Chapter 48: Chapter 41, Trouble i
Translator: 549690339
“Miss, come quickly and see; the two Hong Mei plants you and Madam bought have sprouted flower buds.”
Early in the morning, Wang Manman’s cheerful voice reached Daohua’s ears. Daohua curled up in the warm quilt and wriggled a bit, then continued to sleep. “Miss, it’s time to get up, eat breakfast, and then go to class. If you’re late again, Master Qin will give you a look,” Manman said, approaching the bed and starting to nag as she saw Daohua remained motionless.
Since serving the eldest Miss, she had learned that the Miss struggled to get out of bed, always dragging it out as long as possible. If she didn’t keep an eye on her, the Miss could easily stay in bed until noon.
“Don’t worry. Someone will convey what happened yesterday at the dinner table to Master Qin. If she wants to continue teaching at the Yan Family, she will know to behave,” Daohua said, lying in bed and half-closing her eye’s. Yesterday, her fourth brother had straightforwardly suggested replacing the tutor in front of everyone.
At the time, the three powerhouses of the Yan Family, her grandmother, her father, and her mother, had not explicitly objected.
If Master Qin had any brains, she’d know not to stir up trouble at this time. Wang Manman: “You should still get up, Madam wakes up early, and she might already be waiting for you for breakfast right now.”
Upon hearing this, Daohua fluttered around in bed before finally sitting up groggily.
Seeing the usually mature Miss acting like this, Wang Manman couldn’t help but laugh: “Miss, let me help you get dressed.”
Daohua waved her hand: “I can dress myself. Go and get the washing water ready.”
Once out of the quilt, the cold air in the room swept over her, and Daohua shivered before quickly and deftly putting on the clothes that had been laid out by the bed.
Living in the Yan family was not affluent, and although they had a coal allowance for the winter, it wasn’t much.
She had extra help from Lady Li in private, but even so, the coal in the room couldn’t last all night.
In the entire Yan Family’s back house, only Madam’s Songhe Courtyard had an ample coal fire.
After Daohua had dressed, Wang Manman brought in the basin of water: “Miss, the hot water is ready; you can wash up now.”
“Hmm!”
Daohua went over to take the towel and quickly groomed herself.
Sitting at the vanity, she saw Wang Manman eagerly bringing over the two Hong Mei plants: “Miss, look quickly; how well have these two Hong Mei buds bloomed?”
Daohua nodded perfunctorily.
How could they not bloom well? Ever since the Hong Mei plants were purchased, she almost nightly slipped them into the black soil of her space for half an hour before going to sleep.
The black soil in the space had the richest fertility, having nourished them for so long; unless the Hong Mei plants were actually dead, they were bound to bloom.
“Eh, Miss, did you turn over the soil in the Hong Mei plants?” Wang Manman, with a sharp eye, noticed marks of the soil being turned over in the pot.
Daohua calmly replied, “I was aerating the soil for the Hong Mei.” Wang Manman looked puzzled. Was there such a thing as aerating the soil? Not wanting Wang Manman to dig deeper, Daohua quickly said, “Alright, come over and comb my hair now.”
She could dress herself, but sorry, her hair was something she couldn’t manage alone. ;
If she were to comb it herself, she would end up with nothing but a crown of tied-up hair.
Afterward, Daohua joined Lady Li for a morning greeting to Madam in Songhe Courtyard. After having breakfast there, she went straight to class.
As expected, after yesterday’s incident, Master Qin was much more subdued. In the afternoon embroidery class, upon glancing at the pricks on Daohua’s finger, she furrowed her brow and immediately told her to stop sewing.
Daohua smiled and said, “Master, I haven’t been learning embroidery for long. If I don’t work hard, I’m afraid I won’t even be able to embroider a purse in the future. Don’t worry, I won’t do much; I’ll just move my fingers a bit in class.” If she doesn’t pick up the needle, wouldn’t she just have to sit idly through the class that afternoon?
Qin Zi kept a straight face, “Do as you please.” Having said that, she no longer paid attention to Daohua and began to inspect the embroidery of Yan Yihuan and others, making corrections here and there.
Seeing this, Daohua silently smiled to herself.
Sometimes, she really thought Qin Furen’s mind had holes in it.
Such an obvious targeting of her, had she calculated that the Yan Family would not dismiss her for the sake of Aunt Lin? Or was she convinced that the Yan Family wouldn’t find another female tutor to replace her in Linyi County?
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
One afternoon, when Furen Qin had matters to attend to and the needlework class was not in session, Daohua went to accompany Madam Yan of the Songhe Courtyard.
During that time, Daohua had been learning martial arts from Wang Manman, or more accurately, boxing and kicking.
The skills Wang Manman possessed couldn’t truly be called martial arts, they were just slightly more flexible than the average person’s punches and kicks.
However, it wasn’t right to say she only knew fancy but useless moves, for Daohua found traces of Tai Chi within Wang Manman’s movements.
My father said that women are naturally weaker in strength than men, so there’s no need to learn overly forceful martial arts. The skill to overcome strength with softness is best for women.” These were the exact words of Wang Manman.
Daohua found it reasonable and learned earnestly. After mastering all the moves, she removed some complex and difficult ones and created a simplified version of ‘Tai Chi’.
Therefore, in Madam Yan’s room in the Songhe Courtyard.
Daohua stood in front, and Madam Yan stood behind, both slowly going through the motions.
Even Nanny Sun, smiling happily, stood by following their movements.
Wang Manman stood to the side, giving occasional tips to correct their unsatisfactory moves.
It wasn’t until evening, when Yan Zhigao returned from the Governor’s Office with Yan Wenxiu and other grandchildren to pay respects, that Madam Yan and the others reluctantly stopped.
Seeing his mother with a slight sweat on her forehead and a rosy complexion, Yan Zhigao felt somewhat better, “Mother, what are you doing?”
Madam Yan took the handkerchief passed by Nanny Sun, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said with a smile, “I was learning to box with Daohua. Don’t mention it, but moving around, I feel much more relaxed.”
Yan Zhigao was stunned, looking towards his eldest daughter who also had a rosy complexion, “You really had Grandmother practice boxing? Be careful then, Grandmother is old, and it wouldn’t be good if she gets hurt by twisting something.”
Daohua replied with a smile, “Father, don’t worry. The boxing I’m teaching Grandmother is very simple, just to move her limbs.”
Seeing that the old lady indeed seemed in good spirits, Yan Zhigao didn’t say more.
Soon, Madam Li called for the dishes to be served.
At the dining table, Yan Zhigao frowned throughout, and upon noticing it,
Madam Yan asked with concern, “Zhigao, what’s bothering you?”
Yan Zhigao looked at his mother and children who were all watching him with concern and after a moment said, “After entering the twelfth lunar month, there have been several heavy snowfalls. I worry that the refugees we just ’ settled might not survive.”
Upon hearing this, the dining table fell silent.
Madam Yan was silent for a moment before asking, “Are the refugees lacking
food, or can’t they withstand the cold?”
Yan Zhigao sighed, “Mainly, it’s a lack of food.”
Daohua inquired, “Father, doesn’t the County Governor’s Office have grain reserves? Can’t they be opened for relief?”
Yan Zhigao shook his head, “Opening the reserves requires the Imperial Court’s approval. Moreover, we had already opened them once when settling the refugees. Now, there’s not much grain left in the granaries of the Governor’s Office.”
Daohua thought for a moment then asked again, “There are quite a few prominent families and wealthy households in Linyi County. Can’t they donate some?”
Yan Zhigao looked at his eldest daughter, surprised that she knew about this, and explained, “Generally speaking, if the county encounters a disaster, the ’ great families and wealthy households would donate some. However, they have already donated once before. Otherwise, I would not have been able to settle so many refugees..”