With the interruption from the eldest sister-in-law, Ji An thought Huang Shi should have quickly taken the opportunity to put down her bundle and retreat to the kitchen for breakfast. Yet Huang Shi stood motionless, clutching the bundle tightly with both hands, her head bowed as if awaiting judgment, her slender body trembling uncontrollably.
Thwack
Ji Mengshi slapped the table and stood up abruptly, pointing at her and scolding, “After all these years of marriage into the Ji family, have I ever beaten you, scolded you, or deprived you of food and necessities? What grievance do you have early in the morning, putting on such a show for whom?”
Hongshi, who had just stepped through the door carrying a small bundle, was so startled by the sharp tone that she nearly drew her foot back. Seeing Huang Shi’s demeanor, she already understood what had happened without needing to ask.
Though inwardly disdainful, she still had to intervene on the surface. The third brother was studious and might rise to prominence at any moment.
“Mother, I heard you and Father are going to the county town. After the autumn harvest, aside from playing with Xin Xin, I haven’t had much else to do. In my spare time, I embroidered several dozen handkerchiefs. Could you please take them to the Embroidery Workshop for Shopkeeper Hao to look over? Whatever she offers will be fine.”
In her opinion, the Ji family’s life was already comfortable enough. Daily food and necessities were provided by the household, and in their free time, women like her could do some needlework, earning extra money without the mother-in-law taking a share. Huang Shi was truly too well-fed and had nothing better to do.
Ji An stood up and took the bundle handed over by her second sister-in-law.
With her hands free, Hongshi grabbed the large bundle Huang Shi was clutching tightly, placed it on the stool beside her leg, then pulled Huang Shi close. Smiling at Zhushi, she said, “Thank you for your hard work, eldest sister-in-law. Tomorrow it’ll be my turn. I’ve already ground two pecks of the new wheat, and I’m looking forward to making pancakes.”
“I’m craving them too. I’ll go to the vegetable patch later and cut two cabbages,” Zhushi replied, stealing a glance at her in-laws before deftly carrying the bowls and chopsticks toward the door.
Hongshi forcibly led Huang Shi out of the main room. Ji An flipped through the handkerchiefs embroidered by her second sister-in-law. The embroidery technique was nothing special, the patterns uninspired, with only the stitches being somewhat fine. Estimating based on the usual selling prices, each handkerchief might fetch about four coins.
After a moment of contemplation, Ji Xinran muttered softly, “Grandma, please calm down. My mother didn’t mean to upset you. She… she just doesn’t know how to please you. When you’re unhappy, she thinks that if she lets you scold her and vent your anger, everything will be fine.”
“Don’t you know how to speak properly either?” Ji Mengshi’s mood had now settled, and her gaze fell on her eldest granddaughter. Truly, like raises like! When she was younger, it wasn’t noticeable, but these past two years as Ran had grown up, she had become exactly like her mother, inside and out.
“Instead of learning something good, she had to pick up that petty, narrow-minded demeanor.”
“Mother, it’s getting late. We should set off,” Ji An said, putting the handkerchiefs back into the bundle. “We have a lot to do in town today. Elder brother still needs to weigh the tax grain this afternoon.”
Ji Zhongming stood up. “Better to leave early and return early.” Huang Shi’s inability to manage a household was the very reason he and his wife had strongly opposed her marriage into the family. But the third son had been adamant, and they could do nothing about it.
In life, one cannot rely solely on likes and dislikes; long-term considerations are necessary. Since the third son aspired to the Imperial Examination, character should have been prioritized when choosing a wife. Huang Shi’s petty and unrefined behavior made her unfit for formal occasions, which was a significant disadvantage for the third son’s future prospects.
Carrying a bellyful of anger, Ji Mengshi boarded the donkey cart. Ji An wanted to offer a few words of comfort but didn’t know where to start. She also couldn’t understand where Huang Shi got all those tears. Ji Yan’s taste in this regard had truly opened her eyes.
"Mother, what jewelry are you and Father planning to add for me today?"
Ji Mengshi let out a long sigh and grasped her daughter's hand, which was looped around her arm. "What do you want?"
Her daughter was thoughtful, but as she grew older, she also became the greatest worry for her parents. After all, once she married and left home, she would no longer be right before their eyes. If she suffered hardships or endured difficulties, they wouldn't be able to see it.
Ji An leaned her head against her mother's shoulder. "I want you and Father to stay healthy and live a long life."
"You always know how to sweet-talk." A glimmer of moisture flashed in Ji Mengshi's eyes, and a smile appeared on her face. She lowered her head close to her daughter's ear and whispered softly, "Your father and I have discussed it. Today, we're getting you a pair of Dragon and Phoenix Gold Bracelets. You can keep them tucked away as a solid asset."
Gold bracelets? Ji An was surprised. Were they preparing her dowry? She glanced to the right, but the carriage canopy blocked her view, preventing her from seeing her father and eldest brother. However, she could hear them discussing tax and grain matters.
