Chapter 12

At first light, every star jasmine vine along the covered walkway had burst into bloom. Soft, white sprays hung down in graceful, scattered profusion, forming a natural screen.

Ye Ying passed beneath the corridor with a jar in her arms, emerging from behind the hazy curtain of blossoms with their cool, pure fragrance clinging to her.

At a turn, she collided unexpectedly with a little girl.

All Ye Ying had time to register was the gold-threaded gauze dress the child wore, blazing pomegranate red. She was still dazed when the maid beside the girl flashed her an irritated look and snapped, “Watch where you’re going!”

How had an outsider come to Bamboo Court?

The thought had barely crossed her mind when Su He pulled her down in alarm, making them kneel as she apologized. “It was entirely our fault. We have offended the Sixth Lady.”

The maid was still unwilling to let the matter go. “The eldest young master actually keeps people as ill-mannered as you? Have you forgotten every rule and tucked them away in a dog’s belly?”

The jar, filled with jasmine, had been smashed to pieces. Su He’s eyes brimmed with tears. Hoping to smooth things over, Ye Ying merely lowered her head and did not argue.

Unexpectedly, the little girl in the gold-threaded red dress tilted her head and said, “Oh? Since when did my cousin have such a pretty older sister by his side? How come I’ve never seen her before?”

Ye Ying looked up. A pair of curious eyes was blinking at her inquisitively.

At mealtime, Bamboo Court was quiet enough to hear the breathing of those within. Even the clink of a spoon against the bottom of a bowl sounded unusually clear. Suddenly, a commotion arose outside. One voice in particular was sharp and strident, carrying a spiteful edge that was thoroughly unpleasant.

“Go and see who is making such a racket.”

Cui Yuan was savoring yam paste sweetened with sugar frosting. It was fragrant, sweet, and smooth on the tongue, and he thought he had heard a familiar voice.

Cangwu went out at once. Before long, he returned and reported, “It is Yulan, who has brought the Sixth Lady here. Sister Ying and Sister Su He must have collided with the Sixth Lady. The jar was broken as well, and they are being reprimanded by Yulan.”

Had the people serving Grand Madam grown so overbearing?

Cui Yuan raised his eyes. “You go…”

Before he could finish, Sixth Lady Jiang rushed into the room like a gust of wind. “Cousin, hurry and let me see the little birds!”

She had come to the Cui residence to play. At her maternal grandmother’s, she had heard that the pair of parrots in her cousin’s room could not only recite poetry but also squabble and compete for favor. It sounded wonderfully entertaining. After accompanying her grandmother through breakfast, she had been unable to resist coming straight to Bamboo Court.

Cui Yuan looked past Yulan at the girl behind her. Ye Ying, who had just been kneeling and taking her scolding, was now standing perfectly well, without a trace of grievance on her face.

He withdrew his gaze and instructed Cangwu to bring over the pair of parrots.

Doudou was the bolder of the two. It flew straight onto Sixth Lady Jiang’s shoulder and, like a sentry on duty, surveyed the faces of the strangers around it.

For Jiang, who was accustomed to keeping parrots in cages, this was a novel experience indeed. She delighted in teasing the bird.

Because Cui Yuan was several years older, he was not particularly close to his younger brothers and sisters. The boys from the second branch, especially, both revered and feared him. As a girl, Jiang could not truly understand the state of mind of two little cousins who had grown up under the shadow of constant comparison.

Children instinctively admired and wished to draw close to capable people. Thus, with bird-raising as her subject, Jiang opened the conversation and began enthusiastically sharing her thoughts with Cui Yuan.

She spoke ten sentences; Cui Yuan answered with one or two.

The scene was perfectly harmonious.

In the end, Jiang seemed to have exhausted every topic, yet she did not want to leave. So she asked, “Cousin, I rather like this older sister. Could you let her accompany me for the day?”

The older sister Jiang meant was Ye Ying.

Cui Yuan lifted his gaze. Ye Ying looked entirely innocent.

It must have been an inheritance from the Cui family: Jiang, like Cui Yuan, enjoyed beautiful people and beautiful things.

