The acrid smell of smoke stung the nose, yet he remained unmoved. Only when the flames grew fierce did he leap down from the tree and stroll toward the east wing. In less than a hundred breaths, shouts erupted from the quiet courtyard.
"Fire! Come quickly, put out the fire! Hurry, Grandma, the mistress is still inside!"
A young man, clad only in a white satin inner robe, rushed out from the east wing, his handsome face still bearing traces of youth but set in a cold, stern expression. He dashed to the main hall, only to find the fire already raging, his eyes widening in panic.
Unfazed by the billowing smoke, he stepped forward and kicked open the tightly shut door. With the barrier gone, flames surged out, and the youth sidestepped the onslaught. Faint cries for help came from inside.
"Grandma, Grandma!" A square-faced maidservant called out anxiously outside but hesitated to approach the house, which was nearly engulfed in flames. Seeing the young master risk entering, she couldn't help but take a few steps forward before stopping again. Her old eyes fixed on the door, which now resembled the bloody maw of a beast, just a few feet away. After a moment's hesitation, she gritted her teeth and plunged inside.
If anything happened to either of the mother and son, her entire family would pay with their lives. Rather than stand there in fear, she might as well take the risk.
By now, everyone in the guest courtyard had awakened, carrying basins and buckets as they began fighting the fire. Soon after, the manager of Yunxiang Kezhan arrived with a group of waiters, rushing to join the effort.
Amid the chaos, the narrow-eyed young man Chi Xiao suddenly remembered something. His eyes widened as he spun around, scanning the people rushing back and forth around him. "Where's Mo Ge'er?"
No sooner had his words fallen than the roof of the main hall collapsed with a thunderous crash. At the same moment, a burst of flames shot out through the window, meeting a basin of water thrown toward it. Hearing the commotion, Chi Xiao looked over, dropped the bucket he was carrying in shock, and rushed forward with the baby-faced Chen Erdao. Together, they pulled the young man out from under a scorched brocade quilt.
"Brother Mo, Brother Mo! Erdao, hurry and find a doctor!"
Under the quilt lay a woman, her face blackened by smoke like the bottom of a pot, her eyelashes singed away. Her once glossy black hair now resembled dry, tangled weeds.
By the time the doctor arrived, the young man had regained consciousness. Wrapped in a light fur cloak, he stood outside the east wing, facing the main hall where the fire had been extinguished. The roof had collapsed, leaving only two beams intact. Even two quarters of an hour after the fire was put out, wisps of smoke continued to rise.
Chi Xiao had been standing guard nearby. Seeing Erdao return with an old man carrying a medicine chest, he approached the youth. "Brother Mo, go and let the doctor examine you." It wouldn't matter if the one inside died, but this one was the lifeblood of the old Chu family. If anything went wrong, neither he nor Chen Erdao would dare return to Chutian Zhen.
Hearing this, the youth turned and cupped his hands respectfully toward the old doctor. "Please, first go and see my mother. She was choked by the smoke and hasn't woken up yet."
The old doctor, with a short white beard, nodded and followed the long-faced maidservant waiting by the door into the room.
Seeing this, Chi Xiao pursed his lips, displeased, and turned away with his arms crossed, exchanging meaningful glances with Chen Erdao.
If it weren't for the one inside insisting on coming to Qizhou Fu in the dead of winter to fulfill a vow, they wouldn't have encountered this wretched incident. In such dry weather, she dared to burn incense and charcoal indoors. Now she'd burned down the inn's building—how much silver would they have to pay in compensation?
The old master, at his advanced age, worked so hard to maintain hundreds of acres of fertile land, all to save up more dowry money for Brother Mo. And what about his mother? Married into the Chu family for nearly twenty years, yet she still acted as if she were wronged. She did nothing all day, only knew how to cause trouble.
Brother Mo's father—back then, he must have been blind, risking his life to save such a troublesome woman. In Chi Xiao's opinion, any tenant girl from Chutian Zhen would have been more sensible than her.
"Ai, Chi Xiao, where's that Qian Pozi?" Chen Erdao had felt something was missing earlier, and only now remembered.
Chi Xiao snorted coldly, saying irritably, "Burned to nothing but a skeleton. At least she was loyal, didn't run away at the last moment." The one in the inner room, when she wakes up, will probably be heartbroken.
In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the old doctor came out with a grave expression. The young man immediately stepped forward and asked, "How is my mother?"
"I've given her acupuncture, and she'll wake up soon. But…" The old doctor sighed, looking up at the young man who had not yet come of age. "But the thick smoke has invaded her body, damaging her throat and lungs. For the rest of her life, your mother will not only suffer from a persistent cough but also have difficulty…"
Though he didn't finish, the young man understood. Stubbornly suppressing his grief, tears still welled up in his eyes, filling them as he said hoarsely, "Please, doctor, do everything you can to save my mother."
The old doctor shook his head. "It's useless. The damage has reached her core."
Ji Mengshi, who hadn't slept well all night, got up early this morning. For years, she had supported her son, watching him nearly succeed, only to discover at this critical moment that he was an ungrateful wretch. The anger simmering in her heart had caused five sores to sprout in her mouth overnight, and even behind her ears, a lump the size of a fingernail had swollen.
Grabbing a handful of chrysanthemums, she headed to the kitchen to brew some cooling soup. But as soon as she opened the door, she was so frightened her heart nearly stopped, staggering back two steps with wide eyes. Once she recognized the person, she burst into curses.
"What are you doing, trying to die so early in the morning?"
It was Huang Shi, kneeling at the door in thin clothes, disheveled and weeping. "Mother, I know you're angry with my husband," she said, starting to kowtow. "We know we were wrong. Please don't—"
"Huang Shi," Ji Mengshi didn't want to hear another word, her heart still pounding. Trembling, she pointed at her and shouted, "I warn you, if you scare me into a bad state, your husband will never take the Imperial Examination in his lifetime. You can forget your dreams of being an official's wife too." Without another word, she stormed off toward the kitchen.
"Life too comfortable, is it? Today, I'll give you something to do. So you won't have time to sit idle all day, scheming in your heart."
In the east side room, Ji An was awakened by the commotion. She threw on a long coat and went outside. At the kitchen door, Ji Cheng and his wife were only wrapped in cotton robes. Hongshi, bundled in Xin Xin's quilt, followed Ji An to the kitchen and peeked inside.
In the kitchen, Ji Mengshi was cursing loudly. "You want to make trouble? Well, today I won't hold back either. No matter how much I endure, outsiders still call me an evil mother-in-law. Since that's the case, I might as well live up to the name and not waste the effort you've put into it."
She grabbed a large winnowing basket and threw it on the ground. Then she scooped a dustpan of ashes from the stove and dumped them into the basket. Opening the cupboard, she pulled out a small sack of soybeans and mixed them into the ashes. Dragging Huang Shi, who had followed and knelt nearby weeping softly, she shoved her face into the ashes.
"Sort them. Starting today, you don't need to do anything else. Just sit here and pick out the beans for me."
Trying to mess with her! Ji Mengshi was so angry she felt half-dead, hands on her hips, panting heavily. By the time Ji Xinran arrived, her mother had just lifted her head from the ashes. Her face was streaked with tears, covered in straw ash, yet she was still sobbing.
"Mother…"
Ji Xinran rushed over, embraced the person, and also began to cry. Looking at the room full of people, Ji Cheng’s face darkened. Just as his eldest son was behind him, he turned and pointed toward the courtyard gate: “Go to the county and call your third uncle back. With the women in the household making such a fuss, he needn’t bother reading any more sage books.”
“No, please don’t,” Huang Shi cried out, crawling on her knees toward the door. “Eldest Brother, please don’t. I know I was wrong. In just a few months, my husband will be taking the Xiangshi.”
Zhushi fumed: “Third Sister-in-law, no one in the family has done anything to you. Kneeling at Mother’s door first thing in the morning—did you intend to frighten her? Is this how a daughter-in-law should behave?” Seeing her like this was truly inauspicious.
“Third Sister-in-law, since you’re well aware that Third Brother is about to take the Xiangshi, everything should be prioritized for his future.” Ji An looked at Huang Shi, a vague suspicion stirring in her heart. “Filial piety stands above all virtues. Do you think Third Brother could continue with the Imperial Examination if his household were tainted with a reputation for unfilial conduct?”
