Chang’an Small Restaurant

Chapter 17 Farewell Noble Lady

When Shen Shaoguang returned to Guangming Nunnery, she chanced upon noble Buddhist pilgrims, one of whom was an old friend– Second Young Lady Pang. The other was the girl in the gold-embroidered medallion-yellow dress at the river bank pavilion during the Dragon Boat Festival.

It seemed that they had already finished their prayers to Buddha. Senior Buddhist Nun Yuanjue was showing them the murals in the inner courtyard and retelling anecdotes of Buddhism.

Since they have met, Shen Shaoguang stepped forward to bow in ceremony.

Yuanjue smiled at the two noble ladies. "This is Benefactor Shen." While they were drinking tea together, Senior Buddhist Nun Yuanjue had already mentioned Shen Shaoguang.

She then introduced the new face to Shen Shaoguang, "This is the Fifth Young Lady of Chancellor[1] Qin's Residence. You should be familiar with Second Young Lady Pang."

All three smiled and curtsy.

Yuanjue smiled at Shen Shaoguang. "We just drank the jasmine tea you gave me last time. Although you always believed I had been overpraising your tea, these two benefactors also said it was elegant and fragrant..." Her intimate tone indicated that they were rather close acquaintances.

Shen Shaoguang pursed her lips and smiled.

Fifth Young Lady Qin looked at Shen Shaoguang with a faint smile. Guangming Nunnery was not a big nunnery, but Senior Buddhist Nun Yuanjue was anything but ordinary. Her paternal grandmother once told her that Senior Buddhist Nun Yuanjue’s master was the Grand Princess Imperial[2] of Anqing. During her early years, this Grand Princess Imperial had engaged in the art of politics in the imperial court. Afterwards, she became disillusioned with the world of mortals and, to everyone’s surprise, became a nun in Luoyang. Yuanjue was her last disciple and had traveled to many places with Grand Princess Imperial. To be valued so much by Senior Buddhist Nun Yuanjue, Miss Shen was also most likely not hackneyed.

Fifth Young Lady Qin smiled and said, "Miss Shen, your face is a little familiar. Perhaps we have met somewhere before?"

Shen Shaoguang’s brows furrowed lightly, but she quickly regained her beaming face. Maybe you were thirsty that day and caught sight of my sour plum juice? Contrary to her inward retort, she laughed and teased, "Then it must be fate."

Second Young Lady Pang shared Shen Shaoguang’s speculation and also thought that she had seen her at the riverside that day. However at that time A’Shen was vendoring food, today she was ‘Noble Lady Shen’, which was most probably why Fifth Young Lady Qin couldn’t connect the dots.

"I have met the fourth young lady of Dengzhou’s Administrative Division Governor Shen's Residence several times before. It may be assumed that the young ladies in your clan all share some facial similarities."

Shen Shaoguang was really not familiar with her fellow clansmen. Though she wasn’t aware what seniority this Administrative Division Governor Shen had in the clan, she was sure he was definitely not her first uncle. 

"I’ve been wandering around the country and haven't returned to my hometown for a long time. I really don't know if I look like my cousins and sisters." Shen Shaoguang laughed.

To be able to calmly bring up her straitened circumstances in such a lighthearted manner, this Miss Shen was indeed unordinary. How could Fifth Young Lady Qin not see that although Shen Shaoguang's unadorned dress was made from Yizhou’s fine silk fabric, they have been washed many times and were already worn. Her hair was also only decorated with two small silver hairpins.

Shen Shaoguang also had a good impression of this fifth lady of Chancellor Qin’s Residence. In front of an impoverished lady, Fifth Young Lady Qin was neither arrogant nor did she pretend to sympathize with the poor. She spoke as if they were truly equals; even if it was just a fake front, Shen Shaoguang felt comfortable talking with her– especially compared to when she first met Second Young Lady Pang.

When her thoughts turned to Second Young Lady Pang, Shen Shaoguang couldn’t help but smile and asked her, "It’s been a while, has Second Young Lady been well?" After being mocked by her ‘besties’ during the Dragon Boat Festival, Second Young Lady Pang moved back home after returning to the nunnery. They had never met since. Shen Shaoguang didn’t know how or why Second Young Lady Pang made up with the noble girls, most particularly, it was even her ‘love rival’.

If it was up to Shen Shaoguang’s say, then she believed Fifth Young Lady Qin was more suited for Deputy Magistrate Lin. Disregarding their statuses, just temperament-wise, Deputy Magistrate Lin looked quite cold-hearted. Moreover, for him to become the capital city’s deputy magistrate, his mind must be profound and insightful. On the other hand, Second Young Lady Pang was as clear as a shallow stream, she wore her heart on her sleeves; their personality didn't match at all.

However, on second thought, maybe that's the way to go? A scheming, ‘resting B face’ gentleman X a naive, white rabbit-like maiden?This shipping seemed quite cute actually. Shen Shaoguang listened to Senior Buddhist Nun Yuanjue briefed the anecdote about ‘Dayi ladling ocean water (大意舀海)’ on the mural, while thinking about the romance drama she had seen in her previous life. In the midst of her reminiscing, Shen Shaoguang wanted to sigh. At that time, she disdained such films due to their backwards logic, but now she couldn’t watch it again even if she wanted to.

