Chapter 66 Departure: So Many Local Specialties
The imperial decree conferring the official title arrived at the new residence one afternoon. The new title was that of a seventh-rank compiler in the Hanlin Academy, adorned with a blue official robe, and accompanied by a sum of silver. Yu Man picked up the bag of silver, weighed it in her hand, and listened to the dull thud of the silver ingots clinking together. She narrowed her eyes in satisfaction: "It seems the ancients were right. 'There are houses of gold in books,' and this saying is quite substantial." She even quickly calculated in her mind how long this sum of money would last for the food shop to purchase ingredients.
Pei Ji was standing to the side, a faint smile flashing across his eyes.
Yu Manxin felt a mischievous glint in her eyes. She deliberately took two steps closer, gently touched his wrist with the bag of silver that still carried the cool air of the storeroom, raised her chin, and replied in a deliberately profound tone, "There are also beauties like jade in books."
Pei Ji clearly hadn't expected her to add that. His gaze lingered for a moment on her deliberately stern yet smiling face, then he shook his head, the smile on his lips deepening into an almost indulgent helplessness. He raised his free hand and gently ruffled her hair, the movement practiced and natural.
Yu Man turned her head to avoid it, muttering, "To be honest, the third-ranked scholar is a living example." She turned and strolled into the kitchen. The cookbook that Granny Hu had given her, with its worn edges but neat handwriting, lay on the table. Its experience in controlling the heat and preparing the broth was still waiting to be pondered.
She got so engrossed in the activity that she forgot the time. When she finally rubbed her aching back from standing for so long and came out of the kitchen, the sun was already setting, and her stomach was empty.
She was about to go find Pei Ji for a meal when she stopped abruptly at the entrance of the main hall, her eyes widening slightly.
The once spacious and airy main room now appeared cramped and crowded, like a warehouse. Several unfamiliar but nimble servants were carefully carrying sturdy chests and brocade boxes of various sizes in and out, handling them with care.
Pei Ji was nowhere to be seen, and even the usually lively Xiao Tao was gone. Only Gu Qiu, whom we hadn't seen in a long time, was still dressed in a neat and clean black outfit, holding his long sword, which he never parted with and whose scabbard was ancient. He stood like a door god in the slightly cramped open space in the center of the hall, pointing out directions with the tip of his unsheathed sword with precise and restrained precision: "Put the box with the celadon under the west wall, away from the window. Put this stack of book boxes next to the table on the east side."
His brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of helplessness was rarely seen on his usually expressionless, almost stone-carved face.
"Gu Qiu?" Yu Man stepped across the threshold, her gaze sweeping over the small mountain of items gradually piling up on the floor, table, and even in the corner. These items, though varied in packaging, all exuded considerable value. She asked in surprise, "This entourage…did your master bring back everything from the West Market and even the East Market?"
Gu Qiu turned his head at the sound of her voice, nodded, and uttered three words succinctly: "Lady Yu." Seemingly feeling that this was too perfunctory, he added dryly, "The Lord ordered it to be prepared." He paused, perhaps because there was too much stuff piled up in front of him, and finally couldn't help but lower his voice even further: "She went this morning... I tried to persuade her, but it was no use."
Just then, familiar, unhurried footsteps came from outside the door. Pei Ji and Xiao Tao returned one after the other, each carrying several bags. Pei Ji was carrying two brocade boxes, their surfaces smooth as mirrors of sandalwood, subtly carved with flowing clouds and auspicious patterns, and their clasps engraved with silver.
Xiao Tao was carrying a stack of fine silks, some brightly colored and some plainly colored, but all of which were obviously soft and smooth like water. The top piece of soft, smoky silk, a color like the sky after rain, shimmered with a lustrous sheen as she moved.
Yu Man's gaze shifted to Pei Ji, whose expression remained calm and composed. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Lord Pei, I'm afraid you've spilled all your new official salary in this main hall, haven't you?"
Has this person's urge to buy exploded?
Pei Ji calmly placed the brocade box he was holding on a small sandalwood table that was still big enough to hold things. He beckoned to her and said gently, "Xiaoman, come and take a look."
Yu Man walked over and casually opened the brocade box that was closest to her.
Inside, a set of clothes was neatly arranged. It was a lotus-root pink color, quite popular among the wives of officials in the capital at the time, but the fabric was a precious brocade, cool and smooth to the touch, incomparable to ordinary silk. In the soft sunlight filtering through the window paper, the brocade itself shimmered with a pearly, understated luster. The dress was embroidered with a pattern of butterflies flitting among flowers using even lighter gold and silver threads with extremely fine stitches. The butterfly wings were as thin as cicada wings, each in a different posture, some perched, some in flight, intricate and exquisite.
In another narrow ebony box inlaid with mother-of-pearl, a gold and kingfisher feather butterfly hairpin lay quietly. The butterfly, made of gold wire, was light and graceful, its wings poised to take flight. The kingfisher feathers were a deep and mysterious blue. On the edges of the wings and antennae, tiny, soft-lustered pearls and finely cut, yet dazzling, tourmalines were inlaid. With a gentle touch, the butterfly would tremble and sway, making one dizzy.
She closed the lid expressionlessly, then casually rummaged through several boxes of varying sizes beside her. There was a set of delicate, white porcelain rouge and face powder, the lid hand-painted with a meticulous depiction of a branch of crabapple blossoms; a knife of high-quality Huizhou ink, its surface smooth as a mirror, faintly exuding the cool scent of pine soot; several Huzhou jade-patterned Xuan brushes with neat, sharp nibs and warm handles; and even several large packages of snacks and candied fruits carefully sealed in fine mulberry paper and tied with thin string, the paper packages bearing the vermilion "Yipinzhai" signboard mark, their sweet aroma faintly permeating even through the paper.
She did a rough mental calculation. Just the few items she could see in front of her were probably enough to fill the heavy bag of folded silver, not to mention the many unopened and even larger boxes piled on the ground. And with this quantity... it would definitely take two or three days to sort through them all.
Pei Ji bent down and moved several gift boxes, which were obviously more rustic and heavy, made of solid materials, and larger in size, to a space against the wall. He explained in a gentle voice, "These are for Uncle Yu and Aunt Deng. They contain some specialties from the capital and a few medicinal herbs and tonics that are not easy to obtain in Dongqing County. The prescriptions are included inside."
He straightened up, his gaze sweeping over Gu Qiu, who immediately nodded almost imperceptibly. Pei Ji continued, "Gu Qiu has arranged a safe carriage and a reliable driver. We'll depart at noon tomorrow. There's no need to rush the journey; safety is paramount." Then, his gaze returned to the small mountain of things, his tone casual, "The rest is for you. Don't rush to deal with it. Look at it whenever you want, use whatever you like, and leave the rest as is."
Yu Man understood; they were all local specialties.
Of course, she chose to...accept it calmly!
So, with great interest, I opened the package of Yipinzhai's amber walnut kernels, picked up a golden-yellow one evenly coated with sugar, and popped it into my mouth. It was indeed sweet, crisp, and crunchy, with the heat and syrup just right—no wonder it's a time-honored brand. For lunch, I had a familiar restaurant deliver a fairly refined meal, complete with chicken, duck, fish, and meat.
After finishing her meal, Yu Man continued to struggle with the dough that had almost risen and the pot of braised meat that was reducing its sauce.
Midway through, she went out to find a flower embossing mold. As she passed the entrance to the main room, she glanced back casually. Pei Ji was carefully and patiently tidying up the things she had taken apart that afternoon and left lying around, which looked somewhat messy.
He meticulously smoothed out every tiny wrinkle in that expensive brocade dress, folded it neatly along the original creases, and carefully placed it back into the brocade box lined with soft silk. He sorted the snacks and candied fruits, found several clean celadon jars of suitable size, poured them into them one by one, carefully sealed the jars, and even attached the notes she had previously written with words like "sugar," "sour," and "nuts."
He did these things slowly and deliberately, his expression calm. Yu Man leaned against the door frame and watched for a while, then quietly retreated back to the kitchen to continue tinkering with her time-consuming, laborious, and uncertain project.
As dusk settled completely, Gu Qiu lit the newly hung lanterns in the courtyard one by one, casting warm yellow halos of light. The main room had been tidied up neatly and orderly. Although the chests and gifts still took up a lot of space, they had been properly categorized and arranged, leaving the central square table area for dining empty.
Yu Man served dinner. Pei Ji didn't like spicy food, so tonight's dish was clear soup noodles. The soup base was made with the finest pork bones and old hen carcasses. It had been simmering over a small charcoal stove in an earthenware pot for several hours since the afternoon, with the foam carefully skimmed off. Finally, the soup was filtered until it was crystal clear, without a trace of oil or impurities, and had a fresh, fragrant, and mellow taste.
