Chapter 88 Mountain Home Hearth 88

Chapter 88: A Family Affair

May 29th, a day auspicious for meeting friends, opening granaries, and holding weddings.

Before noon, a wedding procession, complete with music and fanfare, entered Shanghe Village. Numerous servants followed: male attendants in uniform grey short coats with long strips of red cloth tied around their waists, and maids in peach-pink dresses, similarly adorned with red sashes.

Drums beat and *suonas* played at the front, while at the rear, bearers carried a red sedan chair, heading towards the Tian family home.

On this day of great celebration, Zhou Qiaozhi, who should have been overjoyed, was instead pacing anxiously around the courtyard, stomping her feet and cursing.

"That wretched girl! What day is today, and she still runs off outside!"

"Husband! Tian Dacheng! Are you a dead man? Your daughter is missing! Don't you even know to go out and look for her? Do you even care about this family anymore?"

Today was the day the Tian family was marrying off their daughter, so the courtyard was set with banquet tables. Tian Dacheng, however, had taken a plate of cold pig's ears and a pot of yellow wine, hiding lazily inside the house, enjoying his snacks and drinks, feeling utterly content.

Tian Hexiang was missing, but he wasn’t the least bit worried.

Zhou Qiaozhi, both furious and anxious, went over and tugged at his clothes, angrily scolding him again: "What time is it already! Still drinking! Hurry up and go look for her!"

Tian Dacheng impatiently shook off her hand, glared at Zhou Qiaozhi, and said irritably, "Get lost and stop pestering me! If you want to look, go yourself! You have legs—why don’t you go instead of yelling at me!"

Zhou Qiaozhi was so angry her eyes widened. She pointed at Tian Dacheng, then at herself.

Fuming, she said, "The courtyard is already full of guests. If I leave, who will entertain them? Isn’t Hexiang your daughter? Even her own father doesn’t care! Do you even have this family in your eyes?"

With that, Zhou Qiaozhi, already enraged and out of her mind, snatched the wine pot from Tian Dacheng’s hand and smashed it hard onto the ground with a loud crash.

The earthen pot shattered into pieces, and wine spilled all over the floor.

Tian Dacheng’s eyes bulged with anger. He slammed the table and stood up, even raising a hand as if to strike Zhou Qiaozhi’s face, but she dodged.

He could only point at her and shout, "You wasteful woman! Do you know how expensive this wine is?"

Zhou Qiaozhi argued back, "Expensive, expensive, expensive! To hell with your expensive wine! How did I ever marry a good-for-nothing like you!"

Tian Dacheng retorted, "Get out! Don’t annoy me! I was blind to have married you! You shrew!"

Zhou Qiaozhi, infuriated, burst into tears and rushed forward to push Tian Dacheng, but instead, he grabbed her wrist and flung her to the ground.

"You damned scoundrel! I knew you still had your eyes on that bitch Cui Lanfang! You heartless man, I’ve borne you children, yet you care nothing for this family! You bastard! Damned beast!"

"Pah! Bringing up old, rotten history! You wretched woman, who do you think you are? In any other family, you’d be beaten three times a day!"

Tian Dacheng glared at her, and after cursing, he found her too noisy. He simply turned his back to avoid her, picking up his chopsticks to continue eating his pig’s ear snacks.

Zhou Qiaozhi continued to curse for a while. Outside, the courtyard was full of guests, their laughter and chatter so loud that no one noticed the two masters of the house arguing inside.

Zhou Qiaozhi wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, brushed herself off, and stood up. Instead of continuing to argue with Tian Dacheng, she hurried out and went next door to Tian Qiusheng’s room.

"Qiusheng! Qiusheng! Come out quickly! No studying today—I’ll allow you to rest for a day! Hurry, something’s happened! Your sister is missing! Go look for her!"

Zhou Qiaozhi knocked on the door repeatedly, but there was no movement from inside.

Her face changed, and she pushed the door open forcefully, only to find the room empty!

Tian Qiusheng was also missing!

Zhou Qiaozhi’s face paled, and she panicked in her anxiety.

