Chapter 28: Red and White Matters

  In the 45th year of Kangxi, on August 4th, Cao Yin and his wife took their daughter north. Li Shi sent her daughter Cao Yan to Beijing for selection, but Cao Yin was returning to his hometown of Fengrun (now in Hebei Province) to sweep his father's grave and take care of the old lady's burial site. The old lady is 73 years old this year, and she is especially concerned about her own funeral affairs. Because she thinks that it has been more than 20 years since her husband passed away, it would be bad to disturb the people underground, so the old lady issued a statement, saying that after her death at the age of 100, she will not be buried with her husband, but instead will have another grave opened beside his. Cao Yin went north ahead of time specifically to arrange this matter.

  Before leaving, Cao Yin entrusted family matters to Cao Xuan and his wife, and entrusted the affairs of the yamen to Zhuang Chang.

  Cao Gong and Cao Song studied the Four Books and Five Classics together under Master Song.Ordinary official families could take the imperial examination to become a xiucai or juren, or they could choose to rely on their father's influence to become a monitor student; however, the ultimate goal was still to participate in the imperial examination and obtain the title of jinshi, which would be considered a legitimate background, and only then would their official career be smooth.If one bought an official position, not only would they be looked down upon by others, but it would also be difficult for them to rise to high ranks.The Cao family was a bannerman household, different from ordinary official families.Cao Gong had heard his parents mention that when he grew up, if nothing unexpected happened, he would definitely have to serve as an official in the capital for several years before considering whether to take the imperial examination or buy an official position.

  Little Cao Shun, who was more than nine months old, was very healthy and chubby. Cao Kun let out a sigh of relief in his heart. His little brother's physical quality should be good, hoping that God would bless him to grow up safely and healthily.

  Parents are not around, Cao Gong's time to go out of the mansion has increased a bit, and he has almost strolled through the inner and outer parts of Jiangning. If it weren't for the old lady who couldn't leave Cao Gong for a day, Cao Gong would have thought about leaving Jiangning and going to Taihu Lake for a spin. Zheng's brother and sister sent a letter, found the most suitable mother shell for raising pearls, and started breeding. According to this process, there will be enough mother shells by next spring, and the first batch of pearls can be harvested in the winter of the following year. As for tea leaves, it is not very smooth sailing. Except for a certain scale of tea gardens near West Lake Longjing, Fujian Anxi and Taihu Junshan are both wild tea trees that have not been cultivated and managed, with unstable yields, and it will take two or three years to see results.

  If there's one thing that makes Cao Yun unhappy, it's the situation with Gu Na. Not only did that kid unexpectedly fail to pass the exam, but he also refused to return to Jiangning and instead stayed in the capital, saying he wanted to wait for the next exam. The Gu family's fortunes were declining, and their hopes for revival rested on Gu Na alone, which made his desire for success even stronger. Zhuang Chang had sighed over this, worried that Gu Na would go astray. Cao Yun didn't support Gu Na's obsession, but still respected his choice. In his reply letter, he included a silver note to cover Gu Na's expenses in the capital, and also sent two pairs of shoes hand-sewn by Gu Na's mother.

  The mother of Gu Nai, Zhou Shi, was remarried to Chen Liu, a cart driver, with the help of Gu Nai. After their marriage, Chen Liu and his wife were sent by Cao Yin to serve in the household of Sun Wenqi in the north. When Sun Wenqi became the Weaving Commissioner of Hangzhou, Chen Liu and his wife followed the Sun family back to Jiangnan. Cao Yun considered Gu Nai's reputation and discussed with Cao Yin, then called Chen Liu and his wife back to Jiangning, bought 50 mu of good land for them outside the city, and helped them settle down in Jiangning. Zhou Shi gave birth to two more sons at that time, but her concern for her eldest son did not decrease. She was happy that her son was studying in the capital, but also worried about his living situation with no one to take care of him.

  Inside the Weaving Department, although nominally under the care of Zhao Jia's family, it was actually managed by Cao Yu. Half a year ago, after Li Shi recovered, Cao Yun told Li Shi about how Cao Yu was being bullied by the two madams. Li Shi was furious and severely punished the two madams, not leaving any face for them. In her heart, apart from being her niece, Cao Yu was most importantly the one who saved her son's life. If it weren't for Cao Yu, perhaps her son would have died. For such a benefactor, she wouldn't tolerate anyone bullying her.

  Mrs. Li only realized, after being reminded by her son, that Cao Yu was different from the Cao sisters, and she had always felt a little inferior, thinking that she was not a daughter of the Cao family. She wanted to explain the truth, but was worried that Old Lady would be too old to withstand the shock, so she could only continue to hide it. However, in her daily routine, she kept Cao Yu by her side and taught her how to manage the household and treat the servants. The silver given to Cao Yu by Lin Xiaozhai every month, Mrs. Li had someone carefully collect and keep, thinking that when Cao Yu got married, besides the dowry, adding this amount of money would allow her to live a more comfortable life.

  Half a year has passed, and Cao Yu has learned to be quite capable, able to handle daily miscellaneous tasks on her own. Whenever something important comes up, she would send someone to report to Zhao Jia Shi or the old lady for decision-making. Due to Li Shi's previous words and with Cao Ao supporting her, everyone in the household has no objections to Cao Yu being in charge of internal affairs. Now, perhaps some people still consider Cao Ao a child, but they do not view Cao Yu as a child anymore. According to the Qing dynasty law, men can marry at 16 and women at 14. The "sixteen" and "fourteen" here refer to virtual age, not actual age. Cao Yu is virtually 13 years old, and according to the law, she will be eligible for marriage next year. As a member of the banner people, it is common for daughters from noble families to learn household management from their elders before getting married.

  In early September, Cao Yin sent someone back to deliver a message. After the grand selection of ladies-in-waiting, Cao Yan was granted the surname Cao Jia Shi and betrothed to Prince Ning Su of Pingguo as his primary consort. The wedding took place in October, and Cao Yin and his wife stayed in the capital to prepare for their daughter's marriage. Prince Ning Su was born in the 29th year of Kangxi and is one year older than Cao Yan. In the 40th year of Kangxi, he inherited his title and currently serves as the commander-in-chief of the Bordered Red Banner, overseeing its affairs. The entire Cao family is overjoyed. Although they had expected that Kangxi would arrange for Cao Yan to marry a prince or a member of the imperial clan, Prince Ning Su is an iron-cap prince, and being his primary consort is the greatest honor for the humble origins of the Cao family.

  Cao Guang had expected this and was not surprised. According to historical records, after Cao Yan married Nuer Su, she gave birth to four or five sons, with the eldest son inheriting his father's title.

  Cao Yin also sent a letter to Cao Guang, asking him to bring people to open the treasury on this side and select beautiful things from Li's dowry to add to Cao Yan's dowry. Because in these two years, some debts had to be repaid again, and people were dispatched to various places to purchase tea factories, the Cao family's accounts were not rich. Cao Guang knew that Cao Yin must have been short of money for the dowry, so he would come up with such a plan.

  Cao Gong checked his own small treasury, the interest on Linxiaozhai's three years of red profit, after deducting the shares for each person and then deducting the expenses for these years, there were about 170,000 taels left. Cao Gong took out a silver ticket worth 130,000 taels, 100,000 taels in one envelope, and 30,000 taels in another envelope. After packing them up, Cao Gong went to find Zhuang Chang and asked him to send someone reliable to bring the silver tickets to Beijing for Cao Yin. The 100,000 taels were for his parents to use for dowry and wedding expenses, and the 30,000 taels were a gift from him as a younger brother to his sister. Cao Gong had long realized that Zhuang Chang was not a simple clerk. In the study of Cao Yin in the Weaving Bureau, even Cao Gong, the eldest son, could not enter at will, but there was no restriction on Zhuang Chang. Over the years, whenever Cao Yin left Jiangning, the affairs of the Weaving Bureau were handled by Zhuang Chang with full authority, which was a power that ordinary clerks could not grasp. The Cao family was the emperor's eyes and ears in Jiangnan, which was a secret to people at that time, but for Cao Gong hundreds of years later, it was already an open secret. Therefore, he speculated that Zhuang Chang might be the main force of the monitoring agency, Cao Yin's right-hand man, and would receive such great trust and favor.

  130,000 taels, it's not a small amount to anyone, if it were entrusted to someone else, Cao Guang would really be worried. As for Zhuang Chang? That's just his intuition plus his trust in Cao Yun's judgment.

  At the end of September, Cao Yin's second letter arrived in Jiangning, mentioning that Cao Yan's wedding date had been set for October 26. The old lady was delighted when she heard the news and ordered someone to open a box and take out some precious items to be sent to Beijing. That evening, the old lady invited her daughter-in-law and grandchildren over, along with Cao Song and Cao Yu, to make up a lively family banquet. The elderly woman indulged in too much wine and caught a chill that night, and by the next day, she was feeling unwell.

