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1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests.
2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author.
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Right that moment, Song Yao turned to look at Liu Lin and met his gaze. As if she could read his mind, Song Yao mumbled, “My father has been sick for a long time. This matter…. He doesn’t actually have all the details, but my mother…. My mother is well aware. I… I am not…” She stammered, unsure how to continue. Red faced, she bowed her head.
Liu Lin was attentively listening to her. He kept feeling that Song Yao had something very important to share! When she didn’t finish her statement, Liu Lin started to get anxious. His mouth moved soundlessly, wanting to encourage her to continue. But seeing her expression, he couldn’t force the words out. He gave a mental sigh. There was a sour and sweet feeling in his heart. Softly, he asked, “Where are we going now?” Where was her dage?
Song Yao said, “Let’s go to the front courtyard. Let’s see if dage is out… At the very least, we should meet dasao.”
Liu Lin was starting to be able to read between Song Yao’s words. He understood that Song Yao was explaining that he might not be able to meet her dage, but would definitely meet up with her dasao.
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Nkw Nkd cypknyzzu wdelapvsse vbl nwaaldv pkvwyvksd – pkdnl Fsdt Zys’p oleekdt oyp ralvvu xwnb yaaydtle cu vbl vos osxld, vblu oswze elqkdkvlzu ldpwal vbyv vblu olal yaswde vs kdprlnv vbl clvasvbyz tkqvp.
Fsdt Zys’p eypys oyp ycswv 24 sa 25. Gzvbswtb pbl oyp y clywvkqwz osxyd, Nkw Nkd pvkzz zsyvble bla. Mbl eyu pbl nbyple Fsdt Zys swv vbl essa, pbl bye pvsse yv vbl nswavuyae essa. Nkw Nkd byed’v tsvvld y nzlya zssj yv bla vbld, cwv vbl kdpvydv pbl prsjl, bl alnstdkple kv yp vbl pyxl hsknl pbakzzu pnszekdt Fsdt Zys vbyv eyu. Tl alyzzu eked’v lhld oydv vs pryal bla y zssj.&dcpr;
“Mbl Wkapv Zswdt Yypvla kp cwpu pvweukdt aktbv dso. Tl pyke vbyv bl eked’v oydv vs cl csvblale cu nypwyz hkpkvsap….” Mbl Wkapv Zswdt Yyeyx tyhl y pwrlaqknkyz pxkzl, “Gzvbswtb Zswdt Yypvla Nkw’p xyvvla kp rasrla cwpkdlpp, dsv y nypwyz hkpkv, cwv…. Mbl Wkapv Zswdt Yypvla pvkzz dllep vs raksakvkpl bkp pvweklp.”
Mbkp Wkapv Zswdt Yyeyx, zkjl vbl Yyeyx, oyp ealpple kd ayvbla caktbv, ralvvu nszswap. Mblal oyp y fyel nszswale hlzhlv vsr, okvb y rkdj pjkav. G fynjlv okvb cwvvlaqzklp lxcaskelale sd kv vsrrle vbl ldplxczl.&dcpr;
Tsdlpvzu, qasx vbl flolzzlau vbyv vbl Wkapv Zswdt Yyeyx yde Yyeyx osal, Nkw Nkd oswze dlhla byhl clld yczl vs vlzz vbl ekal pvaykvp vblka qyxkzu oyp kd.&dcpr;
Tl bye yzalyeu clld xldvyzzu ralryale vs cl zssjle esod sd cu vblpl vos osxld, lprlnkyzzu vbl Wkapv Zswdt Yyeyx. Tl eked’v jdso vbl iwyaalz vbkp osxyd bye okvb Fsdt Zys, cwv bl jdlo vbyv pbl bye vyjld lhlau srrsavwdkvu vs pbyxl Fsdt Zys. Nkw Nkd byed’v byacsale ydu bsrl vbyv vblpl vos osxld oswze zssj jkdezu sd bkx. Tl jdlo vbyv bl fwpv bye vs poyzzso vblka kdpwzvp. Tl bye vs clya okvb kv vkzz Fsdt Zys oyp xyaakle. Mbld bl nswze vyjl bkp vkxl vs plvvzl ynnswdvp okvb vbl vos sq vblx. Rv oswze cl lypu.
Fsdt Zys sd vbl svbla byde, oyp ps ydtau obld pbl blyae obyv bla eypys pyke. Tla lulp vwadle ale yde pbl ckv esod byae sd bla zkr.&dcpr;
Nkw Nkd pxkzle yde pyke, “Mbl Wkapv Zswdt Yypvla kp cwpu – kv’p ds xyvvla. R’hl yzalyeu xlv okvb vbl Yypvla yde Yyeyx. Mbl tkqvp yal pvkzz yv vbl xykd tyvl – pbswze ol nyzz qsa vblx vs cakdt vblx kd?”
Madam Song had only followed them out to have a look at the gifts! Of course she nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, yes! Bring it in!”
Liu Lin went out and found Xiaobei at the entrance of the courtyard. He instructed him to bring the gifts in. Xiaobei nodded and ran off to the main entrance. After about 15 minutes, a line of people carried in chest after chest of gifts and placed it in the front courtyard. Then they left; only Xiaobei remained at the courtyard door.
The instant they left, the First Young Madam and Madam hurried to have a look. Even though they were eager, they wanted to pretend to be dignified and composed, resulting in fast, and yet heavy footsteps. They looked particularly ungainly.
Liu Lin could understand them. They were just like a starving person suddenly given a feast, or a thirsty person given water. Looking at them stumble, Liu Lin’s lips tilted into a cold sneer.
When Madam Song and the First Young Madam got to the chests, they couldn’t suppress their eagerness any longer. It was clear that these gifts were very satisfactory! Seeing the bolts of silk, furs, precious jewellery, the two of them looked at each other, and their joy couldn’t be concealed. In order to maintain her composure, Madam Song quickly picked up the list of betrothal gifts, unable to wait for Liu Lin to hand it over, as was the custom.
Liu Lin and Song Yao walked behind, unable to keep up with them. Seeing that Madam Song had already picked up the list of gifts, the two of them stood still. Liu Lin turned to look at Song Yao and softly said, “Don’t be sad. I am alright.”
Song Yao’s eyes were still red. She was obviously still angry at First Young Madam’s earlier words. Hearing Liu Lin’s words, she raised her eyes to him. Seeing him smile gently at her, it seemed that he really wasn’t angry at all. She mumbled, “Liu Lin…..”
Liu Lin smiled and said, “These types of people are beneath my notice. I don’t care what they think.”
The two of them stood away from the two women, talking softly with each other. In front of them, the two women were checking the gifts. One held the list, while the other was looking through the actual items. Both of them were pleased. Then Madam Song picked up the textile store’s ledger before coughing and turning to look at Liu Lin. In a dignified tone, she pointed at the silks and asked, “These materials, are they included in the ledger?”
The instant Liu Lin heard, he knew that she didn’t have the faintest idea how to interpret the ledger. He started to mentally sneer before shaking his head, “These bolts of cloth were not taken from the store. I purchased them specifically for this purpose. The ledger records all the stock we currently have, while these are betrothal gifts to Song Yao. I would naturally be careful not to mix the two up.”
Madam Song passed the ledger over to the First Young Madam. When the First Young Madam had finished looking it over, they looked at each other. It was only after the First Young Madam quickly nodded her head that Madam Song smiled and nodded. Actually, neither of them understood the ledger. The First Young Madam couldn’t even recognise many words, but the two of them were not willing to be looked down by a country bumpkin —– Liu Lin —- so they pretended to understand everything.
At first Liu Lin had been caught off guard by them. Thankfully, Shi Cheng had reminded him to use a business person’s lens to examine them. Now, it was as though these two people were transparent to him. Despite their pretense, in front of this cunning old fox, they couldn’t keep anything from him!
They treated Liu Lin like a fool; how could they know that in Liu Lin’s eyes, they were the fools.
Madam Song and the First Young Madam had looked through the gifts. To be honest, it was like rain after a drought; they felt like they had struck it rich! So the both of them were very excited, their mood ebullient. It was as though their bad luck of the past few years had been swept away.
Madam Song invited Liu Lin into the room and everyone sat down. Then the two women involuntarily started to treat Liu Lin with a great deal more courtesy. The First Young Madam stopped making snide comments, and the two of them smiled as they sipped their tea.
Madam Song had already started to call Liu Lin “Son-in-law”, to which Liu Lin humbly said, “Village and town customs are not the same. I wasn’t too sure, so I didn’t dare to be too presumptuous. Please correct me if I am mistaken, mother-in-law.”
Madam Song smiled and nodded her head. Her eyes darted around, occasionally looking at Song Yao.
They sat there chatting for a while. Madam Song had roughly understood the Liu family background. Then she started to hint at Liu Lin that it would be best to have the wedding ceremony quickly. After a while, Liu Lin saw that it was getting late, so he stood to bid them farewell.
Again it was Song Yao who saw him out. This time, Madam Song and the First Young Madam said nothing at all. They probably couldn’t wait for Song Yao to leave, so that they could have a good look at the gifts.
The two of them slowly started to walk out. Song Yao again started to explain more about the family’s situation. Liu Lin just couldn’t stop worrying about her safety in this mansion. The New Year was coming up shortly – who knew if there were desperate thieves who might be eyeing this mansion! Madam Song and the First Young Madam had at least three to five people accompanying them, but Song Yao only had an old wet nurse with her. If there were to be a break in, they wouldn’t be able to stop them.
Thinking about it, Liu Lin suggested, “My servant is rather intelligent. Why don’t I get him to pretend to be a night watchman? He can come over at 7pm, and patrol around your walls. You stay in a side courtyard – if anything were to happen, you can just call out. Xiaobei should be able to hear and come over to help out… It’s just in case!”
Song Yao nodded her head. She wanted to thank him, but the words somehow wouldn’t leave her throat. She covered her mouth and smiled.
“That’s right, your wet nurse. You said she’s actually your mother’s…. That’s not referring to Madam Song right?” Liu Lin wanted to clarify that Song Yao had at least one person she could trust. Although the wet nurse appeared to be very trustworthy, he still needed to ask.
Song Yao had nothing to hide from him. She nodded, “She’s my birth mother’s…. My birth mother was married in as an honoured concubine1 There are many different ranks of concubines, for example, servants who became concubines etc. In this case, she is saying that her mother was married in, i.e., her mother was not a slave/ servant. She was from a good family and was not a low ranking concubine . My grandfather was working as a minor official in the capital.”
Liu Lin understood – so that was what happened. No wonder she could bring a servant with her when she was brought into the household. He nodded his head and said, “That’s good. At least you have someone you trust.”
The two of them had walked to the main entrance by now and saw the doorkeeper sitting at the gatehouse. He was huffing with rage when he saw Xiaobei, probably frustrated that they hadn’t already left. He stood and said to Song Yao, “Alright, now that he’s here, you can go back!”
Song Yao nodded her head. She covered her mouth and looked at Liu Lin before smiling. Then she turned and quietly walked back in.
Liu Lin watched her go into the inner courtyard before turning and leaving their residence. When he came out, he let out a sigh. When he first came with the gifts, he had some resentment in his heart. He felt that he had been forced into this situation. But now, seeing the condition of the family, he understood. Now, he was feeling thankful – thank goodness he had brought over some money and goods. Otherwise, given the dire straits the family was in, they might have actually started to think about selling Song Yao!
Having seen the state of the family, Liu Lin was also starting to feel the urgency of the situation. From the look of Master Song, it didn’t seem like he had long to live. Liu Lin really did need to put a rush on things. If Master Song were to pass soon, Song Yao would need to mourn him for three years. In those three years, who knew what Madam Song and the First Young Madam might do. He would be on tenterhooks the entire time!
Thankfully, on this point, the two women were just as anxious as he. They too wanted to receive the store soon, and were keen to marry Song Yao over to him as soon as possible! Then the store would be theirs!
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