“This must be Cheng. When I saw you three years ago, you were still a little child. Now you’ve grown into a young lady. You’ve turned out beautifully, surpassing even the imperial consorts in looks,” Ji Lan said with a smile. Three years ago, Ji Cheng still had some baby fat, with the charm of a young girl. Now she had grown taller, almost as tall as Ji Lan herself.
“Aunt,” Ji Cheng curtsied to Ji Lan again.
Ji Lan frowned slightly at her words, reminded of her sister-in-law, Ji Cheng’s mother. A pretty-faced tofu seller who couldn’t be presented in polite society, she spoke in a coquettish manner, flirting with everyone.
Today’s Ji family would never allow such a woman to marry in, but back then, the Ji family business was just starting. Her brother was so smitten, completely besotted. Their parents couldn’t dissuade him, so they had no choice but to let him marry such a woman.
Now Ji Cheng had inherited her mother’s voice, sticky and sweet like honeyed dew. Ji Lan wondered who she was trying to entice.
Ji Cheng keenly sensed Ji Lan’s displeasure. She had felt it three years ago when her father had planned to leave her in Beijing to be educated at the Shen residence for a while. Upon returning to Jin, she would have been viewed more favorably for marriage prospects. But Ji Lan hadn’t taken up the suggestion, and Ji Cheng, young and proud, naturally didn’t want to stay against her will.
Unfortunately, fate had other plans. No matter how high one’s aspirations, they couldn’t overcome destiny.
Ji Lan turned away from Ji Cheng and chatted warmly with Ji Yuan for a while before having a maid show him to his prepared room in the outer courtyard. She told him to pay his respects to his uncle when he returned.
Ji Cheng silently followed Ji Lan into the east side room—Ji Lan’s daily living quarters. It was as austere as the room of a widow who had been in mourning for decades.
Ji Cheng understood Ji Lan’s mindset. She didn’t want people to remember her merchant family background, so she strived for frugality in everything, determined not to be associated with nouveau riche.
However, Ji Cheng thought to herself, this was perhaps going too far.
Ji Lan sat down on the couch by the south window. Ji Cheng, naturally not daring to sit opposite her, chose the first of a row of rosewood chairs to Ji Lan’s right.
Ji Lan reclined against a bolster, quite relaxed. This could be seen as treating Ji Cheng like family, but it could also be interpreted as not taking Ji Cheng seriously, neglecting even basic courtesies.
“Ah, these past few days have been hectic preparing for the old madam’s birthday celebration. My old shoulder and neck problem is acting up again,” Ji Lan said, rubbing her shoulder.
Ji Cheng stood up and walked to Ji Lan’s side. “Let me massage it for you, Aunt.”
“Look at those wrists of yours, thin as willow branches. Do you have any strength?” Ji Lan laughed.
“You’ll know once you try, Aunt,” Ji Cheng smiled, applying more force as she massaged Ji Lan’s shoulders and neck.
Ji Lan closed her eyes in comfort. “Not bad. I didn’t expect you to have such skill, Cheng. You’re quite good at serving others.”
Even the maid attending to Ji Lan was surprised to hear this, but Ji Cheng’s expression didn’t change. Her movements remained smooth and flowing. Ji Lan opened her eyes slightly to glance at her, thinking to herself that this girl was remarkable. At such a young age, she already had such depth. Other young ladies, if treated like a little maid and insulted this way, would likely have lost their temper by now.
In truth, it wasn’t that Ji Cheng’s cultivation was so advanced; she simply had no choice but to humble herself when asking for favors.
The weak don’t even have the right to express their emotions.
Ji Cheng consoled herself, thinking that she could consider this as showing filial respect to her aunt. There was nothing she couldn’t endure.
After a long while, when Ji Cheng’s forehead had begun to perspire from exertion, Ji Lan spoke again, “Your father’s letter mentioned that he wants me to help arrange a marriage for you here in the capital.”
Even with her composure, Ji Cheng was still only a fifteen-year-old girl. Being discussed for marriage openly by Ji Lan made her blush.
“You all only see the glamorous side of my life. You have no idea how difficult it is for a daughter-in-law from our kind of background in such a household,” Ji Lan sighed. “All these years, everything I do is wrong, everything I say is incorrect. Life has been like boiling oil. It was even harder before the family split—I lost two children in succession.”
“Aunt is thinking only of Cheng’s best interests. Cheng understands,” Ji Cheng released her hands, lifted her skirt, and knelt before Ji Lan, taking her hand. “Aunt, it’s not that Cheng is careless or vain. You know about what happened two years ago. That Zhu Jijun, relying on his son-in-law who’s a county magistrate, wanted to force me to become his concubine at the age of forty—an old man past his prime.”
At this point, Ji Cheng closed her eyes. The humiliation of the past was still fresh in her memory, and tears welled up in her eyes. “Second Brother argued with their family for the sake of my reputation and was beaten badly. His body still hasn’t fully recovered, yet he was falsely accused of inciting servants to violence and thrown into prison. If it weren’t for you and Uncle’s strong support, Second Brother might not be alive today, and the Ji family might not have survived.”
Tears rolled down Ji Cheng’s cheeks one by one. “Cheng doesn’t want to bring misfortune to her parents again because of this face. Since it’s heaven-given and parent-bestowed, I dare not ruin it carelessly, which would only please our enemies and pain our loved ones. Now, Cheng only wants to repay her parents for their nurturing care these past fifteen years.”
Ji Cheng’s eyes were large and bright. When not crying, they were already like rippling water, clear and deep. When crying, they were like peonies in sorrow or pear blossoms in rain, misty and evoking pity. Her voice, clear and delicate like a spring oriole trembling before snow, softened hearts.
Ji Lan couldn’t tell if her niece was sincere about only wanting to repay her parents or if she was trying to deceive her. After all, which young lady doesn’t dream of marrying into a noble family?
Ji Lan’s expression softened somewhat. “Stand up and speak.” Her maid had already cleverly stepped forward to help Ji Cheng up.
Ji Cheng dabbed her tears with a handkerchief, every movement graceful and beautiful, captivating the attending maids.
After Ji Cheng’s emotions had settled, Ji Lan continued, “I know about the incident two years ago. If you had behaved properly, how could you have attracted such trouble?”
Ji Cheng lowered her eyelids, her hands on her knees clenching into fists. She looked up at Ji Lan with wide eyes. “Aunt, it was during the Flower Festival. I was wearing a veiled hat. Zhu Jijun hadn’t even seen my face before he wanted to force me to be his concubine. It was because he resented the Ji family for taking away his business.”
At this point, Ji Cheng paused, her nails digging into her palms. There was another reason Zhu Jijun wanted to force her to be his concubine—in Jin City, he had already defiled countless young girls. One of Ji Cheng’s childhood friends had fallen into Zhu Jijun’s hands and reportedly died a horrific death. Although Ji Cheng hadn’t witnessed it herself, gossip and her imagination had left her unable to sleep at night.
But such filthy matters, Ji Cheng was unwilling to speak of, not wanting to taint others’ ears.
Ji Lan was well aware of Zhu Jijun’s character. If he hadn’t been so brutal in his actions, incurring widespread resentment, it might have been questionable whether she could have helped the Ji family deal with him. In official circles, one melon can lead to a whole vine—Zhu Jijun’s son-in-law had powerful backing.
After a few more words, Ji Lan sent Ji Cheng away to settle in. After Ji Cheng left, a woman in her thirties with a neat, shiny bun emerged from behind the screen in the inner room.
“What does Madam Chang think?” Ji Lan asked, raising an eyebrow.
“She’s truly a natural beauty. Her looks, figure, and voice like a yellow warbler all surpass even the former Noble Consort Xue,” Madam Chang said.
Ji Lan’s lips curled into a smile, but then she heard Madam Chang continue, “I see that this young miss has a high bridge to her nose and clear eyes—signs of a person with strong opinions. From her words earlier, she doesn’t seem to be the type to mindlessly humble herself or crave vain glory. I fear that forced melons are not sweet. If she harbors resentment, even if she serves by a noble’s side, she might not necessarily help you, Madam. She might even turn against you.”
Ji Lan nodded, “The capital is like a big dye vat. What she saw in Jin was ordinary. After staying here for a while, who knows if her eyes might be dazzled by the splendor.”
“Of course, if she can control herself, not envying the glory or reaching for high branches, I won’t force her. After all, she is my niece. But if she has lofty ambitions herself, as her aunt, I naturally should help her,” Ji Lan said with a smile.
Madam Chang lowered her eyes and said, “Since Madam has such plans, why did you treat the young miss that way earlier? It would be better to draw her in and treat her well.”
Madam Chang had previously served in the palace. When she turned twenty-five, she was released from the palace, only to find that her family had met with disaster and disappeared, likely all dead.
As a single woman with some money, Madam Chang had been targeted by local ruffians. She naturally refused and fled back to the capital, where she was rescued by Ji Lan. She stayed to serve Ji Lan and teach etiquette to the fifth young miss, Shen Cui. Now she was increasingly valued by Ji Lan, often offering advice and strategies.
“Ah, the Emperor is getting on in years, and Ji Cheng is so young. She certainly won’t want to enter the palace now. After she’s experienced enough cold treatment and hit a wall, she’ll naturally turn back. My coldness towards her is also to help her see the situation sooner. When she develops the right mindset, we’ll guide her carefully. Don’t worry, she’ll naturally draw closer to us. After all, the ladies in the palace still need help from people outside for certain matters,” Ji Lan said confidently.
Madam Chang remained silent. This Third Madam Shen, who had managed to marry into the Shen family without revealing her merchant background, naturally had some calculations. But her vision seemed narrow. Some things were not as simple as she imagined. The human heart is the most difficult to fathom.
After Madam Chang withdrew, Ji Lan twisted the jade-green jadeite ring on her finger and called out loudly towards the curtain, “Has the young miss settled in?”
Lingling parted the curtain and entered, replying, “The young miss has settled in.”
Ji Lan said, “Go open the storeroom in the back courtyard and choose a few items that the old madam gave to the third master and Miss Cui. Send them to the young miss’s room.”
Lingling hesitated. The old Madam Shen came from a prestigious background and had been the Duchess of Qi for many years. She had countless valuable items. Even a few random pieces would be extraordinary. It seemed too wasteful to give them to the young miss now. Who knew if she would appreciate them or not?
“What are you standing there for? Go quickly,” Ji Lan said impatiently. “Don’t treat her like a beggar. Choose the best items to give her.”
“Yes,” Lingling thought to herself that it seemed this young miss had caught the third madam’s eye. She would have to be more attentive in dealing with her in the future.