Xi Cai’s heart trembled in fear. After the initial shock, she forced herself to remain calm and smiled.
“My lord, are you saying that you wish to share life and death with me? On the day our engagement was finalized, the household steward handled the ceremony. And on the day you were supposed to welcome me in person, you didn’t show up either. I thought you were dissatisfied with me and didn’t want to see me. I never imagined that on the second day of our marriage, you would speak to me so openly and sincerely… I know you cannot bear to part with me, but if we were to travel the same road to the underworld, I’m afraid no one would be left to take care of our funeral arrangements.”
She certainly knew how to consider every possibility. She was practically the perfect wife.
Yang Xun chuckled softly without arguing. However, the hand stroking her back suddenly tightened, pressing her against him as if to punish her for her words.
Xi Cai obediently fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally asked, “What was it you wanted to discuss with me, my lady? I became carried away by my feelings and interrupted you.”
Although Xi Cai had not spent much time with him, she had already learned that he had a habit of speaking in a strange, sarcastic manner. In any case, he was not going to die just yet, so there was no need for her to worry about being buried alive alongside him.
She steadied herself and returned to the subject at hand.
“After you left the residence, I went to inspect the back courtyard. The female servants in the kitchen were neglecting their duties, and no one was tending the stove. I’m afraid they might even be putting off preparing your medicinal decoctions until the last possible moment. I think the kitchen arrangements need to be changed, and there should be more variety in the daily meals. Your appetite is already poor, my lord, and heavily pickled foods are too strong for your body. They won’t do you any good. From now on, the kitchen should report the day’s menu to us for all three meals. That way, if anything is unsatisfactory, we can make adjustments in time.”
Yang Xun listened before replying slowly, “You care about me and consider my needs in everything. However, you’ve only just entered this household, so you don’t yet understand our circumstances. The household steward mentioned today that he wanted to hand over the account books to you. I was afraid they might worry you, so I refused.”
Xi Cai sensed that something was wrong.
What did he mean when he said the account books would worry her? Had this enormous marquis’s residence somehow run out of money?
She stared at him in confusion. He pressed his lips together and hesitated for a moment before finally telling her the truth.
“Our expenses have exceeded our income for quite some time. That is why we have had to cut back on clothing, food, and other necessities, especially meat.”
Xi Cai could hardly believe her ears.
“My lord, you are a marquis! You have fiefs that provide income, as well as an official salary. How could your household be spending more than it earns?”
Yang Xun explained, “It is true that I have an income from my fiefs and my salary. However, toward the end of Emperor Taizong’s reign, military funding was drastically reduced. I could not stand by and watch my officers and soldiers go hungry or lack proper clothing, so I used half my salary to cover their military expenses.
“Furthermore, the new dynasty has only recently been established, and I cannot ignore the suffering of ordinary people. Several charitable shelters in Luodu that take in widows, orphans, and other people without family support are being kept afloat with my money.
“There are 213 people in total. Every morning, when they open their eyes, they need food to survive. If I spend lavishly on myself, they will have to go hungry.”
It felt as though a heavy punch had suddenly fallen from the sky and struck Xi Cai squarely in the face. She stood there, stunned, no longer able to tell whether his words were true or false.
Yang Xun’s eyes flickered.
“Don’t you believe me, my lady? If you have doubts, I have registers issued by the Ministers of Revenue and War that can serve as evidence.”
He sighed leisurely before continuing.
“I have always believed that I could face both Heaven and Earth with a clear conscience. Yet because my achievements on the battlefield made others wary of me, I have become like a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone. Perhaps I should have died in battle before the founding of the Great Sheng dynasty. That would have pleased those people. But unfortunately, I simply couldn’t die. I dragged myself through all these years, and now, at the grand old age of twenty-eight, I have even had the good fortune of marrying a wife, thanks to my father-in-law’s generous consideration.”
And what was she supposed to do now?
From the sound of it, she would have to follow him into a life of eating coarse food and wearing shabby clothes.
Xi Cai could not help rubbing her forehead. Choosing to live frugally was one thing; being forced into poverty was another. Whatever the truth, she now felt that things had taken a terrible turn.
Fortunately, she was resilient and quick-witted. She immediately came up with the appropriate words.
“My lord, you hold a high position, yet your heart is devoted to the soldiers and the people. You would rather make life difficult for yourself than deprive others of what they need. How is such conduct any different from that of a sage? I must be a fortunate woman indeed to have married a husband like you. I must have accumulated great merit in a previous life.
