Sour Loquats - Chapter 2

The day after my hairpin ceremony, the old madam summoned me and dismissed the servants.

“Ashu, have you decided whose name to put on the marriage contract?”

Even as she asked, she began to smile.

“I’m only asking for form’s sake. Haven’t you already given us your answer?”

That had been two years ago.

Commandery Princess Ling’an had visited the residence and happened to meet me, the cousin living with the family.

She admired both my looks and my skill with the qin.

In private, she approached the old madam about arranging a match between me and her son.

Learning that I already had a marriage contract did not discourage her. If anything, she grew more eager.

“Ashu is so gentle and composed, and you love her as your own granddaughter. Why let a piece of paper bind her?”

“Marriage determines the rest of a woman’s life. Let Ashu choose someone she likes.”

The old madam was broad-minded, and she truly cared for me.

“Quite right. Ashu, if none of your cousins here appeals to you, you needn’t concern yourself with that contract.”

“Whoever you wish to marry, Grandmother will see it arranged. Follow your own heart.”

But though she could say that, I could not bring myself to do it.

I owed this family a debt of kindness. Everyone in the household got along, and I neither wanted nor had the heart to leave.

There was no guarantee that marrying into another family would give me a better life.

So I bowed my head and curtsied.

“No, Grandmother. I like it here, and I’m willing to marry into the family.”

Of all my cousins, I liked Third Cousin’s looks best.

He took me out to fly kites and enjoy the spring scenery. He was always making me laugh.

His affection was real too. With my heart just beginning to stir, I was easily captivated.

And so I answered honestly.

“All my cousins are good men. But—but if I had to say…”

“I like Third Cousin better.”

So now, the old madam was astonished to see Fourth Cousin’s name on the marriage contract.

“Were you distracted? Did you write the wrong name?”

As soon as she said it, she realized how absurd it sounded. The names were written so differently. How could I have mistaken one for the other?

A maid came over and whispered a few words in her ear.

A glimmer of understanding appeared in the old madam’s eyes.

“Are you angry because the third boy didn’t attend your hairpin ceremony yesterday?”

Third Cousin had prepared my gift a full fortnight in advance.

But on the day itself, he did not come.

Someone had seen him at Spring Breeze House, spending a fortune on a woman.

“She and I are kindred spirits. Once you and I are betrothed, of course I’ll cut ties with her.”

“Before that, I ought to show my support one last time. This is her most important courtesan competition.”

He was right about one thing: the household’s rules were strict.

When the old madam found out, she struck the table in fury and ordered him dragged off and locked in the ancestral hall.

Now she looked at me and spoke with authority.

“Ashu, rest assured. Whoever that woman is, she will never cross the threshold of the Xiao residence while I am alive.”

“If you’re still angry, I’ll have that good-for-nothing take another twenty strokes and come apologize to you.”

She thought I was upset about his absence.

But that was not it. I shook my head.

“I didn’t write the wrong name, and I’m not acting out of spite.”

“Fourth Cousin is steady and honorable, a gentleman of grace and character. I want to marry him.”

When she saw how firmly I insisted, the old madam gave her consent.

Still furious that Third Cousin had lavished a fortune on a courtesan, she ordered a servant to take him a message.

“The third boy’s behavior grows more disgraceful by the day.”

“Let him copy and recite the family rules in the ancestral hall and reflect on what he has done. Without my permission, he is not to be released.”