A Sad Beauty on a Swing (Part Two)
The autumn winds blew, and the days in Lin’An grew colder and colder.
Since ancient times, the arrival of autumn has been sad and lonesome. For the women of nobility, this was especially true, as the girls of the prime minister’s manor wore worried expressions.
A girl in white clothes sat on a swing set, her body swaying and sleeves fluttering in the wind.
She had a gauze the same color as her clothes wrapped around her head. Just looking at a glance, one might think that she was in mourning, but upon closer inspection, it was a gauze that dressed a wound.
Yin JiYao raised her hand and felt the cloth on her forehead.
The wound had already healed. This gauze wrap did not cover a wound. Instead, it covered a folk remedy to get rid of scars that Pei’er had found.
It was a herbal medicine with no name. After it was ground to a paste, it was administered on the scar then secured with the cloth. Pei’er said that this would be able to get rid of the scar on her forehead.
Yin Shuo was unwilling to bring an imperial physician in to write a prescription for her, thus she could only try to treat it with any medicine that she could find.
She did not ask that the medicine completely get rid of the scar, but she hoped that it would at least be less conspicuous.
The swing creaked and started to sway more. In a daze, she looked up, “It’s getting windy.”
Pei’er came out from inside the room with a cloak in hand and draped it over her shoulders.
“Young miss, how about you come inside and stop sitting on the swing. Just listen to the creaking sound. How frightening is that!”
Just listening to it made her skin crawl. She was afraid that if Yin JiYao continued to sit on the swing, she might suddenly fall. What would she do then?
Her gaze landed on Yin JiYao’s forehead, “The previous wound only just healed, and the scar has not yet disappeared. If anything were to happen to young miss, what sort of explanation should Pei’er give to the previous master, who has returned to being a commoner?”
Pei’er only brought up Yin Yan and did not bring up Yin Shuo. She also knew that Yin Shuo did not care whether she lived or died.
Yin JiYao faintly smiled, “Don’t worry. I won’t swing very high. Even if I fall, it will just be a short fall. It will be fine.”
Pei’er knew that she liked swinging on the swing, thus she said: “Then this servant will go and have the steward bring someone in to fix it. This swing has been through lightning, thunder, and heavy rains. The inside will have corroded quite a bit. Young miss, let’s get it fixed up first!”
After saying this, she turned around to leave, but Yin JiYao grabbed her arm.
“Why bother attracting more attention? You already know who is in charge of the manor. Eldest brother does not like me, so who else would care whether I lived or died? Even if you went, you would just be met with ridicule. It’s pointless.”
Tapping her toes on the ground, she quickly steadied the swing then slowly stood up, “Forget it. Let’s go inside. Remove the gauze from my head. I want to see how the scar is healing.”
She had already been using this medicine for seven or eight days, with Pei’er applying it every day. Surely, there should already be some results.
Pei’er supported her, as she walked into the room, “Yes, this will also be the perfect time to reapply the medicine. When this servant went out to buy this medicine, the one selling it told this servant that the scar would definitely disappear without a trace after half a month!”
Yin JiYao’s expression immediately improved, “It will disappear without a trace after half a month. Checking on it now, it will have at least partially disappeared, right?”
…
A swing inside the courtyard, a pedestrian passes by outside, laughter fills the courtyard.*
The daughters of aristocrats had many idle hours during the day, and they liked swinging on swings to deal with the boredom.
The Eastern Courtyard also had such a swing, and it was a little taller and larger than the one in Yin JiYao’s courtyard. When it swung, there was no creaking sound.
The beauty on this swing also wore a worried expression.
Three months had passed since the wedding, but Princess DanYang and Yin Shuo still slept in separate rooms. The grannies and palace maids that had accompanied her out were all extremely anxious.
Princess DanYang did not say it, but she was also very worried. She just swung back and forth while feeling completely lost.
It was clear that she was the one who looked down on Yin Shuo for losing his influence. It was clear that she loved Gu ShuBai and did not want to marry Yin Shuo. So why now, was it that Yin Shuo was the one who did not want to get close to her?
She looked down at herself. Her skin was a pale white, and her hands were neither thin nor fat. Her body had curves in all the right places, as she was both beautiful and sturdy.
Reaching up to her cheeks, her plump face was also beautiful and full of grace. It was a different type of beauty from Yu Fu’s breathtakingly beautiful face, but her beauty could not be denied.
No matter how hard she thought, she just could not understand why Yin Shuo would not want to touch her.
She resided in the Eastern Courtyard on her own, and this place provided her with the best clothing and food. Yin Shuo had never been stingy with money and would occasionally visit her to pay his respects while maintaining a gentlemanly demeanor.
