Zhao Mingzhu was the niece of the Duke of Ying. Although called his niece, she was adopted by the Duchess when she was childless in her middle age. At that time, Wei Ling, who was still the heir to the Duke of Ying, had no children. Fearing the old lady would be lonely, they brought Mingzhu to keep her company.
Mingzhu’s background was ordinary, but the Duchess raised her like a legitimate daughter of a noble family. It was as if she had become a phoenix perching on a branch. For this reason, Mingzhu became well-known among the ladies and young misses of Beijing’s aristocratic families. However, by the time Mingzhu grew up, Yining had already passed away. Mingzhu’s impression of Yining came from a time when she sighed in front of Yining’s memorial tablet, “What a pitiful life. If she hadn’t died, she would be a Marquise or a General’s wife now.”
As she said this, there was a smile on her face, and her tone was meaningful.
Yining had always wondered about the meaning behind Mingzhu’s smile. She had no grievances with Mingzhu and had never even met her in life. Yet, she always felt that Mingzhu disliked, or even despised her.
Fortunately, she was already dead at that time.
Mingzhu couldn’t do anything to a dead person.
Now, calculating the time, the old Duke of Ying should have passed away, and Wei Ling, the heir, would have inherited the title. Consequently, Mingzhu’s status in Beijing would have risen even higher.
The person she had no chance to meet in her previous life, she now knew by a twist of fate.
Yining smiled and curtsied, “Greetings, Miss Mingzhu.”
She remembered that Mingzhu didn’t like people being too friendly with her.
Mingzhu looked at her with a cool tone, “You don’t look much like your sister Hui. I thought Sister Hui’s younger sister would be taller.”
Luo Yihui also smiled, “Yining has just turned eleven. She’ll probably grow taller later. You must be tired from your journey. Let me take you to rest first.”
More than ten maids and servants accompanying Mingzhu carried boxes and luggage through the hanging flower gate. Xuezhi walked to Yining’s side and said in astonishment, “I asked Rongsu, Miss Mingzhu is only staying for four or five days, but this entourage is quite grand…”
Rongsu was Luo Yihui’s head maid.
Yining said quietly, “This should be considered modest for her.”
The extravagance of those long-established noble families was incomparable to families like theirs with only a hundred years of history.
Soon after, Luo Yihui brought young Master Yu to Lin Hairu.
Lin Hairu, with her pregnant belly, was directing servants to prepare food. She looked energetic, with a rosy complexion, and seemed to have gained some weight. Yining stood up from the arhat bed when she saw her elder sister arrive.
Young Master Yu in Luo Yihui’s arms had big, blinking eyes. He tugged at his mother’s clothes, curiously looking at Yining, and asked Luo Yihui, “Mother, is this my aunt?”
Yining walked up to him and gently tapped his little nose.
Yu was stunned by her touch, staring at her blankly.
Yining teased him, “Do you recognize me, Yu?”
Yu blinked again and said softly, “Aunt looks like Mother.”
Yining found him adorable and reached out to hold him. Yu opened his little arms and came into her embrace. Perhaps because Yining and Yihui looked somewhat similar, he quickly warmed up to her. He giggled happily, playing with the silver necklace on Yining’s hand.
Lin Hairu hurried over. Luo Yihui had Yu greet her. Lin Hairu liked the fair and timid Yu at first sight and wanted to hold him too.
However, Luo Yihui stopped her, “You can’t hold him now.” Lin Hairu was pregnant after all.
Lin Hairu laughed, “How delicate! When my second sister-in-law was pregnant, she was still collecting debts with the household manager.” Despite saying this, she sat down and asked Luo Yihui, “I heard that the Duke of Ying’s niece came back with you this time?”
Luo Yihui watched her son playing happily with Yining. Yining seemed to have a strange affinity with children, perhaps because her slightly round eyes and cute appearance made her look innocent and pure.
“She’s the apple of Madam Zheng’s eye, always kept in her room,” Luo Yihui said softly. Madam Zheng was Wei Ling’s mother, the Duke of Ying. “She came out this time because she quarreled with Madam Zheng. This child is even more spoiled than Yining. The old lady has no granddaughters, so everyone has pampered her. You need to be extra careful when arranging things for her. I’ll have Rongsu explain the details to you later.”
Lin Hairu frowned, “Then why did she come back with you?” Such a pampered young lady was indeed a hot potato. No one would appreciate it if she was well cared for, but there would be trouble if she wasn’t.
“Just a young girl throwing a tantrum,” Luo Yihui smiled.
Luo Yihui asked about Concubine Qiao.
No matter how hard Concubine Qiao tried, she was no longer as favored as before. Later, Lin Hairu selected two beautiful maids to serve Luo Chengzhang, and he saw even less of Concubine Qiao. Now, Concubine Qiao came to pay respects to Lin Hairu every day because Concubine Guo would bring young Master Xuan over. She came every day just to see Xuan. Even seeing a red mosquito bite on his neck would make her eyes red with envy.
