chapter 89

When Yuchen and Yuxi were looking for Qingxia¹qing = green grass, xia = rosy cloudsJunzhu²Princess of the Third Rank / usually given to daughter of a Qingwang, she was talking to a young lady. Her expression was very happy.

Yuxi looked at the other young lady and saw that she was dressed in light pink dress with her smoky skirt embroidered with scattered daffodils. Her pleated cloud sleeves were outlined with several auspicious clouds using silver silk thread. While her ink-black hair was coiled up into a feixian³flying Immortalbuns, where a few stalks of small pearl flowers hair-ornaments were randomly placed between the buns, and a white jade lotus hairpin inlaid with precious stones was placed slanted on the side. Her beautiful eyes which were busy glancing around were flowing with rich colour, while a light smile was overflowing between her red lips, which made people unable to move their eyes from her.

Feixian (flying Immortal) Buns

Image Credit : Cosplay Queen via My Hanfu Favorites at Tumblr.com

Yuxi let out a long sigh of relief. This young lady, regardless of her appearance and demeanour, was not even a thread less inferior than Yuchen. This was the first time for her to see another young lady who was unable to be told which one was up and which one was down⁴Chinese idiom : to be at the same levelwhen compared with Yuchen.

Yuchen and Yuxi were preparing to give their courtesy when Qingxia¹qing = green grass, xia = rosy cloudsJunzhu²Princess of the Third Rank / usually given to daughter of a Qingwangsuddenly grabbed onto Yuchen and said with a smile, “Yuchen Jiejie⁵older sisterdoes not need to be so polite.” With that, she pointed to the young lady who had just spoken to her and introduced, “Yuchen Jiejie⁵older sister, this is Xiyu Jiejie⁵older sister.”

When Yuchen was in front of her, Yuxi had always been a neglected subject. After facing the same situation all over the years, she had already gotten used to it. Thus, she made it looked like as if she had done giving her courtesy, then she stood quietly beside Yuchen.

Yu Xiyu looked at Yuxi with a smile and asked, “Is this Yuxi Meimei⁶younger sister? I heard from Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang that Duke Han of the State residence has produced a lot of beauties. When I personally saw them today, I finally believed that Xianzhu’s words weren’t just her assumptions.“

Today, Yuxi was wearing a very light yellow dress, with 80 percent of her skirt was in the colour of moonlight. It was also decorated with embroidered patterns of butterflies and flowers. Her dress made her looked really fresh, elegant and youthful.

Yuxi shyly responded, “I don’t deserve Yu Jiejie⁵older sister’s praise.” On such occasions, she never showed her true self. The reason was very simple. This was not a circle that she would like to mix with. If she rushed to express herself, it would only make people despise her more.

Jiang Qi smiled and said, “Biaojie⁸older female cousin, I heard Yuchen Jiejie⁵older sister’s chess skills are extraordinarily good. Today, you have finally met your opponent, Biaojie⁸older female cousin.” Yu Xiyu was a woman who were extremely good in both talents and skills. This good reputation even managed to spread far and wide, and she had become the dream sweetheart of men in the capital. When Yu Xiyu had made a name for herself, Yuchen was still a child.

Qingxia¹qing = green grass, xia = rosy cloudsJunzhu²Princess of the Third Rank / usually given to daughter of a Qingwangthought the idea was very good, “Yu Jiejie⁵older sisterand Yuchen Jiejie⁵older sister, how about you two play a set?” She really wanted to know who was the better player in the end.

Yu Xiyu smiled and replied, “I am three years older, but non wiser than Yuchen Meimei⁶younger sister. If I insist on competing, it will be very much unfair to Yuchen Meimei⁶younger sister.”

Yuchen was an ambitious and proud person. Would she flinch just because she heard these words at this moment? At present, she gave out a smile while saying, “It doesn’t matter, whether it’s qin or chess. The most important thing is not how long you have studied, but your own natural talent.” This was clearly saying that, even if you learn more than me for a few years, I am still no less competent than you.

Yu Xiyu was also an arrogant person. When she heard these words, she just smiled and replied, “That’s true, but I am several years older than Yuchen Meimei⁶younger sister. Since it is this way, I will let Yuchen Meimei⁶younger sister has the first three moves.”

How could Yuchen agree? She continued to smile and responded, “No need. Everyone should start at the same starting point. It is only fair to have a competition this way.”

Heshou⁹he = harmonious, shou = long life Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang looked at Jiang Qi and Yuxi sitting on one side and smilingly interjected, “I remember that last time Miss Yuxi said she had studied chess with Teacher Song for several years. Are you interested to play in another set?”

Jiang Qi’s eyes brightened up as she slipped in a few words with a smile, “Yuxi Jiejie⁵older sister, I have learned chess for several years too. Why don’t we also play a set.” Her words may sound like she was just asking for guidance, but in reality, she was actually delivering a written challenge.

Yuxi naturally won’t refuse. Refusing was the same as showing her weakness. She may show her weakness to others, but she was unwilling to show it to Jiang Qi. At present, Yuxi smilingly responded, “Since Jiang Meimei⁶younger sister has this interest, I will certainly accompany her.” She also wanted to see the current level Jiang Qi’s chess skills had reached.

The Gongzhu¹⁰Princess/Princess of the First Rank residence had everything needed for these competitions. So, Heshou⁹he = harmonious, shou = long life Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang instructed the maids to get the required items, and soon they had set up two tables of chess boards.

Also at the same time, another group of maids brought in a set of coloured glazed cups. These glass cups were filled with red juice, and everyone had a cup in front of them.

Yuxi picked up her glass of ice-cold, cool juice, which also had a hint of a delicious smell and sweet taste of watermelon. After she had done drinking it, she was really surprised. “Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang, what is this? It’s really delicious.”

Watermelons Juice With Ice Cubes

Image Credit | Li Hongrui (Culture Insider: What did ancient Chinese people eat in summer? July 25th, 2017) via Charming Nanyang.

Heshou⁹he = harmonious, shou = long life Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang had just been observing Yuxi closely. When she saw that Han Yuxi’s expression was obviously showing that this was her first time seeing this thing, she answered with a smile, “This is juice extracted from watermelons and mixed with some ice cubes. Today is the most suitable time to drink it.“

Yuchen and Yu Xiyu were not particularly surprised with them though. The two had already seen many good things and didn’t care much about the watermelon juice. To them both, it was merely something more innovative only at this moment.

After drinking the watermelon juice, they began to play chess. Yuxi chose the black piece and said, “I am one year older than Jiang Meimei⁶younger sister. So, Jiang Meimei⁶younger sister, you should go first.”

When Yuxi married into the Jiang family in her previous life, she had tried to curry favour with the Jiang family members, so she had spent time learning a lot of things about them. Jiang Qi began to learn chess at the age of three, and she was really gifted in it. Of course, she was also not bad in other aspects. As a result, she had gained a reputation as a talented woman in the capital. This also caused Jiang Qi to be very proud of herself, which made her completely did not attach any importance to Yuxi as he sister-in-law.

At the very beginning of them playing chess, Jiang Qi already made a killing move. She wanted to disturb Yuxi’s mind, thus disturbing Yuxi’s layout and achieving the goal of winning the chess game early. The idea was good, but Yuxi had always been a steady chess player so she would not change her layout just because of Jiang Qi’s killing move.

Jiang Qi’s chess skill was very good, but her state of mind was very poor. Seeing that she had not achieved the expected results, she was somewhat confused. This chaos gave Yuxi a chance for her to take advantage of, and it didn’t take long before she gained the upper hand.

Jiang Qi put down her chess piece and said, “I lost this set, but we won’t know who will lose and who will win in the next set.” This meant that they would have to play another chess game after this match.

The smile on Yuxi’s face remained unchanged as she stated, “Take a rest first!” Once she done saying that, she immediately went to Yuchen’s side.

Yuchen’s chess skill was out of the ordinary, but Yu Xiyu’s chess skill was also really high which made the two equally matched. Yuxi was not that surprised with this situation either. This only confirmed that Yu Xiyu’s great reputation wasn’t something that just suddenly got blown out of proportion.

At that moment, a maid brought in some cakes.

Yuxi looked at the crispy tart skin on the outer layer of the dish, while the inner layer was filled with a sweet yellow solidify egg pastry, as her pupils suddenly shrank. However, she responded quickly. Almost instantaneously, she smiled and asked, “What is this? Just by looking at it, it csn already arouse one’s great appetite.“

Chinese Style Egg Tarts

Image Credit | Clarissa Wei (A visual history: the evolution of the egg tart, July 18th, 2018)

Heshou⁹he = harmonious, shou = long life Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang was not there at that time, as she had gone out to entertain guests. The maid who served the dessert who replied instead, “This is an egg tart, which is the new food developed by our Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang. The biscuits are still being made in the kitchen and will only be available until later on.“

Jiang Qi couldn’t help gasped in admiration, “Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a JunwangJiejie⁵older sister is really good. She can even come up with so many different kinds of foods.” There had already been juices and egg tarts been served, and next would be biscuits. She didn’t know what other good things would come out of the kitchen later on.

Yuxi couldn’t wait to eat as she took one and nibbled at it lightly. It was soft, crispy and also rich with milk and egg fragrance. It was sweet but not greasy. After eating one, she happily exclaimed, “This really delicious.”

After eating and drinking, Jiang Qi’s fighting spirit became stronger. While Yuxi repressed the strange feeling that suddenly appeared in her heart. This time, she stopped being clumsy and showed her true ability to fight Jiang Qi.

Since Yuxi had decided to win, it would be much better if she could win beautifully, so she played really hard and in the end, Jiang Qi lost quite badly.

After three games, three wins and loses, it had already passed half a sichen¹¹hour. This showed how short they had played chess against each other. Of course, this had something to do with Jiang Qi’s attitude in making quick decisions in chess.

Yuxi never cared about Jiang Qi’s changeable colourful face, as she said, “You have let me win¹²said politely after winning a game.” Then she ran to watch Yuchen’s game against Yu Xiyu.

In chess, Yuxi’s skill was much higher than Yuchen. Therefore, she soon saw that Yuchen was outwardly strong but inwardly weak¹³Chinese idiom : strong in appearance but actually weak. Sure enough, before a quarter of an hour, Yuchen was finally defeated.

At this time, the maid of Gongzhu¹⁰Princess/Princess of the First Rank residence brought out a plate of fruits. Each of these fruits had their own characteristics. For example, in the middle of the plate beside Yuxi, there were slices of oranges, bananas were put under the oranges, cherries between the oranges and kiwi fruit was put in the periphery. If modern people saw these, they would surely recognise it. To them, this dish was called fruit platter.

Yuxi smiled and remarked, “Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang has a really exquisite heart. She can even think of all these patterns. I really can’t help but admire them.”

Up until now, Yuxi still didn’t clearly know why Heshou⁹he = harmonious, shou = long life Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang was being hostile towards her. Personally, she felt that this animosity was really stupid. If she guessed correctly, Heshou⁹he = harmonious, shou = long life Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwangwas likely to be in the same situation as her. Yuxi felt really grateful to Momo¹⁴wet nurseQuan now. In order to make her reach the point where she would still remained calm even when Mount Tai collapsed in front of her, Momo¹⁴wet nurseQuan had spent a lot of effort to train her all those years. Otherwise, she would have been exposed much earlier.

For Heshou⁹he = harmonious, shou = long life Xianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwangto steal other people’s creativity, Yuxi didn’t pay much attention to it. Just because she did not dare to use it, didn’t mean others would not use it.

When Heshou⁹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu⁷Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang saw Yuxi praising her sincerely, the corners of her mouth revealed a smiling expression, “It just that I’ve nothing to do on weekdays. So I spend my time figuring these dishes out.” She suspected that Yuxi was also reborn like her. However, Yuxi’s performance today made her hesitant with her claim. For Yuxi to not even know these common things, how could she be the same like her! However, just to be saved, she decided to carefully observe her once more.

Jiang Qi whispered a few words in Yu Xiyu’s ear, then looked up at Yuxi and said, “Yuxi Jiejie⁵older sister, my cousin said she wants to play chess with you. What does Yuxi Jiejie⁵older sisterthinks?” Jiang Qi’s mother, Yu Shi, was Yu Xiyu’s aunt. Of course, Yu Shi was born from a concubine, not from the main wife. Otherwise, she would not have married as a second wife to a widow.

Yuxi decided to refuse, “My chess skill is mediocre and I don’t dare to follow behind my sister.” This was the same as disguising herself by admitting defeat early.

Yu Xiyu said, “If you can win against my biaomei¹⁵younger female cousin three sets in a row, you are already qualified to play against me.” She knew quite well of Jiang Qi’s chess skills. For Han Yuxi to win against Jiang Qi three times in a row was enough to show that the Fourth Miss of the Han family was actually very good in chess.

Yuxi felt uncomfortable when she heard her words. What was this about her been qualified to play with this Yu Xiyu? She just didn’t want to compete with others at all. This was no different than driving a duck onto a perch¹⁶Chinese idiom : to push somebody to do something entirely beyond their capability.

Yuchen smiled and said, “Yuxi, your chess skill is kind of good, though I believe, you have no chance to win against Yu Jiejie⁵older sister.” Yuxi was not good in showing how talented her was. With this push, she believed that Yuxi would not be able to hide how talented she was anymore after this.

When Yuxi heard Yuchen’s words, she knew there was no way out. Urgh, she didn’t know whether to thank Yuchen for her kindness or blamed her for being too troublesome.