ENG
In seclusion for a hundred springs,
Truth and falsehood, the mountain brings.
Rosy face turns into grey hair,
Love stories seldom end fair.
The third daughter of the Zhu family, graceful in demeanor and gentle in nature, loved reading and writing. Observing that her younger sisters were still naive, and her two elder sisters were extremely busy, she focused on needlework and became the best weaver in the family.
The fabric shop run by the second sister outside used weaving patterns designed by the third sister. The weavers in the cave were also trained by her. Due to her gentle and kind-hearted nature, she often found it difficult to command the yaoguais. Thus, the fifth sister became her best assistant. While the third sister taught with the weaving patterns in hand, the fifth sister followed with a punishing ruler. If any weaver was particularly unruly, the straightforward fifth sister would report them to the second sister, who would then seal the offender in a cocoon to be used as food.
Because the eldest and second sisters were often preoccupied with various affairs, the fifth sister had been following the third sister since childhood. The third sister was very quiet, so the fifth sister became her lively counterpart. The two sisters bickered and quarreled, but it made the days pass more easily.
Among the books the third sister often read were those strange mortal anecdote. She always found them fascinating and longed to experience those romantic scenes depicted. However, she was too wise to fall for any romantic scholar, knowing that most yaoguais in those stories met tragic ends.
The story takes place in a secluded mountain household where the Zhu family’s daughters live and work. The opening lines tell us they’ve been isolated for many years and suggest that time, truth, and deception are mixed together there. They also warn that beauty fades and love stories from this place rarely have happy endings.
The focus is on the third daughter of the Zhu family. She is gentle, graceful, and loves reading and writing. Because her younger sisters are inexperienced and her two older sisters are busy with other matters, she concentrates on needlework and becomes the family’s best weaver. Her skill is the reason she is important to the household’s work.
She designs the weaving patterns used in the fabric shop that the second sister runs outside the mountain, and she trains the weavers who work in the cave. Although she teaches the craft, she is kind and has trouble enforcing discipline among the yaoguai who work for them. That lack of strictness is why the fifth sister acts as her assistant and enforcer.
The fifth sister follows the third with a ruler and punishes misbehavior. If a weaver is very unruly, the fifth sister reports them to the second sister, who then seals the offender in a cocoon; those sealed offenders are then used as food. The third sister and the fifth sister have contrasting personalities: the third is quiet and reserved, the fifth is loud and straightforward, and they have bickering, quarrelsome days that nonetheless make life easier to bear.
The third sister reads books about mortal lives and is fascinated by the romantic scenes they describe. She longs for that kind of romance but is too wise and cautious to fall for it. She knows from those same stories that most yaoguai involved in romantic tales end badly, so she refuses to be swept into a romantic attachment that could lead to a tragic outcome.