The Wife of a Loyal Servant - Chapter 33

Since Cheng Shaotang had to return to his duties the next day, the family of three did not linger long. Madam Wang and Cheng Shaoan saw them off with obvious reluctance. Jin Qiaorong stood silently apart, her gaze following the receding figures of the three as they walked away.

“Let’s go in.” After helping Madam Wang back inside, Cheng Shaoan turned and only then noticed his wife still standing at the doorway. He hurried over to her side and gave her sleeve a gentle tug.

Jin Qiaorong jerked her sleeve back forcefully and walked right past him as if he weren’t there.

“All fine one moment, angry the next. Women are so troublesome,” Cheng Shaoan muttered to himself. Shaking his head, he ambled on into the house.

Ling Yu didn’t dwell on the minor incident at Cheng Village. Still, once back in their home in the county town, she did pull Xiao Shitou aside for a proper lecture. 

Cheng Shaotang, however, was dismissive. “He just thought the caterpillar looked interesting and wanted to show his aunt. How could he have guessed she’d have such an extreme reaction? Come to think of it, she’s from a farming family herself. Why on earth would she be afraid of a mere vegetable worm? It’s obvious she was pampered and sheltered in her maiden home.”

Ling Yu retorted with some exasperation, “There are countless people in the world; everyone is afraid of something. Some fear earthworms, some fear insects, and others fear cockroaches. What’s so strange about that?”

Cheng Shaotang merely smiled and did not press the point. Xiao Shitou, however, looked back and forth between his parents with wide-eyed confusion. His clear, bright eyes blinked a few times. He tilted his head, thought it over, and then decisively launched himself at his father. 

Cheng Shaotang caught him, ruffled his hair, and then, under his wife’s reproachful gaze, scooped up his son and strode out into the courtyard.

Liufang Hall’s business continued to flourish. Soon, as planned, they formally purchased the shop’s deed. After much deliberation, Ling Yu and Ling Dachun decided to hand the property title over to Yang Suwen. After all, without her, no matter how capable the siblings were, they could never have built Liufang Hall into what it is today.

Yang Suwen, of course, refused outright. “I won’t take it!” she protested loudly. “What do you take me for? Without you, not a single pot of Jade Complexion Cream would have sold! Besides, all I want is to save enough to buy back Huichun Hall. I don’t want Liufang Hall!”

But neither Ling Dachun nor Ling Yu were ones to have their decisions easily swayed. One coaxed her with gentle reasoning, the other pressured her with stern warnings—playing the classic ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine. They had Yang Suwen so flustered and bewildered that she finally acquiesced and accepted the deed.

“You’re always talking about buying Huichun Hall back. But why did you sell it in the first place?” Once she had personally seen the deed safely put away, Ling Yu finally asked the question that had long puzzled her.

Yang Suwen pouted. “At the time, my father fell gravely ill. Huichun Hall’s business took a steep dive, and our household expenses far outstripped our income. We had no choice but to sell it.” 

But the main reason was her father’s belief that her medical skills were merely average, fundamentally incapable of sustaining Huichun Hall. He thought it better to sell it off for a lump sum than to keep it and waste his energy for nothing. 

She had always believed that if she could redeem Huichun Hall through her own hard work, it would prove to her father that even with average medical skill, she had the ability to manage the hall he had poured his heart and soul into building.

Ling Yu seemed to grasp her meaning. “So, with the money you have now, is it enough to buy Huichun Hall back?”

“It was enough originally, but that scoundrel Li actually went back on his word and raised the price—a hundred taels more than what we agreed on just days ago!” At this, Yang Suwen’s temper flared.

“Would you need me to lend…” 

“No! I want to use my own money!” Ling Dachun’s offer was cut off before he could finish.

He took it in stride. “Then just ask whenever you need it.”

After chatting a while longer, the three finally turned to the matter at hand.

“Two firms are now proposing partnerships to distribute Jade Complexion Cream beyond our region,” Ling Dachun explained in detail. “One has considerable clout: the current Imperial Merchant Gong family, whose primary business is jewelry. Their approach likely means they want a slice of the cosmetics trade. The other is the Ye family of Changluo City, who actually specialize in cosmetics. While their name isn’t as prestigious as the Gong family’s, I’ve made careful inquiries. The Ye shops have a solid reputation, and feedback on their goods is quite favorable.”

“Elder Brother Dachun and I have discussed this,” Ling Yu added, giving her view. “As Jade Complexion Cream’s fame grows, so will the number of people eyeing it. Without a powerful backer, this exclusive venture won’t be easy to protect. It would be wiser to find a reliable partner. We could each sell within our own established territories, benefiting mutually without encroaching on one another.”

“You two decide on these matters. I don’t understand them well,” Yang Suwen said, waving a hand dismissively, clearly uninterested.

“If we’re looking for a powerful patron, wouldn’t the Imperial Merchant Gong family be the obvious choice?” Xiao Xingping walked in carrying tea, having overheard their discussion, and offered her opinion casually.

Ling Yu shook her head. “On the contrary. The Gong family is an Imperial Merchant. We’re just a small business. What leverage do we have to negotiate with them as equals? Just one cosmetic formula? I fear we’d end up not even keeping the Liufang Hall name—it would all be swallowed up by the Gongs.” 

Most importantly, she knew the Gong family’s status as Imperial Merchants was on the verge of collapse. Once stripped of that title, the Gong family would be finished. Far better to choose the Ye family. They might not be flashy now, but they were building a solid foundation. In a few years’ time, they would emerge as a significant force in the business world.

Furthermore, Changluo City, the Ye family’s base, has remained completely untouched by the ravages of war.

“Xiao Yu’s thoughts mirror my own. If you have no objections, I’ll arrange a meeting with Young Master Ye in the coming days to discuss the partnership.”

“Well, if you both think the Ye family is best, then the Ye family it is!” Yang Suwen readily agreed.

With the partnership settled, Ling Yu had the leisure to observe the pair before her. She didn’t miss the way Ling Dachun’s gaze kept drifting toward Yang Suwen. Yang Suwen, however, remained utterly oblivious, busy pulling Xiao Xingping aside to ask her the secret for brewing such delicious tea. When Ling Dachun turned and met her thoroughly amused expression, he paused briefly, then gave a helpless smile.

“Oh, that reminds me. A few days ago, someone came to the shop asking about the maker of the garments Brother Shaoan sells. They seemed rather suspicious. I made up an excuse and sent them on their way,” Xiao Xingping remembered and said hastily.

Ling Yu didn’t think much of it. “It’s fine as long as you sent them away.”

Ling Dachun was a man of action. Having decided on the Ye family, he wasted no time. Early the next morning, he arranged a meeting with the Ye family’s eldest son. Both parties approached the talks in good faith, and within a few days, the contract was finalized.

From then on, Jade Complexion Cream appeared on the shelves of Ye family shops, while Ye family cosmetics became available for purchase at Liufang Hall as well.

The partnership with the Ye family inadvertently raised Liufang Hall’s business to a new level. During this period, the spurned Gong family attempted to make trouble. But a powerful dragon cannot crush a snake in its own lair.* Though Liufang Hall was small, its connection to Cheng Shaotang ensured not only official protection but also deterred any local ruffians or bullies from targeting it. In the end, the Gong family could only withdraw, seething with resentment.

(*TL’s note: 可强龙难压地头蛇 (kě qiáng lóng nán yā dì tóu shé)一Even a powerful outsider can’t suppress the local boss)

Cheng Shaoan returned home in high spirits and announced to Madam Wang and Jin Qiaorong, “Mother! Liufang Hall is opening a branch shop! And Elder Brother Dachun has even secured a shop space for me right next to it. We can stay close to Liufang Hall from now on.”

“Truly? That’s wonderful news!” Madam Wangi exclaimed joyfully.

Jin Qiaorong’s face, however, fell. Lost in the joy of both having his own shop and continuing to ride Liufang Hall’s coattails, Cheng Shaoan failed to notice her expression.

Jin Qiaorong felt a pang of despair. Her plan had been to find a shop and then completely sever ties with Liufang Hall and that woman from the eldest branch. Now, all those hopes had vanished like soap bubbles. Watching her mother-in-law and husband sing that man’s praises nonstop, she nearly ground her teeth to dust.

This shouldn’t be how it is. This shouldn’t be her life, toiling from dawn till dusk, sewing garments to earn a pittance, only to remain perpetually dependent on the favor of others.

She couldn’t go on like this, she resolved. She was no less than Ling Yu, no less than the village head’s daughter, either. So why were they the ones living a life of ease and comfort, free from the daily grind of making ends meet?

