Chapter 21 Sisters
The rain, which had been falling for almost a day, stopped sometime later.
Inside Xunchun Pavilion, Wen Lingxiao was absentmindedly embroidering flowers. When she looked up, the sky outside the window had darkened.
"hiss!"
The silvery needle pierced her skin, and the gushing blood stung Wen Lingxiao's eyes.
She didn't wipe it away immediately, but paused and then placed the spilled blood droplets on the unfinished flower stamen.
"Blue carp...blue carp?"
Feeling thirsty, Wen Lingxiao called out twice but saw no one. She frowned, put down her things and was about to get up when she saw Qingyu hurriedly lift the curtain and enter.
"Is there anything you need, young lady?"
"Pour me a glass of water first!" Wen Lingxiao asked again, "Where did you go?"
Qingyu washed her hands, brought over a cup of warm tea and handed it to Wen Lingxiao, then put away the embroidery hoop that had been placed to the side.
“Sister Caiyun from the young lady’s courtyard has taken leave today. It’s already dinnertime, so it’s not appropriate to ask you to fetch it yourself.”
Wen Lingxiao paused for a moment, then stood up and walked to the dressing table, opening the makeup box.
The exquisitely carved bronze mirror reflected her delicate face, making the few pieces of jewelry in the box impossible to hide.
Wen Lingxiao casually picked out a silver hairpin and stuffed it into Qingyu's hand. She smiled bitterly and said, "Take this. I don't have anything good in my room. It's really hard for you to follow a master like me."
"What are you saying, young lady!"
Qingyu pushed away and tried to kneel, but Wen Lingxiao stopped her, asking, "What are you doing?"
"Qingyu's family was poor and she had many brothers. Her parents looked down on girls. Before she was seven years old, she had never had a full meal. In order to support her brothers' education, her parents sold her to a slave trader."
"They weren't satisfied with the money they got from selling me. Seeing that I was doing well, they came to ask for my monthly allowance, saying they wanted to use it to pay for my brother's wedding. If it weren't for the young lady bringing me into Xunchun Pavilion, I'm afraid they would have taken advantage of me!"
Wen Lingxiao pulled Qingyu to sit down on the couch and sighed, "Only you can still remember these things. Thinking of Caiyun... sigh..."
"Why is Fifth Miss sighing again?" After finishing her meal, Yu Xiaoniang came to Xunchun Pavilion to chat with Wen Lingxiao as usual, unaware of the reason behind it.
She was only thirty years old. Her slender figure was accentuated by her layered outfit of a white silk robe with gold print and a half-sleeved gauze robe with hibiscus pattern. With her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, she looked even more pitiful than in her younger days.
Wen Lingxiao suppressed her dejection: "Why have you come, young lady?"
Knowing that the master had something to say, Qingyu took the opportunity to place the prepared tea on the kang table, bowed her head, and retreated, closing the doors and windows behind her.
Yu Xiaoniang sat down at the other end of the daybed, raising her hand to stroke Wen Lingxiao's brow. "Fifth Miss, you're so young, why are you sighing again? Did something unpleasant happen?"
Wen Lingxiao dismissed those random thoughts and grasped Yu Xiaoniang's hand in return, "I heard from Qingyu that Sister Caiyun has taken leave again?"
Unexpectedly, Wen Lingxiao asked this, and Yu Xiaoniang was taken aback. She explained, "The wind was strong the other day, and she caught a bit of a cold..."
"It's already spring, and you've caught a chill seven or eight times in a month? You're being too lenient, young lady!" Wen Lingxiao frowned slightly. "Has Father not visited your Wanxiang Courtyard in a long time?"
Yu Xiaoniang withdrew her hand and advised, "Why should an unmarried young lady like you concern yourself with these things?"
"I only wish for a peaceful life, but what about that person in Jinxiu Hall?" Wen Lingxiao said with exasperation. "Do you expect me to explain all the dirty secrets of this household to you?"
With a long sigh, Wen Lingxiao said helplessly, "That Zheng Xiaoniang from Jinxiutang is not easy to deal with! She is young and beautiful, and has a pair of twin sons, Seventh Sister and Fourth Brother, whom Father has always favored."
“The eldest daughter-in-law is of noble status, with a generous dowry and two children. Her father will not mistreat her because she is not competitive or greedy.”
"And then there's that Miss Lu. Although she only has one daughter like Miss Lu, she has her grandmother behind her! And her eldest sister married into the Pingjiang Marquis's family. Even if Father doesn't like her, he still has to stay at Shuanghua Courtyard for two days a month."
"But what about my mother?" Wen Lingxiao's voice trembled with sobs as she spoke. "You saw Father's attitude that day! Do you want those snobbish little hussies to run rampant in the courtyard for the rest of your life? Don't you even think about me!"
