Lady Kelpi Translations

Chapter Twenty:
Rulan’s Injustice

The four little maids were all under ten years old, two younger than Minglan and two older than her. Their names were Er Ya, Zhao Di, Xiao Hua, and Niu Zi, respectively. Old Madam Sheng smiled and asked Minglan to rename them. She had experience; she had been the one to name Xiaotao. These four were simply called ‘Li Zi, Li Zhi, Pi Pa, and Gui Yuan.’ All of them had the same coloration.
[Li Zi, Li Zhi, Pi Pa, and Gui Yuan are Plum, Lychee, Loquat, and Longan, which are all fruits of similar colors. Danju and Xiaotao mean Orange and Small Peach. Minglan likes food.]

Just as she was about to open her mouth, Danju coughed lightly and smiled, “Fourth Miss named the two sisters next to her Lu Zhong and Yun Zai. I heard that they come from a book. No wonder they are both pleasant to listen to and refined.”

Xiaotao, standing next to Danju, expressed her unhappiness about her name with her eyes. Old Madam Sheng and Fang Mama also shared an amused glance about Minglan, which made her unhappy. Wasn’t it just poetry from the Tang period? Who didn’t know that?

Greatly embarrassed, Minglan flipped through a collection of poems and searched for one. Alright, Gao Chan, are you any better than Li Bai? It was okay for people to be poetic immortals! Minglan stood in the middle of the hall, with great momentum, and pointed to the small girl: “Your name is Yan Cao.” Pointing at the slender girl: “Your name is Bi Si.” Pointing at the gentle and shy girl: “Your name is Qin Sang.” And finally, she pointed to the sharp and bold girl, calling her Lu Zhi.

Danju was the most considerate and immediately came forward to join in the fun. “Young Mistress gave good names, they all sound nice and are good looking. The four of them are green, while Xiaotao and I are red. Thank you, Young Mistress, for giving us two stupid names.”

As she spoke, she pulled Xiaotao and they bowed to Minglan together. Minglan regained some self-respect to some extent, and Xiaotao was all too happy to join in. “Yes, Sister Danju and I can eat, but they can’t.

Minglan didn’t say anything.

Old Madam Sheng sat down on the kang with a smile, happily watching the children play around. The four newly arrived girls also covered their mouths and giggled lightly. Fang Mama smiled and sat on a small stool, thinking to herself, ‘With these six girls, Shou’an Hall will be lively.’

Old Madam Sheng became increasingly cheerful, perhaps feeling more at ease and feeling much better. Sheng Hong was very happy and said that it was the right thing to have a child. The old woman now had the strength to manage the household affairs. When the staff of the Sheng mansion was about to change, Changbai came back from seeing the bride off. Because Sheng Wei and Changwu still had to stay in the capital to work, Changbai went home first, along with a skinny older gentleman named Zhuang Ru.

A few years ago, Sheng Hong began to invite Scholar Zhuang to teach at his residence, sending several carriages of gifts and dozens of sincere letters. However, the quality of education Scholar Zhuang was well-known and his students’ success rate was high, keeping him busy and never available. A few months previous, Scholar Zhuang celebrated his seventieth birthday. He had too much fun at the banquet and drank two glasses of wine. Unfortunately, he caught wind and cold and lay in bed for more than a month. The doctor suggested that he go find a place with a humid climate for treatment. Jiangnan was too far away, but Dengzhou was the right place.

Scholar Zhuang felt his old bones, which didn’t have much meat on them, and felt that his life was still important. He responded to Sheng Hong’s invitation and returned with Changbai. He also had his highly respected wife come with them. Their daughter had been married in Jinzhong at an early age, while their son worked as a clerk or a chief clerk in a county in the south. Sheng Hong specially created a small garden on the west side of the mansion and was renovated several days ago to accommodate Scholar Zhuang and his wife.

The old couple only had a few servants accompany them, but there were twenty or thirty luggage boxes and crates, all of them heavy. After listening to the gossip reported by Xiaotao, Minglan sighed. It seemed that the ancient family education industry was very profitable.

When he invited Scholar Zhuang, Sheng Hong originally did so for the sake of his two eldest sons’ studies. After Kong Mama’s profound education, however, he felt that a good teacher should not be wasted. After respectfully discussing it with Scholar Zhuang, he added another sum of tuition to include the three girls, and the youngest son, Dong’er, as spectators.

The day before school started, Sheng Hong and Madam Wang called their children to instruct them, beginning with Changbai and Changfeng. As usual, Sheng Hong began with the tradition of serving the people and ended with the glory of their ancestors, interspersed with a couple lines of loyalty and patriotism. The two older boys lowered their heads and agreed.

