Chapter 58 Not Good
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“Ban Qin.”
A maid with thin eyebrows and a long face stepped forward with a smile, blocking the way.
Ban Qin seemed a bit timid.
“Let me do it,” the maid said, not allowing Ban Qin to speak further as she took the tea tray from Ban Qin’s hands.
Ban Qin stood there in a daze, watching the maid enter Zhou Liu-lang’s room.
Nowadays, the young master no longer allowed her to enter.
“She was always indulged beyond the rules…”
“Originally, only Sui Feng and the other two could attend to the young master closely…”
“No one told her off, and she pretended not to know.”
The whispers of the maids standing in the corridor reached Ban Qin’s ears, making her feel uneasy as if pricked by needles. She wanted to leave, but didn’t know where to go; she wanted to stay, but staying…
“I’m not a woman. If I want tea, I’ll just have tea. What’s the point of giving me these pastries? Throw them out!”
From inside the room came Zhou Liu-lang’s shouting, followed by the sound of plates shattering.
Tears fell from Ban Qin’s eyes. She no longer dared to stay there and turned to leave, stumbling as she walked.
Leave? Where could she go? Where was there to go?
“If you’re really angry with yourself, why not go find your brothers and have a fight?” Young Master Qin said, leaning against a low table, looking down at a small notebook.
“Why would I be angry with myself?” Zhou Liu-lang replied with a snort.
Young Master Qin said nothing but suddenly laughed.
“What are you laughing at?” Zhou Liu-lang glared and snapped.
Young Master Qin ignored his anger and pointed to a line in the notebook.
“I heard women at the gate talking today about a dispute between Zhang’s mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Miss said we’ll just wait for ‘quan’ (圈) to come,” he read with a laugh. “It’s funny, she didn’t know how to write the character for ‘qian’ (钱), so she used ‘quan’ instead.”*
“What’s so funny about that? It’s ridiculous,” Zhou Liu-lang snorted, sitting down and drinking his tea in one gulp.
“Liu-lang,” Young Master Qin said with a smile and a sigh, “if you had read this notebook earlier, you might have avoided the trouble.”
Talking about this made Zhou Liu-lang restless.
“What trouble did I cause? I’m young and wild, in the age of cherishing flowers and admiring the grass. I liked that girl and wanted to take her away, so what? I just took her love; I’ll apologize to her myself. If my parents punish me, I’ll return the girl to her and give her seven or eight more maids.”
Young Master Qin smiled.
Upon hearing the whole story, Zhou Liu-lang personally brought Ban Qin to the Chen residence with Chen Shao. Indeed, when Old Master Chen was lucid, he recognized Ban Qin and spoke accurately. Zhou Liu-lang wanted to go to Jiang-zhou immediately to bring Cheng Jiao-niang back, but Young Master Qin stopped him.
“You can’t go now,” Young Master Qin said. “You’ve already upset her, and if you go again, you’ll surely be met with rejection. The Chen family can’t afford such turmoil now. It’s more urgent to resolve the Chen family’s immediate crisis. No matter what, this is a matter to be settled within the family. If outsiders learn about it, it won’t be good.”
These words made Zhou Liu-lang and the others scoff.
“What’s so bad about it? It’s just a maid, what can she do? Besides, she’s just a maid, how can it be that bad?”
Young Master Qin shook his head.
“I truly don’t know what she can do. I can only tell you that your family is likely already on the left page of the little book,” he said, tapping the small notebook.
The right page records favors, the left page records grievances.
“What did we do?” Zhou Liu-lang laughed. “Isn’t it just about taking a maid? What’s the big deal?”
Young Master Qin looked at him.
“An arm that has been carefully taught and nurtured, suddenly taken away by someone,” he said, looking at the notebook in front of him. “If it were you, wouldn’t you hate someone for severing your arm?”
As he spoke, he reached out and gently stroked his cane.
The notebook recorded that the young girl, suffering from illness, went from being unable to walk at all to being able to take a few slow steps, from being in a daze to gradually regaining consciousness, from being unable to speak or smile to forming sentences word by word. The difficulties she faced were clearly visible.
