Chapter 50
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Because of her cousin’s arrival, Ye Zhao finally got the rare opportunity to personally decorate a woman’s room.
A blue canopy, a blue-green display case, a white jewel cabinet, treasure cabinets — she was gleefully digging through their storage, picking out anything that looked elaborate and interesting, sending it all to the room without any second thought, merely accumulating until the room was full. Onlookers could only shake their heads. But Xia Yujin couldn’t stand that messy sight and personally got involved. He had people tidy the room again, arranged it to be artfully disordered, threw away all the precious knickknacks, replacing them with paper, ink, and brush as well as celebrated calligraphies, and finally had it looking like the room of a well-bred young lady from the capital.
Looking at the pleasant change in the room, Ye Zhao explained with embarrassment, “I never play with that stuff.”
Xia Yujin patted her shoulder in despair, let out a long sigh, shook his head, and went on his way to the practice grounds.
In this world, some people liked to threaten punishment to themselves to increase their motivation: I can’t go to sleep before finishing this book, or I can’t go out until I write a satisfactory essay, or I can’t get married if I don’t pass the imperial exam, or I can’t eat meat if I don’t earn twenty taels of silver, and so on.
Xia Yujin was such a person. Usually, he liked to vow that he couldn’t get dinner before shaking three leopard strikes in a row at dice, or that he couldn’t go to a pleasure house for a month if he didn’t settle such or such situation with the city’s delinquents, etc. But today, his latest vow was that before he was ready to push down his wife, he would certainly not go to bed with her!
Therefore, to be able to smoothly overthrow his wife, he changed everything. He was no longer picky about food, ate nothing but the strengthening food prepared by Concubine Yang, and every time he was free he went to lose himself into the training grounds, dripping with sweat, practicing hard. His complexion was much better than before, which Consort Dowager An couldn’t help being delighted with. Not only did she exempt him from going back to pay respect from time to time, she also sent someone to deliver him a number of tonics. Even Qiu Hua and Qiu Shui, who looked at him so judgingly, were moved by his perseverance. They had to look at him differently, pulling him up from the rank of “waste” to the rank of “reusable scraps.” They didn’t give him such a bad attitude anymore.
During break, remembering Ye Zhao’s recent good mood, Xia Yujin asked the two female bodyguards who were accompanying him, “Do she and her cousin get along well?”
Qiu Shui thought about it. “During the war,” she answered, “General Ye would sometimes write to her uncle, and sometimes she’d pick a few of the spoils of war she’d seized and enclose them in the letter for her cousins. It felt like those for her cousin Xiyin were all of the best quality. So they probably get along well.”
“Is she also a woman who likes wielding weapons?” Xia Yujin asked, curious.
“Who knows?” Qiu Hua answered quickly. “The general doesn’t like to talk about her private life. Military Strategist Hu handles all of her correspondence. You can ask him.”
“No need,” Xia Yujin said absently, kneading his sore arms. “I asked out of curiosity, but she’s just a little girl coming out to get married quickly. Now matter how difficult it might be, there’s no need for my cousin-in-law and her to actually get along well. It shouldn’t be too disruptive.”
Qiu Shui nodded. “Yes, the general won’t let her cousin be with you.”
“So that she doesn’t get a bad reputation,” Qiu Hua said, going along.
“Stop that nonsense,” Xia Yujin muttered. “Considering Ye Zhao’s manly behavior, can the woman she brings out into the world have a better reputation than me?”
After a while, under the heavy frowns of the soldiers, peace returned upon the training grounds.
A little over a month later, the wheels of the paddle-wheel boat[1] turning, the young lady cousin finally arrived in the capital. When the news reached Ye Zhao at the military camp, she promptly sent someone to pick her up.
Two carts filled with belongings and a small sedan with blue silk curtains arrived at the gates of the residence of the prince of Nanping. While servants busied themselves with unloading the luggage and sending it all to the prepared courtyard, a few older maids stepped forward to lift the sedan chair and enter through the side door, until they stopped outside the courtyard door of the main house.
The mistress of the prince of Nanping’s house only bore the name and none of the duties; Concubine Yang had no other choice but to take charge and come out with a few maids to welcome her.
Meiniang and Xuan’er, accustomed to being emboldened by the general, were nearby, quietly watching.