“Since you have begun doing good deeds, you must not abandon them halfway. If someone as noble as you can live on reduced means, what do I have to fear?”
That was what she said aloud.
In her heart, however, she thought that she could always return to her parents’ home more often and make up for the lack of good food there.
Just thinking about it made her feel miserable.
The man before her seemed to be considering something else entirely. His cool fingers touched her face, gently brushing her smooth, delicate skin with a hint of pity.
“My beautiful wife deserves fine clothes and delicious food to preserve her radiance. Without such comforts, I’m afraid your beauty will fade. What am I to do?”
Xi Cai assured him that it was no problem.
“Rich people have their own ways of living, and poor people have theirs. Besides, our circumstances are merely a little tight. We are still far from being truly poor.”
He seemed somewhat ashamed, and his voice grew quieter.
“Will you tell your parents that you are living in hardship after marrying me?”
She shook her head.
“How could I discuss my husband’s household affairs with my own family?”
He was clearly pleased that his wife understood her responsibilities. After sighing, he said, “I’ve thought about this carefully today. Perhaps we should reduce the spending on the charitable shelters. We shouldn’t make life difficult for our own family just to support outsiders. My wife is exceptionally beautiful. If you become haggard, how will I answer to your family?
“Besides, if I hope to spend a few more years with you, I must take better care of my health.”
As he spoke, he began calculating aloud.
“Where should we start? There are many children in the southern part of the city. They need sufficient food to grow, so we shouldn’t cut back on their supplies. Perhaps we should reduce the provisions for the northern shelters instead. Most of the people there are elderly or frail. As long as we give them enough food to keep them alive, that should suffice.”
Xi Cai glared resentfully at his chest.
As expected, he has thought of everything. He wants to make me bear the blame for being cruel and heartless.
After all, he had been supporting the charitable shelters properly before their marriage. But now, immediately after taking a wife, he wanted to cut back on their food. Why? Because his new wife was insatiable, and the poor marquis could no longer afford to support his own household!
If she agreed to his proposal now, she would never be able to preserve her good reputation.
She had no choice but to offer a reluctant compromise.
“The people in those shelters are already suffering. No matter how difficult our circumstances become, our hardships cannot compare to even a fraction of theirs. Please don’t worry, my lord. I brought some dowry with me. It isn’t much, but it should be enough to help us through this difficult period.”
Yang Xun was taken aback.
“How can that be acceptable? I am a grown man of seven feet. How could I use my wife’s dowry?”
Xi Cai felt all her strength drain away.
She had previously planned that once he died, she would take his property and remarry. But after all this talk, it seemed the marquis’s residence was nothing more than an empty shell.
And there was something even more frightening to consider. After her husband died, she would be the widowed marchioness whose reputation was known throughout Luodu. She would be expected to carry on his charitable work and continue supplying the shelters.
She would inherit none of his wealth, yet she might end up carrying a mountain of debts.
The waters of this household were far deeper than she had imagined.
But worrying would not solve anything. She was trapped in a difficult situation with no immediate way out. She decided to set the matter aside for the time being and look for another solution later.
Xi Cai comforted him. “What belongs to me belongs to you as well, my lord. We are husband and wife. There is no need to stand on ceremony.”
Yang Xun considered it for a moment before agreeing.
“Very well. Then I’ll treat it as a loan from you. Once the rent from my estates and shops comes in, I will repay you in full.”
Wait. He has estates and shops too?
Perhaps things were not quite as bad as she had thought.
In any case, everything was supposedly for the greater good of the state. Although she had lost more than she had gained tonight, there was still plenty of time ahead.
Tomorrow, she would return to her parents’ home and see what her father had to say. Then she could make another plan.
As she pondered these matters, she gradually drifted off to sleep.
When morning came, she discovered that they were lying eight zhang apart—roughly twenty-six meters, if the distance were taken literally.
Clearly, instinct could not be fooled.
A maid brought Yang Xun his medicinal decoction and served him while he took it. They hastily ate a simple breakfast, then prepared to return to Yangshu Street for the traditional visit to the bride’s family after the wedding.
Xi Cai changed into a soft, rose-red silk blouse. As usual, a jade clasp adorned the neckline. A belt hung beneath her outer garment, decorated with rings and pendants. Two long, slender green ribbons dangled from it, swaying with every step she took.
For a moment, she seemed to have returned to the days when she was an unmarried girl, her long ribbons fluttering as she moved.
When she went out to see Yang Xun, she had to admit that although the man was full of schemes, he certainly had excellent taste.
