Chapter 30

The sun dipped westward as a weary group trudged into the inn.
Fourth Miss Yu and her servants were mixed among them, bewildered and at a loss.
The officers arranged everyone's lodgings: some to the wood rooms, some to the communal bunks. The exiles were meek and obedient; everything was in order.
Fourth Miss Yu's face grew ever more sour; the conditions were so poor she couldn't imagine sleeping in such a place.
How could a dozen or so people share one room?
She realized once again that this was the daily life of exiles, nothing but hardship and despair.
Her determination not to marry only hardened.
"Aunt, if you keep eating poorly and living like this every day, how will your health hold up? Your complexion..."
She looked at Madam Qian's ruddy face and stopped short.
She hadn't noticed before; only now did she see that the members of the second branch looked well, walking with a spring in their step, very different from the sallow-faced crowd, as if they belonged to another world.
Madam Qian showed a flicker of confusion on her face; she was about to speak when her eyes suddenly brightened. "Qing'er, over here."
Mu Wanqing, with a bundle slung over her shoulder, strolled in from the doorway. Behind her, the father and son carried bedding and their important belongings.
The constable hurried over cheerfully. "Third Miss, we've arranged two rooms for you."
Mu Wanqing wasn't one to suffer in silence, when there was money, she improved her surroundings. They had been making do in one room before; now they had two!
One room for the father and son, the other for Mu Wanqing and her mother; the two rooms were next to each other so they could look out for one another.
She inclined her head slightly toward the constable in thanks. "Thank you."
Graceful and self-possessed, she moved with measured decorum.
Fourth Miss Yu watched all this and felt even more puzzled. Why did the constable deal only with Mu Wanqing? Wasn't the head of the second branch Second Master Mu?
The room contained a large bed, a cushioned couch, and behind a screen a small private chamber, everything spotlessly clean.
Mu Wanqing cast a quick glance around and seemed quite pleased with the place.
The innboy asked solicitously, "Madam, do you need anything else?"
Mu Wanqing unstrapped her bundle and pulled out clean changes of clothes. "Bring several buckets of hot water, and a few plates of tea-cakes. If we can't finish them, wrap them to go."
She handed over ten coins as a tip; the boy didn't complain and accepted cheerfully. "All right."
Mu Wanqing looked at the mistress and her servant lingering at the doorway and raised an eyebrow. "Fourth Miss Yu, how will you and your servant be arranged? Will you share our room, or pay for another? You aren't under the constable's charge, you just need the money."
Her voice was cool and carried an unmistakable authority.
Fourth Miss Yu glanced at the busy people next door, then at the sharp young woman before her, and felt pressured. "...We'll stay with you."
In a strange place, how could she dare live alone?
Mu Wanqing was blunt. "Fine, take the couch, your wet nurse can sleep on the floor. Is that all right?"
With everything decided, what else could Fourth Miss Yu do? "All right."
Fourth Miss Yu and her servant had only a single bundle between them, there was nothing much to unpack.
Mu Wanqing found the Yu family curious, tossing their daughter off like that and not caring for her. They hadn't even prepared a dowry, let alone decent luggage.
Those who knew it was a marriage understood, but anyone else might think they'd simply dumped off a bundle.
"You didn't bring bedding. In light of how hard it is to travel alone, we'll give you what the Chen family sent us; you won't have to share our lodging fees. As for food and clothing, you'll have to cover those yourselves, does that work?"
Fourth Miss Yu was stunned. "What?"
Mu Wanqing took a chair and sat, as if about to have a long, friendly talk. "Our household spends one and a half taels of silver a day, one tael goes toward food shared with the constable, half a tael for lodging. With you added, we can absorb the lodging cost, but the food must be extra."
She had no reason to pay for Fourth Miss Yu, her silver hadn't blown in on the wind.
Fourth Miss Yu was too shocked to reply. Her wet nurse was angry. "My young mistress is to be your Mu family's future daughter-in-law! They say a woman goes to her husband's house; in matters of clothing and food it's the Mu family's responsibility to provide, "
How could they make her pay for herself? It was simply improper.
