Gone with the Rain Episode 9 Recap
> Gone with the Rain Recap
Bai Second Madam expressed deep concern over her daughter Fengyao's recent vow to remain unmarried for life, lamenting that Fengyao would live as a widow forever. Fengyao, however, calmly explained that she had considered this path thoroughly, having seen many teachers at the School for Women who chose lifelong celibacy, supporting themselves and their families. She believed she could do the same. Bai Second Madam dismissed her reasoning, declaring that things would not be so simple.
Suddenly, a servant rushed in with dire news: Master Bai Wentai was in danger. It was reported that he had collapsed while out with friends. Earlier that day, Bai Wentai had been admiring a hundred-year-old golden silk inkstone he acquired from an antique shop. Overjoyed, he invited his friends to a restaurant for drinks and a meal, eager to show off his new treasure.
During the gathering, he demonstrated the inkstone's quality, even licking it and grinding it to enhance its fragrance. While attempting to write, his hand began to tremble, he dropped the inkstone, and then suddenly collapsed. His friends frantically called for a physician. When the physician arrived at the Bai mansion, he delivered the grim prognosis that Master Bai was dying and advised the family to prepare for his funeral.
Bai Second Madam was distraught, pleading with her unresponsive husband to wake up, promising never to interfere with his collecting again. The Bai family soon commenced funeral preparations for Bai Wentai. However, the solemn atmosphere was shattered when numerous merchants forced their way into the mansion, demanding payment from Bai Second Madam. Fengyao stepped forward, chastising them for their disrespectful behavior at her father’s funeral and urging them to be quiet.
A merchant revealed that Bai Wentai owed 160 strings of cash coins for the valuable golden silk inkstone he had purchased. When Fengyao inquired about the inkstone, the servants regretfully informed her that it had fallen and shattered during the chaos when Bai Wentai collapsed. The merchant was furious about the destruction of such a priceless treasure.
Soon, more creditors emerged, demanding payment for various debts, including 200 strings of cash coins from a restaurant, over 100 from a jewelry store, and 80 from another. Fengyao reiterated that the Bai family would honor their debts but requested that the merchants leave and return after the funeral, reminding them that it was improper to create a scene before her father's tablet and coffin. The creditors reluctantly agreed, threatening to return for their money.
Fengyao met with the family's accountant to determine the full extent of their financial crisis. She was shocked to learn that Bai Wentai had accumulated a staggering debt of 3,900 strings of cash coins. The accountant explained that Bai Wentai had a long history of purchasing collectibles on credit, only making partial payments when he had spare funds. Merchants had tolerated this because of his official position and stable income.
However, his sudden death led them to demand immediate payment, fearing the Bai family would be unable to repay. The accountant grimly stated that even if they emptied all the family's accounts, they would still fall short of the total amount. He further elaborated on the family's recent financial misfortunes: significant sums spent bribing Prime Minister Wu, a 1,000-bolt silk fine imposed by Chen Wende, and another hefty payment to clear the family's name after the recapture of Jingzhou City.
Despite these setbacks, Bai Wentai continued his extravagant spending on collectibles and entertainment, while Bai Pengkun frequently visited brothels, boasting of wealth. Feeling unable to resolve the dire situation, the accountant offered his resignation. He also revealed that Bai Pengkun had recently borrowed 50 strings of cash coins from the family's accounts. Fengyao then approached her brother, Bai Pengkun, asking if he had any spare money to help repay the family's debts.
He claimed to be broke, complaining about his old carriage and lack of assets or a stable job. Instead, he suggested that Fengyao ask their wealthy in-laws, the Wan family, for a loan. Shortly after, the Wan family's butler arrived. He presented ten taels of gold as an immediate emergency fund.
Bai Pengkun scoffed at the small amount, but the butler clarified that the Wans were temporarily residing elsewhere and would gather the remaining funds from Chibei, assuring them the Wan family could afford to cover the full debt. Fengyao expressed her gratitude for their assistance. Later, she confided in Bai Second Madam, feeling guilty about relying on the Wan family when she had intended to care for them.
