Chapter 21 : Deep Water and Scorching Fire (3)

Yuxi took the initiative by saying to Yuchen, “San Jie, shall we go and see Dajie in the afternoon?”

 

Yuchen was somehow surprised. In her impression, Yuxi had always acted indifferent with her sisters, not distant, but not close either. However, she was very happy when Yuxi took the initiative to show her goodwill towards them.

 

After lunch and a short rest, Yuxi began to write again. After writing a hundred words, she put down the writing brush, rubbed her hands and complained, “I don’t know when this will end.” She was now going through the ordeal of Teacher Song. She did not believe Teacher Song would continue doing this for three consecutive months. No one could stand this ordeal, not even Yuchen.

 

To cheer Yuxi up, Mama Shen said, “It will take about half a month at most.”

 

This is an example of an ancient Chinese fishbowl that was made of ceramic glaze. It was much bigger than the common modern fish bowls. And it's usually put on a pedestal.
Image credited to ChinaFurnitureOnline

Yuxi muttered in her heart that she hoped so. She rubbed her eyes. It was not just her shoulders and hands that were hurting these days, her eyes were often painful too. She suddenly remembered one thing. Yuchen kept a jar of fish in her room. The fishbowl was made of ceramic glaze, and one could see the fish swimming freely among the tender green aquatic plants. She looked at it with envy, but now, she thought that the fish tank might not be used as a beautiful decorative item only. She asked, “Don’t you think something is missing in the room, Mama Shen?”

 

Mama Shen knew Yuxi had something in her mind when she asked this question. Yuxi seldom talked to her unless something happened. Of course, Yuxi also seldom talked to Moju and Motao too which made her didn’t suspect anything unusual. “Miss, what is missing in the room?”

 

Yuxi smilingly said, “If a jar of fish is kept in the house, it will also warm the heart, and delights the eyes.”

 

Mama Shen thought she knew what Yuxi meant and said with some embarrassment, “Miss, Third Miss' fishbowl was sent by the Marquis of Pingqing, not bought by the residence.”

 

Yuxi wanted to spit out, why did everyone think she was lusting over Yuchen’s stuff one after another? Was she so short-sighted in these people’s eyes, or was she that greedy when she saw good things? Yuxi felt depressed and uncomfortable when she said, “I didn’t say I must have her fishbowl. I just want to keep at least two fishes in the house. It’s good to see them when I have nothing to do.” Although she didn’t know what effect a jar of fish would have in her house, she still believed that it was right for her to learn from Yuchen.

 

Mama Shen couldn’t guess what Yuxi thought, but she nodded and said, “Okay.”

 

In the afternoon, as soon as Teacher Song said the school was over, Yujing packed up her things and prepared to leave Magnolia Courtyard.

 

Looking at Yujing, who had already tidied her desk and was ready to go back, Yuxi asked, “Er Jie, you are not going to see Dajie with us?”

 

Yujing answered, “I have something else to do. I’ll see Dajie some other day.”

 

Yuchen shook her head secretly. Er Jie was really spoiled, even ignoring their sisterhood. “Si Mei, let’s go!”

 

As they walked and talked, the distance became very short, as if they had reached Yuru’s courtyard in a blink of an eye.

 

Yuru’s yard was planted with jujube trees instead of flowers, which looked monotonous.

 

When they entered Yuru’s room, they saw her lying on the bed, looking pale and bloodless. Yuxi went to the bedside worriedly and asked, “Are you feeling better, Dajie?”

 

Yuru nodded and said, “It’s much better now.”

 

Yuchen said with concern, “Dajie, you should take good care of yourself. Don’t worry about your schoolwork. When you are well, I will lend you my notes.” She thought that Yuru had fallen ill because of overworking herself.

 

Yuru weakly replied, “If I’m delayed from my study for several days, I’m afraid I can’t catch up.“ Not to mention delaying for several days, she couldn’t catch up even without any delay.

 

Yuchen did not notice the bitterness in Yuru’s words and said, “Don’t worry, Dajie. When you are well, we will ask Teacher Song to give you a private lesson.”

 

When Yuru heard Yuchen's words, she coughed violently. She managed to get rid of Teacher Song with difficulty, now they wanted to send her to Teacher Song’s door when she got better. She would not go to seek further abuse of herself!

 

Looking at Yuru’s performance, Yuxi became more sure that Yuru deliberately made herself ill. However, she was not prepared to delve deep into the matter either. Whether Yuru wanted to learn or not, it had nothing to do with her. “The most important thing now is to have the disease be cured first, and other things have to wait until then.” In this way, Yuru would never go to school again even after she got well.

 

The two left after accompanying Yuru for a short conversation.

 

Zhuxuan looked at the entangled look on Yuru’s face and whispered, “Miss, don’t think too much. Maintaining good health is the most important thing.”

 

Yuru whispered, “I won’t regret it.” Her mouth said she won’t regret it, but when she saw Yuchen and Yuxi were still in healthy good condition, her heart flashed with a bit of unwillingness. Why were they daughters of the formal wives? Why were they so loved by God? Everything good was always in their hands.

 

On the way back, Shishu told Yuchen in a lower voice, “Miss, I just inquired about it. Last night, the window of Eldest Miss' bedroom was not being closed, so the wind blew into the room. Eldest Miss caught the chill from the wind.” It was easy to get such important news, which showed how loose Yuru's yard management was.

 

Yuchen frowned. Her Dajie wouldn’t have done such a thing!

