When Xu Erpeng went to find Cheng Dashan, he had expected some trouble, but to his surprise, everything went smoothly.
Cheng Dashan didn’t ask many questions and directly handed him a letter of recommendation, saying, “The local prefect is my father’s contemporary.”
Xu Erpeng was extremely grateful.
He also heard that both Ru Shi and Mrs. Tao personally came to recommend him, but Cheng Dashan hadn’t accepted either of their proposals.
This filled Xu Erpeng with a profound sense of gratitude and loyalty.
After leaving their place, he thought carefully and felt a chill run down his spine—indeed, prominent families truly know how to recruit talents.
No matter what, he reminded Miaozhen, “From now on, you must work hard in the Cheng family. Here, take this letter of recommendation and keep it safe.”
A letter of recommendation was only used when hiring a Xianxi or Mu Liao, which showed how much the Cheng family valued talent.
Miaozhen opened the letter and read: “To Doctor Xu: Your mother is in urgent need of treatment. It is well-known that the young lady is a disciple of Wu Xi Yang Ruren, extraordinarily intelligent and skilled, with compassionate hands. You are hereby specially appointed as a personal physician, with a monthly salary of three taels and six qian.”
Three taels and six qian was a quite generous salary.
Mrs. Mei was happy for her daughter but couldn’t help worrying about Xu Dalang’s situation.
Those who had threatened Xu Dalang saw that Xu Erlang not only ignored them but treated them with contempt, and Xu Sanlang was even more indifferent.
The day after their visit, they gave up on the shop altogether and fled with their families overnight, disappearing without a trace.
The people who had set up the trap were speechless.
They slapped Xu Dalang twice, scolding, “Look at you, a pest everyone hates.”
Xu Dalang cried bitterly, feeling his brothers were heartless.
Near their home were only poor laborers and craftsmen.
His wife and children had disappeared, and then they went to the Huang family and Huang Shufu’s place, where they were cursed for being useless and didn’t receive a single coin.
Finally, Huang Shufu took out ten taels and told them to go find the Xu family.
After all the trouble, they only got ten taels, and feeling very unsatisfied, they sent Xu Dalang to the magistrate’s office, where he was beaten with twenty strokes before being released, with no one else implicated.
Xu Erpeng breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile returned to Mrs. Mei’s face.
As for the Xu family’s third branch, no one knew where they had gone.
It was only said that Xu Yiming disappeared after being beaten, likely too ashamed to face anyone, and no one knew where he hid.
With this matter settled, the Xu family’s second branch began preparing Miaozhen’s luggage.
Mrs. Mei summoned a tailor to make three new dresses for her—moonlight white, goose yellow, and pea green.
Miaozhen herself went with Laiwang and Xiao Xi to the nearby Sweat Towel Shop to buy several white luo or Bailuo silk sweat towels as gifts.
She also had some plain paper cut for daily expenses and went to the Honglu Xijuan Shop to buy silk threads in various colors.
Her grandfather, Mei Juren, sent five hundred qian as spending money.
Aunt Qiao’s family gifted two bolts of red and green silk and invited Miaozhen to visit, but she politely declined.
Her third uncle sent a string of cash and two boxes of steamed fruit-filled cakes. Neighbors from the Majia and Tao Family also showed their support.
Xiao Xi packed some Songluo tea leaves in a jar—reserved for honored guests.
Miaozhen usually drank local Suzhou tea, which was inexpensive but flavorful, costing fifty wen per full jar.
They also prepared rose-scented soap for washing hair, several eggs, five-spice powder for bathing, and a variety of medical books, case records, and prescriptions.
Altogether, these filled three trunks.
Even so, it was a pared-down load; otherwise, there would have been more.
Looking at the chaotic scene, Mrs. Mei couldn’t help but sigh, “You just got back, and now you have to leave again. I truly can’t bear it. It’s all because of your eldest uncle; otherwise, our family would be so much better off.”
