Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

After Qi Ming came out from visiting Liu Shi, he went to see his second brother.
When he entered the yard, he heard a lively commotion.
Qi Ming walked outside the wing and, instead of going in, raised his voice at the door.

Ye Jiao remembered that Qi Ming mentioned coming over yesterday.
She didn’t think much about it and said: “Come in.”

Coincidentally, Xiao Su just came back with the sand cake.
She reached out and picked up the curtain for him to enter.

Qi Ming greeted Ye Jiao first like a little adult, then looked at Stone.

He usually spent a lot of time in the academy, preparing for all sorts of tasks.
After Stone was born, the two of them were only together for a few days.
Now, he finally saw someone younger than himself.

Little Stone had a round head and particular eyes that were very round and very pleasing.

Qi Ming had a curious character and couldn’t help himself.
He stretched his hand out to pick up Stone.
Qi Ming glanced at the brush in Stone’s hand and didn’t look too carefully to see if it was dipped in ink.
There was a faint smile on his face: “Little Stone also knows how to read and write?”

Stone didn’t recognize him, but even though he had no impression of Qi Ming, he still crisply replied: “Reading and literacy!”

Repeating the words of adults is probably the instinct of every child.

Qi Ming was happy to hear it, and wanted to see the Stone’s works.

With a turn of his head, he saw a pair of large characters on the table.

It was said to be large characters, but these big words were much more difficult to recognize than ordinary characters.
They were round and a little flat.
Qi Ming stared at it for a while before he could tell that it was the word for “beginning.”

Qi Third Son’s own handwriting wasn’t very good-looking, and the academy’s teachers often said that he had to study hard and practice well.
If the words didn’t have good handwriting, even if the meaning was full of beauty, no one would appreciate them.
However, Qi Third Son regained his confidence after seeing this character.

Obviously, Qi Ming didn’t think it was strange to compare handwriting with a child.

He looked at Stone, who he was holding in his arms, and said: “This character’s a bit ugly, but Stone is still young.
It can definitely be written beautifully in the future.”

The old lady’s face twitched, wondering whether Third Young Master was just young, or if he became dumb after studying so much? What does he think of the Little Young Master – that he was a prodigy who could write before the age of two?

Xiao Su whispered on the side: “Third Young Master, this word was written by Second Young Lady.”

Qi Ming: … Ah?

With a stiff face, Qi Ming glanced at Ye Jiao and found that she was holding the blue cloth, but her eyes were fixed on the large characters on the table.

Although he’s only met Ye Jiao a few times, this was his serious second-in-law.
What he just said… Qi Ming’s face immediately flushed.

Little Stone looked up at him curiously and reached out to touch Qi Ming’s bright red face.
He said in a milky voice: “So red, like jujube cake.
Stone eats cake!”

Qi Ming was only a young teen, and he didn’t dare interpret Ye Jiao’s expression at the moment.
He immediately handed Little Stone back to the old woman and stammered: “I… I’ll come back to visit Second Brother later” and turned around and ran.

The old woman naturally wouldn’t get involved in the affairs of the second household.
She just hugged Little Stone and coaxed him to eat the sand cake on the table.

Ye Jiao refolded the blue cloth and picked up the characters she wrote.
She looked at it for a while, turned her head, and asked Xiao Su: “Is it really that ugly?

Although Xiao Su was illiterate, she could still tell the difference between good and bad writing.
Usually, those words were always square.
From left to right, the Second Young Lady’s circular handwriting was definitely not pretty.

However, in Xiao Su’s opinion, it wasn’t like she was going to take an exam.
The words were good enough to recognize; however, she was afraid that Ye Jiao was uncomfortable because of what Qi Ming said.

Xiao Su, looking into Ye Jiao’s eyes, couldn’t bring herself to say the truth.
The little girl thought for a moment and picked up a piece of sand cake: “Young Mistress, why don’t you eat a little first?”

Ye Jiao: Hmph.

Steward Song was in the small room on the other side and was very excited.
He wasn’t calm like before, in front of Father Qi; instead, he was full of joy: “Second Young Master was right.
Now the reputation of our Qi family wine shop is out of the park.
Is it possible to discuss business with the restaurant and inn in town soon?”

Although they sold the wine at a lower price, it was still profitable; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to make a hundred guan.

What made Steward Song even happier was that as more and more wines were sold, people all over the world would know that the Qi family made delicious wine.
Steward Song also found some good-natured people to brag about them – 8 points can be elevated to 12 points!

In addition, Qi’s wine shop was given the beautiful name of “Jade Liquid Wine” by Qi Yun, which was elegant and nice.
Thus, the demand began to exceed the supply.

While Qi Yun planned all of this, Steward Song’s ability was quite commendable and everything was put into motion earlier than Qi Yun had imagined.

Putting the ledger aside, Qi Yun gathered the hand warmer [1] in his arms.

In front of outsiders, Qi Second Son didn’t have a gentle expression like he had in front of Ye Jiao.
He wasn’t the type to interact with others and was too lazy to be formal. 

Dressed in a thick robe, Qi Yun’s face was still slightly pale.
However, his internal bruises were gone [2] , making him look cold but no longer evil.

If it was in the past, Steward Song would be afraid of him.
Now, Qi Yun is the Lord of Wealth in Steward Song’s eyes.
The time to make offerings has passed – he can’t imagine being scared anymore.

After listening to Steward Song’s words, Qi Yun thought for a moment and slowly responded: “Don’t worry, let’s wait.
Those restaurants and inns don’t lack for wine.
We’ll talk about it at the end of the year.”

Steward Song didn’t ask for the reason, and immediately responded.

The two discussed next steps.
When Steward Song saw that it was getting late, he said goodbye and left.

Qi Yun sent Steward Song away, and went to the bedroom to find that Ye Jiao wasn’t in sight.
He turned and walked towards the wing.

When he entered the door, the old woman had already returned with Little Stone, and Xiao Su was working in the yard.
Ye Jiao was the only one in the wing.

At that moment, the woman was standing at the table, intently holding a pen and writing.

Qi Yun didn’t bother her.
He walked to Ye Jiao’s side and found that she already had a pile of large characters by her hand.

He knew Ye Jiao.
Although his wife liked to read, she had never worked so hard.
It seemed like she hadn’t rested for an hour.

Seeing that Ye Jiao just finished writing another character, Qi Yun stretched his hand out to wrap around the woman’s waist and took the brush she was holding.
He said in a patient voice: “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Jiao Niang.
You don’t have to be in a hurry to read and write.”

Ye Jiao subconsciously grabbed Qi Yun’s hand with her own, and looked up at him: “My words don’t look good, so I need to practice more.”

Hearing this, Qi Yun couldn’t help but slow his voice down: “You’ve just learned.
It’s already impressive to be able to write so much.”

Ye Jiao looked at him expectantly: “Isn’t it ugly?”

Qi Yun smiled: “It’s not too ugly.”

Ye Jiao: …

Seeing her pouting cheeks, Qi Yun squeezed her palm: “I don’t mind it.
Besides, this kind of stuff takes practice – there’s no rush.”

If Qi Yun wasn’t there, Ye Jiao would have written well by herself.
Now that Qi Yun arrived, Ye Jiao didn’t want to painstakingly suffer: “Practicing calligraphy is so tiring.” She raised her hand, showing that it was sore.

What a dainty lady.

She was the one who said she would continue, but now she’s unwilling.
Qi Yun felt that his wife suffered to the point of becoming tired.
After sitting down with her, he gently massaged her wrist.

The man’s hands have been warmed by the hand warmer – so toasty – and he was very careful when kneading her wrist.
The corners of Ye Jiao’s mouth turned up a little.

Seeing the smile on Ye Jiao’s face, Qi Yun said: “How about this: every day you can practice for an hour, and then you can eat two pieces of snacks in the evening.”

Ye Jiao’s eyes lit up, and the Little Ginseng grabbed the man’s hand: “Three pieces.”

Qi Yun smiled and nodded: “Okay.”

Ye Jiao was happy.
She dropped the brush and led Qi Yun to eat.
After she finished eating, Ye Jiao walked around the yard with the stone bud grass, helping the little thing absorb sunlight while she also digested.
After the sprouts spread out, Ye Jiao went back to the bedroom and put it down.
She took off her hair and went to take a nap.

Qi Yun didn’t have the habit of taking a nap.
He saw Ye Jiao falling asleep and went to the yard to call Xiao Su.
He asked in a low voice: “Who came here just now?”

Xiao Su was afraid of him.
When he asked this, she poured everything out like pouring beans in a bamboo tube. 

After listening, Qi Yun didn’t say anything.
He only lightly said: “Okay, I understand.”

Xiao Su: … What do you know?

Qi Yun waved his hand: “Go and call the third brother.
I haven’t seen him in a long time and I miss him.”

Xiao Su looked at Qi Yun’s wooden face.
No matter how much she looked at it, it didn’t seem like he missed Third Young Master.
However, Xiao Su didn’t dare ask any questions, and she ran away.

Ye Jiao, who was lying on the bed, slept soundly.
She didn’t know about anything that just happened.

When she woke up, she didn’t kick the shuttlecock or listen to Qi Yun teach her medical classics.
Instead, she organized herself and went to Liu Shi’s yard.

The Liu family invited the tailor lady to come home today.
Last time he said that he would cut clothes for Ye Jiao, but there were so many things that had been delayed, so they happened to do it together today.

Ye Jiao had never been measured for clothes before, but fortunately, she didn’t have to do a thing.
The whole process was to raise her arms, raise her head, and wait for the measurements before choosing two favorite colors.

When the tailor lady was sent away, Liu Shi took Ye Jiao to the garden and said to her: “You’re still young and growing; your clothes will need to be changed frequently to fit.
Every six months, if you can’t wait for the tailor to come, find some time to have someone accompany you to the tailor’s shop.”

Ye Jiao had always kept Liu Shi’s words in her heart.
She would reply obediently, whether she understood or not, and without questions: “Thank you, Mother.”

That was what Liu Shi wanted to hear, and she nodded gently to her.

At this time, a few people slipped out of Qi Ming’s yard. 

Liu Shi was full of care and love for her youngest son, but she didn’t go in at the moment.
She just stood at the courtyard gate, looked inside, and said with a smile: “Third Son told me before that he’s going to write for two hours today.
I know he’s working hard.”

When Ye Jiao heard this, her eyes widened. 

No wonder the little fox liked scholars; they’re really not like ordinary people.

She herself only wrote for an hour, but her wrists were tired.
A scholar actually had to write for two hours a day? 

People who wanted to take the top exam were different.

Ye Jiao also looked inside.
There were several large characters in the yard that were taken out to dry.

She had good eyes, and when she took a closer look, she could recognize most of the characters on it.
However, she couldn’t quite spell out the sentence that they made.

Sincerity is in the middle, form is on the outside, so the gentleman… what’s alone…

As she didn’t understand, the Little Ginseng didn’t read too much and continued to walk with Liu Shi.
When the sky was getting dark and Ye Jiao was about to return, Liu Shi had someone bring her a tureen of stewed pork rib soup.

Ye Jiao carried the earthen jar and walked back quickly, without having anyone send her off.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Tie Zi holding a stack of papers to be delivered to the small room.

Ye Jiao stopped him: “Tie Zi, what is this?”

Ti Zi immediately halted.
He was in the period of voice change, and he sounded hoarse: “Second Young Mistress, these documents are for Second Young Master.”

Ye Jiao didn’t ask about it when she heard those words.
She walked over to him and said: “Call Xiang Gong and tell him to come out to eat after finishing up.”

Tiezi nodded immediately: “I’ll remember that.”

Ye Jiao smiled and glanced at what Tie Zi was holding.
She saw the top document, and her mouth stopped unconsciously.

Sincerity is in the middle, form is on the outside, so a gentleman…

Hey, wasn’t this what Qi Ming wrote just now?

***

The author has something to say: 

Ye Jiao: Do ​​you write?

Repeater Little Stone: Write wordy words!

Ye Jiao: Do ​​you read?

Repeater Little Stone: Ready reads!

Ye Jiao: Reading or writing?

Repeater Little Stone: Eat cakey cakes!

Ye Jiao: ???

=w=

Sincerity is in the middle, and the form is on the outside, so a gentleman must be careful about his independence – University [3]

Footnotes:

[1] Literal translation is: “hand stove.” According to Baidu, a hand stove was used in ye old days to keep people warm.
In the picture below, the women are holding hand stoves.
They were mostly made of copper and equipped with charcoal fire on the inside.
I used “hand warmer” because it fit the purpose of the device better than “stove,” lol.

[2] Literal translation is: “… wu qing was gone…” instead of “internal bruises.” The term ‘wu qing,’ according to Baidu, refers to a bluish-black complexion of blood.
My interpretation is that he just looks very, very sickly but I used ‘internal bruises’ for simplicity.

[3] According to Baidu, this was part of a speech spoken by Xi Jinping.
The meaning is: if a person is sincere in his heart, he can see it in his appearance.
“Cautious independence” is an important concept in Confucianism, and it focuses on someone being cautious and careful when they’re alone.

***

Translator Notes:

Happy Lunar New Year!

It’s been a busy week eating with family/family friends, and work has been wild as well.
I’m hoping to get some alone time this weekend to translate more, since this was the last of my backlog of translated chapters.
In any case, I’ll get all the site/NovelUpdates links updated as soon as I can!