After dinner, Yuchen went to Rose Courtyard with Yuxi.
Yuxi noticed that behind Yuchen, there was a group of six maids, two old women and two momos[1], Momo[1] Quan and Momo[1] Gui. The corner of her mouth suddenly twitched. Did you need to put up such a big appearance? We were only at home!
Yuchen saw Yuxi had an unnatural expression while glancing behind her, so she softly told her, "Momo[1] Gui demands me to bring these people every time I leave my courtyard."
Yuxi whispered back, "I didn't see you bringing these many maids to Magnolia Courtyard."
Yuchen smiled and said, "Teacher Song doesn't like seeing so many people, so I only bring two maids." No matter what Momo[1] Gui asked her to do, she would not dare to let Yuchen disrespect her teacher.
Yuxi looked at the sky, going speechless.
Yuchen and Yuxi talked about many things along the way, mostly chess and painting.
Momo[1] Gui watched Yuchen chattering all the time that she had to cough several times. Unfortunately, Yuchen did not understand what she meant. Yuxi understood, but she did not say anything.
When the maids and old women servants of Rose Courtyard saw such a big group of people, they went dumbfounded for a second. It was Moju and Motao who reacted quickly. They hurriedly moved towards Yuchen and greeted, "Good day, Third Miss."
The greetings were unevenly matched, which made Momo[1] Quan frown at them. The rules in Rose Courtyard could have been better.
Yuchen looked at the setup of Rose Courtyard for a split second with an unnatural face. When she saw the study layout, her expression turned completely bad.
Yuxi pointed to the picture hanging behind her desk. "San Jie[2], this is the Crane that father gave me."
Yuchen was dumbfounded when she looked at the painting. After a while, she asked, "What kind of picture is this?" She thought it was a crane painted by a famous artist, but she didn't expect that it was a crane woven out of something she didn't even recognise. Although it was relatively novel, such things were not suitable for study as they looked like neither fish nor fowl[3].
Yuxi smiled and answered, "This is called a reed-weaving painting. It is made of reeds from Baiyangdian Lake. It is said that this reed-weaving painting is one of the features of Hebei. "
Even if Yuchen didn't go out much, she still knew that the reeds from Baiyangdian were not that valuable, and so did the value of paintings made from them. Although they were rare, wasn't it too much to send them to Yuxi from far away in Hebei?
Momo[1] Quan's face was also not looking good. Just now, when she listened to Yuxi's complaints, she thought that Yuxi had a slight temper. However, she didn't expect what Yuxi said was true. As the di[4] daughter of a second wife, how could such a big gap not make people want more?
Thinking quickly, Momo[1] Gui asked with a smile, "I heard that the Third Lord had given a lot of gifts to Miss. What else is there besides this reed painting?"
Yuxi felt a little embarrassed, but when she noticed that Yuchen was also looking at her, she answered, "There are some jujubes, dried apricots, plums, and dried pears. I was going to send some for San Jie[2] and the two momos[1] to taste when I got back."
Aside from Yuchen and Momo[1] Quan, Momo[1] Gui's expression also started to look bad. She was not thinking of Yuxi's unfairness but felt that the person who prepared the gifts was up to no good. Both Yuchen and Yuxi were the di[4] children of the second house, but the treatments for both were as far apart as heaven and earth[5]. That person was trying to create bad blood between these two sisters!
Yuchen's face was red as she was already getting angry.
When Yuxi sent Yuchen out of the Rose Garden, she shyly asked, "San Jie[2], can I ask you for one thing?"
Yuchen's heart was unable to accept the scenes she just saw. However, seeing Yuxi saying this to her, she hurriedly answered, "As long as I can do it, I will promise you."
Yuxi smiled and asked, "Jiejie[6]'s cook makes delicious pastries. Do you think you can let my cook learn some from her?"
Yuchen shook her head. "Whatever Meimei[7] wants to eat, just send a person to tell me. I'll let my cook make it for you."
Yuxi tried to climb up the pole[8] as she said, "San Jie[2], the food prepared by your cook is really delicious. Can I have dinner at Tingyun Pavilion every day from now on?" She did not need to ask about the delicious food she had just eaten. She knew it was Momo[1] Quan's medicinal meal. The Old Lady had racked her brain[9] to have Momo[1] Quan make the medicated cuisine that would surely make one's body health fabulous.
Yuxi had now identified that all the things Yuchen used were the best. Since she had already been described as being in the light of Yuchen, why not get a real dip in the light for once?
Yuchen agreed without thinking much. For her, Yuxi's dinner at Tingyun Pavilion just involved adding an extra pair of bowls and chopsticks.
Momo[1] Gui gave Yuxi a second look.
Back in Tingyun Pavilion, Yuchen's face was down. What was Wu Shi trying to do? If two people's gifts were not the same, it wouldn't have mattered, but the difference was so big that it was impossible for no one to not feel uncomfortable inside. If Wu Shi was going to give something like that, she might as well not give them both at all.
Momo[1] Gui sang a rare praise of Yuxi to Momo[1] Quan, "Fourth Miss is indeed pretty good." The gap between Tingyun Pavilion and Rose Courtyard was like ginseng abalone and green vegetable radish. However, she did not see any dissatisfaction or jealousy in Yuxi's eyes, which was quite rare.
Momo[1] Quan nodded her head.
Although Momo[1] Gui felt that Yuxi had many advantages, she also had many disadvantages. For example, Momo[1] Gui had always had the inkling she had been taking advantage of when Yuxi decided to have her dinner at Tingyun Pavilion. Thinking till here, Momo[1] Gui could not help but ask, "Do you think she knows the benefits of a medicated diet since she was so eager to make such a request?"
Momo[1] Quan's heart moved, but there was no sign of it on her face. She smiled and said, "Fourth Miss is only a five-year-old child, and no one has ever taught her about it. She could not have known the effects of medicated diets. However, she thinks the medicated diet is delicious. Such a greedy mouth!"
Momo[1] Gui also felt that she was probably overthinking. Without Momo[1] Quan, she would have thought that a five-year-old child was being too deceptive. Momo[1] Gui nodded. "It's not easy to make medicated foods either. You'll have to work harder in the future."
"It's just a matter of adding more materials, and it won't cost much," replied Momo[1] Quan.
Momo[1] Gui remembered one thing and asked, "When we returned from Rose Courtyard just now, Fourth Miss' eyes were red. Did you punish her?"
Momo[1] Quan didn't specify what had happened inside her class but replied, "We were talking about some heavy stuff, but they were good for her. After crying, she continued her study and didn't lose her temper anymore."
Momo[1] Gui had Yuchen, a find jade in front of her, that was why she turned up her nose[10] at Yuxi before, but she won't be stupid enough to say that Yuxi was not good in front of Momo[1] Quan to save Momo[1] Quan's heart from being uncomfortable around her. "The medicinal materials required have been found. Is it possible to prepare a medicated bath?"
Momo[1] Quan smiled and said, "It will be New Year in a few days. The Third Miss is visiting her relatives that day, so let's wait for the Lantern Festival, okay?"
After that day, Yuxi felt that Momo[1] Quan's attitude toward her had relaxed a lot, which made her overwhelmed by an unexpected favour[11].
Teacher Song began her holiday on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, and so did the two momos[1]. However, the two momos[1] only took their holidays until the third day of the first lunar month, and on the fourth day, they began to teach Yuchen and Yuxi etiquette again.
On the twenty-eight day, Yuxi's two shops and the hamlet sent over their account book and money. This year, the combined income of the shop and the hamlet was more than two thousand taels[12], which was a bumper year for Yuxi.
With money in hand, Yuxi was feeling generous. "It's almost New Year's Eve, and everyone has a lot of things to buy, so I'm giving out an extra month's salary for this month." The Rose Courtyard had more than twenty occupants, and the total monthly salary for all of them was only twenty taels[12], which was not much. However, the maids and old women servants in the Rose Courtyard cheered when they got the news.
On the twenty-ninth before New Year, unknown what kind of wind had come up at the Duke of the State that he had sent someone to pick up Concubine Rong. The Old Lady was well informed of this and stopped it in time.
Hongshan whispered to Yuxi, "Miss, it seemed that Concubine Rong sent a letter to the Duke of the State. I don't know what was said in the letter that could move the Duke to go and pick her up regardless of the New Year." She now also agreed with Yuxi's words. This Concubine Rong was too evil. Even with her age, she could still make the Duke disobey the Old Lady for her.
Yuxi sighed, "Eldest Uncle is a romantic type of person[13]."
Yuxi's words were mocking her Uncle, Duke Han of the State. If he was indeed a romantic type of person[13], how could he let something happen to Yuru's mother, or how could he let Concubine Lian have miscarriages twice in a row! If he cherished Concubine Rong so much, how could he compromise that day and let the Old Lady send her to the temple?
Hongshan felt this situation was not a good thing. "Miss, do you think the Old Lady will agree to take Concubine Rong back?"
Yuxi shook her head. "I am not a worm in my Grandmother's belly[14]. How would I know?" In fact, she thought that the Old Lady would not spare Concubine Rong anymore. As seen from what happened to Concubine Lian, the Old Lady had no more patience for Concubine Rong.
When Mama Shen came back from the outside, she happened to hear this conversation as she came in. She informed them, "The Old Lady has agreed to accept Concubine Rong back, but she has to wait for the first month to pass. The Old Lady said that accepting a patient during New Year's reception is bad luck."
Yuxi replied, contrary to her personal conviction, "Grandmother has a heart of Bodhisattva[15]." What compassion? Her Grandmother was deliberately stalling for time, as she couldn't tolerate Concubine Rong any longer.
Yuxi said something like that because she had been taught by Momo[1] Quan. Momo[1] Quan told Yuxi that any thoughts she had about the Old Lady and her father must be suppressed deep in her heart. Yuxi must also show respect and filial piety on the surface. Otherwise, she would be the one who suffered.
As Yuxi had expected, the news of Concubine Rong's death came before the first month had ended. Hongshan reported, "Miss, Concubine Rong passed away two days ago, and Second Miss hasn't known about the news yet." Yujing was still under house arrest ordered by the Old Lady, so the news would have been delayed.
Yuxi murmured to herself, "I don't know what will happen when my Uncle knows about this news?"
When the Duke heard the news of Concubine Rong's death, he had a big fight with the Old Lady. This pissed the Old Lady so much that she fell ill.
Yuxi felt funny. Even she knew that the Old Lady was using the stalling tactic, and somehow her Eldest Uncle, the Duke of the State, didn't even know. Was he foolish, or was he just being careless?
This matter had nothing to do with Yuxi. As long as Concubine Rong died, her revenge had already been avenged. "Let's go to the main room." The Old Lady was ill, and her granddaughters must attend to her when she was in this condition. Even if the Old Lady didn't need this, Yuxi had to put forth her attitude.
When Yuxi and her maid got to the main room, they could see that everything was in perfect order. The maids and the old women in the courtyard showed no sign of panic. By then, Yuxi knew that the Old Lady wasn't seriously ill.
Sure enough, when Yuxi entered the room, she saw the Old Lady leaning against a pillow. Although she looked frail, Yuxi knew she didn't have to worry about her Grandmother's life.
It wasn't long before the physician came. Once he checked the Old Lady's pulse, he said, "The Old Lady's strong emotion has overwhelmed her heart, and she must recuperate from now on. No one should make her lose her temper or cause a raucous."
Therefore, Concubine Rong's story just ended like this.
Footnotes Full List
- A term for an elder woman
- san=third, jie=elder sister, short form for Jiejie
- Chinese idiom: nondescript
- born from a formal wife
- Chinese idiom: an immeasurably vast difference
- older sister
- younger sister
- Chinese metaphor: caters to the owner’s will, intending to gain fame and status
- Chinese idiom: to take great pains to think sth through
- hold in contempt
- Chinese idiom: feel extremely flattered
- unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤 (old)
- one who easily falls in love
- Chinese idiom: knowing exactly what one think
- compassion
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi