Millet porridge, shrimp shumai, rose rolls… several fragrant delicacies filled the table. Perhaps because of her changed status, Yuanxi received special attention upon returning to the mansion this time. Xia Mingyuan had specifically instructed the managing nanny to have the kitchen prepare many specialty dishes to send over.
Yet Yuanxi felt that even the most exquisite pastries had no flavor when she chewed them. She only casually picked at two items before becoming lost in thought.
Seventh Concubine looked up to see her melancholy expression and quietly sighed in her heart. She ladled a bowl of porridge and pushed it in front of her, saying gently: “Even if something earth-shattering happened, you still must eat. Seeing you like this breaks my heart.”
Yuanxi looked at her in a daze, suddenly noticing that in less than a year, Seventh Concubine’s hair had turned mostly white. A lifetime’s time, worn away in the chancellor’s mansion, consumed in countless nights of solitary waiting in empty chambers. Had she ever resented or hated this?
So Yuanxi obediently took the bowl of porridge and ate it in small sips. After a while, she finally couldn’t help asking softly: “Seventh Concubine, do you love Father?”
Seventh Concubine’s hand holding the chopsticks trembled. She seemed to have never considered this question before. Perhaps she had loved him once. After all, she had once been of an age for spring feelings. Though knowing her humble position, she couldn’t help harboring improper hopes, yearning for that god-like man to look at her just once more – just one glance could make flowers of joy bloom in her heart. However, as time passed, these stirrings finally dried up in the long years. Having experienced much suffering, many obsessions were forgotten and faded. When she thought of that man again, even his face had become blurred.
So she showed a weary smile, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes becoming more pronounced. Setting down her silver chopsticks, she replied neither warmly nor coldly: “I don’t remember. Besides, someone of my status – what right do I have to speak of such things?” She suddenly seemed to remember something, looking deeply at Yuanxi: “Yuanxi, your father is not a good man. But… this is your home after all.”
Yuanxi’s heart skipped, not understanding why she suddenly said this. Tears actually gathered in Seventh Concubine’s eyes that seemed to have seen everything, as she stared at her: “If you truly find it difficult, then come back. Stay by my side, and we’ll return to those peaceful, stable days we used to have.”
Yuanxi hadn’t expected Seventh Concubine to actually advise her to stay. Though she didn’t understand why, she was moved by the emotion in her words and unconsciously began to cry as well. She walked to Seventh Concubine’s side, crouched down and rested her head on her knee, saying softly: “I also can’t bear to leave you, but I can’t bear to leave him even more. What should I do?”
People are such greedy creatures. Once their hearts have been filled completely by someone, they can never return to those days of self-contentment. Unable to break free yet unable to let go – if only she had never met that person, then she wouldn’t have to suffer such torment, with every moment without him becoming especially unbearable.
Seventh Concubine’s hand, which had been about to comfort her, froze stiffly in mid-air: So what she most feared had indeed happened! When she came to her senses, her skirt was already soaked with a large patch of tears. Her trembling hand finally fell, gently supporting Yuanxi’s shaking shoulders. Countless fears and guilt flashed through Seventh Concubine’s heart as she finally closed her eyes and sighed heavily.
An autumn wind rose, swirling the fallen leaves on the ground into spirals, carrying this sigh away to drift beyond the lonely autumn sky.
Fallen leaves accumulated on the stone slabs only to be swept away, and day and night alternated in the blink of an eye. These past two days, the chancellor’s mansion’s head steward Du Guangping felt extremely troubled. Since Xia Mingyuan became Chancellor, the mansion had countless visitors coming and going, people eager to curry favor and send gifts. But never before had it been like these two days, with gifts arriving almost every hour.
What made it worse was that those delivering gifts were all well-known stewards from the Marquis Xuanyuan’s mansion, so every aspect of reception etiquette, serving tea, and hospitality had to be perfect, lest the servants accidentally slight them and create gossip.
He had hoped that handling it personally would allow him to manage everything smoothly, but who knew where these people found such free time – each one would pull him into idle chat, lamenting about the difficulty of running errands and asking him to persuade Madam to return home. They talked until he had exhausted all excuses and nearly fled in defeat before they would finally take their leave.
However, no sooner had he managed to send one group away than a new batch would appear punctually at the front gate after barely a moment’s peace. As usual, it would be a head steward leading several servants, standing brazenly before the golden lacquered gates, loudly reciting a long list of gifts, insisting on unpacking and counting everything at the entrance before carrying it into the courtyard. This caused such a commotion that neighbors thought the chancellor’s mansion was preparing for some celebration, with people from several streets away coming to watch the excitement.
Du Guangping wiped his sweat, having to admire how the marquis’s mansion, with its vast wealth, spared no expense when giving gifts. From silk and satin to jewelry and cosmetics, the items were numerous and varied, forcing him to assign people to count everything carefully each time before moving it all to Miss Yuanxi’s room without missing a single piece. The chancellor’s mansion had no shortage of servants, but they couldn’t withstand such constant commotion from dawn to dusk.
