Chapter 46

Mu Wanqing and her mother stepped into the room, and the two people inside sprang up at once, looking timid and on edge.
The wet nurse looked at Mu Wanqing with a cowardly air, her legs trembling. "Second Madam, Third Miss, you're back."
She had actually dared to talk back to Third Miss Mu before, what audacity.
But Third Miss had been generous and hadn't made a scene; otherwise, the woman would have had her tendons cut and been dragged off like a dead dog.
Thank Third Miss Mu for her mercy.
Fourth Miss Yu was nervous too, not daring to meet Mu Wanqing's eyes.
Mu Wanqing's mouth twitched. Was it really necessary for the mistress and servant to be like this? Had she scared them that badly?
Her gaze settled on Fourth Miss Yu. "Have you had enough to eat?"
"I'm full." Fourth Miss Yu's voice was soft, the food had been good.
Mu Wanqing beckoned to them. "Come help me move the trunks."
A dozen trunks were stacked in the corner, all locked, they were Mu Wanqing's personal belongings she'd brought back.
Fourth Miss Yu hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to help; the wet nurse, of course, did not dare refuse.
The four of them worked together to carry each trunk and set them in a neat row; the room was nearly full.
Mu Wanqing opened trunk number one first. It held several outfits she'd worn and her personal effects, washing tools, a mirror, tea and dining sets, bedding, anything she'd used was packed up.
All of it was top quality.
Madam Qian flipped through them with curiosity. "Why are they all men's clothes?"
Each silk suit was of excellent material and fine workmanship, complete with hair coronet and belt, the lavish dress of a noble young master.
Mu Wanqing smiled faintly. "They were given to me; I wear them sometimes." She'd wear them to put on an air, they could be surprisingly intimidating.
She opened the second trunk: four brand-new cloaks, never worn, a gift from Boss Pan, Cheng Yi.
There were four trunks in total; Mu Wanqing opened them all. One trunk held pastries and snacks. "Mother, give some of these to relatives who are close to our household."
"All right."
Two trunks were furs, one full of high-end pieces, the other more ordinary.
Madam Qian was overjoyed; they wouldn't have to fear the cold this winter.
Mu Wanqing selected a teal cloak. "Mother, this is for you, cloaks aren't for men or women."
Madam Qian didn't refuse; she happily tried it on. It was a little short, but very warm.
Mu Wanqing examined it. "It was made to my measurements, but that's fine. Let it out a few inches and it will fit."
"Good, I'll remember." Madam Qian was sensitive to the cold; with winter already here and them heading westward where it grew colder, nights could be brutal.
Mu Wanqing pulled out a pomegranate-red cloak and handed it to Fourth Miss Yu. "This is for you, thank you for saving my mother."
Fourth Miss Yu was overwhelmed with gratitude. "No, no, I only did what was right."
"In my household, merit is rewarded and faults are punished, clear rewards and punishments," Mu Wanqing said, pressing the pomegranate cloak into her hands. "I'm a straightforward person; I don't like mind games. Say it straight if you have something to say."
Fourth Miss Yu accepted it silently; the fine, smooth fur felt wonderfully warm.
Winter had set in and the weather grew colder by the day; she had no winter clothes, so this thick coat arrived at precisely the right time.
Seeing how thin her garments were, Mu Wanqing was speechless, did she not bring clothes for each season? "Have you considered it? Do you want to be sworn into the family? As long as you behave, I'll protect you."
"I'm overreaching..." Fourth Miss Yu now realized what becoming Mu Wanqing's sworn sister would mean.
Safety wouldn't be an issue; she might even live well. Calling it overreaching was the plain truth.
Madam Qian interrupted her directly. "Then I'll recognize you as my adopted daughter."
For Fourth Miss Yu and for their second branch of the family, it was a good choice.
First they would survive this expatriation road; once they reached the border they could think about other matters.
Fourth Miss Yu was no fool. She bowed deeply. "Please, foster mother, accept my kowtow."
Madam Qian happily helped her up. "From now on we'll get along well. We'll discuss things reasonably, you'll have someone to rely on."
"Qing'er, help me think, what should we prepare as a formal recognition gift for Fourth Miss Yu?"
Fourth Miss Yu pressed her lips together. "Foster mother, my name is Yu Wanrou. Please call me by my name."
"All right, Wanrou."
Mu Wanqing hesitated slightly. "Mother, I have some bolts of cloth here. Take them and give them to Yu...our sworn elder sister."
Four pieces of mid-quality cloth would make a respectable gift.
"Good, let's do it. We'll hold a ceremony publicly." It would also announce the matter to everyone and silence any gossip.
Mu Wanqing made the decision. "Then tomorrow."
Mother and daughter settled the matter with a few words, and Yu Wanrou could not interrupt.
The wet nurse seemed relieved, with Third Miss Mu's protection, the mistress and her servant would likely have better days ahead.
The next day, Mu Wanqing called everyone together and announced the matter publicly.
Some people couldn't understand: what was going on? The daughter-in-law becoming an adopted daughter?
The clever ones understood and said nothing; after all, it was Third Miss Mu's family matter.
They held a simple yet solemn ceremony in front of everyone. Yu Wanrou kowtowed to Second Master Mu and his wife, called them foster father and mother, and presented with both hands the thousand-layer shoes she had rushed to make overnight.
Second Master Mu and his wife gave four bolts of cloth and openly accepted her as their adopted daughter.
With her status settled, people stepped forward to offer congratulations. Madam Qian handed out sweets and pastries, and for a while everyone rejoiced.
