Chapter 76: Dian Su Shan
Losing so much silver left Pear Moon’s soul nearly fleeing her body.
After who knows how long, Autumn Abundance hummed a little tune as she entered, carrying a small basket.
She had gone out shopping, and the bamboo basket held several packets of preserved fruits and three silk handkerchiefs.
As she stepped inside, the dust in the air made her choke, and she sneezed twice in a row.
“You wretched Xiao Yue, what kind of cold evil have you caught? You’ve kicked up dust all over the kang—who’s going to clean this up?”
Pear Moon wiped her face, her eyes instantly reddening, unsure how to tell her.
Unaware of the bad news, Autumn Abundance smiled and beckoned.
“I bought you a diancui handkerchief with an eight-treasure tassel—cost three qian of silver! For Huan Huan, I got a jade-colored one with a phoenix pattern—also lovely! Come here, why aren’t you happy?”
Tears immediately welled up, and Pear Moon couldn’t hold back her sobs.
After all the anxiety and effort, they had finally earned two hundred taels of silver, and the futures of all three of them depended on it.
And now it was gone?
Never mind handkerchiefs—even if rare delicacies were right before her eyes, she wouldn’t be able to feel joy!
“What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
Autumn Abundance set down the handkerchiefs and asked foolishly.
Pear Moon threw her arms around Autumn Abundance, pointing at the hole in the ceiling, gasping for breath.
“Which damned, thieving scoundrel stole my silver ingots…”
“You’re the damned, thieving scoundrel!”
Autumn Abundance pushed her away with a scolding look, dusting off her new clothes in annoyance, then reached into the bottom of the bamboo basket and pulled out a few pieces of paper.
“I just went to the money shop and exchanged the silver ingots for banknotes. Sixty taels each—one for you, one for me, and this one is Huan Huan’s!”
It was Pear Moon’s first time seeing a banknote, and her eyes widened in surprise.
The mulberry bark paper, three inches wide and six inches long, was covered in dragon patterns and seal script.
On one side was written “Imperial Treasury Note,” and on the other, “Valid Throughout the Realm.”
Small characters at the bottom noted: “Issued by the Ministry of Revenue, valid for silver and coin transactions, counterfeiters shall be beheaded.”
In the center, the denomination was written in bold, flowing script: “Redeemable for sixty taels of pure silver.”
So this was a banknote? Touching the smooth, stiff paper gave her an indescribable comfort.
The joy of recovering what was lost, mixed with the lingering anger of her earlier distress, made Pear Moon bare her teeth at once.
“You didn’t even discuss it with me? Do you know how scared I was? I thought the silver was lost! You’re never this quick when it comes to work, but you sure were fast exchanging the silver! I’m surprised you could even lift all those ingots!”
As long as the silver wasn’t lost, she could vent her frustration by scolding Autumn Abundance.
Autumn Abundance had run to exchange the banknotes in the sweltering heat, carrying all that silver, and was drenched in sweat from the effort.
Hearing Pear Moon dare to scold her, she naturally refused to back down, grabbing her collar and pinning her to the kang to give her a beating.
“I told you days ago! Today I finally had some free time—you’re the one who forgot! Would I ever steal your silver? All you care about is money, day in and day out, and you even suspect me?”
Banknotes took up less space than silver ingots and could be hidden anywhere, making them harder to lose. They should have exchanged them for banknotes long ago.
Pear Moon had never seen a banknote before and had been too afraid to take the initiative to exchange them.
Fortunately, Autumn Abundance was familiar with them—banknotes, small pawn tickets, she knew them well.
Autumn Abundance’s family ran a gambling house and was considered fairly wealthy in the capital.
When she was six years old, her father was convicted of a crime and exiled to the frontier, selling her for five taels of silver.
Banknotes were light and flimsy, so they couldn’t be hidden in the ceiling.
“Thieves who break into houses won’t steal shoes—they think it’s bad luck. Hiding them in shoes is safest!”
Autumn Abundance dug out a few old shoes, folded the banknotes, and sewed them into the soles.
Pear Moon thought it was a bad idea—they’d surely stink when taken out.
But Autumn Abundance insisted on hiding them there, so she had no choice but to agree.
After carefully hiding the banknotes, the two hurried back to the Small Tea Room.
The tea stove was burning, making the room too hot to stay in.
Pear Moon moved a stool to sit under the eaves, washed her hands, and began crushing ice.
Being able to eat Bing Su on a hot day was truly a heavenly treat.
To make a proper Su Shan, one needed to drip half-melted cream bit by bit onto a silver plate, letting it gradually solidify and freeze into a mountain shape.
Without cow’s milk to make cream, Pear Moon used crushed ice to form the mountain instead—cool and refreshing, which was also quite nice.
