On the day of the Lantern Festival, Yuxi searched for Han Jianye just after lunch, and when she found him, she urged him to leave early.
Han Jianye couldn't help laughing at Yuxi's eagerness. "You're too anxious. It's only noon, and there are still several hours before the evening arrives. It's not even too late for us to go after dinner."
Yuxi tugged at Han Jianye's sleeve and pleaded, "Er Ge[1], I am too idle at home. I want to go to Shangyuan Street to check on Mama Fang first and then give her something in our passing."
Han Jianye looked at Yuxi, who waited anxiously. Her expression seemed to say that if he didn't promise, she would wail for him to see. How could he not promise her? "It's only an hour from Shangyuan Street to the lanterns city wall by the river. It's still too early for us to go now."
Yuxi naturally calculated the time. "After I visit Mama Fang, I want to go to the bookstore to buy some books."
Han Jianye did not get what Yuxi was trying to do, so he said, "Just tell me what books you want to buy, and I will buy them for you."
Yuxi shook her head. "Er Ge[1], I heard you must go up the mountain tomorrow. It is estimated that the next time you will return home is during Dragon Boat Festival. Er Ge[1], I don't even have anything to do today. If we go out early, we won't also be delayed. Er Ge[1], please agree with my request!"
For a girl to act coquettishly, added up with her tears, were things that Han Jianye could not distract himself from. He would immediately lose the battle of wills once he saw them. "Well...let me tell Dage[2] first."
Han Jianming was also planning to buy some books at the bookstore, so he had no problem with Yuxi's request. "Okay. Let Jianye send you to Shangyuan Street first. I will wait for you at the bookstore." As it happened, he knew a bookstore that wouldn't close even during Lantern Festival.
Mama Fang got a fright when she saw Yuxi and Han Jianye at the shop. Once she calmed down, she gave them gifts and invited them into the house.
Yuxi looked at the store, which was completely different from her first time coming here. A shed was built in the front, and six small tables and chairs were put on the pavement. These tables and chairs were clean and free of dust.
When they were inside the house, Yuxi said to Han Jianye with a smile, "Er Ge[1], I'll go to the backyard and have a look." Hongshan and Moju, her two maids, followed behind her with two parcels in their arms.
The small backyard also changed significantly, with sheds built on both sides. Inside the left shed were piles of firewood, while on the right was the base of a stove. A dozen steamers could be put on it.
Yuxi did not go into the kitchen but into Mama Fang's bedroom. Looking at the simple arrangement in the room, her eyes went astringent, "Mama, it must have been hard for you." Dozens of silver a month were not that lucrative.
Mama Fang smiled and said, "No, it wasn't hard. At least I have something to do every day. This makes me feel energetic all over again!" Here, she had to get up early every day to chop up some stuffing and make some baozi[3]. Being busy outside and inside was harder than just staying inside. It was just that she was free to do things here without worrying that her Miss would be implicated if she did something wrong, and the thought that she was making money for her made her feel that doing these things was very meaningful.
Yuxi pondered that after selling the ointment prescription and buying some properties, she would not allow Mama Fang to do such hard work again.
Mama Fang called in Old Woman An and introduced, "Miss, this is Old Woman An. She did all the heavy work of chopping firewood and carrying water into the shop. She also sells mantou[4] every morning." Mama Fang's only responsibilities were making baozi[3] and other things, like selling baozi[3] outside and greeting customers. These things were all arranged by Old Woman An. Old Woman An was big and tall, so it was no problem for her to throw down two men. Of course, this was also the reason why Xiang Yang took a fancy to her at first.
Yuxi rewarded Old Woman An with a red envelope and raised her monthly salary from six hundred coins to one tael[5] of silver.
Old Woman An knelt on the ground and said gratefully, "Thank you, Miss, for your grace." With this much money, she could inquire about her family much better.
Yuxi didn't stay long in the baozi[3] shop and left after two-quarters of an hour.
A servant named Huang, who happened to be on the street, saw a carriage parked in front of the baozi[3] shop. The red-lacquered carriage could only be used by noble families, so he busily asked the boss near him, "What's the influence of this bun shop that some noble people would come to pay a visit?"
The boss smiled and said, "The lady boss of the baozi[3] shop has a great background. I heard that she used to work in a Duke's official residence. Because of that background, no one dares to stir up trouble with her on this street. "
Just as they were talking, the guy with the surname Huang, who worked as a yamen runner, saw a male teenager dressed in fine brocade clothes come out from inside the baozi[3] shop, followed by a small girl with a doll-like appearance like the child painted in a New Year picture.
Yuxi followed Han Jianye to a bookstore on Shangyuan Street. As soon as they reached the bookstore, she saw Yun Qing and Jiang Hongfu coming out from it.
Yun Qing saw the fair and tender Yuxi at a glance and wished to pinch her cheeks. Not only did he just think of it, he really did it.
Yuxi just noticed Yun Qing pinching her face, making her suddenly muddle-headed. For her, this act made by the Murderous Devil of her former life was even more frightening!
Han Jianye quickly responded. He came over and slapped the back of Yun Qing's hand. Then he took Yuxi to his left, looked at Yun Qing on his right side and said, "You were very clever at home. How come you suddenly become silly when you are out?" Even he would be considered muddle-headed if he just stayed motionless while looking at her sister being pinched by a male.
Yuxi then finally reacted. She shivered and hurriedly hugged Han Jianye. How could she not be afraid? It was said that tens of thousands of people had died in Yun Qing's hands and that pair of blood-stained hands had just pinched her face. At that thought, she could not stop shivering.
