The Beauty Within the Gates
Chapter 117
After consulting Old Madam Wen, and with the lesson of the Eldest Madam fresh in mind, Eldest Master Wen sent someone with a reply the next day, agreeing to the marriage between the Wei family and Third Young Lady.
Wen Suning’s door had not opened since yesterday. Eldest Master Wen had advised her. Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master had also gone to advise her, but she didn’t respond. Concubine Xue rose early to make soup and handed it to Wen Suning’s personal maid.
“Just say the kitchen made it. She has not eaten for a whole day. Do not let her harm her body.”
Just after the maid left, Old Madam Wen arrived. Old Madam Wen personally called from outside the door, “Eldest Young Lady.”
Only then did Wen Suning open the door.
After Old Madam Wen went inside, she saw that Wen Suning was properly dressed, her face calm, without the slightest sign of decline or despair. She sat quietly beside her grandmother, saying nothing.
Old Madam Wen knew what sort of temperaments the grandchildren in the house all had. If Eldest Young Lady had been a boy, perhaps she would have achieved more than the young masters in the family. She was clever, skilled at analyzing situations, and could always find the path that was most beneficial and least troublesome for herself. She was not easily disturbed by worldly feelings.
Old Madam Wen asked softly, “Do you feel wronged?”
Wen Suning shook her head. “For me to have reached today, to be reduced to everyone’s laughingstock, is all caused by fate. There is nothing to say.”
“A laughingstock?” Old Madam Wen gave a scoff. “People live one life striving to become above others, to live brightly and respectably. Who has not done a few embarrassing things? Who can laugh at whom?”
Wen Suning lowered her head and again did not speak.
“Grandmother came today to ask you what you intend in your heart.”
Wen Suning said blankly, “I do not know.”
In the past, she had always known clearly what she wanted and what sort of road she wished to take. Yet now, everything in this world was telling her that fate surpassed all. No matter how hard one tried, it was useless.
She was not young anymore. Among the Wen family’s three young ladies, she was the eldest, yet her marriage had fallen to last place. As for the noble families in the Eastern Capital that had thoughts toward her, those who should have come during this time had all come. Those who had not come to the door would not come in the future either.
Rather than make do, she might as well live alone for the rest of her life.
Wen Suning had thought for a day. At this moment, she told Old Madam Wen her thoughts. “Grandmother, I fear that in this life, I have no fate with the mortal world. I am willing to spend my years beside the blue lamp.”
“Do you think that by keeping company with the blue lamp, you can escape everything and live in peace for a lifetime?” Old Madam Wen sighed lightly. “As long as a person lives and still breathes, there is no place that can truly allow you peace.”
“Grandmother owes you a wedding. Sooner or later, I must repay it. Today, I came to ask you. Grandmother does have a method that can allow you to marry with dignity. Are you willing?”
Half a month later, Wen Suning received a letter from Fengcheng. There was only one sentence on the paper:
The green willows droop to brush the ground; the willow catkins swirl and fill the sky.
Signed: Xie Heng.
Wen Suning’s eyes trembled slightly.
The green willows droop to brush the ground; the willow catkins swirl and fill the sky. When willow branches are all snapped, and flowers have all flown away, may I ask the traveler, will he return or not?
After her wedding had been replaced by Second Younger Sister, her birth characters and name record had all been returned to the Wen family. From then on, she had no connection to the Xie family.
When the Xie family’s eldest branch met disaster, and Xie Heng fell from Supervising Secretary to a miscellaneous errand runner, after hearing the news, she had only dazedly paused for a moment and sighed with melancholy, lamenting that fate toyed with people. If not for calamity, Eldest Young Master Xie should not have been like this.
Though she had felt sympathy, it was also from the position of an onlooker. She had felt pity for him, while her own life still had a long road ahead.
Beneath the Son of Heaven’s feet in the Eastern Capital, high officials and nobles were everywhere. It would not be difficult for her to marry a husband with a good family background, one even more outstanding than Xie Heng.
But fate insisted on denying her wish.
She understood what Grandmother’s words had meant that day. If she and Xie Heng married, not only could she rid herself of the joke that she was inferior to others, but she could also gain a fine reputation for loyalty and constancy.
