Mi Niang had never seen Second Madam Ding so overjoyed before. Her delight seemed to overflow, as if a withered tree had met spring—she was radiant and glowing, light and airy, unlike before when even her smiles carried a trace of bitterness, as if she couldn’t laugh freely.
With a small comb, she brushed her bangs over and over, all the while teasing Mi Niang: "Look at you, not even recognizing your own father. Your father often thinks of you. Later, when your father comes out from your grandmother’s room, you mustn’t act like that again. Remember to call him 'Father,' not 'Uncle' or anything like that."
"Understood," Mi Niang replied. She hadn’t expected the father in her imagination to be so different from the one she saw now.
In her memory, Ruan Jiading was a rather disheveled middle-aged man, with a long, unkempt beard—especially after Mother’s death, life had grown increasingly difficult. He had even borrowed money to take the provincial exam but ultimately failed. After returning home, he was recognized by the River Governor for his expertise in flood control.
That day, Mi Niang remembered Ruan Jiading being very happy. He had even come home specifically to tell her, asking her to behave and giving her two qian of silver for expenses. It was around this time that the Yu family came knocking. Mi Niang was still young then and only overheard Concubine Yu whispering to Father for a long time. Not two months later, Father was hacked to death.
Even when Mi Niang reached the rank of Imperial Consort, she secretly sent someone to investigate, but nothing conclusive was found. It was only said that the murderer had mistaken Ruan Jiading for Yu Dazhong and killed him by accident. However, the killer had long been executed, leaving Mi Niang with no recourse.
Yet every time she recalled Father’s burial—his body mangled and broken, buried hastily without even a coffin due to lack of money—an unnamed fire would ignite in Mi Niang’s heart.
Thinking back to the Ruan Jiading she saw today, he was very young and full of vigor, showing no signs of a family in decline. Instead, he seemed spirited and energetic.
Of course, at this time, Ruan Jiading’s studies were praised by his teacher, and he was brimming with ambition as he prepared for next year’s academy exam. Soon, he would be a xiucai, someone with official rank—how could he not be high-spirited?
Yet no one could have imagined that next year, Mother would not only lose the child in her womb but also die mysteriously by hanging, forever separated by life and death.
As Mi Niang sank into her thoughts, Ruan Jiading returned. He and Second Madam Ding, reunited after a short separation, seemed even more affectionate than newlyweds. Though they didn’t engage in any intimate gestures, every movement between them was filled with tender affection.
"Mi Niang, Father bought you cat’s cradle strings and a shuttlecock in the prefectural city. You can play with your friends tomorrow."
The cat’s cradle strings were made of red and green hair-ties, exquisitely crafted, while the feathers on the shuttlecock were glossy and clearly chosen with care. Mi Niang quickly accepted them, saying sweetly, "Thank you, Father."
Ruan Jiading exclaimed in surprise, "Mi Niang is so polite now! Last year when Father was home, you said you’d hit him if he didn’t buy you anything. When I returned from your great-aunt’s house last year, you even insisted I carry you home. You’ve truly grown much more sensible compared to last year." He then looked at Second Madam Ding with appreciation and added, "It’s all thanks to your good teaching."
"It's not that I taught her well, but that she's become sensible on her own. You don't know—the other day, for the eleventh wedding, the person had already been chosen, but this little clever one went over and called out to the eleventh, and they let her go. She even earned a hundred big coins." Although Second Madam Ding had only given birth to a daughter, she never resented it. Instead, she took pride in her daughter everywhere.
Mi Niang knew her opportunity had come. Putting on the airs of a little adult, she said, "But I did it for Mother. I heard from Sister Lan and the others that being a rolling bed child earns you brown sugar and money. Mother and I are hungry every day, so I wanted to go earn money."
In truth, Ruan Jiading was well aware of what his parents were like, but he never imagined they would go so far as to let them go hungry.
"Shujun, do you often go hungry at home?" Ruan Jiading asked.
