It was a full, plump ear of wheat.
"This pattern is a bit uncommon. Why did Gu Lang cut an ear of wheat?"
The young man trimmed the awns, almost blurting out—'Safe wheat.' But then the thought of the two characters 'Ping'an' made him suddenly freeze. It was as if those two words were too hot to utter.
Under the red candlelight, Gu Lanyin flicked his finger at the paper 'wheat ear' and explained with a smile, 'It means a bountiful harvest. Farming households like this pattern. You must have seen it outside, Wan Niang.'
In those months, she had wandered in a foreign land, transforming from a lofty young lady into a pitiful creature imprisoned in a butcher's home.
Wan Niang tried hard to recall, but those scenes were as if covered by a veil, hazy and indistinct, making it hard for her to see clearly. However, they were all unpleasant memories anyway—better forgotten.
She tapped her forehead and then followed his words with a smile. 'Perhaps so.' The delicate young girl picked up the window cutout and cheerfully pasted it on the window paper. Beside it was the red 'double happiness' character posted at their wedding. She looked at it left and right, then clasped her hands together, praying that after the New Year, the whole year would bring favorable weather and good harvests.
Gu Lanyin propped his hand on his chin, watching her innocent and carefree manner. Some long-lost memories surged into his heart. He stared at the wheat ear, his smile as thin as a layer of water, faint and elusive in the candlelight. This was a pattern he had learned while amusing children; he never thought he could still cut it so well now.
He waited until Wan Niang fell asleep, then went to the study alone. That night, a heavy snow fell. The letter from Shan Ming, who had been away all along, finally arrived. He tore open the letter, scanning it quickly, and then laughed in exasperation at the closing line, 'returned without success.'
Gu Lanyin leaned back in the official's hat chair, rubbing his brow, a rare look of exhaustion on his face. In his previous life, he had died in the capital. Now, returning to this place, no matter where he looked, it felt as if ghostly figures would appear at any moment. He looked at his own shadow, the surroundings empty and desolate. The hanging calligraphy on the wall was written by him in the spring of this year, revealing the sharpness of a young man. Back then, he might have been riding high on success, or perhaps it was the first awakening of love. Now, separated by many years, he looked at it again, as if looking at a stranger.
Outside, the falling snow had bent the bamboo. Unable to bear the weight, the bamboo suddenly sprang back, and a dull thud was heard, after which the study fell silent again. The young man, simply dressed, sat at the desk, flipping through a tattered book. From memory, he added punctuation and made new annotations with a wolf-hair brush. In almost one night, the tattered book had visibly thickened. Gu Lanyin used an inkstone to press down the curled edges. Seeing that the book finally looked 'decent,' he collapsed onto the study bed.
This was the first time the two had slept in separate rooms since they met. Poor Bao Niang kept watch outside the door all night but never saw the young master.
She thought this was a huge deal. The next day, as soon as her mistress woke up, she slipped into the inner chamber and lowered her voice inside the bed curtains. 'Last night, the young master slept in the study. That's not a good sign.'
'We've only been married a few days, and he's already rushing to sleep apart? There's definitely something fishy!' 'Fishy'… Zhao Wan Niang rarely snapped at her. 'Don't say that! Gu Lang has his affairs. With such a large estate, how could he not be distracted? Besides, I'm not in good health either. If he slept with me, he'd inevitably have to pay more attention to me. Husband and wife are one body. He cares about me; how could I imagine things behind his back?'
She frowned and gave Bao Niang a push. But Bao Niang, plump from good eating, stood firm as a rock. She pouted and complained, 'Miss, I'm your dowry maid. I've followed you all the way here. Would I ever harm you? A man's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea. With so many maids in this household, each with their own ulterior motives, and you not yet with child, you must be on guard!'
Child… again with the child! Wan Niang pressed her hand to her forehead and told her to stop. 'Let me recover my health first. This matter can't be rushed.' Bao Niang sighed and said plaintively, 'Just watch, miss. Tonight, the young master will still sleep in the study.'
Wan Niang closed her eyes and shooed Bao Niang out. She lay in bed. After a while, she heard a sound and mistook it for Bao Niang returning. 'What are you coming back for? Are you deliberately trying to upset me?' The young man raised his hand to part the bead curtain, revealing himself.
