Chapter 292

Fu Tingjun quickly stopped Third Cousin: "How can you spoil the child like this!"

Youyou also declined: "Master Yan said, 'When there is work to be done, the disciples do it; when there is wine and food, the master partakes.' It is only right that I honor my mother and aunt. I cannot accept things from my aunt."

"Good, good, good." Third Cousin was even more delighted to hear this. "Aunt knows you are filial, but this is Aunt's heartfelt gift, and there is no reason to take back something once given. This time you accept it. Next time Aunt won't give you jewelry, but something else." With that, she slipped the bracelet onto Youyou's wrist.

Youyou was a child with slender wrists, and the bracelet simply wouldn't stay on. Besides, her mother wouldn't let her accept it, so she struggled to return it to Third Cousin, who insisted on giving it to Youyou. The two pushed it back and forth, and had it not been for Yuwei, the bracelet would have nearly fallen to the ground. Fu Tingjun had no choice but to let Youyou keep it, though she still said: "Surely when Chunbing and Yuanxiao offer you gifts, you don't reward the children in return like this? You mustn't do this in the future."

"Of course, of course." Third Aunt replied with a smile, and sighed, "It's just that I don't have a daughter of my own, and I long for one."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh.

Youyou bent her knees and gave Third Aunt a proper bow of thanks, then had Yuwei help her put the bracelet away. Taking the remaining pastries, she went to Xige'er's place.

The maids and servants were tidying up the room, while Xige'er, Xu Ge'er, and Yuanxiao were playing pitch-pot in the study.

Xige'er hit eight out of ten throws. Xu Ge'er was even more impressive—his eyes and hands worked in perfect sync, his expression relaxed, and he didn't miss a single throw. This left Yuanxiao, who had only hit one out of ten, feeling embarrassed, and he plopped himself down on the nearby armchair, grumbling: "What's so fun about this? It's just a bit of brute force. If we're going to play, let's play Qiqiao cards."

Youyou, who had just entered, couldn't help but let out a "pfft" laugh.

The three boys heard the commotion and all looked over.

Yuanxiao smiled sheepishly.

But Xu Ge'er dropped his throwing arrows and ran over: "Sister, we were just looking for you to play, but you weren't there."

Youyou raised the pouch in her hand: "I went to see Cousin, and he gave this to me. Peach blossom cakes—they're a fine treat from the palace. But there aren't many, so everyone should have a taste." With that, she opened the pouch and gave one to Xu Ge'er.

Yuanxiao exclaimed, "Ah! Mine were all eaten long ago. I didn't expect Big Cousin to have hidden away such good things." He added, "These peach blossom cakes are excellent." And he took one without any hesitation.

Xige'er received his peach blossom cake and first admired it in his hand for a long while, then took small, careful bites to savor it.

Xu Ge'er, on the other hand, stuffed the whole thing into his mouth at once.

Yuanxiao asked the two brothers: "Well? Not bad, right?"

"Delicious." Xige'er squinted his eyes, looking thoroughly pleased. "Fragrant and sweet. Even better than the fuling cakes Third Mother makes."

Xu Ge'er was somewhat unimpressed and said, "Too sweet." Noticing Youyou standing nearby holding a piece of pastry in a daze, he called out loudly, "Sister, don't you like it either?"

"Oh!" Youyou snapped back to attention and quickly said, "No, no. I'll eat it when I get back to my room." With that, she hurried out. "You all keep playing! I'm going back to sleep. I need to greet Mother early tomorrow morning!"

Xige'er scratched his head: "It's not even seven o'clock yet..."

But Xu Ge'er tugged at Yuanxiao's sleeve: "Second Cousin, what are Qiqiao cards?"

Yuanxiao perked up, ordered a maid from Xige'er's room to fetch the Qiqiao cards from his own room, then pulled Xige'er and Xu Ge'er over to the arhat couch by the window. "Let me teach you how to play..." He paid no more attention to Youyou.

Youyou left Xige'er's room and went to Chunbing's place.

Chunbing was still organizing his books.

Seeing Youyou arrive, he quickly asked: "My mother and Ninth Aunt... have they eaten?"

And Youyou, noticing his face was still flushed, asked curiously: "Is Big Cousin feeling hot?" Then she looked around, saw the windows wide open, and her gaze at Chunbing grew even more puzzled.

Chunbing stammered a few words, then asked again about Third Cousin and Fu Tingjun: "...Did they say anything?"

