Chapter 317

Chapter 318: Tang Rong Is About To Lose Money Again

By now, Xin An no longer carried any old-fashioned heaviness in her heart; she had shifted her mindset to eighteen, and banter came easily. With just a few lines she sent the room’s laughter up another notch.

After lunch the three girls, all smiles, wanted to follow her back to Qiu Shi Courtyard to chat, and Madam Zhao said with a smile: “Your second sister-in-law has been tired half the morning, go after she naps this afternoon.”

Xin An smiled and said that the cloth shop would come to take measurements this afternoon: “I was not planning to nap anyway. I intend to go to Ning Xiang Courtyard to chat with the younger sisters. Eldest Aunt, come along as well and have a few outfits made. There will be plenty of honored guests during the New Year festivities, and new clothes are indispensable.”

She added with an easy grin: “I also asked the jeweler to send over the latest pieces, so we can pick a few and rotate them during the holiday.”

Madam Zhao did a quick mental tally of the costs and thought: [We cannot let someone else pay. And with the New Year being such a grand occasion, the three girls of the household should indeed be taken out and shown to people, so they know the marquis’s manor has three more girls ready for proposals; this is money that ought to be spent.]

Madam Wang spoke up, her tone firm: “For the New Year the entire household has several new outfits made, and the women add a few pieces of jewelry. You arrived late, but you are members of our marquis’s manor all the same. This round of clothing and jewelry will go on the public accounts of the manor, and you must not refuse. This is something only our own people enjoy.”

She also thought, dry and practical: [They have handed over a full twenty thousand taels of silver; surely a few outfits and some jewelry are not too much to cover.]

Another wave of gratitude rose in Madam Zhao’s heart, and she no longer declined. Laughing and chatting, the group headed toward Ning Xiang Courtyard, and as expected they ran into Madam Zhang and her two daughters, who had clearly been waiting on purpose. Madam Zhang dressed it up nicely as she approached: “My two girls are about the same age as the three young ladies of the Tang family, so it is just right for them to talk together.”

Sharp-eyed, she spotted the three girls carrying mother-of-pearl–inlaid jewelry boxes. She stepped forward, face full of admiration, and said: “Lacquerware is rare, especially when inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Even a small dish costs enough to make one’s teeth ache. Boxes this large and this exquisite cannot be cheap. Are these gifts from the Grand Matron to the three young ladies? The Grand Matron truly dotes on your Tang family.”

The Wei sisters wished they could bury their heads in the ground; it was mortifying. They thought, prickly with shame: [It is just a mother-of-pearl jewelry box. It is not as if we do not have any. Why speak as though we have never seen the world? Our family is not poor, and Mother has money in hand. Why can she not be straightforward and keep us from losing face?]

Madam Wang’s smile did not reach her eyes as she answered coolly: “They are not from the Grand Matron. Their second sister-in-law brought them back for them.”

Madam Zhang shot a sour glance at Xin An and muttered: “Salt merchants are truly wealthy.”

Xin An answered with a bright, unbothered smile: “The three younger sisters came from afar, and as their sister-in-law I am fond of them. When I saw something I liked for them, I wanted to bring it back. I had also thought to bring some for the two younger sisters of the Wei family, but I feared my elder sister-in-law might take it amiss. If Maternal Aunt likes them, I can tell Sister-in-law where to buy them. Though she is not convenient to go out, our marquis’s status is what it is; we can send someone to make the purchase or have the shopkeeper deliver to the residence for leisurely selection.”

It was meant to block Madam Zhang’s needling, but who would have thought Madam Zhang would find the suggestion appealing? They were both sisters-in-law, after all. Compared with Xin An’s generosity toward the three Tang girls, Tao Yi Ran had not spent even a coin on the Wei sisters.