Luo Yihui held Lin Hairu’s hand and said to her, “Mother, I won’t say much else, but one thing is important: be strong for your child. For the sake of the baby in your belly, you must keep a close eye on her from now on,” she paused, “Don’t give her any chance to turn the tables.”
Yining quietly listened to their conversation while handing the silver necklace back to Yu. You took the necklace but then returned it to Yining’s hand, saying in his childish voice, “Aunt, I want to be lifted high again—”
Yining pretended to be angry and pinched his little nose. You looked at her in confusion again.
Hearing that the Duke of Ying’s niece had arrived, Madam Chen led Luo Yiyu and Luo Yixiu to the second household. Luo Chengzhang happily took his grandson to his study to play, bouncing the child in his arms, clearly delighted. After lunch, they set up a banquet in the pavilion outside the main room.
Hearing that Madam Chen’s grandfather had once been the director of the Hanlin Academy, Zhao Mingzhu finally spoke to her, “The scholars in the Hanlin Academy are all learned men. A few days ago, Grandmother invited an instructor from the Hanlin Academy to teach me. I could understand it!”
The two sisters, Luo Yiyu and Luo Yixiu watched her glumly from the side.
They were all from noble families, and the Luo family was a big household in Baoding, with a scholarly maternal family. Naturally, they had been pampered since childhood and had somewhat spoiled personalities. Originally, Luo Yining was the most pampered, but now she had changed into a jolly child from a New Year picture – as long as you didn’t provoke her, she wouldn’t lose her temper. All three were legitimate young ladies of noble birth, but compared to Zhao Mingzhu, they looked like country bumpkins.
Zhao Mingzhu wore a robe made of kesi silk interwoven with peacock feathers. Her gold necklace was inlaid with precious pearls, and the beryl stones adorning her ears were as large as fingernails, also priceless. In terms of appearance, she might be on par with Luo Yixiu, but with such adornments, her beauty almost rivaled that of Luo Yiling.
When Zhao Mingzhu spoke, she sat up straight, her back erect, holding her teacup with her little finger slightly raised.
A maid brought up a plate of lotus root and water chestnut cakes made with milk. Luo Yixiu pushed it in front of Zhao Mingzhu and said, “The cakes we make at home are different from others. They’re made with cow’s milk. Miss Mingzhu probably hasn’t had cakes made with cow’s milk before. Please try them.”
Zhao Mingzhu’s smile faded as she sipped her tea, not responding.
Yining thought to herself that Luo Yixiu was too quick with her words. If you want to offer someone food, just offer it. Why say so much?
Yining explained, “We thought Miss Mingzhu might not like ordinary snacks, so we prepared these specially.”
Zhao Mingzhu’s expression improved slightly, and she said, “In Beijing, not only cow’s milk but even sheep’s milk is used to make water chestnut cakes now.” She took a small bite and then stopped eating, holding Luo Yihui’s hand and saying, “Sister Hui, you said the Daci Temple in Baoding is nice. When can we go and visit?”
She didn’t want to talk to these young ladies anymore, thinking them all to be unsophisticated country folk who had never been to the capital.
Luo Yihui couldn’t afford to offend Zhao Mingzhu, so she smiled and said, “If you’d like, we can go tomorrow.”
From then on, Zhao Mingzhu no longer paid attention to the three of them.
Yining thought that Luo Yixiu had offended Zhao Mingzhu. After some consideration, she had someone send some freshly peeled tender lotus seeds to Zhao Mingzhu.
The maid serving Zhao Mingzhu brought the plate for her to see. “Miss, these lotus seeds are very fresh. They were sent by the Luo family’s Seventh Miss.”
Zhao Mingzhu glanced at them and said, “Small place, this is all they can offer.” She tasted one and found it fragrant, so she ate a few more. “Isn’t that Seventh Miss supposed to be Sister Hui’s younger sister? She should be a legitimate daughter of the Luo family, but I feel she’s no different from the other Luo family young ladies. Even the jade bracelet she wears is of an ordinary style.”
Her maid laughed and said, “My lady, who could be as pampered as you? The pearl powder you use daily for your face and the rose water from the Western Regions all cost several hundred taels of silver. Naturally, everyone else seems ordinary to you.”
Zhao Mingzhu thought this was true and smiled at her maid, saying, “I thought I could play with Sister Hui’s younger sister, but now I see we’re not of the same kind.” In her view, Luo Yining’s future was very limited. At most, she could marry a scholar. If that scholar was lucky, he might become a minor official of the fourth or fifth rank. If not so fortunate, she might marry a graduate and spend a lifetime waiting for vacancies among other officials. Even if a position opened up, it would just be as a clerk.
She therefore didn’t care about this matter anymore and even sent back two gold bracelets to Yining. The maid who came to deliver them said with a smile, “Our Miss says the lotus seeds were delicious, so she’s sending these bracelets for the young lady to wear.”
Qingqu, upon seeing this, became angry: “What kind of tone is that, as if she’s bestowing a reward? Do we lack two gold bracelets in your room? I think you shouldn’t have been too plain. You should wear those things Madam usually gives you and let her see!”
