Love Like the Galaxy

Chapter Twenty-Eight:
The First Scandal Of My Life (Part 2)

Deep in the secluded alley, Yuan Shen stood for a while, only getting in the carriage when the boy and driver urged him. It was once again a bumpy journey back to Jinyang Square – where the wealthy lived. It was already time for dinner.

The Yuan Mansion was an ancient house built over several generations, with over ten giant trees arranged in the number of stars that have grown into towering ancient trees. The strong branches covering the sky and earth were covered in thick snow, and the entire mansion was surrounded by vast and secluded spaces.

When Yuan Shen was young, he often felt afraid walking around his house even if his servant led with a lamp in front. His mother said to him, “Things in this world won’t come unless you’re afraid.” The moon was not round, and people were not perfect. You need to get used to this world.

Now, he was never afraid.

Returning to his place of residence, a kind looking old lady approached him and smiled. “The Young Master has finally returned. He’s not afraid of getting cold when he goes out in the morning.” She then instructed the maidservants to serve Yuan Shen by changing his clothes and giving him hot soup.

“Where is Mother?” Yuan Shen asked, warming his hands with a steaming handkerchief.

The old lady was slightly startled. “Madam is still burning incense and praying. What happened for the Young Master to go looking for Madam?” Mother and son usually only met once a week.

Yuan Shen paused. “Tell Mother not to be too tired and to rest early.”

It was nothing serious, he just wanted to tell his mother that he had met a young girl recently and in the three times they met, two of them ended up with her running away.

He also wanted to tell his mother that the first time they met, he felt very similar to that young girl. Even though the lights shone brightly and the world reunited, he still liked to follow the crowd and walk alone with Yu*. If there was trouble, the first thing was to protect yourself vigilantly, doubt the other party’s intentions, make sure there was a way to retreat, and never take risks lightly.
[I believe the Yu mentioned here is Yu the Great, who was a legendary king in ancient China. There are no existing records on whether he actually existed or not. He’s famed for his introduction of flood control, the establishment of the Xia dynasty, and his upright moral character. There’s a story about him walking alone for thirteen years while he was controlling the floods.]

Yuan Shen leaned back and covered his face with a hot handkerchief, smiled and thought to himself, ‘This time she should be obedient and pass the message.’

…

He was correct; Shaoshang dared not delay anymore.

If the matter were to be charged to her blogger roommate, the model girl who grew up as a class leader and outstanding student group secretary would probably be angry, “Why do you want me to do this? Why do you blackmail me?” However, Shaoshang, the apprentice girl, didn’t think so. Did they still need a reason to bully? That was how it was in socialist towns, let alone in feudal society.

She was able to fish in muddy waters in a semi-black and not white place for so long, but was never caught by an unimportant handle. She relied on hard and soft when needed, and ran away when the opportunity was wrong. She was able to distinguish between who can provoke and who cannot, so that the prodigal child could turn around quickly. Unlike the snotty girl, who was really fooled into stealing when her head was hot. If it weren’t for her parents washing dishes abroad and creating a small restaurant, she could have been picked up. She didn’t know how long she would have been untangled.

Upon returning to the mansion, Shaoshang didn’t waste any time and quickly ran to Madam Sang’s residence. She was holding a small silver knife to shave Cheng Zhi’s face, with a basin of hot water and soap horn cream, as well as a moisturizing cream off to the side. The silver knife gently scraped against the chin, while husband and wife spoke sweetly and teased each other.

One said, “Madam, this hand touching your husband’s face is as soft as a spring flower.”

The other said, “Laugh again and I will scratch your face. Then Mother will cry down the city wall!”

The first one said, “Where on me is not my wife’s, let alone a shave? My wife can embroider anything she wants, and I’ll do whatever I want.”

Shaoshang was so disgusted by this that she turned around and wanted to leave. She thought of the debt collector, Yuan Shen, and was afraid he would come up with another ploy if he didn’t hear any news. She gnashed her teeth and turned back, making sure her footsteps were loud enough to announce her presence to the two mandarin ducks inside.

“I have something to say to my aunt, if Uncle could please leave for the time being,” she said with a bright smile.

Cheng Zhi pulled a hot towel to cover his face. “Why don’t you leave?” he said angrily. “Can’t you see your elders are busy? If it’s so important, come back later!” This blind girl!

Madam Sang smiled and poked her husband’s forehead. She affectionately pulled Shaoshang over. “Don’t pay attention to him, Niao Niao. What do you need to say?”

Shaoshang shook her head, eyeing Cheng Zhi. He couldn’t resist his niece and wanted to leave but Madam Sang surprised him by holding him down. “Just say it,” she said. “Your uncle knows everything about me.” She already had an idea of what this was about.

“Do you really want me to say it? Alright, I’ll say it!” Shaoshang saw her aunt was calm and thought it would be better not to hide it from her uncle. “Recently, someone named Yuan Shen came to me and asked if I could pass a message onto my Third Aunt,” she said. “He dragged on a messy piece of poetry, but I didn’t remember it. In short, the meaning is that an old friend cares about you, so please just say a few words to reassure them.”

She finished speaking it all in one breath and quickly stared at Madam Sang’s face. She looked confused. “Yuan Shen?” she asked. “Yuan Shanjian? Isn’t that the eldest son of the Yuan family in Jiaodong? Other than the banquet the other day, I’ve never seen him before.” She thought it was someone else.

Cheng Zhi punched his palm. “Oh! I remember. Is this the Yuan Shanjian the little disciple he received that year? He even went to your brother to boast about him being such a beautiful and talented person.”

“So, it’s him,” Madam Sang let out a sigh of relief. She turned to Shaoshang. “And then? What is he going to do?”

Shaoshang nearly vomited blood. “Didn’t I say? The old man is concerned and asks for a few words… Okay, actually, I don’t know what he is going to do. This Yuan person just asked me to pass on the message and nothing else…” People of ancient times just couldn’t explain things clearly.

“A few words,” Madam Sang hesitated. “I haven’t seen him in over a decade… Ah, I remember.” She turned to Cheng Zhi. “Didn’t we meet him on our way back to the capital? Oh, I know what he meant.”

As she spoke, she took out a wooden slip from her desk and wrote six beautiful, small characters down, ‘Cough has healed, do not reply.’ She handed it to Cheng Zhi. “Have someone deliver it.”

Cheng Zhi took it and smirked while he looked at it. “So, it turned out to be this,” he said, “you have a good memory. At that time, he kept talking about it, and you told him you would say when you were better.” He left the room, giving orders.

Shaoshang tugged at Madam Sang. “That’s it?” she exclaimed in surprise. Six words solved the problem, and she had dealt with Yuan Shen for so long it almost led to murder! “You didn’t even write a signature!”

“He knows my handwriting,” Madam Sang smiled. “He doesn’t need a signature.”

Shaoshang squatted down on a velvet cushion, holding her knees. She looked like a sluggish little frog.

“Third Aunt,” she said, looking at the older woman with a hint of resentment, “don’t you want to tell me the story behind this?” For example, what is the last name of ‘that person’ and how long have they been in love with you…?

Madam Sang picked up the silver knife and ran her fingertips along the blade. “It’s a long story,” she said.

“We can talk about it slowly.” Shaoshang refused to give up.

“When someone says the four words, ‘it’s a long story,’ it means they don’t want to talk about it,” Madam Sang said with a glare.

“I won’t ask, then.” Shaoshang felt helpless. She knew that her aunt seemed easygoing, but she was determined, so she had to take a back seat and beg for the next best thing. “But, Third Aunt can always tell me why the Yuan family didn’t go directly to you and why they had to go around in such a roundabout way.”

Madam Sang stopped tracing her fingers along the silver knife to think. “Because I once said to someone, ‘In the future, your relatives, friends, and disciples cannot come to see me, nor send me letters or objects,’” she said, laughing wryly. “However, when he was young and angry, he was stubborn and agreed to it.”

