Chapter 68
After they had shared what had happened in their lives lately, Cui Lanyin looked at the swell of Cui Lanzhi’s belly and said with a smile, “Once my nephew is born, you’ll need quite a few more servants. The South Study will become rather cramped, so why don’t you and Brother-in-law move to the rear courtyard?”
Hong Ji gave Cui Lanzhi a meaningful look. Understanding what he meant, she smiled gently and said, “How could we possibly run out of room? We lived this way when we were in Wuxi as well. The child will sleep with us until he’s three, and all we’ll need is a wet nurse. There’s more than enough space in the study. After next year’s metropolitan examination, whether my husband passes or not, we’ll buy a residence of our own.”
When she heard them say that they intended to move into another residence next year, Lady Jiang immediately felt reluctant to let them go. “Who said something to Lianfang? Didn’t we agree that you’d stay here permanently? With Yin not living at home and Brother Su rarely coming back for even one night, once you leave, only Brother Jian will be left in the house. What kind of home will it be then?”
Cui Lanyin knew that this matter still depended on Hong Ji. She turned to him and said, “Brother-in-law, my cousin-uncle told me that I’m to live between the palace and Prince Wei’s residence. I probably won’t be coming back here to live, so the rear courtyard will be left empty. Why don’t you move in?
“Life in the capital is expensive. Buying another residence would also require many more servants, which would mean a considerable expense. Since there’s already room here, why spend the extra money? Wouldn’t it be better to save it and build up some property for my nephew?
“I know you aren’t concerned about what people might say. You’re worried that Brother Su is growing up and that, when he marries, you’ll be occupying the courtyard and the family won’t be able to ask you to move. But you’re worrying needlessly. The pastry shop and restaurant near the examination compound bring in a substantial monthly income. Half of the profits come to our family. After deducting the capital invested in opening the shops, our household has earned six hundred taels in the past three months. Once the mourning period is over, the monthly income will be even higher.
“So our family is no longer poor or struggling. When Brother Su marries, we can either buy another residence or purchase the neighboring property and expand the courtyard. Even if I have several more nephews, there will still be room for all of you.”
Hong Ji had always enjoyed the harmonious atmosphere in his wife’s family. Hearing this, he let go of his concerns and smiled. “Then we won’t worry about all that. We’ll move to the rear courtyard once it’s been tidied up.”
Lady Jiang did not even have time to feel happy before she came to her senses—a rare occurrence for her. “Wasn’t the pastry shop and restaurant something you opened to help His Highness… the Emperor? How can half the profits go to the family? You’re the one doing all the work. The family contributed neither money nor effort. We can’t accept this.”
For years, Cui Lanyin had managed the household of the Cui family’s main branch. Cui Sheng and Lady Jiang both received their monthly allowances from her. Even when she told them about the family’s income, they would listen and promptly forget. After a while, Cui Lanyin had simply stopped mentioning it.
Thus, she had never thought to tell them that half the profits from the pastry shop and restaurant belonged to the Cui family’s main branch. In any case, she saved the money and brought it out whenever the household needed it.
It was only after the Emperor had declared that Prince Wei’s residence would remain open for her use that she realized she was, in effect, establishing a household of her own. That was why she thought it was time to explain the family’s finances.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, she said, “Mother, at first I intended for the family and me to share half the profits, with the other half going to my cousin-uncle. But he said that I should be counted on his side, and that the family should receive half the profits while the other half went to him and me. He told me to use it as spending money.”
That day, Cui Lanyin had hurried back from the palace and warned the family about what was happening. Although Qian He had later come to take her back to the palace, everyone had guessed that something had gone wrong between the uncle and nephew and remained worried.
Even now, she still referred to the Emperor as “my cousin-uncle” at every opportunity. It was clear that she had not changed the way she addressed him in the palace. The Emperor doted on her just as he had when he was Prince Wei. He had even assigned her a share of the profits, clearly unwilling to return Cui Lanyin to the Cui family.
