Jia Heng put away the Servant Contract, tucked it into his sleeve, and cupped his hands toward Yuanyang. "Sister Yuanyang, please thank the Old Madam for me."
Only now did he feel certain that Lady Jia truly intended to show him favor.
Seeing the valiant-looking youth's expression soften somewhat, Yuanyang smiled as well. "Master Heng, I'll see you out."
As they spoke, Jia Heng followed Yuanyang's lead out of the Jia family residence, taking Qingwen with him. Only when they stood on Ningrong Street did he realize that, without his noticing, the morning was already half gone. The gentle autumn sunlight fell upon him, stirring a sense of languor and ease.
Jia Heng glanced back at the Jia family residence, its vermilion eaves and emerald roof tiles rising in lofty grandeur. After a moment's silence, he turned his gaze to Qingwen. "Let's go."
This visit to the Jia family had, for the time being, checked Jia Zhen's attempt to seize his bride, but Jia Zhen's retaliation would certainly not end here.
Nor could he be certain that the Qin family would not waver again.
Ultimately, it all came down to his lack of scholarly honors, official rank, or noble title.
Qingwen watched the youth ahead of her without speaking, carrying her bundle as she followed him silently.
They reached Liutiao Alley and entered the courtyard.
Aunt Cai was feeding the horse fodder beneath the pomegranate tree. Looking up and seeing Jia Heng, she set down the winnowing basket, brushed her hands together, and asked anxiously, "Brother Heng, did you see the Old Madam? What did she say?"
Jia Heng said, "The Old Madam has upheld justice, and Jia Zhen won't dare offend again. She also sent a young maid to serve me. Aunt Cai, please tidy up the room beside mine first and get Qingwen settled."
Though the courtyard where he lived was square, rather plain and cramped, and lacked a second courtyard, it still had a fair number of rooms. The wing where Jia Heng lived beneath an east-facing window was a large building of five rooms in a row, an ancestral home handed down through the generations.
There were side rooms and a kitchen on either side. Directly opposite the gatehouse eaves stood a flower-adorned screen wall with mottled blue-gray masonry. Every spring and summer, wisteria spread across it and roses bloomed, their tiny flowers of every color nestled in clusters of green shade like clouds cradling the moon. That had been the sum of the original Jia Heng's brilliantly colored childhood.
Jia Heng intended to have Qingwen stay in a room adjoining the east wing, making it convenient for her to attend to him.
Qingwen lifted her clear eyes and surveyed the square courtyard. Though simple, it had an air of orderly care.
"Miss Qingwen, come with me. I'll put a nice quilt in that room for you." Aunt Cai looked Qingwen over as she spoke and was taken aback. This girl really is beautiful, no different from a girl in a painting. She's every bit as lovely as Brother Heng's mother was.
Jia Heng went to his room, hung the Precious Sword on the wall, took a sheet of paper, and picked up his brush to write the betrothal letter. Once he had bought the gifts, he would go to the Qin family to formally present his proposal.
Though the marriage agreement had long been settled, not one of the three letters and six rites of the marriage process could be omitted.
As for Qin Keqing, whatever else might be said, when he had visited Qin Ye that day, she had stepped forward and spoken plainly despite being a woman. Such devotion to keeping faith and honoring a promise was truly precious.
Listening to Aunt Cai and Qingwen talking in the room on the other side of the wall, Jia Heng gave a faint smile, dried the completed betrothal letter, and slipped it into an envelope.
Meanwhile, Qingwen surveyed her surroundings without a word, no discernible expression on her lovely, oval face, as fair as jade.
She heard Aunt Cai say, "Miss Qingwen, Brother Heng has grown used to looking after himself. He even heats his own water. There won't be much to keep you busy-just bring him his tea when he wants to drink it. As for the rough chores, like heating water and washing clothes, I'll take care of those."
Qingwen listened quietly and raised her eyes to Aunt Cai. In the smile overflowing from the woman's eyes and brows, she faintly glimpsed the outline of her own mother, who had died so young.
"Auntie, I'm used to doing these things at the residence too."
Jia Heng, listening from the outer room, came in as well and smiled. "Aunt Cai, here are ten taels of silver. Hire another trustworthy older woman to handle the washing, sweeping, tending the fire, chopping wood, and such. You can just do the cooking from now on."
Even in his technologically advanced previous life, housework still required human labor.