Seeing that Madam Zhang was tempted, and with the spirit of not letting a good show go to waste, Xin An spoke again, sounding almost helpful: “In a while the shopkeepers from the cloth shop and the jewelry shop will deliver fabrics and pieces. I intend to select more for the three younger sisters and have several new outfits made. Maternal Aunt knows that among families of rank there are rules: what is worn to one banquet cannot be worn to the next, and the same goes for jewelry. That is what keeps one presentable. Would Maternal Aunt and the two cousins like to make some as well? I can send someone to invite Sister-in-law over.”

The intention was already obvious: [Let Tao Yi Ran pay.]

Madam Wang and Madam Zhao settled in to watch the fun, curious how Madam Zhang would respond. If she agreed, it would prove her petty greed; if she refused, she would have to pay herself. Knowing Madam Zhang’s temperament, she would certainly try to outshine the Tang family, and that would not be a small expense. Yet if she simply walked away now, who knew whether she could swallow the insult.

Just as Madam Zhang was about to agree, the Wei sisters stepped forward ahead of her and said anxiously: “Mother, did we not just have several outfits made? They are enough for the New Year festivities, we do not need more.” They added quickly, intent on stopping the embarrassment: “Yes, and we have already bought several pieces of jewelry. Today is for the Tang sisters to choose clothing and jewelry. We can simply enjoy the show.”

The sisters truly did not want to lose face and pressed their mother in a rush. Only then did Madam Zhang hold back. She pushed the two girls toward the three Tang sisters and told them to go play along: “Mother needs to go see your cousin and will not go with you.”

After two more polite lines, she headed toward Chun Hua Courtyard. Xin An and Madam Wang exchanged a glance and thought the same thing: [She is going to complain to Tang Rong; perhaps the show is not over yet.]

Everyone present had good breeding. The addition of the Wei sisters did not dampen anyone’s spirits, and they strode on with jokes and smiles. The three Tang girls actually felt some sympathy for the Wei sisters. After all, saddled with such a mother, and with rumors that she even took them out to perform in public, if it were them, they would rather die than agree and did not have the nerve for it.

Xin An did not go out of her way to befriend the Wei sisters. They were Tang Rong’s relatives and had nothing to do with her, and she certainly would not spend money on them. She thought, self-possessed: [No matter how soft-hearted I am, my sympathy does not extend to the Wei family.]

Ning Xiang Courtyard was spacious. Chrysanthemums of every variety were in full bloom, and several plum trees were opening in succession, sending out a faint fragrance. The rooms were warm with the fires. As soon as they sat, tea was served. Madam Wang and Madam Zhao conversed while several girls pulled Xin An off to snip plum branches for vases. Silver-bell laughter chimed again and again in the courtyard, and the embarrassed Wei sisters relaxed a little and joined in smiling.

In fact, Madam Wang and Xin An had judged correctly. Once Madam Zhang reached Chun Hua Courtyard, she began to complain to Tang Rong, chattering in a torrent and spattering the table with saliva as she said: “She even said they were going to pick fabrics and jewelry, claiming she had given them to the three Tang girls, mocking that your two cousins are not liked by their sister-in-law, and proposing to send for your wife. Do you think I do not know what she is after? If I had not stopped them, they would already have come. When the expenses pile up, how am I supposed to feel at ease?”

Tang Rong drew a quiet, deep breath and thought, bleakly amused: [So she has been waiting here all this time for me to pay up, and the matter is not even done yet?] He asked evenly: “Have the two cousins returned to their courtyard?”

“What courtyard,” Madam Zhang answered in real irritation. “They wanted to, but those three wicked girls of the Tang family dragged them to choose fabric, flaunting how that nouveau riche bumpkin next door is spending money on them. Such bad girls.” She added with righteous severity: “Do not worry about them, and do not send your wife over. If they prove shallow and pick fabric, I will not spare them.”

At this point, even if Tang Rong wanted to play dumb, he could not. He fumed inwardly, [This is choking me,] and thought he ought to go out to pay a call. There had been repeated misfortunes lately, and now expenses one after another. If this continued, the little silver he had on hand would vanish completely.