【Illustrated Record of Fragrance】【19】【Author: Qingzhu Qiu】

page views:1 Publication date:2023-03-24

Chapter Nineteen: The Young Masters See the Bride, the Tuo Tuo is Despised, the Bald Woman and the Two Mothers Compete. It is said that after Yun Conglong and the others had finished their drinks, they sat idly chatting. Suddenly, Boqing said that he had forgotten to tell a joke. Everyone, not knowing what it was, came to ask. Boqing said, "My Lian'er married Fang Jiaxiao the other day. He says that although he is a countryman, he is very decent, respectable, and kind. Tomorrow is the three-day wedding ceremony, and he wants me to do him the honor of going to his house to see the bride. You hear that? Isn't it a joke?" Wang Lan said, "That's fine too. We'll all go tomorrow. Since he says she's quite respectable, we'll see what kind of person your esteemed Madam Ji is." Everyone was happy to hear this and wanted to go. Boqing said, "Fortunately, Lian'er's house isn't far away; it's just a couple of turns. It would be best if everyone gathered at my place tomorrow morning and we walked together." Everyone agreed, said goodbye to Conglong, and returned to their private residences. The female guests also returned home in sedan chairs.
When Boqing arrived at the mansion, he called Lian'er in and said, "Tomorrow, please invite me to your house. I just mentioned to the gentlemen that they also want to come and see the bride. Don't spend too much; just a couple of pleasant dishes and wine will suffice." Lian'er was overjoyed to hear that the gentlemen would be coming, agreed, and left. He ran home and told his mother, "This is truly a rare treat! Tomorrow, not only will the young master from the mansion come, but also a group of his lovers will be coming! Tonight, clean the house thoroughly, inside and out. I need to prepare a sumptuous feast for tomorrow." With that, he turned and left. His mother was also delighted and busied herself cleaning with her new bride.
Lian'er's original name was He Liansheng, but he had served Boqing in his studies since childhood and was renamed Lian'er. Boqing saw his honesty and treated him with special regard. Lian'er lost his father at the age of six and only had his mother. He was betrothed to the daughter of the Pan family in the eastern village, a landowning family with several acres of land. Now that their daughter was grown up and seeing that Lian'er was doing quite well in the Zhu family and managing the household well, they urged their family to arrange the marriage. Lian'er discussed it with his mother and found a house next to the Zhu family mansion, with six rooms and four side rooms, plus a sitting room outside. Although the house was not large, it was quite spacious. Lian'er also asked Boqing for leave to marry, and Boqing, remembering his careful service since childhood, rewarded him with one hundred taels of silver for the wedding expenses. Lian'er then prepared some necessities. On an auspicious day, they welcomed the daughter of the Pan family. The Pan family's daughter, nicknamed Shoujie, was a year younger than Lian'er. Although she had large feet, fair skin, and a petite figure, she was still quite attractive. Tomorrow was the third day after the wedding, and the Pan family would be coming to visit. Lian'er wanted to show off to his relatives, so he invited Boqing to see the bride. Boqing readily agreed, and even Wang Lan and others wanted to come along, which was a pleasant surprise. A short while later, Lian'er returned to help his mother and daughter-in-law tidy up. They set up several seats in the main hall, hung lanterns, and asked several people to serve tea and wine. They were busy until the second watch of the night before finally going to sleep.
Shoujie returned to her room and said to Lian'er, "Tomorrow the gentlemen from the manor are coming. I heard they are all young masters, officials and gentry, and supposedly all look like celestial beings. I think everyone in the world looks like that; do they have extra eyes and noses? I don't quite believe it, but luckily I'll see them tomorrow." Lian'er shook his head and clicked his tongue, saying, "You really are a country bumpkin, you haven't seen much of the world. These gentlemen are all newly rich young nobles, disciples of the emperor, each one a celestial being descended to earth, extraordinary indeed. Do you still recognize them as ordinary people? In a few days, I'll take you to the manor again." Seeing the young mistress and the eldest daughter who married into the Jiang family, you should recognize them as Guanyin appearing! Even I, a mere servant in the mansion since childhood, going from room to room, besides the old master, old lady, young master, young mistress and other heads of the household, among the dozens of people inside and outside, who can compare to me, Master Lian? Who doesn't fawn over me! Even Old Zhu'an, a three-generation servant, who has six-tenths of the authority in the mansion, still treats me differently. Even at my level, it's not easy; it's only because I cultivated good fortune in my past life. Let's go to sleep early; we have to get up early tomorrow to serve them! "Sister Shou was delighted to hear this and wished she could temporarily go to the mansion with her husband to broaden her horizons. Nothing more was said that night. At dawn
the next day, Lian'er got up and instructed his mother, along with Sister Shou and the others who had come, to clean up the place again, "I'm going to welcome the gentlemen." With that, he hurried off. A short while later, relatives from the Pan family village, along with Old Man Pan and his wife, and their daughter-in-law, arrived one after another. Lian'er's mother was ushered in, and everyone exchanged greetings. Granny Pan asked about her son-in-law, and Sister Shou replied, "The young masters of the manor are coming today; your son-in-law went to greet them early this morning." The relatives were both afraid and pleased. They were afraid of the arrival of the manor guests and having nowhere to hide, wondering what would happen if they met them; they were pleased to see this group of people and learn something new. Everyone remained silent, each harboring their
own secret thoughts. A short while later, Lian'er came running in, covered in sweat, and said to his mother, "The masters are here! Quickly lead your wives to greet them and pay their respects." The relatives were startled and all hid inside the house, jostling and pushing to peek through the crack in the door. The children they had brought started crying. Everyone was extremely flustered, trying to soothe the children while simultaneously peering out. Soon, Bo Qing and the others came swaying in from outside. Today, everyone was dressed casually, but wore boots, and each wore a magnificent fur coat and sable hat. Some wore pale yellow robes and crimson short jackets; others wore scarlet robes and satin short jackets; still others wore light blue robes and ginger-yellow short jackets—a variety of colors in different shades. Their handsome figures and vibrant attire dazzled the eyes of the relatives, who stood frozen in a daze. Several elderly people murmured, "Amitabha, these are the fruits of their past lives' good deeds! They must have broken countless wooden fish drums!" Lian'er, leaning slightly, invited everyone to sit in the guest seats. Lian'er's mother hurriedly came forward to greet them, saying, "It is an honor to have you gentlemen grace us with your presence." Boqing smiled and said, "We have disturbed your family." His mother repeatedly said, "You flatter us." She turned and took a felt mat to spread out, instructing Shoujie to kowtow. Shoujie, already dressed neatly in her room, came out deliberately appearing refined, slowly walking onto the felt mat and bowing hesitantly. Bo Qing and the others all slightly raised their heads, as if in return. Everyone looked at Sister Shou; her face was round and her skin fair, though heavily made up. She wore a light-colored silk hat with embroidered patterns on her forehead, and her thick, jet-black hair was adorned with a dozen or so five-colored velvet flowers at her temples. She wore a green sheepskin coat over a blue cloth undershirt, with wide, trimmed edges, and a light-colored cloth skirt around her waist, with a red and green silk sash trailing behind. She wore blue cloth shoes, embroidered with flowers all over, even the bright red embroidered shoes were decorated with flowers; although they were human feet, they were remarkably round and pretty. Everyone thought to themselves, "No wonder Lian'er praised his wife so highly; for a country person to behave like this, she's quite remarkable." Boqing winked at the crowd, took out two silver ingots from his side, about twenty taels, wrapped them in red paper, and handed them to Lian'er, saying, "Thank you for your wife's visit. Let's buy her some flowers!" The crowd each gave her a small amount, ranging from ten to seven or eight taels, totaling over a hundred taels. Lian'er quickly kowtowed to thank them, turned and handed the money to Sister Shou, then told Sister Shou to kowtow in thanks before retreating inside. Sister Shou returned to her room, spread the silver on the table, and all the relatives gathered around to look. The Pan couple beamed with joy, exclaiming, "What a generous bunch of high-ranking officials! They've given us over a hundred taels of silver as a gift!" They said to Shoujie, "It's truly a stroke of good fortune for me to meet such a fortunate man." Shoujie was overjoyed. She took a piece of cloth, gathered her large and small silver pouches together, wrapped them up, and put them away in her chest as her private stash. Outside, Lian'er rearranged the tables and chairs, setting out a feast and inviting everyone to take their seats. Boqing, being from his family, took the head seat, followed by Wang Lan and Hancha at the second seat opposite him, and Meixian at the third seat, while he himself took the main seat. Lian'er then invited the servants from various households to the inner room for a meal. After pouring wine for everyone, they returned to the upper room to serve. Lian'er's mother led Shoujie to the kitchen to tend to the wine and dishes. Inside, the relatives crowded through the windows, peeking and commenting on the appearance and character of each person, even arguing amongst themselves.
After busying herself for a while, Sister Shou returned inside and gently tugged at her mother's sleeve, saying, "Mother, look, the person sitting facing outwards is surnamed Jin. Your son-in-law said he used to be a young female opera singer. Two years ago, the young master of the manor went to the capital for the imperial examinations. Hearing that she came from a good family, he redeemed her from her servitude and brought her back. They eat and sit as equals every day. Now, he's even helped her purchase a top-ranking official title. This Jin fellow has really stumbled upon a good opportunity. If you look closely, he's definitely different from the other gentlemen. When he smiles, his head twists a little, and when he talks, he often glances at people out of the corner of his eye. He really has a bit of a feminine air about him." Upon hearing this, all the relatives went to look at Mei Xian. Finding it difficult to see through the window lattice, they slowly squeezed out and stood at the window to watch. They looked from Mei Xian's head to her feet, and then from her feet back to her head. After a while, two or three of them started whispering and gesturing as they talked.
Mei Xian didn't mind at first, but then she saw that they were all staring at her intently, and vaguely heard them talking about a young female actor. Mei Xian blushed and became embarrassed, turning away under the pretense of looking elsewhere. Wang Lan saw this immediately and understood what was going on, laughing loudly, "Xiao Qu, don't be like Wei Jie and get stared at to death. Wouldn't we lose a close friend then?" Everyone at the table turned around and burst into laughter, making Mei Xian feel particularly uncomfortable. She didn't know whether to sit or stand, so she could only pretend to be drunk and urge everyone to eat, saying, "Let's go back." She added, "We can't stay any longer; their relatives still need to stay!" Everyone agreed and stopped drinking and called for food. After a while, the meal ended, and after drinking a cup of tea, everyone got up and went home.
Lian'er's mother and Sister Shou saw them off to the door before returning, saying to Old Man Pan and his wife, "We're sorry to have troubled you, my dear in-laws, and all the new relatives who have gone hungry." They quickly cleared away the leftover food from the guest seats, setting out several new tables of food and wine, and invited the relatives to sit down. Lian'er, having seen Boqing and the others back to their residence, also came home and asked his mother to sit with him. He took off his coat and went to the kitchen to help Sister Shou prepare the food so that the guests could eat. Everyone talked and drank heartily until the sun began to set.
Although it was late October, the season was early spring, and the weather was quite warm. Sister Shou, sweating profusely from her work, went into her room, took off her leather coat, and sat on a small stool to rest, her forehead dripping with sweat. Lian'er, exhausted from a long day, saw that everything outside was clear and returned to his room, lying on the bed to catch his breath. Seeing that Sister Shou kept wiping her sweat with a towel, and that she had applied too much powder in the morning, leaving streaks on her face and many black stains on her forehead, Lian'er assumed it was soot from the stove in the kitchen. Feeling sorry for her after such a long day, she said, "This woman is too honest. Since it's so hot, why not take off your headscarf to cool down? Why be so formal in front of your husband?" She stood up and said, "I'll take off your headscarf for you, so it won't get dirty with sweat. You have a lot of soot on your head; taking it off will help you wash your face." Sister Shou hurriedly said, "I can't take off my headscarf. I've had headaches since I was a child, and they flare up immediately when I'm exposed to wind. Even in June, I wear a gauze headband to get through the summer." Lian'er thought she was lying and, without further ado, went over and removed her headscarf. Unexpectedly, all her hair came off with it. Lian'er was terrified. Shoujie, caught off guard by his forceful removal of her headdress, couldn't snatch it back before he had already taken it. She jumped up and down in panic, covering her scalp with both hands, tears streaming down her face, crying, "You've ruined me! Who would play such a cruel trick on you?" Lian'er, after carefully examining her head, was so enraged he nearly jumped out of his skin, slamming the headdress aside. He lay back down on the bed, sneering, "I must be dreaming! Picking and choosing, and I've ended up with tetanus. There are plenty of bald people in the world, but I've never seen anyone as bald as you. You're practically a bald monster! What a joke, what a joke!" It turned out that Shoujie had suffered from scabies since childhood, a condition that lasted until she was thirteen, leaving her scalp so damaged that not a single hair could grow back. All year round, she wore a wig over her headdress. Winter was her favorite time, when she should wear a headdress so no one could tell she had scabies. After the summer holidays, someone asked him why he was wearing a headscarf, and he immediately claimed it was a headache. He could have chosen not to marry, but he had been betrothed to the He family since childhood, so he chose to marry in winter. In three or five months, even if his in-laws discovered he was bald, the deed was done, and
