Chapter 2

The maids not only gossiped but did so in great detail.  

Shinan eagerly relayed, “I heard that Old Master Fang is seriously ill, which is why Young Master Fang returned. Since coming back, he’s been staying in Old Master Fang’s room to tend to him and hasn’t stepped outside once. Old Master Fang was on the verge of passing, and even the coffin was prepared, but as soon as he saw his grandson, he miraculously recovered. Before, he couldn’t even take his medicine, but now he’s eating normally again—”  

Yuzan, who had just entered, found it amusing. “Who made this up? Did someone actually sneak into Old Master Fang’s room to witness it firsthand?”  

As she spoke, she placed a bowl of porridge in front of Ying Yue. The porridge had been reheated and was now thick and creamy, though there were no side dishes to go with it. Ying Yue didn’t mind—she was hungry and ate it eagerly while still listening to Shinan’s chatter.  

“Sister, it’s true!” Shinan insisted earnestly. “Meilu said everyone outside is talking about it, saying Young Master Fang is still filial. We’re just cooped up in the mansion and don’t know anything. But Madam Xu definitely knows—she even complained to Mama Cai about it, saying Young Master Fang is rude for not coming to pay his respects. *Sigh*, ever since he lost the Heir Apparent Position, Madam Xu has disliked him and criticized him endlessly. Now that he’s busy tending to his grandfather and can’t come, it should suit her just fine, but instead, she’s upset again.”  

Hearing about Madam Xu’s reaction, Yuzan believed it and chimed in, “That’s just how Madam Xu is—she’ll find fault no matter what. But no wonder she’s been so irritable lately. With Young Master Fang back, Xu Wangyue will probably have to marry soon.”  

“Not ‘probably’—it’s certain.” Shinan counted on her fingers with an air of authority. “First, Xu Wangyue is already eighteen, and Young Master Fang is twenty-one—neither can afford to wait any longer. Second, given Old Master Fang’s age and health, wouldn’t he want to see his grandson married before he passes? Madam Xu just hasn’t figured it out yet. She’s complaining about him not visiting, but if he does come, it’ll likely be to discuss Xu Wangyue’s wedding!”  

Her playful tone made Ying Yue chuckle mid-sip. Afraid of being improper, she quickly stifled her laughter, puffing her cheeks in the process.  

Yuzan also laughed. “Madam Xu criticizes him so much, yet she won’t call off the engagement. Honestly, these past few years when Young Master Fang disappeared was the perfect time to break it off. The Fang family couldn’t have objected, and Xu Wangyue’s reputation wouldn’t have suffered much.”  

“Breaking it off is easy, but where else would she find a family as prestigious as the Pingjiang Earl’s?” Shinan said bluntly. “It’s not like when Old Master Xu was still around.”  

The previous head of the Xu family, Old Master Xu, had been the most accomplished in generations, rising to the high-ranking position of Minister of Justice in his lifetime. It was under his authority that Xu Wangyue’s marriage had been arranged.  

Yuzan nodded. “True. These past few years, Madam Xu has tried everything, taking Xu Wangyue to countless banquets, but nothing’s worked.” She sighed. “Poor our young lady—she hardly ever gets to step beyond the inner gate. And when Xu Wangyue’s marriage hits a snag, Madam Xu takes it out on her.”

Ying Yue swallowed a mouthful of porridge and quickly waved her hand. “I won’t go. Madam Xu has such high standards—even Eldest Sister can’t measure up to the families she associates with. What would I do there? Even if she asked me, I wouldn’t want to go.” She added in a mutter, “Besides, I think what Madam Xu is doing isn’t right. All those invitations were obtained from the Fang family. I’d feel ashamed to benefit from such favors.”

Back when Old Master Xu arranged the marriage with the Pingjiang Earl’s household, no one thought the Xu family was overreaching. Old Master Xu was a high-ranking official of the second rank, overseeing the nation’s judiciary and penal systems—one of the Nine Chief Ministers. By then, the divide between civil officials and noble families had grown distinct, and intermarriage between them had become rare. Old Master Xu’s choice of a noble grandson-in-law had even drawn ridicule from the scholarly elite.