Mu Wanqing was too weary to argue with a servant. "Fourth Miss Yu, I know you don't want to marry, and I understand. Once you marry you'll be entered into the criminal register and become a woman everyone looks down on."
She paused. "So it's better to make things clear from the start, no unnecessary entanglement. If someday you find a good match, the Mu family will help you along."
Her suggestion left Fourth Miss Yu bewildered. "How can you think that traveling with us won't ruin my chances of getting a good name when I marry..."
Mu Wanqing waved her hand. Those weren't the real problems. "Would you be willing to become my parents' adopted daughter?"
Fourth Miss Yu froze again, completely lost. "An adopted daughter?"
Fate shouldn't be forced, Mu Wanqing thought; better to be frank from the start. "Yes, return the betrothal papers and annul the engagement. Be an adopted daughter instead. Even without blood ties we can be family, supporting and helping one another."
"If you can't go home, the Mu family is decent and honorable, we wouldn't abandon you." She said it with easy confidence, then added, "And besides, I don't want my second brother to marry a woman who doesn't love him, he'd be unhappy his whole life."
She was thinking of her brother; the bright, laughing boy deserved a wife whose whole heart and eyes were his alone.
Fourth Miss Yu wasn't a bad person, she was simply not the right match.
"Whether it's marriage or any partnership, it must be something both parties want..."
"Third Miss, all the vegetables are bought, come and look." A voice from outside interrupted Mu Wanqing.
She glanced at the sky; it was time to make supper. She had promised to cook a feast to reward everyone.
"I have something to attend to outside. Take your time to think it over, no rush."
Fourth Miss Yu couldn't help calling after her. "Wait, can you make that decision?"
"Of course." Mu Wanqing exuded confidence; there was light in her eyes.
This was a kind of assurance Fourth Miss Yu had never seen in any other girl.
When she left, she took her family with her to help.
Fourth Miss Yu felt unsettled. She shut the door tightly; her beautiful face showed a trace of fragility and her thoughts wandered.
What was she to choose?
She didn't want to be branded a criminal's wife, but where could a lone girl go? The outside world was dangerous.
The wet nurse gathered the girl to her and looked at her with pity. "Miss, I don't trust this. How old is she? No matter how indulged at home, her family wouldn't let her meddle in her brother's marriage. Who knows what she's after? The Mu family's rules are in disarray, it's just too chaotic."
To send an unmarried girl out to deal with affairs, who did they think they were insulting?
Fourth Miss Yu's expression was bewildered, like a lost fawn. "But what does she want from me? I have nothing."
"You have your natal family, you have your father and brothers to rely on..." The wet nurse's voice weakened; her confidence was clearly lacking. "Your father is an imperial censor. If he petitions the emperor, the Mu family could be spared punishment. That's what they're counting on."
Fourth Miss Yu gave a bitter little laugh. “Do you think my father would plead for me?”
The wet nurse fell silent for a moment. No way! If he intended to, he would have already brought it up with the emperor.
“Master is impartial.” The wet nurse harbored some resentment, but she urged earnestly, “Miss, don’t blame your father. You should write home more, mend things with your natal family. A woman’s backing is her family, now that the Censorate is standing behind you, the Mu family’s second branch will have to fawn and flatter you; no one can overstep you.”
She was loyal and sincere toward her young lady, but after all she was a servant with limited perspective.
Not even married yet and expecting the husband’s household to roll out the red carpet, just because of a father in the Censorate?
Even if the two families’ standings were unequal and the Mu family had fallen from grace, they were still the ones who would determine Fourth Miss Yu’s future.
Unless the engagement were annulled.
A knock sounded at the door. The mistress and maid immediately fell silent, faces uneasy, who could it be?
“Fourth Miss Yu, our Mu family’s matriarch has come. Quickly, open the door.”
The matriarch? Old Madam Mu? Fourth Miss Yu jumped to her feet, only then did she remember the woman’s presence.
The wet nurse fluttered in a panic. “Oh no, we didn’t pay our respects first, how rude. Why didn’t the second branch warn us?”
Fourth Miss Yu drew a deep breath. “Go open the door.”
