Unfortunately, Fourth Miss Wang had no evidence, so her words were mere speculation. However, her intentions in saying this were undoubtedly malicious.
“I’ll certainly deal with that fool Shen Cui. Will you help me, Sister?” Yue’niang Wang cozied up to Fourth Miss Wang, acting coquettishly.
Fourth Miss Wang narrowed her phoenix eyes and tapped Yue’niang Wang’s forehead. “If you truly want to deal with them, don’t be soft-hearted. You must finish them off in one go. If you fail and they retaliate, it’ll be your demise.”
Yue’niang Wang nodded, “I won’t be soft-hearted at all.”
“Good. Do you still want to participate in the Middle Altar performance?” Fourth Miss Wang asked.
“Sister, do you mean next year?” Yue’niang Wang asked, puzzled.
“Silly girl, why would I ask about next year?” Fourth Miss Wang replied.
Yue’niang Wang’s eyes lit up. “Does Fourth Sister have a plan?”
Fourth Miss Wang reached out to smooth Yue’niang Wang’s bangs, saying gently, “What if Shen Cui were to be utterly humiliated, unable to show her face in public again? Would she still have the nerve to perform at the Middle Altar?”
Yue’niang Wang furrowed her brow in thought. “But what would count as utter humiliation?”
Fourth Miss Wang said, “Do you remember what happened to the Xiang family’s eldest daughter?”
The eldest daughter of the Xiang family?! Yue’niang Wang’s heart skipped a beat. Although the Xiang family had tried their best to conceal the incident, some people still knew about it. Later, adults often used it as a cautionary tale for their daughters.
More than a decade ago, the Xiang family was truly wealthy and noble. Old Master Xiang held the position of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and was deeply trusted by the Emperor. Naturally, the Xiang family’s eldest daughter was considered the cream of the crop among young ladies from prominent families.
Yet, such a person was kidnapped by villains during the Qixi Lantern release and sold to a brothel. By the time the Xiang family found her, she had already been defiled. The eldest daughter of the Xiang family took her own life on the spot. Having suffered such a disgrace, the Xiang family naturally tried their utmost to conceal it, not even daring to conduct a large-scale search for the culprits. In the end, no one knew whether the Xiang family had uncovered the mastermind behind it all.
Pitifully, the Xiang family’s eldest daughter couldn’t even enter the family’s ancestral burial grounds after her death.
Although the Great Qin Dynasty had encouraged widows and widowers to remarry since the founding emperor, the emperor himself set an example by marrying a widow – the renowned Empress Xiaoyi, whose son became Emperor Taizong who revitalized the Great Qin – and even abolishing the unwritten custom of checking the nuptial bed sheet to encourage marriage, the fate of being sold to a brothel like the Xiang family’s eldest daughter was still unacceptable to society.
Speaking of which, the Great Qin was truly different from the previous dynasty. When the Hu people invaded from the north, ravaging our Central Plains with burning, killing, and looting, their iron hooves even crossed the Yangtze River at one point, directly threatening the granary of the previous dynasty. Later, Qin Shi Huang rose amidst the chaos to reclaim the Central Plains and establish the Great Qin.
In the early days of the dynasty’s founding, the land was devastated, the scene was desolate, the population was depleted, the elderly had no one to care for them, and the young had no one to depend on. Women lost their husbands, and men lost their wives. Moreover, due to the Hu invasion, many women had been raped. To encourage marriage, the founding emperor decreed that any man or woman over sixteen who remained unmarried would be forced into labor service. As a result, who could afford to care about chastity? People married first and worried about the rest later.
However, some vulgar customs from the previous dynasty still lingered, such as checking the nuptial bed sheet. There were still cases of mothers-in-law forcing their sons to divorce wives deemed unchaste. When Empress Xiaoyi learned of this, she said that marriage was meant to unite two families, not create enmity. She requested an imperial decree to abolish this vulgar custom. Women who had suffered through the chaotic times were all grateful for Empress Xiaoyi’s actions.
Thus, the customs of the Great Qin gradually became more enlightened.
However, no matter how enlightened society became, a young lady from a prominent family who had fallen into prostitution could never hold her head high again.
Yue’niang Wang hesitated, “This… doesn’t seem appropriate, does it?” Her conflict with Shen Cui was merely a clash of egos; there wasn’t any deep-seated grudge or mortal feud between them. So, Yue’niang Wang hadn’t even considered such a vicious method.
Fourth Miss Wang glanced sideways at Yue’niang Wang without saying more. A fool is just a fool, she thought. All talk and no action when it comes to doing something real, always hesitating and indecisive. No wonder she gets bullied.
Yue’niang Wang truly hadn’t thought of using such a harsh method to deal with Shen Cui and Ji Cheng.
However, it just so happened that on the first day of the seventh lunar month, it was Old Madam Du’s birthday at the Marquis of Pingwu’s residence. Yue’niang Wang and Shen Cui inevitably encountered each other again.
The people were the same, but everything else felt new. Previously, wherever the Wang sisters went, they were the center of attention. Everyone knew about Yue’niang Wang’s temperament and indulged her. This time, however, Shen Cui had stolen the spotlight, and all the young ladies gathered around her, asking her all sorts of questions.
Some asked about Su Qingci, others inquired about who taught Shen Cui to sing, and still others wanted to know how she trained her voice. As a result, Yue’niang Wang felt utterly neglected.
Yue’niang Wang grew resentful. After glaring at Shen Cui, she turned her gaze to Ji Cheng. What she saw left her astounded. Ji Cheng preferred simple and elegant clothing, but the tailoring was impeccable.
