Delicate Flower

Chapter 141 – A glimmer of hope

Pei Yan was practicing his calligraphy in the study near the Water Pavilion when Yu family’s calling card was delivered.

As the autumn breeze blew, the willow leaves scattered onto the lake, and a few koi fishes poked their heads out, darting about the floating willow leaves.

He opened the invitation with a casual glance, and asked the attendant who delivered it, “Did the Yu family mention anything?”

The servant lowered his eyes and said deferentially, “Nothing, only that he would like to visit you tomorrow.”

Pei Yan nodded. He picked up the Hunan Feizhu’s ink brush again and said indifferently, “Go tell the chief steward and let him make the necessary arrangements.”

The attendant answered in response and went off.

Ah Ming, who was grinding ink for Pei Yan, hesitated for a long time before saying softly, “Third Master, aren’t you checking the accounts tomorrow? Do you want me to go and speak with Mr. Chen?”

Mr. Chen, or Chen Qi, was an external accountant hired by Pei Yan after he officially took control of the Pei Family. Now he was in charge of the accounts of the Pei household.

Without even  a glance, Pei Yan replied, “No, Ah Man knows what to do.”

Ah Ming made an “oh” sound and kept his head lowered as he continued to grind the ink.

The Third Master had to write 2,000 characters every day, and at the beginning he couldn’t lift his hand after a day’s work, but now that he was accustomed to it, he found it relaxing.

In Qingzhu Lane, Yu Wen got a reply and invited Master Wu over saying: “Shall we go over together tomorrow? “

Master Wu was inwardly amazed. Last night he had a few drinks with one of his fellow compatriots, Master Huang, who wanted to see Pei Yan about the autumn harvest, but Pei Yan said that he wanted to check the accounts and if it was not urgent, to meet with Chief Steward Pei instead.

Yu Wen, however, has just handed in his calling card today and will be able to enter the Pei’s residence tomorrow.

It was quite clear that Yu Wen and the Pei family were much closer than he had originally thought.

He was reminded of the opening of the Yu family’s shop.

Pei Yan was also there to congratulate him in person.

Master Wu surreptitiously observed Yu Wen.

He still had the same gentle, scholarly look.

Had he underestimated Yu Wen previously? Was he underestimating the Yu family?

Master Wu rubbed his head as he answered ”I won’t go with you tomorrow. Without others around, it will be easier for you two to talk privately.”

Yu Wen was a little embarrassed to meet Pei Yan.

Pei Yan helped their family so much, but the silver was lost in such a short period of time. It’s a good thing that Master Wu was not there tomorrow otherwise it would be difficult to express his apologies to Pei Yan.

The next day, Yu Wen hired a carriage and went to the Pei residence.

Yu Tang couldn’t help but grumble when she found out, “Father didn’t even bother to tell us that he was visiting the Pei Residence. The peanut brittles we made yesterday turned out to be even better than the last batch.”

Madam Chen chuckled and said, “Then tomorrow let Ah Cam go to the Pei residence again.”

Yu Tang nodded.

Pei Yan thought that Yu Wen was here to discuss about that six thousand taels of silver, and was thinking of how to convince him not to expect anything much back in terms of reparations from Ningbo. Who knew that Yu Wen would talk about Jiang Chao instead. “He’s quite a nice chap, ambitious and honest, and he keeps his word. He wanted me to set up a meeting with you. I couldn’t make a decision, so I came to ask.” Referring to the 6,000 taels of silver, he only said that he had disappointed his generosity, and he was not cut out for business and lacked the fortune to do so, adding, “You see, the proceeds from the auction was an unexpected fortune, but it was gone in the blink of an eye.”

The words were rather blithe.

Pei Yan viewed him in a better light and said, “What does Jiang Chao want to see me about?”

Yu Wen was also honest in his reply. “He intended to ask you to reach out to the governor of Ningbo, but I think he also probably wanted to get to know you better. He mentioned that your family had four scholars officials. All of us locals have already forgotten about Master Pei Wang.”

The corners of Pei Yan’s mouth twitched.

It wasn’t that people had forgotten about Pei Wang, but rather, the Pei family had intentionally minimized his existence.

“I understand.” He then added, “Since he’s asked you for help, it’s not good to decline to meet him. You can ask him to come and see me in four or five days’ time. I’m going to Hangzhou City in the next few days to check some accounts.” He remembered about the matter he spoke of with Yu Tang previously, saying “Did she run to the Li family to watch the commotion?”

Yu Wen was embarrassed.

Both Master Wu and he still wanted to buy the Li family’s fields in secret, but they had no idea that Third Master Pei would already know about it.

“Watching the commotion?” Yu Wen’s heart weakened and for a moment he didn’t know how to reply. He chuckled feebly, “How can I watch the show? Their fields were sold in private, through an intermediary, so  it’s not like she could go to the Li family’s front gate and watch, could she? And even if she did, the Li family’s gates are tightly shut, so there’s nothing to see!”

Pei Yan stared at Yu Wen oddly.

Will the Li family’s commotion be happening at their front door?

No wonder Lady Yu had to step in to attend to the affairs of the Yu family. Although Yu Wen was a scholar, just by this statement, it showed that he probably read too many books and lost his senses.

I guess it would be hard to explain anything to him.

Pei Yan was lazy to continue the conversation with Yu Wen and served tea to send him off.

It wasn’t good for Yu Wen to stay any longer and he got up to leave.

Pei Yan left for Hangzhou City that afternoon.

Jiang Chao had no choice but to wait at the Yu family’s home for Pei Yan to return.

Yu Wen and Master Wu played host and took him around for some sightseeing around the city. Unfortunately, Lin’an was only so big, and they didn’t want to travel too far away, so after two or three days, there was not much else to see.

Jiang Chao spent many years travelling between Suzhou and Zhejiang, and had seen enough. Although Lin’an’s landscape and views were wonderful, it was not a unique sight. He was also thinking about his meeting with Pei Yan in a few days’ time, and had no intention of continuing the tour, so he simply commented, “After climbing these mountains for several days in a row, my legs are starting to wobble, and I am not nearly as strong as my two brothers. I am ashamed!”

Master Wu laughed and replied, “We are also barely surviving, solely to accompany you.  Since Brother Jiang said so, then we will rest for the next two days, and wait for Third Master Pei to return.”

Jiang Chao rested at Yu Wen’s house, carefully deliberating in his mind what he would say when he met Pei Yan, and how he could impress Pei Yan and make him feel that he was useful.

It was likely that he would only have such an opportunity once in his life.

Having worked hard on various possible scenarios and tactics all day, he felt a bit groggy and light-headed in the late afternoon. Thinking that it was nearly dinner time, he headed for the hall with his attendant, Ah Zhou.

As he passed by the courtyard, he saw a young girl of about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in a pale-red plain silk robe and a white woven skirt, with ebony black hair and snow-white skin, instructing the matrons and maids of the Yu family to fill up the boxes, and saying, “Be careful! There cannot be any broken pieces. If he sees that the corners are broken, he will probably think that they have been left there for several days and will not even taste one.”

Jiang Chao’s eyes fell on the boxes.

They looked like boxes for holding sweets. They were simple, clean and white, without any inscriptions or patterns.

For gifts, they should be packed in red auspicious boxes, right?

This kind of box, were like those used during …… mourning.

He couldn’t help but linger for a few moments.

The young lady turned around.

He saw a beautiful face.

A pair of crystal clear eyes, distinct, pure and brilliant. With a slight smile pulling at the corners of her mouth, she looked as cheery as a honeybee circling a flower.

“Is this …… Lady Yu?” He asked Ah Zhou in a low voice.

Ah Zhou stood on tiptoes and glanced over before smiling, saying cheerily, “Yes, it’s the Eldest Miss of the Yu Family. She is very skilled at making snacks, and her peanut brittles are particularly delicious. Ah Cam gave me one to try just two days ago.”

Lady Yu was very pretty.

Jiang Chao thought that it wasn’t proper for him to stand around like this after all, and was about to turn to leave when Yu Tang inadvertently gazed over.

This man should be Jiang Chao!

Yu Tang surreptitiously examined him.

He was quite handsome, but he was different from Jiang Ling. One was thin and petite, while the other was tall and confident.

Perhaps this was the difference between men and women?

Yu Tang pondered and nodded politely towards Jiang Chao.

Jiang Chao hurriedly bowed towards Yu Tang and left the courtyard, going quickly to the hall.

Yu Wen wasn’t there.

Jiang Chao asked Ah Zhou in a low voice, “Do you know what Lady Yu was doing? Where are all those boxes of sweets going?”

Ah Zhou grinned, saying “It’s a peanut pastry made by Lady Yu for delivery to the Pei Residence. I heard that Third Master Pei likes it very much. Last time when Chief steward Pei came to deliver the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts, he even made a special mention of it. When the Yu family received a fresh batch of peanuts, Lady Yu made them and is now sending them over.”

Jiang Chao said, “Oh.”

The relationship between the Yu and Pei families was actually so good!

When he met Yu Wen afterwards, he became a little more enthusiastic and asked him about Pei Yan’s temperament. “I’ve made some enquiries, but no one could say for sure. It seems that third master Pei didn’t stay in Lin’an very often in the past, and it was only after Grand Elder Pei left that he took over the Pei family and stayed in Lin’an. I heard that his mood is rather unpredictable, is that true?”

Yu Wen frowned at his words and said unhappily, “Where did you hear that Third Master Pei was moody? It’s just a rumour! Third Master Pei is kind and just, exactly like Grand Elder Pei, he is always ready to assist others. It’s just that he’s young and sometimes can be a little sharp with his words……”

Jiang Chao listened absentmindedly to Yuwen’s praises of Pei Yan, not really believing it.

If Pei Yan was really such a person, then why was Lady Yu so careful about even a box containing sweets?

Either Master Yu was making Pei Yan look good, or that he didn’t really know Pei Yan’s character.

Yu Tang’s wide, smiling eyes suddenly popped up in his mind.

Perhaps, Lady Yu would know better?

His heart stirred and he said, “Brother Yu, I saw Lady Yu prepare snacks to be sent to the Pei residence. Do you know if Third Master Pei likes sweet or salty snacks? When I go over, what can I send that will not be disrespectful and still make a lasting impression on Third Master Pei?”

Yu Wen coughed lightly twice, as he was not really in a position to help him out with ideas.

“I’ll go ask someone,” he said, “I don’t usually bother with these things!”

Jiang Chao smiled and thanked him, winking at Ah Zhou.

When he returned to the guest room after dinner, Ah Zhou quietly told Jiang Chao, “The list of possible gifts Master Yu just handed to you was all Lady Yu’s work.”

As expected, it was as he suspected.

Should he find an opportunity to speak to Lady Yu then?

Jiang Chao walked back and forth in the house for most of the night before finally entrusting Yu Wen with the gift list he was intending to give to Pei Yan for him to show to Yu Tang.

Yu Wen didn’t think much about it and gave the list to Yu Tang.

Two rolls of Xue Tao paper, two inkstones made by the Li family, two boxes of the Wu family’s ink brushes, two sets of Hu family’s flower-scented ink ingots, and a pair of boxwood paperweights from Liu Fangzhai …… they were all rare and precious items.

Yu Tang chuckled, “Didn’t you say that Master Jiang didn’t even have a change of clothes with him? How can he still be so generous in sending gifts to the Pei family?”

“It’s obvious that he’d rather go without food and water, but he’s keeping his strength ready to turn things around!” Yu Wen lamented, “That’s why I want to help him!” He added, “I see that Third Master Pei likes everything that you sent him, so you should take a good look at this gift list. Just now Ah Cam came back and said that the Pei family’s steward received the peanut brittles and took it straight to the inner residence.”