Madam Mu and the third madam entered. Madam Yao introduced them; Fourth Miss Yu had no time to study her in detail and instead offered a graceful bow. “Greetings, Matriarch.”
She was polite and precise in her manners.
Old Madam Mu’s eyes narrowed slightly, this was the bride she had personally chosen for the second branch.
Born of a lesser wife but raised as if legitimate, she was naturally proud yet had a fragile fate.
Madam Yu loved to lean on propriety to assert her status, drilling the household girls in the Three Obediences and Four Virtues.
And noblewomen did prefer daughters-in-law who fit that mold; the Yu family’s eldest had married into a fine match.
When it came to Fourth Miss Yu, Madam Yu naturally did not want her rival’s daughter to marry above her station, so she maneuvered things and betrothed her to the second son of Mu’s second branch, a son born to a concubine.
Was proud Fourth Miss Yu going to accept that?
Refusal breeds trouble.
Madam Mu smiled kindly, took Fourth Miss Yu’s hand and praised her repeatedly.
“The Yu family’s upbringing is admirable. A Yu daughter stands out, well-mannered and virtuous. I adore such good girls. Child, if the second branch treats you poorly, come to me; I will make decisions for you.”
She was the very picture of a doting elder. Fourth Miss Yu was taken aback and flattered. “Thank you, Matriarch.”
She knew this was the Mu family’s matriarch, the highest authority, her words carried the most weight.
Win the matriarch’s favor and her life might soften.
Old Madam Mu wasn’t actually fond of delicate, fawning girls, those reminded her of the alluring concubines. Still, she made a show of liking Fourth Miss Yu. “You’re literate and well-bred, a fine girl. The second branch’s rules are lax, Mu Wanqing lacks propriety, spoiled by her parents. In the future you’ll be her sister-in-law; it’ll be your responsibility to discipline her.”
Fourth Miss Yu hadn’t expected such bluntness and was stunned. “Aunt Qian presides over that household; how could it fall to me?”
Old Madam Mu shook her head with an air of helplessness. “She’s unworldly, only knows to dote on her daughter. Loving too much without thinking long-term, proper discipline is necessary. The Mu daughters are a single unit; Third Miss’s antics are intolerable and will drag down the others…”
Bang. The door was kicked open.
Mu Wanqing stood in the doorway, her eyes icy as they fixed on everyone in the room.
Old Madam Mu shivered in fright. “Y-you’re back? We,we were just chatting casually, nothing important.”
Fourth Miss Yu: …
No one even asked anything and you start blabbering all that, why so eager to talk? You’re the elder! Is that how you behave?
Madam Yao looked as guilty as a thief caught in the act. “We didn’t do anything, honestly.”
For a moment Fourth Miss Yu couldn’t tell who was elder and who was junior.
Mu Wanqing raised an eyebrow, her gaze landing behind the matriarch. “Third Madam, Rongxue asked me to help last time, she said she wanted a carriage…”
She stopped there.
Madam Yao’s eyes brightened. She babbled everything out immediately. “The matriarch said to let Fourth Miss Yu take on the duty of disciplining you. But really, you’re so clever and capable, if I had a daughter like you, I wouldn’t worry in my next life.”
The latter half was the truth; she had thought this more than once.
“The matriarch is old and senile…”
Yes, mothers-in-law are to be flattered and placated.
Old Madam Mu’s face darkened. “It’s the Third Madam’s doing.”
Madam Yao had dreamed of owning a carriage, but the legitimate branch hadn’t been allotted one; she could only look on with envy.
As long as Mu Wanqing didn’t nod her agreement, they would never get a carriage.
“Wanqing, I was obtuse before and said things I shouldn’t have. I’m clear-headed now, you’re the most promising of the Mu family, far better than your third uncle. From now on we’ll rely on you to bring honor to our name, no one else can do it…”
She launched into exaggerated flattery. Old Madam Mu trembled with anger while Fourth Miss Yu and her wet nurse exchanged looks of disbelief.
Who am I? Where am I?
Mu Wanqing finally smiled, satisfied. “I’ll speak to Officer Zeng later and secure a spot for you.”
