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nChapter 93 : Birthday (1)

nAfter the Mid-Autumn Festival, Jiang Qi sent invitations to Yuchen and Yuxi, inviting them to her birthday banquet.

nAfter hearing the news, Yuxi looked aghast and then immediately instructed Zisu, “Come with me to Tingyun Pavilion.” Since she was invited together with Yuchen, it was natural to ask Yuchen’s opinion first. If Yuchen was willing to go, she would follow, and if Yuchen did not want to go, it would not be fun for her to go there alone.

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nYuxi wanted to go to Jiang family with Yuchen because she wanted to see if Jiang Hongjin was thinking about Yuchen in the same way that she had guessed previously.

nWithout even considering the formal invitation from the Jiang family, Yuchen directly said, “We only met with Miss Jiang only once in the Gongzhu¹Princess

/ Princess of the First Rank residence. Our friendship with her is not that deep yet. Let’s just prepare a gift and send it over.” There was no need for them to personally go there.

nYuxi could roughly guess such a result as Yuchen was kind of person who would not accept an invitation without enough weight. Thus, she responded with a smile on her face, “If San Jie²San=Three

/third, jie=elder sister, short form of jiejie doesn’t go, then I won’t go either.”

nAs Yuchen took notice of Yuxi’s current manner, she pondered for a moment and then gave out advice, “That Miss Jiang has a sweet mouth but bitter heart³Chinese idiom : insincere flattery, so you should never try to get close with her.” All the words Jiang Qi had said at that time were none other to provoke her close relationship with Yuxi. Fortunately, her affection towards Yuxi was already deep, and Yuxi was also a broad-minded kind of person. No one could provoke her with just a few words.

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nYuxi opened her mouth and asked, “How did San Jie²San=Three

/third, jie=elder sister, short form of jiejie know that Miss Jiang is a sweet mouth but bitter heart³Chinese idiom : insincere flattery kind of person?” Yuchen was really awesome. She could even manage to see through Jiang Qi’s actual nature in just one glance.

nYuchen did not explain it to her but reminded her instead, “You should just remember that you can’t be close with this person.”

nYuxi was wise enough not to continue talking about this topic.

nAfter Momo⁴wet nurse Gui sent Yuxi off, she immediately said, “Miss, the young miss of the Jiang family obviously has bad intentions. It’s impossible for Fourth Miss not to see it.”

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nYuchen stood up, looked at Momo⁴wet nurse Gui and asked, “What does Momo⁴wet nurse want to say?”

nMomo⁴wet nurse Gui didn’t fear Yuchen as she said, “Miss, Fourth Miss is not as kind and harmless as you think she is. Miss, don’t ever be fooled by her appearances.“

nYuchen asked with an indifferent look, “Momo⁴wet nurse thinks, I am the type of person who can be fooled by others at will?”

nMomo⁴wet nurse Gui suddenly got tongue-tied. “I am saying this for Miss own good.”

nWhen Yuchen heard this statement, she relaxed a bit and said, “I know what you are worried about, Momo⁴wet nurse, but you have been worrying too much. Yuxi may be a schemer, but her heart is right. Even if she is scheming, she has never done anything that will bring harm to others on her own initiative. Over the years, there has been nothing like that. On the contrary, if there are difficulties around her, she will have no problem to stretch her hand.“ In order to gain a good reputation, Yuxi had helped a lot of maids in the residence.

nIn fact, that year when Yuchen became a formal student of Teacher Song, she already knew that Yuxi’s mind was not shallow, but she did not reject Yuxi for it. The reason was very simple. If Yuxi was too virtuous and harmless in this residence, how could she live so well? As long as her heart was right, won’t intentionally harm people, it had nothing to do with her being calculating.

