Chapter 162: Chapter 163 - Jiang Family (2)

Since someone was blocking the ducks way in the front and there was someone chasing after them from behind, more than 20 ducks quacked and flew everywhere, which turned the place into a real mess of duck feathers.

Yuxi looked at Jiang Qi who had an expression of wanting to get angry but she had to endure it silently. This was the first time for Yuxi to see Jiang Qi looking like this. Uh-huh, it made Yuxi rather feel pretty good.

In the end, the ducks were driven back by two old women servants. When Old Madam Jiang’s gaze fell upon the lovely scene of blossoming plants swaying in the breeze[+]Chinese idiom : gorgeously dressed young misses, she invited everyone to go sit inside her courtyard.

While the others were silent, Yuxi found her very much interesting. Before, she had never heard Old Madam Jiang had such a playful nature. So she ignored Jiang Qi’s ugly expression and asked, “Old Madam, we won’t be disturbing you, will we? Jiang Qi Meimei[+]younger sister said that you like a quiet atmosphere, so she asked us not to disturb you.”

The Old Madam laughed and replied, “You’re not going to bother me, and I’m going to like it very much! Come, my courtyard is just up ahead, only a few steps away.”

Jiang Qi glanced at Yuxi with great dissatisfaction. If it had not been for Yuxi, she would have found an excuse to leave with everyone.[+]This noob translation was translated by a noob translator, きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

When Yuxi started to follow the Old Madam, naturally, it wouldn’t be good if Jiang Qi decided to leave with the others. At that moment, she reluctantly followed along after the two of them.

Although the Old Madam said it was not far, it actually took a few minutes for the group to arrive there. Looking at the clean courtyard, Yuxi looked left then right and saw that there were no ducks around.

The Old Madam smiled at this and said, “The ducks are back there! It was the maid who left the door open just now, thus she let them run out. If you want to see them, I can take you there.”

The Old Madam’s courtyard was the largest one in the Jiang family residence, and it came with a small backyard. The Old Madam instructed the backyard to be separated into three plots and those three plots to be planted with vegetables. Now, looking at the growing greeneries on those plots was very satisfactory. The ducks, which had just made a mess, were kept under lock at the right corner of the courtyard.

Yuxi felt that everything was very interesting, and smilingly praised, “Old Madam is so amazing to have such well grown vegetables.” She remembered the time she tried to plant medicinal herbs in her former Rose Courtyard backyard for five years and the results, the backyard was still looking so bleak. Originally, she wanted to wait for someone to sort out the Rose Courtyard. She wanted them to raze it to the ground before she continued planting herbs there, but she was too busy to do that. Of course, it was mainly because she now found that reading books was more useful than growing herbs.

The Old Madam smiled so much that there were more wrinkles on her face, “I’m so old already that I can’t even stand up from planting these few pieces of vegetables. I used to work all day in the fields, and I would be fine after a good night’s sleep.” It was rare to meet such an interesting young girl, so the Old Madam couldn’t help but to speak a bit more.

Yurong exclaimed, “Old Madam still goes to work in the field?” Wasn’t that something that a menial worker would do? Why would the Old Madam of the Jiang family do the work of a menial worker?

If there was a hole in the ground, Jiang Qi wished she could squeeze herself in.

When Old Madam Jiang noticed Jiang Qi’s indignant look, she sighed slightly in her heart and responded with a smile on her face, “I plant vegetables to move my muscles and bones. I’m getting old already. If I don’t move my arms and legs, they will become stiff.” She had never shied away from her origin because she didn’t feel there was anything shameful about it. What was wrong with being a peasant girl? What was there to be shameful of, as long as you didn’t steal or rob others and you rely on your own skills to support yourself? But her granddaughter wanted to save face, and she could not afford to embarrass her in front of everyone.

Old Madam Jiang hated Yu Shi. Not to mention that Yu Shi was trying to harm her eldest grandson, if she had to say, when she saw the way Yu Shi taught her two children made Old Madam Jiang unbearably weary. That child, Hong Jin, already had a deep mind when he was still a young boy. While Jiang Qi had become competitive and petty. On top of that, both children despised her origin. Old Madam Jiang did not mind her own origin, but she did mind the way the two children treated her. Ever since they came to the capital, the two children had been very distant towards her. They had never treated her like she was their grandmother and the way they treated her like she was a stranger. So every time she saw Yu Shi put on her false smile, she would be full of anger. If it weren’t for her eldest grandson, she wouldn’t want to stay in the capital even for a single day. She thought she would be more at ease in Jiangnan than in the capital. It was only because she was worried that Yu Shi would harm her eldest grandson again that she held back and planned to wait until he was married before returning there.

Yuxi smiled and refuted, “Old Madam doesn’t look old at all, and I want to ask Old Madam on your planting skills! What Old Madam doesn’t know, I have tried planting a few herbs in my yard before, but they always end up dead.” Whenever she spoke of her past experience of planting herbs, she always shed bitter tears.

The Old Madam asked in amazement, “You’re learning medical skill?”

Yuxi replied with a smile, “I have learned some pharmacology from my nurturing momo[+]wet nurse.”

The Old Madam waved her hand and said, “I’m good at growing vegetables, but I can’t grow herbs. There are a lot of requirements for growing herbs. The habits of herbs and their soil requirements are very particular. If you really want to learn, you have to find an expert on them.”

Yuxi shook her head as she explained, “I grew it because I thought it was interesting. I didn’t learn it from anyone. I have heard from my nurturing momo[+]wet nurse that this vegetable will taste especially good when it was fry immediately after being picked.”

When Old Madam Jiang heard this, she nodded her head repeatedly in agreement, “Your nurturing momo[+]wet nurse is right. By stir-frying the vegetables after picking them directly from the ground will make them taste especially fresh and tender, much tastier than the ones bought from outside. If you don’t mind, you can eat at my place at noon.”

Yuxi took a glimpse at Jiang Qi rather awkwardly, then shook her head and said, “It’s okay. Let’s wait for another chance later on!”

Jiang Qi wanted to leave the courtyard quickly as she suggested, “Yuxi Jiejie[+]elder sister, it’s rare for you to hit off with my grandmother. Why don’t you just stay and talk with her. I’ll take Yurong Meimei[+]younger sister and the other girls back first. I’ll come back to fetch you later.”

Yuxi smiled and said, “I am afraid to disturb the Old Madam.” Although their interaction was very short, Yuxi could now be sure that for Old Madam Jiang to be able to walk from a mere peasant woman to the woman she was today, definitely not by good luck, but rather her own ability.

The Old Madam smiled kindly as she said, “What’s there to be bother with? I’m more than happy if you can stay and talk with me, this old lady!”

Upon seeing this situation, Jiang Qi immediately led Yurong and the rest of the group out of the courtyard.

The Old Madam didn’t seem concerned about this, as she pointed to her three plots and asked, “What kind of vegetables do you want to eat? I’ll have the maids pick and fry them up for lunch.”

Yuxi smiled and stated, “It’s uninteresting to let the maid pick them. It’s best if we pick them up ourselves. Let’s just pick (Chinese) cabbage (a.k.a bok choy) and spinach!” This was not even mentioned in the medical books. She had known about it when she had to live in the countryside before.

When Old Madam Jiang heard her words, she smiled and instructed a maid to bring a basket over.

Yuxi took the basket and went to a vegetable plot. She went to the (Chinese) cabbage first. She twisted the leaves off the cabbage roots as she picked them and she quickly picked half a basket with the help of her maid. Then she moved on to the spinach. The spinach was not picked, but plucked directly out of the ground, and the soil on the roots were shaken off afterwards.

Info : Bok Choy 白菜, what we widely know them for, is a Cantonese word. For the Mandarin speaker, they are known as 青菜 qīng cài (青 qing=green, 菜cai=vegetable) or 小白菜 xiao bai cai (小 xiao=small, 白 bai=white, 菜 cai=vegetable]). 白菜 Bai cai to Mandarin speaker refer to Napa Cabbage, though it is known nowadays as 大白菜 da bai cai (da=big, bai=white, cai=vegetable).

Old Madam Jiang was a little surprised to see that Yuxi was so skilled at doing these tasks as if she had done them often. It was only at this time that Old Madam Jiang noticed the calluses on Yuxi’s fingers. Although they were not thick, it was still quite surprising to see them on a young miss from the State Residence, “Have you done these things often before?”

Yuxi smiled and shook her head. “No. I saw the tenants do this when I went to the countryside once.”[T/N]: Darn, she must be a genius if she already knows how to pick vegetables perfectly after just watching it once.

The Old Madam nodded her head repeatedly. This was not an ordinary learning ability.

