Ever since they had entered the Duke’s Mansion, the highest-ranking person they had encountered was naturally the Duke himself.
Now, however, they were to go directly into the palace to pay respects to Her Majesty the Queen. This demanded the utmost care and caution in every matter.
After all, if they slipped in etiquette, a little embarrassment was a small matter—but offending a person of such noble rank would be disastrous.
For that reason, Yingtao and Lizhu immediately busied themselves, thinking about how best to arrange the attire of their young mistress.
Meanwhile, Young Madam Du Jingyi was occupied with other thoughts. She cast a glance at Yingtao and instructed:
“Yingtao, take Butler He downstairs for some tea. I have something to discuss privately with the General.”
“Yes, Young Madam.”
Butler He was no fool. Upon hearing this, he immediately bowed and excused himself from the main room.
When the two were alone, Du Jingyi turned to her husband and asked:
“General, the Queen’s sudden summons should not merely be to meet me in passing. She must also have some instructions or matters of importance she wishes to convey?”
General Shang Ji, smiling faintly, replied:
“Don’t worry. Sui’an City has been peaceful of late. Neither Her Majesty the Empress nor the Crown Prince hold any grudges at present. Most likely, Her Majesty heard of you from my aunt and simply wishes to see you for herself.”
“Your aunt?”
Shang Ji gently pulled Du Jingyi to sit beside him and explained:
“Yes. Before my first aunt married into the Gu’s Mansion, she and Her Majesty the Empress were close companions. That is why my mother and the Empress shared a deep friendship. But after my aunt married , she became increasingly entangled in the affairs of this family, and her visits to the Empress grew rare. Later, after my mother passed away, the ties of friendship between our family and Her Majesty also faded with time.”
Only then did Du Jingyi truly understand.
So that was how it was. The more she thought on it, the more pity welled within her for her late mother-in-law.
Born of a military clan, possessing both talent and beauty, surrounded in youth by the most excellent of suitors—yet in the end consigned to the Duke’s Mansion, where she endured bitterness for half her life. She passed away young, without having truly been cherished.
As the saying went: “The virtuous often die young, while evil lingers for a thousand years.”
The thought of it made Du Jingyi feel deeply wronged on her mother-in-law’s behalf.
Her mind drifted. Seeing her lapse into silence, Shang Ji assumed she was still worried, and spoke again in a tone of reassurance:
“Her Majesty is quiet, gentle, and courteous. She will not deliberately make things difficult for you. Furthermore, my aunt may accompany you into the palace tomorrow. You truly have nothing to fear.”
He repeated these words several times, until even Du Jingyi felt her heart lighten.
She poured him a cup of chrysanthemum tea—the very one she had just been drinking—and said softly:
“I understand. But will the General also be going into the palace tomorrow?”
“His Majesty did not summon me. As his subject, it would be improper for me to enter the palace without summons.”
Du Jingyi nodded calmly at that. She understood—between sovereign and subject, etiquette left no room for presumption.
“In that case, General, please remain here in the mansion tomorrow and wait for me. If it is not too late when I return, I would like to go visit my parents’ home. My elder sister is far along in pregnancy, and will give birth within a month or so. I wish to see her.”
“Very well. I have no matters pressing tomorrow, I will wait for you.”
The couple exchanged a glance and shared a smile. They lifted the teacups at hand, drinking as they chatted idly.
Then Shang Ji said:
“There is something else I must tell you.”
“Please, General, speak.”
“My eighth sister has already written to Grandmother. I expect she will soon travel north, and Cousin Xing Zhao will go to escort her. I intend for Ping’er to accompany them. Traveling back and forth over the course of a month will broaden his experience.”
Du Jingyi immediately understood his intention.
“My thoughts coincide with the General’s. I too believe Ping’er would benefit greatly from accompanying Cousin Zhao. If nothing else, Cousin Zhao’s cheerful disposition will bring Ping’er joy, and keep him from being shut away in the women’s quarters all day, falling into gloom and losing his eagerness to learn.”
“Good. Since you think so as well, I will go speak with my sister-in-law.”
This consideration pleased Du Jingyi deeply. Ping’er was his nephew, yet Shang Ji took care to concern himself with the boy’s welfare, rather than leaving everything upon others.
He was unlike certain men who, upon marrying, handed the household entirely to their wives, only to nitpick and create strife later so as to assert their importance.
Such behavior was truly disgraceful.
So Du Jingyi said thoughtfully:
“If Ping’er goes out with Cousin Zhao, then my sister-in-law will be left alone at home, with nothing to occupy her. In such idleness, she may fall into melancholy or needless brooding. I have been thinking—it might be well to have her learn some useful skills, to engage her mind and spirit.”
“Learn skills?” Shang Ji repeated, somewhat surprised.
To him, such skills were meant for women who needed to manage their livelihoods. His sister-in-law did not lack for food or shelter, so what skills could possibly ease her mind?
After some thought, he said:
“You may not know this, but my sister-in-law’s embroidery is of a very high level. Even the most renowned embroiderers in Sui’an City [a prosperous city known for its guilds and workshops] would struggle to match her needlework.”
At that, Du Jingyi smiled.
“General, do you take me for someone suggesting she study embroidery? Is that why you tell me this?”
“Is that not your meaning?”
“No.”
Her certainty left Shang Ji a little startled. Seeing the confidence in her expression, he suddenly thought of something and asked in disbelief:
“You mean for my sister-in-law to learn business, as you have?”
“General, to be frank—I mean for her to learn how to earn her own income.”
Shang Ji, far from scoffing, replied sincerely:
“Madam, then I must ask you to teach me as well.”
His tone was earnest, not disdainful of merchants in the slightest, but rather filled with curiosity.
Seeing this, Du Jingyi spoke more seriously:
“For a woman, the road in this world is narrow. She cannot sit the imperial examinations, nor can she easily wield weapons on the battlefield. I cannot teach her medicine, either. The one thing I have some small experience in, is commerce. With wealth in hand, one need not beg favors of parents or brothers. It allows a woman to act with dignity and confidence.”
At her words, Shang Ji gazed at her for a long moment.
He himself, raised as he was, had never looked down upon merchants. But his sister-in-law came from an old gentry household, where tradition and hierarchy were strictly observed.
In such families, the four occupations—scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant—were ranked, and merchants were regarded as the lowest. Even if she understood Du Jingyi’s reasoning, she might not accept it.
Concern flickered in his heart. He worried that Du Jingyi, with her good intentions, might face embarrassment if her sister-in-law rejected her proposal.
“Are you certain?” he asked solemnly. “Your sister-in-law may not agree.”
Hearing this, Du Jingyi was touched by his concern. Yet she still felt confident her sister-in-law would consent.
After all, the reason she herself had endured so much in the inner courtyard for ten years was, in truth, because she had had no strength or independence of her own to rely on.