Embroidered Phoenix Chronicle

Chapter 9

Liu Lian gradually adapted to this life. Needlework was no longer so scary. Several eleven or twelve-year-old girls often came to play with Liu Ye'er. The old lady did not forbid Liu Ye'er from playing with her friends. However, Liu Lian was already thirty years old and was not interested in these silly games and the silly talk between girls. If it weren't for the fact that she wanted to go out and get some fresh air and learn about the world, she would never bother to socialize with these little brats.

Soon, Liu Lian noticed something amiss: the girls who came to see her, led by Tang Guihua, were frequent visitors. They were persistent, always trying to get what they wanted, and their sweet talk made them very popular. They especially loved taking Liu Ye'er out to play. Each time they went out, Aunt Liu and He Ge'er accompanied them. Aunt Liu didn't join the group of girls, always staying a dozen or so steps away, sewing shoe soles or chatting. He Ge'er, an apprentice at the shop, was a cousin of her second sister's husband. His full name was Qian Xuegong, fourteen or fifteen years old, a fair-skinned boy, and he always played with the girls. The girls all liked to play with him, but he only showed special attention to Tang Guihua. As for the other girls, he was just perfunctory. If any of them complained about the "dog food" (a euphemism for being affectionately involved in a relationship), Tang Guihua would step in and subdue them. The two worked together seamlessly, a veritable drama of luring a dog out to kill it!

While chatting with Aunt Liu that evening, the topic came up. Aunt Liu commented casually, "Silly girl, you think you're so smart! It's all nonsense! The Qian family is a respectable family in the city. Once you and your brother graduate, with the reputation of being Dr. Huo's apprentice, will you have to worry about business? There are plenty of suitable families in the city. It's an arranged marriage, you shouldn't have such inappropriate thoughts!"

After a moment of silence, Liu Ma finally couldn't hold back any longer and continued, "Seventh Miss, even though you have five hundred strings of cash as your dowry, you still won't catch the eye of the Qian family. You mustn't have any improper thoughts, lest you suffer for nothing and become a laughingstock! I may not be able to say this, but I'm speaking the truth from the bottom of my heart! Your godparents will help you find a reasonable and honest man. Xue Gong from the Qian family is not a good match for you."

Liu Lian was speechless, never expecting that the fire would spread to herself. She thought to herself, "How could I possibly like such a brat? Do you know how outstanding my Lin Heng is? Forget it, I can't talk to you!" So she changed the subject, "Aunt Liu, I see that Uncle San is very eager for you. Why don't you agree? Aren't you afraid of being alone when you get old?"

Liu Ma scoffed at the third son. After a moment's thought, she decided to use herself as an example to teach Liu Ye'er a lesson: "Seven Seven, I have three hundred strings of cash right now. Why would I need to find a man to serve me? If I were better off, I'd risk the reputation of being a second-marriage man and enjoy the good life. The third son? Pshaw! Look at me. Even if I left the Huo family, I could still make a living. A small three-room courtyard would only cost fifty or sixty strings, and I'd still have over two hundred left. I could spend another twenty or thirty strings to buy some pots, pans, bowls, chopsticks, tables, and chairs, and then sell food at the docks. I could easily earn two or three hundred coins a day! The third son, a grown man, sold his house to send his wife away. That's really good; he's done right by his wife! But his wife has been dead for five or six years. People have to live their lives. What's the use of just being sad?" "You can't just wait for others to pity you! You can't even save enough to buy a house, living like a servant in the Huo family's house, neither a relative nor a servant—it's laughable! And you're having this shady affair with that Widow Yang, saying she can't bear to see Da Niu suffer and won't move forward—bullshit! Widow Yang looks down on him! It's not like a cart driver can't afford a house—let alone others, your family's house, a five-sided, three-wing, two-courtyard house, was built by your grandfather with the money he earned from driving a cart! What has he gained in recent years? I doubt he can even come up with a hundred strings of cash! He's drunk every day, and any money he earns is either gambled away or fed into Widow Yang's bottomless pit! What would I marry him for? When Widow Yang needed help, he hid far away. I feel so sorry for Widow Yang, what kind of scum she's associating with!"

Liu Lian was surprised by Liu Ma's candor and admired her insight! Liu Lian was an orphan, forced to fend for herself, and thus learned to weigh pros and cons early on. Deep down, however, she still longed to be a pampered girl with someone to shelter her from the storms of life. Unexpectedly, she met Liu Ma in this life. In her previous life, she never dared to fully commit to relationships, fearing betrayal, yet she had unrealistically high expectations of her boyfriends—how could boys her age be like that? Until she met Lin Heng, they clicked. Lin Heng was a few years older than her, mature, stable, considerate, and capable—clearly a father figure to her. Liu Lian felt a warmth in her heart; with so many people caring for her, she wouldn't be as lonely and desolate as she was in her previous life! In her previous life, Liu Lian appeared cheerful and outgoing, but in reality, she was a pitiful child starved for love, yearning for a warm home like a moth drawn to a flame.

As Liu Lian slowly removed the armor from her body, she felt much lighter. The past life was over; what was the point of dwelling on it? Since the milk had been spilled, what good would crying do? Even someone like Liu Ma, who had lost her home, husband, children, and even a change of clothes, could pull herself together and plan for her future. What reason did she have not to live this life to the fullest? She wasn't Lin Daiyu; a melancholic, sorrowful look was anything but beautiful! With the burden lifted from her heart, Liu Lian felt completely at ease!

"Aunt Liu, actually I also think that Uncle San is not good enough for you!"

"Silly girl, go to sleep. What do you know about being a good match or not!"

"Aunt Liu, what will you do when you get old?"

"We'll talk about old age when we're old, you're such a little kid... Sigh, I'm thinking maybe I should adopt a daughter, so those people won't keep trying to take advantage of me!"

"That's great! A child you raise yourself will always be closer to you," Liu Lian said. "Do you have any suitable ones? Or should I ask your sixth brother-in-law to keep an eye out for you?"

"It's hard to find a suitable person."

Aunt Liu leaned over and blew out the light. "Go to sleep. Don't worry about things unnecessarily."

This is probably what a peaceful and tranquil life looks like.

In the west courtyard, the third brother squinted. For the past ten days or so, he had been groveling and trying to please Aunt Liu, but she remained completely unmoved, not at all pretending to distance herself. Could it be that she had no feelings for him? Then what was the point of her making him shoes and socks? No, he had to get a straight answer from her tomorrow. If not, he'd find someone else. Could he really do anything without this rotten egg?

Lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), Widow Yang gritted her teeth, hating the ungrateful third son, hating Liu Ma who had bewitched him, and hating the unfair world.

The night was quiet, and the crescent moon looked down on all living beings, watching everyone scheming and plotting their own schemes. Its eyes crinkled with laughter as similar scenes played out again and again, a spectacle that never grew old.