HomeA Cup of LoveYi Ou Chun - Chapter 18

Yi Ou Chun – Chapter 18

Early the next morning, while dressing and arranging her hair, Chuntai wanted to put a flower crown on her—this was a common hairstyle for young ladies going out, neat and not easily disturbed by the wind. But Qingyuan declined, saying, “Let’s keep it as usual.”

Chuntai hesitated, “Miss truly doesn’t plan to go?” It would be rather regrettable if she didn’t go. Perhaps this was a great opportunity to develop feelings. The Danyang Marquis’s wife had only this one son—even though the Marquis was usually strict, his wife doted on her son and could overlook anything. Fourth Miss had no one in this family who truly cared for her; if she didn’t take charge of her future, what would become of her? As personal servants, as long as Miss didn’t reject them, they would follow her to her husband’s family as ladies-in-waiting. Truthfully speaking, they were the only ones in the entire household who were of one heart with her. In Chuntai’s mind, if Miss wanted to marry into the Danyang Marquis’s family, winning over that Third Young Master would accomplish half the task.

But Qingyuan still shook her head, “Today I can’t go, and won’t be able to go.”

Baoqin adjusted the fragrance ball hanging from her buttons and asked, “What does Miss mean by that?”

Qingyuan looked at the misty sky outside and said softly, “I’ve been suspicious about whether this letter is genuine since yesterday. We’ll know the result shortly. If Old Madam and Mother still let me return, this letter must be fake; if they rack their brains to keep me here, then this letter must be real.”

Baoqin and Chuntai were briefly startled, then thought carefully—indeed, this was logical. Because of this, they felt even more that Fourth Miss had it difficult. She was only fourteen, yet had to be so calculating—truly, having a mother and not having one made a big difference. Second Miss was the apple of Mother’s eye, accustomed to being domineering, blindly charging forward because Mother would take care of everything for her. As for Fourth Miss, with no one to rely on, she had to carefully weigh every step. Everyone who saw this both admired her wisdom and felt pity for her situation.

However, her predictions were accurate nine times out of ten. After paying morning respects, Old Madam kept her back, saying, “Your father has been back from Jiannan for several days, and the household has been busy with one thing after another, first entertaining relatives and friends, then your Third Brother’s wedding. We mothers and sons, fathers and daughters, haven’t had a proper conversation. I think you’re still unfamiliar with your father, which isn’t right. Today I’ve asked your father to dine at Huifang Garden, so we can talk together—this is how a family should be.”

Qingyuan understood—that the letter was indeed genuine, and Old Madam was quite thorough in her planning. There was some melancholy, not from regret at not seeing Li Congxin, but from regret that she was always treated as an outsider in this family, always being manipulated. However, this arrangement wasn’t bad; she had never properly interacted with her birth father. Taking advantage of today’s opportunity, she wanted to bring out her long-held confusion and seek his careful guidance.

So she asked, “When my brothers finish their studies, will they come too?”

Old Madam said no, “I’ve only invited your father. With many people around, some things aren’t convenient to discuss. Just the three of us will be more casual and familial.”

This meant not inviting Qingru and Qingrong—while she was being confined in Old Madam’s garden, they would be free to move about.

Qingyuan smiled slightly, understanding perfectly in her heart, but said nothing. She stayed to attend to Old Madam taking her medicine, then strolled to the east to watch Yuequan drawing silk threads. Old Madam was a very conscientious person who valued propriety—since her youth, she wouldn’t wear silk from outside, insisting on raising silkworms and drawing silk at home. Over time, this gave the serving women many unusual tasks that others didn’t usually do, leading to frequent complaints behind her back.

A tiny silkworm cocoon involved many complicated procedures—boiling cocoons, drawing silk, spinning thread—a complete set of tools was placed under the shed in the southeast corner of the garden. Qingyuan saw Yuequan with her sleeves tied back, using a large stick to stir in the hot pot. Outside, the sun was blazing; she worked away vigorously with just one small serving girl tending the fire.

Suddenly, the rack beside them shook and almost fell. Qingyuan hurried to steady it, smiling, “Sister Yuequan is working hard. I saw the fire going when I came in—still not finished?”

Seeing it was her, Yuequan smiled and said, “Why has Fourth Miss come here? The smell isn’t pleasant—better rest inside.”

Though she responded, she didn’t leave, instead putting down her fan to help. Being young girls, it wasn’t difficult to get along. Seeing she couldn’t persuade Qingyuan to leave, Yuequan let her participate. After some busy work, she discovered Qingyuan’s technique was quite skilled and asked in surprise, “Has Fourth Miss drawn silk before?”

Qingyuan nodded with a smile, her delicate and gentle features in the filtered sunlight under the shed making one feel dazzled.

When she smiled, there were fitting dimples beside her lips, fine as sweet sugar cups. She said unhurriedly, “In that family before, Grandmother also had people draw silk. After watching for a long time, I learned.”

Yuequan suddenly understood, “No wonder!” Then she smiled vaguely, “Fourth Miss is studious. The manor’s estates raise silkworms three seasons a year—if you asked the other three misses, they probably wouldn’t know how cocoons become clothes.”

Young ladies who never worried about food and clothing did not need to know such things. Qingyuan joked, “I broke open cocoons because Grandfather loved eating silkworm pupae. I don’t know how he could stomach it—he’d always have people pick out a plate to cook. Grandmother and I ate at different tables from him—we were terrified!”

“That’s good food—the restaurants outside sell silkworm pupae as snacks for a hundred coins a plate.” Yuequan stuck out her tongue while speaking, “Goodness, a hundred coins could buy more than ten jin of grain!”

Indeed, there seemed to be no creature that someone wouldn’t eat. They both marveled at this, finding it both horrifying and amusing.

After chatting with her for a while, Yuequan increasingly felt that Fourth Miss had a naturally good temperament. As Old Madam’s favored servant, she naturally heard more inside information than others. Today, she felt great pity for Fourth Miss but couldn’t speak too directly, so she gave a subtle hint, looking at the weather outside: “Second Miss picked a good day to visit the Great Buddha Temple… What nice weather, not a cloud in sight.”

Qingyuan’s hands paused briefly, immediately understanding.

Li Congxin’s letter—Xiaohui must have passed it to Madam Hu shortly after. Madam Hu had one good quality: for minor matters that wouldn’t cause serious problems, she liked to discuss them with Old Madam. She must have told Old Madam the news, asking for guidance on whether to let her go or find a way to stop her thoughts. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law wracked their brains for the Xie family’s reputation and the legitimate daughter’s prospects, naturally resulting in keeping her here while letting Qingru meet Li Congxin. Whether there were feelings or not, opportunities would arise. With both parties unmarried, even if the Danyang Marquis’s family later sought Qingru’s hand, who could say anything?

Truly, for the sake of a marriage, they used every underhanded trick—this was what these noble titled ladies did! Qingyuan’s lips curved slightly; though she appeared to have lost out, secretly this suited her purposes. She naturally wouldn’t get angry, instead smiling happily, “Today they’re bathing the Buddha at the Great Buddha Temple. I heard some important people are coming, and the temple is preparing to receive them. Praying at this time would be most effective—if I weren’t tied up here, I’d want to go too.”

Yuequan’s gaze was full of sympathy, sighing that Fourth Miss was truly pitiful—such a lone flower blooming in this grand household, not only lacking protection but being mistreated like this. Now she endured everything silently; even if she didn’t mind anything, by the time her sisters were all married off, she still wouldn’t find peace. No one in the Xie family treated her as a family; once it became a habit, who wouldn’t think of exploiting her, taking advantage of her?

But Qingyuan remained serene, helping Yuequan twist the silk into strands and wind them onto the spindle. While they were busy, suddenly Old Madam’s senior maid came hurrying over, saying, “Fourth Miss is here! You were hard to find! Master has entered the garden, Old Madam calls Miss over.”

Qingyuan responded with an “Ah,” let down her sleeves, and left the shed, crossing a corridor to the side hall where Old Madam was setting up the meal. This side hall was different from the main quarters—a purely wooden building with corridors and rows of partition doors coated with tung oil, giving off the warm color of natural wood in the sunlight.

She removed her shoes at the steps, entered the small hall barefoot, and glanced inside. Master had already arrived and was talking with Old Madam. One shouldn’t speak carelessly before elders, so she made a curtsy and stood quietly to the side. At first, she couldn’t understand what they were discussing, but finally realized that Master’s return from Jiannan wasn’t a granted leave to visit family—he had been suspended from his position and was currently awaiting the court’s decision.

Old Madam’s face was dark as water, “Our Xie family has been prominent for hundreds of years. Though not as illustrious as in our ancestors’ time, we cannot fall into your hands. What now? Have you thought of a way to handle this?”

Xie Shu said, “Mother, please don’t worry. Son has already asked someone in the capital to mediate. Spending some silver is a small matter—as long as we can suppress this turmoil, His Majesty will remember past military achievements and surely won’t pursue the matter.”

“Still, we need someone who can speak before His Majesty,” Old Madam sighed. “Moving the entire family from Youzhou to Lin’an, then establishing our manor in Hengtang—it seems we made a great mistake. How can a family like ours leave the capital? Without maintaining connections, relationships fade mile by mile. When trouble comes and we need help, who will truly help us?” She paused then asked, “Who did you ask this time? Are they reliable?”

Xie Shu smoothed his knee, actually not very confident, but to reassure Old Madam he insisted: “Nothing will go wrong. It’s Father’s former student, who will help us connect with the Palace Command Commissioner to personally plead our case to His Majesty.”

Old Madam fell silent, then after a while said, “The Palace Command people change batch after batch, none of them easy to deal with. Those people devour everything, bones and all. Even if they succeed, most of our family wealth will have to be handed over—and probably more!”

But what else could be done? Xie Shu lowered his head, blinking dryly, “It’s all son’s fault for not being thorough, causing Mother to worry. Son has thought carefully—just bribing such people won’t gain their true loyalty. We must find a way to establish family ties for the most security.”

Indeed, the marriage alliance strategy used by the state works just as well for ordinary families. With family ties comes protection—sharing both glory and misfortune ensures true loyalty. But such connections aren’t easily made. Not only are such people usually ruthless, but considering official ranks—the Palace Command Commissioner and Military Commissioner are both of the same Second Rank. To arrange a marriage between their children would require a highly positioned and powerful matchmaker; it couldn’t possibly succeed otherwise.

Old Madam pondered again: “Have you inquired whether that Commander has children of similar age to ours?”

Xie Shu laughed dryly, “The newly appointed Commissioner is only twenty-five or twenty-six—how could he have children that old!”

“This is difficult then. Even brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces would do…” The more she spoke, the more troubled she became, pounding her leg, “Going in circles a hundred and eighty times is useless. At that age, he must already be married…”

“He’s not.” Xie Shu said, “His father met with misfortune ten years ago, affecting the whole family. His exceptional promotion this time is firstly because he’s shrewd in handling matters, earning His Majesty’s high regard, and secondly to console his father’s spirit. But Mother, consider—such a person is used to living on the edge of danger, different from ordinary military officers. If he knows we seek to attach ourselves to him, I’m afraid…”

Old Madam suddenly raised her hand to interrupt him, smiling, “Enough, let’s not discuss these things now. Heaven is great, Earth is great, but eating is greatest.” As she spoke, she stood up and beckoned to Qingyuan, “Fourth girl, come here, tell them to set the table and begin the meal.”

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