"Mother, what are you looking at?" Li An craned his neck to look down the alley. It was pitch black, nothing there.
"Nothing, I'm not looking at anything." Ye Yunniang shook her head, silently telling herself that Zhang Er's life or death had nothing to do with her. She shouldn't dwell on it.
Thinking this, Ye Yunniang securely closed the courtyard gate and led Li An back inside to rest.
Liang Maimiao came to the Li household on the afternoon of the third day, accompanied by Granny Xu.
"My parents are going to the funeral parlor. Do you want to send some paper money?"
"Yes, thank you, Granny Xu." Ye Yunniang handed over the money she had prepared earlier to Granny Xu, entrusting her to burn an extra bundle of paper money on her behalf.
Granny Xu took the money from Ye Yunniang. "You talk with Maimiao. We'll be on our way."
Granny Xu and her husband, along with several other older folks or those with 'hardier' astrological signs from the neighborhood, set off together for the funeral parlor.
Watching them walk away, Ye Yunniang and Liang Maimiao went back inside to talk.
"I've been scared to death these past few days." Before Ye Yunniang could ask, Liang Maimiao began recounting her harrowing experience over the last three days.
On the day of the execution, Liang Maimiao and her mother, under the escort of a yamen runner, went to the execution ground.
Once there, they discovered that it wasn't just Zhang Er being executed; Wang Daxing and another unfamiliar man were also to be beheaded.
Having a choice, Liang Maimiao and her mother positioned themselves near the unknown man.
They fed him the roasted chicken they had brought, gave his family five taels of silver, and obtained his consent.
The mother and daughter then waited beneath him.
During this time, they also saw Granny Zhang, Zhang Da, Zhang San, and others. Feeling awkward, Liang Maimiao hid behind her mother, afraid to show her face lest she be seen.
The hour arrived, and the executions began.
The heads of all three men were severed cleanly, blood splattering everywhere.
"I was so terrified I hid right under the platform. My mother was brave; she rushed forward, not caring if the blood got on her." Liang Maimiao felt nauseated at this point and retched twice.
Ye Yunniang poured her some ginger tea with brown sugar.
After drinking it and feeling warmed, Liang Maimiao continued.
After dipping the steamed bun in the blood, Liang Maimiao was pulled away hastily by her mother. She only caught a glimpse of the Zhang family collecting the corpse, Wang Daxing's body unattended, and a young man gathering the stranger's remains.
Liang Maimiao and her mother took a donkey cart overnight to her cousin's house in the countryside.
"Cousin ate the bun." Liang Maimiao retched again at this memory, took a big gulp of the ginger tea to settle her stomach.
"He hadn't even finished the bun when Cousin... choked and died." Liang Maimiao fell silent here.
"My condolences." Ye Yunniang got up and went to the kitchen to refill the pot of ginger tea, topping up Liang Maimiao's cup.
"Cousin's family blamed my mother. They said the timing of what my mother brought was wrong, that it was what killed Cousin.
They locked us, mother and daughter, in the woodshed and demanded our family pay a ransom." Liang Maimiao snorted a bitter laugh.
"Mother spent sixteen taels for Cousin. Not only did they not return the silver, they demanded our family give them another hundred taels to compensate for Cousin's life."
"Did you pay?"
"How could we? My father and eldest brother brought dozens of relatives to Cousin's house, smashed the mourning hall, and took back ten taels." Liang Maimiao said with vindication at the end.
"Serves them right."
"Right, they deserved it." Liang Maimiao's eyes reddened as she said this.
Ye Yunniang handed her a handkerchief.
Liang Maimiao took it and wiped her tears. "What kind of mother in this world acts like that?
On the way back to the city, she kept blaming me. Said if I hadn't suggested not using Zhang Er's blood, maybe Cousin could have been saved. Said it was all my fault, causing the family to lose money." The more Liang Maimiao spoke, the more distressed she became. She truly hadn't expected her own mother to say such things to her.
