Chapter 61
Chapter 61
After Xie Yuheng left, Ji Hanyi stood inside the room, staring down at the shattered porcelain and tea spilled across the floor.
Her three years with Xie Yuheng were just like the mess at her feet.
To outsiders, Xie Yuheng was an upright gentleman of impeccable integrity at the Court of Judicial Review — young, capable, and born to a prominent family. At home, however, he never concerned himself with household affairs. He was accustomed to leaving messes like this behind for her to clean up and deal with.
He could walk away without a care, never once sparing a thought for her.
Rongchun came in from outside. When she saw the mess at Ji Hanyi’s feet, she hurried over.
Ji Hanyi told her not to worry, then asked, “Have you finished taking inventory?”
Rongchun quickly nodded. “Everything has been counted.”
Ji Hanyi nodded and asked Rongchun to fetch the ledger she had been keeping.
She sat down on the daybed again and opened the ledger, then had Rongchun read out the inventory she had just taken. Ji Hanyi recorded each item as she listened.
The ledger contained a meticulous record of every item she had received from the common stores since coming to the Xie Residence, including the occasional gifts sent by the various branches of the family.
Rongchun asked in confusion, “Why are you still keeping track of this, Young Madam?”
Ji Hanyi lowered her eyes and continued writing, her voice calm and even. “The Xie Family has always thought I came here with nothing. Everyone believes I covet the Xie Family’s possessions. Because I brought the marriage contract to them of my own accord, they assume I was after the Xie Family’s wealth and status.”
“So I record every item, one by one. I haven’t taken or used anything beyond what I was given. All the fabric sent from the common stores is still in the storeroom, untouched. Even when I did use some, it was to make clothes for Eldest Master. I wear the ready-made clothes issued each season and have never had anything made for myself.”
“I’ve kept all the jewelry safe as well.”
“No matter what happens, as long as I have this ledger, if they demand a full accounting when I leave after the divorce, I’ll be able to settle every last item with them.”
Rongchun’s heart filled with bitter indignation.
She asked miserably, “Then what about everything you’ve done for the Xie Family over the past three years, Miss? What does any of that count for?”
The tip of Ji Hanyi’s brush paused. Her shadow blurred beneath the lamplight as the wind suddenly rose beyond the carved lattice window.
In a soft voice, she said, “I’ll consider it the calamity I brought upon myself by misjudging a man.”
“When Father agreed to the marriage with the Xie Family, he couldn’t have known what the future held. I’ve endured it once. That’s enough.”
Rongchun was still distressed, but at this point, dwelling on those three years truly was meaningless.
Once Ji Hanyi finished writing and the ink had dried, she told Rongchun to put the ledger away. She then headed for the rooms along the rear corridor and instructed the maids outside to go in and clean up the room.
Nanny Lin followed beside Ji Hanyi and asked sadly, “Young Madam, will you not be staying in the main room tonight either?”
Ji Hanyi nodded. She would be leaving in only a few days, so there was even less reason for her to remain in the main room.
Nanny Lin watched Ji Hanyi walk away, then looked back at the empty main room. The maids beside her grew sorrowful as well.
The next day, Madam Lin was quick to make trouble.
That morning, Ji Hanyi was trimming plum branches she had gathered from the plum grove when one of Madam Lin’s senior servants arrived with a summons. The woman looked at Ji Hanyi with a hint of gloating in her eyes.
Ji Hanyi calmly placed the branch in her hand into the vase before saying politely, “Please go back and report to her first. I’ll come over once I’ve tidied myself up.”
After the woman left, Ji Hanyi asked Rongchun to fetch her cloak. She tied the cloak herself, then instructed Rongchun to bring her ledger and account books as well.
The moment she stepped into the corridor, a blast of cold air struck her. Ji Hanyi pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and breathed out a puff of white mist.
She knew the ledger was going to be put to use after all.
From the moment she married into the family and saw the Xie Family’s attitude toward her, she had known this day would eventually come.
But perhaps this was for the best.
