Chapter 1: Big Fire
Huge flames rushed towards the sky, crackling loudly and painting half the sky red. As the fire grew in intensity and heat, the people nearby were running and shouting “Fire! Fire!”
Yu Tang’s legs went limp and she would have fallen to the ground if not for her maid Shuang Tao holding her up.
“Miss, Miss!” Shuang Tao was so frightened by the scene in front of her that she couldn’t speak clearly, “How could this happen? The Pei Family’s guards along with some local storeowners always patrol Changxing street in the middle of the night to check on their stores. The third master of the Pei family even said that as this year’s summer is especially hot and dry, the chances of fires are high. So a few days ago, he specifically instructed men to set up thirty-eight large water jars on both sides of Changxing Street. Every day, the shopkeepers of each family will fill the jars to the brim with water. So how could Changxing Street be on fire? Then, what about our stores?”
Yes!
What about their stores?
Yu Tang’s eyes were moist and blurry.
She had actually been reborn!
And her rebirth fell on the evening of the day their family’s store was burned.
She had a beautiful, close knitted family, allowing her to grew up peacefully. Before that, the most unpleasant things in life at most were that her parents didn’t allow her to climb trees, or play in the rivers. She couldn’t go out as she was forced to stay home and learn embroidery. Because her life was smooth-sailing and comfortable, she couldn’t remember much.
Only this summer, a sudden fire destroyed all the stores on Changxing Street. Her family’s and her eldest uncle’s lacquerware store were not spared either. Not only were the materials in the store burned, but the storehouse and workshop in the backyard of the store were also burned cleanly. The goods that were about to be delivered were gone, and so were the precious stencils left by the ancestors.
Not too far away, someone tried to rush into the store to put out the fire, but a beam suddenly collapsed, causing him to be trapped inside the burning fire.
“Boss! Boss!” A woman ran over frantically, wanting to save him, but was held back.
There were also men who fell to the ground, hitting their legs and howling, “How can we live like this?”
Yu Tang and Shuang Tao were hit on the shoulders by people who rushed over one after another on hearing the news, and Shuang Tao came back to her senses.
She hurriedly pulled Yu Tang to the side and said worriedly, “Eldest Miss, Madam is still sick and Master is not at home, and you just ran out without a word ……”
Yu Tang also came back to her senses.
At this time, Shuang Tao only thought that Yu Tang momentarily felt weak and was unable to stand firm on the swing, causing her to fall and be unconscious for half a day; but for her, she had already experienced the decline of her family, loss of both her parents, early death of her fiancé, widowed and trapped by her in-laws and coveted by her eldest brother-in law. With difficulty, she managed to escape from the clutches of her husband’s family, but was unfortunately killed in the nunnery that sheltered her.
The fire was important, but most important was her mother’s illness.
Her father, Yu Wen, and her mother, Chen shi, had a deep love for each other. Even after her mother gave birth to her and suffered poor health because of it, her father’s love for her mother and her didn’t diminish; he still continued to treasure them both as precious pearls. However, her mother’s illness persisted ever since she was born and was on medication seven out of ten days. A few days ago, her father learned from a friend that the imperial physician Yang Douxing had returned to his hometown and rushed to Suzhou to seek medical help for her mother.
In her previous life, her father returned without success. Due to Yu Tang’s fall from the swing, the shock caused her mother’s illness to worsen and she was bedridden. Her father was determined to take her mother to seek treatment from another imperial physician, Wang Bo, who lived in seclusion on Putuo Mountain, but on their way back they encountered a storm which capsized his boat and both of them died.
“Let’s go home quickly!” Yu Tong was suddenly anxious and pulled Shuang Tao in the direction of their home.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Shuangtao panted and ran after her, while saying, “Where are you going? Home is over there!”
Yu Tang stopped and was silent for a moment.
It had been ten years since she had returned to her home on Qingzhu Lane, and she didn’t even remember that there was such a path between Changxing Street and Qingzhu Lane.
Perhaps because Changxing Street was on fire,this usually secluded and deserted lane was filled with people, but everyone was in a hurry, they only casted a cold glance at her before brushing past her.
The courtyard at the back of the Yu family’s house was quiet, and a few sturdy Xiang Fei bamboo shoots stood silently in the moonlight, as if the noise and chaos of Changxing Street was a matter of another world.