he had no choice but to let it go. Using a headache as an excuse would have allowed him to hide it forever. Unexpectedly, only three days later, Lian'er discovered the truth, and with his family and relatives all there, how could he not be anxious? Moreover, Shoujie hated being called bald or scabby all her life. Even children calling a monk bald or mentioning candles would make him angry. Even his parents avoided the word, calling the spicy flavor "ruthless" to avoid the homonym of "spicy" and "scabby." Today, innocently being called bald by Lian'er, he was embarrassed, like adding fuel to the fire, and in his anger and shame, he no longer cared that he was a new bride. A cold laugh followed, and she said angrily, "How ridiculous! My baldness is my own business, what's it to you? Besides, I've been bald since childhood, it's my birthright. If you don't like bald men, since my parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law are all in your household, just divorce me and you can marry someone with hair to your heart's content." Lian'er was already angry, and hearing his unreasonable words only fueled her anger. She stood up and slammed her hand on the table, saying, "Bullshit! I don't know how your mother gave birth to a bald brute like you! A three-day-old bride, and you're already talking about divorcing her. If you wait three years..." "Five years, and you still want to beat your mother-in-law and chase your husband away! Even if you're bald, you won't listen to reason?" Hearing Lian'er's insults, Shoujie retorted, "You don't know how my mother raised me to be bald, and I don't know how your mother raised you to be hairy! Since you're insulting me, everyone has parents. Even if someone fell from a tree branch, and your mother is sitting outside right now, I'd still insult her. You say I'm unreasonable, but you insult my parents and that's just plain stupid!" Lian'er, seeing her retort, turned pale with anger, took off her long coat, and prepared to hit Shoujie. Shoujie also stood up, ready to fight Lian'er to the death.
Lian'er's mother, who was chatting with others in the hall, was greatly surprised to hear her daughter-in-law's loud commotion and rushed into the room. The Pan couple and other relatives followed. Lian'er's mother entered the room and was startled to see her son arguing and shouting at someone who looked neither like a nun nor a layperson. Nine out of ten bald men have sallow scalps; imagine a snow-white face, a yellowish scalp, not a single hair left, and dressed in women's clothing—it's twice as ugly as a monster. His mother never dreamed it was his wife. After staring intently for a while, she recognized her and urgently asked Lian'er, "You rascal, have you gone mad? You've only had your wife for three days, and you're already arguing! If others hear, they'll laugh themselves to death! What's going on? And why has Sister Shou transformed into this form?" Lian'er stamped his foot at his mother and said, "She's truly my mother. If she didn't transform into this form, she wouldn't be so mischievous." He then recounted the whole story.
Upon hearing this, his mother felt a surge of anger rising within her. She sneered and said, "I thought it was some earth-shattering matter that you two would fight so fiercely over. Turns out, this is all your fate, destined to marry a bald wife. You can only blame your fate. Even if she's naughty, her hair won't grow back. But since Shou'er has this shortcoming, she should at least give in to her husband. What husband wouldn't want a beautiful wife? Surely no husband would prefer a bald one? How can you just say you're going to divorce me like that? It doesn't make any sense. If a three-day-old bride is this shrewish, what will she be like after a while?" "Are you trying to be my ancestor?!" At that moment, even Lian'er dared not breathe. It was a rare coincidence that her in-laws, mother and son-in-law, and all these esteemed relatives were here. She needed to make things clear, otherwise, people would still think the He family's son was bullying them—what a joke! "Old Pan and his wife, along with their relatives, followed Lian'er's mother into the room. Looking up, they saw Shoujie, bald and shouting and cursing wildly. They thought to themselves, 'This girl is truly inhuman. Even when she's being naughty with her husband, she shouldn't have removed her headscarf, revealing her true, strange appearance. Has she gone mad with anger, disregarding even the things she most fears in