The corridor was silent, without a servant in sight. The horsehead walls rose high and layered, cutting the sky into a narrow strip. Occasionally, birds with grey feathers and white wings flew past, and Qingyuan squinted as she watched them, lost in thought.
She didn’t speak, but Baoxian knew she was troubled inside and said softly, “Young Lady, don’t take them seriously. Being a young lady in one’s natal home only lasts a few years. Having too much power isn’t necessarily good – once you’re married, you’ll understand how the outside world works.”
Qingyuan made a sound of agreement, “I’m not angry, you don’t need to comfort me.”
Though she smiled, it showed her dignity as a young lady of the household. If she displayed everything on her face, she would be no different from those other young ladies.
Baoxian sighed, “Before the Young Lady returned, when we served in various places, we didn’t have much interaction with the young ladies, but those precious daughters seemed well-mannered. Now that Young Lady has returned, it’s as if they’ve shown their true colors, each one bearing their claws and teeth, without any ladylike behavior. Isn’t it strange! Like Third Young Lady’s words earlier – what right does she have to speak that way? Her mother was just a dancer, and even though she was raised by Madam, that doesn’t make her a legitimate daughter.”
Qingyuan remained silent, but her mind was clear as a mirror. When speaking of who resembles whom, it’s more about who raised them than who bore them. Young ladies might sometimes speak impulsively – people aren’t made from the same mold, after all – but frequent malicious words show poor upbringing. Qingrong’s hatred for her was understandable; everyone said her mother was poisoned by Consort Jin. But Qingru also constantly made things difficult for her, which was truly excessive. The Xie family wasn’t one that valued reason.
“Young Lady would have been better off staying with the Chen family than returning to the Xie family,” Baoxian supported her as they walked, speaking slowly, “I don’t understand what they’re thinking. From Old Madam down to the young ladies, everyone treats you with contempt. If we’d known it would be like this, why bring you back just to make you angry?”
Qingyuan was quite accepting of it, speaking as if detached: “It was originally for household peace. As long as I’m in the residence, their minds are at ease.” Seeing Baoxian still indignant, she patted her hand and said, “I’m not worried. Some people live their whole lives in submission – what of it? We’re only here temporarily, and that’s already fortunate. No feast lasts forever; we won’t always live under the same roof.”
“Aren’t you angry, Young Lady?” Baoxian asked, “Earlier, they were practically insulting you to your face…”
Qingyuan smiled slightly, “If I got angry at this, I’d spend my whole life being angry. Listen to me – often in life, one must pretend to be deaf and mute. When they curse you, they’re more anxious than you are, having to think and use energy. Let’s just treat it as if they’re performing in an opera. There’s no need to get angry – anger clouds the mind, and once confused, we’ve fallen into their trap.”
She had her philosophy. At such a young age, it was remarkable that she could see through the world’s fickleness with such clarity. This was good – many of life’s hardships come from self-inflicted suffering. Remove this root cause, and one becomes largely invulnerable.
So she hurriedly gathered her punishment homework and returned to Huifang Garden, thinking Qingru and Qingrong had already left. Unexpectedly, they were still there, and Old Madam had also called Qinghe over. The three sisters stood on either side as Old Madam reclined on the arhat couch, checking Qingru’s copied “Inner Instructions” page by page.
In front of Old Madam, no one dared to act carelessly; everyone stared quietly at their own feet. After entering, Qingyuan didn’t dare speak either, waiting until Old Madam finished reviewing Qingru’s work before presenting her copied “Admonitions for Women” with both hands.
The deep, dim great room was very quiet, with only the sound of turning pages. Old Madam carefully examined every page, even every character. She had such a meticulous nature, having developed the habit of being particular about everything since her youth.
Both granddaughters wrote in the ornamental small regular script, but their characters differed. Qingru’s were superficially flowing but lacked strength, while Qingyuan’s were graceful yet possessed an upright structure, truly embodying Lady Wei’s principle of “abundant strength and sinew.”
Regardless, they had both carefully completed their punishment. The quality of handwriting was each person’s style, and it wouldn’t be right to demand too much. Old Madam put both their work aside and said seriously, “Work hard these days. Your father will return soon, and he’ll test you carefully then.”
Qingru became excited at hearing this. As a legitimate daughter, she was her father’s favorite and received more privileges than her sisters, naturally feeling closer to him.
“Is Father returning for official business, or specifically to see Grandmother? How long can he stay at home?”
A touch of worry appeared in Old Madam’s eyes. Xie Shu’s letter home hadn’t been specified; the words seemed quite hurried. The real reason would probably only be known when he arrived. But elderly people often have precise intuitions about many things, and Old Madam’s own family was also in officialdom. Returning home at this unusual time probably wasn’t for anything good. However, since it wasn’t certain yet, she didn’t want to worry the children, so she said, “Your father has been stationed at Jishi Mountain for several years now. Perhaps the court has granted him leave to visit family. As for how long he can stay, that depends on his intentions. If he has other official duties, he won’t be able to stay home for long.”
Either way, his return was good news. Qingru and her sisters were visibly delighted. Old Madam looked at Qingyuan, who stood quietly there, her smile also quiet.
Old Madam sighed, thinking that her humble birth must have made her understand life’s hardships. Though she couldn’t blend in with her sisters, she was thoughtful and filial. Yesterday’s words about not letting her brew medicine anymore – if it had been Qinghe or Qingru, they would have certainly given up, but she had a stubborn streak, still coming today, though not appearing herself, having others deliver to the main house. To be honest, there was an intent to curry favor, but it wasn’t done disagreeably. A child without support chose the most difficult old lady in the family as her backing – her perspective was somewhat unique.
Old Madam coughed, “Qingyuan, you haven’t met your father yet. You must be more careful during this time to win his favor.”
Qingyuan answered yes, pursing her lips in a smile as if truly looking forward to it.
Before she knew about her background, she had once seen this Military Commissioner on the street. At that time, he was on a tall horse, surrounded by soldiers, truly magnificent. Now knowing he was her father, that feeling of admiration had completely vanished, gradually replaced by resentment. She resented him for not investigating thoroughly, letting her pregnant mother die in exile bearing false charges. She resented him for not acknowledging her, and letting her live fourteen years without her parents.
Old Madam naturally didn’t know what she was thinking, only feeling she had given sufficient warning and that she would understand the gravity of the situation. After a pause, she turned to Qinghe again, “The Provincial Governor’s wife who came to discuss marriage sent word today, saying the Founding Count’s family is interested in forming a marriage alliance with the eldest young lady. I haven’t agreed yet. In a few days, Lady Ji Hou will host a spring banquet, and we can take that opportunity to arrange a meeting. If nothing goes wrong, it should be settled then.”
This news surprised everyone. Originally, Qingru thought the Provincial Governor’s wife favored her, and this marriage would most likely fall to her, but unexpectedly it took a turn at the last moment, with Qinghe being chosen instead. Old Madam naturally wouldn’t explain too much – it was all the same whichever granddaughter she picked; in fact, marrying off the less desirable ones first would make it easier to arrange marriages for the remaining granddaughters. Qinghe seemed somewhat dazed, though whether that counted as simple-mindedness was hard to say. In any case, she wasn’t very quick-witted, appearing blank for a moment when encountering situations, not even knowing to be anxious. The Founding Count’s family probably chose her because their ages matched better. Though Qinghe wasn’t a legitimate daughter, she was still the Xie family’s eldest daughter – it couldn’t be too wrong.
As for Qinghe, she truly was as Qingru had said, stunned for quite a while. When she finally came to her senses, her face flushed red as she fidgeted with her sash, saying, “Granddaughter will follow Grandmother’s arrangements.”
Qingrong slightly pulled at the corner of her mouth, secretly scorning – if not following Grandmother’s arrangements, could she make her own decisions? Even if the Founding Count’s son wasn’t perfect, even if he were blind or lame, as long as Old Madam had agreed to the marriage, wouldn’t she have to marry him even if heaven collapsed?
Qingyuan watched them from the side, each lost in their thoughts, finding it somewhat amusing. The three sisters had grown up together, but when temptation appeared, all talk of sisterly affection became empty words. Take this good marriage prospect – everyone was eyeing it eagerly. Qingru, proud of being the legitimate daughter, probably had been confident of securing it, but unexpectedly, the Founding Count’s family chose the eldest young lady. In the end, after the pain settled, she would probably blame it on that “I’m a Rabbit” comment, and wouldn’t spare Qinghe from cold mockery.
Old Madam slowly nodded over there, “Among your generation, the boys’ marriages have all been arranged. Now it’s the girls’ turn. You’re the first, so you must set a good example, so your younger sisters’ marriages can aim higher. If the Founding Count’s eldest son is suitable and it’s settled, that would be good. When the time comes, I will prepare your dowry myself, your mother will contribute some, and your aunt will give you some private funds – you’ll be able to hold your head high in your husband’s family.”
For a girl’s marriage, after the other family’s status and character, the second most important thing was the dowry. Hearing that Old Madam would personally arrange it, Qinghe’s pale face blushed even more as she lowered her head and said, “Thank you, Grandmother… Granddaughter will listen to Grandmother and Mother completely.”
Standing not far from Qingru, Qingyuan heard a “hmph” escape from between Qingru’s teeth.
Later, they filed out to the moon gate outside the garden. Here, green bamboo swayed, creating dancing shadows and light – originally a scene worthy of praising the beautiful spring, but it was completely spoiled by Qingru and Qingrong’s mockery.
Qingru pinched her handkerchief, smiling insincerely: “Congratulations to Elder Sister, being promised to such a good family.”
Qinghe hadn’t yet recovered from her earlier shock. Hearing her sister speak this way, she appeared quite embarrassed, saying coyly, “I’m marrying above my station…”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Qingrong smiled and said, “Though they appear grand on the outside, who doesn’t know their second branch produced an idiot? These things are unpredictable. Elder Sister must be very careful when dealing with the Founding Count’s eldest son – who knows since their family has produced idiots, he might seem fine now, but in a couple of years, something might trigger it, and he could suddenly go mad.”
Only now did Qinghe understand that they weren’t wishing her well. Her face fell as she angrily said, “Since it’s their second branch, what does it have to do with the Founding Count’s family?”
“What a strange thing to say – don’t they all descend from the same ancestor?” Qingru smiled mildly.
Qinghe grew even angrier. None of their maids dared to intervene, and she had no one to mediate, so she turned to look at Qingyuan: “Fourth Sister, judge for us – is there any truth to this?”
Qingru and Qingrong also turned their burning gazes toward Qingyuan, “Yes, ask Fourth Sister, let Elder Sister be more careful, see if we spoke wrongly.”
Qingyuan was suddenly thrust forward, becoming the prized dumpling that both sides fought over – though this dumpling was being roasted over a fire, suffering no matter which way it turned. She thought for a moment and smiled, “Second Sister and Third Sister care about Elder Sister and want her to be careful – there’s no harm in that. However, in my opinion, this tendency toward idiocy might not necessarily come from the Founding Count’s family. When sons grow up, they each marry their wives – perhaps it came from the Second Branch Lady’s side, who can say?”
At this, Qinghe straightened her back, “Fourth Sister speaks right.”
Seeing how Qingyuan avoided offending either side, Qingrong snorted, “You’re quite clever at pleasing everyone.” Then she smiled at Qinghe, “Well then, best wishes to Elder Sister in finding a suitable husband. After all, you can see him at the spring banquet – better to check carefully now than to discover he’s an idiot after entering the bridal chamber.”
Qingru and Qingrong walked away laughing toward the small path, discussing as they went, “What’s wrong with Elder Sister? She’s so simple-minded, not even recognizing good intentions when we warn her to be careful.”
“She’s always been like that, like a pretty lantern – looks bright outside, but sadly no candle inside…”
Their discussion was so loud it could be heard here. Qinghe’s anger hadn’t subsided as she glared fiercely at her two sisters’ backs. Qingyuan didn’t know what to say, so she simply said softly, “Congratulations, Elder Sister.”
Of course, Qinghe didn’t appreciate her sentiment and left with her maids in a huff, leaving Qingyuan and Baoxian to exchange glances, their smiles both helpless and awkward.