The Emperor had spoken. His word was law, and no one could object.
Thinking that most of the money would be given to Cui Lanyin as part of her dowry, Lady Jiang said, “You’ve always been the one in charge of the household. If you think it’s appropriate, then that’s fine.”
Cui Lanyin then suggested handing over the household ledgers and money. Lady Jiang refused outright and pushed the responsibility far into the future. “There’s no one in this family capable of managing such things. We’ll talk about it after Brother Su takes a wife.”
Cui Su waved his hands in alarm. “Let’s wait until Brother Jian gets married instead. I still have to follow His Majesty and establish my career. Don’t expect me to marry for the next few years.”
Cui Jian was no less emphatic. “I won’t marry until I pass the metropolitan examination.”
Lady Jiang was broad-minded about such matters. Stroking Cui Lanzhi’s belly, she said gently, “As long as I have a darling grandson to hold, I don’t care when you two marry.”
Since every member of the family seemed to think money was a burden they were better off without, Cui Lanyin could only let the matter drop.
After lunch, the four siblings worked together to help Cui Lanzhi and Hong Ji move to the rear courtyard. The study in the southern courtyard was set aside for Cui Jian to study. The entire three-room hall at the front was given to Cui Sheng.
He was no longer in the same position as before. Colleagues occasionally came to visit, so he used the central room to receive guests, the eastern room as his study, and the western room to work on his various projects.
After everything was divided up this way, the residence was clearly no larger than before, yet it somehow felt far more spacious.
That evening, when Cui Sheng returned home, Cui Lanyin told him that the Emperor wanted to eat the tofu-skin buns he made. He became so excited that he paced back and forth across the room.
“What else does His Majesty want to eat? I’ll make several more dishes.”
Cui Lanyin said, “Make a few vegetarian pastries that will keep for two days as well. They can serve as snacks for my cousin-uncle.”
Cui Sheng nodded repeatedly. When he asked when Cui Lanyin would return to the palace and learned that it would be the day after tomorrow, he said he could come back tomorrow afternoon. By then, he would have everything prepared and would make sure she could take fresh, steaming food into the palace when she left.
At dinner, despite his fatigue, he went into the kitchen and prepared several exceptionally delicious vegetarian dishes. The whole family enjoyed a meal together—something they had not done in a long time.
After dinner, Cui Lanyin took Chiyun and the others back to Prince Wei’s residence.
The moment Chief Aide Song saw her return, he came hurrying over. Before he could even speak, his eyes had already reddened.
“Second Miss, I… I thought I’d never see you come back to live here again.”
Apart from the people around the Emperor and those who served her personally, Chief Aide Song was the person with whom she had gotten along best at Prince Wei’s residence. Thinking that they would soon have to part, Cui Lanyin felt rather reluctant as well.
But Prince Wei’s residence had now become the Emperor’s former princely estate. The officials who had served there no longer had any role to play. Once the Emperor completed his mourning period, they would certainly be reassigned elsewhere.
Cui Lanyin said, “My cousin-uncle has allowed me to travel back and forth between the palace and the residence. If you have some free time in the future, Chief Aide, you can always come back and visit.”
Hearing this, Chief Aide Song pleaded, “Since that’s the case, Second Miss, could you speak to His Majesty and ask him to let me stay here?”
“You’re so capable, Chief Aide. There will surely be a place where your talents can be put to better use. How could we leave you here and bury your abilities?”
“Second Miss may not know this, but I came from the ranks of the provincial scholars…”
Back when the Emperor had become Prince Wei, everyone assumed he would be nothing more than a wealthy and idle prince. Anyone who hoped for advancement refused to come work under him, and that was how Chief Aide Song had gotten the opportunity.
Otherwise, how could someone with only the qualification of a provincial scholar have risen to a sixth-rank position before turning forty?