Outside, the sound of celebratory music grew closer. A villager sitting at the banquet came over, patted Zhou Qiaozhi on the shoulder, and said with a laugh, "Hey, Mrs. Tian! Your son-in-law is here for the bride! Where’s your Hexiang? Hurry and call her out!"

Zhou Qiaozhi flustered, not knowing how to respond.

"He, Hexiang, she…"

She had barely stammered out a few words when the wedding procession entered. At the front was a middle-aged man dressed in dark red, who looked somewhat snobbish, holding his head high and looking down his nose at everyone.

"We’re here to fetch the bride. Where is the new bride?"

Everyone in the village knew Zhou Qiaozhi had arranged for her daughter to marry into a wealthy family in the county, so they were prepared.

Wealthy families certainly put on airs, but they hadn’t expected the airs to be this grand. Not a single auspicious word was spoken upon entering, the tone was stiff and emotionless, and no red envelopes were distributed before trying to take the bride away.

The villagers who had been eating all stopped and curiously watched the wedding procession.

The spectacle was grand—the servants were all dressed in matching new clothes with red cloth tied around their waists. The male attendants wore small red six-panel caps, and the maids had red ribbons tied in their hair, styled in *yaji* (double buns).

Drums were beaten, *suonas* were played, the music lively and festive, and at the back stood a small red sedan chair.

But something seemed off!

Finally, someone noticed what was wrong and pointed it out.

"Hey, Tian family! Where’s your son-in-law? Why isn’t the groom here!"

Zhou Qiaozhi covered her face, not daring to answer.

Instead, the only man in red from the wedding procession chuckled softly, his tone still condescending.

He said, "Today is the day our young master takes a concubine. Why would the young master need to come in person for that? He’s waiting at home! Well, Madam, where is our concubine? Please bring her out quickly—we mustn’t miss the auspicious hour!"

The speaker was the Huang family’s steward. Tian Hexiang’s future husband was surnamed Huang, named Huang Yuansheng, the son of a wealthy landowning family in the county.

This marriage was something Zhou Qiaozhi had luckily stumbled upon. When she heard that the wealthy Huang family in the county was seeking a concubine for their son, she spent money to have someone bring Tian Hexiang’s birth details and portrait for consideration. Who would have thought she’d be chosen!

The messenger returned saying Hexiang’s birth details were auspicious—she would bring prosperity to her husband! Her looks were also decent! The young master of the Huang family had taken a liking to her at first sight!

But now, she was gone.

Zhou Qiaozhi was both furious and panicked, cursing Tian Hexiang a hundred, a thousand times in her heart.

That wretched girl! Once I find her, I’ll make her pay! If this wonderful marriage falls through, I’ll skin her alive!

But though Zhou Qiaozhi dared to act arrogantly toward the villagers, she didn’t dare say a harsh word to Steward Huang before her. She even instinctively lowered her posture.

The bride was missing—there was no hiding it. Zhou Qiaozhi didn’t dare conceal the truth and stammered, "The b-bride and her brother went out. I… I can’t find them either."

Steward Huang angrily shouted, "She’s missing?!"

Zhou Qiaozhi hurriedly said, "No, no, no! How could she be missing? She just went out… I’ll look for her, I’ll definitely bring her back! Steward, please sit and rest for a while! Have some tea?"

Zhou Qiaozhi was anxious, and Steward Huang was anxious too.

He had led the servants from Luoxian County all the way to this small village in Fushui Town, half a day’s journey. If he didn’t bring the new concubine back, how would he explain it to the young master?

Zhou Qiaozhi ushered the group in and rushed out in a frenzy.

After she left, the villagers at the banquet began to gossip among themselves.

"Oh my! Tian Hexiang made this marriage sound like the greatest thing ever! Who knew it was to be someone’s concubine!"

"Oh no! No girl from our village has ever become a concubine! If this gets out, it’ll be a disgrace!"

"Exactly! What terrible luck. If I’d known it was this kind of marriage, I wouldn’t have come to this feast today!"

"Get out of here! You’re the one who ate the most! Heck, you’re still eating!"

