Chapter 31: Making a Garment for Sister Su

“Mother, are you free? What are you doing?”

At the hour of Shen, four in the afternoon, Cheng Yingxue had finally rehearsed what she meant to say after spending most of the day poring over account books. She lightly knocked on her mother’s door and eased it open.

At that moment, Madam Cheng was seated beside a small table by the window, mending something by the daylight outside.

Though the sky was clear, it was never truly bright inside a secluded compound such as this. Thus, besides the two shafts of sunlight that slipped through the doors and windows, Madam Cheng had ordered two candles lit to brighten the room.

“Oh dear—you little thing! How can you walk without making the slightest sound? You nearly frightened your mother to death.”

Immersed in the world of her needlework, Madam Cheng had been startled so suddenly that the fine embroidery needle in her hand wavered and nearly pierced her fingertip.

She moved it aside and, with a slight frown, chided her daughter before raising her head and beckoning to the girl peeking around the door like a little thief, only half her head showing.

“Come in quickly. I’m making some clothes.”

“Hehe, I’m coming.”

Knowing herself in the wrong, Cheng Yingxue flashed a sheepish grin and remembered to close the door behind her as she entered.

The incense burning in the Boshan censer was nearly spent. Its last wisps drifted faintly around the embroidery frame piled with colored threads. The girl stretched her neck to glance at the array of pale, elegant hues arranged across it, then smiled and threw her arms around her mother.

“Why have you suddenly started making clothes again, Mother?”

“Are they for Sister Yun?”

“Go on with you! Are you short of clothes?” Madam Cheng gave the girl a look that was half exasperation and half affection, then tapped her on the nose. “I’ve heard all about it. Your room is so full of clothes you couldn’t wear them all if you tried. Some haven’t even been worn once before they began gathering dust in the wardrobe.”

“These clothes are for the Fairy Changling.”

“Sister Su?”

Cheng Yingxue froze. Her mind had just run through all sorts of possibilities, yet this was one she truly had not considered.

“Yes, your Sister Su.” Madam Cheng nodded and took up her embroidery needle again. Without realizing it, her expression had softened with pity and tenderness. “The Fairy Changling has had no parents since she was little.”

“I thought that meant she must never have worn clothes made for her by her family.”

“Clothes from a tailor’s shop may be exquisitely made, and the immortals may even possess some special method of weaving them... but I feel that those things are different all the same.”

“Besides... if we simply sent her gold, silver, and other worldly possessions as a thank-you gift, that would seem far too perfunctory. It would make our Cheng family appear ignorant of proper courtesy.”

“Better to give her a set of clothes made by hand.” Madam Cheng smiled, her eyes curving gently. “Besides, I’ve always thought she dressed too lightly.”

“Autumn has come, and the weather is growing colder. A young lady mustn’t be allowed to catch a chill.”

“That’s true. Sister Su does dress rather lightly.” Cheng Yingxue rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “But if you hadn’t mentioned it, I really wouldn’t have noticed.”

“You,” Madam Cheng said, tapping the top of the girl’s head with a crooked finger. “Your mind spends all day flying beyond the heavens. How could you notice such things?”

“Come and look. This cloak needs only a few more stitches. Do you think it will suit your Sister Su?”

“It’s lovely. Clothes in this pale cloud color suit Sister Su best.” Cheng Yingxue nodded, then suddenly asked, “By the way, Mother, since the cloak is pale cloud, what color are you planning for the skirt?”

“For the skirt, I chose a fabric yesterday in a slightly deeper shade—Eastern Dawn White.” As she spoke, Madam Cheng drew out a fresh length of thread and lowered her head to separate its strands. “I intend to make it in that color.”

“Eastern Dawn White... That works too. Sister Su should like it.” The girl pondered, then lightly clapped her palms.

Hearing this, Madam Cheng could not help but let out a soft laugh.

“You’re remarkably attentive when it comes to the Fairy Changling. I’ve never seen you take such an interest in anyone else.”

“All right, Yun-niang, tell me. You came here at this hour because you’re planning something again, aren’t you?”

“Oh, right. I nearly forgot the important matter.”

Feigning dismay, Cheng Yingxue raised an arm and smacked herself lightly on the forehead. Then she slowly withdrew the arm that had been wrapped around her mother and walked to the place opposite her.

Seeing this, Madam Cheng’s warm smile gradually faded. A rare gravity settled across her features.

“What is it, Yun-niang?” Her brows drew together. She had known her daughter’s temperament since childhood and could naturally sense the unusual tension in her every movement.

“Did you run into trouble with the task your great-uncle gave you, or...?”

“No, Mother. It isn’t because of that.”

The girl stopped before her and shook her head.

“Mother, I know the true cause of Elder Sister Yingrou’s death.”

“Rou-niang?”

At the mention of Cheng Yingrou, Madam Cheng’s eyes flickered uncontrollably.

“What could there be to say about Rou-niang’s ‘true cause of death’? Wasn’t she...?”

“She was locked in a dark room by her husband’s family and starved to death, Mother.”

Cheng Yingxue interrupted her softly, her eyes reddening.

“Last night, while hunting a monster, Sister Su happened to capture Elder Sister after she had fallen into a vengeful ghost. I know everything now, Mother.”

Madam Cheng suddenly seemed to collapse in on herself.

“So what are you planning to do, Yun-niang?”

“I plan to—if the elders truly break their word this time, just as Elder Sister suspected—”

With a heavy thump, Cheng Yingxue dropped to both knees.

“Then Yun-niang will leave the Cheng family from this day forth.”

“Mother, I want to sever my ties with the Cheng family.”

“Ah!”

The fine embroidery needle pierced Madam Cheng’s fingertip. She drew in a sharp breath against the pain.

A bright bead of blood rolled along her finger and stained the cuff of her sleeve with a small red mark. Clenching her palm, Madam Cheng endured in silence. Only after a long while did she speak in a trembling voice.

“Have you... truly made up your mind, Yun-niang?”

“I have, Mother.” Cheng Yingxue answered without hesitation. “I wouldn’t have come to you today if I hadn’t.”

“But... why?”

Madam Cheng stared at her blankly. A tear slipped lightly from the corner of her eye and fell onto the pale cloud-colored garment, spreading at once into two dark pools.

“Because I don’t like it.”

The girl held her back straight and spoke with bold, disarming bluntness.

“Mother, I don’t like the idea of marriage. I don’t like being confined within some deep compound. I don’t like being ordered to obey those tedious, antiquated rules. And most of all, I don’t want to become a virtuous wife and mother who spends every day knowing nothing but how to serve her husband and raise her children.”

“I fear a life like that. I’m terrified of an environment so oppressive that it could make a person lose herself. And I’m even more afraid that one day I might meet the same fate as Elder Sister—”

“But you may not meet the same fate as Rou-niang!”

Madam Cheng nearly cried the words aloud.

“Yun-niang, you must understand—the Shen family in the north of the city is not like the Luo family. They...”

“But how can you be certain that your daughter will not follow in Elder Sister’s footsteps?” Cheng Yingxue raised her voice in reply. “The Shen family’s household traditions may indeed differ from the Luo family’s... but they are merchants too!”

“Merchants place profit above all else.”