Bai Second Madam, however, reassured her, stating that family should help each other and that the Wans' intervention had prevented further disturbances at the funeral. At Bai Wentai's funeral, the Wan family butler returned, this time delivering a letter. After reading it, Bai Second Madam appeared troubled and quickly dismissed her daughter's inquiries about its contents. It was later revealed that the Wan family had regrettably been unable to raise the promised funds.
With this development, Bai Second Madam despaired, realizing that even after selling off all the movable assets, they still couldn't cover half their debts and contemplated selling their home. Bai Pengkun, ever self-serving, approached his mother with a "solution": marrying Mo Xi to his friend, Zheng Kaitai. He claimed Zheng Kaitai had fallen in love with Mo Xi at first sight and promised to clear all the Bai family's debts in exchange for Mo Xi's hand in marriage.
Bai Second Madam was overjoyed by the prospect, praising her son for finding a way out of their predicament. Bai Second Madam then informed Mo Xi of the arranged marriage, presenting it as a beneficial match and emphasizing Mo Xi's duty to the family. She revealed that she had already accepted the bridal gifts, using emotional blackmail by stating the family would "die" without Mo Xi's sacrifice.
She asserted that Mo Xi had no choice in the matter, threatening to send her corpse to the Zhengs if she refused. Fengyao, upon learning of the impending marriage, rushed to Mo Xi, warning her about Zheng Kaitai's notorious reputation for having several deceased wives. Mo Xi, however, had already been informed of the marriage.
To Fengyao's surprise, Mo Xi seemed resigned, believing that marrying Zheng Kaitai would solve the Bai family's crisis and secure her own survival, even confidently stating she was "more thuggish" than Zheng Kaitai and could manage him. Unconvinced, Fengyao secretly investigated Zheng Kaitai and discovered the horrific truth: he was a "devil's incarnate" who kept young slaves at home, and all his previous wives had been beaten to death by these slaves, with one even thrown alive into a well.
Mo Xi, horrified, exclaimed that she could not die that way, and attempted to escape. However, Bai Pengkun, aware of the plan, had already instructed servants to guard all the mansion's walls and gates, effectively trapping Mo Xi inside. Trapped, Mo Xi approached Bai Second Madam with a new, audacious plan. She suggested that the bridal gifts they received were insufficient and that they should demand 4,000 strings of cash coins.
Her scheme involved swapping the betrothal cards: Mo Xi would write her details on rice starch paper and paste it over Bai Second Madam’s betrothal card. When the card was sent to the Zhengs, it would appear to be Mo Xi’s. However, when warmed, the starch paper would melt, revealing Bai Second Madam’s true details, making her Zheng Kaitai's legal wife.
Mo Xi reasoned that Zheng Kaitai, a playboy who valued his reputation, would never marry an old lady and would be too embarrassed to expose the scam, thus leaving the Bai family free to extort a large sum of money from him. Bai Second Madam was delighted by Mo Xi's cunning. As a reward, she finally agreed to Mo Xi's long-held wish of placing her biological mother's memorial tablet in the ancestral temple.
She even told Fengyao later that she was only being kind to Mo Xi for her money-making schemes, and advised Fengyao to burn mugwort leaves to cleanse herself after visiting the temple, implying Mo Xi or her mother's spirit was "dirty." Enraged by the deception, Zheng Kaitai confronted Bai Pengkun, accusing the entire Bai family of conning him.
He ordered his men to beat Bai Pengkun and instructed the bouncers at the brothels to deny Bai Pengkun entry unless he paid. Stripped of his social status and unable to indulge in his usual entertainments, Bai Pengkun secretly stole the money from the bridal gifts from his mother's room.
He then went to a gambling den, justifying his actions to himself by claiming a fortune teller had predicted he would get rich, hoping to turn a profit and "improve their living standards." Bai Second Madam soon discovered the bridal gift money was missing. At the same time, a group of ruffians from the gambling den arrived at the Bai mansion, beating Bai Pengkun.
They declared that he had gambled away all the money he brought and now owed them an additional 100 strings of cash coins. Bai Second Madam watched helplessly as her son was beaten, realizing with despair that all the money from Zheng Kaitai had been squandered, leaving them in even deeper debt. With no other options, she frantically called out to Mo Xi for help.
