Chapter 45: Removing Hairpins to Apologize

Madam Ning had long anticipated that Shen Shi might try to take her own life.

She instructed Steward Sun Cai’s wife, saying, “Tonight, find four matrons to keep watch. Have Jade Ink from the Tranquil Study lead a few house-born maids to monitor her room. If there’s any attempt at suicide, escape, or flight, you will be held accountable.”

When the matrons entered the room, Shen Shi was standing on the bed, with a white silk sash draped over the bed frame, though she had not yet hanged herself.

Zhi Qing, seeing Shen Shi stepping onto the bed to hang herself, panicked and let out a piercing scream.

Her voice was sharp and shrill, loud enough to be heard all the way to the kitchen courtyard.

Pear Moon and the others, having just eaten and drunk their fill, were wiping themselves down and applying medicine, hoping to sleep early, when they were startled by the commotion.

Soon after, Jade Ink arrived with a lantern, knocking on their door to ask if they were badly injured and summoning them to keep watch in the Main Chamber.

Being able to witness the excitement in the Main Chamber was something everyone eagerly desired.

The few of them quickly dressed, gathered their bedding, and ignoring the pain in their backsides, eagerly followed.

Jade Ink and Granny Zhou had accompanied the Young Master back to the mansion only after lanterns were lit, having spent the afternoon delivering gifts to the Tan family.

Upon hearing about the incident at Phoenix Ripple Courtyard, the Young Master immediately went to Brocade Prosperity Hall to consult his mother.

After all, divorcing or abandoning a wife was a matter of great importance to the entire clan, and Madam Ning could not decide it alone.

Jade Ink led Pear Moon and the others into the Warm Pavilion of the Main Chamber.

Shen Shi lay stiffly on the bed, while Zhi Qing knelt over her, weeping uncontrollably.

The four matrons sent from Brocade Prosperity Hall were all stationed in the Dressing Room.

On the floor lay a long white silk sash, and on the bedside table rested another bolt of silk, still unopened.

If not for Shen Shi’s continuous sobbing, Pear Moon would have thought she had already hanged herself.

“Sister Zhi Qing, have you given the Young Mistress some ginger soup to ward off evil and calm her heart?”

Old ginger was used to dispel cold and evil, specifically to soothe the nerves of those who were weak.

Zhi Qing had long been flustered and could only stare blankly in response.

The old matrons hurriedly replied, “We just brewed some and forced it down the Young Mistress’s throat.”

Only then did Jade Ink curtsy toward the bed and say, “Madam has instructed us to serve here. Sister Zhi Qing, you may rest now.”

Zhi Qing had no choice but to leave. The maids and matrons of the Ning family remained in the Main Chamber, all taking orders from Jade Ink.

Shen Shi lay motionless on the bed. Jade Ink laid out bedding on the footstool and had Pear Moon sleep on the soft couch in the Dressing Room.

Huan Huan and Autumn Abundance slept on the kang outside the Green Gauze Cabinet, while the four matrons set up beds and laid out bedding in the main hall.

With so many people keeping watch, it was impossible for Shen Shi to attempt suicide.

In the Small Tea Room, Granny He and the others were completely dumbfounded.

Earlier, when the matrons came to brew ginger soup, fearing they might cause trouble, they had found others to lock the tea room door.

No matter how much Granny He cursed or pleaded, no one paid her any attention.

In the middle of the night, Shen Shi cried herself to exhaustion and fell asleep.

Just as Pear Moon was about to close her eyes, she suddenly noticed a small figure peeking out from behind the Green Gauze Cabinet.

Was someone taking advantage of the chaos to steal again?

Pear Moon instantly woke up, only to realize it was Autumn Abundance.

Autumn Abundance picked up the white silk sash meant for hanging and quickly stuffed it into her clothes.

“Aren’t you afraid of bad luck?” Pear Moon whispered, scolding her.

“This is top-grade Songjiang white silk, with pointed floral patterns. Who would leave such a treasure lying around? I’ll take it back, and the three of us can each make a white silk jacket!”

Ignoring her, Autumn Abundance took the two-and-a-half-pound silk sash.

It was a narrow bolt of plain silk, which had been shaken out and hung over the bed frame.

On the Dressing Case table was another bolt, still unopened, with a label reading “Songjiang Broad-Loom Floral Silk.”

This silk was considered high-quality in the shops, but it was still something that could be bought in the market.

The Ningguo Mansion had weaving workshops in Songjiang, but the fabrics and materials produced there were not like this—clearly, this was part of Shen Shi’s dowry.

Even if she were packing her belongings overnight, she wouldn’t have taken out just two bolts of silk.

“The Shen family’s accompanying servants want her dead, so they can stay in our mansion and continue their duties.”

Jade Ink couldn’t sleep, so she lifted the curtain and stepped out of the Warm Pavilion.

The maids and matrons who came as part of the dowry wouldn’t be sent back if the mistress passed away; Ningguo Mansion would naturally keep them on.

Everyone in the capital knew that Ningguo Mansion was the most generous household toward its servants. The food, clothing, and daily necessities of the upper-class servants were almost no different from those of the masters.

When Granny He and the others flattered Shen Shi, their words were as sweet as honey.

But once Shen Shi was divorced, they would gladly strangle her on the spot to secure their own livelihood.

