HomeA Cup of LoveYi Ou Chun - Chapter 4

Yi Ou Chun – Chapter 4

Meanwhile, in Dan’yue Pavilion, Baoxian was overjoyed – the punishment of copying texts wasn’t much of an issue anymore. She laid out the rice paper for her mistress, smoothing it repeatedly with paperweights, and smiled, “I wondered why Young Lady went over wearing wet clothes. You’re usually so meticulous, yet today with guests present, you became casual.”

Qingyuan tied back her sleeves and dipped her brush in the inkstone, steadily writing in a small, elegant script, only smiling without responding.

Chuntai sighed, “I know what Young Lady is thinking – we weren’t hoping for a marriage arrangement anyway. If we weren’t perfect before the Magistrate’s wife, people would just say the Young Lady is young and newly returned, not understanding proper etiquette. It’s fine if they skip over Young Lady for marriage prospects – Young Lady doesn’t care for it anyway. In the end, Old Madam ordered more servants and maids to be added – we came out ahead!”

Indeed, she neither cared for marriage nor intended to tangle with Qingru. She was simply pursuing her own goals, speaking frankly, even the honor and shame of the Xie family didn’t matter to her. When she first returned, Madam Hu indeed hadn’t treated her like the other sisters – this courtyard had only Baoxian and Chuntai, plus two elderly servants managing the grounds. Even with just these few people, life was manageable. Her desire for additional staff now was entirely to recall the old servants who had attended her mother.

Her hand continued writing without pause as she lowered her eyes and said, “Baoxian, since you’re familiar with Yuejian, privately ask her to reassign that servant woman from the lower quarters back here.”

Baoxian agreed, peering outside where the evening was approaching. Through the decorative window in the courtyard wall, she could see lanterns being lit in the small side courtyard to the west, a point of light rising in the misty world. She turned back and said, “Better wait a bit longer until it’s dark. Yuejian will be checking the gates then – it’ll be more convenient to talk.”

Qingyuan nodded. As she wrote, she noticed a stray hair on her brush and bent over the desk, concentrating on removing it from the brush tip.

At dusk, when the sky was neither dark nor light, Baoxian carried a lantern out of Dan’yue Pavilion. The rain had stopped, and the air carried the scent of damp earth. The small yellow lantern had an openwork bottom ring, casting a bowl-sized patch of light on the ground. The Xie family was a great household in Shengzhou – the master served as Military Commissioner in Jiannan Circuit, and since it wasn’t convenient to bring the family, they all remained in Hengtang. This residence had been developed for some twenty years, one courtyard connected to another in expansion, now occupying several dozen mu of land. With such a large estate and many inhabitants, walking along one would always encounter a servant or maid, whether near or far.

Further ahead was Huifang Garden, Old Madam’s garden under Yuejian’s management. Every day at this hour, she would inspect the grounds. Baoxian stood on tiptoe to look and indeed saw her instructing a young maid by the gate. She walked along the corridor, smiling, “Sister Yuejian is such a busy person.”

Seeing her, Yuejian understood without words being necessary and instructed the young maid beside her, “Go find Mother Li and ask if she’s settled the accounts for the carriage and sedan chair ropes. It’s month-end, and Old Madam will review the accounts. If things remain unclear, I’ll have to report it.”

The young maid acknowledged and hurried off down the western passage.

Baoxian teased her, “Sister, you’re becoming more and more authoritative – worth half a steward.” They had entered the household in the same batch, eating together and enduring the matron’s scolding and beatings together. The two got along well, so their friendship was quite special.

Yuejian said, “Stop teasing me. I’d rather be like you, serving a young lady – better than being busy all day like now. You know Old Madam’s temperament – even with good service there’s never a kind word, and if the service isn’t good…” The latter half of her words faded as she shook her head.

Baoxian naturally knew service wasn’t easy – few in the entire household had it easy. But she set aside these thoughts for now, having more urgent matters to discuss with Yuejian. She pulled her aside and said softly, “Today Old Madam ordered servants to be assigned to Fourth Young Lady’s quarters – have you decided on the people?”

Yuejian said she hadn’t, “Since the Magistrate’s wife left, I’ve been busy until now without a moment’s rest, and haven’t gotten to it yet. I was thinking of handling it tomorrow… Why, do you have someone suitable in mind?”

Baoxian smiled, “Since it’s not decided, why not assign Mother Tao from the lower quarters to Fourth Young Lady?”

Yuejian hesitated, knowing there must be a reason for this specific request. Mother Tao was usually quite unremarkable, doing odd jobs in the lower quarters – she had never paid attention to her. Now that Fourth Young Lady specifically requested her, this person must have some history.

She thought and asked, “Does Mother Tao have some connection to Fourth Young Lady?” Then she realized, “Was she perhaps in service to Concubine Jin before?”

They weren’t born into service and hadn’t been in the household for more than ten years, so they didn’t know the earlier circumstances. Baoxian looked around to ensure no one was nearby before nodding, “Fourth Young Lady has no support in this household. An old servant would be comforting, so she asked me to request this of you.”

Yuejian sighed deeply, “Fourth Young Lady must miss her mother. I heard Concubine Jin died shortly after giving birth to her – Fourth Young Lady never had a mother growing up. Now that she’s returned to the Xie family, living in her mother’s former quarters, naturally, she’d want the former servants attending her.”

Baoxian said, “Indeed. Whatever mistakes Concubine Jin made, Fourth Young Lady is innocent. If we can transfer the servant to the garden, that would be best. If not, we won’t force it – Fourth Young Lady isn’t stubborn, she’ll forget about it in time.”

Yuejian slowly nodded, then after a pause continued, “Getting someone into Dan’yue Pavilion isn’t impossible, but with so many people in the household and all their gossip, I fear it will generate talk.”

Baoxian smiled, “That’s exactly why I came to you – just don’t mention it to outsiders, treat it as a coincidence. As for idle talk, even immortals can’t stop idle mouths. How many in this household don’t discuss Fourth Young Lady behind her back? After time passes, it’ll become unremarkable.”

Put that way, there was nothing more to consider. For Yuejian, this was a simple favor – it would be foolish not to do it.

Early the next morning, she led two elderly servants and two young maids for menial tasks to Dan’yue Pavilion.

The sun had just risen over the courtyard wall. A thin fog had risen overnight, and the morning light fell on the main hall’s steps, wrapping the world in a soft glow. Bamboo blinds hung under the eaves, made of golden vine and red lacquer, with panels of bamboo strips woven with gold and silver thread, creating a striking contrast with the delicate thorny peach trees in the courtyard – a uniquely intense and mysterious effect. Indeed, a house needs people living in it! The small courtyard had been empty for over ten years, with rumors of ghosts. Now that Fourth Young Lady had moved in and tidied it properly, who could remember its former overgrown state!

Fourth Young Lady stood under the eaves facing the sun, squinting and smiling, still showing traces of childishness. Old Madam rose early, taking her seat in the main hall at the fifth watch every day, almost like an emperor holding court, receiving the younger generation’s morning greetings. From the generation of the madams to the old aunts and concubines, then to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, they came to kowtow – the whole round finished just after the seventh watch. Fourth Young Lady didn’t have the habit of returning to bed, so when Yuejian brought people in, she was still properly dressed in a blue satin jacket with picked flowers and a small hairpin of coral-dripping-with-green, standing in the spring light of the third month, delicate and soft like a flower.

Yuejian led the people to pay respects to the Fourth Young Lady, asking her to inspect them, “This slave has selected these few, the most capable among the servants, for Young Lady’s use. Old Madam has said that since the Young Lady is young and inexperienced, these servants shouldn’t be given too much latitude. If any are disobedient, Young Lady need only send word to this slave, and Old Madam will send matrons to discipline them.”

Qingyuan said, “Very well, thank you, Sister.”

Yuejian smiled, bowed again, and returned to Huifang Garden.

Qingyuan stood there examining each one and asked, “Who is Mother Tao?”

A woman of about fifty stepped forward, and when she raised her eyes to look at Qingyuan, she gazed in amazement – probably struck by how much she resembled her mother!

The mistress had many questions to ask. Chuntai led the others out of the courtyard, while Baoxian said, “Young Lady, don’t stand outside – the fog hasn’t cleared. Be careful the dampness doesn’t seep into your bones and cause headaches. Come back inside!” While calling to Mother Tao, “Bring water for Young Lady to wash her hands.”

Mother Tao agreed and quickly returned. Baoxian rolled up Fourth Young Lady’s sleeves, and Mother Tao watched intently as those jade-like hands dipped into the water. Looking for too long made her dizzy, as if time had reversed and she had returned to fourteen years ago.

Qingyuan dried her hands with a towel and said, “Mother Tao was one of my mother’s old servants. I’ve finally found you, and now bringing you back is like reuniting with an old friend.”

Mother Tao’s knees weakened and she knelt, saying tearfully, “This slave never imagined that after fourteen years, I would see Young Lady. If only the Concubine were still here – if that incident hadn’t happened, how joyful this family reunion would be.”

But in this world, “if only” is what one should least say – speaking of “if only” only breeds greater regret. Qingyuan had Baoxian help her up and said wistfully, “My mother died shortly after I was born – I don’t remember anything about her appearance or personality. I’ve asked you here today to tell me about my mother’s life. I’ve heard many rumors, cutting like sharp knives, and don’t know what’s true or false.”

Mother Tao thought for a moment and said, “Young Lady shouldn’t listen to those people’s nonsense. Although this slave wasn’t serving in the quarters then, I saw the Concubine daily and was responsible for her carriages and sedan chairs. Speaking of the Concubine’s temperament, she was most cordial to others. In her three years in the household, she never once showed anger to anyone, nor put on airs before the servants. Later when rumors suddenly spread that she had poisoned Concubine Xia, how could anyone believe it? But alas, we were all just servants, none daring to speak up. After the Concubine was driven from the household, Dan’yue Pavilion was disbanded. Over fourteen years, the old servants were either sent to the estate farms or died. Only I remained in the household, relegated to doing odd jobs in the lower quarters, barely seeing any masters for years.”

Qingyuan nodded slowly. Before recalling Mother Tao, she had also investigated carefully. At that time, Mother Tao had been just an ordinary servant, neither valued nor considered a confidante. After Dan’yue Pavilion’s complete downfall, she suffered some consequences but was still allowed to remain in the household. Sometimes the most unremarkable people have different perspectives on shocking past events – they hear echoes from all directions and have their standards of judgment.

She smoothed her clothes and said, “Now that I’ve asked Mother Tao to return, I consider you my people. Staying by my side in the future will surely be better than doing menial work in the lower quarters for life.”

That was natural – Fourth Young Lady was, after all, the master’s flesh and blood. However bad things might be, Concubine Jin’s tragedy couldn’t repeat with her. When the young lady married in the future, an old nanny was her attendant – if she married well and was respected as a madam, the attending servant would share in the good fortune.

A ray of light suddenly pierced the grey years, and Mother Tao immediately perked up, “This slave served the Concubine and has always been Dan’yue Pavilion’s person – there’s no way I wouldn’t be devoted to Young Lady.”

Qingyuan smiled and said good, “Then Mother Tao need not hold back – tell me in detail about the circumstances of those years.”

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