Legend of Concubine's Daughter Minglan 知否知否 应是绿肥红瘦

71. Half-Day Tour at Guangji Temple (1)

This day, Sheng family planned to offer incense for blessings. Early in the morning, the inner mansion was put in uproar. In front of the second gate, three paulownia lacquered carriages driven by giant steeds were prepared, one for Old Madam, Wang shi and Old Madam Hai, one for the three young ladies and one for the girl and woman servants. Another eight strong woman servants and a dozen of body guards were demanded by Wang shi to escort the carriage.

As they all got up early in the morning, Molan and Rulan were too tired to bicker, so they looked as sleepy as Minglan and tried to take a nap while leaning onto soft cushions along the swaying carriage. Disliking Molan, Rulan leaned towards Minglan as best as she could, making Minglan so tortured by pressing pains in her slumber that she woke up by the lasting pain. Hearing the bell and chants from outside, she knew they were about to arrive at the destination.

Minglan played the trick that had been picked up when she was back in school and woke her roommates up for morning study—she proficiently pinched the noses of the two sisters who, after a while of suffocation, woke up quickly and both glared at Minglan. She smiled, "Sisters, we're arriving at Guangji Temple."

Hearing what she said, Molan bowed down and started to groom her hair and check her makeup in a hurry. Rulan followed right after her, reaching out to push upright a shining lotus-shaped double-head hairpin near her temple. The three sisters inside the carriage noticed louder sound of people from outside, most was that of women amidst some little children. It seemed that there were many people coming to offer incense and the fragrance of sandalwoods gradually flowed into the carriage.

Listening to the hustling noise outside, the three girls looked at one another, all feeling itchy but none of them dared to lift up the curtain to take a look. Minglan sighed: The classic group psychology indeed made sense.

The climate in the carriage was inactive when suddenly the carriage was given a nasty shove and the three girls, losing balance, rushed forward together and were almost thrown to the ground. In a second, they heard a burst of loud cursing from outside. Minglan was excited, wondering if the ancient carriage could also be rear-ended.

Rulan as the most agile one climbed up first, touching her head. Though there paved fur blanket in the carriage, she still felt the pain in her head from knocking and shouted out, "What's going on?" Of course, nobody would answer her.

After Molan got up, she, out of vigilance, leaned aside and lifted up the curtain a bit to look outside. Rulan had no time to satirize her and also leaned over. Minglan, the last one to climb up, also followed them to crowd her head near theirs to take a look. Luckily, the carter of the Sheng mansion drove the carriage to behind a big tree which formed a cover, so the three girls weren't caught of peeking.

The sight outside startled them. Old Madam's carriage was halted in front where rose bursts of shouting and crying, putting everything in a mess and stopping the carriage from running over. Not far away a few young lords dressed up luxuriously on big horses were cursing and teasing. Minglan listened up to them and learnt that just now they rushed by on horse and knocked over several stalls at the crossroad. They rode too fast that a lot of passers-by were also knocked down. For a time, children and women cried, and people and horses lay on the ground, thus blocking the road.

Molan scorned, "Dandies!"

Rulan snorted, "Fops!"

Minglan thought to herself, "City admin?"

They saw a young man in red robe waving a whip who kept spitting out curses, "You dirty slaves! Are you blind? How dare you block my way! Let me tread you to death in a way I kill a grasshopper!"

Below him was a man holding his dying mother whose head was covered with blood from the crash. He huffed, "You...you... Aren't there laws? How could you do evil things and trample people like this?"