Qin-shi was in her early forties this year; loving beauty and fond of dressing up, she retained a lingering charm. Her slender eyebrows were finely drawn, her lips painted a deep red rouge, and her dark hair was bound loosely on the side, pinned with a brass-colored engraved hairpin inlaid with stones.
This was the familiar face that had scolded and beaten her for over a decade.
Shen Mingyu was so terrified that she hurriedly tried to shut the door, but the woman blocked it and began shouting abuses at the top of her lungs: “Well, look at you, Shen Mingyu! I provided you with food and clothes, never expecting to raise a white-eyed wolf who dared to run all the way here behind my back! Come back with me, and see if I don’t give you a proper thrashing!”
Qin-shi grabbed her thin, frail wrist bone in a vice-like grip.
Shen Mingyu pried at the door with all her strength: “Mother, I’m not going!”
“So you still know I’m your mother! You little beast who remembers to eat but forgets gratitude, I raised you to this age, and it’s time you repaid me! Do the whole family’s food, drink, and basic needs not cost money? Does your younger sister’s marriage not require a dowry? No matter what today, you must go to Master Zhang’s house for me, otherwise I’ll make you suffer!”
“That Master Zhang is already fifty, even older than Father! I’m not going! If anyone is to marry him… Mother, you marry him yourself!”
“You!”
Qin-shi trembled with rage, grabbing a broom from the side to strike her.
Yet as the whip-like swing came down, Shen Mingyu dodged it nimbly.
Her body was as slippery as a cunning fish. Qin-shi grew even more furious, raising the broom and chasing her all around the courtyard.
She thought it would be like before—that once Shen Mingyu grew tired from running, she could beat her. Yet this time, the young woman suddenly turned around and firmly caught the falling broom.
Shen Mingyu had pushed the stone mill for several years after all; though she looked thin and small, her strength was by no means weak—with a single snatch, she pulled the broom right out of her hands.
“You, you, you! Unfilial creature, are you trying to rebel?!”
Qin-shi was startled, suddenly realizing that this little beast had grown up and she could no longer beat her.
“I provided you with food and clothes, raising you to this age! Say what you will, you must compensate me with money! Who told you to jump off the bridal sedan and run away? Master Zhang demands a person from me and I can’t deliver!”
“If you don’t give it, I will spread these scandalous matters everywhere, and see how you live your life then!”
Qin-shi demanded money hysterically, tearing off all pretense of affection, which left Shen Mingyu feeling even more bewildered—both she and her younger sister were born of the same mother, both were her mother’s daughters, so why did her mother only love one of them?
From childhood to adulthood, her mother only commanded her to work; when she grew older, she had to push the stone mill, and if she slacked off, she would be beaten. Yet her sister could act spoiled and lie in the courtyard soaking up the sun every day. Whenever her mother had good things, she would secretly give them to her sister, instructing her to be careful because Mingyu might steal them.
Shen Mingyu swallowed back the water swelling in her eyes.
So many years had passed; she had struggled to live, and even without a mother or a family, she would plan a way forward for herself, living each day grounded in reality.
Exhaling a long breath, Shen Mingyu looked at this beautiful woman. Whatever the case, she had raised her after all. “How much money do you want?”
Hearing this, Qin-shi ceased her hostility, her eyes rolling stealthily.
“Twenty taels.” The other party held up two fingers.
“Twenty? Selling me wouldn’t bring in that much money!” Shen Mingyu immediately refuted.
Qin-shi pulled at her sleeves and cleared her throat: “When I betrothed you to Master Zhang back then, he gave me fifteen taels in betrothal gifts! My hard-raised daughter went missing, and not only did my money vanish, but I spent over half a year looking for you! Say what you will, twenty taels is what I deserve!”
“If you don’t give it, I’ll squat right here and refuse to leave! I’ll tell all the people in your village and let them all come watch the disgrace!”
Shen Mingyu was thoroughly infuriated; she hadn’t expected such an exorbitant demand. Still, she had long known her mother’s true nature, but she didn’t want to be a foolish victim either.
“Twenty taels—no matter how you demand it, I don’t have it. Where would I get so much money?”
“Go borrow it from someone! Haven’t you married into a family? Surely there are betrothal gifts left? And your wild man’s relatives…”
No matter what Qin-shi said, Shen Mingyu refused to give in, standing there tightly hugging her bundle.
With someone blocking the way, it was naturally impossible to leave. Seeing that the time for school was drawing near, Shen Mingyu’s mind raced, pondering how to break free.
Yet right at this moment, the courtyard gate clicked open, and Pei Shumin returned carrying a basket full of firewood on his back.
Pei Shumin searched through trunks and drawers, taking quite a while to assemble fifteen taels of silver. Finally, he rummaged around again, making a clinking sound as he carried out two bolts of coarse blue fabric, pouring the scattered silver and copper coins with a rustle into the other woman’s palm.
Qin-shi kept her eyes glued to the money, counting it over and over: “How come it’s only seventeen taels?”
“You’ve seen this house of mine—bare walls all around. The remaining money really can’t be squeezed out, so take the fabric to make up the rest.”
Pei Shumin glanced toward the corner cabinet. “And those two flower vases—you can take those with you as well.”
The two flower vases on the corner cabinet had been picked up from who-knows-where, their finish looking somewhat old. But considering they were white-glazed porcelain fired from folk kilns, they could barely be accepted; scattered together, it amounted to twenty taels.
Qin-shi still pursed her lips: “It’s all worthless junk; how can it compare to genuine, solid silver?”
Pei Shumin remained silent.
Qin-shi thought for a moment—something was better than nothing. Looking at this thatch-roofed house with bare walls, it truly couldn’t compare to Master Zhang’s household.
She stashed the silver into her pocket, slung the fabric over her shoulder, cradled the two flower vases tightly, and grinned widely, just about to leave when Pei Shumin suddenly blocked her: “Wait a moment. A written agreement still needs to be drawn up.”
An incense stick’s time later, Qin-shi put her mark on the paper written by Pei Shumin—on that sheet, in stark black characters on white paper, it stated that twenty taels settled the debt of nurture and birth, and once paid in full, mother and daughter would have no further ties.
Qin-shi originally didn’t want to press her thumbprint; this man looked handsome and harmless, yet she hadn’t expected him to calculate so meticulously and haggle over every detail! But if she didn’t press her print, he wouldn’t let her take the money.
Ah, whatever. Now that the money was in hand, selling her daughter to anyone was still selling her. Although the little beast she raised was a white-eyed wolf, at least the man actually paid the money.
Thus, Qin-shi pressed her mark, glared at them, tucked her things away, and walked off.
“Master Pei, did you give her all our family assets?”
“Don’t worry, I still kept a few broken pieces of silver. We won’t end up starving.”
Pei Shumin knew what she was worried about. He could also tell that the other woman was insatiably greedy, which was why he hadn’t given everything, using some old items as collateral instead, precisely to show that their hands were tight and there was no extra spare money.
However, she was Mingyu’s mother after all and had raised her to this age; in reason and fairness, he ought to give this mother-in-law some money. He could also see that she did not actually love her daughter, so this once, using twenty taels to clear the debt of nurture she constantly preached about was worth it.
Pei Shumin picked up the paper on the table, looking at the written agreement and thumbprint upon it, slowly raising his eyes as he noticed a faint anomaly.
His mother-in-law was literate.
She did not seem like the ordinary village woman in Mingyu’s descriptions.
After giving the money to Qin-shi, there was not much usable silver left at home, and Pei Shumin’s savings were reduced to merely a few taels.
Not long ago, the business he had set up with Uncle Zhang was gaining momentum. He had originally intended to invest this money into the trade, signing contracts with some merchants coming from the north. But now that the business was at hand, funds were insufficient again, making progress a major obstacle.
At night, Shen Mingyu carried a water basin into the room and saw him sitting before the dim oil lamp with folded hands in deep thought, his messy hair lightly covering his brow, concealing his slightly furrowed forehead.
Shen Mingyu glanced over and set down the water basin.
She bit her lip and rubbed the cloth, dipping her hands in the hot water again and again.
She kept staring blankly at the rippling surface of the basin.
Her reflection in the water was sometimes blurred and sometimes clear, appearing extraordinarily ethereal in the candlelight. Yet she seemed to see the red veil lifted by Master Pei at their wedding, and that hand holding hers tightly as they walked the mountain path to go to school.
The young woman wrung out the coarse cloth and covered her face deeply with it.
A quarter of an hour later, the cloth slid into the water, and no figure remained before the wooden stand.
She had already slipped to Pei Shumin’s side, grabbing his sleeve and suddenly saying: “Master Pei, how about I give you my money!”
