The night brought fierce wind and rain; though the day had been bright and sunny, by evening dark clouds loomed overhead, casting a heavy gloom. Torrential rain beat against the window lattice. Second Madam Ding rose to fasten the window latch once more before returning to bed to sleep beside her daughter.
Mi Niang had slept too much during the day and now found herself unable to drift off. She opened her eyes and glanced around the room—it was exceedingly simple, containing nothing but books, a bed, and a few worn rosewood chests.
In truth, their family had not always been like this. Especially during her great-grandfather’s generation, though they were of a collateral branch, the household had been quite prosperous. Her great-grandfather had once been recommended as a tribute student and later served as a county magistrate under the administration of Daming Prefecture. Besides this ancestral home, the family estate included woodlands, sandy fields, and fertile farmland. According to her grandmother, when she married into the family, there had been fifty or sixty servants in the household.
But later, her grandfather failed to succeed in his studies and developed a fondness for gambling and card games, nearly squandering the family fortune.
By the time of her uncle and father’s generation, her uncle had passed the county-level examination but failed the prefectural exam three times, falling seriously ill afterward. The family simply could not afford to support him further, so he turned to trade, running a small business in Jiangling County and rarely returning home.
Compared to his elder brother, her father, Ruan Jiading, showed real promise as a scholar. By the age of fifteen, he had passed both the county and prefectural exams, earning the title of tong sheng. However, burdened by his father’s debts, he was forced to mortgage the hundred mu of farmland left to him by the old master to redeem the ancestral home, eventually selling the land as well. Left in dire poverty, the family could no longer support a scholar, so he abandoned his studies and took up a position teaching young children at the community school.
It was there, of course, that Father met Mother. He heard that Mother had lost both her parents and was living with her uncle and aunt, who often mistreated her, beating or scolding her. Living under someone else’s roof, she toiled day and night in the fields and at the loom, leading a very difficult life.
Even the one favorable marriage arrangement made by her parents before their passing was taken over by her cousin, who married into the family instead. As an orphaned girl with no dowry, no family background, and no siblings, Mother earned much sympathy in the village.
Mother was skilled in the kitchen, so the community school’s headman promptly hired her to cook for the children.
One was down on his luck and disheartened; the other was beautiful and lonely. And so, the two came together.
Ruan Jiading did not mind that Mother, née Lu, had no dowry. He simply admired her kind heart, her diligence in managing the household, her gentle nature, and her great beauty. For her part, Lu admired Ruan Jiading’s character and talent.
Yet it was clear that Ruan Jiading, as a scholar, had rejected invitations from wealthy merchants to marry the orphaned Lu. Pursuing scholarly studies required money, and with Lu bringing no dowry, the couple’s life was strained.
Especially after Ruan Jiading left to study at the academy, losing the income from the community school, the family relied entirely on Second Madam Ding’s embroidery work to make ends meet, plunging them into even deeper poverty.
"Mother, when will Father return?"
Hearing the childish voice beside her, Second Madam Ding also thought of her husband, far away at the academy. A rare smile touched her lips. "Your father will return for the New Year. What’s the matter? Do you miss him?"
Before Mi Niang could respond, Second Madam Ding chuckled. "You must be thinking about the candied hawthorns he’ll bring, right?"
"Mother!" How annoying—was she really such a glutton as a child? Why did everything Mother say seem to revolve around her love of food?
But then, Second Madam Ding quickly added, "Tomorrow, Mother will go out. You don’t have to wait for your father to come back—I’ll buy you candied hawthorns myself. My little Mi Niang should always stay sweet and carefree."
Mi Niang had finally been reborn, and she truly didn't want to be apart from her mother for even a moment. Without a second thought, she said, "No, I want to follow Mother. Wherever Mother goes, I'll go."
"Alright, alright, alright," Second Madam Ding agreed verbally, but in her heart, she thought that this little chubby pig would be too deep in sleep to wake up early tomorrow morning. So, while she seemed to comply on the surface, she actually had no intention of taking her daughter out.
But unexpectedly, as soon as she moved in the morning, the little chubby girl sat up in bed, clinging to her and deliberately acting coquettishly: "Mother, my dear Mother, please take me with you."
Unable to shake her off, Second Madam Ding had no choice but to agree: "Alright, Mother will take you, but you mustn't make a fuss."
Mi Niang quickly promised: "I'll be good, I promise I won't run around."
After the mother and daughter dressed, they quietly slipped out the door. At that moment, only Granny Hao was guarding the entrance. Seeing it was them, she hurried over and whispered, "Second Madam, the Master and Old Madam played cards until midnight last night and haven't gotten up yet this morning. Still, you should go and return quickly."
Second Madam Ding whispered her thanks and added, "I'll bring something nice for you when I return."
"Then I thank Second Madam in advance," Granny Hao said with a smile.
The Old Madam at home held onto the silver tightly and never spent it, while the Old Master was skilled at freeloading, often going to the clan or visiting families who had good relations with the Old Master in the past to scrounge money. Both of them were as stingy as could be.
The three servants who remained in the Ruan family were all homeless, only seeking a meal to survive and hoping for support in their old age. As for monthly wages, they had never received any. Of course, if it weren't for this, these people would have left long ago.
