Chapter 102 – One Year
For Shen ShanYan, it was just a casual, off-hand remark, but upon seeing how YuWen took his words seriously, he could not help but feel an added sense of responsibility. He thought for a moment and added, “Why don’t you show me that drawing again? Let me think if there’s any other place that has this particular tree.”
Shen ShanYan’s acquaintances, relatives or friends would be on a different level compared to Yu Wen’s, and there were many people who enjoyed growing flowers and keeping trees, and some would specialize in growing unique species to show off their expertise in this area.
“The sea-buckthorn trees kept by XiaGuang were planted by ZiJin as a way to annoy XiaGuang, so of course he wouldn’t take much interest in them, and the servants who maintained the garden didn’t care about them either, so the trees were mostly left to grow by themselves.” Shen Shanyan continued, “When I was in the Northwest region, I saw this tree grow to heights as high as houses, but his family’s sea buckthorn trees weren’t good, they didn’t even reach waist-high. Even if you grafted the tree saplings from their garden, they probably wouldn’t survive. It would be better to find other families who grew this type of tree.”
Upon hearing his sincere advice, Yu Wen naturally thanked him repeatedly.
The two of them mulled over this in the study for a long time and did not manage to think of anyone else who had planted such trees, so Shen Shanyan simply rolled up the painting and said, “I’ll be going back to my hometown after celebrating the Kitchen God’s festival at Xia Guang’s, so I’ll take this opportunity to ask around about your daughter’s request.”
During the New Year Period, the Shen family would have a lot of friends and relatives coming to pay their respects.
“That’s great!” Yu Wen was overjoyed. When Shen Shanyan was preparing to return to Hangzhou, he gave him some Chengxin paper he had placed in a box as a token of appreciation.
Shen Shanyan really liked it, so he didn’t refuse the gift. He told Yu Wen to wait for his news, and went home to Hangzhou to celebrate the New Year’s.
The Yu family was also very busy.
After the Kitchen God’s festival, they began to stick Spring Festival Couplets on doors, hang red lanterns, prepare the ancestral offerings, and cook dishes for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
Yu Tang accompanied her father to prepare daffodils and tangerines, and instructed Shuang Tao and others to clean and sweep the house.
She also found some time to deliver to Ma Xiuniang some rice cakes and malt candy made by Madam Chen and some hand-made flower headpieces.
Ma Xiuniang was elated to see her. She immediately stopped her embroidery work and welcomed her into her own inner room. She even took persimmon cakes from the cupboard and offered some for her to try, “They’re from Fujian, and are very sweet, you can bring some back to give auntie later.”
Yu Tang smiled as she thanked her, and examined Ma Xiuniang carefully from head to toe, and pursing her lips in a sly smile.
Ma Xiuniang flushed red and nudged her shyly, “What are you looking at? A young, unmarried girl, don’t let your imagination run wild.”
Yu Tang laughed knowingly.
She just received word from Madam Chen that Ma Xiuniang was pregnant, which was why she came to see her.
Ma Xiuniang could not resist laughing at the situation. However, after the laughter subsided, her face showed a slight sadness as she spoke quietly to Yu Tang. “Before I married in, I knew that the Zhang family’s financial situation was average, but I did not expect it to be this bad. My husband was worried that I would suffer materially, so he kept working, copying books day and night. I was concerned that he might damage his health, but he refused to listen, explaining that the family’s expenses would be greater when the baby was born, so he should prepare for it as much as he could now.” Speaking of this, she took Yu Tang by the hand and added, “I want to pawn this pair of silver bracelets secretly, could you help me make a trip to the pawn store?”
She was in charge of the household’s income and expenditure, and she was the only one who knew exactly how much silver was used. Although her family could not make ends meet but Zhang Hui would never use her dowry money. Lin’an City wasn’t a big city, but neither was it small. As the eldest lady of the Ma Xiu scholarly family, there were many people who knew her, and she didn’t dare to go to the Pei family’s pawn store for fear of being recognized and ruining Zhang Hui’s reputation.
Yu Tang encountered such situations before, and money woes can really ruin a man’s life.
She tightly grasped Ma Xiuniang’s hand and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you on this. I can help you pawn it as ‘live’ so later when brother-in-law earns back some silver, you can buy it back.”
‘Live’ pawn would be priced at 50% of its value, whereas a ‘dead’ pawn can be priced at 70% of its value, or even at 80%.
Ma Xiuniang gritted her teeth and said, “You help me pawn it as ‘dead’. In the future, when your brother-in-law earns more, I will just make a new pair.”
