Chapter 1: Make a Lamp for Him
In late spring, the alleys of the capital are still filled with the fragrance of unknown flowers.
Jingya Hall in the Left Prime Minister's Mansion became busy early in the morning.
The maid Chu He handed the bamboo strips to the seated woman with a look of disdain in her heart, "Third Madam, these lanterns can be bought anywhere, why do you have to make them yourself? Besides, the Third Young Master..."
He may not like the gift you gave him.
Chu He still didn't dare to say this out loud.
Yu Huatang ignored the maid's unfinished words. Her eyes were fixed on the page with the 'square brocade pattern'. Yesterday, her mother-in-law said that Zhao Yan would be back tomorrow afternoon.
Zhao Yan was ordered to go to the Ministry of Works to build fortifications. Due to the tight project schedule, his food and lodging were all in the Ministry of Works. He has not been back for two months.
His father-in-law, who was the left prime minister, was originally not happy with him taking on the job in the Ministry of Works and wanted him to join the Hanlin Academy. The two had quarreled several times, but in the end they could not change Zhao Yan's decision.
She remembered that when he was in a bad mood, he would look at the light in the room, admiring the dancing candlelight, and after a while he would calm down.
No one told her this, she discovered it by accident. Just like now, she suppressed the nervousness and expectation in her heart, thinking of making a Quanzhou colorful lantern before he came back tomorrow. He would be happy to see it.
She was unhappy when he left two months ago, and she wondered what he would be like now that he was back. She was thinking about everything related to him wholeheartedly and forgot Chu He's inquiring gaze.
These maids didn't want to stay in Jingya Hall, so she could only smile awkwardly, "You don't need to be busy here anymore, please go down."
Chu He bowed slightly and left impatiently.
Chu Tao was originally sweeping fallen leaves outside the yard when she saw Chu He swaggering out of the hanging flower gate and sitting on a stone bench.
He said lightly, "No matter what, she is still the Third Madam. If people knew how you looked at the master, you would definitely be punished."
Chu He curled her lips and said, "Who cares about her, an orphan girl from a small town?"
"There's no hope for her in this courtyard. The Third Young Master doesn't like her, and she doesn't have much money. We maids in Jingya Hall can't even be the gatekeepers at the Prime Minister's Mansion."
The sound was quite loud, but Yu Huatang pretended not to hear it. She took out some bamboo strips and with her ten fingers flying, she made the diamond-shaped skeleton according to the square brocade pattern.
The most important part of a colorful lantern is the frame. This diamond-shaped frame is intertwined and connected, like a painting blooming from ice cracks, embodying the ancient meaning of "squares nested within each other, and endless brocade."
This is also what Zhao Yan likes.
Although she was not as talented as the noble ladies in the capital, she knew the basics of poetry and prose, and she also knew that the young men in the capital liked low-key, subtle and ancient objects.
After the prototype of the lamp stand is completed, the glue is prepared.
The paste for Quanzhou colored lanterns is made from fine glutinous rice powder, mixed with peach gum and alum. After cooling, it becomes translucent like amber and will not leave any marks on sticky objects.
Ever since Yu Huatang's household expenses were taken away from her, she only received a few taels of silver every month. The maids and servants also took advantage of the situation, and she had to give them some silver when she asked them to do things for her. She couldn't afford the best glutinous rice flour, so she had to use ordinary ones.
She scraped the peach gum from the tree this morning before dawn when no one was watching.
After the paste is ready, the draft of the square brocade pattern is sketched on rice paper according to the design.
Yu Huatang was not good at drawing patterns, and no one taught him after his parents passed away. Now he breathed a sigh of relief after concentrating on drawing a pattern.
The next step, 'laying the brocade', required the most energy. After being busy so long in the morning, she was a little hungry. "Chu He, bring me some porridge."
Chu He, who was outside the courtyard, pursed his lips when he heard the cool voice and said to Chu Tao, "Just wait and see. My guess is right. The Third Young Master still won't rest in her room."
"A few days ago, the Third Young Master felt unwell, and Madam Zhao immediately sent her personal maid, Bai Yi, to take him. This woman in the room kept it a secret. If the Third Young Master hadn't said that the Ministry of Works was inconvenient for female relatives, Bai Yi would have been his concubine."
Chu Tao showed a sympathetic look, but said nothing and continued to clean the yard.
The sun gradually rose.
Yu Huatang placed the neatly cut silk on the draft and cut along the lines with fine scissors. These silks were saved by her second sister-in-law when she distributed winter clothes a few months ago.
The back is covered with patterns and sticky patterns.
At three quarters past noon, wait for the last piece of twined branch pattern to be pasted on the lamp surface.
Yu Huatang took a half step back and looked at it in the sunlight: the diamond-shaped and square brocade patterns were laid out like a chessboard, with winding branches growing out from each intersection. She did not disappoint her reputation as a craftsman, at least the style of this colorful lantern was acceptable.
She lit the candle, and the candlelight shone through the satin, casting square brocade patterns on the white wall. She imagined him looking at the lamp, his eyes must be as bright as stars.
That night, she tossed and turned and didn't sleep well.
The next day, she got up early and changed into the lotus silk dress she had chosen the night before, a pale purple and pink hue that resembled a newly opened lotus. She also had Chu Tao style her hair into the popular flying moon bun in the capital, and put on the brocade jade swallow hairpin her mother-in-law had given her at her wedding. Seeing her complexion pale in the bronze mirror, she applied some rouge.
She usually doesn't dress up, but now she seems very deliberate, and anyone can tell what she is thinking just by looking at her.
She recalled what her second sister-in-law had said when she took over the household chores, "Be careful with your words and actions."
She must have been very careful with her words and actions. The year she got married, her mother-in-law handed over the household expenses to her. She was an orphan, and only her cousin taught her some simple abacus, so she could not manage such a large account in the prime minister's mansion.
It is conceivable that she miscalculated the money. That day, the maid in the outer room stuffed a purse into her hand for some unknown purpose. She was so busy that she was dizzy and did not dare to ask Zhao Yan for help.
Immediately, she was falsely accused by the servants of embezzlement. She had only been there for a few days and didn't recognize everyone, so she naturally had no way to defend herself.
Mrs. Zhao's face turned cold. She sent the maid away and asked her second sister-in-law Xu Yuanyi to take charge of the household.
The second sister-in-law, Xu Yuanyi, was a noble lady from the capital, well-mannered, dignified and elegant. She made the orphan girl from the small town look like dirt.
Three years later, she finally understood that her mother-in-law never wanted her to be in charge of household chores. She just wanted her to understand the gap between her and the noble ladies in the capital.
She should have been resentful, but when she thought of Zhao Yan, she was not so resentful anymore.
She looked at herself in the mirror again, and fearing that the rouge was too bright, she gently rubbed some on with her fingers.
From morning to afternoon and then to sunset.
He hasn't replied yet.
After dinner, the sun set and the courtyard was deserted, but no one was heard calling from the outer courtyard.
She looked at the colorful lanterns on the table helplessly, and asked Chu Tao to go and check. Chu Tao came back and said that the Third Young Master had not returned yet.
Yu Huatang had no choice but to wait. An hour passed, it was dark, and the candles in the colorful lanterns had burned out, but he still hadn't returned.
Until the second watch, when the chill came, he still hadn't returned.
Could it be that my mother-in-law remembered the date wrong and Zhao Yan was not coming back today?
She hesitated for a long time, but finally came to Mrs. Zhao's courtyard.
The lights in the main room of Chunhua Pavilion had been turned off long ago. Only one or two maids were packing up. Chu Hong saw her holding a lantern and was about to speak, but Chu Huang immediately hushed her voice. He walked over in small steps and said softly, "Third Madam, what's going on?"
Yu Huatang usually doesn't speak very loudly, and there are few people in the mansion who talk to her, so she is cautious by nature.
Now she knew that her mother-in-law must be asleep, so she asked in a lower voice, "I came here to ask if the Third Young Master said when he would be back next time. I haven't seen him the whole afternoon today. Did she remember the date wrong?"
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