Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Shedding her once-elegant attire, Ru Yan now wore a plain blue cloth gown. Early in the morning, she followed Sister Jiang to another crime scene. The victim was the proprietress of a dumpling shop, reportedly beheaded by a burglar she had caught in the act, leaving her head severed from the body.

Since the deceased was a woman, Sister Jiang had been specially summoned. Initially, she had only examined pregnant women, but gradually, almost all female corpses were assigned to her.

Sister Jiang first conducted a preliminary inspection, instructing Ru Yan to take notes before having the body transported back by the yamen constables.

On their way back, Sister Jiang discussed official matters before teasing Ru Yan, "Finally, no one’s following us today."

Ru Yan had already heard from Fang Ma the day before that although the situation was tricky, Matron Wei would resolve it for her, even at the risk of offending the magistrate’s wife. The absence of the magistrate’s scion today likely meant the issue had been settled.

At first, Ru Yan had been terrified of corpses, but after half a year of daily exposure alongside Sister Jiang, she came to see the coroner’s duty as a solemn responsibility—giving voice to the victims.

Naturally, she had also learned some medical skills from Sister Jiang. Bright and deferential, Ru Yan excelled in her role and had no desire to disrupt the status quo.

That magistrate’s scion might have taken a liking to her, and he seemed decent enough—but so what?

A bird that has escaped its cage would never willingly return. Why trade her current freedom to become a concubine or maidservant, living at someone else’s mercy? She far preferred things as they were now.

Spring had arrived, and Estate Steward Fan came with his son to deliver the first season’s rent: seventy-five strings of cash, a basket of eggs, two baskets each of shepherd’s purse, leeks, reed shoots, and bamboo shoots, along with six baskets of white clams and two baskets of mandarin fish.

Jin Niang directed them to deliver the goods to the kitchen before reviewing the household accounts—referring to Jiang Xian’s salary. His current income was converted entirely into silver, amounting to seven strings of cash and two piculs of rice and wheat per month.

The seven strings covered servants’ wages and household expenses. Though Jin Niang often appeared generous, she was actually quite frugal.

At the end of last year, Gu Qingru’s Embroidered Garments Shop opened, and Jin Niang lent her support, ensuring the business thrived. Knowing Jin Niang would refuse outright gifts of money or silk, Gu Qingru instead allocated a share in the shop under Jin Niang’s name.

Officials themselves were barred from commerce, but their family members were permitted.

After Estate Steward Fan and his son left, the Gu family sent their quarterly dividend—fifty strings of cash.

Jin Niang then distributed the seasonal vegetables and fish to Madam Wen and Madam Tian. As for Madam Bao, with whom they’d fallen out, she naturally received nothing.

She wasn’t sure how Jiang Xian had persuaded the magistrate’s son, but to her surprise, Madam Wen took Jin Niang’s hand and said, "Thank the County Sheriff Mei for straightening out my good-for-nothing son."

Jin Niang smiled. "I feared you might blame me. That Ru Yan—I rescued her from the water and took her in out of pity. But what is her status? Your son comes from a scholarly, official family. He mustn’t tarnish his reputation over a girl of lowly status."

Her words ostensibly disparaged Ru Yan but actually shielded her. Otherwise, targeted by the magistrate and his wife, Ru Yan would struggle to stay.

Madam Wen vehemently denied her son’s interest in a lowly girl: "Nonsense! He’s just obsessed with legal tomes and solving cases. But frittering away time on such distractions is no proper occupation. We plan to send him to White Deer Grotto Academy."

Likely Jiang Xian’s suggestion, Jin Niang mused—a fine idea indeed. With Jiang Xian’s term ending next year, the two would never cross paths again.

Thus, Jin Niang smiled. "White Deer Grotto—one of the Four Great Academies! If Yan’er succeeds, you’ll enjoy endless honors as a titled matron."

Madam Wen naturally agreed. Her husband had gone to great lengths to secure his post in Wu County, yet his performance was mediocre. Their future now rested on their son.

