Chapter 22 I envy you to the point of madness…

Chapter 22 I envy you to the point of madness...

In the capital, where land is at a premium, the Pei family's residence didn't seem large to Jiang Wanrou, at least compared to the Lu mansion, it was worlds apart. The three-entrance courtyard wasn't even as large as the back house of Duke Lu's residence, but it boasted a serene environment, with pine and cypress trees planted in the yard, reflecting the owner's elegance.

When Jiang Wanrou arrived, the maid greeted her and said the mistress was still dressing, asking her to wait a moment. Jiang Wanrou sat and waited, but something felt off.

She turned to Cuizhu behind her and asked, "Last time... how long did she have to wait?"

Cuizhu tilted her head, "About... two hours, maybe?"

"Lady Pei wouldn't keep you waiting for two hours, would she?"

Cuizhu was taken aback. Lu Feng's role was to oversee all officials. When he attended events, others would send invitations and beg repeatedly for Jiang Wanrou's presence. She never expected anyone to dare slight her mistress like this.

"Lady Pei is going too far!"

Cuizhu was furious, her round face red with anger. Jiang Wanrou, however, smiled and said, "Alright, consider it payback for that time. Next time, be more mindful and don't slight guests."

Her voice was soft and gentle, not truly scolding Cuizhu. After all, she had too many visitors. If she met everyone, she'd be busy from dawn till dusk, let alone Jiang Wanying, who didn't even send an invitation.

Now she had come uninvited, but if she couldn't sit for a few hours, how could she be the Lu family's mistress?

Jiang Wanrou remained calm, taking in the furnishings around her. The guest hall wasn't large, but the carved pear wood tables and chairs were quite elegant. A few pots of orchids sat on the corner shelf, and a landscape painting hung on the wall, inscribed: "Wintergreen trees hang with morning glories, the flowers wither but the trees do not."

Though not a scholar, Jiang Wanrou could see the calligraphy was excellent, the characters stretched out, the strokes flowing like clouds and water, the brush moving like a dragon and snake, exuding elegance.

As she looked, she suddenly thought of her son's messy handwriting and felt a wave of sadness. She lost interest in the calligraphy and started thinking about the affairs of the house... Fortunately, Jiang Wanying was not so petty. After about an hour, when she was starving, the hostess finally arrived.

Her complexion was better than the last time Jiang Wanrou saw her, but her face was not very good, and her tone was not very warm. She glanced at Jiang Wanrou and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Jiang Wanrou was not angry either, her tone equally indifferent, "You don't have to give me a cold shoulder. You don't welcome me, and likewise, I don't want to see you either."

"I came to you for one thing. Please dismiss your attendants, leaving only the two of us."

Jiang Wanying looked at her for a while, then waved her attendants away. Jiang Wanrou also asked Cuizhu and Jintao to leave. When the spacious hall was left with only the two sisters, Jiang Wanrou slowly said, "I have two people in my hands, one named Ma Chunlan, the other named Ying'er..."

She spoke clearly, recounting the events of that year one by one, without even needing to verify if it was her doing, just asking her one question, "Why."

Why was it you? She could even accept it if it were Jiang Wanxue, after all, one was the legitimate daughter and the other was the illegitimate daughter, their positions naturally opposed.

But why was it the fifth sister? When they were young, if the fifth sister made a mistake, it was she who covered for her in front of Madame Qin; when she was punished and went hungry, it was the young fifth sister who sneaked in and gave her a white steamed bun.

Her mother said, a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring. She always remembered that bun and later helped her many times. Even when they gradually drifted apart and she didn't send her an invitation to her wedding, she still eagerly sent generous gifts. She felt she had done nothing wrong to her.

She couldn't understand.

Perhaps because the evidence was conclusive, Jiang Wanying did not argue. She listened in a daze, and after a long time, she met Jiang Wanrou's eyes and whispered, "Why?"

"Because I envy you."

She looked at the woman in front of her, her skin extremely fair, her face without powder, only a touch of red lipstick making her already stunningly beautiful. Her small jacket was made of fragrant colored brocade, her hair adorned with a treasure-encrusted gold hairpin, her earrings large and lustrous pearls, her left wrist wearing both a jade bracelet and a pearl-encrusted gold bracelet, truly a grand display.

Even more glorious than in her previous life.

Yes, what happened five years ago was her doing, she had a secret.

She was a person who had lived a second life.

