Chapter 45: Two Chapters Combined

The betrothal gifts from the Qing princely estate were truly impressive. The pearls were presented in gold-thread embroidered bags of red and green gauze, while the silk fabrics were tied with gold-embroidered red and green silk ribbons—both festive and fitting for a princely mansion.

Yu Shi had Huang Shi busy handing out rewards to everyone while she herself spoke joyfully with the guests.

As a daughter of a concubine, she had relied solely on gentleness and obedience to win favor throughout her life. After marrying into the Pei family, since Pei Yiqing was also a son of a concubine, the couple dared not draw too much attention, always suppressing themselves for fear of displeasing others.

But now their daughter was to become the consort of the heir to the Prince of Qing—the future Princess Consort of Qing. From now on, they would no longer have to live in subservience.

At this time, She Niang could not go out, but she could feel the joy of her family. Even She Niang herself breathed a sigh of relief. Fu Rong brought her tea: "Miss, please have some tea."

She Niang turned to look at Fu Rong: "From now on, you will be my maid. Do not tell anyone about my affairs."

Fu Rong was surprised but quickly lowered her head and said, "I understand, miss."

"Good, as long as you understand. Dong Mei is about to get married, and Lan Re and Gui Fang are still young, so you will be the head maid," She Niang said, looking at her.

Fu Rong shuddered, and from then on, she never dared to be disloyal.

After She Niang's engagement was settled, the Prince of Qing's household requested the Imperial Astrologer's Office to select an auspicious date, which was set for the following August. By coincidence, Pei Yiqing's term of office was about to end, and he was transferred to the capital to serve as a Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

At the same time, his elder brother, who held the position of a third-rank political advisor, was also transferred to the capital to serve as a Right Advisor in the Office of Transmission.

Having both brothers serving as officials in the capital was indeed a happy occasion.

Yu Shi personally went to the Prince of Qing's household to bid farewell. The Princess Consort of Qing said with a smile, "It seems they are truly destined to be a couple. My son has also been ordered to go to the capital."

"The heir is also going to the capital? For what purpose?" Yu Shi asked.

The Princess Consort of Qing smiled and replied, "He is to manage the affairs of the Imperial Clan Court and serve as the chief editor of the imperial genealogy (Yudie)."

"Compiling the imperial genealogy is a significant undertaking! Well, in any case, if the heir ever wishes to eat my cooking, please tell him to feel free to visit," Yu Shi said warmly.

The Princess Consort of Qing nodded.

After exchanging a few more words, Yu Shi handed a painting to the Princess Consort of Qing: "This was given by my daughter to be presented to the princess. It is a painting of lakes and mountains, though I do not understand such things. I must trouble you to pass it on."

This painting had been commissioned by the Dowager Consort for the princess to create. It was because of this painting that the son of the Duke of Fuguo had invited everyone out for an excursion, which led to Yang Mo falling into the water. Two years had passed in what seemed like no time, and even the princess had forgotten about it. Yet, She Niang still remembered.

The Princess Consort of Qing thought to herself that She Niang was truly thoughtful, unlike Yang Mo, who, after failing to secure the marriage, had openly and secretly complained—words that had even reached her ears.

Although Yang Mo had resigned herself to marrying Li Qiong, She Niang's marriage to Li Ju caused her to smash everything in her room for an entire day. Porcelain and utensils lay shattered all over the floor.

But no matter how resentful she was, she could not change the facts.

When Li Niang heard the news, her jaw dropped in astonishment: "How did I not know about this? How did she manage to secure such a position?"

She had thought marrying the son of the Marquis of Dingbei was quite an achievement, but now her younger sister was about to become the consort of the heir to the Prince of Qing. If not for Old Madam Pei insisting on arranging a marriage for her, she might have been the one marrying the heir.

So, when Old Madam Pei and the others arrived, Li Niang suppressed her anger and went to see them. However, she could not afford to openly confront them, especially since the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion was still Old Madam Pei's maternal family.

Pei Ji, on the other hand, acted as he normally did. To his surprise, Old Madam Pei treated him coldly. He could understand Li Niang's attitude—she had never been particularly close to She Niang since childhood—but why was Old Madam Pei acting this way?

He kept these thoughts to himself and did not voice them aloud.

With Pei Yiqing returning to the capital to assume his post, Old Madam Pei brought Meng Shi and Pei Zhen back with her. The other branches of the family made their own choices. The second wife, Lu Shi, could not leave because her eldest daughter had passed away, her husband was paralyzed, and her second daughter had married the good-for-nothing Mo Yun. The third wife, however, brought her son along. Her son, already a government scholar at thirteen, was even more accomplished than Pei Ji.

