Chapter 182: Jade Unworked Remains Unshaped

Beijing had seen several heavy snowfalls since winter began, and in such frigid weather, crystal-clear icicles hung from every household’s eaves. Early that morning, the servants in charge of cleaning the front yard of the Zhang family’s mansion were vigorously sweeping the central path with brooms. Butler Gao Quan was guiding a group of young servants to hang red lanterns at the entrance, his face filled with joy.

Madam Gu had been residing in the Duke of Ying’s mansion for several months. She only returned today because it was her grandson Zhang Jiu’s birthday. Only a few people, such as Madam Feng and Madam Dongfang, knew that although it seemed like this was the reason for her return, it was actually because she had received good news from Zhang Qing. Otherwise, even for the birthday of her eldest grandson, she wouldn’t have left Lady Wang’s side.

At that moment, only a few snowflakes were drifting down from the sky. Madam Feng and Madam Dongfang stood side by side in front of a latticed door, surrounded by several maids, while Concubine Luo Zhang Yi fell behind. Due to the cold, Madam Feng wore a red fur-lined cloak with a white fox interior, while Madam Dongfang wore a cape adorned with patterns symbolizing prosperity and good fortune. Both wore snow hats. Although they were wrapped tightly in heavy coats, their personal maids held oil-paper umbrellas behind them.

“It’s really cold!” Madam Dongfang stamped her feet twice before smiling at Madam Feng. “Sister-in-law, I truly envy you for having such a capable daughter! Qing is loved by her husband and doted on by her in-laws at the Marquis of Baoding’s mansion. She gets along well with her siblings and sisters-in-law, and everyone in the noble families speaks highly of her. What’s most admirable is that even after getting married, she still cares deeply about her family. I wonder what kind of good match she’ll find for our Yi!”

Madam Feng adored her eldest daughter Zhang Qing immensely. Hearing Madam Dongfang’s words, she was happy too. However, she disapproved of Zhang Qing being involved in arranging marriages for other people, even those of the concubine daughters. She sighed and said, “That child has always been decisive and eager to take charge. Although she has already given birth to the eldest grandson for the Marquis of Baoding’s family, having more children would be even better. But it seems like the couple hasn’t made any further progress. As capable as she is, it’s still most important for her to serve her in-laws and husband at home.”

Madam Dongfang was one of the shrewdest people around. How could she not understand the hidden meaning in Madam Feng’s words? After all, she had been extremely satisfied with Zhang Chao’s marriage earlier, and this morning she had heard that his wife Li Yun was pregnant. Thinking about soon having grandchildren, she no longer needed to worry about arranging marriages for the concubine daughters, so she was naturally at ease.

However, her husband was still in Jiaozhi, and her uncle Zhang Xin, who had been exiled there, had not yet been recalled. On the contrary, Zhang Zhuo had been appointed as the magistrate of Jiangning, and Lady Sun followed him to take up her post, which inevitably made her feel somewhat displeased.
Lady Luo stood a few steps behind Lady Feng and Lady Dongfang, dressed in ordinary old clothes without any snowproof cloak or cape. In contrast, Zhang Yi had recently made new clothes for herself; she was wearing a dark purple woolen jacket with a high collar, covered by a cyan-golden banana-patterned cloak, looking more spirited than usual and less shivering. The brothers Zhang Qi and Zhang Jiu had already gone to the entrance to welcome Lady Gu, so they were not here at the moment.
“Madam, Second Madam, the Old Lady has arrived!”
The managing wife came to report, and everyone immediately perked up. Soon, a small sedan chair covered in cyan satin slowly approached. It was carried by four young men around seventeen or eighteen years old, with the brothers Zhang Qi and Zhang Jiu beside them, along with several managing wives and maids following behind. When the sedan chair stopped, the young men stepped back with their hands lowered, one wife hurriedly lifted the curtain, and a maid carefully helped Lady Gu out.
As soon as Lady Gu stepped down, she stamped her feet. Seeing the wives and descendants rushing to pay their respects, she smiled and waved her hand. “There’s no need to focus so much on formalities in such cold weather. You could have waited inside—after all, Brother Qi and Brother Jiu were already here to welcome me. It’s been snowing for days, and I heard many houses outside have collapsed under the snow. How is it with our house?”
Lady Feng quickly stepped forward to support Lady Gu’s arm and said with a smile, “All our houses are either newly built or repaired. Gao Quan checked each house a few days ago, and nothing was amiss. Hearing that some houses outside had collapsed, he even went around all our properties and checked the fields outside the city. He gave the tenant workers there quite a sum of money to help them get through the winter. In short, Old Lady, please rest assured—our family has always been fair to others.”
“That’s good,” Lady Gu said, feeling satisfied. Noticing that Li Yun was not there, she frowned and asked, “Why isn’t Sister Chao’s wife here?”
Upon hearing this, Lady Dongfang immediately smiled brightly. “It’s good that the Old Lady knows—early this morning, she started feeling nauseous. I was worried, so I called a doctor. After taking her pulse, the doctor immediately concluded that she was pregnant. Since she’s young, she needs to rest properly in such cold weather, so I decided to have her wait in the Old Lady’s room.”

“Has Brother Chao really gotten a wife?” Lady Gu was overjoyed upon hearing this, instantly forgetting any initial displeasure. Previously, thinking of the difficulties in having descendants in the British noble family, she had always felt sad. Now that she learned she was about to have a great-grandson or great-granddaughter, she couldn’t help but join her hands and pray repeatedly. After a while, she smiled and said, “It’s true that one needs to take good care of oneself when pregnant. Then, let Lingxi thoroughly search the storage room for some tonics for her.”