Truly, like master, like servant. Shen Shi was so cold-blooded, and her accompanying servants surpassed her in cruelty.

Pear Moon couldn’t muster any sympathy for them either; she had her own small goal.

“Sister Jade Ink, after the mistress leaves, can I move to another courtyard?”

Jade Ink was taken aback. She glanced back into the Warm Pavilion to ensure there was no movement, then patted Pear Moon’s head and lowered her voice.

“Ningguo Mansion has never divorced a wife for generations. Madam is just disciplining her; she won’t actually divorce her.”

Won’t actually divorce her?

It made sense, yet it was unexpected. But Pear Moon was utterly disappointed.

Early the next morning, Madam Shen arrived.

After hearing Granny Zhao’s account and seeing Chun Tang on the brink of death, Madam Shen had been distraught all night, unable to sleep.

As the wife of the Grand Secretariat’s chief minister and a First Rank Lady of Honor, she usually made a grand spectacle whenever she went out.

But today, she had no face to put on airs. She brought only two attendants and Granny Zhao, riding in a plain-covered carriage.

Without sending a notice in advance, no one from Ningguo Mansion went to the main gate to greet her.

Only the gatekeepers and Granny Zhao led her through the corridors to Phoenix Ripple Courtyard.

Shen Shi was already awake but hadn’t yet risen to wash or dress.

After a night of reflection, she regretted her actions deeply.

The thought of being sent back to her maiden family filled her with fear.

Jade Ink and Pear Moon opened the door just as Madam Shen entered.

She was dressed in plain clothes: a white blouse, black skirt, and slate-blue jacket, with simple silver hairpins and no makeup, making her appear quite aged.

Shen Shi was reclining on the bed. Her nose tingled, and tears fell again as she pulled her mother to sit beside her.

“I’ve worried you, Mother. I am unfilial…”

Madam Shen’s brow furrowed tightly as she patted the bed and wept angrily.

“Don’t try to comfort me. Bring a white silk cord and strangle me—that would be the proper thing to do! The Shen clan has never had a divorced daughter, and now you’re setting the precedent. Your father’s face has been dragged through the mud, and I’ll be cursed in the ancestral hall. Your three elder brothers are all disgraced! You still have two unmarried younger sisters—how will they face their future in-laws? Heavens, pity my lifelong reputation for giving birth to something like you!”

Shen Shi’s face turned deathly pale, but she dared not utter a word in her defense.

Granny Zhao knelt nearby, weeping with tears and snot streaming down her face:

“The young mistress was led astray by those accompanying servants. Please don’t blame her unjustly, Madam. The first culprit is the seamstress Granny He, and the second is the maid Angelica Orchid. The old one is cunning and vicious, the young one seductive and shameless. If not for these two, how could the young mistress have ended up like this? Please see the truth, Madam!”

Madam Shen pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, then pointed at Granny Zhao and scolded angrily, “You are the young mistress’s wet nurse. When she does something wrong, you should discipline and stop her. When the maids and matrons misbehave, you should deal with them properly. You were lazy and negligent then, and now that a disaster has struck, you come to clear your name. You’re also a wretched thing!”

Granny Zhao, scolded into silence, kept her head bowed and knelt without a word.

Madam Shen pointed at her nose and scolded Shen Shi again, then ordered Granny Zhao to help her change clothes and fix her hair.

Jade Ink led Pear Moon and the others to set up a tea table in the Side Hall, intending to invite the in-law’s wife for tea.

Madam Shen was utterly ashamed and refused to stay for tea. She had someone support Shen Shi and insisted on going to Brocade Prosperity Hall to see Madam Ning.

Jade Ink left Pear Moon and the others to watch the rooms, while she herself led the grannies and escorted the Shen mother and daughter away.

As soon as they left, Huan Huan and Autumn Abundance snatched and devoured the pastries on the table.

“Good riddance to that lot from the Shen family! Masters and servants alike are nothing but hungry wolves!”

Early in the morning, when Autumn Abundance secretly escorted Bai Linger back to her room, she overheard the old grannies gossiping along the way.

Only then did she learn that Angelica Orchid had deliberately brought out the silk ribbon, hoping to lure Shen Shi into hanging herself.

Granny He and the others had hidden in the Small Tea Room, waiting for news, hoping to claim a reward once Shen Shi died.

They were all locked in the small kitchen, awaiting punishment together today.

Such malicious schemes were unheard of in ordinary times, but now everyone knew about them.

By the time the sky was fully bright and the gates of each courtyard were opened, news from Brocade Prosperity Hall had also arrived.

Madam Shen personally bowed to Madam Ning to apologize, admitting that her daughter was unvirtuous and that she herself had failed in disciplining her.

She ordered Shen Shi to remove her hairpins, let down her hair, and kneel in the courtyard in plain clothes to atone, kneeling for over an hour.

Madam Ning, however, remained extremely cold and insisted that Madam Shen take her daughter back.

“What did the Young Master say?” Pear Moon asked.

“The Young Master went to court early in the morning…”

While they were chatting, a commotion erupted at the second gate.

Er Shun’er, sweating profusely, rushed in as if flying, shouting at the top of his voice, “Quick, report the good news to the Old Madam and Madam Ning! The imperial decree for the Young Master to inherit the title has arrived!”