It snowed that day. White and flawless little snowflakes fluttered down from the sky like beautiful silver butterflies dancing lightly. Snow fell more and more. Snowflakes flew all over the sky like smoke, but they should not be confused with smoke. They were like fog, but they should also not be mistaken for fog. The whole world was shrouded with vast snow.
In the cold winter of the twelfth lunar month, the inside of the room had been heated with floor dragons[1]. Yuxi sat in the warm room and looked at the content of the qipu. Studying the qipu had now become her best hobby, surpassing her former one—embroidery.
Moju quickly came in. Since she was cold, she didn't dare to get close to Yuxi. She informed Yuxi from the doorway, "Miss, Motao just now fell down and couldn't get up." Because the ground was frozen, Motao slipped while carrying the food box.
Yuxi hurriedly urged, "Please go and get a physician." Motao was one of Yuxi's four maids who were the least cold-headed. She did things with a dull head on weekdays and had the weakest sense of existence. But this did not mean that Yuxi did not take care of Motao. On the contrary, she still attached great importance to her.
Moju nodded in response. "Miss, we must wait for breakfast to be prepared again." Motao had dropped all of Yuxi's breakfast, so they had to get another from the main kitchen. However, for the kitchen to make an extra portion, their breakfast would be made slower than usual.
Yuxi calculated the time she had to wait for the kitchen to be done with it. She was sure going to be late. She then said, "Tell them not to prepare them anymore. Just bring anything that can be eaten from the kitchen." She wouldn't be in such trouble if she had a small kitchen. However, this could only be considered. The residence only had a kitchenette for the Old Lady and Eldest Aunt, no one else.
After a quarter of an hour, the breakfast was delivered. Yuxi's breakfast today was modest. She only had baozi, mantou, and a bowl of millet porridge.
Yuxi was not a picky eater either. After she had eaten her breakfast, she was ready to go to Magnolia Courtyard.
On her way out, Mama Shen wanted Yuxi to wear another coat, but Yuxi stopped her. "I'll only wear a fur coat, and it's not that cold." She was much stronger than before and did not need to be wrapped like a zongzi.
Mama Shen could not dissuade Yuxi, so she had to give up.
At the gate of Magnolia Courtyard, Yuxi saw Yuchen. Because it was freezing these few days, Yuchen had not come to learn qin early in the morning.
Yuchen was wearing a silver-white foreign satin sable fur cloak on the outside, and her head was covered by its hood. When she entered the classroom, she took her cloak off, revealing the clothes inside: a knee-length water-red jacket with snow weasel furs engraved with silver lines.
Yuxi glanced at Yuchen's cloak, but her eyes fell on her wrist's ice-cold emerald gourd bracelet. Yuchen usually wore a few pieces of jewellery, but as long as she wore one, it must be a top-quality product and relatively light. Yuxi only looked at the jewellery that Yuchen wore every time, which could give her a lot of insight.
Yuxi turned her head and looked at Shishu's guarded eyes. It felt awful to be guarded like she was a thief. She used to ignore this feeling, but today she felt irritated and said with a deliberate smile, "San Jie[2], this bracelet of yours is really beautiful. Can you show it to me?"
葫芦 (hulu) / Gourd
By aroid, CC by 2.0 via Flickr
and pinkytoky (Good Luck Symbol – Hulu, the Calabash Gourd, February 8, 2018)
By aroid, CC by 2.0 via Flickr
and pinkytoky (Good Luck Symbol – Hulu, the Calabash Gourd, February 8, 2018)
Gourd had been used to symbolise 'good fortune', and this gourd bracelet was made from old ice-cold emeralds. The six gourds on the bracelet were vivid in colour, crystal clear and full of vitality.
Yuxi looked at it and could not help but gasp in admiration, "It's beautiful."
Seeing this, Shishu hastily said, "This bracelet was given to my Miss by the Old Lady a few days ago." Everyone in the place knew what this statement meant.
When Moju heard this, her eyes burst with flames of anger.
One couldn't say certain things just because one knew about them. It would turn the situation into something embarrassing if one still said it out loud. This time, Shishu had indeed angered Yuxi. Yuxi looked at Shishu with a forced smile. "You don't even realise what you've just said. You think I'm scheming for San Jie[2] bracelet."
