The mourning hall had yet to be dismantled.
White funeral banners whipped in the early autumn wind. Wisps of smoke from the spent incense and candles curled upward, lingering like the last breath caught in a dead man’s throat, refusing to fade.
Weisheng He knelt on a cushion, her knees long since numb.
She had been kneeling ever since her husband’s coffin was brought home. The messenger who delivered the news said that on the return journey from a salt-trading trip, a violent storm had struck in the middle of the night. The crew had no time to react before the entire ship capsized.
Aside from her father-in-law and husband, few of the others traveling with them had survived.
At the time, she had been heavily pregnant and close to giving birth. The shock of the news brought on contractions.
The maids and matrons were so anxious that they burst into tears as they tried to help her into the delivery room.
But she stopped them.
In that moment, she was remarkably calm.
The road ahead was uncertain, with danger on every side.
She had no time to grieve.
Before the news could spread, she had to put everything in order.
Weisheng He stopped the maids and matrons from taking her to the delivery room, then ordered the household to keep the news sealed. She selected several trusted people and sent them out to deal with the family businesses and properties.
Only when the babies in her belly could wait no longer did she grit her teeth against the pain and enter the delivery room. After struggling through another four hours of labor, she finally gave birth to twin daughters, both tiny as kittens.
Nearly half a month later, news that the Li family men had drowned finally spread throughout Weiyang.
Her husband’s clansmen arrived in force.
They demanded explanations while claiming they had come to help.
Anyone could see that they had ulterior motives.
To guard against the worst, Weisheng He had no choice but to drag herself out of bed despite having given birth only recently. She personally directed the servants as they prepared the mourning hall and notified relatives and friends. Only after the coffins of her late husband and father-in-law were brought home did it finally come time for…
the funeral.
Members of the clan came and went. Some looked grief-stricken, while others were plainly observing and calculating.
A widow with four fatherless children, sitting on a fortune worth millions.
They were a rich prize ripe for the taking. Who wouldn’t covet them?
For the moment, however, everyone still had enough regard for the occasion not to make a move.
She could see what they were thinking, but she had no time to deal with them yet.
That day was for the funeral offerings.
After the guests had eaten at the banquet, they gradually began taking their leave.
Kneeling before the mourning hall, Weisheng He listened as the footsteps outside grew fewer and fewer, the sounds of carriages receding into the distance until only the wind rustling through the funeral banners remained.
Her mother crouched beside her and fed her a spoonful of water.
“Get up,” her mother said softly. “Everyone’s gone.”
Weisheng He’s knees felt as though they had been nailed to the floor.
Her maids, Shanhu and Meigui, each took one of her arms and helped her up. Even then, her legs trembled badly, numb and aching.
She gritted her teeth without making a sound.
Just then, the curtain to the mourning hall was lifted.
Li Boyong, the clan head, entered with the wives of three clan elders.
Third Aunt, Fifth Aunt, and Seventh Aunt.
The four of them wore expressions so eerily alike that it was almost unsettling.
Weisheng He knew that expression well. She had had the privilege of seeing it a few times since marrying into the family.
It was the expression they wore whenever they came to “discuss serious business.”
But in the Li family, “discussing serious business” really meant, “We’ve come to make the decision for you.”
Li Boyong walked in first. His gaze swept across Weisheng He’s face before landing on the coffin in the center of the mourning hall.
The coffin had not yet been carried away. It had to remain there for a full seven days.
His brows drew together slightly, as though he found the place unlucky.
“Yanming’s wife,” Li Boyong said. His tone was not particularly harsh, but every word landed like a heavy weight. “Sit. I have a few things to say to you.”
Weisheng He did not sit.
Her face was pale, dark shadows hung beneath her eyes, and she had grown as thin as a willow branch, as though the slightest breeze might make her sway. Yet her back remained unexpectedly straight.
Li Boyong did not seem to care. He took a seat on a nearby chair, and the three aunts followed suit.
Third Aunt patted the chair beside her.