Mother’s cough was clearly audible in the night, and with a faint raspy voice she whispered, “How is A-tang? Have she woken up yet? “
The person who answered mother was old aunty Chen , her mother’s personal attendant. “She woke up early in the morning and said she needed to eat fried chestnuts to get better. Where can I find fried chestnuts for her at this time of year? She tricked me into getting her a bowl of cinnamon sugar water and ate three pieces of peach cakes before she rested.”
Yu Tang’s eyes turn moist and tears welled up.
In her previous life, she was selfish. mother was sick all the time, and she didn’t think it was important, instead she used her fall from the swing to get food and drinks, and do all the things her mother wouldn’t let her do on a regular basis. When her father took her mother to get medicine, before they left she also clamored for her father to bring her back two packets of poria powder, otherwise she would not study.
“Mother!” Yu Tang stood in front of her mother’s door and said loudly.
The door opened with a creak.
Old Aunty Chen peeked out and winked at her while saying, “What does Eldest Miss want to eat again? At this hour, the fire in the kitchen has gone out, so I can only give you a bowl of fried rice to fill your stomach, but there is nothing more.”
Yu Tang froze.
She was no longer the little girl who was the apple of her father’s eye, carefree and knew nothing about the world.
Old Aunty Chen looked strangely at her and Yu Tang’s mind raced.
Could it be that in her previous life, at this time, her mother’s condition was already not very good?
Yu Tang’s face darkened as she looked towards old Aunty Chen solemnly. She gestured to old Aunty Chen to follow her, and spoke softly in a childish voice. “Is my mother’s illness better? I’m not hungry, I just want to talk to my mother.”
Old Aunty Chen was very unfamiliar and very surprised with this kind of Yu Tang. She didn’t have time to think about it and nodded her head towards Yu Tang, but the words she said were to stop her: “Madam has just taken her medicine, she has washed up and rested. If Eldest Miss have something to ask, please come back tomorrow.”
Yu Tang stretched her neck to peek into the room.
Her mother who was just speaking with old Aunty Chen didn’t say anything now.
Obviously, her mother did not want to see her.
Yu Tang’s heart sank, and she tried her best to imitate the tone of her own voice when she was fifteen years old: “Okay, then! I’ll go back to bed first. You must remember to tell my mother I came.”
“Remember! Remember!” Old Aunty Chen smiled and said, “The wind is cold and damp, I’ll send Eldest Miss back.”
At this season, how can there be any cold and damp wind? It was only an opportunity to speak to her in private.
Yu Tang followed old Aunty Chen to her own room next door.
Because she left in a hurry, the quilt was still messily thrown on the bed, and the soft shoes were scattered on the floor, one in front of the bed and one in the center of the room. Old aunty Chen scolded Shuang Tao in a low voice: “How did you serve Eldest Miss? The house is in a mess, if the madam sees this, she will have to teach you a lesson again.”
Shuangtao blushed and turned around to clean up the room.
Yu Tang pulled old Aunty Chen aside to talk, “What happened to Mother? Don’t try to fool me with your words. I know that the person who often comes to our house to see mother is Liu SanTai of JiMin Hall. If it becomes necessary, I can find him.”
Old Aunty Chen looked at Yu Tang with surprise.
Yu Tang was spoilt by her parents growing up. Although she was not spoilt rotten, but she was definitely not a strong-willed girl. This was the first time she was so firm in her words.
Old Aunty Chen couldn’t help but hesitate a little.
Yu Tang knows herself; to put it nicely, she is not malicious, however, to put it negatively, she is naive. Should anything happen at home, she will not be the one people naturally relied on, nor will they say anything to her.
So she simply said to Old Aunty Chen, “Look at my sweaty appearance, I just ran out and saw Changxing Street on fire, and our family’s store was also burned.”
Under the candle light, Old Aunty Chen realized that Yu Tang was not properly dressed, and she was horrified, “What did you say? Changxing Street caught fire?”
Yu Tang nodded: “The goods in the store are all gone, the fields won’t have any income until after the Mid-Autumn Festival, and We still have to pay for Mother’s medical treatment, so there isn’t any money at home.”
