Chapter Fifty-Two
After only a few days apart, Lady Dong had grown so thin and frail that she was scarcely recognizable. She stood beside Lady Chang, still wearing the same gentle, faint smile as always, yet she gave the impression of forcing herself to look cheerful.
Cui Lanyin hardly knew what to say about Lady Chang. The woman was not bad at heart, but she suffered from the common failing of mothers-in-law: she was always trying to bind her daughters-in-law by making them follow rules.
At a time like this, continuing in the same manner would only push Lady Dong farther away. If Lady Chang still hoped to keep her, that was simply impossible.
The fact that Lady Dong was still here meant that the Dong family did not wish to tear things apart completely. They were probably hoping the two families could part on amicable terms.
Everyone was seated except Lady Dong and Concubine Ge, who was Cui Mian’s concubine. The two of them stood to the side, pouring tea and attending to everyone. There were so many maids and serving women in the household, and it was already the holiday season. For Lady Chang to still make Lady Dong and Concubine Ge stand and observe household rules looked extremely unpleasant.
Cui Jian had once told Cui Lanyin that, among Cui Fu, Cui Ran, Cui Yu, and Cui Zhong, Cui Yu had the greatest natural talent and the most solid foundation in his studies. Although he did not stand out among his brothers, he was probably deliberately hiding his abilities.
With Cui Yu’s capabilities, he should have sat for the examinations alongside Cui Fu and Cui Ran. It was only to avoid competing with Cui Fu that he planned to sit for the county examination next year together with Cui Zhong.
Among the seven sons of the Cui family’s two branches, Cui Yu was the only one born of a concubine.
Cui Yu’s birth mother, Concubine Ge, had been Cui Mian’s personal maid since childhood. Originally, after Cui Mian married Lady Chang, he had intended to arrange a marriage for Ge and send her away. But in order to appear virtuous, Lady Chang had personally decided to take Ge into the household as Cui Mian’s concubine.
Cui Mian had also done Lady Chang the favor of preserving her dignity. Only after Lady Chang gave birth to Cui Sheng and Cui Fu did he allow Lady Ge to bear Cui Yu.
Lady Chang behaved properly toward Concubine Ge in front of Cui Mian, but treated her entirely differently behind his back. She made Concubine Ge stand and observe rules all day long, and although she did not openly mistreat Cui Yu, she reduced the quality of his food, clothing, and other provisions considerably.
Cui Lanyin looked down on Lady Chang’s way of doing things. If she disliked her husband taking a concubine, she should not have pretended to be magnanimous.
Concubine Ge had clearly been prepared to leave in the beginning, yet Lady Chang had insisted on keeping her to demonstrate her generosity. After keeping her, however, Lady Chang began quibbling over every little thing. That was hardly honorable.
But once Cui Yu passed the examinations next year—and went on to achieve more than Cui Fu—how would Lady Chang conduct herself then?
The same was true of Lady Dong. It would have been so much better to let go and form a good relationship. Instead, Lady Chang insisted on ending things with both sides at odds.
Lady Chang truly was not clever in the way she handled matters. She was always concerned with trivial gains while losing sight of the greater picture, and in the end she would gain nothing.
Sure enough, once the banquet had been laid out in the main room and everyone had taken their seats, Lady Dong and Lady Ge, still standing beside the table, looked especially conspicuous. Cui Mian noticed Cui Yu glancing to the side several times and falling silent among his brothers. At last, he could not bear it any longer and spoke up.
“There are plenty of maids and serving women to keep things running. Lady Dong, sit down.”
Then he said to Concubine Ge, “Have the kitchen send some dishes over, and you may return to your room as well.” He glanced at Cui Yu, who was sitting there with his eyes lowered. “Young Master Yu is grown now. From this point on, after you pay your respects in the morning and evening, he need not stand and observe the rules.”