In truth, Ling Yu had always been reluctant to open a branch store. Her constant thought was, Open one more now, lose one more later when war breaks out. But Ling Dachun had his own perspective, and this time even Yang Suwen supported him. Two against one, she had no choice but to agree. As for Ling Dachun conveniently solving the shop location issue for Cheng Shaoan, she had been completely unaware of it beforehand.

“Our businesses have been side by side for so long now,” he reasoned. “It’s not just that Liufang Hall customers pick up a garment or two on the side. Even those who come specifically for clothes often pop into Liufang Hall to browse. The customers are used to the arrangement. 

“Besides, we’re all family—one Cheng. Shaoan is making an effort, and it doesn’t cost us anything. Why not lend a hand when we can? It’s not just Shaotang who’ll appreciate it; even your mother-in-law will think well of you. Won’t that foster even greater harmony between you and your husband, and between you and your mother-in-law? 

“Also, for the branch store, I want to give our elder sister a stake. I’ll carve out one-tenth from my original sixty percent share. But we must keep this from her husband. This way, if anything unforeseen happens in the future, she won’t be left with absolutely no means of support…”

As Ling Dachun laid out his thinking, Ling Yu felt both deeply grateful and somewhat amused. This was what it meant to have a true family looking out for you. Yet she found it both impressive and rather touching that her unmarried elder brother had thought through the intricacies of marital and in-law relationships with such clarity. He must have pondered it deeply.

Cheng Shaotang left early that day, leaving only Ling Yu and Xiao Shitou at home. Ling Yu sat on the porch sewing shoe soles, occasionally looking up to watch her son charging around the yard astride a bamboo pole. The sound of his childish “Giddy up! Giddy up!” never failed to amuse her. 

Ever since he’d glimpsed Cheng Shaotang returning home on horseback, the little fellow had developed a fascination with horses. No one knew where he’d found the bamboo pole, but in his free moments, he would ‘ride’ it all over the place, calling out “Giddy up! Giddy up!” with convincing gusto.

A sudden knock at the door interrupted her. She set aside the half-finished shoe sole and went to answer it, surprised to find Cheng Shaoan standing there, his face etched with anxiety.

“Sister-in-law, has Qiaorong been here?” Cheng Shaoan asked the moment he saw her, unable to contain his urgency.

“No, she hasn’t. What’s wrong?” Ling Yu was startled by his manner.

“She hasn’t?! But she doesn’t know anyone else! Where else could she have gone?!” Cheng Shaoan’s face instantly lost all color, and a look of sheer despair crept into his expression.

“This is bad. I must report her missing to the authorities!” Abruptly, he turned to leave, but Ling Yu grabbed his sleeve. “Come back here and explain properly first. What exactly has happened to Qiaorong?”

“Sister-in-law, let go! I need to report this! I need to find her!”

“If you go to the authorities now, do you intend to broadcast this to the entire world?” Seeing him still struggling to break free, Ling Yu lost her patience and snapped at him.

Cheng Shaoan halted abruptly. After a long pause, he suddenly covered his face. “It’s all my fault. Why did I have to pick another fight with her? If I hadn’t, she never would have gotten angry enough to walk out!”

Finally, Ling Yu understood: the couple had quarreled, and Jin Qiaorong had stormed off in a rage.

“Did you check her mother’s home?” she asked.

“That was the first place I went! But her mother said she never showed up. She’s a woman with no ties outside our family and her own. If she’s not here either, where in the world could she be? Something terrible must have happened! If any real harm comes to her, how will I ever face her mother and mine?!” A torrent of regret, fear, and self-loathing overwhelmed Cheng Shaoan, making his voice quaver.

“Don’t panic just yet. Have you checked Liufang Hall? Or Yang Suwen’s place?” Ling Yu asked, keeping her voice level.

“No, not yet!” Cheng Shaoan blurted out, then immediately bolted for the door. “I’m going to find her!”

Ling Yu couldn’t stop him. Still deeply worried, she was about to lock the door, gather her son, and follow when she saw Cheng Shaotang walking calmly toward the house from the other direction. “Hurry! Go after Shaoan!” she cried out.

Though puzzled, Cheng Shaotang saw her urgent expression and didn’t question her. He immediately sprinted off in the direction she indicated.

“Daddy!” Xiao Shitou, with his keen eyesight, spotted his father and cried out joyfully. But in the next instant, his father turned and ran off. The little one immediately tried to give chase on his short legs, but Ling Yu, quick as a flash, caught hold of him. Held back by his mother,

Xiao Shitou called out pitifully in the direction his father had vanished. Ling Yu gave his cheek a gentle pinch, soothed him with a few soft words, and carried him inside.

She waited restlessly inside for what felt like half an hour, her thoughts swirling between the missing Jin Qiaorong and Cheng Shaoan’s near-tearful desperation from moments before. She sighed inwardly.

This couple… I must have owed them a great debt in a past life.

The courtyard gate swung open from the outside. Before she could even gather her thoughts, Xiao Shitou, who had been sitting obediently on his little stool, shot out like an arrow with a joyful cry of “Daddy!”

Cheng Shaotang bent down to catch his son as the boy barreled into his arms. The grim look on his face softened somewhat at the sight of the child’s innocent, upturned face. “Where’s your mother?” he asked, ruffling his son’s hair.

“In there,” Xiao Shitou said, pointing a finger toward the inner doorway. Cheng Shaotang looked over to see Ling Yu hurrying to meet them.

“Where is she? Did you find her?” The moment Ling Yu saw only the two brothers returning, she knew the answer, yet she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

Cheng Shaotang shook his head. Cheng Shaoan simply crumpled to the ground, his face a picture of despair. “I can’t find her, sister-in-law. I can’t find her…” he wailed.

“Oh…” Ling Yu was at a loss for words of comfort.

Cheng Shaotang set his son down and said in a low voice, “I’ve already discreetly sent some of my brothers to look. A grown woman doesn’t just vanish into thin air. There will be clues.” 

He paused, then irritably hauled Cheng Shaoan up from the ground. “What good is regret now? I’ve told you before—a real man should talk things through properly. Why must you always lose your temper and squabble with your wife?”

Cheng Shaoan’s handsome face was deathly pale, his eyes rimmed red. “Elder Brother, I was wrong. I know I was wrong now. Please help me find her. From now on, I swear I’ll listen to her in everything. I’ll never argue with her again.”

Cheng Shaotang frowned, wanting to say more, but seeing his brother on the verge of tears, he sighed instead. “Don’t worry. Your elder brother will help you get her back.”

Jin Qiaorong’s disappearance threw both the Cheng and Jin households into turmoil. Madam Wang and Madam Sun were sick with worry for their daughter-in-law and daughter, yet dared not raise an alarm. Afraid of missing her return if they stepped out, they stayed rooted at home, doing little more than wiping away their tears.

Ling Yu had no choice but to make time to return to Cheng Village, shuttling between the two households to offer comfort, all the while anxiously awaiting any news from Cheng Shaotang, praying the woman would be found swiftly.

As the days passed, the sliver of anger Ling Yu had felt over Jin Qiaorong’s willful departure faded, replaced by growing unease over her complete silence. 

No sight of her alive, no sign of a body. Could she actually have been abducted? The very thought made her heart leap into her throat. But then again, nothing like this ever happened in her previous life! 

In her past life, Jin Qiaorong and Cheng Shaoan argued often after marrying, and she would storm off to her mother’s home when angry. But it was never like this, never a complete blackout of news.

Two more days passed before Cheng Shaotang finally returned with news.

“A young cowherd reported seeing her on the road from Cheng Village to the county town,” Cheng Shaotang began. “She was with a middle-aged man and an elderly woman. There was a blue-canopied carriage nearby…” His voice trailed off slightly, and his gaze shifted slowly toward Madam Sun, who was waiting on his every word with palpable anxiety.

“And then? Surely they didn’t… they didn’t take my daughter, did they?” Madam Sun, both frantic and frightened, clutched at him, demanding the rest.

Cheng Shaotang pressed his lips together. “Aunt, I must ask you plainly: is Sister-in-law truly your biological daughter?”

“You—what do you mean by that? If she’s not my daughter, whose could she possibly be?” Madam Sun hadn’t expected such a question. Her face visibly paled.

“Shaotang, what kind of nonsense are you speaking? What happened next? Where is Qiaorong now?” Madam Wang looked at her eldest son reproachfully, urging him back to the immediate facts.

“Elder Brother, just tell us!” Cheng Shaoan grabbed his sleeve directly, his haggard face etched with pure desperation.

“That elderly woman, though advanced in years, was well preserved. Her features bore a striking resemblance to Sister-in-law, seven or eight parts alike. Afterwards, Sister-in-law boarded the carriage with them and left.” With a sigh, Cheng Shaotang finally laid out the full report.

