妹妹 meimei – younger sister; 三妹妹 san meimei – means third (younger) sister 姐姐 jiejie – elder sister; can be added to names to show respect or a close relations.h.i.+p; 大姐姐 da jiejie – the eldest sister in the family 嫡 di – related to the first wife, the children born of the first wife have higher standing 丫头 yatou – usually referring to a servant girl; can also mean girl, latter usually used as a form of endearment 小姐 xiaojie – young miss; usually from a good family, but can be used to refer to any young girl 儿 ‘er – child; added to names as a form of affection, closeness or endearment 奴婢 nubi – slave servant girl; referring to themselves in third person is a form of debas.e.m.e.nt 姨娘 yiniang – concubine, not the legitimate wife; added to the end of the maternal name to show their (lower) status compared to the wife 夫人 furen – legitimate wife; would be added to the surname of the household as a form of address; usage is similar to the English “Missus” 庶 shu – of common birth; in this setting, it means born to a concubine 婆子 pozi – older female servants
(TL Note: I’m trying to leave some terms untranslated if they’re used as names, to give a better feeling of how the characters are speaking and how close they are to each other. If anyone feels like they’re starting to drown in pinyin, don’t hesitate to comment about it. I’ll see what I can do. ☺)
(Edit: I was advised that Zhao’s position 管家 guanjia was more equivalent to the role of a butler in feudal China. It certainly makes sense, since he seems to hold a rather high position amongst the servants. Might take a bit to get used to it.) ?
(TL Note: I really appreciate all the kind comments I have been receiving from all of you!)
Yun Qian Meng looked briefly at Shui’er who had decided to bring them in without permission, her lips forming a cold half-smile before focusing on Liu yiniang and Yun Yan tailing behind her.
Liu yiniang, who looked to be little over thirty years old, carried a distinguished bearing. Even though her pretty face was lowered, she still faintly emitted a charming aura. Notably, her exquisite and delicate body shape, despite having given birth, remained graceful from any angle. It’s no wonder that, in the past, she was able to rise quickly from a yatou in the xiangfu to become a yiniang. One could not help but to love her upon seeing her!
Yun Yan, sticking closely behind Liu yiniang, also appeared very lovely. Wearing a long pink skirt matched with a silver sleeveless waistcoat, she
was like a budding lotus, emitting a refres.h.i.+ng atmosphere from head to toe. While she was still young, she had elegant curves; presumably inheriting her good looks from Liu yiniang!
Only, Yun Yan, after all, had little contact outside the boudoir, and was also often bullied by Su Qing and her daughter. Her attractive face was filled with worry, an endlessly cautious nature was barely concealed by her clever eyes, completely lacking in the natural poise of a well-bred lady from a good family.
Shui’er who was leading the both of them in caught Yun Qian Meng‘s glance and felt momentary fear in her heart. After all, when a yiniang and her children visit her, the di-born young miss was completely within her rights to send them away without the need to show up personally. The fact that she decided on her own to bring them in, and that Yun Qian Meng didn’t express any anger or blame, only smiling indifferently at her, caused her heart to drum loudly. She could only put up a bold face and announce, “Xiaojie, Liu yiniang and san xiaojie are here to pay respects!”
Finished, Shui’er urgently lowered her head and moved sideways to position herself behind Yun Qian Meng, no longer opening her mouth&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;
Yet Yun Qian Meng didn’t continue the conversation, and only slowly opened the book she was reading a moment ago, turning a blind eye to the two people standing right in front of her!
Seeing the situation, Liu yiniang couldn’t help but get fl.u.s.tered. Just now the young miss was clearly smiling at them when they walked in, yet why was she now eerily silent, focusing all of her attention on the book she was holding?
Following her thoughts, Liu yiniang appeared even more uneasy, and tried to consider if it was really too rude for them to come forward this day.
Mustering up her courage to slightly lift her head, she saw that Yun Qian Meng was gently reclining on the sofa, a book held up in her slender, lily-white hands as she read carefully. Her expression was calm and steady, but the silence could only cause others to feel anxious!
“Yun Yan follows Liu yiniang to pay respects to da xiaojie!” At this moment, Yun Yan, who had originally displayed some petty feelings, advanced slowly, pulling down her mother, who was sneakily observing Yun Qian Meng, to kneel before her.
Yun Qian Meng‘s halt her reading because of her abrupt greeting. Instead, it was Mu Chun standing by her side carefully sized up Yun Tan who was kneeling with a straight back.
At first glance, Yun Yan gave others a delicate and pitiful impression; but the way she spoke earlier allowed everyone to realize that this seemingly weak and powerless girl actually had strong principles in her heart!
It would seem that within this xiangfu, no matter yiniang or xiaojie, none of them were easy to handle. For them to, despite usually staying out of sight, show up unannounced today, it must be about the matter of butler Zhao’s marriage proposal!
But who knew how the young miss was going to respond?
Thinking this way, Mu Chun unwittingly turned to look at Yun Qian Meng, only to find that whilst she was tranquilly reading just a moment ago, her lips were now forming a heavy smile. Her eyes that were still fixed on the open book were suffused with a faint coldness&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;
“Mu Chun, what time is it now?” Feeling that the sun was slightly too dazzling, Yun Qian Meng handed the book over to Mu Chun, then closed both her eyes and lightly ma.s.saged her own temple with her fingers.
