Chapter 7: Wrong Marriage
“Seventh Sister, Eldest Sister is coming back today,” said Ming Lian. She didn’t seem the least bit interested in Liu Jun or Liu Yi. Just as well—Ming Wei had no desire to draw attention from Ming Rong or Ming Fang either. So the two of them quietly slipped aside to chat. “Madam already sent someone to fetch her.”
The “Eldest Sister” she mentioned was Ming Ruo, the eldest illegitimate daughter of the Second Household. Last year, under Second Madam’s arrangements, she had been married off as a concubine-wife to a 42-year-old widower. Ming Ruo had only been a fifteen-year-old girl at the time, delicate and lovely like a flower, married to a hulking military officer. It was said that this officer still had a son from his first wife—one even older than Ming Ruo herself. It wasn’t hard to imagine her days had been far from easy.
“At least Eldest Sister is finally here. She didn’t even make it back for Third Aunt’s birthday last time!” Ming Wei remarked, feeling a little emotional. Heaven knew she’d never even met this “Eldest Sister” before.
Just as they were talking, Ming Fang—growing increasingly irritated by Liu Yi’s pestering—couldn’t hold it in anymore. She couldn’t afford to offend Liu Yi, so she vented her frustration at Ming Wei and Ming Lian instead. “Our cousins came all this way and you two can’t even properly greet them? Just sitting here, giggling amongst yourselves!”
Greet them?
Ming Wei silently rolled her eyes and couldn’t help thinking: Men and women should sit apart by the age of seven. They were all teenage girls now—how was Ming Fang practically clinging to Liu Jun supposed to be normal?
Was aristocratic decorum thirty years from now really this open?
Even Liu Jun looked uncomfortable under Ming Rong’s melting gaze. Trying to steer the conversation elsewhere, he turned to Ming Wei. “I heard Seventh Sister was ill a while back. Are you feeling better now?”
He asked casually, but the moment the words left his mouth, Ming Wei could feel the tension spike. Though she didn’t know what Ming Lian was thinking, she knew Liu Jun was the target of both Ming Rong and Ming Fang’s affections. Sure enough, Ming Fang’s expression darkened while Ming Rong’s dignified smile gained a subtle sharpness.
Ming Wei wanted to cry but had no tears.
She had zero interest in this cousin. Life in the back courtyard was hard enough—could someone please just spare her?
Still, she had no choice but to answer. She put on an innocent face. “Oh? How did Second Cousin know about that? I’ve been fine for ages.”
“Your aunt mentioned it when she visited us,” Liu Jun explained.
Hearing that, Ming Rong and Ming Fang both looked relieved. Their gazes moved away from Ming Wei, who finally breathed a silent sigh of relief. See? I haven’t been secretly cozying up to your dream husband!
Before Ming Fang and Ming Rong could try another round of impressing Liu Jun, a little maid’s voice rang out from the corridor: “Second Madam, Eldest Miss, Third Master, Fifth Master!”
Everyone quickly rose to greet them. Ming Rong lowered her gaze to conceal her eagerness, but a flicker of disappointment crossed Ming Fang’s eyes.
Second Madam entered with Ming Ruo, Ming Yu, and Ming Jue in tow. After paying respects, everyone greeted one another like proper siblings. Ming Wei made sure to follow Ming Lian’s lead—since they were close in age, she could safely mirror her etiquette.
This was Ming Wei’s first look at the elusive eldest sister and her two legitimate older brothers. Ming Ruo’s appearance was average among the sisters. She wore a rose-purple brocade jacket embroidered with auspicious patterns and a goose-yellow skirt. The bright colors did little to flatter her complexion. No amount of makeup could hide the bluish shadows under her eyes. The redness rimmed around them betrayed exhaustion and sorrow.
Ming Yu and Ming Jue, on the other hand, were tall, handsome young men with refined manners. Their tone toward Ming Wei was gentle, and there was even a faint sense of natural sibling closeness.
