This was simply… enough to make someone so angry that they could only laugh!
No wonder he had brought such a large entourage when returning with her to visit her parents. So this was what he had planned all along.
He had already married her, calculated the value of her dowry, and now he was even setting his sights on the bed in her maiden bedroom.
How could something so absurd happen in this world? And of all people, it had to happen to her!
Xi Cai felt that she must have been terribly unlucky lately. She had married a man who seemed destined to bring her misfortune. Yang Xun had absolutely no awareness of the dignity expected of a nobleman of his rank. The things he did became increasingly incomprehensible.
She desperately wanted to ask the household steward, Does your marquis have no shame at all?
But she couldn’t say that aloud. She forced herself to swallow her anger and replied calmly, “I occasionally return to my parents’ home to stay for a few days. If you take the bed away, it will be inconvenient for me in the future.”
The household steward bowed and explained, “Our marquis believes that both families live in Luodu, and the journey between them takes no more than the time needed to burn two incense sticks. It won’t be much trouble for Your Ladyship to return to the marquis’s residence afterward. Furthermore, the marquis has ordered us to place thick cushions inside your carriage, so you can rest comfortably on the way home. He is only thinking of your well-being.”
So he intended to cut off her retreat and make it harder for her to stay at her parents’ home.
This man’s reach was getting longer and longer!
Xi Cai did not want to agree, but Madam Xi did not refuse. Smiling, she said, “I understand. The marquis simply cannot bear to be separated from his wife. Moving a bed is hardly a difficult matter. Take it away if you wish.”
Then she turned to reassure Xi Cai. “We’ll have another bed made for you. When you return home, surely you won’t have nowhere to sleep?”
With Madam Xi’s permission, the household steward bowed respectfully. He instructed his attendants to wait outside the small courtyard while the servants of the Xi residence dismantled the bed’s mortise-and-tenon joints and carried out its frame and storage compartments piece by piece.
A large group of people happily began hauling the furniture away. The bed in the young lady’s bedroom was exquisitely made, with numerous intricate components. Almost every attendant who had accompanied the marquis was needed to help move it.
After everyone had left, Xi Cai stared at the now-empty bedroom and nearly burst into tears.
Yang Xun was simply too despicable. No wonder her father and he were like fire and water.
Xi Xiao folded her arms and pondered the matter.
“Elder Sister, is he deliberately teasing you, or is he trying to show Father his power?”
Xi Tan was certain it was the latter.
“He wants all the officials attending today’s banquet to see that the Marquis of Yanling has formed a marriage alliance with the Vice Censor-in-Chief’s family. From now on, he can come and go as he pleases and take whatever he wants from the Xi residence!”
That made everyone even more depressed.
The three siblings exchanged glances, their expressions gloomy and embarrassed.
Madam Xi, however, remained composed. Without changing her expression, she said, “Anyone who wishes to accomplish great things must learn not to fuss over trivial matters. It’s only a bed. It means nothing. I’ll send someone to find a carpenter tomorrow and have a new one made just like the original.”
Then she began making arrangements.
“The meal has already been prepared, and your father and the others have taken their seats. Let’s go to the flower hall as well.”
Since Xi Cai had barely eaten properly over the past few days, her family treated her almost like a starving refugee, placing all the best dishes and drinks in front of her.
As she tasted the familiar food, her feelings became complicated.
“It’s only been two days. Why do I feel as though I’ve been starving for three years?”
Madam Xi felt sorry for her. After thinking for a moment, she suggested, “Why don’t you take two cooks from home to the marquis’s residence? They’ve served our family for years and know exactly what you like to eat.”
Xi Cai shook her head.
“The marquis’s residence already has cooks and kitchen maids. If I bring our own people there, others will say I’m spoiled and difficult to serve. That would be terribly unfair to me!”
Then she added solemnly, “Mother, I have resolved to become a virtuous wife. I’ll prepare medicine for my husband and even arrange concubines for him.”
Xi Tan was so shocked that he nearly lost his ability to speak.
“Preparing medicine is one thing, but you even want to arrange concubines for him? Elder Sister, don’t be so virtuous that you end up hurting yourself! Many of my friends are already married. Once they take concubines, they often stop paying attention to their principal wives.”
Xi Cai had her own plans and simply said, “You don’t understand.”
Xi Xiao, however, understood what she meant.