Pei Shumin stopped his brush and turned to look at her.
Shen Mingyu continued with radiant excitement: “The thirty taels of betrothal gifts you gave me—I’ve kept it all well saved!”
She patted her small chest, so full of confidence. Pei Shumin looked at her quietly, gazing at the young woman before him—the wife he had married, standing under such a humble thatched roof, an indescribable feeling surging in his heart.
He quickly turned his eyes away and said softly: “Mingyu, I don’t need it.”
“Why?” Shen Mingyu was puzzled: “It was originally your money. Now that you’re short, just take it to use.”
Silence lingered in the room for a moment. She did not receive an answer from Pei Shumin, but instead saw him rise and gather her into his embrace.
She felt his warm palm rubbing her head, their temples pressing together so closely it made her feel drowsy… Only after a very long time did Pei Shumin’s deep voice sound: “You’ve suffered with me. I’ll find a way to get the money myself. What was given to you is yours; don’t return it.”
In Shen Mingyu’s eyes, Master Pei had always been resourceful. She didn’t know where he managed to obtain another sum of money, but he actually restarted his business operations once more.
With Master Pei’s business taken care of, she could attend the academy with an even greater peace of mind.
On the last day of October, the old village tutor collected the calligraphy sheets written by everyone, reviewing them one by one before stroking his long beard to give comments to each person.
When he got to Shen Mingyu’s, he said: “I didn’t expect that in the short time since you entered the academy, your handwriting has already achieved small success, full of flavor—as if pressing through the paper and penetrating deep into the wood. In this old man’s view, it can be considered upper-middle tier. Go back and practice more; don’t let it grow rusty.”
Shen Mingyu scratched her head, feeling embarrassed by his praise.
Most of the time, her brush technique was taught by Master Pei.
The old village tutor had never seen Master Pei’s handwriting; she couldn’t help thinking that Master Pei’s writing was what truly deserved praise! His characters were like silver hooks and iron strokes, finished with a swift rustle of his brush tip. When she saw how beautiful it was and tried to learn it, she could never grasp the essence—it was only later that Master Pei held her hand and taught her step-by-step.
Today Master Pei had gone to Pingyang County. Because he had informed her before leaving this morning, he wouldn’t come to pick her up in the evening.
Therefore, after school was dismissed, Shen Mingyu stayed a bit longer, pondering over the poems taught by the tutor.
Only when almost all of her classmates had left one after another did she rise, neatly packing her things into her small bundle.
Shen Mingyu walked out to the outer corridor. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly heard the old tutor calling her.
“Mingyu, you are a clever child. You entered the school late, and at first, I was afraid you wouldn’t keep up with everyone’s pace, but I didn’t expect that over this period of time, you would be so diligent and learn so quickly.”
“It’s all thanks to the Master’s good teaching.” The young woman smiled bashfully, revealing two shallow dimples on her cheeks.
As a teacher, nothing was more gratifying than having an outstanding pupil under one’s guidance; the old tutor likewise stroked his beard in contentment.
He suddenly recalled another matter, looked around to see no one nearby, and whispered: “By the way, the tuition fee you paid upon entry was for two months, and in the blink of an eye it’s passing by. Today is the last day—do you plan to continue attending school? Do you still want to learn?”
The tuition fee back then was paid by Master Pei, and Shen Mingyu only now realized that two months had passed so quickly.
Now, step by step, she had learned to recognize characters and write them, and could even recite poems beyond her expectations.
She knew that within scholarship lay an even higher tier: reading books and composing essays. She had seen people who wrote essays, and during her days at the academy, she had also heard the old tutor speak of a female scholar. That female tutor could write essays herself, becoming the person she admired most in her small dreams.
However, it seemed she could only learn up to this point. Master Pei was very busy, running about for his livelihood, so she had to return home to take on some work as well.
Lost in thought, the young woman slowly lowered her head.
Finally raising her eyes, she shook her head obediently at the old tutor: “Thank you, Master, for your guidance over these two months; Mingyu has already learned a lot. I won’t be coming to the academy after this. Master, please take good care of your health.”
The old village tutor let out a sigh, unsure whether it was regret or something else.
In the end, he merely watched that thin, small figure walk out the door of the private school.
Not far from the academy was the Chen Village market, surging with crowds of people.
Yet at this moment, in a corner unnoticed by anyone, several shadows lying in ambush in the dark were staring fixedly at the young woman walking out with her bundle on her back.