Concubine Ge glanced at Cui Yu. Though she feared that Lady Chang would make things difficult for her later, at that moment she only wanted her son to preserve his dignity. She answered quietly, “Thank you for your consideration, my lord.”
Lady Chang’s face darkened, and she was about to object when Lady Ding, seated nearby, offered a quiet reminder. “Sister-in-law, don’t bully a young man while he is poor. You should be more generous toward Concubine Ge for Young Master Yu’s sake.”
Lady Jiang rarely agreed with anyone, but she added, “Concubine Ge is a decent woman, and Young Master Yu is an excellent child. For the sake of harmony among the brothers, try to let this go.”
With both sisters-in-law saying this, Lady Chang took their words to heart and silently allowed Concubine Ge to return to her room.
Cui Ran, Cui Su, and the others began talking with Cui Yu, and little by little, he joined in their conversation and laughter.
Cui Fang and Cui Sheng exchanged a knowing smile. At that moment, both of them sincerely felt that not taking concubines and having no sons born of concubines had been the wisest decision they had ever made.
Cui Lanyin remained preoccupied with matters at Prince Wei’s residence and was distracted throughout the meal.
She barely touched the dishes before her. When Lady Chang and Lady Ding asked her about it one after another, she did not want to draw everyone’s attention, so she used the excuse of going to wash her hands and slipped away to the small garden. She planned to catch her breath before returning.
The second branch’s garden was no bigger than a palm. From one end, one could see all the way to the other. Having grown accustomed to living in Prince Wei’s residence, Cui Lanyin immediately found the place cramped.
She went to sit in the pavilion beside the shallow pond, breaking off a willow branch to tease the fish. Before long, she heard footsteps entering the garden. When she turned, she saw Lady Dong.
“Sister-in-law, come sit,” Cui Lanyin called out.
Lady Dong smiled faintly. “I came to find you.”
“Is something the matter?”
“My family cannot determine your attitude, and they are afraid that if I leave through divorce, people will criticize both branches of the Cui family and that it will cause you trouble.” Lady Dong came straight to the point. “Dragging things out like this is not a solution either, so I wanted to ask what you think. If it truly is not possible, perhaps you could allow me to stay at the estate for a while. Once the right opportunity arises, I could then seek a divorce.”
Cui Lanyin had never imagined that, even now, Lady Dong and her family had still not made up their minds because they were concerned about her.
Although she often claimed that she would walk all over Yingcheng, so far she had only helped Empress Dowager Chen reclaim her dowry from the Chen family and taken people to the Xin family’s gates to confront them. Both incidents had been provoked by others, and especially the latter: it was only because Cui Su had first been detained by the Xin family and subjected to a private tribunal that she had stormed over there in anger. Thus, Cui Lanyin had never felt that she had truly gone about throwing her weight around.
She had not expected that, in the eyes of the Dong family, she had somehow surpassed Cui Mian and Lady Chang and become an important consideration in whether they would divorce or not.
She felt rather embarrassed. “Cui Chang is no longer considered a relative by our branch. Whatever happens to him has nothing to do with us. So…”
Lady Dong immediately understood the implication. Cui Lanyin was not opposed to her divorcing Cui Chang. In order to avoid any connection with Cui Chang, the Cui family’s main branch would certainly cut ties with Lady Dong as well.
The main branch of the Cui family had made it clear that they intended never to associate with Cui Chang again. Why would they care about the criticism or gossip that Lady Dong’s divorce might bring upon the two branches of the Cui family?
Lady Chang had still been hoping that, once the main branch’s anger subsided, she could plead for Cui Chang by invoking such phrases as “the two branches share the same blood; even broken bones remain joined by sinews.” Now, no matter what she said, it would be useless.
Lady Dong suddenly felt much more at ease. “Then I understand. I’ll have my family come over in a couple of days.” She lowered her head, her voice tinged with sadness. “It’s just that I hate to part with you all. Zhi, you, and Miss Ting have always gotten along so well. And the younger brothers have all treated me wonderfully, not to mention Uncle and Aunt…”
“Just because you leave, does that mean you won’t keep in touch with us?”