life?' "The relatives of both families were stunned." Some, knowing that Sister Shou was bald, secretly shook their heads, saying, "Sister Shou shouldn't be playful with her husband, but she shouldn't have revealed her ailment. She's only been married for three days, and she's already revealed her nickname; no wonder her husband is angry. Now, with her mother-in-law's gossiping, it seems Sister Shou has been unjustly humiliated. How will she face the He family in the future?" Others, unaware that Sister Shou was bald, were startled, saying, "We've seen her for seventeen or eighteen years, but we didn't know she was bald. She's quite good at hiding it. Why did she reveal her true nature after only a few days at her husband's family? Does she not care about being ugly after marriage?" Old Man Pan and his wife, hearing Lian'er's words, finally understood. Then they heard her mother say some unfamiliar things, every word blaming her daughter. Granny Pan, also becoming more concerned, said, "Mother-in-law, don't speak with such bias. Although it's your son's fate that he was born this way, do you know my daughter was also born with this disfigurement, and there's nothing we can do about it? Besides, it was arranged since childhood. He wasn't bald when he was little; he was just a bald man who fooled into your family. It's like a bad thing; since you blindly accepted it, you can only accept your bad luck. Mother-in-law, I'm not trying to criticize you, but it's unfair of you to speak so unfairly, completely protecting your son. That girl is just a child with a few strands of hair; she was also carried for ten months and breastfed for three years. All the relatives are here; let's judge who's right and who's wrong. You say you're not deceiving us, but you've clearly been deceiving my Pan family." Lian'er's mother's face darkened, and she said, "Mother-in-law, you say I'm unfair and biased towards my son. I'd like to ask you, when a daughter becomes someone's wife, she should first be filial to her parents-in-law, and second, obedient to her husband. That's the proper way. Even if her husband dislikes that you're bald, should he say a few words against it?" "How dare you say you'd divorce me so readily? It's not elegant if others hear this. Not only will they say the He family can't discipline their daughter-in-law, but they'll also say the Pan family can't raise their daughter! With my in-laws and all of you here, I'm not saying this out of spite, but your mother-in-law is here today, and I'm afraid you'll use your ruthless methods and sharp tongue to protect your daughter and cause trouble for my son and me. You can only stay in my house for a short while, not a year or two. As the saying goes, a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup. As a daughter-in-law in the He family, you must abide by the He family rules. If you argue and quarrel with your husband, my family will never have such a daughter-in-law. Besides, every family has a mother-in-law who manages her daughter-in-law; even if she's wronged, the mother-in-law won't be held responsible in court. If a wife wants to control her husband, that's not allowed!" These words left Granny Pan speechless with anger. Adding to the tension, the relatives of both families started arguing, with the He family siding with the He family and the Pan family siding with the Pan family.
Pan's daughter-in-law also defended her sister, arguing with Lian'er and her son, each sticking to their own reasoning; the dispute continued. Several elderly relatives stepped forward to stop the crowd, saying, "You're all making a fool of yourselves. Since you're here to mediate, you've only added fuel to the fire instead of calming things down. As the saying goes, 'A close relative can't be severed, and a neighbor can't be easily broken up with.' Getting angry won't do you any good." They first persuaded Lian'er's mother to leave the room, then said to Lian'er, "If you had been more careful, you wouldn't have caused these two old ladies so much trouble. Go out for a walk. I'm afraid the Zhu family might need you." Lian'er put on her clothes and hat, saying, "I don't have the energy to argue with this barbaric woman. I've made up my mind not to marry her. Let the Pan family sue me for divorce without cause." With that, she angrily went out. Hearing this, Granny Pan became even angrier and cursed, "Even this little bastard dares to bully me! You're my son-in-law, practically a son-in-law. If you're disrespectful, I can beat you and you'll have no one to complain to!" Lian'er's mother, standing in the hall, called out loudly, "Dear mother, don't curse your son-in-law as a bastard. Your daughter isn't a domesticated child either. You know your son-in-law is a son-in-law, and you can beat him; but do you know your daughter-in-law is also like a daughter-in-law? If she doesn't follow the rules, you can beat her too!" Several elderly relatives then tried their best to persuade both sides to stop.
