I haven't forgotten
As promised, Miao Wendao gave Xichun a copy of the Three Character Classic and a set of writing implements early the next morning. He then taught her to write the three characters "人之初" (the beginning of humanity) before leaving for his post at the Ministry of Rites. Xichun practiced writing the three characters repeatedly all day, and when Miao Wendao returned, he saw that she had written them quite well.
Picking up the Xuan paper on her desk and looking at the full page of "The Beginning of Man" she had written, Miao Wendao praised her generously: "Really good, to write like this on the first day, Xichun, you're amazing."
Miao Wendao's words greatly encouraged Xichun. Every day thereafter, besides spending an hour each afternoon embroidering handkerchiefs with Aunt Feng, she diligently practiced the characters Miao Wendao had written for her. After Miao Wendao finished his shift each day, she would pester him to teach her even more characters. In just one month, Xichun was able to read the entire Three Character Classic, and she could also manage to read a storybook Miao Wendao had given her, albeit haltingly, by guessing and deciphering.
For the first time, Xi Chun felt the joy of learning and gained a new understanding of reading. She realized that reading for oneself is truly a happy thing.
Aunt Feng noticed that Xichun's enthusiasm for learning was even greater than when her own son Yusheng was taking the imperial examination. Sometimes, when she woke up from a nap, she would find that the candlelight in Xichun's room was still burning.
“Good child, studying is a good thing, but we must also take care of our health. Besides, you don’t need to take the imperial examinations. As the saying goes, every drop of water makes a river, and every grain of rice makes a basket. I believe that as long as you can persist in studying a little bit every day, you will make great progress in a year. Don’t stay up late and ruin your health.”
After listening to Aunt Feng's advice, Xichun stopped staying up late to study. Instead, she focused intently on her studies each time she did so. After a few days, she found that the results were just as good as those achieved by simply accumulating time.
Miao Wendao's work was about to be completed in about ten days. At the dinner table, he mentioned it to Xichun and Aunt Feng, "Mother, you can start packing the things you need to take from the house."
This two-courtyard house in Shuangliu Lane was bought by his father for him to settle down in the capital. He had written home a month ago, and in two days his family would send a reliable servant to inspect the house.
"There's not much to pack here. Just bring your clothes and familiar utensils. Everything else can be bought in Lantai County," Aunt Feng said after thinking for a moment.
Xi Chun was overjoyed by the news Miao Wendao told her, as being able to leave the capital for Lantai County meant she was one step closer to returning home.
The next day, Aunt Feng took Xichun out the door. "Xichun, I know a clothing store called Huo's on Qingyang Street that makes very good clothes. The New Year is coming soon, so let's hurry up and buy a couple of outfits before we leave the capital. We might not be able to find such good styles once we leave the capital."
After walking for half an hour, they finally arrived at Huo's Clothing Shop, which mainly sold women's clothing. Xi Chun hadn't taken any clothes with her when she left the Wei family, and in the past few months, Aunt Feng had sewn several sets of clothes for her by hand. She offered Aunt Feng money, but Aunt Feng refused, only accepting half a tael of silver as a token gesture after Xi Chun's insistence. Today, she had specifically brought money with her, and looking at the shop's dazzling array of clothes, Xi Chun wanted to buy a couple for Aunt Feng as well.
Xi Chun immediately took a liking to a green cloak with persimmon calyx pattern and rabbit fur trim. After Aunt Feng tried it on, it fit her perfectly. Aunt Feng happily touched the texture of the cloak, and the shopkeeper, seeing this, hurriedly came over to praise her: "Auntie, this cloak suits you perfectly. It's as if it was tailor-made for you. You have such a good eye for choosing clothes."
Xi Chun looked at the light purple cloak hanging to the side and was reminded of the past, so she didn't hear what the shopkeeper was saying for a moment.
When Aunt Feng heard the shopkeeper refer to Xichun as her daughter-in-law, she was overjoyed and told the shopkeeper to bring out several of the newest and most fashionable clothes for Xichun. Aunt Feng pushed Xichun into the fitting room, and all the clothes looked good on her. After much deliberation, Aunt Feng finally decided on the three that best suited Xichun's complexion.