After the ceremony was finished, Mu Wanqing called everyone together. "Since you're all here, I'll go over some rules. Listen carefully."
She produced a document covered in brush-script characters. "In my capacity as the thirty-fifth head of the Mu clan, I hereby issue my first decree: from today we will adopt the clan rules I have written, thirty in total. Every one of you must commit them to memory and put them into practice. Failure to do so will be met with severe punishment."
Compared with the previous hair-splitting clan regulations, Mu Wanqing's version was much simpler, but the expectations were higher.
She began handing the papers out, and a murmur rose from below. "Ah, what's this?"
"She's abolishing the old clan rules, I suppose. She's..." Not recognizing the customs passed down from the ancestors, rewriting the rules.
When they heard this, no one dared agree. "Clan leader, this isn't appropriate. These were set by our ancestors."
"I won't support this, it's an affront to our ancestors..."
Mu Wanqing seemed not to hear and went on, "Second decree: any child under seven shall receive one egg a day. Remember to come see me each day at the first quarter of the Xu hour."
To have an egg on this exile route was a luxury, let alone one every day, and the parents with children were thrilled.
"Third decree: any elder over sixty shall receive each month ten jin of rice, ten jin of flour, one jin of sugar, two liang of salt; each year they shall be given two sets of clothes and two pairs of shoes, and these provisions will continue until their passing."
She paused then, lifting a radiant smile. "By the way, what were you talking about just now?"
They were stunned, hardly daring to believe it. "Clan leader, are you serious? You're not joking?"
Mu Wanqing had taken inspiration from modern pension systems, caring for the elderly is a major problem today, and even more so in ancient times.
Older people dread being left alone and uncared for, with no one to tend them at the end.
"Therefore, let people not only care for their own parents, not only their own children. Let the old have a proper end, the strong be put to use, the young be nurtured; the widowed, the orphaned, the solitary, and the disabled shall all be cared for. This is my promise to you as clan leader, and henceforth an ironclad rule of the Mu clan." 注（1）
This was unprecedented. There had been rules before about caring for the weak and elderly, but they were only rules, lip service, dependent on the conscience of the clan leader.
Previous heads of the Mu clan had fixated on power and status, ignoring others' suffering.
Mu Wanqing, however, put eldercare and child welfare into practice.
A few elderly loners had tears in their eyes, their emotion plain to see. "Clan leader, if you can make this happen, you'll have my support for life. Anyone who dares oppose you will be my enemy."
They sniffled: the clan leader was so thoughtful, so kind, so attentive, perhaps this was the advantage of having a young woman at the helm.
"Clan leader, whatever you say goes. We'll all follow you."
Mu Wanqing smiled faintly. "There's nothing wrong with the rules I've set, right?"
The people who had opposed her earlier had all changed their tune. "No, no, they're absolutely right."
Even those who privately disagreed dared not speak up, no one wanted to incur the wrath of the crowd.
After all, everyone grows old. How can you be sure your children will be filial? Or that they'll outlive you?
So a rule like this in the clan is a safety net for everyone.
Anyone who dares oppose it becomes a public enemy.
Master Fang watched from a distance, his expression fraught with complexity.
He watched Mu Wanqing win people's hearts step by step, rebuild order, and fashion an era of her own.
Soon the Mu clan would prosper because of her.
By contrast, his own children were mediocre, none of them measured up.
Children unworthy of their father, leaving only regret.
The Fang family's third young master scuttled over. "Father, you really want me to attend the Mu clan's training classes? I'm not cut out for study!"
Master Fang looked at his son, eyes heavy with sleep, and felt his chest tighten. "Go if I say go, stop wasting words. Look at what that girl is doing at thirteen; now look at you at sixteen, you're nothing."
He wanted his son to go and probe the matter, to see what was being taught and whether it was useful.
But the third young master was hopeless. He protested, "Father, I'm ordinary, she's a prodigy. How can we compare?"
Master Fang sighed even more. "It's decided. Study hard, behave, and show proper respect to Third Miss Mu, treat her with the reverence you'd show a senior. Our Fang family's carriage business still depends on Third Miss."
The third young master trembled in horror. "Father, you can't be planning to sell your son for glory, can you?"
Master Fang snapped his hand. "Who would want you? Even if Third Miss were blind, she'd still pass over you. Don't flatter yourself. If I find out you don't show enough respect, I'll punish you."
Mu Wanqing was very busy; matters were many and tangled, she had to sort everything out one by one.
"Master Fang, come here for a moment."
Master Fang hurried over. "What would you have me do?"
Mu Wanqing held the papers. "I've looked at the tally. We need sixty-one carriages in total; your Fang family is responsible for thirty-seven. Are you planning to pay part up front, or take a loan for the whole amount?"
Master Fang looked embarrassed. "I only have five hundred taels, what do you suggest?"
It wasn't that he didn't want to cover it all; he simply didn't have the funds.
He still needed to keep some silver for his own security.
But sixty-one carriages would cost over six thousand taels, who can come up with that much at once?
Third Miss Mu was still young and hadn't considered everything thoroughly.
Mu Wanqing closed the files and stood. "All right, I understand. Then take a loan for the full amount. Once the paperwork is done, you bring thirty-seven people and come with me to arrange the carriages."
Master Fang unconsciously rose to his feet. "When?"
"Today."
Master Fang's normally steady expression cracked in disbelief. "Today? Are you sure?" Are the carriages that easy to organize?