But times change. After Old Master Xu’s passing, the Xu family’s status declined at an alarming rate. Now, Master Xu only holds a sixth-rank position as a minor official in the Court of Judicial Review—a post granted eight years ago through Old Master Xu’s final petition before his death. In the eight years since, Master Xu has made no progress, remaining stagnant in his career. The reason Old Master Xu had endured his peers’ mockery to secure the marriage with the Pingjiang Earl’s family was precisely because he recognized his son’s incompetence. Noble families had hereditary titles, ensuring more stability than the uncertain futures of civil official households. In hindsight, Old Master Xu’s decision could be considered wise and decisive.

That said, Master Xu’s meager, unchanging rank could never command the same respect Old Master Xu once held among the nobility. Prestigious households like the Longchang Marquisate wouldn’t even extend invitations to his wife and daughters for their banquets.

But Madam Xu was a force to be reckoned with. If the Xu family couldn’t secure invitations, the Pingjiang Earl’s household certainly could—so she simply asked them for them.

Fang Han Xiao, the eldest son of the Fang family, had been missing for five years, leaving Old Master Fang with a lingering sense of guilt toward the Xu family. Thus, he readily fulfilled Madam Xu’s requests. He had even arranged for Hong Shi, the wife of the second son who had inherited the earldom, to take Xu Wangyue out to social gatherings to lift her spirits. However, Madam Xu had ulterior motives—if Xu Wangyue were seen accompanying Lady Hong too often, the engagement would become too prominent. So, she declined under various pretexts, opting only for the invitations.

At this point, Shinan also hesitated, unsure what to say. “Using invitations from one’s betrothed’s family to seek another Ideal Husband for Eldest Miss—only Madam Xu would dare do something like that.”

Madam Xu had been careful in her scheming, but living under the same roof, with servants observing their masters day in and day out, her true intentions had gradually become apparent.

Her plan was this: by leveraging the Pingjiang Earl’s household’s influence, Xu Wangyue could continue mingling with high-ranking noble families. Once a better prospect was secured, they could then annul the engagement with the Fang family.

This was the primary reason Madam Xu had always refused to cancel the marriage despite her deep dissatisfaction with it—if they did, Xu Wangyue would revert to being the daughter of a mere sixth-rank official, barred from the doors of the elite families she coveted. How else could she climb higher?

“Anyway, I’m not going,” Ying Yue concluded. Then, realizing the absurdity of her words, she chuckled. “As if Madam Xu would ever want to take me along.”

Hearing this, both maids cast sympathetic glances her way.

A sixteen-year-old young lady, no matter how strictly she was raised to stay within the inner courtyards, should still be taken out to meet guests a few times by her elders when it came time to arrange a marriage. Yet their young mistress was pitiful—she hadn’t even had such an opportunity once.  

Ying Yue felt uncomfortable under their gazes and covered her cheeks. “Stop thinking about it. Even if Eldest Sister is settled, there’s still Second Sister. It’ll be a long time before it’s my turn.”  

In truth, Xu Wangyue’s marriage had been arranged ten years ago. But Madam Xu didn’t see it that way. She was still lost in the past glory of when Old Master Xu was alive, believing that a daughter worthy of a Count’s heir could never be betrothed to a mute with no future (though it was the same person). As the current mistress of the Xu household, if she insisted on thinking this way, no one dared to shatter her delusion. They could only let her persist.  

Naturally, none of this effort would be wasted on the concubine-born daughters.  

Xi Yue was seventeen, Ying Yue sixteen—at their ages, most families would be steadily preparing dowries. But in this household, as long as the eldest legitimate sister above them remained unsettled, the two of them could only drift along uncertainly.  

The conversation was turning rather heavy, and Shinan, not wanting to burden her mistress’s mood, quickly steered the topic toward Xu Xi Yue. “Meilu-jie over there is praying with her palms pressed together, saying that now that Young Master Fang has returned, it’d be best if Eldest Sister married soon. If Second Sister drags this out any longer, it’ll be disastrous.”  