……

Zhou Qiaozhi had no idea about the commotion in her own courtyard, and Tian Hexiang was also unaware of what was happening at home. At that moment, she had been pulled by her younger brother Tian Qiusheng to hide in the village ancestral hall.

Inside the village ancestral hall.

"What? A concubine? How is that possible! How could Mother agree to make me a concubine! Tian Qiusheng, don’t talk nonsense!"

Hearing Tian Qiusheng’s words, Tian Hexiang was so shocked her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly, clearly in disbelief.

Tian Qiusheng stomped his feet anxiously and said, "Sis! I’m really not lying! Your wedding dress is magenta—that’s the color worn for becoming a concubine! How could the young master of a landlord’s family not know the difference between true red and magenta when marrying a proper wife?"

"And this marriage! It’s so rushed! Have you ever seen a marriage in our village arranged in less than two months?! Everyone else gets engaged first and then marries, and it often takes a year or two!"

"Sis! Don’t be foolish! You shouldn’t become someone’s concubine!"

Tian Qiusheng was like a cat on a hot tin roof. The usually dull young boy finally showed some fire.

Tian Hexiang stood stunned for a moment, then suddenly said, "I don’t believe it. I’m going to ask Mother to get the truth!"

With that, she shook off Tian Qiusheng’s hand and turned to rush outside. Just as she stepped out of the ancestral hall, she ran into Zhou Qiaozhi, who had just arrived.

Zhou Qiaozhi came charging in angrily, her hand raised as if to strike Tian Hexiang’s face, but then she remembered the Huang family waiting at home and held back.

Still seething, she glared at Tian Qiusheng behind Tian Hexiang, rushed over, grabbed him, and whacked him on the back several times.

"I knew it was you, you little troublemaker! What are you trying to do? What do you want? I went to all this trouble to find a good match for your sister, and you just have to ruin it, don’t you! If it weren’t for your studies, would your sister need to become a concubine? I must've owed you in a past life!"

Tian Qiusheng, who had always been submissive and timid, suddenly mustered an unexpected strength. He pushed Zhou Qiaozhi away and shouted at her hoarsely:

"I don’t like studying! I never wanted to take the Student Scholar exams or become a county scholar! The teacher always calls me stupid, says he could've taught a pig and it would've learned faster! He says I’m worthless lumber and useless mud, yet I dare to dream of becoming a Student Scholar! But I never wanted to take the exam! I don’t want to study!"

"It’s all what you want! It’s all for yourself! You’re selling Sister to be a concubine for your own sake!"

Zhou Qiaozhi was stunned by his outburst, completely unprepared for her usually obedient son speaking to her like this.

Snapping back to her senses, she slapped him again and scolded, "If the teacher scolds you, you listen! If you weren’t so useless, would he scold you? Why doesn’t he scold others?"

Tian Qiusheng was often beaten—for failing exams, for dozing off while studying early in the morning, for slacking off on his studies at night.

Whenever Zhou Qiaozhi hit him before, Tian Qiusheng would just take it without a word. But this time, he ducked away and took off running.

Zhou Qiaozhi wanted to chase after him but was held back by Tian Hexiang. She could only shout at his retreating figure, "Run! Let’s see how far you can go! Don’t you dare come back for the rest of your life!"

After shouting, she caught her breath, then turned to Tian Hexiang with a stern face. Just as she was about to speak, Tian Hexiang cut her off.

"Mother, did you really promise me to be a concubine?"

Zhou Qiaozhi’s face stiffened, and she actually looked guilty for once.

After a moment, she nodded and said, "What’s so bad about being a concubine? Being a concubine in a wealthy family is better than being a wife to a poor man!"

Then she paused, looked at Tian Hexiang again, stroked her cheek and smoothed her hair, and said earnestly:

"Look at the pearl hairpin in your hair—it’s made of real pearls! And this printed fabric of your dress—the Huang family sent five whole bolts of it! And this bracelet, these earrings! And the rouge on your face!"

"Touch them, look at them. These are things you couldn’t even find in town. Tell me, if you miss this chance, will you ever get to use such things again?"