The Xie family’s eldest branch’s calamity had passed. Though Xie Heng had returned to Fengcheng to continue serving as county magistrate, with the Xie family there, his future was not entirely destroyed.
But whether she held affection for him or not, Xie Heng knew. When he was trapped in the mire, she had not extended the slightest helping hand. Now that he had walked out of it, why would he kindly come to fulfill her reputation?
She had thought Xie Heng would not agree.
Now, these few sparse words on the letter seemed like a bridge suddenly reaching up from the bottom of an abyss when she had reached the end of the road. Her fingers lightly pinched the letter paper as she lifted her head and looked toward the sky outside the window.
She had wholeheartedly wanted to come to the Eastern Capital, wanted to gather all its splendor into her arms, stand at the highest point, and become one with its prosperity. Yet that prosperity was too dazzling. It pierced her eyes and stabbed her heart, refusing to let her draw close.
Before Old Madam Wen left, she had said to her, “Since childhood, you have abided by rules and calculated everything according to the word ‘profit.’ But you forgot that the human heart is alive. A lifetime is only so much. There is no need to rigidly cling to convention. Before calculating, one should first place the heart at the front.”
A few days later, Old Madam Wen announced that Wen Suning and Eldest Young Master Xie were engaged.
Once the news spread, everyone looked at her in a new light. They said she had not forgotten old feelings, that she had even refused such a good marriage with the Wei family, all for the sake of waiting for Eldest Young Master Xie. The prosperity she wanted was something Xie Heng could not give her. But he had given her a good name by which she could continue walking forward.
—
The day Wen Suning left the Eastern Capital happened to be the day the examination rankings were posted.
Xiangyun and the young servant by Second Madam’s side had gone early to wait. Aunt Qing was serving Wen Shuse breakfast when they heard laughter outside.
Hearing the sound, Aunt Qing guessed it was good news. She placed a bowl of light vegetable-stem congee before Wen Shuse and smiled in congratulations. “Miss can be at ease. We told you the Young Master would definitely pass.”
Xie Shao had passed the provincial examination. Next, they would wait for next year’s metropolitan examination. Second Madam took out silver to reward the servants in the courtyard. Everyone received a share of good fortune, but Scholar Xie himself was not in the Eastern Capital.
Two months had passed, and there was still no letter from him. Even Cui Nian had lost contact.
Wen Shuse’s appetite grew worse and worse. She had originally thought that as long as she avoided greasy meat and fish, she would be fine. Who knew that after drinking one bowl of congee in the morning, she would immediately vomit it all cleanly.
At first, Wen Shuse said she had caught a cold, and no one in the room paid much attention. After Second Madam learned that she had vomited, she quickly called a physician to the residence.
As soon as the pulse was taken, the physician smiled and offered congratulations. “Congratulations, Madam. You are with child.”
The two had been married for more than half a year. They had worked so hard in the first few months with no movement. Unexpectedly, once the person left, the child came. Wen Shuse got her wish and let out a long breath of relief. Though she had lost to A’Yuan, fortunately, it would still be the same year.
Chancellor Xie and Second Madam were even more delighted. Their son was not here, but their grandchild had arrived. Second Madam was more nervous than if she herself were pregnant. She invited in a woman from outside who specialized in caring for pregnant women. Three meals a day were all prepared according to Wen Shuse’s appetite. Whatever she wanted to eat would be made immediately.
Even though that woman changed the dishes in every possible way, Wen Shuse still could not eat. When it was severe, she could even vomit up sour water.
After Old Madam Wen learned the news, she could not feel at ease and instructed Wen Huai, “Gao Xian’s morning sickness has been terrible these past two days. You must put more effort into her food. Do not give her seafood. Eating too much of that carries heavy cold energy. Make more soups…”
After Wen Huai listened to her chatter, he accepted the order and went to make soup. Afraid it would cool, he carried the soup jar directly to the door. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw several servants standing beneath the corridor, each holding a tray. There were meat and vegetarian dishes alike, all waiting for the person inside to summon them.
What was Grandmother still worried about? The Xie family was clearly worshipping her like a Bodhisattva.
Since the soup had already been made, it could not be wasted. He carried the jar inside. Wen Shuse was lazily reclining on the couch. Wen Huai was used to seeing her full of spirit on ordinary days. Seeing her suddenly wilted, he was somewhat worried too. He leaned closer and touched her forehead. “What is it? Are you very uncomfortable?”
“Mm.” Wen Shuse nodded weakly.
After becoming pregnant, she became especially sensitive to scents. The moment Wen Huai sat down, she smelled a familiar fragrance.
Wen Shuse froze, sniffed, then leaned toward Wen Huai and carefully smelled him.
Wen Huai was startled by her movement and looked at her guardedly. “What are you doing?”
Wen Shuse solved the case again. At last, she knew where the large missing lump of snow-skin cream had gone. But she did not give him the same treatment as her husband. She mercilessly exposed him. “Brother, you stole my snow-skin cream.”
Wen Huai’s face stiffened. He immediately stood and argued, “You… nonsense.”
Wen Shuse held on and would not let go. “That bottle of mine was still new. I had only used it two or three times after buying it. Your hands are truly black. Every time you came, you dug out such a large lump. You almost scraped it to the bottom…”
Even the tips of Wen Huai’s ears turned red. He had no choice but to admit it, then complained, “That jar of yours is too small…”
His face was big. Could he not dig out a little more?
“You have become somewhat fairer.” Wen Shuse sized him up.
“But I still have better ones. I guarantee that once Brother applies them for a few days, you will immediately become fair again.”
Having had his thoughts exposed, Wen Huai lifted his foot to leave.
Wen Shuse hurriedly called, “Xiangyun.”
“This servant is here.”
“Take out all my snow-skin creams. Pack them and give them to Brother.” Now that she was pregnant, she temporarily could not use these things anyway.
Wen Huai’s feet abruptly froze at the threshold. In the end, he still could not bear to leave.
“Brother, remember: three times a day. Apply more. By the time you marry next year, you will be as fair as a jade-faced young master.”
Wen Huai did not turn back. He quickly snatched the bundle from Xiangyun’s hands and fled out the door.
—
Only, before waiting until next year’s wedding, Wen Huai saw the Sixth Young Lady ahead of time. It was Old Madam Yu’s sixtieth birthday. During the national mourning period, music and banquets were not encouraged, but if they closed the doors and ate one family reunion meal, no one would come to regulate it. Although the Yu family had not sent an invitation, as the Yu family’s future grandson-in-law, with Old Madam turning sixty, Wen Huai had no choice but to visit.
In the morning, Old Madam Wen called him before her and instructed him on what gifts to prepare. Wen Huai sat to one side, rarely distracted.
Sixth Young Lady Yu still thought he was a waiter. Once he went today, his identity would certainly be exposed. He wondered what her reaction would be. Without anyone noticing, the weather had reached late autumn. The sun overhead was covered by clouds, half hidden and half visible, without the slightest warmth.
The Yu family lived outside the inner city. It took two hours by carriage to arrive.
The Eldest Young Master Yu was already waiting before the gate to welcome guests. As soon as Wen Huai got down from the carriage, Eldest Young Master came forward to greet him. “Yesterday, I sent someone with a message to Young Master Wen. Old Madam is not holding a birthday banquet this year, and the restaurant business is busy, so you need not make this trip. Presumably, the servant did not pass along the words.”
Wen Huai smiled. “Old Madam is celebrating her birthday. How could I not come?”
He turned and instructed the servant to unload the congratulatory gifts from the carriage. “The wind is strong today. Young Master Wen, please come in quickly.”
Even though Old Madam had said in advance that she would not hold a birthday banquet, quite a few people still came to the door. The residence had been busy since early morning. Sixth Young Lady was still waiting to be married and was still a member of the Yu family, so when things became busy, she also helped out, carrying a teapot around to deliver tea to the various rooms.
The wind today was indeed strong. A gust blew beneath the corridor, and a wave of chill came over her. Sixth Young Lady wrapped the cloak around herself more tightly.