He wore a loose-sleeved robe in a deep, dusky purple, with a formal sash tied around his waist. The lapis lazuli ornament on the belt complemented his robe perfectly. Standing there, he possessed the graceful, composed bearing of a refined scholar.
The two of them climbed into the carriage together, and the ox cart slowly made its way toward Yangshu Street.
Although the Xi family was far from pleased with this son-in-law, they did not neglect the proper ceremony for welcoming their daughter home.
Xi Jiyuan had invited several high-ranking officials from the imperial court to a banquet. He claimed that it was meant to make up for the regret of not having shared a meal and drinks with the Marquis of Yanling earlier.
Beneath this peaceful appearance, however, undercurrents were already surging.
When the black-wheeled carriage finally stopped, the servants who had been waiting for a long time set off firecrackers to welcome the couple. People came out from inside the residence to greet them.
Looking at the guards surrounding the carriage from front to back, Xi Jiyuan could not help laughing.
“We are merely following the old custom of returning home to visit one’s parents. Yet the sudden arrival of so many people might make outsiders think the Xi family has broken the law and that the marquis has come to arrest us.”
Unlike his usual stern self, Yang Xun wore a pleasant expression that day.
“My father-in-law is joking. If I wanted to arrest someone, there would be no need for the marquis’s residence to get involved. I was still recovering from illness recently and failed to conduct myself properly in several respects. From your words, it seems you are still holding that against me.”
Politicians often used jokes to reveal their true feelings while maintaining an appearance of civility. After exchanging a few more remarks, the two men continued to observe the proper courtesies.
Once everyone had returned to the main hall, Xi Cai and Yang Xun stood side by side and paid their respects to her parents. Xi Xiao and Xi Tan also came forward to greet their new brother-in-law.
Whatever storms were brewing in the front hall no longer concerned Xi Cai. She withdrew to the back courtyard, where she sat down with her mother and carefully recounted everything that had happened over the past three days.
By the time she finished, she was sitting in a goose-neck chair with her face buried in the crook of her arm, furious beyond words.
Madam Xi listened with a troubled expression.
“From what I saw, the Marquis of Yanling seemed to be in fairly good spirits. He certainly didn’t look like someone on the verge of death.”
Xi Xiao chimed in from the side.
“He could walk around perfectly well, and he wasn’t rotting away or giving off a foul smell.”
That was precisely what made the situation so difficult.
Xi Cai let out another sigh.
“Still, you must keep your composure,” Madam Xi said. “At least he hasn’t mistreated you so far. That’s a good thing. After you were taken away that day, your father and I couldn’t sleep the entire night. We were afraid our perfectly good daughter had been sent straight into a tiger’s den. We were afraid that sickly man would make your life miserable.”
Xi Xiao asked even more directly, “Elder Sister, have you consummated the marriage?”
It was a question that cut straight to the heart of the matter. At last, everyone could stop pretending not to be curious.
Xi Tan was especially interested. He stretched his neck forward, looking as eager as a student desperate to learn something new.
Xi Cai glanced at them.
“Don’t overestimate that treacherous man.”
Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
If the marriage had been consummated, Xi Cai would have suffered a great deal. It would also have made the situation even more confusing, since Yang Xun would, in a way, have become one of their own.
What truly troubled Xi Cai was the possibility that she might have to use her own money to support the household.
“Mother, please ask Father to investigate the matter. Yang Xun claims that he spends his fief income and official salary on military supplies and charitable relief. I want to know whether any of that is true.”
Madam Xi thought for a moment.
“I have heard vague rumors about it, but I cannot confirm how much money he has contributed. Your father will have to make careful inquiries.”
Xi Cai firmly believed that the marquis’s residence could not possibly be in such dire straits. Yang Xun was deliberately trying to intimidate her, digging a deep pit and luring her into it.
As for Madam Xi, she was, above all, a mother.
On the day Xi Cai left home, Yang Xun had failed to come in person to welcome his bride. Madam Xi had been deeply worried that her daughter would enter the household of a cruel, sinister man who would make her suffer terribly.
Yet now that she had seen Yang Xun with her own eyes, watched him walk and speak normally, she felt a little relieved.
She could only hope that the political struggles at court would be settled within the court itself. Even if the future looked bleak, she hoped Xi Cai would not become too deeply entangled in them.
“You must be careful and protect yourself,” Madam Xi said, gently smoothing her daughter’s hair. Her eyes were filled with reluctance to let her go. “We raised you at home until you were nineteen. Even when you walked a few extra steps, I worried that you might stumble and hurt yourself. Now you must live in another family’s household and deal with a man like him.
