Chapter 88 : Probing (1)
After the Dragon Boat Festival, Yuxi received an invitation card from Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g which was something too hot for her to handle on her own.
So, when Yuxi soon knew that Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g had also invited Yuchen, she immediately went to Tingyun Pavilion to find Yuchen and morosely said to her, “San³Three/third Jie⁴elder sister, do you think there is something harmful behind this invitation from Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g? "
Yuchen was not a stupid person. How could she not know that Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g was acting very peculiar that day? However, it was useless for her to be worried, so she replied, “There’s no harm in it. For now, just keep the appointment."
Yuxi felt very bitter as she said, “San³Three/third Jie⁴elder sister, it was the first time that I met Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g in Marquis Taining residence. Why do you think she had been hostile to me? I already asked Eldest Aunt. Our residence has never been in conflict with Qingyang Gongzhu⁵Princess/Princess of the First Rank or the Qiao family." Not to mention that there was no conflict between them, even something common like oral quarrel had never happened, which made Yuxi felt that Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g’s hostility was really unfathomable mystery⁶Chinese idiom : baffling.
Yuchen indifferently said, “Don’t worry. This time, Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g has invited many other people, not just the two of us. There is nothing she can do to us while we’re in public.“
One should never looked at Yuchen like she would usually be like heavenly fairy maiden, her sources for information were much faster and more comprehensive than Yuxi’s. Whenever there was trouble in the capital, Yuchen would be among the first to know about it. It was just that, Yuchen had never changed her voice and expression because of emotion⁷Chinese idiom : maintain one’s composure, so outsiders never realised it. Even Yuxi was just guessing it.
Yuxi asked, “Who else did she have invited?" It seemed like Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g would be inviting girls from prominent families to attend the banquet in the name of chrysanthemum appreciation.
Yuchen answered, “Yu family, Jiang family, Duan family, Li family and Zhou family. More than a dozen of them have been invited." The girls whom Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g had invited was either a n.o.ble girl or from a family of high officials. Her vision was truly unusual.
Yuxi nodded and said, “That’s good." She also knew that she was being too nervous with Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g smooth and slick in making social contacts trick. Even if Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g wanted to deal with her, she certainly won’t take action at the banquet that been held at her own home. It was just that this feeling of being treated hostile for no reason at all, made Yuxi felt that she had a very bad luck.
Yuchen looked at Yuxi’s tangled expression and felt it looked a little funny, “Don’t worry. Although Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g is a xianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g, we don’t need to be so afraid of her." As long as both of them stood upright and steady, there was nothing Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g could do to them.
Yuxi would really like to tell her that, if I have your kind of background, I also won’t be this afraid. Her current problem was that her father did not love her, so did her grandmother, nor did she have the support from her Eldest Uncle’s family. It was really a sad reminder of her bad life.
No matter how entangled Yuxi was, she didn’t intend to turn down the invitation. She knew that it wasn’t good for her to always avoid problems. Even if she managed to evade them this time, she would still need to face them in the future.
Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g only requested Yuxi’s and Yuchen’s appearances in the banquet, but did not invite Yuru and Yujing. It was not that she looked down upon them, but the invitations she sent were all for legitimate daughters. Of course, no one would stop an illegitimate daughter to come along if she wanted to follow.
Yujing wanted to go, so she also urged Yuru to go with hl.
Yuru unexpectedly rejected Yujing’s idea as she said, “Er⁸two/second Meimei⁹younger sister, Xianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g did not invited us. If we still go without any invitation, won’t it be something embarra.s.sing for us when we finally arrive there?" Back in the days, she hated Yuxi and Yuchen, as well as her status as an illegitimate daughter. But after years of being taught by Momo¹⁰wet nurse Chang, Yuru had finally accepted her situation. No matter how much she hated it, she could never change her status. Instead of complaining and being jealous day by day, she should try her best to please her Mother, so that she could help her find a good family for her in the future.
Yujing hated iron for not becoming steel¹¹Chinese idiom : to feel resentful towards somebody for failing to meet expectations and impatient to see improvement when Yuru rejected her suggestion without even taking time to consider it. However, she knew she couldn’t influence Yuru’s way of thinking nor could she make a decision for her. However, she was still unwilling to give up, but she could only sulk in her room, as she didn’t have the courage to find Qiu Shi herself. The relationship between her birth mother and her dimu¹²term of address used for their father’s official wife by the children of a concubine was like fire and water. Fortunately, her dimu¹²term of address used for their father’s official wife by the children of a concubine didn’t throw stones at her who had fallen down a well¹³Chinese idiom : hit a person when he’s down or secretly harm her. If not, who was going to pave the way for her marriage? She was already 14 years old now, and she would come of age next year. She still had to plan for her future herself.
After turning the matter over and over in her mind, Yujing finally decided to turn to Yuchen for help. Since she had a bad relationship with Yuxi and after she ruled her out, it left her Yuchen as her last choice.
Yuchen’s reputation as a friendly sister did not come out of thin air. She would not refuse any request for help as long as it was within her means. She knew Yujing purpose, so she hesitated for a moment, but then, she finally agreed. Yuchen was not Yuxi. She couldn’t directly say that Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g only invited legitimate daughters. However, she instructed her maid to privately tell this matter to Yujing’s personal maid, hoping that Yujing would sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat¹⁴Chinese idiom : to back out of an awkward situation. To Yuchen’s disappointment, Yujing was still preparing to go even after knowing Xianzhu’s intention.
Momo¹⁰wet nurse Gui felt that she had taught Yuchen too well. “Miss, you can completely push Second Miss’ request to Eldest Madam or the Old Madam. You should not have agreed to it."
Yuchen tried to explain with a wry smile, “I didn’t expect Er⁸two/second Jie⁴elder sister still insists on going even after she knows all the details." If it was her, she definitely would not go.
Momo¹⁰wet nurse Gui shook her head and said, “Miss, Second Miss has big intention. In the future, Miss should be more on guard against her more." Out of the four young misses of the state residence, the eldest was the most honest, while the second one was the most ambitious, but unfortunately she lacked the means. The fourth one seemed straightforward, but she was the most calculating one. As for Fifth Miss, she had become completely foolish under Wu Shi’s teaching. Fortunately, she was still at a young age. Maybe her bad habits could be broken off and perhaps she could be changed back to a clean slate.
Yuchen nodded slowly, “Momo¹⁰wet nurse, I know what to do."
Qiu Shi didn’t have a daughter of her own, thus, for the past two years, she had spent all her motherly affection on Yuxi. Knowing that Yuxi was going to attend Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g’s banquet, she immediately ordered the sewing room to make two sets of new clothes. These money for the clothes were from her private account, so others were unable to complain about it.
On the day of the banquet, Yuxi got up early to wash and dress herself up. She could be casual at home on weekdays, but she couldn’t make any mistakes when she was outside, because she in a way, represented the face of the residence. If something went wrong, outsiders would only laugh at the poor upbringing the residence had given her.
When Qiu Shi saw Yuxi, she smiled and said, “You will have to dress like this more inside the residence in the future. It looks good on you." Yuxi was usually not badly dressed, but she did not apply any makeup when she was in the residence, and she was not as glamorous as she was now.
Yuxi smiled and responded, “It is aunt who has a good sight for making me such a beautiful dress." Qiu Shi used bright and good materials for her dresses. According to Qiu Shi way of thinking, if young girls didn’t wear bright colours now, when else would they wear them?
Yujing in the end unable to go to the Gongzhu⁵Princess/Princess of the First Rank residence to admire the chrysanthemum as she had wished. It wasn’t because someone had cause trouble to her, but she had to take some medicine as she had caught a cold.
Before going to the banquet, the two of them were brought in front of Qiu Shi. This time, all the people who had been invited by Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g were around the same age, so naturally, Qiu Shi would not follow along. Yuxi had already attended several banquets. If she just went to someone else’s house, she would not have been this nervous. But now, she would be going to Gongzhu⁵Princess/Princess of the First Rank residence, which made her heart felt extremely anxious.
When Yuchen saw Yuxi looking worried like this, she smiled and said, “Si Meimei⁸younger sister, if you are feeling really worried, you can just follow me later."
Yuxi immediately agreed.
It took more than half an hour to get from the state residence to the Gongzhu⁵Princess/Princess of the First Rank residence. Yuxi felt really bored and took a qipu¹⁵chess book from the table next to her for reading.
Yuchen frowned and advised, “Yuxi, reading on the carriage will hurt your eyes." On the surface, Yuxi was no worse than Yuchen. In terms of details, that difference was only a tiny bit.
Yuxi listened to Yuchen and casually put the qipu¹⁵chess book back to its place. Before, she always envied Yuchen and thought Yuchen was good in everything, but now she didn’t believe so. Nurturing Momo¹⁰wet nurse had taught Yuchen so well that her every word and every deed¹⁶Chinese idiom : what one says and does was completely conforming to the requirements of a girl from a good family. However, with Yuchen groomed to be like she was a block of moulding board made others felt that she was unreal.
When they arrived at the Gongzhu⁵Princess/Princess of the First Rank residence, Yuchen and Yuxi got on a small painted chariot together. Originally, they should greet Qingyang Gongzhu⁵Princess/Princess of the First Rank first, but since the Gongzhu⁵Princess/Princess of the First Rank had went to the palace, this procedure was not required.
The two went directly to the garden. Just as they entered the garden, Yuxi saw a girl coming up to them.
The girl who had come over had her combed into a zhuima¹⁷lit. Fall/hanging off a horse bun, which was inserted with a peony hairpin inlaid with precious stones, and two Eastern Pearls hung under her ears with gold threads. The material of her dress was silk satin called Green Jade¹⁸aquamarine colour of Tianshui, and the skirt was full of embroidered petals. The girl was very sweet and easy to be liked.
When the little girl saw Yuchen, she was stunned for a moment, but she quickly responded with a smile while saying in a loud voice, “Is this Yuchen Jiejie¹⁹elder sister?" She immediately regarded Yuxi as she was transparent.
Yuchen nodded and asked, “You are?"
“I’m Jiang Qi. Yuchen Jiejie¹⁹elder sister, you are so beautiful," the little girl answered crisply.
Yuchen was also dressed up today. She wore a crimson duijin²⁰Chinese-style jacket with b.u.t.tons down/tied on the front covered with cross collar soft silk shirt. While on the inside, she wore a greenish-blue ruqun embroidered with branches and peonies. Her hair was styled into a small flowing cloud bun, which was inserted with slightly slanted single piece of green coloured jade phoenix head hairpin . Her ears and wrists were also using the same colour and quality of earrings and bracelets. Coupled with her extraordinary appearance and outstanding temperament, her beauty was peerless.
Yuxi looked at Jiang Qi, and the bad memories of her past spring up in her mind. Fortunately Zisu reacted very fast. When she saw Yuxi become stunned, she immediately pinched her secretly so that Yuxi’s expression could immediately return to normal.
Yuchen had long been used to compliments from others so she just nodded slightly at Jiang Qi and asked, “Did Miss Jiang come alone?"
Jiang Qi shook her head and answered, “I came with my sister." She informed Yuchen that her elder sister, Jiang Yun, was the eldest daughter of the Jiang family.
At this time, Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g came over with her maid. She took a glimpse at Yuxi who was standing calmly beside Yuchen, then her eyesight moved quickly to other side, as she smilingly said, “Qi Meimei⁸younger sister, weren’t you the one who kept on saying that you want to see Yuchen Meimei⁸younger sister, so today you can feast your eyes on her."
Yuchen frowned slightly when she heard this.
Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g seemed to not realise that the words she just said was wrong. She just continued talking, “Yuchen Meimei⁸younger sister, Qingxia²¹qing = green gra.s.s, xia = rosy clouds Meimei⁸younger sister is waiting for you in the yard. That biaomei²²younger female cousin of mine has been talking about you since she saw you last time. Knowing that you’re coming today, she had come here early in the morning."
So, Yuchen took Yuxi along with her to meet the Qingxia²¹qing = green gra.s.s, xia = rosy clouds Junzhu²³Princess of the Third Rank / usually given to daughter of a Qingw.a.n.g.
After Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g said a few words to Jiang Qi, she walked away. Then, she secretly called the old woman servant who brought in Yuxi and asked, “Did something unusual with Fourth Miss Han after she saw Miss Jiang just now?" It was not a coincidence that Yuxi met Jiang Qi as soon as she arrived at the Gongzhu⁵Princess/Princess of the First Rank residence. This meeting had been personally arranged by Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g.
The maid who also helped brought Yuxi in shook her head and said, “There was nothing unusual. However, Miss Jiang only talked to Third Miss Han and ignored Fourth Miss Han. When this maidservant looked at Fourth Miss Han’s manner, it seemed like she didn’t take the matter into her heart." There was no way for one’s heart not to feel uncomfortable when being ignored like that.
Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g asked incredulously, “Was there really nothing unusual at all?" If Han Yuxi was the same like her, the expression on her face would have drastically changed or it would have shown a feeling of disgust when she saw Jiang Qi. Somehow, there was no response coming from her. What kind of situation was this?
The maid firmly answered, “There was nothing unusual. When Fourth Miss Han saw the miss from Jiang family, she looked really calm and nothing unusual happened.“ Yuxi was also quite lucky. When she had became stunned, she had turned her back on the maid who was leading the way.
Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g talked to herself, “Can it be that I have really been thinking too much?"
During this period of time, Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g also sent someone to inquire a lot more information about Yuxi. It could be said that the current Han Yuxi and her old impression of her were two completely different people. However, regarding Han Yuxi’s strangeness, Heshou¹he = harmonious, shou = long lifeXianzhu²Princess of the Fourth Rank/usually granted to daughter of a Junw.a.n.g seemed to be unable to come with explanation to it. Although Han Yuxi had changed a lot, there was nothing unusual could be found on her.
NOOB TRANSLATOR’S MUSING
It"s good that Yuru has find the right way. This new att.i.tude of her will help her a lot in the future. She and Yujing will have an opposite future because of the changes or unchange att.i.tudes.
So, this banquet was actually a plot for Heshou Xianzhu to check whether Yuxi was like her or not. Funny that she couldn"t find anything against Yuxi. Do you guys think that she will stop plotting against Yuxi?