Seeing this scene, Yun Qing touched his face and asked Jiang Hongfu, "Biaodi[6], am I that scary?"
Jiang Hongfu helplessly answered, "Isn't it scary when you suddenly act like this?"
Yun Qing felt that Yuxi's courage was too small. He just pinched her face and already scared her this bad. She was such a wimpy kid. However, he did frighten her. Thus, he needed to apologise. He untied Flowing Clouds Baifu Yupei from his waist and handed it to Han Jianye. He said, "This is my fault. It won't happen again next time. This is my compensation to my Biaomei[7]." He just thought Yuxi was cute, causing him to pinch her cheeks. Unexpectedly, his act frightened her.
Han Jianye did not take the yupei and said discontentedly, "Don't make such jokes next time." Yun Qing's action was too careless. He should have known that a girl's face was not something he could easily pinch. Luckily, Yuxi was still a kid. Otherwise, her reputation would have been destroyed by his actions.
Jiang Hongfu looked at Han Jianye and immediately explained, "Don't get him wrong, Ye Biaoge[8]. My Biaoge[8] has always regretted that my aunt didn't give him a sister! Therefore, seeing Xi Biaomei[7], who is fair and plump, has made him act a little beyond his usual limit."
Jiang Hongfu's words made Yuxi suddenly feel embarrassed. Unexpectedly, the Murderous Devil was very fond of fair and plump girls, which made her disillusioned for a moment.
Han Jianye said, "I hope there will be no next time."
"Not anymore," Yun Qing replied wryly.
After apologising, the two cousins left. Once they left, Han Jianye patted Yuxi's head and jokingly scolded her, "Why were you so useless? He pinched your face, and you are already scared."
Yuxi muttered, "He was terrible!" At least she didn't faint from fright, which was already very good, okay?
The two were talking when Han Jianming came out from inside the store.
Han Jianming learned of the incident and said with a smile, "Through the generations, the Yun always have sons in their family and never once gave birth to a daughter, so all of them have been wishing for one." He was aware of this problem in Yun Qing's family. However, he knew that Yun Qing was a measured person, so he was not angry with the incident.
Yuxi asked curiously, "Wasn't Jiang Hongfu's biological mother a daughter of the Yun family?" This was inconsistent with what Han Jianming had said!
Han Jianming smiled and shook his head. "Jiang Hongfu's biological mother was not General Yun's biological daughter, but his adopted daughter. However, he treated her like his biological daughter."
Yuxi didn't expect it was such a thing.
Han Jianye, however, was not very interested in these kinds of things and said, "Si Meimei[9], aren't you going to buy books? There are many kinds of books here, so you can choose them yourself."
After listening to his words, Yuxi started to search for the books she wanted to buy. After exploring for a long time, she could not find the medical book she wanted. Why were no medical books being sold in such a large bookstore?
Seeing Yuxi's disappointed face, Han Jianming smiled and asked, "What books do you want to buy?" At first glance, he saw that she had not selected any book.
Yuxi shook her head. "Nothing." There were some things she could tell Er Ge[1], but not her Dage[2]. Although Er Ge[1] was usually careless, he was very loyal and would never tell others once he promised not to.
Han Jianming saw that Yuxi did not say or demand anything, so he smiled and said, "Other bookstores in the capital are closed at this time. This place is the only one that opens all year round. If you don't find the books you like here, I'll bring you to Songyun Pavilion the next time you have a holiday. There, you should be able to find the books you want." Songyun Pavilion was the largest bookstore in the capital. The books it sold were all-inclusive, and it had everything. Only now, since it was Lantern Festival day, the store had been closed for business.
Yuxi smiled so big till her teeth were shown, "Okay."
After the three had dinner, it was already dark. Outside the restaurant, Yuxi saw lanterns of various colours hanging on the street. It was such beautiful scenery.
Chinese Riddle Lantern
Image credited to Chinlingo (Enjoy Lantern Festival with 8 lantern riddles, Mar 27th, 2019)
Image credited to Chinlingo (Enjoy Lantern Festival with 8 lantern riddles, Mar 27th, 2019)
Han Jianming had attended the festival several times, so he was pretty familiar with it. He took them to the place where lanterns were sold. The Lantern Festival had a unique feature. You could take a lantern away without paying if you guessed the answer to the riddle written on it correctly.
They found a stall selling lanterns. Chances of answering the riddles also had their limits. Everyone could only guess twice. If one answered wrongly on both opportunities, one could no longer participate. Han Jianming answered two riddles and only got one right. As for Han Jianye, when he saw one of them did so well, he only became a spectator.
Yuxi wanted to give it a try. She carefully looked at the tall lanterns and swept past the most beautiful ones because their riddles were the hardest to answer. She looked at the other lanterns for a little while, then pointed at a lantern with little rabbits painted on it and said, "The answer to that riddle is a mystery within a mystery."
The stall owner looked at Yuxi with great interest. "This little girl is so clever." After that, he took down the lantern and handed it to Yuxi.
This little rabbit's lantern was not delicate in workmanship, but Yuxi still liked it. After all, she only got it with what she had learned.
Footnotes Full List
- er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege
- eldest brother
- stuffed steam bun
- steamed buns
- unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤 (old)
- younger male cousin from mother's side
- younger female cousin from mother's side
- elder male cousin from mother's side
- si=fourth, meimei=younger sister
Noob Translator's Musing
Just heard this while watching Restaurant on Wheels: USA and was immediately hooked on it.
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi