Chapter 168 – Traces
In addition to Gu Xi, Gu Xi’s maid, He Xiang, was also filled with anxiety.
Since she was able to accompany Gu Xi here, she was Gu Xi’s trusted confidant. Gu Xi tried her utmost to settle into in the Pei family, and He Xiang knew better than anyone else that despite Gu Xi’s best efforts, she had accomplished nothing.
Seeing Gu Xi pacing back and forth, she was also concerned and couldn’t help but softly speak up, “Miss, I’ve inquired clearly about what happened that day.”
Gu Xi’s spirits instantly lifted.
Overhearing the conversation between Grand Madam and Yu Tang, that intimacy revealed in their tone of voice made her apprehensive, and what was stated in just a few words made her all the more alarmed, and she had He Xiang inquire about it, but she hasn’t been able to give her a reply.
“What in the world is going on? Quickly tell me!” Gu Xi stopped pacing and stood in front of HeXiang.
Hexiang hesitated for a moment, thinking that Gu Xi would certainly be angry if she knew about this, but if she didn’t tell Gu Xi and caused her to make an error in judgment, it would lead to even more serious consequences. She lowered her voice and said, “It’s Third Master, seeing that Lady Yu’s cloak was a little thin, he specially sent someone down the mountain to fetch a white mink fur cloak and gave it to Lady Yu.”
Before she could finish her words, Gu Xi’s face changed drastically. She exclaimed, “What did you say?”
Hexiang pursed her lips uncomfortably and continued in a low voice, “Third Master had it sent directly to Lady Yu. Somehow, Grand Madam knew about it, and she said that it was because Third Master didn’t know much about domestic inner courtyard affairs and had regarded Lady Yu as part of the family, so he had disregarded the common rules of decorum.”
Gu Xi felt as though a knife was stabbing through her.
What “member of one’s own family”?
What “disregarded the common rules of decorum”?
Something so difficult like the double-honour imperial scholar position, Pei Yan was able to achieve it. Therefore, if he had the intention, wouldn’t he be more than capable of recognising these simple domestic rules of decorum?
Pei Yan was obviously treating Lady Yu differently,
And Grand Madam, what exactly was she saying? Was she just closing one eye and glossing over the situation? Does that mean she’s becoming more and more satisfied with Lady Yu, and treating her as though she was one of the people belonging to her son?
Layers upon layers of discontentment welled up in Gu Xi’s heart.
Lady Yu acted deaf and dumb, and yet she suppressed her without uttering a single word.
Gu Xi was still deliberating over whether she should build a good relationship with Eldest Madam, but at this moment, it was like there was a fire igniting in her heart, which not only pushed her to the edge of sanity, but also suffocated her.
Yu Tang wanted to marry Pei Yan – that still depends on whether she agrees or not!
When Gu Xi thought of that, not only did her courage increase tremendously but she also felt a sense of self-righteousness.
She smiled, saying ”Let’s go to the warm pavilion(greenhouse) to see the orchids? I’ve long heard from my family elders that Eldest Madam is an expert orchid keeper and loved to grow orchids since she was a child. Not mentioning the capital, the orchids raised by her were also liked by many people in Guangzhou, and there were even people who spent a lot of effort and money to find and buy the orchids grown by Eldest Madam. Since we’re here, we should go and have a look anyway, lest we don’t know how to reply when others ask.”
Normally that would be the case, but wasn’t this a special situation?
Hexiang tried to persuade her otherwise, “Why are you doing this? As per Eldest master’s instructions, your visit was just to let Grand Madam get to know you; he would handle the rest himself. You only have to stay at home and wait for his news.”
After all, if one takes too much initiative, it will give people a sense of frivolousness, not to mention, it was also a loss of image.
Gu Xi was a decisive person that would not change her mind just based on a few words from her trusted maidservant.
She responded with a somewhat distracted mumble, but in her head, she was thinking that she had to find an excuse to go to the warm pavilion(greenhouse) more often so that she could bump into Eldest Madam.
This opportunity soon arose.
After sending off Zhang Shao, Grand Madam rested in her residence for a few days. Yu Tang, Gu Xi and the rest of the Pei family’s young ladies didn’t need to go to her residence for daily greetings and thus made their own arrangements. Second young lady and Gu Xi often met up and chatted, third and fourth young lady practiced calligraphy together, and fifth young lady came to Yu Tang’s place every day to play and learn how to make silk flowers from Yu Tang. Fifth young lady seemed to be very talented in this area, not only did she start off well, she also made use of bold and vibrant colours, unlike Yu Tang who only tried to imitate real flowers, she made all sorts of silk flowers that had contrasting colours, and one time she even made a peony flower that was half peach-red and half light pink.
Yu Tang was speechless, but she couldn’t help but admit that such a peony silk flower possessed a different kind of beauty.
Fifth young lady excitedly gave it to Grand Madam.
Grand Madam praised her and gave her some sweets, but didn’t ask her to stay in the courtyard for a chat.
Yu Tang felt that something was wrong.
However, as she was in the inner courtyard, there was no way to find out what happened.
People were most afraid of the unknown, and she couldn’t help but feel a little anxious and asked about Pei Yan’s whereabouts.
Fifth young miss didn’t know his whereabouts and was also confused as to why she was asking about this. Instead, it was Ji Daniang, who quietly informed her, ”Third master is hiding out in the mountains, unwilling to see anyone, and Grand Madam has even exempted him from morning and evening greetings. I’ve heard from my in-laws that it’s widely rumoured that Third Master is supposedly recuperating in a separate courtyard.”
Ji Daniang’s in-laws referred to Supervisor Tong.
Yu Tang breathed out a long sigh of relief.
As long as Pei Yan was fine, these days would surely go on peacefully.
It was just around this time that Mrs. Shen somehow developed a persistent cough and invited a physician over. It was said that her cough developed due to her living in a place with a burning floor furnace which made the air too dry.
Gu Xi was secretly delighted, and offered to buy a few tangerines, saying, “Tangerines have the effect of relieving coughs. Now that weather is getting colder, it’s possible to reduce coughing by letting people move around outside frequently, but it’s easy to catch a cold when there’s drastic temperature changes between the inner rooms and outer gardens. Why don’t we boil and drink the tangerines, which can help to relieve coughs and nourish the lungs?”
Grand Madam was accustomed to staying in roomS with burning floor furnaces in winter. Among all the juniors, only fifth young miss followed Second Madam in her appointments and used smaller fire pits in winter. This year’s spring, she developed a cough and quickly stopped the use of burning floor furnaces and subsequently recovered. This time, although people knew about this issue and kept it firmly in their minds, but they feared that she might catch a cold and thus was only carefully monitoring her health, and fortunately fifth young lady had not developed any coughs.
Grand Madam’s heart ached for fifth young lady and immediately nodded in agreement, and had Daniang Chen send someone down to the Pei family’s main residence and moved a lot of tangerine trees over and raised them in the greenhouse.
Gu Xi often went over to pick tangerines.
When DaNiang Chen saw Gu Xi, who was flushed, she repeatedly dissuaded her, “Just order the maids to pick what you need, why should you exert yourself and come here personally?”
Gu Xi smiled as she wiped her hands and replied, “Mrs. Shen is still my elder, so it’s only right for me to show respect to her with sincerity. Besides, I’m not quite used to burning floor furnaces as well, it’s too hot.”
Daniang Chen was impressed with Gu Xi that she could get along with Mrs. Shen and couldn’t help but smile at her words, “You have a kind heart. Why don’t I ask them to burn less charcoal in your furnace?”
“No, there’s no need.” Gu Xi repeatedly refused, “The house would be too cold, and Mrs. Shen would find the cold unbearable.”
Daniang Chen didn’t speak more on it, and in the evening, she sent her some loquat syrup.
Gu Xi smiled and offered it to Mrs. Shen.
Mrs. Shen was alone in the room, dazedly gazing up at the overhead ceiling, and it was uncertain what was in her mind.
Gu Xi didn’t disturb her and retreated after delivering the things.
The next day, when she went to pick tangerines, as per GuXi’s wish, she encountered Eldest Madam.
Eldest Madam looked even frailer than the last time she saw her, and she smiled and politely exchanged pleasantries with her.
Gu Xi responded to her with a few words and praised the orchids she raised before leaving.
Grand Madam got the news immediately, and her face sank in an instant.
Unlike with Mrs. Shen, Eldest Madam wanted to preserve her dignity, and thus might not disclose to Mrs. Shen about the details, but Gu Xi had a brother who was the sworn brother of the left imperial inspectorate general, Sun Gao, and thus Eldest Madam might have some devious plan in mind.
She asked, “Who placed those tangerine trees in the greenhouse?”
Chen Daniang replied worriedly, “It was me! I saw that there was an empty space and asked the people to move them there. Should I move them to another place ……”
“No need!” Grand Madam said wearily, “There’s only so much we can do in terms of prevention. If it’s bound to happen, it will happen. Let it be.”
Daniang Chen did not dare to speak of this further, but secretly reminded Gu Xi.
As Gu Xi had achieved her goal, she pursed her lips and smiled, before going to see Grand Madam to offer her apologies.
Grand Madam chuckled, “What does this have to do with you? In the past, Eldest Madam didn’t like crowds very much, so everyone seldom visited that area. However, since you were able to strike a conversation with her, it would be good if you can accompany her for a chat.”
Gu Xi responded positively, but she did not go to the greenhouse after that.
Grand Madam silently nodded her head and said to Second Madam, “She can be considered as a person with good insight.”
Second Madam smiled at Grand Madam’s words, saying “Their family is complicated as well, so I’m sure she must have experienced many of these things from a young age.”
Grand Madam sighed and stopped speaking.
Somehow, word of this reached Gu Xi, which caused her to have a slight twinkle in her eyes.
HeXiang was confused and asked, “Was that all?”
Gu Xi replied, “Yes. It’s enough.” She added, “Right now, what the Pei family needs is a patriarch’s wife. An obedient daughter-in-law who has the capability to run a household. I only have to leave such an impression on Grand Madam. Thereafter, it will be up to my elder brother.”
After several days of heavy snowfall, the sky cleared up, brightening people’s moods.
Several of the Pei family’s young ladies couldn’t sit still and ran off to the plum grove to enjoy the snow and plum-blossoms.
This time, they didn’t write poems. Instead they drank tea instead of wine and sat cross-legged in the warm pavilion as they played poetry games.
Yu Tang recalled her previous misunderstanding and came out this time wearing the cloak Pei Yan had given her.
Grand Madam didn’t comment on it, only feeling that Yu Tang looked beautiful dressed like this, and her gaze towards Yu Tang was soft and gentle.
Gu Xi sneered in her heart.
There was a new guest joining them in the inner courtyard.
It was Elder Master Yi’s wife, the grandmother of Second Miss and Third Miss.
Second Miss had hidden herself in the room and was reluctant to see the others.
Fourth and Fifth Miss were whispering next to Yu Tang, “Is it true that her fiancé is coming up the mountain?”
“Why aren’t they meeting in the temple? Wasn’t that always how it’s depicted in operas?”
“Such a chilly day, if they were to go to the temple, what if they catch a cold?”
“Then they should have waited until spring! Second sister is so beautiful, who wouldn’t want to marry her?”
“What nonsense are you saying?” Fourth Miss continued, “Even if Second Sister wants to get married, she still has to be seen by the other party. I heard from my grandmother that the son of that family will be participating in the Grand Competition at the Capital next year, and had to leave for the capital before the New Year’s. Therefore, he has to settle the engagement now.”
Fifth Miss grimaced and said, unimpressed, “If their family really wanted to marry Second Sister, then why didn’t they do so earlier?”
“Why are you always arguing with me?” Fourth Miss retorted unhappily, “Previously, he followed his father and brother around while they were in office, and only just returned to his hometown. If it wasn’t for the match-making with Second Sister, he would have gone straight to the capital.”
Hometown? Then was he a son of a family in the neighbouring town?
I wonder who the person on the match-making date with second young miss was?
Yu Tang was very curious.