But once the sky darkened, he would use court work as an excuse to leave the Eastern Courtyard. He did not show the faintest hint of wanting to stay overnight with her.
Princess DanYang started to suspect whether or not there was another girl whom Yin Shuo liked, causing him to treat her with such indifference. She sent people out to investigate, but they did not find any signs of him meeting with another girl.
This made her even moodier.
“Princess, the osmanthus flowers in the garden have bloomed. They’re so fragrant. Princess, how about we go out for a walk to stave off the boredom?”
Dian’er entered the courtyard while carrying a small basket of flowers. Princess DanYang looked at the basket, “The ones that have bloomed are quite nice, but what have you picked those for?”
Dian’er smiled and said: “This servant heard the servants say that princess’ husband likes eating osmanthus pastries. Doesn’t princess also like osmanthus wine? This servant picked these to make them into osmanthus wine and osmanthus pastries!”
Princess DanYang slightly raised an eyebrow. She did not expect that both she and Yin Shuo would like osmanthuses, “He also likes osmanthuses… You said that the osmanthuses are in the garden. Do you think that my husband would want to go and see the osmanthuses in the garden?”
Dian’er paused, “This servant did not see princess’ husband in the garden, but once princess’ husband has finished his work, he might visit the garden.”
Princess DanYang immediately hopped off the swing with a look of joy on her face, “Come, quickly help this princess get changed. Let’s go to the garden to admire the osmanthus flowers!”
Before they could reach the garden, they suddenly heard the sound of porcelain shattering from a courtyard nearby.
Dian’er and some other palace maids could not be more familiar with this sound, and they subconsciously shrank back slightly before they realized that the one smashing cups and plates was not Princess DanYang.
She quietly glanced at Princess DanYang, and the latter did not argue, “Whose courtyard is this? Who’s smashing things in here?”
Very quickly, someone came out from the courtyard to receive them. It was an old woman, “Replying to princess, this is our manor’s young miss’ courtyard.”
Since it was Yin JiYao’s courtyard, the only one who would dare to throw a tantrum and smash things would be Yin JiYao herself.
Princess DanYang was a little surprised. Ever since she came to the manor, she very rarely saw Yin JiYao. Yin Shuo’s younger sister was a talented and gentle girl. How could she throw a tantrum and smash things like she did?
She became a little curious, “Either way, there’s not much to do, so this princess will go and visit your young miss.”
Yin JiYao’s bed chamber was a mess, the floor completely covered in shattered porcelain. There was just one maidservant kneeling in the room, her thin shoulders slightly trembling.
Yin JiYao had her back to the door, as she sat in front of the dresser. With her white clothes and hair loose, she looked a bit like a ghoul. Despite hearing footsteps at the door, she did not turn around.
Princess DanYang furrowed her brow with displeasure, and Dian’er quickly noticed, “Young miss Yin, our princess came to visit you.”
Yin JiYao still did not respond. Just as Dian’er was about to scold her, Princess DanYang stopped her and walked toward the dresser.
“JiYao, what happened? Can you not tell sister-in-law?”
While she spoke, she approached Yin JiYao. When she was five paces away from the dresser, she suddenly stopped.
From this angle, she could clearly see Yin JiYao’s reflection in the bronze mirror.
Her beautiful and thin face fit the typical model of a gentle beauty. She was the opposite of Princess DanYang’s style of beauty, but it was graceful and not showy.
It was just that there was a particularly conspicuous black scar on her forehead. It was as if a young child had drawn on her forehead with ink.
Naturally, Princess DanYang knew that there were no young children in the prime minister’s manor.
There also would not be any young children who would dare to draw on the face of an eldest young miss from a prominent family.
“You! How did your injury end up like this?”
Princess DanYang covered her mouth in shock, as she looked at Yin JiYao in the bronze mirror, “When I saw you last time, your wound was not this serious. It’s already been three months. How could it deteriorate to such a degree?”
When the palace maids heard her voice, they came in to support her. Seeing the dark patch on Yin JiYao’s face, they were scared witless.
With her white clothes, messy hair, and empty eyes, Yin JiYao truly looked like a ghoul.
Kneeling on the ground, Pei’er kowtowed, “It’s all this servant’s fault! It’s all this servant’s fault! This servant believed a folk doctor’s remedy and went to get the medicine for young miss. Who knew that young miss’ wound would get even worse! It’s all this servant’s fault. Princess, please save young miss!”
*TN: From a poem by Su Shi of the Northern Song Dynasty titled “Die Lian Hua” 蝶恋花
A Sad Beauty on a Swing (Part Two)
The autumn winds blew, and the days in Lin’An grew colder and colder.
Since ancient times, the arrival of autumn has been sad and lonesome. For the women of nobility, this was especially true, as the girls of the prime minister’s manor wore worried expressions.
A girl in white clothes sat on a swing set, her body swaying and sleeves fluttering in the wind.
She had a gauze the same color as her clothes wrapped around her head. Just looking at a glance, one might think that she was in mourning, but upon closer inspection, it was a gauze that dressed a wound.
Yin JiYao raised her hand and felt the cloth on her forehead.
The wound had already healed. This gauze wrap did not cover a wound. Instead, it covered a folk remedy to get rid of scars that Pei’er had found.
It was a herbal medicine with no name. After it was ground to a paste, it was administered on the scar then secured with the cloth. Pei’er said that this would be able to get rid of the scar on her forehead.
Yin Shuo was unwilling to bring an imperial physician in to write a prescription for her, thus she could only try to treat it with any medicine that she could find.
She did not ask that the medicine completely get rid of the scar, but she hoped that it would at least be less conspicuous.
The swing creaked and started to sway more. In a daze, she looked up, “It’s getting windy.”
Pei’er came out from inside the room with a cloak in hand and draped it over her shoulders.
“Young miss, how about you come inside and stop sitting on the swing. Just listen to the creaking sound. How frightening is that!”
Just listening to it made her skin crawl. She was afraid that if Yin JiYao continued to sit on the swing, she might suddenly fall. What would she do then?
Her gaze landed on Yin JiYao’s forehead, “The previous wound only just healed, and the scar has not yet disappeared. If anything were to happen to young miss, what sort of explanation should Pei’er give to the previous master, who has returned to being a commoner?”
Pei’er only brought up Yin Yan and did not bring up Yin Shuo. She also knew that Yin Shuo did not care whether she lived or died.
Yin JiYao faintly smiled, “Don’t worry. I won’t swing very high. Even if I fall, it will just be a short fall. It will be fine.”
Pei’er knew that she liked swinging on the swing, thus she said: “Then this servant will go and have the steward bring someone in to fix it. This swing has been through lightning, thunder, and heavy rains. The inside will have corroded quite a bit. Young miss, let’s get it fixed up first!”
After saying this, she turned around to leave, but Yin JiYao grabbed her arm.
“Why bother attracting more attention? You already know who is in charge of the manor. Eldest brother does not like me, so who else would care whether I lived or died? Even if you went, you would just be met with ridicule. It’s pointless.”
Tapping her toes on the ground, she quickly steadied the swing then slowly stood up, “Forget it. Let’s go inside. Remove the gauze from my head. I want to see how the scar is healing.”
She had already been using this medicine for seven or eight days, with Pei’er applying it every day. Surely, there should already be some results.
Pei’er supported her, as she walked into the room, “Yes, this will also be the perfect time to reapply the medicine. When this servant went out to buy this medicine, the one selling it told this servant that the scar would definitely disappear without a trace after half a month!”
Yin JiYao’s expression immediately improved, “It will disappear without a trace after half a month. Checking on it now, it will have at least partially disappeared, right?”
…
A swing inside the courtyard, a pedestrian passes by outside, laughter fills the courtyard.*
The daughters of aristocrats had many idle hours during the day, and they liked swinging on swings to deal with the boredom.
The Eastern Courtyard also had such a swing, and it was a little taller and larger than the one in Yin JiYao’s courtyard. When it swung, there was no creaking sound.
The beauty on this swing also wore a worried expression.
Three months had passed since the wedding, but Princess DanYang and Yin Shuo still slept in separate rooms. The grannies and palace maids that had accompanied her out were all extremely anxious.
Princess DanYang did not say it, but she was also very worried. She just swung back and forth while feeling completely lost.
It was clear that she was the one who looked down on Yin Shuo for losing his influence. It was clear that she loved Gu ShuBai and did not want to marry Yin Shuo. So why now, was it that Yin Shuo was the one who did not want to get close to her?
She looked down at herself. Her skin was a pale white, and her hands were neither thin nor fat. Her body had curves in all the right places, as she was both beautiful and sturdy.
Reaching up to her cheeks, her plump face was also beautiful and full of grace. It was a different type of beauty from Yu Fu’s breathtakingly beautiful face, but her beauty could not be denied.
No matter how hard she thought, she just could not understand why Yin Shuo would not want to touch her.
She resided in the Eastern Courtyard on her own, and this place provided her with the best clothing and food. Yin Shuo had never been stingy with money and would occasionally visit her to pay his respects while maintaining a gentlemanly demeanor.