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nMomo⁴wet nurse Gui did not agree with Yuchen, but she herself knew what Yuchen’s bottom line was. Although Yuchen was usually accommodating, once she crossed her bottom line, no matter who she was, Yuchen wouldn’t give her any face.

nMeanwhile, Heshou Xianzhu⁵he = harmonious, shou = long life, Xianzhu = Princess of the Fourth Rank

/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang had attended the Jiang family banquet. While there, she didn’t see a glimpse of Yuchen nor Yuxi at the banquet, so she asked with a smile, “Didn’t Jiang Meimei⁶younger sister send invitations to the two Han young misses?”

nJiang Qi’s eyes revealed her disappointment, “They, Han Jiejie⁷elder sister will not come.” From the response of the Han family, it was obvious that they did not intend to make a deep acquaintance with her.

nWith a smile, Heshou Xianzhu⁵he = harmonious, shou = long life, Xianzhu = Princess of the Fourth Rank

/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang tried to change the subject, “Your Erge⁸er=two

/second, ge=elder brother, short form for gege passed the Qualification Test early this year. Is he currently preparing for the Provincial Examination?”

nJiang Qi shook her head and said, “My father said that Erge⁸er=two

/second, ge=elder brother, short form for gege is too young to take part and he needs to be polished more. I think he will be joining the next Provincial Examination.”

nHeshou Xianzhu⁵he = harmonious, shou = long life, Xianzhu = Princess of the Fourth Rank

/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang next asked with a smile on her face, “Then, what about your Dage⁹Da=eldest

/big, ge=elder brother, short form for gege?” She had some people inquired the news on the Jiang family after last banquet. It was at that time that she had learned about Jiang Hongfu, the eldest son of the Jiang family, was not dead. He even properly studied back in his hometown! She clearly remembered that Jiang Hongfu supposed to have an accident when he was nine years old.

nThis matter was especially clear to Heshou Xianzhu⁵he = harmonious, shou = long life, Xianzhu = Princess of the Fourth Rank

/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang, since Jiang Hongjin was too famous even in her last life, where he became the youngest zhuàngyuán¹⁰Number One Scholar (title conferred on the one who came first in the highest imperial examination) of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and somehow, not many people knew about his current situation. Unexpectedly, he was still alive even now, which made her feel that this matter was quite strange.

nHeshou Xianzhu⁵he = harmonious, shou = long life, Xianzhu = Princess of the Fourth Rank

/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang had done an in-depth investigation and found out that Jiang Hongfu did have an accident several years ago, but he was lucky enough to escape at that time. She did not believe that Jiang Hongfu had such a coincidence. Instinctively, she suspected that it was Yuxi’s handwriting, but since things had gone on for too long, no useful information could be found. This was Yuxi’s luck. Jiang Wenrui also helped clean up the mess of the incident at that time. As for the appearance of the gray clothed man who had was the savior, except for Jiang Hongfu and a few people, others weren’t aware of such person ever exist.

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nJiang Qi’s hand which was holding fruit juice suddenly paused. She then gave out a smile and said, “My Dage⁹Da=eldest

/big, ge=elder brother, short form for gege will have his final examination this year.” If she had to say who she hated most, Jiang Hongfu was definitely among them. Five years ago, her father and mother loved each other so much, but ever since her Dage⁹Da=eldest

/big, ge=elder brother, short form for gege went back to his hometown after he had an accident that year, her father had been cold towards her mother and even treated her and her Erge⁸er=two

/second, ge=elder brother, short form for gege indifferently.

nJiang Qi utterly detested him in her heart. It was clearly an accident, but her Dage⁹Da=eldest

/big, ge=elder brother, short form for gege insisted that it was her mother who wanted to hurt him. This led to the deterioration of the good relationship between her father and mother. While he just patted his ass and went back to his hometown. Over the years, he had a good time of his life in his hometown, while they were in deep water and scorching fire¹¹Chinese idiom : extreme misery every day in the residence. This noob translation was translated by a noob translator きつね. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.blogspot.com.

nHeshou Xianzhu⁵he = harmonious, shou = long life, Xianzhu = Princess of the Fourth Rank