Having been with Yining for several years, Qingqu had grown increasingly fond of her. She saw Yining as small and soft but with her ideas. She gradually came to respect Yining and always felt that no one could bully her, so naturally, she was uncomfortable seeing such things.
Yining flipped through the two gold bracelets, which were indeed of ordinary style.
She tossed the bracelets into her jewelry box and said to Qingqu, “Lotus seeds for gold bracelets, why wouldn’t we want such a good deal?”
Qingqu was so angry she couldn’t speak, and after a while, she rushed out of the room into the courtyard.
Nanny Xu changed a small silver clove earring for Yining and smiled, saying, “Why are you teasing Miss Qingqu? She’s just straightforward.” She felt that her young miss was still childish. Last time, when someone said something about Lin Hairu, she had argued with the Song family’s young miss with a gloomy face, parting on bad terms.
Yining thought to herself that she didn’t want to quibble with Zhao Mingzhu, nor could she afford to.
The next day, Luo Yihui was to take Zhao Mingzhu to burn incense at the Daci Temple. Yining wanted to get safety charms for Lin Hairu and her third brother, so she went along.
The Luo family’s young ladies took three carriages and set off grandly for the Daci Temple.
The Daci Temple was built against a mountain, magnificent and imposing. The Luo family gave money for incense to the Daci Temple every year, so when they arrived at the temple gate, a guest-receiving monk was waiting for them. He led them to a side hall next to the main hall to sit. While others went to worship the Buddha, Yining saw she couldn’t squeeze in, so she walked along the temple’s corridor to the Guanyin Hall to worship Guanyin.
She originally didn’t believe in gods or Buddha, but people are strange. Whether they believe or not, they feel it’s always good to worship, at least better than not worshipping at all.
Yining knelt on the cushion and looked up to see Guanyin’s compassionate and merciful face.
After leaving the Guanyin Hall, she walked back along the corridor, hearing the summer cicadas in the stuffy temple. Sunlight filtered through the tree shadows onto the ground. The temple was quiet, making the cicadas sound even louder… Her third brother had gone to Zhou Hongru in Qingyuan County to prepare for next year’s spring imperial examination. She wondered if he would be back tomorrow.
Yining thought to herself.
She had just prayed to the Bodhisattva, first for Lin Hairu and her unborn child’s safety, and second for her third brother’s success in the spring examination. She remembered that in her previous life, Luo Shenyu had ranked third in the imperial examination… She didn’t know if it would be the same next year!
Yining walked out of the corridor but found she hadn’t taken the original path. In front of her was an unfamiliar courtyard, guarded by many armed men. These guards all wore swords and had solemn expressions, creating a stern and vigilant atmosphere.
Xuezhi immediately pulled her hand and said in a low voice, “Young Miss, we probably shouldn’t go there…”
Yining also took a step back, realizing at a glance that these were not ordinary people.
Just as she was about to leave, she saw two people standing in the courtyard talking. One was a monk wearing a brownish-red kasaya, with handsome features and a compassionate, otherworldly air about his brow. The other wore a dark right-lapelled robe with embroidered patterns on the sleeves. He was very tall and handsome, with a kind of sharp elegance hidden beneath his scholarly appearance. He had a faint smile at the corner of his mouth and seemed to be saying something to the monk.
Yining was shocked, her eyes widening as she took a small step back.
She thought she might have seen wrong, but the man turned his head and glanced at her, his gaze containing a kind of numb coldness.
That look… she was all too familiar with it!
She had seen Lu Jiaxue use this look to view others countless times, as if everyone else was just an insect in his hand, to be played with at will.
Yining suddenly stepped back and quickly turned to run away. Xuezhi didn’t know why, but this alerted the guards at the door. She looked around, gritted her teeth, and followed Yining as they left.
Daoyan saw a finely dressed little girl running away. Judging by her appearance, she was likely not of common birth and probably the daughter of an official. He turned back to ask Lu Jiaxue, “Did she overhear anything?”
Lu Jiaxue’s eyes narrowed slightly as he responded indifferently, “I don’t know.” He called over a subordinate and instructed, “…find out which families came to Daci Temple to offer incense today and if any of them have a young lady around twelve or thirteen years old.”
After the subordinate acknowledged the order and left, Lu Jiaxue said, “I have to go now. What I’ve told you must not be disclosed… do you understand?”
Daoyan closed his eyes and nodded.
With that, Lu Jiaxue left Daci Temple with his guards.
Yining had run quite a distance before she realized that she shouldn’t have fled. Regardless of what they were discussing, running only showed her guilt. But at that moment, she simply couldn’t think clearly; she just didn’t want to see Lu Jiaxue.
Calming herself, Yining thought she should go back and start over. She finally walked back along the correct path, where Luo Yihui was waiting at the door, ready to go with her to eat vegetarian food. Taking a deep breath, Yining decided to forget about her encounter with Lu Jiaxue.
After all, she had never won against Lu Jiaxue.