Shaoshang was silent and thought to herself that this was what she had expected. It was indeed a contrived love affair.

Madam Sang saw that she hadn’t spoken for a long time and asked, “What’s wrong with you? Talking about me and you look so dull.”

Shaoshang shook her head. “I think that what my aunt said was so severe that it blocked off almost all ways that he could communicate with you.”

At first, it may have sounded like an ordinary negative remark, but upon closer reflection it did cut off all direct ways to contact Madam Sang.

Because the matter involved a long-standing love affair, those who knew about it back then may not be willing to pass on the message – for example, Madam Sang’s brother or the rest of the Cheng family. Yuan Shen obviously didn’t want his mentor’s private affairs be known to everyone. The messenger had to be someone that was not only intimate with Madam Sang, but also not talkative with the Cheng family. The task fell to Shaoshang.

She wasn’t the most suitable candidate, either. If Cheng Wei were older, it would have been more suitable for mother and daughter to communicate. Unfortunately, Cheng Wei was too young and this made things worse.

Madam Sang didn’t expect the young Shaoshang to say that sentence, and for a moment, she felt disappointed. She thought that a woman would be blessed if she didn’t have to say something like that in her lifetime. The aunt and niece remained silent for a while, and Madam Sang suddenly remembered something and became excited again. “By the way, how did you meet Yuan Shanjian? Where did you meet him? When?”

Not surprised with this series of questions, Shaoshang sighed, “It’s a long story.”

Madam Sang glared at her, and Shaoshang blinked innocently back at her. There was a moment where the two of them stared at each other, then began to laugh.

Madam Sang shook her head. “It’s okay if you don’t tell me,” she said. “When your mother asks, you need to come up with a good excuse. Your mother doesn’t care about you anymore, but she cares about everything to do with who you have met and where you have been.”

Shaoshang pretended to be profound. “No, no, no,” she said. “As long as my aunt doesn’t say it, no one should know that Yuan Shen entrusted me with something.”

How intelligent was Madam Sang? “Did you two meet in private?” she asked. She couldn’t help the look of suspicion that came upon her face.

Shaoshang was afraid of this, and hurriedly clasped her hands together. “Don’t guess, don’t think, there is nothing,” she begged. “If my aunt doesn’t believe me, I can make an oath – on heaven above and earth below, if I have a personal matter with Yuan Shen, just call me…”

“Stop, stop!” Madam Sang quickly pushed her hands down and lightly patted her mouth with a hand. “Little enemy! Is it okay to swear without permission? If there is, why not? Love between men and women is human nature, as long as we keep our etiquette…” She looked at Shaoshang and felt flustered again. “Yes, yes, yes, I believe you, how can I not?!”

Shaoshang glared at her, cursing her aunt in her head. “Aunt,” she said angrily, “don’t say anything, otherwise I will never pay attention to you again! Also, it was all for the sake of my aunt that I’ve been implicated!”

Unexpectedly, Madam Sang’s way of thinking was different. “When people sit at home, disasters come from the sky. In life, unless you are alone with no relatives and no reason, no one can be implicated. What matters is your response after being implicated…” She had a twinkle in her eyes. “Now it seems that you haven’t dealt with it very well. Did someone take advantage of your shortcomings?”

Shaoshang’s face turned green. “That’s right,” she admitted mournfully. “I was careless with that Yuan person, but I agreed and made a mistake. So, I plan to quickly cut the mess and settle all accounts.” In short, it was because she had always considered herself Yu Cai Ling, not Cheng Shaoshang.

Madam Sang smiled slightly. Shaoshang may not know this, but she was born with a look that made people want to tease her.

Shaoshang saw that her aunt was silent and quickly said, “Aunt, you must not say anything to Uncle.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Madam Sang promised. “I won’t say anything. If your uncle dares say anything, I’ll drive him out of this house!” Shaoshang was not a sentimental person. After hearing her speak so absolutely, Madam Sang truly believed that there was nothing else between the two of them.

In the next few days, Shaoshang, in order to prevent Madam Xiao asking her, held her breath and stood ready. Who knew that no one had ever asked her?! She wondered, did her tigress mother doze off? However, it was not at all strange ­–

In recent days, Madam Xiao occasionally looked at her with a worried expression. She could see that Shaoshang was upset;

Cheng Shi became increasingly proud, as if the water radish planted by his grandmother in her backyard had one the top spot at the town’s food expo that year;

The most eerie thing was Eldest Brother Cheng Yong, who was an observant person. Recently, he saw Shaoshang with a somewhat evasive expression. She originally wanted to inquire who Yuan Shen’s teacher was, but never did.

What she didn’t know was that Madam Xiao had already been made aware of the gift of charcoal that night. She didn’t know that, although no one knew she had met Yuan Shen in the alley, and although she and Yuan Shen both restrained their words and actions, the eyesight of the old servants over the years were sharper than they imagined.

After dinner that day, Cheng Shi held two volumes of the court’s political discussions recorded by Wang Songbai’s disciples and slowly explained them to his eldest son. Madam Xiao sat in her seat and asked the two old stewards of the warehouse how Cheng Yang had acted. However, as she spoke, she brought up Yuan Shen, which attracted the Cheng father and son over to them.

“…That’s all they said?” Madam Xiao frowned.

“I never left at all,” the steward said. “The Young Mistress and Young Master Yuan only said those few words, and there was nothing else.”

Madam Xiao turned her gaze to her son. “Exactly,” Cheng Yong quickly said. “Your son discussed Fù with Yuan Shanjian and also discussed it with Niao Niao.” He really just mentioned a few words casually.

“What about Yang Yang?” Madam Xiao hesitated. “She hasn’t seen Young Master Yuan?”

The steward shook his head. “I didn’t see it.”

The steward to the side quickly smiled and offered, “At the time, Third Young Lady was counting goods with this old servant in the back warehouse.”

Madam Xiao couldn’t help but feel disappointed upon hearing this.

Cheng Yong’s heart thudded. He silently scolded himself for saying such an inauspicious remark and was afraid of what would come.

“Niao Niao is polite in her words and actions,” he hurriedly said. “That’s great. If there’s nothing else, you two should go back and rest.” The two stewards had followed his parents for many years. They had been injured in battle and sent to manage the family warehouse.

The two stewards were about to leave, but to her surprise, Madam Xiao caught a glimpse of the steward’s smiling and hesitant expression. After thinking for a moment, she asked the other steward to go back first and asked him to stay behind.

“If you have anything to say, just say it,” Madam Xiao said sympathetically. “Is there anything wrong?” 

“There’s nothing wrong with Young Mistress. She spoke appropriately. However, Young Master Yuan…” he couldn’t help but smile. “He had looked at our Young Mistress several times.”

He had also experienced the world before. A son of a noble family like Yuan Shen, who maintains his own propriety and etiquette, without the introduction of an elder, would normally fix his gaze a few feet in front of him when he first met a young woman and greeted her directly.

Yuan Shen had a genial attitude and nodded and smiled at the servants, but the steward noticed that most of his gaze was on his own Young Mistress (who was actually looking at Shaoshang’s reaction). After the Young Mistress said, ‘it’s Fù, not a poem,’ he even smiled like a spring breeze brushing his face. The joyful atmosphere that truly emanated was not polite.

Cheng Shi, Cheng Yong, and Madam Xiao all had different expressions after listening.

“Our Young Mistress is likeable,” the steward said. He smiled brightly, as if an old grandfather’s proud and beautiful granddaughter was favored by others.

Madam Xiao forced a smile. “Just keep this to yourself, don’t let others know about it.”

The steward quickly dropped his smile, held his military fist, and replied solemnly, “I know that the reputation of Young Mistress is important, and I will not say much.” A family of women begged for help, but there was still no word about who the Young Mistress would marry in the future, and there could be no rumors circulating.

