Chapter 20: Journey to Bianjing

Apart from Hualan and Changbai, Sheng Hong’s favorite child was Molan. In her daily food, clothing, and other comforts, he treated her even better than Rulan, his legitimate daughter. To make matters worse, Rulan often saw her own mother being bullied by Lin Qinshuang.

Rulan detested Molan to the utmost. Even in her dreams, she wished she could stuff a lump of dog excrement into Molan’s mouth and make her lose all face.

Nanny Liu smiled faintly. “Rest assured, my lady. I just sent someone to inquire. The gifts at Fourth Miss’s place are merely the ordinary trinkets favored by young ladies. In thoughtfulness and value, they are nowhere near yours.”

Rulan found this deeply gratifying. The corners of her delicate lips rose unconsciously, and a glimmer of smugness flashed beneath her eyes.

“That’s more like it. At least Brother-in-law knows what is right. I am the legitimate daughter of the family, so naturally my gift ought to be better than Molan’s.”

Wang Ruofu wholeheartedly agreed, but still reminded her, “Do not repeat that outside. If your father hears you, he will certainly scold you for being thoughtless. He might even punish you by making you kneel in the ancestral hall.”

Sheng Hong himself had been born to a secondary wife, and thus disliked nothing more than using legitimacy of birth to distinguish among his children. Wang Ruofu had suffered plenty of losses on that account.

“I know.”

Rulan answered perfunctorily, then hurried away with her maid, Magpie, to play cricket fighting.

Nanny Liu watched her retreating figure and could not help laughing. Turning to Wang Ruofu, she said, “Fifth Miss is so innocent and carefree. She is very much like you were when you were young, Madam.”

“When I was little, I was never as thoughtless as she is. She has grown up without developing even the slightest bit of sense!”

Though Wang Ruofu refused to admit it aloud, her gaze had softened unconsciously.

Meanwhile, Molan was overjoyed with the gifts she had received that day. Unable to wait, she sat before a bronze mirror and imitated Lin Qinshuang’s manner, tilting her head slightly as she repeatedly adjusted the exquisite hairpins and ornaments in her hair.

“Mother, there is still a length of fine cloud brocade. When spring arrives, send someone to have it made into a beautiful dress for me. I want to wear it to Bianjing!”

Lin Qinshuang reclined against a soft couch, smiling from the corners of her eyes. “Of course. My Mo’er is so lovely. Once we reach Bianjing, you will certainly outshine all those young ladies from respectable families.”

“Later, we shall have your father arrange a marriage for you with some noble household. The good days for the two of us are still ahead.”

At her words, Molan—precocious beyond her years—immediately flushed. Her eyes brimmed with smugness. “That is exactly right, Mother. Wherever and whenever it may be, I will trample that wretched girl Rulan firmly beneath my feet!”

Lin Qinshuang had devoted herself to helping Molan fulfill her lifelong ambition: marrying into a powerful and wealthy family and becoming a respected principal wife who would command admiration wherever she went.

In a gentle voice, she said, “Mo’er, since you have such ambitions, you ought to spend more time attending upon Old Madam. When you paid your respects this morning, did you manage to make her happy?”

At this, Molan’s expression immediately fell.

That morning, she had deliberately gone to recite poetry for Old Madam, but the old lady had not even been willing to hear her out. With only a few words, she had dismissed her. Now Molan cried out indignantly, “You only know how to tell me to curry favor with Old Madam! She is not Father’s birth mother, and she has always disliked you. How could she possibly take a liking to me?”

Lin Qinshuang knitted her brows and patiently explained, “Mo’er, you are already more than ten years old. You should understand that Old Madam is the only daughter of the Marquis of Yongyi. When she married into the Sheng family, the dowry she brought stretched for ten miles in a grand procession. Even a little that slipped through her fingers would be enough to support an ordinary household for an entire lifetime.”

“I heard from the people around Madam that Eldest Miss’s dowry list has already been drawn up. It contains a full one hundred and eighty loads, and Old Madam alone has added nearly sixty.”

