Chapter 68: Birthday
Jinchao was speaking with Gu Yi at the Leaning Bamboo Pavilion.
The area around the pavilion was densely grown with tall green bamboo, creating a very tranquil atmosphere. When the wind blew, the rustling of countless bamboo leaves could be heard. A small stream meandered through the bamboo grove before merging with the lakeside pavilion. A bamboo cottage had been built beside the stream, originally intended by their father to serve as a study, though it had never been used after its completion.
Jinchao rarely visited the Leaning Bamboo Pavilion. It was Gu Xi who had pulled her along to Gu Yi's inner chamber. The girl no longer feared Jinchao in the slightest—on the contrary, she had grown quite fond of her. After dragging Jinchao inside, Gu Xi fetched an embroidered stool for her while flipping herself onto Gu Yi's kang bed. The maidservant who usually attended to Gu Xi would normally say nothing about such behavior, but seeing the Eldest Miss present today, she grew flustered and quickly stepped forward. "Fourth Miss, you mustn't behave like this!"
Gu Xi giggled. "Nanny, please step outside. We have private matters to discuss!"
Gu Yi appeared somewhat embarrassed and rose to curtsey to Jinchao. "Eldest Sister must excuse me. My humble quarters are rather plain. If they displease you, we could take a walk in the bamboo grove outside..."
Upon entering, Jinchao had already taken in the surroundings. Naturally, Gu Yi's furnishings couldn't compare to her own. Yet the furniture was made of pearwood, emitting a faint sandalwood fragrance. Two simple blue-and-white prunus vases with lotus petal designs stood nearby, while a pot of jasmine adorned a tall stand, creating an elegant simplicity. The chamber also featured lake-blue curtains with interlocking branch patterns, behind which stood a sandalwood desk flanked by two red-lacquered Grand Preceptor's chairs. However, a string of flat cloth tigers hanging from the curtains seemed somewhat out of place.
Noticing Jinchao's gaze lingering on the cloth tigers, Gu Xi explained, "Those are cloth tigers I made. Eldest Sister, do you think they look bad? I insisted on hanging them in Third Sister's room—she really didn't like them and scolded me about it... At that time, Third Sister wasn't sleeping well, so I hung the tigers here. With them guarding the room, no ghosts would dare come near, and Third Sister could sleep peacefully."
Though Gu Yi had complained, she hadn't taken them down. Jinchao smiled and shook her head. "They're quite lovely."
In her own childhood, Jinchao hadn't had a younger sister to make cloth tigers to ward off ghosts for her. Her three male cousins couldn't play with her due to propriety between genders, while her several younger half-sisters from concubines didn't dare play with her. Apart from her grandmother and others, she could only converse with maidservants and nannies.
Gu Xi took Jinchao's hand and whispered very quietly, "Eldest Sister, do you know about the Du family? Please tell Third Sister. She's always thinking about—"
Gu Yi immediately shot Gu Xi a glare before saying to Jinchao, "Eldest Sister, don't listen to Xi Jie'er. I haven't been... thinking about anything."
These young girls' thoughts couldn't possibly escape Jinchao's notice. Amused inwardly, she proceeded directly to discuss matters concerning the Du family of Wuqing: "...The Du family is well-known in Wuqing for their philanthropy, distributing porridge to the poor every Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. All their young masters are scholars. Though they haven't produced a jinshi scholar for two generations, they remain a family of literary reputation. The fourth master of the Du family owns a grain store in Baodi that sells various staple foods—their Guizhou fragrant rice sells particularly well, bringing in thirty taels of silver monthly. The Du family owns several such stores in Wuqing, with the fourth master's being the most profitable. Beyond this, they also possess some farmland..."
Jinchao wanted Gu Yi to first understand the Du family's circumstances and learn about such matters. She didn't want the girl to marry into the Du family years later completely unprepared, only to suffer losses from ignorance.