Shishu didn't expect Yuxi to speak so bluntly, so her face instantly turned stiff. She believed she was loved by the Old Lady and her Miss, but she was still a servant girl. How could she be compared with Fourth Miss?
Yuchen did not know why Yuxi suddenly launched an attack against Shishu and said with a smile, "It's not something valuable. If Si Mei[3] likes it, I will give it to you."
Hearing this statement made Yuxi feel that things of high value were like weeds on the roadside in the eyes of others. It made her extremely uncomfortable. She smiled and responded, "There's no need. I can't just take all the beautiful things in the world." Having said this, she returned the bracelet to Yuchen and lowered her head to sort out her books.
When Yuxi returned to the Rose Courtyard after class, Mama Shen said with a smile, "Miss, the New Year's gift from the Lord has arrived." Today was the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, and this year's gift came at a perfect time.
Yuxi immediately gave a response, "Oh!". Although Han Jingyan was an official who always worked outside of the capital in her previous life, it did not hinder her admiration for him. Even back then, when she was wronged, she thought that no one could bully her as long as her father was in residence. Unexpectedly, Han Jingyan regarded her as nothing after he returned to the capital. Even when she was bullied by Wu Shi, he never cared. That was not all. Knowing that the Jiang Family was a fire pit, she was still being pushed into it. Was this her biological father? She didn't know and ended up thinking of him as her enemy. Therefore, she had no more affection for Han Jingyan, her cold-blooded and ruthless father.
Mama Shen looked at Yuxi's expression, which was neither salty nor bland, and her heart thumped. It was like Yuxi did not care at all about Lord's negligence. Could this mean that Miss was not close with the Lord either? This was not good. "Miss, the Lord has sent many things this time."
Yuxi thought for a moment and asked, "If I remember correctly, my Father has been in Hebei for five years, and it will be six years next year. Will Father come back then?"
Mama Shen smiled. "I heard the Lord's excellent achievements, and he will probably be promoted next year." If one wanted to be promoted, one should not return home.
Yuxi was silent for a moment, and then she asked, "Mama Shen, what kind of person is my stepmother?" Seeing that Mama Shen did not speak, she said, "If Mama is not clear, let's inquire about it from the people who came back from Hebei this time."
Mama Shen looked a little uncomfortable.
Yuxi didn't say anything else to her face, but she turned to Hongshan, asking her to inquire about Wu Shi. Hongshan had a wide range of connections, and Yuxi also gave her some money to take care of it. She soon got the news.
Hongshan inquired about Wu Shi's basic situation and told Yuxi about it later.
After hearing what Hongshan said, Yuxi deliberately pretended to be dissatisfied and asked, "What else?" It took several taels of silver to find out the number of wives and concubines his father had in Hebei and the number of aunts and stepsiblings she had. The news was too simple.
Hongshan replied, "It is said that the Third Lady is strict in managing her household. Her household is well organised inside and outside, highly valued by the Lord." She had some worries. It could be seen from the news that the future mistress of the Third House was not a good person, which was very disadvantageous to her Miss.
Yuxi chuckled. It was good for Wu Shi to manage the family strictly, but those informers could not go so far as to give her this useless news. It should be that these people thought she gave less money. Yuxi only inquired about Wu Shi just for a show. She had been living with Wu Shi for several years in her previous life and was already very clear about her temperament.
Yuxi said to herself, "There are still many years to go. Don't worry." It was not until she was eleven that Wu Shi followed her father back to the capital. As soon as Wu Shi arrived at the residence, she fought with her Eldest Aunt for the right to manage the place. The two fought for several years. Until her niece, Qiu Yanfu schemed against Yuxi's Er Ge[4] that Wu Shi managed to tear her Eldest Aunt's face completely.
Hongshan didn't hear what Yuxi was saying and asked, "Miss, what you're talking about?"
Yuxi looked up and returned to her usual look. "It's not a big deal to say that my stepmother is a powerful character. However, Grandmother is the main person who can decide what happens inside the residence." A few years were enough time for her to be ready. In her previous life, she was stupid, but in this life, Wu Shi would never step on her again.