  Everyone didn't take it seriously, anyway, the imperial palace had sent two royal doctors to serve the old lady, and at first, they just said she had caught a chill, and after taking some medicine and sweating, she would be fine. However, three to five days passed, and the old lady's condition gradually worsened. Cao Guang and Cao Yun wanted to send someone to Beijing to deliver a message, but were stopped by the old lady, who only said it was nothing serious and didn't want to delay her granddaughter's wedding because of her own affairs. Cao Guang and Cao Yun thought about waiting for two more days to see how things would go.

  By mid-October, the old lady seemed to be getting better and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  On the afternoon of October 18, the old lady drank a bowl of millet porridge and ate half a plate of mixed fresh bamboo shoots. She seemed to have recovered her spirits. The old lady had all her son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter called to her bedside, including Cao Yi, and even had Cao Shun, who was about to turn one year old, brought over by Liuli.

  The old lady's gaze swept across the faces of the crowd, saying: "A few days ago, I was lying in bed, dazed and confused, feeling that there were big things left undone. These two days have been thinking clearly, just called you over to hand over the affairs after death!"

  Cao Gong felt uneasy in his heart when he heard the old lady's ominous words. Cao Juan and Zhāo Jiāshì couple repeatedly said: "The old lady will definitely live to be a hundred years old, and now her body is much better, it's too early to say such things."

  The old lady smiled and said: "It's just a word of comfort, to put this old woman's heart at ease, as well as yours!"

  Cao Gong's eyes had already turned red, and he lowered his head, unwilling to let others see him lose composure. Whether it was the doting love in Little Cao Gong's memory or the endless pampering after possessing her body, Old Lady gave him all the care and concern that a grandmother could offer. The fear of being in a strange world at the beginning was calmed down because of Old Lady's doting love.

  "My hairpieces, head ornaments and clothing materials will be divided equally between my two daughters-in-law. You can either give them away or use them yourselves, it's up to you. The antiques, paintings and trinkets will be divided equally between my two sons." As he spoke, he looked at Cao Guang: "Over the past two years, your brother has been secretly selling off items from the mansion, I suppose it was to make up for the losses from the previous welcoming ceremonies?"

  After sighing, the old lady continued: "Although welcoming the emperor is a matter of face for our Cao family, it's also too extravagant. You two brothers aren't good at managing things either. I still have 140,000 taels of silver tickets, 23,000 taels of silver, and 5,000 taels of gold here. Leave 30,000 taels of silver tickets behind, and the remaining 110,000 taels plus the gold will be given to your brother to repay our Cao family's debts. The law is heartless, although the emperor has treated our Cao family with great kindness, we should still be cautious in our actions so as not to waste the imperial favor. The 30,000 taels of silver tickets left behind will be used for the marriage funds of these unmarried grandsons and granddaughters, except for Ruan'er, each of them will get 5,000 taels. The 23,000 taels of silver will be divided among these maids in my courtyard as their dowry, with Zhenzhu and Zijing getting 500 taels each, the eight second-class ones getting 100 taels each, and the rest getting 200 taels. It's just a small token from me to them, so they won't have served me for nothing. The remaining 20,000 taels will be used to handle my funeral affairs, and what's left will be used as travel expenses for going north."

  The room was silent, with only occasional sniffling sounds that were slightly stifled.

  The old lady had arranged everything and then said to Cao Yu: "You were able to make a profit of over 1,000 taels of silver per month from Linxiaozhai when you were ten years old, so your grandmother didn't leave any money for you. When you grow up, according to the rules, you should go to Beijing to take office. The year I married into the Cao family, I brought a dowry of a Changping estate, although it's not big, but it's one of my thoughts. Now I'm leaving the estate to you, and after you arrive in Beijing, you can also help your grandmother take care of things. The maids in this courtyard are all entrusted to you, those who want to return home, you arrange for them to leave; those who want to get married, you help prepare their dowry; those who want to stay in the mansion, you give them a suitable job."

  "Yes, grandmother, grandson obeys!" Cao Guang knelt down in front of the old lady's bed and replied with his head lowered.

  In the 45th year of Kangxi, on October 28, Cao Yan, who was already married, returned to the capital with her husband, Prince Ping of Guang, and completed the "returning home" ceremony at the old Cao residence. After sending off their daughter and son-in-law, Cao Yin received a family letter delivered through the postal station with extreme urgency: On October 20, at the hour of Wei, the elderly lady had passed away.

  Cao Yin's eyes were vacant as the letter slipped from his hand and floated slowly to the ground.

  At this time, thousands of miles away in Jiangning, Cao Song knelt in front of the mourning hall, his face ashen, lost in thought.