When she took her seat again and conversation resumed, she learned that out of her five Sun cousins, eldest cousin Sun Yu was the only one yet unmarried. Her senior and second uncle were all not too far from the capital, guarding Xihua City. Her second and fourth cousin both lived in Xihua City with their families and visited infrequently.
Her fifth and eighth cousins-in-law were both pregnant. One was about to give birth and the other newly pregnant, but the fetus was showing signs of instability. They weren’t suited for movement, so both had stayed indoors today.
“Although my cousins-in-law are indisposed today, we’ll have plenty of chances to meet in the future.” Qin Yining smiled. “Please give them my regards.”
Her fifth and eighth cousin smiled and nodded. “Come visit us often, we’ll have plenty of chances to gather together.”
The duchess grinned widely when she saw the younger generation getting along well. She was deep in conversation when a maid came in to report, “Elder Madame, the banquet is ready. The duke and eldest master is already there. Please make your way there as well.”
“Come, let’s go to dinner.” The duchess rose, still smiling. The maids inside the house helped their respective mistresses up and tidied outfits. The large group embarked towards dinner with grand fanfare, laughter and chatter heralding their arrival.
The underground furnace was going strong, creating a wave of hot air that greeted anyone who entered. It was accompanied by the delicious fragrance of food, imparting the warmth of home.
A black-lacquer eight-fold room divider, embossed with bamboo, was set up in the middle of the room to section off two dining tables. The men were on one side and the womenfolk on the other.
The duchess had been holding Qin Yining’s hand since they’d started walking, so the girl naturally sat next to her grandmother when they took their seats, while née Sun took her place on the other side of the duchess.
Qin Huining pursed her red lips and took a seat next to née Sun, eyes downcast, followed by her cousins. The senior and second madame were standing by the duchess’ side, holding serving chopsticks and ready to lay out food for their mother-in-law.
The duchess laughed. “There’s no need for you to follow the rules today, go sit down! Let’s enjoy a family meal together.”
The senior madame placed a piece of deboned sweet and sour fish onto the plate in front of the duchess. The plate was quite exquisite and patterned with five bats surrounding a peach. [1] “Mother dotes on us all, so we mustn’t forget our duties!”
“Indeed, we’re used to serving mother at meals,” the second madame chimed in. “Don’t reject us any further!”
Qin Yining snuck a quick glance at her aunts and noted their obvious sincerity and happiness. They didn’t seem to be bearing any hidden grudges.
The group followed the rule of not speaking when eating, as was normally the custom in noble families, so only the clinking of chopsticks against dishes could be heard. However, she could sense the happiness and lightheartedness in the air.
When everyone had finished eating, the maids brought in spittoons, teacups, brass basins and hand towels for their masters and mistresses to rinse their mouths and wash hands. After they were done, the servants came back out with tea.
Qin Yining had just returned after all, so she naturally became the center of attention. Her cousins quietly took their measure of her, and the duchess surreptitiously observed her new granddaughter throughout the entire meal.
She discovered that Qin Yining maintained a prim and proper sitting posture with her spine ramrod straight. Her composed bearing also had hints of noble self assurance and tenderness. There wasn’t anything wrong with her manners at all. If no one brought up her past, it would be impossible to tell that she was someone who’d just entered their society. The duchess nodded privately to herself.
The girl was obviously quite willing to learn. It was one thing to be smart, and it was another to be able to assess a situation and then execute a plan with competently. With such an able person at née Sun’s side, she would at least be able to speak a few words of reason when things cropped up. Née Sun wouldn’t continue to be Qin Huining’s spear anymore.
The duchess felt slightly at ease when she thought of the future. “Put the divider aside, there are no outsiders here. Granddaughter Yi, you should meet your grandfather as well.”
“Understood.” The maids carefully lifted the divider out of the way. Bao-mama walked up to the door and swept a cursory glance over the servants inside. Her meaning was immediately clear. The servants all filed out, closing the door closely and retreating to the yard to await further orders. Only family was left inside.
The duke and duchess rose to retake the head seats, and the remaining girls stood accordingly. Qin Yining knelt on the red carpet that bloomed with flowers in the grand gesture of greeting towards Duke of Ding. “Granddaughter Yi greets her grandfather.”
“You may rise.” The duke’s voice was low and resonant like a brass bell. His good health reverberated in his voice. Qin Yining quickly took in her grandfather when she lifted her eyes.
The duke was elderly and tall, but clearly hale and hearty. His cheeks were ruddy and his eyes twinkled as he gazed at his granddaughter. The duke turned to his wife mischievously, “Didn’t you have a gift for granddaughter Yi?”
“I was just about to bring it up.” The duchess handed a cup of warm tea to her husband and pouted in mock anger. “You’re always the good person. Now you’ve spoiled my surprise!”
The duke almost spat out his mouthful of tea as he chortled. “Look at you, still turning my words around in your age.”
The young misses and masters started laughing when they saw their grandparents’ banter, drawing a smile from Qin Yining as well. They have such a loving relationship. This family is all so kind as well. In comparison, the prime minister’s manor is so much colder and the people much harder to get along with.
The duchess waved at Qin Yining, summoning the girl to stand obediently by her side. “Good girl, life is finally taking a turn for the better after all these years of hardship.”
The duchess patted Qin Yining’s hand sympathetically. “Grandmother is gifting you the ‘Institute of Luminous Charm’. All matters of its operation will fall under you, and all its profits yours. You don’t need to hand it over to your mother or anyone else. Giving you this business is first to help you learn and practice the trade. In the future, you won’t be overwhelmed when you marry and have to run the household yourself. Secondly, this is a bit of personal money that grandmother is gifting you. There are plenty of places where you’ll need silver!”
Qin Yining had been quietly listening to her grandmother’s words while taking in everyone else’s expressions out of the corner of her eye. She saw various emotions flicker in those assembled, and when Qin Huining bit her bottom lip hard, Qin Yining knew that the Institute of Luminous Charm was a good thing.
However, she had no idea what kind of business it was. She only knew that its revenue and profits must be high for it to evoke so many reactions. She felt a little incredulous that such a windfall was just being handed to her, and questions rose in her heart. She looked uneasily at the duchess.
“Grandmother, how would I know how to handle all this?”
“Silly girl, you’ll naturally have staff to rely on. I’ll also hand over Grand Steward Zhong’s letter of succor. He’s a competent person. You can use him with peace of mind.”
Did that mean that Qin Yining was just the owner in name, and she didn’t need to lift a finger to rake in the profits? She became even more uneasy at that thought. She’d never considered anything to be free in this world, but she also knew that her maternal grandmother wouldn’t harm her.
Née Sun finally couldn’t sit still anymore. “Mother, what does a little girl know of business operations? The Institute is such a large business, and she may not be able to get a handle on it all. It’s a minor thing to lose money, but won’t sh
e bring trouble down on our heads if she offends someone there? Not to mention, doesn’t the Institute belong to Ming’er? How can you give it to daughter Yi?”
Qin Yining’s startled eyes met Sun Yu’s gentle gaze as he spoke. “Don’t worry, auntie. I’m far too busy at court, and need to study and socialize with others. I really don't have any time or effort to spare to run a business. Grandmother’s already traded good fields and stores for it with me. I just need to sit back and count the silver they bring in.” Sun Yu smiled. “Younger cousin will have to spend much time and effort running the Institute in the future.”
* * *
1. This is a common scene for fortune, as bats are pronounced the same way as fortune in Chinese.
Chapter 30: Trump Card in Hand
Chapter 30: Trump Card in Hand
Qin Yining couldn’t help but look askance at the duchess. She had no idea what this Institute of Luminous Grace was, but her grandmother had traded good fields and stores to her eldest cousin for it. No wonder her cousins’ expressions had shifted when grandmother had brought it up. Née Sun was truly caught by surprise. She’d never thought that a girl who’d just come home, someone unfamiliar to her own family, would elicit so much fondness. And to have mother be so generous!
