CH 19

Hands

(Congrats to anyone who is on a week-long break, because I am! Next Chapter: Saturday)

"Wife?.”

Pei Xuan couldn't help but notice her wife's absent-mindedness and decided to snap her out of it by gathering up a bunch of flowers and placing them delicately on the tip of her nose.

Smelling the fragrance of the flowers, Cui Ti recalled how women used flowers to express their affection and friendship towards one another.

Thinking about it this way, it's no wonder that her husband would be so angry when she reprimanded her own cousin Dou Qingyue.

In Cui Ti’s previous life, Dou Qingyue was a renowned talent in Xijing. Educated and belonging to a distinguished family, she had countless suitors vying for her attention, yet there were no rumors of her being involved with any of them.

Mr. Dou and his wife cherished their daughter greatly, and even her mother-in-law adored the frail and sickly niece, often insisting that she stay with them in their residence. 

Cui Ti's mind wandered, and when she regained her senses, she realized she was still gazing at Pei Xuan's fingers with an intense stare. She quickly averted her gaze, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Pei Xuan smiled, breaking the silence, "Wife, do you like the flowers I picked for you?.”

She continued to tease her with the fresh-made bouquet, leaving the scent of gardenias in her hair and on her nose. 

Although Cui Ti couldn't help but feel a bit flustered, she gently reminded her husband, "I do like them, but let's not get into any trouble."

"Then, will you kiss these flowers?.”

What kind of weird request is this?

Cui Ti knew from the bottom of her heart that her husband in front of her hadn't grown into an compromising minister of the country unlike in her previous life, and the Pei Xuan in this life still retained the innocence of a young woman, flirting with flowers.

She thought fondly of Pei Xuan at this moment and decided to follow her request, softly kissing the white petals with her lips, cherishing the new found innocence of her husband.

Pei Xuan's gaze darkened slightly as she watched her, her grip on the flowers tightening, "I'll go put these in a vase.”

Cui Ti watched as she left, wondering what she was up to. Pei Xuan returned quickly with a white jade vase, hesitating before placing the flower Cui Ti kissed to the side.

Pretending not to notice, Cui Ti waited to see what she would do next.

"All done, I'm going to water the flowers," she said, carrying the vase out of the room.

Cui Ti stood up, gently opened the curtain, and saw her foolish husband who bowed her head to kiss the flower that she had put aside.

After kissing the flower, Pei Xuan looked around, pinned the flower to her waist indifferently, and went to find water to fill the vase in her arms.

Not long after Pei Xuan left, Bai Ge ran over, "Young madam, are you upset with me?.”

Cui Ti thought of Pei Xuan who secretly kissed the same flower that she did her, and didn't pay attention to what Bai Ge said. Seeing that she was silent, Bai Ge's face turned pale: "No way? You want to throw me away!?.”

Cui Ti stretched out her hand, and Bai Ge leaned over to help her up, wishing she could swear to the sky for her past remark.

"Just, don't talk nonsense in the future. if our conversation was heard by an outsider, I would have to reprimand you heavily.”

"Yes, yes, what the young madam is saying is the truth. I will remember it!.”

As they returned back to the small room that Pei Xuan gave her, she said slowly: "I intend to ask my husband to change your name."

"Rename?" Bai Ge looked puzzled: "Why do you want to change my name? Doesn't it sound nice to call me 'White Pigeon'?.”

(T/L: So basically “White Pigeon” is a literal translation of Bai Ge’s name, but when the name “Bai Ge” is mentioned, the author uses different chinese characters)

"Wife? I'm back."

To avoid the embarrassment of last time, Pei Xuan announced her presence in advance.

Because of her fateful meeting with Cui Ti, Pei Xuan had a unique gratitude to Bai Ge and joked: "It seems this time Miss Bai Ge isn’t complaining about me.”

Hearing her words, Bai Ge was very ashamed, but also relaxed because she knew of Pei Xuan's facade.

Besides, who would have thought that a wonderful and noble gentleman would have fallen down from a wall to a small dilapidated courtyard?.

"What were you talking about just now?" Pei Xuan placed the vase on a desk and admired it, then tidied herself and sat down next to Cui Ti.

"We were talking about changing Bai Ge’s name,” Cui Ti replied, then suggested, "Why don’t you give her a new name?.”

