Halfway through the play, everyone was watching intently. Jinchao, however, wasn’t interested in the performance. She picked up a pastry nearby and took a bite. Having left in a hurry, she hadn’t had time to eat anything, and now she was hungry. Finding the pastry delicious, she ate several more. The pastries were somewhat dry, so Jinchao picked up the blue and white vine-patterned teacup and took a small sip to moisten her throat, careful not to make too much noise and disturb others watching the play.
After putting down the teacup, Jinchao took out an embroidered handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth, then casually placed it on the tea table. Turning her head, she saw someone watching her with smiling eyes—it was Gu Jinhua. She returned the smile, feeling a bit embarrassed that someone had seen her eating so voraciously.
When the play ended, it was time for the banquet. Jinchao finally saw her father together with Second Master Gu and Fifth Master Gu. The three brothers were chatting and laughing, showing no signs of discord. After arriving, Father first called Concubine Song over and whispered a few words to her. Both of them smiled—Father handsome and elegant, Concubine Song delicate and gentle, truly a well-matched couple.
Concubine Song took out a handkerchief and wiped the frost from Father’s eyebrows. Father lowered his head, watching her as she did so.
Gu Lian, sitting with Gu Lan, remarked: “Your mother is so good to your father…”
The female guests suddenly fell silent. Jinchao, who had been talking with Gu Jinhua, also lowered her voice. Gu Lian had misspoken, and Gu Lan had to cover for her: “…That’s my birth mother, Concubine Song. My mother is ill and stayed at home; she didn’t come.”
Gu Lian stuck out her tongue carelessly: “Oh, I mistook her!”
Everyone’s attitude toward Gu Lan changed. With such a favored concubine as her birth mother and a frail legal mother, who knew if she might one day be elevated to the status of a legitimate daughter…
The Gu family banquet was extremely luxurious. Hot dishes, cold platters, hot pots, fruit plates, and pastries were brought in by maids and elderly female servants in a continuous stream. After these came frozen pears and dried fruits, but Jinchao had eaten too many pastries earlier and had little appetite left. She ate some hot dishes and fruit before stopping.
After the meal, the masters naturally had other matters to discuss. The Old Madam invited all the women to go to Hengxie Residence, where the garden was full of plum blossoms in magnificent bloom. It had snowed just two nights ago, and now the sky was a vast, clear blue. Setting up tables in the courtyard would be enjoyable.
The Old Madam had mahjong tiles and dice brought for games, but she returned to her quarters first. Gu Jinhua, several visiting ladies, Gu Jinxiao’s wife, and the eldest daughter-in-law formed a table to play mahjong. Second Madam led the group of unmarried girls in needlework, discussing patterns.
Jinchao sat in the corner, casually embroidering a butterfly on a small frame, stitching slowly and unhurriedly.
Before she could finish one butterfly, she heard Gu Lian’s voice: “Lan’er, your lotus embroidery is so beautiful! Light pink and tender white, just like a real one! The dragonfly resting on it is also lovely, with transparent wings…”
Gu Lan smiled modestly: “I just learned casually from my mother. Miss Lian, you’re too kind.”
Gu Lian giggled: “Don’t be modest. Let me show my mother and see if she thinks it’s well done…” She took the embroidery frame to show the Second Madam, who also exclaimed in admiration. Soon everyone gathered around to look, all praising her work.
Gu Lan tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and pressed her lips together, unable to suppress a faint smile: “My embroidery skills are nothing special. Master Xue, who taught my elder sister embroidery, was once a disciple of the Suzhou embroidery family Ji. Wanxiu Pavilion in Yanking offered three hundred taels of silver, but Master Xue declined…”
Hearing this, Moxue clenched her hands tightly. Yet she saw Jinchao still silent, calmly and steadily embroidering her butterfly.
This Second Miss was truly calculating. She knew that although Young Miss had studied under Master Xue, her embroidery skills were poor, yet she deliberately brought up the topic, obviously intending to embarrass Young Miss!
Since Gu Lan had mentioned it, everyone naturally wanted to give her face. Second Madam shifted her gaze to Jinchao and said with a smile: “I wonder what pattern our Chao’er is embroidering. Let us see it too, to broaden our horizons!”
Only then did Jinchao unhurriedly stand up, bow, and say: “I’m afraid I must disappoint Second Aunt. Although I studied under Master Xue, my embroidery skills aren’t even a thousandth as good as my teacher’s. I fear tarnishing Master Xue’s reputation, so I’d rather not embarrass myself by showing it.”
Gu Lan followed with an explanation: “I’ve been negligent. Although my elder sister isn’t skilled in embroidery, she excels in zither, chess, and other arts. Perhaps because she spends more time on these, her embroidery skills have become rusty from lack of practice…” It sounded as if she were defending her.
Gu Lian snorted: “What use is it for a young lady to excel in zither and chess? She’s not a courtesan from the pleasure quarters of Yangzhou. Learning proper needlework and household management is what’s important! I think this is precisely why no one has come to propose marriage to Eldest Cousin!”
Hearing this, Second Madam had to reprimand her: “You’re going too far! You haven’t even come of age yet—where did you hear about courtesans?”
