Chapter 43: Victory
Edited By: Mim
Chu Jinyao sat in the room with the window half open, listening to the gossip of the maids and women under the corridor.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course, now this news has been spread all over. Everyone in the street knows that the Crown Prince’s surprise army has come from heaven and chased the Tatars three thousand miles. If it hadn’t been for the sudden heavy snowfall that blocked the marching route, the prince would surely be able to annihilate the Tatars!”
“Wow!” The maids covered their mouths and exclaimed. Chu Jinyao sewed a stitch and secretly shook her head funnily.
Obviously, in yesterday’s version, the Crown Prince took advantage of the snowy night to attack and led the troops to chase the Tatars out for a thousand miles. Now it is a long drive of three thousand miles, and they had to return because of the heavy snow.
The Tatars were the heart disease of this country. The Tatars are trouble on horseback. The people in the tribe can walk and ride horses. Over the years, they often relied on the scimitar to infringe on the border. When the army pursued them, they withdrew. Under the harassment back and forth, the frontier army could not defend against it, and the people could not bear it.
The general who guarded the frontier, for various reasons, always refused to risk attacking the Tatars. After all, defence is easier than offense. As long as there was nothing wrong with the city, they were ministers of merit. If they attacked the Tatars and lost, then that would be a big mistake.
Therefore, for so many years, the Yan Dynasty has never won a battle against Tatar and has always passively defended. But this time, the Tatars relied on the autumn to attack the border brazenly in an attempt to reproduce the victory thirteen years ago. However, this time, their gaze was not limited to those belongings in Shanxi, but the Tatars’ eyes were on the capital.
If they can break through the border defences of Datong, it will only take a few days to reach the capital. Maybe they will be able to reproduce the glory of the ruling Yan family in the past!
The Tatar Head heard from somewhere that the Crown Prince was also at the border. This could be said to be God-sent. In the eyes of the Tatars, this Crown Prince must be a greedy person who is afraid of death. Once they attacked, he would be the fastest one to run. Tatar Khan believed with confidence that they might be able to capture two emperors alive during their trip.
It’s a pity that the Tatar Head misjudged the person. After the flames of war ignited, the Crown Prince did not evacuate first, as everyone imagined. Instead, he fought them with three thousand soldiers and led his own people. The head of the Datong General was about to be bald. He looked at the cabinet’s summons like snowflakes but went out of the city to meet the Tatars in cooperation with the Crown Prince. Because of the prince’s presence, the morale of the frontier soldiers was greatly boosted, and the heroic killing of the enemy exploded the suffocation of decades.
In this way, the court’s army fought and advanced and attacked wherever it was lost. It even struggled to withstand the Tatar offensive. Finally, relying on supplies and geographical advantages, it slowly counterattacked into the land of the Tatar. The last battle report from the mainland was of the heavy snow outside the pass. The horse was half-length in the snow and unable to move forward. Therefore, the Crown Prince retired to the city to recuperate.
Chu Jinyao was in Taiyuan and didn’t know what was going on in the capital, but she knew that the entire Taiyuan city had already boiled with excitement from the Crown Prince’s battle report. It’s been too long since we had such an inspiring victory.
Today, even the maidservants in the house were excitedly discussing this victory.
Chu Jinyao sewed another stitch and finally sewed the sleeves. She put the sleeves together, planning to wait for Manager Wei to come and let him take these to sister Su Hui.
Chu Jinyao sent the news in August, followed by the rumours of Tatar crimes. The current situation was turbulent, and the people were in panic. No one dared to move rashly, and Su Hui did not dare to cast herself in the net and go north to Taiyuan.
Later, news of the prince’s victory in the war spread all over the country, and the battle situation was gradually a stalemate. The court’s backup troops, money, and food were shipped to the border, and the people gradually got a sense of relief. They no longer had to stay awake in the middle of the night and hold their baggage to abandon the city and flee.
Su Hui’s husband, Butcher Zhang, knocked on the side door of the Changxing Marquis’s Mansion during this time, and he was taken by the manager, Wei Xiao, to speak with Chu Jinyao.