Pei Xuan pondered for a while: "The name of the bell and the winding beam are taken from the four famous zithers in ancient times. Do you want to be the same as them, or do you want to be different?.”

Knowing that she must change her name, Bai Ge said without hesitation, "I want to be different from them!.”

"Do you like the name Bai Ge very much?.”

Bai Ge didn't know what to think of, and suddenly blushed, "I find it okay?.”

"Then, it’s better to be called Bai Tang. Tang means sun-loving and long-living. Besides, Tang and sugar are homophonic. It sounds sweet. How about it?.”

It is naturally a great honor to be named by the youngest number one scholar in Xijing.

For the sake of Pei Xuan’s reputation, Bai Ge dropped her name as "white pigeon" and declared excitedly, "This maid is now Bai Tang, thank you master!.”

"Bai Tang is a good name," Cui Ti praised.

Being sun-loving and longevity are both things she sincerely wishes for Bai Tang.

Pei Xuan took out a piece of silver from her sleeve pocket: "This is your 'Xing money', keep it safe."

Bai Tang took it humbly, said a few words of gratitude, and got up to make tea for her master.

The so-called "Xing money" is a unique custom of Xijing. Changing the name of a person implies changing fate itself. Most people's names are given by their parents and they can not be easily changed. But if they are, someone with a higher status needs to give money. 

In this way, the disasters that may appear in the town's life can be suppressed.

"I don't think she looks like she likes this name very much."

Cui Ti covered her lips and smiled: "She will like it."

Sure enough, when Bai Tang went out to boil water, and when she came back, almost everyone in the courtyard knew that Master Pei had changed her name. 

From today onwards, she will not be called Bai Ge, but Bai Tang!.

Pei Xuan was eager to talk more with her wife, and the two talked about the meaning around "White Pigeon" and "Bai Tang", which reminded Cui Ti of something.

The reason why Bai Ge likes the name "White Pigeon" is that she has been called "White Pigeon" for more than ten years of her life, and it has become a habit.

Also, the name is cute and everyone loves it, and she is secretly proud of it.

Thinking about this, she laughed, Pei Xuan liked to see her laugh, so she asked her why she was laughing, but Cui Ti hesitated to tell, and blushed, then begged for mercy shyly, and Pei Xuan stopped asking.

Soon, the sound of a bell rang.

A servant stood outside of the door, and said humbly, "Master Pei, Young Madam, Miss Qingyue is here."

…

Before reaching the main hall, there was laughter behind the walls, and Pei Xuan commented, "My cousin is the only daughter of my uncle and aunt. She has been sick since she was a child, but she has a reputation for being talented and Mother loves her very much.”

"But you don't need to worry, Qingyue has a very good temper. She is considerate and gentle, and you should get along well with her."

Good temper, considerate and gentle.

Cui Ti repeated these words in her mind, and thought to herself: ‘In a few years, you won't say that, you will be disappointed, and even want to break contact with her.’

"Excuse me, Miss Qingyue. Master Pei and Young Madam here."

As the maid introduced them, Dou Qingyue lifted her gaze, adorned with a red jade pendant and a golden step shaker, and a warm white skirt. When her eyes met Pei Xuan, her pale cheeks were suffused with a new vitality, and she exclaimed, "Cousin!"

When she saw the blind woman wearing the same color robe as Pei Xuan, her expression was slightly startled, and pity gathered in her eyes.

"Auntie, is this my cousin? She looks like a wonderful person. Standing with my cousin, she looks like a fairy from heaven."

Mrs. Pei relaxed into a smile: "How could it be as exaggerated as you said?.”

But since someone praised her daughter-in-law, she was happy after all.

Pei Xuan helped Cui Ti go forward: "Cousin, come meet your sister-in-law."

Dou Qingyue responded obediently, and bowed softly: "Qingyue is happy to meet sister-in-law, and she has heard that her appearance is amazing. Today, she has seen the beauty in flesh and it truly is radiant and shiny.”

"Qingyue is also beautiful." Cui Ti took out a prepared meeting gift and gave it to her.

After receiving the meeting gift, Dou Qingyue looked at Pei Xuan, then at the intimacy of the two standing next to each other, and said with a smile: "My cousin is not polite, if I knew you were getting married a few days in advance, I would have come back to celebrate.”

Then, she changed her tone of voice: "But who taught me to love my cousin? Hurry up servants, and present the gift I’m giving to my cousin and sister-in-law."

