“Oh dear, Madam Lin, you are truly blessed! Your son is handsome and accomplished, your daughter beautiful and talented. And now, the county’s only charming and skilled cultivation official has also been snatched up by you. How are the rest of us mothers supposed to live without feeling utterly inadequate? It seems all the good fortune has been claimed by you alone!”
“Not just us mothers—those young men dreaming of marrying Miss Sima will likely lose sleep for quite some time!”
“Hahaha, listen to you all, your words are as sweet as honey! Don’t forget, today is Madam Guo’s sixtieth birthday. We’re here to celebrate. If you use up all your flattery on me, what will you say when it’s time to toast? Our esteemed magistrate would surely be heartbroken.”
“Ah, Madam Lin, we were congratulating you, yet you turn it on me. Ladies, don’t let Madam Lin fool you—she’s a master at changing the subject. Please, continue your conversation. As an old woman with failing eyesight, I may not have attended to you all properly. Liangfeng, check if anything is lacking and bring it promptly. We mustn’t neglect our guests.”
“Don’t worry, Mother.” Liangfeng was Guo Mian’s wife.
Following her mother, Lin Fang felt her face stiffen from endless greetings and replies. At first, she managed to smile, but the ladies’ curiosity knew no bounds—some questions she answered, while others, inappropriate for an unmarried girl, were deftly deflected by her mother.
The chatter was overwhelming, and Lin Fang grew bored, though she couldn’t show it lest she appear rude. Some remarks were sharp, but in such a setting, she couldn’t afford to react—today was a celebration, and causing a scene would reflect poorly on the hosts.
Glancing at Sima Rusu, who moved gracefully beside her own mother, Lin Fang admired her ease in conversation. No wonder she was known as a capable household manager. Once she married into the Lin family, Lin Fang mused, her mother would have much less to worry about.
Feeling suffocated, Lin Fang whispered to Li Cuimei, “Mother, I’ll go check on Auntie. Xixian is young and might be sleepy. Since I’m free, I’ll help watch her.”
After the female guests paid respects to Guo Mian’s mother, they split into groups—older women, young wives, and unmarried girls. Lin Fang and Sima Rusu had longed to escape but were trapped by the elderly ladies’ questions.
Li Cuimei knew her daughter was making excuses. Worried she might tire, and pitying Sima Rusu stuck with the elders, she excused them both, instructing them not to wander far. Once outside, Liu Ma and a few maids followed discreetly.
Strolling to a quieter spot, Sima Rusu exhaled deeply. “Finally! Those old ladies were relentless. I nearly suffocated.”
Lin Fang teased, “You seemed so at ease—I thought you enjoyed it.”
Sima Rusu scoffed. “Don’t mock me. You know I was just playing along.”
The birthday banquet was held in a wealthy family’s garden estate, its vast lake dotted with lotus blooms and fish—ornamental koi alongside edible carp and crucian. Sima Rusu remarked, “The owner is clever. Lotuses for beauty, and in winter, the roots and fish can be sold. A perfect balance.”
Lin Fang laughed. “Such scenery, and you think of profit? How unromantic.”
Sima Rusu shot back, “Life is about food and clothing. Without money, what use is beauty? You’d still go hungry.”
Their banter led them to a pavilion, where they rested. The stone table bore fruits and tea, but Liu Ma had their own refreshments laid out instead.
Both preferred piping-hot tea, and few pastries matched Li Cuihong’s. Sima Rusu, after years with the Lins, had grown equally picky.
As they ate in comfortable silence, distant chatter reached them from another pavilion obscured by trees.
“Why does the magistrate’s wife, so young, stay with the elders instead of us? It’s dull.”
“She’s not with them—she’s attending her mother-in-law. The elders are just incidental.”
Lin Fang and Sima Rusu exchanged glances but stayed quiet as the gossip continued.
“Did you know? The magistrate’s wife has been married seven years with no child.”
“Really? She doesn’t seem barren. Maybe the magistrate is the problem?”
“Hush! Neither is at fault.”
“Then why no child?”
“They say the magistrate dotes on his blind mother. He personally tends to her day and night, leaving no time for his wife.”
“No wonder. No shared bed, no child. Doesn’t the wife protest?”
At least three or four voices chimed in. Liu Ma gestured for them to leave, but Lin Fang shook her head. Gossip was unavoidable, and unless it concerned them, why bother?
“She did protest, but the magistrate told her plainly: his mother comes first. If she wanted a divorce, he wouldn’t stop her. If she stayed, she’d have full household control—except over his mother.”
“Tsk. What’s the use of authority without children? I’d divorce him.”
“Fool! The magistrate is rising fast. No concubines, no scheming—just wealth and peace. I’d stay.”
“You? With seven kids by thirty? You’d never endure such a marriage!”
“Hey, do you think the wife is still… untouched?”
“Ask her yourself!”
“Madam Wang, you’re from the magistrate’s hometown. Do you know more?”
“I left young. How would I know his family affairs?”
Lin Cui’e? Lin Fang and Liu Ma shared a startled look. Lin Cui’e had once fancied Guo Mian. Hearing his marital woes discussed so casually must sting.
The topic shifted, and Lin Fang grew restless. She stepped out, gazing at the lakeside pavilion where girls clustered in cliques.
She asked Sima Rusu if they should join them, but both declined. Neither was interested in trivial chatter. Returning to their mothers meant more prying questions—a headache.
Spotting a vibrant rose garden, Lin Fang suggested, “Let’s go there. Since you’re engaged to Fifth Brother, you can start embroidering your dowry. Maybe the flowers will inspire you.”
Sima Rusu agreed. “Nowhere else to go.”
The roses dazzled—tiny as thumbnails, large as palms, in every hue imaginable. The sight lifted their spirits, and they longed to capture it.
“If only we had a camera,” Lin Fang sighed.
“Ladies,” a voice interrupted. “I happen to have paper and brushes you may borrow.”
Lin Fang turned—and inwardly grimaced.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage