Chapter Seventeen: The Half-Sister Who Makes a Living by Selling Paintings
She gestured for Bai Mei and Qing Zhu to follow, and slowly walked up to the second floor.
A large crowd had already gathered in a corner on the second floor, and in the middle stood a magnificently dressed princess with an arrogant expression.
At this moment, he was pointing angrily at a beautiful woman dressed in simple clothes and wearing a hairpin.
Several paintings lay scattered at the woman's feet; they belonged to her half-sister, Song Sanchun.
Song Sangyu stood beside the princess with a helpless and apologetic expression.
"A lowly concubine's daughter dares to contradict this princess? Your lousy painting is utterly worthless! Placing it here is an insult to the Jade Pavilion!"
Princess Xingrong grew angrier as she spoke, and raised her hand to slap Song Sanchun across the face.
Song Yiqiu gave Bai Mei a wink.
Bai Mei's figure flashed, swift as lightning, and she grabbed Princess Xingrong's wrist as it was about to fall, her voice booming:
"Miss, let's talk this out. Isn't it rather unseemly to resort to violence?"
Princess Xingrong felt a sharp pain in her wrist, and was both shocked and furious:
"Who are you? How dare you stop this princess?"
Song Sangyu spotted Song Yiqiu approaching at a glance, a calculating glint in her eyes, and immediately exclaimed:
"Sister? What brings you here?"
She feigned concern and said to the princess,
“Princess, this is my elder sister who just returned from the frontier… Her servants are known for being rude, please don’t take offense…”
Princess Xingrong tried to shake off Bai Mei's hand, but failed twice. She became even more furious. Seeing her like this, Bai Mei reluctantly lowered her wrist.
"You should have said so earlier if you wanted me to let go. I thought you were dancing, Princess."
Princess Xingrong rubbed her wrist, looking Song Yiqiu up and down with disdain:
"Oh? So you're Song Yiqiu, the one who spent seven years on the frontier and came back with an ambiguous relationship with the coachman?"
"Hmph, you really do have the air of a barbaric shrew! Why didn't you bring your crazy, silly maid out today to embarrass yourself?"
These words were clearly revealed unintentionally by Song Sangye.
Song Yiqiu shielded the disguised Qingzhu behind her, her gaze calmly meeting Princess Xingrong's:
"Seven years on the frontier were spent guarding the country's borders, not in a wild and uncivilized place. As for the label of 'shrew'..."
She glanced at the scattered paintings on the ground.
"They are better than some people who take advantage of their status to trample on the hard work and dignity of others. They understand the meaning of 'elegance and purity'."
"you!"
Princess Xingrong was furious.
Song Sangyu quickly tried to smooth things over:
“Sister! How could you speak to the princess like that! And Sister Sanchun, you have plenty to eat and wear in the manor, why do you have to come out and sell these... paintings? It's a disgrace to the Song family! After all, we are the legitimate daughters…”
Song Yiqiu interrupted her directly, her tone cold:
"When did the Song family's reputation ever need to be maintained by suppressing its own sisters and mistreating its illegitimate children? Do Father and Mother know that you are 'protecting' the family's reputation in this way?"
"Moreover, Sister Sanchun is selling her paintings here by virtue of her talent, which is perfectly legitimate. Since Feizhi Pavilion has allowed her to do so, it means they recognize the value of her paintings. If the princess doesn't like them, she can simply not buy them. Why resort to hurtful words and even violence?"
Some of the noble ladies around them began to whisper among themselves, and their gazes toward Princess Xingrong and Song Sangyu became somewhat subtle.
Princess Xingrong was speechless, her face turning red.
Another noblewoman beside her tried to speak up, saying weakly:
"But...but among the scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants are inherently the lowest class, and selling paintings...is ultimately not respectable..."
Song Yiqiu smiled calmly:
“Miss, you are mistaken. Feizhi Pavilion is open for business; who among you here isn’t here to ‘buy’ something?”
"If we follow this logic, wouldn't we all be seen as chasing after the 'lower rungs'? Calligraphy and painting are refined pursuits; they are passed down through trade and sales, allowing more people to appreciate their beauty. How can we simply belittle them with the word 'commerce'?"
The noblewoman was immediately speechless.
Princess Xingrong, seeing that she had gained no advantage and had only gotten herself into trouble, glared fiercely at Song Yiqiu, holding all her resentment towards her:
"Enough, Song Yiqiu! I'll remember you! This isn't over! Let's go!"