“No matter what, this ordeal helped us get through a tough time. I never thought uncle could be so dishonest,” Miaozhen reflected, recalling her first meeting with him when he looked so upright and noble.
Mrs. Mei waved her hand, “Your father said he had a good hand but played it poorly. Forget it, that’s not important anymore. But you, in a year or two, you’ll be coming of age. Your father says that although Jinling is a prosperous place and the Cheng family is influential, you must not be dazzled by it. In a year or so, when we find a suitable husband for you, don’t be shy. You’ll be a grown woman by then; we’ll bring you back.”
“I think so too, but for the first one, I don’t want any marriage within the family,” Miaozhen replied.
It wasn’t that she opposed marrying for love, but daughters from small families like theirs were strictly confined and rarely met outsiders.
Judging by looks was unreliable, so it was better to let Xu Erpeng choose someone wise and cautious, worldly and experienced.
Still, marrying close kin was her bottom line and absolutely not acceptable.
Mrs. Mei chuckled, “Your uncles wouldn’t dare think of that anyway—they’ve studied less than you.”
“That’s true,” Miaozhen smiled.
Then she added, “Tell father not to overwork himself. This time going to the Cheng family, I can also save some money.”
Mrs. Mei tidied her daughter’s hair, “You know, in Jiangnan, a rich dowry is very important. Your father and I must find a good family for you, so of course, we have to prepare your bridal dowry well.”
“Father has had a hard life. When he was young, his grandparents treated him slightly better, and he gave a lot back to the family. Now it’s our turn, and I must repay them,” Miaozhen thought.
Mrs. Mei added, “Your father was good to your grandfather’s third uncle, but that didn’t matter; your grandparents always favored the third uncle.”
Miaozhen sighed, feeling lucky to be born into such a family.
Mother and daughter spoke intimately for a long time, reluctant to part.
On the first day of August, the Cheng family sent servants to fetch her.
Xu Erpeng had planned to send the servant Laiwang along, but worried Cheng’s family might be deceitful and his daughter could be abducted, so he decided to send two trunks, one servant, one assistant, and hired two bodyguards for protection.
He also wanted to go to Jinling to inspect the bookstores on Sanshan Street and in front of the Taixue to compare with his own bookshop.
Being a scholar, he had free access.
With her father accompanying her, Miaozhen felt much safer, though she worried people might gossip about how many family members she brought along.
Unexpectedly, the medical woman Li Yaoyue who went with them was also there with her mother’s uncle.
Li Yaoyue was about eighteen, medium height, lightly made-up, with plain features but very fair skin.
When she smiled, she looked quite charming.
The two were assigned to share a room.
Miaozhen asked Xiao Xi and Xiao Tao to set up the beds.
The Cheng family provided three boats—one for luggage, one for women, one for men.
Li Yaoyue’s mother brought lotus seed paste for her to eat.
Miaozhen thanked her and offered some rose-filled cakes she had brought.
“Miss Xu, are you from a wealthy family?”
Mrs. Li asked.
Miaozhen shook her head.
“My father just does small business; we aren’t wealthy.”
Mrs. Li noticed Miaozhen’s delicate figure, oval face, extremely fair skin, and the vermilion mole between her brows, plus thick earlobes—a sign of good fortune.
She wanted to ask more but was interrupted by Li Yaoyue, “Mother, please go out and get some fresh air; there’s still packing to do inside.”
Mrs. Li left, and Li Yaoyue apologized to Miaozhen, “My mother is old and talkative. Please don’t mind her.”
Miaozhen smiled, “We’ll be working together, so I’m sure your mother cares for you. By the way, what’s your specialty?”
“I study Tanfangmai,” Li Yaoyue replied.
Tanfangmai meant pediatrics. Miaozhen praised, “You must be very skilled.”
Li Yaoyue was modest and asked, “What about you?”
“Oh, I study gynecology and acupuncture,” Miaozhen said with a smile.
“Did you learn medicine from your family?”
Li Yaoyue asked.
