Chapter 169 – Enraged
In her previous life, owing to the Li family, Yu Tang learnt much about the various families in the surrounding provinces near Lin’an. Thus when Grand Madam Yi and Grand Madam spoke about Second young lady’s marriage, she listened attentively at the side.
“It is my older female cousin’s grandson. He lost his mother at an early age and grew up in my cousin’s house, also followed my cousin’s nephew around and as he got older, he followed his father along on his assignments. Even now, his servants are all my cousin’s people, therefore, the child’s character, morals were all cross-checked and found to be trustworthy, and he is of a suitable age as well. Now it depends on their compatibility.” Grand Madam Yi remarked.
She was similar in age to Grand Madam Pei, however she didn’t manage to maintain her youth and beauty, unlike Grand Madam Pei who could pass off as Second Madam’s older sister. Her hair was turning grey and was wrapped in a cloth bun. There were deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and on her forehead, but she had a twinkle in her eyes and a benevolent gaze.
It was obvious that she had a good relationship with Grand Madam Pei as she replied straight-forwardly, ”Then how is the situation in his family now? Even if that child’s character is decent, with the existence of a stepmother-in-law, it would still be fairly problematic.”
Grand Madam Yi chuckled softly as she replied, “The child’s stepmother is no one else, but a girl from your Qian family, although she’s a member of a side branch, but her upbringing and conduct is good. You might even know her.”
The Qian family was a large family, Grand Madam Pei was a daughter of the patriarch’s house, and may not be able to recognise all the ladies of the side families.
“Which house’s daughter is she? What’s her maiden name?” Grand Madam asked with interest.
“It’s the side branch of your Qian family’s eighth house, her maiden name is Xiao’e.” Grand Madam Yi expected that she would asked about this and continued, “She said she knows you. This time, when that child comes over, she will also accompany him and offer her greetings. She also intends to build a relationship with the Pei family.”
Grand Madam Pei thought for a while but couldn’t recall such a person in her maiden family.
She apologised, saying “I’ll send someone to my maiden family to ask, lest we meet and I know nothing of her.”
This meant that she was willing to meet them.
Grand Madam Yi nodded her head and said, “That child’s father is also an astute person. When he found someone to arrange his son’s matchmaking, he said that in addition to his birth mother’s dowry, as he is the firstborn son of the family, he will not lose a single cent of what should be rightfully his. The reason why they wanted our family’s Second Miss was because they wanted a capable lady able to take charge of the household in future, and have someone take care of their son. They might be thinking of letting their son return to his hometown for his studies.”
Plenty of people have failed the imperial examinations several times, and they can’t all live in the capital in preparation for the exams. Probably that family wanted their son to stay in his hometown to study after marrying Second Miss, while they themselves brought the stepchildren to live with them during their father’s term in office.
This was a good arrangement.
Second Miss will not need to follow rules set by her stepmother-in-law.
As Yu Tang was lost in thought, fifth young miss who was making silk flowers beside her quietly huddled over and whispered, “Sister Yu, we can’t tell fourth sister about this.”
Fourth Miss has been trying to find out who Second Miss was matched with.
Yu Tang pursed her lips and smiled, nodding her head.
She then heard Grand Madam Yi say the man’s name was “Yang Yan”, and she wondered if this “Yang Yan” was the same one she knew in her previous life.
In her previous life, Yang Yan was from Tonglu, their family had a tea plantation, which produced a kind of tea called “snow water cloud” green tea. The leaves were shaped like silver swords, velvety to the touch and the colour of emeralds. The tea colour was pale green and tastes sweet. It was Madam Lin’s favourite. Every year, she would send people to buy tea at the Yang family’s shop.
Before she died, the Yang family’s tea became a tribute tea. And the one who made it possible was Yang Yan.
Yu Tang was very impressed.
Clearly, this Yang Yan was a capable person.
If it was the same Yang Yan that was being spoken of, Yu Tang felt that it should be alright.
After Grand Madam Pei sent Grand Madam Yi away to rest, she asked Ji Daniang, who was serving tea, “Is Gentleman Yang’s family a tea producer?”
Ji Daniang replied, “Is Lady Yu also acquainted with this family?”
Yu Tang hurriedly denied, “No, I only heard that their tea is excellent.”
Ji Daniang didn’t give it much thought as she smilingly replied, “Indeed they are. Their tea is fragrant and sweet, and this time when Grand Madam Yi came, she brought quite a bit of their tea with her. I’ll have the kitchen bring some to your room later, so you can try it as well.”
At the side, fifth young miss spoke up, “Second sister’s marriage has yet to be finalised, is it appropriate for our family to drink their family’s tea?”
The servants under Grand Madam were very fond of the somewhat childish, introverted Fifth Young Miss. Fearing that they would scare her, they would always reply her questions in a soft and thorough manner. This time was no exception.
Ji Daniang said: ”If it was brought over by Grand Madam Yi, then we will accept it as Grand Madam Yi’s gift. If it’s from the Yang family, naturally we would not accept it.”
Fifth Young Miss nodded her head and whispered to Yu Tang, “That family’s surname is Yang, it’s the same surname as my great aunt’s maternal family!”
Yu Tang froze, not knowing what fifth miss meant when she said this, but she had already changed the topic and continued, “Sister Yu, besides tea, do you know other things about the Yang family?”
“I don’t know.” Yu Tang said embarrassedly, “I only knew about the Yang family because I occasionally drank their tea. For specifics, I’m afraid we would have to ask Grand Madam Yi.”
“My mother definitely knows!” Fifth Miss’s eyes darted around as she whispered, “Sister Yu, let’s go ask my mother.”
Instead of saying she was concerned about second young lady’s marriage, it would be better to say that she wanted to know more about the man so that she could flaunt her knowledge in front of fourth young lady and annoy her.
Yu Tang chuckled. Not wanting to entertain her foolishness, she quipped, ”If this marriage is finalized, and you want to know more, I will definitely go with you. However, everything is still up in the air. If we ask around like this, and should it not work out, Second Miss would be disgraced!”
Fifth Young Miss pondered for a moment, and no longer insisted on prying into the Yang family’s affairs.
But while they didn’t inquire, Gu Xi did.
At the evening meal, Grand Madam Pei welcomed Grand Madam Yi. After the meal, Grand Madam Pei, Grand Madam Yi, Second Madam and Mrs. Shen went to the east side of the residence to have tea, and spoke in whispers. All the juniors formed their own corner and whispered among themselves.
It was uncertain what was said by Grand Madam, but Grand Madam Yi called Second Miss over, and Fourth Miss immediately jumped in and said to Fifth Miss smugly, ”Do you know who Second Sister is going to marry? It’s the Tonglu Yang family. It’s the first-born legitimate son of their family.”
Fifth young miss lost out on obtaining the news first and felt humiliated. Her small face turned red and her eyes looked at Yu Tang aggrievedly, as if to say, “It’s you who didn’t allow me to inquire, but now see? Fourth sister knows more than I do”.
Yu Tang rubbed her forehead, thinking about how to comfort fifth young miss, when on the side of the elders, there was a sudden silence. A few young misses did not know what was going on and they all quietened down, and looked over towards Grand Madam.
Grand Madam’s face was impassive, as she raised her hand and gently sipped her tea, before speaking, “On the fifth month of the coming year, the mourning period would end. It would be time to plan Xia guang’s marriage carefully. However, you are aware of my family’s customs. Starting from Great Grand Elder’s generation, marriage matters were mostly done by the parents with little input from others. Both parties have to meet, have a look and see if they are a good match. Otherwise, animosity would fester, causing more trouble and bringing chaos to the family. As for Xia Guang’s marriage, I intend to let him decide for himself. If he is satisfied, I will have no problem with it.”
They were discussing about Pei Yan’s marriage!
A few juniors heard this and didn’t dare to make a sound, as they stared at the elders.
Grand Madam Yi reacted well as she smiled and replied, “That’s true, but it can’t be too far from societal norms. He can marry whoever he wishes, but you should still inquire about it.”
Grand Madam sighed, and was about to reply, but Mrs. Shen abruptly raised her voice and said sharply, “Since ancient times, marriage was always decided by the parents, how can Grand Madam let third master do as he pleases? I’ve heard that in the beginning, the Li (黎) family highly valued third master, and even took the initiative to propose a marriage between both families, but third master was lukewarm about it and did not confirm the marriage. The Li (黎) family couldn’t wait any longer and thus re-established another marriage for the girl. Your family’s third master is really too arrogant. Even if you dislike the Li family’s daughter, but Eldest Master Li treated him like a son or nephew, even Grand Elder’s affairs, Eldest Master Li also helped out tremendously. Otherwise, how else could your family obtain meritorious service and be inducted into officialdom?”
Yu Tang and Gu Xi were both stunned.
Grand Madam however, frowned and slammed the table, and several porcelain objects fell to the ground with a crisp clatter. ”No one will take you for a mute if you don’t know how to speak! I am also your elder, are they any juniors that dare to speak out in front of elders like this? Pardon my family’s poor hospitality, but we are unable to receive a guest like you. Chen Daniang, go down the mountain and tell Mr. Shen that he should come pick her up early next morning.”
With this sudden turn of events, the crowd was left in shock.
Especially so for Mrs Shen, who was explicitly given the order to leave. She stood up, face so red that it seemed to be dripping blood, her mouth agape, stuttering, “You, you, you, you” And did not manage to utter a coherent sentence.
Grand Madam Yi was stupefied as she held the hand of her maidservant beside her, looking at a loss for words.
Grand Madam, however, had no intention of assuaging the situation, as she snorted, “Why? Did I mis-speak? I’m warning you. This is the Pei family and not the Shen family. The Shen family considers themselves to be intellectuals, so they didn’t want to condescend to fight at your level thus letting you have your way, But you actually thought so highly of yourself, thinking that everything you did was right. Today, I’m not going to give in to your tantrums and on behalf of your parents, I will discipline you, telling you how to behave.” She then fiercely confronted her, “Who told you that my family’s Xiaguang doesn’t like Lady Li? You, a shrew living in the rural countryside, did you see it with your own eyes? Hear it with your own ears? Don’t you usually pride yourself on being an educated person? Why are you still spreading falsehoods? My family’s Xiaguang is a great man. Once he entered officialdom, he was recognized and appreciated by Esteemed Minister Zhang and Minister Li. Esteemed Minister Zhang is his mentor, so it’s only right that our family should be under his care. However, Minister Li is different, how can my family’s Xiaguang not visit him often after receiving his many kindnesses?
“This really fulfils the saying that the merciful would only see kindness in people, and the wise would only see the intelligence of others. In the hearts of people like you, my family’s Xiaguang and Minister Li had ulterior motives, and you would not be happy unless there was some kind of financial benefit involved, or some childish notion of romantism between the marriage partners. Not only do you make up such outlandish ideas in your head, but you also go around spreading such lies everywhere. I was just thinking, why was it always rumoured outside that the Li family was interested in my Xiaguang becoming their son-in-law? So it was because of gossiping shrews like you! Do you have nothing to do? If you are free, you should first manage your own son and daughter-in-law, and the head of your family.”
“It’s been more than ten years since the head of your family didn’t return home. Do you think people outside are praising you as a virtuous woman?”
“Get your own affairs straighten out before picking on other families’ affairs!”
Mrs. Shen was berated by Grand Madam until her face turned green. She abruptly blocked her face with her sleeve and ran out.
Grand Madam was unrelenting, saying loudly to Chen Daniang, “You take some people to keep an eye on her, if she’s going to commit suicide, she’s going to have to die in the Shen family, die in the Wang family, don’t dirty my family’s soil.”
Mrs Shen’s maiden family name was Wang.
TL: I had so much fun translating Grand Madam’s insults! Now we know where Peiyan got his cutting remarks from.
Chapter 169 – Enraged
In her previous life, owing to the Li family, Yu Tang learnt much about the various families in the surrounding provinces near Lin’an. Thus when Grand Madam Yi and Grand Madam spoke about Second young lady’s marriage, she listened attentively at the side.
“It is my older female cousin’s grandson. He lost his mother at an early age and grew up in my cousin’s house, also followed my cousin’s nephew around and as he got older, he followed his father along on his assignments. Even now, his servants are all my cousin’s people, therefore, the child’s character, morals were all cross-checked and found to be trustworthy, and he is of a suitable age as well. Now it depends on their compatibility.” Grand Madam Yi remarked.
She was similar in age to Grand Madam Pei, however she didn’t manage to maintain her youth and beauty, unlike Grand Madam Pei who could pass off as Second Madam’s older sister. Her hair was turning grey and was wrapped in a cloth bun. There were deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and on her forehead, but she had a twinkle in her eyes and a benevolent gaze.
It was obvious that she had a good relationship with Grand Madam Pei as she replied straight-forwardly, ”Then how is the situation in his family now? Even if that child’s character is decent, with the existence of a stepmother-in-law, it would still be fairly problematic.”
Grand Madam Yi chuckled softly as she replied, “The child’s stepmother is no one else, but a girl from your Qian family, although she’s a member of a side branch, but her upbringing and conduct is good. You might even know her.”
The Qian family was a large family, Grand Madam Pei was a daughter of the patriarch’s house, and may not be able to recognise all the ladies of the side families.
“Which house’s daughter is she? What’s her maiden name?” Grand Madam asked with interest.
“It’s the side branch of your Qian family’s eighth house, her maiden name is Xiao’e.” Grand Madam Yi expected that she would asked about this and continued, “She said she knows you. This time, when that child comes over, she will also accompany him and offer her greetings. She also intends to build a relationship with the Pei family.”
Grand Madam Pei thought for a while but couldn’t recall such a person in her maiden family.
She apologised, saying “I’ll send someone to my maiden family to ask, lest we meet and I know nothing of her.”
This meant that she was willing to meet them.
Grand Madam Yi nodded her head and said, “That child’s father is also an astute person. When he found someone to arrange his son’s matchmaking, he said that in addition to his birth mother’s dowry, as he is the firstborn son of the family, he will not lose a single cent of what should be rightfully his. The reason why they wanted our family’s Second Miss was because they wanted a capable lady able to take charge of the household in future, and have someone take care of their son. They might be thinking of letting their son return to his hometown for his studies.”
Plenty of people have failed the imperial examinations several times, and they can’t all live in the capital in preparation for the exams. Probably that family wanted their son to stay in his hometown to study after marrying Second Miss, while they themselves brought the stepchildren to live with them during their father’s term in office.
This was a good arrangement.
Second Miss will not need to follow rules set by her stepmother-in-law.
As Yu Tang was lost in thought, fifth young miss who was making silk flowers beside her quietly huddled over and whispered, “Sister Yu, we can’t tell fourth sister about this.”
Fourth Miss has been trying to find out who Second Miss was matched with.
Yu Tang pursed her lips and smiled, nodding her head.
She then heard Grand Madam Yi say the man’s name was “Yang Yan”, and she wondered if this “Yang Yan” was the same one she knew in her previous life.
In her previous life, Yang Yan was from Tonglu, their family had a tea plantation, which produced a kind of tea called “snow water cloud” green tea. The leaves were shaped like silver swords, velvety to the touch and the colour of emeralds. The tea colour was pale green and tastes sweet. It was Madam Lin’s favourite. Every year, she would send people to buy tea at the Yang family’s shop.
Before she died, the Yang family’s tea became a tribute tea. And the one who made it possible was Yang Yan.
Yu Tang was very impressed.
Clearly, this Yang Yan was a capable person.
If it was the same Yang Yan that was being spoken of, Yu Tang felt that it should be alright.
