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Chapter 111.1




-虞脄(yĂș xiāng)- Yu Xiang, the female lead
-è™žć“èš€(yĂș pǐn yĂĄn)- Yu Pin Yan, the male lead
-老ć€Șć€Ș(lǎotĂ itai)- Old Madam
-è™žćŠ™çȘ(yĂș miĂ o qĂ­)- Yu Miao Qi, the novel original FL and YPY’s biological sister
-銏揀揀 (Mǎ mĂł mo) -Old Madam’s personal maidservant
-è‹Šæ”·ć’Œć°š(Kǔ huĂŹ hĂ©shang)- Master Ku Hai
Yu Xiang might not have the ability to handle the imperial princes, she was able to take actions against Yu Miao Qi. After much contemplation, she decided to take drastic measures to deal with this situation and marry Yu Miao Qi off as soon as possible.
With her current hatred for the Yu family, the higher she climbed, the more brutal her revenge would be. Yu Xiang would never give her the chance to bring about a change of fortune.
There were still a few days left before the New Year, but the servants had already taken out the red silk to decorate the courtyard, and all the lanterns under the veranda had been replaced with new ones, making it look festive from afar.
The Old Madam ordered Ma Momo to buy a lot of red paper and ordered all of her grandchildren to the main hall to write antithetical couplets[1] and trace the character “Fu[2] (穏)”.
Yu Xiang’s palms were covered with calluses, so she was forced to sit and watch from the side. However, she refused to do nothing. Thus, she stretched out her index and middle fingers and walked them around on her brother’s shoulders, making him feel itchy and dripping several droplets of ink onto the red paper, ruining several of the antithetical couplets.
When she received her brother’s warning gaze, she covered her mouth and laughed softly, picking up a stick filled with maltose candy[3] and biting it between her teeth, flicking it up and down with her tongue. Her fervent little eyes looked provokingly at her elder brother’s lips.
Yu Pin Yan felt like his lower abdomen was on fire, and his already dark eyes darkened even more. He wanted to catch the little succubus and swallow the maltose candy she was holding along with her naughty little tongue.
“Oh my, Elder brother, you’ve messed up another antithetical couplet! Are you so tired lately that you can’t even hold a brush?” Yu Si Yu pulled over the spring couplet, which was stained with a large pool of ink. She put on a very sorry expression.
“En, it’s true that I’ve been a bit tired lately.” Yu Pin Yan rubbed his brow.
With a ‘kacha’ sound, Yu Xiang bit off the maltose candy and giggled. After laughing, she held out the remaining half of it to her elder brother’s mouth and coaxed him, “Here, have a piece of candy when you are tired, it’s very sweet.”
Yu Pin Yan gazed at her, then placed the candy bar into his mouth and chewed on it, his blazing gaze never left his younger sister’s side.
Yu Miao Qi was also in a joyful mood. She hummed a song as she wrote an antithetical couplet, causing not only Yu Xiang and the others to glance at her, but also the old lady to look at her several times.
“Grandmother, I will send a few antithetical couplets to Mother after I finish writing them. After all, it’s New Year’s Eve and she’s quite lonely at Lin manor alone.” Picking up the antithetical couplet that she was most pleased with, she smiled like a flower.
Before the Old Madam could nod, Yu Xiang spoke first, “Yu Miao Qi, why are you so happy today? Have you found an in-law?” She then turned to face Old Madam and asked, “Which family is it, Grandmother? Yu Miao Qi is fifteen this year, so it’s time for her to get married. Otherwise, it will be too late. By the way, there’s also Big Sister.”
The Old Madam was indeed thinking about the two granddaughters’ marriage . When she heard this, she gestured towards Ma Momo and took out two name card.[4]
“Xianger’s legs have not recovered, so let’s leave the matter of her betrothal aside for now. Si Yu, see if you are satisfied with this person, and if you are satisfied, Grandmother will help you discuss marriage with them at the beginning of the year.” The Old Madam handed over one of the name cards.
Yu Si Yu took a look and saw that the man was a military general, 22 years old, who had delayed his marriage because he had been stationed at the border for many years. This year, he was promoted to the fourth rank of Assistant Marshal[5] in the capital. His future is bright. His parents passed away and he only had one older brother, who moved out after the division of their family property. There were no concubine or tongfang[6] by his side, therefore, his family background was immaculate.
Yu Si Yu gripped the name card with an astonished expression. She never thought that she would find such a good family, it was as if this was a dream.
“Don’t be happy just yet. He has an inch-long scar on the corner of his forehead from the military expedition, disfiguring his appearance. I will take you to quietly see him some other day, and I will not force you if you feel he isn’t good.” The Old Madam knew that her granddaughter had always favored attractive and intelligent youths, and she probably wouldn’t fancy him. However, this was the best she could find.
To her surprise, Yu Si Yu waved her hand and smiled, “I’m not going to meet him. Even if he is good looking, it is still character and virtue that counts.”
The Old Madam felt gratified, let out a sigh and exclaimed, “Good, good, Si Yu has really grown up!”
[1] ćŻč联(duĂŹliĂĄn)- An antithetical couplet is a pair of lines of poetry which adhere to certain rules. Other than poems, they are usually seen on the sides of doors leading to people’s home or as hanging scrolls in an interior. Credits: Wikipedia
[2] 犏(fĂș)-Good fortune/happiness/luck/bliss. It is a chinese character that is pasted on the gate/door of each household to celebrate Lunar New Year.