Chapter 8
On the third day after the wedding, I took little Daiyu with me for the customary visit to my parents.
She had spent the past two days playing cards with me. At first, she hadn’t dared admit that Yingtao and Lizhi had already taught her. By the end, she was pouting and making excuses. “It’s all Yingtao’s fault. That little traitor keeps helping Mother. That’s why I lost.”
I roared with laughter. “No, no. A loss is a loss. You’ll have to check another roomful of gift lists today.”
She puffed up with indignation and went to complain to her father, only to be promptly sent back.
Ha. Your father and I might not be inseparable yet, but we were certainly enjoying a very sweet marriage.
Having met with defeat there, she returned to her room and cried again.
I went to find her. “What fun is there in winning money only from me? Tomorrow I’ll take you to the Shen residence. You can win it from my sisters-in-law!”
She turned at once, then quickly lowered her lashes. “You’re only coaxing me. Your sisters-in-law will naturally take your side.”
I wagged a finger. “Wrong. You must understand: exceptional people are often lonely. They’re always ganging up on me! They even join forces with the dealer to make sure I’m the only one who loses.”
She scarcely reacted to the second half, but murmured, “Exceptional people are often… lonely?”
I sat beside her. “Yes. When you’re better or more capable than others, you naturally hear and see different things, and think differently too. People don’t understand, so sometimes you feel lonely.”
She grew thoughtful, a little frown forming, as though something had struck her.
I interrupted. “It’s settled. Tomorrow you’re coming to my parents’ house to help me fight them.”
She laughed through her tears. “I’ve never met a mother as mischievous as you!”
I kept a straight face. “I used to think the same. But in future, I expect I’ll be only a mischievous grandmother. There’ll be an even more mischievous mother than me.”
Then I turned and fled with my maids. I’d barely left the covered walkway when I heard her give a startled cry behind me. “Mother is teasing me again!”
For our game at the Shen residence, I prepared a box of broken silver and let little Daiyu demurely pretend to lose.
In the original novel, she had hidden her abilities with the Jias. Her poetry and embroidery were outstanding, but at literary gatherings and feasts she considered everyone else’s feelings and refused to show off.
At the Shen residence, she needn’t worry about any of that.
My eldest sister-in-law won some money and beamed. “Excellent. Now we’ve got the prize money for the embroidery contest.”
Little Daiyu asked me curiously, “What embroidery prize money?”
“Eldest Sister-in-law manages our household embroiderers and the embroidery workshops my sisters-in-law have opened,” I explained with a smile. “Every year they hold a contest, with prizes for the top three.”
Her eyes brightened a little. Like her father, she was full of curiosity and surprise.
My second sister-in-law didn’t mind losing at all. “Well, the fruit in our gardens has done splendidly this year. We’ll earn more than usual, and my share will be considerable. I don’t need these few coins of yours!”
The others were much the same.
That evening, Daiyu rode in my carriage. Leaning against me, she said softly, “I never knew other households were run like this.”
Though I knew the answer, I asked, “You never saw anything like it with the Jias?”
“Their family and holdings are so much larger,” I added. “Surely their management must be even more careful, thorough, and sound.”
Little Daiyu shook her head and sat up. “The Jia household is as rich and lively as the Shen household. But the way it’s managed…”
She hesitated. Her upbringing clearly kept her from speaking ill of the Jias, but what she had seen and heard that day had made her curious.
I gently squeezed her soft little hand. “Perhaps they have methods of their own and simply haven’t shown them.”
She shook her head. “No…”
Then she looked at me, biting her lip. “Mother, there’s something I want to tell you.”