Xiao Meng understood and quickly disappeared into the night.
Inside the room, Han Yan leisurely peeled an orange, putting a segment into her mouth. The slightly bitter taste made her narrow her eyes.
Mother Chen, who had been holding back for a while, finally spoke: “Young Lady told Concubine Mei about this to encourage her to enter the palace?” She frowned and continued, “But Concubine Mei isn’t one to keep things simple either. Young Lady, aren’t you just trading a wolf for a tiger? How can this be good?”
Han Yan yawned. “Concubine Mei wants to win me over, so she won’t do anything to harm me right now. But Madam Zhou’s schemes run too deep – she can’t be allowed to enter the palace this time. Just watch, Mother. Concubine Mei won’t let Madam Zhou enter the palace; she’ll create obstacles for her. When Madam Zhou can’t go, Father won’t let Concubine Mei, a lowborn foreign concubine, enter the palace and lower his status. At most, he’ll take Concubine Wan along.”
Before Mother Chen could say more, Han Yan was already absorbed in eating her orange, mumbling, “We just need to watch the show.”
However, the next day, something happened that Han Yan hadn’t anticipated, completely disrupting the entire situation.
Early in the morning, Han Yan went to pay her respects to Zhuang Shiyang. Now that she had recovered from her illness, not going would invite criticism. Moreover, she needed to maintain an appearance of filial devotion to Zhuang Shiyang.
When Han Yan arrived at the main house’s dining hall, she saw Zhuang Han Ming sitting to one side, while Zhuang Yushan was nestled next to Zhuang Shiyang, with the prettily dressed Madam Zhou beside her. Zhuang Qin, Concubine Wan, and Concubine Mei sat on the other side of the table. Han Yan inwardly sneered – the seating arrangements reflected their status in the household.
However, she said nothing and properly gave her greetings to Zhuang Shiyang: “Good morning, Father.”
Madam Zhou immediately said with a light laugh, “Fourth Young Lady, please join us at the table. The Master has been waiting for you for quite some time.”
These words carried multiple meanings, both criticizing Han Yan for being lazy and making the elders wait and suggesting she was putting on airs as Fourth Young Lady without apologizing.
Han Yan looked at Madam Zhou in confusion and said, “Father arrived so early? Strangely, I got up at the usual time. Ji Lan, you foolish girl, you didn’t even tell Young Lady the time was wrong – you deserve punishment!”
Ji Lan understood and immediately replied, “Young Lady, the time was not wrong.”
Han Yan sighed in relief and said with a smile, “You had me worried! So Father just woke up early. I’m ashamed I couldn’t match that.”
Her words were childishly lively, but they carried different meanings to different ears. Early that morning, Madam Zhou had persuaded the Master to summon everyone for greetings half an hour earlier than usual. They had deliberately left out Han Yan, hoping to make her appear lazy and unfilial when everyone else had already arrived. But Han Yan had skillfully deflected the responsibility with a few simple words.
Indeed, she wasn’t wrong – she had come at the regular time. Concubine Mei and the others glared at Madam Zhou, feeling disgusted by her attempts to act like the primary wife.
Zhuang Han Ming had been worried when Han Yan didn’t appear at first and became even more angry when Madam Zhou spoke. Only after Han Yan defused the situation did he relax.
Madam Zhou’s expression changed slightly, and seeing Zhuang Shiyang’s growing impatience, she quickly forced a smile and said, “Yes, now that everyone has paid their respects, let’s eat.”
Once seated at the table, everyone was lost in their thoughts.
A plate of pastries on the table caught everyone’s attention. The pastries were shaped like little rabbits, with snow-white skin showing a hint of green, and red eyes made from preserved plums that looked like jewels. Seeing everyone’s interest, Concubine Mei said, “This is a new dish from the kitchen, filled with osmanthus flower paste. I tried some in the kitchen yesterday – it tastes quite good.”
The people at the table were northerners who didn’t care much for sweets, except for the Zhou mother and daughter from the south. Thus, the plate of rabbit pastries was placed in front of Zhuang Yushan.
Han Yan glanced at Concubine Mei, noting her slightly triumphant expression, and felt alarmed. But then she thought that nothing untoward would happen with so many people watching, and decided she was overthinking.
Zhuang Yushan was delighted: “These rabbits are so cute!” She tilted her head and picked one up, placing it in Zhuang Shiyang’s bowl. “Father, please eat.”
Zhuang Shiyang was naturally pleased, smiling broadly: “Father doesn’t like sweets. Yu’er, you eat it.”
Han Yan lowered her head in disgust. Among the four children in this house, Zhuang Shiyang probably only truly acknowledged Zhuang Yushan as his daughter. While she was pondering this, a snow-white rabbit was placed in her bowl. Looking up, she saw Madam Zhou smiling at her with extraordinary gentleness: “Young ladies all like pretty pastries. Fourth Young Lady, please try one.”
Han Yan already had little appetite and could barely finish a few sips of chicken porridge. Now seeing this enormous thing in her bowl, and thinking about Madam Zhou’s saliva on the chopsticks, she felt even more nauseated, wishing she could throw the contents of her bowl in Madam Zhou’s face.
Han Yan glanced at Zhuang Qin, who was eating her meal silently with no one offering her any food and couldn’t help but sigh. Zhuang Han Ming winked at her, finally making her smile.
Before her smile could fully form, a sharp scream rang out, followed by a loud “bang” as Zhuang Yushan fell from her chair: “It hurts! My stomach hurts so much!”
Han Yan was stunned. Zhuang Shiyang had already scooped her up: “Yu’er, what’s wrong? Why does your stomach suddenly hurt?”
Madam Zhou rushed to Zhuang Yushan’s side, tears immediately streaming down her face: “Master, quickly call for a doctor!” Turning to Zhuang Yushan, she wailed, “My poor Yu’er, you were fine just now. How did you suddenly get stomach pains? Could you have eaten something bad?”
Zhuang Shiyang froze at these words, his gaze sweeping darkly across the dining table before fixing on the plate of white rabbit pastries.
Han Yan hadn’t expected this turn of events either. She instinctively looked at Concubine Mei, who had her mouth open in shock, genuinely appearing bewildered. However, she quickly composed herself, though her tightly twisted handkerchief betrayed her nervousness.
This reaction clearly showed her confusion – if Concubine Mei had been behind this, why would she show such an expression? Han Yan was suspicious and suddenly turned to look at the Zhou mother and daughter. She saw Zhuang Yushan’s pale face with tightly closed eyes, her left hand secretly tugging at Madam Zhou’s clothes. Madam Zhou still had tears streaming down her face, but Han Yan saw one corner of her mouth curl up.
Han Yan was shocked, realizing that Concubine Mei had fallen into Madam Zhou’s trap. She had thought this concubine was clever, but compared to Madam Zhou, she was still one move behind. Madam Zhou had learned of Concubine Mei’s plan and turned it against her – now Concubine Mei was in trouble.
“Bring the pastry cook here!” Zhuang Shiyang was now furious, one hand comforting Zhuang Yushan while suspiciously eyeing everyone in the room.
Han Yan saw the disappointment on Zhuang Han Ming’s face and felt a pang in her heart. After suffering so much in her previous life, she no longer had hope for this father, but Han Ming was still an eleven-year-old child. To him, father was everything – he respected and revered him, yet was relegated to an unfavored position. Confusion, heartache, disappointment – all must be overwhelming him. She wondered if he could bear it.