“Scholar Zhuang has excellent knowledge. Although he is older, he is famous for his quick thinking and teaching skills. He has been teaching and educating for more than ten years, and he understands the way to take the Imperial Examination the best. You should seek advice well and not slack off! Don’t flaunt your pride just because you have some achievements and fame. If you do, I will break your bones!”

Sheng Hong concluded his speech with a sharp rebuke. According to Confucian theory, a father should not give his son a good face, and it was best to beat him three times a day.

However, for his daughters who would eventually become family members, there was some gentleness. When Sheng Hong turned to his three daughters, his voice sounded much softer. “Although girls don’t need to have a lot of education, being responsible is the most important thing in dealing with people. It is also good to understand more reason, so as to not be laughed at when going out in the future. Scholar Zhuang and I have agreed that you will attend school in the mornings and, in the afternoon, you won’t have to go to learn about the eight-part essay and exam rules.”

Madam Wang’s face turned green as Sheng Hong spoke. She didn’t know how to read herself, and she couldn’t understand poetry at all. It was fine when they were newlyweds, but as the days passed Sheng Hong couldn’t help but become a bit depressed. He boasted of being romantic and elegant, so when he sighed at the moon, ‘The moon waxes and wanes,’ even if he didn’t expect his wife to immediately say, ‘people have ups and downs,’ he also hoped that she could understand that her husband was lamenting about the impermanence of the world. He didn’t want to hear her bull-headed response of, ‘The moon is of course not full if it isn’t the fifteenth day of the lunar month!’

As time passed, Madam Wang naturally knew that she was disgraceful in this regard, so she later actively advocated for her daughters to study. Hualan did well, but Rulan was completely like her mother in temperament. She was quite clever in other aspects, but she hated books and had to be forced to learn a few words a day. She couldn’t compare with Molan, who was always reciting and reading poetry. Thinking of this, Madam Wang’s expression turned pale and said, “Your father is right. He doesn’t want you to learn poetry, prose, and songs, but rather to learn some truth. In the future, managing the family will also have a certain aura!”

Molan’s head ducked even lower; Rulan sighed in relief.

Sheng Hong felt that Madam Wang’s words weren’t wrong so he didn’t say anything. Suddenly, he remembered something and said, “In the future, the three of you should not wear those golden locks when you go to school.” He turned to Madam Wang, “Scholars like them always think gold and silver are things of abundance. The three golden locks given by Eldest Brother are particularly golden and shiny, so it is okay to wear them while meeting guests but ostentatious to wear for school.”

“In that case, do not wear them,” Madam Wang said, nodding. She thought for a moment and then turned to the girls. “You three sisters will meet him together and it won’t be good to not dress similarly. Didn’t Old Madam give jade necklaces the day before yesterday? If you wear them and say that jade is a gentleman in stone, Scholar Zhuang will definitely like it.”

Sheng Hong looked very satisfied. “Madam is right, that would be great… but, does Ming’er have jade?” He looked at Minglan with an apologetic expression.

“Miss Ming was only with me for a short time and I neglected to do that,” Madam Wang smiled. “It was Old Madam who was considerate and dug out a piece of her own high-quality jade from her residence. She sent it away and asked a master to personally carve it. It looks very nice. The jade is warm, the texture is smooth, and the craftmanship is fine and beautiful. It looks even better than the ones made for Fourth and Fifth Miss. It is the Old Madam who comes up with the things that are generally good!”

Minglan lowered her head and sighed inwardly, ‘Woman, if you don’t speak without hiding some secret, will you die?’

The meaning was not a deep hidden secret and everyone understood. The boys paid no mind. Rulan’s gaze darted around the room and Molan, who had kept her head down, also looked up. Sheng Hong knew what Madam Wang meant; she was the legitimate mother and should have been more concerned about the girls’ affairs. Now that Old Madam needed to make up for her negligence, it really was not appropriate. Seeing Madam Wang biting her lip and looking dissatisfied, Sheng Hong added, “Well, anyway, Ming’er is being raised at Old Madam’s residence, so you’ll have to work harder.”

The couple looked at each other and peace returned.

Minglan silently added to what was said – Sheng Hong’s subtext was: as the primary wife of the household, you still should have taken care of all the children. Are you unbiased when favoring one over the other?

Madam Wang’s words from the bottom of her heart were: You are not from my belly, and you haven’t been raised by my side since childhood. Why should I bother with money, care, and effort? If they didn’t give me any pain, I am just the Holy Mother. How could your mother learn to look like that?