Under the blossoming apricot tree, the curtain of the sedan chair parted gently. A neat and pretty little beauty stepped out, her dark hair combed back in two buns and wearing blue silk robes, adorned with a few fashionable gold hairpins and silver ornaments. Although there were a few freckles over her round face, her eyes curved into moon crescents and her lively and adorable dimples showed when she smiled. She was pleasing to the eye.
So, this was the cousin? She didn’t seem hard to get along with.
Concubine Yang let out a sigh of relief, about to step forward to welcome her.
Unexpectedly, the young woman turned back after a salute, deferentially lifted the curtain, and said, in a pleasant voice, “Miss, here we are.”
From inside the blue sedan chair, a hand gently stretched out and landed over the little beauty’s shoulder.
The “hands like catkins, skin like firm ointment,” “scallions-like white fingers, delicate as orchids” described in the books[2] were revealed to all.
Merely this fair, delicate, soft, and flawless hand left people breathless and flustered.
Stunned for a moment, Concubine Yang then smiled deferentially and stepped forward to extend her greetings.
When Liu Xiyin slowly climbed down from the sedan chair, the apricot blossoms on the red-covered branches suddenly lost their luster.
She had a perfect face, perfect eyes, a perfect nose, a perfect mouth, and a perfect figure; from head to toes, there were no imperfections. She was devastatingly beautiful, captivating even the birds and beasts, a beauty which exceeded even that of the moon and flowers, a calamity of a beautiful woman… Every description of female beauty, from ancient times to now, could be ascribed to her without being jarring.
She was wearing a light green silk skirt and a plain white robe. There were no decorations whatsoever on her person, only a small and simple jade hairpin slipped in her cloud-like hair, where hung a shimmering diamond the size of her little finger, shaking slightly with her, like a dragonfly brushing the water or a weak willow in the wind. She slowly made her way over, offering a curtsy to Concubine Yang, neither servile nor arrogant. Her voice was particularly musical, her movements as graceful as a dancer’s.
A crisp clang! rang out.
It was the young servant, at his post in the courtyard, who had accidentally knocked over a plate with pastries in his fascination, startling everyone.
Every woman started comforting and asking herself, “When the men of this earth see such a beautiful woman, do they still feel like seeing anyone else?”
Meiniang’s strength came from being beautiful. But now that a powerful enemy had appeared, she panicked. First, she fixedly stared at her, from head to toe then from toe to head, again and again. She knew that she was no match for her; she snapped a fingernail in anger and crushed her handkerchief, with such an ugly look on her face that even her make-up couldn’t hide it.
Although Xuan’er was slow, she grew a little anxious when she saw such a rare beauty who outshone them all. She tugged on Meiniang’s sleeve. “This… This Miss Xiyin looks more beautiful than the prince?”
“Far more beautiful? She looks better than two of the princes.” Meiniang itched to peel off Lu Xiyin’s face and stick it to her own and her voice came out stifled through her gritted teeth. “How can a woman grow into such a strong vixen spirit? I hate it!”
Concubine Yang silently told herself She’s here to stay temporarily until she gets married to someone else eighteen times, until she finally repressed her turmoil and said with a smile, “The general was very happy to hear that you’ve arrived, miss. She said she would be here presently and hurry on the way. Shall I first take you to rest?”
Embarrassed, Liu Xiyin lowered her head, and shyly said, “I apologize for the bother.”
“You’re my own family. What bother? There’s no bother. Cousin Xiyin, you’re too formal!” Ye Zhao herself had arrived before the words had even came out. She was wearing her court dress, not having had time to change, and rushed over excitedly. Behind her came Xia Yujin, who wanted to see the spectacle. “Last time I saw you, you didn’t even reach my chest. Now you’re so tall.”
Liu Xiyin’s steps faltered slightly. Then she quickly turned around and bowed her head in greeting, exposing her slender and elegant swan-like neck. Looking down, she said with a smile, “Ah-Zhao…”
Such a beautiful person! Even Xia Yujin, who was used to looking into the mirror, couldn’t help looking at her twice.
Seeing her posture, Ye Zhao, who had originally wanted to grab her hands, stopped mid-gesture and drew back awkwardly. A long moment later, she patted her shoulder and softly said, “This young woman is very different from the little girl that you were. I almost couldn’t recognize you.”
“But you haven’t changed much, Ah-Zhao,” Liu Xiyin said. “You still look exactly as you did in my memories.”
Ye Zhao gave a wry smile. “It’s been eight years and I’ve grown a lot. How could I still look the same?”
“You’ve matured,” Liu Xiyin said with a close-lipped smile.
When Xia Yujin took a long time to appreciate this beautiful young woman, who was also the daughter of a general, and to note her elegance and femininity, and then looked at his own wife’s roughness and masculinity, he couldn’t refrain his sigh. He thought that if he ever had a daughter, he absolutely not must let her follow her mother’s example, but rather have her get close to his sister-in-law, and as long as she learned some things from her, he could die happily.
Ye Zhao left Xia Yujin behind with his lament and took her cousin by the hand to personally lead her to the courtyard which had been prepared for her.
Before leaving, Liu Xiyin glanced back at Xia Yujin, her eyes shining and a faint smile on her lips, over in the twinkling of an eye.
Was that an amorous glance? An amorous glance, like meeting after a long time?
Not for his wife, but for him?
Xia Yujin slowly thought back on it, overwhelmed with emotion.
Ye Zhao’s cousin was good! Not only were her looks and character good, but so were her eyes!
If even such a clever and sensible young beauty couldn’t find an equally good-looking husband, then all the women in the world ought to curse Yue Lao to get hit by lightning!
Liu Xiyin’s in the place! Let’s see how it goes.
[1 ↑] Lit. 车船转 chēchuán zhuǎn. A boat (or ship) propelled by wheels that were manually activated. They were invented during the Tang dynasty. More.
[2 ↑] Lit. 手如柔荑，肌若凝脂 shǒu rú róu tí, jī ruò níngzhī, from an anonymous poem collected in the Book of Songs (translation; see “Suo Ren”). The second quote seems to be from the Dream of the Red Chamber but I can’t find the translation of it.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Because of her cousin’s arrival, Ye Zhao finally got the rare opportunity to personally decorate a woman’s room.
A blue canopy, a blue-green display case, a white jewel cabinet, treasure cabinets — she was gleefully digging through their storage, picking out anything that looked elaborate and interesting, sending it all to the room without any second thought, merely accumulating until the room was full. Onlookers could only shake their heads. But Xia Yujin couldn’t stand that messy sight and personally got involved. He had people tidy the room again, arranged it to be artfully disordered, threw away all the precious knickknacks, replacing them with paper, ink, and brush as well as celebrated calligraphies, and finally had it looking like the room of a well-bred young lady from the capital.
Looking at the pleasant change in the room, Ye Zhao explained with embarrassment, “I never play with that stuff.”
Xia Yujin patted her shoulder in despair, let out a long sigh, shook his head, and went on his way to the practice grounds.
In this world, some people liked to threaten punishment to themselves to increase their motivation: I can’t go to sleep before finishing this book, or I can’t go out until I write a satisfactory essay, or I can’t get married if I don’t pass the imperial exam, or I can’t eat meat if I don’t earn twenty taels of silver, and so on.
Xia Yujin was such a person. Usually, he liked to vow that he couldn’t get dinner before shaking three leopard strikes in a row at dice, or that he couldn’t go to a pleasure house for a month if he didn’t settle such or such situation with the city’s delinquents, etc. But today, his latest vow was that before he was ready to push down his wife, he would certainly not go to bed with her!
Therefore, to be able to smoothly overthrow his wife, he changed everything. He was no longer picky about food, ate nothing but the strengthening food prepared by Concubine Yang, and every time he was free he went to lose himself into the training grounds, dripping with sweat, practicing hard. His complexion was much better than before, which Consort Dowager An couldn’t help being delighted with. Not only did she exempt him from going back to pay respect from time to time, she also sent someone to deliver him a number of tonics. Even Qiu Hua and Qiu Shui, who looked at him so judgingly, were moved by his perseverance. They had to look at him differently, pulling him up from the rank of “waste” to the rank of “reusable scraps.” They didn’t give him such a bad attitude anymore.
During break, remembering Ye Zhao’s recent good mood, Xia Yujin asked the two female bodyguards who were accompanying him, “Do she and her cousin get along well?”
Qiu Shui thought about it. “During the war,” she answered, “General Ye would sometimes write to her uncle, and sometimes she’d pick a few of the spoils of war she’d seized and enclose them in the letter for her cousins. It felt like those for her cousin Xiyin were all of the best quality. So they probably get along well.”
“Is she also a woman who likes wielding weapons?” Xia Yujin asked, curious.
“Who knows?” Qiu Hua answered quickly. “The general doesn’t like to talk about her private life. Military Strategist Hu handles all of her correspondence. You can ask him.”
“No need,” Xia Yujin said absently, kneading his sore arms. “I asked out of curiosity, but she’s just a little girl coming out to get married quickly. Now matter how difficult it might be, there’s no need for my cousin-in-law and her to actually get along well. It shouldn’t be too disruptive.”
Qiu Shui nodded. “Yes, the general won’t let her cousin be with you.”
“So that she doesn’t get a bad reputation,” Qiu Hua said, going along.
“Stop that nonsense,” Xia Yujin muttered. “Considering Ye Zhao’s manly behavior, can the woman she brings out into the world have a better reputation than me?”
After a while, under the heavy frowns of the soldiers, peace returned upon the training grounds.
A little over a month later, the wheels of the paddle-wheel boat[1] turning, the young lady cousin finally arrived in the capital. When the news reached Ye Zhao at the military camp, she promptly sent someone to pick her up.
Two carts filled with belongings and a small sedan with blue silk curtains arrived at the gates of the residence of the prince of Nanping. While servants busied themselves with unloading the luggage and sending it all to the prepared courtyard, a few older maids stepped forward to lift the sedan chair and enter through the side door, until they stopped outside the courtyard door of the main house.
The mistress of the prince of Nanping’s house only bore the name and none of the duties; Concubine Yang had no other choice but to take charge and come out with a few maids to welcome her.
Meiniang and Xuan’er, accustomed to being emboldened by the general, were nearby, quietly watching.
Under the blossoming apricot tree, the curtain of the sedan chair parted gently. A neat and pretty little beauty stepped out, her dark hair combed back in two buns and wearing blue silk robes, adorned with a few fashionable gold hairpins and silver ornaments. Although there were a few freckles over her round face, her eyes curved into moon crescents and her lively and adorable dimples showed when she smiled. She was pleasing to the eye.
So, this was the cousin? She didn’t seem hard to get along with.
Concubine Yang let out a sigh of relief, about to step forward to welcome her.
Unexpectedly, the young woman turned back after a salute, deferentially lifted the curtain, and said, in a pleasant voice, “Miss, here we are.”
From inside the blue sedan chair, a hand gently stretched out and landed over the little beauty’s shoulder.
The “hands like catkins, skin like firm ointment,” “scallions-like white fingers, delicate as orchids” described in the books[2] were revealed to all.
Merely this fair, delicate, soft, and flawless hand left people breathless and flustered.
Stunned for a moment, Concubine Yang then smiled deferentially and stepped forward to extend her greetings.
When Liu Xiyin slowly climbed down from the sedan chair, the apricot blossoms on the red-covered branches suddenly lost their luster.
She had a perfect face, perfect eyes, a perfect nose, a perfect mouth, and a perfect figure; from head to toes, there were no imperfections. She was devastatingly beautiful, captivating even the birds and beasts, a beauty which exceeded even that of the moon and flowers, a calamity of a beautiful woman… Every description of female beauty, from ancient times to now, could be ascribed to her without being jarring.
She was wearing a light green silk skirt and a plain white robe. There were no decorations whatsoever on her person, only a small and simple jade hairpin slipped in her cloud-like hair, where hung a shimmering diamond the size of her little finger, shaking slightly with her, like a dragonfly brushing the water or a weak willow in the wind. She slowly made her way over, offering a curtsy to Concubine Yang, neither servile nor arrogant. Her voice was particularly musical, her movements as graceful as a dancer’s.
A crisp clang! rang out.
It was the young servant, at his post in the courtyard, who had accidentally knocked over a plate with pastries in his fascination, startling everyone.
Every woman started comforting and asking herself, “When the men of this earth see such a beautiful woman, do they still feel like seeing anyone else?”
Meiniang’s strength came from being beautiful. But now that a powerful enemy had appeared, she panicked. First, she fixedly stared at her, from head to toe then from toe to head, again and again. She knew that she was no match for her; she snapped a fingernail in anger and crushed her handkerchief, with such an ugly look on her face that even her make-up couldn’t hide it.
Although Xuan’er was slow, she grew a little anxious when she saw such a rare beauty who outshone them all. She tugged on Meiniang’s sleeve. “This… This Miss Xiyin looks more beautiful than the prince?”