Panicked and at a loss, Yu Xiaoniang could only try to comfort him in a soft voice: "Your father... your father was just saying things in the heat of the moment that day! How could he..."
"How is this possible?" Wen Lingxiao wiped away her tears, a flash of resentment in her eyes. "How is it impossible!"
"We're all daughters of the Wen family! Why is it that my eldest sister can marry into the Pingjiang Marquis's household, and my fourth sister can study at the Grand Princess's private school, while I, who am to marry into the Wen family, can only become a concubine?"
Turning her head, Wen Lingxiao vented her emotions all at once, "It's all because you're useless!"
"My eldest sister has her grandmother, my fourth sister has the dowry left by Madam Qi, and my seventh and eighth sisters have their reliable birth mothers and brothers from the same mother. What about me? What do I have?"
After venting her frustrations, Wen Lingxiao finally felt some relief. Glancing out of the corner of her eye at the silent, bewildered Yu Xiaoniang, she felt a pang of guilt. "I...I didn't mean to look down on you..."
"No! You're right, young lady!" Yu Xiaoniang raised her head, her eyes slightly red. "It's my fault for being useless and dragging you down!"
"That's enough!" Wen Lingxiao sniffed, and tried to hold Yu Xiaoniang's hand but was shaken off. "It's getting late, Xiaoniang, you should go back first! Don't worry about Caiyun's matter, I'll handle it."
Although Yu Xiaoniang looks weak, she is actually very strong-willed. Now that Wen Lingxiao has humiliated her like this, she didn't say anything more and got up to leave.
Qingyu didn't dare to step forward to persuade her, but instead carried a basin of water into the house. "Miss, you must be tired after a day of embroidery. Why don't you wash your hands and eat first?"
Wen Lingxiao waved her hand and sat down in front of the dressing table. "Do my makeup first! Let's go to Tu Nan Courtyard. Some things can't be avoided once they've been done, so we might as well make things clear."
Dinner was over, and apart from the maids who served the Wen family in each courtyard, most of the servants had gone home.
When someone knocked on the gate of Tu Nan Yuan, Yu Heng Yao Guang was accompanying Wen Ling Zheng as she burned incense over a fire.
Who would come at this time?
Yuheng's doubts had barely surfaced when Baiyu announced, "Miss, it's Fifth Miss!"
"Please lead her to the hall and have her sit for a while. I'll be there shortly."
After putting down the gray seal, Wen Lingzheng looked at Yaoguang and Yuheng, "Send all the maids in the courtyard away first. You two guard the gate and do not let anyone near without my permission."
Yuheng was unclear, and only responded with mumbled sounds.
Yao Guang cautioned, "Miss, be careful."
Wen Lingzheng smiled and said, "Don't worry."
The curtains hung low and swayed gently, the scattered beaded curtains making a slight sound. Wen Lingxiao sat in a round-backed chair, and when she saw Wen Lingzheng arrive, she put down her teacup and said, "Fourth Sister."
As always, he was respectful and polite.
The candlelight flickered behind Wen Lingxiao, its dim light illuminating only half of her face.
Wen Lingzheng looked at her for a long time, then took the candle from the candlestick and lit several lamps on the side.
The room was instantly brightened.
After lighting the candles, Wen Lingzheng sat down in the seat of honor. "Judging by the time, it's been quite a while since Fifth Sister has visited my Tu Nan Courtyard, hasn't it?"
Wen Lingxiao smiled faintly, without answering, but took out a clean embroidered handkerchief from her bosom and handed it over.
“It has been a long time!” Wen Lingxiao looked around and sighed. “Since I did those things, I will not deny them.”
The plain silk handkerchief was soft and light, not much different from the handkerchiefs of most young ladies, except that the swaying rosebud was really eye-catching.
With a slight frown, before Wen Lingzheng could ask, Wen Lingxiao replied, "I found it."
Wen Lingzheng narrowed her eyes slightly: "Found it?"
Wen Lingxiao: "That day, my eighth sister was greedy and drank too much wine, so I had to take her to find the eldest madam and accompany her to the side room before finally planning to return to the table."
"On the way back, passing by the outskirts of the plum grove, I vaguely heard two people arguing on the other side of the wall, mentioning the Marquis of Xiangyang's residence and the Marquis of Xiangyang's heir."
Wen Lingzheng: "Besides you, was there anyone else who heard this?"
Wen Lingxiao shook her head: "Besides Qingyu and me, I don't know about the others, but it happened to be during the polo match, so I suppose most people were in the audience."
Before Wen Lingzheng could ask, Wen Lingxiao continued, "I knew I had probably stumbled upon trouble by accident, and I didn't dare to leave in a hurry for fear of disturbing the two people on the other side of the wall, so I had to cover my mouth and squat down by the wall to wait for them to leave first."