Besides, Aunt Cai could read. Having her spend all her time circling the stove and doing odd jobs was something of a waste.
He had been reborn here for less than half a month, but he had already gained a general understanding of the household's circumstances.
His mother had left behind a dowry worth several hundred taels of silver. His father had originally owned several dozen mu of land, which Aunt Cai, her husband Li Dazhu, and their family farmed, providing for his food, clothing, and other expenses.
Aunt Cai waved a hand and smiled. "Why spend that money, young master? I can manage on my own."
"The household will have more people in the future," Jia Heng said. "If you keep doing everything alone, Aunt Cai, you won't be able to manage."
He meant that once Qin Keqing married into the household, this young mistress would surely be one whose ten fingers had never touched the water of household toil.
Moreover, Aunt Cai had two daughters and a half-grown son. Both daughters had married before the new year, and her son had reached marriageable age as well. Within the next year or two, running between both households would likely become too much for her.
Aunt Cai considered this and said, "In that case, why not buy two maids for rough work from a Child Broker? With floods and droughts ruining harvests these past two years, plenty of people have come to the capital seeking a living. Even if they hope to sell themselves into a grand household, they can't find a way in."
Grand households insisted on people of unblemished origins. Servants born into families that had served them for generations were always their first choice. Even when buying someone, they selected those whose backgrounds were respectable and thoroughly known.
Jia Heng fell silent for a moment.
The remarkable novel The Plum in the Golden Vase, which to some extent reflected urban life in the Ming dynasty, recorded that Ximen Qing spent five taels of silver and had Chunmei buy a young maid named Xiaoyu to serve Yueniang. He also spent six taels to buy Jinlian a kitchen maid named Qiuju.
Although The Plum in the Golden Vase described events set in the Song dynasty, its author lived during the Ming, so it should have reflected prices of that time. According to The Story of a Marriage That Brings Awakening, written around the end of the Ming and beginning of the Qing, an underage maid could likewise be bought for roughly four taels of silver.
Of course, the finer her looks and bearing, the higher the price. That went without saying.
Silver still had considerable purchasing power in this era. After all, Sun Shaozu had spent five thousand taels and brought Yingchun, a genuine daughter of the Jia family born to a concubine, into his chambers.
Such was the old society, rotten with every evil...
Qingwen lifted her lovely head, her mist-wreathed brows drawing together beneath her wispy bangs. A defiant look shone in her almond-shaped eyes. "I'm not some pampered young lady from a rich family. I can heat water and wash clothes for you too, Master!"
Aunt Cai smiled at Qingwen, already so beautiful and charming in the first bloom of youth. "After all, Miss Qingwen came from the Old Madam's rooms. How could you be made to do such rough work? Our household may live a little tightly, but not so tightly that we must work you too hard."
Jia Heng glanced at Qingwen and thought, If I really made you do hard, rough work, you'd probably soon feel wronged and start sulking and throwing tantrums.
He had no fans for her to tear up.
With that thought, Jia Heng handed Aunt Cai the ten taels of silver. "Buy a maid for rough work first, Aunt Cai. I still need to go to the Qin Mansion shortly, and there are gifts to purchase."
Aunt Cai looked puzzled and did not take it. "Brother Heng, where did this silver come from?"
Jia Heng did not conceal anything, explaining to set her mind at ease. "Yesterday, I sold a manuscript at the Ink and Brush Studio. The shopkeeper paid me fifty taels in all for my writing, and there will be more income later."
Of those fifty taels, ten were gone in an instant. He still had to present the betrothal letter to the Qin family and purchase gifts. After that, practically every step of the wedding preparations would consume more money.
Truly, a great man could not go a day without power, and a lesser man could not go a day without money.
No wonder Jia Zhen had felt so confident that a thousand taels of silver could buy out his marriage agreement.
A thousand taels was like a million in his previous life-a sum many people could never earn in their entire lives!
Living in the Divine Capital was no easy matter. A thousand taels or more could buy a large residence with two courtyards.
Aunt Cai accepted the silver and chuckled. "Then I'll take care of it shortly. I guarantee I'll buy Brother Heng a presentable maid with quick, capable hands."
"Someone honest and reliable, who can endure hardship and work hard, will do," Jia Heng said thoughtfully.
Qingwen curled her lips at his side. What did he mean by that? Was he saying she shirked work and played tricks, acting like some rich young lady?
Once Aunt Cai left, the two of them were alone in the room.
Before you continue