"They're too expensive. Brother Yun will be getting married next year."
"You'll also be fourteen next year." Ji Mengshi shot her daughter a stern look. "Your father and I have our plans. We won't shortchange Brother Yun." A solid gold bracelet weighed two taels and cost twenty-one taels of silver. The old man said to buy a pair for the girl, using their own savings, which suited her just fine.
Hearing this, Ji An knew better than to be ungrateful. "I'll take care of you both in your old age."
Whether in her past life or this one, she had grown up in a nest of comfort, cherished by her father and doted on by her mother. In her past life, she had been deeply unfilial, passing away before her parents. In this life, she would take good care of herself and leave no regrets.
Zaoyu Cun was only three li from Dongxi Zhen. After leaving the town and heading east for another ten li, they arrived at Chiling Xian. They entered the city just as the morning market was in full swing. Stalls lined both sides of West Street, packed tightly together, with vendors' shouts overlapping one another. Ji Zhongming instructed his son to first take them to Qianxiu Xiufang.
Qianxiu Xiufang was located on East Street. The donkey cart continued straight along the street. After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the noise faded away. Compared to the clamor of West Street, East Street was much more orderly. The clothing of the pedestrians was also finer.
A quarter of an hour later, the donkey cart stopped under a large banyan tree. Qianxiu Xiufang was just thirty meters away. Past the embroidery workshop and another ten or so steps forward was Shuyue Lou. Ji Zhongming never failed to visit that building whenever he came to the county seat.
This Shuyue Lou was no ordinary place. It was spread across almost every prefecture, department, and county seat in Dajing, housing hundreds or even thousands of books. It was a place revered by scholars across the land. It was said that the master behind Shuyue Lou was the Zhang family of the capital.
Zhang Zhong, the Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet, was the current head of the Zhang family in the capital. Thinking of Zhang Zhong, Ji An, who had just stepped down from the donkey cart, couldn't help but frown. Counting on her fingers, Emperor Changping would pass away in another five years. He wasn't an easygoing ruler either—during his reign, he tightly held onto power, watching his sons vie for the throne until his health could no longer sustain him, only then designating a crown prince.
Less than a year after appointing the crown prince, he passed away, leaving several powerful and assertive senior ministers for the new emperor. Zhang Zhong was one of them.
The male lead's teacher was a student of Zhang Zhong. This was also why Zhan Yunhe, after graduating as a Hanlin Shujishi, could directly enter the Ministry of Personnel.
Ji An only wanted to live a peaceful life, but connecting Zhang Zhong, Shuyue Lou, and the Ministry of Personnel made her uneasy. Zhan Yunhe was Ji Xinran's husband, and Ji Xinran was her own niece by blood.
What a headache!
Watching his eldest son drive the cart away, Ji Zhongming led his wife and daughter toward the embroidery workshop.
"Oh, Juan Niang, I've finally been waiting for you." A round-faced elderly woman in a purple beizi, holding a young child by the hand, came forward to greet them: "Xiucai Gong, we meet again."
"Sister Hao," Ji Zhongming clasped his hands in a polite salute.
"No, no," the old woman, who was the manager of Qianxiu Xiufang, sidestepped the gesture: "I dare not accept such courtesy." As she spoke, her gaze fell behind Ji Mengshi.
Ji An was wearing a veiled hat today. Seeing Shopkeeper Hao look her way, she immediately lifted a corner of it: "How have you been lately?"
"My," Shopkeeper Hao's eyes lit up with admiration: "The girl is growing more and more beautiful. It's been a year since we last met—she must have grown at least two inches taller, hasn't she?"
Ji Mengshi pulled her daughter closer, smiling as she spoke to Shopkeeper Hao: "She's blossoming, so I brought her over quickly for you to see, lest you not recognize her in the future."
"How could I not recognize her? I've watched this girl grow up." Shopkeeper Hao gently stroked Ji An's braid hanging over her chest: "You two have come at just the right time. The shop has just received a batch of fabric from the south, prepared for the New Year festivities." She turned to Ji Mengshi, "Today, don't be polite with me. Pick out some good fabric to make a dress for the girl—it's on me."
"How could that be?" Ji Mengshi pretended to be displeased: "You mustn't do that. My daughter has enough love from her father and me. You," she leaned down toward the chubby child who was tilting his round head back, wide-eyed and curiously watching them, "should dote on this little one properly. Brother Tong, do you remember Auntie Ji?"
The chubby child pursed his little lips, stared at the face in front of him for a moment, then tilted his head and grinned at Ji An: "Sister." He pulled back his plump little hand, which had been held by his grandmother, and began rummaging inside his clothes.
Shopkeeper Hao knew what he was about to do. She crouched down, unable to resist hugging the little one tightly, pressing her lips to his chubby, tender cheek: "Grandma's precious little grandson, you still remember."