Du Guangping rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply. If this continued, he would have to seek help from the Chancellor himself. If Miss Yuanxi wasn’t persuaded to return to the marquis’s mansion soon, they would all be worn to death. He shook his head and was just picking up his tea cup to moisten his throat when a servant rushed in urgently: “Steward Du, the marquis’s mansion… the marquis’s mansion has sent something again!”
With a “puff” sound, Du Guangping spat out the tea he hadn’t yet swallowed. He really couldn’t endure this endless torment anymore. Standing up and slamming the table, his face contorted as he roared: “What ridiculous thing did they send this time!”
The servant’s expression twitched somewhat before he finally swallowed and said with a bitter face: “This time what they sent… is really a bird!”
A plump body, sharp red beak, wearing tri-colored plumage with a tuft of down on its head – a macaw hung from its perch by both feet, its small eyes darting around in all directions, looking quite adorable. An’he and several young maids found it more and more delightful the longer they looked, unable to resist constantly teasing it, which only made the parrot ruffle its feathers and flap about frantically on its perch in terror.
Yuanxi frowned at the pitiful parrot before her, feeling both exasperated and amused. These past two days her room had been filled with various items sent from the marquis’s mansion. Just when she was growing tired of the harassment and wondering what other tricks Xiao Du could pull, she never imagined he would truly blaze a new trail by starting to send living creatures.
An’he was young after all, and finding this interesting bird irresistible, she played with it enthusiastically for a while before turning back to Yuanxi with a smile: “Miss, this parrot looks so silly. I wonder if it can talk? What do you think it would say?”
The parrot seemed to understand that its abilities were being questioned, so it ruffled its neck feathers and opened its beak to squawk loudly: “Lady boss, ghost come! Lady boss, ghost come!”
The surrounding maids were immediately stunned, looking at each other in bewilderment, all feeling completely confused. Yuanxi also stared in surprise, not understanding what the parrot was randomly squawking about. Curious, they surrounded the parrot trying to get it to talk, and it would crane its neck and keep repeating the same two phrases over and over.
An’he’s face suddenly changed, and she timidly tugged at Yuanxi’s sleeve: “Miss, you don’t think this parrot can see those unclean things, do you…”
Yuanxi gently tapped her head: “Don’t think nonsense. Everything this parrot says was taught by people. Even if it really saw a ghost, it couldn’t cry out about it.” But she was also puzzled, tilting her head and thinking for a long time without understanding why Xiao Du would teach it such nonsensical words.
Just then, Nanny Li, having arranged lunch, came out. Seeing everyone gathered in the corridor, she curiously squeezed in and asked: “What’s happening?”
An’he pointed at the parrot: “Nanny Li, you came at the right time. Come listen to what this parrot is saying. It seems to be saying something about ghosts, which sounds quite frightening.”
Nanny Li looked at the lively parrot and listened intently for a long time. Being older and more experienced, she suddenly burst into laughter, slapping her thigh: “It’s saying: ‘Lady, come back!’ It was probably taught for too short a time, and the parrot’s pronunciation is unclear, so it sounds like this garbled mess.”
The parrot, seeing it had found someone who understood, lit up with excitement and bounced about saying even more enthusiastically: “Lady boss, ghost come back! Lady boss, ghost come back!” Everyone couldn’t help laughing heartily while stealing glances at Yuanxi.
Yuanxi’s face flushed red, and she deliberately put on a stern expression: “What are you laughing at? Take it back to my room. Such a stupid bird – how embarrassing!” With that, she turned and walked toward her room. But hearing the parrot’s crude, comical words again somehow stirred her heart inexplicably, so she thought angrily: “Shameless fellow – naturally he can’t teach any decent bird.”
At this moment, the innocent person implicated by a bird was holding his breath in concentration, writing something on a piece of paper.
After writing just a few sentences, fine sweat appeared on his forehead. Reading it over several times, he felt it looked awkward no matter how he looked at it. So he frustratedly set down his brush, never imagining that while sweet words flowed smoothly when spoken, writing them down without seeming affected would be so difficult. It was also because over the years he had never written anything besides military reports, let alone a love letter to coax his wife home.
So he sighed mournfully, wondering if that Luo Yuan was deliberately trying to torment him by giving him such an idea.
If he weren’t truly at his wit’s end, he wouldn’t have swallowed his pride to ask this former rival he had once been so wary of. But no matter how unwilling he was, he had to admit that Luo Yuan had known her longer and better understood her preferences.
Thinking this made him even more agitated. Glaring, he crumpled the paper into a ball, but ultimately had to obediently sit back down and write stroke by stroke again.
Just then, someone knocked and reported: “My lord, Third Miss has arrived.”
Xiao Du quickly set down his brush and carefully put away the paper before instructing them to bring Xiao Zhixuan in.
Xiao Zhixuan wore plain clothes, her once lively eyes now dim and lifeless, her chin frighteningly sharp. Xiao Du felt heartbroken seeing her and gently consoled: “Big Brother knows you’re grieving, but you can’t neglect your health like this. Did you not eat properly again today?”
Xiao Zhixuan looked at this big brother who had once loved her most, tears suddenly gathering in her eyes. She dropped to her knees with a “thud” and cried: “Big Brother! Concubine didn’t commit suicide – she was murdered! You absolutely cannot let her die in vain!”