“My family has no one in this field; my father found my teacher for me. What about you?”
Miaozhen was curious.
“Mrs. Cheng is my godmother. Our families are related, but not to the Cheng Family of Anhui; it’s a different branch.”
“Oh, I see. How long do we have to serve here? My mother said if it’s too long, she’ll ask my father to come get me,” Miaozhen quickly created a persona that she didn’t intend to stay long, so no one would suspect her.
Li Yaoyue shook her head, “I don’t know, but I hope to stay longer. After all, it’s hard to get into a noble family like the Chengs.”
“I wish you a bright future then. We’re here together, so I’ll be counting on your help,” Miaozhen said.
“Miss Xu, you’re too kind. We’ll be colleagues,” Li Yaoyue smiled.
After chatting, Xiao Xi and Xiao Tao finished making the beds.
Miaozhen handed them a box of warm fruit-filled steamed cakes.
“Eat some first to settle your stomach.”
Then she started reading.
Fortunately, Li Yaoyue was quiet and not talkative, often sewing or doing embroidery in her free time.
Since the Li family had been on the boat for several days, two mammas from the Cheng family personally brought food boxes.
Miaozhen heard that Li Yaoyue had given them tips, so she also gave them twenty coins.
The two mammas said, “We heard Miss Xu is a disciple of Tan Yunxian—is that true?”
“Yes, I studied specifically in Wu Xi,” Miaozhen asked, “Are you both from the Cheng family?”
They nodded. Miaozhen noticed Li Yaoyue went to Mrs. Li’s for meals and asked, “We don’t know much either. Can you tell us about the Cheng family and their taboos?”
Xiao Xi immediately poured tea.
The mammas replied, “Actually, we don’t know much.”
“You both seem so distinguished. Are you servants of the old madams?”
Miaozhen complimented, careful not to give away anything.
They smiled, “I just help in the kitchen; she works in the laundry. We both came out with Third Master.”
Miaozhen nodded slightly.
Then one mamma explained, “Miss Xu, don’t worry. Our old madam is kind to the poor and weak; otherwise, we wouldn’t have such good fortune.”
After a while, Miaozhen learned that the Cheng family’s elder generation consisted of two brothers living nearby.
The elder’s branch was called the East Mansion.
The old master there once served as a Wuyingdian Daxueshi but died a year after appointment.
He had three sons: the eldest was now a provincial governor in Shandong; the second, aged forty-eight, was Jiangxi Provincial Administration Left Councillor; the youngest entered officialdom through privilege and currently served as Nanjing Shangbaosi Sicheng.
The West Mansion’s old master was now Zuo Sima (Bingbu Shilang) in the capital.
His son died young, leaving a posthumous son who was in his twenties and married.
The East Mansion’s Cheng family patriarch’s first wife had died, leaving a son who passed the jinshi exam at twenty and now served as a compiler at the Hanlin Academy, with a daughter named Qinfang.
The patriarch’s second wife, Madam Zeng, bore two daughters—one named Yuan, the other Shu, both unmarried yet.
There was also Zhu Yiniang, a concubine.
Mentioning Zhu Yiniang made Laima’s gossiping face impossible to hide: “She’s the first wife’s cousin, but unfortunately, her fate was unlucky. By the time she arrived, our old madam had already chosen Madam Zeng.”
Miaozhen asked, “Does Zhu Yiniang have children?”
“Of course. Her son is the fourth brother, seventeen years old, very clever and studious, and she also has a daughter named Bin Jie’er who’s favored by the old madam—even more than the legitimate children.”
Laima gave a thumbs-up.
Laima added, “The second branch’s master and mistress are very affectionate and have a daughter and a fifth son.”
Perhaps because they were from the second branch, they became more reserved when speaking of them.
Miaozhen asked, “Isn’t your Third Master also from the second branch?”
Laima replied vaguely, “He’s illegitimate. The second master and second mistress were betrothed early but had an eight-year age difference. The third young master was born to a concubine.”
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