Mi Niang and Second Madam Ding went out together. As the mother and daughter walked to the ferry crossing, it was already crowded with vendors carrying loads on shoulder poles and many passengers waiting to cross the river. This was all very new to Mi Niang.
"Mother, look, fish," she said, pointing at the fish basket of a vendor ahead.
The fish basket was filled with fish, likely to be sold in the city, and they were still lively and jumping.
Second Madam Ding laughed: "When your father returns, I'll have him catch fish for you to eat."
"Father knows how to catch fish?" Mi Niang was quite puzzled.
In her memory, her father was a very typical scholar, adhering to the principle that a gentleman stays away from the kitchen. She never imagined he could do something like catching fish.
Second Madam Ding said proudly, "Not just catching fish—your father, even the Dragon King couldn't take him away."
After saying this, Second Madam Ding saw the ferry approaching and quickly picked up her daughter to secure a spot. Since they weren't carrying any goods, the boatman charged them two coins. Mi Niang didn't know why her mother was going to the city. Was it to the embroidery workshop? But there were still unfinished embroidery pieces at home! Her mother usually focused more on weaving cloth, as embroidery wasn't something just anyone could do. Especially since the major embroidery workshops had plenty of their own embroiderers, how could they consistently rely on outsiders?
As the boatman rowed, Mi Niang, having woken up too early, grew drowsy again. She didn't wake up until they arrived at Jiangling County town.
In the bustling county town, Second Madam Ding adjusted her hair bun and said somewhat reluctantly, "Mi Niang, Mother will hold your hand for now, and I'll carry you on the way back, alright?"
Mi Niang felt quite embarrassed. She hadn't realized her mother was struggling over whether to carry her or not. She was a little chubby girl, and Second Madam Ding, who clearly was so slender, still insisted on carrying her daughter out of love.
"Mother, Mi Niang wants to walk. Mi Niang is a big girl now, I don't need to be carried."
Second Madam Ding gently patted her daughter's twin buns, her eyes full of affection. "Come here, let Mother hold you."
She then walked with practiced ease to the back door of a wine shop and knocked. The door was opened by a middle-aged man who, upon seeing Second Madam Ding, curled his lip and said, "Here to see our young madam again, are you?"
"Yes, sorry to trouble you. Please tell her that her fellow villager Guihua has something to discuss."
Guihua? Mi Niang was puzzled. Why did Mother say her name was Guihua when her real name was Lu Shujun? She had heard that her late maternal grandfather had even been a xiucai, though he passed away too early. After that, her grandmother had returned to her own family, and later it was unclear whether she remarried or died.
The servant closed the door without another word. Second Madam Ding led Mi Niang into a narrow alley, where she spotted a pile of firewood. "Mi Niang," she said, "how about we play hide-and-seek? In a little while, someone will come looking for us, but you mustn't make a sound, alright?"
If she were younger, Mi Niang might have believed her mother was really playing a game with her. But now she understood that Mother needed to speak privately with the young madam of this wine shop.
Pretending to be innocent and clueless, she agreed and quietly hid behind the firewood.
Before long, the back door of the wine shop opened again, and out stepped a young woman dressed in fine cotton. She even had bound feet, a mole on the tip of her nose, and rather high cheekbones. As soon as she saw Second Madam Ding, she exclaimed, "What are you doing here? Why have you come?"
Second Madam Ding forced a smile. "Elder Sister, I had no choice. Mi Niang's father has gone to the academy to study, and we can barely make ends meet. I was hoping you could help us out a little."
Elder Sister?
Mi Niang studied the young woman and thought to herself, So this is the one who stole Mother's marriage.
Looking at her fine cotton clothes, her delicate skin, and her well-cared-for appearance, it was clear she lived a life of ease and did little work.
Young Madam Wu sneered coldly. "You—back then, I told you to become Concubine Yu for the local landlord, but you refused. If you had, you'd be living in luxury now. And now you come to me for money? Where would I get any? I married from the countryside into the city, and every day I suffer under that old hag's torment. You could say I'm enduring this hardship in your place."
Mi Niang thought this woman was utterly shameless. Not only had she stolen Mother's marriage, but now she was shifting the blame. How pitiful Mother was.
But to her surprise, her mother suddenly shed her usual timid expression. She grabbed Young Madam Wu by the throat and said through gritted teeth, "I don't have time for your nonsense. Back then, my mother left me a gold bracelet and twenty acres of land as dowry, but my aunt gave it all to you as part of your marriage portion. I let you steal the marriage, but if you think you can ignore me, just wait—I'll go straight to Old Master Wu. He's a man of his word. If he finds out you're an impostor, do you think you'll last a day in the Wu household?"
Young Madam Wu seemed terrified, her lips trembling uncontrollably. "Younger Sister, I'll go back and get it for you."
"No, now. Who knows if you're just trying to slip away?" Second Madam Ding, usually so gentle, now wore a fierce, almost murderous expression.
"Here, take it." Young Madam Wu fumbled in her purse and pulled out a few copper coins.
Second Madam Ding laughed coldly, reached into the woman's inner garment, and retrieved a piece of broken silver with a disdainful snort.
Fuming, Young Madam Wu stamped her feet, but when she heard voices from the back door, she hurriedly fled.
At this moment, Second Madam Ding carried Mi Niang out from the firewood pile and said cheerfully, "Today, Mother will take our little Mi Niang to eat steamed buns, alright?"