Chapter 93
Chapter 93
Old Madam Gu said they should bring Ji Hanyi along as well. Madam Zhang was not particularly willing, but since this was Hanyi’s affair in the first place, taking only her own daughter and leaving Hanyi behind would make her intentions far too obvious.
She nodded with a smile. “The Old Madam has arranged everything most thoughtfully. I’ll go write the card and make the necessary arrangements now.”
Seeing Madam Zhang rise to leave, Ji Hanyi understood perfectly well what she was trying to accomplish. In all likelihood, she did not want Hanyi to go.
But Ji Hanyi truly had little desire to go either. She would be meeting old acquaintances, yet her life had fallen to such a state. There would be no happy news to share, only cause for lament.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t go that day,” she said. “It would be more convenient for Aunt and Third Cousin to go together. Mother has needed someone by her side to care for her lately, so I’ll stay and look after her.”
She added, “I’ll have to trouble Aunt to take my thank-you gift with you.”
Madam Zhang indeed did not want Ji Hanyi to accompany them, but after thinking it over, she reconsidered. As the mistress in charge of the Gu Family household, it would be perfectly reasonable for her to represent Ji Hanyi, who was merely staying at the Gu Residence. However, Ji Hanyi had met Old Madam Shen before. Having her there might ease any awkwardness. She could also tell them about Old Madam Shen’s preferences and teach Wanyun some of the Shen Residence’s rules, helping Wanyun win the old madam’s favor.
Besides, even if Ji Hanyi was prettier than her daughter and possessed striking looks, she was still a divorced woman. No one at the Shen Residence could possibly take a fancy to her, so there was no risk of her stealing Wanyun’s limelight. Madam Zhang could safely bring her along.
Before Old Madam Gu could speak, Madam Zhang cut in. “The Shen Residence is no ordinary household. If you don’t thank them in person, what will they think?”
“Your mother’s health hasn’t only been poor for a day or two. She managed perfectly well before you came back. Will she truly be unable to do without you for one day?”
With that, she made the decision herself. “There’s no need to discuss this any further. We’ll follow the Old Madam’s arrangements. I’ll write the card and have it sent to the Shen Residence now.”
She glanced at Ji Hanyi and added, “Besides, do you think the Shen Residence is somewhere anyone can visit just because they want to form a connection? Countless people are trying to curry favor with the Shen Family, but they can’t even find a way in. Perhaps they consider this little matter of ours too trivial to be worth their attention.”
“Even if we want to go, they may not agree to see us.”
After saying her piece, Madam Zhang paid no heed to Ji Hanyi’s or the Old Madam’s expressions. She turned and left to prepare the card.
In her mind, this had now become the single most important matter at hand.
Old Madam Gu watched Madam Zhang leave and sighed softly. Her daughter-in-law was not truly ill-hearted, but no one ever liked the way she spoke.
With Madam Zhang gone, Ji Hanyi had nothing more to say on the matter. Remembering that her belongings were still with the Xie Family, she said to Old Madam Gu, “I plan to go to the Xie Family tomorrow and bring my things back.”
There was nothing particularly valuable among them. She had no intention of taking the other belongings the Xie Family was unwilling to let her have. She only wanted to retrieve her father’s paintings and Snowball, the cat she had raised.
Xie Yuheng disliked cats. If Snowball remained in that courtyard, it would likely come to a bad end.
Only then did Old Madam Gu remember the matter. “You should indeed bring them back. Young Master Yan has the day off tomorrow, so have him escort you. If anything else happens, he’ll be there to help.”
Ji Hanyi nodded, then rose and said to Old Madam Gu, “I’ll go see Mother now.”
Old Madam Gu nodded. “Go on. I’ll have them prepare a feast tonight. Now that your troubles have been settled, we can all gather together and celebrate.”
