"That year, my elder sister and I both came of age. My elder sister was a month older than me. Her coming-of-age ceremony was very grand and spectacular, and many young ladies came to the mansion."
"This has always been the rule in the capital: legitimate daughters are on good terms with other legitimate daughters, and we illegitimate daughters must avoid each other."
"In order not to get in the way of the guests, I slipped out through the back door. Once I was out, I didn't dare to go far. I just lingered in the bamboo grove outside the back door."
"I was so bored that I started humming the little tune my aunt taught me. I loved that tune so much that I was so engrossed in singing it that I didn't even notice someone coming up behind me."
He said, "You sing so well that I got lost and forgot where I was going."
"He was dressed in a light blue long robe, the fabric of which was thin and flowing, and a ring-shaped jade pendant hung at his waist. He was clearly not a young master from an ordinary family."
"He was tall, neither fat nor thin, with delicate features, and exuded the refined and scholarly air that only a scholar could possess. At first glance, he captured my heart."
At this point, a glimmer of innocent light appeared in Aunt Meng's eyes.
Jiang Shuyue couldn't bear to interrupt her, so she listened quietly.
"That day, we had a very pleasant conversation. His gaze was gentle and tender, so captivating that one could easily become enchanted by it. He said he was a newly appointed scholar, and I told him that I was a concubine's daughter in the Meng family. He said that was not important, as long as he was the legitimate son."
"When we parted that day, he said we would meet again in the bamboo forest the next day. When I got back, I washed my face with cold water and told myself that it was just a daydream."
"The next day, I went to the bamboo forest again as if possessed. Sure enough, he was waiting there. He said he was worried that I wouldn't be able to leave the mansion, and that I wouldn't believe him and wouldn't keep the appointment."
"In the days that followed, we went boating on the lake and enjoyed romantic moments under the moon and flowers. He promised to persuade my family to come and propose marriage."
As Aunt Meng spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.
Hearing this, Jiang Shuyue thought to herself, "Men's words are deceitful. All the young masters in the capital use this kind of talk to deceive illegitimate daughters. Nine times out of ten, they get the girl's body and that's it."
Sure enough, Aunt Meng sighed and said, "It was all wishful thinking on my part. I was blinded by passion and put myself in a passive position."
Aunt Meng raised her sleeve to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and looked at Jiang Shuyue with a bitter smile.
"You must have guessed it, he came to propose marriage, but he's not asking for me, he's asking for my elder sister."
Jiang Shuyue couldn't help but interject, "It's better to get rid of such a faithless and treacherous man. Why doesn't Auntie choose another good man?"
Aunt Meng slowly shook her head. "I'm already his woman, so why would I have any other thoughts? He told me afterwards that his mother forced him to marry my elder sister, and that I should reluctantly go to his house as a concubine. He also said that he would never mistreat me."
"The Right Chancellor's wife didn't agree?"
“No, it was my own choice to let go. I watched my aunt be subservient since I was a child, half master and half servant. I didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes. In order not to cause trouble for the marriages of my other sisters, I took the initiative to come to Peach Blossom Nunnery to become a nun.”
Hearing this, Jiang Shuyue was filled with righteous indignation.
“Aunt Meng, your elder sister is so wicked. You knew the Right Prime Minister before, and you've already hidden here, yet she still won't let you go and wants to take your life. She's too vicious. A heartless man with a venomous heart, a match made in heaven.”
A mocking smile appeared on Aunt Meng's lips. "My elder sister is always good at pretending to be virtuous and kind. When she found out that I had a relationship with that person, she hypocritically advised me to go to the Cui family with her."
I firmly refused. After she married into the Cui family and became pregnant, that man developed the idea of taking a concubine. She pretended to be magnanimous and brought that man to the nunnery to persuade me to go home, but in reality, she wanted to use my entry into the Cui family to help her secure favor.
Jiang Shuyue asked, "Aunt Meng, have you gone back yet?"
"No, but I don't know when she tampered with my food. Later, she would send people to deliver tonics and medicinal herbs from time to time."
“After returning home to recuperate and then going back to Peach Blossom Nunnery, my aunt passed away soon after. Without my own mother, I never stepped into the door when I passed by my home on my way to the city.”
Jiang Shuyue did the math carefully. More than twenty years had passed, and the Heart-Eating Grass should have killed Aunt Meng long ago. Could it be that Aunt Meng had a change of heart and stopped halfway through?
Just as I was wondering, I heard Aunt Meng say quietly, "Back then I was young and proud. I pretended not to care, but I hated them, especially that person. I threw away all the medicinal herbs that the Cui family sent."
Jiang Shuyue breathed a sigh of relief, "Aunt Meng, it's fortunate that you didn't take those medicines continuously, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to see you again."
“My elder sister is such a clever person. Seeing that although I am not well, I am still alive and well, she started to come to Peach Blossom Nunnery for two days every year when the peach blossoms are in full bloom. I don’t know why she didn’t come this year, but sent her daughter instead.”
"Did Aunt forgive them later? Otherwise, she wouldn't have had the chance to poison them again." Jiang Shuyue asked, raising her eyes. Aunt Meng nodded and sighed, "As time went by, I gradually let go of the hatred in my heart. I also thought that my elder sister felt guilty, which is why she came to see me every year. Who knew that her jealousy of me had reached an incurable level."
Aunt Meng was bare-faced, with eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes that seemed to hold the autumn waves of life, and a pale complexion. The fine lines at the corners of her eyes were barely visible unless one looked closely.
Her voice is as sweet as a young girl's, and she still retains her charm.
Jiang Shuyue secretly guessed that no man would not be moved by such a beautiful and charming woman. The Right Vice Minister must have been deeply in love with her back then, and he only married the eldest daughter of the Meng family under the interference of Madam Cui.
In this era, people have no say in their marriages; it's all about parental orders and matchmakers' words. If you don't obey, a single word about filial piety can crush you and prevent you from ever rising above your station.
Aunt Meng became the unattainable cinnabar mark in the Right Prime Minister's heart. Madam Meng understood this but was helpless. Instead, she turned around and used the underhanded methods of women in the inner quarters on her half-sister.
Looking at the still-warm mung bean porridge and a small dish of side dishes on the tray on the table.
Jiang Shuyue comforted Aunt Meng for a few words, then stood up and said, "Aunt, please eat while it's hot. I'll come again tomorrow to take your pulse."
Aunt Meng quickly stood up to see him off, her eyes full of gratitude. "Thank you so much for saving my life, Miss. Seeing is believing. Your pills are truly miraculous. I feel much better now."
As she reached the door, Jiang Shuyue paused. "Auntie, one shouldn't be too soft-hearted. There's no such thing as a person who's always on guard against thieves. You're still so young; you can't let yourself always be in a passive position."
I learned from Aunt Meng that she was not yet forty.
In modern times, from a psychological and physiological perspective, that's the prime of life.
When I came out of Aunt Meng's room, it was already night.
The lanterns under the eaves all around have been lit.
The night was very quiet, so quiet that I could hear my own heartbeat.
As I walked towards the path in the garden, the chirping of crickets rose and fell among the trees and grass.
The light from afar cast a long shadow over her.
She suddenly felt that the life of a Buddhist monk with only a lamp and ancient Buddha was too lonely, and the images of Nangong Zeyue and Xiao Jingzhao involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
Jiang Shuyue's realization at this moment was that a perfect life still requires a partner to feel at ease.
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