Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 30

Ye Jiao hadn't seen Qi Yun's expression, but she also wasn't very bothered by the sudden rooster crow.

Qi Yun thought she was as beautiful as a painting, but as the person in the painting, Ye Jiao didn't feel she was anything special. She had just wanted to touch the snow on the plum blossoms.

Earlier the man had said that boiling plum blossoms in water was sweet, so Ye Jiao wanted to taste whether the snow on the petals was sweet.

Seeing Qi Yun wasn't moving, Ye Jiao continued to turn back and touch the petals with her fingertips.

The plum blossoms trembled lightly, the woman's fingertips were slightly cool, with some silvery white snowflakes clinging to them.

She stared at them for a moment, then was about to put them in her mouth.

Qi Yun had originally been thinking about whether to have chicken soup or braised chicken tonight and was preparing to ask Ye Jiao's opinion when he saw his wife about to put her finger in her mouth.

"Jiao Niang." Qi Yun hurriedly called out to stop her, walking over to pull Ye Jiao back: "In such cold weather, what if you get sick from eating this?"

But Ye Jiao's tongue tip had already touched the snow on her fingertip. She pondered the taste and muttered: "It's a bit cold, but it's not sweet at all."

Hearing this, Qi Yun was somewhat torn between laughter and tears. He pulled Ye Jiao's hand into his fur coat to warm it: "Snow naturally has no taste. Not only does it not taste good, but it can also upset your stomach."

Ye Jiao made an "oh" sound, then looked toward the basket Qi Yun was carrying.

The basket also contained a pair of scissors. Ye Jiao curved her lips: "Are we starting to pick plum blossoms now?"

"Yes, do you want to try?" Qi Yun said, handing her the scissors.

Ye Jiao took the scissors enthusiastically and carefully stood on her tiptoes to cut plum blossoms, but after doing it twice, she didn't want to continue.

Putting the scissors back in the basket, Little Ginseng shook her hands: "It's quite tiring."

Although the plum tree wasn't tall, most of the lower petals weren't complete. Ye Jiao had to stand on her toes and stretch her arms to reach the intact ones.

Once or twice was fine, but after a while, her arms got sore.

Ye Jiao didn't have any stubborn persistence in facing difficulties. Moreover, picking flowers wasn't like Stone Sprout Grass, which was a life-saving thing. Whether she had them or not, Ye Jiao didn't care, so naturally she didn't want to continue.

Qi Yun had only wanted her to try it for fun. Seeing Ye Jiao had lost interest, he handed the basket to Tie Zi: "Later tell the small kitchen to make some plum blossom cakes."

Tie Zi nodded and took the basket, then used his eyes to signal Little Su to follow.

The two had known each other since childhood and were about the same age. Tie Zi usually took good care of Little Su and was happy to bring her along when things came up.

Little Su was still worried in her heart that her Little Black would end up in a pot because of that earlier squawk, so she immediately followed Ye Jiao without stopping.

Besides the plum blossoms, there wasn't much else to see in this garden. Even the stone tables and stools were covered with snow and couldn't be used for sitting. There really wasn't much to look at.

Perhaps those sentimental literati and poets could compose eternal masterpieces about this snowy scene, but Ye Jiao and Qi Yun, this married couple, one with her mind full of plum blossom cakes and the other with his mind full of his wife, had no mood for scenery.

At this moment, a breeze started up. It wasn't strong, not even enough to blow the snowflakes off the flower branches, but even a gentle breeze felt particularly cold in winter.

Qi Yun still held Ye Jiao's hand, slightly turning his body to shield her from the wind: "Jiao Niang, let's go back."

"Alright." Ye Jiao nodded in agreement, but as they were almost at the moon gate, she noticed something placed in a corner.

It was made of bamboo, just a frame in a triangular shape, leaning sideways against the wall.

Ye Jiao couldn't help but look toward Qi Yun: "What is this?"

Qi Yun glanced at it: "It looks like a paper kite, but it's not finished."

Ye Jiao blinked: "Paper kite? Is it fun?"

This time Qi Yun didn't speak. After all, he usually didn't leave his courtyard much. Previously it was because he was waiting to die, and after marriage it was a straight line between courtyard and study, urgently wanting to make money to save for his wife. He really didn't have many recreational activities.