The fourth and sixth branches were full-blooded brothers. With the sixth branch now connected to the Prince of Qing's household through marriage and Pei Yiqing serving as an official in the capital, they naturally decided to come.

The fifth branch could not leave for now as they held official positions locally.

While Old Madam Pei treated Pei Ji coldly, Huo Shi of the fourth branch showed him great concern. Though Pei Ji was honest and kind, he was not foolish—he knew what should not be said and kept his mouth tightly shut.

"When will your parents arrive in the capital?" Huo Shi asked with concern. After her mourning period ended, she had given birth to a son and naturally hoped that Pei Yiqing would help promote him in the future, so she was very enthusiastic.

Pei Ji thought this was something he could share. After a moment's consideration, he said, "Probably in the next five or six days. Traveling from Hangzhou to the capital will certainly take longer than coming from our hometown."

Huo Shi immediately went to Meng Shi with a suggestion: "Now that Fifth Miss has returned, she cannot continue living with her parents, right? In my opinion, since the second branch is not returning and the fifth branch is also staying behind, why not allocate a small courtyard for the unmarried young ladies? What do you think, sister-in-law?"

Meng Shi agreed: "Let the third branch move into the garden, and have She Niang and Shun Niang live together in the quarters originally shared by the second and third branches. This way, they will be closer to the old madam, which is a good thing."

"Sister-in-law is very thoughtful," Huo Shi said with a smile.

Meng Shi also knew that Old Madam Pei was feeling uncomfortable. Originally, she had intended to arrange a marriage between Shun Niang and the heir to the Prince of Xiang, but it was said that the heir to the Prince of Xiang was already engaged to a daughter of the Chu family. As for the heir to the Prince of Qing, there had been no opportunity. Old Madam Pei had thought her connections were extensive, but nothing had worked out, so she had to settle for the Chu family.

The nephew of Chief Grand Secretary Chu and younger brother of the Princess Consort of Chu was indeed a young man of excellent family background and character. However, there was an even better candidate—the heir to the Marquis of Xinan, a future marquis. The whole family had been satisfied, but then She Niang ended up engaged to the consort of the heir to the Prince of Qing.

The heir to the Prince of Qing held a higher title than the heir to the Marquis of Xinan, was younger, and was also marrying for the first time. Of course, Old Madam Pei felt her pride wounded—and Meng Shi felt the same.

But as her husband had said, "Isn't this a significant matter for the entire clan? The sixth branch is in Hangzhou, so it's only natural they benefited from their proximity. Since we will all be living under the same roof, why make such a fuss? Mother is getting older and can be a bit stubborn, but we should not be the same."

Only then did Meng Shi adjust her mindset.

While everyone in the family had their own thoughts, She Niang and the others were already nearing Tongzhou, near Beijing. They had traveled by boat and were in good spirits.

Yu Shi was discussing She Niang's dowry with her: "Our dowry cannot be lacking. The Prince of Qing's household has given such lavish betrothal gifts—we must prepare at least one hundred trunks. By the time others add their contributions, we might even reach one hundred and twenty trunks."

"Mother, my sister only had sixty-four trunks. Won't mine be too much?" She Niang asked.

Yu Shi waved her hand: "This is different. The betrothal gifts from the Prince of Qing's household are more than ten times those from the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion. Your dowry being only slightly larger than your sister's is not excessive. I told your sister back then that we would return double whatever the other family offered in betrothal gifts."

If they were marrying into ordinary official families, the dowries for both daughters would have been equal. But since the Prince of Qing's household had given such substantial betrothal gifts, they could not follow the usual practice.

For instance, thinking her daughter would remain in Hangzhou in the future, Yu Shi had purchased three hundred mu (about 49 acres) of farmland for her, which would all be given to her when she married.

She Niang leaned into Yu Shi's embrace: "Mother, you are so good to me."

Yu Shi smiled: "What is there to say about being good or not? Parents simply do their best."

With the two sisters marrying a few years apart, the parents had not been too rushed in preparing the dowries.

She Niang reflected that many things in this life were gradually changing. For example, her third sister had returned home and became the wife of the Prince of Jin. Shun Niang had not married Shao, the Principal Graduate, but was instead engaged to the heir to the Marquis of Xinan...

A single move could affect the entire situation. Because her mother had not died and she had not remained in her hometown, the fates of many people had changed.