Second Madam Ding was certainly no pushover, but she had rarely spoken ill of her in-laws before. No matter how many faults Old Master Ruan and Old Madam had, they were still Ruan Jiading's parents. Speaking out would only make her husband think she was picky.
But a daughter was different. A daughter was still so young, and everyone would believe what a child said.
With someone setting the stage, if Second Madam Ding didn't step up, she would be a fool. So she shook her head and said, "Husband, don't listen to Mi Niang's nonsense. I usually spin cloth and sell it, then buy some fried rice to keep at home. My daughter and I just soak a bowl in hot water."
How could fried rice fill their stomachs?
Ruan Jiading was truly very disappointed in his parents.
Mi Niang was well-versed in the intricacies of palace intrigue. If you directly spoke ill of someone, no matter how right you were, it would only make you seem contentious or like a gossip. So it was better to just state the facts.
She immediately pretended to be angry and added fuel to the fire: "Mother, I'm not talking nonsense. Auntie took all the fried rice. Mi Niang's belly is hungry every day."
"Mi Niang…" Second Madam Ding seemed to think her daughter was being unreasonable.
Ruan Jiading gritted his teeth, his face alternating between pale and flushed. He took Second Madam Ding's hand and said, "This time, I was promoted to an inner hall student at the academy. The stipend is three qian of silver per month, and with the money I earn from copying books, I've saved a total of ten taels. From now on, we'll buy our own food. You don't have to worry."
With these words from Ruan Jiading, Second Madam Ding was very pleased.
But Mi Niang was still unsatisfied: "Father, you're only home for a few days. Once you leave, we won't dare to eat. Auntie often comes in and rummages through the boxes."
"This Ping'er is becoming more and more outrageous." Ruan Jiading still didn't know that the reason Ruan Ping'er's marriage had fallen through was because the groom's family saw her scolding her sister-in-law.
Mi Niang believed the only way to improve her mother's health was to move out. Her father wasn't the eldest son to begin with. Their family had split from the eldest uncle's household after they married. Back then, the clan elders were afraid that Old Master Ruan's gambling addiction would drag down both sons, so they divided the family.
The ancestral home could be left to the grandparents as a gesture of filial piety, but living together like this, constantly alternating between hunger and fullness, was no way for people to live.
Her mother knew how to weave, and Mi Niang herself, after entering the palace, had become unmatched in embroidery. Moreover, her father had earned the xiucai degree. Even if they had to rely on teaching for a living, they might not become wealthy, but at least they wouldn't suffer as they did at home.
No matter how capable her parents were, the word "filial piety" left them powerless to act.
Mi Niang continued, "Father, Uncle's family can move to the county town, so why can't we? I heard Zhou Furou has already gone to the county town. Mother, I want to go too."
After speaking, she acted coquettishly, just like a genuine child.
Hearing this, Second Madam Ding laughed. "You silly girl, are you still upset about what happened the other day?"
Ruan Jiading couldn't help but ask, "What happened to Mi Niang?"
"It's all because of that niece of Fourth Mistress from the Lin family by the bamboo grove. When our Mi Niang went to be the rolling bed child last time, her niece wasn't chosen. The other day, when I went to Fourth Sister-in-law Shang's place, I happened to run into her. She said her niece already knows how to read. Fourth Mistress Lin sent her niece to study at a girls' school in the county town. Right in front of me, she said Mi Niang spends all her time playing wildly and that it's not good. This little girl came back and asked me what a girls' school is, pestering me to let her go." Second Madam Ding looked at her daughter, feeling she had let her down.
Hearing this, Ruan Jiading smiled. He had thought his daughter might have been influenced by her mother's complaints, which was why she spoke like this at such a young age. He hadn't expected it to be due to a sense of competition.
However, Ruan Jiading had his own thoughts. He looked at Second Madam Ding and said, "Actually, I've also been thinking about moving to the county town. Our Jiangling County is the capital county of Jingzhou Prefecture, and the prefectural school is also there. It would be good for us to move there, and it would also benefit my scholarly pursuits."