Chapter 168 – Traces
In addition to Gu Xi, Gu Xi’s maid, He Xiang, was also filled with anxiety.
Since she was able to accompany Gu Xi here, she was Gu Xi’s trusted confidant. Gu Xi tried her utmost to settle into in the Pei family, and He Xiang knew better than anyone else that despite Gu Xi’s best efforts, she had accomplished nothing.
Seeing Gu Xi pacing back and forth, she was also concerned and couldn’t help but softly speak up, “Miss, I’ve inquired clearly about what happened that day.”
Gu Xi’s spirits instantly lifted.
Overhearing the conversation between Grand Madam and Yu Tang, that intimacy revealed in their tone of voice made her apprehensive, and what was stated in just a few words made her all the more alarmed, and she had He Xiang inquire about it, but she hasn’t been able to give her a reply.
“What in the world is going on? Quickly tell me!” Gu Xi stopped pacing and stood in front of HeXiang.
Hexiang hesitated for a moment, thinking that Gu Xi would certainly be angry if she knew about this, but if she didn’t tell Gu Xi and caused her to make an error in judgment, it would lead to even more serious consequences. She lowered her voice and said, “It’s Third Master, seeing that Lady Yu’s cloak was a little thin, he specially sent someone down the mountain to fetch a white mink fur cloak and gave it to Lady Yu.”
Before she could finish her words, Gu Xi’s face changed drastically. She exclaimed, “What did you say?”
Hexiang pursed her lips uncomfortably and continued in a low voice, “Third Master had it sent directly to Lady Yu. Somehow, Grand Madam knew about it, and she said that it was because Third Master didn’t know much about domestic inner courtyard affairs and had regarded Lady Yu as part of the family, so he had disregarded the common rules of decorum.”
Gu Xi felt as though a knife was stabbing through her.
What “member of one’s own family”?
What “disregarded the common rules of decorum”?
Something so difficult like the double-honour imperial scholar position, Pei Yan was able to achieve it. Therefore, if he had the intention, wouldn’t he be more than capable of recognising these simple domestic rules of decorum?
Pei Yan was obviously treating Lady Yu differently,
And Grand Madam, what exactly was she saying? Was she just closing one eye and glossing over the situation? Does that mean she’s becoming more and more satisfied with Lady Yu, and treating her as though she was one of the people belonging to her son?
Layers upon layers of discontentment welled up in Gu Xi’s heart.
Lady Yu acted deaf and dumb, and yet she suppressed her without uttering a single word.
Gu Xi was still deliberating over whether she should build a good relationship with Eldest Madam, but at this moment, it was like there was a fire igniting in her heart, which not only pushed her to the edge of sanity, but also suffocated her.
Yu Tang wanted to marry Pei Yan – that still depends on whether she agrees or not!
When Gu Xi thought of that, not only did her courage increase tremendously but she also felt a sense of self-righteousness.
She smiled, saying ”Let’s go to the warm pavilion(greenhouse) to see the orchids? I’ve long heard from my family elders that Eldest Madam is an expert orchid keeper and loved to grow orchids since she was a child. Not mentioning the capital, the orchids raised by her were also liked by many people in Guangzhou, and there were even people who spent a lot of effort and money to find and buy the orchids grown by Eldest Madam. Since we’re here, we should go and have a look anyway, lest we don’t know how to reply when others ask.”
Normally that would be the case, but wasn’t this a special situation?
Hexiang tried to persuade her otherwise, “Why are you doing this? As per Eldest master’s instructions, your visit was just to let Grand Madam get to know you; he would handle the rest himself. You only have to stay at home and wait for his news.”
After all, if one takes too much initiative, it will give people a sense of frivolousness, not to mention, it was also a loss of image.
Gu Xi was a decisive person that would not change her mind just based on a few words from her trusted maidservant.
She responded with a somewhat distracted mumble, but in her head, she was thinking that she had to find an excuse to go to the warm pavilion(greenhouse) more often so that she could bump into Eldest Madam.
This opportunity soon arose.
After sending off Zhang Shao, Grand Madam rested in her residence for a few days. Yu Tang, Gu Xi and the rest of the Pei family’s young ladies didn’t need to go to her residence for daily greetings and thus made their own arrangements. Second young lady and Gu Xi often met up and chatted, third and fourth young lady practiced calligraphy together, and fifth young lady came to Yu Tang’s place every day to play and learn how to make silk flowers from Yu Tang. Fifth young lady seemed to be very talented in this area, not only did she start off well, she also made use of bold and vibrant colours, unlike Yu Tang who only tried to imitate real flowers, she made all sorts of silk flowers that had contrasting colours, and one time she even made a peony flower that was half peach-red and half light pink.
Yu Tang was speechless, but she couldn’t help but admit that such a peony silk flower possessed a different kind of beauty.
Fifth young lady excitedly gave it to Grand Madam.
Grand Madam praised her and gave her some sweets, but didn’t ask her to stay in the courtyard for a chat.
Yu Tang felt that something was wrong.
However, as she was in the inner courtyard, there was no way to find out what happened.
People were most afraid of the unknown, and she couldn’t help but feel a little anxious and asked about Pei Yan’s whereabouts.
Fifth young miss didn’t know his whereabouts and was also confused as to why she was asking about this. Instead, it was Ji Daniang, who quietly informed her, ”Third master is hiding out in the mountains, unwilling to see anyone, and Grand Madam has even exempted him from morning and evening greetings. I’ve heard from my in-laws that it’s widely rumoured that Third Master is supposedly recuperating in a separate courtyard.”
Ji Daniang’s in-laws referred to Supervisor Tong.
Yu Tang breathed out a long sigh of relief.
As long as Pei Yan was fine, these days would surely go on peacefully.
It was just around this time that Mrs. Shen somehow developed a persistent cough and invited a physician over. It was said that her cough developed due to her living in a place with a burning floor furnace which made the air too dry.
Gu Xi was secretly delighted, and offered to buy a few tangerines, saying, “Tangerines have the effect of relieving coughs. Now that weather is getting colder, it’s possible to reduce coughing by letting people move around outside frequently, but it’s easy to catch a cold when there’s drastic temperature changes between the inner rooms and outer gardens. Why don’t we boil and drink the tangerines, which can help to relieve coughs and nourish the lungs?”
Grand Madam was accustomed to staying in roomS with burning floor furnaces in winter. Among all the juniors, only fifth young miss followed Second Madam in her appointments and used smaller fire pits in winter. This year’s spring, she developed a cough and quickly stopped the use of burning floor furnaces and subsequently recovered. This time, although people knew about this issue and kept it firmly in their minds, but they feared that she might catch a cold and thus was only carefully monitoring her health, and fortunately fifth young lady had not developed any coughs.
Grand Madam’s heart ached for fifth young lady and immediately nodded in agreement, and had Daniang Chen send someone down to the Pei family’s main residence and moved a lot of tangerine trees over and raised them in the greenhouse.
Gu Xi often went over to pick tangerines.
When DaNiang Chen saw Gu Xi, who was flushed, she repeatedly dissuaded her, “Just order the maids to pick what you need, why should you exert yourself and come here personally?”
Gu Xi smiled as she wiped her hands and replied, “Mrs. Shen is still my elder, so it’s only right for me to show respect to her with sincerity. Besides, I’m not quite used to burning floor furnaces as well, it’s too hot.”
Daniang Chen was impressed with Gu Xi that she could get along with Mrs. Shen and couldn’t help but smile at her words, “You have a kind heart. Why don’t I ask them to burn less charcoal in your furnace?”
“No, there’s no need.” Gu Xi repeatedly refused, “The house would be too cold, and Mrs. Shen would find the cold unbearable.”
Daniang Chen didn’t speak more on it, and in the evening, she sent her some loquat syrup.
Gu Xi smiled and offered it to Mrs. Shen.
Mrs. Shen was alone in the room, dazedly gazing up at the overhead ceiling, and it was uncertain what was in her mind.
Gu Xi didn’t disturb her and retreated after delivering the things.
The next day, when she went to pick tangerines, as per GuXi’s wish, she encountered Eldest Madam.