Dowries were counted by loads, each load requiring two young servants to carry a chest. Auspicious numbers were generally chosen, such as sixty-four, one hundred and twenty-eight, or one hundred and eighty loads.

“Never mind all that. Do you remember the ruby-and-gold headdress Old Madam gave Eldest Miss when she came of age?”

“Your father said that the late Marquis of Yongyi had specially brought it back from the frozen Kingdom of Kiev. It is beyond precious. Ordinary officials’ families would never even have the chance to lay eyes upon such a thing.”

Lowering her voice, Lin Qinshuang drew Molan closer. “Your mother has never received anything truly valuable from her. You should go and attend upon Old Madam. If you make her happy, and your father speaks on your behalf, there will certainly be no shortage of good things for you in the future.”

Molan pressed her lips together thoughtfully. “But I feel that Old Madam does not like me at all.”

“You silly girl. Be the first to pay your respects every day, serve her tea and refreshments with extra diligence, and agree with whatever she says. A person’s heart cannot withstand endless soft persistence.”

Lin Qinshuang passed on to Molan every method she had once used while serving Old Madam.

Little did she know that Old Madam saw through her schemes as clearly as a mirror.

—

Before the first month of the new year had ended, Zhao Han began making feverish preparations for his journey to the capital.

Though thin ice still occasionally formed on the Grand Canal, grain transport had already resumed. Traveling north along the canal, entering the Huai River at Chuzhou, then transferring to the Bian River and continuing straight to Bianjing, the journey would take only half a month if the winds and currents remained favorable.

Zhao Han did not need to concern himself with preparing the vessel. Gu Tingye had long since instructed the Bai family to arrange everything.

At dawn that morning, a pale sliver of light appeared in the eastern sky. At the Yangzhou ferry, a thin mist veiled the surface of the Grand Canal. Boats crowded the waterways, packed tightly together, while the bronze bells hanging from their prows chimed in the breeze.

For this journey to Bianjing, Zhao Han kept things simple and brought only Changqing with him.

“Brother-in-law, I wish you a smooth journey. We shall be setting out ourselves in a few days,” Sheng Changfeng said cheerfully, looking at Zhao Han with the youthful vitality shining from his eyes.

Sheng Hong was busy handing over official duties, so he had sent the brothers Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng to see Zhao Han off.

“Very well. When the time comes, we shall meet at Fan Tower and drink until none of us can stand!”

Fan Tower was the most magnificent and luxurious restaurant in all Bianjing, indeed in the entire Great Zhou. It was not only a place where high officials and nobles held banquets, but also a famed den of extravagance. Even an ordinary feast there cost as much as a common family’s expenses for half a year.

Changfeng’s eyes lit up. “Wonderful! I have heard of Fan Tower for ages, but I have never been there.”

“Brother-in-law, your word is your bond. You must not deceive me!”

Though Changfeng had not inherited Lin Qinshuang’s calculating nature, her excessive indulgence had gradually cultivated in him a fondness for pleasure.

He spent his days composing verses and admiring the moon, paying little attention to official honors or a political career.

Changbai shook his head. “A gentleman should make self-cultivation his foundation. A place like Fan Tower is best visited as seldom as possible.”

“Brother-in-law only wants to broaden my horizons. Second Brother, stop trying to interfere.”

Changfeng waved his hand grandly, his thoughts already flying toward Fan Tower.

“Changfeng is right. Broadening one’s experience is not entirely a bad thing.” Zhao Han smiled as he looked at the two brothers.

Just then, Gu Tingye emerged from the cabin and stood upon the deck. Raising his voice, he called, “Brother Zhao, it is time for us to depart!”

“Take care on your journey, Brother-in-law,” the two brothers said in unison, cupping their hands.

Zhao Han nodded and stepped directly aboard the great vessel, its entire hull painted vermilion. At the bow flew a bright yellow banner bearing the words: “Imperially Commissioned Examination.”