Mrs. Pei smiled and apologized to Dou Qingyue again and again, and then became concerned about her condition and asked her.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have gone to Lingnan for medical treatment, and I missed my cousin's wedding for nothing."

The disappointment and regret on Dou Qingyue's face was real, and Pei Xuan was not good at dealing with women, and was clumsy, but Cui Ti replied in a timely manner: "It seems cousin has sincereness in her heart. Me and my husband really appreciate it."

"It seems that my sister-in-law is very satisfied with my cousin?," She was completely teasing, which made people feel that she was being mean, and Pei Xuan looked helpless, and Cui Ti blushed silently.

It was Mrs. Pei who held back her sick niece and asked her to stop teasing the newly married couple.

The embroidered congratulatory gifts were brought in by the servants, and everyone's attention was drawn to them. As the red cloth was torn apart, it revealed pictures of hundreds of sons and thousands of grandchildren embroidered with gold thread. 

Mrs. Pei's smile was slightly stagnant, and her heart ached for Dou Qingyue and she frowned even more when she noticed the injury of the pinholes in her fingertips: "Why did you do that!? I told you earlier, it's a laborious job. Besides, it’s none of your business, you—”

"Auntie~," Dou Qingyue spoke coquettishly and landed in Mrs. Pei's arms, "This is a gift I wanted to present. Eitherways, I am not a useless person. Anyone can congratulate my cousin, so how about I do it in a special way?.”

"You, you are making too much sense, if your father sees this, your cousin will be in trouble!.”

Dou Qingyue smiled teasingly, looked at Pei Xuan, saw her tall figure with gentle eyes, turned her head and remarked, "Dad can bear it."

Although Cui Ti couldn't see how they interacted, she could hear her mother-in-law's love from her words towards her niece and it came from the bottom of her heart, and the people standing beside her didn't talk much, but it seems that Pei Xuan also is very fond of her cousin. 

Hearing this scene, Cui Ti didn't dare make judgments that she understood this cousin after living a full life.

...

As lunch time soon came, the Prime Minister was dragged by His Majesty to play chess in the palace. 

The Chef soon made a table full of dishes. Cui Ti, who was the bride, sat next to her husband on the left side and Dou Qingyue sat on the right.

Due to her heart condition, Dou Qingyue seldom went out and only got to spend time with the Pei family. 

Listening to the cheerful chatter around her, Cui Ti was at ease for a while, but her heart began to ache for no apparent reason, and she couldn't even do such a trivial thing as serving Pei Xuan food.

Cui Ti didn't want to be reminded of her blindness on such a joyous occasion. The rice tasted bland in her mouth, and she wore a polite smile on her face, despite feeling sad. 

With her mother-in-law and cousin at the table, she couldn't engage in a conversation with Pei Xuan. Knowing this, she lowered her eyes and felt a little disheartened.

Pei Xuan accidentally pricked her finger with a shrimp shell and turned her head to see Bai Tang peeling the shells with skillful ease. Pei Xuan's breath grew heavy as she watched Bai Tang's swift movements and decided to do it faster.

Dou Qingyue felt very greedy looking at the dishes. She really likes to eat the big red prawns made by the chef in the Pei residence, but the prawns are covered in a hard shell, and they need someone to peel the shells before they can be eaten.

She used to get them peeled from Pei Xuan, but it's a pity that Pei Xuan's only talent is in writing and she is very clumsy when it comes to doing mundane tasks.

Moreover, although this person seems to be as gentle as a spring breeze, in fact she has a lot of competitiveness drilled into her bones.

Since then, she has hated eating food that requires hands to eat.

But today there are two plates of red shrimp on the dinner table.

Then looking at the hand of the little maid next to her cousin who is peeling the shrimp with dazzling speed, she was surprised.

Dou Qingyue thought about how much of the shrimp meat piled up on the plate would be given to her, and her heart was filled with anticipation.

Seeing that the last red shrimp was roughly shelled, she was going to open her mouth.

"Wife?" Pei Xuan was a step ahead of Bai Tang and her cousin, and pushed the porcelain plate full of shrimp meat over as if offering a treasure to her wife.

Seeing the plate, Cui Ti broke into a smile.

Soon the small dish for dipping sauce was also moved towards her, and Pei Xuan felt relieved, and lowered her voice, "Wife, I peeled these shrimps fast enough!.”