Fifth Young Lady Qin was ordered by her family to sojourn in this nunnery; she was to pray and offer sacrifices for their ancestors again in the evening and tomorrow morning, so she decided to stay the night. Senior Buddhist Nun Yuanjue invited her to live with her, but Fifth Young Lady Qin did not want to disturb the abbot's peace, so she decided to make do with Second Young Lady Pang.

Yuanjue smiled. "Alright, you little ladies can live together and kindle your feelings."

She then continued to say, "There will be many lanterns set up in the Lane tonight. Although it’s not as impressive as the Shangyuan Festival[3], it’s still a sight to behold. You can go out and have a look, but you all must be accompanied by another person."

All three ladies responded with a smile.

Since Shen Shaoguang had transmigrated here, she had only lived a suffocating life in the imperial palace and had never gotten the chance to witness the lantern festivals in this era. The Ghost Festival could not compare to the Lantern Festival, where the city’s curfew was lifted and everyone could carnival together all night long. Although she could only stroll around in the Lane, it was nethertheless an exciting event for a bumpkin like Shen Shaoguang.

A’Yuan had a childish temper, so she elated to know that Shen Shaoguang was taking her to watch the lanterns at night. "In the past, Missus Xu would not allow me to go out no matter what festival and forced me to house-sit all day and night. I snuck out to take a look, but because I was afraid of being found out, I ran back immediately after. One time, Missus Xu came back to pick up something she had left behind. She happened to catch me, and as a punishment, she beat me with a broom."

Shen Shaoguang patted her head.

A’Yuan laughed, "It didn't hurt much, the critical matter was that she also didn’t feed me for the next three days. That time I really felt as if I was going to starve to death."

Shen Shaoguang patted her on the head twice and smiled faintly. In fact, she had also been beaten and starved before. When she first arrived in the Lateral Courts her new body was of an orphaned and sick ten-year-old. Moreover, she was in the process of assimilating while the memory of the original owner remained somewhat fuzzy. How could an ignorant visitor from another time not make a mistake? And without a parent or elder to look after her, her errs were usually penalized. 

Thankfully, it's all over now.

While Shen Shaoguang and A’Yuan were reminiscing about ‘yesterday's misery and today’s happiness’ in their room, Fifth Young Lady Qin and Second Young Lady Pang were privately discussing the people of the past.

"You were young, so you might not remember but the daughter of the Cui Residence was two years older than me. She had a very gentle and magnanimous temperament. In terms of appearance and talent, she was at the pinnacle amongst the nobles ladies of her generation; we all fell short of her. Later, Minister[4] Cui was convicted and as punishment, his wife and children were to be sent to the Lateral Courts." Fifth Young Lady Qin sighed softly, "I never imagined that such a gentle person like her to commit suicide, what a lady..." Considering Second Young Lady Pang was Consort Shu's younger sister, and Pang Residence’s profound relationship with the royal family, Fifth Young Lady Qin decided to forgo the last ‘indomitably chaste’ two words.

Second Young Lady Pang’s complexion turned pale, she unconsciously rubbed the pearls on the dangling ornament in her hand. The pearls on the ornament were about the same size as the pearls on the gilded dress and belt that she had just changed into, most likely a set.

"I never heard that Lin— Deputy Magistrate was engaged to the daughter of the Cui Residence?" Second Young Lady Pang bit her lips and asked.

"It was never concluded. I heard that the two families came to an agreement not long before Minister Cui had fallen into a predicament."

Just when Second Young Lady Pang just breathed a sigh of relief, Fifth Young Lady Qin added, "But Deputy Magistrate Lin obviously took the marriage matter to heart, otherwise why hasn't he married yet? Moreover, in the two years following her passing, Deputy Magistrate Lin seldomly attended banquets..."

Second Young Lady Pang lowered her eyes, even the recently drawn lotus flower Huadian[4] on her forehead seemed not as vivid as before.

Shen Shaoguang brought A’Yuan out of their room, passed the main hall, and just vaguely heard the last few words of their conversation. Deputy Magistrate Lin was actually such a devoted person?

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Footnotes:

[1] Chancellor (僕射 or 仆射) - At the beginning of the Qin dynasty, skilled archers were highly prized, and often given positions of responsibility within the government. By the Tang Dynasty, the power of the 仆射 rivaled that of the Imperial Chancellor's. Basically one of the highest ranking officials in this novel.

[2] Grand Princess Imperial (大长公主) - Princess Imperial (长公主) is a title given to the eldest princess of the Emperor. In this case, this is the Emperor’s paternal aunt, so Grand Princess Imperial. 

[3] Shangyuan Festival - Also known as the Lantern Festival, is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar, during the full moon. Only when in dialogue will I use ‘Shangyuan Festival’(due to the fact that latter term not coined until much later), otherwise, it’ll be more often referred to as ‘Lantern Festival’.

[4] Minister (尚书) - The head of one of the Six Ministries. The Six Ministries were direct administrative organs of the state under the authority of the Department of State Affairs. They were the Ministries of Personnel, Rites, War, Justice, Works, and Revenue. 

[5] Huadian - is a form of traditional Chinese women's ornamental forehead makeup, which is located between the eyebrows. Here’s a video explaining the history- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeJ9pPLUEjE