Chapter 30 (1/2)
Last chapter recap: Lu Zhu, one of Hua Xi Wan’s servant girls died.
This chapter has been brought to you by me, Adnana, and Vivie.
郡王妃 junw.a.n.g fei: the official wife of a junw.a.n.g
府 fu: compound or estate; junw.a.n.g fu: prince's estate/compound
太监 taijian: court or palace eunuch
郡王 junw.a.n.g: second-rank prince; also referred to as junw.a.n.g ye, i.e. ”His [Your] Royal Highness”
妾 qie: I, your servant (used by a wife or concubine)
哀家 aijia: lit. ”grieving one”; illeism for the empress dowager
本宫 ben gong: lit. ”this palace”; illeism for high-ranked denizens of the Imperial Palace
堂 tang: relatives with the same surname
Chapter Thirty: Peaceful Relations
It was two days later when Yan Jin Qiu stepped into the inner compound. At this time, the suns.h.i.+ne was perfect. He stood in the shadows as he watched Hua Xi Wan listen to the performance of a vocal mimicry performer. After his expression changed a few times, he still stood where he was and did not go forward.
What the vocal mimicry performer was performing was the ”Hundred Birds Paying Respects to the Phoenix.” There were all kinds of bird sounds, and even the sound of wind in the valley was nimble and realistic. There were also the sounds of water flowing in the mountains, the sound of fish leaping out of the water. When Hua Xi Wan closed her eyes, she seemed to see a paradise.
There were too many skills in the ancient era that were lost in the river of time. In the modern era, she had always been exceptionally respectful of all kinds of old experts. Because acting was a hard job, she rarely went to watch these performances. Now that she had such a good chance, how could she bear to miss the performance of someone who had over fifty years of experience in vocal mimicry? After he finished performing, Hua Xi Wan had a servant bring him a bowl of water to moisten his throat. Only when he finished drinking did she say, ”Old Mister, your skill is really good, as expected of a vocal mimicry prestigious family.”
Hearing this, the old person was startled by the praise. ”It is this old man's good fortune for eight lifetimes to be able to receive praise from Junw.a.n.g Fei.” He was someone who sold his talents. If it was said nicely, his was called a vocal mimicry prestigious family, but in reality, they were the lowest of the low who were eking out a survival. He usually encountered many rolls of the eyes and never imagined that he would have a chance to perform in front of Junw.a.n.g Fei and have her call him ”Mister.”
”Old Mister, do not be too humble,” Hua Xi Wan said with a smile. ”Your performance is so realistic—not everyone can do this. If Old Mister does not disdain the junw.a.n.g fu for being so crude, please come frequently to the junw.a.n.g fu to perform.”
Hearing this, the old person was overjoyed. He hurriedly bowed and said, ”Junw.a.n.g Fei likes to hear this, it is this old man's good fortune to come to the junw.a.n.g fu to perform and he doesn't dare to disdain it.”
A taijian came forward to help the old person up. Bai Xia gave the old man another pouch that was filled with some silver.” Since Old Mister does not disdain this, then please come frequently to the junw.a.n.g fu to perform. Our junw.a.n.g fei likes things like this.” The old man weighed in his hand the pouch that was substantial. After bowing and thanking Hua Xi Wan and Bai Xia, he followed a manservant out of the yard. When he reached the corridor, he saw the manservant leading him kneel down. He didn't dare to raise his head and guessed there was a n.o.ble personage in front of him, so he followed in kneeling.
”Stand up. Since Junw.a.n.g Fei likes this old mister's performance, remember to take care to send him back.”
The old person could hear that this voice was extremely young. When he was standing up, he saw a man dressed in grand white robes standing in the shadows. He was old, but his eyesight was still good. With just a peek, he felt this young man was unspeakably handsome. After going to so many places in these years, he had never seen such a good-looking young person.
When the old performer followed the young servant out of the compound, the young servant said with a smile, ”Old Mister, you really have good luck. Just now, the one who spoke is our junw.a.n.g ye. You will have good fortune in the future.”
”Junw.a.n.g Ye?” The old man looked with shock at the young manservant. After seeing him nod in certainty, he trembled and said, ”Heavens, I really had good luck today.” Finis.h.i.+ng, he took out a piece of silver from the pouch to give to the young servant. But after the young servant would not accept it no matter what, he could only put it away.
When he sat on the carriage the junw.a.n.g fu had prepared to go back to his home, the old person touched the pouch and could not suppress the joyful expression. That junw.a.n.g fei had a clear and delicate brow, open eyes and a delicate nose—this was a face of n.o.bility. That junw.a.n.g ye's presence was extraordinary, and with a glance, it was possible to see that this was someone with good fortune and n.o.bility. These two were both of extraordinary appearance, and even their faces were the rare faces of n.o.bility. As expected of Junw.a.n.g Ye and Junw.a.n.g Fei. Their presence was different than that of normal people.
Under the shadow of the tree, Hua Xi Wan looked with half-lidded eyes as Yan Jin Qiu walked towards her. She put the fan in her hand on the table and raised the mung-bean soup to slowly drink it. When Yan Jin Qiu walked close, she still didn't put down the bowl in her hand.
Yan Jin Qiu saw that Hua Xi Wan ignored him and silently sat down by her side. After seeing her drink half of the bowl, he said, ”There has been a few days since we went into the palace to see Imperial Grandmother. Will you go with me tomorrow?”
Hua Xi Wan put down the bowl and took the tea that Hong Ying handed over to rinse her mouth. After she slowly wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, she said, ”Since Junw.a.n.g Ye has said so, qie will naturally obey.”
”I already said that we do not need to be like this between us.” Yan Jin Qiu beckoned at Mu Tong and took a sandalwood box from him. ”A few days ago, you said you like the embroidery of the Shu area. I had people embroider some handkerchiefs in a rush. See if they fit your desire. If you like them, then have them make a few dresses for you.”
Hua Xi Wan took the box from his hand. Opening the box and looking at the handkerchiefs in the box, she looked at Yan Jin Qiu with a smile and nodded. She said, ”It was trouble for Junw.a.n.g Ye to spend so much thought.” Finis.h.i.+ng, she did not say if she liked them or not. She put the box to one side.
Yan Jin Qiu's gaze swept across the box that had been put aside, then over the male and female servants around them. He waved his hand for them to retreat before he sighed and said, ”Xi Wan, sometimes, I really do not understand what you think.”
Hearing this, Hua Xi Wan smiled rather than get angry. ”Sometimes, I think the same way that you do.”