Chapter 75: The Young Miss

The Fei residence at Goose Lake.

Jingxing Court, inner compound.

Madam Lou was leafing through the second issue of the Goose Lake Ten-Day Journal. Fei Chun knelt before her, not daring to speak.

After a long while, Madam Lou opened her mouth: "Brother Han's name was struck off — why did you not come back and tell me sooner?"

Fei Chun braced himself and answered: "Brother Han said this matter could not be reported to Madam at once. The child student's expulsion was already beyond remedy. Had Madam learned of it early, she would surely have clashed with the Old Master. Discord within the household was not what Brother Han intended."

"Is Brother Han your master, or am I your master? Why do you obey him in everything?" Madam Lou demanded.

Fei Chun was so frightened he kowtowed: "With the young master away from the academy, I did not know whose orders to follow either."

"Get out." Madam Lou could not be bothered to vent her anger on a mere study attendant.

"Yes!"

Fei Chun bowed and withdrew.

He went to the young master's courtyard and saw Fei Ruhe shooting arrows, an archery instructor standing beside him.

An arrow flew out and barely struck the target.

Fei Ruhe set down his bow and said, "When did you get back? Where is Brother Han?"

Fei Chun said in a low voice, "Young master, Brother Han's name was struck off by the Old Master. He has lost his child student status too."

Fei Ruhe was instantly astonished: "What was Grandfather thinking? That household registration was arranged by Father. I'll go talk to Mother right now!"

"Madam already knows." Fei Chun hastily held him back.

"Ah!"

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Fei Ruhe flung his bow and arrows aside, restless and at a loss for what to do.

It was like Fei Chun — because of the master-servant bond, there was always a barrier between him and Fei Ruhe. He could not open his heart to his young master, and instead regarded Zhao Han as a true friend.

Fei Ruhe was the same way: unconsciously he looked down on Fei Chun, and treated only Zhao Han as a good brother, never seeing Zhao Han as a household slave.

But now Zhao Han really had become a household slave, and that made Fei Ruhe deeply uncomfortable inside.

……

Fei Rulan walked briskly into her mother's room: "What does Mother wish to see me about?"

"Take a look at this," Madam Lou said, handing over the journal. "The first article was written by Brother Han."

Fei Rulan took it and read carefully. Soon a delighted smile appeared: "It's truly well written — it speaks up for us daughters. If only men and women really were equal."

Madam Lou suddenly said, "Brother Han's name was struck from the household register by your grandfather. His child student degree is gone too."

"What?"

Fei Rulan was so shocked her smile vanished. Her fists clenched tight: "First Grandfather tried to force me to die a martyr, and now he has struck off Brother Han's name. Does he truly mean to drive his own granddaughter to her death?"

Zhao Han had been struck from the household register, but he remained a household slave.

Madam Lou's original plan had been to let Zhao Han pass the xiucai examination, and then dissolve the adoption. With a degree, he could establish himself, and Fei Rulan could marry him — it would neither wrong her daughter nor, should word get out, cause them to lose face.

And now? Marry her daughter off to a household slave?

Even a matrilocal marriage was out of the question — an uxorilocal son-in-law had to be a man of good family!

Madam Lou sighed: "Your father has written. He says he has found you a poor scholar. He is only a xiucai, but of upright character. It all depends on whether he passes the juren examination next year. If he does, all the better. If he does not, you will simply have to make do as the wife of a xiucai."

"Mother, am I so unwanted that I must go a thousand li away to find some impoverished xiucai?" Fei Rulan's emotions were running high.

Madam Lou consoled her: "After all, he does hold a degree."

Fei Rulan's eyes suddenly grew wet. Suppressing her feelings, she cried out in a low, fierce voice: "So what if I am a widow-by-betrothal? I am still a maiden, I am still a daughter of a respected house. Here in Jiangxi no one dares marry me, so I must be picked over by some xiucai a thousand li away? If after I marry into his family, they learn of my past, how could they not hold me in contempt? By then, married far from home, beaten or scolded at will, bullied and humiliated — I would be better off dead right now. At least I would gain the name of a chaste martyr!"

"Do not think like that. That xiucai is of upright character; he is no heartless, faithless man," Madam Lou urged.

Fei Rulan wiped away her tears and demanded, "Has Mother met this xiucai? How do you know his true nature? My whole life's fate, staked on that xiucai's character? Men's hearts change. If he passes the juren exam, they change even faster. I fear I would simply be cast aside!"

Madam Lou fell silent, with no words to answer.

The look in Fei Rulan's eyes grew ever more resolute. With finality she declared, "Mother, when I returned home widowed, I had already lost my chastity once. When you verbally promised me to Brother Han, and now plan to go back on that promise, that is losing my chastity a second time. If I am married off a thousand li away, then humiliated by my husband's family, then cast aside by my husband — what would I be then? Rather than gamble on fate a thousand li away, I would sooner choose someone whose roots I know. Brother Han — I am determined to marry him. I beg Mother to tear up his bondservant contract!"

Zhao Han's household registration was in Fei Yuanyi's hands.

Zhao Han's bondservant contract, however, was in Madam Lou's hands.

If she tore up the contract, Zhao Han would immediately regain his freedom — but he would become a drifter without a household registration.

"You have decided?" Madam Lou asked.

"If this cannot be, then only a dead end remains for me," Fei Rulan said, suddenly dropping to her knees and kowtowing. "I beg Mother to grant this!"

