Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Three: Guests (Part Two)

By the time they returned to Bowstring Alley in Baoda Fang, the lanterns were already lit.

Eldest Miss Gu helped the Matriarch step down from the carriage. She then whispered, “Mother, Second Uncle and Second Aunt have arrived!”

The Matriarch was slightly startled. “Are they still here?”

“Yes,” Eldest Miss Gu whispered, “Fourth Lady is also with them…”

The Matriarch’s eyebrows lifted. “What is she doing here?”

Loud laughter could already be heard from the main room.

Eleventh Miss was about to step down from the carriage using a footstool, but the sound of the laughter made her pause.

It was Second Uncle’s laughter…

The curfew in Yanjing started at dusk, and it was already getting late. She wondered if they could make it back to Huanghua Fang within half an hour.

As she pondered, the laughter grew closer, and Second Uncle’s voice became clearly audible. “…Brother, I’ll come to invite you at morning court time tomorrow.”

Elder Brother’s gentle voice replied, “I’ll wait for you, and we’ll have breakfast together before going.”

Just then, Elder Brother and Second Brother appeared at the entrance of the ceremonial gate, and they met face-to-face.

“Welcome back, Mother,” Elder Brother greeted the Matriarch with a smile. Second Brother bowed and called out, “Big Sister-in-law.”

The Matriarch curtsied to both of them and respectfully said, “My lord,” before greeting Second Brother, “Second Uncle.”

Behind the two men, a woman in her forties with fair skin and an oval face emerged, wearing a butterfly-patterned jacket over a sandalwood-colored background, adorned with jade-inlaid gold hairpins, large Western pearls, and emerald plum blossoms. The red lanterns hanging at the gate cast a glow on her jewels, making her look dazzling.

“Big Sister-in-law,” she greeted the Matriarch with a smile, “I brought the children to pay their respects. But you had gone to Yongping Marquis Estate… I’ve been waiting until now. Luckily, I finally got to see you.”

She was Second Aunt Yu.

“Thank you for waiting so long,” the Matriarch curtsied to Second Aunt Yu, and a young woman emerged from behind her, calling out, “Big Aunt.”

The woman, in her early twenties, was tall and fair-skinned, with gentle eyes, giving off a very pleasant aura.

“Fourth Lady!” the Matriarch greeted her with a smile, “I didn’t expect to see you here!”

“I was going back to visit my mother and found out you were in Yanjing, so I came to pay my respects,” Fourth Lady replied with a spring-like smile, “I heard you went to Yongping Marquis Estate. How is Big Sister?”

The Matriarch smiled and nodded, “She’s fine! Thank you for your concern.”

“That’s good,” Fourth Lady sighed in relief, “I’ve been anxious about her. I heard she was seriously ill, but I’m in confinement and couldn’t visit.”

Seven years ago, Third Aunt played matchmaker and arranged for Fourth Lady to marry the eldest son of the Chief Justice of Dali Temple, Yu Naigui. However, just two years after the marriage, Yu Naigui passed away, and Fourth Lady returned to Fu Yang with her mother-in-law. The Yu family had been poor until Yu Naigui passed the imperial examination. After his death, they owned only four to five hundred acres of land and two houses, one in the city and one in the countryside. With many siblings, life was tight. Second Aunt, concerned for her daughter, sent five hundred taels of silver every year to Fu Yang.

Yu Yiqing, her husband, was quite learned and passed the provincial examination in the forty-ninth year of Jianwu. The following year, with the new emperor’s ascension, an extraordinary imperial examination was held. He hurriedly took the exam but failed. Second Aunt, using the excuse that “there are no good teachers in Fu Yang,” brought her daughter and son-in-law to Yanjing, arranged for them to study at the Guozijian through Second Brother’s connections, and helped them rent a house near Laojun Tang Hutong.

Thanks to her mother’s care, Fourth Lady, who had been childless for years, gave birth to two sons—one just last month.

“Are the children doing well?” the Matriarch smiled and asked, “I sent you some Shandong Ejiao a few days ago. Did you receive it? Is it to your liking? It’s excellent for replenishing blood and qi.”

“Yes!” Fourth Lady thanked the Matriarch, “Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Big Aunt.”

Fifth Miss and Eleventh Miss took the opportunity to greet Second Aunt and Fourth Lady.

Fourth Miss returned the greetings. Third Mistress Ding led Seventh Miss out to greet the matriarch, Fifth Miss, and Eleven Miss. The chatter of the women made the scene quite lively.

The eldest master chuckled, "Standing here like this isn't quite right. Why don't we go inside for a cup of tea?"

The second wife seemed tempted, but the second master interjected, "It's getting late. We have plans with the Liu family tomorrow, so let's not delay. There will be plenty of time for visits later."

The eldest master did not insist on keeping them, only instructing, "Be careful on the road." He called Luo Zhenxing, who had been standing by, to help see them off. He and the matriarch stood at the decorated gate until the second branch's carriage had left before returning to the main house.

The matriarch inquired, "You're going to Elder Liu's tomorrow? Why didn't you let me know so I could prepare? What's the reason for the visit?"

The third master of the Luo family had married the youngest daughter of Elder Liu. After the Luo family's elder master retired, Elder Liu had taken good care of the three Luo brothers. The three Luo brothers also held great respect for Elder Liu. Apart from the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival, they would send a steward to offer congratulations for everything from Elder Liu's birthday to the taking of a concubine by a young master of the Liu family.

"It was a last-minute decision," the eldest master said, looking somewhat troubled and annoyed. "Elder Liu had a dispute with Elder Chen over tea taxes and, in a fit of anger, proposed to retire. Who would have thought that the emperor would approve it..."

