Chapter 76 The Happy Life of Changsun Si Niu and Li Er Gou (Not...)
After a simple cleaning of the silkworm rearing room and repair of the tools used in the third month, the silkworm nurses went together to deliver food and drink to their fathers and brothers who were working in the fields. They also agreed to go to the loom workshop in the farmhouse to weave cloth and spin thread after noon.
The farmers were basking in the sun, chatting, dozing, or sharing flatbread with their wives and children.
The dragon-scale-like frozen soil rolled out of the furrows softened under the sunlight, and the ice crystals that had frozen over the whole winter melted into sweet spring water, silently nourishing the entire land.
“Today there are auspicious clouds in the sky, and the farmer even saw a red fox chasing a field mouse. This year will surely be a good harvest.” Li Shimin, mimicking the farmer’s tone, told Changsun Qingjing about the auspicious sign of a bountiful harvest.
“Wuji wrote a letter.” Changsun Qingjing wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I gave him a list of books that couldn’t be found in Luoyang and asked him to find them in Daxing. He laughed at me for doing the job of a chief clerk…”
He subconsciously raised his hand to grab Changsun Qingjing's wrist to check the injury, but quickly withdrew his fingers as soon as he touched the edge of the white sleeve.
He looked at his fingertips, grayed from labor, and lowered his head in embarrassment. He fumbled for his handkerchief at his chest, but couldn't find it lying in one of the furrows. He could only spread his palms out on either side of his shirt and smile helplessly.
Changsun Qingjing generously showed her finger, which had just been pricked: "Have you seen Minxing?"
“He wasn’t in a good mood.” Li Shimin gestured with the bow he had taken from the official, attempting to measure a short distance. “Minxing gave me a long lecture on music, etiquette, and governance. He probably felt like he was talking to a brick wall…”
"How could that be?" Changsun Qingjing walked along with Li Shimin. Several farm children found the behavior of the new young man and woman interesting and their personalities kind, so they followed behind them, imitating them.
"Lu Fayan has passed away..." Li Shimin sighed.
"What? Wuji clearly said that Master Lu accompanied his uncle all the way to Lantian Pass before returning to Daxing!" Changsun Qingjing said in disbelief. "How could he just leave like that? Maybe you misheard?"
Li Shimin suddenly withdrew his bow: "Think carefully back to Wuji's letter..."
“Fortunately, Mr. Zhang is at the manor, so I arranged for him to see Mr. Zhang. Minxing looks remarkably like someone today…” Li Shimin spoke vaguely, seemingly hesitating whether to utter the name that had been weighing on his mind.
The official had already escorted Changsun Minxing to Zhang Houyin's residence and returned to report.
"My lord, my lady, everything is arranged. I suggest that Lord Changsun rest for a while at the villa, and send someone to fetch him to the banquet at dusk."
Zhuang Li wasn't actually very clear about how many brothers the new mistress had. He only heard Li Shimin instruct him to take good care of his brother-in-law, so he dared not neglect his duties in the slightest. He even went out of his way to curry favor with Changsun Qingjing: "Young Master Changsun even jokingly asked how much he would have to contribute to the Li family's banquet? He seems to be always busy, knowing the location of every imperial tomb in detail. Is he planning to pay his respects?"
Changsun Qingjing nodded slightly in thanks: "Thank you for your trouble, sir. My elder brother is a bookworm and often makes some startling remarks. Please just let him talk nonsense and don't take it to heart."
The official smiled and went to prepare the measuring rope, compass, and square.
Li Shimin listened attentively to the conversation between the village official and Changsun Qingjing, but did not interrupt them. Instead, he picked up a few wooden poles, turned around and returned to the field where he had just worked, exchanged a few simple pleasantries with the resting farmers, perhaps saying "see you again soon" or "I'll be right back" or other polite phrases.
Changsun Qingjing, wearing a heavy veil, watched Li Shimin chatting with the farmers from afar, and did not feel anything was amiss, nor did he intend to send anyone to urge him on.
My father, Changsun Sheng, once said that everyone has a different temperament and character, even the Turks. He had repeatedly escaped death in the Turkic lands thanks to the herdsmen he had befriended—an experience he would never forget and from which he benefited greatly. Different environments nurture different spirits and qualities, which are not entirely correlated with a person's social status or wealth. These subtle and profound qualities have always existed, but few have discovered them.
The afternoon breeze in the countryside carried a hint of warmth, and the face of the young man, whose body was frail but whose spirit remained unblemished, suddenly leaped before Changsun Qingjing's eyes along with the swirling frozen earth.
She and Li Shimin exchanged a knowing glance: "You mean Xuanba?"
Li Shimin lowered his head in acquiescence, then picked up his bow and carpenter's square to measure a strangely shaped field.
Several children skipped and hopped behind them, not out of fear that this nobleman's son would retreat in the face of danger or desert his post, but simply out of boredom to calculate how long he would need to rest in a day, and whether there were any farm chores he wouldn't want to try. They figured they could return home later and boast to the neighbor's children about their encounter with an all-powerful figure.
Changsun Qingjing and Li Shimin's entourage walked together towards a field. Li Shimin drove wooden stakes into the ground. Several children helped straighten the measuring rope. The official then used a bow and arrow to measure the heel and tongue sides, and used a ruler and measuring rope to determine the correct position.