But once the sky darkened, he would use court work as an excuse to leave the Eastern Courtyard. He did not show the faintest hint of wanting to stay overnight with her.
Princess DanYang started to suspect whether or not there was another girl whom Yin Shuo liked, causing him to treat her with such indifference. She sent people out to investigate, but they did not find any signs of him meeting with another girl.
This made her even moodier.
“Princess, the osmanthus flowers in the garden have bloomed. They’re so fragrant. Princess, how about we go out for a walk to stave off the boredom?”
Dian’er entered the courtyard while carrying a small basket of flowers. Princess DanYang looked at the basket, “The ones that have bloomed are quite nice, but what have you picked those for?”
Dian’er smiled and said: “This servant heard the servants say that princess’ husband likes eating osmanthus pastries. Doesn’t princess also like osmanthus wine? This servant picked these to make them into osmanthus wine and osmanthus pastries!”
Princess DanYang slightly raised an eyebrow. She did not expect that both she and Yin Shuo would like osmanthuses, “He also likes osmanthuses… You said that the osmanthuses are in the garden. Do you think that my husband would want to go and see the osmanthuses in the garden?”
Dian’er paused, “This servant did not see princess’ husband in the garden, but once princess’ husband has finished his work, he might visit the garden.”
Princess DanYang immediately hopped off the swing with a look of joy on her face, “Come, quickly help this princess get changed. Let’s go to the garden to admire the osmanthus flowers!”
Before they could reach the garden, they suddenly heard the sound of porcelain shattering from a courtyard nearby.
Dian’er and some other palace maids could not be more familiar with this sound, and they subconsciously shrank back slightly before they realized that the one smashing cups and plates was not Princess DanYang.
She quietly glanced at Princess DanYang, and the latter did not argue, “Whose courtyard is this? Who’s smashing things in here?”
Very quickly, someone came out from the courtyard to receive them. It was an old woman, “Replying to princess, this is our manor’s young miss’ courtyard.”
Since it was Yin JiYao’s courtyard, the only one who would dare to throw a tantrum and smash things would be Yin JiYao herself.
Princess DanYang was a little surprised. Ever since she came to the manor, she very rarely saw Yin JiYao. Yin Shuo’s younger sister was a talented and gentle girl. How could she throw a tantrum and smash things like she did?
She became a little curious, “Either way, there’s not much to do, so this princess will go and visit your young miss.”
Yin JiYao’s bed chamber was a mess, the floor completely covered in shattered porcelain. There was just one maidservant kneeling in the room, her thin shoulders slightly trembling.
Yin JiYao had her back to the door, as she sat in front of the dresser. With her white clothes and hair loose, she looked a bit like a ghoul. Despite hearing footsteps at the door, she did not turn around.
Princess DanYang furrowed her brow with displeasure, and Dian’er quickly noticed, “Young miss Yin, our princess came to visit you.”
Yin JiYao still did not respond. Just as Dian’er was about to scold her, Princess DanYang stopped her and walked toward the dresser.
“JiYao, what happened? Can you not tell sister-in-law?”
While she spoke, she approached Yin JiYao. When she was five paces away from the dresser, she suddenly stopped.
From this angle, she could clearly see Yin JiYao’s reflection in the bronze mirror.
Her beautiful and thin face fit the typical model of a gentle beauty. She was the opposite of Princess DanYang’s style of beauty, but it was graceful and not showy.
It was just that there was a particularly conspicuous black scar on her forehead. It was as if a young child had drawn on her forehead with ink.
Naturally, Princess DanYang knew that there were no young children in the prime minister’s manor.
There also would not be any young children who would dare to draw on the face of an eldest young miss from a prominent family.
“You! How did your injury end up like this?”
Princess DanYang covered her mouth in shock, as she looked at Yin JiYao in the bronze mirror, “When I saw you last time, your wound was not this serious. It’s already been three months. How could it deteriorate to such a degree?”
When the palace maids heard her voice, they came in to support her. Seeing the dark patch on Yin JiYao’s face, they were scared witless.
With her white clothes, messy hair, and empty eyes, Yin JiYao truly looked like a ghoul.
Kneeling on the ground, Pei’er kowtowed, “It’s all this servant’s fault! It’s all this servant’s fault! This servant believed a folk doctor’s remedy and went to get the medicine for young miss. Who knew that young miss’ wound would get even worse! It’s all this servant’s fault. Princess, please save young miss!”
*TN: From a poem by Su Shi of the Northern Song Dynasty titled “Die Lian Hua” 蝶恋花
