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Chapter 87: Answers to the Riddle
“Separation by death must finally be choked down,
but separation in life is a long anguish.
Chiang-nan is a pestilential land;
no word from you there in exile.
You have been in my dreams, old friend,
as if knowing how much I miss you.
Caught in a net,
how is it you still have wings?
I fear you are no longer mortal;
the distance to here is enormous.
When your spirit came, the maples were green;
when it went, the passes were black.
The setting moon spills light on the rafters;
for a moment I think it’s your face.
The waters are deep, the waves wide;
don’t let the river gods take you. “
Yuan Dayong, who had read some books, recited the poem softly, thinking solemnly.
>> The Poem
>> River Gods
Then his face changed, “‘Separation by death must finally be choked down, but separation in life is a long anguish.’ Does it mean that Ruomei has met with an untimely death?”
Ren Yaoqi was also pondering over the poem, but when she heard Yuan Dayong’s speculation she shook his head and mused, “That person has gone to such great lengths to follow you so far, it should not be just to tell you that the person you are looking for has died.”
“Then what is the meaning of this verse?” Yuan Dayong was puzzled, “This individual is also odd; why can’t he simply say things directly instead of playing hide and seek?”
Ren Yaoqi heard this, but her heart fluttered, “‘Caught in a net‘ Is he trying to make me solve a riddle?”
“A riddle?” Yuan Dayong had a strange expression on his face. He thought that if that individual spent so much time and effort to make them guess riddles, then that person must have a lot of spare time.
“Then what is the answer to this riddle?” Although in his heart Yuan Dayong was irritated, he was also desperate and could not conceive what it could mean.
Ren Yaoqi inclined her head in contempation, then suddenly she was taken aback, looked up, and said, “White dragon in fish suit?”
>> White dragon in fish suit
“White dragon in fish suit? Is Fifth Miss talking about the riddle?” Yuan Dayong frowned and pondered for a moment, “‘Caught in a net’… ‘White dragon in fish suit‘… I guess it makes sense, but what is this trying to explain? “
Ren Yaoqi shook her head and said softly, “It doesn’t mean to explain anything, It just tells us the name of a place.”
“Name of a place?” Yuan Dayong was also stunned. He pondered carefully for a long time, then suddenly his eyes lit up and said, “White Dragon… Bailong… Bailong Temple? The answer is the Bailong Temple?”
>> Bailong
The Bailong Temple is built on Bailong Mountain. It is said that the origin of the name of this place is related to the story of the white dragon in a fish suit. The phrase ‘Caught in a net’ implies that the white dragon had turned into fish. It means that there was a good chance it was the Bailong Temple they were referred to.
Ren Yaoqi nodded, “If Zhu Ruomei is really in someone else’s hands, then the most likely reason they came to us was to tell us the location.”
Yuan Dayong couldn’t help but smile bitterly at her words, “Then this person is really… What if we can’t guess it? Isn’t it a waste of his painstaking efforts?” Yuan Dayong felt that this person was a bit odd.
Ren Yaoqi is not very sure, this is just her guess.
“Then… Should I go to the Bailong Temple to find out what’s going on?” Yuan Dayong asked.
Ren Yaoqi nodded: “You should be careful and better bring some people along.”
However, Ren Yaoqi felt that from the way this person behaves, they didn’t seem to have malicious intentions. Yuan Dayong replied and retreated.
As soon as Ren Yaoqi returned to Ziwei Courtyard, Xi’er ran over from the main room.
“Fifth Miss, Madam has asked you to go to the main room.” Xi’er bowed and said respectfully.
Ren Yaoqi did not go back to her west wing but followed Xi’er straight to the main room in the back.
Li was talking with Matron Zhou in the east wing when Ren Yaoqi lifted the curtain and entered, asking with a smile, “Mother. What do you want from me?”
Li waved her hand and let Ren Yaoqi sit down beside her before she asked with a slight frown, “Qi’er. I heard that you often go out of the second door to meet people recently?”
When Ren Yaoqi came, she had thought that Li might ask her about this, and it was true that she had been going out more often recently.
Ren Yaoqi then briefly told Li about the Zhu Family.
Li nodded and said, “I know you are kind-hearted and it is good for you to make good friends. Matron Zhou also mentioned to me about the Zhu Family sending things in before, and I didn’t stop them. But after all, they are people from outside and it is not good for you, an unmarried woman, to go out to meet guests all the time. If they come again in the future, you can ask someone to bring them in to say something, and for the men, you can just send a servant to meet them.”
Ren Yaoqi was about to say something else, but she saw Li frowning and looking at her worriedly. She couldn’t say anything else, so she nodded her head and agreed.
At that moment, Ren Yaohua also lifted the curtain and came in.
When Li saw that both sisters had come, she smiled and said, “I called you here today because of the matter of the housekeeping maids. Matron Zhou has already chosen a housekeeper for each of you two sisters. They will be in the house in a few minutes.”
Matron Zhou also smiled and said, “Third Miss and Fifth Miss will see them first today. If they don’t like them, Matron Zhou will go and choose another one. The housekeepers must want you to be happy with them, and later when you leave the house, they will have to follow you.”
This means choosing a matron.
Li said trustingly, “Matron Zhou has been choosing for so long, these two must be good.”
But Ren Yaoqi remembered one thing: in her last life she had not asked Li to choose a housekeeper for her.
But she had heard that Ren Yaohua’s housekeeper, Matron Xu, was a capable person. Later when Ren Yaohua was getting married, did not know what tricks this Matron Xu had used to make her daughter take the place of a senior maid who originally serves Ren Yaohua. She then became Ren Yaohua’s dowry maid to marry the Zeng Family.
When Ren Yaohua killed Zeng Kui, all the dowry maids around her suffered together with her, but only Matron Xu’s daughter was unharmed since she was the one who tattle them to Zeng Yu.
She had heard of many people who sold their masters for glory, but this one was the most chilling to her.
Que’er lifted the curtain and came in to report that Matron Xu and Matron Gao had arrived and were waiting outside.
Li nodded and told Que’er to bring them in to talk.
Ren Yaoqi sat on the bed and waited in silence.
After a while, Que’er brought in two women who were probably in their thirties.
The one at the front is neatly dressed, with her hair pulled back meticulously. Her expression is somewhat serious but her features are very pretty, so at first glance, she looks somewhat similar to Matron Zhou.
The one at the back was more plainly dressed, with a slightly rounded face and an appropriately conciliatory smile on her lips, looked very good-tempered.
Both women came forward and bowed to Li and the two young ladies. Matron Zhou pointed to the serious-faced one and said, “This is Matron Xu, the one picked out for the Third Miss.”
She also pointed to the round-faced one and introduced her, “This is Matron Gao, for the Fifth Miss.”
Ren Yaoqi sized up the two, and Ren Yaohua glanced at Matron Xu, who had chosen for her. She then nodded to Li, indicating that she had no opinion, and that she had always trusted Matron Zhou.
Li then looked at Ren Yaoqi, waiting for her to make a statement.
But Ren Yaoqi suddenly looked at Ren Yaohua and said with a smile, “Third Sister, can we change the housekeeper maid? I think Matron Xu looks familiar.”
Li glared at Ren Yaoqi and said curiously, “You’ve been naughty again!”
Matron Zhou also looked a little embarrassed. Matron Xu had been specially chosen for Ren Yaohua. Ren Yaohua would leave the boudoir a few years earlier than Ren Yaoqi, and she needed someone who could support her in her in-laws’ house.
Ren Yaoqi made a face and tugged at Ren Yaohua’s sleeve, pestering, “Third Sister, let’s change, let’s change, let’s change…”
Ren Yaohua frowned at Ren Yaoqi and looked at the two nannies, then pulled Ren Yaoqi’s hand away and said with some impatience, “Then let’s change. Just think carefully, if you want to return it after a whim, I won’t talk to you!”
Ren Yaoqi smiled, “Thank you, Third Sister.”
Li and Matron Zhou looked at each other with helpless faces.
But in the end, Li was happy that the two sisters were now getting along well, no longer looking like enemies as they had done in the past. As a mother, she could not be more pleased.
Matron Zhou didn’t want the two sisters to fall out over this matter, so she didn’t say anything either.
Matron Gao was also carefully selected. Even if she had any shortcomings, she would be able to do well after teaching her for a while.
The housekeeping maids for Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua were already prepared, they were only switched over.
Matron Xu and Matron Gao both had troubled faces and bowed to their new masters.
Li said gently to them, “You will each live in the small side rooms in the east and west wings. Today is your first day in the house, go down and clean up first, get familiar with the house, and then take up your official duties tomorrow.”
The two maids thanked Li again and rose to retire.
Ren Yaoqi looked at Matron Xu’s back quietly, the look in her eyes was imperceptible.
Although Li had arranged for the two housekeeping maids to be on duty the next day, Matron Xu came to serve Ren Yaoqi in the evening.
When she reappeared, Matron Xu had already changed into the spring clothes issued by the Ren Family. Her hair was still pulled back in a meticulous round bun, decorated with only a silver hairpin. She looked very competent and calm.
Ren Yaoqi asked Xueli to call all the eight maids in her house so that they could get to know Matron Xu.
In the evening, when she went to bed, Matron Xu personally waited on Ren Yaoqi to wash up.
She had to admit that Matron Zhou’s eyes were really good. Matron Xu’s words, actions, and behavior were just right, and no one could find a single fault.
“Who else is in Matron Xu’s family?” As Matron Xu bent down to cover Ren Yaoqi with a blanket, Ren Yaoqi asked casually with her eyes closed.
Matron Xu said respectfully but gently, “This matron’s husband is no longer with us. There is only one boy at home, he is fourteen years old and is now learning from the vice manager of the coal storehouse that the Ren Family owns in Yunyang City.”
Ren Yaoqi could not help but open her eyes, “You only have one son?”
Matron Xu nodded, “This servant only has one son.”
Ren Yaoqi did not make another sound.
Matron Xu waited at the head of the bed for a long time. When she saw that Ren Yaoqi had stopped talking, she thought she had fallen asleep, so she helped her put down the curtain, picked up the candlestick on the small table, and walked out gently.
The room darkened inch by inch, and Ren Yaoqi slowly closed her eyes.
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I’m very sorry for the cluncky translation and explanation ;_; Hopefully everyone can understand based on the words used in the poems and the story behind each of them.
But nonetheless, isn’t it such a lovely poem?