“Xia Yu!”

“Xia Yu?”

Xie Zhifei, who never casually interrupted, inexplicably interjected, “Is that Mama Xia?”

Upon hearing this name, Guihua’s hand flipped over, gripping Yan Sanhe’s tightly. Where others couldn’t see, her two rows of teeth, already mostly fallen out, bit down hard.

Yan Sanhe noticed her tension and asked gently, “Guihua, why was Xia Yu jealous of Shishui?”

“Why?”

The words squeezed through Guihua’s teeth. “Because she’s cheap!”

Among the twelve newly arrived young ladies, Shishui was the oldest, yet also the cleverest and most beautiful. Shishui’s beauty…

Guihua looked at the young woman before her. “Her eyes were even blacker than yours, her skin even fairer than yours…”

“Don’t compare her to Shishui!”

Xie Zhifei suddenly interrupted again, his tone sharp, startling Guihua into trembling, unable to say another word.

Before Yan Sanhe could react, Young Master Pei had already delivered a flick to his head. “What are you doing?”

“Get lost!”

Xie Zhifei swatted away Young Master Pei’s hand, his expression frighteningly dark.

Young Master Pei’s heart tensed.

What was wrong with this fellow?

Had he taken the wrong medicine?

Or was he possessed?

“Li Buyan.”

Yan Sanhe didn’t turn her head. “You accompany Third Master for a walk over there.”

“Third Master, let’s go!”

“Go where?”

Xie Zhifei glared at Li Buyan ungraciously. “I want to listen.”

Li Buyan narrowed her eyes, half-smiling. “No one’s stopping you from listening, but you should know when to be tactful. Guihua has died once—she’s timid. Don’t frighten her!”

Translated into plain speech: Third Master, be sensible!

Actually, the moment the words left his mouth, Third Master had already regretted them. But comparing Shishui to Yan Sanhe—he couldn’t bear it no matter what.

That Shishui, though the Grand Tutor’s daughter, not only ended up in the pleasure quarters but also entered the Buddhist order. After death, her coffin wouldn’t close. What kind of fate was that?

“My younger sister must be the most fortunate person in this world,” he thought bitterly.

Yan Sanhe sensed the hostile energy emanating from this man. She had no choice but to turn around and say in a commanding tone, “Be quiet. No interrupting.”

Xie Zhifei looked at Yan Sanhe’s cold face and, without any struggle, obediently nodded.

With this nod, aside from Huangqi—too frightened by the cemetery’s cold wind to think clearly—the remaining three all had their own calculations.

Li Buyan: “…”

Confirmed through eye contact—Third Master will be henpecked in the future!

Zhuqing: “…”

Master has been very abnormal lately.

Young Master Pei: “…”

From his “experienced” perspective, could this fellow have developed feelings for Yan Sanhe?

“Guihua, my apologies.”

Yan Sanhe said very calmly, “This is Third Master of the Xie residence. You needn’t fear him—when he smiles, he’s more amiable than anyone.”

Guihua looked at Xie Zhifei, then at Yan Sanhe, as if suddenly understanding something. “Just now… where was I?”

“You were saying Xia Yu was jealous of Shishui, that Shishui suffered greatly and endured much torment in the Red Building.”

“Yes, suffered greatly and endured much torment.”

Shishui stood out in the Red Building not only for her appearance and intelligence, but also for her accomplishments in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

Her skills in these arts were such that even the instructing mamas admitted inferiority.

But as the saying goes, the outstanding bird gets shot. The more exceptional Shishui was, the more jealous the other young ladies became.

There was only one courtesan queen, and the benefits of being courtesan queen were many. Who wouldn’t want to sit on that throne so the nobility might notice them and pull them up from the mud?

“Do you know what that Xia Yu did?”

Guihua answered her own question. “She put insects in Shishui’s bed, added croton beans to her water, cut up her clothes, put embroidery needles in her slippers…”

Xia Yu had arrived two years before Shishui. Because she was pretty, sweet-tongued, and knew how to handle matters, she won the favor of all the mamas.