Although it was already the seventh month and autumn had officially begun, the summer heat persisted, with the “autumn tiger” being just as fierce as midsummer. So, Ji Cheng wore a light smoky blue layered gauze dress made of qingxue silk.
Any gauze dress is expensive due to the fineness of the fabric and the labor-intensive weaving process. Any broken threads would be immediately noticeable. Qingxue silk was particularly outstanding among these. True to its name “qing” (clear), when viewed in sunlight, it seemed to shimmer with specks of gold, subtle yet not lacking in splendor.
Ji Cheng’s dress was cut in a very distinctive style. The neckline was slightly open, revealing a small patch of collarbone. The sleeves were wide in a vintage style, flowing like clouds when she moved. Most uniquely, instead of a silk sash, she wore thin golden osmanthus flowers hanging at her waist. As she moved, it was nearly impossible to take one’s eyes off her slender waist.
Even those noble ladies of the capital who had previously disdained to speak with Ji Cheng now softened their attitudes and came to inquire about which clothing shop had made her outfit.
As Yue’niang Wang looked at Ji Cheng with her snow-white skin and flower-like beauty, she felt that her fair skin was blindingly bright, as if reflecting a strong light. She cursed inwardly, thinking Ji Cheng was “foxy and seductive,” and that her neckline was too low, practically shameless.
In truth, Yue’niang Wang was being hypocritical. If she had looked down at herself, she would have realized that not only was her neckline wider than Ji Cheng’s, but it also plunged half a section lower on her chest.
Originally, when the current dynasty was founded, young ladies’ clothing was quite modest. However, due to the eastward spread of Hu culture and the increasing visibility of Hu women, although the ladies of noble families disdained the voluptuous figures of Hu women, men seemed to quite appreciate them. Gradually, a trend developed where Central Plains girls’ necklines became increasingly low. Of course, this trend first emerged from the palace.
Some imperial ancestors had taken Hu women as consorts. When other consorts saw how favored they were, they imitated their dress and appearance. Some thought that the Hu consorts were favored simply because their breasts were larger, so they too lowered their necklines to catch the emperor’s eye. Once this trend started, it couldn’t be stopped, and necklines became lower and lower.
Ji Cheng’s outfit was quite tame in comparison. The necklines of married noble ladies were even more shocking. People of the time seemed to consider this beautiful. In the past, women only applied powder to their faces when going out, but now they powdered their necks and a large portion of their chests to enhance whiteness.
Seeing Ji Cheng, Yue’niang Wang felt that each time she saw her, she became more “foxy and seductive,” adding another layer to her disgust. When she looked at Shen Cui, Ji Cheng’s cousin, Yue’niang Wang could no longer suppress the malicious thoughts in her heart. She thought since they like being foxy and seductive so much, why not send them to a brothel to show off their charms?
Now that Yue’niang Wang had such wicked intentions, she naturally needed to plan carefully. She had no choice but to seek help from her seemingly omnipotent Fourth Sister again.
However, Fourth Miss Wang put on airs, narrowing her eyes and saying, “Didn’t you say it wasn’t necessary?”
“Fourth Sister, you saw how Ji Cheng looked today, didn’t you? At such a young age, she’s already so seductive. If she stays in the Shen family, I’m afraid…” Yue’niang Wang bit her lip, leaving the rest unsaid, but her implication was clear – she feared the second young master of the Shen family might be swayed by her beauty.
Fourth Miss Wang inwardly scoffed. If not for this, why would she bother instigating Yue’niang Wang to take the fall?
“With her background, how could the second young master fancy her? Even if he did, she’d be nothing more than a plaything,” Fourth Miss Wang didn’t take Yue’niang Wang’s bait.
Yue’niang Wang had no choice but to shamelessly plead, “Dear sister, won’t you help me?”
Fourth Miss Wang said, “How can I help you? Don’t you have your cousin Bin?”
Chen Bin was the nephew of Yue’niang Wang’s mother. Since childhood, he had followed Yue’niang Wang around, unable to leave her side. Seeing this, both families thought of strengthening their ties through marriage, but Yue’niang Wang adamantly refused to accept Chen Bin, so the matter had been left hanging.
“Him?” Yue’niang Wang felt irritated at the mention of Chen Bin. The man was far too thick-skinned. She had been avoiding him, fearing that one day he might truly persuade the elders in the family to marry her off to him.
But Yue’niang Wang had to admit that perhaps only Chen Bin could help her with this matter, and only by having Chen Bin do it could she feel at ease.
However, Yue’niang Wang was still worried. Biting her lip, she said, “Fourth Sister, what if this succeeds? What about the Shen family…”
Fourth Miss Wang laughed, “You claim you’re not foolish, but look at you now. What’s Ji Cheng’s background? Who would dare offend us for her sake? Even if you add Shen Cui to the mix, with such a big scandal, her mother would be too busy trying to cover it up. Otherwise, if it gets out, Madam Ji would lose all face among the nobles of the capital.”
Yue’niang Wang, who had been quite anxious before, was now reassured by Fourth Miss Wang’s words. Ji Lan was indeed a person who cared greatly about-face. If Shen Cui were disgraced, she certainly wouldn’t dare to make a big fuss about it.
Days passed like flowing water, and soon it was the day of the Qixi Festival. The legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meeting on the Magpie Bridge had been passed down for thousands of years, and people still loved to retell this tale.
On the evening of this day, the liveliness of the capital rivaled that of the Lantern Festival in the first month of the lunar year. During the Lantern Festival, every household would hang out lanterns to compete for beauty, while the Qixi Festival in the Great Qin was the annual day for releasing lanterns.