HomeA Cup of LoveYi Ou Chun - Chapter 3

Yi Ou Chun – Chapter 3

The Xie Manor had a delicate courtyard specially set aside for receiving female guests. Past a screen wall stood a plantain tree, gracefully planted in the southeastern corner of the courtyard. The rain fell in a fine mist, dampening the newly sprouted tender leaves. Those broad, translucent green fronds trembled in the wind and rain, and when water rushed down from the eaves above, they swayed wildly, shaking out their entire frame.

A round umbrella slowly approached through the flower-adorned gate, its blue-green surface like duckweed floating on water. A maid at the gate came to assist, and Baoxian took the extinguished umbrella to put it away. The rain had grown heavier midway, splashing Fourth Young Lady’s skirt hem. She quickly crouched down, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe it clean.

Qingyuan stood under the corridor, looking toward the main hall. Under the pink walls and dark tiles was a beauty chair made of camphor wood. On rainy days, the bamboo blinds above were lowered halfway in a staggered pattern, creating a narrow strip of white space beneath. When young ladies passed through, they appeared like a series of graceful paintings.

Yuequan, a maid from the Old Madam’s quarters, came out and, seeing Qingyuan, called out, “Why hasn’t Fourth Young Lady gone in? The three young ladies are all here.”

Yuequan’s original name had been Yueyuan, but it was later changed to Quan to avoid sharing a character with Qingyuan’s name. She was one of the few genuinely sincere people in the Xie family, treating Qingyuan the same as the other young ladies, without discrimination.

Qingyuan responded with an “Ah” and said she would come. Yuequan understood her intention – being the youngest, with three sisters ahead of her, she had to maintain proper etiquette and not overstep their orders. It was rather pitiful – Fourth Young Lady hadn’t grown up in the manor, and now suddenly returning, few people treated her as a true family member. Her situation was difficult, and at such a young age she had to be careful with every step. The more cautious she was, the more it pained others to watch.

Yuequan gestured, “Young Lady, please go in.” Then, watching her retreating figure, she wondered aloud, “Why are her clothes wet?”

Baoxian, standing at the door, casually mentioned, “Oh, Second Young Lady’s maid Lüzhui splashed Fourth Young Lady. She wanted to go back and change but worried the Old Madam would grow impatient, so she hurried over.” She added with a smile, “Fourth Young Lady didn’t take it to heart, relying on her young and hardy constitution, not afraid of falling ill.”

Meanwhile, Qingyuan entered the room. Since the Magistrate’s wife was a familiar acquaintance, the Old Madam and Madam were accompanying her in the east wing room. The front hall and wing room were separated by a screen with ice-crack pattern openwork. As one walked along, the inner room was visible. The Magistrate’s wife was heard exclaiming, “I’ve visited often before, yet I’ve never seen this young lady.”

Qingyuan entered the inner room, first paying respects to the guest, then greeting the Old Madam and Madam Hu. The Old Madam, still suffering from a headache, wore a headband, but showed no sign of illness when receiving guests and responded methodically, briefly explaining, “This is my youngest granddaughter, called Qingyuan.”

The Magistrate’s wife was a perceptive person and immediately understood. Initially, she had been quite interested in observing Qingyuan but later shifted her gaze to the small celadon teacup in her hands.

“Please sit,” Madam Hu said to Qingyuan, indicating a position below Qingrong. She was Xie Shu’s principal wife, her face always bearing a cold expression, though manor residents all said she had a kind heart. This was Qingyuan’s first time meeting her, and she was surprised by her appearance. One could tell she had been a beauty in her youth, and though she rarely smiled, there was an inherent grace and refinement in her features.

After Qingyuan was seated, they resumed their previous topic, primarily discussing how the Founding Marquis’s eldest son had reached marriageable age, and the Magistrate’s wife had first thought of the Xie family.

“Though Shengzhou has many noble houses when it comes to young ladies’ virtue and talent, the Minister’s family still ranks first,” the Magistrate’s wife’s gaze swept across the faces of the young ladies as she smiled and said, “Look here, such family status, such fine appearances – you won’t find a second such family in all of Hengtang. I won’t hide it from Old Madam and Madam – the Founding Marquis’s wife is my step-sister. Since she’s entrusted this to me, I’m treating it as my family matter, which is why I’ve called on Old Madam today to hear her thoughts.”

The Founding Marquis held the upper fourth rank, with a fief of seven hundred households, and regardless, it was a title. Moreover, this was for the eldest son’s marriage – seriously speaking, it was a good match. Old Madam Xie nodded, “The family status is certainly unimpeachable, but I wonder about the eldest young master’s character and learning.” She smiled, “Though our family comes from a military background, we’ve had several scholars among our ancestors, so we dare not be careless about our children’s marriages. Madam, you’re an old acquaintance, so I won’t hide anything from you. Marrying a daughter is different from taking in a daughter-in-law. When other families’ daughters come to our house, we naturally treat them well, but when our daughters go to other families, their welfare depends entirely on them. We must ensure they’re going to someone of good character before we can be at ease.”

The Magistrate’s wife repeatedly agreed, “I completely understand Old Madam’s concerns. Since we’re old acquaintances, I wouldn’t dream of harming the young lady. Speaking of the Founding Marquis’s eldest son, he’s truly promising material – he just passed the tribute student examination this year. Though he has his ancestral legacy, he’s still willing to pursue official rank step by step – that’s rare in these times. Old Madam, you’re advanced in years and have seen many people and heard many things – isn’t this reasoning sound?”

Hearing this, there seemed nothing unsatisfactory. However, with several granddaughters in the family, it wasn’t clear which one the Founding Marquis’s family preferred, and it wouldn’t be proper to ask directly, so she said, “All the children are my most beloved, whichever one I give away, I’ll miss dearly…”

The Magistrate’s wife’s gaze fell on Qingyuan – in terms of appearance, she was certainly flawless. If not for that matter her mother, perhaps all of Shengzhou would be competing to propose marriage, but alas…

Everyone’s gazes followed the Magistrate’s wife’s, each with their expression, their speculations.

Madam Hu coughed lightly and said to the maid beside her, “The tea has all gone cold, why haven’t you brought fresh cups!”

Only then did the Old Madam carefully examine Qingyuan, noticing that one side of her clothes was a different color as if soaked through with water. What exactly had happened? With an outsider present, she couldn’t ask, but her brows furrowed in displeasure.

The Magistrate’s wife moved her gaze away from Qingyuan with regret and turned to scrutinize Qingru, smiling as she asked, “How old is Second Young Lady this year?”

Qingru was now very different from before, sitting gracefully, very much carrying herself as the eldest daughter of the main house. She bowed slightly and said, “In response to Madam, I was born in the Year of the Rabbit, I’m sixteen this year.”

Qingyuan listened and secretly smiled, knowing Qingru had answered incorrectly.

Sure enough, Madam Hu pressed her lips together, the corners showing a trace of anger as she glanced at Qingru.

In the steps of arranging a marriage, there was a procedure called “asking the name,” which came after the initial proposal and was used to check birth dates and times for compatibility. Young ladies from good families generally didn’t speak too specifically at this stage, as they were far from that step. Although she had given her age, from which the matchmaker could calculate her zodiac sign, not mentioning it would have shown restraint – mentioning it made her appear too eager.

The Magistrate’s wife maintained her composure and smiled, “The Founding Marquis’s eldest son is twenty-three this year, quite suitable in terms of age.”

The Old Madam took a sip of tea, “My granddaughters are each a year apart, all around the same age. There’s no rush in arranging their marriages.”

“Oh my, that’s wonderful – one after another, neither too bustling nor too quiet, with happy events in the family year after year.” The Magistrate’s wife still favored beauty and glanced at Qingyuan again, “Is Fourth Young Lady fourteen this year?”

Qingyuan bowed slightly in her chair, “Yes.”

“Still young,” the Old Madam interjected, “She’s the youngest child in the family, she can stay for a couple more years.” This effectively eliminated any possibility of her marriage.

Qingyuan had no interest in the matter to begin with, so she felt nothing about it, but the Magistrate’s wife’s face showed a wistful expression. At this point, Madam Hu fully demonstrates her fairness as the principal mother, looking lovingly at Qingyuan and saying to the Magistrate’s wife, “This child of mine has had a bitter fate. For her future marriage, I hope Madam will keep her in mind.”

This confirmed the rumors that Qingyuan was born to Concubine Jin. The Magistrate’s wife made a sound of acknowledgment and diplomatically said, “Now that the Fourth Young Lady has returned to Old Madam and Madam’s side, her hardships are over. In the future, when a good marriage is found, she’ll have endless blessings to enjoy.”

These were mere pleasantries, and everyone wore obliging smiles. After a few more exchanges of small talk, the Magistrate’s wife took her leave. The Old Madam sent her maid to escort her to her carriage.

Now with no outsiders in the room, the smile had long since faded from the Old Madam’s face. She sat by the south window, slowly counting her prayer beads, her eyes fixed on Qingru.

Everyone stood waiting for her instructions. The Old Madam said, “Go back and copy the ‘Inner Instructions’ ten times, and carefully contemplate the principle that ‘many words lead to many mistakes, better to speak less.'”

Qingru stammered slightly, secretly glancing at her mother. Seeing Madam Hu’s face also showed displeasure, she dared not object and simply lowered her head in agreement.

The Old Madam’s gaze was like a crescent moon blade, wherever it swept, that place would shrink. Finally, her gaze turned to Qingyuan, and with a snort, she said, “When has our family ever had such improper behavior? A young lady’s appearance is most important. It might be fine with just family present, but to make such a spectacle before guests! What exactly happened to your clothes?”

Qingru naturally knew the inside story. She grew nervous, stealing glances at Qingyuan, prepared to deny everything completely if Qingyuan were to tell on her. However, unexpectedly, Qingyuan didn’t even look at her, but bowed her head and said, “It was my negligence, Grandmother. It had been raining for several days, and the clothes hung outside wouldn’t dry. When Grandmother sent someone to summon me, I didn’t dare delay, so I just put on what was available… It was Qingyuan’s fault, I willingly accepted the punishment. Please don’t be angry, Grandmother, your health is most important.”

Hearing this, Qingru secretly sighed in relief, thinking this girl knew her place. But while she was relieved, Madam Hu was greatly displeased. Regardless of what happened with Concubine Jin in the past, now that Qingyuan had been acknowledged by the ancestors, any lack of care for her reflected poorly on Madam Hu as the principal mother. The Old Madam would surely ask how a young lady of a great family could lack a change of clothes after several days of rain – it showed intentional mistreatment.

Sure enough, the Old Madam was very unhappy, “Is Dan’yue Pavilion lacking in clothes and food?”

Qingyuan said no, “All daily necessities are complete, it’s just that my two maids were busy attending to me and didn’t manage to dry the clothes.”

The Old Madam made a sound, her tone rising high as if it would float to the sky, “Are there no servants for menial tasks in your quarters?”

Qingyuan said nothing, just smiled, and shook her head slightly.

Madam Hu finally realized and said consideringly, “Initially, two water carriers were assigned to Dan’yue Pavilion, but I suppose those servants were lazy and only focused on the kitchen and cleaning.”

This time the Old Madam’s “hmm” was much more level. Stroking her knee, she said, “Those older servants have become too clever, seeing she’s a young girl, they don’t take her seriously.” She turned to instruct Yuejian, “Later, go select two capable servants and two clever young maids to serve Fourth Young Lady.”

Yuejian accepted the command, and Qingyuan curtsied, “Thank you, Grandmother.”

However, punishment couldn’t be avoided – one thing at a time, the Old Madam was very clear about rewards and punishments. She ordered Qingyuan to copy “Lessons for Women” ten times, to learn what it means to “keep attire fresh and clean, and not dishonor oneself.”

With all matters settled, everyone returned to their courtyards. Qingru, holding Madam Hu’s arm, grumbled, “Old Madam is too strict, punishing me for such a small matter…”

Madam Hu said disapprovingly, “The Old Madam handled this well, you deserved a heavy punishment. We might overlook casual behavior within the family, but to lose face in front of outsiders, wouldn’t that make us a laughingstock? I always tell you to be careful with your words and actions, a young lady’s reputation is important. Why let people gossip behind your back? But you never listen. As for this Qingyuan…” she paused, muttering, “This girl seems quiet, but every step is calculated.”

“Qingyuan?” Qingru curled her lip in contempt, “No matter how calculated she is, with a mother like that, this is all she’ll ever amount to.”

That point was true. Madam Hu’s expression softened as she smoothed Qingru’s temples, “The match the Magistrate’s wife spoke of is truly good. She just asked about you carefully – surely the Founding Marquis’s family intends to take a principal daughter as a bride.”

Qingru couldn’t help feeling pleased but soon became hesitant, “The Magistrate’s wife didn’t just ask about me, she asked about Qingyuan too. Who knows what she’s thinking – surely she doesn’t find her suitable as well!”

Madam Hu stood by the decorated window, pinching fish food to feed the two lion head goldfish in the tank. The daylight from outside fell on half her face as she slightly pulled at the corner of her mouth, “They asked just to be thorough. With the three older ones married off, the last one naturally won’t do. For Qingyuan to make a good marriage would be difficult – as they say, like mother, like daughter. What family of good reputation would dare take such a daughter-in-law!”

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