After all the vegetables had been picked, Yuxi walked back into the compound with Old Madam Jiang. As they were talking, they heard from the maid outside announcing the return of Eldest Young Master.[+]This noob translation was translated by a noob translator, きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

Yuxi instantly recognised Jiang Hongfu who just walked in, for no other reason than the fact that Jiang Hongfu and Jiang Hongjin looked fifty to sixty percent alike.

What surprised Yuxi was that Jiang Hongfu was followed by a young man. The young man was wearing an extremely simple, no pattern purple brocade robe, and there was only an excellent quality jade hairpin in his hair. Apart from this jade hairpin, there were no other accessories on his body. Even if he just stood there, no one would overlook his presence. It was just that this young man looked pretty good, elegant and handsome. Such a young man was simply the dream husband of a girl in a boudoir.

Yuxi was not acting over-cautious as she greeted the two of them, “Biaoge[+]Elder male cousin from mother’s side, though I don’t think Yuxi’s mother had any relationship with the Jiang family or the Yun family. That was the way Han Jianming had asked her to call Jiang Hongfu, Young Master Chen.” The teenager who was dressed extremely simple was Chen Ran, whom Yuxi had met once at Marquis Taining’s residence.

Jiang Hongfu was a little surprised at the way Yuxi was addressing him, “You are?”

Yuxi generously reminded, “Biaoge[+]Elder male cousin from mother’s side doesn’t remember. I met you and Yun Qing Biaoge[+]Elder male cousin from mother’s side in the street seven years ago. You even gave me a red envelope.”

Because of Yuxi’s words, Jiang Hongfu could not help but think of his biaoge[+]Elder male cousin from mother’s side in the northwest, and his heart turned gloomy. He knew his biaoge[+]Elder male cousin from mother’s side wanted to seek revenge on the Song family, but the Song family was very powerful and had the backing of two other princes, especially with the 9th Prince of whom would probably even ascend to the throne. His biaoge[+]Elder male cousin from mother’s side alone could not shake the Song family. However, he could not persuade his biaoge[+]Elder male cousin from mother’s side not to take revenge, for revenge was the only thing that had kept him going and made him stronger.

Seeing Jiang Hongfu’s dumbfounded look, Yuxi thought he had forgotten and simply reminded him again, “Biaoge[+]Elder male cousin from mother’s side, we ran into each other several times on the road, and at the Lantern Festival seven years ago, Yun Qing Biaoge[+]Elder male cousin from mother’s side even saved Duan Jiejie that night. Don’t you remember?”

Jiang Hongfu remembered who the young girl in front of him was. She was the one who had been pinched in the face by his biaoge[+]Elder male cousin from mother’s side. “You’ve grown so much, that I don’t even recognise you.” The five-year-old child had now grown into a slender and elegant young lady.

Yuxi’s head was full of black lines. What with his adult-like tone? If she remembered correctly, Jiang Hongfu was only sixteen years old this year, which made him only four years older than her!

Old Madam Jiang ushered with a smile, “Come inside, don’t stand in the courtyard talking.”

Once Jiang Hongfu heard this, he immediately stepped forward and helped Old Madam Jiang to cross the threshold as they walked into the house. While Yuxi, being a step behind, stood with Chen Ran.

When Old Madam Jiang turned her head, she saw the scene of the two of them standing together. She couldn’t help but smile, “Seeing the two of you stand together, it feels just right.”

Chen Ran was wearing purple clothes, while Yuxi was wearing a purple dress today. What’s more, some dark patterns were embroidered on the collar and sleeve edges of her clothes, while there were no embroidery patterns on the other parts of her clothes. When these two people who dressed like this stood together, outsiders would feel that they looked very well matched.

Yuxi asked herself to have a thick-skinned face, but after hearing Old Madam Jiang’s words, her face still managed to turn red. When she took a quick look at Chen Ran, she found that his face looked as normal as ever without any hint of change, which made her felt really bad for herself.

After Yuxi stabilised her expression, she said with a smile, “Old Madam, I have been out for some time now, so I must go over there or my Mother will send someone to look for me.” Men and women were different. It was fine to say a few words when they met, but it would be inappropriate for them to have dinner together.

Old Madam Jiang knew that Yuxi was just making an excuse, but she still smiled and nodded in agreement. Afterwards, she instructed her maid to send Yuxi to the Master Courtyard.