Chapter 151 The first appearance of great beauty
“December, 17th; 30th year of Hongwu Period; it is not suitable for people who was born in the Year of the Ox (in Chinese zodiac) to handle affairs in the west. Today is the sunniest day of this month. The sun is like gold on the ground and makes people feel warm. One side adjoins mountains and rivers; the nature is quiet and beautiful. Another side has the murmuring of running water and bamboo grove; it’s elegant and fresh. Ah! The water is as clear as a mirror and the green grass look as if it has just been washed. The birds on the shore are pecking. All this is surrounded by green hills in the distance. This peaceful scene is as poetic as a first love. When you look up, you are watching the lake; when you look down, you are missing Meng Xuan. What a good poem! And it is written on the back hill of Chengxu Academy and named Qing Dairy of having Time Travel to the Ming Dynasty. What do you think? Is my classical Chinese very good? Does it go even farther than The Orchid Pavilion? Oh my god! Do I used ‘go even farther than’? I’m about to become a litterateur!”
The lake was as high as the shore. A girl sat on the lake’s edge. She skimmed the water by a blade of grass, and it rippled. She wore a skirt which was embroidered with tiny patterns and a hazy moon. The high neck and tight waist of the skirt depicted the beautiful outline of her. Her black hair was combed into a Liuxian haircut, and there were two wisps of her hair hung down loosely and felled from behind her ears to her chest. She wore a pale pink butterfly-shaped hair ornament on the top of her bun and twigs of green camellias on either side.
Her eyes were softly closed. On her long and dense lashes, there were some glittering drops of water which may be her tears or dewdrops formed by the vapor of the lake. Tiny pink petals scattered all over the sky, brushing against her hair and landing on her skirt. Soon the petals were all over her body. The beautiful scenery and the beauty were perfect.
Suddenly, the beautiful girl opened her eyes, but the expression in her eyes were full of alienation and loneliness. And then she said, “Qing, don’t scatter the petals or you’ll be scolded by the teacher.”
The girl in blue who was scattering the petals laughed and asked her, “What do you think of the Fu of Lakeside of Chengxu I just wrote?”
“It’s ordinary. It sounds too colloquial to be classical, and even my Nephew Shi Zhu can write this kind of sentences. By the way, it contains some words which out of line. Don’t we make an appointment not to mention Meng Xuan?” The beautiful girl stood up and flapped the petals off her skirt. Then she asked, “What do you mean ‘the nature’ and ‘fresh’ in it?”
“Just ordinary? Yi, you have no aesthetic ability. If I had given this article to a primary school teacher, I would have gotten an excellent score of 85!” The girl in blue who wore a midi skirt with buttons on the side was about 19 years old. Her features were comely and pleasing, and her black eyes were like a bird which had just been released from its cage to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the mountains and rivers. Her skin was white as snow, but she was not a standard beauty because her figure was a little fuller.
“Primary school teacher? Is that one of the things belongs to your home before you had ‘Time Travel’?” The beautiful girl was about 13 or 14 years old and had an oval face. Although her complexion was light yellow, her eyebrows were long and thin; her eyes were black; her nose was cute; her mouth was small like a cherry. And she had a quiet temperament which was totally different from the girl in blue. People could not help admiring her for her bright eyes and noble temperament, which, at the age of 13, had already owned great beauty.
Liao Qing’er, who had Time Travel, nodded and said, “Yes. Primary school teacher is a ‘thing’ belongs to my home. Alas, that I do not know the historical trend of the Ming Dynasty and cannot marry a potential boss are all because of my unprofessional history teacher who always let students on self-study and copy the textbook when I was young. By the way, who is the Emperor after Zhu Yuanzhang?”
He Danggui, who was reborn, was shocked and looked around. She just found teachers and students were drinking and versifying near a distant stream. Only a few unintelligible sparrows were near them. She blamed Qing with a cold face, “I have told you many times that you cannot call Emperor’s name directly. You will be sentenced to death if you are overheard. I cannot tell you this because you are so outspoken, and you will surely spill the beans to your brother and sister-in-law later.”
“No, I will not.” Liao Qing’er shook her hands and said, “I have sworn that I will never talk with them anymore, even if they come to beg me. Much less, they went back to the capital without doing anything the next day.”
He Danggui said uncompromisingly, “Even so, I cannot tell you. It has no influence on the daughters of ordinary official families like us about who the Emperor will be. We will eat as usual and do our business as usual. Let’s stop this topic and do not mention it anymore, or I will scratch your ticklish spot!”
“But you got so many taboo terms. I cannot mention Meng Xuan, Duan Xiaolou, Geezer Zhu and Zhu’s successor...” Liao Qing’er counted four on her fingers but was interrupted by He Danggui who came to scratch her. Liao Qing’er begged for mercy as she ran, “Sister Yi, please stop. I will never do this again, really! You are a person who can do martial arts, so you cannot bully a weak girl like me who had no power!”
“Never do this again? You mentioned them at least 4 or 5 times a day. I have told you many times that I have no relationship with them. How many times you want me to repeat it?” He Danggui griped Liao Qing’er’s double chin and pulled it down angrily. She said, “You are intentional right? Tell me!”
“Whoops! I really will not do that again. Brother Xiaolou, where are you? Come here to save me!” Liao Qing’er seized her double chin with her hands, but she was attacked in the ticklish spot on her stomach by He Danggui, which made her scream shrilly.
The two girls were playing happily as a young man in a cyan silk robe approached the edge of the lake where the girls were standing. He stopped a little way off. Since neither of them had noticed him, he said, “Miss He, Miss Liao, I’m Song Qiao. Nice to meet you.” He had a folding fan in his hands and bent down to make a slight bow as he said. And he looked at He Danggui directly.
The girls stopped playing, and Liao Qing’er finally got rid of He Danggui. She ran a few steps away from He Danggui and said with a smile, “It’s Mr. Song. You read a beautiful poem just now when the cup ran down in front of you. I didn’t understand anything, but my sister nodded her head because of your poem.”
Song Qiao was glad to hear that. He said, “Well, Miss He also likes my Ode to the Bamboo, doesn’t she? Actually, I was going to write a poem of 16 sentences, but I just write half of it. Can Miss He help me fill up the rest of it?”
He Danggui assumed a serious expression and apologized, “I’m sorry. I’m not good at poems, so I dare not to show off in front of you and pick up your wonderful poem at random.”
It was the first time that Song Qiao had heard He Danggui said so many words, so he couldn’t help bowing to her again and inviting her fervidly, “Senior, I hope you don’t refuse me and give me some advice. Last time, the teacher of our Men Institute brought us several good poems of your Women Institute. Although yours was put at the bottom, the poem which named Cats that Seizing Foods is like washing all the attachment and has a simple sense. And it is different from the other girls’ which are full of flowery words. Your poem presents a new appearance, and it attracts me.”
Song Qiao was 4 or 5 years older than He Danggui, but He Danggui had been studying in Chengxu Academy for 3 years. It was naturally for him to call her “senior”, since he was a freshman. “A cat got the head of the fish, and a cat got the tail of the fish. Ask the dog near the west wall to find the middle part of the fish.” And this was only a doggerel made by He Danggui, so the flattery of Song Qiao made her be embarrassed. She said, “It is ashamed that my poor poem was passed round for perusal at Men Institute. After being taught by several famous teachers for three years, I can only hand over such a poem. It is not worth reading really, so please forget it.”
He Danggui thought her careless poem would be thrown away by Ms. Zheng and other teachers, but she didn’t expect that the female students in Women Institute were lazier than 2 years before. In addition to the few talented girls who wanted to show their talent like Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying, no more than ten of the nearly one hundred female students handed in their homework. Because Teacher Zheng was angry, the work of He Danggui, as if great minds matured slowly, also be taken out to show… Look at Miss He. Even she could not write a poem, she also handed over her work. However, you who were well-educated and had chapter and verse at your tongue’s tip were so lazy that you didn’t want to write anything. Didn’t you feel shameful and be moved after reading He Danggui’s work?
“No!” Song Qiao kept his bow with his fan on his hand and walked a few steps towards He Danggui. He said in a low voice, “I heard that when you entered the school three years ago, you did not even know how to hold a writing brush. But now you can write beautiful Regular Script, so it can be seen that your talent is excellent. And if you want to learn how to write a poem, I am willing to teach you by starting from the tonal patterns and the four steps of regulated classic writing.”
He Danggui’s left hand was hurt because of saving people half year ago, so she could only use her right hand to write. Although she tried her best to write badly, she was still the best calligrapher in the Women Institute. At Ms. Zheng’s request, she copied articles and pasted them on the walls of every classroom of Women Institute for everyone to see.
He Danggui refused, “Thank you, Childe Song. I am satisfied enough that I can read, and it is useless for me to learn more. You will take the imperial examination held in autumn next year, so your time is very precious and I dare not to waste your time.”
He Danggui was taking her time to answer Song Qiao. When Liao Qing’er saw that Song Qiao moved two more steps forward, and he was almost at He Danggui’s side, she could not help but walk quickly to take He Danggui away and said, “The Feast of Qushui Liushang is not over yet. Let’s go to join them. If the wine glass stops in front of us, I will drink the wine and you can write the poem. Our alliance will surely astonish the audience!”
As Liao Qing’er spoke, she pulled He Danggui away and walked straight to the most populated part of the stream. Song Qiao was left alone. He was stunned for a moment. Then he took out a letter from his sleeve and hurried forward. He said, “Don’t be afraid, I mean no harm. I just want to make friends with Miss He. I wrote something in my letter, and hope Miss He can read it...” He stopped because Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying went forward here now. Finally, he added in a whisper, “Hope Miss He can read it carefully.” He handed the letter to He Danggui with both hands, and made a slight bowing gesture.
He Danggui was still refused to accept it and said slowly, “I cannot recognize many words, so if you want to tell me something, please tell it me now. I will listen carefully.” Liao Qing’er, who was nearby, thought of something suddenly and seized the letter with a smile, “It’s OK. I can recognize a lot of words, so I can help you!” Before Song Qiao could say anything more, Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying were approaching. The roads were wide on either side, but they were coming straight up to them.
He Danggui and Liao Qing’er looked at each other. Then they looked at Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying, and both said to themselves, “Blighters come again.”
Since Guan Jun left the academy to the capital to learn tea art last year, the relationship between Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying was so good, and they were just like Zongzi sugars. He Danggui and Liao Qing’er who were like old friends from the start were another a pair of Zongzi sugars. Although Liao Qing’er was still lived in Guan’s Mansion, only Guan Jun, Guan Bai and Guan Mo had real cousinship with her. Guan Zhan was the daughter of the concubine who was described by Liao Qing’er as “a girl with double-faced and full of tricks”. Guan Wuying had always looked down upon He Danggui’s origin. But now Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying were walked straight to them, so they must want to take He Danggui and Liao Qing’er into trouble.
“Childe Song, why did you send your letter to her? Any girl is better than her.” There was a note of sarcasm in Wu Yuying’s mellow voice. She said, “You are new here, so you don’t know that in here, childes will send letters to the daughter of a private assistant or the daughter of a rice merchant in our Women Institute except her. I suggest you to take your letter back and ask the people here. Then you can make a decision whether you should tear or burn it.”
Song Qiao was in a daze and then looked down at He Danggui. When he found that He Danggui was looking at him, he shook his hands and said, “I have heard about the things that your mother remarried and you are now lodged in your grandparents’ house, but I don’t mind that. I have written all my feelings in the letter and you will know it after read it.”
He Danggui shot a glance at the letter in Liao Qing’er’s hand and shook her head. She said, “I persuade you to take back your letter, because I’m not going to find a boyfriend.”
Liao Qing’er said to herself, “How connotative the ancient people are when they show their love. The beauty just stands in front of him, but he says nothing and just emphasizes that she should read the letter. I really want to know what he has written in the letter...” She thought about this and returned the letter to Song Qiao unwillingly at the sign of He Danggui, but he refused to took it firmly. The atmosphere was awkward for a moment. Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying sneered and looked on with malice in their eyes.
Two years ago, Duan Xiaolou was failed to persuade Bai Yangbai to become an officer. At the same time, there was big case in capital, so Duan Xiaolou needed to go back immediately. He took Ling Miaoyi who had run away from home for a long time with him. When they arrived at one of the strongholds of imperial guards in Yinma Town, Baisha Mountain Villa, Ling Miaoyi didn’t want to go any further firmly. Therefore, Duan Xiaolou had no choose but let the Curator of villa, Liao Zhiyua, take care of her.
