HomeA Cup of LoveYi Ou Chun - Chapter 16

Yi Ou Chun – Chapter 16

Qingyuan’s face was full of grievance. “What’s wrong, Second Sister?”

As Qingru was about to speak, Qingrong gently tugged at her sleeve. Her heart skipped a beat, and only then did she look back to see her grandmother, mother, and several outside guests standing on the wooden corridor opposite them. She immediately became greatly flustered. The gentle and virtuous character she had carefully cultivated was destroyed by that single sweep of her hand.

Old Madame Xie looked angrily at Madame Hu, “What’s going on?”

Madame Hu’s face remained calm as she smiled and said, “They’re just sisters playing around as usual. I’ve told them countless times, now that they’re all grown up, they can’t keep acting like children. Fourth Miss sometimes likes to joke, and Second Miss won’t yield to her younger sister… Well, now we’ve become a laughingstock.”

A mother who strives to protect her daughter can always make things appear ambiguous. Everyone had eyes – it was Second Miss who had humiliated Fourth Miss, but in Madame Hu’s telling, it became sisters playing around, even suggesting Fourth Miss’s jokes had provoked it.

If they were sisters from the same mother, it would be different – teeth sometimes bite the tongue, and every family has their playful moments. But Fourth Miss was raised by Concubine Jin, having returned only two months ago – there were many implications that, though unspoken, everyone understood. Second Miss was the legitimate daughter, inevitably proud, while poor Fourth Miss tried to please her by staying humble, yet was still bullied this way. If this happened with outside guests present, one could imagine how much worse the mistreatment would be behind closed doors.

The noble ladies, out of respect for Madame Hu, offered some perfunctory words of agreement, but their expressions suggested otherwise. Old Madame Xie frowned, glancing at Qingyuan from afar, and said dismissively, “Let the children quarrel. They might fight intensely today but tomorrow they’ll be as close as one person.” As she spoke, she led them toward the flower hall, “I just received some excellent tea. This weather is perfect for listening to the rain while tasting tea. Ladies, please come inside.”

As the noble ladies slowly made their way inside, Qingru, who had felt like sitting on pins and needles, finally breathed a sigh of relief. But the mistake had been made – her carefully cultivated image of a refined young lady had been shattered by that single action. Now regret came too late, and all her anger could only be vented on Qingyuan.

“You did this deliberately!” Qingru stared at her with reddened eyes. “You knew Grandmother was bringing the guests this way, so you deliberately provoked me to make me lose face.”

Qingyuan still maintained an innocent expression, “How can Second Sister say such things? We are branches of the same tree – how would humiliating you benefit me?”

“It benefits you greatly – you just want to put me down to elevate yourself.” Qingru’s anger rose like a mountain. The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. If not for their current circumstances, she would have slapped her. But since she couldn’t hit her, she had to give her a piece of her mind, so she sneered, “Don’t think that because they pity you, you’ve gained the upper hand. Stop dreaming! Someone like you is worse than the lowest servants in this house. I advise you to check yourself – don’t try to climb too high. The higher you climb, the harder you’ll fall. Grandmother brought you back just to keep you like a dog. You think you’re some precious young lady, daring to compete with me!”

After venting her anger with these words, she turned and headed down the corridor, where she met Baoxian face to face. The maid saw her and stepped aside to bow. When the master is disliked, the servants naturally aren’t considered good either. Qingru found her irritating and brushed past with a low shout of “get out of the way,” using too much force and nearly causing her to stumble.

Baoxian was stunned for a moment, but seeing the situation, knew there had been trouble. Without thinking of anything else, she hurried back and found Qingyuan standing in a daze. She asked what had happened, “I was only gone for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, how did another fight break out?”

Qingyuan sighed. Qingru’s words truly cut to the bone – anyone with any spirit would have been angered to death by them. However, she had indeed harbored some small schemes earlier, so it could be considered even. She decided not to dwell on it. Picking up the lacquered box from the ground, she looked at the scattered pastries and lamented, “What a shame, I didn’t even get to eat one.”

After this brief storm, peace was restored. The guests only dispersed after the evening banquet, with the Old Madame leading the household’s ladies and young misses to see off the female guests. Ornate carriages lined up in a long queue before the Xie mansion. Everyone maintained forced smiles on their faces. After the last carriage had gone far away, Qingru, who had been holding back her anger, couldn’t wait any longer and burst out, pointing at Qingyuan’s nose as she complained to Old Madame Xie: “Grandmother, you must discipline her properly! Today she set a trap for me to fall into, making me lose face in front of others. I must settle this score with her.”

The Old Madame was impatient with her outburst and said sternly, “What are you shouting about? Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough? Did she grab your hand and make you knock down that box? If you had shown any self-respect, none of this would have happened. All the ladies and young misses of Shengzhou watched you – you, a legitimate daughter of the Xie family, behaving this way. How will people talk about you behind your back!”

Though these words were meant to rebuke Qingru, the Old Madame’s gaze rested on Qingyuan’s face. Qingru was usually spoiled and indeed somewhat domineering, but Qingyuan’s depth made her see her in a new light.

“That box of pastries – what exactly happened?” the Old Madame paused to ask.

Mentioning this made Qingru angry again. She turned away, unwilling to answer. It was Qingrong who impulsively blurted out, “That was from the Marquis of Danyang’s son to Fourth Sister. Fourth Sister was using them to play host, inviting us to eat them.”

So that was it – no wonder Qingru had fallen for the trap. But in this matter, no fault could be found. You couldn’t blame the Third Young Master for sending food, and Qingyuan sharing food with her sisters showed she was considerate and not selfish. So in the end, one could only blame Qingru for her foolishness, not others.

Madame Hu saw that she had suffered a hidden loss but couldn’t make it known, and was also furious inside. However, since even the Old Madame had taken a stance, if she as the legitimate mother made a fuss, it would only make her seem lacking in the dignity of a household mistress. Unable to blame or complain, she could only try to calm things down. She glared at Qingru and said, “Your sister did nothing wrong – what do you want Grandmother to discipline her for? You, on the other hand – I usually find you so steady, yet in public, you behave so disgracefully.” Seeing her stubborn neck and unrepentant attitude, she grew more annoyed and scolded, “Why are you still standing here? You think you’re not wrong? Get inside now!”

Qingru stamped her foot and stormed across the threshold in a rage. Qingyuan timidly said, “Don’t be angry, Madame. This matter was truly my lack of consideration.”

Unexpectedly, Madame Hu smiled and said, “You didn’t lack consideration – I think you considered everything very thoroughly. However, you shouldn’t have accepted things sent by young men. You’re fourteen now, you should know to avoid suspicion.” Such a reprimand on major principles couldn’t be faulted by anyone. She then said to the Old Madame, “You’ve had a tiring day, Mother. Please go rest and don’t let the children’s small matters trouble you.”

So the family all went inside. Baoxian supported Qingyuan as they walked back. The fine rain fell on their umbrella, while a lantern in front cast a dim light, illuminating the smooth bluestone path below with an orange glow.

“I fear Madame will keep a close eye on Miss from now on,” Baoxian said, turning to look at her, but saw her profile was determined, showing no trace of worry.

“Hasn’t she been watching me since the day I returned to the Xie family?” Qingyuan gazed at the distant lanterns under the eaves and murmured, “Earlier she withheld resources, and in the future, she’ll surely interfere with my marriage – these things are unavoidable. Either way, there’s no escape; putting your head out or pulling it back, it’s still a blade to the neck. Originally, if Qingru hadn’t been difficult at every turn, my grievances with Madame would have nothing to do with her. But now you’ve seen – Madame still knows to maintain appearances, while she cuts with both entry and exit, constantly making people lose face.”

Baoxian nodded, “I understand Miss’s meaning. Second Miss is used to being imperious – not just Miss, even we servants can’t stand her harsh words. But today I was quite happy…” She spoke half a sentence and winked at Qingyuan.

Qingyuan didn’t understand, “What are you happy about?”

Baoxian said, “The son of the Marquis of Danyang! He must have feelings for Miss. This is wonderful – Miss has had no mother since childhood, and though the Chen couple treated you well, it wasn’t quite the same closeness. My godmother used to say, that a person’s life is split in two: being a young lady is only a short dozen or so years, good or bad. Only by marrying a good husband can one truly be considered blessed. Now that Miss has a marriage prospect, and the young Marquis is imperial nobility – how many noble ladies in Shengzhou would be proud to marry into the Marquis of Danyang’s family? Such a good opportunity, Miss must seize it. Since things have come to this point, might as well go all the way.”

Qingyuan remained silent after hearing this. These words rolled over and over in her heart like a millstone. Speaking of seizing opportunities – at fourteen, what did she understand of love? She only felt that if something was being fought over, it must be good.

She relaxed and leaned on Baoxian’s shoulder, saying, “Let’s keep this talk between ourselves, don’t mention it to others in the courtyard.”

Baoxian agreed, but her expression was confused, seeming to ponder the intention behind her words.

Qingyuan sighed and said, “There are Madame’s people in our courtyard too. She might suspect us about that letter incident from before, but without evidence, she can only put up with it for now.”

Baoxian was clever – after a moment’s thought, she knew who it was. “Miss means Xiaoki?”

The girl’s parents managed the household’s carriages, and this position had been arranged through Madame’s courtyard’s Elder Sister Xu – with such roundabout connections, they could always find ways to communicate.

Seeing Qingyuan nod, Baoxian continued, “Then let’s find a way to transfer her to work in the outer quarters. Keeping her close might lead to oversights – wouldn’t that become a major concern?”

Qingyuan said it wasn’t necessary, “Keeping her has its uses.”

As she spoke, her face bore an endearing smile. With such an appearance and temperament, outsiders would only see her as an unworldly young girl.

Master and servant walked slowly along the corridor. After some time, she suddenly asked Baoxian, “Do you think I’m too calculating? I don’t know how I became like this. Sometimes I’m very afraid – afraid that in the future I’ll become like a monster, living my whole life in hatred.”

Baoxian was two years older than her, with a steady and sensitive nature, and was good at comforting others. She smiled and said, “How can Miss think that way! If I encountered what Miss has, I would probably be even more calculating. Those who point fingers are all outsiders and outsiders’ words aren’t pleasant to hear – you needn’t pay them any mind. Miss shouldn’t worry – after you marry a good person and become the mistress of another household, who would want to live in hatred?”

Speaking thus, the future seemed promising, like getting closer to the lantern’s circle of light as they walked forward. Life was the same – when things get as bad as they can be, what remains can only be good.

Tonight the rain fell on the green moss, rustling all night long. The next day upon waking, one could hear the gurgling of water flowing through the drain under the eaves. Closing one’s eyes to listen, there was an illusion of being in the mountains and forests.

Elder Sister Tao came to deliver freshly picked wolfberry shoots, saying they could be stir-fried or dried for tea. Qingyuan turned to look – the tender shoots in the basket were adorably green. She picked up a piece to taste and smiled, “It is a bit sweet.”

Elder Sister Tao said, “These are the first batch to sprout – they’re most tender after the rain. I got up early and only picked these. The ones picked tomorrow won’t be nearly as good.” Then she lowered her voice, looking around before continuing, “Madame originally wanted to invite the Prefect’s wife to the Qixiang Pavilion today, but the messenger returned saying the Prefect’s wife had guests and couldn’t make it. Miss, guess who that guest was?”

Qingyuan shook her head, taking the gauze net that Chuntai brought over and slowly putting the wolfberry shoots into the net bag for someone to hang under the eaves to dry.

Elder Sister Tao smiled, “It was the Second Madame from the East Mansion. They usually have no connection – making a special visit, who knows what the reason could be.”

Qingyuan made a sound of acknowledgment. The handkerchief tied to the button slipped down from the gap in the beauty rest. She leaned halfway out to pick it up, the morning sunlight dancing in her eyes as she said softly, “Most likely the Fourth Young Master from the East Mansion has reached marriageable age, and the Second Madame wants to ask the Prefect’s wife to help arrange a good marriage.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest Chapters