Chapter 9
Ailin
When the carriage dropped Ailin and Mother off at the front gate of Batong Mansion about an hour later, Uncle Meng came out to greet them.
“I hope your ride went smoothly despite the traffic on our streets,” he said. “The walkers had a bit of an adventure, but it turned out fine. Let me show you to your rooms. Meilin and Ming-ming are already there.”
Ailin wondered what Uncle Meng meant by “a bit of an adventure.” Ming-ming adapted quickly to every situation, but Meilin had struggled so much with seasickness throughout their journey down the Yangtze River that Ailin had worried for her.
It added to her guilt for being the reason her family had to move.
Since she and Enze promised to marry each other, she had been thinking of how she could build up her dowry enough to support both her current family and her future family; at the moment, however, the weight of the unknown pressed down on her.
As Uncle Meng led her and Mother past several lush gardens, Ailin was struck by how deceptively large Batong Mansion was.
Unlike Nuolan Garden, which had the same elegant country style inside and out, Batong Mansion’s single unpretentious door from the street masked courtyard after courtyard of hidden beauty.
Chrysanthemums in vibrant shades of orange, yellow, and purple bloomed abundantly against a backdrop of carefully pruned trees and tall ornamental rocks in the shape of mountains.
Red, white, and gold koi swam in streams below stone footbridges.
The contrast between the sumptuous new environment and the home she was accustomed to reminded Ailin that she and her family did not belong here. As guests with no fortune of their own, they were reliant on the Jiang family’s charity.
Ailin’s mind wandered to Enze. How was he doing now? Did he think about her as much as she thought about him?
“Mama, Ailin, I’m so glad you’re finally here! I have so much to tell you.” Meilin ran up to her and Mother with Ming-ming on her heels.
As Meilin pulled Mother into a garden chair, Uncle Meng excused himself to check in with his wife about dinner.
Ailin could hardly believe the story Meilin told of being attacked by a thief and how her hairpin would have been lost forever had a young gentleman not swooped in to help her.
“Master Wei was amazing,” Meilin gushed as she reenacted the scene. “He fought so bravely that I felt like I was in a play. That’s another thing. He’s a brilliant playwright, and he’s coming back for dinner here tonight!”
Ailin took a seat as she struggled to make sense of Meilin’s behavior. How had a robbery made her sister giddy with rapture?
“I thought we were going to have a simple meal with the family,” Ailin said quietly.
“Uncle Meng said that the Jiang family often invites their tenants to dinner, and Master Wei is a favorite tenant,” Meilin explained. “Family dinners here are very inclusive.”
“And you feel comfortable with that?” The women in their family never ate with strangers. A large dinner party full of new people, including men they weren’t related to, was unorthodox.
“Master Wei has already captured Meilin’s heart,” Ming-ming chanted in a singsong voice as she twirled across the courtyard. “Yī jiàn zhōng qíng. Love at first sight.”
Meilin chased after Ming-ming to get her to stop, but, troublingly, she did not deny the claim.
Ailin felt uneasy. While she wanted to be happy that Meilin was finding joy in Suzhou, she couldn’t tell if Meilin’s excitement over this Master Wei was safe or not.
Meilin barely knew the man, and yet she was already openly showing interest in him.
By contrast, Ailin was keeping her feelings for Enze to herself until they could become formally betrothed.
Meilin’s behavior was risky. Being known for an infatuation with a man who did not become her husband could cast a shadow on her future prospects.
“I’m glad our uncle extended a dinner invitation to thank the gentleman, but I’m gladder that you’re safe. That story sent my heart into palpitations simply from listening. I can’t believe something so shocking happened when we were apart for only an hour!”
Meilin stopped chasing Ming-ming and returned to Mother’s side. “It wasn’t that dangerous. Besides Master Wei, Uncle Meng’s guards were also there.”
“Don’t worry so much about everything, Mama,” Ming-ming said as she gave Mother a hug. “Uncle wouldn’t have let anything bad happen to us. We just have some things to get used to because Suzhou is new to us.”
Mother seemed comforted by Meilin and Ming-ming’s assurances, but Ailin still worried. Suzhou truly was a new place, and there was much to watch out for.
Dinner was a grand affair in the Jiang household.
As Meilin and Ming-ming had warned, the Jiangs treated the idea of “family dinner” very differently from what Ailin was used to.
In the middle of Batong Mansion was a large room with a round table wide enough to accommodate twenty people.
Ailin had never seen a piece of furniture like it.
Though the table was not full today, the number of people in attendance was nearly triple the number she normally shared meals with at Nuolan Garden. Besides Ailin’s mother and sisters, there was Uncle Meng, his wife and four children, his mother-in-law, and another child Ailin had not yet met.
Noticeably, Master Wei was not in attendance. Meilin frowned after scanning around the room, making Ailin worry again about her indiscretion. Being preoccupied with an absent person while neglecting those present was rude. Ailin hoped the Jiangs were not offended.
Thankfully, Uncle Meng drew attention away from Meilin with introductions to his household. “This is my beautiful wife, Chunwan. She is the love of my life and the pearl of my soul.”
Aunt Meng covered her pockmarked face with her hands. “Stop, Jiehan. Your sister’s family doesn’t want to hear your nonsensical flattery of me.”
Uncle Meng wrapped his arms around her shoulders, showing no bashfulness while displaying affection for his wife in front of so many people.
“While my words may be nonsensical, my dear, they come straight from my heart, and surely there’s no point in hiding my heart among family?
They already know how I am, for better or for worse. ”
“Introduce us next, Papa!” said a child around Heli’s age. With half her milk teeth missing and her hair tied in twin tufts, she seemed too young to be making demands, but Uncle Meng smiled as if such behavior was normal and expected.
“This talkative dumpling is Treasure. Her younger brother is Fortune, and her older brother and sister are Lucky and Jade.”
Ailin noted with interest that her cousins’ names were literal, unlike her siblings’ names. She couldn’t tell if they were informal pet names or true names following a Jiang family tradition.
“Don’t forget Sandy,” Aunt Meng said as she motioned to the last child sitting next to her, a little girl around Fortune’s age.
Sandy’s hair was styled in fluff balls like the other younger children, but her clothes, though of high-quality silk, lacked a mother’s embroidery.
“I could never forget Sandy. I was merely saving the best for last.” Uncle Meng winked so dramatically that the youngest three children laughed. “Sandy is Captain Bai’s niece, and we are honored to have her whenever the captain isn’t home.”
“Will Master Wei be coming later?” Meilin asked, not even bothering to conceal her lack of interest in what Uncle Meng was saying.
Ailin blushed at her sister’s lack of courtesy. It reflected poorly on their whole family.
“Are you so in love with young Wei already, little miss?” asked the gray-haired woman who sat at the most venerated place in the center of the room.
Her hair was secured with a jade-studded mò’é headband, and she wore strands of gold and agate beads over a gown of brocade.
She had to be Grand-mother Jiang. “If you’re interested, I would be happy to arrange a match between you two.
There’s nothing an old lady like me loves more than drinking wedding wine. ”
“I didn’t mean that, ma’am. I simply wanted to thank him again for his kindness, and I thought he was coming tonight.” Speaking back directly to an elder felt excessively bold to Ailin, but Meilin always had a habit of straight talk.
“Master Wei sent word that something came up at the theater and he couldn’t make it tonight,” Uncle Meng explained.
“But he assured me that he will join us for dinner another day, so you should look forward to it. Now that the message has been relayed, may I officially introduce my esteemed mother-in-law?”
Grand-mother Jiang laughed, a deep sound that seemed to originate in her belly.
The way her eyes crinkled when she laughed made her look about sixty, but there was an energy in her voice and mannerisms of a woman decades younger.
“I doubt I need an introduction, Jiehan. Everyone can tell I’m the old fart of the house.
Who else would let her mouth run so freely? ”
“It is an honor to meet you, Madame Jiang.” Mother took the lead with a courteous bow of the head.
Ailin followed Mother’s example. Despite Grand-mother Jiang’s self-deprecating and slightly crude humor, she was the benefactor on whom Ailin’s family now relied for a home.
It was important to show proper respect and gratitude, especially when her younger sisters couldn’t be relied on to do so consistently.
The old lady waved off the compliment. “We are family now, so let’s dispense with formalities. Why are we even wasting time talking while the food grows cold? Please eat!”
As instructed, Ailin focused on the dishes before her.
The Jiangs had prepared a feast, showing a sense of hospitality beyond basic courtesy.
There was steamed fish with ginger and scallions, roast duck with crispy skin, and milky white soup with radishes and goji berries.
Every dish was delicious. Ailin mentally tallied each as a debt of gratitude to be repaid later.
Once I am selling paintings again, perhaps.
Over the course of dinner, she closely observed the Jiang family’s dynamics, hoping to understand their ways better. Only by learning about their personalities and interests could she ensure household harmony and avoid becoming a burden.
Aunt Meng was difficult to read. Although she made sure all the guests’ needs were cared for, she ate only meatless dishes, and she hardly spoke to anyone besides Uncle Meng and her children. It would take effort to get close to her.
Aunt and Uncle’s older children, Lucky and Jade, were quiet and reserved like their mother, but Ailin noted the way they watched her and her sisters—especially Ming-ming, who was about their age—with admiration in their eyes.
They seemed to be waiting for an opportunity to befriend her, but Ming-ming was focused on the roast duck.
Ailin would have to remind her about table manners later.
The younger cousins, Treasure and Fortune, were as garrulous as the matriarch of the house, except they chattered about candy, toys, and games while Grand-mother Jiang gossiped about people.
“My younger daughter Xiatian got married last year,” Grand-mother Jiang said to Mother. “She just turned twenty. How old is your eldest daughter, Xiuyun? Should I look into potential matches for her? Nanjing must have been quiet, but Suzhou is full of good men.”
Ailin stiffened when she realized Grand-mother Jiang was talking about her.
She hoped the table was noisy enough that no one else would notice.
There was only one man she wanted to marry, but she wasn’t ready to share that information outside her immediate family, not until she built up her dowry and raised herself to a position of strength.
She didn’t want her personal desires to become a burden on anyone else, especially not her family’s new benefactors.
“There is no need to worry about suitors for Ailin,” Mother replied.
“And why not?” Grand-mother Jiang pressed.
“We already have someone in mind.”
Grand-mother Jiang leaned in with eagerness. “And who might this lucky man be?”
Ailin couldn’t tell if Grand-mother Jiang genuinely wanted to know or was seeking entertainment, but she spoke so loudly that most of the table gave her their attention.
Even the children looked between Grand-mother Jiang and Ailin’s mother as if waiting for a story.
Ailin wished she could disappear. The way she missed Enze felt like an open wound; she didn’t want it discussed over the dinner table like a joke.
Grand-mother Jiang continued, “We’ve heard much about Miss Duan’s beauty and talent.
And everyone knows how she rejected the rich Master Huang when she was only fifteen.
What kind of man have you finally decided might be good enough for her?
Is he someone I can help arrange a match with?
I have many connections here in Suzhou, and even as far as Yangzhou and Hangzhou. ”
“Too bad Ailin’s love is back in Nanjing,” Ming-ming said while taking a break from roast duck.
Of all the times for her to stop eating.
Grand-mother Jiang turned her bright eyes to Ailin. “You already have a first love, my dear? You seemed so prim and proper that I wouldn’t have expected it. How romantic! Please tell me all about him. Perhaps I can help.”
Every part of Ailin—her face, neck, ears—felt like it was burning. Now was the worst possible time for her body to betray her emotions.
A soft hand squeezed hers.
Meilin stood up, the squeak of her chair against the floor drawing everyone’s attention.
“I want to play a song on my zither,” Meilin announced abruptly. “To thank you all for your kindness to my family.”
Before anyone could say anything, Meilin asked a servant to bring a low table and stool into the garden adjoining the dining room.
Begonia, who was attending close by, scurried to Meilin’s room to fetch her zither while Meilin fielded questions about her intended performance.
Her poise and grace surprised Ailin. Meilin never performed for strangers because she doubted their ability to understand her music.
Playing right now meant breaking her established standards.
When Meilin’s zither was positioned satisfactorily on the low table in the garden outside, she began to play. Notes rang clearly in the air. Chords came alive under her fingers.
Though she was focused on her music, Meilin glanced once at Ailin during her song, and their eyes met. As “Three Stanzas on Plum Blossoms” filled the hall, Ailin absorbed Meilin’s message: Like the plum blossoms that bloom in the depths of winter, be strong.