The older they got, the fewer suitable young men there would be, and the less room they’d have to choose.  

This logic applied to Ying Yue as well—she and Xi Yue were practically the same age. But since she rarely had the chance to go out, she had grown rather naive. With two older sisters still unmarried, she felt marriage was still far off for her and didn’t know to worry about it. Oblivious, she continued eating her porridge.  

Yuzan chimed in, “That may be so, but if this marriage really goes through, I think Young Master Fang is rather unlucky. If I were a man, I wouldn’t want to marry someone like Eldest Sister.”  

Shinan burst out laughing and nodded eagerly. “Me neither!”  

Yuzan might gossip, but she didn’t neglect her duties. Seeing Ying Yue finish the last spoonful of porridge and push the bowl and chopsticks aside, she promptly stepped forward to clear them, continuing, “I wonder if the Pingjiang Count’s family has noticed Madam and Eldest Sister’s intentions. Logically, they should have some idea—like today, for instance. Knowing that Young Master Fang has returned and Old Master Fang is in poor health, unless it was absolutely urgent, Eldest Sister shouldn’t have gone out again, by reason or propriety. Yet as soon as she heard the Longchang Marquis’s family was hosting a Flower Banquet, she still insisted on going. The Pingjiang Count’s family is really too accommodating—they actually helped secure another invitation.”  

At this, Shinan remembered something and quickly added, “That’s not all! Jie, you don’t know—I heard from the maids in Yun Yiniang’s courtyard that the Pingjiang Count’s family and the Longchang Marquis’s family actually don’t get along. Three years ago, when Old Master Fang’s health declined, he passed the Count’s title to Master Fang, but the position of General Commander couldn’t be inherited—it was taken by the Longchang Marquis. Because of this, though the two families appear civil, there’s deep resentment in private.”  

Ying Yue, who had been reaching behind her toward the small huanghuali cabinet for her favorite book to read later, turned back in surprise. “Really? Then Madam Hong has been too kind to our Madam.”

In the Xu household, if Madam Xu was considered a deity, then Master Xu was an even more enigmatic figure. Matters like his children’s marriages were trivialities in his eyes, not worth mentioning. When Old Master Xu was alive, he handled such affairs; after his passing, it fell to Madam Xu. In short, it had nothing to do with him. Since Madam Xu represented the Xu family, the Pingjiang Earl’s household naturally sent female members to receive her—hence Ying Yue’s remark.

Shinan said mysteriously, “Does the young mistress also find it strange? I suspect there’s something going on here.”

Ying Yue asked curiously, “What could it be?”

Shinan replied honestly, “—I don’t know.”

Yuzan, who had also paused her work to listen intently, laughed and rolled her eyes at her. “You don’t know, yet you speak with such enthusiasm—just teasing the young mistress for fun.”

Shinan chuckled sheepishly. “I only heard it from Sister Meilu and the others. As for what’s really happening, they haven’t figured it out either, and I’ve no way to find out.” She added, “Oh, Sister Meilu and the others all say that the eldest young lady’s trip this time will surely be useless. Young Master Fang has already returned—what more could she hope for?”

“Perhaps it’s because he’s back that she’s in such a hurry. Otherwise, why would Madam be so furious?”

Shinan nodded. “True. One last desperate attempt—who knows, maybe the heavens will drop a great opportunity.”

Listening to the maids’ banter, Ying Yue laughed. “I wish something would drop—preferably something that satisfies both Eldest Sister and Madam. If Madam is happy, our lives will be a little easier.”

Shinan and Yuzan both nodded in heartfelt agreement.

The three of them—mistress and maids—were quite alike: none had grand ambitions or remarkable talents, content simply to nestle quietly in the Clear Brook Courtyard and live their humble lives.

Well, Shinan and Yuzan did think a little further ahead—they occasionally envisioned Ying Yue’s future husband. They asked for nothing else (nor could they expect much under Madam Xu’s rule), but they hoped he would at least be gentle-tempered and treat their young mistress kindly. That would be more than enough.