Cheng Jin raised her head. She saw a man in his forties wearing a brown robe, sitting on the central seat, his squared face unpretentious. Next to him sat a middle-aged woman in a short, light-colored jacket and a long silvery purple skirt.
If they were ranked by age, her name must be Ah Luo. Cheng Jin looked carefully at this strange father. At a glance, this father and her own father had the same traits, strict and orthodox. The Eldest Mistress’ face was plump and seemingly gentle, although her eyes were shrewd.
The middle-aged man spoke slowly, “Ah Lei, come here!”
Cheng Jin watched as the ten-year-old girl walked out and towards the center of the hall. Her expression was calm, yet faintly visible from inside her long sleeves, her hands were clenched into fists. Cheng Jin wanted to laugh, lowering her head to hide the smile on her face, thinking how she had initially thought that Ah Lei was truly unafraid. In the end, she was still just a child.
The middle-aged man asked in a deep voice, “Ah Lei, what have you learned best in these three months?”
Ah Lei replied softly, “In reply to father, it is the art of zither.”
The middle-aged man waved his hand, and some servants brought out a few stools, placing the zither on top then retreating.
Ah Lei sat next to the zither, calmly plucked the strings twice, then said, “Ah Lei will now play <Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms>.”
The melody of the zither rose, it’s clear sound resounding steadily throughout the hall. Extremely graceful, flowing like ice becoming a stream. Cheng Jin silently screamed in praise. She had heard the Three Stanzas of Plum Blossoms in the modern times, it was no different to this. It was just that this was the first time she heard it performed live. She re-examined ten year old Ah Lei, her expression tranquil, her melon seed shaped face revealing a subtle brilliance. Cheng Jin thought that at ten years of age, her zither skills were excellent, truly extraordinary.
She recalled that her parents had asked her to learn and play the piano as a child, and she had refused to submit even till death. Now it had come to this, she would have begged to learn the guqin, guzheng, flute and the like, it was always useful to have skills! Thinking of the perplexing crossover now, Cheng Jin felt uncomfortable again. Her hands clenched into fists unconsciously.
The Seventh Mistress noticed this and patted her gently, her eyes telling her that if she couldn’t play it, then it was alright, there’s nothing wrong.
Cheng Jin suddenly felt that the Seventh Mistress was really kind to her daughter, and she felt a rush of warmth in her heart. The first person she encountered treated her so well. She was lucky.
At this moment, the final note sounded and when it stopped, Ah Lei looked up at the middle-aged man with her small face.
The father nodded with a smile, “Ah Lei, why did you choose this piece?”
There was a trace of pride in Ah Lei’s eyes as she replied clearly, “I saw the sparse plum blossoms in the garden even though it is already early spring in February. They reminded me of the pure fragrance when it was in full bloom during winter, and I especially liked its defiant character braving snow and frost.”
The middle-aged man stroked his beard and said, “Good, my daughter should have the moral character of a plum blossom! Go back, father will come to the Plum Garden to appreciate the plum blossoms!”
As soon as this remark was said, Cheng Jin saw a flash of smugness on the face of a mistress on the left who was probably Ah Lei’s mother, lowering her eyes as she responded quietly, “Ah Lei is still young, her skills are still unpolished, my lord has overpraised.”
Cheng Jin’s gaze swept across the hall. Aside from her mother, the Seventh Mistress, having no expression, all the other mistresses in the hall revealed some degree of jealousy in their eyes. Cheng Jin thought that all women competed for their husbands, the people in the ancient times were always having fun in this way. Maybe they had nothing else to play with, so they fought with each other for endless enjoyment.
Ah Lei retreated to stand next to her mother, then Ah Fei walked forward. She had a long oval face and a pair of big black eyes that shone sharply. She didn’t tremble and spoke in a loud voice, “Father, Ah Fei has been practicing calligraphy in these few months.”
So the servants brought out a low table and placed brushes, ink, an inkstone, and paper on it. A servant girl stepped forward to hold Ah Fei’s sleeves. Ah Fei concentrated for a while, then suddenly started to write a couplet with both hands. Finishing it in one go, she looked at it then put down the brush and said crisply, “Please criticise, father.”
Cheng Jin saw the ink dripping wet on the paper, what good handwriting! There was no distinction between the left and right side. Thinking of her own dog-like writing, she felt shameful.
The middle-aged man looked at it carefully for a long time, then said to Ah Fei, “Fei’er’s words have truly improved a lot, although the vigor of your strokes are still weak since you are young. Over time, it will definitely become an outstanding talent!”
Hearing this Ah Fei beamed and turned to smile at her mother. So cute and charming, Cheng Jin thought that since she was already like this when young, how many people would be infatuated with her when she grew up?!
Lost in her own thoughts, she heard the middle-aged man call, “Ah Luo, come here!”
Cheng Jin froze for a moment, and Seventh Mistress glanced worriedly at her, whispering, “San’er, your father is calling you!”
Cheng Jin was so flustered, she almost forgot that this Ah Luo also needed to participate in this trial. She couldn’t play the zither, nor do calligraphy, so what could she do? She didn’t even know what dynasty this is, or where she was. Cheng Jin braced herself and walked to stand in the center of the hall.
The father asked her, “One of your elder sisters is good at playing the zither, the other is good at calligraphy. Ah Luo, three months ago, you couldn’t even do your homework and your mother vouched for you by betting ten strokes with the cane, saying that in three months, you will definitely pick up a skill. What have you learned in these three months?”
Cheng Jin had no choice but to recite an ancient poem that she had learned, however, she was afraid the people here would be familiar with it. If they accused her of plagiarizing, she would just say she liked it, if they haven’t heard of it before, then it would be her exclusive skill. She raised her head and whispered, “I’ve learned poetry, may I recite one?”
The middle-aged man widened his eyes and stared at Cheng Jin in disbelief, the Seventh Mistress frowned quietly, then the man smiled and said, “Good, good, the third lady of our family actually learned poetry, let us hear it.”
”
A low snickering sound was heard in the hall. Cheng Jin turned her head to see that the Seventh Mistress’ face had paled. Sighing secretly, she spoke, “Winds blow every day of February in the solitary courtyard, the spring coldness does not make the garden timid. Begonias care not for their rouge color, standing independently in the fine misty rain.”
This was <Spring Coldness> by the Song Dynasty poet, Chen Yuyi. Cheng Jin changed two words and recited it in a young voice that didn’t belong to her. When she finished, she saw that everyone in the hall had frozen, their expressions shocked and jealous. She thought to herself, even I was surprised to hear this child’s voice recite such a poem. She really wasn’t used to it, the sound was not her own even though it was obviously from her mouth, it sounded like someone else was talking.
The middle-aged man was stunned for a while as he casted a deep and thoughtful glance at the Seventh Mistress. Cheng Jin turned her head, seeing tears in the eyes of the Seventh Mistress, there was a hint of pain in her look of tenderness.
Cheng Jin sighed in relief, this was not the Song Dynasty. It seemed like they had never heard of this poem.
The father laughed and said, “Good, Ah Luo can create such a poem at six years of age, your mother has been diligent. Forget the cane. Father will come to the Begonia Garden some other day to hear you recite.”
As soon as he said this, countless eyes in the hall shot glares. Cheng Jin looked down and pondered heavily about the meaningful phrase that this father had said. Her mother was diligent, she thought, he probably assumed that the Seventh Mistress taught her. But, well, someone who couldn’t hand in their homework three months ago and almost had to suffer the cane was suddenly able to recite such a poem; this would make anyone suspicious. Seventh Mistress had also said that Ah Luo didn’t like poetry and wasn’t good at studying. Cheng Jin returned to the Seventh Mistress’ side and stood quietly in thought. Seventh Mistress also hadn’t taught this poem to her daughter. She had to find an opportunity to dispel the Seventh Mistress’ doubts as soon as they went back.
The man spoke again, “Our Li family can be regarded in the Ning Empire as a wealthy, scholarly family. After this, you must be even more diligent, do not become others’ joke!” At this point, his voice became stern.
Everyone in the hall hastily replied in agreement. They dispersed slowly, each returning to their own residential quarters.
The Seventh Mistress took Cheng Jin’s hand and let the other mistresses go first, before finally leaving the hall and heading towards the Begonia Garden. Cheng Jin felt that Seventh Mistress was rather flustered now, holding her hand firmer than when they came, and she was obviously walking faster. It seemed like the poem had inadvertently expressed her inner state of mind. From what Seventh Mistress had told her, coupled with the judgement she saw just then, Cheng Jin determined that Seventh Mistress was definitely not favored.
Cheng Jin looked at the antique corridors around her as she walked and thought, Ning Empire? An unknown universe? All the other mistresses were hostile to the Seventh Mistress, and one glance told her the father was an old sly fox. Two pampered but talented sisters, another large grievance! What should she do?! After reading a lot of transmigration stories, could she be like those people and fling around her sleeves and play all over this world? Would she die at a young age? Would she wake up tomorrow having gone back?
Cheng Jin thought it was possible that this Ah Luo in the past was very introverted, not saying much. Let her be introverted then, it just happened to be a calmer type of personality, so don’t shout, otherwise even this beautiful mother would be gone too. At six years old, would she not starve to death? Starvation was but a small matter, chastity was far more important here, if she was kidnapped and thrown into prostitution, wouldn’t she have to commit suicide?”
Cheng Jin looked up at Seventh Mistress, seeing her expression had already returned to normal, she didn’t seem to notice anything was wrong with Ah Luo. Cheng Jin thought, since she had inexplicably arrived here, there must be some sort of fate tied into this. Ah Luo was only six now, if she was older, would she really have to pretend to have amnesia?
On the way back, Cheng Jin began to observe her surroundings slowly. This family was definitely rich, with such a spacious territory. The father must be very strict with his household as all the servants who saw Seventh Mistress greeted them, not daring to raise their gaze. Was it better to devote oneself to the rich or to the poor? Cheng Jin thought it was better to be in a rich family. Common folk in the ancient times didn’t even know why they died, they didn’t have enough to eat nor enough to wear warm clothes, and they had to pay exorbitant taxes and levies. If they met a tyrannical landlord, or if they had a year of famine or could not farm well, the land would be sold. Even though rich people had to struggle against conspiracies, she was fortunate to have parents who were both government officials. Having heard and seen the official battles in both secret and public occasions, interpersonal communication was much more complicated than it seemed. She guessed that the ancient dynasties and the modern generations were similar. Fighting was the will of humanity.
For now, she just had to hold onto the Seventh Mistress’ hand and go home!