After finishing this sentence, he bowed and took his leave.

Cheng Shi pretended to be reserved and stroked his beard. He was about to say something boastful, but he glanced at his wife’s eyebrows as if they were tied in a knot. “What’s wrong with your appearance? Don’t blame Niao Niao again. Yang Yang was ordering goods, it’s not that Niao Niao didn’t want her cousin to see Yuan Shanjian!”

Madam Xiao breathed a faint sigh as she remembered the aftermath of the writing desk scandal. Whenever she showed any displeasure towards her daughter, her husband and son would suspect she was being biased again. She gently rebuked her husband. “What nonsense are you talking about? How could I think that?!” It was just a pity for Cheng Yang, but maybe that was fate.

Cheng Shi proudly said, “Young men, young men admire…  Yong’er, how do you say it?”

Cheng Yong made a bitter face. “Young men admire beautiful women.”

“That’s right, that’s it.” Cheng Shi patted his thigh. “Alright, go back first. Don’t tell Niao Niao about today’s matter otherwise she’ll think about it.”
[This exchange was really hard for me to translate and I’m still not 100%. The phrase Cheng Yong says is 知好色而慕少艾, which loosely translates to ‘to be lascivious and admire women.’ Cheng Yong is obviously reciting something he learned in his studies which Cheng Shi gets mixed up. I looked up this phrase and Mencius came up a bit. He was a Chinese thinker second only to Confucius himself. The only thing I could find was from Mencius 6A:4; ‘Appetite and lust are only natural.’ From the context, I’m thinking that Cheng Shi is like ‘my daughter’s a beautiful girl, of course men will look at her!’ and Cheng Yong is like ‘that’s my sister. Gross.’]

Cheng Yong bowed to his parents.

Cheng Shi watched his son leave and then turned to his wife. “What’s bothering you about this?” he asked. “If Yuan Shen really has taken a liking to Niao Niao and comes to ask for marriage, we’ll agree. A few days ago, you asked me to inquire about his character. He’s not lascivious, not greedy for alcohol, not irritable, not crazy, and has a very upright character. He’s also very attractive to His Majesty. In the future… maybe he can attain the rank of Third Duke… I’m optimistic but, alas, we can’t match the noble Yuan family in Jiandong.”

Having said that, he sighed. “The family will see how good Niao Niao is. Don’t think too much about it.”

He had been in officialdom for many years and was well aware about the intermarriages of aristocratic families. Unless they were truly in love and inseparable, like Old Madam Wan and the deceased Old Master Wan, the match would be unlikely to happen. To put it bluntly, if it weren’t for the chaos of the world, which gave them a chance as heroes in the grasslands, the social gap between the Yuan and Cheng families would be even greater.

“I won’t let Niao Niao be a concubine to anyone,” Madam Xiao suddenly said. No matter how noble the family was, she would not allow it.

Cheng Shi was startled by this. “I wasn’t sure what you were thinking, so that’s what it was? Didn’t we agree on that a long time ago? I would rather have a lower family status than a smooth and comfortable life.” No matter what, he would protect his daughter.

Only then did Madam Xiao smile. “My husband, don’t underestimate yourself!” she stated loudly. “Whether worthy or not, we have never bullied the people, never killed the good, protected one party’s elders, devoted our allegiance to His Majesty and put an end to the chaos. Fighting with one’s own ability, praising the world without shame, how can you feel sorry for yourself! Aristocratic families and powerful families will never change, those who follow the cruel emperor to help the tyrant, those who follow the wrong tyrant, even if they are not exterminated, they are on the brink of death. Those who want to protect their lives but are harmed by military disasters have only been in the past few years, if there are no more able-bodied children in the clan, can they still be called in the future?!”

“Well said!” Cheng Shi exclaimed loudly. He held his wife’s shoulders with his big hands and embraced her. He was full of gratitude and pride. “If you are my wife, what more can a husband ask for!”

Madam Xiao’s eyes flickered with tears and she thought to herself, ‘I am truly blessed.’