Chapter 62 The two people, like a married couple
On the sixth day of the fourth lunar month, Liu Qi turned twelve.
Before it was even dark, the maids all got up and started tidying up. They splashed the floor again and again until not a speck of dust remained. Tables, chairs, benches, brocade curtains, and screens were all carried to the garden, arranged, and carefully wiped clean. Then they placed flower vases and tiered dishes, hung lanterns, and beaded lanterns under the eaves and on the trees…
When Liu Shen got up early to go to the yamen, he came out of the courtyard and saw people everywhere, all busy at work. He couldn't help but stop and look. After watching for a while, he smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's really lively."
It's so lively!
Even though the mealtime had just passed, customers started arriving in droves, and carriages and horses almost filled the streets.
The invitation was handwritten by Old Madam Zhang. Madam Le, adorned in gold and jade, with green sleeves and crimson lips, stood gracefully in the flower hall, warmly greeting each arriving lady with a wave of the hand, guided by her old nanny. Liu Qi stood close to her mother, dressed in a scarlet gown, her face lightly made up, but her expression was indifferent, showing no joy. She was clearly unhappy, but the ladies' comments, "Miss is truly rare, so composed and dignified at such a young age..." only fueled her anger. Her gloomy face clashed with the lively atmosphere of the flower hall; anyone could see something was wrong. Gradually, even Madam Le's smile faded. Fortunately, the guests, sensing the situation, quickly found excuses to leave.
As soon as everyone dispersed, Madam Yue's face darkened. "Are you crazy? Why are you giving me such a hard time?" Her words made Liu Qi cover her face and burst into tears. Madam Yue was taken aback, and her voice trailed off. "What happened to you? Why are you like this..." The old nanny hurriedly stepped forward. "Miss, don't cry. Today is a good day. You shouldn't cry." She tried to comfort her while pushing her back.
Madam Yue thought for a moment and decided to follow, but just as she took a step, another guest arrived, so she had to stop.
A maid brought over water, and the old nanny tried to roll up Liu Qi's sleeves, but Liu Qi was angry and unwilling to give her face. She raised her hand and turned the old nanny's outstretched hand away, turning her face to the side and refusing to look at her.
The old nanny had been given some pointers beforehand and knew the crux of the matter, so she wasn't flustered. She took the wet handkerchief and slapped it across the young lady's face. The young lady glared at her, but she still smiled.
"Miss, please calm down. Before we came, the old lady told me that if you were wronged, you would definitely throw a tantrum. She asked me to persuade you to calm down and get through today so as to save face for your mistress. Please be more tolerant, and the old lady will definitely apologize to you personally later."
Hearing this, Liu Qi dared not put on a sullen face anymore. It was truly awful! No matter how spoiled she was, she wouldn't dare ask her maternal grandmother to apologize! Although she showed no outward sign of resentment, she was still resentful inside. Even more resentful… These were clearly her relatives, yet they were all making her suffer and forcing her to endure it all because of an outsider…
After Liu Qi washed her face and had her hair powdered and combed again with the help of her maid, there was no trace of her previous crying when she returned to the flower hall.
Madam Yue was talking to someone when she caught sight of her out of the corner of her eye. She quickly smiled and waved to her, calling out, "Fei Luo, come here quickly! This is Sister Qiu. Doesn't she look like a fairy?"
Liu Qi looked over and indeed saw a fairy, with crescent-shaped eyebrows, peach-blossom eyes, a delicate nose, cherry lips, a silver-basin face, flower-like cheeks, raven-feather-like sideburns, and a willow-like waist...
Liu Qi, however, couldn't bring herself to like it. The better it was, the less she liked it, because she didn't want good things to fall into the lap of someone she disliked. Her face was expressionless, and her manners were perfunctory.
However, Madam Wang still spoke up, saying, "In my opinion, Qingfang is nothing special, but Miss is the real beauty. No wonder she is Madam's daughter." Miss Qiu's formal name is Yun, and Qingfang is her nickname.
Madam Le, of course, thought her daughter was exceptionally good, but she still told Madam Zhang that her daughter was nothing special and said with a smile, "What kind of beauty is she? She's the most detestable! How can she compare to even a fraction of Qingfang?"
As the elders offered their compliments, Qiu Qingfang slowly walked towards Liu Qi, approached her, and said with a smile, "I haven't congratulated you yet, sister. I wish you happiness in everything you do every year."
No sooner had she finished speaking than a maidservant strode in and said that the old lady and her aunts were about to arrive at the front hall.
In no time, not only Madam Yue and Madam Wang, but also the ladies who were enjoying flowers and music all rushed to the front hall.
Madam Zhang was undoubtedly the center of attention. The ladies all surrounded her, vying to speak to her and trying their best to make her happy.
The young ladies also have such occasions, and of course, the center of attention is still the young ladies of the Le family.
The Le family members are always honored wherever they go. The young ladies of the Le family are used to seeing all kinds of people. They have been to many places and met many people. There are as many daughters in Xingdu City as there are stars in the sky. No matter what kind of person they are, they can make a few good friends with the same temperament.
Qiu Qingfang was Miss Le Wu's close friend. The two had studied polo under the same teacher and later learned chess together. They had been together for many years and their friendship was so deep that it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were sisters.
Miss Yue knew that the Qiu family wanted to arrange a marriage between the Qiu and Liu families. She was very happy for her friend, because her cousin Lian Si was exceptionally handsome and talented—a perfect husband by any measure. Her friend was a woman of fine character and deserved such a husband. She wanted to help this perfect couple, so she frequently spoke highly of her friend to her cousin. Even when her friend left to change, she leaned over and said to her cousin, "Qing Fang is so wonderful, is she worthy of being your sister-in-law? I think they are a perfect match. If my brother weren't so useless, I would definitely ask my mother to bring her home so I could be her sister-in-law." She meant well but ended up doing more harm than good.
The better Qiu Qingfang was, the deeper Liu Qi's hatred grew; she didn't want the person she disliked to have an easy time. So she said, "Although Sister Qiu is good, she still can't compare to Sister Shanlai."
Miss Yue Wu was confused. "Who is this Sister Shanlai you're talking about?" These two people are getting married, so why bring up a third person?
"Sister Shanlai was a concubine my grandmother bought for my brother before she passed away. She's been in our household for many years. She's as beautiful as a fairy. Although Sister Qiu is also like a fairy, she's still a notch below Sister Shanlai. And Sister Shanlai is not only beautiful, she's also very good at painting. My clothes, handkerchiefs, and shoes are all based on her designs. Sister, look, aren't they great? None of the ones sold outside can compare. She's a highly accomplished disciple of the abbot of Huguo Temple! Sister, have you seen the murals in the Mahavira Hall of Huguo Temple? Those were painted by Sister Shanlai. Sister Shanlai also has a good temper. Everyone in our household likes her. My brother treats her better than even his own sister... Sister, what's wrong? You look so pale..."
She thought it was definitely possible, but she never expected to hear these things.
She simply couldn't bear it. She had long known the saying that there are always people better than you, and that it was no big deal if you were inferior to others. But to be told that she was inferior to her future husband's concubine was something she simply couldn't tolerate.
"I want to see this person. Go and find out where she is now."
Shanlai was lying in bed.
She got up very early today, went to the garden to cut flowers, arrange them in vases, and set up platters... Actually, no one called her over, because everyone knew she was different; even if they were short-staffed, they couldn't drag their mistress over to do things for them! Even if she was only half a mistress, she was still a mistress. It was Green Willow who tripped over the threshold when she went out, letting out a loud cry. She was always a light sleeper and was easily woken up. She got up, put on her clothes, and knowing they were going to do some work, she called out to them to wait for her. After finishing her work in the garden, she wanted to go with the others to do something else, but was stopped. Ziyu said she wasn't good at serving people and it was better not to cause trouble. She thought about it and realized that made sense, so she returned. She went to the main hall first, but only saw Orange Maple; Liu Min had already gone out. With nothing to do and feeling sleepy, she went back to her room to catch up on her sleep. I slept for a while, about half an hour, and woke up groggily. I tried to fall back asleep, but couldn't. So I lay on my side and looked at the light.
She was so engrossed in her reading that she was quite startled when someone suddenly appeared.
The newcomer was adorned with jewels and wore a brocade robe; she possessed an air of dignity and was clearly a noble lady.
She quickly got out of bed and asked, "Miss, have you gotten lost?"
The young lady didn't speak, but just stared at her intently. She was puzzled and about to ask again when the young lady turned her face away and began to look around her room. She followed the young lady, looking at the vases, incense burners, Buddhist shrines, paintings and calligraphy on the walls, bamboo curtains, and embroidered curtains, and finally her gaze settled on the lamp on the chest.
Just then, she heard footsteps outside. She looked towards the door and saw Liu Min walking in quickly.
He never expected there would be a stranger in her house. He paused for a moment as he crossed the threshold, but quickly put his foot down. His face showed no change in expression. He simply said to her, "Do you have my sachet here? The light green one with apricot blossoms embroidered on it. The tassels are a bit frayed. Tell me to make a new one for me to wear."
He was dressed in a bamboo-green robe, which certainly deserved a green sachet.
The sachet was indeed with her; quickly find it and hand it over.
He reached out and took it, saying, "I'm going to the front." As he spoke, he bent down to tie the sachet and walked out, not glancing at the others in the house. It would be really unseemly for the female guest to have wandered into his courtyard by mistake, and the young lady must have felt very embarrassed, so it was best to pretend he hadn't seen her.
Shanlai felt the same way. If Liu Min hadn't come, it would have been fine; he had just taken the wrong turn, nothing serious. But he did come, and even saw people. He couldn't pretend to be confused anymore. The young lady must be so embarrassed.
"Let me take you home. Don't worry, I won't say anything out of line."
The young lady remained silent.
She thought she might have said something unnecessary and upset her mistress, so she stopped talking and just moved her feet to go outside. However, after taking only three or four steps, she suddenly felt a gust of wind behind her. Although she noticed it, she couldn't dodge in time and was thrown against the door frame. The pain made her see stars, and when she came to her senses, she couldn't see anyone in front of her anymore.
This is really baffling.
She couldn't understand it.
Qiu Qingfang was walking very fast, and the maid beside her could hardly keep up. As they were about to reach the garden, the maid became anxious. How could anyone see her mistress in such a state? In her anxiety, she didn't care about anything else and reached out to grab her, calling out "Miss!" with a warning tone.
The young lady stopped, and the maid breathed a sigh of relief. She walked forward, intending to have a good talk with her, but as soon as she looked up, she saw the young lady pursing her lips, tears welling in her eyes, looking extremely sad.
"What's wrong, Miss?"
"I want to go home!"
She was utterly humiliated; she had been completely outshone by a concubine who was beneath her dignity! And he truly loved her, treating her so well, never treating her like a servant. The two of them were like husband and wife.
But she should be his wife! She loves him.
It wasn't that her father favored him and wanted him to be his son-in-law; it was that she wanted him to be her husband.
The first time I met him was on the Lantern Festival.
The Lantern Festival in Xingdu is, of course, very lively. Everywhere is packed with people, especially the lantern market, which is teeming with people, incredibly bustling. People jostle shoulder to shoulder, unable to move an inch for a long time. All sorts of lanterns—fish lanterns, lotus lanterns, embroidered ball lanterns—made of paper, silk, gauze, embroidered, and painted, a dazzling display of vibrant colors and lush greenery. Beautiful, yet also rather uninteresting.
It's the same every year, nothing new, it's getting a bit annoying.
Just as she was about to tell her brother that she wanted to go home, she suddenly heard a burst of cheers and applause, like a wave. Attracted, she looked up.
"I can't see anything," my brother said with a smile. "It seems like something's going on. Do you want to go check it out? You've been looking so bored."
She didn't really want to go, there were just too many people, but her brother had already pulled her over.
Once you squeeze to the very back and look up, you freeze in place.
What a beautiful lamp!
The octagonal palace lantern was entirely made of beads—pearls, agate, lapis lazuli, turquoise, jade, crystal…it shone brightly and shone dazzlingly…
She wanted this lamp, and her brother noticed too. He said he would buy it for her, but before she could even be happy, someone nearby said, "It can't be bought. It's not for sale. If it were available, it would be gone long ago. This is an elegant affair; the most talented person gets it. The young master sets the questions, and whoever answers them last gets the lamp. Do you see those people? They've been standing there for almost half an hour. I think the young gentleman will definitely win. He's always the fastest to finish, and he's also very handsome."
Hearing people say that, she looked over and indeed he was very handsome.
After that, she kept watching him, watching him receive the lamp, carry it, look down at it, and smile slightly.
He is such a gentle person; even when he looks at the lamp, it's as if he's looking at his beloved.
That's when she fell in love with him.
I was very nervous when I went back, afraid that his family background was not good and his parents would look down on him. But when I found out that he was the son of a high-ranking official, I was overjoyed.
She told her parents what was on her mind, and her father said he wanted to meet him first, to which she agreed. She wasn't worried at all.
As she expected, her father nodded and discussed it with her mother.
She was so happy that she was in a daze for a long time.
She believed she would surely get what she wanted.
But that lamp was in another woman's room.
Did he fight for that lamp because of her? When she fell in love with him, was she right beside him?
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