The Past of Jiang Mansion (2)
*
The next morning, Xu Qingyao changed into a plain-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and wore a light gauze hat. She walked alone in the streets of Liangzhou City.
"I wonder what the two elders like?" Xu Qingyao stood in front of the stall, looking left and right.
[Old Master Jiang was fond of collecting rare stones from the Western Regions and was passionate about tea ceremony; Old Madam Jiang was skilled in embroidery, orchid cultivation, and opera appreciation.]
“I’m penniless right now, where am I going to find these elegant gifts to give?”
Xu Qingyao was speechless.
[The search has been refreshed for you... Grandpa Jiang's favorite tea is Longjing tea, while Grandma Jiang's favorite foods are crab roe soup dumplings, rose pastries, and poria cocos cake.]
Xu Qingyao carried a bamboo basket as she walked along the bluestone path in the East Market.
The basket contained several newly purchased snacks: pine nut candy, poria cocos cake, and a packet of Longjing tea, her grandfather's favorite. She deliberately chose the most ordinary oil paper packaging to avoid being too conspicuous.
As I turned the corner, a clear, ringing bell rang out from afar.
Before Xu Qingyao could dodge, a vermilion carriage sped towards them. The driver was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, dressed in a pale yellow dress, with silver bells at her waist jingling as the carriage bounced.
"Make way! Make way!" the girl called out, her voice clear and melodious like a nightingale's.
Xu Qingyao quickly stepped aside, her skirt brushing against the ground. But a few pieces of Poria cocos cake still rolled out of the basket.
The girl reined in her horse with a "whoosh" and nimbly jumped off the carriage.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" She squatted down to help pick it up, but when she looked up, she suddenly froze. "This lady looks so familiar..."
Xu Qingyao's heart skipped a beat.
The girl in front of me had bright eyes and white teeth, and her features vaguely resembled her mother's when she was young.
As she hesitated about how to respond, the girl began to speak on her own:
“I am Caiwei from the Jiang family. This pastry is from ‘Guixiangzhai,’ right? Their Poria cocos cake is best enjoyed with almond tea…” She suddenly lowered her voice, “Sister, are you going to my house?”
Xu Qingyao raised an eyebrow, not expecting her intentions to be seen through at a glance: "What makes you so sure, young lady?"
Jiang Caiwei blinked, a sly smile playing on her lips: "When you were picking out pastries at 'Guixiangzhai' just now, I happened to be in a private room on the second floor. I saw that you chose Longjing tea and also specially asked for pine nut candy—both of these are my master's favorites."
She picked up the poria cocos cake from the ground and gently dusted it off. "Besides..."
She suddenly leaned closer, a faint scent of osmanthus wafting from her: "Sister's eyebrows and eyes are just like the portrait of Aunt Wanxin hanging in the ancestral hall."
Xu Qingyao sat in the carriage, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the edge of the bamboo basket.
The sound of the wheels rolling over the bluestone slabs was clearly audible, just like the beating of her heart.
Jiang Caiwei sat opposite her, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at her, a mischievous glint in her eyes: "Sister, don't be nervous. Grandmother will be overjoyed to see you."
Xu Qingyao asked curiously, "Are you so sure who I am?"
Caiwei chuckled and took out a handkerchief embroidered with crabapple blossoms from her sleeve: "Grandmother said that no one in the Jiang family is ugly. Even if you've never seen someone before, you can tell at a glance whether they are a member of the Jiang family."
Besides… Sister, your features are so much like Aunt Wanxin's, and I happen to know that Grandpa loves Longjing tea and pine nut candy, so I thought—it must be Cousin Qingyao without a doubt.”
Xu Qingyao was stunned: "But... I have never seen my mother."
Caiwei unfolded the handkerchief, revealing a lifelike crabapple blossom on the pure white silk, with a small "heart" embroidered in the corner.
“These are my aunt’s embroidery pieces,” Caiwei said softly. “She embroidered many when she was pregnant with you, saying she would teach you how to do them herself after the baby was born.” Her fingertips traced the fine stitches. “Grandmother would take them out to air every year, saying…”
She suddenly stopped, her eyes slightly red: "I was afraid that when you come back, you won't recognize your mother's cooking."
Xu Qingyao felt a tightness in her chest, and her fingers unconsciously clenched the bamboo basket. She had never imagined that someone in this world would be so persistent in remembering that woman she had never met.
The carriage slowly came to a stop.
“We’ve arrived.” Caiwei jumped out of the car first and reached out her hand to her. “Grandmother should be in the Buddhist hall right now—she chants sutras for Aunt at this time every day.”
Xu Qingyao stepped out of the carriage and looked up at the Jiang family mansion gate. The vermilion lacquer was somewhat faded, but the door knocker was polished to a shine. She suddenly noticed a cluster of small white wildflowers growing in a crack in the stone beside the threshold.
“That’s Aunt’s favorite rose.” Caiwei followed her gaze. “Grandpa won’t allow anyone to pick it. He said to leave it… for when you come home, Miss.”
Xu Qingyao felt a lump in her throat.
She followed Caiwei through the corridor and saw in the distance the warm yellow candlelight shining through the windows of the Buddhist hall. A breeze rustled through the eaves, and the copper bells jingled softly, like a long-lost sigh.
Caiwei stopped at the steps and gently nudged her: "Go on."
Xu Qingyao took a deep breath and raised her hand to smooth her clothes—there was a half of the jade pendant that her father had given her before her marriage.
She stepped onto the stairs and heard the sound of the wooden fish drum in the Buddhist hall stop. An old voice trembled as it called out:
"Is... my Yao'er back?"
The moment Xu Qingyao's fingertips touched the door frame of the Buddhist hall, the carved wooden door was pulled open from the inside.
The scent of sandalwood wafted towards her, mingled with the lingering smell of candlelight. She saw an elderly woman with white hair kneeling on a prayer mat, her prayer beads falling to the ground with a "clatter."
"It really is..." The old lady stood up, supporting herself on the offering table, her jade bracelet tapping against the edge of the altar. "My Yao'er..."
Instead of a Buddha statue, there was a portrait of a woman on the altar. The woman in the painting wore a light purple dress and stood under a crabapple tree, holding a fan. Xu Qingyao had seen the same portrait in her father's study, but this one was more vivid, with even the subtle patterns on the cuffs clearly visible.
"Grandmother..."
She was somewhat at a loss, but her knees had already knelt down before her consciousness could register it. The coolness of the blue bricks seeped through her clothes, but it couldn't suppress the surging heat in her heart.
The old lady cupped her face in her warm hands, her thumb gently stroking her eyebrows: "Your mother always said that if she were a daughter, she would definitely have willow-leaf eyebrows like hers..."
"Your granddaughter hasn't visited her maternal grandmother in so many years," Xu Qingyao said, her eyes welling up with tears. "I'm just glad that my maternal grandmother doesn't blame me..."
The old lady's fingers gently traced Xu Qingyao's brow bone, tears welling up in her cloudy eyes: "Silly child, how could your grandmother blame you?"
“A while ago, your older brother came to visit us two old folks, and I complained to him about why he didn’t bring you along.”
Just then, Caiwei ran in, lifting her skirt:
"Grandmother! My cousin brought your favorite rose pastries!" She shook the bamboo basket, and the sweet aroma of the poria cocos cake immediately filled the Buddhist hall. "But I accidentally broke a few pieces..."
The old lady burst into laughter through her tears, then suddenly pulled an embroidered pouch from her sleeve: "This is what you should eat." She poured out three candied hawthorns, "When your mother was pregnant with you, she craved these..."
Xu Qingyao took the hawthorn covered in sugar frosting, and the moment she bit into it, she squinted at the sourness.
In a daze, I seemed to see a pregnant woman leaning against the window of the Buddhist hall, secretly eating snacks.
"Eat slowly." The old lady used a handkerchief to catch the sugar crumbs from the corner of her mouth; the corner of the handkerchief was embroidered with the same crabapple blossoms. "Your mother was like this back then, her eyes watering from the sourness, but she still wanted to eat it..."
Caiwei suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! I almost forgot!" She pulled a paper packet from her bosom. "It's a new sesame candy from the West Market, I heard..."
Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the Buddhist hall, followed by the clear, tinkling sound of jade pendants.
"Mother! I heard—"
A pale yellow figure hurriedly crossed the threshold, the words abruptly cut off.
Xu Qingyao looked up and saw a woman in her early thirties standing at the door, the handkerchief she was holding slipping silently from her hand.
Her eyebrows and eyes bore a seven-tenths resemblance to the old lady's, but with an added touch of gentleness. A white jade hairpin adorned her hair, highlighting her flawless, porcelain-like skin.
"Wanrou?" The old lady stood up in surprise.
The woman seemed not to hear, only staring blankly at Xu Qingyao, her lips trembling slightly: "This...this is..."
Caiwei peeked out from the side and said with a grin, "Second Aunt, this is Cousin Qingyao!"
Jiang Wanrou—now Madam Wei—had tears welling up in her eyes. She rushed forward and pulled Xu Qingyao into her arms, her voice choked with emotion: "My good child, you've finally come back to see me..."
Xu Qingyao froze for a moment. She had never met this aunt before, but the warmth of the other woman's embrace felt strangely familiar, as if a forgotten corner of her memory had suddenly awakened.
“I came back today to deliver some newly made calming incense to my mother…” Jiang Wanrou released her, her fingertips gently stroking her temples, tears welling in her eyes with a smile, “I never expected such a surprise.”
The old lady wiped her eyes and smiled, "Perfect, let's all stay for dinner today. Caiwei, go and tell the kitchen to bring out that jar of Daughter's Red wine from the cellar."
Caiwei cheered and skipped away.
*
As dusk settled, the main hall of the Jiang residence was brightly lit.
Xu Qingyao sat beside the old lady, with a bowl of steaming crab roe soup in front of her—this was the Jiang family's custom, and the returning son had to eat this as a meal, signifying "retiring from military service to farming".
Jiang Wanrou personally served her the food and said softly, "This is your mother's favorite dish. She always eats two bowls every time she goes back to her parents' home."
Xu Qingyao scooped up a spoonful, the savory aroma melting on her tongue, and her eyes inexplicably welled up with tears.
During the meal, the old lady chattered on about the trivial matters of the past few years, with Jiang Wanrou occasionally adding a few words, while Caiwei chattered about interesting stories from Liangzhou City.
Xu Qingyao listened quietly, feeling as if she had never left.
After dinner, Old Master Jiang, leaning on his cane, called out to Xu Qingyao in front of the Buddhist hall: "Child, come here."
Inside the Buddhist hall, candlelight flickered and sandalwood incense wafted gently.
The old man took out a faded wooden box from under the altar and gently opened it—inside was a yellowed letter and half a jade pendant that matched the pattern on Xu Qingyao's jade pendant.
"There are some things you should know," the old man said in a low, slow voice.
He gazed at Jiang Wanxin's portrait on the altar, his eyes distant: "Back then, the Jiang family had just arrived in Liangzhou City and were not yet familiar with the local power structure..."
Once, your mother went out to buy groceries and ran into some thugs. Your father happened to be passing by and rescued her. I was very grateful... and thought of giving her some valuable items as compensation. Later, I learned about your father's identity.
At the time, the Jiang family's business was not doing well, and I was thinking of using our family's wealth to tide us over for a while. I never expected that your mother would actually solve the problem herself. She was only sixteen years old that year..."
"Then my mother..."
"Later, a riot broke out, and everyone in Liangzhou City was in danger. Fortunately, the Jiang family was blessed and survived the crisis, and our business grew bigger and bigger."
When the new dynasty was first established, Wanxin wanted to expand her business to the capital. At that time, she had already started managing the various shops in the Jiang family mansion. I didn't object; it was good for her to go out and explore.
Later, your mother wrote to me saying she wanted to marry the son of the Duke of Wei, which I strongly opposed…
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