/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang looked at Jiang Qi’s expression and felt that this was kind of interesting. “I heard that your Dage⁹Da=eldest

/big, ge=elder brother, short form for gege has been taught by Elder Shan of Baitan Academy since he was a child. So, why hasn’t he returned to the capital and rather stays in Jiangnan for the past five years?”

nYu Xiyu looked at her biaomei¹²younger female cousin, who was almost unable to hold up. She smiled and dealt with the question instead, “Qi Meimei⁶younger sister’s grandparents are all in Jiangnan. Her Dage⁹Da=eldest

/big, ge=elder brother, short form for gege stayed in Jiangnan to accompany his grandparents and to be filial to his gufu¹³paternal aunt’s husband.”

nHeshou Xianzhu⁵he = harmonious, shou = long life, Xianzhu = Princess of the Fourth Rank

/usually granted to daughter of a Junwang gave out a gentle smile at the answer and did not insist on this topic anymore.

nAt that time, Jiang Hongjin was in the front yard, busily asking the gatekeeper, “Have all the guests for today’s banquet arrived?” He had a sense of propriety by not specifically asking after the Han family young miss, so that others wouldn’t clearly see that that was his main purpose.

nThe gatekeeper thought for a moment and then replied, “The Han family, the Chiang family and the Sun family have not yet arrived, but they have delivered some presents for Miss.”

nJiang Hongjin was disappointed. He really wanted to meet that girl! It seemed that today was impossible for him.

nThe days slowly passed by, and in a twinkling of an eye, it was already the end of the ninth lunar month. Yuxi’s birthday was on the twenty-ninth day of the ninth lunar month, so Qiu Shi was planning to hold a birthday banquet for her.

nYuxi shook her head and said, “Just let it be. It is okay to only invite some friends to attend my birthday, and it is quite tiring if we invite so many people.”

nQiu Shi thought for a moment and retorted, “It’s alright this time, but next year, you can’t avoid it anymore.” After a pause, she continued, “You should follow me in managing the household starting from the end of this year.”

nYuxi opened up her mouth, “Aunt, isn’t this a bit too early? I am rather busy right now. Can’t I wait for another two years?“

nQiu Shi did not give Yuxi the chance to avoid it, “Just learn housekeeping from me every morning, and you can have your own time in the afternoon.” Seeing that Yuxi still had something to say, she immediately said, “You’re not the only one who have to learn, but Yuchen will also learn it together with you.”

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nYuxi hurriedly asked, “What about Dajie¹⁴Da=eldest

/big, jie=elder sister, short form for jiejie and Erjie¹⁵er=second, jie=elder sister, short form for jiejie?”

nQiu Shi answered, “All of them together.”

nYuxi now knew the reason why she had to learn housekeeping this early as she smilingly said, “Chasing after a sheep, over chasing after four sheep. Is Eldest Aunt doing this to save trouble from teaching them next time?” She didn’t learn how to be a housekeeper in her last life, so this time she will earnestly learn it.

nQiu Shi poked Yuxi on the forehead and scolded in jest, “It’s foolish to compare yourself to a sheep.”

nWhen Ye Shi entered the room, she saw Qiu Shi was embracing Yuxi as they chatted and laughed together. Her behaviour was still polite as she called out, “Mother.”

nQiu Shi smiled and nodded. She then told Ye Shi what she had just said to Yuxi, “A few girls in the family are getting older, and it’s about time they learn how to manage household affairs. For this matter, I wish for you to arrange it.“

nYe Shi immediately agreed to it.

nYuxi without haste expressed her thanks, “I will have to trouble dasao¹⁶eldest sister-in-law in the future.”

nYe Shi had always wanted to have a good relationship with Yuxi, but Yuxi had always acting polite to her instead. “Si¹⁷si=four

/fourth Meimei⁶younger sister’s birthday is coming up in a few days. How does Si¹⁷si=four

/fourth Meimei⁶younger sister plan to celebrate it?”

nYuxi told her what she thought.

nYe Shi was somewhat taken by surprise. In previous years, Yuchen and Yuxi did not have a big birthday celebration because they had attended school. Teacher Song would not let them have a holiday just because it was their birthdays. But this year, they didn’t need to learn from Teacher Song anymore, thus, when Yuchen’s birthday arrived, she invited young misses from her family and friends for her birthday celebration. Ye Shi thought Yuxi would be like Yuchen and wanted to invite many people to attend her birthday.

nYuxi could see what Ye Shi was thinking, so she said with a smile, “I don’t have many friends.” As for relatives, she was not familiar with the relatives of the Han family. As for her maternal grandparents’ home, all of them had passed away.

nIt was said that people of Marquis Pingqing residence were also her relatives, but she was unwilling to be involved with them. She would take advantage of some advantages. For example, she had no burden in taking advantage of Yuchen’s advantageous, since Yuchen had a good moral character and she would not care much about it. However, there were some advantages that could not be taken. For example, if she took advantage of those from Marquis Pingqing residence, later on, they would ask her to pay them back tenfold.

nSeeing that Yuxi was still acting indifferent to her, Ye Shi could not help but to say it to her wet nurse, old woman Hua, “What do you think Fourth Miss actually mean?” She had repeatedly shown her kindness to Fourth Miss but she still refused to accept them. It was not entirely necessary to say that Fourth Miss had any malice towards her. As far as she knew, Fourth Miss had never speak ill of her in front of her mother-in-law, but instead kept on saying good words on her behalf. However, Fourth Miss had always been cold and indifferent towards her, like she didn’t prefer her appearance. This made Ye Shi couldn’t figure out Yuxi’s pulse.

nOld woman Hua also failed to understand Fourth Miss’ intention. “It doesn’t matter what Fourth Miss thinks, as long as she doesn’t have any ill intentions towards Master.”

nYe Shi also couldn’t think of any reason, so she could only lay it out and simply put it down.

nOld Madam had no objection to Yuxi’s suggestion to only invite young misses from the Zhou family and Duan Xinrong, however, Yuchen disagreed instead.

nYuchen argued, “Si¹⁷si=four

/fourth Meimei⁶younger sister, even though this is only your eleventh birthday, to celebrate it this way is too simple and crude. If you’re afraid to entertain a big crowd, there are still me, Dajie¹⁴Da=eldest

/big, jie=elder sister, short form for jiejie and Erjie¹⁵er=second, jie=elder sister, short form for jiejie around.“ Having so many sisters, were the benefits for this moment.

nYuxi said, “It’s not too late to hold another big one next year! San Jie²San=Three

/third, jie=elder sister, short form of jiejie, this time around, you have to listen to my suggestion.“ She just wanted to celebrate it in a more quiet way and didn’t want to stir up any trouble.

nYuchen looked at Yuxi’s manner with some amusement and said, “This once only, and it will not be repeated in the future.” In fact, many people that had been invited to attend someone’s birthday, didn’t actually come for the sake of celebrating the birthday, but actually for more communication between them and broaden their interpersonal relationships.

nYuxi’s friends were also only a few, with her only being close to Duan Xinrong and Zhou Shiya. In her point of view, friends should not be many. However, the state residence was somehow related to the Zhou family. If she invited Zhou Shiya only, she would not only offend others, but also make it difficult for Zhou Shiya. “Apart from biaojiemei¹⁸female cousins via female line of the Zhou family, you only invite Xinrong Jiejie⁷elder sister.”

nYuchen looked at Yuxi and saw that she did not respond to her words, so she laid out her heart’s intention, “This time, it’s up to you to make the decision, but next time, this should not have happened again.” She had always wanted Yuxi to be close to her relatives, but Yuxi was very resistant and didn’t like to go to the Chiang family residence. She had never been willing to follow her there over the years.

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