Now, taking advantage of the good business at the end of the year, Zhang Tuhu, the butcher brought Su Hui to Taiyuan to work in Yunzhi Embroidery Shop.
Chu Jinyao said that Su Hui was skilled and capable, and this was really true. Although Su Hui had ups and downs, she had always been a knife-mouthed but tofu-hearted person, and she was also very quick in doing things. Not long after she went to the shop, she adapted to the rhythm there and was not at all vague when she was working. These things Chu Jinyao sewed were used to keep Su Hui from the cold.
In fact, Su Hui didn’t need Chu Jinyao to help. Her husband, Butcher Zhang, continued his old business. He didn’t have any problems supporting his family; they could even save some oil and water money, not to mention that Su Hui was now working in the embroidery shop.
Chu Jinyao paid Su Hui one and a half taels as wages. After the Chinese New Year, she and her sister discussed making spring clothes so that she could give Su Hui a greater share of wages and make her sister’s life better.
Su Hui and her husband made about five taels of silver a month, which was considered a very good income, but in the eyes of Chu Jinyao, five taels of silver were still nothing.
If Chu Jinyao didn’t have the share of Yunzhi Embroidery Shop, she would only have two taels of silver a month, four sets of clothes per season, and such; she would not be as good as Su Hui and her husband.
Fortunately, Chu Jinyao now had a family background and enough fabric, so she will not be short even after ten years of use, not to mention that Manager Wei would send one to two thousand taels every month and would also send her some fashionable fabrics. By the way, Manager Qi also often came around.
As a result, Chu Jinyao received more fabrics than she used every month, and gradually those boxes couldn’t fit everything, so she could only pile up other wooden boxes.
She had more and more private properties, and she no longer felt wronged with things she usually used. The brocade, once cherished in every possible way, was now no more than a piece of ordinary fabric in her eyes. If she was not afraid to attract attention, she would change all her clothes to brocade.
However, Chu Jinyao didn’t dare to make such a publicity stunt. In general, apart from the clothes distributed in the mansion, she did not make any new clothing. On the contrary, the Old Lady couldn’t see it and often cut her new clothes.
Chu Jinyao put the sleeves and ear protectors together and turned her somewhat stiff wrist. Jiegeng just saw this scene when she entered the door, and she quickly stepped forward and said, “Are your hands hurting, young lady? I’ll massage them for you.”
“No need.” Chu Jinyao said, “I can do it myself.”
Jiegeng was holding the sewing basket in her arms and was about to go out when she suddenly found that the window behind Chu Jinyao was open. She frowned, pointed to the window, and asked, “Who opened this? The young lady is sitting here doing needlework, and the window is open. What can we do if the young lady catches a cold?”
“I opened it. I thought it was too stuffy from the charcoal burning in the house, so I opened the window by myself for ventilation.”
Jiegeng stepped forward and closed the window. When she closed the window, she found that a maid servant in the corridor was still chatting on the railing. She couldn’t help scolding: “The young lady is working here, and you talk endlessly, are you not afraid of disturbing the young lady?”
When the servant heard that the young lady was sitting behind this window, she immediately stood up to apologize.
Chu Jinyao said to Jiegeng, “They have been frightened for a winter; let them relax for a while, and talk.”
“They are used to being lazy, and they gossip when they are free. They want to think about the Crown Prince’s victory. What does it have to do with them? Now they are talking about the prince. After a while, it would be someone else.”
Chu Jinyao laughed, and Momo Gong came in and heard this sentence and repeatedly praised: “This is the truth! Who is the Crown Prince? How can we talk about him? Even if we gossip, it is still disrespectful to the royal family.”
Chu Jinyao was stunned: “Is it so serious?”
Momo Gong said with a solemn face, “This is natural.”
Chu Jinyao had no choice but to suppress this topic. In the past, Qize always spoke ill of the Crown Prince in front of her. Over time, even Chu Jinyao became familiar with the Crown Prince, as if this was a person within reach, not an unattainable prince. However, she did not expect that, in the eyes of others, it would be an offense even if she just spoke of it.
In fact, this also showed that the prince’s reputation among the people was growing, far from what it used to be.
To put it in a bad way, I am afraid even the emperor can’t match it.