She opened the window and saw the rushing river outside, flowing ceaselessly. Amidst it all, she felt very small.

"She Niang, don't get caught in a draft—you might catch a cold," Yu Shi reminded her.

She Niang smiled in agreement and had the window closed.

While their boat was waiting for a spot at the dock, they saw a large ship passing through unimpeded. Some people complained indignantly, but the dock official said, "That is the Flower and Bird envoy, specially selecting imperial consorts for the emperor. Do you still feel unjustly treated?"

Since the current emperor had only one son, after the mourning period ended, court officials submitted petitions requesting the selection of consorts. Thus, the process of selecting and sending beauties began.

For the Pei family, this was not a matter of grievance. Pei Yiqing had always been diligent in his official duties. Unlike others who had powerful backing, he was very careful.

Apart from such selection boats, there were also wedding barges. The Pei family's boat had hung out a placard upfront, and the people from the wedding barge even came over specially to greet them. To everyone's surprise, they turned out to be acquaintances. It turned out that Miss Chu was getting married and was even wedding into the Prince of Xiang's household.

Previously, when Old Master Chu passed away, many matters were handled with the Pei family's assistance. Pei Yiqing personally went aboard the wedding boat to exchange pleasantries for a while.

Only after the boats set sail did they go their separate ways.

After queuing up from here, the passage became smooth and unobstructed, and the boat soon arrived in Tongzhou.

Setting aside how exhausting it was for everyone to switch from water to land travel and not arriving home until evening, the family had allocated She Niang a courtyard—the one originally belonging to the second branch. Back then, in order to secure this location, Lu Shi had squeezed the third branch out to the corridor and even specially set aside an embroidery tower. Now, however, it all ended up benefiting her.

Yu Shi remarked, "I heard it was your Fourth Aunt who proposed it. She truly is your own aunt, always so thoughtful in her planning."

She Niang recalled her previous life living under Huo Shi's roof and shook her head with a bitter smile.

She first went to her new residence and found herself neighbors with Shun Niang. By now, Shun Niang had also come of age and grown into a young lady. Dressed in a pea-green pipa-collar blouse with a pearl-white pleated skirt, she looked very modest and plain.

She Niang, on the other hand, wore much brighter colors—a bright red round-collared top paired with an emerald green gold-embroidered trailing skirt. Even her hair was adorned with red beaded hair ornaments, her entire outfit very fashionable.

"Fifth Sister," Shun Niang called out promptly.

She Niang quickly stepped forward to support her: "Sixth Sister, you've grown even more beautiful. It's been so many years since we last saw each other."

Shun Niang smiled in agreement and glanced at She Niang before saying proactively, "I haven’t yet congratulated you, Sister. Everyone in the family is very happy for you."

These words were, of course, insincere. Probably even Li Niang wasn’t pleased, let alone Shun Niang, who had been taught by palace nannies and surely had her sights set on marrying into the imperial clan.

But She Niang didn’t press the matter at this time and instead said, "I’ve also heard about Sixth Sister’s happy news. I only just found out and haven’t had time to prepare a congratulatory gift yet. Please don’t hold it against me."

"Fifth Sister, what are you saying? How could I possibly hold it against you? Grandmother said we sisters should get along well," Shun Niang replied with a smile.

She Niang also chatted amiably as if they were close.

Nanny Xiang, who was nearby, saw this and immediately went back to report to Old Madam Pei: "Fifth Miss seems much gentler now, not like before. She’s also surprisingly beautiful."

"Who would have thought? She’s much more cunning than her sister. All day hunting wild geese only to be pecked in the eye by one," Old Madam Pei shook her head. Then she asked Nanny Xiang, "Find an opportunity to investigate how exactly she managed to rise so high."

Nanny Xiang quickly assented.

Those at home who saw She Niang all felt she had changed greatly, though She Niang herself paid it no mind. Not everyone could appear as detached and effortless as Old Madam Pei. If you didn’t have something, you had to fight for it; if you already had it, there was no need to exhaust yourself scheming.

Just like in her previous life, when she sat firmly as empress, no matter how much Consort Guan and others tried to provoke her into fighting, she turned a blind eye.

She slept fitfully that night and upon waking the next day, felt almost as if she were a guest in a dream. When Lan Ruo and Gui Fang came in to attend to her, they couldn’t help remarking, "This tooth powder isn’t as good as what we used in Hangzhou."

"Then let’s use the ones we brought," She Niang said with a laugh.

