Chapter 25: The Ji Family
Jinchao summoned Luo Yongping and instructed him to prepare gifts for her grandmother: "...Several bolts of solemn-colored plain satin, preferably from Qingju Pavilion. Also, several boxes of pine nut zongzi candies, amber candies, and scallion candies. Additionally, prepare a Longevity Gold Lock..." Her third cousin's eldest son was nearly a year old, making it the perfect gift for the child.
Luo Yongping acknowledged the request, and the items were delivered the next day, all packed in exquisite red-lacquered pearwood boxes.
Gu Jinrong, however, was reluctant to accompany her back. He told Madam Ji, "...I still have unfinished homework. The teacher assigned an essay on the theory of investigating things to extend knowledge, requiring a piece that aligns with the same perspective..."
Jinchao, standing nearby, asked without looking up, "Is it an Eight-legged essay?"
Gu Jinrong pressed his lips together and nodded slightly.
Jinchao then remarked, "You're only eleven, and Mr. Zhou already has you writing Eight-legged essays? Have you even finished studying the Four Books?"
Gu Jinrong fell silent. It was merely an excuse—he wasn’t yet capable of writing Eight-legged essays! He hadn’t expected Jinchao to actually understand such things. Seeing him speechless, Madam Ji sighed quietly to herself.
Left with no choice, Gu Jinrong had Qing Xiu pack his belongings and boarded another blue-curtained carriage with Jinchao, heading reluctantly toward the Ji family.
The Ji family resided in Sanhe County, Tongzhou, a considerable distance from Shian. Jinchao only brought Qingpu and Caifu with her, while her father dispatched a large group of guards and maids to accompany them. The procession arrived grandly at Tongzhou, where her grandmother had already sent people to wait for them on the official road.
Jinchao had previously written to her grandmother about her return. Seeing even her grandmother’s personal steward sent to greet them, she could only smile wryly—her grandmother still doted on her.
Gu Jinrong seemed to be sulking and didn’t speak to her the entire journey. Jinchao couldn’t recall what she had done to upset the young master again, suspecting that Gu Lan had whispered things to him in private. She decided to ignore him. Lifting the blue-patterned fine cloth curtain, she gazed outside.
Tongzhou marked the northern terminus of the Grand Canal, and along its banks in Baodi, numerous merchant houses thrived in prosperity. Sanhe County also boasted broad rivers, vast and mighty, with docks and shipyards lining the shores.
Venturing into the outskirts, one could see fishing households with dried fish hanging under their eaves. Thick snow blanketed the ground, and rustic farmhouses were adorned with bright red couplets. Children ran freely across the fields—all scenes deeply familiar to her.
Jinchao’s eyes grew moist. After marrying into the Chen family in her past life, she had never returned to Sanhe County.
She thought of her grandmother.
Unlike her mother’s gentle temperament, her grandmother managed all affairs of the Ji family with firm authority.
The Ji family was renowned in Tongzhou for its wealth. Though few of its members held official positions—and none of high rank—the family operated merchant houses connecting trade between Jiangnan and Beizhili, along with extensive farmland and properties across Tongzhou’s counties. When her grandfather had died suddenly in his youth, her grandmother, as the surviving widow, had skillfully maintained the family’s prosperity.
Though the social hierarchy placed scholars above farmers, artisans, and merchants, families like the Ji household still commanded great prestige in Yanjing, frequently interacting with official and aristocratic circles.In Jinchao's eyes, her grandmother was different from most elders. She didn't believe in confining women to inner chambers, nor did she require the women of the Ji family to study feminine virtues. She doted on Jinchao especially, and under her grandmother's influence, Jinchao had enjoyed more freedom than other girls since childhood.
She could even go play at the Villa accompanied by maids, catching butterflies in the fields.
When she returned with hands covered in mud, her grandmother would be sitting by the lamp, trimming the wick while reading a book. She would smile and ask Mama Song to help clean Jinchao's hands, then take her onto her lap to teach her characters. For every character Jinchao recognized correctly, she would be rewarded with a piece of mung bean cake. But the mischievous Jinchao would refuse to learn, instead clinging to her grandmother to chatter about her day's adventures and who had upset her.
Eventually, she would grow tired from talking and fall asleep in her grandmother's arms.
"...Young Mistress, Young Master, we've arrived," came the voice of the accompanying steward from outside the carriage.
Servants brought over a stepping stool to help Jinchao alight. Gu Jinzhao looked around—this was one of the inner courtyards of the Ji family residence, called Qingbi Pavilion, filled with rustling bamboo groves and artificial hills built from Taihu rocks. They had actually passed through the ceremonial gate directly into the inner quarters...
A delicate-looking woman immediately came forward, taking Jinchao's hand with a smile. "Chaojie has finally arrived! Grandmother will be so pleased." She wore a crimson kesi jacket over a pale pink moonlit skirt, looking fresh and youthful. Jinchao recognized her as her third cousin's wife, Liu Shi.
Her third cousin had married Liu Shi, a woman from Jiangnan whose ancestors had produced several jinshi scholars, making her from a prominent family.
Jinchao curtsied and pulled Gu Jinrong over. "This is Third Cousin's wife."
Jinrong wasn't particularly inclined to socialize, but seeing Liu Shi's gentle smile, he reluctantly greeted her.
Jinchao nearly sighed. Letting go of Jinrong's sleeve, she ignored him and instead linked arms with Liu Shi as they walked and talked. "Third Cousin's wife actually came to greet us personally... I reckon Chun Ge'er is nearly a year old now? Has he grown chubbier? Is he about to do the Zhua Zhou ceremony?"
Liu Shi, who had married just two years prior and borne a legitimate son within the first year, was indeed blessed. She patted Jinchao's hand affectionately. "It's no trouble. If Grandmother weren't busy preparing your courtyard, she might have come herself. Your timing is perfect—Chun Ge'er turns one in two days. He's grown plump and fair, and quite active too."
"Boys should be active!" Jinchao replied, then asked, "Grandmother is preparing my courtyard?"
Liu Shi nodded. "Your old Eastern Dwelling—Grandmother had it cleaned days ago when she heard you were coming. She even had gardeners move four seasons begonias from the greenhouse to decorate it. It's absolutely splendid with flowers now. I was just about to take you there..."
Jinchao found this both touching and amusing—the begonias couldn't withstand cold weather and would wither within days after being moved from the greenhouse.
The Eastern Dwelling was near her grandmother's residence, connected by a corridor across a small lake. After turning five, Jinchao had lived there but often lingered in her grandmother's courtyard for meals and sleep, refusing to return. As she approached the courtyard now, she noticed the locust tree she'd planted as a child still stood.
The leafless locust stood stark, its branches interlaced like wrought iron against the sky.Several young maids with freshly pinned-up hair stood at the entrance, bowing to them. As they entered the Eastern Dwelling, the courtyard was bustling with activity. A large crowd surrounded a figure dressed in a plain sandalwood-colored silk back robe, while a woman in a bright red gold-patterned brocade gown supported her arm.
Jinzhao couldn't help but feel her eyes reddening.
Her grandmother's voice was calm: "Don't place flower pots along the covered corridor—Chaojie likes to stand there and look at the lake..."
"Grandmother, Chaojie is here," her elder cousin's wife called out with a smile.
Grandmother turned her head, looking just as Jinzhao remembered—her dignified face appeared stern, even severe. Jinzhao suddenly recalled that gloomy Qingming Festival when she knelt alone before her grandmother's grave, weeping as ashes of joss paper floated everywhere.
Grandmother's maiden family was the Wu family of Yangzhou, whose ancestors had produced several salt transport commissioners, making them wealthy and influential.
"Chaojie!" Grandmother walked toward her, smiling, her steps even quickening. "It's been over half a year since I last saw you—how you've grown taller..." She touched Jinzhao's hair but noticed her reddened eyes and silence. "What's the matter? Has my Chaojie become dumbstruck at the sight of her grandmother? Or was the journey too tiring?"
She said the same thing as Mother had.
Gu Jinzhao took a deep breath and smiled in reply: "I just missed you so much!"
Gu Jinrong stood behind her and also greeted Ji Wu Shi. The old lady nodded repeatedly at him: "Rong'er has grown so quickly! You resemble your father in appearance and have become more composed than before." Ji Wu Shi smiled. "When you were little, you'd burst into tears every time you saw me..."
Jinrong smiled faintly—he naturally didn't remember such things.
Ji Wu Shi then called the woman over. In her thirties, with a radiant smile, she took Jinzhao's hand: "Our Chaojie grows more beautiful by the day!" This was the wife of Mother's only full brother, the eldest aunt, whose maiden family was the renowned tea merchant family, the Song of Anxiang.
Ji Wu Shi was already over sixty this year, yet her health remained robust, her steps steady. Anyone meeting her for the first time would surely think her a severe woman, but in truth, Grandmother was exceedingly kind to children. Jinzhao held her hand—those hands had become rough from Grandmother personally managing every affair of the Ji family in her early years, even frequently visiting the villa fields. Yet their roughness brought Jinzhao unparalleled comfort.
Ji Wu Shi instructed the steward to prepare Jinzhao's favorite dishes: "...Steam the four-gill seabass that Second Uncle brought back from Suzhou last time. Fetch some yellow sprout cabbage from the cellar and make sweet-and-sour cabbage. Also prepare braised rabbit head, winter bamboo shoots with ham, grilled clams, roasted venison..." She paused in thought, then added, "And a bowl of snow lotus stewed with pigeon."
Jinzhao quickly grasped her hand: "Grandmother, that's too much!" Just preparing the four-gill seabass alone would be troublesome enough.
Ji Wu Shi chuckled: "You rarely visit! These are all your favorites." She then turned to Jinrong. "We still don't know what our Rong'er likes to eat? Your sister enjoys steamed four-gill seabass, so Second Uncle always brings some back from Suzhou."
Gu Jinrong replied, "I don't have any particular preferences..." Yet his heart stirred slightly—he too liked seabass...Ji Wu Shi took Jinchao to see the Eastern Dwelling first. It was still arranged as it had been when she lived there, with only a few additional celadon vases added, filled with many wintersweet branches. The courtyard was also planted with Haitang trees, their clusters of pale red flowers contrasting beautifully against the snow, creating a dazzling sight. Inside the inner chamber, a black lacquered daybed had been added, adorned with blue cushions embroidered with cloud patterns and precious motifs, fringed with golden tassels.
Jinchao fell silent as she took it all in. She remembered someone once asking her if she hated her grandmother.
If her grandmother hadn’t spoiled her so much, without a thought for her future, how could she have turned out the way she did?
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