"Aunt praised me for being filial," Youyou said happily, "and even rewarded me with a bracelet." She chattered on, recounting the scene to Chunbing.

Chunbing breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and asked Youyou: "Was the pastry good?" There was a hint of expectation in his eyes.

Youyou quickly took out the pouch: "Big Cousin, let's split it half and half." With that, she divided the peach blossom cake into two portions and handed one half to Chunbing. "You didn't even get to taste any!" She looked quite aggrieved on his behalf.

Chunbing felt a warmth in his chest and quickly said: "I don't really like it... you go ahead and eat it."

"Let's split it half and half." Youyou, thinking of how Yuanxiao and Xige'er had reacted, felt certain the pastry must be delicious. Chunbing had never even tasted it, yet claimed he didn't like it—it must just be polite talk. She insisted on sharing it with him.

Chunbing looked at Youyou's clear, limpid eyes and the half piece of pink pastry lying in her palm, as white as carved jade. His chest felt tight, as if something was about to burst forth, filling him with both fear and joy.

Seeing that he didn't move, Youyou stamped her foot coquettishly and called out "Cousin."

Chunbing's heart fluttered with panic. He lowered his head and, reaching toward Youyou's palm, swallowed the half piece of pastry in one go.

His tongue tip brushed across Youyou's palm, tickling her so much that she giggled. She wiped her palm on her handkerchief before eating the other half of the pastry.

Chunbing asked her, "Is it good?"

"Delicious!" Youyou nodded, still savoring the taste.

Chunbing watched her, feeling both happy and a little sad.

Happy because Youyou liked the pastry he had given her; sad because there was only this tiny piece, and Youyou hadn't gotten her fill.

He couldn't help clenching his fist, a resolute and determined look appearing between his brows: "Youyou, I'll study hard and become a Grand Secretary when I grow up. Then you can eat as much peach blossom cake as you want."

"Ah!" Youyou couldn't help opening her mouth wide, staring at Chunbing in astonishment, unable to figure out what her liking peach blossom cake had to do with him becoming a Grand Secretary...

...

That evening, when Third Cousin returned to her room, her personal maid helped her remove her hair ornaments and noticed that the bracelet on her wrist was gone. After a moment's thought, she smiled and said, "You gave the bracelet to the young miss from the other branch of the family?"

Third Cousin nodded and smiled, "That child is truly endearing. Ninth Sister is more fortunate than I." She looked quite envious.

"Yes!" The maid said as she put the removed ornaments into a box, "The young miss is not only beautiful, but also has a gentle disposition. At such a young age, she already knows how to take care of her younger brothers... I wonder which family will be fortunate enough to have her as their daughter-in-law someday..."

Third Cousin's heart stirred at these words.

She sat silently by the mirror stand for a long while.

When the maid had prepared the water and invited Third Cousin to wash up, Third Cousin instead rose and said, "I'll go check whether Chunbing and Yuanxiao have gone to sleep." She went to the side room where her sons slept.

Yuanxiao was already fast asleep, snoring, but Chunbing was sitting upright at the desk, practicing calligraphy.

Third Cousin walked over and sat down beside her son, smiling, "Haven't you finished today's calligraphy practice yet?"

"I've finished." Chunbing put down his brush and answered respectfully, "I want to start practicing five hundred more characters every day from today on."

Third Cousin was taken aback.

Chunbing said, "Since Father isn't by my side, I must be even more disciplined."

Naturally, Third Cousin was pleased that her son was so driven. She cautioned him, "But you must take care of your health. Don't push yourself too hard."

Chunbing acknowledged this respectfully and sat back down to continue practicing calligraphy.

Third Cousin then brought up the matter of the peach blossom cake: "...How did you think to save it for Youyou?"

Chunbing, who had been holding his brush as steadily as a pine tree, suddenly gave a tremor of the hand, and a blob of black ink fell onto the pale yellow rice paper. "I, I... forgot to eat it, and when I was tidying up my trunk today, I found it. It happened that Cousin came by, so I gave it to her..." He had started off somewhat haltingly, but by the end, he was speaking more and more fluently.

Third Cousin smiled faintly, patted her son's head, and returned to her room to rest.

Chunbing let out a long breath. The image of Youyou's charming, smiling face floated up in his mind, and a hint of a smile spilled onto the corners of his mouth.

Third Cousin began to observe Chunbing and Youyou from time to time.

