Informing Her

"Yes, we do. Please wait a moment, miss." The shop assistant knew that Xu Xue and Xu Yongyi were with Xu Xi, so he invited them all to sit down, then fetched an illustrated catalogue for Xu Xi.

Xu Xi leafed through it page by page.

In the modern era, she had studied industrial design. Although her focus had been on mechanical design, product design was no great problem for her either.

Because of her field of study, and because she was a woman who loved beautiful things, she had often followed the designs of master jewelers in the modern era and had gained considerable insight into them. She thought, If I use modern ideas and tastes to design jewelry, surely the results will be a little more novel than those of the jewelers of this era?

The Xu Family needed money, and starting a business required capital. Naturally, Xu Xi intended to put her professional skills to use and earn her first pot of gold.

She leafed through the catalogue, sorting and comparing the designs in her mind, then committing their common features to memory. By the time she finished, she had a general grasp of the jewelry design styles of this era.

"Is this the only one? Are there any others?" she asked the assistant, looking up.

The assistant smiled. "This is the only one, honored guest."

Xu Xi nodded and turned to Xu Xue, who was looking at the catalogue beside her. "Do you see anything you like?" As she spoke, she winked at her.

Xu Xue caught her meaning and quickly shook her head. "I don't think any of them look good."

"Neither do I." Xu Xi put down the catalogue and stood up. "If I brought in a design of my own and commissioned a piece of jewelry, how would you calculate the price?" she asked the assistant.

Xu Xi and Xu Xue had worn their best dresses to see the results today, but they were still partly worn fine-cloth dresses, and neither had any gold or silver jewelry in her hair. Xu Yongyi was similarly dressed. The assistant figured that even if they bought jewelry, it would be the simplest and cheapest kind. Thus, he was not particularly enthusiastic about serving them.

The shop did have another catalogue, but it was shown only to valued customers, lest others steal their techniques. Some jewelry designs were exclusive to the Prosperous and Bright Pavilion, so naturally the catalogue was not shown to people lightly.

Hearing Xu Xi's question, he thought she was looking for an excuse. Still, the shop's rules made it difficult for him to offend customers, so he said coolly, "You would have to ask the shopkeeper about that. Bring your design over first, miss, and we can discuss it then. Given the limits of the craft, some designs may not be possible to make. It depends on your design."

Xu Xi nodded and said to Xu Yongyi, "Uncle, let's go back, then."

Only then did Xu Yongyi breathe a sigh of relief. He led the two of them out.

Once outside, Xu Xi bought three steamed buns from the shop next door and asked the shopkeeper, "Excuse me, is the Prosperous and Bright Pavilion the only jewelry shop in the county?"

Since she had bought something, the shopkeeper was naturally quite friendly. "There are two jewelry shops in the county. Besides the Prosperous and Bright Pavilion, there's also the Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion. It's a little bigger."

Xu Xi thanked the shopkeeper and walked a few steps with the buns before handing them to Xu Yongyi. "Uncle, put them in the bundle. We won't need to cook tonight. These buns and pastries will be more than enough."

Xu Yongyi opened the bundle for her to put them inside and asked, "Are we still going to that Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion?"

Xu Xi shook her head. "No. Let's go back."

The three went to where the mule cart was parked, climbed aboard, and returned to the village.

In the village, Matron Ruan had already been waiting a long time. She was very displeased with Xu Xi for running off to the county seat all day and secretly made up her mind: once Xu Xi was brought back to the marquis's residence, she would speak to the old madam and ask her to hire a matron to teach Xu Xi proper conduct. Girls ought to be chaste and demure. The young ladies of the marquis's residence hardly left its grounds more than a few times a year. How could they be like Xu Xi, running out to play all day?

Xu Xi and the others had gone out early that morning, looked at the results, and spent some time shopping, but it was only around noon when they returned.

"Why are you only back now? Matron Ruan has been waiting for almost four hours." Madam Xie came out to greet them, speaking reproachfully, but she kept blinking, and it was hard to tell what she was trying to signal.

Xu Xi understood, however, and smiled. "After looking at the results, we spent a little more time walking around the shops." She turned to Matron Ruan. "I didn't know you were coming, Matron Ruan. Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Matron Ruan was all smiles, with not a trace of anger or impatience on her face. "It's all right, it's all right. I came without sending word, so the fault is mine." Then she asked curiously, "The results? What results were you looking at, miss?"

"Yesterday, I went to the county seat to take the entrance examination for the Women's Academy. I was so afraid of failing and embarrassing myself that I didn't dare tell anyone," Xu Xi said with a smile. "Today, I went to see the results and was fortunate enough to pass."

Xu Xue had long wanted to boast to her mother, but with Matron Ruan there, she hadn't known whether she could say anything and had kept it bottled up.

Now that Xu Xi had brought it up, she quickly wrapped her arms around Madam Xie's arm and cried excitedly, "Mother, I passed too! Sister and I will be going to the academy the day after tomorrow."

"Really?" Overjoyed, Madam Xie embraced her daughter, so delighted that she completely forgot Matron Ruan was there. "Oh, I must make proper preparations. We'll celebrate tonight."

Then she asked Xu Yongyi, "Did you buy any meat?"

Xu Yongyi's mouth twitched awkwardly. "I forgot." Xu Xi had dragged him around the shops buying things and had even gone into a jewelry shop to fool the assistant. When would he have had time to buy meat?

Madam Xie glared at him. "Honestly, you. Fine, I'll go and look in the next village." She turned around, intending to go back inside for money, only to see Matron Ruan standing behind her, her face full of shock.

She hurriedly smiled at Matron Ruan. "I'm going to buy some meat. Please stay and eat with us tonight, Matron."

"No, I'll leave after a few words with Miss Xi." Matron Ruan collected herself and waved a hand. "Miss Xi, could I have a word with you in private?"

"All right. Let's talk in my room." Xu Xi nodded and walked toward the room where she lived.

The two entered, and Xu Xi gestured toward a chair. "Make yourself comfortable, Matron."

She picked up the porcelain pot and poured two cups of water, placing one in front of Matron Ruan. Then she picked up her own cup and gulped the water down. She moved so quickly that Matron Ruan had no time to say a word of polite refusal or step forward to pour the water herself.

Matron Ruan stood to one side, watching Xu Xi finish her water with an indescribable expression. When Xu Xi wiped her mouth and prepared to sit down, she asked, "Miss Xi, did you really pass the entrance examination for the Women's Academy?"

The Women's Academy accepted only a few dozen students a year. It was the only path to advancement for women in the Jin dynasty, and who knew how many people fought tooth and nail to get in? When had the daughters of the capital's great and noble families not used every means at their disposal to enter the academy and gild themselves? It was only because of the rules laid down by Empress Shengde and the exalted status of the person now enforcing them that they had no choice but to follow them.

Even a county-level Women's Academy was not easy to enter.

"Yes." Xu Xi smiled. "How would we dare lie about something like that? You need only ask around to find out, Matron."

"That's not what I meant." Matron Ruan hastily waved her hands. "It's just that the Women's Academy is famously difficult to enter. You grew up in a modest household like the Xu Family's and still managed to pass the examination. It shows how gifted and clever you are, miss. If the old madam learned of it, who knows how happy she would be?"