“If you’re willing to arrange concubines for him, he’ll certainly be grateful to you. A principal wife is someone a man is expected to respect, but he can spend all day fooling around with his concubines.”
With a body as weak as Yang Xun’s, how could he possibly withstand that kind of activity?
It was a way to kill without shedding blood. She could achieve her goal while earning a reputation for generosity and magnanimity.
Xi Cai was the sort of person who could quickly recover her spirits. Before long, she was full of determination again.
After the four women finished lunch, they sat beneath the covered walkway at the back of the residence, drinking tea. As the hour of Wei approached—around one to three in the afternoon—a servant came to report that the marquis was asking his wife to return home.
Xi Cai reluctantly stood up, feeling rather unhappy.
Normally, a newly married bride could stay at her parents’ home overnight during this customary visit. Yang Xun had deliberately taken her bed away because he had no intention of spending the night at the Xi residence.
Madam Xi comforted her with a few words. Then, together with Xi Xiao and Xi Tan, she escorted Xi Cai to the carriage courtyard.
From a distance, they could already see the exquisite black-wheeled carriage waiting there. Its curtains were half drawn, revealing the side profile of the man inside. His figure was slender, yet there was something sharp and imposing about him.
Hearing the movement outside, he turned his head slightly to look toward them. At first, his gaze was as cold as ice. Then, in the blink of an eye, it changed, and a faint smile appeared in his eyes.
For some reason, Xi Xiao felt a chill run down her spine. She tugged at her elder sister’s hand and whispered, “He really doesn’t look like a good person. If you notice anything wrong, run away as quickly as you can.”
Xi Cai knew that her younger sister had a very poor opinion of the Marquis of Yanling. In Xi Xiao’s eyes, he was old, calculating, unpredictable, and vindictive. Apart from his handsome appearance, he had absolutely nothing going for him.
Xi Cai patted her sister’s hand, silently reassuring her.
Xi Jiyuan was waiting in front of the carriage. As was customary, he offered a few formal words of advice.
“Serve your husband wholeheartedly and fulfill your duties as his wife.”
Xi Cai agreed and bowed to her father before allowing a maid to help her into the carriage.
The ox cart slowly began to move, carrying her farther and farther away from home. Xi Cai felt her spirits sinking again and turned to stare absentmindedly out the window.
Suddenly, she heard Yang Xun cough.
She immediately pulled herself together and asked with concern, “My lord, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“It’s nothing,” he replied. “I was merely subjected to a few sarcastic remarks during the banquet.”
Xi Cai was surprised.
“Did Father make things difficult for you?”
He shook his head.
“Not your father. It was the officials sitting with me. It’s bad enough that they suppress me at court, but they wouldn’t even leave me alone at a family banquet. I’m already half a cripple, yet they still insist on driving me to my death.”
His words sounded so pitiful.
But was it true?
Would Yang Xun really allow himself to be humiliated so easily?
Xi Cai had no way to verify his story, so she could only smooth things over.
“We cannot control what other people say, my lord. Please don’t take their words to heart. As long as our own family doesn’t make things difficult for us, that’s enough.”
He rubbed his chest and sighed softly.
“Recently, I’ve felt that my breath is growing shorter. Yet I still cannot bring myself to accept my fate. I’m afraid of letting you down.”
Xi Cai had no idea what went through his mind when he spoke such insincere words. Nevertheless, she had to pretend to take his feelings seriously.
“My lord, you are still in the prime of your life. Please don’t speak so pessimistically.”
As she spoke, she brought out the two old ginseng roots and showed them to him.
“I’ll have them prepared into a medicinal soup for you later. It should help restore some of your strength.”
Yang Xun glanced at them.
“Where did you get these ginseng roots from Baekje?”
Good heavens! He even recognized their place of origin. She certainly couldn’t fool him.
Xi Cai answered honestly, “They were a wedding gift from my cousin. He sent them to my mother, who passed them on to me.”
“Xie Qiao, the Vice Minister of the Left Secretariat?” Yang Xun leaned comfortably against the carriage wall. “He has always handled things properly. It seems he’s a thoughtful man indeed.”
For some reason, whenever Yang Xun spoke someone’s name, it made that person sound as though they were in imminent danger.
Xi Cai did not dare discuss Xie Qiao with him any further. She gave a casual reply before turning the conversation to the matter of her bed.
