Chapter 2 Relatives

  Xuan Rui Tang's main house has five rooms, facing south and north. In the middle is a hall, directly opposite the door, with a four-panel black lacquer screen, about one meter high, painted with "Laozi Granting Scriptures". Below the screen is a black sandalwood table, on either side of which are two wide chairs with backs carved in plum and magpie designs, serving as the main seats. Separate from these are eight chairs arranged in a wing-like pattern on both sides, also made of black sandalwood, serving as guest seats.

  The two rooms on the west side are the living quarters of Old Lady Sun. In the outer room, according to northern custom, a low platform about two feet high was built along the north wall, with a high cabinet at the head of the platform and a soft couch on top. There is also a small table with two scepters on it. On the floor are two rows of chairs covered with half-new bamboo mats, which seem to be used for receiving family members or familiar guests.

  The inner room had a black sandalwood carved flower bed, with a matching dresser, all of which were the dowry of the old lady in her younger years. At that time, the Sun family and the Cao family formed an alliance through marriage, but it was the Cao family who had reached up to the Sun family, so the old lady's dowry was extremely luxurious, and even now, as a first-class noblewoman, she still felt it was not beneath her dignity. Behind the bed, there was a secret room with a hundred treasures, which was originally built by the old lady after she grew older and couldn't bear the cold and dampness of the southern winter. It was a warm chamber that used geothermal energy. Because the windows behind were covered with green window screens, it was also called the Emerald Chamber. Later, when Cao Yu was born, the old lady took him in her arms and personally raised him, so the Emerald Chamber became Cao Yu's bedroom. Since it didn't face the sun, it was actually quite cool on summer days, making it very comfortable to live in.

  The two rooms in the east wing and the west wing structure are similar, except that there is no hidden room. The inner room has a bed and the outer room has a kang, sometimes used to accommodate female relatives of the family, which can be considered as half a guest room.

  Cao Guan returned to the main room, where Old Lady was leaning against a soft couch outside the west wing, with two maids kneeling on the kang massaging her shoulders.

  When Cao Yun came in, the old lady's face lit up with joy and she sat up straight. As for this grandmother who was extremely loving to him, Cao Yun felt a deep affection for her from the bottom of his heart. Since he was born, all the elders on both his father's and mother's sides had passed away, although since childhood, his parents and older brother and sister-in-law had also doted on him, but it was still different from this kind of indulgence that spanned generations.

  Cao Gong initially arrived in a different world, worried about the ups and downs of the Cao family's future, while also missing his loved ones from his previous life. The loneliness in his heart was hard to express. This grandmother, who unconditionally doted on her grandson, evoked his deep longing for his family even more than others. Therefore, as soon as he entered the house, he quickly walked a few steps and arrived at the edge of the bed, using his old address: "Old ancestor is up, summer days are long, it's boring, can grandson accompany you to play cards?"

  The old lady saw her grandson looking up with a small face, so well-behaved, and felt as if she had eaten honey. She held Cao Yu's hand and nodded in agreement. The two maidservants, Zi Jing and Cha Jing, who followed Cao Yu into the house, were clever and quick-witted. Upon hearing this, they didn't wait for Sun Shi to give orders, but took the cards and money boxes respectively.

  Leaf card, is the ancient paper hemp mahjong, no middle, east, south, west and north wind, divided into "wen", "suo", "wan" and "ten" four doors, each door has one to nine, in addition to the "plum", "orchid", "bamboo" and "chrysanthemum" four flower cards. Flower cards can be used as blank cards, sometimes also represent the god of wealth, getting one card will double the win or loss, two cards will quadruple it, and so on. The gameplay is similar to modern society, with hu jia zi or single hanging, also with a bit of cannon.

  Cao Gong was only seven years old, but his history of playing Yezi Pai with Sun Shi went back several years. Of course, it wasn't as complicated as the adults' version - they just grabbed a few cards and compared their numbers. It was a way for the two to pass the time when they had nothing else to do.

  The two maids on the kang, one named Shanhu and the other named Daiyu, were 14 or 15 years old and 12 or 13 years old respectively. They had a discerning eye and saw Old Lady's enthusiasm, so they quickly got up and moved the small tables to in front of the two masters.

  The old lady found it dull with so few people, so she called Tea Crystal and Coral to play cards together, while Purple Crystal helped her look at the cards. Jade went to pour tea. After the tea was served, Jade remembered that Cao Yu had eaten a little rice for breakfast and would have dinner in an hour or two, so she retreated and went to the small kitchen to cook two portions of lotus root powder, and also took out a plate of green bean cake that the old lady liked, and a plate of meat floss pastry that Cao Yu liked, put them on a small plate and brought them up to the upper room.

  Everyone had played several rounds, and it was Lao Taijun and Cha Jing who won, while Cao Guang and Shanhu's two families lost. Cao Guang was hungry at this time, seeing Ai Nai bringing in food, he couldn't help but rub his stomach, with a few more joyful colors on his face. In these few days of the Qing dynasty, apart from being frightened and worried, it was just that the food was not accustomed to, people who were used to eating three meals a day, letting him eat two meals, how could he not be hungry?

  The old lady saw Cao Guang staring at the food, put down the cards in her hand, and asked Shanhu to wash a towel for Cao Guang to wipe his hands. Then she smiled at Yi Nai and nodded: "Good child, it's hard for you to be so thoughtful!" She also scolded Cao Guang: "Your stomach is hungry, why don't you speak up? The snacks in the kitchen are always available, starving is not fair!"

  Cao Gong just smiled. At his age, pretending to be a child to coax the old man was still understandable. After all, it was considered filial piety for this body. If he opened his mouth to ask for food, it would be a bit embarrassing. Although he was hungry, after all, this was a child's body, and his appetite was small too. He drank half a bowl of lotus root powder and ate two pieces of meat floss pastry, and he was full.

  Zi Jing went to wash the handkerchief and handed it to the old lady. The old lady wiped her hands, saw Cao Huan eating sweetly, also drank two bowls of lotus root powder, ate half a piece of green bean cake, and then called the remaining pastries for several maids in the house to share and eat. Although the pastries looked like two plates, each plate had only four pieces, so after Shanhuo and others took one piece each, they were almost empty.

  While chatting, after finishing the snacks, Zijin and Shanhu called out to the little maid outside to pour new water, washed two more handkerchiefs, and wiped the hands of the grandfather and grandson. The maids also cleaned up on their own. Afterwards, everyone picked up their cards again and continued playing.

  Cao Gong was just trying to please the old man, and didn't care about winning or losing. However, seeing the old lady's consecutive wins, he couldn't help but notice that Zijin was secretly signaling the points behind the old lady's back. Shanhu was honest, every time she signaled a point higher than the old lady's, she would deduct cards and admit defeat, saying it was just a small mistake; Chajing was mischievous, seeing the points were higher than her own, she would deduct cards and admit defeat, but if they were lower, she would triumphantly win the game.

  The old lady didn't care about the small amount of money, and was happy to play with her beloved grandson, winning or losing. Cao Yun saw through Zijin's gestures and also learned from Shanhua, counting points higher than the old lady would deduct cards and admit defeat, calling for the old lady to win a few more rounds. However, Chajing's luck turned bad, and she lost several times in a row, resulting in most of the copper coins being piled up on the old lady's side. The old lady won with a smile, saying it was just good luck today. Cao Yun and the maids were also laughing, and the room was filled with joy.

  They played a few more rounds, and soon the copper coins in front of Coral were all gone. Cao Yun's side only had a few big coins left. The old lady was afraid that he would lose everything and feel unhappy, so she didn't want to win anymore. When they encountered small points, she opened her cards to compare sizes; when they encountered large points, she also concealed her cards as small ones.

  Zi Jing stood behind the old lady, her face changing again and again, not making a move for half a day. Cao Yun guessed the reason and was quite moved in his heart, winning several rounds in a row, with a smile of joy on his face.

  The old lady saw her grandson happy, more lively than winning money herself, and happily started to lose. Coral was also older and saw the old lady's intention, so she lost more and won less, coaxing the two masters to be happy; Tea Jing, on the other hand, was heartless and wouldn't think that much, taking advantage of everyone being careless, she won several rounds fiercely and got back a lot of money.

  The laughter and noise in the house continued unabated, while outside, a young maid had already shouted out: "Reporting to Old Lady, Second Mistress has arrived!"

  The old lady put down the sign and her smile faded a lot.

  That second lady is the legitimate wife of Cao Yin's younger brother, Cao Guang. She was a Manchu bannerwoman, with her maiden name being Zhaojia. Her father, Cheng Lin, served as a prefect in Shandong Province. In previous years, when Cheng Lin served as a prefect in Jiangnan Province, he had formed ties with the Cao family and initially intended to marry his daughter off to Cao Yin as his successor wife. However, after Cao Yin married Li Shi, he instead gave his daughter's hand in marriage to Cao Yin's younger brother, Cao Guang.

  At that time, Cao Guang was a county official in a county under Hangzhou Prefecture, with a rank of 7th pin. Although Zhao Jia's father was only a 5th pin, Zhao Jia was from a prominent Manchu surname and her uncle Ma Erhan was a high-ranking official in the capital. After marrying into the Cao family, she brought some arrogance with her, thinking that the Cao family was just a humble bannerman of the Plain White Banner, with too lowly an origin. Although Cao Xue and his son Cao Yin successively served as Weaving Officials of Jiangning, they were only minor officials of 5th pin rank. Since at that time they did not live in Jiangning and there was no elder to restrain her, Zhao Jia became arrogant and domineering, acting like a Manchu lady, and controlled her husband Cao Guang completely.

  Until a few years ago, Cao Quan was promoted to be the vice prefect of Jiangning Prefecture, and this branch of the family moved to Jiangning. Cao Yi had only one younger brother, whom he loved more than others, so he built a house for him on the west side of the Weaving Bureau, which was well-arranged. However, Cao Jia's wife was not willing to be content with her circumstances, because her sister-in-law Li was a concubine and also several months younger than herself, she became lazy and arrogant, and even in front of Old Lady Sun, she just went through the motions.