In her previous life, without her intervention, Ying'er followed the destined path and became a concubine in the Lu mansion, but did not end well. Her high and mighty legitimate sister was even more self-righteous, what did it matter to be a princess consort for a few years? Later, Prince Gong was imprisoned, she ran around everywhere, but in the end, it was all for naught. After the new emperor ascended the throne, Prince Gong died, and the family members of the prince's mansion were all sent to the cold and bitter land to guard the imperial tombs, that person did not show any sentiment!

No one expected that the quiet sixth sister would be the one to have the last laugh!

The dynasty's youngest top scholar, who achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, shocked the entire court. Such a talented and outstanding gentleman stood in the Golden Hall and boldly requested an imperial decree to marry the sixth daughter of the Ning'an Marquisate.

The Emperor personally issued the marriage decree, and their wedding was grand and splendid, with the bridal procession stretching for miles. After their marriage, they lived in harmony, and for many years, she remained the only woman in the household. Her mother-in-law never blamed her and treated her like her own daughter. Loved by her husband and cherished by her mother-in-law, women across the capital flocked to the temple, murmuring, "If only I could have half the fortune of Miss Jiang the sixth, I would be content."

So many women envied and were jealous of her, and she was no exception.

As a woman, how could Jiang Wanrou be so lucky?

She married a son of a marquis of the same rank. Her husband appeared decent on the surface but was actually a useless dandy, indulging in every vice. Her so-called good mother-in-law couldn't control her son and took out all her frustrations on her, scolding her for being unable to manage her husband. The household was in chaos, with concubines fighting constantly. She lost two children, and her health deteriorated. Seeing her as useless, her in-laws didn't even call a doctor, leaving her to fend for herself in the Buddhist hall.

She clung to life, enduring year after year, while her enemies prospered. She refused to die in bitterness! She burned incense and prayed daily, wearing out one prayer mat after another, until one day she overheard the maids gossiping outside, saying that Minister Pei was late to court because he was busy drawing his wife's eyebrows.

It took her a moment to realize that her sixth sister's husband had become a minister, and he wasn't even thirty! He had been the youngest top scholar then, and now he was the youngest minister, truly a promising young man with a bright future.

He was still so kind to her.

At that moment, she suddenly no longer wanted to live.

She knocked over the candle, allowing the flames to consume the curtains. In the intense, searing pain, she felt as though her entire life had been a joke. Without a mother's protection in her childhood and living under her cruel stepmother's thumb, she thought marriage would be her salvation, only to leap from one pit of fire to another. She received no affection from her husband, fought with her mother-in-law, battled concubines, and ended up childless, sick, and dying alone in some forgotten corner.

She never had a single good day in her life, and perhaps even in death, she would be cursed as unlucky.

Her life was so full of bitterness.

...

Jiang Wanying came back to her senses, looking at Jiang Wanrou with a complex expression, murmuring, "I envy you, I envy you so much it drives me mad."

Perhaps her endless days and nights of chanting and praying finally moved the Buddha to take pity on her. In her past life, she had misjudged people, but now she was given a chance to start over. She thought, this time she would surely lead a better life.

She had suffered so much, she also wanted to taste the feeling of being cherished.

Jiang Wanying, as if possessed, kept saying "envy," while Jiang Wanrou frowned, unable to believe that she had been vilified by thousands for such a ridiculous reason.

She couldn't in good conscience say there was nothing about her worth envying, but that person shouldn't be Jiang Wanying. Even within the inner chambers, she had heard of Pei Zhang's reputation, rising from local positions to become the Right Vice Minister of Personnel and a Grand Scholar of the Eastern Pavilion. He was still so young, destined for titles and high office. The Pei household was simple, free from trivial disputes, and as she walked along the serene and elegant path, she felt a refreshing clarity amidst her busy life.

She truly had no need to envy others.

Jiang Wanying didn't explain further, she looked up coldly and said, "Sixth sister, everything has its cause and effect. The past is unchangeable, I wronged you back then, but you're doing well now, aren't you?"

She laughed ambiguously, "Perhaps in the future, you'll even thank me for bringing you immense wealth."

Jiang Wanrou was almost amused by anger, but having eaten little that morning, her stomach burned uncomfortably, and she didn't want to see Jiang Wanying's face anymore, it was nauseating.

She adjusted her golden brocade shawl, stood up, and said, "Fifth sister, I'll call you 'fifth sister' one last time, to honor our childhood bond. From now on, if we meet, it will be as strangers. If you ever harm me again, I will not be lenient."

Perhaps she was right, Jiang Wanrou also felt deep down that her current life was good, her heart broader than before. She had a loving grandmother, a well-behaved and sensible son, a powerful husband, and she even found the thought of revenge distasteful.

She swept out, and as she stepped over the threshold of the hall, Jiang Wanying suddenly said, "Your hands, they are beautiful."

Soft and smooth, ten fingers as white as jade, with a faint pink glow, they were the hands of someone who lived in comfort.

Jiang Wanying lowered her head, extending her own hand, "Not like mine, which get frostbitten every winter, ugly and painful, itching unbearably."

Unless they made a grave mistake, Madame Qin wouldn't have them beaten, leaving visible scars. She preferred to torment them slowly, like only allowing them to eat half-full, or not providing charcoal in winter. They were delicate young girls back then, she and her sixth sister suffered, their fingers frostbitten every year.

The horror of frostbite is that once it occurs, it easily recurs.

Jiang Wanying said softly, "I heard that the Imperial Hospital has a snow skin ointment for nourishing the skin, which is extremely effective. I asked my husband to fetch it for me."

Jiang Wanrou turned to look at her, wondering what she was up to, but Jiang Wanying just let out a bitter laugh and whispered, "He forgot."

It wasn't like this in her past life. He had made a name for himself in the slave rebellion, and when the Emperor asked what reward he wanted—gold, land, or a promotion—he declared loudly in the Golden Hall, "Your Majesty, my wife suffered greatly in her childhood, and her fingers itch and fester in winter. My heart aches for her, cherishes her, and pities her. I beg Your Majesty to grant her a cure for this ailment. In gratitude, I will serve Your Majesty and the court with all my heart, even unto death."

He had arranged a grand wedding procession spanning ten miles for her and begged for medicine for her in the Golden Hall. And she, she received nothing.

How could she not feel envious?

Jiang Wanying stared at Jiang Wanrou's hands with a complex expression, her voice tinged with envy and sigh, "I never thought someone like Commander Lu would dote on you so much."

Jiang Wanrou didn't pay attention to the word "also," thinking she was just being delusional. How could this be related to Commander Lu? Her hands were beautiful because her mother had given her good genes, and she no longer suffered from sores because she took good care of herself. When she first married, her hands also itched and hurt unbearably. The imperial physician stayed at the Lu residence every day to treat Commander Lu's leg, and she slipped him some silver to get a box of ointment.

She didn't need anyone else; she took care of herself.

She looked at Jiang Wanying with mixed feelings, thinking, is a box of ointment for frostbite really such a rare item? Even if Pei Zhang forgot, couldn't you remind him? Or just buy it yourself from a pharmacy? Even if it's not as refined as the Imperial Hospital's, diligent application and proper warmth would prevent her from ending up like this.

"You..." Jiang Wanrou had a thousand words in her heart but could only say, "You should take better care of yourself."

She didn't want to stay here a moment longer and called for Cuizhu and Jintao to leave. Jiang Wanrou hadn't eaten much in the morning and had just had a confrontation, leaving her stomach burning and limbs weak. When she finally returned home, she couldn't eat anything.

"Forget it, I'll lie down for a bit. Just say I'm going over the accounts, and any matters can wait."

Jiang Wanrou forced herself to drink a few sips of ginseng tea, then removed her hairpins and let her hair down, lying on the couch to rest. Because of the matriarch's birthday, all the stewards in the mansion were eager to impress the mistress, reporting this and that every day, keeping her especially busy. Now, stealing a moment of rest, no one dared to lift the curtain to see if the mistress was really going over the accounts.

But today was particularly unlucky. No one expected that Commander Lu would return home during the day, which was unprecedented! He was wearing the deep purple dragon-patterned official robe specially made for the Commander, the dragon's eyes on his chest glaring fiercely, exuding majesty, clearly having just returned from court.

Cuizhu and the others dared to stop anyone else, but they couldn't stop the master and had to report truthfully: The mistress is resting in her room.

"Ridiculous."

Commander Lu frowned slightly, and the maids of Jinguang Courtyard instantly knelt down silently. Cuizhu, being the closest, lay on the ground trembling, not just for herself but also worried for the mistress in the room.

Napping in broad daylight, not to mention as a married woman, even an unmarried girl would be considered "lazy." Only she and Jintao, the two personal maids, knew that the mistress took a nap after the morning hour. Would the master reprimand the mistress?

Commander Lu ignored the kneeling maids, pushed open the door, and stepped inside.