Annual Ceremony

Chapter 40 Beginning of Autumn (Part )

On the third day after returning to Jinling, Zhenyi met her elder sister in the mourning hall after more than four years of separation.

Shuyi was wearing a plain dress with wide sleeves and a front opening, and had her hair combed into a sparrow-tail style. Her eyes were red when she came, and she cried and cried when she knelt in front of the coffin, almost fainting from exhaustion.

After being helped by Zhenyi to leave the mourning hall and go to her grandmother, Shuyi called out "Grandmother" in a trembling voice, then knelt down beside her grandmother's bed, lying on her lap, still sobbing and crying.

The sobs and tears reflected the sadness over the passing of the eldest grandfather in a foreign land, the longing for the eldest mother and the second sister, and seemed to be emotions that could only be expressed in front of real family.

Zhenyi half-knelt down as if she had noticed something, and gently stroked her elder sister's back, only to feel that her elder sister had become very thin. She could even clearly feel her elder sister's slender spine through her clothes with her hands.

Shuyi tightly held her second sister's hand, and her tearful eyes seemed to contain thousands of words after a long separation.

Noticing that the elder sister's hand holding hers was also thin and dry, and her face was tired and sallow, Zhenyi asked with some concern: "Is there anything wrong with elder sister's body?"

"Everything is fine...it's just that my appetite has been poor recently, and I'm taking medicine." Shuyi's already gentle voice became hoarse and even more hazy. Her bloodshot eyes fell on Zhenyi's face, revealing her distress: "Second sister has lost weight too...where did the fat on her face go? But you haven't eaten well or slept well? You've suffered so much in Jilin for so many years, and you still care about me, a useless idler who enjoys the comfort..."

Zhenyi was not evaded and continued to ask: "What medicine did Big Sister take? Is it to regulate the spleen and stomach or..."

Shuyi nodded and wiped her tears: "Yes, these are all things used for conditioning..."

Zhenyi felt that there was something vague in the words, but her elder sister soon asked about what she and her eldest mother had done in Jilin over the years.

As she talked about family matters like this, Shuyi's tears and emotions slowly subsided.

Old Mrs. Dong on the couch pulled Shuyi up and asked her to sit on the edge of the bed.

The old lady tidied up the tear-soaked hair on her granddaughter's cheek and said softly, "What you said in the letter is simple after all...but don't just ask us mother and daughter, how have you been doing in the Jiang family these years? Are you happy? Talk to your mother about it."

Orange squatted on the drum stool nearby and looked at Shuyi - let's talk to the cat too.

Shuyi nodded and said softly, "Thank you for your concern, grandma. Everything is fine with your granddaughter..."

She talked about her mother-in-law's care and love over the years, and said that her mother-in-law was busy with the family business recently and would come to pay her respects tomorrow. She also said that her mother-in-law felt she was late, so she asked her to apologize on her behalf and asked the old lady not to blame her.

Old Mrs. Dong nodded. After Shuyi's father-in-law passed away the year before last, the family business was taken over by Mrs. Jiang. It is not easy for a woman to manage a business, so it is understandable that she is busy.

The old lady then asked about Jiang Mao again.

"He..." Shuyi was speechless for a moment, but she heard her mother, the Third Madam, take over the conversation: "...his father is gone, so he naturally follows his mother to work on the business."

He added: "Although Jiang Mao is not a very calm child, he is filial...There is nothing to complain about him in our family over the years."

"The two children get along very well, but they haven't had a baby yet..." The third wife sighed and lowered her voice, "Maybe it's not fate yet."

Because there was still an unmarried girl named Zhenyi, the topic was not continued.

Shuyi didn't say anything more, she just nodded or agreed as her mother spoke.

Zhenyi wanted to keep her elder sister overnight to chat. Anyway, the Jiang family would be coming over tomorrow, so it would save her elder sister the trouble of running back and forth.

Although Shuyi also wanted to, she could only shake her head and whispered: "Business people inevitably have more taboos..."

Before she left, her mother-in-law specifically told her that as a married woman, she could not spend the night at her parents' home where a funeral was being held, as it would be bad for both sides.

At the 3 p.m., Zhenyi had no choice but to see her elder sister off.

The two sisters walked slowly, arm in arm, talking, until they were about to leave the second door. Shuyi reluctantly said, "Second sister, I'll just send you here... I'll come back tomorrow and we can talk for a while."

The third wife was also walking nearby. Zhenyi noticed that the third aunt seemed to have something to say to her eldest sister alone, so she nodded and stopped.

The third wife and her daughter went out of the moon gate together.

Orange pretended to be taking a leisurely stroll and followed slowly.

Then Juzi heard the Third Wife lower her voice and ask: "...Tell the truth to Auntie, why didn't Jiang Mao come with you today?"

Shuyi said in a low voice: "He has been on the boat on the Qinhuai River these days. I asked the servant to invite him back. He said he would be back tomorrow..."

There was a hint of suppressed anger in the Third Wife's voice: "His mother just lets him do nothing?"

Seeing that Shuyi's eyes and voice also lowered, Juzi said, "He is also being disciplined..." The Third Wife held her breath, clenched her handkerchief, and endured it again: "After all, he is too young and can't settle down... Fortunately, your mother-in-law is sensible and loves you sincerely. Although you have not been able to get pregnant, she has not mentioned the matter of taking a concubine, giving us enough respect..."

"No matter what, you are now living a life of luxury, without having to worry about making a living, and your mother-in-law never complains about you..." The third wife held her daughter's cold hand and murmured, "This marriage is a good one after all."

She seemed to be comforting her daughter, but also seemed to be convincing herself: "As for Jiang Mao...when you have a child in the future, he will naturally change his mind."

At this point, the third wife asked, "Is the recipe I sent you last time still working? That was a secret recipe your grandmother got from a lady from a wealthy family..."

"I'm using it." Shuyi said, "But the medicine is weird. I can't eat after taking it. I always feel nauseous..."

"Be patient, good medicine tastes bitter..." The third wife patted her daughter's hand and said, "Even if you can't eat, you have to force yourself to eat. Your health is your foundation."

"Don't mention this matter and Jiang Mao's matter to your eldest mother and others... Your grandfather just passed away, and the old lady is old, don't let her worry about it all the time." The third wife walked out of the house and whispered to her daughter, "It's useless to say more, and it will also make you lose face..."

Shuyi nodded, but her eyes seemed to be aimless. When she stopped outside the door, her aimless gaze happened to see Juzi.

For a moment, Shuyi seemed to have returned to the days when she was young and played and studied with her second sister. She showed a trance and relieved expression, but her eyes suddenly became bitter again. She couldn't help asking: "Mother, this cat... is it the raccoon Orange from before?"

It had been so long that she thought the orange was gone.

The third wife took a look and replied uncertainly, "Maybe, cats don't all look the same. Go back and come here early tomorrow with your mother-in-law."

Shuyi still looked at Juzi twice more. Juzi sat outside the door and watched Shuyi get on the small saddle cart pulled by a mule.

That night, Zhenyi still accompanied Jingyi to play on the mat. When Jingyi became a little sleepy, Zhenyi let her sister lie on her lap and read poems to coax her to sleep.

As the beginning of autumn was drawing to a close, Zhenyi read a poem by Bai Juyi about the season: "…the summer heat has not yet subsided, but the cool breeze has already begun to rise. Cold and heat, prosperity and decline, alternate between the inside and the outside."

Jingyi tried to recite a few sentences, but her eyelids became heavier and heavier. Her childish voice sounded like an old-fashioned radio with poor reception in Juzi's ears, intermittent.

When Yang Jinniang came back after finishing her work, she saw Jingyi had fallen asleep and Zhenyi was covering her sister with a small blanket.

After Yang Jinniang washed off the sticky sweat and lay down on the couch, Zhenyi asked her mother about her elder sister's stay in the Jiang family.

But what Yang Jinniang knew was not very detailed, and most of it was heard from the Third Wife.

Zhenyi thought that when she met her elder sister tomorrow and talked to her in private, she would try to ask a few more questions.

The next day, before meeting her elder sister, Zhenyi met another sister first - Qian Yuling, Jiuying sister from the Qian family next door.

It seems inappropriate to mention the word "next door" at this time. Qian Yuling got married last year and moved to Haiyan, Jiaxing, Zhejiang. She is back to her mother's home in Nanjing to visit her relatives. She just arrived last night and came to pay her condolences early this morning.

The Wang family and the Qian family have been neighbors for many years. Although they have had contacts, they are not related. According to current customs, it is almost impossible for a married lady like Qian Yuling to pay a visit to pay her respects. However, Qian Yuling not only came by herself, but also brought her husband with her.

Qian Yuling was different from other girls in the boudoir since she was young. She didn't care much about worldly opinions. She inherited her grandmother Chen Shu's calligraphy and painting style and was particularly favored by her family. In the past, many people in Jinling City often gossiped in private that this bold girl from the Chen family would be a big problem when she married into her husband's family in the future.

Nowadays, most of those who gossiped in the past already know that Qian Yuling's husband's surname is Kuai, and they are old friends of the Chen family. Her husband's name is Kuai Jiazhen, a famous talented man in Jiaxing. This young talent is also very good at calligraphy and painting. The young couple enjoys each other and is very harmonious.

Kuai Jiazhen was of average appearance, but his temperament and conversation were very free and easy. He said that he had heard of Wang Gong's name a long time ago, and often heard his wife talk about him, and he had admired him for a long time.

So after his wife, he burned incense in front of the coffin alone and bowed three times, being very respectful and solemn.

When Kuai Jiazhen stood up, he suddenly heard a particularly mournful and shrill cry behind him, which shook his body and made Juzi, who was dozing off beside him, feel as if his head was almost blown off:

"...My dear old man!!"

Mrs. Jiang heard the voice before she saw the person. She threw away the support of her daughter-in-law and maidservants, rushed into the mourning hall crying, knelt beside the coffin, and sang loudly: "Don't blame me, old man! I am late!"

Most of the people coming in and out were literati who valued subtlety as beauty. This unique mourning movement was very lively and eye-catching.

Noticing everyone's gazes, the third wife felt a little embarrassed and quickly knelt down to persuade her mother-in-law.

Shuyi also wanted to help her mother-in-law up.

　Today is Cold Dew, good night everyone.

　
(End of this chapter)