Chang’an Small Restaurant Chapter 25 (Part 2)
Translated by Pure
Chapter 25.2 Coming to Propose Marriage
"..." Lu Sanniang obviously couldn't comprehend the nonsensical and cheeky retorts used commonly during the Internet Age, so she silently pursed her lips, and turned to look at Shen Shaoguang's small shop.
When had she purchased these carpets and pottery? A single piece cost several hundred wen each! It seemed that this store was really lucrative!
Shen Shaoguang had made her way back into the kitchen to check on the pot and fire. After she said a couple things to A’Yuan, Shen Shaoguang came back to see the jealous look on Missus Lu's face... Well, what a gratifying sight, it seems I can eat an extra bowl of fish today.
In the midst of her thoughts, a woman in her forties or fifties came in; she had a round face and a round figure. The woman was wearing a burnt-umber-colored silk dress that was embroidered with tuánhuā designs[1], and had two big silver hair pins inserted in her hair. She laughed before speaking, "Miss, your cooked meals smell delicious!"
"..." Isn't it just stewed fish? Was there a need to sing such praises? Shen Shaoguang felt that it was really about time for her to introduce some fish dishes.
This person, who she had believed to have been also attracted by the smell of her cooking, unexpectedly arrived with other intentions. "I’m here to congratulate you, Miss!"
When Lu Sanniang heard the woman praise Shen Shaoguang’s cooking, she also had the notion that this visitor was here to make a purchase. Such a thought didn’t sit well with her, so she got up, and was ready to depart until she heard the woman ‘congratulate’ Shen Shaoguang. Curious, Lu Sanniang decided to sit down again.
Shen Shaoguang invited the guest to sit down, and poured her a glass of buttermilk before inquiring, "May I know what you mean by congratulating?"
"My surname is Jiang, I'm a governmental matchmaker. I’m here under another’s request as an intermediary to propose marriage to you, Miss."
Lu Sanniang's eyes widened.
Shen Shaoguang smiled and lightly furrowed her brows, "Oh? From which virtuous man, may I ask?"
"It's Sir Liu, the Court Scribe of the capital city’s government repository." The governmental matchmaker smilingly replied.
"..." This was one of the rare situations that rendered Shen Shaoguang left for words. So that man really did have a crush on her… And he even solemnly sent a matchmaker?
She remembered hearing someone say in her previous life, that ‘the greatest respect for a woman was to marry her’. Although that phrase was a bit partial, at this time, in terms of Liu Feng and her own situation, he had handled this matter very sincerely.
Since he had shown his respect, then she must also respectfully reply. While Shen Shaoguang was contemplating how she should respond, Lu Sanniang tugged at her sleeve and asked, "Which one is the Court Scribe?"
Since Shen Shaoguang was still pondering, the governmental matchmaker answered with a smile, "Allow me to tell you about Sir Liu’s family background, Miss. Sir Liu is from Dengzhou, and his paternal grandfather once served as the Prefect of Nanyang, meaning his family is of literary reputation; a standard bureaucracy family you might say. At present, his family consists of his mother and a younger brother, all of whom are in their hometown.”
After disclosing his social origins, the governmental matchmaker continued to talk about Liu Feng's personal situation, "Sir Liu is twenty-five years old this year. He took and passed the Classicist[2] last year, as well as the specialized exam[3] and was awarded with the official post of Court Scribe. He is an honest, considerate, and sensible man. Miss, you can't go wrong if you agree to be with him."
Shen Shaoguang nodded. An economically feasible man; he is an excellent candidate. If her family was only in decline, and if she wasn’t the daughter of a criminal official, Shen Shaoguang would have considered marrying him. They could slowly cultivate feelings, live a good life, have two children, and maybe she would live the rest of her life in the Tang Dynasty smoothly and peacefully as such.
However, currently she... let’s not bring needless harm to others…
Shen Shaoguang smiled and said to the governmental matchmaker, "The subject of marriage is imperative and is to be considered with caution. Would it be ok if I were to take a few days before giving an answer?"