"What?" The matriarch was shocked. "How could this happen?"

"He will leave the capital the day after tomorrow," the eldest master's expression darkened. "We only found out from Third Master. When Second Master heard you were here, he planned to invite Third Master over for a family gathering. But then this happened, and they rushed off to the Liu family."

The matriarch's frustration was evident as she waved her hand dismissively at Fifth Miss and Eleven Miss. "You've both had a long day. Go and get some rest."

Fifth Miss and Eleven Miss curtseyed in response, "Yes." By the time they stood up, the eldest master and the matriarch had already entered the main house. Their voices could still be faintly heard.

"How is Eldest Miss faring?"

"She's fine," the matriarch's voice was tense. "Actually, I have something to discuss with you..."

Their voices faded, and the courtyard fell silent.

Fifth Miss and Eleven Miss returned to the back house, one after the other.

The next morning, the eldest master invited the second master to have breakfast before they left together for the Liu family.

When Fifth Miss and Eleven Miss went to greet the matriarch, she seemed distracted. Even the arrival of Brother Rui did not truly cheer her up. She had the wet nurse take him away and chose to speak only with the eldest daughter-in-law.

After they left, Fifth Miss, with a smile, looked at Eleven Miss and said, "Now that I think about it, we sisters haven't had a proper chat in ages. Since we have some free time today, why don't you join me for tea?" Her tone was unusually warm compared to her usual coldness and disdain.

Eleven Miss was taken aback by the sudden change in tone.

As long as Fifth Miss had not achieved her goal, there was no way she could truly reconcile with Eleven Miss.

This unexpected show of warmth and friendliness likely had an ulterior motive.

But no matter what her intentions were, if Eleven Miss ignored her, Fifth Miss might think she was declaring war.

Thinking this through, Eleven Miss responded with a light smile, "Sure! It's been a long time since we sat down for tea together!"

Fifth Miss nodded slightly, appearing satisfied with Eleven Miss's response, and then led her to her residence.

It was clear that the eldest daughter-in-law had put in a lot of effort in arranging the accommodations. The east and west wings were meticulously arranged, with identical furnishings down to the teacups and chair cushions, ensuring no one felt favored over the other.

The two sat down on the large kang by the window. Zi Wei served the tea, and Fifth Miss smiled at Eleven Miss, "I'd like to have a private conversation with you." She then dismissed Zi Wei and the others.

Eleven Miss also smiled and sent Amber and the others away.

With only the two of them left in the room, Fifth Miss sighed and looked at Eleven Miss with a face full of apology. "My dear sister, I realize now that I misunderstood you, which led me to judge you unfairly. Please forgive me."

Eleven Miss was caught off guard. This unexpected show of humility hinted that Fifth Miss had a specific agenda in mind.

"She looked uneasy. 'Sister, please don’t say that. I must have done something wrong, which led to this misunderstanding.' She opened her eyes wide as she looked at Fifth Miss. 'Sister, I…'"

"'It's all my fault,' Fifth Miss said with much guilt. 'You don’t know, but when Mother chose you and me to go to Yanjing to visit Eldest Miss, it was because she felt lonely. Eldest Miss is already married, and with Eldest Brother being far away in Yanjing, she wanted two daughters who could keep her company and cheer her up.' A look of anger appeared on her face. 'But somehow, this matter fell into the hands of those with ulterior motives, and it became the rumor that because Chun Ge’s health is poor, Eldest Miss wanted to choose one of the younger sisters from the concubine line to be a concubine!'"

"Eleven Miss feigned surprise. 'Is there really such a thing? How come I’ve never heard of it?'"

"'Those people look down on you because you’re young,' Fifth Miss said, her eyes shifting. 'They wouldn’t dare mention it in front of you, but they spread rumors and gossiped about it, eventually reaching my ears.' She paused for a moment. 'Honestly, it was First Aunt and Second Aunt who started these rumors.'"

"Eleven Miss looked at Fifth Miss in astonishment."

"She’s really good at twisting things around!"

"But it’s possible that First Aunt and Second Aunt have been stirring things up, and it’s possible they really did say this."

"Seeing Eleven Miss’s expression, Fifth Miss was very satisfied. She smiled and said, 'Moreover, they said that Mother brought us two to Yanjing so that Eldest Miss could choose one of us. So, that day when you were feeling unwell but still came to my room to ask about Eldest Miss, I was very angry!'"

"'Sister!' Eleven Miss said, looking somewhat frightened. 'Sister, you mustn’t think that... I truly didn’t know about this... It was just out of boredom on the boat that I spoke some idle words with you.' She then showed a look of self-reproach. 'If I had known, I would have explained everything to you right away. I didn’t mean to cause any misunderstanding.'"

"'No, no, no,' Fifth Miss hurriedly said. 'Actually, it’s all my fault. I didn’t explain it clearly to you, which is why...' She lowered her head, her face flushed red, a shy look on her face. 'Mother mentioned this to me before. She’s concerned about Eldest Miss’s health and worries that no one will be there to care for Chun Ge if something happens to her. That’s why she wants to find someone to help look after him. She said that among the girls of suitable age, only I and Ten Miss are available... As you know, Mother doesn’t favor Ten Miss. She asked me if I would be willing... As an unmarried girl, how could I answer... So when Mother asked me to go to Yanjing, I refused at first because I didn’t want everyone to know. But Mother convinced me to go with you instead...'"

"Eleven Miss was astonished."

"Fifth Miss seems willing to do anything to secure a place by Eldest Miss’s side..."

"Given the matriarch’s character, she wouldn’t admit to this, especially while Eldest Miss is still very much alive."