He had seen others flying paper kites, but just watching, how could he know if it was fun or not?

Tie Zi was very perceptive and stepped forward: "Second Young Mistress, flying paper kites is quite interesting. They can be made in various shapes, and if you add a whistle, it becomes a wind kite. When flying, it makes a humming sound like zither strings. Very amusing."

Hearing this, Ye Jiao immediately became curious.

Qi Yun glanced at Tie Zi. This boy was usually quiet and didn't like to cause trouble, but now he was suddenly being so attentive. Qi Yun couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly, but said nothing.

Then he heard Tie Zi continue: "Sometimes feathers are attached to the back of paper kites, fluttering and swaying, which looks particularly beautiful."

Ye Jiao didn't know what paper kites should look like, but hearing Tie Zi describe it this way, her eyes showed curiosity and interest.

Qi Yun looked at Tie Zi with a half-smile, his eyes narrowing slightly. Tie Zi immediately lowered his head, not daring to look at him.

But soon, Qi Yun's slow voice came: "Don't we have a black chicken at home? Just pluck its feathers."

Little Su suddenly tensed up but didn't dare to speak.

Tie Zi kept his head down and replied: "Little Black's tail feathers haven't grown out yet. It'll probably take a while longer."

"Then let's wait." Qi Yun knew in his heart that Tie Zi was protecting that foolish big rooster, not wanting him to stew it.

As for the reason, it probably wasn't because Tie Zi particularly liked the chicken, but because Little Su liked it.

But Qi Yun didn't expose this, instead directly agreeing to Tie Zi's request.

Little Su's eyes lit up upon hearing this. The little girl smiled and loudly replied: "Thank you, Second Young Master!"

Although having Little Black's tail go bald again was quite heartbreaking, what was more important than life?

Feathers would grow back!

Tie Zi was stunned and looked up at him. Seeing Qi Yun had already pulled Ye Jiao away, Tie Zi hurriedly grabbed Little Su and ran to catch up.

After escorting the two to the courtyard gate, neither Tie Zi nor Little Su followed inside. Qi Yun paused slightly at the door, turned back, and gently patted Tie Zi's head.

Tie Zi's heart was uneasy as he obediently lowered his head for Qi Yun to pat.

Then he heard the man's indifferent voice: "Using chicken feathers to decorate paper kites, you really thought of that."

Though it was a cold winter day, Tie Zi felt a layer of sweat on his back.

But Qi Yun didn't say much more, only: "Silly boy, don't let there be a next time. Go on." After saying this, he stopped looking at him and went inside with Ye Jiao.

Little Su looked somewhat bewildered at Qi Yun's retreating figure, then at Tie Zi, reaching out to pull him: "Brother Tie Zi, is Second Young Master angry with you?"

Tie Zi shook his head, his voice somewhat hoarse due to his changing voice: "Not angry this time, but next time might be different."

He hadn't been lying just now. Paper kites with whistles and chicken feathers were real, but Tie Zi had deliberately mentioned it with ulterior motives.

Second Young Master had heard it and still agreed, seemingly not wanting to argue with him.

But Tie Zi, having followed Qi Yun for this period, roughly understood Qi Yun's temperament. He had already used up half of Qi Yun's tolerance toward him. If he wanted to continue following Qi Yun in the future, he needed to be honest and not deceive or hide things from him.

Just as Qi Yun said, don't let there be a next time.

But Tie Zi felt somewhat depressed that he had just taken such a big risk merely to save a chicken...

Little Su saw him not speaking and tugged at his sleeve: "Brother Tie Zi, it's cold. Shall we go roast sweet potatoes?"

Tie Zi turned to look at her, meeting the little girl's face, and his earlier depression disappeared.

His face broke into a smile, and when the young man spoke, white mist came from his mouth due to the cold: "Roasting sweet potatoes is boring. I've saved some dried meat. Come on, I'll get it for you to eat."

"Great!"

When the paper kite was delivered to Ye Jiao, it was already past the Little New Year.

Tie Zi and Little Su had made two together, one with a whistle and one without, but both had beautiful black feathers attached to their tails.

The feather contributor was Little Black. Probably to appease Qi Yun's anger, Little Su had steeled her heart and plucked all of Little Black's newly grown tail feathers, causing the big rooster to huddle listlessly in its coop for several days, even its morning crow lacking energy.

When the paper kite was delivered, Dong Shi happened to be there too.

Dong Shi now came every few days to chat with Ye Jiao. The two would tend to medicinal flowers together or discuss pharmaceutical knowledge with each other, growing closer day by day.

When the paper kite was placed on the table, Dong Shi's face showed a smile: "I used to love playing with these before I got married, but stopped flying them after marriage."

Ye Jiao didn't ask for the reason because she could tell that Dong Shi wanted a child and was particularly nervous about her health.

She had seen Little Su try flying this paper kite before it was finished, running and jumping around. Dong Shi's previous child was lost due to a fall, so now she probably didn't dare try it.

Ye Jiao had Little Su put the paper kite away first, to play with when Qi Yun returned, then smiled at Dong Shi: "Do you remember I said I had something to give you before?"

Dong Shi nodded, then saw Ye Jiao bring out a jar.

This jar had originally been Qi Yun's unused brush washer, which Ye Jiao had taken over. She filled it with water and put the fully bloomed Auspicious Flowers in it.

The Auspicious Flowers now were no longer in their former wilted state but flourishing with thick, plump petals, looking full of vitality.

Dong Shi exclaimed "Oh!" upon seeing it and reached out to touch it with particular joy.

She was a medicine enthusiast from childhood, fascinated by these things. Now seeing the Auspicious Flowers she couldn't grow come back to life in Ye Jiao's hands, Dong Shi looked at Ye Jiao with particular excitement: "Jiao Niang, how did you know this should be grown in water?"

Ye Jiao returned a smile and said slowly: "I felt it should grow in here."

This wasn't a lie. When Ye Jiao was still Little Ginseng, she had seen quite a few of these.

Dong Shi thought Ye Jiao had figured it out through trial and error, smiling: "Jiao Niang, is this what you said you wanted to give me?"

Ye Jiao nodded and said directly: "This flower is good for the body. If you keep it in your room, it will benefit you."

Though Ye Jiao had seen this flower help foxes, whether it would help humans was still unknown, but any method was worth trying.

Though Dong Shi didn't know the true use of the Auspicious Flowers, since it was a gift from Ye Jiao, she would naturally take good care of it.

Moreover, having the previously ungrowable Auspicious Flowers suddenly come alive, Dong Shi treasured it beyond measure. She probably wouldn't be willing to throw it away even if asked.

After receiving Ye Jiao's gift, Dong Shi stood up and sat beside Ye Jiao, linking arms with her: "Today I came at the right time, and fortunately I brought something to give you before coming, otherwise I would have gotten your kindness for nothing and felt terrible about it."

Ye Jiao blinked, thinking of the basket of flower petals Dong Shi had given her before: "I haven't finished using the flower petals from last time."

Dong Shi smiled with squinted eyes, leaning close to Ye Jiao: "I'm not giving you flower petals this time. Here, this is for you." She took out a blue cloth bundle from her bosom.

Ye Jiao took it and felt it: "A book?"

Dong Shi smiled: "Yes, a book. This book is quite rare on the market. I got two copies and brought one to give to you."

Among married women, besides giving flowers and plants to each other, it was also common for close friends to give things that added pleasure to life.

Moreover, Dong Shi had heard about Ye Jiao's maiden family situation and felt those people were worthless. She had heard that Ye Jiao was basically pushed onto the sedan chair when she married, with not a single piece of dowry afterward. What should have been given to Ye Jiao certainly wasn't given, and the fire-prevention illustrations that should have been in the trousseau probably weren't given either.

She saw how harmoniously Ye Jiao and Qi Yun got along, looking sweet as honey in their daily interactions, so giving this would be particularly appropriate.

But the book's name was new to Ye Jiao. Innocent Little Ginseng couldn't help but ask: "What's it about?"

Dong Shi smiled mysteriously: "You'll see for yourself later and then you'll know."