Eldest Madam looked even frailer than the last time she saw her, and she smiled and politely exchanged pleasantries with her.
Gu Xi responded to her with a few words and praised the orchids she raised before leaving.
Grand Madam got the news immediately, and her face sank in an instant.
Unlike with Mrs. Shen, Eldest Madam wanted to preserve her dignity, and thus might not disclose to Mrs. Shen about the details, but Gu Xi had a brother who was the sworn brother of the left imperial inspectorate general, Sun Gao, and thus Eldest Madam might have some devious plan in mind.
She asked, “Who placed those tangerine trees in the greenhouse?”
Chen Daniang replied worriedly, “It was me! I saw that there was an empty space and asked the people to move them there. Should I move them to another place ……”
“No need!” Grand Madam said wearily, “There’s only so much we can do in terms of prevention. If it’s bound to happen, it will happen. Let it be.”
Daniang Chen did not dare to speak of this further, but secretly reminded Gu Xi.
As Gu Xi had achieved her goal, she pursed her lips and smiled, before going to see Grand Madam to offer her apologies.
Grand Madam chuckled, “What does this have to do with you? In the past, Eldest Madam didn’t like crowds very much, so everyone seldom visited that area. However, since you were able to strike a conversation with her, it would be good if you can accompany her for a chat.”
Gu Xi responded positively, but she did not go to the greenhouse after that.
Grand Madam silently nodded her head and said to Second Madam, “She can be considered as a person with good insight.”
Second Madam smiled at Grand Madam’s words, saying “Their family is complicated as well, so I’m sure she must have experienced many of these things from a young age.”
Grand Madam sighed and stopped speaking.
Somehow, word of this reached Gu Xi, which caused her to have a slight twinkle in her eyes.
HeXiang was confused and asked, “Was that all?”
Gu Xi replied, “Yes. It’s enough.” She added, “Right now, what the Pei family needs is a patriarch’s wife. An obedient daughter-in-law who has the capability to run a household. I only have to leave such an impression on Grand Madam. Thereafter, it will be up to my elder brother.”
After several days of heavy snowfall, the sky cleared up, brightening people’s moods.
Several of the Pei family’s young ladies couldn’t sit still and ran off to the plum grove to enjoy the snow and plum-blossoms.
This time, they didn’t write poems. Instead they drank tea instead of wine and sat cross-legged in the warm pavilion as they played poetry games.
Yu Tang recalled her previous misunderstanding and came out this time wearing the cloak Pei Yan had given her.
Grand Madam didn’t comment on it, only feeling that Yu Tang looked beautiful dressed like this, and her gaze towards Yu Tang was soft and gentle.
Gu Xi sneered in her heart.
There was a new guest joining them in the inner courtyard.
It was Elder Master Yi’s wife, the grandmother of Second Miss and Third Miss.
Second Miss had hidden herself in the room and was reluctant to see the others.
Fourth and Fifth Miss were whispering next to Yu Tang, “Is it true that her fiancé is coming up the mountain?”
“Why aren’t they meeting in the temple? Wasn’t that always how it’s depicted in operas?”
“Such a chilly day, if they were to go to the temple, what if they catch a cold?”
“Then they should have waited until spring! Second sister is so beautiful, who wouldn’t want to marry her?”
“What nonsense are you saying?” Fourth Miss continued, “Even if Second Sister wants to get married, she still has to be seen by the other party. I heard from my grandmother that the son of that family will be participating in the Grand Competition at the Capital next year, and had to leave for the capital before the New Year’s. Therefore, he has to settle the engagement now.”
Fifth Miss grimaced and said, unimpressed, “If their family really wanted to marry Second Sister, then why didn’t they do so earlier?”
“Why are you always arguing with me?” Fourth Miss retorted unhappily, “Previously, he followed his father and brother around while they were in office, and only just returned to his hometown. If it wasn’t for the match-making with Second Sister, he would have gone straight to the capital.”
Hometown? Then was he a son of a family in the neighbouring town?
I wonder who the person on the match-making date with second young miss was?
Yu Tang was very curious.