“Where are you planning to put it?” she asked. “Perhaps in my study? I could lie down whenever I grew tired from reading. It would be very convenient.”
Yang Xun countered with a question of his own.
“Are you planning to sleep in a separate room from me, my lady?”
Xi Cai was rendered speechless.
“Our bridal chamber already has a marital bed. We can’t possibly dismantle that one and replace it with my smaller bed!”
He turned his gaze away and smiled faintly.
“I’ve always felt that the marital bed was too large. Every morning, I wake up feeling as though you and I have been sleeping thousands of miles apart. A smaller bed would be just the right size. It would also make us feel closer to each other. Let’s do that.”
Xi Cai was left stammering.
She was already too tired to guess what was going on in his head. But it didn’t matter. If she acted a little slow-witted, he would eventually be the one to become impatient.
After the carriage returned to the Marquis of Yanling’s residence, Xi Cai immediately ordered someone to bring a small brazier out to the covered walkway. She intended to prepare the ginseng soup for him herself.
Inside the main bedroom, servants were busily dismantling the existing bed and installing her smaller one.
Sitting in front of the clay pot and listening to the bubbling liquid inside, Xi Cai remarked disdainfully, “The marquis really has no regard for tradition. Before a couple begins sleeping in a newly prepared bed, an auspicious date should be chosen to ensure nothing clashes with their fortunes. That way, the marriage can last a long time. Yet they’ve dismantled the bed after only two nights. It seems this marriage won’t last very long.”
Yu Wu and Gong Xi stood nearby with their sleeves tucked up. They glanced toward the servants coming in and out of the bedroom and curled their lips.
“The marquis is the master of this household. If anyone is going to suffer bad luck from this, it will be him, not our lady.”
Still, Yang Xun’s life force must have been incredibly strong. So many people regarded him as a thorn in their side, yet none had managed to bring him down.
Even now, she had absolutely no desire to see him recover. And yet here she was, meekly preparing ginseng soup for him!
At last, the commotion inside the main bedroom subsided. Mi Ao, the senior female steward, came over to report.
“My lady, the bed has been installed.”
Xi Cai stood up and went inside to inspect it.
Behind layers of heavy curtains, her embroidered bed stood quietly before a nine-panel painted screen. Two lamps hung behind the screen. Their light passed through it, creating two warm, hazy circles of illumination, each about the size of a fist.
The bed frame was draped with fine silk curtains, which were held back by jeweled hooks. Although the bed was smaller than the original one, there was still enough room for two people to sleep comfortably.
Xi Cai swallowed all her complaints and said that it looked very good.
Yang Xun returned to the inner bedroom after finishing his meeting with his subordinates. He, too, thought the arrangement was suitable.
“Old belongings have a spirit of their own. Your familiar bed will make you feel more comfortable, my lady.”
Xi Cai thought to herself, I should thank you for that. I’ve never heard of a man marrying a woman and taking her bed away along with her!
But what was done was done. There was no point dwelling on it.
She brought him the ginseng soup.
“My lord, your health is weak. Please drink this and replenish your strength.”
Yang Xun thanked her and accepted the bowl. However, instead of drinking it immediately, he lowered his head and examined it.
Suddenly, he asked, “My lady, you haven’t put poison in this, have you?”
Xi Cai’s expression changed instantly.
“My lord, you’ve gone too far! I’ve prepared this with the best intentions, and you actually suspect me of poisoning you?”
Furious, she ordered someone to bring a silver needle. She tested the soup in front of him and then held the needle out for him to see.
“What would I gain by poisoning my own husband?”
Yang Xun suddenly laughed. His tone remained as casual as ever.
“I was only joking. Why are you getting so upset, my lady? It’s not that I don’t trust you. There are so many people in this household, and we cannot be sure that no one will make a mistake or that an enemy won’t find a way to harm me. From now on, we should test all our medicinal decoctions and meals with a silver needle. It’s always better to be cautious. By protecting myself, I am protecting you as well.”
Excellent. Another path had been blocked.
Her indirect schemes would never be a match for his straightforward methods.
Xi Cai forced herself to smile.
“My lord is right. Being cautious can only do us good.”
She watched him drink the ginseng soup, then led him to the dining table.
Several exquisite dishes had been laid out. At last, there were no more heavily pickled foods!
Thank Heaven!
Yet as she ate, she could not suppress her sadness. Every mouthful made her heart ache.
All this food had been paid for with money from her dowry!