After sharing this information, Jinchao brought up their father's upcoming birthday, asking what gifts they had prepared.Gu Xi said, "...I cut out a paper design of the Five Bats Offering Longevity. Third Sister has seen it too."
Gu Yi smiled and replied, "Xi Jie'er's cuttings have improved quite a bit now, they're quite lovely. I've been practicing small seal script for over a year and copied a volume of the 'Dao De Jing' for Father." She then had a maid fetch it—indeed, it was written in neat and elegant small seal script, very meticulously done.
Jinchao praised Gu Yi's calligraphy and told her, "If you had come to me earlier, I would have suggested you write 'The Rhapsody of the Roc.' Father likes that piece best."
Gu Yi smiled and said, "That's not a problem. Rhapsodies aren't long, so copying it wouldn't be too troublesome. Father's birthday is still four days away—I can always rewrite it." She had originally been unsure of her father's preferences and only knew he liked Daoist philosophy, hence her choice of the 'Dao De Jing.'
As they chatted, the sun began to set, and Jinchao and Gu Xi eventually took their leave.
Gu Yi went to the study, found 'The Rhapsody of the Roc,' and had a maid lay out paper on the desk for her to begin copying slowly.
She wrote for a while. The maid lit a lamp on the desk, but the faint glow in the darkness was barely enough to see by.
"It's so late—what are you still writing?" A voice came from the study's doorway.
Gu Yi set down her brush and looked over, frowning slightly before speaking softly, "Concubine Du, why have you come here?"
Du Jingqiu stood quietly at the door, wrapped in a dark-patterned cloak of autumn fragrance, watching Gu Yi. The night was so deep, yet she was still copying by the dim light of a single lamp, heedless of the strain on her eyes.
She stepped inside and noticed Gu Yi's quiet gaze, her expression not exactly welcoming. Hesitantly, she said, "I... I just came to see you. I made you a bowl of pear soup with rock sugar. I heard you had a cough a few days ago..."
"Thank you for your concern, Concubine Du. It was just a chill—I'm mostly better now," Gu Yi replied politely.
The child had never liked her, but Du Jingqiu had never felt it so keenly before. Gu Yi disliked her affectations, her fawning over others—she preferred someone like Madam Ji, who was well-read and gentle by nature. Du Jingqiu knew all this and didn't blame her for it.
Du Jingqiu smiled faintly at Gu Yi. "You're already betrothed—in two years, you'll be going to the Du family. I didn't even realize how much you've grown... It's good, Madam has raised you well." She continued, "You should start learning to manage household affairs now. Stay close to the Eldest Miss, don't argue with her, and be courteous to the Second Miss..."
She rambled on—these were things she had said many times before.
Gu Yi already knew all this and was growing impatient, but she said nothing. Concubine Du lived in Tong Ruo Lou, and her fellow resident, Concubine Guo, paid little attention to others. With nothing else to occupy her, it was only natural she would feel lonely.
After finishing, Du Jingqiu placed the food box she had been holding on a nearby chicken-wing wood table and said she would be leaving.
Gu Yi watched her slowly walk beneath the corridor before finally calling out, "Concubine Du."
Du Jingqiu turned back, as if waiting for something.
Gu Yi said softly, "You should rest early."
At these words, Du Jingqiu seemed to relax entirely, nodding with a smile before hurrying into the night.
Meanwhile, at Cui Xuan Yuan, Gu Lan received a reply from Gu Jinrong.Gu Jinrong could barely recall his childhood memories. When Gu Lan asked him about his childhood maidservant, he had to think for quite a while before answering. He vaguely remembered that Yu Ping was from Shuntian Prefecture. When her mother passed away, she had returned home for the funeral and brought him a bag of Li’s sugar-roasted chestnuts upon her return. However, the nanny, fearing it might upset his stomach, secretly threw them away. He still remembered crying for a long time over it.
