Zisu raised her voice from outside and said, âMiss, Eldest Madam has sent someone to invite you over.â
For Yuxiâs birthday today, Old Madam had already sent her words that the whole family would have dinner together in the main house that evening. While for lunch, it would be held in Qiu Shiâs yard.
The treatment Yuxi received right now had somehow increased. In her last life, everyone had selectively forgotten about her birthday except for her Eldest Aunt who would give her a birthday present. Where would it be like it right now, with the whole family treated it like it was a big deal.
Ever since there was something hidden in her heart, Duan Xinrong had become wan and unenergetic as she did when she first came.
Zhou Shiya felt that it wasnât good for Duan Xinrong to act this way, âXinrong, you have come to participate in Yuxiâs birthday in a good mood. If you go back while feeling wan, everyone in your family can guess what Yuxi have said to you when you ask for your family to refuse the Chiang familyâs marriage proposal. At that time, you will make it hard for Yuxi.â
Duan Xinrong felt a twinge of emotion and stood up to apologize to Yuxi, âSorry, itâs my fault.â Yuxi only said those words to her because of their friendship. So, for the same reason, she shouldnât bring any troubles to Yuxi.
When the three of them arrived at the main courtyard, Duan Xinrong already had a proper smile on her face, so no one had noticed that there was something different with her.
Qiu Shi looked at Duan Xinrong and said with a smile, âThis child, has changed a lot lately. She has become more and more beautiful each day.â
Duan Xinrong was actually a very good-looking girl, with her big eyes, pink face, red lips, and a small exquisite figure. When she smiled, she would show two dimples which made her looked really sweet.
When Duan Xinrong heard such praise, she shyly replied, âAunt is overpraising me.â
Qiu Shiâs heart moved. How could she forget this extremely good candidate? Except for Duan Xinrong being three years younger than Ye-eršused for endearment, everything else were according to her requirements for a daughter-in-law. Qiu Shi wasnât the type of person who could hide her worries. So, with this idea in her mind, she treated Duan Xinrong three points warmly.
Yuxi looked at Qiu Shi confusingly, but she didnât think too much of it.
Lunch was very rich with the large table full of dishes. The dishes had everything from the sky, on the ground and in the water. Yuxi asked, âEldest Aunt, how can we finish eating this much?â There would also be a big dinner this evening. So, it would be a waste to eat so much during lunch.
Qiu Shi grumpily said, âThey are not for you.â This meant that such a sumptuous meal was actually prepared for the guests.
Zhou Shiya cheerfully said, âIf I have to say, sweet and sour fish and lionâs head are all my favorites. Aunt has made them specially for me!â As she looked at Yuxi with a proud face.
Sweet and Sour Fish
Lionâs Head / Stewed Meatball
Yuxi jokingly said, âSince itâs specially made for you, then, you can eat a lot more today.â
After lunch, Duan Xinrong and Zhou Shiya was preparing to go home. Since Yuxi didnât know how to persuade them to stay, the only thing she could do was send them directly to the second door.
The Second Door was the door that lead to the main living for the Masters of the courtyard.
Image Credit | Siheyuan â Chinese Courtyards, China Highlights
When Duan Xinrong arrived at her home, she immediately told her mother everything that Yuxi had told her.
After hearing Duan Xinrongâs words, Madam Duan, Li Shi, was shocked. âMiss Yuxi really said that?â She was very delighted to have such a good daughter like Duan Xinrong. That was why she had been extra careful when it came to her marriage. When the Chiangâs family came to propose marriage, they didnât immediately agree. Instead, they sent someone to inquire more about Chiang Jing. They heard that he was very good in all aspects. In addition, Madam Chiang had a good reputation in the upper circles, so she agreed.
Duan Xinrong said, âMom, Yuxi doesnât need to lie to me, and this kind of thing can surely be heard as long as you seriously inquire about it. Mom, letâs put off Chiang family marriage proposal!â
Madam Duan thought for a moment and said, âIâll send someone to inquire about it first.â She still had to discuss this matter with her husband, but if what Yuxi said was true, the marriage would definitely need to be put off. Otherwise, when her daughter married into the Chiangâs family, her daughter would be caught in the middle when Old Madam Chiang fought with Madam Chiang.
That evening, when Lord Duan came back from the yamen, he listened to what Madam Duan said, pondered about it for a moment and then decided, âRefuse the proposal!â
Madam Duan did not expect her husband to be so straightforward. âLetâs find out about it first! What if this was just a misunderstanding? Chiang Jing, that child, is really good. It would be a pity if this comes out as only a misunderstanding.â She had carefully inquired about Chiang Jingâs information before. From the info she had inquired, Chiang Jing was very good in all aspects, which made her very satisfied with him. If she was told to give him up just because of Yuxiâs few words, she was reluctant to do so.
Lord Duan shook his head and said, âThere wonât be wind coming from an empty cave²Chinese idiom : baseless claim. Besides, Rong-eršused for endearment is still young. Letâs choose her marriage slowly and donât worry too much about it.â Seeing Madam Duanâs face still hesitating, he hurriedly said, âSince we only have this daughter, we cannot take any risk even if there is only a sign.â
Madam Duan nodded, âIn that case, letâs just forget about it.â
Lord Duan said with a smile, âIâm not boasting when I have to say myself that our family Rong-eršused for endearment is good at everything unlike others, so Iâm not that worried about finding a good husband for her in the future. However, itâs better to find a family with simple but morally good family background. For a family like Marquis Pingqing, it is a little too complicated.â Marquis Pingqing was the only man from his generation in his household. He didnât even have a shuÂłborn from concubine brother. The Old Marquis had a lot of concubines, but he only have a son and a daughter. This showed that Old Madam Chiang had all the power and means.
Madam Duan lightly chastised him as she said, âIf we find a simple family background for her, then they surely donât have much resources.â The Duan family had a shallow background, so Madam Duan wanted to find a rich family for her child. This way, she had in-laws that could aid her if anything happened. Of course, the premise had to meet her standards. If not up to the standard, then it was impossible to match them up.
When Lord Duan heard his wifeâs words, he couldnât help thinking about what happened in the court which made his mood a little heavy. Song Guifeiâ´highest-ranking imperial concubine, second only to the Empress and the Empress had been fighting with each other both openly and secretly. While the Crown Prince and the Ninth Prince were also at loggerheads. He didnât know how long the current calm situation would last. Once this calm situation broke, there would definitely be another storm. No one could guarantee that his family would not get involved in the whirlpool.
Madam Duan knew nothing about the matter of the court, but because of her own her understanding of how the world worked, she wanted to find a family with rich inside story, so that in case by any chance her family got into trouble, they would have a helping hand.
Yuxi wasnât aware that the conversation she had with Duan Xinrong had made the Duan couple in a gloomy mood. At this time, she was putting away all the gifts she had received until her went limp with exhaustion. Old Madam didnât send her jewelry this time around, but she had instead send a set of four treasures of study from the former dynasty; Qiu Shi sent her a set of jade jewelry; Even Ye Shi lost a lot of money this time, when she gave Yuxi a set of red gold jewelry which she had ordered from Ruyi Pavilion.
Han Jingyan was the last one to give his gift. The gift was carried into the room by two people, and all froze at the sight.
The Twelve Panels Screen is the one behind the day bed at the front. Unlike the picture above, Yuxiâs Twelve Panels Screen was fully carved.
Image Credit | 红ć¨ĺŽśĺ ˇĺ via Sohu
Han Jingyanâs gift to Yuxi was yellow rosewood twelve panels screen. The flowers, trees and figures carved on the screen were all high embossed, by using openwork carving, through the hole carving (tong carving), three-dimensional carving and other carving techniques. They were carved with great care, till they were exquisitely carved.
Openwork Carving
Image Source | ć 形塼ä˝ĺŽ¤ via OM
Through the Hole Carving (Tong Carving)
Itâs looked like a 3D carving but itâs more of 2 layers carving from one wood.
Yuxiâs mood was very subtle when she saw this gift.
When Old Madam saw the screen, she then looked at Yuxiâs reaction and her face sank. Her youngest son usually looked smart, but she didnât expect him to be so confused when it came to such matter.
Yuchen looked at Yuxi and thought she was happy and had gone silly. She could not help but give Yuxi a gentle push. By then, Yuxi finally recovered and happily said, âThank you, father. I like it very much.â This screen could not be bought with just two to three thousand taelsâľa unit of weight used in east Asia approximately equal to 1.3 ounces of silver. This time, Han Jingyan was willing to spend money on her. Presumably, because of her recent growing reputation.
Whan Han Jingyan saw an expression of joy on Yuxiâs face, he nodded slightly. âIâm happy that you like it.â
Wu Shi looked at the screen, and her face turned bad. Just by looking at first sight, she knew it wasnât something cheap, and somehow Lord was willing to give it up. It was really depressing when she thought till there. Third Branch financial power had always been in the hands of Lord, so she didnât know how much resources did Third Branch have.
Yujingâs eyes flashed with a complicated look. She used to laugh at Yuxi for having a father who didnât love her. Now things had changed. Now, she had become the one who was unloved by her own father.
While Yuru looked at it with a calm expression. There was no more jealousy nor unwillingness her eyes. Over the past few years, she had long given up her obsession. Now, she only hoped that Mother would find her a good marriage, and nothing else.
Although Yuxi didnât have a big celebration for her birthday this time, what she had received was abundant. Zisu, who was in charge of the private room in Rose Courtyard, saw these things, and said with a smile, âThis time, Missâ private room is full to the brim again.â
When Kufu saw the twelve panels screen that had been delivered, she asked with a bit of embarrassment, âWhere are we going to put this thing?â Rose Courtyard wasnât spacious enough to hold such a large screen.
Yuxi said, âIt canât fit in this room. Put it in the warehouse!â If this screen was broken, it would occupy one third of her private room. Of course, not to mention that there was no place to put it, even if there was, she was unwilling to put it there, as she looked at it annoyingly.
After the screen was moved away, Yuxi looked at Zisu and instructed, âGo check it out. I want to know whatâs going on with this thing?â She didnât believe that Han Jingyan would go to great lengths just to give her such a good thing. There must be something fishy about this gift.
When Zisu saw Yuxi was preparing to enter the study again, she said, âMiss, today is your birthday. Have a rest for one night!â Even after Teacher Song had left the residence, her Miss still did not relax even for a day.
Yuxi smiled and responded, âI canât sleep now if I donât read books.â Since she had a lot of money, and was unwilling to give it up reading her book in the evening, she would light up four candles in her study.
Yuxi, who was confined in her study, did not read the medical books, but she instead pulled out The Book of Han from the cupboard. She started reading history books because Momoâśwet nurse Quan said it would be useful to read them more, but now, reading it had become a daily necessity for her.
After reading it for half of a shichen, Yuxi thought about it carefully and then wrote down her thoughts. This was what Momoâśwet nurse Quan had told her to do. After continuously doing it over the years, it had become her habit.
Meanwhile, in Tingyun Pavilion, Shiqin was lamenting to Yuchen, âThe present that Master gave to Fourth Miss this time had really took a lot of thought from Master. When this maidservant looked at Fourth Miss tonight, she looked so happy, as she had been smiling all the time.â
Yuchen smiled in response, âI hope this gift can let my Si Meimeiâˇsi=four/fourth, meimei=younger sister knows that dad loves her too.â She knew that Wu Shi wanted Yuxi to be estranged with their father. Now that father had changed his attitude, she believed that Yuxi would soon eliminate the estrangement between Yuxi and him.
A shichenâ¸one of the 12 two-hour periods of the day=2 hours later, Yuxi went out of the study, took a bath and climbed into bed. While she was on the bed, she kept on tossing and turning since she still could not fall asleep. âZisu, go to the study and bring over my medical book.â
When Zisu went out, Kufu was waiting outside the door.
Kufu followed Zisu into the study and asked in a low voice, âZisu JiejieâšElder Sister, why do I feel like Miss seems unhappy?â Her Miss didnât seem to care much about the precious gift from Master, otherwise she wouldnât have put the screen in the warehouse. For any room to be too small to accommodate the screen was just an excuse as she saw her Missâ face brighten completely after the screen was taken to the warehouse.
Zisu sighed slightly and said, âIt is good if only you notice about this.â Kufu and Maidong were Missâ personal maids, so they could be trusted.
Kufu anxiously asked, âIs Miss still unable to let go of the past?â
Zisu said with a wry smile, âDonât you know what life Miss had before? If it were you, would you put it down that easily?â Miss had such a difficult life before that she nearly died. Where was Master then? It would not be so easy to repair the broken relationship between father and daughter now.
Kufu also donât know what to say. She had never experienced such a thing. Although there were many brothers and sisters in her family, her parents were always kind to them siblings, and they did not even attach importance to difference treatment between boys and girls.
Zisu knew what Kufu was worried about. Kufu worried that Missâ real thought would be exposed and it would bring harm to their Miss. âYou donât have to worry about Miss. She has discretion. Over the years, she has done everything well.â At least, no one else could see the difference in Miss except to those close who were close to her.
A few days later, Yuxi knew why Han Jingyan gave her such a valuable gift. The twelve panels screen was originally a gift for Old Madam Jiangâs 60th birthday prepared by Han jingyan, however, there was a mistake in the carvings.
Yuxi asked, âWhat mistake?â
Kufu said, âThere is a poem in the ninth panel of the screen. There is a wrong word in the poem.â In fact, it wasnât the woodcarver who made the mistake. It was the person who wrote the poem at fault for writing a homophonic character instead.
Yuxi softly said, âSo, it was really like that.â A gift for Old Madam Han, should not be any flaw, or she would be laughed at. It was funny that she was given thing that others didnât want and she somehow had to feel grateful for it.
Kufu was extremely surprised with her Missâ reaction that she had to ask, âDid Miss already know that there was something wrong with the screen?â Her Miss was indeed so clever.
Yuxi chuckled, âI donât know how to pinch and countšâ°Chinese idiom : tell fortunes, so how can I know that there is something wrong with the screen?â All she knew was that the screen was so valuable that it was well-made, but she didnât have that much weight in Han Jingyanâs mind to even receive it.
Yuxiâs actions fell into the eyes of the Old Madam. The Old Madam turned the beads around and said, âIâm really confused.â It was normal for a father to send valuable things to his daughter, but it was not normal when her younger son sent such valuable thing to Yuxi. She suspected that there was something wrong with the present, not to mention Yuxi, who was always thinking hard.
Mama Luo also shook her head too, âIt is too late to be happy to receive such a valuable gift, but I didnât think Fourth Miss toâŚâ Fourth Missâ suspicion was really too heavy.
Old Madam softly said, âShe resents and hates us. Sheâs blaming Yan-eršused for endearment for his neglect and indifference, hating me for throwing her in the green bamboo cottage in spite of her life and death.â Although that girl disguised herself very well, she couldnât betray people with her eyes. When the girl faced her and Yan-eršused for endearment, she had a smile on her face, but there was not even a fluctuation in her eyes.
Mama Luo could not deny what Old Madam had said, but she still wanted to say, âOld Madam, Fourth Missâ filial piety towards Eldest Madam is not fake. Last year, when Eldest Madam was ill, Fourth Miss did not even close her eyes and waited on her. This old servant was moved. Besides, Fourth Missâ loves towards Shiziššheir of a noble house and Second Master are also true. â
The Old Madam didnât speak, but the beads in her hand were turning fast, which showed her inner uneasiness.
Mama Luoâs thought for a moment and then said, âOld Madam, even if Fourth Miss marries out latero , does she still dare to be unfilial and ready to be called an unfilial daughter just for the sake of harming Third Masterâs reputation? As for the state residence, there are still Eldest Madam, Shiziššheir of a noble house and Second Master. Fourth Miss will take care of them and will not do anything detrimental to the state government. â
Mama Luo had been entrusted by Qiu Shiâs to help saying good words about Yuxi. Qiu Shi knew that Old Madam did not like Yuxi, so Mama Luo would occasionally put in a good word for Yuxi so that Old Madam would not make things difficult for Yuxi. It was also Qiu Shiâs behaviour that saved Yuxi from a lot of trouble.
Old Madam tightly grasped the beads in her hand. âIf not for that reason, how can I tolerate her till this day?â