When Wangyue handed Song Chuyi the thick letter that could be bound into a book, his own expression was probably no better than the dumbstruck Qing Ying. He scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed as he said to Song Chuyi, “Our young master probably hasn’t written letters for too long, so he simply finished writing all the letters at once…”
Qing Ying took it and weighed it in her hand, then turned to hand it to Song Chuyi, her facial expression rather horrified. Who knew their eldest young master was such a chatterbox? What could he possibly have to say to write such a thick stack of papers?! Did he transcribe some entire book?
Song Chuyi was also startled by this thick stack of paper. After a long moment, she instructed Qing Ying to first take Wangyue down to rest—Song Jue really was something, sending his most capable servant all the way to Jinzhong. Although he still had other people at hand, none of them were as handy to use as Wangyue.
She hadn’t yet had time to open the letter when Nanny Xu poked her head in from outside to report that Cui Hualuan had come. Madam Qin had departed yesterday on her travels. After crying while seeing off Madam Qin, Cui Hualuan had gone to Old Madam Cui’s quarters. Now she had suddenly come here. Song Chuyi tilted her head slightly and thought for a while, then instructed people to invite Cui Hualuan in while she watched Qing Ying and Luyi tidy the tabletop.
Cui Hualuan wore an outfit of frost-white with red-edged scattered ink patterns in a buttoned jacket, with a bright red threaded skirt below that perfectly complemented the top garment, making her appear with rosy cheeks like peach blossoms, pure and ethereal.
As soon as she entered, she first called out “Cousin,” then hurried a few steps forward to grasp Song Chuyi’s extended hand and sat down facing her.
Song Chuyi observed that her expression was peaceful, with no anger or resentment visible in her eyes, and knew that Madam Qin must have put in considerable effort. Her admiration for Madam Qin grew even deeper. If she were in the same situation as Madam Qin, she truly might not be able to achieve such carefree detachment.
Cui Hualuan was also looking at her. Today Song Chuyi wore a white inner garment underneath with a purple gauze shirt over it, and below was a rice-white flowing-light satin. As she moved, the flowing light overflowed with color like clouds surging in the sky, making it impossible to look away. She thought that if she were the Crown Prince, having been together with such a clever and beautiful young lady constantly since coming down from Longhu Mountain, even without feelings initially, some affection would surely develop over time.
She lowered her eyes and looked at the rose tea Luyi served blooming in the translucent white porcelain cup. She softly spoke to Song Chuyi, “I’ve come this time to invite you, Cousin, to accompany me today to keep Huaying company at her bedside.”
Song Chuyi knew about how Cui Huayi had personally come to invite her before but was refused. She also knew that Cui Hualuan had completely redirected her anger at Cui Huaying and blamed herself as well. Now hearing Cui Hualuan say this, she wasn’t surprised at all—whether it was Old Madam Cui or Madam Qin, they had probably already explained many principles to Cui Hualuan. Cui Hualuan was a clever girl.
Old Madam Cui had indeed explained many principles to Cui Hualuan, and what she spoke of most was the matter concerning Song Chuyi’s mother from years ago. Cui Hualuan raised her head to glance at Song Chuyi, thinking that Song Chuyi was still different from her aunt in some ways—she had seen her aunt’s portrait too. Beautiful as it was, it completely lacked Song Chuyi’s aggressive beauty.
A few days ago when she had been blinded by jealousy, it wasn’t without reason that Song Chuyi was simply too beautiful, so beautiful that one couldn’t help but feel inferior. She looked at her own hand holding the teacup and slowly sighed in her heart.
Even now she still felt somewhat jealous of everything Song Chuyi possessed, but Grandmother was right—they were family. Madam Qin was also right—if she wanted to blame anyone, she absolutely couldn’t redirect her anger onto Song Chuyi. If she was going to blame anyone, she should blame the Crown Prince who liked Song Chuyi, not Song Chuyi who was liked by the Crown Prince.
When women make things difficult for other women, it is most contemptible. This phrase from Madam Qin appeared in her mind. She couldn’t help but look at Song Chuyi with a flushed face and softly said “sorry” again. “The other day when I threw a tantrum… I originally shouldn’t have blamed it on you.”
Song Chuyi shook her head with utmost sincerity. “Elder Sister really needn’t apologize to me. Madam Qin and Grandmother feel you should apologize because they believe that given your status and character, you shouldn’t harbor jealousy. But this emotion of jealousy isn’t something only Elder Sister has—even I cannot avoid such common feelings.”
She also imitated Cui Hualuan by lowering her head to look at the rose in her teacup and sighed. “Moreover, if I were Elder Sister, I would also be angry. One moment saying you didn’t know, the next moment immediately setting off to return to Jinzhong ahead with His Highness the Crown Prince—anyone would overthink it.”
Cui Hualuan was indeed apologizing to her. She felt that her jealousy had made her do things inconsistent with her status, which was a fatal error. When Song Chuyi said this, it didn’t make her feel any better inside. She thought for a moment, looked at Song Chuyi and said, “Madam Qin said that if I turned against my sisters over a man, I would truly disgrace all women. I now feel the same way. But Xiaoyi, let me tell you the truth now—I still want to be with the Crown Prince, want to become Crown Princess. Naturally, this isn’t something I can decide. If it doesn’t work out in the future, I won’t hold resentment either. I’m just telling you.”
This was already the best possible outcome. Song Chuyi nodded knowingly. She couldn’t quite describe what she felt, and after a long while could only say dryly, “Then tonight I’ll wait to go over together with Elder Sister.”
Cui Hualuan also felt there was little to say. She had come to apologize with sincere intentions and was indeed willing, but that was because she felt she had previously fallen below her standards and made this compromise. As for whether she liked or disliked this cousin who excelled in everything, she still didn’t like her.
However, Madam Qin was right—liking or disliking people was never a sin in itself. If you found someone agreeable, you interacted with them more; if you found someone disagreeable, you tried to stay away from them. As long as you harbored no ill intentions and didn’t deliberately make things difficult for others, that was enough. No one in this world was a saint who could guarantee they liked everyone. One just needed to keep one’s hostility tucked away in appropriate places and not use it to harm others.
Thinking this way, she felt calm again and gently nodded toward Song Chuyi. “When I came over, Grandmother instructed that we should have dinner together first, then go to Huaying’s side.”
Old Madam Cui was afraid the friction between them would deepen. Song Chuyi naturally had no reason to refuse and agreed.
Since Cui Hualuan was waiting to have dinner with her, she simply began examining the room’s furnishings—the decorations in this room were all new, different from the layout when her aunt lived here before. It was arranged according to this cousin’s boudoir in the capital. Looking at it now with a sweeping glance, it was rather eye-catching.