Second Madam might be muddle-headed, but her sons at least looked promising.
Once the greetings were done, Second Madam promptly sent Ming Yu, Ming Jue, Liu Jun, and Liu Yi off to the study to see Second Master. She had always looked down on illegitimate daughters and certainly didn’t like seeing them linger around her nephews.
“Well then, what now?” Second Madam, seated on the black lacquered canopy bed, her tone sharp and impatient, said, “A married daughter coming home should be full of joy. What’s with that pitiful face? Who are you trying to impress?”
Before she finished speaking, Ming Ruo knelt down straight-backed and tearfully said, “Please don’t be angry with me, Mother. Life over there is really... really—” At the painful memory, she choked up. “It’s like being boiled alive!”
Though Ming Ruo wept bitterly, Second Madam was unmoved. She didn’t even instruct a maid to help her up. Ming Wei subtly glanced at Ming Rong and the others; their expressions didn’t look good either.
Seeing how miserable Ming Ruo was, Ming Wei felt sympathy well up inside her. She stepped forward to help her up. Ming Lian also moved to assist, and only then did Second Madam allow someone to bring stools for them.
“He beats me for the smallest things. When he’s drunk, it’s even worse—he says horrible things,” Ming Ruo sobbed, her makeup streaked with tears. She pulled up her sleeves to show them. “This was from a whipping!”
Everyone gasped. Her pale arms were covered in lash marks, some still purple and swollen.
“I never dared to provoke his children from his first wife. Even if they disrespected me, I tried to be polite and kept my distance,” she continued, voice trembling. “But they went and told Chen Xing I mistreated them!”
“Chen Xing refused to hear my side and accused me of being deceitful,” she cried even harder. “He locked me in the woodshed and didn’t give me any food for three days!”
Even those uninvolved were outraged. This poor girl, still as young as a flower, had been completely ruined. Even Ming Fang, who had always looked down on her, clenched her fists in anger.
Ming Rong, Ming Lian, and Ming Wei all had reddened eyes, filled with sadness, fury, and helplessness.
“I originally planned to marry you off to the adopted son of Prince Kang,” Second Madam said coolly, unmoved. “But your mother threw a tantrum, insisting you had to be married properly as a wife.”
At her words, Ming Ruo’s sobs quieted to muffled sniffles, but her heartbreak was evident. Ming Rong and the others couldn’t help but feel miserable watching her.
Ming Ruo’s mother, Concubine Bao, had once served as a maid in Second Master’s study. She had gotten pregnant not long after Second Madam entered the household. Giving birth to Ming Ruo had been a huge slap in the face for Second Madam. As punishment, the Old Madam had given Bao a fertility-blocking tonic, ensuring she’d never bear another child.
Since then, Bao had devoted herself to raising her only daughter. She behaved meekly around Second Madam and never caused trouble. But Second Madam held onto her grudge—and used Ming Ruo’s marriage to settle the score.
As the official wife, Second Madam had the final say in Ming Ruo’s match. In her eyes, an illegitimate daughter was only worthy of being a concubine. Bao, however, wanted her only daughter to have a better life, even if it meant enduring further humiliation in the Second Household. So she went directly to Second Master, asking only that her daughter be married as a proper wife, regardless of the family’s wealth.
Bao’s idea was noble—but Second Master was a heartless man. He quickly shoved the responsibility onto Second Madam and went off to dally with a new bedmaid.
Had he chosen a decent scholar’s family for Ming Ruo, even Second Madam wouldn’t have been able to object. That had been Bao’s hope. Unfortunately, Second Master dumped the matter entirely onto Second Madam.
She flew into a rage.
Out of spite, she chose Chen Xing—an unprincipled military official of the fourth rank—as the groom. He was a scoundrel who relied on luck and trickery to get ahead. A recent widower, his first wife had died just a year prior. He had three sons, two daughters, and four concubines and bedmaids.