  The old lady had been a "Jing Qi" for over ten years and was particular about the rules of the family, where could she tolerate Zhao Jia's rudeness? Not to mention that she was punished with family law, but also let Cao Quan write a divorce letter.

  Zhao Jia's daughter returned to her parents' home and cried, wanting her father to take charge of her, but only got two slaps on the ears. Cheng Lin carefully told his daughter about the connection between the Cao family and the imperial family, as well as Sun Shi's identity as a first-rank noblewoman. Because the Cao family had always been low-key in their dealings, these matters were not known to outsiders. Cheng Lin also only learned of them after marrying into the Cao family and hearing news from the capital. Cheng Lin and his wife came to apologize, and Zhao Jia's daughter was extremely careful, which finally placated Old Lady Cao. From then on, Zhao Jia's daughter became more proper and no longer dared to be arrogant.

  Until two years ago, Cao Guo was awarded the title of "First Class Light Chariot Captain", and Zhao Jia's family came to life, wanting to get some benefits for her son Cao Song. Knowing that the future of the young people in the Cao family is all on the old lady's hands, she thought about flattering her. The old lady was annoyed by her constant visits and ordered her to be exempt from her daily routine, only allowing her to come and serve on the first and fifteenth days of each month. Even so, it did not stop Zhao Jia's thoughts, and she still came every three or two days. Zhao Jia was also clever, and every time she came, she would either bring her daughter or carry her son, and the old lady couldn't blame her because of her grandchildren.

  On this day, apart from Zhao Jia's family and the maidservants who followed her, there were also Cao Ying, the eldest daughter of the second house, Cao Song, the eldest son, and Cao Shuo, the second son. Cao Ying was twelve years old, two years older than Cao Yan of the first house, so she was called "Big Sister" by both houses; Cao Song was half a year younger than Cao Rong, ranking second in the uncle generation; Cao Shuo was only one and a half years old, ranking third in the uncle generation, just learning to speak.

  Several grandsons and granddaughters first paid their respects to the old lady, then exchanged greetings with Cao Yu. Although the old lady did not like Zhao Jia's family, she couldn't bear to lose face in front of the children, so she had someone bring Cao Shuo over to the kang and coaxed the little grandson into talking. Cao Ying took two young maidservants to go find Cao Yan instead.

  Cao Song was always mischievous and restless, unable to sit still in the house, and pulled Cao Yun out into the corridor. Unlike Cao Yun's elegant and refined demeanor, Cao Song had a robust build, with a sturdy physique and a height that surpassed Cao Yun by half a head.

  "How come you went to school for a few days and then didn't go again, are you afraid of being bullied? Don't be afraid, I'm here!" Cao Song said with a swing of his small arm.

  Cao Gong found it amusing, thinking to himself that he was still a bit older after all. Seeing Cao Song's adorable appearance, he couldn't help but want to tease him, so he pretended to be mature and said: "Younger brother, I am the older brother, it is always the older brother who protects the younger brother, where is the logic in the younger brother protecting the older brother?"

  Cao Song rolled his eyes, revealing a "you're so stupid" expression, and said seriously: "I'm the older brother! Isn't it said that if you're born in the first half of the month, you're one year older, and if you're born in the second half of the month, you're two years older?" As he spoke, he stretched out his chubby little hand, counting on his fingers: "You're eight years old by virtual age, and two years younger is six years old; I'm seven years old by virtual age, and one year younger is also five years old. I was born in the first month, you were born in July, aren't I half a year older than you? But those foolish adults still want me to call you 'older brother'!"

  Cao Gong had never heard of such an algorithm, and his face couldn't help but add a few more smiles. Cao Song thought he was just teasing him, looked around, saw that the maids were all far away, and then took out a woven reed basket the size of a plum from his bosom and handed it to Cao Gong: "For you to play with, Old Ancestor treats you like a girl, not even allowing you to go out, how boring!" Although he gave it away, his eyes didn't leave that small basket, apparently it was a treasured item.

  Cao Gong saw that he couldn't bear it, and handed the cricket cage to Cao Song: "I'll just take a look, you go play with it!"

  Cao Song, however, refused to accept it. He patted his chest and said, "What kind of person would take back something they've already given away? Even if I had bought it specifically for you, your body isn't in good shape, and if you get sick again, what then?" As he spoke, he no longer looked at the small basket. It seemed that he was genuinely giving it to her.

  Cao Gong looked at Cao Song's childish appearance and felt a few more emotions in his heart. Although he was a bit small, he was also his own little brother. In his previous life, he had an older brother, but due to the large age gap, he always treated him with respect like a parent, and the affection between them was not as straightforward as what was shown by the little person in front of him now. Thinking about this, he reached out and touched Cao Song's small head. Cao Song imitated him and also touched Cao Gong's forehead. The two brothers both laughed "haha", with a bit of foolishness and also a bit of warmth.