The festive canopy at Lady Gui's home had long been set up. Second Madam Ding gazed at the expanse of crimson with envy in her eyes. Holding Mi Niang's hand as she approached, she chatted with Fourth Mistress Shang.
Fourth Mistress Shang was genuinely delighted for Second Madam Ding and offered her guidance: "Look at the guests today—aside from our own clan members, there are also prominent figures from the estate. Though you seldom venture out, you must still plan for Mi Niang's future."
"Plan?" Second Madam Ding couldn't help but shake her head. "She's still too young."
Though she knew Fourth Mistress Shang meant well—as one of the rare members of the Ruan family who harbored no ulterior motives toward her—Second Madam Ding remained reluctant. In her youth, when her parents were still alive, her family owned vast fertile lands, and her father held the xiucai Gongming. But after her father passed, her mother vanished without a trace, and the family's lands were divided among the clan and her uncle.
Even her arranged marriage was snatched away by her cousin. Did the Wu family truly not know her cousin was an imposter? In truth, Second Madam Ding understood all too well—the Wu family simply wanted both a good reputation and a desirable daughter-in-law.
Compared to her, a solitary orphan, her cousin had a dowry carried by eight bearers, both parents and brothers alive, not to mention bound feet, and even some literacy—she surpassed her in every way.
Thus, there really was no need for such planning.
Hearing this, Fourth Mistress Shang felt a mix of frustration and disappointment. "You, you—you refused to bind the child's feet early, and now you won't even consider arranging a good marriage for her. I truly don't understand what you're thinking."
Second Madam Ding apologized, "My dear Fourth Sister-in-law, I know you've always had my best interests at heart. But Mi Niang refuses to have her feet bound, and there's nothing I can do. She's my only daughter, and I can give her nothing of value. Instead, she suffers alongside me. So, I simply wish for her to find joy each day, one day at a time."
Listening nearby, Mi Niang was deeply moved. Her mother truly had her best interests at heart. In these times, women, especially those from official families, prized the "three-inch golden lotus" as the epitome of beauty—feet bound to resemble the pointed tips of zongzi.
Thus, as those above set the example, those below followed. Even women from farming families, hoping to marry into better households, bound their feet. Even Empress Ruan, the Empress of the Central Palace, had bound feet.
Wasn't this all a ploy by men who disliked women venturing outside, confining them to the inner quarters?
But was bound feet truly the key to a good marriage? Not necessarily. Hadn't Mi Niang heard that the youngest daughter of Chancellor Liu Zhao, who was born with a disability, still had suitors lining up to marry her? Why? Marrying Miss Liu meant soaring straight to the heights of success.
Thus, all this talk of bound feet and "a woman's lack of talent is her virtue" was nothing but hypocrisy.
Men wished for untalented wives but were eager to seek pleasure in brothels, only to complain about their "yellow-faced wives" at home. It was utterly laughable.
This showed that some men, purely afraid of being surpassed by their wives, deliberately promoted bound feet as beauty and "a woman's lack of talent as her virtue." Yet, when faced with true power and nobility, they cared not for the size of a woman's feet. Instead, they looked to her father's official rank and the size of her dowry—these held far greater appeal than bound feet ever could.
Lost in these thoughts, Mi Niang was already led by Second Madam Ding to Lady Gui.
Lady Gui was so busy today that her feet barely touched the ground. When she saw Mi Niang, she was astonished. She had thought the round-faced little girl named Zhou Furou was adorable enough, but upon seeing Mi Niang, she finally understood why her Eleventh Young Master insisted on having Mi Niang as the "bed-rolling child."
Usually when Auntie Gui saw Mi Niang, the child was either being carried by Second Madam Ding or running wild with other children her age. She was surprisingly strong for her size—strong enough to lift children as tall as herself—so none of the other children dared bully her.
Seeing Mi Niang again today, however, Auntie Gui thought the little girl seemed much more ladylike. Dressed up like this, she stood out even more, especially with those dark grape-like eyes that seemed to melt anyone’s heart just by looking into them.
“Come over to your auntie, dear! Oh, Sister Jiading, our little Mi Niang has grown so lovely!”
Second Madam Ding smiled proudly.
Soon after, Mi Niang was led into the bridal chamber. Inside was a fashionable canopy bed from Jiangnan. It was said that Eleventh Brother’s bride also came from a very wealthy family—she brought three shops as dowry, a residence in the provincial capital of Wuchang, and a manor in Jiangling. Because of this, Auntie Gui showed her daughter-in-law great respect.
Every detail, from the decorations in the colorful canopy outside to the lavish feast and even the choice of the “bed-rolling” child, reflected the high regard for the bride.
The wedding bed was scattered with peanuts, lotus seeds, and other symbols of early fertility. Before long, another group entered the room. A young matron walked in, leading a little boy by the hand.
The matron’s brows and eyes carried an air of arrogance, while Auntie Gui, following behind her, wore an expression of fawning flattery. Mi Niang found this quite surprising—Auntie Gui, relying on her good relations with the main family, held considerable face in Jingzhou Prefecture. When her mother-in-law celebrated her birthday, even the prefect had come to offer congratulations. Of course, this was largely due to the influence of the Duke of Bohai and the Empress in the capital.
But then Auntie Gui laughed and said, “The Inspector’s wife’s son is as delicate as carved jade, just like the little golden boy beneath the Goddess of Mercy’s seat.”
This Inspector’s wife wore a fashionable mud-gold horse-face skirt, over which she had draped a water-red satin long jacket with scattered poppy patterns and pink-purple trim. Her eyebrows were painted in the distant-mountain style, and the rouge on her cheeks gave off a faint floral scent up close—every detail was exquisite.
A young maid then placed the Inspector’s wife’s son on the bed. Auntie Gui beamed but didn’t dare suggest that the boy beside Mi Niang should roll on the bed.
“Mi Niang, you may roll on the bed now.”
Mi Niang smiled cheerfully, showing no reluctance. After rolling a few times, she received a large red envelope, not to mention the pastries, brown sugar, and red dates Auntie Gui gave her.
The little boy had merely sat on the bed for a moment before Lady Zhang, the Inspector’s wife, picked him up again. Auntie Gui thanked her profusely.
Thanks to that boy, Mi Niang had gained these rewards. She secretly peeked inside the envelope and was astonished—Auntie Gui had been exceptionally generous, stuffing it with a hundred large coins.
She overheard the maids stationed in the room whispering enviously, “That Lady Zhang is so young, yet her husband is a Jinshi graduate from both imperial examination lists and now serves as an Inspector Censor. No wonder she carries herself with such pride.”
“Well, it’s also because our master has face, isn’t it? But still, why did she take her son away without even letting him roll on the bed?”
The maids, thinking Mi Niang too young to understand, didn’t bother lowering their voices. Instead, they chuckled, “It’s just because she thinks of herself as an official’s wife, with an official’s son, and believes mingling with common girls like us would taint them.”
Though they said “common girls,” their eyes drifted toward Mi Niang. Mi Niang didn’t mind. Her priority was ensuring her mother could recover her health; as for how others looked down on her, she couldn’t care less.
This lavish wedding hosted by the clan brought Mi Niang only brown sugar and a hundred copper coins. These were her share, and of course, she wouldn’t give them to her grandparents.
Waking up early in the morning, Second Madam Ding brewed a large bowl of brown sugar water to drink. She had originally intended to save it for Mi Niang to enjoy as a sweet treat on ordinary days, but the child had heard from outsiders that drinking it would nourish the body and help give birth to a little brother. Second Madam Ding was quite moved by this idea.
Her health had long suffered from deficiencies in both qi and blood, but she had no money to buy medicine. Even if she did have the money, it would likely be stolen. Her eldest uncle’s family was shrewd—they had long since started a business in the city and moved their entire family there. They could indulge in luxuries without anyone to stop them, but she and her daughter had no such means. Without a son, she couldn’t even hold her head high.
Moreover, her husband would take the county-level imperial examination next year. If he passed, he would become a xiucai.
Thinking of this, she brewed another bowl of red date water and drank it all in one go.
After finishing the packet of brown sugar and red dates, Second Madam Ding’s complexion improved significantly. Her face was no longer as pale as before. Even though she was usually strict with herself, after spinning cloth, she bought a jar of red dates and brown sugar to keep at home.
Old Master Ruan and Old Madam were often nowhere to be seen at home. In the past, Second Madam Ding had to pay her respects to Old Madam morning and evening, enduring her mother-in-law’s torment. But now, because the marriage of Mi Niang’s aunt, Ruan Pinger, remained unsettled, people in the clan had begun to gossip. Whenever Old Madam called for Second Madam Ding, Mi Niang would look for her mother, causing several scenes. Additionally, during the New Year period, her father, Ruan Jiading, sent word that he would return by the end of the year. Though Old Madam openly cursed and scolded a few times, she didn’t dare go too far.
“Mi Niang, are you deliberately looking for Mother to come back?” Second Madam Ding had initially thought her daughter simply couldn’t bear to be apart from her, but after Mi Niang caused several scenes, she began to realize the truth.
Mi Niang had intended to act like an innocent child, but now, in front of her mother, she dropped the pretense and simply nodded. “I know Grandmother torments you.”
A mother is the person in the world who understands her children best, especially someone as attentive as Second Madam Ding, who spent nearly every moment with Mi Niang.
Being tormented by her mother-in-law was a common occurrence, and Second Madam Ding didn’t pay it much mind. After all, once her husband earned the xiucai Gongming, her life would become much easier.
She never expected her daughter to feel sorry for her.
“Mi Niang, you’ve grown up and learned to care for Mother.” Second Madam Ding was deeply moved.
“Then, Mother, do you blame me?”
“No, I don’t.”
Second Madam Ding looked at Mi Niang affectionately, her thoughts drifting as she said, “A mother would never blame or resent her children, no matter what.”
“Mother, what are you talking about?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Jiangling was covered in a blanket of snow. When she woke up in the morning, Second Madam Ding put a hat on Mi Niang and carefully tied the strings, emphasizing repeatedly, “Don’t take it off, or you’ll catch a cold and have to drink bitter medicine.”
“Hehe, I’m not afraid,” Mi Niang replied. She was eager to go next door to play with her cousins from the same clan.
Having become smaller, her heart seemed to have turned childlike as well.
Second Madam Ding smiled and gently tapped her nose. “Don’t play too much. The clan distributed fish cakes this year. If you miss lunch, there won’t be any left.”
“I know,” Mi Niang said before running next door for a snowball fight. By the time she returned, she was starving and hurried home for a meal.
But as she reached the door, she saw a young man with a book box strapped to his back standing by the back entrance of her house. Mi Niang stepped forward to examine him, feeling a sense of familiarity.
"Uncle, who are you looking for?" Mi Niang asked, looking at him.
The young man, however, was taken aback. "My dear chubby girl, don’t you even recognize your own father?"