Chapter 23: Outburst
Though the Dowager Lady Yan had always been stern, she rarely lost her temper. Now, as she suddenly lashed out at the Duke of Anguo and his wife, the two were instantly overwhelmed with fear and knelt on the ground, hurriedly admitting their faults.
"It is my fault, Mother. Your son/your daughter-in-law was negligent. Please do not be angry, Mother, and take care of your health."
The Duke of Anguo had always entrusted household matters to Xie Shi. Having been married for many years, he trusted her implicitly and had never interfered excessively. But now, hearing the Dowager Lady Yan speak this way, he too felt that Xie Shi had acted improperly.
However, he also knew that giving half the family’s wealth to Yan Jingshu as dowry was unrealistic. Fearing he might say the wrong thing and further anger the Dowager Lady, he cautiously ventured, "Mother is right. The dowry is indeed too little. But your son knows little about such matters. How much dowry does Mother think would be appropriate?"
Only then did the Dowager Lady’s expression soften slightly. After a pause, she said, "If you ask me, then match Jiang Chenghan’s betrothal gifts and double the amount—let’s make it a round number… twenty thousand taels of silver. Of course, if you think it’s too much and can’t bear to part with it, just consider this old woman meddling in your affairs. Pretend you never heard it. After all, you are the heads of the household now, and the final decision is yours."
"Mother, how could you say such a thing? Your son—your son is utterly ashamed—" The Dowager Lady’s words struck the Duke like a dagger to the heart. At this point, how could he possibly refuse? He immediately said, "Your son is ashamed for failing to consider this properly. Fortunately, Mother has enlightened me. We shall do everything as Mother says."
The Duke spoke sincerely. When he had inherited the ducal estate from his father, he had some understanding of the family’s wealth. The dowry the Dowager Lady proposed for Yan Jingshu was less than a tenth of the family’s assets—nowhere near the half he was originally entitled to. How could he possibly begrudge it? In fact, he felt even more indebted to Yan Jingshu.
Hearing the Duke’s response, the Dowager Lady nodded in satisfaction before turning her gaze to Xie Shi.
Xie Shi listened as mother and son, with just a few words, multiplied the originally planned dowry several times over. Her face twitched, and she clutched her handkerchief tightly to prevent herself from losing composure and revealing her displeasure.
Giving Yan Jingshu a few thousand taels for his dowry had already pained her greatly. Now, being asked to produce twenty thousand taels was akin to cutting flesh from her body. There was no way she would agree so easily.
Seeing the Dowager Lady and the Duke looking at her, awaiting her response, Xie Shi lowered her eyes slightly, feigning distress and self-reproach. "Mother, my lord, this wife also wishes for Shu’er to have more dowry to rely on, so he won’t be bullied by his in-laws in the future. But right now, the household simply… simply cannot produce so much silver.
"In recent years, there have been continuous natural disasters and wars. The court has repeatedly called for donations to fund military supplies, and our family has never failed to contribute. Compared to other families of similar standing in the capital, we have given more, never less. On top of that, the estates have suffered—hailstorms in one place, droughts in another. Our family has always been kind to the tenant farmers, collecting minimal rent. When disasters strike and harvests fail, we not only waive the rent but also provide them with grain and money. By now, we have long been operating at a loss, barely sustaining ourselves with past savings.
"For Shu’er’s dowry, because the matter was urgent and time was short, there wasn’t enough ready silver in the accounts. In the end, I had to pawn some of my own dowry to barely scrape together enough. Now, if Mother and my lord demand twenty thousand taels from me, I… I simply cannot produce it. I beg Mother’s forgiveness."
Xie Shi tearfully recounted her hardships and difficulties. Though she had not managed the household for years, the Dowager Lady, long familiar with Xie Shi’s true nature, was unmoved. She knew full well that Xie Shi was merely putting on an act. The Duke, however, was stunned.
He distinctly remembered that when he had inherited the title, the family’s liquid silver alone amounted to thirty or forty thousand taels—not even counting the various properties. How, in just six or seven years, had they fallen to such straits that they couldn’t even produce twenty thousand taels?
"The household is in such dire straits? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?" the Duke couldn’t help but ask.
Xie Shi dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief. "It is this wife’s fault. But I couldn’t bear to trouble my lord with such worries. I thought that though times are hard now, we would eventually pull through. I never expected Shu’er’s marriage to come so suddenly. I… I truly had no other choice…"
Xie Shi wept as if deeply aggrieved. Even if the Duke wanted to say more, he couldn’t bring himself to do so now.
The Dowager Lady watched coldly. She knew Xie Shi was simply weaving clever words to deceive her and the Duke. But since Xie Shi dared to speak this way, she must have already doctored the accounts flawlessly, making it impossible to detect anything amiss at a glance. Even if they investigated, it would take time to uncover the truth.
With Yan Jingshu’s wedding less than a month away, the Dowager Lady had no time to waste arguing with Xie Shi over this. However, she would not allow Xie Shi to brush aside the matter of Yan Jingshu’s dowry so easily.
Sipping her tea, the Dowager Lady suddenly seemed to remember something. "…I recall that some years ago, you acquired a batch of high-quality rosewood and huanghuali wood. At the time, you said it would be made into furniture for Yu’er’s dowry. Now that Yu’er is nearly fifteen, the furniture must be nearly finished, yes?"