By the time Bao realized the trap, it was too late. She had demanded that Ming Ruo be a wife, not caring about the groom’s background. Now she had to eat her words. When she tried pleading again, Second Master scolded her harshly.
Ming Ruo was married off, unwilling and mistreated from day one. Her husband was vulgar and violent, her stepchildren defiant, and the concubines all hostile.
“People must learn to accept fate,” Second Madam said dispassionately. “All couples quarrel now and then. Once you’ve given him a son or two, things will improve.”
A son or two… Ming Wei saw that Ming Ruo only bit her lip silently as tears streamed down her face. She sighed inwardly: Even if she could conceive, would they let her give birth?
“Mana—” Second Madam’s voice was tired. “Fetch the maid who came with Eldest Miss. Tell her to wash her face. Tomorrow is the Old Madam’s birthday. We can’t have her sobbing like this.”
Manao responded and left. Second Madam looked down at the illegitimate daughters, who all sat stiffly, more careful than ever. She finally seemed a little satisfied and said meaningfully, “People need to accept fate. It’s no use having dreams higher than the heavens if your fate is as thin as paper. You want to climb high? Better make sure you’ve got the life for it!”
Ming Lian and Ming Wei managed to maintain neutral expressions, but Ming Rong and Ming Fang both looked visibly shaken.
All four girls responded in unison, not daring to say more.
Not long after, Ming Ruo’s two dowry maids—Qiushan and Xianuan—arrived with Manao. The five sisters used the opportunity to leave together.
Ming Ruo wept her way toward Concubine Bao’s quarters, while Ming Rong and the others returned silently to Yuxiang Garden.
The walk back was eerily quiet. Ming Fang didn’t say anything sharp. Ming Rong’s usual gentle smile was gone. No one spoke, but each was filled with her own thoughts.
None of them wanted to end up like Ming Ruo, crushed by Second Madam’s hand. That was their shared resolve.
Ming Ruo was the cautionary tale laid out before them.
After parting in the garden, Ming Wei returned to her own courtyard. She once again unrolled her embroidery, and her heart steeled with determination.
Tomorrow... she must make a strong impression!
The “Eldest Sister” she mentioned was Ming Ruo, the eldest illegitimate daughter of the Second Household. Last year, under Second Madam’s arrangements, she had been married off as a concubine-wife to a 42-year-old widower. Ming Ruo had only been a fifteen-year-old girl at the time, delicate and lovely like a flower, married to a hulking military officer. It was said that this officer still had a son from his first wife—one even older than Ming Ruo herself. It wasn’t hard to imagine her days had been far from easy.
“At least Eldest Sister is finally here. She didn’t even make it back for Third Aunt’s birthday last time!” Ming Wei remarked, feeling a little emotional. Heaven knew she’d never even met this “Eldest Sister” before.
Just as they were talking, Ming Fang—growing increasingly irritated by Liu Yi’s pestering—couldn’t hold it in anymore. She couldn’t afford to offend Liu Yi, so she vented her frustration at Ming Wei and Ming Lian instead. “Our cousins came all this way and you two can’t even properly greet them? Just sitting here, giggling amongst yourselves!”
Greet them?
Ming Wei silently rolled her eyes and couldn’t help thinking: Men and women should sit apart by the age of seven. They were all teenage girls now—how was Ming Fang practically clinging to Liu Jun supposed to be normal?
Was aristocratic decorum thirty years from now really this open?
Even Liu Jun looked uncomfortable under Ming Rong’s melting gaze. Trying to steer the conversation elsewhere, he turned to Ming Wei. “I heard Seventh Sister was ill a while back. Are you feeling better now?”
He asked casually, but the moment the words left his mouth, Ming Wei could feel the tension spike. Though she didn’t know what Ming Lian was thinking, she knew Liu Jun was the target of both Ming Rong and Ming Fang’s affections. Sure enough, Ming Fang’s expression darkened while Ming Rong’s dignified smile gained a subtle sharpness.
