candlestick
"Uncle," she said in a soft, sweet voice.
"Hmm?" Wei Qiao responded gently when he heard her suddenly call out to him.
“I was so hungry earlier that I ate two pieces of red bean paste cake that you left on your desk.”
"Is it tasty?"
"Ah? It's delicious." Xichun nodded emphatically.
Wei Qiao turned his head to look at her, nodding to herself with a joyful smile on her face. He felt that Xi Chun possessed a kind of incongruous innocence. He wondered how such a girl had survived in this deep, secluded mansion. He suddenly felt a pang of pity for Xi Chun.
A moment later, we arrived at the entrance of Qingwu Garden. The gate was open, and the inside was dark. The tall sycamore trees looked somewhat eerie and frightening at this moment.
"Uncle, I've arrived. Thank you for bringing me back. You can go back now," Xichun said to Wei Qiao, turning to him.
Wei Qiao handed the candlestick to Xi Chun, saying, "It's very dark inside, so here, take this."
Xichun was surprised that he would give her the candlestick. She looked back at the small garden she had just passed; it was pitch black there, with no moonlight to illuminate the area. She said worriedly, "How will you get back? Why don't you wait here while I go inside and light the lamps before giving you the candlestick, okay?"
"No need, I'm used to walking at night." Wei Qiao made sure Xi Chun had a firm grip on the candlestick before turning and leaving.
Xi Chun stood there, stunned, watching his figure gradually disappear into the night until he finally merged into the darkness. She pursed her lips, closed the gate of Qingwu Garden, and returned to her bedroom.
When Xichun woke up, she found Mozhi sitting on top of the wardrobe, looking down at her. As soon as Xichun met its gaze, Mozhi leaped onto the bed. Remembering what had happened the night before, Xichun was furious. She rolled over, smacked Mozhi on the head, and said in a harsh tone, "Stupid cat!"
"Meow." Ink didn't understand why Xichun hit it for no reason, and meowed aggrievedly. Seeing that Xichun was about to raise her hand again, it quickly turned around and tried to run away, but was caught in Xichun's arms.
Stroking Mozhi's smooth head, Xichun earnestly instructed, "Mozhi, never go to Xuesongtang to steal things again. You really got me into trouble yesterday."
Looking at the candlestick she'd casually placed on the dressing table the night before, Xichun thought of Wei Qiao. One moment he was holding a dagger to her, the next he was politely escorting her back. She couldn't understand him; he was so strange. Xichun didn't dwell on Wei Qiao's actions; what was past was past. She was just troubled about how to return the candlestick. She racked her brains but couldn't come up with a good reason, and no one from Xuesongtang came to ask for it back. She had no choice but to leave the matter unresolved.
Xi Chun never saw Wei Qiao again. Every day when she went out, she saw that the door of Xuesong Hall across the street was open, but no one was going in or out. Mozhi still loved to run into Xuesong Hall as usual, but fortunately, since she scolded it, Mozhi has never brought anything back from Xuesong Hall.
Consort Liu regained Wei Changsong's favor, and Wei Changsong often went to the Rose Garden to listen to Consort Liu sing. Seeing that Xichun had not come to visit for a long time, Consort Liu took her maid and went to the Green Wutong Garden to visit her.
Aunt Liu picked up the bowl of water that Xichun had poured, took a sip, smacked her lips, and placed it on the table. She glanced around; it was indeed as shabby as Xiangpu had described. It seemed that Madam had only restored Xichun's food rations; everything else remained unchanged. She then noticed a pearl hairpin in Xichun's black hair, which looked quite elegant. "Young Mistress, this hairpin is quite beautiful. Did Madam give it to you?"
Xi Chun raised her hand to stroke the chrysanthemum hairpin, a joyful smile on her face. She nodded, "Yes, last time I gave Madam a chrysanthemum pillow, and Madam rewarded me with this chrysanthemum hairpin."
“It’s rare for Madam not to be stingy. This pearl hairpin suits you very well. You should dress brightly at such a young age. Otherwise, when you’re Madam’s age and covered in jewels and makeup, you’ll never look as pretty as a young girl.”
Xi Chun didn't know what to say, so she buried her head in peeling the paulownia fruits. After peeling them, she handed the handkerchief containing the paulownia fruits to Aunt Liu.
"Auntie, please try some."
Aunt Liu had never seen anything like this before. Its color was similar to that of peeled peanuts, a yellowish-brown with a hint of burnt brown. She picked one up and put it in her mouth; it did have a melon seed flavor. Before long, she had devoured the small handful of paulownia seeds that Xichun had peeled.
After finishing the fruit, she smacked her lips with lingering satisfaction, then pulled out a light purple handkerchief to gently wipe her mouth. "What kind of fruit is this? It's quite delicious."
"These are the fruits of the sycamore tree. I asked the kitchen to stir-fry them for me." Xichun pointed to the sycamore tree outside the house. The autumn wind was bleak, and sycamore leaves were swirling down from time to time.
Following the direction Xichun pointed, Aunt Liu turned her head and glanced at the tall sycamore tree. "I never imagined that the fruit of this sycamore tree could be eaten."
"If Aunt Liu likes to eat this, I'll bring you a jar to take back later. I picked a lot this year."
“Alright.” Turning around, Aunt Liu handed Xichun a bulging bundle beside her. “This is some leftover fabric from my place, all silk. Take it and make yourself a couple of undergarments.”
Taking the bundle, Xichun opened it and glanced inside; it was fine silk. She hesitated, then asked, "Such fine material, Aunt Liu, are you going to give it to me?"
“Take it and use it. Now the master loves to come to my courtyard to listen to me sing. I have plenty of new, fine fabrics.” She raised her hand to cover her mouth and laughed, recalling the sweet words Wei Changsong had spoken in bed, her face then changed to an extremely charming and alluring expression. “Men, as long as they like you, they’re willing to give you anything.”
Upon hearing Aunt Liu mention Wei Changsong, Xichun recalled Wei Changsong's terrifying face, her hair stood on end, her hands on her lap clenched involuntarily, and the smile on her face immediately vanished.
Aunt Liu was lost in her own world and didn't notice Xichun's expression. Then, remembering that Xichun didn't want to come to her courtyard, she asked her what was wrong, "Why doesn't the eldest young mistress come to Rose Garden anymore? I've sent the maid to invite you several times, but you still don't come."
“Because, because I’m afraid of running into—” Xi Chun swallowed her words and looked down at her hands.
Hearing Xichun's words trail off, Aunt Liu's curiosity grew even stronger. She turned her head to look at the somber expression on Xichun's face and noticed her tightly clenched hands. She pondered what was different about her own courtyard, and after a long while, a thought suddenly flashed into her mind. She craned her neck to examine Xichun's features closely—beautiful yet not seductive, bright yet pure. Xichun had already grown into such a beautiful woman, and Wei Changsong was a lecherous man; it wasn't surprising that he had taken a liking to her.
Xi Chun must have sensed something to avoid Wei Changsong, which is why she doesn't even want to come to her courtyard anymore. Thinking of this, Aunt Liu quickly changed the subject.
"Young Madam, you've been in the capital for so long, have you ever missed your hometown?"
"I miss him, I miss him every day." A sorrowful smile appeared on Xichun's face. Every day she missed every blade of grass and every tree in Fuping, missed her little house, missed the apricot tree in the yard, missed the wontons her grandfather cooked every day, missed Aunt Li, Xiaopeng, missed everything in Persimmon Lane, but most of all, she missed her grandfather. Every night before going to sleep, Xichun hoped that she could dream of her grandfather, but since her grandfather passed away, hundreds of days and nights had passed, and she had not dreamed of him even once. She really missed her grandfather.
Seeing that Xichun's eyes were getting wet, Aunt Liu was afraid of upsetting her again, so she quickly came up with a new topic.
"Young Madam mentioned before that you had a close friend who secretly sold herself into servitude as someone's maid without her family's knowledge. Have you seen this friend since then?"
Xi Chun shook her head. "Lanxiang is my neighbor and also my good friend. She and Xiaopeng met because they helped me drive away the bad guys who were causing trouble at my grandfather's stall. We were all very young then; I was eight, Lanxiang was six, and Xiaopeng was nine. Lanxiang was the youngest of the three of us, but she was the smartest and most opinionated. Xiaopeng and I both listened to her. Lanxiang was beautiful and loved to dress up, but she always wore old clothes with patches. Lanxiang's father died early, and only her mother, Aunt Li, and her brother lived at home." There were three people. Aunt Li was very strict and valued rules above all else, forbidding Lanxiang from accepting charity from others. Even if a neighbor offered Lanxiang a piece of old clothing, Aunt Li would refuse. Lanxiang often talked about making something of herself. When Lanxiang was fourteen, she heard that a maid in a wealthy family in Fuping County had suddenly died of a serious illness, and they needed to buy a replacement. Lanxiang secretly sold herself into servitude, gave the eight taels of silver she received to Aunt Li, kowtowed several times to her, and left with the family. She never returned.
"This Lanxiang certainly has high aspirations. Do you know the name of that family?"
Xi Chun thought for a moment and said, "Their surname is Mo. I've heard my grandfather say that they are a wealthy family that deals in silk and cotton."
Aunt Liu nodded knowingly. That made sense; people always want to climb the social ladder. According to Xichun, Lanxiang was both beautiful and intelligent, so she must have sold herself into slavery to secure a better future.
“The maids of wealthy families are well-fed and clothed, and this Miss Lanxiang may already be living a good life. Young mistress, do you think Miss Lanxiang looks any different? If I happen to run into her on the street in the future, I can come back and tell you.”
Xichun felt that the chances of Aunt Liu meeting Lanxiang were slim, but she also thought that maybe they were destined to meet.
"Lanxiang has an oval face, big eyes, a very upturned nose, and a red mole the size of a grain of rice between her eyebrows."
"And she has a beauty mark, which makes her easy to recognize. If I ever run into a girl like that, I'll definitely go up and ask her for you. It's getting late, so I'll head back to Rose Garden now."
Seeing that Aunt Liu was about to leave, Xichun went inside and handed a small jar containing paulownia fruit to a maidservant beside her. Aunt Liu thanked her and then gracefully walked out of the gate of Qingwu Garden with her maidservant.
Time flew by, and it was now the twelfth lunar month. Only after eating the freshly prepared preserved duck did Xichun hear news of Wei Qiao from Caihuan's mother. It turned out that Wei Qiao had gone south to Yangzhou back in November, supposedly on the emperor's orders to thoroughly investigate the corruption case of the Yangzhou magistrate. Xichun knew nothing about Yangzhou, nor had she heard of this case. She also hated corrupt officials and those who exploited the people's hard-earned money, but she knew nothing about the investigation and could only secretly wish Wei Qiao a safe return.
After the New Year, the spring breeze blows away the chill, all plants revive, and all flowers bloom. After the flowers fade, green fruits hang on the branches, and before we know it, summer has arrived.
Summers in the capital weren't as sweltering as in Fuping, making them relatively pleasant for Xichun. Having already passed her eighteenth birthday and spent over three years in the capital, her body had adapted to the climate. Her life had been as calm as a still lake, without a ripple. Xichun didn't feel uncomfortable; she had learned to endure the long, hopeless days. She felt she was about to grow into a member of the phoenix tree family.
When Xichun went to the kitchen to get dinner that day, she spotted a familiar figure in the small garden. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was Zhao Yu, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
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