Chapter 13: Sincerity

Chapter 13 Sincerity

◎Not everyone possesses the courage to give their all.◎

Jixian Bookstore stood at the entrance of West Market Street, its sturdy cypress shelves laden with books of all kinds. Beyond the classics, histories, philosophies, and literary collections, it also offered miscellaneous titles, rare editions, calligraphy, and paintings.

The bookstore buzzed with activity. Shopkeeper Xu, a woman in her early thirties, dressed in a simple long skirt with her hair styled in a married woman’s bun, was at the counter settling a customer’s bill, her abacus beads clacking rhythmically. Spotting her friend, she managed a quick nod, signaling her to make herself at home.

Teacher Cen, a frequent patron, noticed Li Ci’s wide-eyed curiosity and asked, "Ah Ci, is there a book you fancy?"

Li Ci blinked, then pointed to a large scroll holder by the bookshelf. "I’d like to buy paintings."

The scroll holder contained over a dozen rolled-up paintings of varying sizes, all on common paper, some even unframed. The scroll the young servant had carried earlier appeared to be of the same type.

Teacher Cen, who taught at the Earl of Guangcheng’s residence, was well aware of the Li family’s wealth. She gestured towards the inner room. "Most of the finer paintings are displayed inside. You’re welcome to browse."

"The paintings in this scroll holder are mostly works by impoverished scholars that my shopkeeper has kindly agreed to sell on their behalf. They barely cover the cost of materials, just enough to offset expenses for ink and paper. There are a few precious pieces in the inner room. If you’re interested, I can fetch them for you."

Li Ci looked up to see a refined man in his thirties emerge from the inner room. Dressed in a long gown, he held a toddler in one arm and a cup of cold tea in the other. Noticing Li Ci’s interest in purchasing paintings, he offered this explanation.

She quickly shook her head, now even more convinced that the servant had been selling paintings for Xie Zheng.

Seeing the customer’s lack of interest, the man withdrew. First, he carried his daughter behind the counter, skillfully handing her a toy cart. Then, he took the abacus from his wife, offered her the cold tea, and took her place, busying himself with their daughter behind the counter.

He must be the shopkeeper’s live-in son-in-law. His seamless efficiency left Li Ci both impressed and filled with a sense of longing.

She could already envision her future happiness after marrying a live-in husband. After all, Xie Zheng was knowledgeable, strong, and skilled in the kitchen. If he were to join the Li household in the future, they could even reduce the number of servants.

Shopkeeper Xu took a sip of tea, picked up a book, and briskly approached her friend. "Ah Cen, I’ve found the Wuchen annotated version of 'Yangzi Fayan' you wanted. What do you think?"

Teacher Cen accepted it reverently. A glance at the preface and postscript was enough to captivate her. Lowering her head, she gently nudged Li Ci towards Shopkeeper Xu. "This is my student, Li. She recently wrote an essay on live-in marriages and has come specifically to seek your advice."

"My, such a pretty young lady, and so studious too," Shopkeeper Xu waved her hand cheerfully. "No need for formalities. If you have questions, just ask directly."

...The dread this statement inspired was almost on par with the teacher asking in class, "What does this mean?"

Li Ci instinctively looked up and saw that Teacher Cen had already found a quieter spot to read, which somewhat eased her mind.

Seizing the opportunity while her teacher was preoccupied, she whispered, "Shopkeeper, how did you and your... your esteemed husband meet?"

Shopkeeper Xu, not one to be coy, quickly recounted a story that greatly pleased Li Ci.

Their families had been neighbors, but one was a merchant and the other a scholar, so they hadn’t had much interaction. Later, when her husband’s family faced sudden misfortune, Shopkeeper Xu took pity on him and offered her care. Over time, their relationship blossomed into marriage.

This was almost exactly like her situation with Xie Zheng!

Li Ci pressed on, "After you and your esteemed husband fell in love, how did he agree to become a live-in son-in-law?"

Shopkeeper Xu smiled. "I’m a merchant, so I speak plainly. In the end, a live-in marriage boils down to one word: 'money.'"

"Spending money?"

Li Ci’s confidence surged. This was her forte!

The shopkeeper nodded. "But spending money requires skill and sincerity. Back when I was just starting out, business wasn’t good. I barely earned a few taels of silver in a year, but I used all of it to buy his favorite calligraphy brush. He was deeply moved and agreed."

Li Ci was somewhat puzzled. "Was it that simple?"

"Simple? That was all the money I had at the time," Shopkeeper Xu reminisced about her youthful memories with a smile. "I know you’re not short on money, but not everyone has the courage to give their all."

Seeing that Li Ci seemed to understand, she said no more.

For one, youthful emotions are the most sincere, and saying too much might spoil it. For another, with looks like hers, the young lady hardly needed to go through such trouble. A mere gesture might be enough to captivate someone.