After the meal, they went to wash up separately. When they finally lay down on the bed, Xi Cai experienced a strange feeling.
A man was actually sleeping on her embroidered bed.
The innocent, peaceful days of her maidenhood had suddenly been contaminated.
With a flushed face, she turned her back to him and thought resentfully, First he eats my food, and now he sleeps in my bed. Where can I go to seek justice?
However, her troubled thoughts were soon interrupted by a series of creaking noises.
She turned to look at Yang Xun, wondering what had gone wrong.
Both of them sat up and began searching around the bed.
To find the loose joint, they had to shake the bed a few times. In the quiet bedroom, the entire bed rocked back and forth, producing a series of loud, continuous creaks.
Creak… creak… creak…
They finally found the source of the noise, but the situation was undeniably embarrassing. Both of them looked awkward.
It was already late, and they could hardly summon someone to repair the bed in the middle of the night. In the end, they had no choice but to move carefully, keep their movements as light as possible, and make do with the bed for the rest of the night.
The next day, Xi Cai ordered someone to find a carpenter. She had heard that the craftsmen in the eastern part of the city were particularly skilled.
Mi Ao smiled and said, “The furniture in the inner bedroom is too private for outsiders to handle. Our residence has its own carpenter. I’ll simply summon him.”
Ordinary households rarely kept their own carpenters, since there were few occasions when they needed one. Nor was the Marquis of Yanling’s residence like the imperial palace, which had a dedicated workshop employing craftsmen who received salaries and waited for assignments.
Yet this household kept a carpenter on hand at all times.
He was not merely a servant who happened to be good at repairs. He was a genuine carpenter who worked with a carpenter’s ink line and measuring tools.
It was difficult not to suspect that Yang Xun was deliberately pretending to be poor.
After all, the household supposedly ate nothing but pickled vegetables and bland food at nearly every meal, yet it could afford to keep an otherwise idle craftsman on its staff.
Sure enough, a carpenter carrying a basket of tools soon arrived. He crawled beneath the bed and began hammering away.
Afterward, he shook the bed to check his work. The unpleasant creaking had disappeared, and only then did he bow and take his leave.
Xi Cai casually mentioned that she wanted a new pingji—a small table or armrest used while sitting or reclining.
The pingji in the household had all been made to match the master’s height. When Xi Cai tried using one, she found it so tall that it was practically the height of an armchair.
Mi Ao immediately agreed.
“This servant will select the wood at once. We have some excellent timber in the storeroom, including huanghuali and rosewood…”
She suddenly seemed to realize that she had said too much and hurriedly added, “Those are leftovers from when the residence was first established and the furniture was made. If we put the pieces together, there should be enough to make something suitable.”
Xi Cai listened, and her suspicions grew even stronger.
At that moment, the maid who delivered Yang Xun’s medicine every day entered the room.
She wore a lilac half-sleeved jacket, and her hair was loosely gathered. Perhaps those who regularly served the master of the household were treated differently from ordinary maids. Her clothes were finer, and her appearance was more striking.
She carried a celadon porcelain bowl in her clean, slender hands and carefully placed it on the dining table.
Noticing a speck of dust on the cloak Yang Xun had left nearby, she turned and gently brushed it away.
Xi Cai asked Mi Ao, “Her name is Lü Hua, isn’t it? What’s her background?”
“Oh,” Mi Ao replied. “She’s a hereditary servant from the Yang family’s old residence. Her father inspects the master’s estates, while her mother is in charge of washing clothes in the rear courtyard.”
Xi Cai nodded. After a brief pause, she asked, “How old is she?”
“Sixteen or seventeen, at most. Someone once tried to arrange a marriage for her, but she cried and made a fuss, refusing to let the master agree to it.”
Ah, so there was something worth investigating.
Xi Cai said nothing more. Smiling, she rested her cheek against her hand and watched Lü Hua from a distance.
“What a capable young woman,” she remarked. “For a hereditary servant, marriage requires the master’s approval. I can see that she serves him very well. Among those who attend to the master, she seems the most clever and attentive. Perhaps he has grown quite dependent on her.”
Mi Ao immediately understood the hidden meaning behind her mistress’s words.
She hurriedly replied, “The people who serve in the main residence have all received special training. There are many who are far more capable than her. If Your Ladyship wishes, you can inspect the others as well and choose someone even better to serve you.”