On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, Yujing was brought back to the residence.
Yuxi had just finished her evening meal when she found out the news. "Er Jie is back?" She had thought that the Old Lady would not let Yujing come back for the New Year!
Bingmei nodded and said, "I have just returned to the residence not long ago. I heard an old woman servant say that Second Miss has lost a lot of weight and is not in good spirits."
Yuxi did not take joy in calamity and delight in the disaster that had occurred to Yujing, but she did not feel pity for her either. The path Yujing had chosen for herself had brought about evil consequences that she, herself, naturally had to swallow. "This is just the beginning." Rejected by her family and hated by her husband's family. What situation Yujing would fall into in the end could be known just by referring to Yuxi's own previous life. But, of course, Yujing should be better than her because she was not a baozi.
New Year was a busy time for adults, while children just joined in the fun and then received red envelopes. So the next day, the Old Lady, Qiu Shi and others of rank went to the Imperial Palace early in the morning, and Yuxi was just getting up to prepare for her morning exercises.
Yuxi met Yujing at the New Year's Eve dinner. Yujing was a lot thinner, but she looks a lot calmer. Yuxi was a little surprised. She had never thought that having Yujing read the scriptures would be of any use.
Yujing also noticed that Yuxi was looking at her, so she smiled and greeted, "Si Mei." Circumstances were more powerful than people. Thus, she had to lower her posture for now.
Yuxi smiled and called out, "Er Jie." When Yuru took the initiative to befriend her, Yuxi did not push her out. It was better to have one more ally than one more enemy. But for Yujing, there was no possibility of her befriending Yujing, as Yuxi was partly to blame for Concubine Rong's death. Still, Yuxi had no regrets. Concubine Rong wanted to put her in a deathtrap, so how could she possibly let her go!
In one night, Yuxi had harvested several more red packets. Among them, Qiu Shi and Lu Xiu gave her the thickest ones.
The incomes from her baozi shop, grocery shop and hamlet were similar to last year. But the earnings she got from the shop and the fertile farmland given by Qiu Shi were very generous. With these properties, Yuxi would not have to worry about food and drink anymore.
In the blink of an eye, it was the third day of the Lunar New Year, and today was the day for the Han family to pay a visit to the Zhou family. Since Yuxi had already made an appointment with Zhou Shiya, naturally, she had to follow along.
When Zhou Shiya saw Yuxi, she was overjoyed. "Finally. I've long wished for you to come here." Zhou Shiya was quite lonely in the Zhou family. Although she had many sisters, they all had their own minds, and she did not dare to get too close with them, or she would be used by them instead if she was not careful.
Yuxi looked at the flesh on Zhou Shiya's face and deliberately teased with a smile, "Why have you gained weight again? If you keep putting on weight like this, be careful, or others won't be able to see your eyes." Zhou Shiya was not truly fat. She just had a bit of baby fat.
Zhou Shiya pinched her face and said with a long face, "There is so much delicious food that I can't help myself after looking at them."
There were many ways to lose weight. The Second Lady Zhou had searched for quite a few, and Yuxi had given quite a lot of advice. There were many more ways, but Zhou Shiya herself loved eating good food, especially dishes with meat. It was already pretty good if she could keep her current figure. [+]
Yuxi said, "Just bear with it! You're looking okay now. But, if you wait until you're married, have children and still eat uncontrollably, it will be difficult for you to lose weight. " All of these, Yuxi had learned from Momo Quan.
Zhou Shiya looked enviously at Yuxi's slender figure. "Still, you're looking good. How can you eat delicious food without gaining weight?" She knew that Yuxi ate four meals every day.
Yuxi laughed. "How can I not be fat? I've been keeping it under control." If she had meat as her evening snack, she worked out longer, and it would consume what she had eaten, so naturally, she didn't gain weight.
Zhou Shiya naturally knew that Yuxi practised wuqinxi every day and shook her head, "Forget it, that wuqinxi is too unsightly, and my mother won't let me learn it."
Yuxi smiled. "Is it your mother who really won't let you learn? It's obvious that you just can't bear the hardship and don't want to learn it yourself, then you blame it on your mother."
As they were talking, Zhou Shiya's maid brought in two plates of strawberries. Apart from that, there were also a lot of pastries and dried fruits. Zhou Shiya said with a smile, "Knowing that you like fruit, this is what I have specially prepared for you."
Yuxi didn't particularly like fruit either, but Momo Quan said they were good for women's skin, so she got into the habit of eating them daily.
After a few words, Zhou Shiya sent everyone out and spoke to Yuxi in private. "Yuxi, now that we're thirteen, my mother has already started making arrangements for me! So what do you say?" Yuxi's marriage was a little bleak since she had an uncaring stepmother and a father who didn't even care about her.
Yuxi shook her head. "There's no rush."
Zhou Shiya questioned, "Why aren't you in a rush? A young lady's apricot blossom only lasts in these two to three years. So if we don't pick the good ones while we have the time, they will all be picked out by then." These statements were something that Second Lady Zhou often told to Zhou Shiya. As a matter of fact, Zhou Shiya was also affected by these.
Yuxi smiled and said, "My San Jie is still a year older than me, so my family can only arrange my marriage after her marriage is already settled."
Zhou Shiya frowned and said, "I heard that Song Guifei likes Yuchen Biaojie very much and intends to match your San Jie to His Highness Jing Wang." Jing Wang was the 10th Prince's title.
Yuxi smiled a little. "That's quite right. Once San Jie's marriage is set, then it will be easier to find a match for my marriage!" Her father was only a fourth-ranking official now, which was nothing in the capital. But if Yuchen's marriage had been decreed, Yuchen would be the future Jing Wangfei.