Changing the subject, Shopkeeper Xu asked, "By the way, Miss Li, did you want to buy paintings earlier?"

Li Ci remembered her original purpose and nodded, pointing to the scroll holder outside. "I’d like to buy the paintings in there."

Shopkeeper Xu understood immediately and brought out the ledger for registered paintings. "Which one would you like?"

Li Ci craned her neck to look at the ledger but only saw pseudonyms like "Wandering Ye Gentleman" and "Free Yu Hermit"—not a single real name.

Noticing her confusion, Shopkeeper Xu quickly explained, "These are all aliases they came up with. I don’t know their real identities. The rule here is that the first painting sells for fifty cash. If it sells, the second goes for a hundred cash, the third for a hundred and fifty, and so on."

She rummaged through and pulled out a lotus painting to show Li Ci.

It was an ordinary ink painting, and even someone like Li Ci, who wasn’t well-versed in art, could tell it was only average.

"This is by the Mystic Mountain Hermit. It’s the best-selling piece here. This is already the fourth one. The ink seems a bit bleeding, but that’s due to the paper—it’s a shame, really. Oh, and I just received another one today..."

Li Ci interrupted her. "It’s alright, Shopkeeper Xu. I’ll take all the paintings in the scroll holder."

"Wonderful!" Shopkeeper Xu didn’t hesitate and quickly calculated the total. "There are twelve paintings here. It should be one tael and eight mace, but I’ll give you a discount—one tael, six mace, and two cash. How does that sound?"

Li Ci paid without hesitation. Shopkeeper Xu gathered the paintings, rolled them up, and handed them to her. Looking up, Li Ci noticed Teacher Cen was still absorbed in her book.

Shopkeeper Xu, accustomed to this, warmly suggested, "Ah Cen is like this—once she’s immersed in a book, even thunder wouldn’t wake her. Miss Li, why not stay for a simple meal? My husband is quite a good cook."

Clutching the paintings, Li Ci shook her head repeatedly. "I still have some shopping to do, so I won’t trouble you. Please say goodbye to the teacher for me."

If Teacher Cen asked what she had learned from the shopkeeper, she wouldn’t be able to answer a single word.

Better to let Shopkeeper Xu handle that problem.

-

By the time Li Ci had ordered what she wanted at her family’s bank and returned to the Earl of Guangcheng’s residence, both her cousins were waiting for her in Jiahe Courtyard.

Xiuchun reached out to take the items from her, but Li Ci waved her off, signaling her to prepare the meal first.

Zhou Ying asked in surprise, "Little cousin, you haven’t eaten yet?"

Li Ci felt a bit embarrassed but told the truth. "Well... I’m out of money."

Both cousins knew she had no concept of budgeting—she spent as she pleased—but since she was well-behaved and not excessively extravagant, they didn’t take her words too seriously.

Zhou Ling frowned as she took the stack of crude paintings from Li Ci’s hands. "Where did you find all this wastepaper?"

Li Ci helped her place the scrolls on the table, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she explained earnestly, "I found these paintings at West Market."

Zhou Ying unrolled one, put it down, unrolled another, put it down again. After looking at ten of them, only one or two were barely acceptable.

Covering her eyes, she asked, "How much did you get swindled out of this time?"

Li Ci pointed to the lotus painting and answered honestly, "This one was the most expensive—two hundred cash."

Just then, Zhou Ling unrolled the final painting and, for once, looked astonished. "Then you really have no eye for art. This painting of lofty mountains and jade towers by Yan Xisheng is the best of the lot. It’s just that the artist must be relatively unknown, so you lucked out."

The painting depicted towering mountains shrouded in clouds, undulating pines resembling dragons, and winding pavilions echoing the wind. It carried a faint scent of pinewood and felt entirely natural. Instead of using ochre or cinnabar, the artist boldly employed pine-soot ink, which is typically unsuitable for painting. The deep ink conveyed profound weight, while the lighter shades evoked subtle elegance, perfectly showcasing its unique qualities and the painter’s exceptional skill.

Li Ci nodded. She had already asked Shopkeeper Xu—this painting of lofty mountains and jade towers was the one Nan Xuan had just delivered. She had specifically instructed the shopkeeper to reserve all future works by "Yan Xisheng" for her.

"If it were the Mountain and Tower painting, that would be one thing, but this lotus painting," she glanced at the signature of the equally obscure "Recluse of Xuandu Mountain" on the artwork and snorted coldly, "even if it were by a somewhat famous painter, it would be worth twenty taels of silver at most."

Li Ci quickly did the math in her head, her calculations crystal clear. "Then I’ll sell this lotus painting to Cousin Zhou Ling for just ten taels."

"Wait, how much did you say?" Only then did Zhou Ling realize that Li Ci had earlier mentioned "two hundred wen." She immediately discarded the inexpensive paintings with disdain. "If you didn’t spend much, why haven’t you eaten yet?"