The noodles were made using a newly learned method passed down from Granny Hu. After repeatedly kneading and resting the dough, they were stretched by hand, each strand as thin and even as silk, snow-white in color, with a chewy and smooth texture, and excellent for holding broth. Neatly arranged on top of the noodles were slices of five-spice braised pork, cut as thin as cicada wings and almost transparent under the light; tender yellow and fluffy egg shreds, stir-fried until fragrant; a few bright green and crisp bok choy hearts, quickly blanched in boiling water; and four or five small meatballs, which she had chopped, seasoned, repeatedly pounded and kneaded until firm, and then poached until round, bouncy, and juicy.
Then, she turned around and brought out a round object, about the size of two adult palms, from the kitchen. The object was not very regular in appearance, covered with a slightly rough but snow-white paste, and decorated with a few bright red, candied cherries—this was an old-fashioned cake that she had barely managed to cobble together, based on her vague modern memories, combined with the only eggs, flour, honey, and thick cream she had repeatedly separated and purified, after several disastrous failed experiments.
The biggest cost is that the hands are so tired from whipping cream by hand that they can barely lift them.
“Here.” She pushed the food towards Pei Ji, paused, looked up at him with clear eyes, and said, “This meal today is my proper way to congratulate you on passing the imperial examination.”
She added, "Just the two of us."
Pei Ji was slightly taken aback, as if something soft had gently bumped into his heart. Then, a clear smile appeared in his usually gentle and warm eyes, faint yet exceptionally genuine.
"Try it." Yu Man sat down opposite him, picked up her chopsticks first, took a mouthful of noodles and put it in her mouth, squinting her eyes with satisfaction—the soup and cooking were finally worth it.
Pei Ji did as instructed, took the wooden spoon prepared beside him, and carefully scooped a piece from the edge of the cake, along with the snow-white milk paste and the soft, slightly yellow inner core.
He chewed and savored it carefully. After a moment, he looked up at her and nodded, "Delicious." He paused, then added, "It's very special; I've never tasted anything like it before."
The wistful lament in Yu Man's heart about her arm being almost useless instantly turned into unconscious joy.
Pei Ji put down his spoon, reached out, his palm warm and dry, and gently kneaded her forearm.
After kneading for a while, the soreness and swelling were relieved a lot.
Yu Man gently withdrew her hand, her fingertips accidentally brushing against his warm palm, bringing a subtle tickle. She urged, "Hurry up and eat yours, this stuff will get greasy when it gets cold, and the noodle soup won't be as flavorful when it's cold."
Pei Ji picked up his chopsticks again.
After the meal, Gu Qiu and Xiao Tao tacitly cleared away the dishes. Yu Man casually reclined on the soft couch by the window, with a soft pillow that Pei Ji had somehow shoved under her. She casually pulled out a brand-new storybook with pictures of talented scholars and beautiful women on the cover from the pile of books next to her and began to flip through it absentmindedly.
The ink still smelled fresh. The story was a popular tale of a down-on-his-luck scholar meeting a noblewoman. The writing was decent, but the plot moved at a snail's pace, with little conflict. After flipping through about ten pages, she yawned slightly, listlessly closed the book, and tossed it back to its original place.
"I'll go to the bookstore myself next time," she said to Pei Ji, who was boiling water, warming cups, and preparing to brew tea by the red clay stove.
"Doesn't it look good?" Pei Ji asked casually without looking up, while pouring the first brew of tea into the tea pitcher with steady and precise movements. Then, he gently pushed a cup of clear, warm tea, with its initial aroma, onto the small table beside her.
Yu Man picked up the glass and took a sip. "It's not bad," she said, carefully choosing her words, her fingertip tracing the smooth rim of the porcelain cup. "It's just too... bland. I prefer something... um, something with more intense conflict."
Pei Ji's hand, holding the purple clay teapot and about to pour water into his cup, paused almost imperceptibly. He looked up at her and spoke in a calm tone: "You mean the kind of conflict where a husband harbors a secret longing for someone he can't have, someone he can't forget, and then that person returns in glory, while the original wife suddenly discovers that her years of love and devotion were nothing but a joke, followed by neglect, humiliation, and emotional and physical abuse, ultimately being divorced and discarded like trash; then the original wife, after much pain and reflection, strives to improve herself, either through her intelligence or by chance, marrying a high-ranking official with even greater power than her ex-husband, while the ex-husband, due to some reason, falls on hard times, regrets his actions, and upon seeing her again, has to kneel and bow to his former abandoned wife—that kind of conflict?"
She rarely saw him speak such a long sentence in one breath.
Yu Man: "..." His summary sounds a bit melodramatic.
Pei Ji continued in his calm and even tone, "Furthermore, according to the Great Law, if a husband beats his wife and causes injury, and the couple wishes to divorce, they will be sentenced to divorce; if they do not wish to divorce, they will be investigated for their crimes and forced to pay a fine; if the husband causes death, they will be hanged. The arbitrary divorce and torture you described in your story are not in accordance with the law."
Yu Man was a little speechless after what he said. She touched her nose and muttered softly, "...But it looks good."
She suddenly thought of something and turned her head: "If it were you, on one side would be your wife of many years, who has managed the family business and whose beauty may have faded and whose love has waned, and on the other side would be your youthful dream, the white moonlight that you lost and regained, who is still beautiful and charming. What would you choose?"
Yu Man no longer uses the original plot as a reference book, but she is still very curious about the thoughts of this harem novel's male protagonist.
Pei Ji put down his teacup, looked at her, and said calmly, "If I were to fall in love, it would surely be with my wife."
Yu Man stared at him for two seconds, suppressing her racing heartbeat, and commented, "Perfectly balanced, a master of diplomacy."
“”
Pei Ji laughed in exasperation.
The next day, at the first light of dawn, the carriage arranged by Gu Qiu was already steadily parked outside the mansion gate. It was a simple-looking but solidly built, spacious carriage with a blue canopy. The two horses pulling the carriage had glossy coats and were docile. The luggage and belongings had been properly loaded by Gu Qiu and Xiao Tao, and the gift boxes for the Yu family were carefully placed in their designated positions inside the carriage.
Pei Ji saw her to the door. He was unusually talkative, no longer offering brief instructions but giving detailed advice: The carriage was stocked with various long-lasting snacks, dried fruits, and warm water, packed in a multi-tiered food container. There was no need to rush the driver; a smooth and comfortable journey was paramount. If she grew tired or wanted some fresh air, she could ask Gu Qiu to stop and rest at any time. He had already rechecked the recipe for a certain sauce she had mentioned last night, verifying it against Granny Hu's manuscript, and placed the revised recipe in her small bag…
Yu Man listened quietly, nodding and replying with each sentence he spoke, "Yes, I understand." "Good." "I've got it."
Having said that, and seemingly having nothing more to say, the two remained silent for a moment. Yu Man turned and took two steps toward the carriage, her steps slow and deliberate. Suddenly, she stopped, turned back, and her gaze fell on Pei Ji, who was still standing in the same spot.
"Pei Ji." She called his name, her voice clear and neither too loud nor too soft.
"Hmm?" he replied, looking back at her.
“Last time we parted, you were the one who said those words.” Yu Man’s tone was flat. “This time it’s my turn.” She paused, then said clearly, word by word, “Eat well, and remember to wear more clothes when it’s cold.”
Pei Ji looked at her, nodded, and said in a gentle but firm voice, "Okay."
Yu Man looked at him for a moment, her gaze lingering on his face, and said, "Once things are settled at the food shop, I'll come to the capital to see you when I have some free time."
Pei Ji said, "Alright."
"besides……"
“What?” he asked.
"fine."
Yu Man finally stopped lingering, turned around briskly, and walked towards the carriage. Gu Qiu had already placed a footstool and offered a hand for support. She stepped onto the footstool, bent down, and climbed into the carriage in one smooth motion. After settling in, she lifted the small curtain on the side and looked outside.
The figure in blue still stood on the stone steps in front of the house, the morning light casting a long, thin shadow.
From a distance, she couldn't see his expression, but she could feel his gaze following the carriage. Gu Qiu nimbly leaped onto the carriage shaft, gave a soft shout, and the carriage slowly started moving, the wheels rolling over the bluestone road with a rhythmic sound.
Yu Man leaned against the cushioned wall inside the carriage, still clutching the corner of the curtain in her hand, until the figure was completely obscured by the high wall around the corner, before she slowly lowered the curtain.
The carriage was dimly lit, but filled with the fresh scent of new wood and clean fabric, as well as the subtle sweet aroma emanating from the food box. She sat quietly for a while, then reached out and skillfully opened the multi-tiered food box fixed to the carriage wall. From the middle compartment, she took out a piece of chestnut cake that still had a slightly warm aroma, slowly put it into her mouth, and began to chew it carefully.
Thinking of the words she almost blurted out, her face turned unnatural, and she was so embarrassed that she dug her toes into the ground. She ate the rest of the pastries in two bites and leaned against the car wall in a daze.
After hesitating for a while, she banished her chaotic thoughts and thought about home: the large vats in the backyard of the food shop needed replacing, she wondered if Madam Xue's newly brewed wine had been opened yet, and whether her parents would be wide-eyed when they saw her bringing back so many specialties from the capital. Also... those noodle soups in the recipes given by Granny Hu that required specific seasonal wild vegetables, she could try making them when she got back...
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