In truth, Madam Wen no longer dared act as boldly as before, having realized Jiang Xian and Jin Niang had powerful backing.

After visiting Madam Wen, Jin Niang passed by Madam Bao’s residence but only delivered goods to Madam Tian, who greeted her warmly: "You needn’t have come yourself—a servant would’ve sufficed."

"I had nothing pressing today," Jin Niang replied. "Besides, these are just simple gifts."

Madam Tian had tea served, and the two chatted at length before Jin Niang departed. Madam Bao, receiving nothing, fumed with resentment—though it availed her nothing.

Unaware of her gossip’s origins, County Sheriff Mei had inadvertently turned the entire yamen against them, leaving the couple isolated. Initially defiant, Madam Bao had since been sidelined—even the Spring Festival gifts were handled by Mei’s concubine. Now, she plotted to win back favor.

As for Madam Bao’s sister-in-law, who had aided her schemes, she was now banished from their doorstep. Falling ill this year without support, she succumbed to a sudden illness.

That was why Madam Bao only gave ten guan of cash to buy a coffin.

Now, seeing that Jin Niang ignored her, she could only fume quietly.

After making her rounds, Jin Niang returned to find Yun Jieer had arrived. Last month, she had turned six years old—around the age to attend preschool middle class in her previous life. Jin Niang had already taught her many common characters and focused on teaching her needlework.

Look, the little girl could already sew pouches.

"What do you say we visit your Aunt Gu later?" Jin Niang smiled.

Yun Jieer nodded. "Okay."

Since Gu Qingru was a woman living alone, Madam Gu was not entirely at ease and had suggested this kinswoman live with them. But Gu Qingru declined, choosing instead to reside in nearby Magpie Lane—partly for her own privacy and partly to reassure Madam Gu.

Many divorced women might be remarried or even sold off again by their families upon returning home. But Gu Qingru was exceptionally wealthy and maintained good relations with her clan, so she lived quite comfortably.

When the mother and daughter arrived, Gu Qingru welcomed them inside cheerfully, saying, "I was afraid you wouldn’t come!"

"Sister Gu, what are you saying? I’d love to visit more often, but those two little troublemakers at home always keep me busy," Jin Niang laughed.

Gu Qingru led them inside. The room was elegantly furnished, though on the table lay seven or eight red sandalwood boxes—some open, some closed—which seemed unlike Gu Qingru’s usual style.

Noticing Jin Niang’s gaze, Gu Qingru explained, "They were sent by the Xiang family."

"What does the Xiang family mean by this?" Jin Niang asked.

Gu Qingru shook her head. "It was Zhong’er’s father who sent them."

Jin Niang had heard that Madam Xiang had borne eight sons, and Gu Qingru’s husband was the seventh—the clan’s most learned. Yet because the couple was too devoted to each other, and Xiang Qilang had not passed the imperial exams, Madam Xiang pinned all the blame on Gu Qingru. Now that Gu Qingru’s parents had passed and her siblings were distant, she had been furious to learn that Xiang Qilang had secretly met a woman arranged by his mother and insisted on a separation.

Madam Xiang had even threatened to accuse her son of unfilial behavior if he refused to divorce, leaving the conflict irreconcilable. Reluctantly, Xiang Qilang agreed to the separation but remained deeply attached, hence sending these gifts.

"What does Sister Gu intend to do?" Jin Niang wondered if she planned to return to the Xiang family.

Gu Qingru scoffed. "He’s about to remarry. Sending these isn’t about lingering affection."

Jin Niang thought to herself how men loved to keep one eye on the bowl and the other on the pot, pretending to be sentimental.

Still, she worried about Zhong’er. "Sister, what about Zhong’er—"

"That’s not an issue. Zhong’er is doted on by my mother-in-law." Madam Xiang only despised her, not her son, which was why Gu Qingru felt at ease.

Jin Niang comforted her, "Sister Gu, since it’s water under the bridge now, don’t dwell on the past. Focus on your business. Rest assured, as long as I’m here, I’ll help you through any difficulties."

Because Gu Qingru had implied she had ties to a female official from the palace, Madam Wen and Madam Bao had no idea of her true standing and thus feared her, countering Rong Niang’s influence. Moreover, it was Gu Qingru’s recommendation that had allowed Jin Niang—a woman with no connections—to become the Embroidery Chief. She owed her for this kindness, so Jin Niang was always eager to assist however she could.

Gu Qingru recalled her late father’s words: "Help others without expecting returns, but if even one or two of those you’ve helped repay you, the rewards are immeasurable." Now, it had indeed come true.

"Jin Niang, I’m at a loss for words," Gu Qingru said, deeply moved.

Jin Niang quickly smiled. "It’s only right. Without Sister Gu’s recommendation back then, I might never have become the Embroidery Chief or gained my skills."

After chatting a while longer, Jin Niang stayed for a meal. Before leaving, Gu Qingru gifted Yun Jieer a tourmaline bracelet as a token.

Yun Jieer first looked at Jin Niang, who nodded, before bowing. "Thank you, Aunt Gu."

"Such a polite child," Gu Qingru said, her heart melting.

Jin Niang swelled with pride for her daughter.

Another Cold Food Festival came around, and Gu Qingru's business picked up as many people went out for spring outings, needing new clothes made. Jin Niang even helped spread the word.

Jin Niang had arranged the festival gifts, and even Ru Yan received one, coming specially to express her gratitude.

Jin Niang smiled and said, "No need for thanks—it’s nothing fancy."

"But you always think of me," Ru Yan replied. Now rid of the County Magistrate’s yamen scion’s pestering, she looked much more spirited. She brought up the case of the headless woman: "It turned out her husband had argued with her, leading to a fight. In a rage, he scalded her with boiling soup, and later, fearing discovery, cut off her head and discarded it elsewhere. Their children saw it all but, fearing their father’s arrest would leave them destitute, they lied to protect him. Fortunately, County Sheriff Jiang saw through the deception and brought him to justice."

Jin Niang shuddered: "How could anyone be so cruel?"

Ru Yan, familiar with humanity’s darker side, agreed: "Most folks wouldn’t even suspect the truth. Even their own children helped deceive the authorities—people aren’t what they used to be."

But Jin Niang reassured her: "People like that are few and far between. Don’t lose heart. Like yin and yang, there’s good and bad in people, but in the end, good wins out."

"You're right," Ru Yan said, acknowledging the comfort in Jin Niang’s words.

Hadn’t she known kindness too? Take Madam Wei—she’d rescued her, raised her, looked after her, solved her problems, even treated her with respect, helping her find her footing.

Jin Niang then smiled. "Next month’s the Dragon Boat Festival. I heard there’ll be a dragon boat race this year. If you’re not busy, we should go together and join in the fun."

"Sure," Ru Yan replied, eager for a life of her own.

After a bit more small talk, they went their separate ways. Jin Niang returned to her needlework, this time for Ning Geer. As a toddler, he’d worn his sister’s hand-me-downs, but now, at over two years old, Jin Niang hadn’t properly made him any clothes.

It was April, not too hot yet, so children’s clothes couldn’t be too thin. She made her son a light blue front-buttoned shirt with a green belly wrap and white pants underneath.

Embroidery would mostly be on the cuffs—children’s sensitive skin might find neckline patterns uncomfortable.

But what to embroider?

When Jiang Xian returned, Jin Niang asked, "What do you think I should stitch for Ning Geer?"

Jiang Xian pretended to pout. "Wife, you don’t even ask what I’d like anymore?"

Jin Niang covered her mouth, laughing. "Aren’t you embarrassed, getting jealous of your own boy?"

"Wife, don’t overwork yourself. Don’t we have seamstresses? Let them handle it," Jiang Xian said seriously.

Ju Xiang handled the kitchen, while Min Zhi took care of the sewing—both earned the same wages. But making clothes for her child was a personal gesture, so Jin Niang shook her head. She settled on a swallow with a peach blossom in its beak—spring blooms in full vigor, full of life.

