Chapter 117 Relieve itching in a shy way
“As the saying goes, experience is the mother of wisdom,” He Danggui said gratefully, “Thanks to Fourth Sister’s training, I was able to invent this method for relieving itching. Dr. Wu said that it could be handed down from generation to generation. Ah, Jiugu, look at Mammy Tang,” He Danggui pointed to Mammy Tang whose limbs and head suddenly rubbed against the wall like a gecko and said softly, “The ‘Qing Liang Si Duan Jin’ imitates the movements of 4 insects. In addition to cricket, bee and butterfly, there is also the spider which Mammy Tang is demonstrating. This exercise is close to the natural life infinitely through imitation, and the whole body’s itching will spread to the natural space, so as to achieve the ultimate goal of relieving itching.”
“... It was a cricket not a toad.” Feng Jiugu thought to herself. Then she asked anxiously, “Are they going to do this for about 3 days? How can Sister Luo take it?”
He Danggui said proudly, “Don’t worry. This exercise is the association of three activities and a standstill. If they are tired of jumping or flying, they just need to rub against the wall like a spider and climb slowly. Then they will get some rest.” At this time, Madam Luo and Dr. Wu both found a wall and began to climb. He Danggui shook her head and shouted at them, “Grandma, your posture is wrong. Both of your upper surface of feet and forehead should rub against the wall! Dr. Wu, you should stay close to the wall when you climb!”
Hearing this, Dr. Wu turned his head and asked in a painful tone, “Third Miss, atishoo! I have arthralgia. The wall is too cold for me. Can I climb that silk screen? Atishoo!”
He Danggui pondered for a moment and then nodded, “I haven’t climbed the screen before, but everything is getting better and better in the process of improvement before it works for everyone, so Dr. Wu, you can try it.” As soon as she said that, Madam Luo and Mammy Tang, who were also disgusted with the cool wall, ran to climb the screen too. But Dr. Wu who was closest to the screen had already occupied one side, and the area of the screen was too small for two people to climb at one side at the same time... Madam Luo and Mammy Tang looked at each other. Then Mammy Tang went back to the wall woefully and let Madam Luo use the other side of the screen.
He Danggui explained carefully to Feng Jiugu, “In fact, when I was climbing, I would add some movements of climbing up. But all of them are too old, so they could only climb sideways. Of course, the effect of relieving itching will be reduced. Jiugu, are you find the way to stop burping? I think my Grandma cannot take it anymore!”
Feng Jiugu nodded, “Third Miss, please heat up the stove and I’ll give them something to stop their burps!” She went ahead and gave everyone a big black pill, then letting them hold in the mouth and not swallow it.
Madam Luo asked in tears as she climbed the screen, “Jiugu, what is the pill made of? Why does it taste so bitter and spicy, and it smell fishy and smelly? Awful!
Hesitating for a moment, Feng Jiugu replied, “Sister, you’d better... not know. I’ve picked out as clean pills as possible.”
Mammy Tang climbed and shouted as she faced the wall, “Madam, I have told you that you cannot pamper Fourth Miss anymore but you don’t listen to me. Now what are you suffering? If you don’t discipline her, there will be more things that you will regret later! Wait and see! Who else in our family can handle Fourth Miss, that imp, in the future! Atishoo!”
Madam Luo banged against the screen with her head and said hatefully, “She is the bad daughter taught by my second daughter-in-law! Now it seems that Shao will cause some disasters if I don’t send her to Shui Shang Temple to discipline her behaviors!”
He Danggui stirred up the stove. Feng Jiugu put an earthenware pot on the stove, took the lid off the pot and turned to Madam Luo, “This is the acid-grass soup I made to relieve yawning. When it boils on the stove, the smell will go up into the air, and it will relieve your drowsiness. Neither Third Miss nor I have been poisoned, so it is not advisable for us to smell too much of it, or we will be too excited to fall asleep at night. We will wait at the door of the wing-room and just call us if you need something.”
After Madam Luo agreed, Feng Jiugu pulled He Danggui out of the wing-room and dropped a curtain to stop the smell of that acid-grass soup. She turned to find two small stools and two wet towels, giving one of them to He Danggui. They sat on either side of the curtain and covered their noses and mouths with the wet towels.
Madam Luo’s voice came from inside the curtain, “Yi, what about the environment and food in Shui Shang Temple? And what about the Taoist nuns’ abilities there? I remember that you once said there was a criminal who made illegal drugs and was arrested by the officials.”
He Danggui answered earnestly, pressing her Yingxiang acupoint with the wet towel, “The scenery there is beautiful and the environment is very good. In the morning, wild flowers are in full bloom, and in the evening, the tired birds will come back nests. The air there is very fresh. It is really a good place for cultivating the soul and character. As for food, the food there is definitely not as good as at home, but a vegetarian diet will give us a clearer mind. We will be energetic when we read and write. And I lived there for half a month without complaining about the food (because I’ve never been able to eat the food there), and the Taoist nuns’ abilities...”
Suddenly, there was the sound of a falling screen. Then Mammy Tang said, “Third Miss, you don’t need to come in! It was Madam who pushed down the screen, and no one was injured because Dr. Wu dodged in time!” Then Madam Luo said, “Yi, you just continue and I’m listening.”
He Danggui said, scratching her head, “As for the abilities of those nuns, I was not able to judge their abilities because I’m only 10 years old and inexperienced and illiterate. But I heard that almost all people near Tu’er Town know Master Tai Shan (Who lent money at usury). She was really a big shot! As for Master Tai Chen who made Wushi Powder, it was said that she had been arrested to the capital. Now that the whole temple has been put in order, it should be peace and quiet. But Grandma, do you really want to send Fourth Sister to Shui Shang Temple immediately? Could you let me, Fourth Sister, First Sister and Second Sister have a gathering first so that we can exchange views of things that happened recently. In fact, we are very interested in Fourth Sister’s collection...”
“No! What gathering? Are you planning a gathering? Atishoo!” Madam Luo howled, “You are not allowed to talk with her before her behaviors are corrected! Hum, Yi, you don’t need to plead for her. I’m going to send her away right now, or she will mislead other girls of the family! Jiugu, come to find Pan Jingyang and Guang Hang!” Hearing this, Feng Jiugu got up and left at once.
“Oh? Would Four Guards of Luo’s Mansion accompany her?” He Danggui raised her eyebrows and thought, “It drags in so many people. If Sun Meiniang knows, she will certainly stand in the way of this.” After Feng Jiugu had gone away, He Danggui said hesitantly, “Grandma, should we wait for Fourth Sister’s itchy symptom being cured before sending her away? If she keeps scratching on the road, it will not only delay the trip but also damage her reputation...”
“I cannot wait!” Madam Luo interrupted her sharply, “I’ve got an idea what to do about this, and you don’t have to say that anymore! And, Yi, keep your mouth shut and never tell anyone about this, especially your Second Sister and Second Aunt!”
He Danggui couldn’t help exclaiming, “Grandma, you want to send Fourth Sister away without telling my Second Aunt? I didn’t think it is a proper way.”
Madam Luo sneezed twice, complaining that the pill in her mouth tasted bad and unpleasant, then that the air was too sour, and finally that the “Qing Liang Si Duan Jin” was too tiring. She finally calmed down under the soft comfort of Mammy Tang. Then she talked again, “Wu, you are also a member of our family, so I will arrange this in your presence. You, Yi, Jiugu, Pan Jingyang and Guang Hang are the insiders who know that Shao will be sent away except me and Hong Jiang. I will enjoin the other three people later. But now, each of you swear to me that you will not tell anyone this secret.”
“Secret?” He Danggui’s surprised voice passed through the curtain, “When Fourth Sister is missing, my Second Aunt must be so anxious that she’ll torn the whole Luo’s Mansion upside down. How can it be a secret?”
Madam Luo said in a deep voice, “Hong Jiang had told me a good idea yesterday. I didn’t want to send Shao away, but I never expect that her character is so bad and she cannot get over it. Hong Jiang is right. This time I have to discipline her severely and do this in secret from her parents. If they know, they will go to the temple frequently because of the tender love to their daughter, and will send her food, clothes and toys. If Shao says that life in the temple is too hard and she is bored in there, they must bring her home immediately, and our good intentions will be useless! Having lived in Sanqing Temple for a while, I know it would be the most emotionally demanding place for a misguided child like her!”
He Danggui followed Madam Luo’s words after a silent yawn, “She will not be bored when living in Shui Shang Temple. All masters there are enthusiastic, and they will never let the guests living there feel bored. Grandma, can you tell us the details of the idea that Mammy Tang proposed? We have to have the same words so that we don’t get stuck in front of my Second Aunt. You know me. I’m not good at telling lies.”
Madam Luo emphasized again, “You have to promise that you will never tell this to others! Wu, you swear first!”
Dr. Wu was panting for practicing one of sections of “Qing Liang Si Duan Jin”, and he said loudly, “I promise that… that I will keep silent that Fourth Miss will be sent to the temple, or… I will catch that poisonous handkerchief again! Atishoo!”
He Danggui also said in a broken and timid voice, “I swear too... If I tell anyone the things of Fourth Sister, let me go back to West Lateral court that was burnt down after the mouse trouble!”
“Ah, Madam!” Mammy Tang said, “The living place of Third Miss was burnt down, but we haven’t even arranged a new place for her yet!”
Madam Luo said suddenly after a moment’s silence, “Let her live in Shao’s Tao Yao Yard. Let Shao’s mother choose another yard for Shao when she comes back with correct behaviors.”
This time, He Danggui was really taken aback, “Tao Yao Yard? The most poetic living place in the East Yard of Luo’s Family! It owns a large forest of perennial peach blossoms about 30 mu (a unit of area). How can it be my turn to live in there? And, how can I hog Fourth Sister’s yard? If my Second Aunt knows that, she will...” When she talked this, her voice tailed off and finally died down. Madam Luo and the others in the wing-room could almost imagine her timid manner.
“Yi, don’t be afraid. Though your Second Aunt is a little bit outspoken, she is as kind to you as she is to Shao, so you don’t have to worry about it.” Madam Luo’s voice of consolation came through the curtain, “And, I heard from a servant of Tao Yao Yard whom Hong Jiang had caught that Shao had a collection of various poisons except Diaoshanyao Powder and Mute Drug in Tao Yao Yard. Some of them are buried deep under the ground. Hum, I must destroy all those drugs this time! Atishoo! But if we search openly for those bad things, the reputation of your sister may be damaged, because we are a big family and people will talk about this. Therefore, Yi, you just move in there, and I’ll have the poison dug up under the pretext of renovating your yard and decorating your house... If your Second Aunt makes trouble for you, I will blame her for you. Is that OK?”
“Ho, that’s what you think.” He Danggui thought and couldn’t help smiling. “There are no free lunches in life. Tao Yao Yard is the best yard of the whole Luo’s Mansion, and Sun Meiniang had taken great pains to get it for her daughter. How could Madam Luo take her own granddaughter’s yard and give it to me? But, for the peach blossom forest at the back of Tao Yao Yard where I could practice martial arts, it isn’t a bad thing to confront with Sun Meiniang in advance...” Therefore, He Danggui replied in a low voice, “I dare not disobey all your arrangements, Grandma.”
There was a sound of footsteps from outside, and it was Feng Jiugu who led Pan Jingyang and Guang Hang in. Feng Jiugu said, approaching the curtain, “Sister, Guard Pan and Guard Guang are here and they also have something to tell you.” At the same time, He Danggui took her stool aside to let them in.
“Atishoo! What happened again?” Madam Luo was a little paranoid now. She felt anxious when hearing that “they have something to tell you”.
Pan Jingyang smiled to the curtain, “Don’t be worry, Madam. The two Master Peng of the Luo’s Family in the capital come here. Second Mistress Luo sent them to the guest room of South Yard to have a rest. They come to Yangzhou City to study in Chengxu Academy, so they must live here for a long time. Second Mistress Luo wanted to know which yard would be a good place for them, but she didn’t dare to come here to disturb you. Hearing that we are coming here, she let us ask you for her.”
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