Perhaps because of their age and gender, Yuanxiao, Xige'er, and Xu Ge'er often tumbled about together in a ruckus. Youyou would sometimes join in their frolicking, and at other times would act like an older sister and keep them in line. Chunbing, however, rarely played with Yuanxiao and the others. Most of the time, he sat alone off to the side reading. Occasionally, he would stand nearby watching with a smile, and his gaze would most often rest on Youyou—either helping her out of a tight spot or helping her manage Yuanxiao and the others.

Youyou, for her part, treated Chunbing quite ordinarily, doing whatever she needed to do. Sometimes she even found him meddlesome and would grow a bit impatient.

But Chunbing always kept his good temper. No matter how Youyou treated him, he remained gentle in her presence, coming whenever called, and sometimes even running over on his own when not called at all.

Third Cousin couldn't help feeling indignant on her son's behalf.

The personal maid laughed and said, "The young miss is only seven this year. Madam is being a bit too hasty."

Third Cousin laughed at herself, let go of her concerns, and stopped worrying about these matters. Every day, she either tried making new kinds of pastries in the kitchen with Fu Tingjun, drew new embroidery patterns with Fu Tingjun, or made small things like socks and bellybands for the children.

The children, meanwhile, had split into three groups. Every morning, Chunbing and Yuanxiao studied with their family tutor in the South Study of the outer courtyard, Youyou studied with Tutor Yan in the East Wing of the inner courtyard, and Xige'er and Xu Ge'er practiced stance training with Daoist An in the back courtyard. In the afternoon, Chunbing still had lessons, Xu Ge'er went roaming on Yuming Mountain with Daoist An, and Youyou, Yuanxiao, and Xige'er either played character-splitting games, played word-chain games, or played grass-fighting—leaving Youyou's tutor, Tutor Yan, with plenty of free time.

Yan Xiucai, thinking of how he was full of learning yet could only teach a little girl, and seeing that Chunbing, despite his youth, already showed considerable skill in his studies, could not help but feel a pang of disappointment. He pretended to pass by and listened in on the Shen family tutor's lesson.

Third Brother-in-law had placed great hopes on his two sons and had engaged an old Confucian scholar as their tutor—a man well-versed in the classics with mature, seasoned writing. Seeing Yan Xiucai peeking and prying, the tutor knew he was being sized up, and delivered his lecture with such brilliance and flourish that he thoroughly awed Yan Xiucai.

Yan Xiucai, feeling deflated, informed Fu Tingjun that in the afternoons Youyou would practice tracing characters under his guidance, so as not to let her waste her days in idle play.

Fu Tingjun had been planning to formally begin teaching Youyou needlework in the autumn, and thought it would be good to solidify her handwriting over the summer, so she agreed.

Yan Xiucai then threw himself into teaching Youyou calligraphy with great vigor, working her so hard that her arms could barely lift. She could not help complaining to Chunbing, who advised her: "One must endure the bitterest hardships to rise above others. Practicing calligraphy is the truest test of one's diligence. Settle your mind, and with time, you will improve."

Finding no comfort in Chunbing, Youyou confided in Yuanxiao instead.

Yuanxiao secretly helped Youyou with her writing.

When Chunbing found out, he gave Yuanxiao a severe scolding, which made both Youyou and Yuanxiao avoid him whenever they saw him.

He remained glum for several days, his face overcast without a hint of sunshine.

When Third Cousin learned the reason, she could not help but find it amusing. She hinted to her son: "Everyone likes to hear pleasant words, not harsh ones."

"But that would be honeyed words with a sword beneath," Chunbing said solemnly. "It is not the conduct of a gentleman."

Third Cousin did not press further and gave a vague, noncommittal response.

A few days later, she saw her son go to see Yan Xiucai, and before long, Youyou's assignments were greatly reduced.

Youyou was overjoyed. Seeing Chunbing approach, she pointed at her writing and asked him: "What do you think? The teacher said it's not bad and reduced my homework."

Chunbing felt it had neither structure nor charm, but recalling his mother's words, he hesitated for a long while before reluctantly nodding: "Not bad! You should keep practicing."

And who was the eldest cousin? He was someone whose calligraphy was good enough to be written on spring couplets and pasted on doors.

Youyou's brows immediately lifted with delight.

That evening, there were plums to eat.

Youyou picked out several large, red ones and had the maid deliver them to Chunbing and Yuanxiao.

Yuanxiao gave a cheer, stuffed a few plums into his pockets, and ran off to play with Xige'er.

Chunbing, however, gazed at the plums in silence. After a long moment, he let out a soft sigh, picked one up, and took a bite.