Because there had been no news for many years, Chen Yuanniang knew next to nothing about her supposed betrothed, only vaguely aware that such an arrangement existed. She didn’t even know the man’s name, but those who came to break an engagement…
This was likely the only marriage contract she had.
She wouldn’t let herself be outdone!
Yuanniang, who had been somewhat apprehensive, immediately straightened her back. The peach-pink silk ribbon tying her hair fluttered high as she tilted her chin. Her pretty little face bore a solemn expression. “Oh? Then what is the meaning of these items in the courtyard?”
Her grandmother was the undisputed champion among all the women in the village, and Yuanniang had taught herself the importance of momentum. Even though she was salivating at the sight of the hams and cured meats in the bamboo baskets, she maintained a look of detached indifference, as if she didn’t care at all.
Her tone was as casual as if she were asking about a pebble on the side of the road; no one could tell she hadn’t smelled meat in six months.
This greatly surprised the woman standing before them. Though called an old woman, she was only about forty years old. She wore a water-blue duijin chang beizi patterned with birds playing among pomegranate blossoms. Although her hair was in a simple shuji, the tiaoxin zan in the center, shaped like a flower stamen with red beads, was made of solid gold! When she moved, her sleeve occasionally revealed a carved gold bracelet over half an inch wide.
With her attire and the aura of her movements, people would have believed it if someone said she was the legal wife of a county magistrate.
Seeing Yuanniang speak, the woman saw an opening. She folded her hands at her waist, curtsied, gave a light laugh, and said, “Our Madam knows how difficult it is for a woman after an engagement is broken. Out of consideration for the past friendship between our two families—and knowing that after Master Chen passed away, it has not been easy for a widow and young children, especially in the countryside where food and clothing must be scarce—she has prepared these humble gifts. We hope you will graciously accept these few items of food and clothing.”
As she spoke, the woman didn’t wait for an answer. She simply raised her hand and clapped. The servants behind her began opening the chests and baskets piled in the courtyard one by one.
For a moment, the crude and rustic courtyard shimmered with hidden light, casting flickering shadows across everyone’s faces. This description was literal, not a flowery metaphor.
The chests were filled entirely with ling luo juan sha. Although it was hard to tell if the patterns were the latest fashion, the luster was exquisite. One must know that a single bolt of silk on the market cost seven or eight strings of coins, and even the cheaper fabrics cost one to five strings per bolt. This pile wasn’t just fabric; it was a chest full of fortune.
Furthermore, several maidservants stepped forward carrying trays, standing before Yuanniang and her grandmother.
With a wave of the woman’s hand, the carved rosewood boxes on the trays were all opened, revealing various sets of jewelry. There was a buyao topped with a pearl the size of a bird’s egg, a qingyu lianhua guan, a pomegranate-shaped fenxin zan set with a ruby the size of a longan, and a pure gold hudie xi rui chai…
Not only was there a great quantity of items, but each piece was extraordinarily precious. Any single piece of jewelry would be enough to keep Yuanniang’s family fed and clothed for three to five years.
Yuanniang’s grandmother, Granny Wang, maintained her previous expression, showing neither joy nor anger. Even though the silks were beautiful and the jewelry expensive, she didn’t so much as blink when the light reflected before her eyes.
Yuanniang was young; no matter how much she tried to force an air of confidence, she had never known wealth growing up. She was inevitably dazzled, her breath hitching in amazement, and it took a sharp pinch to her elbow from her grandmother to bring her back to her senses.
A flash of predictable contempt crossed the woman’s eyes, but she maintained her initial poise. With a smile on her lips, her manners seemed impeccable, yet her demeanor held a faint trace of arrogance. She spoke unhurriedly, “Our Madam said that although she cannot be a mother-in-law to…”
She paused halfway, let out a scoff, and looked Yuanniang—with her simple clothing—up and down. The gaze was uncomfortable. Then she continued, “…the young lady, there is at least some history. She must fulfill the duties of an elder. This jewelry is both the meeting gift that was originally due and a contribution to the young lady’s dowry for her future marriage.”
Chen Yuanniang had always been sharp; she naturally sensed the woman’s disdain. But with so much wealth displayed before her, she truly felt the chasm that separated the two families. Having never experienced such a major event, she instinctively shifted her feet closer to her grandmother, like a cub seeking protection from a shrewd old wolf.
Granny Wang noticed her granddaughter’s slight movement and felt a sense of exasperation, but her hand, as rough as old tree bark, firmly grasped the girl’s tender wrist and pulled her behind her like a hen protecting its chick.
Then, Granny Wang stared at the woman, raised an eyebrow, and said coolly, “Are you a relative of the Wei family?”
This single sentence made the woman feel as if she had been grabbed by the throat. For a long while, she couldn’t speak, and the chin she had held high since entering the house finally lowered in embarrassment. “This… I don’t have such good fortune. I am merely a servant of the Wei family, here to conduct business on my master’s orders.”
Granny Wang said no more. She merely let out a dry, mirthless chuckle, her weathered face twitching in a cold smile.
With just that one sentence and that one laugh, the woman inexplicably felt a tightening in her chest, sensing an aura similar to the high-ranking matriarchs of Bianjing. It was like seeing a ghost. She then remembered her Madam mentioning this marriage—that when the betrothal was first set years ago, her own family had been the one marrying up. Not to mention that Master Chen’s family had been officials for generations, his mother was also from a noble and prominent family. It was just that they had fallen into ruin now.
At this point, the disdain the woman had felt upon seeing the dilapidated house dissipated significantly.
Ultimately, she was just a servant. If she provoked the other party and they refused to break the engagement out of spite, it would be a disaster. Before she left, the Madam had repeatedly instructed her that since their side was in the wrong, they must be humble and respectful when breaking the engagement and must never be overbearing.
No matter how respectable she looked, if she failed her task and angered her masters, she could be sold off in an instant. There would be no mercy.
When the woman spoke again, she was much more respectful, dropping her affected tone. She said with a placating smile, “Our Madam’s heart for your family is truly sincere. Look!”
As she spoke, the woman took out a box she carried with her, unlocked it herself, and revealed its contents: several thin sheets of paper with patterns on them. She explained eagerly, “This is your family’s former residence in Bianjing. By a stroke of luck, our Madam happened to buy it. There are also over a dozen mu of farmland in the outskirts of Bianjing—all are offered as compensation. Beneath them are Jiaozi in denominations of five and ten strings, totaling one thousand strings.”
“And there’s more!” The woman paused and waved to the servants behind her. “Bring it up.”
Two sturdy servants worked together to carry up a basket covered with a coarse cloth. Despite their large builds, carrying the basket was clearly not easy. The woman lifted the cloth, revealing a basket full of copper coins. No wonder it took two men to carry it.
The woman said with a beaming smile, as if baring her soul, “The Madam feared that Jiaozi might be inconvenient to use sometimes, so she also prepared ten strings of copper coins.”
“Alas,” she said, suddenly wiping away tears with her sleeve. Although there was an element of acting, the resentment in her tone toward the other party was genuine. “Our Madam truly feels she has failed your family, but the Old Madam insisted on breaking the engagement. For this reason…”
The woman wiped her tears and left the sentence hanging. But for a clever person, this explanation was more than enough.
It seemed the Wei family was not entirely harmonious.
Granny Wang expected as much. All large families had their share of filth and secrets. Moreover, given Old Madam Wei’s character—hmph—it must have taken eight lifetimes of luck to produce a son as upright and ambitious as Master Wei.
The engagement was going to be broken regardless. Seeing the items and compensation brought today, she knew that Madam Wei had indeed put in effort. Since the woman was no longer as arrogant as before, Granny Wang didn’t delay any further, allowing both sides to save face.
She turned her head toward the closed window and called out loudly, “A-Cen, have you found it?”
“A-Cen” referred to Chen Yuanniang’s mother, Granny Wang’s daughter-in-law, Cen Rou. Her husband had died in his prime, and the mother and daughter-in-law had lived together for many years, sharing a very close bond. Of course, Cen Rou had a gentle temperament; she never raised her voice to Granny Wang, nor to any other woman in the village.
So when Granny Wang called her, she emerged from the house with quick, small steps, holding a wooden box made of ordinary local pine. It wasn’t even lacquered; it was extremely crude.
Granny Wang pulled out the drawer and took out a stiff red paper card, where one could vaguely see elegant gold-leaf characters. There was also a piece—or rather, half a piece—of jade. It was delicate and warm yangzhi yu, carved into a leaping fish catching a pearl. The luozi tied to the bottom, which should have been bright red, had faded to a pale pink over the years.
This jade piece was likely originally a complete “shuangyu xi zhu” (twin fish playing with a pearl) pendant, split in two to serve as a token of the betrothal.
Stroking the warm, smooth jade, Granny Wang seemed moved for a moment but did not linger on the feeling. She decisively handed it to the woman, her gaze sharp as a needle. She said loudly, “Please also return my Yuanniang’s Gengtie.”