Cui Lanyin naturally knew all this, but she did not see it that way. “Chief Aide, don’t belittle yourself. His Majesty values ability above all else when selecting officials. Whether someone comes from the censorate or the regular civil service is secondary. Just wait and see.”
Cui Lanyin was not merely offering Chief Aide Song empty reassurance. From what she knew of the emperor, he was deeply contemptuous of the so-called orthodoxy of the censors’ and remonstrators’ offices. An emperor would naturally value someone with both family background and ability, but if a person had only the background and none of the ability, he certainly would not indulge them.
Chief Aide Song, however, did not dare think that way. He sincerely wished to remain in the prince’s former residence and continue managing all the household affairs for Cui Lanyin.
Sometimes he even wished Cui Lanyin were a man. That way, if the emperor assigned her an official post, he could continue working under her and handling affairs for her. A superior as good as her was truly a rare opportunity—once encountered, one could not let go.
The next day was the fourteenth. When Emperor Xuanning’s coffin was carried out of the palace toward East Water Pass, the earth-shaking commotion could be heard clearly even by Cui Lanyin, who had shut herself inside Yi’an Hall.
Fortunately, it passed quickly. The auspicious time for the coffin to be loaded onto the boat was a quarter past noon. Once noon had passed, the vessel carrying the coffin set off, and the state mourning was more or less over. By the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, mourning clothes had been removed, and everything had returned to normal.
After lunch, Cui Lanyin considered returning home once she had rested for a while. She had just started toward the bedchamber when Chiyun reported from outside, “Second Miss, Elder Brother Dayou has come with something to report.”
Cui Lanyin went to the western side hall to see him. As it happened, she also wanted to discuss future arrangements with Geng Dayou.
“Second Miss, Master Liu wishes to see you. The Jiu Tong Trading House in Guangzhou had agreed to give Qilin Hall a three-percent share, but now they’ve gone back on their word and say they can only give us one percent. Master Liu feels the Jiu Tong Trading House is treating us far too contemptuously, as if Qilin Hall were some beggar they could dismiss with a handout. He wishes to ask for your instructions.”
Cui Lanyin was somewhat surprised. Prince Wei had become emperor, and the Four Qilins had led the Qilin Guards back to the palace. There had also been no word from the uncles’ generation. Within Qilin Hall, only Liu Heipi and the men under him remained to hold the place together.
At a time like this, Liu Heipi had not thought of clinging to her and begging for a future. Instead, he had continued faithfully taking care of Qilin Hall’s affairs. That alone was extremely rare.
After all, the person behind Qilin Hall was the emperor. If Liu Heipi found a way to petition the emperor for a word—even if all he received was a minor ninth-rank post—he could use it as a stepping-stone to change his allegiance and leave the jianghu for good.
The emperor was not present, and no one would be watching the empty prince’s residence. Cui Lanyin said, “Go and have Master Liu come see me.” After thinking for a moment, she added, “Remember to avoid being seen.”
“Rest assured, Second Miss. I’ll bring him in through the gate used by the carts delivering ingredients. The carriage can come straight inside, and no one will notice.”
A little over an hour later, Geng Dayou brought Liu Heipi in, disguised as an ordinary merchant.
Whether it was because he had entered the emperor’s former residence or for some other reason, Liu Heipi once again looked as apprehensive and constrained as he had when the Five City Office of Patrols and Constables had forced him to come begging for help.
The moment he saw Cui Lanyin, he dropped heavily to his knees.
“Liu the Fifth greets Second Miss. I never thought Second Miss would still be willing to see me.”
“You’ve been working for me all this time. Why are you behaving like this again?” Cui Lanyin hurriedly had Geng Dayou pull Liu Heipi to his feet.
Ever since the twenty-seventh day of the eighth month, when he heard that Prince Wei had ascended the throne, Liu Heipi had felt as though he were floating in a cloud, unable to find solid ground. He had begun endlessly imagining what sort of official post the emperor might bestow upon him. If that happened, he would become the greatest capable man in his branch of the Liu family.
