1.29 AuYeung LaiSan - Jade

I stared into the giant misty room, separated into four quadrants, a walkway in the shape of a plus sign mapped out the route. Each quadrant sunk below the floor, all we could see from the door was the tops of gigantic cauldrons that bubbled at the center. Standing right in the middle were two gentlemen, one I assumed was the goldsmith. Grandma and I waited outside the door as the older woman tapped on the shoulder of one of the gentlemen. He turned and greeted us with a smile and a nod. He was an elderly man with a long, grey beard that almost reached his chest. I wondered if that was the goldsmith, and if so, how he ever kept that long beard from burning in the smelted gold.

As he turned to start walking towards us, the other gentleman turned around as well. My eyes went big and I think my mouth hung open a bit too from my surprise. Grandma must have seen my face and jabbed me in the ribs. I came to my senses just in time to see them walking towards us.

Grandma was the first to greet the elderly gentleman, "Good morning Old Cheng, have you gotten what I have requested?"

"Of course, in the years you have known me, when have I ever let you down," goldsmith Cheng replied. Turning to his side, he introduced the gentleman, "This is General Szeto, he is the grandson of your old friend Lady Fei Yu Szeto. It must have been years since you saw him. Do you still recognize him?"

"Oh little DongAn, you have grown so much and so handsome," my grandma gushed.

"Greetings to Old Madam AuYeung and Miss AuYeung." he greeted with a bow.

"No need to be so polite. Your grandma and I were like sisters, you can just call me Grandma as well."

"I can not, madam, it would be impolite." the General said politely and bowed again as he said it.

"I say it is okay, just follow LaiSan and call me Grandma," she said adamantly.

The General raised his head a bit and took a glance my way. I immediately felt the heat in my face turn up a few notches.

He looked back down after our eyes met for a moment and I swear I saw him smirk.

"Very well. Grandma, " he said, " I will follow your order."

"Very good." my grandma praised as she raised a hand to pat him on the front of his chest. I think she meant to pat the top of his shoulder but there was quite a size difference and she could not reach.

She started walking down the path led by Goldsmith Cheng. She left me and the General to follow behind her.

We walked in silence, after a short while, I was the one that broke the silence. "Thank you for the other day," I said slightly louder than a whisper. I was nervous and my heart was pounding so fast that I swear others could see it beating.

It took a minute for him to realize what I meant. "Oh, you mean at the market. No worries, it was an accident."

"Did you get hurt that day," I said with a bit of concern as I stared up at his face.

He stared back down at me and said, "No, I am fine, not even a scratch."

I looked back down and unconsciously twisted the handkerchief that was in my hands, "That is good. I would feel really guilty if you were hurt in that accident."

We walked the rest of the way in silence again.

As we entered one of the courtyards, it was the entrance of one of the greeting areas. Shelves lined the walls. There were many types of molds that I guess he had used in his craft. He asked that we sit around the table that was placed in the center. He ordered the staff to get some tea and then he walked off to the back room.

As we sat and waited, Grandma spoke to the General, asking about his parents and about life at the border. It was interesting but not noteworthy information.

I just quietly sat and drank my tea as my eyes wandered the room. I was in awe of the variety of molds and equipment displaced on the shelf. One of the displays was not made from metal, it was a very dark green color, maybe it was jade. The design of it looks very familiar and I was deep in thought when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Jo-yi who was standing behind me, "Miss, the old Madam asked if your recognized that design."

I turned around and saw that both the General and grandma were both staring at me. I flushed again.

"Sorry grandma, I didn't hear you. I was trying to remember where I had seen that design." as I pointed to the green mold.

"So you do find it familiar," grandma stated.

I scratched my head a bit and answered, "Yes, but I can't remember where I have seen that design."

"Think about your mother's room," she guided my thoughts.

I thought for a bit and then it dawned on me, "It is the design of the statue in my parent's room. When I was young I would always steal the round ball that the statue held and played with it on the table until that day I broke it." I winced when saying that last part.

Grandma smiled and patted my hands, "Yes you were a naughty one. The only daughter and the youngest, I guess it was expected."

"Grandma!" I protested as I dragged my hands away from her and folded them across my chest. "I was not naughty. Dad always called it inquisitive," I said proudly.

We laughed and that was when I realized that the General was still there. I furrowed my brows and winced again.

I took a breath and looked up at him, and saw that he had a smile on his face.

I of course thought that he was laughing at my behavior, so I sighed as I looked away.

There was silence again for a while. Thank goodness it did not take the goldsmith much longer to come back out.

"Sorry for the wait, he said as he entered the room. The apprentices placed the items on the table. Big and small, each one was on a tray and covered by a cloth.

"This is the one that you are waiting for madam." He said as he pulled off the cloth to the biggest item. It was an elegant statue made of gold and jade shaped in the Chinese character for longevity. It can be said that this was carved out of a big jade stone and lined with gold for aesthetics, it was very beautiful.

"Is it to your liking?" he asked.

"Wow, it is beyond what I expected. You are correct Old Cheng, you never disappoint. I still can't thank you enough for coming out of retirement to do this for me," my grandma gushed.

"It really is outstanding," I said admiringly as I couldn't take my eyes off of it. "The details in the carving and the use of the natural coloration and the accent of the gold, the two materials pair perfectly."

"Thank you Miss." he said with a great big smile.

He then moved on to the smaller items on the table. It was some gold jewelry that grandma probably had him shine up. I glanced at it and went back to admiring the statue.

It was not until he turned to General Szeto and handed him an item that my interest piqued enough to tear my eyes away from the jade statue.

"DongAn, this is what your parents had me prepare for your gift to the Emperor, " Goldsmith Cheng said while he pulled off the cloth.

It was another exquisite piece, this one was made from purple jade. It was a round plate-like piece. It was carved intricately into the word longevity as well.

The spectacular part of this is the carvings of flowers and sparrows around the word longevity. It is already hard to find a piece of purple jade that big but to have the skill that Master Cheng has to carve it into just a delicate piece, it was amazing to witness.

He caught me staring at it, and purposely turned it towards the center of the table so that I could get a better look. I smiled and thanked him.

I could see a lot of similarity in this carving to the jade hair stick that ZhiYin had given me to communicate with him. I caught myself and stopped thinking of him immediately or else he is going to be in my head again.

I smiled again and thanked the General before I went and sat back down in my chair and took another sip of my tea. I was relieved that I did not hear his voice and sighed in relief.

Grandma heard my sigh and asked what was wrong.

Through quick thinking, I came up with a lie immediately, "Oh, it is just that I am worried about how we are going to transport all this back safely. Being that we got attacked on our way here."

"What? You were attacked on the way here? General Szeto asked.

"Yes, LaiSan fought with the robbers and she even got slapped by one of them," grandma replied for me.

"Grandma, I am fine." showing her my face by turning side to side.

"What do you mean, it is still a bit red." She raised her hand and touched my face.

I winced in pain.

"Master Cheng, do you have any ice in storage?" the General asked.

"Yes, we stock it for our craft, so there is still some in the cold storage basement. I'll ask someone to get some now," Master Cheng replied.

"Sorry to trouble you," the General said.

Standing up from my chair, I raised my hand to stop the master, "Master Cheng, please don't go through all the trouble, I am really okay," I quickly said.

The General interceded, "With an injury like that, if you don't ice right away, it will leave a very bad bruise. How are you to attend the Emperor's banquet if you look like that?"

I thought about it a bit, then said, "Then I am sorry to trouble Master Cheng."

When he left, I sat back down and looked across the table at the General. "Thank you."

He smiled, then he excused himself.

Grandma and I were left alone. Then it suddenly dawned on me, "Grandma, did you plan this meeting?"

"What? How can I plan this," grandma said guiltily.

"Really?" I looked her in the eyes. Kept the stare even while she tried to look away.

"Stop looking at me like that! Fine, I did plan this meeting with Old Cheng. He invited DongAn the same day as I planned to pick up the gift as well," grandma finally admitted.

"Then how about the robbers." I questioned.

"That was purely coincidental," grandma quickly said.

"I was wondering why you were adamant about coming out, even defying dad's orders. Even when we encountered robbers, you were still wanting to come here." I recapped.

"How else…" she started saying when we saw the General returning and stopped.

I turned around to see him walking in as well, I turned back andI straightened my posture and picked up my tea pretending everything was fine. In actuality I had a guilty conscience, now that I know this was all planned.

Master Cheng returned with the ice cubes not long after.

The General took the ice cubes from Master Cheng and wrapped it up in his own handkerchief and walked over to me.

"I hope you don't mind," he said as he sat down in the chair next to me.

I shook my head.

He then gently leaned a bit closer to me and raised the wrapped ice cubes to my face. In circular motions he gently massaged it around my face.

I lowered my eyes trying to not stare into his handsome face. I know my temperature rose a few degrees. That heat must have cancelled the coldness of the ice, because at that moment all I felt was the heat that rose from my neck to my face.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

That brought me back, I sat up straighter and pulled away then said, "Sorry, I can do that myself." Held out my hand for him to give me the handkerchief.

He seemed to feel embarrassed as well as I saw his ears turn a bit red and he suddenly stood up and quickly handed me the handkerchief.

"Thank you." I said softly right before he moved away.

Um, was all he responded.

Grandma and Master Cheng suddenly started talking about the statue again. My guess was that they were staring at us before.

"Grandma AuYeung, we should get going. I will escort you home," the General said seriously and interrupted the fake conversation that they were having.

"Oh, yes we should get home before your dad worries and sends the guards out to look for us," grandma said as she got up. She thanked Master Cheng again and promised that she will treat him to dinner next time.

We called the servants to come in and help move the statue, but I was still wondering how we were going to get home without making a spectacle since I had torn the curtain on the sedan chair.

When we got to the door, it was answered. Waiting for us was a horse drawn carriage.

"Grandma Auyeung, let me help you up." As the General held out his hand for grandma.

"Jo-yi, you take the sedan chair home with the servants." I took an ice cube from the handkerchief and wrapped it in my own handkerchief and handed it to her, "Is it still painful? I raised her hand and placed the ice cube on her face. She winced with pain then smiled. I smiled back, then sincerely said, "Be careful and I will see you at home." Then turned back towards the carriage.

The servants handed the statue and the other items to the General after he had helped grandma. He placed it securely next to her and reached out his hand for me.

"Please come up, Miss AuYeung."

"You can just call me LaiSan." I replied as I took his hand.

With a forceful pull, I was effortlessly lifted up into the air but my step was not steady when I landed and I fell into his arms.

I quickly pushed myself away and apologized. Without waiting for his reply I quickly entered the carriage and sat next to grandma.

He sat outside and without any more words we were on our way.