“Far more beautiful? She looks better than two of the princes.” Meiniang itched to peel off Lu Xiyin’s face and stick it to her own and her voice came out stifled through her gritted teeth. “How can a woman grow into such a strong vixen spirit? I hate it!”
Concubine Yang silently told herself She’s here to stay temporarily until she gets married to someone else eighteen times, until she finally repressed her turmoil and said with a smile, “The general was very happy to hear that you’ve arrived, miss. She said she would be here presently and hurry on the way. Shall I first take you to rest?”
Embarrassed, Liu Xiyin lowered her head, and shyly said, “I apologize for the bother.”
“You’re my own family. What bother? There’s no bother. Cousin Xiyin, you’re too formal!” Ye Zhao herself had arrived before the words had even came out. She was wearing her court dress, not having had time to change, and rushed over excitedly. Behind her came Xia Yujin, who wanted to see the spectacle. “Last time I saw you, you didn’t even reach my chest. Now you’re so tall.”
Liu Xiyin’s steps faltered slightly. Then she quickly turned around and bowed her head in greeting, exposing her slender and elegant swan-like neck. Looking down, she said with a smile, “Ah-Zhao…”
Such a beautiful person! Even Xia Yujin, who was used to looking into the mirror, couldn’t help looking at her twice.
Seeing her posture, Ye Zhao, who had originally wanted to grab her hands, stopped mid-gesture and drew back awkwardly. A long moment later, she patted her shoulder and softly said, “This young woman is very different from the little girl that you were. I almost couldn’t recognize you.”
“But you haven’t changed much, Ah-Zhao,” Liu Xiyin said. “You still look exactly as you did in my memories.”
Ye Zhao gave a wry smile. “It’s been eight years and I’ve grown a lot. How could I still look the same?”
“You’ve matured,” Liu Xiyin said with a close-lipped smile.
When Xia Yujin took a long time to appreciate this beautiful young woman, who was also the daughter of a general, and to note her elegance and femininity, and then looked at his own wife’s roughness and masculinity, he couldn’t refrain his sigh. He thought that if he ever had a daughter, he absolutely not must let her follow her mother’s example, but rather have her get close to his sister-in-law, and as long as she learned some things from her, he could die happily.
Ye Zhao left Xia Yujin behind with his lament and took her cousin by the hand to personally lead her to the courtyard which had been prepared for her.
Before leaving, Liu Xiyin glanced back at Xia Yujin, her eyes shining and a faint smile on her lips, over in the twinkling of an eye.
Was that an amorous glance? An amorous glance, like meeting after a long time?
Not for his wife, but for him?
Xia Yujin slowly thought back on it, overwhelmed with emotion.
Ye Zhao’s cousin was good! Not only were her looks and character good, but so were her eyes!
If even such a clever and sensible young beauty couldn’t find an equally good-looking husband, then all the women in the world ought to curse Yue Lao to get hit by lightning!
Liu Xiyin’s in the place! Let’s see how it goes.
[1 ↑] Lit. 车船转 chēchuán zhuǎn. A boat (or ship) propelled by wheels that were manually activated. They were invented during the Tang dynasty. More.
[2 ↑] Lit. 手如柔荑，肌若凝脂 shǒu rú róu tí, jī ruò níngzhī, from an anonymous poem collected in the Book of Songs (translation; see “Suo Ren”). The second quote seems to be from the Dream of the Red Chamber but I can’t find the translation of it.
Because of her cousin's arrival, Ye Zhao finally got the rare opportunity to personally decorate a woman's room.A blue canopy, a blue-green display case, a white jewel cabinet, treasure cabinets she was gleefully digging through their storage, picking out anything that looked elaborate and interesting, sending it all to the room without any second thought, merely accumulating until the room was full. Onlookers could only shake their heads. But Xia Yujin couldn't stand that messy sight and personally got involved. He had people tidy the room again, arranged it to be artfully disordered, threw away all the precious knickknacks, replacing them with paper, ink, and brush as well as celebrated calligraphies, and finally had it looking like the room of a well-bred young lady from the capital.Looking at the pleasant change in the room, Ye Zhao explained with embarrassment, I never play with that stuff.Xia Yujin patted her shoulder in despair, let out a long sigh, shook his head, and went on his way to the practice grounds.In this world, some people liked to threaten punishment to themselves to increase their motivation:I can't go to sleep before finishing this book, orI can't go out until I write a satisfactory essay, orI can't get married if I don't pass the imperial exam, orI can't eat meat if I don't earn twenty taels of silver, and so on.Xia Yujin was such a person. Usually, he liked to vow that he couldn't get dinner before shaking three leopard strikes in a row at dice, or that he couldn't go to a pleasure house for a month if he didn't settle such or such situation with the city's delinquents, etc. But today, his latest vow was that before he was ready to push down his wife, he would certainly not go to bed with her!Therefore, to be able to smoothly overthrow his wife, he changed everything. He was no longer picky about food, ate nothing but the strengthening food prepared by Concubine Yang, and every time he was free he went to lose himself into the training grounds, dripping with sweat, practicing hard. His complexion was much better than before, which Consort Dowager An couldn't help being delighted with. Not only did she exempt him from going back to pay respect from time to time, she also sent someone to deliver him a number of tonics. Even Qiu Hua and Qiu Shui, who looked at him so judgingly, were moved by his perseverance. They had to look at him differently, pulling him up from the rank of waste to the rank of reusable scraps. They didn't give him such a bad attitude anymore.During break, remembering Ye Zhao's recent good mood, Xia Yujin asked the two female bodyguards who were accompanying him, Do she and her cousin get along well?Qiu Shui thought about it. During the war, she answered, General Ye would sometimes write to her uncle, and sometimes she'd pick a few of the spoils of war she'd seized and enclose them in the letter for her cousins. It felt like those for her cousin Xiyin were all of the best quality. So they probably get along well.Is she also a woman who likes wielding weapons? Xia Yujin asked, curious.Who knows? Qiu Hua answered quickly. The general doesn't like to talk about her private life. Military Strategist Hu handles all of her correspondence. You can ask him.No need, Xia Yujin said absently, kneading his sore arms. I asked out of curiosity, but she's just a little girl coming out to get married quickly. Now matter how difficult it might be, there's no need for my cousin-in-law and her to actually get along well. It shouldn't be too disruptive.Qiu Shui nodded. Yes, the general won't let her cousin be with you.So that she doesn't get a bad reputation, Qiu Hua said, going along.Stop that nonsense, Xia Yujin muttered. Considering Ye Zhao's manly behavior, can the woman she brings out into the world have a better reputation than me?After a while, under the heavy frowns of the soldiers, peace returned upon the training grounds.A little over a month later, the wheels of the paddle-wheel boat1turning, the young lady cousin finally arrived in the capital. When the news reached Ye Zhao at the military camp, she promptly sent someone to pick her up.Two carts filled with belongings and a small sedan with blue silk curtains arrived at the gates of the residence of the prince of Nanping. While servants busied themselves with unloading the luggage and sending it all to the prepared courtyard, a few older maids stepped forward to lift the sedan chair and enter through the side door, until they stopped outside the courtyard door of the main house.The mistress of the prince of Nanping's house only bore the name and none of the duties; Concubine Yang had no other choice but to take charge and come out with a few maids to welcome her.Meiniang and Xuan'er, accustomed to being emboldened by the general, were nearby, quietly watching.Under the blossoming apricot tree, the curtain of the sedan chair parted gently. A neat and pretty little beauty stepped out, her dark hair combed back in two buns and wearing blue silk robes, adorned with a few fashionable gold hairpins and silver ornaments. Although there were a few freckles over her round face, her eyes curved into moon crescents and her lively and adorable dimples showed when she smiled. She was pleasing to the eye.So, this was the cousin? She didn't seem hard to get along with.Concubine Yang let out a sigh of relief, about to step forward to welcome her.Unexpectedly, the young woman turned back after a salute, deferentially lifted the curtain, and said, in a pleasant voice, Miss, here we are.From inside the blue sedan chair, a hand gently stretched out and landed over the little beauty's shoulder.The hands like catkins, skin like firm ointment, scallions-like white fingers, delicate as orchids described in the books2were revealed to all.Merely this fair, delicate, soft, and flawless hand left people breathless and flustered.Stunned for a moment, Concubine Yang then smiled deferentially and stepped forward to extend her greetings.When Liu Xiyin slowly climbed down from the sedan chair, the apricot blossoms on the red-covered branches suddenly lost their luster.She had a perfect face, perfect eyes, a perfect nose, a perfect mouth, and a perfect figure; from head to toes, there were no imperfections. She was devastatingly beautiful, captivating even the birds and beasts, a beauty which exceeded even that of the moon and flowers, a calamity of a beautiful woman Every description of female beauty, from ancient times to now, could be ascribed to her without being jarring.She was wearing a light green silk skirt and a plain white robe. There were no decorations whatsoever on her person, only a small and simple jade hairpin slipped in her cloud-like hair, where hung a shimmering diamond the size of her little finger, shaking slightly with her, like a dragonfly brushing the water or a weak willow in the wind. She slowly made her way over, offering a curtsy to Concubine Yang, neither servile nor arrogant. Her voice was particularly musical, her movements as graceful as a dancer's.A crispclang!rang out.It was the young servant, at his post in the courtyard, who had accidentally knocked over a plate with pastries in his fascination, startling everyone.Every woman started comforting and asking herself, When the men of this earth see such a beautiful woman, do they still feel like seeing anyone else?Meiniang's strength came from being beautiful. But now that a powerful enemy had appeared, she panicked. First, she fixedly stared at her, from head to toe then from toe to head, again and again. She knew that she was no match for her; she snapped a fingernail in anger and crushed her handkerchief, with such an ugly look on her face that even her make-up couldn't hide it.Although Xuan'er was slow, she grew a little anxious when she saw such a rare beauty who outshone them all. She tugged on Meiniang's sleeve. This This Miss Xiyin looks more beautiful than the prince?Far more beautiful? She looks better than two of the princes. Meiniang itched to peel off Lu Xiyin's face and stick it to her own and her voice came out stifled through her gritted teeth. How can a woman grow into such a strong vixen spirit? I hate it!Concubine Yang silently told herselfShe'shere to stay temporarily until she gets married to someone elseeighteen times, until she finally repressed her turmoil and said with a smile, The general was very happy to hear that you've arrived, miss. She said she would be here presently and hurry on the way. Shall I first take you to rest?Embarrassed, Liu Xiyin lowered her head, and shyly said, I apologize for the bother.You're my own family. What bother? There's no bother. Cousin Xiyin, you're too formal! Ye Zhao herself had arrived before the words had even came out. She was wearing her court dress, not having had time to change, and rushed over excitedly. Behind her came Xia Yujin, who wanted to see the spectacle. Last time I saw you, you didn't even reach my chest. Now you're so tall.Liu Xiyin's steps faltered slightly. Then she quickly turned around and bowed her head in greeting, exposing her slender and elegant swan-like neck. Looking down, she said with a smile, Ah-ZhaoSuch a beautiful person! Even Xia Yujin, who was used to looking into the mirror, couldn't help looking at her twice.Seeing her posture, Ye Zhao, who had originally wanted to grab her hands, stopped mid-gesture and drew back awkwardly. A long moment later, she patted her shoulder and softly said, This young woman is very different from the little girl that you were. I almost couldn't recognize you.But you haven't changed much, Ah-Zhao, Liu Xiyin said. You still look exactly as you did in my memories.Ye Zhao gave a wry smile. It's been eight years and I've grown a lot. How could I still look the same?You've matured, Liu Xiyin said with a close-lipped smile.When Xia Yujin took a long time to appreciate this beautiful young woman, who was also the daughter of a general, and to note her elegance and femininity, and then looked at his own wife's roughness and masculinity, he couldn't refrain his sigh. He thought that if he ever had a daughter, he absolutely not must let her follow her mother's example, but rather have her get close to his sister-in-law, and as long as she learned some things from her, he could die happily.Ye Zhao left Xia Yujin behind with his lament and took her cousin by the hand to personally lead her to the courtyard which had been prepared for her.Before leaving, Liu Xiyin glanced back at Xia Yujin, her eyes shining and a faint smile on her lips, over in the twinkling of an eye.Was that an amorous glance? An amorous glance, like meeting after a long time?Not for his wife, but for him?Xia Yujin slowly thought back on it, overwhelmed with emotion.Ye Zhao's cousin was good! Not only were her looks and character good, but so were her eyes!If even such a clever and sensible young beauty couldn't find an equally good-looking husband, then all the women in the world ought to curse Yue Lao to get hit by lightning!Liu Xiyin's in the place! Let's see how it goes.1 Lit. chchun zhun. A boat or ship propelled by wheels that were manually activated. They were invented during the Tang dynasty.More.2 Lit. shu r ru t, j ru nngzh, from an anonymous poem collected in theBook of Songstranslation; see Suo Ren. The second quote seems to be from theDream of the Red Chamberbut I can't find the translation of it.