She needed medicine, needed to earn money, needed to speak, needed to walk, needed to avoid danger. It required intricate planning, step-by-step teaching, and meticulous guidance.
He thought about how Zhou Liu-lang had described Ban Qin speaking eloquently in front of the Cheng family, but what he saw now was the girl who, with her awkward speech and rigid posture, was called a fool.
A fool?
Young Master Qin gave a wry smile.
“What kind of person is she?” he suddenly asked.
“How should I remember? When you see her, you’ll know,” Zhou Liu-lang said irritably. “We’ve followed your advice. Our family only sent one steward to accompany the Chen family in inviting her. She wouldn’t refuse to come this way, right?”
The face of that girl flashed before him. The once-quick glance now seemed like a mocking expression.
At the time, he had thought himself clever for taking that maid away, but in her eyes, he must have seemed like a fool, right?
He couldn’t help but gulp down his tea, trying to suppress his frustration.
Young Master Qin watched him drink the tea.
“So she’s the one who said this tea tastes bad,” he said with a slight smile.
Zhou Liu-lang choked on his tea.
He wouldn’t be able to drink this tea again!
The old man took the tea from the servant and drank it all in one gulp. The old servant handed him a handkerchief.
The old man gently wiped his forehead and looked up at the temple in front of him.
“Alright, it’s time to rest,” he said, noticing that the servant was pouring more tea. He quickly stopped him, “Don’t pour any more. Save it to have with some snacks.”
The three of them entered the courtyard and went straight into the main hall. Although he did not believe in the Daoist teachings, the old gentleman still made a donation for the incense offerings.
The young child happily guided them to sit in the side hall.
“I’ve got some fresh fish today to send to Ban Qin,” the old gentleman said with a smile, signaling the servant.
The servant handed over the bamboo basket.
“And there’s rice as well,” he added.
“Are you planning to have a meal here?” the young child asked with a smile.
“Your temple is wonderful,” the old man said with a grin. “After a morning climb up the mountain and a good sweat, it always feels like something is missing if I just head back. If I finish climbing the mountain, then come here for a bath in the spirits and enjoy some vegetarian food, that would truly be refreshing and delightful.”
Abbess Sun approached and paid her respects with a smile.
The old man returned the courtesy.
“With such kind words from you, our temple also feels blessed,” Abbess Sun said with a grin.
Soon, the young child came in, carrying a stack of pastries.
“Ban Qin is currently steaming the fish. Please, enjoy the tea first,” the child said.
The old man had been waiting for this and was pleased to have the servant pour the tea for him while he picked up a piece of pastry.
“Ah, these are peach pastries this time,” he said with a smile, pointing to the long strips of pastry on the plate.
“Ban Qin said that the peaches from down the mountain don’t taste good and that you don’t like them, so she made them into sugary treats,” the child explained.
“With effort, everything can become beautiful,” the old man said, admiring the peach pastry in his hand. “The hardest thing in the world is to truly apply oneself.”
Does a candied fruit have so many explanations?
“Seems like hunger can truly be a form of illness,” the child whispered, leaning on a nun’s shoulder.
Footsteps and the aroma of the meal came from outside the door.
A maid in plain clothes, with an unremarkable appearance but a smile in her eyes, stepped in.
Upon seeing her, everyone in the room showed genuine joy and welcomed her with heartfelt smiles.
The young child hurriedly took the food box from her hands, and Abbess Sun stepped aside to make way.
“You’re very welcome, sir,” the maid said, greeting him politely.
Seeing her arrival, the old man smiled and rose.
“Not at all, not at all. I’m the one causing trouble for you,” he said with a smile.
The servant standing to the side couldn’t help but sniffle. It was rare for their master to treat anyone so kindly; many noble families, officials, and dignitaries had stood respectfully before him, but he had always been indifferent. Yet, he stood up to greet this inconspicuous little maid. Truly, it seemed his desire for treats had overcome his principles.
Translator’s Note:
*The character for “money” is 钱 (qián).The character for “circle” is 圈 (quān).The cleverness lies in the fact that Ban Qin didn’t know how to write the character for money, so she drew a circle instead as they are similar in pronunciation. (My interpretation)
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