"She even wants me to pay her back for the remaining six taels." Liang Maimiao clenched her fist and pounded the table once, venting her frustration.
"Did you pay?"
"No. I won't. I'm married now. The Xu family is my home for the rest of my life. The Liang family? I'm just a guest there. If they don't like me, I just won't go."
Ye Yunniang didn't offer advice; no words would be quite fitting in such a situation. She simply poured Liang Maimiao another cup of ginger tea.
"I really can't drink anymore. My stomach will burst." Liang Maimiao declined with a smile, but her smile faded when she saw the red wedding dress in the sewing basket nearby.
"How far along is the wedding dress?"
"It should be finished in about five more days."
"Yunniang, you're truly amazing." Liang Maimiao reached out to touch the dress but withdrew her hand.
Five days later, Ye Yunniang wrapped up the wedding dress and delivered it to the Liang household.
Ye Yunniang knocked on the Liang's door.
Yang Guihua opened the courtyard gate. "Who are you looking for?"
"Sister Yunniang, you're here." Liang Hemiao came out upon hearing the noise, recognized Ye Yunniang, and walked to the gate with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
"The wedding dress is finished." Ye Yunniang's reply made Liang Hemiao break into a wide smile.
"Give the dress to me." The gentle voice was gone; Yang Guihua's tone was very cold.
"Mother." Liang Hemiao tugged at Yang Guihua's hand, reminding her to mind her attitude.
"Please try it on first to see if it fits. If not, I'll take it back for alterations." Ye Yunniang paid no mind to Yang Guihua's attitude and spoke to Liang Hemiao.
"Oh, alright." Liang Hemiao took the wedding dress and went inside to try it on.
Yang Guihua turned and followed her, leaving Ye Yunniang alone in the courtyard.
"Embroidery Mistress Ye, have some tea." Liang Hemiao's sister-in-law, Yang Xue, brought out tea.
"Thank you." Ye Yunniang thanked her and accepted it.
"Embroidery Mistress Ye, you're too polite. I really love the handkerchiefs with the cat and dog embroidery patterns sold at the Baise Embroidery Shop." Yang Xue was very enthusiastic, showing Ye Yunniang a handkerchief with a pattern of a kitten scratching a ball.
The two chatted for a while about the handkerchief.
Inside, Liang Hemiao finished trying on the clothes and came out.
"Sister Yunniang, the dress fits perfectly and is very beautiful. Thank you." Liang Hemiao thanked her again.
"It's not that great." Yang Guihua coldly interrupted.
"Mother." Liang Hemiao frowned. Ever since returning from her cousin's house, her mother spoke to everyone as if they owed her money.
"I'm stating facts. How did you embroider this, Embroidery Mistress? You didn't even trim the thread ends cleanly." Yang Guihua spread out the bridal veil.
At the finishing point, there was a loose thread end that hadn't been trimmed.
"I didn't notice it." Ye Yunniang admitted the mistake.
"And a simple 'I was wrong' is supposed to make it okay?" Yang Guihua refused to let it go.
"What do you want then?"
"What attitude is that? You made a mistake and won't let people point it out? It's your fault, so we're deducting from your pay." As she spoke, Yang Guihua pulled out ten copper coins.
"Mother, we agreed on one tael of silver." Liang Hemiao's voice was slightly raised; her mother was being utterly shameful.
"Sister Yunniang, don't worry, I will definitely give you the payment." Liang Hemiao said, turning to go back inside to get the money.
"Don't you dare go." Yang Guihua grabbed Liang Hemiao's hand.
"Embroidery Mistress Ye, here is your payment." Yang Xue took out one tael of silver and offered it to Ye Yunniang.
Yang Guihua snatched it away. "I run this household, it's not your place to interfere."
"Mother, I'm begging you. Give the money to Ye Yunniang." Liang Hemiao pleaded with Yang Guihua.
"Does the dress have a problem or not?"