After dinner, Jin Niang strolled in the garden, then sketched the design and gathered threads to begin. Jiang Xian, off duty, lazed on the couch, watching her sew. Jin Niang didn’t ignore him entirely. "I heard Judge Yan’s being transferred. Is it true?"

"You’ve got good sources—it’s true. His family’s bought a house in Wu County. He plans to leave them there while he takes another post," Jiang Xian replied.

Jin Niang smiled. "We’ve got land in Wu County too. When the time comes, we’ll have a place to retire."

Jiang Xian covered his face. "Wife, I can’t bear the thought of getting old. If only we could stay young forever."

Youth meant freedom; old age, even with filial children, often brought vulnerability. He thought of his mother—so capable in her youth, yet gone without a trace.

Others might call aging natural, but Jin Niang also dreaded it. After twenty-five, she’d noticed her body wasn’t what it once was.

"Xian Lang, though I fear aging too, with you, I’m not afraid. Truly, sometimes I still feel like I’m dreaming—to have found you. Every day still feels like a dream," Jin Niang said softly.

Having cheered him, she began embroidering.

Three days later, the clothes were done. Jin Niang had them washed and pressed before letting Ning Geer try them on. Much to her delight, once he tried them on, he wouldn’t take them off. Jin Niang couldn’t stop laughing.

Here's the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

It was Nanny Ma who said, "Even if we hid it in the cabinet, the young master would probably dig it out and want to wear it."

Speaking of Nanny Ma, now that Ning Geer had been weaned, her monthly wage was the same as that of senior maids like A Ying—two qian (a small silver coin) per month. Jin Niang had also asked her if she wished to return to Bianjing, as she could arrange passage on the Gu family's boat. However, Nanny Ma chose to stay on and serve in the Jiang household, so Jin Niang kept her.

Nanny Ma had told Jin Niang privately: "If I go back, the money will surely be taken by my mother-in-law or husband. Then they'll pressure me to have more children, and once I'm nursing again, I'll have to find work elsewhere. I can't bear going through that again."

Hearing this, Jin Niang felt deep sympathy.

Nanny Ma stayed and, along with Pei Lan, took excellent care of Ning Geer, which pleased Jin Niang immensely. As for Yun Jieer, by Dragon Boat Festival, she had already learned to weave ropes from five-colored silk threads and could make a pouch with simple embroidery, as instructed by Jin Niang.

During the festival, Jin Niang, owing to the goodwill from the Guanyin painting she had gifted, visited Madam Shen with her daughter. She also had Yun Jieer show off her needlework—a way of socializing for children, much like modern kindergarteners, not necessarily for academic learning but to foster independence.

How to speak to others, how to make friends—these were things children had to figure out on their own.

Jin Niang hadn't had such opportunities in her childhood. Her father had been just a palace guard and later worked odd jobs, a loner who kept to himself. She hoped her daughter could grow up more confident and free-spirited than she had been.

Madam Shen's youngest granddaughter was already ten, but far from conventional. Peering over her fan with a smirk, she marveled at Yun Jieer's embroidery: "Grandmother, even I can't stitch as well as she does!"

"Pay her no mind, County Sheriff's Lady," Madam Shen sighed. "This granddaughter of mine is the youngest, and her father raised her reading on his lap—she's grown rather eccentric." Her son, though upright, had let his children develop freely, all of them well-read but unconventional in thought.

Jin Niang quickly noticed the difference and praised, "I find your Fifth Miss unusually well-spoken for her age."

Shen Wuniang then asked Yun Jieer, "Have you studied any books, Sister Jiang?"

"Mother has just finished teaching me the Classic of Filial Piety and the Analects," Yun Jieer replied cheerfully.

Jin Niang explained to Madam Shen, "We plan to hire a tutor for her after she turns six—not to make her a scholar, but to help her learn life's principles." Madam Shen agreed wholeheartedly: "For daughters of official families, more learning is always beneficial."

"You're absolutely right," Jin Niang said with a smile.

She then let Yun Jieer and Fifth Miss Shen play together. Fifth Miss Shen asked Yun Jieer what she usually did for fun, to which Yun Jieer replied, "At home, I read and do needlework with my mother, or sometimes go out to swing and tend the garden with her."

"Do you play chess?" asked Fifth Miss Shen, who genuinely disliked needlework as she wasn't skilled at it.

Yun Jieer nodded. "My father taught me."

She also knew how to play backgammon and pitch-pot, but since she was just learning, she didn't mention it.

Yun Jieer then went to Fifth Miss Shen's bedroom to play, while Jin Niang had her two maids follow along. She herself stayed to chat with Madam Shen.

It was Yun Jieer's first time away from her mother, and she felt a little nervous. Fifth Miss Shen, being several years older, wasn't particularly interested in playing with a little girl either. After playing chess half-heartedly for a while, she had servants bring snacks for Yun Jieer to eat while she read a book by herself.

Yun Jieer didn't understand why Fifth Miss Shen had been so talkative in front of her mother but now seemed indifferent when alone. She didn't know how to express this, but Xi Qiu and Jiao Xing later told Jin Niang about it.

"In that case, next time we visit the Shen residence, there's no need to have Yun Jieer play with her," Jin Niang said, not blaming Fifth Miss Shen since she was, after all, much older.

Yun Jieer snuggled into Jin Niang's arms. "Mother, I only want to play with you."

"Good, I'll be with you every day," Jin Niang replied. This was, in a way, her daughter's first life lesson—not everyone would love her as unconditionally as family did.

But as a mother, Jin Niang wanted her daughter to know she always had support, so she would tell her parents if anything happened.

Once they returned home, Yun Jieer became much more relaxed and skipped around happily.

After dinner, the tired child went straight to bed. Jin Niang, in her nightgown, played dice with Jiang Xian, with the loser having to stick paper strips on their face.

For some odd reason, Jin Niang had terrible luck that day and ended up with seven or eight paper strips stuck to her face. She peeled them off and said to Jiang Xian, "Guess I'm the clown tonight."

Here’s the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

Jiang Xian said with a straight face, "I can hold my composure just fine."

Jin Niang pointed at him and declared, "Alright then, today I *will* make you crack."

She first walked up to him, booped his nose with her finger, snorted twice, and then said, "I’m a little piggy. Please, County Sheriff, don’t eat my tasty little pork chops..."

Jiang Xian almost cracked but still held back.

Seeing this trick didn’t work, Jin Niang went straight for her tried-and-true trick: tickles. It worked instantly, and Jiang Xian complained, "You always use this move."

"Old tricks work best!" Jin Niang giggled as she climbed onto the bed.

Every day outside was filled with grim, depressing cases, leaving him listless no matter what he did. Fortunately, his wife was always there to cheer him up. Jiang Xian held her and said, "Tomorrow, I’ll wash your hair for you."

"Mmm, I’ll wait for you," Jin Niang smiled.

However, the next day, Jiang Xian returned very late because his patron, Chancellor Liu, had resigned as Commissioner of the Three Departments after failing to persuade the new emperor with his counsel. He was reassigned to Quanzhou as Vice Minister of Rites and an Academician of the Duanming Hall.

"It seems there’s no hope for me to return to the capital now," Jiang Xian sighed.

He understood better than anyone that even with outstanding achievements, you were nowhere without connections. That was why officials in this dynasty were so hot to snag top-grad sons-in-law—marriage ties were the key.

But he had no regrets. To reassure Jin Niang, he simply said, "Prefect Shen thinks highly of me, so my performance review will surely be good. Don’t worry, my dear."

Jin Niang replied, "Spare me the ‘heaven’s grand mission’ speech. I just think it’s fine to delay our return for a few years. I haven’t saved enough money yet—still house-poor."

Jiang Xian was taken aback, then thought how his wife always had a different perspective from others. But what she said was true. Though Sweetwater Lane was nice, and his study was his favorite place, with more people now, they were practically stacked like firewood. With that, he calmly accepted the situation. Seeing him so composed, Jin Niang thought to herself that she still had the magic touch—she’d convinced Jiang Xian just like that.