“Mother, thank you for your kind intentions, but we shan’t accept it. A little girl who knows nothing isn’t suited to look after the Institute. Just like I said, there are so many officials and esteemed nobles within it, and it really would be no joking matter if she offended someone. Besides, she’s just come back and hasn’t even gotten a full handle on all her sums, much less the knowhow on operating a business. She doesn’t lack anything in the prime minister’s manor, and it’s not like her paternal grandmother gave her any money or stores after she came back. Why does our family have to go to such depths?”
The first half of her words actually made some sense, but the duchess was frowning fiercely by the time she’d finished, and left everyone feeling a bit awkward. Without a word, the duke left with the male cousins, leaving the warmed room to the female family members.
When she saw how her father had left just like that, née Sun realized that she might’ve said something that displeased her father. It was a habit of his that she had long recognized. The duke would always vacate the area whenever one of the children did something bad and leave the floor for the duchess to enact punishment.
The duchess spoke after the men had left. “Your words just now were completely inappropriate. Why have you learned to compare yourself to others in jealousy and envy since leaving our family? As a mother, don’t you know you have to serve as an example for your children? Aren’t you afraid that your daughters will also learn these base behaviors of bickering and fighting against others, leading to disharmony between sisters in the end?!”
Née Sun was unwilling to accept this kind of lecturing and lowered her head without another word. On the other hand, Qin Huining flushed hot and cold at those words. The duchess looked like she was lecturing née Sun, but she was really speaking to Qin Huining!
The senior and second madame tried to smooth things over when they saw how angry the duchess was. “Don’t be angry mother, sister Han just has a more innocent nature and speaks more straightforwardly.”
“Innocent nature? Straightforward? She’s almost forty, how can she still be like this!?” The duchess rubbed her forehead as she launched into another tirade. “Have you forgotten everything I said to you that day?!”
Née Sun felt quite aggrieved, but didn’t dare talk back since her mother seemed truly angry this time. She just kept her head down and silently admitted her wrongs. The duchess took two deep breaths to calm herself. “You might not be able to think things through clearly, but thankfully you’ve been blessed with someone who sees clearly: granddaughter Yi. You need to think more in the future. Don’t just blindly believe everything that’s told to you. You should discuss matters with darling Yi in the future when something crops up in the Qin manor. I believe that darling Yi will soon be accustomed to the Institute. Just because you don’t have the ability to run a business doesn’t mean your daughter doesn’t! Don’t forget whose daughter she is!”
Née Sun was being lectured like she was three again. She didn’t even dare breathe too loudly in case it sparked a resurgence in her mother’s rage. Although she was indignant at the words being piled on her head, she actually felt a bizarre sense of pride rise within her as well. Perhaps Qin Yining really did take after her father’s smarts?
Qin Yining could only be anxious off to the side. There was no place for her to interject at all. When she saw the tirade come to an end, she joined her aunts in pacifying her grandmother. The duchess didn’t mean to endlessly continue in this vein either, so she ended that topic to prevent general awkwardness. “Granddaughter Yi, you might not understand what the Institute is, having just come back. I’ll have Bao-mama explain to you what business it runs, and have the accounts and various documents sent home for you.”
“Thank you, grandmother,” Qin Yining responded.
Bao-mama smiled and bent her knee in a curtsey. “Miss, please come with me.”
“Many thanks to Bao-mama.” Qin Yining evaded the greeting and returned a half curtsey. The two left the room in friendly spirits, with the smiling eyes of the duchess, senior madame, and second madame following them. Yet when the duchess turned back to see née Sun murmur something to Qin Huining in a low voice, she felt her head hurt again. She couldn’t help but take up the mantle of the ‘Great Feat of Lecturing One’s Daughter’ again. “I can tell already that granddaughter Yi is one who knows when it’s appropriate to advance and when to retreat. This granddaughter is one I like the most, so you…”
And so née Sun was lectured all over again on every aspect of her life... and then some.
……
Meanwhile, Qin Yining and Bao-mama had walked to a quiet corner of the yard and was holding a conversation unheard by any. “Miss, you likely don’t know what the Institute of Luminous Grace is, right?”
“Indeed, please enlighten me mama, what kind of business is it?”
Bao-mama smiled. “The Institute is a bit like the Royal Academy of olden dynasties, but it’s a bit different. Do you know, miss, that sometimes when great officials are convicted of a crime, their families become embroiled as well?”
“Yes.” Qin Yining nodded.
“Some officials are beheaded for their crimes, others exiled. And regardless of their womenfolk’s age, whether it’s their eighty-year-old mother or three-year-old daughter, all become court courtesans. Please note that this kind of courtesan doesn’t mean a prostitute.”
“I understand.”
“Back then, the imperial family ran the Royal Academy themselves. The courtesans would be sent there for jobs according to their skills. Ones too elderly would be sent to the kitchen, to gather kindling, clean, run errands, and the like. Those too young would be raised until they were able to be sent to the front of the house to entertain guests. [1] Although our court extols the virtues of rules and manners, officials often visited the Royal Academy to purposefully select the family members of their disgraced peers and engage in shameful acts. Many of them didn’t pay after the fact either. Deeping accounts on credit became the norm. Thus, the Royal Academy constantly lost money.”
“People like that exist?!” Qin Yining was openmouthed in shock.
Bao-mama smiled at her reaction. “People of all sorts exist in the world. The Royal Academy was the property of the late emperor, but how could he allow it to stay in the red like that? In a fit of anger, he closed it and was left unable to collect on the debts. But, there was also now no place for the womenfolk of disgraced officials to go, and the imperial household couldn’t keep sheltering them. In the end, someone came up with the idea for the Institute of Luminous Grace.
“The late emperor reopened the Royal Academy, but it no longer does business. Its primary duty is to serve as a shelter for the women,
while the Institute is in charge of running the businesses. However, it must be run like a proper business, and aside from a few shopkeepers, all staff must be hired from the Royal Academy.”
Qin Yining immediately understood the crux of the issue at this point and nodded. “This is a wondrous idea. The late emperor’s Royal Academy will cease losing money because it’s hiring out the womenfolk, while the Institute has to hire staff anyway. The women of these disgraced officials are a large source of labor, and it gives the Institute a differentiating edge.”
“The mistress was quite correct in your quickness, miss. You only needed a small hint to understand. The duke’s father was the one who came up with the idea, and the late emperor was so delighted that he awarded the Institute to the late master. This was how it’d been passed down to the eldest master’s hands, but you know his personality.” Bao-mama sighed at this point. “There were originally two taverns, two inns, and two brothels under the Institute’s banner. However, eldest master Sun Yu is a stubborn one and didn’t want to see any untoward conduct under his roof, so he closed down the two brothels. Currently, the Institute operates three taverns and two inns. The eldest master remodeled one of the old brothels into a tavern and business has been booming. But because of the war these past few years, he hasn’t had the spare time to run operations. The other closed brothel currently sits unused.”
Qin Yining thoroughly understood the origins of the Institute of Luminous Grace by now. No wonder née Sun had objected so strenuously just now! The Institute had three taverns, two inns, and one piece of unused real estate. This was an enormous sum! Setting aside the real estate, how much silver did the taverns and inns bring in a year? They all operated well into the black! And now they were all hers? And, it was a major selling point that the Institute only hired from the Royal Academy. All of the staff were the womenfolk of disgraced officials. They could be the old dowager of one of the former large aristocratic houses, or a noble daughter whose beauty made others swoon. Perhaps the one serving tea in the tavern may have been the head of some inner residence!
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