Wan Niang's frail body was buried in the red bedding, barely visible, only her hoarse voice carrying a hint of impatience. Gu Lanyin noticed this and explained gently, 'Last night, a shopkeeper sent a letter. I'll probably need to go out for a few days. I didn't mean to neglect you.'
Zhao Wan Niang was taken aback. She quickly turned her head and caught sight of his apologetic smile. 'I thought it was Bao Niang!' 'What about Bao Niang?' 'She… she ate too much, so I said a few words to her.'
Gu Lanyin sat on the edge of the bed and smiled. 'What harm is there in her eating more? Our family doesn't lack for a single meal. If the servants attending you aren't attentive, I'll pick a few more maids for you.' 'That's enough,' Wan Niang said, somewhat embarrassed. She sat up. 'There are already too many people in the house. You don't need to trouble yourself for me. Since you have business to attend to, let me pack your bags now. You must be careful out there.'
She tried hard to be a good wife, toiling despite being nothing but skin and bones. Gu Lanyin looked at her for a long time, then smiled helplessly. 'I've already packed.' She insisted on seeing him off, and he couldn't bear to refuse her kindness. He helped her dress and do her hair. Gu Lanyin was very skilled at combing hair, leaving Bao Niang to watch idly on the side.
Wan Niang sat at the dressing table. Although she felt a little reluctant, thinking that merchant families were often like this, she felt at ease. The headdress on her head was heavy, with gold and jade ornaments, dazzlingly splendid. She pressed her hand to her head, unable to bear the weight, and begged him to remove some. Gu Lang's hand paused. 'Don't you like them?' 'Too heavy.' After much effort, he removed most of them, and Wan Niang heaved a sigh of relief.
She saw Gu Lang off at the gate. It was the second day of their marriage. Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Bai Long urged her, 'It's windy now, young mistress. Let's go back.' Wan Niang leaned on Bai Long's support and entered the house.
The huge mansion, newly built, carried a scent of wood and a chill. The eaves on all four sides enclosed the central courtyard; looking up, the sky was only as large as a palm, like a cage. Wan Niang's heart felt empty. She released Bai Long's wrist and walked deeper into the house alone.
The plum blossoms had already bloomed, dotting the corners like little flames. She broke off a few branches and told Bao Niang to fetch a sweet white monochrome glazed vase with a narrow mouth. With nothing to do, she arranged flowers and played the zither, as if returning to the old days. But this was not the time when she was still an unmarried maiden.
In the afternoon, Bai Long returned from Madam's place and brought a message that Madam wanted to see her. Bao Niang, seeing Bai Long's smiling face, wanted to pry into what Madam wanted, but Bai Long just patted her hand and said amiably, 'My good sister, when a mother-in-law calls for her daughter-in-law, how could it be anything bad? We're all family. Now that the young master is away and the young mistress is in poor health, of course Madam wants to look after the young mistress, to avoid any mishap that would make it hard to give an account to the young master.'
Bao Niang felt goosebumps rising on her arms. She rubbed her arms and brought a hand warmer for her mistress. The two headed toward the old residence.
Old Master Gu was not at home. The courtyard was also quiet. In a birdcage under the eaves, a few magpies tilted their heads and flapped their wings, watching them.
Wan Niang arrived at Madam Zhou's courtyard. An old maid was drying clothes by the fire. Seeing them, she beamed and said, 'Madam was just mentioning you.' The maid lifted the door curtain. In the main room, Madam Zhou was playing leaf cards with a few sisters-in-law to pass the time.
Wan Niang entered and performed a bow. The aunts looked up at her and said to Madam Zhou with smiles, 'Look who's here! Your daughter-in-law is really beautiful. No wonder Gu Lang was dead set on marrying her.' Madam Zhou snorted with a laugh, raised her eyelids, and gave a slight chin lift, signaling her to come in and sit.
Wan Niang sat obediently and watched them play. Madam Zhou's luck seemed poor. Ever since Wan Niang entered, she had been losing, to the point that a whole box of copper coins was gone.
Bao Niang wiped the sweat from her forehead, not sure if the charcoal fire was too strong, but she felt very hot. Her mistress sat idly for a long time with Madam Zhou saying nothing. Frowning, Bao Niang looked around. Just as her patience was about to run out, Madam Zhou pointed at her and said, 'Go to the tea room and bring some tea. I'm terribly thirsty.'
Bao Niang breathed a sigh of relief—finally she could go out. The maids in this courtyard were all a full circle older than her; seeing her unfamiliar face, whether they deliberately made things difficult for her or not, no matter how much she urged, the tea for the ladies never came. Remembering that her mistress was waiting, Bao Niang took matters into her own hands. She had just lit the stove when she heard her mistress's voice behind her.
Her mother-in-law, seeing that the tea was late, told her to go out and check. Unexpectedly, when she arrived at the tea room, only Bao Niang was there. 'Where are they?' 'They said they had something to do and told me to wait first.' Wan Niang bent down and helped brew the tea together.
The mistress and maid bustled about for a while before coming out, but everyone on Madam Zhou's side had already left. In the main room, Madam Zhou sat on the luohan bed, propping her hand, resting with her eyes closed. Hearing the noise, she asked without lifting her head, 'Why so late?'
Bao Niang's words were cut off. Madam Zhou opened her eyes, puzzled. 'Are you saying they were slacking off?' Wan Niang hurriedly said, 'No, it's not that. It's just that some spices and dried fruits were temporarily out, so we had to wait a little, which delayed the time.'
Madam Zhou had the attendant summon the tea room maids. Probably because she had lost all her money today, her tone was very harsh. Wan Niang looked at the people kneeling all over the floor and vaguely felt that Madam Zhou was scolding her indirectly. She kept her head lowered. The head maid of the tea room said every good word to appease Madam Zhou, and after Madam Zhou let them go, the maid then pleaded for mercy from Wan Niang.
Madam Zhou said impatiently, 'You've been getting senile lately, even messing up such a small task as managing tea. At your age, forget it, go back.'
After this incident, most of the time had passed again. Madam Zhou seemed to just now notice Wan Niang. She showed a faint smile. 'You've only been in our family a short time. These people are a bit spoiled and willful. Today, I'll knock them down a peg for you. As masters, we must mind our status, so as not to let them get above themselves.'
Wan Niang thanked her mother-in-law, becoming increasingly uneasy in her heart. During the evening meal, she served cautiously. As soon as Bai Long arrived, Madam Zhou told her to sit down. How dare Wan Niang? But Bai Long was enthusiastic, pressing on her shoulder and saying with a smile, 'The young mistress is weak in health, how could she labor? Just now when I came, I heard the service in the tea room was not satisfactory. I suppose my mother has grown senile. Please don't blame her, madam.'
Madam Zhou smiled and turned to look at her, praising, 'You are you, and your mother is your mother. I blame her for being senile, but I still like you in my heart. Don't take what happened the other day to heart. I've watched you grow up. How could you have any ill intentions? Someone must have framed you.'
At the table, the two of them chatted back and forth, and Wan Niang couldn't get a word in. On the rare occasion when they mentioned her, Madam Zhou only complained that she ate too little. 'You need to take good care of yourself. When Gu Lang returns, try to conceive a son. Since you've entered our family, you can just enjoy life. Having a child is really not that difficult.' Madam Zhou looked at her thin figure and sighed, then turned to Bai Long and said, 'You've been bustling around without tiring. So capable. If only I had a maid like you.'
Wan Niang felt bitter in her heart. She forced herself to hold back her emotions and served her mother-in-law, not returning until nightfall by lantern light. She thought about Bao Niang's words, her mother's words, and her mother-in-law's words. It felt like a huge stone weighing on her heart. She eagerly hoped that Gu Lang would return soon. That wait lasted seven days.
Seven days later, Gu Lang returned. However, before the two could exchange more than a few words, the old master's long-time attendant came to summon him to the old residence. Wan Niang went with him. While father and son talked in the study, she served her mother-in-law elsewhere. Suddenly, a commotion came from the front. Her mother-in-law, who had been mixing incense a moment ago, seemed to sense something. She dropped the silver spoon and ran forward in a fluster. Wan Niang didn't know what was happening and chased after her mother-in-law. Just as the two reached the entrance, Wan Niang saw a chair being thrown out. With a bang, another person was hurled out. Looking closely, it was none other than Gu Lang...