Madam Yao’s eyes shone with joy; she practically danced. “Thank you, great niece. You’re so kind and generous and sensible, no one in this branch is as capable as you. Wanqing, you don’t know how much I envy your mother.”
Mu Wanqing said coolly, “Rongxue is also in a difficult spot. She said that if the three of you, mother and daughters, had a carriage, you could find a way to survive. So I agreed.”
Madam Yao froze, then turned away and quietly wiped the tears from the corner of her eye, a hundred complicated feelings welling up inside her.
Mu Wanqing didn't even step inside; she stood in the doorway and called out, "I need a few women to help with work, twenty copper coins..."
Her words hadn't finished when a crowd seemed to appear from nowhere. "I'll sign up."
"Pick me, pick me."
Madam Yao threw modesty to the wind. "Wanqing, I'm quite capable too, choose me."
The carriage was almost within reach, but with it came debt: a hundred taels of silver.
She had to earn more. She couldn't rely on men or on her mother-in-law; she had to depend on herself.
Mu Wanqing gave a faint nod and casually pointed to a few women, Madam Yao among them.
Those chosen beamed; those who weren't sighed.
Everyone wanted that carriage money as quickly as possible. Their minds were full of one thing: making money, making money, making money!
Mu Wanqing turned her head. "Old Madam, why are you still here? Don't tell me you plan to stay for dinner. You're not invited."
"Hmph." Old Madam Mu was furious, her own daughter-in-law had betrayed her.
Mu Wanqing found her irritating. In the time it took to turn, the old woman had stirred up trouble again; she was stubborn as a mule and seemed determined to pick fights with the second household.
"If this happens a second time, the carriage berth will never go to the head of the main house. You can keep walking and walking until you reach the frontier, no, maybe you'll never reach it at all. Ha."
The single "ha" was wickedly mocking and sent blood to Old Madam Mu's forehead. "Mu Wanqing, how dare you curse me?"
Mu Wanqing lifted her chin, brazen and insolent. "And what are you going to do about it? Got the nerve to hit me?"
Old Madam Mu: …
This granddaughter was a handful, she wanted to throw her out.
She turned and left. Mu Wanqing's gaze fell on Fourth Miss Yu and her servant; both of them stiffened involuntarily, holding their breath as if facing some great danger.
Don't ask, of course they were terrified!
Mu Wanqing smiled faintly. "Don't be afraid. I don't hit women."
The wet nurse quivered even more. Terrified, indeed.
The crowd followed Mu Wanqing in a clamor. Only then did the wet nurse collapse to the ground, wipe her brow, and breathe in great, ragged gasps. "Who is Third Miss Mu, anyway? Everyone treats her so strangely."
Fourth Miss Yu was puzzled. Old Madam Mu feared her, while everyone else seemed to hold her in equal parts respect and dread.
It was very odd.
Wasn't Old Madam Mu supposed to be the head of the family, the one everyone obeyed?
The gossipers had misled her. Fine, she'd go ask herself.
Her mind racing, she took the wet nurse and went next door to make inquiries.
Everyone was polite to her, calling her lucky and murmuring how the second household was surprisingly a decent family.
Even more surprising was the little sister-in-law who carried herself like she owned the place.
They said that anyone who followed the little sister-in-law would enjoy a life of riches and comforts, people envied her to tears.
They couldn't seem to stop talking about Mu Wanqing; she was the undisputed center, and they hardly mentioned the other members of the second household.
Fourth Miss Yu kept her face neutral as she coaxed stories from them, and in the end she learned of Mu Wanqing's dazzling exploits and felt stunned.
This wasn't a mere mortal, she was practically unnaturally clever.
So precocious at such an age, just wait until she grows up...
Fourth Miss Yu's skin prickled. Thankfully, she hadn't offended the girl.
She decided that talent recognized talent; for now, she'd latch onto Mu Wanqing.
Becoming a sworn sister seemed not a bad idea either.
The kitchen bustled with activity.
Chickens were being dispatched, fish gutted, ducks slaughtered; vegetables washed and meat chopped. With so many dishes and such quantities, everyone was busy.
Mu Wanqing had everyone running in circles, and she wasn't idle herself, she simmered broth and made egg dumplings.
