Bitter bamboo shoots had been soaking in cool well water overnight. Early in the morning, they were blanched in boiling water, then mixed with red chili oil. A few cloves of garlic were crushed and added, along with oil-fried Sichuan peppercorns ground to powder, topped with a small handful of fragrant cilantro. Scalding hot vinegar water was poured over everything, a bit of fine salt casually sprinkled on top—this was an incomparable delicacy. After downing a large bowl of golden millet porridge and eating a scallion pancake, even an immortal’s life would be no better than this.
Today was a leisurely day. The first and fifteenth of each month were days when Li Chengqian and Li Tai unfailingly paid their respects to their father and mother, which meant Yun Ye rarely enjoyed a full day of leisure.
Having just finished breakfast, he chatted idly with his grandmother for a while, then discussed Daya’s wedding matters with his aunt and sister-in-law for a bit. He was preparing to take Xinyue boating on the Dongyang River. Xiao Qiu couldn’t go—she was now sporting a huge belly and found everything inconvenient. She had married a young steward from the household last year.
Xinyue had some inexplicable notion that even after Xiao Qiu married, she remained her head maid. This was quite rare among wealthy families. Xiao Qiu’s husband was praised by everyone on the Yun family estate as a capable man. The fortune he had accumulated was enough for Xiao Qiu to command over a dozen maids herself, yet Xiao Qiu simply refused. Although she no longer lived in the Yun household, she would invariably appear at Xinyue’s door at daybreak every day, waiting to serve her mistress.
Yun Ye couldn’t say anything about it. Whenever he brought up changing maids, Xiao Qiu would burst into loud wails, and Xinyue would say her husband had no conscience—after all these years of Xiao Qiu’s service to them as a couple, how could he just replace her on a whim?
In truth, this was quite inconvenient. Now that she was married, it was improper to order her about for certain matters, and sometimes it invited gossip. Yun Ye shared his concerns with the chief steward, Old Qian, hoping he could think of a good solution.
Who knew Old Qian’s aged face would flush red with fury, saying indignantly: “My lord, which contemptible wretch has been whispering such things in your ear? Xiao Qiu may have married, but in our household, she’s still serving you and the mistress. Our family is a clean and proper household! All these years, where have we ever had the sordid affairs that occur in those wealthy noble families? Maids simply do their work and earn their wages. They enter through the door pure and leave through the door pure. You don’t know this, my lord, but maids from other households find it difficult to marry into good families, while maids from our household are eagerly sought after by respectable families on the estate once they leave our service.”
“Our whole household is full of good people. Your lordship’s invincible reputation is known far and wide. The mistress’s virtuous reputation for managing the household is famous throughout Chang’an. Our old matriarch is someone who received personal praise from Ancestor Yan. The young ladies and misses in the household are all kind people. Though the young ladies do enjoy playing tricks on people, that’s just youthful nature. Now that they’ve grown up these past two years, such things no longer happen. My lord, you needn’t worry about household matters. This old servant keeps his eyes bright—anything that would disgrace our family’s reputation will definitely be prevented.”
This was good. Home should be a place to rest when one’s heart was weary. If it were filled with foul atmosphere and constant quarreling, it would drive a person mad. Yun Ye picked up a large bamboo basket filled with food, hoisted Yun Baobao onto Wangcai’s back, and Xinyue, dressed enchantingly and swaying her hips, followed them out the door.
Huang Shu had prepared the raft early. There was a small wooden boat, but Yun Ye didn’t like it—it wasn’t as stable as a wide raft. Huang Shu grinned and boasted at length about how sturdy his raft was. His words had barely finished when Wangcai jumped onto it. Other horses would refuse to board ships even if beaten to death, but only Wangcai liked it. Once on the raft, he immediately pressed down one end so high that the other end tilted up sharply. Huang Shu hurriedly jumped onto the other end, barely managing to save face.
Yun Baobao, riding on Wangcai’s back, gleefully waved her hands and feet about, apparently quite pleased with the recent mishap. Yun Ye helped Xinyue onto the raft, then jumped on himself. He shooed Wangcai to the middle. Xinyue held Yun Baobao in her arms. Though the child protested with loud wails, no one paid attention. Watching Wangcai habitually lie down, Yun Ye went under the canopy and sat in a reclining chair, preparing to while away the entire day.
The Dongyang River now had many koi carp in its waters. Some do-gooder had dumped many small fish fry into the river and fed them daily, causing these red fish to loiter in this section of the river and go nowhere else. Even though quite a few had been caught, they still wouldn’t leave. Right now, one could look into the river water and see schools of foot-long red koi swimming about brazenly.
Summer days in Guanzhong were thoroughly scorching under the blazing sun. Not long after the sun rose, waves of damp heat quickly wrapped around everyone. The academy students were all on vacation now. Only some students from distant places hadn’t returned home. They went bare-chested, earning their living on the Dongyang River. No matter how wealthy their family circumstances, at the academy everyone was penniless. The academy wouldn’t provide for meals and expenses during vacation—you had to earn it yourself to demonstrate ability. No one was willing to withdraw money their parents had deposited in the academy’s accounts; doing so would invite contempt from the accountants and teachers, and even among classmates, no one would envy you. When others used their own earned money to eat steamed buns and gnaw on pickled vegetables, while you used family money to enjoy meat and fish, no one would be envious.
If it were during the school term and you had a good dish, a crowd of shameless rogues would always surround you to help you taste whether the dish was properly cooked, lest you upset your stomach. After they left, if you still had the bottom of the bowl remaining, that counted as them showing mercy. But after vacation started, if you ate good food again—if you’d bought it with money you earned yourself, you’d still receive the former treatment. But if it was your parents’ money, everyone would immediately distance themselves from you. No matter how delicious your food was, they’d rather gnaw on pickled vegetables than touch it. They considered eating your blood and sweat perfectly natural; eating your parents’ blood and sweat—academy disciples would not do such a thing.
So when you saw those barefoot youths with rolled-up trouser legs earnestly poling rafts, you shouldn’t show the slightest contempt. Perhaps among them was a provincial governor’s son or an assistant magistrate’s young master. For money earned through one’s own efforts, absolutely no one at the academy would show the slightest disdain, and moreover, doing this would greatly improve one’s evaluation at graduation.
Hong Cheng’s boat was right behind Yun Ye’s raft. Seeing a plump girl in a red shirt standing on tiptoe about to jump onto the Yun family’s raft, Yun Ye’s teeth ached. He told Xinyue to sit tight, then looked at Wangcai with his head drooping in sleep, closing his eyes, unable to bear watching what was about to happen.
The raft bounced violently once on the water surface. Wangcai was frightened completely awake. Yun Ye soothed him for quite a while before he finally settled down.
“Uncle Yun, do you know where Gou Zi went? I went to his house, and his aunt said he went to Luoyang and would be back in a few days. How is it that we still haven’t seen him?”
“Girl, next time you want to come over, wait until the raft reaches shore before boarding. This way isn’t safe—it would be terrible if a grown young lady fell into the river. You’re asking about Gou Zi? He’s helping Xiao Ying prepare the new house. As you know, Xiao Ying and Daya’s wedding is this year. They’re very busy.”
“Uncle Yun, what do you think about Gou Zi and me also getting married this year?” Hearing Hong Guo’er’s words, Xinyue covered her mouth, laughing so hard she could barely contain herself. Yun Ye was dumbstruck by the question.
“Guo’er, are you certain Gou Zi will marry you? It seems to me he’s not very willing.” After coughing for a long time, Yun Ye finally managed to ask this question. Hong Cheng’s daughter truly had tremendous courage.
Hong Guo’er twisted her body shyly and crouched before Xinyue to play with Yun Baobao. Speaking those words had already been her limit. Now she was just keeping her ears perked, wanting to hear Yun Ye’s view on this matter.
“Our Guo’er is such a wonderful girl. That little scoundrel Gou Zi is still being choosy? With such a fine girl taking a fancy to him, he should quickly marry her and treasure her. How can he be so ungrateful?”
Yun Ye sighed and glanced at Hong Guo’er’s stout waist. Xinyue was clearly talking nonsense. Gou Zi was the Yun family estate’s famous handsome young man, said to be ranked second only to Chengxin. As for Chengxin, the girls had naturally given up hope long ago, but for a sunny youth like Gou Zi, they were all ready to pounce and wouldn’t let him go. Hong Guo’er was merely the fiercest among them.
“Guo’er, you really need to discuss this matter properly with Gou Zi. You come from a wealthy family and you’re a legitimate daughter. Your status doesn’t allow you to act recklessly. It’s fine for you to talk to Uncle Yun like this, but if word spreads outside, what about your father’s reputation? Actually, if you look at the river surface, among those students poling boats, there are many fine young men hoping to marry into your family. I can guarantee that students who can set aside their pride to pole boats and earn money will all have unlimited prospects in the future. There’s no need to fixate on Gou Zi and make yourself miserable.”
Unable to get help from Yun Ye, Hong Guo’er dejectedly lowered her head. She bid farewell to the Yun couple, grabbed her family’s boat rail, and struggled to climb up. As she climbed, she suddenly burst into tears. Choking with emotion, she turned to Yun Ye and said: “Uncle Yun, please pass a message to Gou Zi for me—if he doesn’t return by the end of the month, I’ll have to marry the fool from Marquis Xiangcheng’s family.”
Watching Hong Guo’er’s plump body wriggling up onto the boat like a maggot, Xinyue said furiously to Yun Ye with reddened eyes: “Go back and write a letter immediately to drag that little scoundrel back. He ruined a girl’s reputation and thinks he can just run away? If Gou Zi hadn’t seen Guo’er bathing, why would she have to marry the fool from Marquis Xiangcheng’s family? Regardless of whether Gou Zi is willing or not, he must marry Guo’er. If he doesn’t marry her, just watch how I deal with him.”
“Your temper tantrum makes no sense. It’s not like I was the one who saw Guo’er’s body. If you want to write a letter, you write it. I’m not writing such an unlucky letter. Guo’er is too willful—suffering this loss will teach her a lesson.”
“How can one learn a lesson from marriage? Once married, do you think there’s room for regret? Marquis Xiangcheng still owes our family a lot of silver. If he dares to marry Guo’er, I’ll make his whole family drink the northwest wind. If Hong Cheng dares to obstruct this, I’ll deal with him too.” Xinyue suddenly stood up. The golden hairpin on her head glinted blindingly in the sunlight, fully revealing the demeanor of an imperially-granted lady.
Yun Ye shook his head. Once a woman went mad, there was no reasoning with her. Xinyue was now a leading figure among Chang’an’s matrons. With one roar from her, Marquis Xiangcheng’s family would definitely suffer misfortune, not to mention she also had He Shao, that loyal lackey, to help her. If she said she’d make Marquis Xiangcheng’s whole family drink the northwest wind, his family truly wouldn’t be able to have their thin porridge.