Aunt Liu

The following day, a banquet was held in the main hall of the Wei residence to entertain guests. Most of those who came were Wei Changsong's colleagues from his official career. Although Wei Qiao was exempted from mourning due to the emperor's decision to grant him leave, and because Wei Kang had recently passed away, he only held a banquet and did not invite any dancers, musicians, or singers to liven things up.

During the banquet, Zhao Mingshun, the Minister of Rites, sat as the guest of honor, with Wei Changsong to his left, and Wei Qiao sitting two seats away from Wei Changsong. Wei Qiao, dressed in a dark blue robe with subtle patterns, stood upright, his face as handsome as jade but showing little joy, as he ate a plate of pine nut tofu in front of him.

Zhao Mingshun and Wei Changsong were chatting enthusiastically when Zhao Mingshun glanced at Wei Qiao, the main character beside him, poured himself a glass of wine, got up, walked past Wei Changsong to Wei Qiao, and said with a smile, "Lord Wei is a young man of great talent. He passed the imperial examination at the age of seventeen and entered the Dali Temple, where he solved two long-standing cold cases. He was then appointed by His Majesty as an imperial envoy to investigate the people's conditions throughout our Great Zhou. Now he has been promoted to the position of Deputy Commander of the Dragon Feather Guard and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Lord Wei is only twenty-three years old. His future is truly limitless."

Upon hearing this, Wei Qiao stood up to greet him, a cold and distant smile on his face. "Lord Zhao is too kind."

After the two shared a drink, Zhao Mingshun returned to his seat to continue listening to Wei Changsong's flattery, his face full of smugness. Wei Qiao glanced coldly at Wei Changsong's obsequious expression, a look of disdain flashing across his face.

Wei Qiao poured himself a drink and patiently waited for the banquet to end. He responded to each of those who came to offer congratulations. Two busybodies at the next table, noticing Wei Qiao's arrogant expression, began to whisper among themselves. One said, "He only rose through the ranks by flattering the emperor. Ostensibly an imperial envoy, he secretly helps the emperor seek immortality and Taoist practices. Who doesn't know this?"

Another chimed in, "Haha, they say that great villains can appear loyal, and that's certainly true."

The two men were quite loud, causing a moment of awkwardness among the guests. Seeing this, Wei Changsong quickly urged everyone to eat. Wei Qiao turned his head and glanced at the two men; they turned out to be two retainers from the Prince Cheng's residence. He smiled at them, and the two men immediately lowered their heads and pretended to be timid.

The entire Wei household was busy all day preparing for the banquet. Xi Chun was an exception; she was in the Qingwu Garden mending holes in her red embroidered satin shoes. Xi Chun owned three pairs of shoes. One pair was a pair of old shoes that Zhang Yunyao didn't want when she first entered the mansion, which were a bit too tight. Another pair was a pair of red embroidered satin shoes that Wei Kang had his maid make for Xi Chun, made to her exact size, and with the pattern and material chosen by her herself—everything fit perfectly. The third pair was the bright red wedding shoes she wore on her wedding day. Seeing those shoes reminded Xi Chun of Wei Kang collapsing beside her, and those shoes had been wrapped up and placed high in the wardrobe ever since, never worn again.

Without a doubt, Xichun loved those red embroidered satin shoes the most, and wore them the most. Because she had few shoes, she always chose to walk on clean surfaces when it rained. The reason there was a hole in the shoe was because she encountered a large dog at the back gate of the mansion on her way back from getting dinner from the kitchen yesterday. That large dog was bought by Wei Changsong to guard the house; besides the main gate, there was one at each of the east and west corner gates and the back gate. The dog was a cross between a dog and a wolf, with gray eyes, erect ears, and a strong, muscular body; it was also incredibly fast when it ran.

Xi Chun was terrified of dogs. When she was little, she was chased by a stray dog ​​while playing in the street. Luckily, it was winter and she was wearing thick clothes, so she wasn't bitten. But that experience left her with a deep-seated fear of dogs. Xi Chun knew that the mansion kept dogs, so she never dared to go near the various gates of the mansion. Unexpectedly, she encountered one in the small garden.

Chased by the dog, Xichun dropped her food box and climbed up the thickest plum tree in the small garden. The large dog, seeing her helpless, circled around the tree barking at her until the servant guarding the dogs at the back gate arrived. The servant led the dog away and put it on a harness. Xichun waited a long time before anxiously climbing down from the tree. After looking around to make sure the dog was gone, she picked up her food box and quickly ran back to Qingwu Garden, locking the gate behind her.

The food in the food box spilled out completely. Xichun carefully scooped the rice out with her chopsticks and ate it with the crispy goose leg that Caihuan had stolen for her from the cook for dinner. According to Caihuan, this crispy goose was the specialty of the new cook in the manor, and it was a time-consuming and laborious dish that wasn't made for ordinary occasions, not for banquets. Xichun ate the goose leg clean, almost swallowing the bones as well. The rich aroma of the crispy goose and its crispy texture lingered in her mouth, and she was still savoring the taste when she woke up the next day.

Xichun is often slow to realize things; for example, she only discovered that her shoes had holes when she was on her way back from picking up breakfast the next day.

Xichun wasn't very good at needlework. Her grandfather used to say that girls should at least learn embroidery, so he gave her two taels of silver and sent her to learn needlework from Aunt Li. Aunt Li was the mother of her friend Lanxiang, and she supported Lanxiang and her brother with her skillful embroidery hands. Xichun thought she was learning very hard, going to Aunt Li's every day to learn, her hands pricked all over by the needle, but she still couldn't learn embroidery.

Grandpa felt sorry for her hands when he saw them, so he never asked her to do needlework again. All the clothes for her and Grandpa were made by Aunt Li at Grandpa's request. If she accidentally tore her clothes, Grandpa would mend them for her when he had free time.

Xi Chun only learned needlework after arriving at the Wei family mansion. It was Aunt Liu, who lived next door in the Rose Garden, who taught her. However, it was only simple mending; she still couldn't learn embroidery.

After tidying up her sewing basket and putting on the shoes she had sewn herself, Xichun went to the Rose Garden to retrieve the handkerchief that Aunt Liu had embroidered for her.

Upon seeing Xichun arrive, the maidservant beside Aunt Liu quickly went inside to announce her arrival.

Aunt Liu was Wei Changsong's fourth concubine. She was only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Her fair oval face was lightly rouged, her willow-leaf eyebrows were drawn with charcoal, and her charming eyes revealed an alluring charm. Her hair was loosely tied up in a bun, and she was leaning on the Luohan bed covered with bamboo mats, eating a peach.

Seeing Xichun enter the room, they hurriedly invited her to come and eat peaches. Xichun took the bamboo skewer from Aunt Liu's hand and noticed that Aunt Liu still had the same red nail polish as last time. The red nail polish seemed to be an extension of Aunt Liu's hands; she had never seen her change the color. The red looked as if it had just been stuck onto a crabapple petal, very bright and glossy. Xichun couldn't help but take a few more glances.

"You've come at just the right time. These are peaches that the master just gave you this morning. He said they were sent from the estate. They're very juicy, so please have some."

After saying this, she instructed a maid to fetch the embroidered handkerchief from the bedroom. The maid handed the handkerchief to Xichun, who got up, washed her hands, and dried them with her clothes before daring to accept it. She discovered that Aunt Liu had embroidered two handkerchiefs for her: one was white with willow branches embroidered on it, and the other was pink with yellow butterflies embroidered on it.

Xichun touched the lifelike butterfly on the handkerchief, a smile spreading across her face. But when she saw that there were two handkerchiefs, she hesitated a little. "Didn't Aunt Liu say she would embroider one for me?"

Aunt Liu waved her hand and gave a charming and affectionate smile. "Since I had nothing else to do, I embroidered an extra piece for you. It's getting hot, so use it to wipe your sweat."

Xi Chun thanked the maid before putting the handkerchief away and taking a cup of cooled mint tea from her. After taking a sip, she felt refreshed.

“These mint leaves are from my yard. They’re perfect for making tea in the summer. Go back and pick a few and plant them in the open space. They’ll grow into a big patch in no time.” Aunt Liu said, then glanced at Xichun’s clothes. She saw that it was still the same grape-patterned blouse. Xichun had grown quite a bit taller, though she was still thin. The blouse was a little small on her; with the slightest movement, the sleeves would climb up to her arms, revealing her delicate, fair skin.

She pouted and said with dissatisfaction, "If you ask me, Madam is too heartless. You are the eldest young mistress of the mansion, yet you are not even given a few bolts of fabric for making clothes. Look at how you are dressed."

Upon hearing this, Xichun looked down at her clothes. After being washed many times, they were no longer as bright as they had been at first, and she couldn't help but feel sad. Her gaze drifted to the white porcelain vase on the brightly lit cabinet in the room, but she did not reply.

Aunt Liu felt ashamed for hurting Xichun with her careless words. After thinking for a while, she said awkwardly, "I still have a few old clothes in my room, all new, but they are a bit too big at the waist. I've been keeping them in my wardrobe. You know I always love clothes that show off my waist, so I'll give these to you. We're about the same size, so they'll definitely fit you well."

Without waiting for Xichun's reply, she turned and went to the inner bedroom to search. After a short while, she brought out four sets of plain-colored clothes and handed them to Xichun. Xichun hesitated whether to take them or not, but Aunt Liu simply stuffed them all into her hands, then turned around and sat back down on the bamboo mat.

Xi Chun touched the silky fabric with her palm, her face somewhat blank.

“Xichun, you know I can be a bit blunt sometimes, but I don’t mean any harm. We’re both just sitting on the sidelines in the household, and I don’t mean to look down on you. If it weren’t for the bottle of typhoid pills you gave me last December that saved my life, I probably would have been meeting the King of Hell back then. I’m grateful to you. Sometimes I say things that aren’t nice, so please don’t take them to heart.”

Aunt Liu's tone was completely different from her usual frivolous manner; her words were sincere. Xi Chun knew that Aunt Liu was speaking from the heart, and she was deeply moved. The bottle of typhoid pills was specially bought for her by Aunt Li's nephew, who was transporting goods, when she went to the capital. Xi Chun had kept it carefully, and she was happy to be able to help Aunt Liu. The Wei residence was large and crowded, but the walls separated everyone, leaving her and Aunt Liu as two lonely figures inside.

Xichun hugged the clothes tighter, a sweet smile on her face, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at Aunt Liu. "Thank you, Aunt Liu, Xichun really likes these clothes."

Seeing that Xichun's face brightened, Aunt Liu felt relieved and quickly told her maid to find a bundle to help Xichun pack her clothes.

Aunt Liu liked Xichun not only because Xichun had helped her with medicine, but also because Xichun's eyes resembled her sister's. Aunt Liu's real name was Liu Yannan, and she was from Jiangzhe. She lost both her parents at a young age and lived with her sister in their uncle's house. Her sister also died of illness when she was ten. When she was fourteen, her uncle's business failed, and he gave her to Zhang Gu, a wealthy local merchant, to save his fortune. Zhang Gu found her charming and beautiful even at a young age and took a liking to her. He had his musicians teach her to sing and perform, and took her with him wherever he went on business. Later, when Zhang Gu came to the capital to sell silk, he hosted a banquet at his residence for officials visiting the capital. Wei Changsong met Liu Yannan in the garden and praised her to Zhang Gu. Within a few days, Liu Yannan was brought to Wei's residence by Zhang Gu in a sedan chair.

Wei Changsong had begun to develop some affection for her, but after a while, a new concubine entered the household, so he rarely visited her courtyard. Since meeting Xichun, she would often send her maid to Qingwu Garden to call Xichun over to keep her company, making her days less lonely and unbearable.