After thinking further, Yu Tang felt that it was doable.
In her previous life, when she got married, Ma Xiuniang sent her high-quality silver bracelets as a wedding gift, showing that life was still going well for her. Therefore, these difficulties were only temporary and would soon pass.
“Sister, hand me the things.” She said, “This New Year period is when you need to spend the most. I shall go and carry out this matter discreetly.”
Ma Xiuniang nodded, her eyes filling with tears. She took Yu Tang’s hand and said emotionally, “Ah-tang, thank you so much.”
She was too embarrassed to say more, but the gratitude she felt in her heart was immeasurable.
Yu Tang, however, felt a little guilt.
In her previous life, she lost out on such a good friendship.
Thinking of this, she thought of the Li family and the letter she sent to the Gu family before she went to Hangzhou City.
I wonder what the Gu family’s reaction will be like?
Gu Xi was furious.
She understood that someone was scheming against her, but the trouble was, they were telling truth, and they hadn’t unjustly accused the Li family at all.
But why would the Li family do something like that?
Simply because they wanted to salvage their reputation when the marriage proposal fell through?
Instead, didn’t it serve to highlight how narrow-minded and vindictive the Li family was?
Would she even want to marry into such a family?
The woman’s world was restricted to life within the inner courtyards, and she would have to live and eat with Madam Lin in the same courtyard. Should there arise any trouble with Madam Lin, it would be easy for the latter to find fault with her. Would she have to spend the rest of her life fighting with such a quarrelsome woman?
And Li Duan, her stepmother praised him to the high heavens, but in fact, was a useless bum. The esteemed firstborn heir of the Li Family, actually performed a mourning ceremony for a mere commoner. He was not even capable of handling such a small matter, much less handling the intricacies of the imperial court! He would likely remain as a lowly fourth-ranked official. Indeed, nothing great will come from those less distinguished families. Even if you cloaked a person in silk brocade robes, it would never make him into a successful man.
Gu Xi’s pretty face was cold as if covered with layers of frost and snow.
No, she can’t just resign herself to fate.
She had to inform her big brother, tell her father …… and her stepmother… don’t think she can get away with this!
Gu Xi tightened her royal blue cloak lined with grey squirrel fur and said coldly to her nursemaid, “Go, let’s meet the eldest cousin of the eldest house!”
Her nursemaid had always known that despite her mistress’s seemingly gentle appearance, she had a fiery personality, but still, she was greatly startled by her words. She quickly pulled her hand and exclaimed, “Eldest Miss, you can’t go! After all, this is a matter concerning the second branch, and if it gets out of hand, our master won’t help you even just to preserve his dignity. It’s better wait to for eldest young master to return!”
Their family’s eldest young master had written back two months ago that he would be returning at the end of the year in the retinue of the Imperial Censor managing the Zhejiang Province.
The nursemaid frantically persuaded Gu Xi, saying “You only need to wait for maybe a month at most. As long as eldest young master returns, everything will be solved.”
Gu Xi sneered and said mockingly, “Of course we should wait for my elder brother, but I can’t just sit around and wait for death. If they cause me grief, I won’t make it easy for them either!”
Her nursemaid replied, “Eldest Miss, you should think twice before you act. That Yu family’s brother and sister were clearly trying to provoke you to anger, so that you can’t enjoy peace during the New Year’s.”
“Even if that’s the case, there’s no way I can let things slide.” Gu Xi cocked her eyebrows, and her slender willow-thin eyebrows looked like sharp knives, as she remarked coldly, “Anyway, no one will be able to get off scot-free, starting with my dear mother. Don’t think I’m ignorant about the sordid things she’s done over the years. The reason I didn’t mention them before was because I thought it would only make a mockery of our family, and it would be our branch that suffers, and I’d lose face. I didn’t expect that just because I tolerated the situation, it resulted in creating an ungrateful backstabber, who not only meddled in my marriage but also conspired to set me up!”
She brushed away the nursemaid’s hand and walked towards the house of the eldest family.
Her nursemaid panicked.
In the beginning, when they were talking about marriage, both Eldest Miss and her saw him with their own eyes. They saw that he was good-looking, intelligent and talented. Although Eldest Young Master was not too happy about it, it was a rarity to find a scholar who was this handsome, so they acquiesced.
However, in this world, there is no such thing as absolute perfection.
To be all-rounded, good-looking, studious and well-mannered……
The nursemaid looked at Gu Xi’s figure that was about to disappear around the corner and quickly chased after her.
