The Bittersweet Days of Our Youth

Third Yitai’s father came over in the evening and brought Father a coat and new cheongsams for the two wives and two girls.
They were made of fashionable foreign cotton and had bright colors.
Yu Zifan and his wife also came over to greet Father, saying that the Little Miss was blessed so she would be fine.

Originally, I saw Yu Zifan leave through the front door with his wife, but when I went to the backyard to get my clothes, I saw him come in through the back door again.
The third yitai had trouble talking to the second yitai and couldn’t get used to hearing her babbling and singing about dancers.
So she moved out to live in the big house in the backyard.
The big house was originally mine and Yu Jie’s when we were young, but since I had gone abroad, Yu Jie felt scared to live alone and moved in with her mother.

Yu Zifan took a furtive look through the doorway.
Seeing that no one was around, he slipped into the big house by the side of the wall hidden by trees.

I heard the maid say that Third Yitai was about to collapse from exhaustion and had gone to her room to rest.
My heart got flustered and I followed him.

Yu Zifan went straight into the third yitai’s bedroom and, outside the door, I heard a short cry of alarm from the third yitai, followed by a lowered voice; “How did you get in here? Get out now!”

Through the window paper, Yu Zifan leaned against the edge of the bed, his face full of panic.
“Don’t worry, I saw no one, thus came in.
Yu Zhen has already gone back to the shop.
I was worried about you, so I came to take a look.”

“I’m the wife of the Ye family.
I’m afraid that you’re barging in like this without any discretion, if the maids were to bump into me, it would certainly be to my detriment.
You are the one who pushed me through the Ye family’s door with your own hands.
It’s been more than ten years.
I don’t know what kind of heart you can’t let go of, but it’s better to sweep the snow in front of your door, don’t make people laugh1.” Third Yitai snorted coldly.

“Ling Yue, you still hate me.”

The melancholy in Yu Zifan’s eyes could indeed touch a woman’s heart.
On closer inspection, he must have been a luscious young man with white teeth and a bright smile ten years ago.
At that time, Third Yitai was in the early stages of her love affair and hadn’t seen many handsome young men in her tailor’s shop, so it made sense that she would be charmed by him.

“Don’t blow one’s own trumpet2.
Call me Third Yitai respectfully, and please kneel down when you come to pay your respects on New Year’s Day.
Don’t come back in the future.”

“That day when Second Miss came to my shop and I wasn’t there, Yuzhen lost her manners.
I hope the third yitai will send a message of apology for me.”

“Humph, why should I apologize to you? Get out and let others hear what you just said.”

Yu Zifan was scolded so much that he withdrew from the room with a white face, and seeing that no one was around, he slipped through the wall and went out through the back door again.
If other people saw him, it would be hard to explain.
Third Yitai was a person who knew the rules and would not do anything that would ruin the family’s reputation.
But she was also a good-looking person, and her youthful flings were, after all, a thing of the past; if it was a scar, it was better not to uncover it and let it fade away that way.

Tao Tao’s ransom had already been paid, and the messenger sent another letter while delivering the newspaper.
The letter said: ‘2 am at Liangqiao Hutong, you couldn’t bring people or else the Little Miss will die’. 

The whole family was terrified after reading it, but in any case, Tao Tao was still alive.
The old maid was so frightened that she became ill and only spoke nonsense in a demented manner.
Mother was good-hearted and did not blame her.
She told the housekeeper to send her back to the country to recover from her illness.
There was a new maid, Zi Tao, who was very clever, had long eyebrows, was a good cook, and spoke sweetly, so she was liked by the Master and Mistress as soon as she entered the house, and the other servants could not be more jealous.

Zi Tao prepared the breakfast, so the family could finally have a meal in peace.

The housekeeper took the newspaper and asked in a tense voice, “Master, the newspaper says that there was a shooting at the Lu Mansion and many people died.
Two of the Second Young Lady’s friends were saved.
The two families are now in-laws so should we go over and take a look?”

I grabbed the newspaper.
The sign of the Lu Mansion was riddled with bullets and a few puddles of murky blood outside the door, it looked messy.

“Great! Great!”

“What’s great? That’s your husband’s house.
How can my Ye Guangrong’s daughter be so rude?”

Yue Xiaoman, Yu Ziyang, and the aspiring men who were deep in prison were all rescued.
I stuck out my tongue and packed my bag and went to the Lu Mansion with my father.
People who died were all soldiers.
Others were unharmed and well at home sipping Biluochun. 

I excused myself and said that I had school to attend since nothing happened, there was no need to stay there any longer. 

Lu Xingjiu still asked rhetorically, “Didn’t you take a break from school?”

I told him that I was studying piano and etiquette, so I still had to attend classes.

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