Meanwhile, Qiu Shi looked at the New Year's gifts list sent from Hebei. After reading it, her face turned unsightly.
Mama Li noticed that Qiu Shi was not looking good; she hurriedly asked, "My Lady, what's wrong?"
Qiu Shi handed the list to Mama Li. "They sent several carts filled with worthless things all the way here. It's a good calculation on their side to not spend much money even after winning a title!" The other party did send a few carts of things, but if Qiu Shi added up the total values, they would only be two to three thousand taels.
After reading the list, Mama Li's look also turned sour. "This Wu Shi is going too far." The number of New Year's gifts increased, but unfortunately, there were fewer valuable things.
Qiu Shi sneered. "She thinks everyone under the sun is a fool, and only she is the smart one!" Wu Shi didn't want to give up money but still wanted to save her face. Didn't she know that there was nothing cheap in this world?
Mama Li calmly said, "My Lady, during the assessment period on the third lunar month next year, it will be 6 years since the Third Lord has been assigned as a tongzhi[5]. If he has to go on an official trip to the reservoir again next year, we must make it clear to him and the Old Lady that we can't afford to use the public fund to pay for the trip expenses anymore." When her Master married into the family, the Duke's official residence was in deficit every year. It took a lot of effort from her Master to make ends meet till today. The reason for her Master to work hard was not only for the sake of the Second Lord[6].
Qiu Shi understood the meaning of Mama Li's statement, however, she was somewhat hesitant. "Do you mean to let the Old Lady use her own money?" She was not a tight-fisted person. She had never thought of the Old Lady's money. She just thought Wu Shi was too stingy that the official residence had to pay for all their expenses to the dot, which made Qiu Shi unwilling to continue paying for them.
Mama Li said, "My Lady, even if Wu Shi could not carry her duty properly, the Third Lord is not muddle-headed. I believe the Third Lord must have sent money to the Old Lady through his assistant to help the Old Lady with the management. We must borrow this incident to let the Old Lady know Wu Shi's character." The Third Lord was the son of a noble family. It was unbelievable for him to not know they needed money to manage the residence. It was also undoubtedly impossible for the official residence to easily put forth money for his own usage.
Qiu Shi had a headache. "If Wu Shi returns, this residence will not be in peace anymore." Although she never met this Wu Shi, looking at how she conducted things showed that they would not get along with each other.
Mama Li laughed. "My Lady, don't worry. When Wu Shi returns, the first person she sees isn't my Lady, but the Third and Fourth Misses." Both of them were currently following Teacher Song's study. Even if they only learnt something superficial, it was still impossible for Wu Shi to suppress both girls.
Qiu Shi shook her head. "No matter how strong the Third and Fourth Girls are, they will have to depend on their brothers from their side of the family. They can't stand up to Wu Shi."
Mama Li didn't argue with Qiu Shi either. Only time would prove it. However, she believed that the Third and Fourth Misses were not ones that could tolerate the sound of swallowing[7]. As long as Wu Shi returned to the capital, her good days would end.
Footnotes Full List
- blocks of wood were heated and put under the wooden bed/floor
- san=third, jie=elder sister, short form for Jiejie
- si=fourth, mei=younger sister, short form for Meimei
- er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege
- an old word for government deputy prefect during Ming and Qing dynasty
- It will be explained later the reason he becomes the Second Lord.
- Chinese idiom : to swallow insult and humiliation in silent
Noob Translator's Musing
The first sentence in the second paragraph was this '寒冬腊月，屋子里早就烧上了地龙' which I got from multiple translator apps means this 'In the cold winter months, 地龙/earth dragon/earthworm had been burnt inside of the house. Even though earthworm is not my favourite being, I still feel uneasy if I know several earthworms have lost their lives. So, did that sentence mean that, or did I lose in translation? Since I'm not confident with that translation, I just used 'In the cold winter months, the inside of the house had been heated earlier'.
Updated: 21.08.2020
Thanks, Tenkä, for the explanation on earth dragon. I've featured your comment so that other people can understand it too. Thank you. (≧∇≦)/
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi