Chapter 115: Cutting Hair

Chapter 115: Shaving One's Head

Even until the day before Lin Qingjiao's wedding, Chen Yuhu still couldn't quite grasp the reality of it.

According to tradition, on the eve of the wedding, it was the mother's duty to impart certain marital wisdom.

Chen Yuhu took out a finely bound booklet and boldly tossed it to Lin Qingjiao.

She truly couldn't bring herself to be demure.

"This is what I'm supposed to teach you by custom. Take a look and comprehend it yourself!"

Even Lin Qingjiao, accustomed to Chen Yuhu's unconventional ways, felt her ears flush.

Chen Yuhu understood her daughter's embarrassment and offered just one piece of advice: "I won't say much else."

"But it seems An Ze doesn't have any concubines or servants yet. If anything feels amiss, just give him a nudge. Work things out together—there’s no sense in only one person striving to please the other."

Though shy, Lin Qingjiao carefully committed her mother's words to memory.

The mother and daughter exchanged a silent glance.

Chen Yuhu truly didn’t know what else to say, yet she felt this was a moment when words were expected.

She had only been sitting beside Lin Qingjiao for a short while when An Zhi and Yuzhi arrived.

They were surprised to find Chen Yuhu still there.

"Mother!"

"Hmm."

Chen Yuhu nodded.

"Eldest Sister is getting married tomorrow. We came to see her."

Chen Yuhu smiled. "It's good that you're here to keep her company."

"Since you're all here, I'll say this to everyone together."

An Zhi and Yuzhi obediently sat down to listen.

"Truthfully, I don't have much to advise you. I've taught you everything I could. I only have one thing to say: all your future efforts must be for yourselves."

"You must strive to live well for your own sake."

"Don’t sacrifice yourselves or wear yourselves down for others—not even for your own children."

The girls were momentarily stunned. Chen Yuhu’s words starkly contrasted with the prevailing values of the time.

Though they knew she had always been rather unconventional, this was perhaps the first time she had spoken so bluntly.

She said they should live for themselves.

To live for themselves, by any means necessary, without sacrificing for anyone else.

Chen Yuhu stood up. "I don't know if you'll remember my words, but I needed to say them."

"That’s all I have to say."

After speaking, Chen Yuhu intended to leave, allowing the sisters a private moment.

The next day, the Chen family arrived early to help, including even Chen Yuhu's second sister-in-law.

In Lin Qingjiao's chamber, Chen Yuhu smiled and quickly urged her to sit down.

"Come, come, come, sit down! Didn't I tell you there was no need for you to come?"

Chen Yuhu's second sister-in-law carefully cradled her belly and said with a smile, "Your daughter's wedding—such a momentous occasion, how could I not come?"

So far, Chen Yuhu hadn't felt any sadness; her mind was blank, as if her capacity for sorrow had been switched off.

Chen Yuhu didn’t have time to stay seated in Lin Qingjiao’s room for long, though she wished she could.

There were still guests to attend to in the mansion.

Only after all the guests had arrived did Lin Qingjiao, guided by other elder female relatives, begin her makeup.

Hair styling, facial threading, makeup application…

Lin Qingtong still hadn’t returned; he had been injured at the border—always getting hurt, so it couldn't be helped.

Fortunately, with so many children in the family, missing one or two wouldn’t delay Lin Qingjiao’s departure.

Chen Yuhu remained busy, hosting guests, until she heard the sound of firecrackers.

It was said the groom had arrived, and only then did she realize.

Seated in the place of honor, Chen Yuhu and Lin Ji sat on either side, waiting for the couple to offer tea.

Looking at Lin Qingjiao in her red wedding dress, Chen Yuhu’s first reaction wasn’t reluctance.

Instead, she could hardly bring herself to look, thinking to herself: *What a sin!*

*She's so young!*

To spend the rest of her life in another family at such a tender age.

A daughter-in-law struggling to become a mother-in-law—each endures a life steeped in bitterness.

