В погоне за радугами

Глава 83

But before we reached the place where the carriages and horses were parked, we heard someone call out to us: "Young man and young lady, please wait a moment."

We stopped and looked back, and saw that the person chasing after us was a young woman dressed as a maid. She walked quickly to us, curtsied, and said, "My lady saw your good deeds at Baifan Tower and greatly admires them. She would like to invite you upstairs for tea. I wonder if you, sir and young lady, would do me the honor?"

Before I could even hesitate, the princess smiled at her and said, "Thank you very much. Please lead us upstairs, young lady."

The maid led us up to the second floor and into a neat and elegant room. Everything in the room, from the furniture to the cups, was of the highest quality. The room was divided into two sections, each with a table and chairs, separated by a beaded curtain. A young lady was sitting in the inner room. When she saw us enter, she stood up and politely bowed to us.

Just now, I heard the maid address her respectfully as "Madam," and since she was in a superior seat in the Baifan Tower, I originally guessed that this Madam should be a middle-aged or older noblewoman. However, I did not expect her to be so young, looking no more than twenty years old, about the same age as the princess.

Though separated by a beaded curtain, her face was still visible. Her face was slightly round, her skin full, and her eyes were beautiful almond-shaped, turning crescent-shaped when she smiled, giving her a friendly appearance. She wore a willow-colored, wide-sleeved robe, its simple color complementing her fair complexion. The robe's color was understated, but the fabric was of superior quality, likely Shu brocade. The hem and collar were embroidered with delicate four-sided auspicious patterns, and her head was adorned with a jade crown and a white rhinoceros horn comb. This indicated her distinguished status; she must have come from an official family.

The princess and I bowed to her, and she immediately invited us to sit outside the curtain, exchanging a few polite greetings. Then she asked what we would like to order. The princess said she only wanted to sample some seasonal fruits and vegetables, so the lady whispered an instruction to her maid. The maid went out to relay the message, and shortly after, someone came in to serve the dishes. Plates of olives, green tangerines, Yongjia oranges, Huaxiu chestnuts, dried papaya, pickled calamus, and other fruits were presented, along with tadpole soup made from mung bean flour, glutinous rice balls with salt, and mixed meat and fermented black bean soup. Indeed, they were all seasonal Lantern Festival foods.

The preparation of these dishes differed slightly from those in the palace, but the princess did not refuse them. After washing our hands, she sat down, eager to taste them. As I had done for many years, I first touched the rim of the bowl with the back of my hand to test the temperature of the soup. Finding it too hot, I took a fan and fanned it to cool it down. Then I scooped out a small amount to taste the saltiness, and finding it satisfactory, I returned the original bowl to her. After the princess tasted one or two dumplings and finished a bowl of tadpole soup, I casually picked up a green tangerine, touched the pulp on the table with a spoon, asked her to spread it evenly, and then handed it to the princess.

The lady, who had been observing from behind the curtain, couldn't help but sigh and said to the princess, "Sister, your husband is truly devoted to you."

When I am at the princess's residence, I do not always wear official robes. Today, I am wearing an ordinary scholar's white robe, so she cannot tell that I am a court official and thinks I am the princess's husband, which is why she has such feelings.

I was extremely embarrassed and didn't know how to explain, so I could only lower my head and remain silent. The princess didn't seem to be in a hurry to defend herself, but instead smiled and replied, "He's always been like this... Your husband must treat you the same way, sister, right?"

"Him?" The lady scoffed, her voice tinged with resentment. "If he were even half as good to me, I wouldn't be sitting here all alone."

"Sister, you came out alone?" the princess asked in surprise. "I thought you were waiting here for your husband to come and drink and watch the lanterns together."

The lady frowned and said, "Don't even mention it. He made me angry today, and in a fit of rage I stormed out. Actually, I wasn't going very fast, and he didn't even catch up with me... So I simply got into the carriage and came here. I sent someone to deliver a message to one of my close friends, asking her to come and talk to me, but she didn't arrive for a long time. Luckily, I met my sister, otherwise I would have been so bored locked in this room."

—————————————

Note:

Fire Bayberry: Ripe dates are pounded into charcoal balls, which are then strung on iron branches and lit. They resemble bayberries in shape and color and are worn as decorations in people's hair.

"Nao'e" refers to hair ornaments made of silk or black paper cut into the shapes of butterflies, insects, etc.

Jade Plum: Artificial flower jewelry, usually made of silk or paper.

Snow Willow: A thread-like ornament made of twisted gold thread.

Bodhi Leaf: Jewelry made of silk or paper cut into the shape of a Bodhi leaf.

Lantern ball: Also known as lantern ball lantern, it is as large as a date or chestnut and resembles a bead or velvet.

The above are all ornaments worn by ladies and gentlemen during the Lantern Festival in the Song Dynasty.

The Lonely City Closes (The Princess Who Fell in Love with the Eunuch) Who Can Share the Brocade of Love? 7. A Huo

Chapter word count: 2508 Update time: 09-07-05 10:32

7. Aho

(2262 words)

The lady gritted her teeth, feigning anger, and spoke of her husband with a resentful air, which made the princess laugh: "Sister, you must really like your husband."

The lady snorted: "What do you like! I was young and ignorant back then. My parents said he was good, so I married him without thinking. Now that I think about it, I really regret it."

"Did you meet him before you got married?" the princess asked.

The lady nodded, lowered her eyes and thought for a moment. Suddenly, a shy smile appeared on her face, but she quickly pursed her lips to hide it.

The princess immediately smiled and said, "Sister's husband must be handsome and well-educated." After carefully examining the lady's attire, she concluded, "His official rank must be above the fourth grade."

The lady asked curiously, "How is my sister..." Before she could finish speaking, she realized her mistake and swallowed the obvious "I know" with embarrassment.

The princess then told her, “Sister, your face lit up when you mentioned seeing him as a daughter, which means you were pleased with his appearance. Nowadays, scholars are highly regarded, and if he weren't learned, your parents probably wouldn't have thought much of him, and therefore wouldn't have insisted that you marry him. Although you dress simply and elegantly, everything you use is of the finest quality. Please forgive my bluntness, but if your husband were a newly promoted official, his salary probably wouldn't be enough to buy you a Shu brocade comb. Besides, he currently lives in the capital and must have been sent to a post outside the capital, meaning he has been an official for many years. And since your maid calls you ‘Madam,’ it suggests that you have likely received an official title. Therefore, I boldly guess that your husband's rank is at least the fourth grade.”

The lady stepped out from behind the curtain in surprise, took the princess's hands and examined her carefully, saying, "Since you know these things, you must be no ordinary person. You must come from a noble family."

"These things, you'll naturally know after living in the capital for a few years." The princess smiled faintly, not directly answering her question. Lady La sat down beside her and said, "Sister, you have such an impressive presence, you must come from a very good family, and you've found such a wonderful husband. It's truly enviable."

The lady shook her head, displeased, and said, "How is it satisfactory? If it were satisfactory, why would I be so upset?"

The princess asked with a smile, "Isn't it wonderful to be able to marry the person you love?"

The lady blushed and denied it: "Who said I like him?"

The princess's smile faded, and she sighed wistfully, "If you don't like him, you won't even want to look at him, so how can you have the mind to get angry with him?"

Hearing this, the lady was stunned. She was silent for a moment, then turned to look at me, and smiled at the princess: "You say you envy me? I envy you! Your husband is gentle and refined, with a scholarly air about him. He will surely become a man of high rank in the future. Moreover... when he gazes at you, look closely at his eyes. They are so focused, as if you are the only one left in the world."

Her directness in front of me left me completely flustered and utterly ashamed. I awkwardly shifted my position slightly, turning my face towards the window to avoid her and the princess's subsequent stares.

My head and neck were burning hot, and I must have blushed all the way to the roots of my neck. This made the lady chuckle softly. She then whispered something to the princess, who also chuckled softly, but quickly stopped and changed the subject: "Why didn't you wear some moth-shaped snow willow leaves or bodhi leaves today, sister?"

The lady said, "When you're angry with someone in the family, how can you be in the mood to wear these?"

The princess smiled and said, "I see that you are in a better mood now. If you don't mind that the flowers in my hair are too simple, I would like to give you some to wear."

The lady readily accepted, smiling and saying "Good." The princess immediately removed several tufts of willow branches from her hair and placed them one by one into the lady's crown. Seeing that her hair was without a comb, the lady generously took a white horn comb and placed it in her hair as well. The two adorned each other, laughing and chatting, looking like close friends who had known each other for many years.

Just then, a cart was heard approaching downstairs. A moment later, a maid came upstairs to report, "Madam Zhang has arrived."

The lady immediately rose and went to the door to greet her. I guessed that the lady Zhang must be the sister this young lady was waiting for, so I also stood up with the princess and waited quietly for her to come in.

The lady who entered was much older, around thirty years old. She was dressed simply, without any jewelry that could be considered precious. However, she was elegant, gentle, and quiet, and must have come from a family of scholars.