After all, although the reputation of the emperor is great, it is not a good reputation.
Chu Jinyao was sincerely happy for the prince, although she didn’t know why she was happy. Maybe because she saw the right person? When the war began, she blindly trusted the Crown Prince, and it turns out that she did not believe in the wrong person.
The prince deserved the title of Crown Prince, and he also deserved the appreciation of the people.
The Momo Gong said, “Young lady, the New Year is getting closer, and you should take care of your new clothes this year. Young lady, what do you think?”
“I will have whatever the mansion gives.”
Momo Gong was taken aback and said, “Okay.”
In fact, with Chu Jinyao’s current private shop, if she just pulled a piece of fabric out of the box in the West Wing, she would be able to be better than all the sisters, leading the way, but she didn’t and kept the same expenses as the sisters in the same house.
Momo Gong looked very emotional. She was able to restrain herself in this way at this age when ladies loved to compare and loved to show off, which showed that Chu Jinyao was cautious and steady. However, there were still some regrets beside the emotion. Chu Jinyao stood there, like a hundred flowers in full bloom; the flowers are deep, and these gorgeous gold-woven brocade, makeup, and satin looked good on her. However, Chu Jinyao did not wear them once due to her identity.
Momo Gong couldn’t say why it was a pity, but she felt that the beauty was covered in dust, and the fifth young lady should not be restricted in any way and should stand higher.
Not surprisingly, Momo Gong thought of the Huailing Palace; she implicitly persuaded: “Young lady, if you think the charcoal burning in the house is stuffy, you might as well go to the Old Princess consort place. There is a warm room in the old lady’s house. It’s warmer than charcoal, and there is no smoke.”
How could Chu Jinyao not know that Momo Gong spoke of drinking but did not want to drink. The last time they went to the palace of Huailing County Prince as a guest, the news of the Tatar invasion followed. The two families panicked, and they were still thinking about other things. Now that the battle is settled, we could continue to discuss things that have been put on hold in the fall.
For example, the accompanying reading partner of the County Princess.
Chu Jinyao didn’t want to be a companion to County Princess from the bottom of her heart, but her opposition could not change anything except to mess up her situation. Over time, Chu Jinyao stopped mentioning it, but she was not enthusiastic about her actions. That’s it.
Momo Gong didn’t understand why the Fifth Young Lady was always cold and unenthusiastic about being chosen as a study partner, and if others didn’t mention it, she wouldn’t go, as if she were passively resisting. Momo Gong shook her head and put aside these unreasonable thoughts, and bitterly persuaded: “Young lady, you are already fourteen; you should plan for yourself.”
How could she not know? She returned to Marquis Mansion at the end of the first month, and in the blink of an eye, another year’s end had arrived. After the New Year, she would be fourteen years old.
Chu Jinyao finally stood up and said, “Alright, I’ll go to my grandmother to have a look.”
Momo Gong was overjoyed and quickly responded with a smile: “Okay, this old slave will get a cloak for the young lady.”
Chu Jinyao put on a white fur cloak, and her neckline and cuffs were decorated with fine fluff. She wore a short pink jacket with a pair of pockets inside and a blue horse-faced skirt underneath. The skirt was embroidered with a large group of precious flowers. Chu Jinyao’s gloves were in the rabbit fur sleeves, and only a pink pipa sleeve could be seen. People in the courtyard of Old Madam Chu saw Chu Jinyao and quickly opened the curtains: “Old Madam, the Fifth Young Lady is here!”
Chu Jinyao was served by Linglong, who took off her cloak, took off her sleeves, and dispersed the frosty air on her body. Chu Jinyao walked slowly towards the inner room: “Grandmother.”
Old Madam Chu had heard the report a long time ago. She was wearing a grey fur coat and was sitting in the warm pavilion, listening to the amusement of the maids. When she heard the sound, she turned her head and saw a tall lady standing under the Bogu frame.
Chu Jinyao was taller than an ordinary lady. She also liked to wear short jackets and long skirts. The top coat was at about her waist. Underneath was a blue horse-faced skirt. The pleats were deep and dense, and they were slightly puffed. The whole person was extraordinarily slender and tall. The beauty was like a cloud with black hair and white skin, standing here quietly, as if springing back to the earth.
Just standing there, Chu Jinyao didn’t need to do anything, and it made people feel that spring was here, really blooming, and the sun was deep.
After the old lady looked at her, she gently raised her hand. Chu Jinyao understood, and immediately stepped forward, took the hand of Old Madam, and sat down next to her.
Sitting closer like this, she felt that Chu Jinyao’s eyebrows were beautiful and thrilling, like fine brushwork and smooth lines; she couldn’t tell which part of her eyes was bad, which was good, but the beauty was natural, and one could never get tired of it. Old Madam calmly looked up, then calmly retracted her gaze. Her granddaughter was good in everything. The only thing that was not satisfactory was that she was not close to the family, especially her grandmother.
But this was not a big problem. Whether Chu Jinyao was born like this or had other grudges, she could not change the fact that her surname was Chu. As long as she was a lady from the Chu family, she would marry from the Marquis Mansion in the future; that was enough.
Old Madam said: “Fifth Young Lady, in a few days, the Princess Consort will host a banquet in the palace and invite the young ladies in the city to enjoy the snow and plums.”
Chu Jinyao was surprised for a moment: “It’s going to be the twelfth lunar month, and the Chinese New Year will be in half a month. Have a banquet at this juncture?”
“The princess mansion is very rich and expensive. It spends money like running water. These expenses are very easy. As long as the public fund has money, it is the same as the banquet on the 30th day.”
“I mean, it’s the New Year. The Princess Consort doesn’t have to buy new year goods and to do things like ancestor worship.”
Old Madam Chu laughed loudly. After the laugh, she pointedly said to Chu Jinyao, “People like the Princess Consort, as long as they say a word casually, all the maids will give their lives for the princess. She is the mistress, but in fact, marrying into the palace was to enjoy blessings. This kind of thing that has been fixed in previous years cannot still make the princess worry about it.
Chu Jinyao was silent for a while and finally said, “Grandmother, what do you think?”
“I have a gold-woven satin, although we don’t wear it casually, but going to the palace wearing it as a guest is not too outrageous.” Old Madam said, “You are good at sewing; even the embroiderer in the palace cannot be better than you. Take this satin back and plan for yourself. When you go to a banquet, you must not be underestimated.”
Old Madam’s words almost made it clear.
The news that Old Madam gave Chu Jinyao a piece of woven gold satin soon spread in the mansion. Gold satin was a high-end material in cloud brocade, and it was expensive, not to mention gold thread was added when weaving. The cost of this one piece was hard to imagine. Chu Jinmiao sat in the room, listening to the maid reporting the news to her.
Chu Jinmiao couldn’t help thinking of the situation in the mansion at this time last year. Yes, there was no Chu Jinyao at that time. There was only her, the Fourth Young Lady in the mansion. She was the first to choose the rewards from the elders and the contributions from the shops outside. If Chu Jinmiao didn’t let go, no one dared to take the lead.
But after the new year, her nightmare began. Old Madam’s gold satin should have belonged to her, as long as there was no Chu Jinyao.
Chu Jinmiao finally waved her hand and told the maid to shut up angrily. This spring, she even laughed at Chu Jinyao as a frog from the bottom of a well from a poor family. She had never seen anything in the world, and she could snag silk at a touch from her fingers. But now, Chu Jinyao already had several sets of brocade clothes, and nowadays, she could also afford to wear them.
As for Chu Jinmiao, although there was a secret subsidy from Madam Zhao, how did Madam Zhao’s capital compare to the Old Lady’s, the brocade and gold hairpins that worth a lot of money, and the reward is rewarded as she liked? But Chu Jinmiao couldn’t change her extravagant style, and she never lowered her pomp to let others look down on her so that she could only spend money, and gradually Chu Jinmiao was already struggling a little.
Only then did Chu Jinmiao discover that it turned out that the resources in the mansion were tilted and what the Old Lady’s rewards were worth. What did these actually mean? In the past, these all went into Chu Jinxian’s private dowry. Although Chu Jinmiao was jealous, she did not dare to say anything; she was the eldest sister in the family. But now, why should this person be replaced by Chu Jinyao?
Chu Jinmiao watched Chu Jinyao become more gorgeous day by day, and her gestures were all infected with the wealth and calmness of the nobles. The family’s rejection of Chu Jinyao gradually disappeared. In the end, she became the favorite Fifth Young Lady.
Chu Jinmiao could not accept these changes. In her opinion, Chu Jinyao should be stretched and restless. She should want to be part of the family but couldn’t. She used to say that she didn’t care about Chu Jinyao. It was because Chu Jinyao was still a poor girl. Everyone in the family didn’t like a poor lady. Towards Chu Jinmiao, once the balance swayed, Chu Jinmiao was the first person to panic.
This feeling, as if seeing one’s own things returned to Chu Jinyao.
As if cutting the meat with a slow knife, Chu Jinmiao was about to be driven mad. She thought of the royal banquet a few days later, and desperate madness gradually appeared in her eyes.
No matter how rich and noble the Marquis Changxing Mansion was and how generous the old lady was to Chu Jinyao, how could she compare to the Royal Mansion and even the East Palace?
In another slightly gloomy room, the maid picked up the charcoal fire and covered it with a charcoal net; she couldn’t help complaining: “Young lady, you only have four clothes from the house all winter, and your mother can’t give you any subsidies. In order not to lose face, we had to switch to last year’s winter clothes. But the fifth young lady didn’t wear any repeated clothes this month! Just like that, the old lady still rewarded the fifth young lady with clothes, which are satin! No lady in the world wouldn’t want a fancy dress. The old lady is so biased that even the servants are not convinced.”
Sixth Young Lady listened, smiled, and said, “What’s the use if you are not convinced? The Old Lady is not my real grandmother, so how can I expect her to take care of me?”
“But, did the young lady just recognize it like that?” The little maid muttered, still refusing to accept it herself. “That’s true for you mother too. All the money in the room was moved to the young master. She only cares about the young master’s studies, regardless of whether the young lady is living or not. She is about to discuss the young lady’s marriage. Now, there are not even a few big clothes that can hold up to the occasion; how can it be done?”
“Accept my fate?” Sixth Young Lady smiled, “No, never.”
Chu Jinyao took Linglong back to the house. She went into the house and grilled the charcoal fire, so Linglong called in the other maids. It got dark early in winter, so you had to cut fabric while it was bright.
Jiegeng took to the sewing basket, and Dingxiang helped Chu Jinyao cut the fabric. The maids whispered, “Young lady, this is the makeup and satin? A royal tribute that is hard to buy on the market?”
Momo Sun glanced at a distance and sighed, “Such a good satin is only used to make clothes. This kind of big guest clothes can’t be worn again. It’s too wasteful and can’t be worn on the body without being afraid of breaking the blessing.”
As soon as Jiegeng heard this, she turned her head and stared and squeezed the Momo Sun out with one shoulder: “Can’t you stop a little bit? On a good day, take care of your mouth!”
Momo Sun was hit by a maid, and she fell backward in anger. She glared at Jiegeng with wide-eyed eyes, and Jiegeng looked back unwillingly.
At this time, Linglong said, “Momo Sun, I see you have some free time; I have some work to ask you.”
Hearing her name, Momo Sun calmed down a little. She looked at Jiegeng’s triumphant smiling face, took a sip, turned and slammed the curtain, and went out.
In the room, the maidservants gathered around Chu Jinyao, still chatting with each other.
Chu Jinyao had no time to reply, but Dingxiang could not help but shake her head as she watched Chu Jinyao being busy.
She felt that this piece of fabric was a bit old, far inferior to the young lady’s own fabric.
Because Dingxiang didn’t talk much, she slowly gained Chu Jinyao’s trust this year. Even when she went to the West Wing to play with the boxes sent by Manager Wei, Chu Jinyao was willing to bring her. Dingxiang had seen Chu Jinyao’s real private house, and her vision opened up. When she looked at the material given by Old Madam Chu, she always felt it was old-fashioned and the satin was not fresh enough.