After saying this, Lady Feng and Lady Dongfang exchanged glances. The latter quickly said cautiously, “Madam, Lingxi has been with Brother Yue to take up his post in Shandong for several months now.”

Lady Gu was momentarily stunned before casually changing the subject by giving an order to a maid. The snow on the inner courtyard path had already been swept clean, with anti-slip patterns carved into it. Although Lady Gu was wearing Tangmu clogs, she managed to walk steadily with the support of Lady Feng and Lady Dongfang. Once inside the main house, a maid helped her go to the inner room to change into outer clothes, shoes, and socks, while the others waited outside. When she came out wearing a mink-lined coat and a sky-blue long jacket with floral patterns, she saw Zhang Qing had arrived somehow and was standing at Lady Feng’s side.

“Our housekeeper’s daughter has returned so early!”

After saying this with a smile, Lady Gu sat down at the east end of the kang and ordered Lady Feng, Lady Dongfang, and Zhang Qing to sit as well. She then asked a few questions about Zhang Qi and Zhang Jiu. Since Zhang Qi said he also wanted to enter the military like his elder brother Zhang Chao, she frowned and pondered for a while before saying, “Your father is now a general under Marquis Fengcheng, a third-rank general. It’s not difficult for you to inherit a military position. Although there are many noble families in the army, most of them rely on their fathers’ positions without putting in any effort to learn. If you follow in their footsteps, I won’t spare you!”

This was an implicit approval. Zhang Qi was overjoyed and quickly knelt down to kowtow, swearing that he would not be lazy or act recklessly once he entered the military. Meanwhile, Zhang Jiu, thinking of failing the scholar examination again this autumn, felt somewhat disheartened. This expression couldn’t be hidden from others, let alone from Lady Gu, who had lived for decades.

“Brother Jiu!”

Zhang Jiu jolted back to reality when he saw his grandmother waving for him to come forward. He hurriedly stepped forward, and when his grandmother reached out to pull him and seat him beside the kang, he finally realized what was happening, feeling uneasy both physically and mentally. Though he was the eldest grandson, aside from the early days after arriving in Kaifeng, his grandmother had treated him like the other grandchildren. How long had it been since they last sat together on the kang?

“You have an elder brother above you, and although there’s a younger brother below, he’s still too young. So now, I’m only worried about you.” Lady Gu gazed at Zhang Jiu’s face, which resembled Zhang Xin’s as well as her late husband’s, and her heart tightened. “We can’t force success in the imperial examinations. Your third brother was able to make it this far not only because of his real skills but also due to good fortune. You mustn’t lose confidence in yourself. You’re just over fourteen now; it’s only the beginning. Jade unpolished remains unshaped—experiencing a few setbacks won’t hurt you!”

Hearing Lady Gu’s words, Zhang Qing couldn’t help but think of Zhang Yue, who was far away in Shandong. The few words her father-in-law had mentioned before came to mind again. She had thought Shandong was quite close to Beijing and not a poor region, so she hadn’t worried much. But who would have thought there were such intricate relationships? She didn’t feel comfortable bringing this up in front of her mother and second aunt, so she changed the subject with some light humor. Then, glancing at Aunt Luo and Zhang Yi, who seemed like ghosts, she mentioned the most important matter of the day.

Since the mourning period for Concubine Zhang had long passed and it was Zhang Jiu’s birthday, the family not only gathered for a lively family feast but also invited a troupe to perform opera at Lady Dongfang’s suggestion. While everyone was engrossed in the performance, Zhang Qing saw Lady Gu signaling for her, so she got up from her seat and sat down on the small stool beside her.

“The grandson of that Earl of Yingcheng you mentioned—is it Sun Han, who is close to Brother Yue? You know your second sister’s temperament. In a large family, it would be hard for her to take care of everything, and she might suffer in silence.”

“Grandmother, although the Sun family is prominent, we’ve never lived together before. Besides, it was Sun Han’s mother who brought this up to me. She said Sun Han is close to my third brother, and upon hearing about our family, she became interested. They don’t mind that my second sister is born out of wedlock, and that Mrs. Sun is a kind and gentle elder. I think my second sister won’t suffer there; otherwise, she wouldn’t have mentioned it to you.”

Only then did Lady Gu feel relieved. She nodded and said, “If that’s the case, then have someone go take a look.”

However, Zhang Qing still had more to say. She glanced around and told the maids to step back a few feet, then recounted everything her father-in-law had mentioned to Lady Gu, adding anxiously, “After all, my third brother is still young. I’m just worried he won’t be able to take care of everything there. If possible, should we bring him back?”

“Water spilled can’t be gathered back; no matter how difficult it is, he can’t return now.” Although it was the first time Lady Gu heard about these matters, her expression only changed slightly before returning to normal. “It’s the same old saying—jade won’t become a useful object without carving. If he can overcome those hardships outside, he’ll be able to handle things easily when he returns. With so many people helping and taking care of him, if he still can’t manage everything properly, what about those scholars from humble backgrounds?” Though she said this, she held tightly in her hand the amber prayer beads that had been blessed at Qingshou Temple. Thinking of what Zhang Fu mentioned last night, she felt quite uneasy. Although it seemed unrelated to Zhang Yue, as the saying goes, pulling one thread can affect the whole body—and it’s not just one thread; it might even affect the entire situation in Shandong!