The household was now managed by Aunt Meng, who was not one to spend lavishly. Besides, now that the family had divided, each branch looked after their own belongings.

Sure enough, Lan Ruo brought the chrysanthemum-scented tooth powder from Hangzhou. After brushing, their mouths felt fresh and fragrant.

After washing up, She Niang put on a moon-white gown with diagonal closure, revealing a vivid red skirt beneath. She wore a gold necklace pendant inlaid with gems and jade around her neck. Tall and slender, the long gown accentuated her graceful figure.

After leaving the embroidery tower, she first went to Yu Shi’s place. Her sister-in-law, Huang Shi, had already been there for a while and, upon seeing her, said, "You’re here, Sister. Mother was just saying we should wait for you to have breakfast together."

"Perfect timing, I’m quite hungry," She Niang said with a smile.

Huang Shi noticed that She Niang was still the same as before—her status might have changed, but she hadn’t put on airs—and felt quite favorably toward her.

Breakfast was delivered from the main kitchen today. Yu Shi instructed Huang Shi, "Our expenses—take them to your First Aunt later. Say that since we’re all eating from the same pot, it’s only right to keep things warm and friendly. But even among close relatives, accounts should be clear."

"Yes," Huang Shi replied, not finding it the least bit troublesome.

This was one of the things Yu Shi appreciated about her daughter-in-law. She disliked girls who were too timid, afraid to speak up or handle matters, lacking the demeanor of a well-bred lady.

Breakfast consisted of plain rice porridge, meat porridge, four types of small pastries, and eight side dishes.

They had returned too late the previous day and only had a light meal, so this morning they were truly hungry. She Niang drank a bowl of porridge, ate two buns, and still felt unsatisfied, so she added half a bowl of meat porridge.

"Mother, I’d like noodles tomorrow," She Niang said. She always felt that porridge in the morning only lasted an hour; walking a few steps would make her hungry again.

Yu Shi quickly replied, "Alright, tomorrow I’ll have Xia Mama make noodles for you. Whatever kind you want."

She Niang thought to herself, having a mother really made one feel treasured.

After the meal, Yu Shi gave a purse of silver to Huang Shi, who took someone with her to Meng Shi’s place.

They had quite a lot to do today. Pei Yiqing had to report to his office and schedule an audience with the emperor. Additionally, the Marquis of Dingbei had invited their entire family over today, followed by the Marquis of Xinan’s household tomorrow, and the Yu family the day after.

After Huang Shi handled her tasks, Yu Shi had them change into guest attire and go first to Old Madam Pei’s place.

For this occasion, She Niang changed into a water-ripple patterned gown in tender green, paired with a pine-flower hue eight-panel Xiang-style skirt embroidered with butterflies amidst flowers. She wore a new set of hair accessories, looking both fresh and elegant yet luxurious.

This was the effect she wanted—not too plain. At home, she could dress ordinarily, but when receiving guests, she had to be more elaborately dressed. Once she was ready and went out, she saw that Shun Niang’s attire was also completely different from the previous day. Dressed in purple robes, she appeared much more dignified.

The two cousins were only a year apart in age, but She Niang was half a head taller than Shun Niang. In terms of looks, there was no comparison, and even her manners and etiquette surpassed Shun Niang’s, despite the latter having been taught by specialists.

Old Madam Pei felt somewhat irritated seeing this, but Nanny Xiang said, "A young lady ought to maintain her youthful appearance. Fifth Miss looks too mature, and her lips are painted so red—it really ages her."

But whatever the mistress and servant said behind closed doors, in public they had to pretend to treat everyone equally. "When you go to the Marquis of Dingbei’s household, don’t be mischievous."

"Yes," She Niang replied with a smile.

Yu Shi was happiest about visiting the Marquis of Dingbei’s household because she would get to see Li Niang. She Niang also wondered how Li Niang was doing these days.

In truth, She Niang had never been to the Marquis of Dingbei’s household before—not in her previous life, nor in this one. As an old-line noble family, the Marquis of Dingbei’s household was not as influential as the Marquis of Xinan’s, whose younger generation was more capable. Currently, the only titled member in the household was Li Niang’s father-in-law. In the next generation, her brother-in-law Wang Pan, according to Pei Ji, held a seventh-rank deputy commander position in the Northern Bureau of the Five-City Patrol Command.

After they set out, She Niang and Shun Niang shared a carriage. Shan Hu, Fu Rong, and even Xia Mama were somewhat displeased. Their young mistress was now a formally recognized wife of the heir (a hereditary noble title), so she ought to have her own carriage. Yet she was squeezed into the same carriage as Sixth Miss. They had no idea how this arrangement came about.

