Feeling refreshed, Wei Changying sat straight on the imperial couch, slowly picking grapes in the frozen cheese with a silver spoon. She was enjoying the same service as Madam Song‒ an ice tank in each corner of the room, with four maids fanning and four chief maids around her. The chief maids were working separately, one ma.s.saging Changying"s shoulders while another gently pounding her legs, and the other two were carefully drying her hair with a handkerchief. As for Mrs. He, she was holding a handkerchief and crying in earnest after ordering the maids to serve Wei Changying out of the bath.
"Madam Song is your natural mother and she always doted on you," said Mrs. He, "If you have said any pleasing words, she wouldn"t treat you like this..." Seeing Changying"s flushed cheeks that have not been recovered after a hot bath, Mrs. He"s tears fell from her heart. "She is your natural mother as well as your father"s wife. Isn"t it reasonable for you to say sorry to your mother? It was more than two hours! Thanks to your clever fifth brother, he asked Miss Song Zaishui for help... If the madam were still embarra.s.sed, how long on earth will you be kneeling? Oh, dear... Look at your little face. Look! Look at that!"
Mrs. He became even sad while talking. What"s worse, Wei Changying was still having frozen cheese without responding to her words. So Mrs. He cried out, covering her face with the handkerchief.
Wei Changying glanced at her and swallowed the grapes. "Don"t cry anymore," she said frivolously. "Can"t you see that I"m alright? It was just for two hours. In the days when I was practicing horse-ride stance with Uncle Jiang, every practice lasted for several hours. And if I dared to move, he would whip me..."
"That f.u.c.king old thing," said Mrs. He, pulling off her handkerchief suddenly. Without paying attention to her tears on the face, she gnashed and scolded, "It"s all his fault! He is the one who has misled you! When you were little, you looked so delicate like a s...o...b..ll, and you were the loveliest of all. But that d.a.m.n wicked old thing turned you into this!"
"What"s the matter with being like this?" Wei Changying felt wronged, holding a five-petal sunflower shaped porcelain bowl covered with gold foil and said, "I have practiced for years to become what I am today. And in these years I was healthy and strong. Isn"t it great?"
"Practicing martial arts was very difficult," she thought. "How exhausted I was for practicing 12 years without stopping!"
If not that people always tell her that Shen Cangfeng was outstanding among the students of the Shen family, Wei Changying wouldn"t have even persisted in practicing. After all, she was not born a warrior.
But her grandfather has already engaged her to a warrior! Wei Changying was a strong person since childhood, so she always disdained to complain. What"s more, she would become her husband"s wife after marriage, so if she always complained to her parents, they would feel too ashamed to live on.
All she did was aimed to avoid the destiny of being a wife with nothing but a position, while a concubine of her husband possessed everything. Or maybe she would have to bear the concubine"s children inheriting the property. And if that happens, she would live a miserable life and die in melancholy without anyone knowing her after a grand funeral...
‒ The thought of such destiny made Miss Wei shiver.
‒ But after all these years, why her efforts aiming to avoid such destiny met strong opposition from her natural mother, wet nurse, and even her brother?
Wei Changying ate a spoon of frozen cheese with anger. "d.a.m.n the sewing work, cooking skills, the Women"s Commandments and the Women"s Principles that emphasize the virtues of being a good woman," she thought, "If all these can ensure women a perfect marriage and help them become beloved by their parents-in-law, how comes the poem of resentment—"the White Flower" in The Book of Songs?"
"Since these things can not guarantee me a peaceful life, why don"t I go another way?"
"As long as I am good at martial arts, no matter what Shen Cangfeng is, and whether he has lovers or not, beating him up indoors is the best way to live a happy life."
"Since this guy is quite famous in the distinguished families, I guess he would never tell anyone that he was beaten up by his wife."
Wei Changying believed that her way was the best way.
"No matter what happens, I will always stand still!"
Wei Changying"s mother Madam Song and her wet nurse Mrs. He both cared for her, but it seemed that they hoped she could be obedient to her husband.
Having grown up in all the love, Wei Changying believed that a good life meant to live the way she wanted. If she pleaded for her husband"s love by possessing those virtues of good women, she would puke blood in grieve before she receives the love!
‒Briefly speaking, there is only one situation in Miss Wei"s life‒ being doted by all the people, including her elder family members. Therefore, she could never please others. Even if the person were her childhood-arranged fiancé, she would find a way to let him satisfy her!
"It"s not easy to be a daughter of a distinguished family," Wei Changying thought. "I have tried so hard..."
Seeing Wei Changying"s aggrieving expression, Mrs. He pulled her handkerchief and almost shouted, "It"s good for you to be healthy, but the ladies nowadays have to learn sewing and read the Women"s Commandments and the Women"s Principles, and you should look delicate as well. If you don"t like the Four Arts, at least you should be as diligent as those embroidery and sewing workers, or learn how to make a string bag and cook several dishes!"
She was distressed and said, "Tell me, Miss! Can you achieve any of those I have mentioned?!"
"...There are too many," Miss Wei said with an unpleasant look. "Cut down them!"
Mrs. He wiped her eyes with pleasure. "Well then," she said, "which one would you like to learn first? Making string bags or cooking?"