Li Ci nervously fidgeted with her coin purse and made up an excuse on the spot. "Xiuchun wasn’t around, so I thought I’d come back to eat."

Zhou Ying patted her head, her tone warm and approving. "Little cousin, you’re really growing up. So, will you join us for the Flower-Viewing Banquet in a few days?"

The Jingde Marquis Residence acted quickly. Zhou Chun had only just mentioned the event, and the invitation had already been delivered to the Earl of Guangcheng’s Residence. This Flower-Viewing Banquet was the first event Zhou Chun had organized since marrying into the Jingde Marquis Residence. Although Zhou Ying and the others had some reservations, as her family, they naturally had to attend.

But Li Ci was different, so they came specifically to ask for her opinion.

Such banquets sounded terribly boring to Li Ci, and she was about to refuse when she heard Cousin Ying list off, "...Everyone from the residence is going, even Master Xie will be there."

Li Ci immediately changed her mind. "Then I’ll go with you!"

Zhou Ling gave an "Mm" and gripped her hand tightly, unable to hide her unease. "When the time comes, stick with us and don’t wander off. Zhou Chun isn’t the forgiving type. You offended her today for my sake—she’s sure to hold a grudge and will likely find a way to make things difficult for you."

"How could she?" Li Ci retorted confidently. "Cousin Chun was just angry at the shopkeeper. I kindly reminded her that she bought a fake bracelet—she should be thanking me."

Her clear, bright eyes sparkled with a lively light, brimming with inexplicable confidence. She even added, "I’ve already thought of a gift for the banquet: a solid gold coral and turquoise bracelet. The coral must be from the South Sea, and the turquoise should have delicate water-pattern veining. She’s bound to love it."

Zhou Ling seemed on the verge of sighing but held back. She released Li Ci’s hand and said earnestly, "Ah Ci, maybe it’s better if you don’t go."

-

After some persuasion from her two cousins, Li Ci ultimately decided to attend, though she agreed to change the gift—it couldn’t be solid gold, nor could it feature any coral or turquoise decorations.

Not wanting to put much thought into it, she simply left the task to Xiuchun to arrange.

As Xiuchun served her young mistress dinner, she asked, "Miss, I heard that Sheng’s Jewelry Shop has recently popular carved ivory bracelets with gold floral inlays. Should I go pick one out?"

"No, don’t buy anything. Just choose an unused set from the storeroom," Li Ci shook her head repeatedly and whispered her secret to Xiuchun. "I’ve already spent all the money I had at Liji Bank. Manager Qiu even sent a letter to Father. I won’t have any funds until next month, after Father approves. I can’t spend any money lately."

"What?" Xiuchun was so shocked her eyes nearly popped out. "Miss, what did you buy? Weren’t those paintings worthless?"

Li Ci still had a rough idea of large sums. Counting on her fingers, she explained, "At the beginning of the month, I donated eighty thousand taels at Jingming Temple. Today, I spent another thirty thousand taels to have a set of scholar’s treasures made for Xie Zheng. Manager Qiu said I’ve exceeded my allowance and can’t spend any more."

Although both expenses were for the purpose of attracting a son-in-law, Xiuchun remained unfazed by the eighty-thousand-tael donation for temple incense. But hearing that Li Ci had spent thirty thousand taels on a man made her panic immediately.

"Miss, what kind of scholar’s treasures cost thirty thousand taels? Which shop did you buy them from? I’ll go investigate right away!"

"The gold was exchanged at Liji Bank. The scholar’s treasures were made using molds commissioned from Master Cao at Inkstone Pond Studio, and the gems were set by Cuiyun Jewelry. I even paid an extra fee for rush service—they’ll be finished and delivered to the residence tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Xiuchun gave up. These were all businesses owned by the Li Family—no one would dare cheat the young mistress.

She asked tremulously, "But what if Master Xie refuses to become a live-in son-in-law?"

"He won’t," Li Ci said with absolute certainty. "I’ve consulted an expert. As long as I spend all my money on this gift for Xie Zheng, he’ll be moved by my sincerity and agree."

She also had her own little scheme. "Since I’ve already donated eighty thousand taels this month, I only need to spend thirty thousand. If it were next month, I’d have to gift scholar’s treasures worth a hundred thousand taels—the piece couldn’t accommodate that many gems."

With things already set in motion, Xiuchun could only accept it.

As she went to select a gift from the young mistress’s storeroom, she felt as though all the jewels and jade inside seemed dull in comparison.

What could possibly compare to a set of scholar’s treasures made of pure gold and adorned with gems?

She closed her eyes and tried hard to imagine, looking forward to tomorrow.

"Author’s Note"

If we consider 2,100 words per chapter, wouldn’t this count as a double update? (Guilty conscience)...