With her head lowered, she descended the steps one at a time. The bitter wind still slipped beneath her hood, and her cold earrings struck her cheeks. Ji Hanyi could not help drawing her winter hood more tightly around her face.
When she reached her mother-in-law’s courtyard, the maid at the gate hurried inside to announce her arrival. Ji Hanyi entered the courtyard and stepped into the outer room. The conversation within had yet to cease, and she could vaguely make out Second Madam Xie’s voice.
“Eldest Sister-in-law, don’t overthink it. It isn’t that I insist on meddling, and the Xie Family certainly doesn’t begrudge such a trifling amount. But if this happened to anyone else, who could simply let it go?”
“Isn’t it just like having a bloodsucking vine wrapped around you? It may not draw much blood and can easily be pulled off, but it’s still disgusting to look at, isn’t it?”
The room fell silent after that.
Ji Hanyi lowered her eyes, the faintest mocking smile touching her lips. She lifted the curtain and entered the warm inner room. As she untied her cloak and handed it to Rongchun, she walked to the center of the room and paid her respects.
Seated inside were her mother-in-law; Madam Zhang, the Second Madam Xie; and Second Madam’s daughter-in-law, Madam Yu, the Third Young Madam.
Every gaze turned toward Ji Hanyi at once, as if she were some convicted criminal.
Madam Lin regarded Ji Hanyi with a trace of coldness in her eyes, then told her to sit to one side.
Ji Hanyi took the unoccupied seat on the right and accepted the hot tea offered by a maid. Its fragrance rose slowly with the steam as she lowered her head and took a sip.
Madam Yu looked Ji Hanyi over. Beneath her outer robe, Ji Hanyi wore a white cross-collared garment. Over it was a royal-blue, round-collared robe with wide sleeves, decorated in moon-white with auspicious lingzhi motifs. She wore an ivory horse-face skirt below, patterned with an elegant spray of apricot blossoms.
Madam Yu had seen Ji Hanyi wear this same outfit two years ago. She had not expected her to still be wearing it now.
Her gaze moved to the pair of turquoise-inlaid gold earrings dangling from Ji Hanyi’s ears, the pearl-studded gold plum-blossom hairpin tucked at her temple, and the gold necklace set with pearls and gemstones around her neck. Every piece was in a style that had gone out of fashion years ago.
But Ji Hanyi was a natural beauty, fair-skinned and well-proportioned, with an elegant bearing even while seated. Most people could never have carried off the refined nobility of that royal-blue outfit, but on Ji Hanyi, it only made her complexion appear fairer. Sitting there, pure as jade and radiant as a flower, she drew the eye without even trying.
Even the light streaming through the window seemed to favor her, playing across her in soft, delicate glimmers.
Madam Yu had known of Ji Hanyi back when they were both still unmarried young ladies.
In those days, Ji Hanyi had been the envy of every noble young lady in the capital. She was the only daughter of the Ji Family and blessed with a remarkably beautiful face, making her the center of attention at every banquet she attended. She was also said to excel at calligraphy and painting and had earned quite a reputation for her talent.
Madam Yu had once wanted to befriend her, but she had never found the opportunity. Who could have imagined that they would now become sisters-in-law?
Ji Hanyi had fallen from such heights. Although she had married the Eldest Master of the Xie Family, her present circumstances were far inferior to Madam Yu’s. Madam Yu was cherished by her husband and looked after by her mother-in-law. What did Ji Hanyi have?
The woman she had once envied had amounted to no more than this. Madam Yu could not help feeling a faint sense of satisfaction.
Madam Lin’s gaze also settled on Ji Hanyi. After taking in her clothes and jewelry, she looked at her askance and asked in an even tone, “Has the Xie Family mistreated you all these years?”
Ji Hanyi set down her teacup and replied solemnly, “No, Mother.”
Madam Lin’s eyes immediately turned cold. “Then can the Xie Family no longer afford clothes for you?”
Ji Hanyi shook her head. “That is not the case.”
