Answering questions
That day, light snow began to fall outside the window, while the room was warm and fragrant. Wen Xiang'er was clumsily working on a sachet, her stitches crooked and uneven.
Xuanji sat quietly to the side, embroidering a handkerchief. The bamboo leaves on it were already taking shape, and the stitches were fine and even, showing that she had put in a lot of hard work.
"Mother, Mother!" Wen Xiang'er got tired of embroidering, threw down her work, rolled over to Madam Wen's side, and hugged her arm, acting coquettishly. "Tell us more about you and Father! Last time you mentioned Father reciting poetry by Qujiang Pool, which startled a tree of apricot blossoms to fall. What happened after that?"
Madam Wen was sewing the collar of Wen Tingyun's casual robe when she heard this. She chuckled, put down her needle and thread, and gently tapped her daughter's forehead: "What do you mean by startling a tree of apricot blossoms? Back when your father was a poor, pedantic scholar, it was a miracle if he could recite poetry without scaring people away." Despite her words, a gentle and distant light shone in her eyes, as if she were lost in memories.
Xuanji also quietly slowed down her needlework and listened intently. She was always full of curiosity about her teacher and his wife's past.
“Back then,” Madam Wen said gently, “as you know, our Xie family has been a distinguished family for generations, and we always hoped that our children’s marriages could be further strengthened to consolidate our family’s reputation.” Her tone was calm, but it revealed a hint of wistfulness.
Wen Xiang'er blinked: "Take it a step further? How?"
Madam Wen smiled, a smile that held a hint of complexity: "Back then, the wife of the Minister of Personnel often visited our home, praising her son, who had just passed the imperial examination and had a promising future."
Your maternal grandparents... were quite fond of the marriage. After all, the Wen family had fallen on hard times and didn't have many influential connections in the court. And your father, though talented, was upright and inflexible, repeatedly failing in the imperial examinations. By all accounts, it wasn't a 'good match'.
"Then... then what will you do?" Wen Xiang'er asked anxiously.
"What can I do?" A hint of girlish cunning and stubbornness flashed in Madam Wen's eyes. "It's nothing more than that old-fashioned trick of 'I will marry no one but you.' She's sickly all day long, has no appetite, and sheds tears while looking out the window. It's driving your grandmother crazy."
She spoke casually, but Xuanji could imagine the determination and courage a woman would need to rebel against an arranged marriage within such a grand and secluded family compound; it was far more than just "shedding tears."
"And then what happened?"
"Later," Madam Wen's smile deepened, her eyes gleaming with reminiscence, "I don't know where your father heard the rumors, but this usually most proper and unyielding fool actually... actually went directly to your maternal grandfather's door with a newly written scroll of poems."
"Huh?" Wen Xiang'er's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Father... he's so bold?"
"Yes, I was terrified too, my heart was in my throat." Madam Wen covered her mouth and chuckled, as if she were still that anxious and expectant young girl from back then. "I heard that in his study, he talked about poetry and literature with your maternal grandfather for a long time, neither humble nor arrogant, and then analyzed the current situation for a long time before finally talking about marriage."
He bowed deeply to your maternal grandfather and said, "Thank you, sir. I know my family's social standing is not commensurate with your esteemed family, but I possess great ambition and talent, and my writing can help me achieve high office."
Madam Wen paused, her tone softening further: "'More importantly,' he raised his head, his eyes clear and resolute, looking at your maternal grandfather, and said, 'In this life, I only wish to find one true love, to grow old together. If you do not despise me and grant me the young lady's hand in marriage, I, Wen Tingyun, hereby swear that I will protect her with my entire life, never letting her suffer the slightest injustice, and that she will be my only one, with no other.'"
"Wow..." Wen Xiang'er's eyes lit up as she listened, and she exclaimed softly, "Father... Father is so eloquent!" In her memory, her father was always serious and taciturn.
A faint blush rose on Madam Wen's face, as if she were back to the moment when she heard the story being told: "Your maternal grandfather was also stunned at the time. He had seen too many talented young men come to propose marriage, promising a bright future and mutual benefit in marriage, but this was the first time he had ever directly promised 'one love for life'."
"And then what?" Wen Xiang'er asked impatiently.
"Later, perhaps your maternal grandfather ultimately valued talent, or perhaps he couldn't resist my insistence, or perhaps he was moved by your father's vow of 'one life, one love, one partner'."