Having said that, he stormed downstairs with the others.
Song Sangyu hadn't expected Song Yiqiu to be so sharp-tongued, turning the tide with just a few words and leaving her in an awkward position. She could only smile sheepishly and hurriedly chase after the princess.
Song Yiqiu stopped looking at them and bent down to help Song Sanchun, who had been silent all along, pick up the scattered paintings one by one.
Thank you.
Song Sanchun's voice was soft and distant.
Looking at the many paintings she had packed, Song Yiqiu said:
"Sister, you've brought so many paintings; it must be inconvenient for you to take them back. My carriage is outside; why don't we go back together?"
Song Sanchun hesitated for a moment, looked at the painting on the ground, and nodded.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was somewhat tense.
Song Sanchun sat upright, her face indifferent, and spoke first, her tone harsh:
"Song Yiqiu".
She seemed unwilling to even call me "sister."
Song Yiqiu didn't know much about her half-sister. In her previous life, she only knew that she was quite old when she got married. Now it seemed that she was going out to sell paintings, which would indeed be looked down upon in this era that valued the social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants.
"Sister Sanchun,"
Song Yiqiu responded calmly.
"According to the rules of the manor, the concubines in the courtyard receive a monthly allowance of one hundred taels of silver. Although it is not a lot, it should be enough to support the lives of you all."
"Why go through all this trouble... to sell these treasured paintings?"
She could tell that Song Sanchun was being very careful with each painting and didn't really want to sell them.
Song Sanchun suddenly looked up, feeling ashamed and indignant, thinking that Song Yiqiu was mocking her.
He immediately glared at her, his tone agitated:
"Shouldn't you ask your dear mother about this? Song Yiqiu, don't think that just because you got me out of this predicament today, I'll be grateful to you."
“If it weren’t for you, Madam, my mother wouldn’t have ended up in this situation! Why would I be over twenty and still unmarried, having to show my face in public to sell my paintings to make a living!”
She took a breath and continued her accusations:
"Madam has a reputation for virtue but no one knows that in my concubine's Hibiscus Garden, the three meals a day are just coarse tea and plain porridge. Even Ziyu, who is growing, often doesn't have enough to eat! Not to mention there are so many other people in the courtyard who need to eat!"
“My younger sister Ruoling is of marriageable age, but she doesn’t even have a decent set of jewelry… If I don’t come out to sell my paintings, are we supposed to starve to death in that courtyard?”
Song Yiqiu fell silent.
She never expected her mother to be so stingy.
After a while, she took out a heavy purse from her bosom and stuffed it into Song Sanchun's hand without saying a word.
Song Sanchun reacted as if burned, jerking away and angrily shouting:
"Song Yiqiu! Are you insulting me? You and that Song Sangyu are no different! Hypocrites!"
Bai Mei glared angrily:
"Hey! How can you not distinguish right from wrong? If it weren't for my young lady, you would have been beaten to death by that damned princess by now!"
Qingzhu quickly pulled Baimei back and said softly to Song Sanchun:
“Miss Sanchun, you’ve misunderstood. My young lady meant no harm; she just…”
Song Yiqiu raised her hand to stop them.
From the pile of paintings, she precisely pulled out a "Magpie Carrying an Autumn Persimmon," unfolded it, examined it, and spoke calmly and without emotion:
"Is Sister Sanchun joking? Do you think I'm going to help you out?"
She waved the painting in her hand.
“I just liked this painting. ‘Joy on the eyebrows, everything goes well’, I just wanted some good luck. This money is for the painting.”
Song Sanchun was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously weighed the purse in her hand. The money inside... far exceeded the combined value of all her paintings, and could even buy her paintings for the next year.
Even if she were stupid, she would know that Song Yiqiu was saving face for her. Her face showed disbelief, and her voice lowered:
"No...no need for so much..."
Song Yiqiu carefully rolled up the painting, her tone calm yet carrying an undeniable power:
"The value of a painting is never determined by the seller, but by the buyer. I think it's worth the price."
Song Sanchun bit her lower lip, her eyes slightly red, and after a long while, she managed to utter a low, extremely difficult sentence:
"...Thank you."
Song Yiqiu simply waved her hand, turned her gaze to the window, and said no more.
The carriage headed towards the Song residence in a somewhat somber atmosphere.
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