Second Madam Ding shook her head. "That may be true, but where would we get the money to buy a house? That would cost dozens of taels, wouldn't it?"
"If we can't buy, can't we rent? If I pass the xiucai exam, I can work hard to become a stipendiary scholar. Just by acting as a guarantor for others, I could earn dozens of taels a year."
Speaking of this, Ruan Jiading grew enthusiastic. "Anyway, I'm already preparing at home for next year's county-level exam. Why don't we rent a small courtyard nearby? That way, it would just be our family living together. What do you think?"
Mi Niang was the first to cheer in agreement. Second Madam Ding pretended to hesitate, and Ruan Jiading couldn't help but whisper a few words in her ear, as if sharing some private talk. Second Madam Ding shot him a flirtatious glance and playfully hit him, naturally agreeing in the end.
With Father back, Mother seemed to have someone to rely on. Mi Niang couldn't help but feel happy at the thought of moving to the county town after the New Year, feeling that everything was moving in a positive direction.
Spending the New Year with Old Master Ruan and Old Madam was utterly devoid of any festive atmosphere. The two of them hoarded their own private savings, not hanging any cured meat or fish, and there was hardly any meat to be seen. Later, when Uncle's family returned, Uncle and Father bought some fish and meat together, barely managing to put together a New Year's Eve dinner.
Mi Niang felt no closeness to her grandparents or Uncle's family. To be frank, after her parents passed away, they neither hit her nor scolded her, but they simply didn't want to take care of her. She lived with Great-Aunt Yu for a year or two, and later, her grandparents sold the old house without even telling her, running off to the prefectural city to live with Uncle.
She was then taken in by Fourth Mistress Shang, who had no children of her own, for about a year. Fourth Mistress Shang purely knew that Mi Niang's parents had arranged a marriage for her and wanted to use her to gain benefits. Of course, that matter never came to fruition, and Mi Niang continued to drift from place to place until finally, the main branch of the Ruan family selected her to enter the palace.
Of course, Mi Niang was also well aware that after her parents died, no family was well-off. Why would anyone want to feed an extra mouth? Although her grandparents were unkind and Uncle was indifferent, at least these people were openly unkind. What was truly chilling were those who appeared kind on the surface but were hypocritical underneath.
"Husband, Aunt Yu is coming today. Why don't we ask her to help us find a place to rent?" Second Madam Ding said with a smile.
Ruan Jiading nodded. "Yes, you're right. Aunt has always been good to me. If we move to the county town, she can look after us in the future. Shujun, once we have more money, we can send Mi Niang to a girls' school. What do you think?"
Second Madam Ding smiled. "That would be wonderful. I'm practically illiterate—you've taught me to recognize a few characters, but I still feel like nothing compared to Fourth Sister-in-law and the others. If Mi Niang can read and write, she'll be much better off than me." Then she added, "Aunt came by yesterday and gave me a fertility prescription. Husband, all these years, it's been my body that's failed us. Truly, only Aunt treats us like family."
"It's not your fault. I've been away studying, and we've spent so little time together. Besides, Mi Niang started speaking at eight months and could recite poems by age one—she's brighter than many boys."
Hearing her husband's gentle words of comfort, Second Madam Ding felt herself melting like a puddle of water.
The couple, reunited after a long separation, naturally had endless intimate moments to share. Poor Mi Niang stuffed cotton in her ears and turned away—this was precisely why she was so eager to move out. Her parents were too affectionate, constantly wrapped up in each other, and though she had the mind of an adult, they still treated her like a child.
Still, from her parents' tone, she could tell they held Aunt Yu in far too high regard. Her father, of course, was no surprise, but even her mother—who usually saw through people—trusted Aunt Yu deeply.
They probably never imagined that this kindly old woman was inextricably linked to her father's death.