Bored, Changsun Qingjing asked the village official for counting rods. Acai took off her own shawl, folded it, and used it as a cushion. Changsun Qingjing knelt on this cushion and, together with the village official who sat on the ground, used the counting rods to calculate square steps.
"Two hundred and twenty-four square steps." The two calculations were consistent.
The group moved to another spot, running back and forth to secure the wooden stakes and measuring ropes, while recording the chord length and sag of this more oddly shaped arc field.
This time, Changsun Qingjing and the village official each received a different amount of money.
"Why are the values so different?" Zhuang Li scratched his head, quite unwilling. "I'll calculate it again."
While the official was setting up the counting rods, Li Shimin put away the measuring rope and spoke to Changsun Qingjing about his worries.
“Minxing has too many things hidden in his heart, just like… just like Xuanba back then.”
“Xuanba has always suffered from a qi ailment. No matter how careful he is or how much his family loves him… it is all beyond redemption.” Changsun Qingjing glanced at the counting rods. She didn’t like Li Shimin’s arbitrary comparison.
For the first time after his marriage, Li Shimin seriously recalled every letter his deceased third brother had sent to Zhuojun, and began to feel endless self-reproach.
"If he were a little less intelligent, or less sensitive and more cheerful, perhaps he wouldn't have had to endure so much suffering. Maybe he'd still be staying with us in Mangshan, spending his free time composing poetry and discussing music with Minxing, enjoying a harmonious life..."
“My lady, I made a mistake,” the official said, bowing. “I misused the round field method to calculate the arc field.” He was truly amazed by the quick wit of this new young mistress, who was hard to fool.
"I only learned a little bit of the Nine Chapters of the Classic of Literature because I assisted my adoptive parents in managing the fields and cultivating property before I got married. Today I am just showing off my limited skills in front of an expert, please don't laugh at me, sir."
“Of course.” Although Changsun Qingjing felt her husband was making a fuss over nothing, it was never a bad thing to be prepared. Besides, she had originally planned to have the thoughtful and cheerful Guoniang take care of Changsun Minxing for a while.
"Ah Cai, run back to the villa immediately and tell Guo Niang not to rush to tidy up my room. Go with the master to see my brother right away. Have Guo Niang choose two clever maids to go with her and temporarily take care of my brother's food and daily life," Changsun Qingjing instructed.
Ah Cai listened anxiously from the side, nodding frantically, her eyes brimming with tears, wishing she could take Guo Niang's place and keep a close watch on that sensitive and fragile young man.
Looking at the impatient A-Cai, Changsun Qingjing felt a little guilty, but reason prevailed over impulse: "Concern leads to confusion. We must not let A-Cai take care of Minxing."
She then carefully recalled Changsun Wuji's letter and said to Li Shimin, who was leaning against a wooden pole, "Wuji said that as long as Minxing breathes in the air of the countryside around Luoyang and opens his heart, he will naturally be relieved..." Changsun Qingjing always believed that Changsun Minxing was a man of great responsibility and determination, and would never easily abandon Master Lu's entrustment.
"It is best to be cautious in planning and to treat subtle signs with care. We have already lost Sanlang, and we cannot afford to lose Minxing as well."
In the distance, the official turned back to the nearby area and instructed his capable deputy to complete the detailed calculation of this year's newly added land according to the previous plan. "Be sure to use counting rods to calculate several times to avoid incurring the wrath of Madam Changsun," the official whispered to his deputies, avoiding A-Cai.
Even with his extensive life experience, Zhuang Li couldn't tell whether this was a blessing or a curse for the Li family.
"After sunset, I will work with the farmers to plow this land horizontally. If there is any free time, I will check if the irrigation ditch needs to be repaired in March. At dusk, I will arrange a feast in the name of the village official..." After Li Shimin felt that everything was arranged, he looked at the wheat fields overwintering in the distance, told his wife about his day's schedule, and then asked, "And you?"
"I intend to apprentice under a loom woman." Changsun Qingjing gazed at the neat, crisscrossing furrows, her eyes flashing with the fine warp and supple weft threads of a loom. "Every woman must have a needle and a knife, every farmer must have a plow and a hoe. From now on, you are the farmer, and I am the weaver!"
She playfully stretched out her palm, like a sunshade, between the not-so-high mountains in the distance and the seemingly within-reach sky.
She felt a deep joy in her hands, which seemed to flutter like bird wings between heaven and earth: "Look, I have nothing in my hands, yet I have everything."
As she innocently recounted her joy, another hand followed the direction of hers, dancing playfully like a mirage in a mirror.
The ten fingers piece together a complete eagle soaring between the mountaintop and the sky.
The dark gauze curtains of the veil slyly brushed against Li Shimin's wind-chapped cheeks.
"The weather is perfect. Would you like to hear me make a vow? I'll agree to anything you want me to promise," Li Shimin said, withdrawing his hand and gazing at the floating clouds on the mountaintop.
Changsun Qingjing's face flushed slightly, but fortunately, no one could see it under the cover of the veil. "A true man keeps his promises. How can you make such an oath so easily? You might as well hold your words back now and save them for another day."
"Alright, alright. My wife wants me to be a person who keeps his promises and doesn't take oaths lightly, so I agree." He promised jokingly.
A shrewd breeze lifted a corner of the veil, brushing past the cunning smile on Changsun Qingjing's lips.
The sky was a deep blue, its light almost tangible.
A word from the author: Farming, farming, real farming, no fluff.
Finally, sprinkle a little sugar on top.
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