“I won’t hold what happened in the mourning hall against you,” Weisheng He said slowly. “While you observe mourning in the residence, I won’t cut back on your food, clothing, or daily expenses either.”
“But that is on the condition that you truly stay here and behave yourself while observing mourning.”
“No trying to leave the residence, no exchanging letters or messages with disreputable men outside, and no leaking information about what happens in this household.”
“Otherwise…”
“Mother, you should know that everyone in this residence answers to me.” Weisheng He looked coldly at Madam Sun. “If you continue with those underhanded little schemes, don’t blame me for cutting off all your contact with the outside world. I can also stop your monthly allowance and let you experience what it’s like to pay out of your own pocket for every bowl of rice and every mouthful of porridge.”
Madam Sun’s expression changed sharply.
“You…”
“I know what you’re thinking,” Weisheng He cut her off. “You think you’re my elder. Even if I don’t show you filial respect, I still shouldn’t interfere with you, much less have any right to control what you do.”
“Before the funeral, I really wouldn’t have interfered.”
“I’ve never believed that a woman must remain faithful to one husband for the rest of her life.”
“But after the funeral…”
“Mother, surely you haven’t forgotten what you did yourself? Do you really think I still see you as an elder worthy of respect?”
She lifted her teacup and gently blew the floating leaves away from the surface.
“You have no children in the Li family. Now that Father is gone, you have no one in the clan to rely on. If all you wanted was to remarry, I could understand that. I’d even support you.”
“But what did you do instead?”
Madam Sun’s face immediately flushed red. Her lips moved several times, but no words came out.
“Besides, you were foolish.”
Weisheng He set down her teacup.
“Wanting to secure a way out for yourself is only natural. But Mother, you chose the wrong people to depend on. Now that you’re no longer useful to them, has anyone bothered to care whether you live or die?”
“You’ve already fallen into my hands. I can deal with you however I please.”
“Mother, behave yourself.”
“Don’t test my limits, or you’ll get an early taste of just how miserable your later years could become.”
Madam Sun’s eyes reddened.
“Then tell me what I’m supposed to do!” Her voice finally lost its usual softness, turning sharp and frantic. “I have no children. Your father-in-law is gone. What am I in this household now? When your children grow up, will they even see me as their grandmother? If I don’t find a way out for myself, am I supposed to sit here and wait to die?”
Weisheng He stared at her in disbelief.
Did she not hear a single word I just said? I don’t care whether she remarries or not!
“You’re crossing the line.”
“And do you really think your life after remarriage would be better than remaining a widow in the Li family?” Weisheng He asked.
“Anything would be better than wasting away here!”
“Then have you ever thought about what your life would actually be like after you remarry?” Weisheng He felt as though she were practically radiating saintly benevolence. “You’re twenty-five and have no children. You’ve spent your entire monthly allowance as soon as you received it all these years, on food, clothes, jewelry, and sending money back to your maiden family. You don’t have any savings.”
“What about your dowry? Surely you don’t expect the Li family to provide one. How much did Li Boyong privately promise to give you?”
“And another thing…”
“You’re used to an easy life with no mother-in-law above you, no sisters-in-law to deal with, and no unmarried sisters of your husband making trouble for you. Is the family you found in private really just like the Li family? Would you not have to serve your parents-in-law or deal with your husband’s sisters and brothers’ wives?”
“And most importantly, has the man never been married before? Does he already have children? Sons or daughters?”
By the time she reached that point, Madam Sun’s face had gone ashen.
“So he does have children. Probably a son too.” Weisheng He was speechless. “Well, at least you won’t have to worry about anyone pressuring you to give birth after you marry him.”
“But can you guarantee you’ll never have a child of your own? If you do, how will the family property be divided later? And if you don’t, what difference is there between remaining a widow in the Li family and remarrying?”
“Except that the latter would be harder, more exhausting, and more troublesome.”
Weisheng He looked directly at Madam Sun and enunciated each word.
“Do you really think that’s the life you want?”
Tears fell from Madam Sun’s eyes.
“I don’t care what you say.” She wiped her face. “I’m not staying here as a widow for the rest of my life.”
Weisheng He shrugged.
“Do whatever you want.”
“As long as you behave yourself for the next few years and don’t cause trouble for me, once the mourning period is over, you can do whatever you like. It has nothing to do with me.”
Forget Madam Sun. I’m not planning to remain a widow either.
The Li family isn’t some kindhearted household.
And I have money in my hands. If I stay here, I might lose my life one day without even knowing how it happened.
If Madam Sun were willing to remain as an elder of the household, then…
Forget it. There’s no reason to force her.
Breaking up someone else’s marriage is the kind of thing that gets you struck by lightning!
Madam Sun’s face was full of mockery. She clearly did not believe a word Weisheng He said.
After waiting for a while and realizing Weisheng He apparently had nothing more to say, however, her expression turned bewildered instead.
She hesitated before getting to her feet and taking her leave.
Shanhu followed her all the way to the courtyard gate.
“Young Madam,” Shanhu said in a lowered voice after returning, “I’ve stationed two matrons outside Madam Sun’s courtyard.”
“Good.” Weisheng He nodded. “From today onward, she is not to meet anyone from outside. No one is allowed to send her anything, and she is not allowed to send anything out.”
“Replace every servant in her courtyard with one of our own people.”
“If anyone dares pass a message outside for her, throw them out.”
“Yes.”
In the blink of an eye, the day of the burial arrived.
The Li family sent people to escort the coffins of Weisheng He’s father-in-law and husband to the ancestral cemetery.
The cemetery lay twenty li outside the city at Lijiagang, on a shaded hillside where several generations of the Li family had been buried.
Weisheng He could not go.
Her eldest son, however, had to accompany the funeral procession to carry the mourning banner and smash the funerary basin.
Worried that something might happen to him, Weisheng He specifically assigned four sturdy young male servants to stay by his side and protect him at all times.
As an additional precaution, she hired another eight strong men to follow at the very rear of the procession. If anyone ahead gave a warning, they were to rush into the procession immediately.
When Li Boyong saw such an extravagant security detail, he was so furious that his smile did not reach his eyes.
The look he gave Weisheng He was especially cold and unsettling.
So what did that matter to me?
Weisheng He met his gaze calmly.
“Does the clan head have any instructions for me?”
Li Boyong was so angry that he turned around and walked away.
A long line of carriages departed from the Li residence and headed toward the outskirts of the city.
Autumn in Weiyang was beautiful.
The ginkgo leaves along the road had turned yellow, glowing faintly golden beneath the sunlight. The sweet fragrance of osmanthus drifted through the air, faint and elusive, impossible to trace to any one direction.
Once they left the city, however, the road immediately became much worse.
The carriage jolted badly.
Afraid Young Master An would feel uncomfortable, Shanhu placed two soft cushions beneath him.
“Young Master An, why don’t you sleep for a while?”
Young Master An shook his head.
He did not want to sleep.
Seeing how uncomfortable he looked made Shanhu’s heart ache.
But there was nothing she could do.
I can’t exactly bring the dead back to life.
She was still wondering how she might cheer him up when the carriage suddenly stopped.
“What happened?” Shanhu leaned out to ask.
The driver’s voice came from outside.
“There’s a roadside memorial ahead.”
“A roadside memorial?”
Young Master An squeezed his head out from beside Shanhu’s waist.
At a glance, he saw a plain white canopy erected beside the road.
Beneath it stood an altar table covered with incense, offerings, and several bolts of undyed silk.