She layered roast meat, chicken, duck, fish, egg dumplings, radish, pork bones, trotters, mushrooms, kudzu, fishcakes, and prawns into a great basin of stock, a hundred ingredients melting into one pot, this was a makeshift version of the communal big-basin dish.
The pot boiled and began to bubble and burble, the aroma filling the house and drifting far and wide.
The official escorts were pressed at the doorway, mouths watering. The scent prodded the gluttonous beast in their bellies, there was only one thought: eat.
When will it be ready? Hurry up already.
The convicts dared not come close, but they sniffed from afar, faces dripping with saliva.
Old Madam Mu paced anxiously inside. Hmph, Mu Wanqing had grown intolerable. How dare she make food that smelled so enticing?
"Jinyao, you're close to Mu Wanqing, go and ask her for a bowl of meat and bring it back to share."
The Mu family watched Mu Jinyao as if the word "greedy" were written on her face.
Mu Jinyao sighed silently. She'd been caught making mischief by Mu Wanqing a moment ago, and now the family wanted to eat the food Wanqing had made. As if she deserved any favors.
"When have I ever eaten anything she cooked? Old Madam, I honestly don't have that standing."
Old Madam Mu's mouth watered uncontrollably. Getting old made her crave familiar comforts; lately nothing tasted good, and this smell was unbearable. "Go and do it, stop dawdling."
The more you can't have something, the more you want it. It was enough to make one weep with longing.
Mu Jinyao wanted to argue, but the Madam Mu gave her a look and she was pulled forward.
"Mother, I really can't." Helping her had been nothing more than a small kindness from Mu Wanqing, not any sisterly bond, they had none of that.
Madam Mu, the First Madam, was also tempted, but she understood Mu Wanqing's nature. "Just try. Bluff your way through and that's that."
Mu Jinyao couldn't bring herself to comply and stayed hidden in the shadows.
In the kitchen, Mu Wanqing judged the heat right and deftly mixed a bowl of glossy glaze, pouring it over the pot to deepen the fragrance. "It's ready."
She didn't hear the rush of feet and tilted her head curiously to look outside.
Hm? Why were Officer Zeng and the others all standing in tidy ranks?
If they weren't eager to eat, their thinking was suspect.
A clear voice rang from outside. "What's cooking in the kitchen? We want a portion too."
With the voice came a group of men in black at the kitchen door, led by the spirited young man who had earlier been so full of zeal.
"It's you." Mu Wanqing's eyes brightened, her lifesaver, of all people. "What a coincidence to run into you here."
Du Shaoxuan looked surprised; of course, it was this young girl again.
"Did you make this?"
He'd been drawn into the inn by that intoxicating aroma the moment he walked in; his taste buds were completely awakened, and he had followed the scent right to them.
Mu Wanqing nodded with a beaming smile. "Yes, I'm a decent cook. Please, do me the honor, sit down and try it, young master."
Officer Zeng was inwardly screaming: refuse, refuse quickly.
Du Shaoxuan stared at the array of large communal dishes, each one perfectly presented and fragrant. He truly wanted to refuse, but the moment the words left his mouth they distorted into, "Alright."
Officer Zeng and Shen Yong exchanged a look; in each other's eyes they saw the hurt of missing out on meat.
Just this much? There won't be enough for them to share!
They had no idea how long some people had waited for this feast, how patiently they'd endured. They clasped their hands in regret, but dared not object!
The broth was rich and alluring; the deeper a dish lay in the basin, the more savory it tasted.
The steaming communal dish made a lively sight, layers of ingredients piled high: grass prawns springy and bouncy, fish cakes fragrant and silky, radish tender and sticky, pig's trotters that melted with the lightest bite, the farther down in the basin, the more delicious the flavor.
Chopsticks flew; each mouthful was unrestrained delight.
Mu Wanqing picked up a piece of radish, soaked through with broth, there was the savor of meat, the fresh perfume of fish and shrimp, all fused together. It was the best bite!
Du Shaoxuan's chopsticks hesitated; his expression turned somewhat distant, as if recalling something.
Suddenly he spoke, "Third Miss Mu, I have an impertinent request."