Chapter 47: This Unraveled Embroidery

Chapter 47: This Endless Unpicking and Restitching

“Mother.” Qian Fangguan stepped forward, her face already streaked with tears.

“Do not cry. In all my life, the thing I have least wished to see is you crying.” Old Madam Qian wiped away her tears. “Of all my eight children, you are the one I worry about most. Blame your mother for raising you so indulgently from childhood that you became utterly helpless. And then I was blinded by love and married you off to that faithless man!”

“Mother, your daughter has never blamed you…” Qian Fangguan’s tears flowed even more fiercely.

“Do you know why Jiao’er was born prematurely?” Old Madam Qian abruptly turned her gaze toward Yun Jiao.

Everyone exchanged bewildered looks. Yun Jiao seemed to understand something.

Qian Fangguan stared at her in astonishment. “Was it not because I was weak?”

“Weak?” Old Madam Qian gave a soft snort. “Have you ever wondered why, if you were so weak, you gave birth to Yun Ting safely, without any of these troubles? Jiao’er was your second child. It should have been an easier birth than Yun Ting’s.”

“I…” Qian Fangguan had never considered any of this and did not know what to say.

“You went into premature labor after eating a rice dumpling,” Old Madam Qian continued. “Do you remember the maid who ate the remaining dumplings? Her name was Changpu.”

“I remember. Was she not beaten and driven out by my mother-in-law?” Qian Fangguan still recalled what had happened then.

“Your elder brother and I later went looking for her. We gave her some money and asked whether she had suffered any discomfort after eating the dumplings.” Old Madam Qian supported herself against the arm of the chair, as though even sitting had become difficult. “Only then was she willing to tell us the truth. She had felt no other discomfort, except that she had her first menstrual period and experienced a slight pain in her abdomen.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Qian Fangguan still did not understand.

“You foolish girl!” Looking at her disappointing youngest daughter, Old Madam Qian felt both angry and helpless. “Those dumplings had obviously been filled with a large quantity of herbs that stimulated the blood and dispelled stagnation. That was why a girl who had never menstruated before began her period prematurely. You were seven months pregnant when you ate them. How could you not have gone into labor early?”

“Someone wanted to harm me!” Only then did Qian Fangguan understand.

Old Madam Qian sighed. “Do you know who it was?”

Qian Fangguan thought about it. Any of the wives or several of the concubines in the household might have been responsible, but for a moment she truly could not say which one.

“Forget it. You have always gone through life in a daze. I originally chose not to tell you because I knew that even if you learned the truth, you would have no way to deal with them. It is sometimes easier to live without knowing.” Old Madam Qian sighed again, then beckoned to Yun Jiao. “Jiao’er, come here.”

Yun Jiao obediently went forward. “Grandmother.”

“Jiao’er’s temperament resembles mine in some ways. It is no wonder, since you were raised at my side.” Old Madam Qian lovingly stroked the top of her head. “Your own mother cannot protect you anymore. From now on, I am afraid you will have to protect her instead.”

“Yes.” Yun Jiao nodded. Her mother was her birth mother, and her elder brother was away from home most of the year. She and her mother depended upon each other, so naturally she would protect her.

“Your grandmother is leaving this time, and I will not be able to accompany you anymore. You must take good care of yourself, Jiao’er, and look after your good-for-nothing mother on your grandmother’s behalf.” Sorrow appeared in Old Madam Qian’s eyes. “I have nothing else to give you, so I will leave you a garment as a keepsake.”

“Grandmother…” Yun Jiao’s heart turned sour, and a heavy tightness filled her chest.

“Nanny Li,” Old Madam Qian ordered, “go to the very back of the catalpa chest and bring me the dark purple jacket.”

Nanny Li acknowledged her and left.

Madam Ding watched eagerly. The old hag was certainly preparing to give something valuable to her most beloved granddaughter. She would never allow it!

The elder widow had taken an old wine shop, but that was nothing. The shop was not large, and the woman was still a member of the Qian family. Once she died, her two daughters would have no right to inherit it. Would it not all belong to her own son, Sheng-ge’er, in the end?

Yun Jiao, however, was different. She bore the Ba surname, not Qian’s. She was an outsider, a worthless money-losing girl. What right did she have to take anything belonging to the Qian family? The old hag could forget about using the Qian family’s possessions to play the generous benefactor!

Nanny Li soon returned, carrying the jacket Old Madam Qian had described.

The garment clearly showed its age. Its color was faded, and its style was old-fashioned. At first glance, it seemed entirely unremarkable.

Yun Jiao recognized it at once. It was the first jacket she had embroidered for her grandmother when she was little and learning needlework.

Her grandmother had required her to embroider elaborate lotuses and immortal cranes along the front panel and collar. It had to be double-sided embroidery, with the design looking exactly the same from both the front and the back.

At first, Yun Jiao had been full of enthusiasm. But after embroidering it several times, she still failed to satisfy her grandmother, who always made her take it apart and begin again.

As the days passed and the number of times increased, her patience disappeared. Every time she had to undo her work and start over, she grew so anxious that she nearly cried, demanding of her grandmother, “With all this unpicking and restitching, when will I ever finish it?”

“Do you still remember this garment?” Old Madam Qian held it in her hands and gazed at Yun Jiao with affection. “This was the first piece of clothing you ever embroidered for me.”

“You kept it all this time?” Yun Jiao’s voice was hoarse with emotion.

“Of course I did. It is the filial affection of my granddaughter.” Old Madam Qian patted the garment. “Now I have nothing else to give you, so keep this as a remembrance.”

As she spoke, she placed the jacket in Yun Jiao’s hands.

Yun Jiao accepted it, then held it out respectfully to Madam Ding. “Second Aunt, please examine it. If you approve, then I will accept it.”

Old Madam Qian glanced at Yun Jiao and secretly nodded. The child was cautious and sensible.

An ordinary person, seeing a child treat her with such respect, would have smiled and declined to inspect the garment.

But Madam Ding was no ordinary person. Seeing how fond her mother-in-law had always been of Yun Jiao, she could not believe that the old woman had left the girl nothing but a worn-out jacket. Fearing that the garment might conceal something—property deeds or shop deeds—she took it and searched it from top to bottom, inside and out.

Naturally, she found nothing.

Annoyed, she tossed the garment back to Yun Jiao. It seemed the old hag had finally become shrewd after all. She had not given the Qian family’s belongings to some worthless outsider. At least she knew her place.

Yun Jiao caught the jacket without taking offense and smiled. “Since Second Aunt has examined it, I will put it away now.”

“Put it away, put it away!” Madam Ding waved her hand with exaggerated magnanimity.

Yun Jiao handed the jacket to Jianjia. “Keep it safe.”

“Yes.” Jianjia accepted it solemnly.

“Yun Jiao, Nanny Li has been with me all her life. I can no longer protect her, and she has no one to depend on. Take her home with you and let her live out her old age there.” Old Madam Qian glanced at Nanny Li beside her.

“Old Madam…” Tears streamed down Nanny Li’s aged face.

“There is no need for formalities between us.” Old Madam Qian waved her hand. “Shihai, I am tired. Help me back to my room so I can rest.”

Qian Shihai hurried forward, and together they supported Old Madam Qian back to her room.

Old Madam Qian asked Qian Shihai, “Why have I not seen your son-in-law today?”

“He accidentally broke his leg falling down. He is recovering in the courtyard,” Qian Shihai replied.

End of Chapter