Sheng Hong’s closing statement was: Forget it, if you don’t want to raise the child, just find her own mother. Since Minglan’s mother is dead, she can rely on her grandmother. Stop talking nonsense.

Finally, Sheng Hong said a few more words to Changdong. The child was only four or five years old, and his biological mother, Concubine Xiang, was originally a servant of Madam Wang. Now she was still living in the main residence, and her son was raised in front of his wife. The little boy had always been shy and timid, neither legitimate nor favored. Madam Wang didn’t make things difficult for the mother and son, she just ignored them.

As she left, Minglan saw Concubine Xiang waiting by the doorway, face lowered, respectful, and low-key. She saw Changdong coming out and welcomed him with joy, gently leading the little boy away. Minglan suddenly felt that she was still lucky compared to the dead Concubine Wei.

…

Rulan had moved into the Wei Rui Pavilion after Hualan was married. After Sheng Hong finished speaking, Rulan returned to her residence with a gloomy face, kicked over a small, round, marble-faced ebony Ruyi ornament, and then flung herself onto her bed, forcefully tearing at the brocade satin pillow. Madam Wang followed in after her, cursing as she saw the scene, “Wicked girl, what are you going crazy for?!”

“Even if Fourth Sister steals my jade necklace, it’s because Concubine Lin has the ability,” Rulan said loudly as she stood up. “Why is it that even that Minglan girl is getting ahead of me? I’m not as good as someone being raised by a concubine!”

Madam Wang pulled her daughter’s arm and sat down on the edge of her bed. “Didn’t your father mend a jade necklace later?” she cursed. “The jade color is better than Molan’s, you ungrateful thing! Minglan’s was given to her by Old Madam. If you don’t want to go to Shou’an Hall yourself, who is to blame?”

“I am a legitimate daughter,” Rulan said with hatred. “Whether I go to please my grandmother or not, she always sees me as the most important. Now that I’ve been teasing Minglan for a couple of days, she no longer distinguishes between the legitimate and concubine-born. She talks about rules and etiquette all day long, don’t make me laugh! A girl born from a concubine can only stutter, now she is a rich woman! I heard people say that daughters of concubines in other people’s homes are used as maids and they can be sold as they please. How can this continue?”

Madam Wang was extremely angry and Mrs. Liu Kun next to her smiled and handed over a cup of tea while sending away a group of young girls cleaning up the mess Rulan made. “Young Miss is young and doesn’t know that only ill-mannered merchants and farmers treat concubine daughters as less than human. The more noble the family, the more they treat the girl as a family member! You should know that girls are delicate guests, there is always the uncertainty of marrying in the future. When your mother was at her family’s residence, she had two distant cousins, one legitimate and the other concubine-born. The family generally treated the concubine-born as a young lady. When they got married, the legitimate daughter married a wealthy family while the concubine-born married a poor scholar. However, something unexpected happened. Unexpectedly, the wealthy family began to decline and the poor scholar had a prosperous career and family. The concubine-born daughter was also a kind person. Thinking of her original affection, she always helped with her mother’s family and her eldest sister’s family. Later on, even the eldest sister’s children were taken care of and married off by her.”

“Liu Mama, are you cursing me like that legitimate sister?” Rulan was seething as she sneered.

Madam Wang slapped Rulan on the shoulder. “You thoughtless thing. Liu Mama is on our side and speaks very thoughtfully. Liu Mama means that the wealthier a family is, the less they can let others gossip. Girls are treated in an ordinary way when they are not married. It’s you who are strong in competition, but you don’t have the ability to please your elders and sisters. Don’t just learn from your eldest sister, you can also learn from Minglan!”

Rulan stayed silent until something occurred to her. “Didn’t Mother say that Old Madam had nothing to fawn over? Why does she now have gold and jade? She’s so generous.”

Madam Wang felt depressed now. “There are three pounds of nails in a broken ship. I was confused. I thought she still had some coffins.”

After a moment of thought, she began to earnestly advise her daughter. “You child, you are too intolerant,” she said. “Your sixth sister never argues like this, and you can’t tolerate it. You don’t have much skill and it’s possible you might suffer in the future. However, in the end, why do you argue with them? Your identity is clear, just like your eldest sister, and you will inevitably marry and live more comfortably than them in the future. What’s going on with you? This will make your father dislike you. Even if you hate it, you can still pretend to be a harmonious sister. Can you do that for me?”

Rulan nodded with difficulty, looking somewhat convinced.

…

Next Chapter: Scholar Zhuang Goes To Work, Brothers and Sisters Go To Class