Chapter 23 – Unknown
Yu Tang was extremely fearful that the past would repeat itself and she would again be tied to the Li family, but she couldn’t bear to disappoint Ma Xiuniang. She could only secretly instruct Ah Cam. “Go back and tell my mother that Mrs. Li is lying, and not to promise the Li family anything until I reach home.”
Ah Cao was a little confused by Yutang’s words. However, today, Yu Tang came to see the second young master of the Li family, and she had only just finished her conversation with him. Yu Tang didn’t wait but instead instructed him to report the news immediately, so clearly this matter must be very important. He quickly agreed and ran down the mountain in a hurry.
Yutang’s heart finally calmed down a little, and she had the mood to accompany Ma Xiuniang to the Brush Cleaning Spring.
However it was Ma Xiuniang who voiced her doubts and said, “Did the second young master of the Li family say something inappropriate? There was quite a commotion.”
In Ma Xiuniang’s heart, the character of a man is of utmost importance. No matter how good his family background is or how handsome he looks, the marriage cannot be agreed upon if there was something wrong with his character.
In both her lifetimes, Li Jun did not offend Yu Tang, and thus, Yu Tang could not malign him just because he was a son of the Li family.
She replied. “That’s not true. It’s just that I don’t like his appearance.”
Ma Xiuniang said with some regret. “It can’t be helped then. It’s like apples and oranges; everyone has their own likes and dislikes. You can’t force emotions.”
As Yu Tang spent more and more time with Ma Xiuniang, she really felt that she was a considerate and discerning person, and was a rare and precious friend.
She smiled as she held on to Ma Xiuniang’s arm and affectionately called her “older sister”, and changed the subject to something she was interested in. “Have you and Gentleman Zhang fixed a date for the marriage ceremony? When the time comes, you have to arrange furnishings, order auspicious cakes and invite all your family and friends – will there be enough time?”
“There will be!” Ma Xiuniang shifted her attention from the previous matter as she spoke cheerfully about her own affairs, “furnishings and such, my mother filled two camphor wood boxes for me awhile ago, the rest, I’ll make do with what the Zhang family has, and figure it out along as I go……”
As the both of them chatted, they soon arrived at brush cleaning spring.
It was is a small spring. The spring was half hidden in the rocks with small crevice three feet wide(1 metre), knee-length deep and was crystal clear all the way to the bottom. There were two bowl-like trees next to it, forming a huge canopy like an umbrella, with the branches hanging low, just above the water as various leaves fell, drifting along the surface of the water.
Seven or eight women stood around to draw some water.
Zhang Hui stood with his attendant at a distance near a large stone boulder nearby. Once he saw them coming, his eyes lit up.
Ma Xiuniang smiled shyly.
Although they did not exchange any words, but their eyes clearly communicated their joy, and made the people around them feel happy too.
Yu Tang saw that the road to the brush cleaning spring continued upwards, as if they could still climb up further, so she smiled and asked Ma Xiuniang quietly. “Do you want to go up further? XiQue and I will rest here for a while and drink a little water before we can all head back.”
Ma Xiuniang blushingly replied, “You can climb with us too.”
Yu Tang shook her head and said, “I’m a little tired, so I want to rest here.”
Seeing that Ma Xiuniang didn’t want to leave her alone here and wanted say something to persuade her, Yu Tang added.”I just met the second young master of the Li family, so I want to have some quiet time to think about what to do in the future.”
Ma Xiu Niang thought about it and didn’t say anything. She had a few words with XiQue and after she saw that the people who came to fetch water was slowly lessening, she then looked at Zhang Hui before turning to walk along the road leading up the mountain.
Zhang Hui did not know what had happened, so he curiously glanced at Yu Tang, and waited for Ma Xiuniang to walk a little further before following behind.
Yu Tang was indeed thinking about her future plans.
The matter of the Li family must be investigated. Otherwise, even after having a son-in-law marry into their family, it was as easy as lifting a finger for the Li family to deal with them.
In her previous life, she had witnessed those methods of the Li family with her own eyes.
Yutang didn’t know why, but she suddenly thought of Third Master Pei.
Perhaps, she could think of another way.
If they begged the Pei family for protection, then the Li family would definitely not dare to deal with their family so openly.
The keyword though is the word “openly”.
Why would the Pei family protect their Yu family at the risk of offending the Li family?
How important was Madam Lin’s goal to the Li family, and will the Li family be willing to oppose the Pei family because of it?
Thinking about this, Yu Tang became frustrated.
Why did their family have to either rely on the Pei family or submit to the Li family?
It all boils down to the fact that their Yu family wasn’t strong enough to fight on their own.
They didn’t have sufficient family members, and it was too late for her eldest cousin to study now.
A speedy solution was required and not a gradual long-term one.
Was there another alternative?
Continue doing their business but move out of Lin’an?
There were many more noble and prominent families in Hangzhou, and being outsiders, it will be hard from them to get protection from those big families. It’s still better to stay in Lin’an, where they were surrounded by neighbors and people they are familiar with. Their Yu family had always treated people well, so if something happens to their family, their neighbors would still lend a helping hand.
In her previous life, after her parents died, she received a lot of help from them.
Ai~ It was a really difficult predicament.
If third master Pei encountered a similar situation, how he would deal with it?
Yu Tang was sitting there holding her face in her hands, endlessly worrying.
XiQue saw her sitting there quietly for almost half an hour without saying a word and got a bit bored. So she found a nearby place to sit where she can still see Yutang and started to make flower crowns to pass the time.
Another person came over to fetch water.
Yu Tong casually lifted her eyes to see who it was.
It was a twelve or thirteen-year-old child with his hair combed in a double buns-style, wearing a green lotus-colored cloth robe. He held a small wooden bucket in his arms and his face was round and chubby, looking very cute.
Noticing Yutang’s gaze, he looked at Yutang curiously. His eyes suddenly widened in surprise and he stared at her unblinkingly.
Seeing that no one was around and the child was really very cute, Yu Tang smiled and teased him, “Did you recognize me?”
The child, as if frightened, quickly shook his head, not daring to look at her again as he turned around to fetch water.
Yu Tong felt that it was a little amusing, and her mood lighten up.
While the child was fetching water, he also took quick, secretive glances at her, as if she was a big tiger who could eat him up once she opened her mouth. She found it especially interesting.
Yu Tang said gently, “What are you doing here?”
The wooden bucket in the child’s arms was small, but it seems like it could at least fill 2 to 2.5 kg of water. This child was still young, so if it was carried for a short distance, it looked manageable for him to hold, but if it’s a considerable distance, he may not be able to carry it all the way. Moreover, this child is dressed like a servant from a rich family, and the family must have treated this boy kindly, otherwise this child’s expression would not be so vivid and lively.
Most likely, this child was following along the master of the family to come to this temple to play.
The child thought for a moment and shyly replied, “It’s the abbot who wants to make tea. My master asked me to fetch some water.”
With a servant dressed as finely like him, it was not unusual for the family to be personally welcomed by the abbot of Zhaoming Temple.
Yu Tang laughed, “I’ve only heard before that this spring water can help in brightening the eyes and soothing the body, but I didn’t know that it could be used to brew tea. Is it nice to drink?”
The boy listened and grinned saying. “It’s terrible! But the abbot said, drinking tea is to clear the mind. Our master gets really annoyed with people like that, who try to act all cultured and refined, caring about such pretentious things. Master didn’t bother to argue, but just went along with it. Our Master wouldn’t be drinking this tea anyway.”
After listening, Yu Tang was caught by surprise. This kind of evaluation of the abbot of Zhaoming Temple…… she felt that this child’s master was very interesting. She laughed
The child also laughed along with her, and it felt as though they grew closer.