 

Shishu thought Yuchen didn’t listen to the unspoken implication, so she hastily said, “Miss, a maid couldn’t be so careless that she couldn’t even close the window. The day before, she was doing a good job. Why didn’t she do the same thing yesterday?“

 

Yuchen’s complexion showed she was uneasy. She said, “After telling me this, you should forget about it. Don’t tell anyone, not even to my Grandmother.” She had not thought about it before, but after hearing Shishu words, she had her doubt. Yuru’s body had always been healthy. How could she get ill because of overworking when she only studied for five days? Except that, it wasn’t something that would be pleasant to speak out, so she didn't want to pay attention to it any more.

 

Both the Old Lady and Qiu Shi knew that Yuru deliberately got sick to avoid going to school. Yet no one wanted to expose it, and they still asked for medical treatment for her.

 

Teacher Song did not slow down her teaching process because of Yuru’s illness. It took only one and a half days for her to finish talking about the «One Hundred Surnames». In the afternoon she explained the advantages and disadvantages of the three people’s homework.

 

This time she praised Yuxi, “Fourth Miss has made great progress, but she still needs to work hard.” Yuxi really gave her a big surprise.

 

Yuxi was embarrassed.

 

Some were praised and criticised by Teacher Song. Her target of criticism was Yujing, "Second Miss, you haven't finished your school works these days. If you do this again, you don’t have to come to class anymore." Yujing believed that if she didn’t finish her homework, her palm wouldn’t be hit. Unlike reciting the text, which she was currently focusing on. Consequently, her homework had never been completed even once.

 

Hearing what Teacher Song had said, Yujing’s face turned pale. She had worked so hard for so long that she didn’t want to be driven out of class again. “Teacher, I will work harder.”

 

After class, Teacher Song called Yuchen into her room. “Third Miss, your performance these two days are much worse than that of the other days. What is the reason?” With Yuchen’s qualification, such a thing should not have happened. Teacher Song was still quite concerned about this student whom she would appoint as her future student.

 

Yuchen’s face turned red. Under the pressure of Teacher Song, she could only say, “These two days, I have been practicing writing with my left hand.”

 

Teacher Song was stunned for a moment, but then she quickly responded, “Do you want to learn to write with your left hand because Fourth Miss could use her left hand?”

 

Yuchen slowly nodded.

 

Teacher Song thought Yuchen was too ambitious and said, “Third Miss, have you ever heard that within three hundred and sixty professions, every profession has its top performers?”

 

Yuchen nodded and said, “I’ve heard about it. This means that no matter what you do, you should do a good job to make others incomparable.”

 

Teacher Song couldn’t help sighing. The Old Lady’s high expectations of the Third Miss led her to compete with others in everything. Didn’t she know that this was a heavy burden for the child? “No matter what kind of profession, there will always be excellent talents in every three hundred sixty professions. It is good that there are chess masters in the chess field, and painting masters in the painting field…but one cannot learn everything from everyone.“

 

Yuchen understood what Teacher Song was saying, “What Teacher Song meant was that I am wasting my time by learning to write with my left hand like my Si Mei?”

 

Teacher Song nodded and said, “Yes, you can practice your usual handwriting better or do other things well within this time.”

 

Yuchen’s complexion was a little unnatural.

 

Teacher Song liked Yuchen, and she had considered Yuchen liked her formal student. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have said these words today, “Third Miss, you are gifted and have started much higher than the others. However, no matter how talented you are, you can’t learn everything. Third Miss, you have to know that one’s energy is limited. “

 

Yuchen knew that Teacher Song was thinking for her own good, but still, she said, “Teacher, I have to learn the four arts, poetry and ode.” These were the tasks given to her by her Grandmother, and she could not avoid them.

 

Teacher Song replied, “I will naturally teach you if you want to learn from me, but, Third Miss, you must remember that there is a difference between learning to master and learning just the basics.”

 

Yuchen sincerely said, “Teacher, I remember. I will study hard and learn all these things well. “

 

Teacher Song nodded her head. Although Yuchen was somewhat lofty and proud, she could still accept other people’s opinions, which was a very good trait. “You are the most talented child I have ever seen. As long as you can work as hard as you do now, your future achievements will surely be extraordinary.” This was not a compliment, but her expectation of Yuchen.

 

Yuchen smiled and said, “Thank you, Teacher.”

 

Yuxi looked at Yuchen's relieved face and could not help but sigh in her heart. It was different to have a famous teacher to guide you. If one had a good teacher, one would avoid many detours in the future. Today, Yuchen was still young. However, when she grew up, she would be excellent in everything, and she would make people around her unable to breathe. Even now, when she was somewhat blushed with shame.

 

It took only five days for Teacher Song to teach them the «Three-Character Classic» and the «Hundred Family Surnames». Next, she began to teach them «Thousand Characters Classic».

 

Yuxi looked at the book «Thousand Characters Classic» and suddenly fell irritated.

 

Moju asked, “What’s wrong, Miss?”

 

Yuxi was a little agitated, “I’m tired of writing and want to go for a walk.” Looking at this book, she questioned herself. Could she change her fate by learning these things? Could these things help her if she really met with difficulties or when she was stranded outside? Obviously, no.

 

NOOB TRANSLATOR'S MUSING

 

Just finished watching the last 5 episodes of The Story of Minglan yesterday. I know that it has already ended last week, but I only have time and the motivation to watch them yesterday. It ended with a happy ending for the OTP, with some of the villains turned good at the end and some were punished by death...I assumed. It made me more curious how the novel ended since those who have finished reading it told us, the not-yet-finished-reading ones, that the ending for the novel was not as dramatic as the drama had made, but still a happy ending.