“Of course, of course,” the woman agreed hurriedly. She pointed to the locked box containing the house and land deeds and the thick stack of Jiaozi. “The young lady’s Gengtie is inside.”
With the exchange of the two families’ Gengtie, this marriage arrangement of over ten years was officially dissolved.
“I pray your young master finds a virtuous wife,” Granny Wang said with a slight nod, her face free of resentment and her tone peaceful.
“Your young lady will surely marry into a noble house as well!” The woman also hurriedly curtsied and offered her well-wishes.
Although the woman knew their compensation for breaking the engagement was incredibly generous—enough to make any ordinary person dizzy with greed—she also knew that short-sighted people might develop wicked ideas and insist on clinging to the marriage, while overly proud people might start a conflict. She hadn’t expected Granny Wang, who looked like a crude country woman, to be so decisive—neither servile nor overbearing, yet not blindly prideful. The engagement was broken quite easily.
By now, she had developed a sense of admiration for the adaptable and principled Granny Wang.
What a pity. If Master Chen hadn’t died, his family might have seen a very different fate. She heard there was a grandson in the family? If he was promising, with the wealth obtained today and Granny Wang’s methods, perhaps the Chen family might one day rise again.
She wondered what that grandson was like.
Just as she was thinking this, a small boy appeared outside the fence made of sharpened wooden stakes. He was carrying a back-basket nearly twice his width, filled with firewood and branches. It was a mystery how he could walk so steadily with such a heavy load at such a young age.
A child of the countryside—how pitiful.
The woman’s own grandson was also seven or eight years old, but he spent his days running around the courtyard with a runny nose, constantly pestering her for malt candy from the Cao family’s candy shop.
Unlike this boy, who not only had to work but wore a short-sleeved shirt with narrow sleeves that had several grayish-blue patches. His trousers were too large and faded, likely refashioned from old clothes, and had to be tied tight with a dark brown cord. The pant legs were rolled up high, and he wore only straw sandals.
Even for the countryside, his clothes were considered ragged.
Unfortunately, Chen Yuanniang didn’t know what she was thinking, or she would have certainly objected. Though her family wasn’t wealthy, her mother and grandmother doted on the children. Chen Kuo Cang always had neat clothes without patches. However, he was born with an eccentric streak and never wore them while working. He would only wash his hands and feet and change into normal clothes after his chores were done.
No one else in the family was so fastidious; she didn’t know where he got that habit.
Fortunately, he often helped with errands and laundry and was very attuned to his elder sister’s likes, using the spare copper coins he saved to buy her malt candy. Otherwise, Chen Yuanniang, who would have had to wash an extra set of clothes, would have long since lost her temper and taught her younger brother a lesson.
When he reached the front of the house, he didn’t look alarmed or curious. Even though the courtyard was filled with silks and cured meats—rare sights in the countryside—he merely gave them a brief glance. Then, he set the back-basket in the corner and stepped forward.
Unlike the rowdiness or ignorance of children his age, Chen Kuo Cang’s eyes were clear and his expression clean. His lips were pressed together and his back was straight. Even as a child of the countryside, he gave off an air of being very proper and upright.
He didn’t ask what was happening. His gaze landed directly on the Gengtie and the token in the woman’s hand. Then, he naturally turned his gaze to Granny Wang. “Grandmother, the guests have come from afar. I will go brew a pot of tea.”
An ordinary farming family wouldn’t buy tea leaves, but there were tea trees on the mountain, and they could pick some for the house. They had intended to sell them in the county, but now they would serve a purpose.
Granny Wang didn’t rush to chase the guests away just because the engagement was broken. She nodded and said, “Mm.”
Chen Kuo Cang didn’t go in by himself. Instead, he walked over to Cen Rou, whose eyes were red as she struggled not to cry. “Mother, could you help me brew the tea?”
Cen Rou was filled with sorrow over her daughter losing a good marriage. Years of hardship had already frosted her temples with white, and her skin had turned sallow from working in the fields, making her look even more miserable. Suddenly called by her son, she seemed to wake from a dream, finally pulling herself slightly away from her distress. She responded hurriedly, “Yes, yes, I’ll go boil the water first.”
The woman quickly declined, “No need, no need. How could we trouble the young master? We have delivered all the items and should be taking our leave.”
Granny Wang wouldn’t allow it. “You’ve come from so far; you should at least have a cup of hot tea. It is only proper hospitality…”
Before Granny Wang could finish, a snapping sound came from nearby, as if a branch had been stepped on, followed by a dark shadow crouching by the wall.
Accompanying the woman was a group of large, martially skilled biaoshi. One of them immediately shouted and moved to seize the person. “Who’s there!”