...After staring at the ceiling for a while, Wei Changying said, "Is there anything that can make me move? Not just staying indoors?"
"Well," after thinking for a few seconds, Mrs. He said, "what about planting flowers? This is also an elegant activity. If you do it well, you can give some to your aunts and sisters-in-law. This can bring you a reputation for caring plants and leave a good impression on your husband"s family..."
Wei Changying looked bored and said, "Is a family like us short of gardeners? What"s more, even if I become very good at planting, in case my future husband doesn"t like plants, isn"t it a waste of time for me?"
Mrs. He agreed and said, "You are right. Well... What about playing instruments?" She then lowered her voice, "In the future, you can achieve marital harmony by playing music with your husband in the moonlight. What a wonderful scene!"
"What can a warrior like Shen Cangfeng know about musical instruments?" Wei Changying said with a cold humph, "Hopefully I wouldn"t play music to a person who thinks the music noisy. He might kick the instrument!" When Mrs. He was about to console her, she clenched her fist and said to herself, "I"m not a kitty cat! If he dared to do this, I would beat him up with the stand!"
"Miss!" Mrs. He went green in the face and yelled to her. "Poor Miss! It"s all that d.a.m.ned old uncle Jiang"s fault! You are the daughter of an eminent family, so you should look and act delicate, your words should be soft, and you should remember to be elegant in every expression... How, how could you beat your fiancé! Huh?!"
"I am saving against a rainy day," Wei Changying sighed as she said. "Granny He, I guess that Uncle Jiang has been cursed by you hundreds of times since I was a little girl, but still nothing happened to him. Don"t think about him anymore... Here, I have finished the frozen cheese. I want another one!"
Mrs. He forgot about Uncle Jiang immediately. She wiped her face and asked gently, "More grapes as usual?"
"More grapes as usual," Wei Changying nodded.
Mrs. He said kindly, "Have less ice or you"ll feel cold. There"s ice in the room too."
Wei Changying touched her long hair and casually replied, "Ok." She felt that her hair was about to dry.
A few moments later, Mrs. He prepared the frozen cheese with more grapes and less ice. As soon as Wei Changying ate one grape, Mrs. He returned to the topic, pulled up her sleeves, and continued to scold, "That uncle Jiang is the son of a b.i.t.c.h! You should no longer learn from him! That kind of person can never marry a decent woman even if he has died eight times! What does he know about? You are going to be the Head Mother in the future, so you can not be misled by that d.a.m.n person..."
Staring at the small cup, Wei Changying had her chin in one hand and smiled as she said, "Uncle Jiang taught me martial arts. How could he mislead me?"
"All in all, he deserves being killed for thousands of times," cursed Mrs. He, the servant of the Wei Family. Her family had been the servants of the Wei Family for generations. She breastfeeded Wei Changying. She was loyal to Wei Changying and treated Miss Wei as her treasure. To Mrs. He, all the mistakes Wei Changying has made were other people"s fault. She would always think, "How nice Miss Wei was! But she"s now cheated by the evil."
Wei Changying was punished several times by Madam Song because she insisted on practicing martial arts. Therefore, Mrs. He hated Uncle Jiang so much that she had to curse him twice a day‒ before and after Wei Changying practices martial arts, even when Wei Changying was safe and sound.
If anything happened on Wei Changying‒ such as being punished today‒ Mrs. He had to curse at least for several hours.
Anyway, Wei Changying and the maids were used to it.
While Wei Changying was eating frozen cheese and listening to Mrs. He with amus.e.m.e.nt, someone knocked at the door. She put down the silver spoon immediately and ordered, "Lvyi, go and have a look, quick!"
The maid called Lvyi put down the ma.s.sage hammer and opened the door in the outer room. They then heard Song Zaishui complaining as she walked in. "Well, well, Changying," she said, "I was having a good nap while Changfeng woke me up and asked me to plead for you. I came under the hot sun and asked Madam Song to set you free. And you? So you are resting here, eating and drinking without caring about me?"
Wei Changying immediately asked her to sit. She then ordered the maid Lvbin to stop ma.s.saging and take another frozen cheese for Song Zaishui. "My dear cousin," Wei Changying said with a smile. "My mother has nothing to be afraid of. She likes you the best and always tells me to learn from you!"
Song Zaishui"s pretty face still lingered with anger. "How couldn"t I be afraid of my aunt," she said coldly. "Don"t you know that I never wanted to return to the capital? These days I have made a lot of excuses to avoid seeing my grandaunt and aunt! Look what you two have done! You refused to commit your fault, and your brother woke me up and asked me to plead for you because he cared for you. I thought you would think about me after I have helped you. Even sending me a servant and giving an excuse could help me out!"
She was so furious that she pounded the carved red sandalwood table. "You heartless people," Song Zaishui said as she gnashed her teeth. "Look what you"ve done! Changfeng thought everything"s fine as soon as I arrive! And what about you? You just went away without thinking about me until now! Aunt Song has asked me several times when I will return the capital!"
"I"ve been shameless enough to live here for four months. Don"t you think I have lost my face already?!" Song Zaishui said with anger.