He put the half-filled wooden bucket aside on a nearby green stone. He seemed to be complaining but also feeling a little proud as he continued., “It’s true! Our master said what is this world’s best spring, or ancient aged snow water? These were merely gimmicks thought up by bored scholars to fool people. No matter what kind of water is it, after it has been purified, it’s all the same. Our master also said his father had a brother who bought a boat. In the middle of the night, he brought the boat out to the middle of the river and dived deep into the river and drew a bucket of water to brew tea to drink. He even separated the water into different types based on the four seasons. After people got to know of it, they also followed the craze – all of them a bunch of idiots.”
Yu Tang laughed until her sides hurt as she gave the boy a thumbs up, praising. “Your master is really the epitome of a scholar carrying the demeanor of the Wei-Jin dynasties1.”
The child listened and showed a proud look as he took the bucket and said, “The Abbot and my master are still waiting for me to return with the water, so I’ll go off first.”
Yu Tang waved at him and said, “Walk slowly, be careful not to fall.”
The child nodded obediently and asked her concernedly, “Why are you here alone? Why don’t you wait for me? Once I’ve brought the water back, I’ll tell my master that I’m here keeping you company, and I’ll leave when your family comes over.”
“That’s not necessary.” Yu Tang pointed to Xique in the distance, “I’m just resting here for awhile!”
The child looked relieved He smiled and said goodbye to her, carrying the small wooden bucket and walked away.
Yu Tang continued to think about the Li family.
If they didn’t want to rely on others, then how will she escape from the Li family?
What are some people or things of the Li family that she can use to her advantage?
She slowly recalled what happened after she married into the Li family in her previous life.
The Li family later made their fortune in sea trading. Unlike the people of Lin’an that did the maritime business who started their business in Hangzhou, the Li family started from Fujian, with Madam Lin’s maternal family pulling the strings. It was only after the Li family had accumulate sufficient wealth, that their tactics became more ruthless as they had abundant funds to back their risk-taking and their people in court official positions as their safety net. However, all of these things have yet to occur, so they could not be used as leverage.
Of course, there was still one thing that could be used – Li Duan’s interest in her.
But this was really too disgusting.
She would rather die than take advantage of that.
However, as she thought of this, her face lit up.
What about Li Jun?
What if she used Li Jun?
For example, in her previous life, Li Jun passed away unexpectedly.
What if she saves Li Jun instead? When Li Jun wanted to repay her, she could then request Li Jun to promise not to marry her and not become an enemy of their Yu family?
The more Yu Tang thought about it, the more she felt that this matter was feasible.
The biggest problem right now was to quell Li Jun’s romantic interest towards her.
Then she would have to bluntly reject Li Jun first, or to arrange her marriage as quickly as possible. Afterwards, she would arrange for her fiancé to rescue Li Jun from his life and death predicament later on.
Being his benefactor’s wife, he will certainly be less inclined to be interested in her.
Yu Tang felt her dejected mood for the past several days had dissipated all at once, as her mood immediately became better.
However, ultimately she still had to build up enough resources to be self-reliant.
As for how exactly to do so, she still hasn’t thought of a suitable plan, so she could only think about it slowly.
Yu Tang made up her mind and went to find Xique. They passed the time making flower crowns together.
When Ma Xiuniang and Zhang Hui came back, she gave a few flower crowns to Ma Xiuniang.
In order to avoid Li Jun and others, they did not stay to have a meal in Zhaoming Temple. Instead, they bought a few boxes of Zhaoming Temple’s unique vegetarian snacks and sat down at a secluded corner at a roadside stall in Mituo Village, where they ate and waited until Ah Cam came and made their way separately back home.
This demeanor of the Wei-Jin dynasties refers to the frank, blunt, clear and refreshing style of scholars in the Wei-Jin period. The Wei and Jin Dynasties were filled with turmoil and political unrest, but it was also a period that allowed different ideas and unorthodox thinking to flow freely. Although they lived in a dangerous period where their lives could be lost at any moment, but at the same time because of that, their personalities, thoughts and behaviors were extremely confident, unrestrained, and carefree.
Chapter 23 – Unknown
Yu Tang was extremely fearful that the past would repeat itself and she would again be tied to the Li family, but she couldn’t bear to disappoint Ma Xiuniang. She could only secretly instruct Ah Cam. “Go back and tell my mother that Mrs. Li is lying, and not to promise the Li family anything until I reach home.”
Ah Cao was a little confused by Yutang’s words. However, today, Yu Tang came to see the second young master of the Li family, and she had only just finished her conversation with him. Yu Tang didn’t wait but instead instructed him to report the news immediately, so clearly this matter must be very important. He quickly agreed and ran down the mountain in a hurry.
Yutang’s heart finally calmed down a little, and she had the mood to accompany Ma Xiuniang to the Brush Cleaning Spring.
However it was Ma Xiuniang who voiced her doubts and said, “Did the second young master of the Li family say something inappropriate? There was quite a commotion.”
In Ma Xiuniang’s heart, the character of a man is of utmost importance. No matter how good his family background is or how handsome he looks, the marriage cannot be agreed upon if there was something wrong with his character.
In both her lifetimes, Li Jun did not offend Yu Tang, and thus, Yu Tang could not malign him just because he was a son of the Li family.
She replied. “That’s not true. It’s just that I don’t like his appearance.”
Ma Xiuniang said with some regret. “It can’t be helped then. It’s like apples and oranges; everyone has their own likes and dislikes. You can’t force emotions.”
As Yu Tang spent more and more time with Ma Xiuniang, she really felt that she was a considerate and discerning person, and was a rare and precious friend.
She smiled as she held on to Ma Xiuniang’s arm and affectionately called her “older sister”, and changed the subject to something she was interested in. “Have you and Gentleman Zhang fixed a date for the marriage ceremony? When the time comes, you have to arrange furnishings, order auspicious cakes and invite all your family and friends – will there be enough time?”
“There will be!” Ma Xiuniang shifted her attention from the previous matter as she spoke cheerfully about her own affairs, “furnishings and such, my mother filled two camphor wood boxes for me awhile ago, the rest, I’ll make do with what the Zhang family has, and figure it out along as I go……”
As the both of them chatted, they soon arrived at brush cleaning spring.
It was is a small spring. The spring was half hidden in the rocks with small crevice three feet wide(1 metre), knee-length deep and was crystal clear all the way to the bottom. There were two bowl-like trees next to it, forming a huge canopy like an umbrella, with the branches hanging low, just above the water as various leaves fell, drifting along the surface of the water.
Seven or eight women stood around to draw some water.
Zhang Hui stood with his attendant at a distance near a large stone boulder nearby. Once he saw them coming, his eyes lit up.
Ma Xiuniang smiled shyly.
Although they did not exchange any words, but their eyes clearly communicated their joy, and made the people around them feel happy too.
Yu Tang saw that the road to the brush cleaning spring continued upwards, as if they could still climb up further, so she smiled and asked Ma Xiuniang quietly. “Do you want to go up further? XiQue and I will rest here for a while and drink a little water before we can all head back.”
Ma Xiuniang blushingly replied, “You can climb with us too.”
Yu Tang shook her head and said, “I’m a little tired, so I want to rest here.”
Seeing that Ma Xiuniang didn’t want to leave her alone here and wanted say something to persuade her, Yu Tang added.”I just met the second young master of the Li family, so I want to have some quiet time to think about what to do in the future.”
Ma Xiu Niang thought about it and didn’t say anything. She had a few words with XiQue and after she saw that the people who came to fetch water was slowly lessening, she then looked at Zhang Hui before turning to walk along the road leading up the mountain.
Zhang Hui did not know what had happened, so he curiously glanced at Yu Tang, and waited for Ma Xiuniang to walk a little further before following behind.
Yu Tang was indeed thinking about her future plans.
The matter of the Li family must be investigated. Otherwise, even after having a son-in-law marry into their family, it was as easy as lifting a finger for the Li family to deal with them.