"This pomegranate skirt is beautiful, isn’t it? You like it, right? If this marriage falls through, you’ll have to take it off and return it! But if you enter the Huang family, won’t you have pomegranate skirts, lotus skirts, peach blossom skirts—all kinds of skirts?"

"I’m your own mother—would I harm you? This marriage is a good one! Look, which girl in the village can marry into the county? You can count those who married into town on one hand! If you marry into the Huang family, you’ll be the first in the village!"

Tian Hexiang’s face fell, a mix of hurt and sadness, but her hands couldn’t help but follow Zhou Qiaozhi’s words to touch the dress, the pearl hairpin, the bracelet.

…Would she never get to use these again?

Tian Hexiang thought silently.

Suddenly, she raised her hand and rubbed her eyes hard, as if trying to wipe away the tears before they fell.

Then she asked softly, "How old is he, really?"

A mother knows her daughter best. Seeing her expression, Zhou Qiaozhi knew she had mostly convinced her and quickly replied, "Oh, he is a little older than you, but it’s the prime of his life! I heard he runs the whole family business!"

Tian Hexiang: "How old, exactly?"

Zhou Qiaozhi: "A good ten years older than you, but not even thirty yet!"

Actually, he was twenty-nine and would turn thirty by the end of the year, but Zhou Qiaozhi didn’t dare say.

A daughter knows her mother as well as a mother knows her daughter. Even though Zhou Qiaozhi didn’t say it outright, Tian Hexiang understood perfectly. "Not even thirty yet" meant at least twenty-eight or twenty-nine.

She suddenly laughed, straightened the pearl hairpin in her hair, smoothed down her dress, straightened her back, and walked out of the ancestral hall.

Zhou Qiaozhi hurried after her, keeping up a cheerful chatter as they walked. "Alright! Today is a happy day—cheer up! Now go back to the room, put on your makeup, change into your wedding dress, and let me fix your hair up nice. Once you step out, you’ll be the most beautiful bride in the village!"

Mother and daughter returned home. The Huang family steward was still sitting in his chair, having drunk several cups of tea, and the bride still wasn't back. With no host to entertain him, he was left sitting there, which made him even angrier!

When he saw the mother and daughter return, he glanced at Tian Hexiang, his expression still unpleasant, and said sarcastically:

"So the young lady has finally returned. I thought you were getting cold feet!"

Zhou Qiaozhi grew anxious at these words and glanced at Tian Hexiang, giving her sleeve a nervous tug, afraid she might change her mind at the last moment.

Tian Hexiang remained silent for a long time, lost in her thoughts—or perhaps thinking of nothing at all.

She stood at the courtyard gate, feeling the breeze on her face. First, she looked up at the sun in the sky, then gazed at the distant rolling green hills, and the two apricot trees outside the courtyard, their branches heavy with still-green, unripe fruit.

She took in the entire village scenery, then finally turned to the Huang family steward and instantly pasted on a smile.

"You must have been waiting anxiously—I’m so sorry! There’s a custom in our village where the bride must worship at the ancestral hall before marriage to pray for the husband’s family’s prosperity. I forgot to tell Mother when I left and caused such a fuss!"

Young and beautiful, her voice as soft as an oriole’s call, the Huang family steward finally really looked at her, laughed twice, and said:

"You flatter me, young lady! It’s good you’re back! Hurry inside and get ready! The sedan chair is waiting outside. Once you’re dressed, we can be on our way to the estate!"

Tian Hexiang nodded, went inside to apply makeup, change clothes, and have her hair done, then stepped out prepared.

Perhaps finally realizing that her daughter was marrying far away and they might rarely see each other again, Zhou Qiaozhi actually managed to shed a few tears.

But Tian Hexiang didn’t shed a single tear—her eyes weren’t even red—which made Zhou Qiaozhi, coming back to her senses, scold her as "heartless."

But that was later. For now, Zhou Qiaozhi helped Tian Hexiang into the wedding sedan.

The suona music began, and the wedding procession carried her off.

May 29th—auspicious for meeting friends, opening warehouses, and marrying.

Tian Hexiang left home that day and never returned to Shanghe Village again.