Plan A
Old Shadows of the Republic of China 5
Wei Ting
“Mm, I just went out today, went out to have tea with a friend.”
Su Xin said obediently, lowering her head.
“Mm? Whose child?”
“The Liu family’s Liu Shiqing, we met abroad, she came back a year earlier than I did.”
Su Xin explained clearly.
Old Master Wei squinted his eyes, as if trying to recall.
“Oh… that girl, huh, I seem to have seen her twice, no lasting impression, but a daughter taught by Old Liu shouldn’t be too bad.”
“She’s a very good girl.”
Su Xin praised her best friend, trying to get her some points.
Old Master Wei nodded, thoughtfully.
Although he was already over forty years old, he was not a man with a very affluent appearance. His face, with some wrinkles, still bore traces of his youth, and he was slightly plump, but overall he was still a handsome gentleman.
With his wealth and looks, he married the third concubine, and not many people said he ruined her.
Moreover, everyone knew he cherished the third concubine, so people only mentioned it as a topic, and after a few days, it quieted down. Only a small number of people felt it was a pity, while most wives were eager for Shen Xiangting to be married off, so their own husbands would stop thinking about her.
“I haven’t seen your mother for a few days, how is she? Didn’t a servant say she had caught a cold a few days ago?”
Old Master Wei asked. He was only delirious during those ten or so days of severe injury, but now he is much better.
“Mother’s cold is almost better. She was afraid of passing the illness to you, so she hasn’t come to see you these days. I’ll talk to her later.”
“Mm.”
Old Master Wei nodded.
For a moment, there was nothing to say, and the atmosphere fell silent, somewhat awkward.
Old Master Wei was not very familiar with his daughter, who had been sent away from a young age and had not been back long. After all, Su Xin returned, and a few days later, he married the third concubine, and after seven or eight days, he was seriously injured, so there wasn’t much time to chat with this daughter. He doesn’t know specifically what she likes or how to continue the conversation.
Old Master Wei only has a few fixed words to describe his daughter: obedient, diligent, loves to learn, quiet.
“Then… father, I’m leaving. I’ll come see you another day.”
Su Xin spoke, breaking the silence, and Old Master Wei nodded.
After Su Xin left, Shen Xiangting, who was standing to the side, closed the room door, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed.
Old Master Wei even looked at the beauty sitting on the chair with somewhat respectful eyes, completely different from the affection he showed in front of outsiders.
“I want your daughter.”
Shen Xiangting said, tapping her fingers on the table, to Old Master Wei lying on the bed.
“Fourth girl?”
“Mm, do you know what she studies?”
Shen Xiangting smiled.
“This… I’m not sure.”
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Old Master Wei only knows that Su Xin is studying, but how would he know what Su Xin is studying?
Generally, parents know their children are studying in school, but not many parents know what they learned in a day, especially when these parents and students are separated by the distance of a country.
“She studies physics and has some involvement in mechanical engineering.”
“This is…”
Old Master Wei’s expression was somewhat awkward, not understanding what was happening.
“Simply put, she can make guns and understands those things that fly in the sky.”
“What?”
Old Master Wei, surprised, wanted to sit up but pulled on his not yet healed wound and painfully lay back down, but this did not stop his excited mood.
“Fourth girl knows these? Why didn’t she tell me!”
Old Master Wei could not hide his happy expression, and in his heart, his affection for Su Xin increased significantly.
“You have a good daughter.”
Shen Xiangting said, with her hands overlapped and eyes filled with a smile.
“Then do I need to explain clearly to the fourth girl? In case…”
Old Master Wei was anxious, as these people simply did not understand the situation. So when he learned that his first wife and second wife actually wanted to confront the woman in front of him, he was almost anxious enough to faint.
Old Master Wei also came from a prominent family, and everyone has had their youthful days. When he was young, the women the old master found made him suffer, and he hasn’t forgotten the contention between them.
His second wife telling his daughter not to get too close to the third concubine is completely reasonable.
Old Master Wei is, after all, a man. Even though he knows that a woman’s jealousy can be very frightening, to protect Shen Xiangting from harm and grievances, he has to do this.
Shen Xiangting has now shown very clearly that she wants to take his fourth girl into her fold. According to his family’s fourth girl’s current ability, if known, she will definitely be protected and also fought over. If there is any mishap, the whole family could be in trouble.
Old Master Wei was both happy and worried. Having ability is a good thing, and this is even a tremendous ability, but their family doesn’t have the power to protect this kind of ability and can only choose to depend on others.
A servant does not serve two masters; he has already chosen one and will not regret it.
“Give a hint, no need to say it too clearly.”
Shen Xiangting picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, recalling Su Xin’s appearance in her mind.
The face of a girl who had just come of age was tender, carrying an unabashedly youthful aura. She was alive and completely out of place here.
Like a touch of white mistakenly entering the black and gray, carrying a color unique to herself.
Shen Xiangting thought that the final result of this touch of white is likely to be slowly permeated by darkness; besides that, there will be nothing else.
Shen Xiangting actively pressed herself into the ink, soaking herself in darkness, so she could be fearless, because being already dark, she wouldn’t be afraid of becoming dirty.
Shen Xiangting touched her own face, her eyes without any ripple.
When Su Xin went back, she ran into the elder brother of this body, also the man her best friend, Liu Shiqing, keeps thinking about and wants to marry, Wei Ting.
He was just walking this way, wearing a suit of this era, looking very handsome, and when his eyes looked over, there was a kind of charming feeling.
A typical fair-faced young man, handsome and charming, wearing a suit doesn’t make him seem very serious; instead, it gives an alternative feeling.
Su Xin stopped a few steps away from him and greeted him.
“Brother.”
“Zhizhi, you went to see father?”
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“Mm.”
Su Xin inwardly frowned; Wei Ting’s lip color is very red, even more vibrant than a girl’s, yet not like the bright red of blood, but rather like a moist dark color, as if just kissed.
Face like a peach blossom, nothing more than this.
Su Xin thought, this brother’s appearance is a bit too enticing, no wonder Liu Shiqing can’t forget him. But Liu Shiqing actually likes her own brother, a man who might be prettier than herself; she thought Liu Shiqing would like the brave and tall type.
Although siblings of the same mother, the original Wei Zhi does not shine like this. Wei Ting’s looks lean towards the second concubine, while Wei Zhi leans towards Old Master Wei. Although her features are delicate, there is no lack of a bright heroic spirit between her brows. When quiet, she seems like a gentle lady from a serene water town, but when angry with a stern face, she is also very intimidating.
“Father’s health is much better. Brother, are you also going to see father?”
“Yes, I’m going to report some matters to father.”
Wei Ting left with this remark and walked over, entering the courtyard Su Xin had just come out from.
He looked very anxious, not knowing who he was heading to.
Su Xin stood in place, watching Wei Ting’s already disappeared back, thinking about something.
Su Xin walked towards her own courtyard and, at the corner, ran into a little girl.
That was the cook’s daughter, named Xiuxiu, only seven years old, with double buns, looking lively and cute.
“Greetings, Fourth Miss.”
Xiuxiu, with a childish voice, saluted, very much in form.
“Xiuxiu, what are you doing here?”
Su Xin squatted down, letting Xiuxiu see her face.
“Watching bugs climb trees.”
Xiuxiu pointed at a bug climbing on the big tree.
“Then you continue watching, I’ll go ahead.”
“Goodbye, Fourth Miss.”
Xiuxiu waved to Su Xin, continuing to focus intently on her bug.
Su Xin returned to her own courtyard and knocked on the second concubine’s door.
“Finished seeing your father and came back?”
“Mm, father looked much better today and even mentioned you.”
“What did he say about me?”
The second concubine paused her actions, put the embroidery things on the cabinet, and looked at Su Xin.
“Father said he heard from the servants that you were sick a few days ago, and asked me to see if you are feeling better. I told him you are a bit better and explained that the reason you haven’t visited him these days is because you were afraid of passing the sickness to him.”
Su Xin sat on the chair and took off her high heels, changing into the soft cloth shoes beside her.
“At least he still remembers me.”
The second concubine’s expression was complex. She hadn’t gone to see Old Master Wei in the past few days, partly because she was afraid of passing the sickness to him, as he was already not in good health and injured, and partly out of spite.
Ever since Old Master Wei reprimanded her for the sake of the third concubine, she hadn’t felt at ease. The resentment in her heart, combined with catching a cold draft, took its toll on her at her age, which is no longer as robust as when she was young, and that’s why she fell ill.
Before she fell ill, she went to visit Old Master Wei, only to see the young and beautiful third concubine attending to the master’s bedside, and the master only wanted her there, which made her even angrier.
She has been with this man for half of her life, feeling both love, hate, and resentment.
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The second concubine sighed, fearing that there are others in this house more displeased and more resentful of that man than she is.
The second concubine does not know if the first wife still has any affection for Old Master Wei, but she truly still likes him.
“Tomorrow I’ll go see him again, haven’t seen him for several days.”
The second concubine glanced at her daughter on the side, eyebrows knitted.
“Look at you, what do you look like? Neither traditional nor Western, not a bit like a proper lady.”
Su Xin wore a small Western-style dress on the upper body, but on her feet, she wore a pair of cloth shoes, looking very strange.
“Mother, my feet are uncomfortable. These high heels really hurt.”
Su Xin whined.
The second concubine looked at those pretty Western shoes and tapped Su Xin’s forehead.
“You really should experience the feeling of foot binding1, wearing such nice things and still complaining of pain.”
Su Xin thought it was fortunate that Old Master Wei was relatively open-minded. When she was supposed to bind her feet, she cried and screamed, and Old Master Wei allowed her not to bind them.
In 1912, Sun Yat-sen2 ordered the abolition of foot binding.
Footnotes
- Foot binding: A traditional Chinese practice where young girls’ feet were tightly bound to alter their shape and size. This practice aimed to achieve what was considered an aesthetic ideal: small, delicate feet, often referred to as “lotus feet.” It involved breaking the arch of the foot and curling the toes under. The process was extremely painful and could lead to lifelong disabilities. Foot binding was prevalent in China for centuries, particularly among the upper classes, and was seen as a status symbol. However, it was also criticized for its detrimental effects on women’s health and mobility.
- Sun Yat-sen: A Chinese revolutionary leader and political figure who is often referred to as the “Father of Modern China.” He played a pivotal role in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, leading to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. Sun was a key figure in the Xinhai Revolution and served as the provisional first president of the Republic of China. He was a proponent of modernization and reform, advocating for a democratic and unified China. Sun Yat-sen’s ideas and political philosophy, known as the “Three Principles of the People,” focused on nationalism, democracy, and the livelihood of the people. His efforts laid the groundwork for modern Chinese governance and reform.