The Gu family did not have a peaceful year because of this matter, but in Lin’an City, the Yu family was in good spirits, early in the morning of New Year’s Eve, the Yu family went to eldest uncle’s house, the women helped to cook and the men sat in the hall chatting.
After a simple meal at noon, the New Year’s Eve dinner in the early evening was particularly grand.
Hot and cold appetisers, seafood, seasonal vegetables, desserts and snacks filled the table and Yu Bo opened a bottle of jinhua wine. The ladies of the family all filled a cup and also made a special toast to eldest aunt, thanking her for her hard work in managing the household affairs after the fire incident. Eldest aunt stood there with a blushing face, somewhat at a loss as to what to do, to drink or not to drink. Yu Tang even cajoled, saying “Father, look at how good uncle is! No wonder my aunt isn’t even tired after working so hard. You should also toast my mother. My mother has worked very hard this year too. She made the rice cakes, didn’t she? She boiled the malt sugar as well. And the quilt for my brother’s wedding was embroidered by my mother!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Madam Wang listened as if she had suddenly found a comrade. She turned and pulled Madam Chen to stand up and said to Yu Wen, “Not only do you have to toast sister-in-law, but we both have to toast sister-in-law as well. If it weren’t for you, Ah Yuan’s marriage wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.”
Madam Chen was already so embarrassed that her face could drip blood when Yu Tang praised her, and now that Madam Wang had pulled her to stand up, she couldn’t even say anything in reply, only stammering “No, no, it’s not like that……,” and pretended to scold Yu Tang, “You spoke too much. Why are you so mischievous!”
Fortunately, Yu Wen was thick-skinned. He smiled and stood up, saying: “Of course, elder brother showed by example! I still have much to learn much from my elder brother. The child, and her mother… my daughter is right, let me toast you! You have also worked hard this year.”
Madam Chen was both embarrassed and happy that she didn’t know what to do. She gently smacked the culprit, Yu Tang, and glared at her before raising her cup and drinking the wine.
Yu Yuan smiled cheekily.
Shuang Tao, Ah Cam, Old Aunty Chen and others were all beaming with smiles.
Yu Tang thought of her previous life, and their misery at this same time, and then looked at the liveliness in front of her, and her eyes turned moist.
Chapter 102 – One Year
For Shen ShanYan, it was just a casual, off-hand remark, but upon seeing how YuWen took his words seriously, he could not help but feel an added sense of responsibility. He thought for a moment and added, “Why don’t you show me that drawing again? Let me think if there’s any other place that has this particular tree.”
Shen ShanYan’s acquaintances, relatives or friends would be on a different level compared to Yu Wen’s, and there were many people who enjoyed growing flowers and keeping trees, and some would specialize in growing unique species to show off their expertise in this area.
“The sea-buckthorn trees kept by XiaGuang were planted by ZiJin as a way to annoy XiaGuang, so of course he wouldn’t take much interest in them, and the servants who maintained the garden didn’t care about them either, so the trees were mostly left to grow by themselves.” Shen Shanyan continued, “When I was in the Northwest region, I saw this tree grow to heights as high as houses, but his family’s sea buckthorn trees weren’t good, they didn’t even reach waist-high. Even if you grafted the tree saplings from their garden, they probably wouldn’t survive. It would be better to find other families who grew this type of tree.”
Upon hearing his sincere advice, Yu Wen naturally thanked him repeatedly.
The two of them mulled over this in the study for a long time and did not manage to think of anyone else who had planted such trees, so Shen Shanyan simply rolled up the painting and said, “I’ll be going back to my hometown after celebrating the Kitchen God’s festival at Xia Guang’s, so I’ll take this opportunity to ask around about your daughter’s request.”
During the New Year Period, the Shen family would have a lot of friends and relatives coming to pay their respects.
“That’s great!” Yu Wen was overjoyed. When Shen Shanyan was preparing to return to Hangzhou, he gave him some Chengxin paper he had placed in a box as a token of appreciation.
Shen Shanyan really liked it, so he didn’t refuse the gift. He told Yu Wen to wait for his news, and went home to Hangzhou to celebrate the New Year’s.
The Yu family was also very busy.
After the Kitchen God’s festival, they began to stick Spring Festival Couplets on doors, hang red lanterns, prepare the ancestral offerings, and cook dishes for the New Year’s Eve dinner.
Yu Tang accompanied her father to prepare daffodils and tangerines, and instructed Shuang Tao and others to clean and sweep the house.
