I’m such a reasonable person. Don’t talk nonsense about me. Go back to your studies.”
Xie Jiujiu pushed Xie Wenji out of the room, then turned back with a smile and asked Granny Tian, “You left just this morning and are back already. I suppose the young master from the Pei family has agreed?”