It had been many years since then. The Duke, taken aback by the Dowager Lady’s sudden mention of it, took a moment to recall before replying, "Yes, Mother. The furniture is indeed complete and stored in the warehouse—one hundred and eight pieces in total, all crafted by the finest carpenters from Jiangnan."
"So many?" This time, the Dowager Lady was genuinely surprised. She remembered the batch of wood the Duke had acquired—it had seemed enough for only sixty or seventy pieces at most. She hadn’t expected it to amount to so many now.
The Duke smiled and added, "Your son and Shu’er’s mother heard that in the south, girls are expected to have complete sets of furniture for their dowries, and the more, the better. So afterward, we gathered more wood and finally managed to complete the one hundred and eight pieces."
"Is that so? Well, that’s good." The Dowager Lady nodded, her expression finally softening slightly. "Since there isn’t enough silver in the accounts, I will take two thousand taels from my private funds for Shu’er’s dowry. We’ll also select some antiques and curios from the warehouse, along with this set of one hundred and eight furniture pieces, and add them all to Shu’er’s dowry. With these, even if the rest of the dowry is modest, no one will dare say anything. As for Yu’er—she isn’t even betrothed yet. Even if she were to marry, it wouldn’t be for another two or three years. There’s plenty of time to prepare her dowry later."
Listening to the Dowager Lady casually hand over the dowry furniture—which Xie Shi had painstakingly prepared for her daughter at the cost of over ten thousand taels—to Yan Jingshu, Xie Shi nearly ground her teeth to dust in fury. Unable to contain herself any longer, she spoke up: "Mother, this… this wife has already told Yu’er that the furniture was for her future dowry. If we give it all to Shu’er now, how am I to explain this to Yu’er?"
The Dowager Lady remained unmoved. "Shu’er’s current predicament is entirely Yu’er’s doing. She owes Shu’er this much. A few pieces of furniture are but a small compensation. If she truly repents, she won’t object. Speaking of which—how is Yu’er now?"
Mentioning Yan Jingyu reminded the Dowager Lady that the girl still hadn’t entered the ancestral hall for her punishment.
A sense of foreboding rose in Xie Shi’s heart, but since the Dowager Lady had asked, she had no choice but to reply: "Yu’er remains the same. The physician says she was severely frightened, and her spirit was injured. It will take half a year of recuperation for her to recover."
The Dowager Lady was unsurprised by this answer. She didn’t even feel angry anymore—just indifferent. "Shu’er will be married in a month. We cannot let him leave with resentment in his heart. Yu’er’s punishment can no longer be delayed."
Xie Shi’s heart clenched. Knowing that pleading with the Dowager Lady would be useless, she turned a beseeching gaze toward the Duke.
"Mother means…?" The Duke, oblivious to Xie Shi’s silent plea, looked inquiringly at the Dowager Lady.
His thoughts aligned with hers—what was the point of punishing Yan Jingyu after Yan Jingshu had left? But with Yan Jingyu still ill and Xie Shi obstructing, he couldn’t very well drag the sick girl to the ancestral hall by force. The matter had been postponed day after day. Now, sensing that the Dowager Lady had some plan in mind, the Duke was actually relieved that she might resolve this dilemma for him.
"The ancestral hall is out of the question. If she frightens herself to death, it’s a small matter—but disturbing the ancestors would be an unforgivable sin." The Dowager Lady shook her head. Then she continued, "Since she’s afraid of ghosts, we’ll send her somewhere where no evil can reach her—a place where all ghosts are repelled."
Xie Shi and the Duke were both baffled, unsure what the Dowager Lady meant. But they soon understood.
"The small Buddhist hall in my courtyard is quiet and secluded, protected by the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. No ghosts or monsters could possibly appear there. Let Yu’er copy scriptures there and reflect on her mistakes."
As soon as the Dowager Lady finished speaking, the Duke immediately agreed. Xie Shi, realizing that the Dowager Lady intended to keep Yan Jingyu under her direct supervision—where she could torment the girl at will—felt both dread and resentment. But with the Duke’s approval, she was powerless to resist. For now, she could only grit her teeth and endure.
Once the matter of Yan Jingshu’s dowry was settled, the Duke wasted no time. He personally went to the warehouse to select items for Yan Jingshu’s dowry, piece by piece.
Xie Shi had initially accompanied him, intending to add the chosen items to the dowry list. But as she watched priceless treasures—coral penjing, gold-inlaid jade ruyi scepters, enamel incense burners with beast-shaped handles, vanity mirrors of foreign glass adorned with gold tracery and gemstones—these priceless treasures, long regarded by her as rightfully hers, were carried out from the storeroom in an endless stream, making her heart ache so intensely she nearly fainted from distress.
[Penjing (盆景): the ancient art of creating miniature landscapes in trays or pots, combining meticulously pruned trees, rocks, moss, and figurines to evoke natural scenery or poetic imagery]
Just then, a maid from Linglong Pavilion came running in panic to inform Xie Shi that the Dowager Lady had personally sent people to take Yan Jingyu away.
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