Inside the room, Shoujie rolled into Granny Pan's arms, crying, "Mother, have you heard what they're saying? You have ten daughters married here, and they're going to kill nine of them! Mother, I'll go back with you. I'd rather stay home and eat leftovers. Your mother only cares about her daughter being disabled, unable to marry, and needing to support her in her old age. Even if the He family is a heavenly palace, I don't care." The relatives rushed forward to help Shoujie up, tied her head in a turban, and advised, "Girl, you're causing trouble again. Your mother has just calmed down; why make her angry again? Girl, it's not that we're saying this, but being a daughter-in-law is difficult. It's not as comfortable as being a daughter at home. As long as you're diligent and reasonable in everything, your in-laws won't be too demanding. A good daughter-in-law for many years is better than a daughter! If you say..." She can come and go as she pleases; other families don't send their daughters off in tears. Marrying into her husband's family is like being reborn. Girl, I advise you to be patient. Old Mrs. He isn't unreasonable; as long as you're a good daughter-in-law, she won't say much. Take today's matter, for example. Once it's out in the open, let it go. Does her family really dislike you because you're bald? Since you've already married into the family, you should just let it go. Why should your own mother-in-law and daughter-in-law hold a grudge?
The relatives, seeing that the two families had argued, assumed there would be no dinner to offer and, seeing that it was getting late, came to persuade Old Mr. and Mrs. Pan to leave together, as they still needed to get out of the city. The group said goodbye to Lian'er's mother, who said, "I have been very disrespectful to you all today. I didn't expect my new relative to be so mischievous, making you all laugh. Thank you for your kind words and explanations. I will visit another day to apologize." Granny Pan also stood up and said loudly to Sister Shou, "Son, your mother is leaving now. It's all because your parents were blind to have promised you to this unreasonable family. You can only blame your fate and endure everything. If things really don't go well, then your parents will take care of it. Fortunately, we have a fresh daughter to entrust to the He family, so we're not afraid they'll swallow her whole." Old Man Pan said, "You're nagging again. Go away, go away. Since everyone has spoken up, we can talk again another day." All the relatives agreed and escorted Granny Pan out. Lian'er's mother was seeing everyone off with a beaming smile when she suddenly heard Granny Pan's outburst. Her face changed instantly, and she also shouted, "Don't be ridiculous! Who are you trying to scare with these big words? So what if you entrusted your fresh daughter to me? If I have the ability to swallow him whole, then the He family is not afraid of anyone. Do you think city people will be bullied by country bumpkins?" "I'm not boasting, but even high-ranking officials have seen far more than you. Don't mistake
your destiny for a guiding star." Seeing her parents had left, Shoujie sat in the room. Hearing her mother-in-law speak, she knew she had offended her and would suffer the consequences. She thought, "She just said to my mother, 'You can't be with your daughter all the time.' That's so true. Even if I suffer injustice, and my mother comes to avenge me, she can't always be with me. Besides, we live in the countryside, and we can't even find a messenger right away. Now my husband has turned against me. There are three people in his family, and I've offended two of them. I'm going to live in his house for the rest of my life." Thinking this, she wiped away her tears, forced a smile, and brought a cup of tea to her mother-in-law, saying, "Mother, have some tea." Her mother pretended not to see her and ignored her. Shoujie then put on a pipe, lit it, and said, "Mother, have some tobacco." "Lian'er's mother looked up and saw that his head was wrapped up. Even without being told he was bald, he seemed quite wealthy. Seeing his humble manner, asking for tea and cigarettes, she figured he knew how formidable she was and wouldn't dare throw a tantrum anymore. Besides, she was her own daughter-in-law, someone she would be living with for a long time; how could they have differing opinions? She took the pipe, lit it, and said, 'It's getting late. You should go prepare dinner. You've been busy all day; you must be hungry.'" Seeing that her mother -
in-law had calmed down and was speaking to her gently, Shoujie quickly agreed, took an apron and tied it around her waist, went to the kitchen to cook rice first, then warmed up two leftover dishes from the banquet, served a bowl of rice to her mother-in-law first, and sat opposite her to eat. After finishing, she cleared away the bowls and chopsticks, and ladled water for her mother-in-law to wash her hands and feet. Lian'er's mother said, "Your husband will be staying at home tonight. Go and close the door. I'm going to sleep. I've been busy all day, and my back is aching. I need to go to bed. You should go to sleep too." Shoujie took a lamp, shone it on her mother-in-law, helped her to bed, and then went back to her room.
Leaving aside the harmonious relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law at home, let's talk about Boqing and the others having drunk wine at Lian'er's house. They were then invited to Boqing's study for a chat, mostly about their relatives in Hejia village. Wang Lan said, "Why are all those people staring at Xiao Qu? Do country folk also know how beautiful Xiao Qu is?" Mei Xian said, "Zhe Xiang is just joking again. I should be sitting facing outwards, right in front of them. It's really making me uncomfortable. And they're all muttering something."
Suddenly, Zhu An entered and said, "Just kidding, gentlemen. After you left Lian'er's house, the couple were being naughty, and their mothers were arguing too. They said it's because the new bride is bald, without a single hair." "Alright." Lian'er's mother was protecting her son when talking about his wife, while the Pan family was protecting their daughter when talking about their son-in-law, so the two mothers-in-law finally agreed. "Lian'er, don't be angry. You want to come to the mansion to stay the night. You said you won't go back for the rest of your life unless you divorce your wife. Please ask the young master to call him up, scold him a few times, and order him to go back." Bo Qing laughed, "His new wife has such a beautiful head of hair. How can you say she's bald? I really don't believe it. Call Lian'er in, and I'll talk to him. If she can't be bald, then we don't need her." Zhu An agreed.
After a while, Lian'er came up and stood on the steps. Everyone saw that he was dejected, his face flushed and pale. Bo Qing said, "I heard from Zhu An that you and your wife were being naughty, and because you disliked him for being bald, it caused your mother and mother-in-law to argue. Is that true?" Lian'er said, "To tell you the truth, if he were just an ordinary bald man, it wouldn't be so bad, but he's completely bald, looking like a nun. I'm so angry I don't want him anymore; I'd rather never marry a woman again than regret it." Bo Qing laughed and scolded, "Nonsense! Since ancient times, a good wife is valued for her virtue, not her looks. As long as she's thrifty, diligent in managing the household, and filial to her mother-in-law and husband, she's a good wife. Even if you marry a pretty one..." Laziness is tantamount to disrespecting one's parents-in-law and husband. How did you behave then? Besides, in a poor family, a wife who is too beautiful is not necessarily a good thing. As the saying goes, "An ugly wife is a treasure in the house." I think your wife is kind and honest, though she's missing a few strands of hair. I imagine she's wearing a wig, but if I don't say anything, it's still acceptable. Don't be angry and not go home now; you know your mother is even more troubled. It's not that the daughter-in-law is disobeying her mother-in-law, but rather that you're disobeying your mother. Go back quickly and comfort your mother; that's the right thing to do." Lian'er had no reply, so she responded and withdrew. Boqing then asked Zhu An to escort her home. When Shoujie saw her husband return, she naturally wanted to comfort him gently, so Lian'er had no choice but to give up.
Everyone in the Zhu household laughed and joked when they saw Lian'er leave. Wang Lan said, "Lian'er has been persuaded by Boqing to change his mind, and he and his wife will surely reconcile when they return home. This is truly a meritorious deed. If the new bride knew that it was the young master who persuaded her husband to change his mind, I wonder how grateful she would be! She will definitely come knocking on the door to express her gratitude tomorrow." Boqing laughed and said, "I'm afraid they will resent us, a bunch of unlucky stars, for visiting their house and causing a quarrel between their mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, husband, and mother. If something happens again, we really won't dare to disturb them. Zhexiang said she wanted to express her gratitude, only hoping that she could persuade Lian'er to live in peace from now on. If that were enough, the merit and demerit would be even, and that would be a great relief. Today's matter has brought up a worry in my heart. All of us here are married. By some stroke of luck, although we are not particularly beautiful, we are not bald. Only Zhexiang is still unmarried. I'm afraid Miss Hong is bald, just like Lian'er's new bride. Wouldn't that be a waste of Zhexiang's beauty and talent?" This made everyone laugh wildly. Wang Lan laughed, "You're overthinking it. I'm afraid Madam Boqing might develop a strange illness tomorrow, losing all her hair. I'll worry about you then."
As they were laughing, Zhu An brought in a letter, saying, "It's from Young Master Wang's steward. It's a letter from Lord Hong in the capital. It's clearly an important letter, and he's waiting for a reply immediately, lest Young Master be late returning home and delaying him." Boqing clapped his hands, "We just said that, and now a letter has arrived from the Hong residence. I'm afraid it's to deliver news of Miss Hong's baldness." Everyone laughed again. Wang Lan ignored them and took the letter to read. What is the matter of Hong Dingcai's letter? Let's find out in the next chapter.

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【Illustrated Record of Fragrance】【19】【Author: Qingzhu Qiu】

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