Chapter 31 : New Year’s Gift (2)

This year’s gifts from Hebei, in addition for the Duke of the State, they were also given to the Old Madam and Yuchen. The Old Madam received a longevity crutch, which was created using a very rare and precious wood, only available in Chengde, Hebei Province. Its wood was white and flawless, delicate as jade, and had the reputation of false ivory.

Hanging Screens, posted by Samuel Jones via alibaba.com

Yuchen got a hanging screens of wood carved with flower and bird pictures. The flowers and birds on the hanging screen were like living ones, and the engraving was very delicate.

Yuchen loved this thing very much. Not only was it unique, but more importantly, it was given by her father. Over the years, she would receive gifts at the festivals and birthdays. Every time she got something, she would hang it up, and this time was no exception.

Yuxi had Hongshan, the spy who reports on person’s doings, who was very clear about the great events happening in the residence. Soon she knew about Yuchen got a pair of hanging screens.

Hongshan actually didn’t want to tell Yuxi that the Third Miss got present from Master, while her Miss got none. If her Miss knew, she definitely would not feel comfortable. Since Yuxi herself asked her, she could not say no.

In her previous life, Yuxi had been saddened by this matter for a long time, but now, she didn’t take it seriously, “There is nothing rare in the capital, as long as you have money, you can buy it. It’s good of you to say that in front of me.”

Hongshan carefully looked at Yuxi’s eyes and found that she was not sad. This made her dared to say, “Miss, I don’t think this is the Master’s idea, but the Third Madam’s.” She hoped Yuxi would not resent the Third Master. After all, the Third Master was her father, and her Miss would surely depend on her father in the future.

Yuxi smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter whose idea it was. Apart from this, is there anything else going on inside the residence these two days? “

Hongshan shook her head and said, “The residence has been quiet these days. Nothing happened.”

Hearing this, Yuxi did not respond and turned to look at her qipu. Now, she read the qipu whenever she had time and played chess while reading it. She alone played for two people. This made her forgot to eat and sleep. According to Moju and others, their Miss had already been possessed by the Devil.

Mama Shen looked at Hongshan coming out from the room and asked in a low voice, “Did Miss say anything?”

Hongshan knew that if she said that Miss didn’t care at all about the hanging screen, Mama would certainly tell the Old Madam about it. She also didn’t know why, she had a feeling that although Miss’ face didn’t show anything, in her heart she felt that Miss actually knew their every actions. Unconsciously, she did not tell Mama Shen the truth. “Miss is very sad. She said that she wanted to be alone for a while and did not want to be disturbed.”

Mama Shen was somewhat doubtful as she asked, “Really?”

Hongshan cursed in her heart, this kind of unpleasant thing made her rushed forward with her plan. If the Old Madam chastised Miss, then the responsibility would be put on her. However, she didn’t dared to offend Mama Shen. “Why do I want to lie to Mama?” she asked with a smile.

Mama Shen was skeptical, but when she saw Yuxi’s eyes were red and her face was not good, she believed in Hongshan’s words. (T/N: Lol. Didn’t her eyes were red and her face was not good because of she hadn’t been sleeping and eating lately?)

Yuxi looked at Mama Shen’s manner and felt a little awkward. She really didn’t understand what the Old Madam really thinking. Could it be that she was afraid of her retaliation regarding the doctor’s matter? Not to say that she had this ability, even if she had in the future, she still can’t retaliate because of filial piety. “Hongshan, have your older brother send a letter to Mama Fang. Invite her to make a trip to the official residence during New Year celebration when convenient.” She wanted to talk to Mama Fang about something. She had been very busy before, but her teacher would have a holiday during these two days, so she could relax for a while.

Hongshan crisply responded, “Okay.”

The baozi (steamed stuffed bun) made by Mama Fang was very popular, with demand always exceeded supply. Business was good and income received was naturally high. After deducting various expenses, the baozi shop had a net profit of more than thirty taels per month. This number was not bad in Shangyuan Street. Fortunately, the people there knew that the owner of the baozi shop was from Duke of the State official residence. No one dared to make any suggestions, or else there would definitely be trouble.

Since the baozi shop had made profits, with Yuxi had a lot of money in her hand, naturally it made her be a bit relaxed. The servant maids and the old women beside her were the direct beneficiaries of her changed in mood.

Mama Shen opened her mouth but eventually said nothing. She had served Miss for more than half a year, but her Miss was still very defensive. However, Mama Shen was not foolish. She knew what her Miss was on guard against, but this was all the Old Madam’s orders which she, as a servant couldn’t disobey. Therefore, her Miss’ attitude towards her was neither cold nor light, so she could only endure it.

In winter, the day got dark quickly.

Hongshan watched as Mama Shen left the Rose Courtyard. Only then did she entered the room and said to Yuxi who was writing, “Miss, this handmaiden has a few words to say.”

Yuxi put down her brush and said, “If you have anything to say, you can say it.”

Hongshan respectfully said, “This handmaiden knows that Miss has purpose in mind. But there are some things that Miss still need to worry about.” Seeing Yuxi looking at her, she did not beat around the bush and directly said, “Just like today, Miss acted too indifferent when Master only gave gift to Third Miss. If this is being known by the Old Madam, she will surely be unhappy.” To act indifferent was like having no expectations for your parents. In the eyes of the Old Madam, her Miss was acting dissatisfied with the Third Master. As his child, she should have been a filial daughter. If a girl bore a reputation of unfilial, she should not think twice about her future marriage, or to even depart from the residence.

Yuxi looked grave and said, “What are you trying to say? There’s no harm in saying so.” She was worried that Hongshan was digging a hole for her, so she had to be careful.

Hongshan said, “Miss, this handmaiden has to say something beyond handmaiden’s limit. Even if Master is being partial, Miss must still be a filial child.” Only filial children could make people liked and felt at ease with them.

Yuxi stared at Hongshan, like she was able to stare out a hole. “I want to know why you said these words to me.” If it was really digging a hole for her, then it could only be said that Hongshan was too bold. If she was not careful with such a thing, then she would also trip into the hole she dug.

Hongshan looked up and said, “I believe in Miss.” As for what, she believed her Miss must know.

Yuxi unexpectedly looked at Hongshan. This was a surrender.

Hongshan was so nervous that her palms were sweating, but she did not regret what she had just said. Some time ago, it was her turn to take a vacation. She told her father about her Miss recent performance. Her father said that even if in the future, Fourth Miss did not have a great good fortune as the Third Miss, it would certainly not be lacking. Her father told her to serve her Miss till she be accepted by Teacher Song and then serve her wholeheartedly.

Hongshan considered it for a long time, and finally made her stand clear before Teacher Song accepted her Miss. Otherwise, when Miss worshipped Teacher Song, everyone would know that Miss’ future was not bad. At that time, no matter how sincere she was, she couldn’t be reused. Not being reused, and went against the Old Madam’s wishes, that was not a good bargain.

Yuxi primly said, “Your father is the second housekeeper. You can find a good way out even if you don’t rely on me. Tell me, why did you do this? I want to hear the truth. “

Now that Hongshan had made up her mind to take this road, she would not have any more leeway for herself. “Miss, I originally wanted to wait on Miss for five or six years, then by that time, I would be seventeen or eighteen, the age of me getting marry. If I marry outside, I would have a good life.“ When she said to marry outside, she meant to marry into a good people’s home and become a wife, thus getting rid of the fate of her being a maid servant.

“What happened?” asked Yuxi. For Hong Shan to suddenly change her mind meant something must have happened, and it must not have been small.

Hongshan’s eyes were red as she said, “I have an older cousin who also served the Old Madam before. A few years ago, she was released and married a scholar. Last autumn, my cousin’s husband passed the Imperial Examination and earned himself a juren (successful candidate in the imperial provincial examination) title. Later on, his family immediately started to turn their back on my elder cousin. They believed that her background as a former maid was damaging their family reputation. A few days ago, they wanted to cease the marriage between the two of them. So, my father had gone to their home to officially separate them. But the family was afraid of the status of the Duke of the State residence to proceed, so, the matter hasn’t be settled yet. Only that, my elder cousin is currently living a hard life over this thing.” She was very close with her older cousin, so when she saw her changed into a haggard person in just a few months, made her heart and head turned cold in respect of marriage.

Yuxi calmly asked, “Are you afraid of falling into the same situation as your cousin, so you don’t want to be married out? Or you want to marry a person from inside the residence? “

Hongshan spoke out her mind directly, “The background of the people in the mansion are the same, so they will certainly not going to dislike my background. They also know the truth about me, so I don’t have to worry about being cheated.” Her elder cousin’s husband used to be honest and loyal, otherwise her elder cousin would not have chosen that person. It could only be said that the man disguised himself so well that her whole family could not see the real him. In the official residence, there was no such concern. After all, they were in the same residence, so it was not a problem to inquire about a person’s details.

Her elder cousin’s incident dealt a great blow to Hongshan, making her unwilling to be married outside anymore.

Rather than directly gave her respond to Hongshan, Yuxi asked a question instead, “What was the matter with the copybook?” For Hongshan to be able to climb to the second-class maid in the main house showed that she was definitely not a fool. However in the case of the copybook, she was stupid enough to say things without thinking. Yuxi felt strange at that time, but she didn’t ask much.

Hongshan knelt on the ground and said with a white face, “Mama Shen asked me to tell her Miss’ every move. I didn’t want to do it. It happened that Sister Ziyi came to me and talked about the copybook.” She did this in order to alienate Yuxi from her and not let her served her close. Then, she would knew less about Yuxi and had nothing to report to Mama Shen.

Yuxi suddenly understood. Indeed as she expected that the incident happened with a reason. “Aren’t you afraid that I can’t give you good future?”

Hongshan had already thrown caution to the wind and said, “That’s my life too.” In fact, it could be seen from the case of Mama Fang, that as long as she devoted herself to her Miss, she would definitely not going to ignore her.

It was a good bargain for Yuxi to gain Hongshan’s loyalty, so she said: “As long as you can do it, I won’t let you fall into the same situation as your cousin.”

Hongshan put her heart back to her stomach (Chinese phrase : no worry/stop being worried). Her elder cousin’s affair chilled her, which made her afraid to marry outside. If she married into the residence, she had to find a backer. Although her father was a second housekeeper, he was already old. Neither of her brothers was smart enough to take over her father’s duties in the future. If she didn’t have a strong backing, she would have a difficult future. This was also the real reason why she committed herself to Yuxi. For the future, she decided to gamble. As for winning or losing, it took time to prove.