Chapter 64 Arrogance

Young Master Xiang’s condition had stabilized, so Shao Diandian did not stay long.

Before leaving, she took two boxes of pastries from her small back basket and gave them to him.

"These are—" Young Master Xiang looked at Shao Diandian in puzzlement.

Shao Diandian smiled. "Today is the Lesser New Year. I made some pastries myself, and I hope you won't disdain them."

Changping glanced at Shao Diandian. This time, he didn't dare to roll his eyes again.

Young Master Xiang accepted them gracefully. "Lady Shao is too thoughtful. Many thanks."

In truth, how could Shao Diandian have remembered the Lesser New Year? It was simply that the consultation fee and medicine money he had given her last time were too generous, and this was just a small token of her appreciation in return.

She really ought to thank Madam Huang for reminding her that today was the Lesser New Year.

Although it wasn't anything of great value, someone of his prominent and wealthy background cared nothing for expensive luxuries. The treasures she might buy with all her worldly possessions were probably worthless in his eyes.

On the contrary, handmade pastries appeared much more sincere.

"Why are there two boxes?" Young Master Xiang asked casually.

"One is for you, and the other is for Jing Yi," Shao Diandian replied.

"Jing Yi." Young Master Xiang smiled slightly. "You roll his name off your tongue quite easily."

Shao Diandian spread her hands. "He's young, so if I don't call him by his name, what should I call him?"

Young Master Xiang asked, "Am I very old, then?"

Ah?

No, what are you fussing about this for?

You only said your surname is Xiang, you never said which Xiang you were!

"Zhonghua," he said.

"Hmm?" Shao Diandian was startled.

"My courtesy name." He gave a warm, gentle smile.

Ancient people had surnames, given names, and courtesy names—just like Shen Chuan, whose courtesy name was Qinghe.

In this alternative dynasty, the boundary between a given name and a courtesy name did not seem very strict. Peers calling each other by either their given name or courtesy name was completely normal, and there was no such thing as disrespect.

Scholars valued etiquette greatly and mostly addressed each other by surname or courtesy name. For instance, classmates might call Shen Chuan "Young Master Shen" or address him as "Brother Qinghe." Of course, calling him Shen Chuan wasn't wrong either.

Did he mean she could call him Xiang Zhonghua from now on?

Or... Zhonghua?

Shao Diandian blinked, looking solemn and earnest. "Oh."

...

Not long after Shao Diandian left, Jing Yi entered, covered in wind and snow.

Young Master Xiang was practicing calligraphy.

Jing Yi walked up to him and asked, "Cousin, were you testing her again today?"

"No." Young Master Xiang continued writing.

Jing Yi asked again, "Then why did you tell her your courtesy name?"

Young Master Xiang glanced at Changping, who was sweeping snow outside the door. Changping gave a start and shrank away to the side.

"You're growing bolder, learning to find Jing Yi to lodge complaints," Young Master Xiang said with a faint smile. "She isn't some venomous serpent or ferocious beast; there's no need to guard against her like that."

Jing Yi frowned. "There's still no need to trust her to that extent."

Young Master Xiang pushed a box of pastries on the table toward him. "Here."

"What are these?" Jing Yi asked.

"A gift for the Lesser New Year," Young Master Xiang said.

Jing Yi asked with a strange expression, "Didn't the Lesser New Year pass yesterday?"

"In the capital, the Lesser New Year is on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, but around Qingzhou, it's today." Young Master Xiang finished, then added, "Made personally by Lady Shao."

Jing Yi held no personal prejudice against Shao Diandian; he merely didn't wish for his cousin to place too much trust in an outsider.

He took a bite.

"How does it taste?" Young Master Xiang asked.

Jing Yi answered truthfully, "Delicious. No worse than what the imperial chefs make."

Young Master Xiang smiled. "How rare. I recall you don't like sweets."

Jing Yi thought for a moment and said, "It's just that what they make doesn't taste good."

Young Master Xiang let out a chuckle, finished his final stroke, placed the writing brush on its rest, and said to Jing Yi, "Send this couplet to Lady Shao."

"Why?"

"A return gift."

Jing Yi drew in a sharp breath. "You're going to let your own calligraphy drift among the common folk?"

If that person in the palace were to find out, it would inevitably provoke a fit of thunderous rage!

--

After coming out of Young Master Xiang’s side room, Shao Diandian went to the front courtyard study to see if Shen Chuan was around.

She had walked all the way without seeing a single bookstore open, and she figured Shen Chuan might have some red paper on hand so she could buy a few sheets from him.

Alas, her timing was poor; Dean Shen had taken Shen Chuan back to his father-in-law’s home to celebrate the Lesser New Year.

Shao Diandian left the academy with a sense of regret.

The old man called out to her.

"There are no pancakes today!" Shao Diandian said solemnly.

The old man wagged his finger. "One pancake for one sheet of red paper."

Shao Diandian: "..."

Half a quarter of an hour later, Shao Diandian marched proudly out of the back door, clutching ten sheets of red paper.

The sweeping servant whispered, "Didn't the young master tell you to... give the paper directly to Lady Shao?"

The old man took a bite of an egg yolk pastry. "Yep."

So what?

Pancakes smelled so good!

--

Another bout of snow had fallen in the morning, but fortunately, it stopped after a short while, not interfering too much with Shao Diandian’s pace.

It was precisely noon when Shao Diandian reached the village. At this hour, most fellow villagers were in their own homes, yet more than half the village had gathered at the old Shao residence, packing the place so tightly not even a drop of water could leak through.

"Elder Sister! You're back!"

Shao Erdan, who was fetching water at the entrance of the village, caught sight of his own elder sister. The three little toddlers who had insisted on tagging along to fetch water—though in reality, they had just been waiting at the entrance for Shao Diandian—pounced toward her with little pattering steps!

Shao Diandian bent down, letting the three little ones collide fully into her arms.

She stroked the heads of the three little ones. "Dahu, Erhu, Xiaohu."

Having spent a period of time together, she could now tell who was who even without counting their hair whorls.

The three little ones, having been called by their correct names, were immensely happy and vied with one another to rub their crowns against her palms. "Mother."

Shao Diandian had gradually grown accustomed to this form of address and no longer forcibly corrected them.

After patting their little heads, she felt their little hands. "Are you cold?"

All three shook their heads. "Not cold."

Waiting for Mother was not cold at all!

Shao Erdan's water was fetched, and the family began to walk back.

"Did something happen at the old Shao house?" Shao Diandian asked.

Shao Erdan scoffed. "Eldest Cousin is writing couplets and characters for blessings for the old Shao house. The village chief and the relatives of the old Shao family are there too, and they said if there are extras later, they'll give them away for free to the villagers. Everyone wants to see if they can snatch a couplet; even if they can't manage that, grabbing a character for blessings will do."

Town couplets were quite expensive. Aside from the cost of the red paper, one also had to pay the writer a bit of trouble money, commonly known as ink and brush silver.

This grand gesture by Madam Huang and Chen Haoyuan had earned the old Shao family plenty of face.

Madam Fang and Madam Yang had come out to paste the couplets, their faces beaming with joy. The villagers surrounded the pair, showering them with endless praises.

Just then, Goodwife Wu squeezed out of the old Shao residence, holding her wailing little grandson.

Adults treasured spring couplets, but children didn't care for them. With no other choice, Goodwife Wu had to leave first.

Catching sight of the siblings, she hurriedly said, "Fatty, Erdan! Scholar Chen is writing couplets! Hurry over and ask for one! He's your cousin! He'll definitely give you one!"

Shao Erdan rolled his eyes. Who wanted couplets written by that fellow!

Goodwife Wu shouted toward the old Shao residence, "Scholar Chen! Fatty and Erdan are here to ask you for couplets!"

As soon as those words were spoken, the villagers instantly turned their gazes toward the siblings.

"Didn't they say it would be our turn after finishing Old Zhang's family?"

"That's right, why is another person here asking for couplets? Will this ever end?"

"There's no way we'll get any! Those people are Scholar Chen's close relatives after all!"

Shao Diandian said, "Everyone has misunderstood. We aren't here for couplets, just passing by."

Madam Huang finally found an opportunity to show off. With a smug and sarcastic smile, she said, "If you want them, just say so. For the sake of being relatives, our Chen family can still afford a pair of couplets!"

Shao Diandian replied indifferently, "I said I don't want them."

Goodwife Wu persuaded, "Fatty, don't be stubborn. Your aunt already said she's giving them to you, why wouldn't you want them?"

Shao Diandian stated imperiously, "I look down on them!"

What did Shao Fatty say?

She... looked down on them?

Couplets written by Scholar Chen, and she actually looked down on them!

Shao Fatty's words successfully attracted everyone's attention!

However, no one believed she was speaking from the heart; instead, they all thought she was merely speaking out of spite!

Who was Chen Haoyuan? He was a scholar even more accomplished than Liu Tongsheng, someone hard to find a second of within a radius of ten miles!

And as for these couplets—in a countryside where people could only bear to eat two meals a day except during busy farming seasons, they were as rare and precious as large cuts of meat!

Who didn't want to beg a pair to paste up for the New Year?

"Sigh, I'd heard long ago that the two families didn't get along, and they made such an ugly scene last time," a villager remarked.

This referred to when Madam Huang and her husband, Chen Feng, went to the small Shao residence to arrange a match between the illegitimate son and Shao Fatty, whereupon Shao Fatty and her newlywed handsome husband had publicly slapped the couple across the faces.

"If it were me, I wouldn't have the face to come begging for couplets either."

"The scholar's wife doesn't hold grudges and magnanimously offers her couplets, yet she still doesn't want them?"

"Like I said, she simply hasn't the face to ask."

Several villagers began discussing it amongst themselves, tossing remarks back and forth. These were the exact same people who hadn't worn this expression at the door of the small Shao residence last time, preferring instead to stand aloof and watch the excitement without fearing the spectacle was too big.

Yet circumstances varied with the times; in order to obtain couplets written by Scholar Chen, almost everyone leaned toward Madam Huang.

Madam Huang was thoroughly gratified by the compliment of being "magnanimous." In any case, the last few pairs of couplets were meant to be given away; if she could win a good reputation and trample this girl underfoot along the way, she had no reason to refuse.

Putting on an act of pretense, she sighed, "Don't speak ill of her, everyone. My late sister-in-law passed away early and left her without a mother's guidance, so it's inevitable she's a bit ignorant. How could I, as her aunt, truly hold things against a child?"

These words were practically spelling out that Shao Fatty lacked maternal upbringing.

Believing her reasoning was impeccable, Madam Huang said magnanimously, "Never mind, Fatty, I won't make things difficult for you. Since you call me aunt, I'll gift these couplets to you."

"Ah, she's really giving them away? Then what about us?"

"Right, we've waited all day!"

"My deepest apologies, but Fatty is Elder Hao's cousin after..."

Before Madam Huang could finish her sentence, she turned around—and Shao Fatty was gone!

This, this, this—this damned girl, walking off without letting her finish speaking again?!

"Wretched girl! You halt right there!"

Madam Huang was shaking with anger!

Shao Diandian pulled the three little ones along and said unhurriedly, "Erdan, tell her: couplets written by Chen Haoyuan—even if she paid me to take them, I wouldn't want them."
Shao Erdan turned back and shouted at the top of his lungs, "My elder sister said! Couplets written by Chen Haoyuan—even if you paid us, we wouldn't want them!"

Madam Huang pointed a finger, akimbo, and cursed angrily, "You wretched girl! Keep being stubborn!"

Stubborn?
Shao Diandian laughed in exasperation.

Putting aside what kind of person Chen Haoyuan was for the moment, just look at his handwriting—
The couplets that Madam Fang and Madam Yang had just pasted up—she had seen them clearly. They were far, far inferior to Wei Ting's!

To put it without exaggeration, comparing his handwriting to Wei Ting's was simply punching above one's weight in an utterly shameless way!

"Erdan, let's go back and write our own couplets."

Shao Erdan turned back once more and shouted at the top of his lungs, "My elder sister said! We're going back to write our own couplets!"
Shao Diandian: You didn't need to pass on that part...

Madam Huang laughed. "Fine! Go ahead and write them! If you can actually write them, I'll chop my head off and give it to you!"

Did they think this was her first day knowing Shao Fatty? Out of a family of three, not a single one was literate!

It would be a miracle if they didn't hold the paper upside down! Write couplets? They were blowing cowhide all the way to the heavens!

She wanted to see how the Shao family was going to clean up this mess!