Bright red sweet beans mixed with fruit syrup were drizzled over it, sweet and cool, like dew sprinkling the heart, completely dispelling the summer heat.
There wasn’t much ice left, so only a few bowls were made. The first bowl naturally went to Granny Zhao.
The elderly woman was sitting in the Main Chamber, keeping cool beside the large Bing Jian, so she gave her portion to Xiafu to eat.
Huan Huan and Autumn Abundance each had a bowl, Pear Moon had one, and the two who arrived later shared a bowl.
“Sister Xiang Rui also lost something. The pure gold twisted-wire bracelet she usually wears—she took it off and placed it under her pillow when washing her hair this morning, and when she returned just now, it was gone. It must have been stolen by Xiang Hui—that thieving root can’t be severed, even when leaving she still snatches others’ things!”
Xiang Rui was a third-rank maid and shared a communal bed with Xiang Hui.
Her only valuable possession was that gold bracelet, which she wore day and night without taking it off.
Pear Moon pricked up her ears to listen, her mind already turning over the details.
For the bracelet to be taken in just the short time she was washing her hair, someone must have been watching her for a while.
After discussing for a few moments, they heard mournful crying from the maids’ quarters.
Everyone hastily finished their Su Shan and swarmed to the window to look.
Xiang Rui was sitting on the floor, her hands resting on the edge of the kang, crying with her hair disheveled.
“That damned thieving wretch! The bracelet my mother left me before she died! Whoever took it will come to a bad end!”
“When did you lose it? Search carefully again! Have you checked under the mattress and inside the kang cavity?”
Pear Moon and the others chimed in, urging her to search once more.
Xiang Rui slapped the pillow, wailing, “When I washed my hair, I put it right here! I only meant to leave it for a moment, but when I came back, it was gone! That cursed thief deserves to die!”
The commotion grew louder, and Granny Zhao walked over with a frown, scolding without even asking for an explanation.
“What are you howling about in broad daylight? With the mistress not at home, have you all forgotten the rules?”
Everyone spoke at once, explaining that Xiang Rui had lost her gold bracelet.
Granny Zhao spat and pointed at her nose, reprimanding, “You lowly slave, what business do you have wearing a gold bracelet for no reason? Showing off that your parents had money? How dare you cry about theft in the mistress’s courtyard? Do you care nothing for the mistress’s face?”
After scolding her thoroughly, she finally asked, “Where did you put the bracelet?”
Xiang Rui tearfully pointed to the pillow. “When I washed my hair, I placed it right here!”
The fine cloth buckwheat-husk pillow and the empty, soft Songjiang cotton mattress—where was the trace of a gold bracelet?
“If it was lost here, then search here! If you dare to wail and mourn again, I’ll have you thrown back to the Shen family too!”
Granny Zhao, her face flushed with anger, grabbed a feather duster and struck her several times over the head before turning and leaving.
Xiang Rui, beaten and afraid to cry, curled her lips in grievance and bumped her head against the wall.
Once Granny Zhao was far enough away, Pear Moon and the others hurried into the room to help her up.
“Besides Xiang Hui, there might be other thieves in this courtyard! Granny Zhao doesn’t care about our lives!”
A young maid spoke indignantly, but Xiafu quickly shook her head, covering her mouth to stop her from complaining.
“Granny Zhao has a point. In Phoenix Ripple Courtyard, the mistress is the master. Catching thieves and causing a scene would embarrass our mistress. Xiang Rui, listen to my advice—just consider yourself unlucky. This matter must never reach the mistress. You know her temper—if this blows up, you’ll be the one to suffer.”
After a mix of threats and coaxing, Xiang Rui cried even more bitterly.
Worried that the floor was damp, Pear Moon had Huan Huan and Autumn Abundance help her onto the kang.
“Sister Xiang Rui, don’t sit on the ground. Come rest on the kang.”
When lifting the pillow and bedding, Pear Moon felt a flicker of surprise.
The bedding was smudged with charcoal dust; a light pat sent a dark cloud scattering.
This kind of ash was familiar to Pear Moon—her own small courtyard was covered in such charcoal dust, impossible to sweep clean.
The group stepped out of the room, greeted by the midday sun at its brightest.
“Sister Xiafu?” Pear Moon grinned at Xiafu.
“Oh, look at me, I nearly forgot—here are three coins for you!”
Xiafu flinched and turned around. Seeing it was Pear Moon calling her, she hastily reached into her sleeve.
For some reason, her hand trembled, and three copper coins clattered to the ground.
Pear Moon crouched down with a cheerful smile to pick up the coins, diligently brushing off the hem of Xiafu’s skirt.
“Sister, your skirt got dirty.”
“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it!”
Xiafu pushed her away and dashed off like a gust of wind.