After Grand Madam Pei sent Grand Madam Yi away to rest, she asked Ji Daniang, who was serving tea, “Is Gentleman Yang’s family a tea producer?”
Ji Daniang replied, “Is Lady Yu also acquainted with this family?”
Yu Tang hurriedly denied, “No, I only heard that their tea is excellent.”
Ji Daniang didn’t give it much thought as she smilingly replied, “Indeed they are. Their tea is fragrant and sweet, and this time when Grand Madam Yi came, she brought quite a bit of their tea with her. I’ll have the kitchen bring some to your room later, so you can try it as well.”
At the side, fifth young miss spoke up, “Second sister’s marriage has yet to be finalised, is it appropriate for our family to drink their family’s tea?”
The servants under Grand Madam were very fond of the somewhat childish, introverted Fifth Young Miss. Fearing that they would scare her, they would always reply her questions in a soft and thorough manner. This time was no exception.
Ji Daniang said: ”If it was brought over by Grand Madam Yi, then we will accept it as Grand Madam Yi’s gift. If it’s from the Yang family, naturally we would not accept it.”
Fifth Young Miss nodded her head and whispered to Yu Tang, “That family’s surname is Yang, it’s the same surname as my great aunt’s maternal family!”
Yu Tang froze, not knowing what fifth miss meant when she said this, but she had already changed the topic and continued, “Sister Yu, besides tea, do you know other things about the Yang family?”
“I don’t know.” Yu Tang said embarrassedly, “I only knew about the Yang family because I occasionally drank their tea. For specifics, I’m afraid we would have to ask Grand Madam Yi.”
“My mother definitely knows!” Fifth Miss’s eyes darted around as she whispered, “Sister Yu, let’s go ask my mother.”
Instead of saying she was concerned about second young lady’s marriage, it would be better to say that she wanted to know more about the man so that she could flaunt her knowledge in front of fourth young lady and annoy her.
Yu Tang chuckled. Not wanting to entertain her foolishness, she quipped, ”If this marriage is finalized, and you want to know more, I will definitely go with you. However, everything is still up in the air. If we ask around like this, and should it not work out, Second Miss would be disgraced!”
Fifth Young Miss pondered for a moment, and no longer insisted on prying into the Yang family’s affairs.
But while they didn’t inquire, Gu Xi did.
At the evening meal, Grand Madam Pei welcomed Grand Madam Yi. After the meal, Grand Madam Pei, Grand Madam Yi, Second Madam and Mrs. Shen went to the east side of the residence to have tea, and spoke in whispers. All the juniors formed their own corner and whispered among themselves.
It was uncertain what was said by Grand Madam, but Grand Madam Yi called Second Miss over, and Fourth Miss immediately jumped in and said to Fifth Miss smugly, ”Do you know who Second Sister is going to marry? It’s the Tonglu Yang family. It’s the first-born legitimate son of their family.”
Fifth young miss lost out on obtaining the news first and felt humiliated. Her small face turned red and her eyes looked at Yu Tang aggrievedly, as if to say, “It’s you who didn’t allow me to inquire, but now see? Fourth sister knows more than I do”.
Yu Tang rubbed her forehead, thinking about how to comfort fifth young miss, when on the side of the elders, there was a sudden silence. A few young misses did not know what was going on and they all quietened down, and looked over towards Grand Madam.
Grand Madam’s face was impassive, as she raised her hand and gently sipped her tea, before speaking, “On the fifth month of the coming year, the mourning period would end. It would be time to plan Xia guang’s marriage carefully. However, you are aware of my family’s customs. Starting from Great Grand Elder’s generation, marriage matters were mostly done by the parents with little input from others. Both parties have to meet, have a look and see if they are a good match. Otherwise, animosity would fester, causing more trouble and bringing chaos to the family. As for Xia Guang’s marriage, I intend to let him decide for himself. If he is satisfied, I will have no problem with it.”
They were discussing about Pei Yan’s marriage!
A few juniors heard this and didn’t dare to make a sound, as they stared at the elders.
Grand Madam Yi reacted well as she smiled and replied, “That’s true, but it can’t be too far from societal norms. He can marry whoever he wishes, but you should still inquire about it.”
Grand Madam sighed, and was about to reply, but Mrs. Shen abruptly raised her voice and said sharply, “Since ancient times, marriage was always decided by the parents, how can Grand Madam let third master do as he pleases? I’ve heard that in the beginning, the Li (黎) family highly valued third master, and even took the initiative to propose a marriage between both families, but third master was lukewarm about it and did not confirm the marriage. The Li (黎) family couldn’t wait any longer and thus re-established another marriage for the girl. Your family’s third master is really too arrogant. Even if you dislike the Li family’s daughter, but Eldest Master Li treated him like a son or nephew, even Grand Elder’s affairs, Eldest Master Li also helped out tremendously. Otherwise, how else could your family obtain meritorious service and be inducted into officialdom?”
Yu Tang and Gu Xi were both stunned.
Grand Madam however, frowned and slammed the table, and several porcelain objects fell to the ground with a crisp clatter. ”No one will take you for a mute if you don’t know how to speak! I am also your elder, are they any juniors that dare to speak out in front of elders like this? Pardon my family’s poor hospitality, but we are unable to receive a guest like you. Chen Daniang, go down the mountain and tell Mr. Shen that he should come pick her up early next morning.”
With this sudden turn of events, the crowd was left in shock.
Especially so for Mrs Shen, who was explicitly given the order to leave. She stood up, face so red that it seemed to be dripping blood, her mouth agape, stuttering, “You, you, you, you” And did not manage to utter a coherent sentence.
Grand Madam Yi was stupefied as she held the hand of her maidservant beside her, looking at a loss for words.
Grand Madam, however, had no intention of assuaging the situation, as she snorted, “Why? Did I mis-speak? I’m warning you. This is the Pei family and not the Shen family. The Shen family considers themselves to be intellectuals, so they didn’t want to condescend to fight at your level thus letting you have your way, But you actually thought so highly of yourself, thinking that everything you did was right. Today, I’m not going to give in to your tantrums and on behalf of your parents, I will discipline you, telling you how to behave.” She then fiercely confronted her, “Who told you that my family’s Xiaguang doesn’t like Lady Li? You, a shrew living in the rural countryside, did you see it with your own eyes? Hear it with your own ears? Don’t you usually pride yourself on being an educated person? Why are you still spreading falsehoods? My family’s Xiaguang is a great man. Once he entered officialdom, he was recognized and appreciated by Esteemed Minister Zhang and Minister Li. Esteemed Minister Zhang is his mentor, so it’s only right that our family should be under his care. However, Minister Li is different, how can my family’s Xiaguang not visit him often after receiving his many kindnesses?
“This really fulfils the saying that the merciful would only see kindness in people, and the wise would only see the intelligence of others. In the hearts of people like you, my family’s Xiaguang and Minister Li had ulterior motives, and you would not be happy unless there was some kind of financial benefit involved, or some childish notion of romantism between the marriage partners. Not only do you make up such outlandish ideas in your head, but you also go around spreading such lies everywhere. I was just thinking, why was it always rumoured outside that the Li family was interested in my Xiaguang becoming their son-in-law? So it was because of gossiping shrews like you! Do you have nothing to do? If you are free, you should first manage your own son and daughter-in-law, and the head of your family.”
“It’s been more than ten years since the head of your family didn’t return home. Do you think people outside are praising you as a virtuous woman?”
“Get your own affairs straighten out before picking on other families’ affairs!”
Mrs. Shen was berated by Grand Madam until her face turned green. She abruptly blocked her face with her sleeve and ran out.
Grand Madam was unrelenting, saying loudly to Chen Daniang, “You take some people to keep an eye on her, if she’s going to commit suicide, she’s going to have to die in the Shen family, die in the Wang family, don’t dirty my family’s soil.”
Mrs Shen’s maiden family name was Wang.
TL: I had so much fun translating Grand Madam’s insults! Now we know where Peiyan got his cutting remarks from.