Madam Lou sighed: "Even if the contract is destroyed, he is still of household-slave origin. Once you marry him, you will surely be mocked by the neighbors." As she spoke, she suddenly laughed. "Your grandfather — he will be driven mad with rage. He will certainly report it to the authorities in fury, accusing Brother Han of abducting a respectable woman."

Fei Rulan said, "With Father and Mother's signatures, there is nothing to fear."

In ancient times, a marriage required a marriage contract.

Marriage contracts were of two kinds: one registered with the authorities, called an "official contract"; the other not registered with the authorities, called a "private contract."

Whether official or private, as long as both sets of parents consented, it carried the force of law.

The marriage contract did not require the signatures of the bride and groom, but the officiant and the matchmaker had to sign.

"Very well!"

Madam Lou abruptly rose to her feet: "For this marriage contract, I shall be the officiant. I shall sign it for you!"

She paced back and forth for a moment, then looked troubled again: "Only, on the day you cross the threshold, I fear your grandfather will block the way. We must find a day when he is not at home. Ah, perhaps it is best to forget it. Even if your grandfather is away, your second and third uncles will stop the bridal sedan chair — unless you marry out through the side gate!"

Entering and leaving by the side gate — that could not be called an open, formal wedding.

Fei Rulan said, "Second Uncle and Third Uncle can hardly wait to see us become a laughingstock. Why would they stop it?"

"It won't work, it still won't work," Madam Lou said, agitated. "A wedding procession, with all its drums and music — how much attention would that draw? If anyone obstructs it, how could you ever show your face again? Even if you marry out, you will be ridiculed. Your grandfather will have lost face, and he will make trouble for you in a hundred ways. How will you live in peace after the wedding?"

Fei Rulan slumped where she sat, her face blank with bewilderment, unable to see where any hope in life lay.

Madam Lou's mind was in chaos too. Every idea seemed wrong. She could only urge, "Rulan, trust your father's judgment this once. He is rarely wrong about people — was it not he who brought Brother Han home? Go happily and marry far away. As long as you keep your mouth tightly shut, your husband's family will never know your past."

"I won't do it," Fei Rulan said, shaking her head repeatedly. "Married a thousand li away, with no maiden family to look after me, if my husband's family beat me to death they'd just bury me in a shallow grave."

"They wouldn't dare!" Madam Lou said furiously.

Fei Rulan said, "Why wouldn't they dare? They'd just say I fell ill and died. With such a long journey, would they ship my corpse back for you to see?"

Madam Lou's brow furrowed tightly. She thought for a moment and said, "I'll give you a few more servants to take as dowry."

Fei Rulan said, "They say the husband's family are poor scholars. If I bring too many servants with me, won't that make my husband and in-laws unhappy? They'd surely think I'm putting on airs, surely think I'm arrogant and overbearing, and then the marriage would certainly be discordant!"

Madam Lou racked her brains left and right but could find no solution. Suddenly she laughed out loud and teased, "I can see you've already set your heart on Han, and you're just finding all sorts of twisted arguments to use against your parents."

Fei Rulan countered, "What's wrong with Han? Though his origins are humble, he's a capable man. He may not come back often, but all the household servants respect him. Look at the younger ones — it's 'Brother Han' this and 'Brother Han' that. He's learned too, able to write essays like this, and he even speaks of equality between men and women. He would never let me down. With such a good man right here, why should I go a thousand li away and gamble on my luck?"

Madam Lou sighed, "Ai, you've certainly grown sharp-tongued. Why were you foolish enough to try to take your own life before?"

Fei Rulan answered, "There are some truths I hadn't thought through before, but now I've understood them completely. Idle gossip is just what others say; living comfortably oneself is what truly matters."

"If it's an open, formal wedding, you won't be walking out the main gate of this Fei household." Madam Lou was also worried.

Fei Rulan muttered, "Then I'll just go out the side gate."

Madam Lou instantly flared with rage. "Only a concubine sneaks out the side gate! My daughter must have an open, formal wedding. I think you've read too many scholar-and-beauty romances! And I'll say it again — even if you stole away through the side gate to marry, could you live in peace afterwards? That grandfather of yours would probably send people to make trouble at your door every day!"

"Mother, calm your anger," Fei Rulan said, unexpectedly breaking into a smile. "I do have an idea."

"Speak quickly," Madam Lou said.

Fei Rulan said, "First destroy his indenture contract, restore Han's freedom, then help him register as a commoner. Wait another year or two, until he's grown a bit older, then have him go to the Jiujiang area to do business. I'll make the excuse of returning to Jiujiang to visit relatives, and on the way I'll encounter bandits. To preserve my chastity, I'll throw myself into the river and die. That way, the two of us can marry secretly in Jiujiang."

As she spoke, Fei Rulan's tone shifted. "Then one day, when Grandfather has passed away and Father is master of the household, I'll bring my husband back to visit my maiden family. To outsiders, we'll simply say that my husband saved me, I pledged myself to him in gratitude, and we joyfully tied the knot!"

Madam Lou mused, "That is a workable plan. Worthy of my daughter. It's just that the old… your grandfather is hale and hearty. Who knows if he might live another ten or eight years."

Fei Rulan laughed. "This is my whole life we're talking about — can't I wait ten or eight years? When the time comes, I'll bring a grandson straight back for Father and Mother to see."

Madam Lou was both exasperated and amused. "Such shameless words, and you actually have the nerve to say them out loud!"

"Mother agrees?" Fei Rulan's face lit up with joy.

Madam Lou sighed. "Ai, you've already made up your mind. What can your mother do but agree?"

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(End of chapter)