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<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="333" data-orig-width="500"></figure>I’ve decided to start using footnotes, instead of the paragraph that I usually put before the chapter. That way you can see exactly where I’m making the reference.
Poor Liu Shao is so obviously in love with Jing Wan, but that silly girl continues to pine for Jian Zhang. He almost confesses to her in this chapter, but Jing Wan, being the steadfast woman she is, only has eyes for Jian Zhang. All we need now is for Jian Zhang to break Jing Wan’s heart and head back to Qian Ping with his tail tucked between his legs, so our delightful Liu Shao can kiss Jing Wan sill- er, I mean, better.
Encountering Love: Chapter 29
He has always heard of Fourth Madam’s great fame, and knew that she was the most favored of Murong Chen’s madams before he had passed; Murong Feng had not married yet, and he heard that in the Murong Estate, she was in charge. He quickly stood up and very politely called her: “Fourth Madam.” [1] Fourth Madam attended various events with Murong Chen, so even though she was a traditional woman, she was also forthright and dignified, and she stretched out her hand to shake hands with Xu Jian Zhang, while saying: “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Xu.” She continued: “Ai, for something like this happened to Jing Wan, it makes me feel terrible, deep down.”
Xu Jian Zhang was very anxious at that moment, but when he heard her say this, he became more distressed and unable to endure such a heavy responsibility. Fourth Madam continued: “A good and virtuous person will definitely have a good fate arranged by the heavens. Young Master does not need to be too worried.” She then said: “Young Master still hasn’t eaten?” After she said this, she called out to one of the attendants outside to say: “You are being more and more ill-mannered now. With a guest here, why don’t you invite him to eat in the back?”
Xu Jian Zhang quickly said: “They did invited me to a few times, but I did not have the appetite, so I did not go. Moreover, I am already fully indebted to your hospitality.” Fourth Madam laughed happily and responded: “Young Master is not an outsider, why are you being so polite? Our Liu Shao has been too busy these past two days, so he cannot find the time to come here. Young Master, please do not mind this. Young Master should treat this place as your own home. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to instruct them.”
She kept calling him Young Master like that, and Xu Jian Zhang was so full of misgivings; he was almost like a soap bubble touching the head of a pin, even with a gentle shake, it could burst open. Fourth Madam continued: “Anyways, you still need to eat. Even if Jing Wan wakes up, she would not be happy to see that Young Master has been going hungry.” She repeatedly persuaded him, Xu Jian Zhang ignored his sentiments, and rose to go eat.
The food did not whet his appetite, but the servants at the Murong Estate were eagerly attentive. After dinner, they followed the Western-styled customs by offering him sweetmeats and coffee. He sat there and ate, then, he cursorily drank a few sips of coffee and returned to watch over Jing Wan. He saw that all the lights have already been turned on, and on his walk back to that building, the corridors were all brightly lit; Shen Jia Ping was standing in front of the corridor, who, upon seeing him, panicked slightly, but Xu Jian Zhang did not think anything of it. Shen Jia Ping rushed to knock on the door first, saying: “Liu Shao, Mr. Xu is back.” After that, he pushed open the door.
Murong Feng had been speaking with a foreign doctor in front of the window, but when he heard those words, he turned around. Even though Xu Jian Zhang has had dealings in Cheng Zhou many times, he had never met Murong Feng before. At this moment, after suddenly meeting him by chance, he was startled for no reason, and only saw that compared to the pictures of him in the newspapers, his complexion was actually a bit darker, his eyebrows loftier, his expression had a calm and unhurried expression; he was indeed young but experienced.
He called out: “Liu Shao.” Murong Feng coolly nodded his head and then turned around to use Russian to speak with that foreign doctor; that doctor also replied in Russian, and after a while, that doctor accompanied Murong Feng to the side of the bed, quietly discussing something with him. Xu Jian Zhang expected them to be talking about the state of Jing Wan’s wound, but could not understand a sentence of what they were saying and felt that he was superfluous.
The next day, Jing Wan still had not regained consciousness, but continued to sleep deeply. Fourth Madam made two trips to see her every day to check on the condition of Jing Wan’s wound and to console Xu Jian Zhang with a few words. When she came over that night, she smoothly took a basket from the maid’s hands and handing it to Xu Jian Zhang, she said: “These past few days, the madams and young misses have come to visit, but since the doctor ordered that Miss Yin must be given peace and quiet, I prevented all of them from seeing Jing Wan. These things are what they have brought for Miss Yin. Please keep them for her right now.”
After she left, Xu Jian Zhang opened the basket up and looked inside, which contained a long list of gifts, and the things listed were all expensive and rare medicinal supplements – hundred-year Korean ginseng, fresh bear gall, tiger bones, pilose antler, as well as jade carvings to ward off evil, and antique jade decorations of all kinds, just to mention a few. At the bottom, the names of the people who sent the gifts were listed, and the female family members of practically every important officer in the Cheng army was listed. Pinching the list between his fingers, it almost seemed as if he was holding a piece of burning hot charcoal, the burning pain flowed from his fingertips to the depths of his heart.
They had already been waiting three days for Jing Wan to slowly regain consciousness. Her wound ached, so she gradually came to her senses and opened her eyes. Lan Qin already shouted happily: “Miss regained consciousness! Miss regained consciousness!” The doctors and nurses all gathered about her, and she gazed at the crowd but did not see Xu Jian Zhang. Someone had already informed Murong Feng, who had been in a conference all night and had then been sleeping. When he heard this, he did not even take the time to change clothes, and came over with a coat draped over his shoulders. When he saw that she had awoken, he could not hide his smile, and said: “You’ve finally woken up.” On the side, Lan Qin replied with a smile: “This is fortunate, Miss has finally woken up. Liu Shao was extremely worried and would come to check on Miss very often.” Jing Wan saw that his face was haggard, his loving concern shined through his eyes, for which she was very grateful, she said: “Liu Shao…”
Murong Feng understood her meaning and said: “The situation has basically been suppressed.” He gently held her hand and said: “Jing Wan, it’s a good thing that you are alright. Otherwise, I could not be happy for the rest of my life.” Forcing herself to smile a bit, she said: “These two days have been a blur for me, but I had the impression that Jian Zhang was here. Why do I not see him?”
Murong Feng replied: “I sent someone to invite Young Master Xu over here and he had stayed here constantly. But it just happened that Commander Yu invited him to lunch at noon today, so he is out right now.” When Jing Wan heard this, she was slightly disappointed.
Xu Jian Zhang had not had an appetite for several days, and that day, he still did not want to eat. Commander Yu invited him to his own estate, and naturally treated him to delicacies of every kind. That Commander Yu and Xu Jian Zhang are old friends, so his wife and daughters joined them. Madam Yu always loved to chat, and while serving food to Xu Jian Zhang, she said with a smile: “Even though Young Master Xu has suffered in prison for a few days, you can be considered more frightened than harmed. Today’s meal is an ordinary family meal to allay Young Master Xu’s fears.”
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[1] Jian Zhang used the more formal furen (夫人), rather than the usual taitai (太太).