After Yuxi had done her daily routine of writing one hundred characters with a cantilever, she looked at the qipu[1] briefly. Then she read the book Shennong's Compendium of Materia Medica. The medical book was so difficult for her to understand that she would always fall asleep every time she read it. She would have given up long ago if it hadn't been for her perseverance.
Yuxi muttered to herself, "I don't know how to get Momo[2] Quan to teach me pharmacology." Now, she finally understood why the Old Lady invited two momos[2] for Yuchen. Momo[2] Gui would teach etiquette rules, while Momo[2] Quan would nurse Yuchen's health simultaneously. Nursing one's health, these words looked simple, but the overall knowledge of it was extensive in scale!
Yuxi tried to reread the medical book, and somehow, she dozed off again.
When Moju noticed this situation, she said with some distress, "Miss, go to bed if you're tired! This is not a good place for you to fall asleep."
Yuxi shook her head and ordered, "Go and take an ice for me." Applying ice cubes on her face would immediately make her sleepiness disappear.
Moju felt that Yuxi was studying hard a bit too much. "Miss, with your current situation, your body will not be able to endure. Miss, it doesn't matter even if you don't study since you are never interested in being a talented woman anyway." Yuxi even told her that before.
Yuxi smiled. "I just want to learn more valuable things. Besides, even my talented San Jie[3] studies hard day after day. If I start being lazy again, she will surely leave me behind by a hundred miles away."
In fact, Yuxi's daily time was also very tight. She had to attend classes and learn etiquette every day. In her spare time, she would study qipu[1], read obscure medical books, practise calligraphy and do embroidery. She had no time to rest, even after the end of the day. Sometimes, she also felt exhausted and wanted to have a good rest. However, when she thought of how high Yuchen's talent was and despite that, Yuchen still studied hard, she did not complain. If Yuxi was being lazy again, especially with her poor qualifications, she would seriously fall behind. She did not dare to slack off every time she thought of this.
Yuxi's persistence was also fruitful.
When Teacher Song looked at Yuxi's writings, she was glad that she praised, "There is a lot of progress in your writing." If she compared Yuxi with Yuchen, there was still a big gap between them. However, it was still terrific for Yuxi to make this much progress in such a short period.
Yuxi was silent for half a moment before she said, "Teacher, I would like to study Yan Zhenqing's Controversy over Seating Protocol next year." Yuchen was better than her, which was a fact that she did not deny, nor could she deny. Since it was evident that she could not compete with Yuchen, it was better that she wouldn't learn the same thing as her. That way, she would not be suppressed by Yuchen's undeniable talent forever.
Teacher Song frowned and asked, "Why do you want to learn cursive script very well? And that kind of writing is also not easy for you to learn." Only a few women could write a good cursive script.
Yuxi took out the book she mentioned previously, "I think the cursive script is lovely. When I learn it, it will be stunning when I use it in embroidery."
Teacher Song was silent for a moment, and then she asked, "Is this really the reason?"
Yuxi smiled and said, "Well, I already had this idea when my Er Ge[4] gave me this copybook." Her zanhua xiaokai[5] writing was okay, but even after years of practice, she would only be a foil for Yuchen. So, it was better for her to learn the cursive script.
Teacher Song was silent for a moment. Then, she said, "Since you want to learn the cursive script, you don't have to wait for next year to learn it. From today onwards, you will copy another one hundred characters according to the copybook every day!" This was also a way to ask Yuxi not to give up on learning to improve her writing in zanhua xiaokai[5].
Yuxi nodded. "Okay." This writing style was not learned in a day or two, but fortunately, she was still young and had enough time to learn it.
After a few days, Yuru finally knew about Momo[2] Gui's and Momo[2] Quan's backgrounds. She learnt that they were female officials of high rank and had served noble people in the palace. She was so angry that she smashed a teacup while her tears fell uncontrollably, "Grandmother is too biased." She also would love to learn from these women of high rank who just came out of the palace.
