“Miss Qianqian!” Ye Xiaoxian was not in a good mood so she wanted no more emotional blows. “I was just upset yesterday, so don’t mock me anymore. Give me some confidence.”
Liu Qianqian smiled and said, “I’m here today about this matter of yours. I know that tax official. He is familiar with that cousin-in-law of mine.”
“Your cousin-in-law? The one you’d been so infatuated with that you almost died for him?” Ye Xiaoxian wanted to make sure the cousin-in-law was that one.
She and Liu Qianqian chatted quite happily in a back-and-forth conversation and the two were like best friends, talking about all kinds of intimate things.
Liu Qianqian suddenly ground her teeth together. “He is that bastard.”
“So…are you going to find your cousin-in-law for me? Is it really alright? You two have already been…” With a modern mode of thinking Ye Xiaoxian felt that as Liu Qianqian had been hurt once she would never ever see her cousin-in-law.
Liu Qianqian said, “Already been what? I’m not that fragile. Haven’t you told me before that the only way to solve a problem is to face it. I’ve already gone through all that, so when I see him again I won’t have other thoughts. He is nothing but a peer to me now.”
Her ladyship was indeed broad-minded which made Ye Xiaoxian admire her very much.
Liu Qianqian said again, “That tax official is called Fang Shanding right? He just had a son only days ago. It’s his first son as what he’s had before are all daughters. He’s going to hold a banquet to celebrate the first-month birthday for his son. I’ll ask my condemned cousin-in-law to introduce you to him. What do you think?”
“Sure,” Ye Xiaoxian agreed immediately. “I keep thinking how I’m going to get familiar with Fang Shanding.”
Liu Qianqian looked at Ye Xiaoxian and then shook her head. “Sigh, these things are really just social intercourse which people use in scheming against each other. I really do not wish to see you become a scheming woman but you can’ t help it as the society forces you to.”
Ye Xiaoxian raised her tea cup to Liu Qianqian. “Thank you for your help. Let’s use tea as wine and this toast is to you.”
Liu Qianqian chuckled. “Don’t put on those words. Whether it’ll work or not, it still depends on your capability. I’ll go to call on my cousin-in-law to see if he’ll help.”
“Will he offer any help?” asked Ye Xiaoxian.
“Well he should. As a matter of fact, he owes me.”
“But when you go and look for him, what if…your cousin…” Ye Xiaoxian was still not sure.
“My cousin knows it. Well, that’s enough chatting. Just wait for my good news!”
…
By nightfall Liu Qianqian had already sent Ye Xiaoxian the news, asking her to go to a house in the east district. When Ye Xiaoxian arrived at the time given to her, Liu Qianqian had already been waiting by the entrance to the lane.
Liu Qianqian lifted the curtain of the carriage and shouted to her, “Little Ye, over here!”
On that very day it was the first time Ye Xiaoxian had seen the man for whom Liu Qianqian had pined day and night and had almost died of starvation. She thought he would look as handsome as Pan An, the hottest guy in Chinese ancient history, but just glancing at him Ye Xiaoxian found this guy to be so ordinary. After she looked at him carefully she then found him extraordinarily ordinary.
Liu Qianqian’s cousin-in-law was called Bai Qi and was twenty-five or twenty-six years old with a height of around one-hundred and seven centimeters. His upper body was quite chunky with a protruding belly. The only upside of his looks was that he was light-skinned, but what was so good about a man having light skin anyway?
Liu Qianqian suddenly felt that Liu Qianqian’s taste was ordinary.
When Bai Qi saw Liu Qianqian his eyes actually showed a trace of affection. He also murmured, “Qianqian…” As if there was a lingering sense of guilt towards Liu Qianqian in his heart.
Liu Qianqian’s attitude was rather plain. She introduced Ye Xiaoxian to Bai Qi. “This is the female cook I mentioned before. Luckily she’s been at my side during this time or I’d long be dead.”
Bai Qi only looked at Ye Xiaoxian briefly and then turned to Liu Qianqian. “It’s for this reason that after you mentioned her to me I agreed to help you right away.”
“What about Fang Shanding? When will he come?” asked Liu Qianqian again.
“He’ll arrive soon. I’ll chat with him for a while and drink some tea. Qianqian, you…” The way Bai Qi looked at Liu Qianqian was full of sentimentality.
Liu Qianqian just answered plainly, “Then I’ll bring Little Ye to the kitchen and we’ll check which ingredients are needed so I can ask the servants to buy some.”
After Liu Qianqian finished talking she took Ye Xiaoxian away with her but Bai Qi was still standing on the spot and gazing at Liu Qianqian in a daze.
Ye Xiaoxian was confused.
As he loves Qianqian so much, what happened in the past…
She then thought: Maybe Qianqian did not want to be his concubine.
…
There was a winding lane leading to the kitchen in the back. While walking along the lane, Liu Qianqian, who was rather aloof before, began to asked Ye Xiaoxian impatiently, “Little Ye, what do you think of my cousin-in-law?”
“Do you want to hear the truth? Or the lie?” Ye Xiaoxian smiled.
“Just tell me what you think. I want the truth,” said Liu Qianqian.
“I can only say he’s ordinary,” Ye Xiaoxian said frankly.
“He is ordinary alright!” said Liu Qianqian. “I don’t even know why I used to love him so much. Well, I don’t know what got into me.”
“What about now?” asked Ye Xiaoxian.
“Now when I see him I also find him ordinary. Maybe I’ve already outgrown him, so I don’t feel anything towards him. He looks just like a stranger to me now. Haven’t you seen just now that I wasn’t very warm with him?” said Liu Qianqian.
Ye Xiaoxian looked at Liu Qianqian’s complexion and could not help but smile faintly.
It was true that Liu Qianqian had already outgrown it but after all, she had been hurt and suffered so much, so how could she let it go so easily?
While thinking, someone else in the pavilion ahead greeted Liu Qianqian. “Qianqian…”
Ye Xiaoxian looked forwards and saw a young woman of around seventeen or eighteen standing in the pavilion who must have been waiting down there for a long time. This was probably Liu Qianqian’s cousin.
Ye Xiaoxian thought: The two of them can be considered rivals. Will they start fighting later?
However, Liu Qianqian, who was beside her, greeted her cousin warmly. “Cousin!”
“Qianqian, I heard that you’d come, so I waited for you here specially. It’s been a while, how are you? I heard that…” Her cousin looked very sorrowful.
“I’m good. Nothing’s happened. See, I’m going to be fat again,” said Liu Qianqian showing no concern.
Her cousin looked very tender and fragile, insisting on mentioning the unhappy old story which bothered Liu Qianqian the most. “Qianqian, actually it was all our fault. In the past, we three were…”
“Cousin, if you keep mentioning that old story no one will be willing to marry me. I have no thoughts about my cousin-in-law at all, so rest assured. I’ve come to find him for my friend. I only met him for a short while and now we’re going to cook some dishes in the kitchen. See you later, cousin.”
Liu Qianqian then gripped Ye Xiaoxian’s hand and walked away.
Ye Xiaoxian did not ask much. She knew that Liu Qianqian could not hold it back for long and would tell her the whole story soon enough.