A Willing Mistake, My Lady – Chapter 65
by Little PandaHua Rong Enters the Capital
Winter in the Cottage
Jiang Chenyu’s father, Hua Rong, had always been a Vice-Prefect of the regular fifth rank. Apart from seizing every possible opportunity to climb the ranks himself, he had also benefited greatly from his father-in-law’s influence. However, his father-in-law’s capability went only so far; thus, Hua Rong had remained stalled at this relatively high prefectural post, unable to take another step upward for a long time.
His daily duties involved overseeing local grain, crude salt, river defenses, canal maintenance, water conservancy, auditing military registers, and pacifying both citizens and foreign tribes. It was a rather hectic position.
Aside from taking a shortcut through his wife’s family on his path to promotion, he was actually quite dedicated and diligent in his work, and he was never particularly keen on women. He had originally thought he would remain in this post until retirement, but he never expected that a stroke of luck, combined with the recent prosperity of the region under his governance, would allow him to bypass the office of Prefect entirely and become an official in the capital.
While this filled his family with unexpected joy, it also made them somewhat apprehensive. Hua Rong naturally knew that a benefactor had aided him behind the scenes, but… this was not necessarily something that made him happy.
Yet, now that he was relocating to the capital, his high spirits were plain for anyone to see. Even Madam Hua, who had always behaved overbearingly at home, showed a great deal of restraint upon seeing her husband’s promotion, putting on the air of a highly educated and refined official’s wife.
The post Hua Rong was promoted to this time was Assistant Censor-in-Chief1 of the Censorate2, a position of the fourth rank. His responsibilities had shifted from local livelihood issues to high-risk duties like supervision and impeachment, but the authority he now wielded was incomparable to his former post. This all started when he, like a blind cat bumping into a dead mouse, had saved a benefactor.
Madam Hua was excitedly selecting a courtyard estate. Ever since the news of her master’s promotion broke, she had carried herself with her chin held high, her nose practically pointing to the sky. However, before long, she would discover that the capital was crawling with high-ranking officials. While she could walk sideways3 back in their small county town, here she would have to tuck her tail between her legs.
“Let’s settle on this estate,” Madam Hua said virtuously. “I’ve calculated it. If you take a sedan chair to the morning imperial audience from here, it’ll only take a little over half a shichen. It’s highly convenient.”
“Mm, if you like it, then so be it,” Hua Rong said, remembering that Jiang Chenyu had also come to the capital. “By the way, make sure to leave one bedroom vacant. Once it’s swept and tidied, don’t touch it.”
Previously, when he received his transfer orders, he thought he would not see Jiang Chenyu again anytime soon. After some thought, he had written her a letter anyway. To his surprise, the messenger reported that the Jiang family had relocated to the capital, so the letter had been forwarded from Qingyuan County to the capital.
He figured she must have arrived before him.
Since both father and daughter had come to make a living in the capital, they could naturally no longer pretend to be strangers. Once he established a firm foothold here, he would also reach out to lend his daughter a helping hand.
“Why must we leave a bedroom vacant?” Madam Hua asked in confusion. “Don’t we have separate guest rooms?”
“If I tell you to leave one, then leave one. You don’t need to concern yourself with anything else.” Hua Rong still felt ashamed whenever he recalled his wife’s antics the last time he had invited his daughter home, which left him with even less confidence to face Jiang Chenyu.
Lately, he often found himself reminiscing about the past, back when he had first met Chenyu’s mother. In those days, the Hua family was destitute, and his mind had been entirely consumed by his official career. Although he had used the Jiang family’s silver, he had never spared much care or attention for Lady Jiang.
Perhaps because a woman who was neglected by her husband would naturally be disliked by her mother-in-law as well, his mother had criticized his wife day in and day out. Gradually, he had been influenced by it. In his heart, he too began to feel his wife was entirely useless, and the affection between them had grown cold.
Now that he had achieved success in his career, looking back only made him feel he had failed Chenyu’s mother. Seeing that his daughter was doing quite well for herself now, he felt a genuine desire in his heart to grow closer to her.
As for the two children he had raised by his side, they had inherited Madam Hua’s temperament completely—willful to a fault and utterly lacking in depth or tact, without a shred of the poise expected of a prominent family’s young master or young lady. Perhaps this was his retribution for abandoning his wife of humbler days.
Ruminations aside, Hua Rong was currently riding the crest of his success, so these thoughts only fleetingly crossed his mind without affecting his new life in the slightest. Amid his joy, he remembered his eldest daughter, which was why he thought that if she ever visited the Hua Manor again, they should at least have a bedroom reserved for her. A guest room was, after all, just a guest room. He was not so poor that he could not afford to furnish a single extra room for her.
Seeing his stubborn attitude, Madam Hua found it wise not to press the matter further.
She then ordered the maidservants to carry the belongings from the carriages inside and thoroughly clean the courtyard. Once she became busy with the chores, she completely forgot about the minor dispute.
Meanwhile, because of the promotional event at the shop, a continuous stream of customers bustled in and out of the entrance. Those who managed to snag a bargain left with beaming smiles, while those who missed out were not discouraged, fully prepared to battle again the next day.
The shopkeeper had announced that the first twenty customers to arrive when the doors opened would receive a discount of one-third off the price. Those who had set their eyes on the shop’s imported goods put all their effort into lining up. It was said that the discount would last for half a month; if they failed to get a spot today, there was always tomorrow.
As the weather turned cold, young maidens and young wives all bought pieces of the imported cloth, planning to take them home to make padded winter jackets. The fabric was thick and the colors vibrant, making it highly sought-after for a time.
Those from wealthier families could afford to buy half a bolt, enough to make a matching padded jacket and skirt. Wearing such an outfit on the streets would undoubtedly draw unique looks of envy from everyone around.
Shen Hetang stared at that corduroy-like fabric in vibrant shades of bright red, emerald green, canary yellow, and royal blue. If the entire street walked out wearing these colors, she probably wouldn’t be able to bear the sight.
She could only chalk it up to things being prized for their rarity. As long as everyone liked it, that was all that mattered.
“You seem to look down on our shop’s imported cloth?” Jiang Chenyu asked, noticing her vacant, contemplative expression.
“Of course not, it’s quite nice. Haha… haha…” Shen Hetang laughed awkwardly.
“This fabric is thick. When made into a padded jacket for the winter, it’ll definitely keep out the bitter wind. Most of our winter fabrics are thin, and even if there are thicker ones, they’re either outrageously expensive or have incredibly dull colors. None of them are as practical as this imported cloth.”
“Sigh, everything about it is wonderful, but once we sell out of this batch, there won’t be any more.” Jiang Chenyu ran her hand regretfully over a soft, fuzzy orange-yellow fabric.
“No need to feel regretful. Everyone’s only buying it for the novelty right now. Once the novelty wears off, it might not sell so well,” Shen Hetang comforted her.
“Mm, that makes sense. I suppose we’ll have to consider the source for our next batch of goods. Who knows when the ships from across the sea will arrive again.” Jiang Chenyu still felt a lingering sense of regret.
“You little money-grubber,” Shen Hetang teased, squeezing her fingers with a laugh.
“Being a little money-grubber isn’t enough. I want to be a big money-grubber.” Making money was indeed something that could always bring her joy.
Jiang Chenyu had arranged the small cottage in the backyard to be exceptionally cozy. Light blue embroidered cloth curtains hung over the window, completely sealing off the drafts from the small window panes made of shell-tiles.
However, the bed was very close to the window, and when the Three-Nine Days4 arrived, the wind would still leak through. Thus, she had specially made thick cotton door and window curtains specifically to block the drafts at night. During the day, when they wore heavier clothing, she would take down the cotton curtains to let a bit more light into the room.
The wooden bed, measuring one and a half meters wide, was also layered with thick mattresses. On top lay a pair of fluffy, brand-new cotton quilts—one vibrant red and one deep green, both embroidered with the motif of mandarin ducks playing in the water, looking exceptionally fitting for the occasion.
Naturally, Jiang Chenyu hadn’t embroidered these herself. Shen Hetang had insisted she buy pre-embroidered fabrics and find a skilled needlework nanny to help rush the tailoring.
Jiang Chenyu’s needlework was only average, and embroidery consumed far too much of her time. Moreover, their original quilts were a bit too thin, making it impossible to survive the winter in such a spartan room otherwise.
A folding screen stood inside the room, serving as both a clothes rack and a divider. Tucked behind it was a modest wooden bath barrel, along with a washbasin and dental tools.
Near the entrance stood a display cabinet painted with delicate floral patterns. The lifelike depictions of flowers, birds, fish, and insects added a touch of charm, greatly brightening the space.
Because the room was too small to fit a large table, there was only a small, carved huanghuali wood side table placed right by the head of the bed.
Shen Hetang had actually wanted to say that they didn’t have to live under such spartan conditions, but seeing how much Jiang Chenyu seemed to enjoy treating it like playing house, she chose to remain silent.
In truth, there were spacious rooms on the second floor of the shop, but the backyard cottage was much quieter. Though it was tiny, it possessed a unique, cozy charm.
The three maidservants squeezed into the other backyard room, and they had constructed an additional, temporary structure to serve as a kitchen.
With winter arriving, it was once again the season for nourishing tonics. Having nothing else to do, Jiang Chenyu sat before the stove, brewing various medicinal soups for Shen Hetang.
- Ginseng, longan, and black-boned chicken soup
- Lotus root, peanut, and pork bone soup
- Cordyceps and fish maw soup
- Snow fungus, sweet fermented rice, and glutinous rice ball soup
“Ah Tang, how is it that you eat so much but never gain any weight?” Watching her consume bowl after bowl of soup without putting on a single ounce of flesh, Jiang Chenyu felt a deep sense of helplessness.
During the winter months, Shen Hetang would still experience a day or two of physical discomfort each month. Having heard that she had once been submerged in freezing water during winter in the past, Jiang Chenyu had begun researching and brewing various nourishing soups to restore her constitution.
“If I get fat and you start to dislike me, what’ll I do? My current figure is absolutely flawless!” Shen Hetang teased, stretching out her arms with a narcissistic grin.
“But you, on the other hand, have certainly filled out quite a bit. If you keep drinking these, I might not be able to…!” She casually appraised Jiang Chenyu, who was wearing a light-colored headscarf, looking exactly like a charming little peasant wife.
Jiang Chenyu gave her a fierce glare from beneath her thick, curled eyelashes, but no matter how one looked at it, it resembled a coy display of mock resistance, completely devoid of any real bite.
In just a few more months, she would reach her eighteenth year. Having shed the last of her childish innocence, she was as stunningly beautiful as a flower in full, vibrant bloom.
Time flew by so quickly. Before she could even register any changes, nearly two years had already passed.
Currently, their cohabitation felt very much like an illicit affair. During the day, she would occasionally make an appearance at the Shen Manor, but when night fell, she would secretly slip away to spend the night at Jiang Chenyu’s place.
Though there were times when she couldn’t escape, for more than half of the month, she would sneak through the wind and snow to slip into Jiang Chenyu’s warm blankets, deliberately reaching out her cold hands to use her for warmth.
Having heard that her cheap father-in-law had also arrived in the capital, she felt it was necessary to pay him a visit. For the sake of Jiang Chenyu’s future social standing, this father-in-law was well worth picking up and putting to good use.
If the two of them joined forces, it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement. He surely wouldn’t refuse.
As for Zhao Lanyin, apart from her stalling tactics, she had yet to come up with a permanent solution. Instead, she spent all her days plotting how to scale the walls of the Marquis Manor like a common thief. That shameless woman was truly unreliable!
Over the past two months, Shen Hetang hadn’t been idle either. She had secretly inquired with Zhao Chenlan about the situation at the border. For now, things remained stable, though the long-term outlook was difficult to predict.
Hearing that her biaoge was about to return, she suddenly remembered this cousin whom she had thoroughly played.
Back then, she had left Ye Huaiqing behind at Hongying Stockade, only returning to fetch him a month later. After his return, whenever she asked if he was alright, he had refused to speak, merely radiating a heavy, sullen aura. Feeling deeply guilty, Shen Hetang hadn’t dared to press him, and neither of them had brought up the matter since.
Chen Lan had mentioned in his letter that her biaoge would be returning to the capital in a few days, so she figured she might as well go out to receive him.
Inside a private room on the second floor of Fuji Restaurant, Shen Hetang and Zhao Lanyin sat facing each other.
“How are things on your end? Have you come up with a way to handle that person?” Shen Hetang looked at her companion with dissatisfaction.
“I’m working on it. Isn’t it just that the right opportunity hasn’t presented itself yet?” Zhao Lanyin replied, completely unbothered.
“Are you sure you’re not just thinking of how to scale the walls of the Marquis Manor?” Shen Hetang could see that she was truly utterly unreliable.
“General Shen, you’re meddling a bit too much. This master has her own brilliant plan. You just wait and see!” Zhao Lanyin maintained her usual lazy, nonchalant demeanor.
“Fine, I’ll wait and see!” Shen Hetang sorely wanted to hurl the teacup in her hand right at the woman’s face.
Footnotes
- A prestigious Rank 4 office within the Censorate, responsible for auditing, monitoring, and impeaching officials.
- The Censorate (Dūcháyuàn) was a high-level supervisory agency in imperial China, responsible for investigating official misconduct and auditing administrative affairs.
- A traditional Chinese idiom derived from the behavior of crabs, meaning to behave overbearingly or with absolute unchecked authority in an area.
- The coldest days of winter, specifically the third nine-day period following the Winter Solstice.
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