A neatly dressed steward stood in front of the white canopy and cupped his hands toward the carriage.
“I was sent by Madam Jia to set up this roadside memorial and see Eldest Master Li off.”
The Lin residence?
Shanhu froze for a moment, and then her eyes suddenly reddened.
She had not expected the Lin family to send anyone.
Back in the mourning hall, it had been Madam Jia who spoke up for Young Madam and supported her, saving her from being forced into remarriage.
And now, on the day of the burial, Madam Jia had even specially sent someone to arrange a roadside memorial.
This was more than mere courtesy.
It was a statement.
She was telling everyone that the Lin residence stood behind Weisheng He and her children.
Shanhu hurriedly carried Young Master An out of the carriage. She leaned close to his ear and quietly explained who the steward was and what his presence here meant.
Young Master An immediately became even more solemn and respectful.
The steward stepped forward and took a tray from the young servant behind him. Four red-lacquered wooden boxes rested on it.
He presented the tray with both hands.
“Madam said these are first-meeting gifts for the young masters and young misses.”
Shanhu quickly accepted them.
Young Master An cupped his hands, his little face taut as he tried to imitate an adult.
“Please convey my thanks, and my younger sisters’ thanks, to Madam Jia. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will certainly bring my sisters to pay her a visit.”
Then he looked at Shanhu.
“Thank you for making this trip.” Shanhu bowed to the steward. “Young Madam specifically sent one of our household stewards ahead to arrange a place for us to rest not far from here. Why don’t you travel with us a little farther? You could at least have some tea and quench your thirst.”
The steward waved his hands.
“No, no. Madam is still waiting for me to return and report back. I won’t delay the funeral procession.”
With that, he took his leave.
Once he was gone, Shanhu carried Young Master An back into the carriage.
The carriage wheels clattered as the procession continued onward.
The unexpected encounter had improved Young Master An’s mood.
Curious, he opened the wooden boxes.
Inside lay four jade pendants.
Two were white jade and two were green jade. All four were made from excellent material, with exquisite carving that made it obvious they were worth a great deal.
Beneath each pendant was a small slip of paper bearing the child’s name and a blessing.
The burial rites were complicated and lengthy.
Consecrating the spirit tablets, setting them in place, making offerings, mourning before the dead…
Young Master An knelt before the grave, tears slipping silently down his face.
Shanhu, however, quickly noticed that as time passed, his complexion grew paler and paler.
He was clearly nearing his limit.
She called over one of the young male servants and told him to stand beside Young Master An so the boy could lean against his leg for support.
The servant immediately hurried over.
But Young Master An was stubborn.
He felt that if he took it easy during his father’s funeral, he would be unfilial.
So he forced his back straight and refused to lean against the servant.
Watching from a distance, Shanhu’s heart ached so badly that she wished she could take his place.
Fortunately, the ceremony was almost over.
Once the rites ended, the Li clansmen gradually began to disperse.
Li Yanzhao walked over and stopped in front of Young Master An, looking down at him.
He was twenty-six that year, broad and sturdy, with a face that resembled Li Boyong’s by seven parts, though he lacked some of his father’s shrewdness.
“Remember to tell your mother when you get back,” he said with a smile that did not reach his eyes, “that she should enjoy these three years of mourning while she can. Once the mourning period ends…”
He bent down and leaned close to Young Master An’s ear.
“Her good days will be over.”
Shanhu rushed over and shoved him away.
“You shameless thug! What did you say to Young Master An?”
Li Yanzhao could not even be bothered to look at her again.
He brushed the dust from his robe and strode away.
Furious, Shanhu turned around and gave the accompanying servants a thorough scolding.
They could only stand there obediently and endure it.
Then Shanhu looked at Young Master An.
“What did that bastard Li Yanzhao say to you? Can you tell Jiejie?”
Young Master An shook his head.
“It was nothing.”
Seeing her worry, he explained softly, “I’ll tell Mother when we get back. Jiejie, don’t worry.”
Only then did Shanhu relax.
Three years.
Li Boyong has given me three years.
No. More precisely, I have twenty-seven months of mourning left.
Once the mourning period ends, they’ll force me to marry.
This time, I won’t be lucky enough to have some powerful nobleman Li Boyong fears suddenly appear and speak up for me.
Weisheng He sent Shanhu to invite her parents over.
They were staying in the courtyard next door.
They had agreed not to return home until after the coffins were buried. During that time, they could help run errands and look after the children.
“What happened?”
The moment Weisheng He’s father entered, he asked, “Did something go wrong with the burial?”
“No.”
Weisheng He invited her parents to sit and repeated what Li Yanzhao had said.
By the time her father finished listening, he was so furious that his beard practically bristled.
“That bastard! Three years from now? Whether my daughter remarries three years from now is something we, her parents, should be considering. What business is it of theirs?”
“Father, don’t get worked up yet.”
“I know exactly what they’re planning.”
Weisheng He poured him a cup of tea.
“The Li family businesses were disposed of long ago, so they didn’t get any benefit from them. Naturally, they resent me for it. But they don’t have anything they can use against me, so all they can do is make trouble over my remarriage.”
“I am, after all, the widow of a Li man. According to the customs here, the clan does have some right to interfere in my marriage.”
That was simply a fact.
Her parents exchanged a look and fell silent.
“But interfere is all they can do.”
There was no trace of worry on Weisheng He’s face.
“If my husband’s family and my maiden family disagree over whom I should marry, the law will favor my maiden family.”
In this era, parents held overwhelming authority over their children’s marriages.
Proper parents-in-law might still have grounds to argue.
But a stepmother-in-law of questionable conduct and clansmen from her late husband’s family?
People would laugh at the very idea.
“So I have a plan.”
Weisheng He spread several sheets of paper across the table. A few lines had been written on them.
“I’ve decided to remarry.”
“But as for the candidate, I’ll have to trouble Father and Mother to help me find one.”
“Just like before, I’ll list my requirements.”
Weisheng He pointed to the first one.
“First, he has to be wealthy enough.”
“I have a large sum of money from selling the Li family businesses. But that money belongs to the four children. After I remarry, I can’t live off their inheritance.”
“The man I marry must have money of his own. Ideally, he should be wealthy enough that he wouldn’t even bother coveting the Li family fortune.”
“Second, he must agree to let me bring all four children with me.”
“Not one of them can be left behind.”
“Third, he must be powerful enough to keep the Li family in check.”
“The Li family won’t let me go easily. Once the three-year mourning period ends, they’ll definitely try every possible way to force me to marry the man they choose.”
“The man I choose must be more powerful than the Li family, powerful enough that they won’t dare touch me.”
“This is the most important requirement.”
“Fourth, preferably, he should be an official.”
Weisheng He paused.
“After Yanming’s funeral, I finally understood something.”
She raised her head and looked at her parents.
“In this world, power is more useful than money.”
Was the Li family wealthy?
Of course.
They were the largest salt merchants in Weiyang, with an enormous fortune.
Yet in front of Lin Ruhai, Li Boyong, who had already been arrogant enough to treat the Li family fortune as something that naturally belonged to the clan, had barely dared to breathe.
Why?
Because Lin Ruhai possessed the authority to determine whether merchants like them prospered or perished.
No matter how wealthy the Li family was, they were still merchants.
Their fate depended on the whims of those in power.
“So,” Weisheng He said, “if I have a choice, I’ll give priority to marrying an official.”
Her father frowned.
“An official…”
“Why would an official want to marry a widow with four children?”