Lady Dong looked up in surprise. “You mean…”
Cui Lanyin nodded. “If it’s inconvenient for you to come here, you can visit our residence instead. My mother and sister will be delighted to see you.”
Lady Dong smiled through her tears. “For the sake of meeting all of you, this marriage of mine was not entirely a bad thing after all.”
The two women sat together for a while longer before returning to the front hall. When Lady Chang saw them, her eyes flickered. She looked suspiciously back and forth between them, but she did not dare question Cui Lanyin.
Knowing that Cui Lanyin had not had time to pay her respects to Prince Wei that morning, Cui Sheng and Lady Jiang both urged her to return early.
Only after Cui Lanyin stood and called for Cui Su to leave did Lady Chang tentatively speak up. “Lanyin, we will discipline Kaiyang…”
Cui Lanyin, however, had no intention of pretending that everything was fine. “I can understand that an aunt cannot bring herself to give up on her son. But from now on, please do not mention Cui Chang to anyone from our branch.”
Cui Mian cleared his throat. “Your aunt is merely being softhearted as a woman. I’ll speak to her later.”
Cui Lanyin acknowledged this with a nod, gave them a formal bow, and left with Cui Su.
Cui Mian stood staring at the brother and sister's retreating backs for quite a while. Less than a month had passed, yet Cui Su's features had already hardened into a resolute cast, making him look more and more like Cui Xin.
With Prince Wei now backing him, Cui Su would surely have far more opportunities in the future than Cui Chang, who had been sent to Shanxi.
He could not help but think of that old saying: "What is owed must eventually be repaid." For years, the second branch of the family had held the earldom that belonged to the first branch, yet they had achieved nothing of note. Now, with Cui Chang having blemished his reputation through misconduct, the second branch had once again fallen short even in their eldest son.
Cui Mian knew very well that given Cui Sheng's character, he would never demand the earldom back from the second branch, but the thought still made his heart uneasy.
He turned his gaze to Cui Fu and Cui Yu. The Great Ying dynasty valued literary pursuits over martial arts, so even if Cui Su rose to prominence, as long as Cui Fu and Cui Yu succeeded in the imperial examinations, the second branch would still remain the main pillar of the Cui family, and their current awkward situation would be resolved.
Cui Lanyin returned to Prince Wei's Mansion at the hour of the Monkey. After washing up and changing her clothes, she told Buyan to go to the garden and bring Grayfeather back.
Grayfeather was a stubborn, unruly creature, and a few days of confinement had done nothing to temper its nature. The moment it spotted Cui Lanyin, it squawked loudly, "Long time no see, Second Miss." "A day apart feels like three autumns."
The young eunuch who had been tending the parrot, seeing that Cui Lanyin did not seem particularly fond of those lines, hurriedly explained, "All the imperial concubines in the palace love to hear parrots recite those verses. If you do not like them, Second Miss, I will have it learn new ones later."
"Mn, teach it some bright, grand, and uplifting lines instead," Cui Lanyin said.
The eunuch nodded in assent, then added that he had already taught Grayfeather several auspicious poems about the Dragon Boat Festival.
But when Cui Lanyin asked the parrot to recite them, Grayfeather refused to utter a single line. She coaxed it with fruit after fruit, until it reluctantly spat out a poem by the previous dynasty's Lu You: "Zongzi are wrapped like two knotted tassels, mugwort sprays propped on the tall crown. When the day ends and my duties are done, I lift my cup with a smile, all worries drown."
One decent poem was enough for now. Cui Lanyin promised the parrot a few more treats, and Grayfeather cawed loudly and bobbed its head. She chose to take that as it agreeing to behave.
As the hour of the Monkey was drawing to a close, the gatekeeping eunuch came to report, "Second Miss, the Prince has returned."
Cui Lanyin was just about to head over, but then she paused and drew her foot back. She had already made up her mind: she would still visit Prince Wei every day, but never again would she act as unguarded as before. She would strictly abide by her place as a niece and never overstep proper bounds again.
So she waited a while longer, guessing that by the time he would have changed into his casual robes and settled onto the luohan couch, Cui Lanyin finally told Buyan to carry Grayfeather along, and the two of them headed for the study.
On the covered veranda outside the study, Chilin and Qinglin stood waiting, both looking utterly dejected.
Cui Lanyin's heart skipped a beat. She hurried a few steps up to the veranda, "Why aren't you two going in?"
Chilin made a throat-slitting gesture. "We don't dare."
Qinglin added in a quiet voice, "He's never been like this before. Today, when His Majesty asked after him, he didn't say a single word. If the Emperor weren't ill and too weak, he would surely have vented his frustration on us. Back in the days when things were this bad, he would at least flick his fingers or give us a look, so we knew what to do. Now he won't even acknowledge us when we come to report matters."
Cui Lanyin's face drained of color. The worst scenario she had feared had come to pass.
"Has Grand-uncle had anything to eat today?"
"From last night until now, he's refused three meals," Chilin shook his head. "Back in the old days, it wasn't rare for him to go two or three days without eating. He would sleep around the clock then, but whenever we came to report tricky matters, he would still give us clear decisions. He's never been like this, acting as if he couldn't care less even if the sky were to fall."
With every word Qinglin spoke, Cui Lanyin's heart sank further. By the time he finished, a heavy stone seemed to press on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.
Cui Lanyin paced back and forth on the veranda for a while. After taking several deep breaths, she stepped forward and called, "Grand-uncle, may I come in?"
Soon Buyan cracked the door open a little and poked his head out. "Second Miss, the Prince came back and said no one is to be admitted. It's not that I—"
"I know," Cui Lanyin said, even though her heart was burning with anxiety. "Hurry in and look after Grand-uncle."
But the waiting stretched on endlessly. Buyan hung the cage holding Grayfeather on the veranda railing. Grayfeather flapped its wings, cawed twice, and then blurted out three clear words: "Greetings, Grand-uncle."
Cui Lanyin was overjoyed. She went over and guided the parrot, "Good Grayfeather, help me beg Grand-uncle for forgiveness. Tell him Yin was careless this morning, and she will never act that way again. The Dragon Boat Festival family feast cannot be skipped. Beg Grand-uncle to do us the honor of joining us for the meal."
Grayfeather tossed its head aside and squawked, "Red clay little stove, won't you drink a cup with me?"
Cui Lanyin did not care that it had mixed up the lines. She stroked its wings gently again and again. "Yes, yes. Grayfeather, you are so well-mannered. Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, and I should properly share a small cup of wine with Grand-uncle."
Grayfeather seemed thoroughly pleased with the praise, turning its body to let her groom the other side of its wings. Cui Lanyin then taught it, "Now say the lines I just taught you to Grand-uncle."
Grayfeather bobbed its head and chanted: "How can one not be pining away? The west wind rolls the curtain up, and one is thinner than the yellow chrysanthemum."
Cui Lanyin's mind went blank with a buzz. She tried to cover the parrot's beak with her hand. "Grayfeather, not that line."
Grayfeather tilted its head and looked back at her, then started to speak one word at a time: "If love between two lasts long, why need they stay together night and day?"
Cui Lanyin's face burned bright red. She asked the parrot, half-frantic and half-embarrassed, "Grayfeather, when did I ever teach you those lines? No wonder Grand-uncle had you locked up. You are such a naughty little thing."
There was a loud, heavy thud from the study door, louder than any she had heard before. Cui Lanyin shrank back, not daring to imagine how upset Prince Wei must be at this moment.
Some friends asked where I had wandered off to. Oh, I've just been busy with things at home [shy][kiss]
