Now important matters keep surfacing
I shall be extra careful when addressing them
If my family does not handle these matters in advance
I am afraid that the Huangfus will report us to the imperial court
Since these matters are not likely to be settled privately
I have to—risk the whole marquis family to fight with them”
While Kuibi was resentful at heart
Nanny Jiang deliberately opened her mouth to ask:
“When Young Master Huangfu returned
Did you think he looked frightened?”
Jinxi replied, “I was very sorry to see him
Wearing burnt clothes and a broken hat, covered all in dust
He was so lucky to escape from the garden
And indeed looked like a reborn person”
Hearing this Kuibi’s anger was slightly alleviated
Saying to Jinxi, “I am sorry for scaring you
It is indeed fortunate that you came back alive
This accident has nothing to do with the Liu family”
Jinxi excused himself and stepped off in a hurry
Nanny Jiang walked into the room soon after him
Not until she asked her own child again
Did she know that he was not tortured in the yamen hall
It was greatly gratifying that Jinxi was rewarded with gold
Moreover, the Huangfus promised to repay his great favor some day
Saving a life is an achievement of infinite merits
So, she did not worry that he would lack achievements in the future
Jinxi reported Young Master Huangfu’s words in detail
Then in private, the wet nurse retold them to her miss
Hearing them, the lovely young miss was delighted
And thought fondly of her affectionate Young Master Huangfu
He would not let her down when he made his name one day
And she felt so pleased in having this perfect engagemen:
“From now on, I shall patiently looked myself in the flower-shaped mirror
These brows of mine—when would my love be back and paint them dark?”
Let us turn away from the fair lady Liu Yanyu
And instead turn to Kuibi, who was muttering to himself
When he should have retired for the night in the marquise’s room
He sat in front of the window and was unable to fall asleep
The light of the candle flickered on the window screen
The clapper-strike of the night watch came from the darkness
Once a heart leans towards the direction of vice
Hundreds of evil plans will be generated from there
After a good while he stood up to cut the candlewick with scissors
Rubbing an ink stick to make thick ink for writing a letter
Unable to come up with a good plan by himself
He just wrote a letter asking his father for help:
“If my father can support me
Why should I worry that the Huangfus may report to the imperial court?”
Thinking of this, he immediately made up his mind
Holding the brush, he quickly wrote in a mixture of cursive and regular scripts:
“Your unworthy child kowtows to you three times
And I am here to report an incident to my dear father
Ever since I returned to our hometown with my dear mother
I dared not waste my time frolicking for fun
After years of mere growing,[1] I have now turned sixteen
So my mother requested my uncle to act as my matchmaker
Our fellow townsman, Master Meng, is now the Minister of War
And he has a talented daughter called Lijun
Admiring her reputation, I begged my uncle to arrange our pairing
And when he was matchmaking, there unexpectedly came another matchmaker
The commissioner-in-chief of Yunnan, Huangfu Jing
Has established a long and deep friendship with the Meng family
He has a son, aged fifteen, named Shaohua
Who previously befriended and often contacted me
The commissioner-in-chief also entrusted a matchmaker, Master Qin
To proceed to the Meng mansion to matchmake Lijun and Shaohua
It was hard to approve only one of the proposals while managing two
So Master Meng had no alternative but to skillfully mediate it
Weeping willows were extensively planted in his backyard
And he planned to hang a court robe in the willow forest
For whoever hit the willow leaves more with their golden arrows
The red robe would be cut off and thrown on him[2]
The two families would bet on the result of three shots
Whoever succeeded could move forward with the engagement with Meng Lijun
Considering what I have been taught by my father since I was a child
With my success, would I not go to be renowned on the appointed day?
So on the fourth day of the last month of spring, I went in person
To adhere to the agreement, we all meet in the Minister of War’s mansion
Your unworthy child hit the target thrice on the spot
But Shaohua in turn indignantly argued with me:
“Since neither of us has shown our true skills
It is hard for me to have you parade your abilities solely”
He also indeed knew some cunning tricks
And shot three times in a row to cut the red rope
Then he proudly took the court robe by himself
And stepped into the pavilion to pay respects to his father-in-law
Langu, the Master Meng, considered Shaohua his son-in-law
And unexpectedly deemed your unworthy son an outsider
I was outraged and went back home
A few days later, it was said that the betrothal presents were sent to the Meng family
The Meng family only respects Huangfu Jing
And have no idea of your honorable existence
The daughter-in-law of a marquis’ family has been taken by others
Rumors about this strange affair circulated wildly
I am the useless and unworthy son of the marquis
Being bullied while living in this remote area
If I cannot marry the daughter of the minister during my life
I will remain notorious for thousands of years because of the rumor
Even if I do marry someone in the future
The glorious reputation of our family has already been tainted
Right now I make my commitment to you
That I would rather stay single and never get married again
Only if I obtain Lijun as my wife
Can I barely avenge this insult
The above is not the only reason I am writing this letter
I have another unsettling news for you, my father
Your son has no resentment but generosity
And I would never split up with my friend because of personal feelings
So I would frequently invite Huangfu
To ease our differences and have more heart-to-heart talks
We had gone boating and it was getting dark
I kindly offered him accommodation in the Xiaochun Courtyard in our garden
However, my maternal grandmother passed away
And I went to visit my uncle Gu with my mother
There was nobody but only my half-sister at home
It was hard for her to manage external affairs while residing in the inner chamber
A fire suddenly sprang to life in the courtyard
Servants quickly went to find help putting out the fire
Together, they fought the fire and stopped it
But no dead body, not even a soul, was found in the ashes
Their servants witnessed everything with their own eyes
Rushing to report the incident to the yamen
The commissioner-in-chief came and inspected the scene himself
He suspected that we deliberately burnt the courtyard ourselves
He spoke cunningly, making us upset
He acted threateningly, leaving us astounded
He only interrogated the servant Jiang Jinxi
Arguing that he must know something about the incident
Immediately he took Jinxi to the yamen
Strictly punishing Jinxi with severe torture
At that moment, Shaohua returned to the Huangfu mansion
Our poor family servant was able to narrowly escape
It is not a big matter since they released Jinxi
But they immediately plan to go to the royal court and complain about our wrongs
They dare say that I still have resentment
And burnt our own court out of insanity
Your son thinks that I cannot do anything myself
So I am urgently writing to you, my respectable father
Although the Huangfus spew nonsense that we should not be afraid of
I am afraid the emperor may confuse it as the truth
Father, you ought to pay great attention in the capital
We should not let them accuse us first
If the person presenting complaints to the emperor has arrived
Even our power and influence would not do anything
Your son will be so annoyed that illness befalls him
It will be such a pity that our marquis family falls behind others
I have stated everything clearly here
And I sincerely hope my father could help to mediate this as early as possible
This letter for you should be confidential
I kowtow here and wish you all the best with everything I have detailed”
After finishing the letter and going through it again
Kuibi frowned with a guilty conscience
He turned back and placed it near his bed
Planning to send it tomorrow with an envelope
Matters completed, he undressed and entered his bedroom
It was a quiet night until the next morning
[1] The original text is chizhang 癡長 [foolishly grow], a common modest expression for imperial Chinese people to state their age. [2] Wearing the red cape indicates (1) victory of this archery competition and (2) being the groom (as red gowns are the well accepted attire for Chinese wedding ceremony).