Gu Lian was rarely scolded by her mother and looked resentfully at Jinchao, saying: “It’s true! She even beat her maid until the girl went mad! Who would dare marry her as a wife?”
Everyone was momentarily stunned. Jinchao, however, smiled and asked: “Miss Lian, you say I beat my maid until she went mad. Who told you that?”
Gu Lian was simple-minded and couldn’t hide anything. She immediately said: “Lan’er told me!”
“Did she also tell you why I beat this maid?” Jinchao pressed step by step. This Gu Lan, spreading rumors and damaging her reputation everywhere—she had tolerated it when she incited Gu Lian earlier, but when it came to the matter of Liuxiang, she absolutely couldn’t let it go.
“She… she wanted to save her sick brother, but you wouldn’t let her…” Gu Lian hadn’t heard the full story and stammered as she spoke.
“Let me tell you, her brother wasn’t sick but had borrowed a large sum of money from a gambling hall. Because he couldn’t repay the debt, his legs were broken. My maid didn’t report to me that she needed money when she returned but directly stole items from my dowry. I didn’t even have time to beat her before she scared herself into madness. How can this be blamed on me?” Jinchao said with a smile. “Miss Lian, you should be careful about believing what others say.”
“But… but you shouldn’t have driven her out of the mansion…” Gu Lian still tried to argue.
Jinchao didn’t even want to continue the conversation. This inexperienced legitimate young miss spoke and acted so carelessly.
“If you forgave everyone who stole from you, don’t you think they would become even more audacious next time? If every maid and servant followed suit, wouldn’t the entire household be emptied in an instant? I drove her away without harming her—that was already extremely merciful.”
“As for Lan’er…” Jinchao smiled. “Next time, please be careful not to accidentally misrepresent your sister’s actions. Looking at it this way, I wonder how many of those rumors outside were spread by you. Although you may not like me much, I am still your legitimate elder sister. If you won’t consider my face, at least consider Father’s. Don’t you agree?”
Everyone’s gaze toward Gu Lan changed once again. Gu Lan’s expression turned ugly. With just a few sentences, Jinchao had deftly deflected responsibility and even tried to push all the previous matters onto her! Did her past actions need any misrepresentation? None of them were good to begin with!
She bit her lower lip, looking at Jinchao, her voice as weak as a mosquito’s: “Sister is right… I only heard the servants talking about it. I’ve always been fond of Elder Sister—how could I misrepresent anything else about you? I was just casually chatting with Miss Lian… Please don’t take it to heart. I… I apologize right now! Please don’t hold it against me!” She looked extremely weak and pitiful.
Second Madam didn’t want any unpleasantness during the New Year festivities and tried to mediate: “Since it was unintentional, Miss Chao, please forgive Miss Lan. After all, you are sisters. I see that Miss Chao has good embroidery skills, while you excel in zither. Your personalities complement each other, one firm and one gentle…”
Jinchao sat down and responded with a smile: “Thank you for your kind words, Second Aunt. We are sisters, and there are no grudges between us.”
Although Gu Lan had saved some face, she still earned a reputation for gossiping, and everyone’s gaze toward her became somewhat awkward. Concubine Song was playing cards with Fifth Madam and others, unaware of the scene. Gu Lan inwardly cursed her miscalculation—how could she have known that Gu Lian couldn’t control her mouth…
Jinchao’s responses, on the other hand, were measured. Although angered, she didn’t pursue the matter relentlessly and remained calm after sitting down. Second Madam understood more clearly now. Those rumors outside must have been deliberately exaggerated by someone with an agenda…
No wonder she was angry. If Second Madam herself had been similarly slandered, she might have been even more furious.
Gu Lian, unaware that she had caused trouble, pouted: “Even if the maid incident had nothing to do with her… her poor embroidery skills are still true.”
“Whose embroidery skills is Miss Lian saying are poor?” a smiling voice asked. Three people entered Hengxie Residence, and the speaker was the Gu family’s eldest son, Gu Jinxiao.
Gu Lian jumped up to greet them: “Big Brother, you’ve come! Weren’t you going horse racing outside the city?”
Gu Jinxiao replied: “Don’t mention it. How could Father possibly allow us to go horse racing outside the city? We had planned to come to Hengxie Residence to play chess, but we didn’t expect to find you all here.”
Gu Lian nodded: “…We were just discussing embroidery skills. It seems Eldest Cousin’s embroidery isn’t very good!”
Ye Xian casually remarked: “I think her embroidery skills are quite good.”
Curious, Gu Lian asked: “Has Cousin seen Eldest Cousin’s needlework?”
He languidly pulled out a light blue silk handkerchief from his sleeve and said with a smile: “This handkerchief belongs to your Eldest Cousin. The orchid embroidered on it is blue-green and lifelike, with small seal script poetry beside it.” Jinchao’s hand lightly touched her sleeve, only then realizing that she had left her handkerchief at the theater. How had it ended up in the hands of the Marquis of Changxing’s son? And he so openly produced it!
Second Madam’s expression changed immediately, though her face still maintained a smile: “Let me see how beautiful it is.”
The handkerchief was passed to her hand, carrying a faint orchid fragrance that she had smelled on Jinchao before.
Recently, Jinchao had been growing orchids in her room, filling it with their fragrance, which had also permeated her clothing.