It was already midmorning by the time Ji Hanyi headed to her mother’s residence. The day was warmer than usual. With a hand warmer cradled in her arms, she walked from the Old Madam’s quarters to Huilan Courtyard and was actually slightly warm by the time she arrived.
Ji Hanyi entered the courtyard while Chunju followed at her side, quietly updating her on Madam Gu’s condition these past few days. As she listened, Ji Hanyi noticed the medicine simmering beneath the veranda. She bent down and lifted the lid for a look. It was the same medicine she had sent over a few days ago.
She had been tending to her mother’s illness for so long that she recognized nearly every medicine her mother took.
Watching her, Chunju hesitated before asking softly, “Miss, will you be staying here from now on?”
Ji Hanyi straightened and looked at her. Seeing the hope in Chunju’s eyes, she smiled. “I won’t be going back to the Xie Family.”
As a servant, Chunju naturally did not wish to see her mistress’s marriage end in divorce. Still, the servants had some idea of how she had been treated by the Xie Family. Her husband had not visited even once in three years. If he had cared about her in the slightest, he could never have stayed away like that.
Ji Hanyi went inside to see her mother. Madam Gu was still lying in bed. Her health was poor, and she disliked moving around, so she spent most of her days in bed.
When Madam Gu saw Ji Hanyi, however, she was not as delighted as she had been during the last visit. Instead, she asked worriedly, “Why are you here again?”
Her frail voice held a trace of displeasure. “Hanyi, you visit far too often. Your mother-in-law and your husband will both be unhappy.”
Ji Hanyi looked at her mother. Once a gentle and beautiful woman, Madam Gu had now been bedridden for years. Frailty and exhaustion lingered in her eyes and brow. Though her beauty remained, the sight of her made Ji Hanyi’s heart ache.
When her father had still been alive, the entire family had been together. Everything had been well, and their days had passed smoothly and happily. Now, all of that happiness was gone, leaving only hardship behind.
If her father were still alive, she thought, the Xie Family would never have dared treat her this way.
She lowered her gaze to the purple azalea blossoms embroidered on her cuff. Bright sunlight streamed through the window and fell across the petals. Only then did Ji Hanyi say softly, “Mother, Xie Yuheng and I are divorced.”
She raised her head and looked at Madam Gu. “I won’t be going back to the Xie Family ever again.”
Madam Gu froze. She stared at the exquisitely lovely daughter she had borne, a young woman who was perfection from head to toe. How could she possibly be divorced?
Madam Gu had never imagined such a thing.
She stared blankly at Ji Hanyi and realized that her daughter was still wearing the same outfit as on her previous visit: a pale yellow, high-collared jacket with gold-and-silver clasps at the neck. Her hair was simply styled without decoration save for a single plum blossom hairpin. She wore no earrings, only a pendant necklace around her neck. Everything about her was quiet and understated.
Madam Gu lowered her gaze to Ji Hanyi’s wrist. The jadeite bangle Old Madam Xie had given her was gone, replaced by a green jade bangle.
Madam Gu recognized it. She had given it to Ji Hanyi as part of her dowry when her daughter married.
Back when the Ji Family’s assets were confiscated, Madam Gu had returned to her own parents’ home with her daughter and nothing else to their name. Fortunately, the bailiffs had shown them some mercy and had not forced her to surrender the jewelry she wore on her wrists and in her hair.
At the time, they had been utterly desperate and left with nothing. When Ji Hanyi married, Madam Gu had not even been able to put together a complete set of bridal jewelry for her.
She had scraped together the few pieces of jewelry she still owned and given them all to Ji Hanyi, afraid that her daughter would be mocked for dressing too plainly after marrying into a great clan like the Xie Family.
On each of Ji Hanyi’s later visits, Madam Gu had only felt reassured after seeing her dressed in the finest clothes and jewelry. It allowed her to believe that her daughter was living well in the Xie Family and that everything was as it should be.
Yet now, Ji Hanyi sat before her in quiet, unadorned clothes and told her that she was divorced.