The request didn’t ask for an immediate reply, moreover, as a young girl, it was normal to be a bit reserved, so the governmental matchmaker laughed and replied, "Why of course."
Shen Shaoguang smiled again, "Without my parents, there are things I must face and do personally. I have some things to say to Sir Liu face to face, may I trouble you to forward my request?"
The governmental matchmaker nodded. What an astute and beautiful girl. Heard that she was a lady from a noble family, pity she suffered a reversal of fortune...
After sending off the governmental matchmaker, Shen Shaoguang turned around and saw Lu Sanniang's indignant expression.
"Since you didn’t agree... Could it be that this Court Scribe Liu has a distasteful appearance?" Lu Sanniang’s mind made a quick change, her suspicions filled with a glimpse of hope. A’Shen lacks virtue and talent, so how could she land upon such a good marriage opportunity? That man’s face must be as ugly as a ghost!
Perhaps it was the pessimistic situation of her marriage, or perhaps it was Lu Sanniang's extremely obvious expression, either way Shen Shaoguang felt somewhat vexed. Without a second thought, she put on a superficial smile and replied, "There is nothing wrong with his appearance. He’s the one who bought seven crepes, Missus Lu, the one you used to tease me with."
Lu Sanniang's expression changed again. That man had been wearing a blue official uniform and had thick eyebrows and big eyes; he looked very young and had nothing to do with being ugly at all!
"Missus Lu, if you find him to be a potential son-in-law... that matchmaker shouldn’t have gone far, you can still catch up now." Shen Shaoguang addedly leisurely.
This was obviously satirizing that Lu Sanniang couldn’t find such a good man while also adding that this was something Shen Shaoguang didn’t want, and she was picking her ‘leftovers’. Lu Sanniang was once again angry and speechless by Shen Shaoguang. After a moment of silence, she retorted angrily, "Best not to be so arrogant Miss! Is there anything you have worth being arrogant of?"
Shen Shaoguang pondered a bit before replying, "Maybe because I am good at cooking, am witty, and am able to make lots of money?"
Lu Sanniang was fuming as she stormed out.
Shen Shaoguang turned her head and instructed A’Yuan, who was cutting meat, "From now on, our fried noodles will be purchased from the Zhou’s fried noodle booth in the southern part of the Lane!"
A’Yuan happily complied, "If you asked me, we should have made this change long ago!"
Shen Shaoguang’s irritated mood settled down at her refreshing response, and resentfully retorted, "Mister Zhang's fried noodles aren’t as crispy."
Shen Shaoguang had never lost her temper when it came to money and fine food, Lu Sanniang was an outlier that she made an exception for.
During the same evening, Liu Feng arrived after all her diners left.
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Footnotes:
[1] tuánhuā (团花) - rounded embroidery design; it looks like these paper cuts, with various patterns- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS3OPDNedZA
[2] Classicist (明经) - originated as a category for recruitment by local authorities to the appointment of state offices. The term was created during the Han dynasty under Emperor Wu of Han for candidates eligible for official appointment.
Classicists were expected to be familiar with the Confucian canon and the Taoist text Laozi. Classicists were tested by being presented with phrases from the classic texts. They then had to write the whole paragraph to complete the phrase. If the examinee was able to correctly answer five of ten questions, they passed. This was considered such an easy task that a 30-year-old candidate was said to be old for a classicist examinee, but too young to be a jinshi.
Source: Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_examination
[3] Specialized Exam (制科) - The Tang dynasty perfected the examination system continuously in the 7th century. There were two types of examinations, namely regular ones (常科) and irregular ones (制科). Liu Feng took the irregular one, but I took the liberty to change the name to specialized exam, because ‘irregular exam’ sounds weird haha.
Specialized exam were held on extraordinary occasions proclaimed by the Emperor, and aimed at selecting "outstanding talents" (非常之才). During the examinations, the candidates answered specialized questions (對策) of a wide range of themes (科). Successful candidates could obtain a "beautiful" office (美官), second-rank graduates were "excelling" (出身). The participation was also allowed to persons already working in an office.
Source - http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Terms/examination.html