He nodded. “Go, then.”

As though she had received an imperial decree, Jiang happily seized Ye Ying’s hand and darted out of the room.

Yulan was still standing there.

Cui Yuan glanced at her.

In a gentle voice, Yulan said, “Young Master has not gone to pay his respects to Grand Madam in quite some time. Grand Madam sent me to see how you were.”

She paused, then raised her eyes with a smile. “Your complexion seems much healthier, Young Master. It truly gladdens me to see it.”

The eldest young master’s cold nature made him the bright, unreachable moonlight in Yulan’s heart.

In the past, when Grand Madam had considered suitable matches for him, Yulan had relied on the trust Grand Madam placed in her to spread malicious rumors about many of the young ladies. She had successfully dissuaded Grand Madam from pursuing those matches.

Yet even when Grand Madam had been selecting a personal maid for him, she had never once turned her eyes toward Yulan.

Yulan was unwilling to accept it. After seeing Ying’s exceptional beauty just now, she had felt even more uncomfortable and had taken the opportunity to vent her anger.

Now she could not help but give voice to her concern.

In the presence of the person one loved, feelings could not be hidden. They could be sensed between every word one spoke, and even with the mouth closed, they would reveal themselves through the eyes.

Because Yulan served Grand Madam, Cui Yuan had usually been willing to grant her some measure of courtesy.

For some reason, today he did not wish to.

He turned his head and asked Su He, “Didn’t you say you were going to gather jasmine for scenting tea? Where is it?”

Su He cast an uneasy glance at Yulan.

Yulan’s expression was a spectacle.

When she left, Cangwu smiled as he escorted her out. “You are Miss Yulan, are you not? After you return, please report to Grand Madam that should anything arise in the future, she need only send someone to summon me. There is truly no need for you to trouble yourself with another trip.”

The implication that she had meddled too much made Yulan’s smile nearly collapse.

“Ever since Grand Madam…” Cangwu complained to Sangye afterward, “it seems just anyone dares to set her sights on Young Master.”

Sangye’s heart stirred. She pulled him into a deserted corner. “Are you saying Young Master was displeased because Ying was reprimanded? That he defended her in front of the people from the main residence?”

“Young Master has never liked other people taking matters into their own hands,” Cangwu said, finding nothing unusual about it. “It is only natural.”

Sangye snorted. “What would a child like you understand?”

When Cangwu pressed her further, she clamped her mouth shut and refused to explain.

When Jiang saw the fish in the pond behind the courtyard, her playful spirit surged. She had people bring over a reclining chair and fishing tackle.

Cui Yuan often fished there, so everything was prepared quickly. Since girls cared about their complexions and feared tanning, they even brought out a large palm-leaf parasol. It was planted upright in the mud, casting a cool patch of shade.

Ye Ying reclined beside Jiang. Before even the time it took to burn a stick of incense had passed, a fish more than a foot long took the bait. It thrashed so wildly that it nearly snapped the line.

There were clearly plenty of fish in the water, yet Jiang’s hook remained untouched. Thinking the problem lay in their position, she traded places with Ye Ying. Before long, Ye Ying had caught another fish.

“Oh!” The little girl exclaimed in wonder. “You’re incredible!”

Ye Ying had learned to fish from Old Xu, the village tutor.

Old Xu was an expert at laying bait. Whenever he went fishing in the little stream at the edge of the village, Ye Ying would bring her own rod and fish beside him. The two of them would carry a dozen-odd fish of various sizes to Aunt Zhang’s house. That very evening, they could eat a large bowl of steaming fish-head and tofu soup, along with tender, richly seasoned braised fish. It was so fresh and delicious it seemed one might bite off one’s own tongue.

The smaller fish could be salted and cured, providing food for a long while afterward.

Thinking of it made Ye Ying hungry. She decided that fish-head and tofu soup would be on the table that evening.

Jiang had been fishing merely for amusement. Seeing Ye Ying catch one fish after another, she set down her rod and devoted herself to cheering her on.

When Ye Ying caught yet another fish, however, she tossed it back into the water.

Puzzled, Jiang asked, “Why did you let it go?”

“Sixth Lady, it is too small. It is still a young fish. Little fish like this must be left to grow until next year, so that the fish in this pond can continue to multiply.”

There were already four large fish and seven or eight small ones in the bucket. Judging by the sky, Ye Ying needed to return to the kitchen to prepare the evening meal.

Jiang had thoroughly enjoyed herself and was especially fond of Ye Ying by now. Clapping her hands, she said, “I’m staying here tonight. I’ll come find you again tomorrow so we can play!”

Ye Ying smiled and curtsied. “Very well. I shall await you, my lady.”

That evening, the great pot of fish soup made from the day’s catch won unanimous praise from everyone in Bamboo Court.

The tofu was smooth and tender, the fish sweet and fresh. A few bright red chili rings added a touch of heat to the broth, helping dispel dampness from the body without the dryness of mutton soup. It was an especially suitable dish for summer.

As for Cui Yuan, he was served fish-slice porridge and poached fish meatballs.

The fish porridge looked simple but demanded great care. Only the tender flesh from the belly was used, sliced nearly transparent and meticulously stripped of every tiny bone. Wine, scallions, and ginger removed the fishy odor, while salt, sugar, and raw oil sealed in the flavor. Once the rice porridge had simmered until it turned soft and milky white, it was ladled over the fish slices spread across the bottom of the bowl. The heat cooked them instantly.

Fresh-rolled fish porridge and clear-broth meatballs were among the lightest of foods. They were served with half a salted duck that had been opened at the Dragon Boat Festival and not yet finished. Cut in two, it released a stream of deep golden duck fat that slowly slid down into the dish.

The sour bamboo shoots she had pickled earlier were ready as well. Their aroma was strong, and Ye Ying scooped out a handful, diced them, and stir-fried them with beef. Minced finely, they went wonderfully with the porridge, which could be slurped down with a satisfying rumble.

Since she had spent the entire day accompanying Sixth Lady Jiang and had not even prepared the midday snack, Ye Ying made the evening meal especially abundant.

She felt that Young Master’s appetite had been improving of late. Today, he had finished nearly an entire bowl of fish porridge, leaving only the bottom with a few strands of scallion and ginger. He had eaten all the meatballs as well, along with most of the side dishes. The sight lifted her spirits immensely.

For a cook, surely there could be no finer praise than that.

In a good mood, she dreamed sweet dreams that night.

The next morning, however, barely had Cui Yuan finished breakfast before he asked to see the large characters she had written recently. He proceeded to pick apart a whole host of faults, and her mood was no longer quite so sweet.

Ye Ying listened with her head bowed and her spirits sinking, until Sixth Lady Jiang’s delighted voice rang in from outside.

“Cousin, I’ve come to find Sister Ying!”

Cui Yuan paused.

Ye Ying breathed a quiet sigh of relief and revealed a trace of a smile. “Then… Young Master, may I go?”

Cui Yuan glanced at her. “Whatever you have neglected these past two days, you will make up twice over another day.”

Ye Ying hurriedly fled in a streak, as though a ghost were chasing her.

Sangye had been paying special attention that day. Now, watching Ying hurry away, seeing Young Master’s expressionless face and hearing his brisk, businesslike tone, she still could not find anything amiss.

The sound of Sixth Lady Jiang’s laughter drifted in through the window.

Then Sangye heard Young Master ask, with faint displeasure, “Was I just as fond of playing when I was Sixth Lady’s age?”

Her instinct told her that it was certainly not because Sixth Lady was being noisy.

She remembered an earlier occasion, probably before the Dragon Boat Festival, when Young Master had been fishing behind the house. The fish had just begun to bite when Ying frightened them away. Sangye had wanted to warn the girl, but Young Master had said it did not matter.

She ventured, “Sixth Lady and Ying are close in age, so naturally their temperaments agree…”

After a while, she heard a soft snort.

Sangye looked up and saw that her master’s brows and eyes had not moved, yet the corners of his lips had curved into a faint smile.

It was shallow, and gone almost as soon as it appeared.