DDR 61.2

Chapter 61.2: Fright in the peach grove

Shen Jingshu was naturally unaware of the movements within the Qi family. In any case, she went about her days as usual. In the twinkling of an eye, the weather became warmer. Shen Jingshu hadn’t gone out for a walk in a long time. She discussed it with Yang Huilan and Kong Xinhe, and they planned an excursion to the countryside. The weather was very good on this day, and the school was on vacation. The three girls discussed it and prepared to set off at once.

“Now spring has come and the flowers are in bloom. There is beautiful scenery everywhere, look at these rapeseed flowers,[1] and those wildflowers, it is really beautiful!” Although these flowers were not as exquisite as the potted plants at home, but these flowers were nonetheless excellent. It warmed the hearts and pleased the eyes of those looking.

“Yeah, it’s really beautiful! This vast area makes you feel happy to look at it!” The girls got to go out and play, so they were very happy as they talked and laughed in the carriage, bustling with noise and excitement!

“Today we’re going to Taoyuan, right?[2] I heard that the peach blossoms are blooming there as far as the eye can see, as if it is raining petals. Everyone who has been there has said it looks amazing!”

“Yes, at this time of year, Taoyuan is the most lively. We also have to enjoy ourselves!”

“Naturally!” After sitting in the carriage for two hours, they finally arrived at Taoyuan. Spring was the season for excursions, and there were many people who had come. However, Da Chu’s[3] customs were unrestrained, and Sheng Jingshu and the other girls directly got out of the carriage and began strolling around.

“Wow, it’s really beautiful! Look, these flowers are so pretty!” As soon as one walked in, it was like entering a fairyland. The petals fell one by one, making those who saw it feel delighted.

“Yes, I really wish I could paint this scenery!”

“February brings the wind and rain of spring, green peach buds touch the heart though fleeting. Three thousand trees of red are still remaining, yet cannot compare to one flower blooming.[4] It’s really incredibly beautiful!”

“Hehe, Xinhe, you have also learned poetry. When we go back, I’ll paint a painting, don’t forget to inscribe the poem on it!”

“I’ve let you see a joke!”

“What are you saying!” After one year of interacting with each other, the girls were already familiar with one another. Shen Jingshu appreciated Yang Huilan’s candidness, and also liked Kong Xinhe’s intelligence. Whenever she looked at these two good friends, Shen Jingshu felt very happy.

In this life, she was finally not alone. With family, friends, and her younger brother, her future life would only become more and more beautiful!

“Let’s go, Jingshu, Xinhe, let’s go and see!” Yang Huilan looked at the beautiful scenery and they entered hand in hand. The girls talked and laughed along the way, and finally Shen Jingshu suddenly thought of something, and proposed, “Why don’t we collect some peach blossoms when we return? I heard that we can make wine, and we can also make crunchy candies to eat. It must be very delicious!”

“That’s a good suggestion. Let’s go bring some back and make wine when the time comes. Then we can taste it together!”

“That’s right, Xinhe, I heard that your family’s cook is good. The last time I went over and ate, the snacks were really good. When the time comes, could you let your family’s cook help us?”

“Of course!”

“It’s not too convenient for all of us to go together. It would better for us to separate. Shall we meet here in two hours?”

“Okay!”

After discussing, the three of them left with their respective maidservants. One by one, they each prepared their things for collecting peach blossoms and having fun.

Shen Jingshu walked and admired the scenery, and unconsciously entered into the deepest parts of Taoyuan. When Shen Jingshu realized it, it seemed that there was no longer anyone around. At this moment, Shen Jingshu looked at the surrounding scenery and suddenly wrinkled her brows, “Chun Xiao, where are we now?”

“Miss, I’m afraid that we have reached the depths of Taoyuan. There is no one here, so let’s hurry and go back! It’s so strange and scary here!” Such a deep peach grove, and there was no one here. Although it was broad daylight, it was still very frightening.

“Okay, let’s go back!” Although few people stepped foot here, and the scenery was a hundred times more beautiful, but Shen Jingshu had a cautious nature. It was really quiet here, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

There was a faint smell of blood in the air. Shen Jingshu listened carefully, and heard the sound of fighting. She could see a few indistinct figures in black surrounding a man in blue. The men were fighting fiercely. Shen Jingshu was astonished. Why was there such a thing happening here? However, Shen Jingshu’s most important task now was to leave! But Chun Xiao, who was behind her, was a little scared at this moment, “M-Miss, what-what’s going on over there?” As she spoke, her voice trembled a little. Chun Xiao was just a servant girl. Where would she have seen this kind of fighting before? At this moment, she was already terrified.

“Don’t talk, follow me, we will leave here quickly!” Today’s plan was, if all else fails, retreat! Shen Jingshu did not like to invite trouble, especially this kind of troublesome thing!

“Yes, Miss!” She quickly covered her mouth. Although Chun Xiao was scared, she knew that if they were discovered at this time, it would be the end, so she could only follow after Shen Jingshu. The two left quickly and ran for a long time. At last, they ran to a place with people around. The two of them breathed a sigh of relief. “Miss, was someone killed over there? I heard those sounds just now, it was so scary! Also, it smelled of blood. Should, should we report it to the authorities?”

“All right, just now, you and I never saw anything. Let’s go, we should first go find Huilan and Xinhe!” After seeing such a thing, Shen Jingshu worried that those people were desperate criminals. They could also be in danger. They were just weak women. How could they handle these things? So now they should first find Yang Huilan and Kong Xinhe, and then leave.

“Okay, Miss, let’s go and find Miss Yang and Miss Kong without delay, and then leave this place. This place is really too frightening!” The result of their sightseeing was such a thing. Chun Xiao immediately no longer had the mood to continue. She was still afraid, so of course she wanted to leave this suspicious area!

“Let’s go!” Shen Jingshu had the same intentions. This place even had assassins; that was proof that it was very unsafe here. Shen Jingshu was also very anxious as she pulled Chun Xiao to go look for Yang Huilan and Kong Xinhe.

Who were those people just now? Who was actually so courageous as to commit murder in Taoyuan?

Although she did not understand, Shen Jingshu didn’t think about it too much. Right now it was more important to find her friends. Fortunately, Shen Jingshu found them without much effort. They saw Shen Jingshu in such a hurry and were puzzled. “Jingshu, is something wrong? Why do you look so anxious?”

“It’s nothing. I’m just about finished looking at the peach blossoms, and I wanted to come find you. How about you? How is it?” Seeing that the two were calm and collected, and that the situation here seemed all right, Shen Jingshu felt relieved.

“Hehe, we collected a lot, and didn’t have room for it all, so we were planning to go back. Then we ran into each other, and we wanted to go look for you. We didn’t expect you to come yourself. But Jingshu, you seem to be carrying less!”

“Hehe, really?” Just now, she had spilled a lot on the way, but Shen Jingshu was not thinking about this now. She smiled indifferently, “I have a little bit less, but you both have a lot. In any case, when the time comes for us to eat, I won’t lose!”

“So it turns out this was your plan. So was it intentional?”

“Haha, Huilan, you are really smart!”

“Oh, you, this is taking us for your workers!”

“I think you are also very happy, ah!”

“What are you saying? You want to reap rewards without doing anything, we definitely won’t allow it, right, Xinhe?”

“That’s right, Jingshu, you don’t have even half as much as we do. Aren’t you embarrassed to eat later?”

“Aiya, at worst, you can just give the task of brewing the wine to me. I’ll make more wine when the time comes. We can drink one bottle a year. Maybe we’ll drink it again in a few decades. It will certainly be delicious!”

“Look at this little alcoholic. You’re still thinking decades ahead; how much wine are you going to make? Are you preparing to open a tavern?”

“Hehe, not at all! But this peach blossom wine tastes very good. Storing some is also good. It would be best to bury some and fix a time to meet in the same place again later to drink it. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“Huilan, Jingshu is right. The older the wine, the better it tastes. I think it’s a good idea!”

“Okay, then the task of making the wine is up to you!”

“Got it!” Shen Jingshu smiled. This was considered to be “performing meritorious deeds to make up for mistakes.” Yang Huilan and Kong Xinhe wouldn’t hold it against her and forgot about it. However, Shen Jingshu was thinking about the matter she had run across earlier, and in the end she was still uneasy. Looking at all the peach blossoms, she suddenly had an idea, “Ya, Huilan, Xinhe, we have so many peach blossoms, shouldn’t we return? Otherwise it won’t be easy to carry it all!”

“That’s true, it’s better to take the peach blossoms back earlier, so as to keep them fresh.”

“We’ve been out for some time today, and it’s no longer early, so let’s go back!”

“Okay, let’s go!” Seeing that both of them had no objections, Shen Jingshu was immediately relieved. Grinning, the three went back with the peach blossoms. Today’s harvest was very plentiful. They came to an agreement to go to Kong Xinhe’s home to eat peach blossom pastries, and soon after headed over. However, Shen Jingshu was to make the wine, so of course she took all the remaining peach blossoms home so that she could first let people dry the peach blossoms in the shade, and then afterwards prepare to brew the wine.

Everyone had had a lot of fun today. At Madam Kong’s enthusiastic invitation, Shen Jingshu and Yang Huilan also had dinner with the Kong family before leaving.

After passing through the day safely and cheerfully, Shen Jingshu was very happy. Just when the night was quiet and she was ready to fall asleep, she thought of the fighting she had heard during the day, and that indistinct yet familiar figure, and Shen Jingshu’s mood was a bit heavy.

Was it him?

In the end, she was a bit worried, but Shen Jingshu had no reason to visit, let alone any way to confirm this matter. Although on the second day, Shen Jingshu had Chun Mei go to the vicinity around that person’s home to discreetly inquire after information, but other than learning that the person had gone elsewhere, she found out nothing else. At that point, Shen Jingshu could only drop the subject, let it go, and prepare to ferment the peach blossom wine.

In fact, as soon as the peach blossoms had dried, Shen Jingshu prepared to make the wine. Yang Huilan and Kong Xinhe listened, and of course wanted to come and observe, but looking at Shen Jingshu’s attitude, the two couldn’t help but worry.

“Jingshu, do you really know how?” Yang Huilan looked at Shen Jingshu rather anxiously. She originally thought Shen Jingshu was just playing around. She didn’t expect Shen Jingshu to actually make it herself. It wasn’t that Yang Huilan wanted to pour cold water on Shen Jingshu. It was just that Shen Jingshu was no more than ten years old.[5] Could this be done?

“Don’t worry, Dad occasionally likes to brew some wine, and I’ve watched him do it. It should be no problem!” What Shen Jingshu did not say was that in her past life, Old Madam Shen liked peach blossom wine very much, so every year when the peach blossoms bloomed, Shen Jingshu would brew some. Over time, naturally her craftsmanship improved.

“Really? But do you want Master Shen to come lend a hand?”

“No need. Let Chun Xiao and the others help. They have also watched before. There won’t be any big problems,” she said as she smiled.

After letting people prepare everything, the girls worked with great enthusiasm. Shen Jingshu prepared many wine jugs, and even prepared three earthenware wine jars specifically to be buried in the ground, waiting to be opened again. She looked forward to how they would be in many years.

After they had prepared the wine for fermentation, all of them were dead tired. Each of them was a treasured young lady. Ordinarily, how would they work this much? After finishing one or two, they all laid down on Shen Jingshu’s bed with little regard for their image. “Jingshu, I’ve never been so tired in my life, but I’m so happy!”

“That’s right, my health has never been good. At home, I’m not allowed to do this, and I’m not allowed to do that. I’m so delighted today!” Kong Xinhe’s health was indeed not very good, and she easily became faint and dizzy. This was also the reason why she specially went to study medical knowledge. She also wanted to take care of her own health, so as to avoid making others worry about her. Fortunately, she had worked very hard this year, and she had some natural talent. Nowadays she was trying to take care of her own health, and was much better than before.

“You guys, there’s so much sweat, don’t sleep on my bed, it’s dirty!”

“This girl, she’s turning her back on us! Xinhe, go!”

“Okay!” The two looked at each other, and suddenly pulled Shen Jingshu. They dragged Shen Jingshu onto the bed and began to tickle her until they made her laugh. “Ok, ok, I, I was wrong, let me go!”

“Do you still dislike us? Do you still dislike our sweat?”

“Don’t dislike, don’t dislike, how dare I dislike it?”

“Exactly, you are also sweating on your bed now, you’re not allowed to renege!”

“Ok ok, I won’t, I won’t!”

“Hehe, good enough!”

 * * * *

After playing for a while, everyone was a little breathless, and one after another laid down on the bed. Thinking about today’s achievements, They all had satisfied smiles on their faces. “Jingshu, I really look forward to tasting our own wine!”

“Yeah, I’ve drunk peach blossom wine before, and it’s delicious, but this will be the first time I’ve made it myself. How long will it take?”[6]

“No worries, it doesn’t take too long. When the time comes, we’ll try a taste. If it’s good, let’s bury the three bottle together, ok? We can drink it again later. It will definitely taste good!”

 “Jingshu is right, the wine gets more and more fragrant as it gets older. How many years should we let it sit?”

“I don’t know what we will look like in ten years’ time, why not do it in ten years?”

“Haha, all right, there are three bottles in total. We will take one bottle every ten years. At that time, we can drink together to our hearts’ content!”

“Haha, okay!”

The girls agreed like so, but they didn’t anticipate that sometimes it is too late to change the plan. When they would take the first bottle out to drink ahead of schedule, each of their respective frames of mind would be unpleasant. This is the price of growing up.

* * * *

After a few more days, Shen Jingshu still felt vaguely uneasy, but most of the time she didn’t think about it. Nowadays spring had come and the flowers were in bloom, and the annual Hundred Flowers Festival had arrived. On this day, there would be a talent exhibition, which was an opportunity for many women to make a name for themselves.

With this opportunity, one could gain a good reputation for the future, and give their marriage prospects a helping hand. So as this day approached, many people were eagerly preparing, especially those in the academy. People had become busy, clothes had become fresher and brighter, and some even looked new. It could be seen that everyone attached much importance to this festival.

“The Hundred Flowers Festival is here again, and everyone is busy, but the few of us seem to have nothing to do. Xinhe, Jingshu, are you two really not participating?” Yang Huilan was really busying herself in others’ business at this time, but there was no receptivity.[7]

“Anyway, I’m still young, so I don’t want to join in the excitement. If you want to go, just go, I will cheer for you!” Shen Jingshu had never been a person who liked to show off in public, nor did she want to draw too many people’s attention at her young age. That would not be advantageous for her plan!

“You won’t go, Xinhe won’t go, and if I go it’ll be boring, it’s just a few people showing off, that’s all. Forget it, don’t go!” Yang Huilan was about four years older than Shen Jingshu, and she was almost at the age to get married.[8] Yang Huilan wasn’t going to go at this time, which was actually bad for her.

Shen Jingshu was aware of this, and of course did not want Yang Huilan to bury herself for this reason, “Huilan, go, I can cheer for you!” Yang Huilan’s circumstances weren’t bad. She was a senior provincial official’s daughter, and she herself wasn’t lacking. It would be easy for her to marry into a good family. However, Shen Jingshu hoped that Yang Huilan could be happy, and also hoped she could take this opportunity to become familiar with more people, and let others get to know her better.

“Forget it, I won’t go, I won’t go. The evaluations are about to begin. I have to concentrate on preparing for the tests!” The academy was about to have a holiday, and the evaluations were very important. Some people would even be graduating, and having good grades was very important.

“It’s still early, and the Hundred Flowers Festival is more urgent. Huilan, you should just go!” She herself didn’t go because she was young and didn’t want to let others pay attention to her too soon. Shen Jingshu didn’t think that Yang Huilan also would not go.

“That’s right, Huilan, we won’t go, but we can cheer you on! Go, let them see your graceful bearing! And haven’t you always disliked Miss Qi? She also went this time. Don’t tell me you’re willing to be defeated by her?” Kong Xinhe’s use of this psychological method actually worked quite well. When she heard that Qi Xueyan would go, Yang Huilan suddenly was suddenly full of vigor, “Really, she’s going too?”

“Naturally it’s true!”

“Jingshu, it seems that Qi Xueyan isn’t much older than you? If she can go, why don’t you go?” Not expecting that Yang Huilan would involve her again, Shen Jingshu truly felt helpless.

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Translator’s Notes

[1] A yellow flowering plant. The “rape” comes from the Latin word for turnip. Vegetable oil is made from it.

A field of rapeseed flowers.

[2] Taoyuan means peach grove (the second character is different from the one in the chapter title), and since it sounds like they’re using it as a place name, I’ve kept it in pinyin.

[3] I do not know if Da Chu is supposed to be the name of the dynasty/kingdom, or an area or a city…

[4] Whyyyyy poems are so hard to translate! I took some liberties to make it rhyme, and I may have messed up the meaning cause poetry is way harder to understand than prose. Here’s the original: 二月春归风雨天，碧桃花下感流年。残红尚有三千树，不及初开一朵鲜。Èryuè chūn guī fēngyǔ tiān, bì táohuā xià gǎn liúnián. Cán hóng shàng yǒu sānqiān shù, bùjí chū kāi yī duǒ xiān.

[5] Pretty sure she’s still six/seven (her birthday is probably at some point in the spring?).

[6] Spent way too long at looking at how one makes flower wines. Looks like generally, it may take 1-2 weeks to finish preparing it, then while one could maybe drink it then, it’s best to leave it for a few months at least.

[7] I probably got this sentence wrong.

[8] If she’s 4 years older, that puts her at around 11.