She also found some time to deliver to Ma Xiuniang some rice cakes and malt candy made by Madam Chen and some hand-made flower headpieces.
Ma Xiuniang was elated to see her. She immediately stopped her embroidery work and welcomed her into her own inner room. She even took persimmon cakes from the cupboard and offered some for her to try, “They’re from Fujian, and are very sweet, you can bring some back to give auntie later.”
Yu Tang smiled as she thanked her, and examined Ma Xiuniang carefully from head to toe, and pursing her lips in a sly smile.
Ma Xiuniang flushed red and nudged her shyly, “What are you looking at? A young, unmarried girl, don’t let your imagination run wild.”
Yu Tang laughed knowingly.
She just received word from Madam Chen that Ma Xiuniang was pregnant, which was why she came to see her.
Ma Xiuniang could not resist laughing at the situation. However, after the laughter subsided, her face showed a slight sadness as she spoke quietly to Yu Tang. “Before I married in, I knew that the Zhang family’s financial situation was average, but I did not expect it to be this bad. My husband was worried that I would suffer materially, so he kept working, copying books day and night. I was concerned that he might damage his health, but he refused to listen, explaining that the family’s expenses would be greater when the baby was born, so he should prepare for it as much as he could now.” Speaking of this, she took Yu Tang by the hand and added, “I want to pawn this pair of silver bracelets secretly, could you help me make a trip to the pawn store?”
She was in charge of the household’s income and expenditure, and she was the only one who knew exactly how much silver was used. Although her family could not make ends meet but Zhang Hui would never use her dowry money. Lin’an City wasn’t a big city, but neither was it small. As the eldest lady of the Ma Xiu scholarly family, there were many people who knew her, and she didn’t dare to go to the Pei family’s pawn store for fear of being recognized and ruining Zhang Hui’s reputation.
Yu Tang encountered such situations before, and money woes can really ruin a man’s life.
She tightly grasped Ma Xiuniang’s hand and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you on this. I can help you pawn it as ‘live’ so later when brother-in-law earns back some silver, you can buy it back.”
‘Live’ pawn would be priced at 50% of its value, whereas a ‘dead’ pawn can be priced at 70% of its value, or even at 80%.
Ma Xiuniang gritted her teeth and said, “You help me pawn it as ‘dead’. In the future, when your brother-in-law earns more, I will just make a new pair.”
After thinking further, Yu Tang felt that it was doable.
In her previous life, when she got married, Ma Xiuniang sent her high-quality silver bracelets as a wedding gift, showing that life was still going well for her. Therefore, these difficulties were only temporary and would soon pass.
“Sister, hand me the things.” She said, “This New Year period is when you need to spend the most. I shall go and carry out this matter discreetly.”
Ma Xiuniang nodded, her eyes filling with tears. She took Yu Tang’s hand and said emotionally, “Ah-tang, thank you so much.”
She was too embarrassed to say more, but the gratitude she felt in her heart was immeasurable.
Yu Tang, however, felt a little guilt.
In her previous life, she lost out on such a good friendship.
Thinking of this, she thought of the Li family and the letter she sent to the Gu family before she went to Hangzhou City.
I wonder what the Gu family’s reaction will be like?
Gu Xi was furious.
She understood that someone was scheming against her, but the trouble was, they were telling truth, and they hadn’t unjustly accused the Li family at all.
But why would the Li family do something like that?
Simply because they wanted to salvage their reputation when the marriage proposal fell through?
Instead, didn’t it serve to highlight how narrow-minded and vindictive the Li family was?
Would she even want to marry into such a family?
The woman’s world was restricted to life within the inner courtyards, and she would have to live and eat with Madam Lin in the same courtyard. Should there arise any trouble with Madam Lin, it would be easy for the latter to find fault with her. Would she have to spend the rest of her life fighting with such a quarrelsome woman?
And Li Duan, her stepmother praised him to the high heavens, but in fact, was a useless bum. The esteemed firstborn heir of the Li Family, actually performed a mourning ceremony for a mere commoner. He was not even capable of handling such a small matter, much less handling the intricacies of the imperial court! He would likely remain as a lowly fourth-ranked official. Indeed, nothing great will come from those less distinguished families. Even if you cloaked a person in silk brocade robes, it would never make him into a successful man.
Gu Xi’s pretty face was cold as if covered with layers of frost and snow.
No, she can’t just resign herself to fate.
She had to inform her big brother, tell her father …… and her stepmother… don’t think she can get away with this!
Gu Xi tightened her royal blue cloak lined with grey squirrel fur and said coldly to her nursemaid, “Go, let’s meet the eldest cousin of the eldest house!”
Her nursemaid had always known that despite her mistress’s seemingly gentle appearance, she had a fiery personality, but still, she was greatly startled by her words. She quickly pulled her hand and exclaimed, “Eldest Miss, you can’t go! After all, this is a matter concerning the second branch, and if it gets out of hand, our master won’t help you even just to preserve his dignity. It’s better wait to for eldest young master to return!”
Their family’s eldest young master had written back two months ago that he would be returning at the end of the year in the retinue of the Imperial Censor managing the Zhejiang Province.
The nursemaid frantically persuaded Gu Xi, saying “You only need to wait for maybe a month at most. As long as eldest young master returns, everything will be solved.”
Gu Xi sneered and said mockingly, “Of course we should wait for my elder brother, but I can’t just sit around and wait for death. If they cause me grief, I won’t make it easy for them either!”
Her nursemaid replied, “Eldest Miss, you should think twice before you act. That Yu family’s brother and sister were clearly trying to provoke you to anger, so that you can’t enjoy peace during the New Year’s.”
“Even if that’s the case, there’s no way I can let things slide.” Gu Xi cocked her eyebrows, and her slender willow-thin eyebrows looked like sharp knives, as she remarked coldly, “Anyway, no one will be able to get off scot-free, starting with my dear mother. Don’t think I’m ignorant about the sordid things she’s done over the years. The reason I didn’t mention them before was because I thought it would only make a mockery of our family, and it would be our branch that suffers, and I’d lose face. I didn’t expect that just because I tolerated the situation, it resulted in creating an ungrateful backstabber, who not only meddled in my marriage but also conspired to set me up!”
She brushed away the nursemaid’s hand and walked towards the house of the eldest family.
Her nursemaid panicked.
In the beginning, when they were talking about marriage, both Eldest Miss and her saw him with their own eyes. They saw that he was good-looking, intelligent and talented. Although Eldest Young Master was not too happy about it, it was a rarity to find a scholar who was this handsome, so they acquiesced.
However, in this world, there is no such thing as absolute perfection.
To be all-rounded, good-looking, studious and well-mannered……
The nursemaid looked at Gu Xi’s figure that was about to disappear around the corner and quickly chased after her.
The Gu family did not have a peaceful year because of this matter, but in Lin’an City, the Yu family was in good spirits, early in the morning of New Year’s Eve, the Yu family went to eldest uncle’s house, the women helped to cook and the men sat in the hall chatting.
After a simple meal at noon, the New Year’s Eve dinner in the early evening was particularly grand.
Hot and cold appetisers, seafood, seasonal vegetables, desserts and snacks filled the table and Yu Bo opened a bottle of jinhua wine. The ladies of the family all filled a cup and also made a special toast to eldest aunt, thanking her for her hard work in managing the household affairs after the fire incident. Eldest aunt stood there with a blushing face, somewhat at a loss as to what to do, to drink or not to drink. Yu Tang even cajoled, saying “Father, look at how good uncle is! No wonder my aunt isn’t even tired after working so hard. You should also toast my mother. My mother has worked very hard this year too. She made the rice cakes, didn’t she? She boiled the malt sugar as well. And the quilt for my brother’s wedding was embroidered by my mother!”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Madam Wang listened as if she had suddenly found a comrade. She turned and pulled Madam Chen to stand up and said to Yu Wen, “Not only do you have to toast sister-in-law, but we both have to toast sister-in-law as well. If it weren’t for you, Ah Yuan’s marriage wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.”
Madam Chen was already so embarrassed that her face could drip blood when Yu Tang praised her, and now that Madam Wang had pulled her to stand up, she couldn’t even say anything in reply, only stammering “No, no, it’s not like that……,” and pretended to scold Yu Tang, “You spoke too much. Why are you so mischievous!”
Fortunately, Yu Wen was thick-skinned. He smiled and stood up, saying: “Of course, elder brother showed by example! I still have much to learn much from my elder brother. The child, and her mother… my daughter is right, let me toast you! You have also worked hard this year.”
Madam Chen was both embarrassed and happy that she didn’t know what to do. She gently smacked the culprit, Yu Tang, and glared at her before raising her cup and drinking the wine.
Yu Yuan smiled cheekily.
Shuang Tao, Ah Cam, Old Aunty Chen and others were all beaming with smiles.
Yu Tang thought of her previous life, and their misery at this same time, and then looked at the liveliness in front of her, and her eyes turned moist.