“But I didn’t expect…” Wen Lingxiao paused, her expression turning serious for a moment, “that a third person would appear!”
Wen Lingzheng: "A third person?"
“Yes! The third person.” Wen Lingxiao pointed to the embroidered handkerchief, “the owner of this handkerchief.”
"Did they see you?"
"No, they've always been on the other side of the wall."
Slightly relieved, Wen Lingzheng asked, "Is it possible to tell whether those three people are men or women by their voices?"
“It’s difficult.” Wen Lingxiao frowned. “Although it was a dispute, the two people’s voices were very low. Only the third person’s voice was slightly more obvious. She must be a young lady from some family. Her accent sounds like she’s from Jiangnan.”
A young lady from Jiangnan!
Wen Lingzheng frowned deeply. If she remembered correctly, in her previous life, Song Jinghe married a girl from Jiangnan!
—Bo Xianping, a cousin of the Yongchang Marquis's family.
Slightly uneasy, Wen Lingzheng turned the bracelet on her wrist, unable to figure out what role the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion played in this matter.
With guests present, Wen Lingzheng finally came to her senses.
Silence fell over the room. She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and got straight to the point: "In the first year of Xuanren's reign, when our family was still in Lin'an, on the Lantern Festival, you accompanied me to sneak out of the mansion to see the lanterns, and I accidentally set my dress on fire..."
“I was the first to discover it, extinguished the sparks, and saved you.” Wen Lingxiao smiled and finished what Wen Lingzheng hadn’t said.
"When Father asked about it afterward," Wen Lingzheng put down her teacup, her expression unreadable, "you refused to tell the truth and took all the blame..."
Her expression shifted, and Wen Lingzheng grew increasingly puzzled: "Why? Wen Lingxiao! Why is this happening between us? It shouldn't be like this!"
With a self-deprecating laugh, Wen Lingxiao shook her head. "Shouldn't it be like this? Fourth Sister, it should be like this."
Her back was ramrod straight, and the lamplight flickered in her pale pupils.
"When I was little, I always thought we weren't that different."
“Your mother died early, and my stepmother lived like a ghost. Neither of us were loved by our grandmother and father. Back then, I always thought I was better than you. You were frail and sickly, but at least I had a healthy body.”
Wen Lingxiao's smile grew even brighter, but Wen Lingzheng could read the sorrow in her eyes.
She was like someone dressed in black walking in a vast expanse of white snow, surrounded by natural enemies, helpless and with nowhere to hide.
“It wasn’t until Father was promoted that our whole family moved to Shengjing.” Wen Lingxiao’s smile gradually faded.
She looked at Wen Lingzheng and asked in return, "How much do you know about the expenses of our household?"
Wen Lingzheng didn't understand the meaning of her question, and only replied, "If we rely solely on Father's salary, it certainly won't be enough."
“Yes! It’s definitely not enough…” Wen Lingxiao’s voice softened considerably. “Do you know? Father said it himself: if I refuse to marry down, I can only be a concubine!”
Her gaze swept over Wen Lingzheng, and Wen Lingxiao's previously smiling face was now filled with bitterness.
“My eldest sister’s marriage into the Marquis of Pingjiang’s mansion was a high-status marriage. I’ve seen her dowry list, and she alone almost emptied my grandmother’s dowry. My father and second uncle also added some more.”
"You, me, and the sixth sister of the second wife, the second sister of the third wife, and the third sister are all around the same age. How many times can the family afford a dowry like the eldest sister's?"
A hint of envy flashed in Wen Lingxiao's eyes. "Grandmother and Father value profit the most. As soon as we entered Shengjing, you went to study at the Grand Princess's private school. From then on, I knew that we were different."
"I never intended to compete with you, but I don't want to end up like my stepmother, forced into becoming a concubine, and I certainly don't want to marry down and live a miserable life in my husband's family!"
"I only wanted to choose the best family within my reach and a promising husband, but my aunt has her eye on you..."
Wen Lingxiao stood up and solemnly bowed to Wen Lingzheng.
"No matter what, I am ultimately the one who has wronged you in this matter. If you want revenge, I will accept it. I only ask that you do not involve my mother. She has already suffered enough."
After saying that, she got up and walked outside, but Wen Lingzheng called out to her from behind, "If you really want to marry into the Lin family, I'll help you."
Startled, Wen Lingxiao turned around but couldn't utter a word, "You..."
Wen Lingzheng stood up and took two steps toward her.
“You have harmed me but also saved me. Now that we’ve talked things out, although I can’t go back to the way things were before, I also have no intention of repaying kindness with enmity.”
"You gave me clues about the trouble, and I helped you get engaged to the Lin family. From then on, we're even. But there's something else I want to tell you."
Wen Lingxiao: "You say it."
Wen Lingzheng: "You can't write two 'Wen' characters in one stroke."
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