Madam Sun’s face was ashen. Her lips moved soundlessly as if trying to form words, but after a long moment, she simply collapsed, powerless, into a chair.

“Mother-in-law, speak. What in heaven’s name is going on?” Cheng Shaoan’s voice was hoarse with strain.

“Yes, what on earth is happening?” Madam Wang, her own heart unsettled, pressed the question as well.

“At this point, to find Sister-in-law, we must know who these people are. Aunt, apart from you, I fear no one else knows their identity,” Cheng Shaotang added, his tone grave.

Madam Sun’s lips trembled. She looked at the circle of faces before her, each etched with anxiety and concern, and finally, she let out a long, heavy sigh.

“It’s true. Qiaorong is not my daughter. My own daughter, the real Qiaorong, died of illness when she was just three years old.”

Cheng Shaoan’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “She’s not your daughter, Qiaorong? Then who is she? Who is the woman I married?”

Ling Yu, too, was stunned, her lips parting slightly in shock. Jin Qiaorong was not Jin Qiaorong. So who was she?

“Her birth mother was an embroiderer surnamed Su, possessed of an almost supernatural skill with the needle. The girl’s own needlework… that talent likely came from her mother. I went into service for her mother, Madam Su, when the child had just turned one.”

“Madam Su was an excellent mistress, gentle in temper and pure of heart. Only her fate was unkind. She’d unwittingly become a man’s kept woman, and by the time she realized the truth, it was too late. The rice was already cooked, and there was no going back.”

“And Qiaorong’s birth father?” Ling Yu asked.

Madam Sun shook her head. “I only know he was apparently a young master from some wealthy family in the capital, surnamed Gu. Nothing more. Madam Su’s health was frail after the birth. Then, upon learning she was a ‘secret mistress’… her condition worsened further. And it was around that time that my own daughter, Qiaorong, tragically passed away…”

What followed held little surprise. Knowing she would not recover, Madam Su entrusted her only daughter, along with the embroidery manual containing her life’s work, to Madam Su. She asked that her daughter live on under the identity of Madam Su’s own deceased child, Jin Qiaorong.

Ling Yu recalled Xiao Xingping’s earlier mention of someone inquiring about the maker of the garments Cheng Shaoan sold. That person, she now realized, must have grown suspicious of Jin Qiaorong’s identity upon recognizing the distinctive embroidery. That elderly woman who bore such a striking resemblance to Jin Qiaorong must have been a relative from Madam Su’s family.

She wondered: Had her actions in this life, encouraging Jin Qiaorong to sew and sell finished garments, somehow made it easier for the Su family to find her? But what about her previous life? In that life, Jin Qiaorong had also sold embroidery to supplement the household income…

…

She suddenly remembered Jin Qiaorong’s departure in her past life. Could that, too, have been because the Su family found her? But if so, why would she have taken every last bit of the family’s hard-earned money with her? The puzzle remained unsolved, and she could hardly seek out the Jin Qiaorong of her past life for answers.

Now that they had a lead on Jin Qiaorong, finding her seemed imminent. They hadn’t expected, however, that an uninvited guest would arrive at the Cheng household shortly after noon the very next day.

Cheng Shaoan was trembling with rage. He snatched the divorce agreement from the middle-aged man’s hand and ripped it violently to shreds. “Get out!”

The man gave a cold laugh. “Frankly, your signature is irrelevant. You married Jin Qiaorong of the Jin clan. But Jin Qiaorong has been dead for years. She has no connection whatsoever to my niece, Miss Su.”

“Is this your wish, or hers?” Cheng Shaotang asked calmly.

“Naturally, it is hers!”

“I don’t believe you! Let her come here and tell me herself! How could she do this to me?!” Cheng Shaoan roared in furious denial.

“Exactly. Whether to dissolve the marriage is a matter the couple must settle face-to-face. Your one-sided account is hardly credible,” Ling Yu stated coldly. “Moreover, whether my sister-in-law is truly your niece remains to be verified.”

“Oh? You haven’t told them the full truth?” The man’s gaze swept over Madam Sun.

She kept her head lowered. “I’ve said what needed to be said.”

“Good. Here is one hundred taels, consider it compensation. In the future, it would be wise to refrain from speaking of things best left unsaid. As for a meeting,” he continued, placing the silver note on the table, his tone laced with a subtle threat, “I deem it quite unnecessary.”

“I, Cheng Shaoan, would never sell my wife, not even if I were destitute!”