In fact, Chu Jinyao felt the same way. Old Madam Chu found this from her dowry or inventory. Because it was precious, don’t know how many years it had been preserved, but after all, satin is a piece of fabric. It was hidden in this way, although the value was preserved, but in this way, the pattern inevitably become outdated . This was how the old lady miscalculated Chu Jinyao’s fortune. She may not even dare to think about it. In Chu Jinyao’s private house, there were quite a few large boxes of fabrics, including whole brocades, satin, and woven fabrics. Including things like gold satin.
With your own things in comparison, it was inevitable that there will be a difference between the superior and the inferior. But this was rewarded by the Old Lady, and many people have seen it along the way. In any case, Chu Jinyao had to wear it out and walk around to give everyone an explanation. Similarly, because of the Old Lady’s gift of cloth, Chu Jinyao felt that she was clumsy and wise, and her wealth was not revealed. Before she had her own territory, she should not take it out to arouse people’s suspicion. Therefore, her several boxes of makeup and satin can only be kept locked.
The old lady’s collection was inevitably tacky in color, bright red, and the pattern was also tangled flowers. Chu Jinyao cut this material into six pieces and made six pleated skirts. Because the color was too gorgeous, Chu Jinyao couldn’t make it out wearing a bright red dress, so she had to pull out the white and purple Yujin silk short jacket from last year.
When Chu Jinyao sewed this white purple cloud brocade, Qin Yi was still with her. She remembered that it was because she hooked the Yunjin silk, came back to shed tears, and caused Qin Yi to scare her intolerably. She still remembered that she liked this material so much; she made a horse-faced skirt with great effort, and she also used silk and satin to pinch tassels on the folds. However, now things are different; Qin Yi is missing, and Chu Jinyao is not in the mood to make clothes happily.
She didn’t want to be too pushy when she was at the banquet in Prince Huailing’s mansion. It was the right reason to come back peacefully.
On the twenty-first day, Chu Jinyao wore a short jacket with a white background and a purple moire collar, a red dress with tangled branches and a flowery horse face, and a silver-grey raw-edged cloak, and slowly boarded the carriage. When going out today, as usual, only Madam Zhao and Madam Yan came out; all the others sat according to the sequence; Chu Jinyao and the Sixth Young Lady sat in the same carriage.
Sixth Young Lady held the hand stove and looked at Chu Jinyao indifferently.
Chu Jinyao’s skirt was extraordinarily wide, and the folds of the skirt fell to the ground, like a blooming camellia. Chu Jinyao sat on her knees, her hands folded on her knees, and the hairpin on her head followed. The carriage shook lightly, but there was no other movement. The jacket and skirt were originally generous, and it became more dignified when worn on Chu Jinyao.
It was the twelfth lunar month in winter. Even if a charcoal fire was burned in the carriage, it was not an easy job to drive for a long time, so neither Chu Jinyao nor the Sixth Young Lady took off their cloaks and fur collars. Chu Jinyao’s chin was slightly lowered, and she looked down at the ground, not knowing what she was thinking. The exquisite snow-white lower jaw just touched the fluffy fluff. Against the background, her lower jaw was exquisite, like a handicraft, almost like ice sculptures and snow.
Suddenly, there was a slight blasting sound in the charcoal basin in the corner, and Sixth Young Lady woke up from their thoughts, only to find that she had been staring at Chu Jinyao for a long time.
This was really a pleasing beauty. As a woman, the Sixth Young Lady felt very comfortable looking at Chu Jinyao, let alone a man with only his lower body.
The charcoal fire made a faint noise, and the green smoke curled up in the carriage. Sixth Young Lady slightly possessed her body, and her quiet voice sounded with light smoke: “Fifth Sister, for the sake of our previous alliance, I would like to give you one last word of advice: be careful of Fourth Sister.”
Chu Jinyao blinked and quickly returned to her senses; her clear eyes moved towards the Sixth Young Lady in doubt. Seeing this, the Sixth Young Lady smiled slightly and said, “You should also know what kind of occasion it is today. This snow feast will be attended by almost half of Taiyuan’s official ladies, and there are many distinguished people. On these occasions, if something goes wrong, it’s all over.”