Zhou Shiya instantly understood. "Yes, how could I have forgotten about this!" If Yuchen was decreed to marry Jing Wang, then Yuchen had nailed the nails to the title of Jing Wangfei. Moreover, since it was not a secret in the upper-class circles that Yuxi was close to Yuchen, Zhou Shiya was afraid that no matchmakers wouldn't come to Yuxi's door to ask for her hand in marriage.
Yuxi had also considered this layer, so she knew that her family could not fix her marriage until Yuchen's marriage had been settled. "What about you? Is there any news?" The two of them could speak about anything because they knew each other so well that there were no taboos between them.
Zhou Shiya shook her head and said, "No, there's not even a single word yet! But my mother has taken a fancy to Chen Ran, the Second Master of Marquis Taining Residence."
The Four Levels In Ancient Imperial Examination
The lowest level (the bottom one) was called children examination or called county level during the Ming Dynasty or could also be called the entrance level for Imperial Examination. Students needed to pass this level before being promoted to a higher level, which would provide more benefits to their lives. The students who passed this level were called Xiucai. While the number 1 student from this level would be called Jingxue.
Image Credit | mark1993m (子教案 第8章 士紳社會與庶民文化, Apr 30th, 2010)
The lowest level (the bottom one) was called children examination or called county level during the Ming Dynasty or could also be called the entrance level for Imperial Examination. Students needed to pass this level before being promoted to a higher level, which would provide more benefits to their lives. The students who passed this level were called Xiucai. While the number 1 student from this level would be called Jingxue.
Image Credit | mark1993m (子教案 第8章 士紳社會與庶民文化, Apr 30th, 2010)
Zhou Shiya curled her lips as she said, "It's not that easy. The Marquis Taining's family trait is good, and they're wealthy. Even Chen Ran himself is so well endowed that he has almost broken the threshold of his family's doorstep with his marriage proposal. Yuxi, I don't mean to be unduly humble, but with my qualifications, nine times out of ten, I'm out of luck. If it were you, it would still be possible." In Zhou Shiya's eyes, Yuxi was an all-rounder where there was nothing Yuxi couldn't do.
Yuxi laughed. "If it's not possible for you, it's even less likely for me." It was not that Yuxi had an inferiority complex, but this was based on her own conditions. Her mother had died young, her father disliked her, and her reputation outside the home was not bad but not very good either. So how could the sought-after Second Master Chen become hers?
When Zhou Shiya heard this, she felt that she and Yuxi were both too unambitious. She grabbed a strawberry and took a hard bite on it while saying, "We can't let others' ambition spoil our own. It's not like we've met this Second Master Chen. We don't even know if he's round or flat. So it's not possible that he's just a guy who's only being flattered outside, but is, in fact, a guy who only has a gilded exterior but is shabby and ruined on the inside!"
Yuxi said, "That's a real shame. Second Master Chen doesn't like what you said."
Zhou Shiya's eyes lit up, "You've met Second Master Chen?" The people outside held Chen Ran up like a celestial youth from heaven, but hardly anyone had met this man. Of course, when Zhou Shiya said that not many people had seen Chen Ran, she referred to the girls in the boudoir.
Yuxi nodded. "I've seen him. I've seen him twice."
Zhou Shiya got so excited that she grabbed Yuxi's hand and asked, "Tell me, tell me, where did you meet him? What did he look like? Did you talk to him? What did you two talk about?"
Yuxi didn't know whether to laugh or cry at Zhou Shiya's look, but she still told her the story of how she and Chen Ran had met twice. "It just happened that we ran into each other." Even when they bumped into each other twice, they didn't even speak with each other. [+]
Zhou Shiya was disappointed to see that neither of them had spoken to each other, "What a pity. How wonderful it would have been if Second Master Chen had taken a fancy to you!"
Yuxi pushed Zhou Shiya's forehead lightly and scolded with a smile, "What are you talking about? Marriage is a matter of parents' orders and matchmaker's words."
Zhou Shiya shook her head and said, "Yuxi, there is a reason for me to say this. Second Master Chen Ran's situation is rather special. He must give his own consent to the marriage, and it would be useless for the Lady Taining takes a fancy on someone when he doesn't." It was also because Second Lady Zhou liked Chen Ran too much, so she dug around to search for information on Chen Ran.
Yuxi was a little taken aback. "What do you mean?"
Zhou Shiya told Yuxi the news she had heard from Second Lady Zhou. "Second Master Chen was kidnapped when he was five years old and only came back more than half a month later. I heard my mother say that Second Master Chen did not even look like a human when they rescued him. It took most of a year for him to get well, but Second Master Chen has spoken less since then. Thus, Marquis Taining and his wife have always felt guilty about him." Because of the guilt in their hearts, they would not force him to do many things, including marriage matters. After all, Chen Ran was the second son, not the eldest and did not need to carry the family’s responsibility.
Yuxi had never heard of these things. "If so, then it will be tough. I noticed that Second Master Chen was a bit cold. Thus, it won't be easy for others to get into his eyes." Yuxi could also understand why Chen Ran was so calm when he saw Yuchen. People who had experienced life and death were indifferent to many things.
Zhou Shiya spread her hands and said, "That's why I said I don't have a chance! But my mother is so excited, so I just let her be. I guess she will cooldown on her own in a few days."
The two of them chatted all morning. When Yuxi was going to leave, Zhou Shiya was still reluctant to let her leave and said, "In a couple of days, I will go to your house, and we will talk again."
Yuxi smiled a little. "Okay!"
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi