Chapter 189: New Imperial Grace at the New Year

The twelfth year of Emperor Jia Zhao, New Year's Eve.

Early in the morning, Jia Mu led the titled women of the clan—Lady Xing, Lady Wang, the wife of Jia Zhen, and others—all dressed in court attire according to their ranks. They set out in a long line of eight-bearer sedan chairs to enter the palace for the New Year's audience, where they performed the rites and attended the banquet.

According to the customs of previous years, the entire process of the audience and banquet would not conclude until noon, when they would finally return.

With the elder women of the household gone, the sisters in the garden were spared the tedious routine of paying their morning respects, making the day feel much more relaxed than usual.

Ever since Jia Cong returned to the manor, the Qingzhi Studio had become the sisters' favorite place for small gatherings and leisure.

Lin Daiyu loved poetry, Tan Chun loved calligraphy, Yingchun enjoyed being close to her younger brother, and little Xichun, still too young to have developed a cold or aloof temperament, loved to follow her sisters wherever it was lively.

In the Qingzhi Studio, everyone found something to enjoy.

Tan Chun was at the desk copying a piece of calligraphy Jia Cong had recently written, Lin Daiyu was chatting with Zhi Shao, and Jia Cong was accompanying Yingchun in a game of Go.

Xichun had obtained a Western music box that Jia Cong had bought at the Great Slaughter Gate in Jin Ling, and she was playing with it to her heart's content.

Wang Xifeng, also a legitimate daughter of the Wang family, had originally been illiterate. Only after managing the household for a long time, combined with her natural intelligence, did she learn to recognize some characters, though she still could not write them; even the characters in the account books required Jia Baoyu's help.

Today, all the women in the manor with titles had gone to the palace, and Jia Lian had gone to the Ningguo Prefecture to help Jia Zhen open the ancestral hall and arrange the various affairs for the New Year's ancestral rites.

Wang Xifeng felt a mix of helplessness and envy, saying, "What can be done? Who told me I didn't earn a title? Every New Year's Eve, the Old Matriarch and the ladies who have titles must go to the palace for the audience and banquet."

Ping Er served her a cup of hot tea to relieve her fatigue, saying, "It's been so many years now; every New Year's Eve, I only see you, Madam, exhausted."

Once the maids and matrons each understood their duties and responsibilities, she walked around to inspect everything, and seeing that all the miscellaneous tasks were in order, she finally relaxed and sat down to rest.

Such entertainment programs were the Old Matriarch's favorite, and Wang Xifeng had always handled these matters with extreme propriety; otherwise, she would not have been so favored by the Old Matriarch.

She also had Ping Er help arrange for actors, lantern riddles, fireworks, and other impromptu amusements for the New Year's Eve.

Wu Er, Qing Wen, Juan Er, and Si Er had followed Jia Cong to study at Mount Luocang for two years and had long since been taught by him to read. Although they could not compose poetry, reading and writing letters were no problem for them.

On the Rongguo Prefecture side, only Wang Xifeng remained to oversee and manage affairs.

……

Furthermore, Lin Daiyu and the other sisters discovered a curious thing: in the Qingzhi Studio, besides Jia Cong, who was a master of poetry and books, every maid and young lady was literate.

Ying Lian had a talent for study; since she was small, she had listened to lectures at the door of a private school and could understand poetry and books. Even Jia Cong admired this, and now she managed Jia Cong's study.

From this point down, the number of maids who could read was as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Zhi Shao had spent several years at Panxiang Temple, reading and writing with Miao Yu. Combined with her natural intelligence, she had become quite proficient in poetry, and she had even learned Miao Yu's tea ceremony perfectly.

At this moment, she was in the flower hall, directing the maids and matrons to set tables, spread mats, hang lanterns, and arrange offerings in preparation for the New Year's Eve banquet.

In a prominent family like the Jia clan, even legitimate daughters of famous families like Lady Wang were illiterate. In daily life, during festivals or drinking games, they had to ask others to speak for them, and Buddhist scriptures had to be copied by others. Everyone was accustomed to this.

Only in the Qingzhi Studio was there such an atmosphere of literary refinement, which could be considered a strange and unique sight.

Nowadays, the idea that "a woman without talent is virtuous" remained the mainstream.

"With only me left in the manor, our Bao Er Ye is busy with outside affairs as usual, and I have to help manage the spring rites for both prefectures. The New Year's affairs in the manor naturally fall to me."

"Although there is Baoyu, he is not the type for these things. The Eldest Grandmother is a widow and shouldn't show her face, and one certainly can't let the unmarried young ladies do it. It seems I am just destined for toil."

"Born into a family like ours, with no worries about food or clothing, a woman earning a title is the most important thing. Otherwise, one is just a commander without a seal; it's all fake in the end."

Ping Er smiled and said, "Our Bao Er Ye is still young; he will surely be able to earn a title for you, Madam, in the future."

Wang Xifeng did not respond to this. To speak of such a thing, she would have to wait until her husband inherited his title. Fortunately, her husband was the eldest legitimate son, but the Old Master was in the prime of his life, so that would be at least ten or twenty years away.

She continued, "Among the 'Yu' generation, the only one who can earn a title in the future without relying on the ancestors' shade is Brother Cong. He is so young, yet he is already a seventh-rank official."

"He is destined for greatness. His concubine mother was also unfortunate, passing away so early. It just depends on which young lady, not caring about legitimate or concubine status, will take advantage of this."

……

After noon, Jia Mu led Lady Xing, Lady Wang, and others back to the West Prefecture after the audience and banquet at the palace, and the wife of Jia Zhen returned to the East Prefecture.

A few days ago, when the Empress bestowed a palace flower hairpin and skirt upon Zhi Shao at the Rongxi Hall, Jia Mu had made a fool of herself by misidentifying the recipient, and she had been so ashamed she couldn't sleep all night.

This morning, when she went to the palace for the audience, she met Empress Dowager Yizhang.

The Empress Dowager had been a close friend of hers in their youth and specifically gave her a few words of advice on maintaining her health and enjoying her blessings. The Empress Dowager's familiarity and closeness with her made the other titled women present quite envious.

Jia Mu felt she had regained face, and the shame of the previous two days had mostly dissipated.

Later, she met the Empress, who graciously bestowed favor by allowing Yuanchun to come out to meet and converse with her.

This made Jia Mu feel even more gratified; the incident from a few days ago no longer mattered. After all, her status as a titled lady of a ducal household still carried some prestige.

However, after speaking a few words with her eldest granddaughter, she somehow mentioned that wretch Jia Cong, saying that when the boy went to the palace to thank the Emperor for his grace, the siblings had met.

Baoyu, her own biological grandson, hadn't been able to see her, yet he had gone to see her first. And looking at her eldest granddaughter, she seemed quite fond of that wretch. This left Jia Mu feeling somewhat disgusted; why was he everywhere?

Nowadays, the winter days were short, and Jia Mu dared not nap in the afternoon for fear of ruining her sleep at night, so she sat in the Rongqing Hall, with the women of the household, including Lady Wang and Wang Xifeng, sitting below chatting.

At this time, the wife of Jia Zhen came over to pay her respects and asked Jia Mu for instructions regarding the New Year's Eve banquet for the two prefectures, and she took an exquisite wooden box from the hands of the maid Yin Die.

The wife of Jia Zhen opened the wooden box, which contained two crystal-clear small bottles.

She said, "Old Matriarch, this is something our Old Master obtained a few days ago, called Eastern Sea Water Jade Perfume."

"They say it is perfume made using Western methods, a rare item in the Love Shenjing that is not easily bought. I specifically brought it to honor you, Old Matriarch, for your enjoyment."

Jia Mu curiously took one out of the wooden box and saw that the bottle was a striking pale emerald color, with a square belly and round mouth, crystal clear, exquisite and cute—a very fine plaything.

When she opened the bottle, a refreshing fragrance drifted out, filling the room with scent.

Women of the inner chambers had an innate passion for such exquisite, beautiful, and curious things.

Wang Xifeng also leaned in to look closely and smiled, "This thing is quite ingenious. Such a small bottle, yet it smells better than the finest sachets and spices. This bottle is also clever; is it made of colored glaze?"

The wife of Jia Zhen smiled, "For someone from a great family, you are quite ignorant. How could colored glaze be this transparent? This is made of water jade mined from mountain stone, and it is a sea-borne good from the East."

"Only the Xiuniang Perfume Shop in the west of the Love Shenjing sells it, but the supply is extremely scarce. Now, the wives and young ladies of the great households in the Love Shenjing are scrambling to buy it, and they still can't get any."

A group of people were chatting when suddenly a matron came in from outside to pass on a message: an official from the Ministry of Rites, accompanied by many people, had arrived at the manor to issue an imperial decree, asking Third Master Cong to receive it. They were now almost at the ceremonial gate.

Upon hearing this, Jia Mu's face changed drastically. Why was there another decree for this boy? They had just had a scene a few days ago; why were they starting to stir things up again? She was truly a bit afraid.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 190 =====