Then, Ling Miaoyi heard from Liao Zhiyuan that He Danggui was a daughter abandoned by her uncle, He Jingxian, and her mother who was a remarried woman had a bad fame. Then these messages were sent back to Yangzhou City and were spread like wind in Chengxu Academy. This hurricane of “The denounce about the First Miss’s origin” was finally stopped after two months and made He Danggui become a celebrity who known by everyone in Chengxu because of Luo Baiqiong’s testify.
In the first year that He Danggui entered the Chengxu, she was nominated by the selection of “the First Miss” inexplicably. And she became “the First Miss” finally without knowing how the Childes voted because she ran away with Liao Qing’er and was not in Chengxu at that time. Then the letters which came from the students of Men Institute constantly appeared in her desk, Guqin (Chinese seven-stringed zither) table, Go board and other places. They even gave the letters to the driver, Gui Banjiao, who had picked her up from school.
In the second year, her ignominious origin was exposed, and her loyal supporter, Peng Jian, who was good at canvass went back to the capital with his brother. These made her fail to be chosen as “the First Miss” successfully. When she was glad that she no longer had to deal with the love letters that came up from time to time, by the end of the second year, she still received 11 love letters, far more than that year’s “the First Miss”, Han Xinxin had received.
Two months before the third year’s selection of “the First Miss”, Han Xinxin went home to get marry. Wu Yuying became “the First Miss” with the highest number of votes. However, two months passed, she not only got no love letters, but had saw three men send their letters to He Danggui. Because of this, she decided to take He Danggui into trouble and poked where He Danggui’s hurts in front of her adorer because of jealousy. But what Wu Yuying didn’t know was that what she said would not hurt He Danggui because He Danggui had heard the words like “a daughter of the concubine”, “an abandoned girl”, “a daughter of a feculent woman” so many times. What she really didn’t want to hear were the name of Men Xuan and Duan Xiaolou, which were the taboo terms that she had made an appointment with Liao Qing’er.
“Hey, you!” Ms. Cheng ran here and pointed at them. She said, “There are only a few people coming this time, but you even don’t join in actively. Don’t you see the silence over there? Go to the stream quickly!”
Because the New Year was half a mouth away, and the weather was cold and wet, the Blind Dates of Feast of Qushui Liushang this time was quite dull. The female students’ talent show was gone because Misses complained that their fingers were frozen so they could not play Guqin. Besides, the martial arts demonstration of male students was also not worth seeing. In the year before last, the Young General Men played his unique skill of Zheye Feihua (a kind of Chinese martial arts), so in the past two years, the martial arts played by others were nothing new for people.
Because of the interruption of Ms. Zheng, the 5 persons walked away immediately. Song Qiao asked He Danggui to reconsider his letter carefully and went back to the male students sitting on the other side of the stream. He Danggui and Liao Qing’er paid no attention to Guan Zhan and Wu Yuying. They sat down on a dry-stone table by the stream and began to drink a jug of hot plum wine from the academy.
For the past 3 years, Bai Yangbai, Men Xuan, Duan Xiaolou, brothers of Peng’s Family had left the academy one by one. Looking at the strange faces across the stream, He Danggui felt a sense of loss. She drank 3 mugs of plum wine in a row in an attempt to allay her loneliness. Now she got a bosom female friend, Qing, and sat up Quan Ji Tang and Yi Hong Brothel. She got a lot of money and title deeds for farms. She had everything, so nothing could make she feel sad.
Liao Qing’er seized her mug and said with different opinions, “You cannot drink like this. If you feel sad, the wine is harmful; if you feel happy, the wine is good. Let’s play a game, and the loser should drink the wine!” It was not worth to be sad for men. She never expected that the smart Yi would do a foolish thing sometimes. Even she was dumped by Gao Jue, she could still be happy, because she thought they should look forward to making more money!
So, these two girls who had their own thoughts played the game silently in a noisy environment and drank the plum wine which was gradually cooling to pass the idle time in the winter afternoon.
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