Page 7 of Silk and Sensibility

“Actually, I didn’t walk all the way. There was a young man—”

“A young man?” Meilin could not contain her excitement any longer. The man had to be the owner of the umbrella. Her imagination was already providing her with ideas of the scene, something like the meeting of the White Maiden and the scholar Xǔ Xiān from the legend of White Snake. A dashing gentleman holding an umbrella, walking through mist and rain to—

“Please don’t overreact. The young man happened to be walking in the same direction as we were, and he had a donkey that he let me ride for part of the way. And before you get any strange thoughts, he turned out to be Fulan’s younger brother.”

Meilin could not stem her shock. “Someone related to her did something nice?”

Ailin frowned as she wrapped her feet in fresh bindings. “That was not a respectful thing to say, Meilin.”

“You already know I don’t respect her,” Meilin said candidly then immediately regretted her bluntness. Perhaps she was no better than Ming­ming. Did Ailin feel the need to defend Fan Fulan because her brother gave her an umbrella? Surely Ailin hadn’t already fallen for him. Fan Fulan was a beauty so her brother might be handsome, but personality was more important than appearances, and Meilin had a hard time imagining Fan Fulan’s brother would be anything but unpleasant. “What was his name again? Fan . . .”

“Fan Enze. But he’s not our family, so we might never see him around. If we don’t disturb him, he won’t disturb us.” Ailin turned away, scanning the room. “Have you seen my sleeping slippers anywhere?”

Meilin handed Ailin the soft silk slippers, hardly believing how eager Ailin was to change the topic again. Her attitude was too forced. Meilin had to dig to the root of the matter. She touched Ailin’s wrist. “What I’m about to ask is very important: Have you fallen for Fan Fulan’s brother?”

“Of course not.” The pink peach blossoms blooming on Ailin’s cheeks spoke louder than her denial. “He has nothing to do with us. Running into him today was a coincidence, and Fulan wants us to stay away from him. Remember, it isn’t appropriate for unmarried young ladies to interact with young men. I was dressed like a servant when we met, and I made him promise not to speak of our meeting to anyone. If he keeps his word, then he will never know who I am, and my reputation will be safe. I won’t risk that by having you speak indiscriminately. Let’s pretend this never happened and not mention it again.”

Ailin’s rambling confirmed Meilin’s suspicions. It was strange to believe that the first man who ever moved her older sister’s heart was Fan Fulan’s brother! Fate must be laughing, for how could a man related to their petty sister-in-law ever deserve Ailin’s affection?

And yet, if Ailin was interested in him, then Meilin had to help them grow closer, just like when the loyal Scarlet had to arrange meetings between Yīngyīng and Scholar Zhāng in The Romance of the Western Chamber. Without Meilin’s help, Ailin might be too self-sacrificing to pursue what she really wanted.

“You understand me, right?” Ailin asked.

Meilin nodded. “Perfectly.”

As she brushed Ailin’s long cascade of black hair, Meilin thought through her next steps. It was probably wisest to avoid Fan Fulan’s brother, since proper marriages with the full Six Rites were arranged between families, not individuals. But the way Ailin grew so flustered when talking about Fan Enze was something she had never exhibited while discussing any other topic before.

Ailin always acted as if she could accept marriage with anyone her elders picked for her, but surely she craved romance as much as any other girl. What Meilin wanted in life more than anything was a loving marriage and a happy family. Her sister could not be much different from her. Since Ailin was the eldest daughter and needed to marry before Meilin, it made sense for Meilin to help her form a connection with someone she could love. If Fan Enze was such a man, then all there was left to do was make the match happen by creating the right conditions for a betrothal to be negotiated. Since Junyou had already married Fan Fulan, certainly there could be no objections to a match between Ailin and Fan Enze on the basis of family status.

The following days would be a good opportunity to get a good look at Fan Enze and assess his personal character. If he was decent and capable of bringing Ailin happiness, then Meilin might help the marriage god Yuè Lǎo tie some red strings. She could even get Begonia’s assistance. This might be the push that Ailin needed.

While Ailin and Mama spent the next morning in Mama’s room discussing how to deliver the silver from Uncle Chen to Nurse Liu, Meilin took charge of Ming­ming’s daily lessons to share the work burden. Meilin also hoped to have more time to think about Ailin’s situation once Ming­ming was studying quietly.

The courtyard garden was wet from the previous day’s rain, but the sun was out, so they took a bench and their books outside to take advantage of the fine weather.

“Do I have to read the Spring and Autumn Annals?” Ming­ming lay back on the bench and held the book above her head as she flipped through the pages. Meilin was not a stickler for etiquette, but Ming­ming’s lack of manners was too much, even for her.

“Sit up straight.” She pushed her younger sister into a more respectable position as she took a seat by her side, grabbing the book and opening it to the page where a ribbon marked Ming­ming’s progress from the day before. “Father always said that a lady should be as educated as any gentleman.”

“Are most gentlemen as educated as Father assumed, though? Judging by the state of the nation, I highly doubt it.”

Meilin struggled for a response to Ming­ming’s flippancy. “Even if most gentlemen aren’t as well-versed in the classics as they ought to be, that doesn’t excuse you from learning. Don’t you want to be like the heroines in the Biographies of Exemplary Women? To be strong even when men fail?”

“I think I’d rather be playing wéiqí instead of reading something as dry as the Spring and Autumn Annals.”

“And I have a list of things I’d rather do than tutor you, but we can’t only do the things we like all the time, can we?” Meilin was tempted to list one by one the activities she preferred to cajoling Ming­ming, but Ailin and Mama were so busy that tending to her little sister was the least she could do.

“What are you girls doing outside when there are so many dirty puddles around?” Somehow Fan Fulan had the ability to make even mourning white look glamorous—maybe because she wasn’t wearing real hemp—but her shimmering beauty did not make her arrival in the courtyard any more welcome.

“We’re studying the classics, sister-in-law,” Meilin replied before Ming­ming could say anything rude.

“You girls would be better off practicing your needlework,” Fan Fulan said breezily. “But I’m not here to lecture you. Where is your mother? I need to speak to her.”

Meilin prickled. She still wanted to confront Fan Fulan about the cruelty of dismissing Nurse Liu but now was not the time. Since Ailin had secured funds from Uncle Chen, it would be unwise to provoke their sister-in-law into disturbing Mama again.

Ming­ming was quicker to reply this time, and Meilin didn’t stop her. “Mama hasn’t been feeling well since you sent Nurse Liu away. Ailin is taking care of her in her room, but I wouldn’t go in there if I were you. Messy stomach problems, you know.”

Fan Fulan wrinkled her nose like she smelled curdled milk. “Is that so? Then perhaps today is not the day to visit. Will you girls be so good as to relay this message to your mother and older sister on my behalf? My younger brother Enze has arrived at Nuolan Garden and will be staying until the provincial exam next year. I have given him permission to use all the facilities on the estate except for the inner courtyard where you live. I wanted to remind everyone so you can refrain from disturbing each other.”