Shishui’s arrival gave her a sense of crisis.

This young lady had been accustomed to competing for favor since childhood in her boudoir. Her heart was more venomous than a viper’s, capable of any underhanded trick.

Because of her, Shishui had been scolded and beaten. The worst time, she was punished to kneel in the snow for an entire night.

That was during the coldest days of the year, with heavy snow falling. She wore only a single layer of clothing, trembling with cold.

Xia Yu walked up to her slowly, holding an umbrella, then lifted her embroidered shoe and kicked. Shishui fell to the ground.

Xia Yu stepped forward and planted her foot on Shishui’s hand, grinding down hard.

“I hate most when someone overshadows me. Whoever tries to rise above me, I’ll destroy them. Shishui, I advise you not to fight me—you can’t win.”

Shishui lifted her eyelids, her voice very calm as she said one sentence: “I’m afraid many things won’t be up to you.”

“At the time, I was hiding in the shadows. Those words reached my ears clearly.”

Guihua smacked her lips. “I thought carefully—every word Shishui said made perfect sense. In this world, how many bowls of rice a person eats, how many bowls of soup they drink, how much fortune they enjoy, how much suffering they endure—it’s all arranged by Heaven.”

“So you stepped in to help her?” Yan Sanhe probed.

“Yes!”

Guihua released Yan Sanhe’s hand, scratching her face somewhat embarrassedly.

“My mother said a woman bullying another woman shows no ability—a woman bullying a man shows true ability. My mother also said prostitutes are lowly, but it’s the body that’s lowly, not the heart. A person’s heart cannot be bad.”

“Your mother’s words are all correct.”

Yan Sanhe looked at Guihua, speaking sincerely. “It’s a pity I was born so many years later. Otherwise, I would definitely have befriended such an extraordinary woman.”

Guihua’s eyelids twitched sharply. Looking at Yan Sanhe, her eyes reddened, yet produced no tears.

When people grow old, tears become scarce, but the feeling of being moved doesn’t diminish.

What kind of person was Mother?

Yet this girl called her an extraordinary woman…

Actually, in her heart, she also thought Mother was extraordinary. Any other young lady would have drunk an abortifacient long ago—how could she have been born?

Yan Sanhe’s single sentence made Guihua decide to search every corner of her memory and tell everything, piece by piece.

“Actually, Mother’s words were one factor. Another was that in all my years at the Music Bureau, I’d never seen anyone like Shishui—seemingly gentle on the surface, but stubborn to death in her bones.”

Yan Sanhe suddenly became interested. “You say she was stubborn?”

“Mm.” Guihua nodded.

Yan Sanhe: “Can you give an example?”

Guihua thought for a moment. “The time she was punished to kneel in the snow is an example.”

During that calligraphy lesson, following the usual practice, all the young ladies each copied a section of Buddhist scripture. The other young ladies all used regular script, but only Shishui used slender gold script.

When the instructing mama was commenting, she initially said nothing. But Xia Yu inserted a remark—slender gold script was written by a madman and showed disrespect to Buddhist teachings.

Shishui glanced at her and said, “Buddha saves all beings. A madman is also a being. How is this disrespectful?”

Xia Yu sneered coldly. “Don’t make it sound so noble. You just want to use this calligraphy to win the courtesan queen position, don’t you?”

Shishui’s dark pupils were full of disdain. “Whether I compete or not is my business. Why do you concern yourself? Mind your own affairs and don’t reach too far.”

Xia Yu fluttered like a butterfly into the mama’s embrace, eyes brimming with tears. “Mama, look at her—what kind of words is she speaking?”

The Music Bureau’s two most outstanding young ladies, once properly trained, would be the most valuable cash cows. The mama wanted to be a peacemaker.

“Shishui, quickly apologize to Xia Yu.”

Guihua suddenly smiled, looking at Yan Sanhe. “Do you know what Shishui replied?”