It was Lady Liu who had brought him back to his senses. She told him that, in the emperor’s eyes, he did not even count as a pawn. The emperor used him only because he was still someone of standing in the jianghu. Once he left the jianghu, he would be completely useless. Why would the emperor have any reason to employ him?
For him, Qilin Hall was the key to his future. At a time like this, the wisest course was to run Qilin Hall well and ensure that it could continue serving the emperor. If he remained diligent, perhaps his son’s generation might benefit in the future. That alone was something the Liu family, for several generations, had never dared even imagine.
Lady Liu’s bucket of cold water had made Liu Heipi see himself clearly. He firmly believed that listening to one’s wife led to prosperity. He did not push himself forward. During this period, even though he could not find any of the Qilin Guards, he continued managing Qilin Hall’s affairs as usual.
Only when the matter with the Jiu Tong Trading House arose did he think of asking Cui Lanyin for instructions.
Everyone in Yingcheng knew that Second Miss Cui had been taken into the palace to live there. In the eyes of the people of Yingcheng, she was now a princess who had yet to receive her formal title—and one who stood above all the other princesses. Of course, Liu Heipi had never dared imagine that he might still be granted an audience with her.
He had merely wanted to try asking. Otherwise, Qilin Hall would be reduced to an empty shell. This time it was the Jiu Tong Trading House; next time it would be someone else. Even the businesses in the north that had recently settled their accounts might withhold their later shares.
Or perhaps the emperor would simply shut down Qilin Hall altogether. That was what Liu Heipi feared most, but he still wanted a definite answer. Then he could give up on the matter and return to the jianghu to make an honest living.
Unexpectedly, at this very moment, Second Miss had left the palace. As soon as he passed the matter to Geng Dayou, she had summoned him to see her.
Second Miss had made use of him, so she had never intended to abandon him.
Seeing that his eyes had reddened just as Chief Aide Song’s had the day before, Cui Lanyin could not bear to look at him. One after another, they were becoming sentimental. She hurriedly turned to the matter at hand.
“What is going on with the Jiu Tong Trading House?”
“I had people look into it. It seems they’ve managed to curry favor with some powerful household here in Yingcheng. Then they came to Qilin Hall and saw that there was no formidable figure around, so they began looking down on us. They think we’re nothing but an empty shell putting on a show. They say they’ll still give us one percent, but that’s probably a test. If we tolerate it this time, I doubt they’ll even pay that one percent afterward.”
That was going too far. Qilin Hall had settled the dispute between the Jiu Tong Trading House and the grain-transport gang. According to the rules of the jianghu, the Jiu Tong Trading House should have paid Qilin Hall for resolving the matter.
The shares had been offered by the Jiu Tong Trading House itself. After the matter was settled, Qilin Hall had continued protecting the trading house’s fleets traveling to Jiangnan and the northern lands. The protection alone was worth a considerable sum. Now the Jiu Tong Trading House wanted to erase all of it. What did they take Qilin Hall for?
Qilin Hall had been established by the emperor himself. Cui Lanyin could not tolerate anyone trying to use it for free.
“Is there someone from the Jiu Tong Trading House in Yingcheng who has the authority to make decisions?”
“Yes. Their chief manager is in Yingcheng.”
“Arrange for me to meet him tomorrow.”
From Second Miss’s tone, it sounded as though she still intended to keep Qilin Hall. Liu Heipi’s spirits rose greatly. He agreed at once and went back to arrange the meeting.
Afterward, Cui Lanyin asked Chiyun, “Can I call a few Qilin Guards over for my use?”
“Uncle Bai and the Qilin Guards of the uncle generation under his command have always been at Second Miss’s disposal, haven’t they? They’re all at the estate, ready for you to summon whenever you need them.”
I went over the outline. We’ll need a plot development to bring the two of them together—probably in three to five chapters. Second Cui is about to level up dramatically, so don’t rush it, hehe [mischievous grin]