In her previous life, she had witnessed those methods of the Li family with her own eyes.
Yutang didn’t know why, but she suddenly thought of Third Master Pei.
Perhaps, she could think of another way.
If they begged the Pei family for protection, then the Li family would definitely not dare to deal with their family so openly.
The keyword though is the word “openly”.
Why would the Pei family protect their Yu family at the risk of offending the Li family?
How important was Madam Lin’s goal to the Li family, and will the Li family be willing to oppose the Pei family because of it?
Thinking about this, Yu Tang became frustrated.
Why did their family have to either rely on the Pei family or submit to the Li family?
It all boils down to the fact that their Yu family wasn’t strong enough to fight on their own.
They didn’t have sufficient family members, and it was too late for her eldest cousin to study now.
A speedy solution was required and not a gradual long-term one.
Was there another alternative?
Continue doing their business but move out of Lin’an?
There were many more noble and prominent families in Hangzhou, and being outsiders, it will be hard from them to get protection from those big families. It’s still better to stay in Lin’an, where they were surrounded by neighbors and people they are familiar with. Their Yu family had always treated people well, so if something happens to their family, their neighbors would still lend a helping hand.
In her previous life, after her parents died, she received a lot of help from them.
Ai~ It was a really difficult predicament.
If third master Pei encountered a similar situation, how he would deal with it?
Yu Tang was sitting there holding her face in her hands, endlessly worrying.
XiQue saw her sitting there quietly for almost half an hour without saying a word and got a bit bored. So she found a nearby place to sit where she can still see Yutang and started to make flower crowns to pass the time.
Another person came over to fetch water.
Yu Tong casually lifted her eyes to see who it was.
It was a twelve or thirteen-year-old child with his hair combed in a double buns-style, wearing a green lotus-colored cloth robe. He held a small wooden bucket in his arms and his face was round and chubby, looking very cute.
Noticing Yutang’s gaze, he looked at Yutang curiously. His eyes suddenly widened in surprise and he stared at her unblinkingly.
Seeing that no one was around and the child was really very cute, Yu Tang smiled and teased him, “Did you recognize me?”
The child, as if frightened, quickly shook his head, not daring to look at her again as he turned around to fetch water.
Yu Tong felt that it was a little amusing, and her mood lighten up.
While the child was fetching water, he also took quick, secretive glances at her, as if she was a big tiger who could eat him up once she opened her mouth. She found it especially interesting.
Yu Tang said gently, “What are you doing here?”
The wooden bucket in the child’s arms was small, but it seems like it could at least fill 2 to 2.5 kg of water. This child was still young, so if it was carried for a short distance, it looked manageable for him to hold, but if it’s a considerable distance, he may not be able to carry it all the way. Moreover, this child is dressed like a servant from a rich family, and the family must have treated this boy kindly, otherwise this child’s expression would not be so vivid and lively.
Most likely, this child was following along the master of the family to come to this temple to play.
The child thought for a moment and shyly replied, “It’s the abbot who wants to make tea. My master asked me to fetch some water.”
With a servant dressed as finely like him, it was not unusual for the family to be personally welcomed by the abbot of Zhaoming Temple.
Yu Tang laughed, “I’ve only heard before that this spring water can help in brightening the eyes and soothing the body, but I didn’t know that it could be used to brew tea. Is it nice to drink?”
The boy listened and grinned saying. “It’s terrible! But the abbot said, drinking tea is to clear the mind. Our master gets really annoyed with people like that, who try to act all cultured and refined, caring about such pretentious things. Master didn’t bother to argue, but just went along with it. Our Master wouldn’t be drinking this tea anyway.”
After listening, Yu Tang was caught by surprise. This kind of evaluation of the abbot of Zhaoming Temple…… she felt that this child’s master was very interesting. She laughed
The child also laughed along with her, and it felt as though they grew closer.
He put the half-filled wooden bucket aside on a nearby green stone. He seemed to be complaining but also feeling a little proud as he continued., “It’s true! Our master said what is this world’s best spring, or ancient aged snow water? These were merely gimmicks thought up by bored scholars to fool people. No matter what kind of water is it, after it has been purified, it’s all the same. Our master also said his father had a brother who bought a boat. In the middle of the night, he brought the boat out to the middle of the river and dived deep into the river and drew a bucket of water to brew tea to drink. He even separated the water into different types based on the four seasons. After people got to know of it, they also followed the craze – all of them a bunch of idiots.”
Yu Tang laughed until her sides hurt as she gave the boy a thumbs up, praising. “Your master is really the epitome of a scholar carrying the demeanor of the Wei-Jin dynasties1.”
The child listened and showed a proud look as he took the bucket and said, “The Abbot and my master are still waiting for me to return with the water, so I’ll go off first.”
Yu Tang waved at him and said, “Walk slowly, be careful not to fall.”
The child nodded obediently and asked her concernedly, “Why are you here alone? Why don’t you wait for me? Once I’ve brought the water back, I’ll tell my master that I’m here keeping you company, and I’ll leave when your family comes over.”
“That’s not necessary.” Yu Tang pointed to Xique in the distance, “I’m just resting here for awhile!”
The child looked relieved He smiled and said goodbye to her, carrying the small wooden bucket and walked away.
Yu Tang continued to think about the Li family.
If they didn’t want to rely on others, then how will she escape from the Li family?
What are some people or things of the Li family that she can use to her advantage?
She slowly recalled what happened after she married into the Li family in her previous life.
The Li family later made their fortune in sea trading. Unlike the people of Lin’an that did the maritime business who started their business in Hangzhou, the Li family started from Fujian, with Madam Lin’s maternal family pulling the strings. It was only after the Li family had accumulate sufficient wealth, that their tactics became more ruthless as they had abundant funds to back their risk-taking and their people in court official positions as their safety net. However, all of these things have yet to occur, so they could not be used as leverage.
Of course, there was still one thing that could be used – Li Duan’s interest in her.
But this was really too disgusting.
She would rather die than take advantage of that.
However, as she thought of this, her face lit up.
What about Li Jun?
What if she used Li Jun?
For example, in her previous life, Li Jun passed away unexpectedly.
What if she saves Li Jun instead? When Li Jun wanted to repay her, she could then request Li Jun to promise not to marry her and not become an enemy of their Yu family?
The more Yu Tang thought about it, the more she felt that this matter was feasible.
The biggest problem right now was to quell Li Jun’s romantic interest towards her.
Then she would have to bluntly reject Li Jun first, or to arrange her marriage as quickly as possible. Afterwards, she would arrange for her fiancé to rescue Li Jun from his life and death predicament later on.
Being his benefactor’s wife, he will certainly be less inclined to be interested in her.
Yu Tang felt her dejected mood for the past several days had dissipated all at once, as her mood immediately became better.
However, ultimately she still had to build up enough resources to be self-reliant.
As for how exactly to do so, she still hasn’t thought of a suitable plan, so she could only think about it slowly.
Yu Tang made up her mind and went to find Xique. They passed the time making flower crowns together.
When Ma Xiuniang and Zhang Hui came back, she gave a few flower crowns to Ma Xiuniang.
In order to avoid Li Jun and others, they did not stay to have a meal in Zhaoming Temple. Instead, they bought a few boxes of Zhaoming Temple’s unique vegetarian snacks and sat down at a secluded corner at a roadside stall in Mituo Village, where they ate and waited until Ah Cam came and made their way separately back home.
This demeanor of the Wei-Jin dynasties refers to the frank, blunt, clear and refreshing style of scholars in the Wei-Jin period. The Wei and Jin Dynasties were filled with turmoil and political unrest, but it was also a period that allowed different ideas and unorthodox thinking to flow freely. Although they lived in a dangerous period where their lives could be lost at any moment, but at the same time because of that, their personalities, thoughts and behaviors were extremely confident, unrestrained, and carefree.