Father’s carriage was parked at the second gate, with servants busy carrying things inside. Father wore a sapphire blue straight robe made of Hangzhou silk with water iris patterns and a grey squirrel fur cape. He stood elegantly by the carriage, talking to Gao Sheng.
Hearing movement, he turned around with a gentle smile, handsome and refined like a clear breeze and bright moon.
Dou Zhao’s heart skipped a beat.
She knew her father was handsome.
But she had never seen her father like this.
In her memory, father always had slightly furrowed brows. Even when laughing heartily, there remained an undissolvable gloom between his brows. Especially when quietly looking at her, his eyes were still like an ancient well, making one’s heart cold.
Not like now – young, handsome, bright, like a carefree youth who warmed people’s hearts just by looking at him.
“Shou Gu,” Father’s smiling face appeared before her eyes, “You don’t even call out when Father returns!” He reached out to pinch Dou Zhao’s nose.
Dou Zhao instinctively turned her head away, avoiding Father’s hand.
Father paused, then smiled without taking offense. He took out a pinwheel from the carriage behind him, made it spin with a whooshing sound, and held it up to her: “This is what Father bought you from the capital. Isn’t it fun?”
If she were really a child, she would have been delighted by the pinwheel, but she was already a mother of three children, the one who bought pinwheels to amuse her own children – how could she be interested in it?
Dou Zhao craned her neck to peer into the carriage.
Mother, however, was blushing, gazing at Father with tender affection, speaking coyly: “It’s good enough that you’ve returned safely, why buy us things? We have everything we need at home.”
“That’s different!” Father took Dou Zhao from Mother’s arms, “These are specially bought from the capital for you.”
Mother’s face grew even redder, like she had drunk aged Huadiao wine, her eyes becoming misty.
Dou Zhao leaned sideways trying to pull open the carriage curtain, but her arms were too short to reach it.
Father noticed her intention and gently patted her bottom, putting her in the carriage: “What are you looking for?”
Dou Zhao ignored him and dove into the carriage compartment.
The compartment was lined with thick bedding, with several classics like “Four Books Annotations” casually thrown on top. In the corner was a tea warmer with a purple clay teapot inside.
There was nothing else.
Dou Zhao stood in the compartment, looking around in confusion.
Had she remembered wrong?
Or perhaps… what Tuo Niang said wasn’t true!
With Father just returning from his journey, his first task naturally was to pay respects to Grandfather.
Mother made an excuse about arranging the family feast and returned to the main chamber, calling all the servants working there to the hall.
“Which worthless person told these filthy things to my daughter? Step forward!” She pounded the table in fury, “If I have to wait for my daughter to point you out, it won’t just be reassignment to the outer courtyard or a few months’ salary deduction! I’ll report to the Old Master and call the slave trader to sell you to some poor mountain village where you’ll never taste a white flour steamed bun again!”
The room was dead silent.
The teacups on the table rattled from Mother’s pounding: “Fine then! Not one of you will step forward. Think I can’t find out who it was? My daughter is barely old enough to speak clearly, yet you instigate her to speak nonsense to me. When she gets older, won’t you completely corrupt her…”
Dou Zhao sat on the heated kang in the inner chamber of the main house, accompanied by a young maid, sighing occasionally.
It was her own idea – who would step forward to admit it?
But Dou Zhao didn’t defend the servants.
She was now a child who could barely speak properly. From Mother’s perspective, these baseless words about “Father bringing back a woman” must have been taught by the servants. If she defended them, Mother would only become more suspicious of malicious intent, making it harder for the servants to escape blame.
She asked the young maid beside her: “What’s… your name?” Her throat still felt blocked, unable to speak complete sentences.
The maid was delighted to be asked, eagerly replying: “Responding to Fourth Young Miss, this servant is called Xiang Cao.”
She said: “I want… Tuo Niang!”
The young maid’s eyes widened curiously: “Who is Tuo Niang?”
Dou Zhao was dumbfounded.
Someone announced loudly: “Seventh Madam, Seventh Master has returned.”
There was a commotion outside.
Mother instructed with slight nervousness: “Madam Yu, take Fourth Young Miss’s servants back first. Fourth Young Miss will sleep here tonight. Everyone else, return to your duties.”
An elderly voice respectfully answered “Yes.”
Then there was another commotion.
Soon after, Mother entered with Father, her laughter bright and cheerful.
Seeing Dou Zhao sitting blankly on the kang, Father smiled and stroked her head: “What’s wrong with this child today?”
Mother didn’t want to tell her husband that Dou Zhao had been influenced by others, so she vaguely smiled and said: “She’s probably tired from playing, she’ll be fine soon.”
Father didn’t pursue the matter further.
Maids brought in water and soap, Mother helped Father wash up and change clothes, and Dou Zhao was carried down by a maid to wash and change as well, before they all went to see Grandfather.
Grandfather lived on the western side of the residence. Because the main hall had a plaque that read “Crane and Longevity Share the Years,” it was called the “Crane Longevity Hall.”
In front of the Crane Longevity Hall was a pond with artificial mountains, behind it were vines and flowering trees – it was the most scenic spot in the household.
In Dou Zhao’s memory, she had visited the Crane Longevity Hall twice. Once when she was nine years old, after Grandfather passed away – following his will, the memorial hall was set up in the Crane Longevity Hall and she returned for the funeral. The other time was to participate in the ceremony marking the end of the mourning period.
Both times were chaotic, and she hadn’t even had time to properly look at the Crane Longevity Hall.