This was the truth and not a lie to trick old Aunty Chen.
This was exactly the case in her previous life.
Their Yu family’s capital is small, but not so little that they will go bankrupt because their two stores were burned down. But this time, the fire destroyed batches of goods ordered by others and they had to make compensation as well. Her father had previously bought from his friend a painting done in the former dynasty, Li Tang’s “Pine Lake fishing hidden picture”. It was also time to pay for it. As mother did not want father to be disappointed, she took the initiative to sell the family’s thirty acres of good land. When her father took mother to Putuo Mountain, the family’s twenty acres of good land was also sold. After the death of her parents, she sold the remaining fifty acres of good land to prepare the funeral services.
Father’s inheritance from Grandfather’s estate was gone. Her uncle’s side also encountered problems, and couldn’t help her.
That is why she agreed to the marriage of the Li family previously.
The thought flashed, and Yu Tang’s complexion worsen.
She said coldly: “If anything happens to Mother, Father will not spare you when he returns!”
Old Aunty Chen couldn’t decide to laugh or cry.
She is Madam Chen’s companion since young, and Madam Chen’s nursing mother, if Madam Chen is not well, she is more anxious than anyone, more distressed than anyone, Eldest Miss actually threatened her?
But seeing such a young Eldest lady, she somehow felt relieved.
She thought about it and told Yutang: “The weather is too hot, Madam suffers greatly in summer, She can’t eat anything, always worried about your injuries, and worried that master is running around outside. Everyday, she can’t eat or sleep well and lost a lot of weight. I didn’t say because I didn’t want you to worry.”
Yu Tang felt guilty and blamed herself.
In her previous life, she always made her parents worry, and never cared for them, not to mention being someone they could rely on.
Thinking of this, Yu Tang could not help but fold her hands and chant “Amitabha Buddha” towards the West.
In her previous life, she was not a devout believer, but the Bodhisattva had mercy on her, allowing her to return to the present, back to the time when her parents were still alive. She will cherish the present time, not to let the hated things of the previous life repeat itself, not to let the family break and loved ones to separate.
Yu Tang’s tears fall like rain.
Chapter 1: Big Fire
Huge flames rushed towards the sky, crackling loudly and painting half the sky red. As the fire grew in intensity and heat, the people nearby were running and shouting “Fire! Fire!”
Yu Tang’s legs went limp and she would have fallen to the ground if not for her maid Shuang Tao holding her up.
“Miss, Miss!” Shuang Tao was so frightened by the scene in front of her that she couldn’t speak clearly, “How could this happen? The Pei Family’s guards along with some local storeowners always patrol Changxing street in the middle of the night to check on their stores. The third master of the Pei family even said that as this year’s summer is especially hot and dry, the chances of fires are high. So a few days ago, he specifically instructed men to set up thirty-eight large water jars on both sides of Changxing Street. Every day, the shopkeepers of each family will fill the jars to the brim with water. So how could Changxing Street be on fire? Then, what about our stores?”
Yes!
What about their stores?
Yu Tang’s eyes were moist and blurry.
She had actually been reborn!
And her rebirth fell on the evening of the day their family’s store was burned.
She had a beautiful, close knitted family, allowing her to grew up peacefully. Before that, the most unpleasant things in life at most were that her parents didn’t allow her to climb trees, or play in the rivers. She couldn’t go out as she was forced to stay home and learn embroidery. Because her life was smooth-sailing and comfortable, she couldn’t remember much.
Only this summer, a sudden fire destroyed all the stores on Changxing Street. Her family’s and her eldest uncle’s lacquerware store were not spared either. Not only were the materials in the store burned, but the storehouse and workshop in the backyard of the store were also burned cleanly. The goods that were about to be delivered were gone, and so were the precious stencils left by the ancestors.
Not too far away, someone tried to rush into the store to put out the fire, but a beam suddenly collapsed, causing him to be trapped inside the burning fire.
“Boss! Boss!” A woman ran over frantically, wanting to save him, but was held back.
There were also men who fell to the ground, hitting their legs and howling, “How can we live like this?”
Yu Tang and Shuang Tao were hit on the shoulders by people who rushed over one after another on hearing the news, and Shuang Tao came back to her senses.
She hurriedly pulled Yu Tang to the side and said worriedly, “Eldest Miss, Madam is still sick and Master is not at home, and you just ran out without a word ……”
Yu Tang also came back to her senses.
At this time, Shuang Tao only thought that Yu Tang momentarily felt weak and was unable to stand firm on the swing, causing her to fall and be unconscious for half a day; but for her, she had already experienced the decline of her family, loss of both her parents, early death of her fiancé, widowed and trapped by her in-laws and coveted by her eldest brother-in law. With difficulty, she managed to escape from the clutches of her husband’s family, but was unfortunately killed in the nunnery that sheltered her.
The fire was important, but most important was her mother’s illness.
Her father, Yu Wen, and her mother, Chen shi, had a deep love for each other. Even after her mother gave birth to her and suffered poor health because of it, her father’s love for her mother and her didn’t diminish; he still continued to treasure them both as precious pearls. However, her mother’s illness persisted ever since she was born and was on medication seven out of ten days. A few days ago, her father learned from a friend that the imperial physician Yang Douxing had returned to his hometown and rushed to Suzhou to seek medical help for her mother.
In her previous life, her father returned without success. Due to Yu Tang’s fall from the swing, the shock caused her mother’s illness to worsen and she was bedridden. Her father was determined to take her mother to seek treatment from another imperial physician, Wang Bo, who lived in seclusion on Putuo Mountain, but on their way back they encountered a storm which capsized his boat and both of them died.
“Let’s go home quickly!” Yu Tong was suddenly anxious and pulled Shuang Tao in the direction of their home.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Shuangtao panted and ran after her, while saying, “Where are you going? Home is over there!”
Yu Tang stopped and was silent for a moment.
It had been ten years since she had returned to her home on Qingzhu Lane, and she didn’t even remember that there was such a path between Changxing Street and Qingzhu Lane.
Perhaps because Changxing Street was on fire,this usually secluded and deserted lane was filled with people, but everyone was in a hurry, they only casted a cold glance at her before brushing past her.
The courtyard at the back of the Yu family’s house was quiet, and a few sturdy Xiang Fei bamboo shoots stood silently in the moonlight, as if the noise and chaos of Changxing Street was a matter of another world.
Mother’s cough was clearly audible in the night, and with a faint raspy voice she whispered, “How is A-tang? Have she woken up yet? “
The person who answered mother was old aunty Chen , her mother’s personal attendant. “She woke up early in the morning and said she needed to eat fried chestnuts to get better. Where can I find fried chestnuts for her at this time of year? She tricked me into getting her a bowl of cinnamon sugar water and ate three pieces of peach cakes before she rested.”
Yu Tang’s eyes turn moist and tears welled up.
In her previous life, she was selfish. mother was sick all the time, and she didn’t think it was important, instead she used her fall from the swing to get food and drinks, and do all the things her mother wouldn’t let her do on a regular basis. When her father took her mother to get medicine, before they left she also clamored for her father to bring her back two packets of poria powder, otherwise she would not study.
“Mother!” Yu Tang stood in front of her mother’s door and said loudly.
The door opened with a creak.
Old Aunty Chen peeked out and winked at her while saying, “What does Eldest Miss want to eat again? At this hour, the fire in the kitchen has gone out, so I can only give you a bowl of fried rice to fill your stomach, but there is nothing more.”
Yu Tang froze.
She was no longer the little girl who was the apple of her father’s eye, carefree and knew nothing about the world.
Old Aunty Chen looked strangely at her and Yu Tang’s mind raced.
Could it be that in her previous life, at this time, her mother’s condition was already not very good?
Yu Tang’s face darkened as she looked towards old Aunty Chen solemnly. She gestured to old Aunty Chen to follow her, and spoke softly in a childish voice. “Is my mother’s illness better? I’m not hungry, I just want to talk to my mother.”
Old Aunty Chen was very unfamiliar and very surprised with this kind of Yu Tang. She didn’t have time to think about it and nodded her head towards Yu Tang, but the words she said were to stop her: “Madam has just taken her medicine, she has washed up and rested. If Eldest Miss have something to ask, please come back tomorrow.”
Yu Tang stretched her neck to peek into the room.
Her mother who was just speaking with old Aunty Chen didn’t say anything now.
Obviously, her mother did not want to see her.
Yu Tang’s heart sank, and she tried her best to imitate the tone of her own voice when she was fifteen years old: “Okay, then! I’ll go back to bed first. You must remember to tell my mother I came.”
“Remember! Remember!” Old Aunty Chen smiled and said, “The wind is cold and damp, I’ll send Eldest Miss back.”
At this season, how can there be any cold and damp wind? It was only an opportunity to speak to her in private.
Yu Tang followed old Aunty Chen to her own room next door.
Because she left in a hurry, the quilt was still messily thrown on the bed, and the soft shoes were scattered on the floor, one in front of the bed and one in the center of the room. Old aunty Chen scolded Shuang Tao in a low voice: “How did you serve Eldest Miss? The house is in a mess, if the madam sees this, she will have to teach you a lesson again.”
Shuangtao blushed and turned around to clean up the room.
Yu Tang pulled old Aunty Chen aside to talk, “What happened to Mother? Don’t try to fool me with your words. I know that the person who often comes to our house to see mother is Liu SanTai of JiMin Hall. If it becomes necessary, I can find him.”
Old Aunty Chen looked at Yu Tang with surprise.
Yu Tang was spoilt by her parents growing up. Although she was not spoilt rotten, but she was definitely not a strong-willed girl. This was the first time she was so firm in her words.
Old Aunty Chen couldn’t help but hesitate a little.
Yu Tang knows herself; to put it nicely, she is not malicious, however, to put it negatively, she is naive. Should anything happen at home, she will not be the one people naturally relied on, nor will they say anything to her.
So she simply said to Old Aunty Chen, “Look at my sweaty appearance, I just ran out and saw Changxing Street on fire, and our family’s store was also burned.”
Under the candle light, Old Aunty Chen realized that Yu Tang was not properly dressed, and she was horrified, “What did you say? Changxing Street caught fire?”
Yu Tang nodded: “The goods in the store are all gone, the fields won’t have any income until after the Mid-Autumn Festival, and We still have to pay for Mother’s medical treatment, so there isn’t any money at home.”
This was the truth and not a lie to trick old Aunty Chen.
This was exactly the case in her previous life.
Their Yu family’s capital is small, but not so little that they will go bankrupt because their two stores were burned down. But this time, the fire destroyed batches of goods ordered by others and they had to make compensation as well. Her father had previously bought from his friend a painting done in the former dynasty, Li Tang’s “Pine Lake fishing hidden picture”. It was also time to pay for it. As mother did not want father to be disappointed, she took the initiative to sell the family’s thirty acres of good land. When her father took mother to Putuo Mountain, the family’s twenty acres of good land was also sold. After the death of her parents, she sold the remaining fifty acres of good land to prepare the funeral services.
Father’s inheritance from Grandfather’s estate was gone. Her uncle’s side also encountered problems, and couldn’t help her.
That is why she agreed to the marriage of the Li family previously.
The thought flashed, and Yu Tang’s complexion worsen.
She said coldly: “If anything happens to Mother, Father will not spare you when he returns!”
Old Aunty Chen couldn’t decide to laugh or cry.
She is Madam Chen’s companion since young, and Madam Chen’s nursing mother, if Madam Chen is not well, she is more anxious than anyone, more distressed than anyone, Eldest Miss actually threatened her?
But seeing such a young Eldest lady, she somehow felt relieved.
She thought about it and told Yutang: “The weather is too hot, Madam suffers greatly in summer, She can’t eat anything, always worried about your injuries, and worried that master is running around outside. Everyday, she can’t eat or sleep well and lost a lot of weight. I didn’t say because I didn’t want you to worry.”
Yu Tang felt guilty and blamed herself.
In her previous life, she always made her parents worry, and never cared for them, not to mention being someone they could rely on.
Thinking of this, Yu Tang could not help but fold her hands and chant “Amitabha Buddha” towards the West.
In her previous life, she was not a devout believer, but the Bodhisattva had mercy on her, allowing her to return to the present, back to the time when her parents were still alive. She will cherish the present time, not to let the hated things of the previous life repeat itself, not to let the family break and loved ones to separate.
Yu Tang’s tears fall like rain.