An Ze smiled cheerfully and, together with Lin Qingjiao, presented tea to Chen Yuhu.

Chen Yuhu took the teacup and quickly reviewed Lin Qingjiao’s dowry in her mind.

With so much money, such a high-ranking father, brothers with bright futures, and an overprotective mother like herself—if she still couldn’t live well…

Her mind was lucid and practical in its calculations, but in reality, her easily tearful nature was already dripping with tears.

An Zhi stood behind Chen Yuhu, also weeping quietly.

Lin Ji took one look and felt overwhelmed.

Those days were long gone when he could comfort Chen Yuhu.

Chen Yuhu watched helplessly as Lin Qingbai carried Lin Qingjiao out on his back; she couldn’t even go out to see her off.

There was no custom of sending off the bride in this dynasty.

Her tears still wet, Chen Yuhu turned blankly to Lin Ji and asked, "From now on, she won’t ever come back?"

Lin Ji replied seriously, "She will return for the bridal return three days later. No matter what, she has to come back."

Chen Yuhu gradually came back to her senses, gave Lin Ji an annoyed look, and walked away.

She had to attend to the wedding banquet outside that required her attention!

Lin Ji: ...Huh? He hadn't said anything wrong!

The bridal sedan was hoisted up and set in motion, followed by a long procession of dowry.

Chen Yuhu had truly given Lin Qingjiao a dowry fit for a princess—every single item was genuine and valuable.

Anyone who saw it couldn't help but praise it.

That night, Chen Yuhu leaned back on her bed, still struggling to believe it was real.

She couldn’t understand why a perfectly good person would suddenly become someone else's family member—from now on, whenever Lin Qingjiao was mentioned, she would be referred to as An Lin-shi.

An Zhi and Yuzhi also didn’t go to see the bride off. The two sisters had just visited Guanju Pavilion.

Only yesterday, they had still lived there with their Elder Sister.

Today, Guanju Pavilion lay empty and silent.

It felt as though all the times they had played and laughed together there were just a dream.

Yuzhi held An Zhi’s hand and asked, "Sister, will we never be able to play with Big Sister in Guanju Pavilion again?"

An Zhi remained silent.

"There will be other times, Sister..."

As she said this, An Zhi remembered that once the spring imperial examinations were over, Big Sister would soon follow An Ze to his official assignment.

Suddenly, her heart clenched painfully.

They all shared the same fate.

Grandmother, mother, sisters, daughters...

Their fates were all predetermined.

An Zhi saw Yuzhi back to her room and then went to Concubine Hua's chambers.

When Concubine Hua saw An Zhi, she asked, "Why are you here? Why aren’t you keeping your mother company?"

"Mother might not want to see me right now. Seeing me would only make her miss Big Sister even more."

Just like her—when she felt afraid and fearful of her own future fate, she only wanted to stay by her biological mother’s side.

Even if this person had once treated her poorly, even if she knew how foolish this woman truly was.

An Zhi watched her biological mother, Concubine Hua, working under the lamplight, embroidering a forehead band. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she knew her biological mother could never understand.

Mother would understand, but if they stayed together, the atmosphere would only grow more sorrowful.

*The suffering of one reminds others of their own.*

Early the next morning, An Zhi brought Yuzhi to pay morning respects to Chen Yuhu.

Chen Yuhu held An Zhi’s hand and said, "What will happen to our An Zhi in the future?"

For the first time, she revealed a touch of sadness and fragility.

She had seen her mother cry many times before, had seen her eyes red from arguing with Father, but never before had Chen Yuhu given off such a fragile feeling.

An Zhi’s heart twisted with pain, but she smiled and said, "If Mother can’t bear to part with me, perhaps I should shave my head and become a nun. Then Mother can build me a meditation hall at home."

An Zhi thought Chen Yuhu would laugh and tell her she was talking nonsense.

Instead, Chen Yuhu said, "If doing this would allow all of you to live well, I wouldn’t mind building several more."