Cricket

Liu Er spent a few days bored, staring at the cricket cage on the windowsill. The crickets were noisy, chirping day and night. He knew it must have been placed there by Magnolia. He flipped open the closed travel journal on the table, turning to the page with the magnolia petals. Unfolding the folded footer revealed another "cricket."

He opened the window, and the stuffiness was gone. There was a light drizzle outside, and fresh air seeped into the house with the moisture from the rain. It wasn't so hot anymore. He sat at his desk and looked out the window. The view was great, and he had never realized before that he could see the whole courtyard.

Under the eaves, Magnolia had someone plant banana trees to imitate the literati listening to the rain. Through the moon-shaped door, you can see the hibiscus in full bloom outside. Every detail is the result of the careful embellishment of the north courtyard since Magnolia came.

He himself didn't know when it started, but he seemed to be looking forward to seeing that small figure from the doorway every day, sometimes carrying a lunch box, sometimes holding a broom, and sometimes taking the wrong path in a daze.

Yulan liked to wear aquamarine and azure colors. While the other maids wore tacky outfits, Yulan's were exceptionally elegant. Sometimes she wore a pearl tassel hairpin, sometimes a plain silver hairpin, and sometimes one with flower patterns. Most of the time, she seemed to prefer the pearl tassel hairpin. As she walked, the pearls swayed with her steps, spinning in the sunlight.

She seemed to be scented with jasmine powder most of the time, but sometimes it would change to apricot blossom scent. It was not strong but very elegant. Normally, when she walked by, she would bring up a gust of wind.

Liu Er looked at the Moon Cave Gate when two figures, one small and one fat, hurried back. They were Yulan and Bao Fu, who had been caught in the rain. He stood up and pulled an oil-paper umbrella from the stone mortar, trying to pass it to them, but the two walked away too quickly, and by the time Liu Er picked up the umbrella, they were no longer in front of the Moon Cave Gate.

He returned to the house and looked at the page between the dried magnolia petals. On it was written: "In the morning, I see the blue sea, and in the evening, I see the blue sky and climb the white sun."

The tiny space of the Liu family's north courtyard trapped him completely. When he looked up, the sky seemed tiny. The walls were low, but he couldn't climb out. It was like the cricket cage on the windowsill that trapped the "General."

"Chong'er, I want to take you out to see the world outside." Liu Er released the general from the cricket cage.

The cricket looked around and then jumped away from the windowsill and into the grass.

Seeing that the cricket had disappeared, Liu Er folded up the page with the cricket picture on it and muttered to himself, "Bugs...Bugs..."

The candlelight flickered, and the page was turned again.

A guest came to the Liu family. He was a young man from a poor family who had just graduated from high school. He was passing through Fengcheng on his way to Beijing to take the imperial examination. He was appreciated by Mr. Liu and settled down in the Liu family.

The scholar had an extraordinary appearance. His surname was Chen, his given name was Wei, and his courtesy name was Ju'an. It was said that his ancestors had been prime ministers but were now in decline.

Shen Ju'an and Master Liu met at a birthday banquet hosted by the county magistrate. Shen Ju'an's excellent calligraphy earned him Master Liu's approval by composing a poem on the spot. The two drank and chatted, becoming sworn brothers on the spot.

Mr. Liu would not tell Madam Qin what he was doing now. He would inform Housekeeper Liu to take care of everything he wanted to do. Shen Ju'an lived in the wing room on the west side of the study, close to the main courtyard and the garden. This was also done by Housekeeper Liu according to Mr. Liu's wishes.

Mr. Liu hosted a welcoming banquet for Shen Ju'an and dined with several young and beautiful concubines from the West Courtyard. Madam Qin only found out about it later.

Chuanfang and Madam Qin thought that Mr. Shen was a rare young talent. It was said that his knowledge was praised by famous scholars outside. It would be better for him to stay at home and teach the eldest lady's third son.

"My son is in such poor health, how can he learn? If he learns, he will have to take the ones from the West Courtyard and the North Courtyard with him." Mrs. Qin closed her eyes and began to recite scriptures silently again.

Chuanfang didn't dare say anything more, but unexpectedly, Fan Ninghua spoke first: "Madam, I don't think it's a bad idea. You don't have to be educated enough to pass the imperial examinations, as long as you understand the truth. If you understand things, you will naturally be able to be filial to you. Besides, there are differences between legitimate and illegitimate children. If you treat them equally, you will gain a reputation as a virtuous person when you tell others about it, right?"

"One should not pursue fame too much in life. What my son does not have, the North Courtyard cannot have either."

"I see the eldest lady..." Chuanfang winked at Ning Hua to signal him not to say anything more, and Ning Hua naturally did not dare to say anything more.

"My daughter may not be talented, but she is virtuous. With me here, she will definitely find a good husband and won't be bullied." Mrs. Qin closed her eyes and recited the scriptures without paying any attention.

Ning Hua returned to Dean Jinlan and sighed. Looking at the wilted orchid, he instructed the gardener to be more careful.

The gardener was helpless. It was already summer, and he had used up all his skills to make the orchid bloom. If he continued to grow it like this, only a god could save it.

"Forget it... let it be..." Ning Hua relaxed, and the gardener smiled and retreated.

Ning Hua's father was a scholar, and he had taught her to read and write since she was a child. She wouldn't say she was particularly talented, but at least she was sensible. She had assumed that Madam Qin, born into a family of officials, would have something in common, but only today did she discover how short-sighted she was. Looking at the peeling plaster of the courtyard wall, she felt the Liu family was in decline.

She carried her bird into the garden, sat on a stone bench and looked at the koi fish that appeared and disappeared in the lake. Suddenly, she felt a sense of emotion.

The koi in the koi pond have been trapped their entire lives, preferring to die in the muddy water rather than venture out into the rivers, lakes, and seas. No wonder they say that only the carp that leap over the Dragon Gate can become a true dragon.

Fan Ninghua sat quietly, holding the bird. A cat, lurking in the shadows, had spotted her bird. Seizing its perfect moment, it pounced on the cage, sending Qiuyan crashing to the ground before it could grab it. Ninghua, startled, dodged to the side, nearly dropping the cage. The cat, seemingly determined to strike again, prepared for a second attack, but Shen Ju'an appeared and quickly snatched the cat away.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen." Ning Hua calmed down immediately after a brief panic, straightened her clothes and thanked the strange man.

Apart from Shen Ju'an, there is no one else living in this house who can move around freely.

Master Shen? Shen Ju'an wanted to ask this woman, whom he had never met before, how she recognized him. But then he thought that since she called herself a concubine, she must be Brother Liu's wife or concubine, and asking this question seemed a bit presumptuous.

He looked around to make sure there was no one around before saying goodbye to Ning Hua and returning to his room.

Back in his room, he continued reading his sage books, but the more he read, the more uncomfortable he felt. His mind was filled with the woman who had just been frightened to the point of paleness. She wasn't breathtakingly beautiful, but she was pure and ethereal. Sitting by the lake, she looked like a poem, a lyric, a painting. Looking at the words in the sage books, Shen Ju'an felt that Brother Liu was lucky. He inherited his father and brother's inheritance and squandered it recklessly, marrying concubines one after another, while he, Shen Wei, a descendant of a prominent family, was so poor that he had to live under someone else's roof.

The night dew was heavy, and Shen Ju'an went to the garden to try his luck. Perhaps because he couldn't sleep tonight, he looked at the moon and the night sky and composed another poem.

Mr. Liu was filled with praise for the new poem, believing he had a keen eye for talent and would be a future master of the finest horses. Seeing the poignant tone of the poem, he presumably speculated on Shen Ju'an's thoughts. He believed that Shen Ju'an was a scholar of integrity, and that providing him with free food and lodging would be an insult. He suggested that several of his children wished to learn from Mr. Shen, as a way to offset the cost of accommodation and daily expenses.

Shen Ju'an naturally agreed to open a private school in the Liu family.

Mrs. Qin's expression remained unchanged after she learned this. She simply replied, "I understand," and continued to turn her beads and chant. She would retreat to her small Buddhist temple, where she would be a mother who worried about her children. Outside the temple, she would be Mrs. Qin, who would not receive even a shred of respect from her husband.

She had a name, but after she entered the Liu family, no one called her by it anymore. A boudoir name is something that is no longer used after leaving the boudoir.

Madam Qin asked the servants to leave and locked herself in the small Buddhist temple. She took out a yellowed letter from the drawer under the shrine and unfolded the wrinkled letter. Her cloudy eyes ached slightly.

"Ran Ran personally..."

That was her mother's last letter before she died. From then on, she became the forgotten daughter of the Qin family. She pressed the letter to her heart, feeling the paper warm, like a mother comforting her child. She wanted to cry, but found that she could no longer shed tears.

Qin Ran put the letter back and returned to the main hall. She still needed to be the expressionless and lifeless mistress of the Liu family, Liu Qinshi.

Since the private school was to be opened, the little bastard in the North Courtyard had to be taken care of. If she couldn't control the North Courtyard anymore, then the bastard in Yun's belly could be dealt with.

Lately, Yulan has been having nightmares about her former best friend, Yuping, begging for help. Her intuition is always spot on, so she suspects that Concubine Yun has been treating Yuping harshly. Pregnant women are known to lose their temper, so it's only natural for Concubine Yun to scold and beat the servants.

Since she had some free time that day, Yulan found an opportunity to go to the west courtyard to find Yuping.

Yuping was now Concubine Yun's most capable maid, and at a time when she was at the height of her favor, so she naturally walked over with her head held high. Her clothes were made of fine fabrics, and she was wearing a wealth of jewelry, dazzling Yulan to the point of being unable to open her eyes.

"Sister, are you tired of the hard life in the North Courtyard?" Yu Ping spoke with such sarcasm that Yu Lan was stunned. They used to have such a good relationship, how come it has changed now?

"I just thought about how you were prone to attracting mosquitoes in the summer, so I made some mosquito repellent sachets for you." After saying that, Yulan handed the sachets over with both hands.

Yuping stood on the stone steps at the gate, leaning against the door frame, examining every inch of Yulan from top to bottom. She then dropped the sachet on the ground, "Sister, my hand slipped. Can you pick it up for me?"

Yulan looked at the purse on the ground, her face burning with pain. She turned around and left without picking it up. Who could have imagined that Yuping would still throw small coins at her from behind, muttering, "Leaving so soon? I thought you were here to take advantage of me."

Extorting money? Yulan ran back to the North Courtyard with tears in her eyes.

Haitang didn't even look at her when she saw her. She just said, "Second Young Master is looking for you. Where have you been?"

Where are you going? You're asking for trouble!

Yulan wiped her tears, responded to Haitang, and went into Liu Er's room.

Seeing her come in and stand in the dim light, Liu Er said without thinking, "I've been thinking about it for a long time. You've been suffering in the North Courtyard. I plan to tell Butler Liu..."

Before he could finish his words, Yulan interrupted, "What are you talking about? If you have so much free time, why not go and argue with Madam Qin? Then our North Courtyard will have to endure less humiliation."

It was the first time Liu Er had heard Yulan speak so harshly. His brush paused slightly, the ink spreading across the paper. He looked up, unable to discern Yulan's expression in the dim light, only vaguely making out her tears.

He thought she must have encountered some trouble, so he swallowed the rest of his sentence.

"Why are you crying?"

Yulan wiped away her tears and replied, "If you have nothing else to do, I won't stay here and get in the way."

After saying that, Yulan ran out of the yard without giving Liu Er a chance to speak.

Liu Er put down his pen and wanted to chase after it in a panic. In the end, he just stood at the door and watched the small figure disappear behind the moon-shaped door. He wanted to chase after it and ask what happened, but he was just a useless person who could not solve anything, so he took a step back.