Chapter 1
Lord Liu, the Deputy Censor-in-Chief, had a discerning eye. The young scholar he seized beneath the honors board went on to place third in the palace examination.
Before the wedding, Lord Liu questioned him repeatedly.
“Do you already have a wife or betrothed back home?”
Jiang Rui, the newly minted third-place scholar, bowed with perfect decorum.
“My family is poor. I have only an aged mother who supported my studies with her embroidery.”
“I have always believed a man should establish his career before marrying. That is the only responsible course toward his future wife.”
Delighted, Lord Liu arranged a splendid wedding for Jiang Rui and his daughter.
Afterward, Scholar Jiang returned to his hometown in grand procession with his new bride.
Before they even entered Gaoyou, the city gates were packed solid with onlookers.
Chunfeng hoisted me onto her shoulders. “Are they here yet?”
“No!”
“How about now?”
“I think so!”
“Look properly!”
“They’re here! They’re here!” I reported from above. We swayed and nearly toppled over.
“Quick!” She caught her balance. “Charge!”
As the procession entered the city and the crowd surged toward the gates, Chunfeng seized my hand and ran the other way. We raced into Pipa Lane and stopped before a freshly painted door.
It was the home we had been thrown out of half a month ago.
“We rehearsed all night. You haven’t forgotten, have you?” Chunfeng asked between breaths.
I was panting too. I bit my lip. “I remember everything.”
We pushed open the door. The courtyard was quiet.
Grandmother shot out of her chair.
She wore a dark red jacket patterned with round blossoms, and two massive gold earrings stretched her earlobes so wide a fly could have passed through the holes.
Pointing at us, she shrieked, “You pair of jinxes! What are you doing here?”
“Grandmother, don’t upset yourself—”
She cut me off. “Who is your grandmother? Don’t call me that!” She lunged to cover my mouth, terrified the new bride might arrive at any moment and hear.
“Fine, you old hag.”
I shoved her hand away, wiped my mouth twice, and spat for good measure.
“Since you’re in such a hurry, I’ll make this quick. I’m here for my mother’s dowry.”
“What dowry?” She jumped up and tried to twist my ear. “Get out, you little wretch!”
Chunfeng slapped her hand aside and waved a sheet of paper beneath her nose.
“See this? It’s the inventory of her mother’s dowry. Before she died, she secretly stitched it into Zhenzhen’s swaddling clothes.”
“S-so what?” The old woman tried to brazen it out as firecrackers sounded in the distance.
Seeing that she had rattled her, Chunfeng continued, “If you refuse, Zhenzhen and I will wait here for Jiang Rui.”
“He brought his new wife home, didn’t he? We’ll ask her for the money. It must all have been spent on him anyway.”
“Oh dear, old hag. Is that a suona and gongs I hear?”
“Y-you—you blackhearted creatures!” She hurried to the gate and peered down the lane.
Then she slammed it shut and turned on us. “How much do you want?”
With the noise of the procession almost at our door, we struck a bargain.
We took two hundred taels of silver and the gold lumps hanging from her ears.
Back outside, once again fighting our way against the crowd, I asked Chunfeng, “What if she’d dug in her heels and refused?”
“She never would. She’s shrewd. She wouldn’t give up mountains of gold and silver over two hundred taels.”
“What mountains of gold and silver?”
“Miss Liu’s dowry.”
I looked back at the endless procession of attendants carrying chests large and small, my eyes full of envy.
“Don’t be jealous,” Chunfeng said. “When you marry, I’ll give you mountains of gold and silver too.”
“Please. Unless you find the legendary Wushui mine.”
“Would that buy mountains of gold and silver?”
“That’s what people at the docks say.”
“Then I’ll look for it. If I find it, you can have it for your dowry.”
“No need. Just give me the mountains of gold and silver.”
I turned away and tightened my grip on Chunfeng’s hand.
“I’m not like the rest of you. Every one of you is more foolish than the last.”