“No, no,” Huang Shi shook her head frantically, turning on her knees to face Ji Mengshi. “I didn’t mean to frighten Mother, I truly had no intention of scaring her. My husband had no choice but to engage in business outside, and Mother was furious. Husband and wife are one—I wanted to beg Mother for forgiveness. Mother—”
Ji An frowned. “Forgiveness?”
“My husband had no choice. What he did was also for the sake of family harmony. It’s not scarcity but inequality that breeds discontent. The Imperial Examination requires substantial expenses, and he couldn’t let the family keep favoring him indefinitely.” Huang Shi wept bitterly, gazing pitifully up at her mother-in-law.
“Stop mincing words here,” Hongshi caught the implication. “Make yourself clear. Who’s discontented with inequality? In this family, aside from your third branch stirring up trouble, who else has ever quarreled with anyone?”
Ji An let out a sigh and smiled. “Third Sister-in-law, so you and Third Brother have always been aware that the family has been favoring you all along. That puts my mind at ease.” She cast a cold glance at the woman. “If you’re only worried that Eldest Brother and Second Brother might resent this and bear grudges against Third Brother, that’s easy to resolve.
Today, Eldest Brother and Eldest Sister-in-law are here. Though Second Brother isn’t present, Second Sister-in-law and Xinyi are. Give them a promise: when Third Brother achieves success in the future, he will repay Father, Mother, and his two elder brothers tenfold, even a hundredfold. Otherwise, may his official career never prosper.”
Upon hearing this, Huang Shi froze, forgetting even to cry. Ji Xinran was astonished and turned to look at her younger aunt. Though there was a faint smile on her face, her eyes were calm. At this moment, she regarded them as if they were clowns on a stage.
Ji An did not avoid Ji Xinran’s gaze and continued, “Husband and wife are one, and Third Brother holds Third Sister-in-law in such high regard. The promise you give, I believe Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, and Xinyi will all trust it.”
Nudging the second sister-in-law beside her, Zhushi chimed in, “Third Sister-in-law, speak up. We’re all listening and will surely remember every word you say without missing a single one.”
“Third Sister-in-law, it turns out Second Sister-in-law misunderstood you and Third Brother all along. I always thought Third Brother had been spoiled and wouldn’t remember his parents’ kindness or brotherly affection. It was my narrow-mindedness—I apologize to you. Go ahead, my eldest son and I are listening.”
Hongshi felt a bit of admiration for her younger sister-in-law. After all, she had been raised meticulously by their parents—her mind was far more thorough than that of a simple woman like herself.
Seeing Huang Shi cornered and silent, Ji Mengshi felt her anger surge to the tip of her nose. She lifted her leg and kicked Huang Shi away, then stormed out of the kitchen in fury.
Ji Zhongming stood with his hands clasped behind his back at the entrance of the main hall, calmly observing the commotion unfolding before him. His earlier suspicions were now two parts more certain. Huang Shi’s provocation of his elderly wife was deliberate. However, today’s situation had taken an unexpected turn. In the past, whenever there was unrest in the household, a stir would inevitably arise in the village. This time, he was curious to see what kind of stir would follow.
In the kitchen, Huang Shi lay sprawled on the ground, unmoving for a long while after being kicked. Ji Xinran snapped out of her daze and cried out, “Mother!”
Ji An, standing motionless at the doorway, did not step forward. Her mother had been thoughtful—without that kick, Huang Shi would not have been able to feign her way out of this.
She turned to leave, but her heel had barely lifted before settling back down. She now understood the source of the inexplicable doubt she had felt earlier. In the book, before the Ji family split, Huang Shi was as timid as a steamed bun, easily manipulated and never fighting back when wronged. After Ji Xinran’s rebirth, under her “guidance,” Huang Shi gradually developed a temper.
After the family division, she seemed to mature overnight. Living with Ji Yan at the academy, she managed both household and external affairs with remarkable competence.
Turning back to look at the woman being held by Ji Xinran, who was pressing her philtrum, Ji An lowered her gaze.