“Although he is ill, do not forget that he was once a formidable warlord. He personally led five thousand elite soldiers to defeat an army of thirty thousand from Nanling. He is a man who kills without blinking. You will be living with him day and night, so you must yield to him whenever possible. Do not provoke him.
“Your father has also said that he has never placed the burden of this great responsibility on your shoulders. All you need to do is observe Yang Xun’s every move and keep your father informed so that he can take precautions.”
Xi Cai replied, “I understand. Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll go along with whatever he says for now and let him lower his guard before I decide what to do next.”
Madam Xi nodded.
“Your father won’t openly fight him either. He must consider your position as well. What if Yang Xun suffers a setback at court and takes his anger out on you when he returns home? What would we do then?”
Xi Cai comforted her mother.
“Father and Yang Xun have been enemies for a long time. If Yang Xun truly wanted to vent his anger on me, I wouldn’t have been able to return home today. At worst, I’ll suffer a few minor losses in private. I’ve already married him, so there’s no point worrying about every little thing.
“I only hope Father takes good care of himself. The Grand Tutor and the others encouraged this marriage and helped bring it about. I hope they won’t eventually put Father in an impossible position, forcing him to choose between two sides.”
Madam Xi reassured her.
“Don’t worry. We have already given them one of our daughters. If they still betray us after that, then they must think everyone else is a fool.”
She smiled and changed the subject.
“Enough of this. We haven’t seen each other for days. Let’s enjoy some time together as a family. Yesterday, your maternal cousin sent you two excellent ginseng roots. He received them as gifts when he entertained envoys from Baekje some time ago. I accepted them on your behalf and put them in the main residence. Take them back with you when you leave. They will be a thoughtful gift for the Marquis of Yanling.”
Xi Cai asked after a moment, “Which cousin?”
Madam Xi looked at her as though the answer were obvious.
“How many cousins do you have? Of course I’m talking about Xie Qiao!”
“Oh,” Xi Cai said with a smile. “He really is the most thoughtful one. But don’t I have another cousin as well? I thought he might have returned from his travels by now.”
The cousin she was referring to was from Madam Xi’s maiden family. He had refused to study and had no interest in doing business. All he wanted was to travel to distant places.
Many years ago, he had taken two packets of silver from home and plunged into the deep mountains. Six or seven years had passed since then, and no one had received any news of him. No one knew whether he was alive or dead.
Madam Xi did not want to talk about that nephew. A man who refused to establish himself, contribute to society, or bring benefits to the people, caring only about his own freedom and pleasure, was a source of endless frustration.
She turned and instructed Xi Tan to fetch the ginseng from the main residence.
When the box was brought to Xi Cai, she opened it and examined the contents. The old ginseng root looked like a person tightly bound with ropes, its two forked roots spread apart and secured against a bright red satin lining.
Xi Cai exclaimed, “This is such a fine specimen. It must be worth a great deal. What a precious gift!”
“I thought so too,” Madam Xi replied. “Xie Qiao has thought of everything. His younger cousin has married into the marquis’s household and will have to deal with the Yang family in the future. She can use the ginseng herself or give it to someone else. Sooner or later, it will come in handy.”
Xi Cai murmured her agreement as she held the box in her hands.
The farther away she was from Xie Qiao, the more she appreciated his kindness.
Of course, such thoughts only passed briefly through her mind, like the thin smoke rising from burning incense and disappearing when the wind blew.
After all, something even more bizarre soon disrupted her thoughts.
The attendants from the Marquis of Yanling’s residence, who had accompanied the couple earlier, were now arriving in a large procession from the front courtyard.
Everyone was bewildered and stood up.
The household steward of the marquis’s residence stepped forward and bowed to Madam Xi.
“Madam Vice Censor-in-Chief, I hope you are well. Our marquis has an unusual request and has sent me to explain it to you on his behalf.
“On the night the marquis and our lady were married, the lady was unable to sleep comfortably. When the marquis asked her about it, he learned that she was accustomed to her own bed and had difficulty sleeping in a different one.
“Therefore, our marquis would like to discuss something with you. Would you be willing to accommodate his request and allow us to move the bed from the lady’s maiden bedroom back to the marquis’s residence? That way, our lady will be able to sleep peacefully, and our marquis will feel at ease as well…”
As he spoke, he smiled apologetically.
“We have already brought the people needed to move it. We are simply waiting for your permission, Madam.”