After some effort, the little chubby boy pulled out a brocade pouch tucked inside his clothes. Raising it high in his right hand, he exclaimed excitedly: "Father says Brother Tong is going to have a little sister." Spreading the fingers of his left hand, he added, "Brother Tong has saved six or seven copper coins to buy a kite to fly with his little sister."
Ji An leaned down: "Congratulations, Brother Tong. When Sister An returns, she will embroider a beautiful scent pouch for Brother Tong's little sister." The "Children Chasing Kites" brocade pouch the little one was holding was a gift she had given him last year. She hadn't expected him to still remember it.
"Mhmm, little sister will definitely like it just as much as Brother Tong does." The chubby child's eyes were clear and earnest, fixed unblinkingly on Ji An as he spoke very seriously: "Little sister will grow up to be just as beautiful as Sister."
"Haha!"
Shopkeeper Hao laughed heartily: "You and your father are sharing the same dream." She picked up her precious grandson and invited the mother and daughter into the shop. "Is Xiucai Gong still heading to Shuyue Tower?"
"Yes," Ji Zhongming escorted them to the entrance of the embroidery workshop.
"Shuyue Tower has been quite lively lately. A while ago, when the weather was overcast, scholars gathered there every day waiting for the autumn rain. Yesterday afternoon, it cleared up, and there are rumors that last year's Xiao Sanyuan from Fanzhou Prefecture, who accompanied his mother to Hanyin Temple to fulfill a vow, will also come to Shuyue Tower here later."
Where do those scholars get all that energy? Shopkeeper Hao couldn't help but envy them.
Few scholars are indifferent to the imperial examinations. Upon hearing about the Xiao Sanyuan from Fanzhou Prefecture, Ji Zhongming immediately knew who it was and, without lingering any longer, hurried toward Shuyue Tower.
Well, he's a true scholar through and through. Shopkeeper Hao, holding her grandson, smiled and returned to the counter. Ji Mengshi placed the work she had taken on two months earlier on the countertop: "Yatou, could you watch Brother Tong for a while?"
"Alright."
Ji An removed her Veiled Hat and stepped forward. Before she could get close, the chubby child already stretched out both hands toward her. Shopkeeper Hao laughed and scolded a couple of words, gave a light pat on the little one's bottom, then pulled open a drawer and grabbed a handful of copper coins: "A peddler will come later, take him to buy some snacks. I have business to discuss with your mother."
"I have copper coins." Ji An did not take them, instead carrying Brother Tong to sit on the embroidered stool by the door. The warm, gentle sunlight shone on her, feeling extremely comfortable.
The three-year-old Brother Tong knelt on Ji An's lap, both hands clutching her shoulders, his pink, tender little mouth close to her ear as he whispered secrets.
"Sister, yesterday my father secretly took me to Hanyin Temple to pray behind my mother's back. He told me to pray together with him, asking Buddha not to let my little sister look like him."
Her ear tickled, and hearing such amusing baby talk, Ji An rarely broke into a broad smile, the usual coolness between her brows instantly melting away. Brother Tong couldn't help but stretch out his chubby little finger to poke the dimple at the corner of her mouth.
Outside the door, horses approached on the street. The youth in black at the front had sword-like brows and phoenix eyes, a face as fair as jade, an expression of calm, his hair tied high with a cyan silk ribbon. As he passed, his peripheral gaze happened to catch that flash of joy. His eyes slightly narrowed, returning to their usual state in just an instant.
"Sister, don't laugh, listen to what I have to say." Ever since returning from Hanyin Temple, the chubby child had been very troubled. But his father had repeatedly begged him not to let his mother or nanny know about the praying.
Ji An suppressed her smile, trying hard to stay serious: "Alright, alright, you speak, sister is listening."
Outside, a young man riding a bay horse urged his mount forward with his legs to catch up with the one ahead: "Brother Mo, aren't we going to Shuyue Tower?"
The youth raised his eyes to look ahead: "When did I ever say we were going to Shuyue Tower?"
Another young man with narrow, long eyes on the right grew anxious: "Your great-grandfather said it. He said you accompanied your mother to Hanyin Temple to fulfill a vow and would stop by Shuyue Tower here on the way."
"You said it yourself—that was my great-grandfather speaking." The youth lowered his fan-like eyelashes, concealing the devouring darkness in his eyes, the veins on his hand gripping the reins protruding.
The narrow-eyed young man was taken aback: "So you just came to accompany your mother to fulfill her vow?"
The corner of his mouth lifted, the youth smiled. The surroundings suddenly seemed like snow beginning to melt, appearing warm but actually chilling to the bone. The narrow-eyed young man felt a cold shiver down his neck: "Don't smile."
The youth paid no heed, his smile remaining, the earlier darkness gone from his eyes: "My mother came to fulfill her vow. I came to end her wish."