“Yanming’s wife, sit down while we talk. There’s no sense standing there.”
Weisheng He still did not move.
Li Boyong glanced at her and cleared his throat.
“Yanming’s wife, how old are you this year? Twenty-one? Twenty-two?”
“Twenty-two,” Weisheng He said.
“Twenty-two.” Li Boyong nodded. “Young. Far too young. Now that Yanming is gone, he’s left you alone with four children. The eldest is only four, and the youngest are newborns. How are you supposed to manage everything by yourself?”
Weisheng He lowered her eyes and said nothing.
Li Boyong waited for a moment. When she still did not respond, he continued.
“The clan has discussed it. Our Li family has always accumulated virtue, done good deeds, and conducted ourselves honorably. Now that Yanming is gone, it wouldn’t be right to make you remain a widow for him. Widowhood is not an easy life. One or two years may be bearable, but after three or five, a woman’s bloom begins to fade. Besides, there’s no end to widowhood. Once you start down that road, it becomes difficult to turn back…”
He paused.
“Do you intend to remain a widow for the rest of your life?”
He stopped there, apparently waiting for Weisheng He’s reaction.
She remained silent.
Third Aunt could no longer hold herself back.
“Yanming’s wife, the clan head is thinking of what’s best for you. You’re still young, and Yanming loved you dearly. Surely he wouldn’t want you to spend your youth alone as his widow. Life isn’t easy for us women. When it’s time to think about our own future, we have to do it.”
“That’s right,” Fifth Aunt said. “You’re only twenty-two, in the prime of your life. You’re beautiful, and you can bear children. What good family couldn’t you find? But if you wait another three or five years until your beauty fades, you might not be able to marry even if you want to.”
“We’ve even found a family for you.” Seventh Aunt was the most direct. “The Zhou family in the east of the city. They’re in the silk business and quite wealthy. The man lost his wife, he’s just over forty, and he has only one daughter. If you marry him, you’ll be his lawful wife. And if you have another son or daughter, wouldn’t that be better than remaining a widow?”
The three women spoke one after another, leaving no room for anyone else to get a word in.
Weisheng He listened quietly without moving.
Only when they finally found the one-sided conversation dull did their voices gradually trail off.
“Finished?” Weisheng He scoffed.
All three women immediately fell silent.
Weisheng He turned her gaze toward Li Boyong.
“It must have been difficult for such a large clan, with so many old and young to worry about, to find a little free time in your busy schedules to plan the future for a widow and her orphaned children. I’m grateful for everyone’s concern, but I’ve already decided to observe mourning for Yanming. There’s no need for the clan to trouble itself over me.”
Li Boyong’s brows knitted even tighter.
“Observe mourning?” he said. “Observing mourning is all well and good, but how do you plan to manage four children by yourself? There’s only so much the clan can do to help you…”
“My parents intend to stay,” Weisheng He cut in.
“No matter what happens, this household can still afford the servants’ monthly wages. My parents only need to lend a hand with a few light tasks.
“Even if my parents are getting older, I still have my elder brothers and their wives, my younger brothers and sisters, and even my sisters and their husbands. There’s no need to trouble the clan. I know everyone in your large family must be terribly busy.”
Li Boyong clenched his teeth.
I never knew Yanming’s wife had such a sharp tongue!
He was furious, but he still forced himself to maintain a calm expression.
I haven’t accomplished what I came for yet. I can’t afford to make things too ugly now.
“You married into the Li family, so you are a member of the Li family.” Li Boyong waved a hand. “Your parents are outsiders. What sense does it make to trouble outsiders for help? If word gets out, what will happen to the Li family’s reputation?”
After a brief pause, his tone grew noticeably firmer.
“Only the Li family has the right to decide whether you stay or go.”
“There is no rule in the Li family stating that a wife must immediately remarry after her husband dies,” Weisheng He shot back.
Li Boyong’s expression darkened.
Before he could speak, someone lifted the curtain.
This time, it was Weisheng He’s husband’s stepmother, Madam Sun.