The Valued Lady is Truly Dominant

Song Ci soon met Cui Shiniang, a woman like a cold plum blossom: proud, brave, and tenacious in her solitude.

”Should this old body call you Madam Cui or...?”

Cui Shiniang gracefully offered Song Ci a formal bow and smiled lightly. ”My given name is Cui Xuemei. I am tenth in the family order, so the elders and my brothers and sisters all call me Shiniang, and so do people outside. If Grand Madam does not find it displeasing, just call me Shiniang.”

”Xuemei.” Song Ci softly repeated the name, then asked with a smile, ”Your name carries ’mei’—does that mean you’re very fond of plum blossoms? I seem to catch a chill fragrance of wintersweet from you; could it be that you have dabbed on its flower dew?”

Cui Shiniang was slightly surprised and nodded. ”Grand Madam’s nose is very keen.”

Song Ci waved her hand. ”Once a person grows old, the five senses are no longer sharp. It’s just that there are many plum trees in the courtyard of my third daughter-in-law; she has wintersweet as well. Last winter the blossoms were fine, and every few days she would cut a few branches for me to place in a vase. I spent an entire winter breathing in that cold plum scent, so now it feels familiar.”

Warmth flowed through Cui Shiniang’s heart. She was indeed one who loved plum blossoms, but this was, after all, their first meeting; she could not overstep, and only smiled. ”To smell it at once like that is already quite impressive.”

”I am old now, and my mind is sometimes not so clear, so I won’t go around in circles with you. Since you’re able to come to the Prime Minister’s Mansion, it shows you must have heard from Prince Consort Cui about the matter of Song Ci’s Charity School. Do you have any thoughts?” Song Ci came straight to the point.

Cui Shiniang had not expected Song Ci to be so direct. She first rose and offered her a respectful bow, then said, ”Grand Madam’s great righteousness—Shiniang truly admires it. If this Charitable School can indeed be established and continue, it will allow many orphans to change their fate. To feed a man with fish is not as good as teaching him to fish; what you are doing is a great benevolence.”

Song Ci said, ”I heard that, back in your boudoir days, you were known as a ’lady of letters.’ I imagine you are well-read. Do you not feel that this Charitable School, which teaches crafts rather than the qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, is a stain on elegance?”

Cui Shiniang lifted her chin slightly. ” ’Lady of letters’ is merely a shackle forced upon me by outsiders, hardly something worth praise. As for being a stain on elegance—what is a stain on elegance? In this world, those who merely cling to cultivated airs are but a small number, just like the officials and noble families’ scholars. Yet everything these people eat, drink, and use—is it not all made possible by artisans, by peasants?”

”Human beings are divided into ranks and grades; the ease enjoyed by those above—how could it exist without the toil of those below? Take our jewelry and clothing, for instance: without subjects in the Charitable School teaching needlework and weaving, without craftsmen who make ornaments, who could produce them? And this grain we eat—without peasants tilling the soil, could those who only know how to read, who wait for food with mouths open and for clothes with hands outstretched, magically conjure it up?” Cui Shiniang smiled proudly. ”Grand Madam need not use such words to test me. If I were only a so-called talented lady who spends her days lamenting spring and mourning autumn, composing poems and painting, I would not have set foot in the Prime Minister’s Mansion to meet you today!”

”In fact, when Changxiao spoke to me about the Charitable School, I deliberately went to inspect it. I heard the construction plans were drawn by you, Old Madam, and it is indeed unlike the usual Academy—plain and simple, yet everywhere just right. Though it is called a Charitable School, it is also a shelter that keeps out wind and rain, a place where one can rest one’s body. To be chosen to come here and study would be a great fortune indeed.”

To have food, drink, lodging, and to learn a craft for free—if that isn’t great fortune, what is?

Song Ci raised her brows slightly. ”You child, your tongue is quite nimble. Very well then—according to you, with the Charitable School run as it is, what more still needs to be done?”

Cui Shiniang pressed her lips together. ”Since you have asked, Shiniang will take the liberty of sharing a few personal views.”