Madam Lin gave a cold laugh. “Then why have I never seen you wear any of the fabrics or clothes sent to your courtyard each year?”
She cast Ji Hanyi an indifferent glance. “Tell me the truth. Have you taken everything the Xie Family gave you back to the Gu Family?”
She sneered again. “Or did you sell the Xie Family’s belongings for silver so you could support the Gu Family?”
The outfit Ji Hanyi was wearing was indeed two years old, but she had no shortage of clothes. As this was a winter outfit, she had only worn it a handful of times in total.
She explained this to Madam Lin, then added, “The Gu Family truly cannot compare to the Xie Family, but they are hardly so destitute that this daughter-in-law must take things from the Xie Family to support them.”
Madam Lin stared coldly at Ji Hanyi. “You claim you did not support them, and I am simply supposed to believe you?”
“That fabric cost eighty taels a bolt, yet you bought it without batting an eye and sent it to the Gu Family. How generous of you. Your monthly allowance is only five taels. Where did you get so much silver?”
“I know you own a shop, but its earnings have never been particularly good. If you were willing to spend so much on fabric for the Gu Family’s two young ladies alone, how much have you spent on everyone else? Did that silver not come from the Xie Family?”
Second Madam Xie, seated nearby, looked at Ji Hanyi and chimed in, “Niece-in-law, I do not mean to criticize you, but you have married into the Xie Family. How could you still do such a thing?”
“The Xie Family may not be short of that little bit of money, but it did not simply blow in on the wind, did it?”
“Even if you wanted to give them something, why sneak around behind everyone’s backs? It sounds terrible when put that way. If you had spoken to your mother-in-law and the Eldest Master, they would surely have helped them to some extent.”
Second Madam Xie had always delighted in watching trouble unfold and never cared if matters got out of hand. The more chaotic the residence became, the happier she was.
Second Master was the Assistant Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, so Second Madam Xie regularly associated with many ladies. Ji Hanyi knew that if she failed to explain everything clearly this time, Second Madam Xie would surely spread the tale until everyone in the capital had heard it.
Besides, her words were dripping with mockery.
Ji Hanyi rose and looked at Second Madam Xie. “Second Aunt, what is the basis for these accusations? And where did this claim that I was sneaking around come from?”
“Did Second Aunt witness it personally, or did someone else claim to have seen it and tell you? Please name your source, Second Aunt, or call that person here so we can confront each other. This residence is usually harmonious, but if Second Aunt’s claims are completely groundless, will raising such accusations without any evidence not provoke needless conflict?”
Confronted so bluntly by Ji Hanyi, Second Madam Xie’s expression stiffened with embarrassment. She said, “I happened to see you buying fabric last time. That bolt was hardly cheap, yet you were so generous with your money.”
She let out another laugh. “I suppose I was simply being nosy and should not have come back to mention it.”
“I did not mean anything by it. I was only making casual conversation with your mother-in-law. Look at this — who could have known it would turn into such an uproar? Now my niece-in-law blames me for everything and even bears a grudge against me.”
With those words, she neatly absolved herself of any responsibility for sowing discord.
Ji Hanyi glanced at Second Madam Xie. “Did Second Aunt not come back and say those things precisely to sow discord?”
“Still, it is only natural that Second Aunt would have doubts, and I bear you no grudge for it.”
“Since Second Aunt happens to be here, it is best that we clear up the misunderstanding now, lest it lead to further misunderstandings in the future.”
Ji Hanyi then turned back to Madam Lin. “If Mother does not believe this daughter-in-law, there is little I can say in my own defense. But please examine this account book. Every item sent to me from the common household over the years is recorded inside. Aside from pastries, tonics, and other foodstuffs, several bolts of fabric were used to make clothes for the Eldest Master. Every item that has been used is clearly marked. Everything else remains either in my quarters or in the storeroom. If Mother still does not believe me, you may send the senior maids to take inventory.”
After speaking, Ji Hanyi took the account book she had prepared from Rongchun and handed it to Madam Lin.