Speaking of his childhood, he grew more animated and wrote at length. His early years were spent with his mother and Lan Er. He also mentioned that his recent studies had been so demanding that he couldn’t return for his father’s birthday. Instead, he had sent gifts through someone else and asked Gu Lan to celebrate their father’s birthday properly on his behalf.
Gu Lan was somewhat disappointed, but then again, who would care about the hometown of a mere servant girl?
She took the letter to Song Miaohua.
After reading it, Song Miaohua summoned Qiaowei: “...Take Chen Pozi with you and look for Li’s sugar-roasted chestnuts in Shuntian Prefecture. Ask around nearby about a girl named Yu Ping.”
Gu Lan tugged at Song Miaohua’s hand and asked, “Mother, Shuntian Prefecture is so vast. Finding a single chestnut shop is like searching for a needle in a haystack.”
Song Miaohua merely smiled. “If a servant girl brought it back, it must be quite famous locally. Just ask around, and you’ll find it.”
Gu Lan silently admired her mother’s thoroughness—she hadn’t considered that.
Song Miaohua then brought up her birthday gift: “...You haven’t spoken to your father in a month. Use this opportunity to make a good impression. Have you finished mounting the embroidered Tao Te Ching ?”
Gu Lan nodded with a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ve already prepared everything.”
Before long, the day of Gu Dezhao’s birthday arrived.
A few banquet tables were set up in the outer courtyard. Grand celebrations were reserved for one’s sixtieth birthday—this was merely an occasion to invite Gu Dezhao’s colleagues for drinks.
Jinchao rose early in the morning. Qingpu helped her change into a mottled bamboo-patterned satin gown in a delicate pink hue, paired with a plain pleated skirt and a stone-blue treasure-flower-patterned scented sachet filled with orchids. Then, in a hushed voice, Qingpu said, “Mama Tong came earlier and mentioned that the young master has been corresponding with the Second Miss again.”
Jinchao gazed at the jade gourd pendant dangling from her ear in the mirror. After a long pause, she sighed. “He really... Well, I suppose he won’t learn to be cautious until Gu Lan truly threatens him. What am I to him, anyway?”
While she was still dressing, Gu Yi and Gu Xi came to fetch her—they had agreed to greet their father together.
Jinchao asked them to wait in the west side room while she finished her preparations. When she emerged, she noticed Gu Yi’s maid holding a mounted calligraphy piece. Upon closer inspection, she saw it was Gu Yi’s newly transcribed Ode to the Peng Bird , executed with remarkable skill—graceful yet infused with an antique elegance.
Gu Xi had folded her Five Bats Offering Longevity papercut and placed it inside a scented sachet adorned with blue and purple tassels, making it quite striking. Jinchao chuckled and remarked, “You’ve made it so flashy—Father would never wear it!”
Gu Xi shrugged. “This is all I’ve made. It’s too late to change it now!”
The three of them arrived at the Chrysanthemum Willow Pavilion, where Concubine Song was helping Gu Dezhao dress. Jinchao and the others waited in the east side room. When Gu Dezhao emerged, he wore a sapphire-blue Hangzhou silk straight robe, looking spirited and radiant. Concubine Song glanced at Jinchao, her eyes crinkling with amusement. “The Eldest Miss is here so early!”
Jinchao’s heart sank, but her expression remained composed as she smiled. “Not as early as you, Concubine.” Then she turned her gaze to her father.Gu Dezhao coughed into his fist, merely to mask his own embarrassment.
Because of Lan Er's matter, Chaojie had grown somewhat distant from him. The Cheng Wangxi he had invited for Chaojie was truly unreliable and had only managed to upset her further. Now that he had reconciled with Concubine Song, Chaojie was bound to be even more displeased with him.
So he brushed off Concubine Song's hand and walked over with a smile, saying, "Chaojie, you've come so early—you must have prepared a birthday gift for me."
P.S.:
Thanks to Meimu Panxi yxq for the pink votes, and there are still two more chapters to go—keep them coming~
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