“Answering xiaojie, it’s close to eleven o’clock! The wind is strong out here, it’s better to return to the room!” Properly receiving the book from her, Mu Chun considerately pa.s.sed her a cup of warm tea, allowing her to warm up her body.
Gracefully receiving the blue and white porcelain teacup, Yun Qian Meng lifted the small lid, blew lightly, then gracefully took a sip. Finally taking notice of the two people kneeling in front of her, she immediately looked at Mu Chun and somewhat angrily criticized, “Liu yiniang and san meimei came? You little yatou, why didn’t you rouse me when you saw me engrossed in my reading? It must have tired out yiniang and meimei that are kneeling here!”
Hearing that, Liu yiniang and Yun Yan immediately showed fawning smiles. Even though they understood this was Yun Qian Meng displaying her prestige in front of them, they didn’t dare to leak out any expression of discontent. Rather she s.n.a.t.c.hed the opportunity to speak before Mu Chun could acknowledge her mistake, “Da xiaojie, what are you talking about?! Being able to look at da xiaojie at such a close distance is nubi‘s good fortune, how can Mu Chun jiejie be at fault?!”
These words while extremely flattering, but just because they were spoken by Liu yiniang with her matching, ingratiating smile, unexpectedly didn’t really feel vulgar to others!
Yun Qian Meng maintaining her uncaring smile, saw how she spoke with such sincerity with eyes expressing happiness, then quickly stood up and said, “Since that is the case, yiniang and meimei should return first! It’s almost noon, the food would’ve surely been sent to everyone’s courtyards, I won’t be keeping you from having your lunches!”
Finished, she led Mu Chun and the others, planning to withdraw into her loft&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;
At this point, however, a pink figure suddenly crawled towards Yun Qian Meng, and cried softly, “Please give me your support, da xiaojie! I don’t want to get married to the eldest son of that butler Zhao!”
Witnessing Yun Yan’s broken-hearted sobs, Yun Qian Meng‘s indifferent smile gradually faded. With her eyebrows slightly raised, she carelessly gave Mu Chun a meaningful glance. Mu Chun strode forward and spoke somewhat reproachfully, “San xiaojie, how could you block da xiaojie‘s path?”
Liu yiniang saw Yun Yan’s current state and knew that there was no time to lose. She immediately crawled to Yun Qian Meng‘s side and spoke tearfully, “da xiaojie, I beg you to do something to help save us nubi!”
After speaking, both of them didn’t wait for her response, and spontaneously kowtowed with all their strength&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;
Within a few moments, both of their foreheads were completely red. So long as Yun Qian Meng didn’t speak, neither of them had any intention of stopping!
Yun Qian Meng coldly looked at the begging mother and daughter. Noting particularly Yun Yan’s forehead had blood gradually seeping out, she understood in her heart that the girl had an upright and unyielding character. If she was forced to marry butler Zhao’s son, she would very likely martyr herself!
She was somewhat similar to the Yun Qian Meng of the past, causing her to have some heartfelt admiration towards the current Yun Yan.
Only, she was already standing on thin ice in the xiangfu, there was no way she could entangle herself in side issues just for them!
Moreover, even though the three Yun sisters seemed to be separated by seniority, in actual fact, their births were only a few months apart! It could be seen that Liu yiniang was not an especially good person. If by any chance, she brought wolves into her room, it was likely going to be too late to have any regrets by that time!
Qi Luo Yuan was filled with the sounds of crying and head-knocking. Yun Qian Meng coldly looked down upon the two people at her feet. Her eyes were like a vast and deep ocean, others were unable to see through any of the thoughts within. Indifferently ignoring the strained atmosphere, she spoke unhurriedly over the racket, “I’m just a da xiaojie, only father is the master of the house! If yiniang and meimei have received any injustice, you should look for father; no need to waste your time with me!”
Finished, she raised her feet to leave&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;
But Yun Yan and Liu yiniang understood clearly that if they missed this opportunity, they would never see Yun Qian Meng ever again!
Thus, throwing away any sense of decorum, both of them suddenly threw themselves forward, each person hugging her legs on either side, loudly crying, “Xiaojie, if Su yiniang referred Yan’er to a decent family, nubi would not have dared to have any complaints! But the eldest son of that butler Zhao is an untalented and unlearned scoundrel! How can nubi have the heart to let her own daughter be married off to him as a concubine?”
Right now Yun Yan was also crying very miserably, her cheeks full of tears, and even her voice had become slightly hoa.r.s.e. Her hands simply hugged Yun Qian Meng‘s left leg with abnormal persistence; even Shui’er and the others couldn’t pull her away no matter how much strength they used.
“Da jiejie, please, considering our relations.h.i.+p as siblings, please give me some help! Yun Yan isn’t wis.h.i.+ng to marry a wealthy husband, as long as that person is capable of knowing me and loving me, I will be satisfied! But that butler Zhao’s son, his moral character, da jiejie should know clearly, the state inside the fu, da jiejie knows even more clearly! If we were not at the end of our ropes, then we absolutely wouldn’t have come to trouble jiejie. Pleading jiejie to show some mercy!”
Being hugged tightly by the both of them, Yun Qian Meng had no way to walk. Seeing that her kind words were unable to make them retreat in the face of defeat, her eyes flashed with impatience. Mu Chun and the others saw her expression and redoubled their efforts to pull them away&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;
“Da xiaojie, nubi has some things to say, do you know how yiniang with great difficulty, Yun Qian Meng would hear her say such shocking things&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;
“Wait!”