Aunt Feng took the clothes to the counter. When Xi Chun saw Aunt Feng take out her purse to pay, she quickly squeezed in front of the counter and handed the silver to the shopkeeper first.
"I'm paying today, so you're not allowed to try and take the money from me!"
Aunt Feng knew that Xichun had some money, but since Xichun was all alone, she didn't want her to spend it. It was always good for a woman to have some money on her, no matter what. Aunt Feng was about to ask the shopkeeper to return Xichun's money so she could pay again when she saw the shopkeeper had already weighed the silver and handed the remaining two and a half taels back to Xichun.
“Auntie, you should be happy that such a filial daughter-in-law is willing to pay for your clothes. In all my years of business, I’ve never seen such a filial daughter-in-law.”
Hearing the shopkeeper's misunderstanding about her relationship with Granny Feng, Xichun was about to explain. Seeing this, Granny Feng spoke up, "Yes, yes, I'm enjoying my retirement." With that, she pulled Xichun out of the clothing store.
On their way home, they passed a Jiangnan-style restaurant, and Aunt Feng pulled Xichun inside, saying, "Come on, Auntie will treat you to lunch today."
The two ate a fish, a plate of braised dried bean curd, and a dish of mushrooms and greens. Full and satisfied, Aunt Feng took Xichun for a stroll to digest. Upon reaching Yongding Street, Aunt Feng remembered she hadn't yet told the manager of the Jinxiu Cloth Shop that she wouldn't be taking embroidery work, so she pulled Xichun back into the shop. Just as they were about to head home, a procession carrying betrothal gifts, accompanied by music, passed by on the street. Passersby stopped to watch.
The streets were so congested that it was impossible to move. Xichun and Aunt Feng had no choice but to wait on the steps in front of the cloth shop for the procession to pass. They waited for almost half an hour before the procession of people delivering the betrothal gifts finally left.
Aunt Feng exclaimed, "Wow, how generous! Is this some kind of marriage alliance between two families?"
A middle-aged man standing in front of Aunt Feng said, "Hey, let me tell you, this is a marriage alliance between the Wei family and the Ming family. You know Lord Wei Qiao, right? He's a favorite of the Emperor."
Hearing this, Xichun felt as if her heart had been ripped out and laid naked in the middle of a frozen wasteland. She had left Wei Qiao, but her heart hadn't. The dowry Wei Qiao gave to the eldest daughter of the Ming family was so lavish; it seemed she held the same place in his heart. And she herself was indeed, to Wei Qiao, a dispensable figure.
As the crowd dispersed, Aunt Feng prepared to call Xichun home, but turning around, she noticed that Xichun's face was covered in tears, even the tip of her nose was red from crying, and she looked quite pitiful. Aunt Feng took out a handkerchief to wipe away Xichun's tears and asked softly, "Good child, what's wrong?"
Xichun threw herself into Aunt Feng's arms and sobbed. Two shady-looking young men nearby whistled at the weeping Xichun. Aunt Feng glared at them, and the two slunk away.
Aunt Feng patted Xichun's back affectionately, "Good child, don't cry, tell Aunt Feng what's wrong."
After crying for a while, Xichun felt much better. Remembering that she and Aunt Feng were still on the bustling street, she knew it wasn't good to keep crying like this. So she stopped crying, stepped out of Aunt Feng's arms, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Auntie, let's go home."
Xi Chun didn't explain why she suddenly started crying, and Aunt Feng didn't press her for an answer, only guessing that she might be homesick. After all, Xi Chun, a young girl, had been alone in the capital for several years, so far from home, it was normal for her to miss her family.
Inside the Wei residence, Wei Qiao was practicing calligraphy in his study when A Gui came in and brought him freshly brewed tea.
Wei Qiao looked up at him and asked, "Have the betrothal gifts been sent?"
Ah Gui nodded and smiled, "Reporting to Master, everything has been sent over. This servant sees that everyone in the Ming household is quite satisfied."
"That's good."
Wei Qiao glanced down at the inkstone on his desk and suddenly remembered the scene a few months ago when Xi Chun stood here grinding ink for him. The sweetness of that time was genuine, yet she left without a word. The maidservant who served her in the Pomegranate Courtyard said she hadn't taken anything; he truly didn't know how someone as foolish as her could survive outside. But back then, she managed to travel from Xinjiang to the capital with just one tael of silver given to her by A Gui; surely she wouldn't starve to death out there.
Was he not good enough to her? Apart from not being able to give her the position of legal wife, he gave her everything he thought he could.
Seeing that the ink from Wei Qiao's brush was about to drip onto the Xuan paper, A Gui quickly interrupted Wei Qiao's thoughts, "Master, the ink is about to drip onto the paper."
Wei Qiao was brought back to his senses by A Gui's shout. He put down the inkstone, picked up the tea beside him, and took a sip.
"Any news about her?" Wei Qiao asked casually.
"Who?" A-Gui was a little confused.
Wei Qiao pursed his lips. "Fine, you can go now."
A-Gui carried the tray back to the tea room, just as Fu-Qing and two maids were roasting chestnuts on a wire mesh stove. A-Gui tugged at Fu-Qing's sleeve, and the two went to the corridor to talk.
"Fuqing, who do you think Master is talking about? It can't be Miss Xichun, can it?"
Fu Qingbai glanced at him. Ah Gui was good in every way, except that he was sometimes a bit stubborn.
She said, "Of course it's you, young lady. Who else would you be so concerned about, sir?"
"Didn't Master say we weren't allowed to mention her?" A-Gui scratched his head. Master always kept his word, so why was it different when it came to Miss Xi-Chun?
At the beginning of this year, Fu Qing unexpectedly met Qin Yin, a member of the Dragon Feather Guard who came to the manor looking for Wei Qiao. They both fell in love at first sight almost simultaneously. Qin Yin was the illegitimate son of a county magistrate in a remote area, and he entered the Dragon Feather Guard through the martial arts examination. He had no family support and was currently renting a house in the capital. He was saving money every month, saying he would marry her once he could afford a small house in the capital.
The two shared similar interests and got along very well, but even so, they still had their disagreements. When Qin Yin came to the Wei residence to look for her, she would tell people she wasn't there, but even when she was avoiding him, she never forgot Qin Yin in her heart.
Forgetting someone you like is not an easy thing. She had seen the relationship between the master and Xichun, and the master probably had never forgotten Xichun from the bottom of his heart.
"Ah Gui, you should keep an eye on the girl's whereabouts from now on, so you can answer if the master asks."
At the other end of Shuangliu Lane, Xichun and Aunt Feng packed their belongings together. Several years had passed in the blink of an eye since they'd lived in this little courtyard in the capital, and Aunt Feng was a little reluctant to leave.
On his way back from work, Miao Wendao passed by Fengyuelou and bought their signature steamed pork hock. Aunt Feng also made her specialties: braised duck and steamed crispy pork.
"Suqing, Mother remembers that you have a day off tomorrow, right?"
Miao Wendao looked at Aunt Feng and smiled, "Mother, you remember correctly. Tomorrow is my day off."
Aunt Feng laughed and said, "In that case, this delicious meal tonight should be paired with a pot of fine wine. I have a pot of plum wine that I had made at Gao's Winery last year. The winery owner made it three years ago, and there were only ten pots left. I had to fight with many people to buy it. You two wait here, I'll go back to my room to get the wine, and the three of us can have a good drink tonight."
Before long, Aunt Feng returned from the room with the wine, poured three full cups into three white porcelain wine glasses, and handed them to Xichun and Miao Wendao one by one. Instantly, the room was filled with the aroma of plum wine.
Xi Chun picked up her wine glass and took a small sip. The taste was mellow and rich, and very delicious. She couldn't help but praise Aunt Feng, who was sitting at the head of the table, "Auntie, this wine is really delicious."
"If you like it, drink more. This wine is fragrant and mellow but not intoxicating. It's okay to have a few more glasses."
Over the delicious food, Xichun and Aunt Feng drank several cups of wine together. Aunt Feng enjoyed it but couldn't hold her liquor; even though the plum wine wasn't strong, a few cups made her dizzy and lightheaded. After taking Aunt Feng back to her room, Miao Wendao and Xichun cleared the table together, and then the two of them warmed themselves by the charcoal stove in the side hall.
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