Ming Wei wanted to cry but had no tears.
She had zero interest in this cousin. Life in the back courtyard was hard enough—could someone please just spare her?
Still, she had no choice but to answer. She put on an innocent face. “Oh? How did Second Cousin know about that? I’ve been fine for ages.”
“Your aunt mentioned it when she visited us,” Liu Jun explained.
Hearing that, Ming Rong and Ming Fang both looked relieved. Their gazes moved away from Ming Wei, who finally breathed a silent sigh of relief. See? I haven’t been secretly cozying up to your dream husband!
Before Ming Fang and Ming Rong could try another round of impressing Liu Jun, a little maid’s voice rang out from the corridor: “Second Madam, Eldest Miss, Third Master, Fifth Master!”
Everyone quickly rose to greet them. Ming Rong lowered her gaze to conceal her eagerness, but a flicker of disappointment crossed Ming Fang’s eyes.
Second Madam entered with Ming Ruo, Ming Yu, and Ming Jue in tow. After paying respects, everyone greeted one another like proper siblings. Ming Wei made sure to follow Ming Lian’s lead—since they were close in age, she could safely mirror her etiquette.
This was Ming Wei’s first look at the elusive eldest sister and her two legitimate older brothers. Ming Ruo’s appearance was average among the sisters. She wore a rose-purple brocade jacket embroidered with auspicious patterns and a goose-yellow skirt. The bright colors did little to flatter her complexion. No amount of makeup could hide the bluish shadows under her eyes. The redness rimmed around them betrayed exhaustion and sorrow.
Ming Yu and Ming Jue, on the other hand, were tall, handsome young men with refined manners. Their tone toward Ming Wei was gentle, and there was even a faint sense of natural sibling closeness.
Second Madam might be muddle-headed, but her sons at least looked promising.
Once the greetings were done, Second Madam promptly sent Ming Yu, Ming Jue, Liu Jun, and Liu Yi off to the study to see Second Master. She had always looked down on illegitimate daughters and certainly didn’t like seeing them linger around her nephews.
“Well then, what now?” Second Madam, seated on the black lacquered canopy bed, her tone sharp and impatient, said, “A married daughter coming home should be full of joy. What’s with that pitiful face? Who are you trying to impress?”
Before she finished speaking, Ming Ruo knelt down straight-backed and tearfully said, “Please don’t be angry with me, Mother. Life over there is really... really—” At the painful memory, she choked up. “It’s like being boiled alive!”
Though Ming Ruo wept bitterly, Second Madam was unmoved. She didn’t even instruct a maid to help her up. Ming Wei subtly glanced at Ming Rong and the others; their expressions didn’t look good either.
Seeing how miserable Ming Ruo was, Ming Wei felt sympathy well up inside her. She stepped forward to help her up. Ming Lian also moved to assist, and only then did Second Madam allow someone to bring stools for them.
“He beats me for the smallest things. When he’s drunk, it’s even worse—he says horrible things,” Ming Ruo sobbed, her makeup streaked with tears. She pulled up her sleeves to show them. “This was from a whipping!”
Everyone gasped. Her pale arms were covered in lash marks, some still purple and swollen.
“I never dared to provoke his children from his first wife. Even if they disrespected me, I tried to be polite and kept my distance,” she continued, voice trembling. “But they went and told Chen Xing I mistreated them!”
“Chen Xing refused to hear my side and accused me of being deceitful,” she cried even harder. “He locked me in the woodshed and didn’t give me any food for three days!”
Even those uninvolved were outraged. This poor girl, still as young as a flower, had been completely ruined. Even Ming Fang, who had always looked down on her, clenched her fists in anger.
Ming Rong, Ming Lian, and Ming Wei all had reddened eyes, filled with sadness, fury, and helplessness.
