Chapter 1
"Siyu, what time is it now?"
Qiao Hezhi asked, his voice still heavy with sleep. He furrowed his brows, trying hard to open his tired eyes and wanting to sit up, but his whole body felt weak and devoid of strength.
He had caught a cold not many days after getting married. Medicine was taken daily, but after several rounds, there was no sign of improvement—his body was becoming increasingly weak.
"Young Master, it's still maoshi, two marks."
[maoshi/mao hour (5-7 AM); each hour is divided into 8 marks (刻, kè) so 1 mark is 15 minutes; start of maoshi (5 am) + 2 marks (30 minutes) = 5.30 am]
Hearing this, Qiao Hezhi was startled, his sleepiness vanishing completely. He hastily threw off the covers to get out of bed.
"It's already this late, why didn't you wake me earlier? What if I'm late for paying respects to my mother-in-law?"
Qiao Hezhi was agitated. After speaking, he couldn't suppress a cough, his fair face turning red from coughing.
"Young Master, please sleep a little longer. Even if you go on time, they always make you wait outside. How can your body withstand the cold wind blowing all day long?" Siyu's heart ached for him. She hurriedly went to support Qiao Hezhi and took a thick fur coat from the clothes rack to drape over him: "It started raining this morning, it's terribly cold outside. Young Master must wear more today."
Qiao Hezhi looked blankly towards the window. Outside was a vast grey, making the light in the room dim as well. No wonder he had overslept today.
His exposed ankles felt the chill of the rainy day. Qiao Hezhi lowered his eyes. The beginning of winter was just a few days away, the weather had suddenly turned cold. The morning respectful greetings would be even harder to endure from now on.
He murmured: "How can a married fulang be lazy and go late to pay respects? If word got out, it would be a breach of propriety and we would become a laughingstock. Then I would make my parents lose face."
Siyu said indignantly: "She is clearly deliberately making things difficult!"
"His heart is set on his cousin. My parents-in-law won't allow her to enter the household now, so my mother-in-law naturally won't look favorably upon me." Qiao Hezhi put on his clothes: "I haven't been married into the Fang family for long and have already ended up in this state. I must be even more careful and cautious in every way, otherwise life in the future will only be harder."
Siyu's eyes reddened. Qiao Hezhi looked at his young maid and sighed, as if comforting her, or perhaps comforting himself: "The days are still long. If I cry now, how could I ever finish crying? Alright, quickly fetch water for washing up. Keep it simple today, otherwise we really will be late."
"Yes."
After Siyu had helped Qiao Hezhi dress properly and was about to support him out the door, suddenly the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside. The person hadn't even reached the room before shouting started outside.
"Zhengfu, the master has fallen in the water! Please come quickly and see!"
[正夫 (zhèng fū): the legal primary husband in a polygamous marital system]
Hearing the voice, Qiao Hezhi nearly slipped off the stool. He hurriedly walked out of the room: "What happened?"
"Last night it rained heavily. The master returned to the village. On the way back, probably because it was dark and the road was slippery, he accidentally fell into the river. He was just brought back now."
"Last night! It's been so many hours now, why was it discovered so late!"
Qiao Hezhi's voice trembled. How could such a misfortune happen so soon after marriage? On the few steps towards the Bicang Small Pavilion where Fang Yu lived, his heart was anxious as if it had been fried in oil.
By now, Bicang Small Pavilion was crowded inside and out. The heart-wrenching sounds startled the crowing roosters into making noise.
"Has the doctor come or not! Where is the doctor!"
"My son! How did you fall into the river when everything was fine!"
Seeing this, Qiao Hezhi hurried forward to support the wailing woman: "Mother-in-law, please don't be so anxious, you'll harm your health."
"He is my own son, how can I not be anxious? You, on the other hand, are quite good, not panicked or flustered even when such a big thing happens. A stone is warmer than your heart. If anything serious happens to him, don't think you'll have any good days either."
The woman pushed Qiao Hezhi away and rushed into the room.
At that moment, on the open carved wooden bed in the room lay a man. His physique was relatively tall and large, but he mostly had the refined air of a scholar. His complexion and lip color were pale, looking quite unpromising.
The woman threw herself by the bedside, nearly crying herself into a faint: "Why did you have to go to that remote, backwater village when the season is bad? Hadn't you spent enough time there before! My son, just when life is starting to get better, with great prospects ahead, please don't be so cruel as to leave your mother behind."
"You all, tell me why the master went back to the village for no reason? You only know how to take the family's silver, but can't even look after a person properly. Explain clearly today, then you'll all be dragged out, beaten with boards, and sold off!"
The servants shrank into a group, wanting to answer but looking hesitantly at Qiao Hezhi.
"I'm asking you a question, why are you looking at him!"
The servants then said timidly: "The master... The master went back to Fangzui Village to see Cousin... He didn't allow us to follow."
Qiao Hezhi's eyes darkened slightly, but he didn't speak, only tucked the quilt corner for Fang Yu. The woman, however, swatted his hand away: "What are you putting on an act for here! You can't even look after your own husband properly. If Yu'er has any misfortune, you'll have to live as a widow. It's all because of you. If Yu'er's cousin had been allowed to enter the household earlier, would these things have happened?"
Qiao Hezhi clenched his sleeve cuff: "Mother-in-law, concubines can only be brought in three months after marriage. My husband and I have been married for less than a month. How could I agree to that?"
"You, coming from a merchant family, are very good at upholding the rules of prominent, high-ranking households. Those who know say your maternal family are merchants, those who don't would think you are the son of an official family, putting on airs for whom?"
Qiao Hezhi lowered his eyes. Whatever he said or did was wrong. Knowing it was improper to argue by Fang Yu's bedside when his life hung in the balance, he closed his mouth.
But now wasn't the time to worry about these things. They still didn't know if Fang Yu would be alright.
If the person was gone...
He didn't even dare think about it...
"The doctor is here!"
Fortunately, a servant's announcement eased the tension in the room. Qiao Hezhi, tears glistening in his eyes, stood up. The crowd made way for the doctor, each waiting with their own thoughts for the doctor's examination.
____
Fang Yu felt it was very noisy around him. He had stayed up late to finish his doctoral dissertation and didn't go to bed until three or four, utterly exhausted. He thought it was probably a dream; otherwise, why would there be the sound of shrill, acrimonious arguing in his bedroom? After a while, the noise finally stopped, but then the back of his head suddenly hurt as if needles were piercing his flesh.
Even though he was deeply sleepy, the pain forced him to open his eyes. In a daze, he saw a room full of men and women wearing long gowns and jackets. For a moment, he didn't know if he was awake or still dreaming.
Until a middle-aged woman threw herself by the bedside and let out a heart wrenching wail: "My son!"
"Husband, do you feel any discomfort in your body?"
Fang Yu frowned, looking at the woman prostrate before him, then glanced at the not-very-tall man behind her. He had black hair and clear eyes, a very refined and well-cared-for beautiful young man.
But no matter how pleasing to the eye, he had no mind to pay much attention to the person's appearance. That cry of "son" and "husband" had exploded in his brain, making him dizzy.
He always felt this scene was very familiar, quite like the plot of an imperial examination-themed novel he had confiscated from his young niece.
No comments:
Post a Comment