She Niang, however, understood perfectly. It was like when you lacked status but wanted to gain fame—there were two paths. One was to bundle up, making it seem like two people were on the same level, much like Consort Guan. In reality, she wasn’t even a full consort, let alone anywhere near the empress.

The other was to leverage a small status to gain a larger one—if you could get someone of higher status to engage with you, even a lower-status person’s value would multiply.

Clearly, Old Madam Pei couldn’t have Shun Niang quarrel or oppose She Niang openly, so bundling was the only option.

Once in the carriage, She Niang noticed Shun Niang sitting stiffly upright. She herself leaned back against the cushion and even yawned, drawing frequent glances from Shun Niang.

"Fifth Sister, be careful someone sees you," Shun Niang said, rather disapprovingly.

She Niang laughed. "It’s fine. No one outside can see me like this. You can lean back too—it’s more comfortable."

Shun Niang quickly waved her hand in refusal.

She Niang paid her no further mind. She truly believed that eating well and sleeping well were hard to come by. Her days in the inner chambers were limited. In the future, there would be a crowd of mothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and other relatives to deal with. Moreover, since Li Ju was the Superintendent of the Imperial Clan, she heard he also handled matters within the imperial clan. As the wife of the heir, she might end up meddling in everyone’s business—there would be plenty of troubles ahead. For now, she would rest whenever she could.

Soon, the group arrived at the Marquis of Dingbei’s household. The Old Madam of Dingbei was nearly seventy years old. Though her hair was silver, she was still spirited and vigorous. Arm in arm with Old Madam Pei, she entered with great warmth.

The Lady of Dingbei had aged considerably over the past few years, most noticeably with pouches beneath her eyes. She was chatting with everyone when she saw She Niang and Shun Niang and exclaimed, "The young ladies have grown so remarkably lovely—I can scarcely recognize them."

She Niang quickly said, "You’re too kind, Aunt."

After finishing the greeting, she caught sight of Li Niang at once. As soon as Li Niang saw She Niang, she hurriedly pulled her aside and said, "You all hid this from me so well!"

She Niang felt somewhat awkward. "What do you mean, kept you in the dark?"

Before anything was officially announced, who would dare to gossip about it outside?

Li Niang also realized that her words were inappropriate, but she was eager to ask She Niang how she had been chosen, and so on. Unfortunately, with her mother-in-law present, it wasn’t the right time for her to say more.

Li Niang had two sisters-in-law. The elder was addressed as Eldest Madam Wang, a reticent and steady person. The younger, Second Madam Wang, was a second wife, about the same age as She Niang herself. Her features were finely sculpted, and she seemed to enjoy lively gatherings and was also very capable. But Li Niang, caught up in her own world, kept fiddling with her hair, completely absorbed in her own beauty.

Even the others in the Marquis of Dingbei’s household noticed how completely different the two sisters were. She Niang had appeared somewhat languid in the carriage earlier, but after alighting, her demeanor was absolutely impeccable. She didn’t speak much, but when she did, her words always hit the mark.

For instance, when the Marchioness of Dingbei asked about the distance of their journey, She Niang replied, "Roughly three thousand four hundred li. Actually, it goes quite quickly with favorable winds. But if we encountered strong winds, had to wait for their turn to depart, or if there were many boats on the river, it could slow down."

"We’ve never been to the south in all these years. I’ve heard the scenery in Jiangnan is the most beautiful," the Marchioness of Dingbei said with a look of yearning.

She Niang smiled and said, "The architecture in Jiangnan is delicate and intricate. For example, the carved windows in your home—craftsmen might spend three years meticulously carving them. But the alleyways are narrow, and when it rains, moss covers the ground. It’s quite different from the capital, where the sky is vast and birds soar freely, the land is rich, and the people prosperous—it’s also wonderful."

Even though she was already engaged, she hadn’t yet married into the family, so she presented various exquisitely crafted needlework to the elders. Shun Niang also offered several colors of silk thread, but the people in the Marquis of Dingbei’s household clearly praised She Niang more than her. Shun Niang pouted, her expression darkening for a moment.

She Niang, of course, noticed Shun Niang’s expression. She thought to herself that Shun Niang didn’t understand this principle—the respect wasn’t for her personally, but clearly for the status of the person she was going to marry. Just like how Shun Niang was treated like a princess in the Pei family, was it truly because she behaved better than others? It was only due to Old Madam Pei’s favor.