“I originally planned to marry you off to the adopted son of Prince Kang,” Second Madam said coolly, unmoved. “But your mother threw a tantrum, insisting you had to be married properly as a wife.”
At her words, Ming Ruo’s sobs quieted to muffled sniffles, but her heartbreak was evident. Ming Rong and the others couldn’t help but feel miserable watching her.
Ming Ruo’s mother, Concubine Bao, had once served as a maid in Second Master’s study. She had gotten pregnant not long after Second Madam entered the household. Giving birth to Ming Ruo had been a huge slap in the face for Second Madam. As punishment, the Old Madam had given Bao a fertility-blocking tonic, ensuring she’d never bear another child.
Since then, Bao had devoted herself to raising her only daughter. She behaved meekly around Second Madam and never caused trouble. But Second Madam held onto her grudge—and used Ming Ruo’s marriage to settle the score.
As the official wife, Second Madam had the final say in Ming Ruo’s match. In her eyes, an illegitimate daughter was only worthy of being a concubine. Bao, however, wanted her only daughter to have a better life, even if it meant enduring further humiliation in the Second Household. So she went directly to Second Master, asking only that her daughter be married as a proper wife, regardless of the family’s wealth.
Bao’s idea was noble—but Second Master was a heartless man. He quickly shoved the responsibility onto Second Madam and went off to dally with a new bedmaid.
Had he chosen a decent scholar’s family for Ming Ruo, even Second Madam wouldn’t have been able to object. That had been Bao’s hope. Unfortunately, Second Master dumped the matter entirely onto Second Madam.
She flew into a rage.
Out of spite, she chose Chen Xing—an unprincipled military official of the fourth rank—as the groom. He was a scoundrel who relied on luck and trickery to get ahead. A recent widower, his first wife had died just a year prior. He had three sons, two daughters, and four concubines and bedmaids.
By the time Bao realized the trap, it was too late. She had demanded that Ming Ruo be a wife, not caring about the groom’s background. Now she had to eat her words. When she tried pleading again, Second Master scolded her harshly.
Ming Ruo was married off, unwilling and mistreated from day one. Her husband was vulgar and violent, her stepchildren defiant, and the concubines all hostile.
“People must learn to accept fate,” Second Madam said dispassionately. “All couples quarrel now and then. Once you’ve given him a son or two, things will improve.”
A son or two… Ming Wei saw that Ming Ruo only bit her lip silently as tears streamed down her face. She sighed inwardly: Even if she could conceive, would they let her give birth?
“Mana—” Second Madam’s voice was tired. “Fetch the maid who came with Eldest Miss. Tell her to wash her face. Tomorrow is the Old Madam’s birthday. We can’t have her sobbing like this.”
Manao responded and left. Second Madam looked down at the illegitimate daughters, who all sat stiffly, more careful than ever. She finally seemed a little satisfied and said meaningfully, “People need to accept fate. It’s no use having dreams higher than the heavens if your fate is as thin as paper. You want to climb high? Better make sure you’ve got the life for it!”
Ming Lian and Ming Wei managed to maintain neutral expressions, but Ming Rong and Ming Fang both looked visibly shaken.
All four girls responded in unison, not daring to say more.
Not long after, Ming Ruo’s two dowry maids—Qiushan and Xianuan—arrived with Manao. The five sisters used the opportunity to leave together.
Ming Ruo wept her way toward Concubine Bao’s quarters, while Ming Rong and the others returned silently to Yuxiang Garden.
The walk back was eerily quiet. Ming Fang didn’t say anything sharp. Ming Rong’s usual gentle smile was gone. No one spoke, but each was filled with her own thoughts.
None of them wanted to end up like Ming Ruo, crushed by Second Madam’s hand. That was their shared resolve.
Ming Ruo was the cautionary tale laid out before them.
After parting in the garden, Ming Wei returned to her own courtyard. She once again unrolled her embroidery, and her heart steeled with determination.
Tomorrow... she must make a strong impression!
Comments
Post a Comment