In short, this marriage, which seemed extremely unfavorable to outsiders, actually came to fruition. Madam Wen picked up her teacup, took a small sip, her eyes filled with a gentleness and relief that had matured over the years. "After you married into the family, life was indeed a bit poor, and your father was stubborn, and his official career was fraught with difficulties… but over the years, he truly kept his promise. In this world, to find a soulmate, someone with shared interests, someone who supports you, and someone who remains loyal to you—that's more important than any prestigious family background or immense wealth."
Xuanji's needlework had long since stopped; she was deeply shaken. "One life, one love"—such a vow, in an era when men having multiple wives and concubines was commonplace, was incredibly precious and incredibly difficult to fulfill!
Looking at Madam Wen's calm and elegant profile, she seemed to see through the years the noble girl who had disregarded everything for such a heavy promise, and she also saw that beneath the gentleman's cold exterior lay such a burning and persistent heart.
"Mother is so good!" Wen Xiang'er snuggled into her mother's arms and cuddled. "Father is good too!"
Madam Wen held her daughter close, gently patting her back, her gaze tender as she looked at Xuanji, as if silently conveying some kind of power.
Xuanji hesitated for a moment, her fingertips unconsciously twisting the silk thread, and finally asked the question that had been lingering in her heart for a long time: "Master's wife... there is something I don't understand and have always wanted to ask you. Back in Jing County, when the master granted my wish, and later... later when he suggested taking me back to Chang'an, he said... that it was a 'poet maid'."
Why...why did it later turn into adopting Xuanji as his goddaughter? She raised her eyes, her gaze filled with gratitude, but also with deep confusion and fear. She hesitated for a moment: "And...when I first went to Wenshan Academy, begging the teacher to help me get rid of my kinship, why...why didn't he agree? It made me feel...feel like my future was blocked?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Wen let out a soft "Ah," put down her embroidery, and focused her gaze entirely on Xuanji, her tone gentle and sincere:
"Good child, it's kind of you to keep this a secret for so long. You mentioned that time at Wenshan Academy..."
Madam Wen nodded slightly, her eyes deepening. "That was precisely your master's painstaking effort, and one of the reasons we later decided to take you in as our goddaughter. Youwei, after your master met you, he spoke with me for a long time with a heavy heart. He said, 'That child has lofty ambitions, which is a good thing. But people often don't know how to cherish what they have easily obtained. The word "freedom" carries immense weight. If I were to easily use my connections and money to grant her wishes because of her tearful pleas, it would be too easy for her to understand the difficulties involved, and she might not truly appreciate the hard-won nature of every step she takes in the future.'"
“Jade must be carved to become a useful object. If one’s character is not tempered, how can one bear true ‘freedom’?” Madam Wen repeated her husband’s words, her eyes full of regret. “He wants you to go and experience firsthand how difficult it is for a woman with only poetic talent and no one to protect her to stand on her own in this world. Then, no matter what you encounter in the future, you will remember how hard-won this opportunity is and you will have the courage to keep going.”
At this point, Madam Wen's eyes filled with even deeper affection and resolve: "However, after hearing this, I felt both heartache for your situation and an understanding of your master's profound meaning."
So I told him, "Your reasoning is correct; tempering one's character is indeed necessary. But the title of 'Poet Maid' ultimately signifies slavery, wasting her talent and cutting off many of her future possibilities. We both know how harsh this world is on women. Rather than letting her remain alone after being freed from her status, drifting like duckweed, struggling and hitting walls from scratch, why can't we simply take her under our wing, give her a 'home,' and a respectable identity?"
She reached out and gently grasped Xuanji's slightly cool hand, her palm warm: "So, the title of 'adopted daughter' gives you not only a good name, but also a home, a sense of security, allowing you to stand directly in the sunlight without having to endure the bitterness of that solitary trial. Youwei, this is our mutual decision. Now, do you understand?"
Madam Wen's words were like a warm current breaking through the frozen river, instantly melting away all the confusion, grievances, and unease in Xuanji's heart. It turned out that the rejection that time was not indifference, but the deepest expectation; and the final status of her adopted daughter was the warmest fulfillment that her master's wife bestowed upon her upon this expectation.
She grasped Madam Wen's hand in return, tears finally streaming down her face, and nodded heavily: "Master's wife... I understand... Youwei understands everything. I will certainly not fail Master and Master's wife's profound kindness!"
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