Embroidered Phoenix Chronicle

The old lady of the Liu family had three grandsons. The eldest son's mother died when he was only ten years old. Taking pity on this motherless child, she raised him. Because she didn't like Xu Shi, she simply brought the second and third sons over as well. The eldest son was honest but weak-willed, the second son was clever but somewhat frivolous, only the third son was both mature for his age and intelligent, a promising young man. He was fifteen this year and had been going out to gain experience with his father since last year. The old lady really saw the Huo family's little girl. She was poised, sensible, unpretentious, and knew how to behave. She was perceptive. Look at what she said the day she arrived. Although it was taught by the adults in her family, it was remarkable that a twelve or thirteen-year-old could say it so fluently, without being harsh but with a gentle yet firm tone. If the eldest granddaughter-in-law were to handle this matter, she would only manage to do so much. If Rui Cai's wife were to handle it, humph, she wouldn't even be as good as a child! A good daughter-in-law brings prosperity to three generations. We need to find a way to keep her here and keep an eye on her. What excuse should we use? We can't let her always follow Fengxian around. What if Fengxian keeps telling her about the conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and scares her away?

Grandma Liu wanted to take Du Shi and Liu Ye'er out for a trip. Liu Lian didn't think much of it; Du Shi really should go out more to relax. Grandma Liu lectured Du Shi along the way, and Liu Lian didn't chime in. Grandma Liu nodded silently. The county town wasn't big, and they were tired of visiting temples, monasteries, and shops. Grandma Liu led them to a teahouse, where they sat in a small private room on the second floor. They ordered some tea and snacks, honeysuckle honey tea for Liu Ye'er, rock sugar rose and goji berry tea for Du Shi, and a pot of Lu'an tea for themselves. The storyteller hadn't appeared yet, and the teahouse was bustling with noise. Liu Ye'er leaned on the railing, watching below with great interest.

Modern people often speak of ancient women with a sense of humor, rarely truly empathizing. Du Shi was short, with small feet, thick, glossy black hair, and striking eyebrows and eyes—a modern-day sunny young woman. This vibrant, energetic young woman was about to transform into a resentful woman, then a jealous one, and perhaps even a vicious one. Wouldn't this pampered young lady be unaccustomed to such a life? No problem, she'd get used to it quickly! And adapt quickly. Du Shi was probably already brimming with wicked schemes to deal with Hong Xing'er. Liu Lian suspected that entrusting Hong Xing'er to the old lady was Feng Xian's idea, not necessarily for the sake of the Liu family's heir, nor even to save Hong Xing'er's life. But keeping Hong Xing'er would certainly cause infighting within the second branch of the family, leaving Du Shi overwhelmed and unable to compete with her for the power of managing the household. Seeing through it all, but not saying a word; everyone has their own unavoidable circumstances. Liu Lian's thoughts drifted far away…

The old lady invited Liu Ye'er to drink tea and have some snacks. Taking advantage of the situation, Liu Lian pretended to be naive and asked the old lady what story the storyteller was telling. This didn't stump the old lady, who then told her the tale: The Cowherd was herding cattle by the Milky Way when a weaver girl on the other side fell for the handsome shepherd and instigated him to elope with her. Later, they were captured by the Heavenly Court and separated. Fortunately, the Weaver Girl showed remorse and worked even harder to atone for her sins. Moved by her plight, the Heavenly Court granted her a day off each year to see her children. The story differed from the modern version. Liu Lian, munching on melon seeds, nodded repeatedly. "It shows how important chastity and virtue are for us women. Men let those who elope go so easily, but women have to perform forced labor to atone for their sins. Alas, it's better to be a man!" Her strange tale resonated with Du Shi. "Isn't that right? It's clearly the men who made the mistakes, yet women have to bear the consequences!"

The old lady remained calm and said, "Husband and wife are one, the husband's honor is the wife's honor! A woman should still be chaste and self-disciplined." Liu Lian was really afraid that the two of them would quarrel, but fortunately, Madam Du picked up her teacup.

On the way back, as soon as the carriage curtain was lowered, Du closed her eyes and remained silent, while Liulian, miserable, racked her brains for something to say. The old lady smiled slightly and said, "Good child, I'm a little tired and need to close my eyes for a while. You can look outside if you want, just don't stick your head out, okay?" Liulian nodded, "Sure thing!" The old lady glanced at Du and closed her eyes to rest. The old lady knew that the thorn in Du's heart hadn't been removed, and she knew that she couldn't rush things. Du's heart was churning, but she had to pretend to be calm, feeling resentful and wanting to tear everything in front of her apart. The carriage stopped abruptly, and the driver asked from outside, "Old lady, the Fan family's old shop is ahead, would you like to buy some vegetables?"

The old lady took a purse out of her sleeve and handed it to Liu Ye'er. "Good child, let the coachman go with you to pick out some boxed vegetables. Pick what you like, and don't try to save me money!" Liu Ye'er took the purse and went off with great interest.

"Liang'er, now that Hongxing'er is pregnant, we have to accept it. It's a human affair! I know you can't swallow this, but you have to! Isn't that slut just using her looks to scheme her way up? Destroy her! After she gives birth, she'll learn all the rules from you. How many mistakes can't you catch her making? What a brat, acting like a monster in front of me! It's not like this happened overnight. Where were you all this time? You can't even keep your own husband in check! When Ruicai put her in charge of the study, you should have found a way to get rid of her. You can't even control a maid! Now that the deed is done, you have the nerve to give me attitude!"

"Grandmother, I thought..."

"Forcing a maid to have an abortion, plotting to kill a concubine, abusing a pregnant concubine—which of these sounds good? It's true that our Liu family is a business family, but right now we need to protect our reputation, so I can't let you act recklessly. I'll avenge you sooner or later!"

Mrs. Du was so moved that tears streamed down her face.

"Damn it! Now you understand why I didn't bring anyone with me and had you serve me, right?" Madam Du nodded haphazardly.

"Liang'er, you are someone I personally chose, how can I let a maid bully you? But you should also be more careful. Leave Hongxing'er to me, and learn to manage the household from your sister-in-law. Stop bickering all the time. If it weren't for your willful temper, would anyone have taken advantage of you?"

After lingering in the shop for a while, carefully observing the various items, and picking out a few cold meat boxes, I returned to the carriage. The old lady and Madam Du were having a serious discussion about mung bean soup. Madam Du advocated giving each of the servants and waiters a few pounds of mung beans and white sugar syrup—it would be something to hold and look nice. The old lady, however, insisted on cooking a pot every day for the servants. Unable to decide, she turned to Liu Ye'er for advice. Liu Ye'er pretended to ponder for a moment, saying, "Giving things to the servants is certainly good; everyone is happy to receive a reward. But will they have time to cook it? It won't help them beat the heat. It would be better to have the kitchen cook a pot of mung bean soup or other cooling drinks every day, just distributing the sugar syrup. The servants will be just as happy!" Madam Du found it amusing: the little girl was quite clever.

The old lady's smile deepened.