Now returning in this dream, she looked around from Mother’s shoulder.
The pond was frozen, snow covered the artificial mountains, the trees were bare, and the vines were just dried stems. Though desolate, the elegant layout couldn’t hide its refined beauty.
She nodded silently in approval.
No wonder the old scholars in the capital all praised Grandfather for his artistic temperament.
It was just a pity that Grandfather grew tired of official life and resigned before thirty to become a country gentleman.
Lost in these thoughts, they arrived at the entrance of the Crane Longevity Hall.
A still-attractive middle-aged woman welcomed them in with a smile.
Dou Zhao stared at the beautiful woman, wide-eyed.
How could she be dreaming of Aunt Ding?
If she were to dream of anyone, it should have been her grandmother!
She had grown up with her grandmother after all.
Just as she was thinking this, Aunt Ding came forward smiling and pinched Dou Zhao’s little hand, saying to Mother: “What’s wrong with Shou Gu today? She’s so listless and won’t even greet people…”
Mother gave Aunt Ding a meaningful look and whispered: “I’ll tell you later.”
Aunt Ding understood, smiled and took Dou Zhao, accompanying Mother into Grandfather’s study.
Dou Zhao’s mind was in chaos.
Grandfather was still childless after forty, so the First Grandmother arranged two concubines for him. One was Aunt Ding, the other was Grandmother Cui.
Like the First Grandmother, Aunt Ding had no children, and Grandmother only gave birth to Father – their branch of the family was not prosperous. Later when the stepmother came, she gave birth to younger brother Dou Xiao. Since Grandmother had succeeded in producing an heir, the Dou family members changed how they addressed her to “Madam Cui.”
Though Father still called her “Aunt,” the grandchildren called her “Grandmother,” while Aunt Ding remained Aunt Ding.
After First Grandmother passed away, Grandfather decided not to remarry. Aunt Ding managed the household affairs, then handed them over to Mother when she married in. Aunt Ding only managed Grandfather’s quarters.
In his later years, Aunt Ding accompanied him. Meanwhile, Grandmother lived on a farm fifty li1 outside Zhending County, only returning for brief stays during the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival.
Dou Zhao felt vaguely uneasy, as if something had happened that she was being kept in the dark about.
She quietly observed the people and events around her.
During the evening meal, Dou Zhao noticed the dishes were served in blue and white porcelain with the “Jade Hall Spring” pattern, complete with bowls, plates, cups and spoons.
When Grandfather was talking to Father, Dou Zhao was left to play on the heated kang in the study.
She saw the pair of “Success Comes with the Horse” purple sandalwood paperweights on Grandfather’s desk.
Dou Zhao thought for a moment, then stood on tiptoe to count the glass beads on the tassel of the Longquan treasure sword hanging on the wall.
She had seen all these items before.
At that time, they were buried with Grandfather as his beloved possessions.
She remembered that only four bowls, two plates, one cup, and five spoons remained of the Jade Hall Spring blue and white porcelain set; only one purple sandalwood paperweight remained; and there were five glass beads on the Longquan sword’s tassel.
It was as if time had reversed, erasing the years marked on these objects.
Then she heard Grandfather speaking: “…This passage comes from ‘Analects of Confucius: Gong Zhi Zhang.’ You used ‘When a minister is generous in spirit and just, he is loyal in counsel’ to open the topic, then followed with ‘For generosity balances gain and loss, justice levels self and others, and Zi Wen considered this loyalty, though I know not if it was benevolence’ to develop it. Very good, showing you have deeply mastered the methods of variation…”
Dou Zhao’s hands and feet turned cold.
Although she could read, she had never studied the Four Books and Five Classics. How could she imagine such words?
“Mother, Mother!” Dou Zhao was terrified, calling loudly for her mother as tears fell uncontrollably.
Grandfather, who had been excitedly talking with Father, darkened his face.
Mother hurriedly ran in from the hall: “Father-in-law, I’ll take Shou Gu to play elsewhere.”
With an apologetic expression, she carried Dou Zhao out of the study.
Aunt Ding came to meet them.
Mother had eaten the evening meal at the same table with Grandfather and Father. Since the wet nurse hadn’t come today, Aunt Ding had fed Dou Zhao first. By the time Dou Zhao was full, the others had finished their meal, leaving only some leftovers which she was now eating casually.
“What’s wrong?” She felt Dou Zhao’s forehead, “She was fine usually. Could she have encountered something unclean?”
Dou Zhao held tightly to Mother’s neck, feeling the warmth of her nape, as if only this could prove she wasn’t encountering a group of ghosts.
“Surely not?” Mother shuddered, hesitating before saying, “Could it be the work of those who instigated Shou Gu?”
“It’s alright,” Aunt Ding said confidently, “Even if someone did something, we needn’t fear. We are a virtuous family, the deities will protect our peace and prosperity. Later I’ll pray for two talismans before the deity for Shou Gu, you can sweep them over her body and then burn them, and she’ll be fine.”
Mother nodded repeatedly, grinding her teeth as she said: “If I find out who harbored ill intentions, I’ll skin them alive!”
“It’s good that she said it in front of you. If she had said it in front of Seventh Master, that would have been trouble.” Aunt Ding sighed. Just then, a servant boy ran in and announced: “Old Master, Seventh Master, Seventh Madam, Aunt Ding, the Third Master from the East Mansion has arrived.”
- The Chinese mile; it’s different over different time periods but roughly can be considered as 1 li = 0.5km. ↩︎
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