Seeing this, Qingxuan didn't know how to soothe her Miss.
After losing her temper, Yuru ordered Qingxuan, "You should disclose this news to Yujing's mother and see her reaction." Yujing was so quiet and calm that Yuru was not at ease.
Even though Qingxuan felt that diverting the problem to the dangerous woman in the east was not a good solution, she still said, "Okay."
However, to Yuru's disappointment, there was only silence coming from Yujing's side after the news was disclosed to them as if she didn't know such a thing.
Yuru said doubtfully, "Does Er Meimei[6] really have a change in her temperament?"
Naturally, Yujing did not have a change in her temperament; just like the wise saying,
it was easy to change rivers and mountains but hard to change a person's nature[7]. It was just that when Yujing got the news, she only told her mother, Concubine Rong, about it.
Concubine Rong's currently living her days in suffering. All her trusted subordinates had been removed by the Old Lady. Also, ever since her son's death, she had been living in distress, making her body not recover even up till now. These days, she had honestly recuperated in Pleasant Courtyard. Even though people had been told that she was recuperating, she was in the same situation as being under house arrest.
Concubine Rong stated, "The Old Lady has high hopes for Third Miss. Since Third Miss was a child, she has been given the best food, the best clothing and the best in everything. She is also expected to be taught by the best momo[2] from the palace."
Yujing was very reluctant. "Why is Grandmother so biased?" Her Grandmother's current actions had gone too far.
Concubine Rong decided not to hide what she knew from Yujing as she said, "The Old Lady is planning to marry the Third Miss into the royal family. The state residence is currently in a weak position, and now it needs to rely on its in-laws to assist it. Its foundation is too weak. The Old Lady is going to use Third Miss to gain power."
Yujing stared at her mother with big eyes. "Mother means that Grandmother wants to marry Yuchen to a prince?" It couldn't be to the Emperor since he was already old.
Concubine Rong nodded and reminded her daughter, "So, Yujing, don't ever compete with Third Miss." Presumably, there was even nothing that Yujing could compete with. Third Miss had a good family background, strong backers, outstanding appearance and talent. Competing with Third Miss was like seeking disaster.
Yujing was silent for a moment before asking, "There's nothing I can say about Yuchen, but what about Yuxi? I'm better than her anyway. Why does Grandmother favour her so much?"
Concubine Rong sighed and answered, "Because she is currently studying with Teacher Song." Getting this title was equivalent to crossing into a layer of gold.
Yujing was intensely resentful. "If it weren't for that darn girl, I would have also learned from Teacher Song." This way, she could make her Grandmother look at her with new eyes, but now it was useless for her to say anything on this matter.
Concubine Rong advised Yujing, "Now, you don't go and provoke Fourth Miss. She is no longer the foolish and awkward girl you can ridicule at will. It is you who will suffer if you provoke her."
Yujing's heart moved. She remembered a rumour among accidental talks she had heard and asked, "Mother, don't you also think Yuxi has changed into a new person?"
Concubine Rong was very keen and immediately said, "Second Girl, you must remember that before you do something to Fourth Miss, you must guarantee that you don't leave any traces. Otherwise, you'll just bring trouble to yourself."
Yujing could feel an inexplicable feeling in her heart. Now, she unexpectedly had to dread Yuxi, whom she had turned up her nose and didn't even put in front of her eyes all these years.
At the same time, Yuxi was already tired from reading and went out of the study, ready to walk outside for a change of mind. Once outside, she saw Moju bow her head while carefully embroidering a handkerchief.
Yuxi asked with a smile, "Why haven't you finished embroidering this handkerchief when it has been nearly two months already? You have never embroidered this slowly before."
Motao just came in at that moment and heard what Yuxi was saying. She answered on behalf of Moju, "Miss, Moju Jiejie[8] is embroidering these handkerchiefs as birthday gifts for Miss."
Hearing this, Yuxi took the handkerchiefs from Moju's hand and saw a rose on one of them. Yuxi changed a lot now. She used to like lotus flowers, but now she preferred roses. Although roses could be seen everywhere, they had been growing calmly, quietly blooming in their own beauty. Just like the roses, she was also ordinary, but she believed that she could blossom in her own glory over time.
Hongshan's mouth was the most nimble there. "Miss, Moju Jiejie[8] had embroidered different roses on each handkerchief. On the first handkerchief, she embroidered the bud of the rose, the second one, the newly blooming rose, while on the third one, she embroidered the rose in its full bloom."
Yuxi looked at the handkerchiefs in her hand and handed it back to Moju with a smile, "Thank you very much." Moju had put so much thought into her small birthday.
Moju smiled and responded, "This Handmaiden only has this skill."
When Yuxi entered her room, she always felt she had forgotten something but couldn't remember what. Until when she went to sleep that night when she suddenly bounced off the bed. Yes, how could she forget that three days before her birthday was the day when Jiang Hongfu would have an accident?
Yuxi wiped out a cold sweat. Fortunately, it was still ten days before her birthday, and she still had time. However, there was another problem. She couldn't go out of the residence at all. So, how could she save Jiang Hongfu?
Yuxi thought for a long time, but she still couldn't understand why the accident had happened. Finally, she fell asleep feeling exhausted. However, she had been thinking about this matter even when awake, making her fail to concentrate during the lecture. As a result, she couldn't answer Teacher Song's question.
Teacher Song came to Yuxi's side with her ruler and said, "Reach out your hand."
Once her hand had been hit, Yuxi could feel it turning red and swollen. She complained bitterly in her heart that this punishment was too painful. It seemed that when Teacher Song used to hit her a few times before, they were just an act.
Although Yuxi was punished for being absent-minded, she still obediently admitted her mistake to Teacher Song after the class had ended. "Teacher, I've been busy thinking about something, so I have been in a trance during class."
Teacher Song asked, "What were you thinking about?"
Yuxi shyly said, "I had a dream last night. I dreamed that the gift I sent to my father had been stolen." Her statement showed that she was actually a filial daughter.
Teacher Song didn't know whether she should laugh or cry. "It's just a dream. Why do you take it too seriously?" Only at this time did she feel that Yuxi was only a child, not a tiny adult.
Yuxi looked up and said anxiously, "It doesn't matter, even if it was only a dream. But what if such a thing really happens?" Her real problem was that she needed to learn how to save Jiang Hongfu!
Teacher Song smiled and said, "It's not going to be easy. If you don't trust the people in residence, you can find an escort agency. Just ask for some armed escorts to escort it for you."[T/C]
Yuxi's eyes sparkled, "Escort Agency? Armed escorts? Do they specifically help escort things?"
Teacher Song was not surprised that Yuxi had never heard of an armed escort, not to mention that Yuxi was only five years old. Even those came-of-age young ladies did not know what an armed escort was. So, she told Yuxi about the nature of the escort agency industry. "Escort agencies specialise in protecting property or personal safety for a fee. Armed escorts are people who work in escort agencies. These people are all skilled in martial arts."
Yuxi was delighted, but she realised that her other problem still needed to be solved. She still could not go out. Then, how could she invite an armed escort to secretly protect Jiang Hongjin on that day?
Footnotes Full List
- record of a qi (Chinese chess) game
- a term for an elderly lady
- san=third, jie=older sister, short form for Jiejie
- er=second, ge=elder brother, short form for Gege
- a standard font to learn when you just start writing Chinese calligraphy
- er=second, meimei=younger sister
- Chinese idiom: you can't change who you are
- lit. elder sister, that can also be used to an outsider that is only a few years older than the speaker
- The link I have provided for an escort agency was an example on how an escort agency would be during Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Noob Translator's Musing
Yay, finally on time!
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi