A huge pot of mixed vegetable soup with noodles—in the end, Lin Cui alone ate more than half of it.
If not for Yang Tieniang seeing that her belly was already round and full, and fearing that one more bite might burst it, frowning as she stopped Lin Cui from ladling out another bowl, she likely could have eaten another whole bowlful.
Her greedy, desperate manner of eating was such that even Cao Sanqiao, who had come fully prepared with a belly full of sarcastic remarks, couldn't bring herself to provoke her. It was only later that night, lying in bed chatting idly with her husband Zhu Bingwen, that she muttered a few words: "That eldest sister-in-law Lin Cui is certainly detestable, but her natal family isn't much better either."
As for Lin Cui herself?
Her appetite had never been large to begin with—she was already full by the time she finished her second bowl.
But during the half month she'd spent back at her natal home, apart from the first two days when she'd eaten her fill, for the remaining ten-plus days she'd risen earlier than the roosters, slept later than the dogs, and eaten less than the cats.
Never mind steaming hot vegetable soup with noodles—in the last two days, even managing to get a mouthful of cold congee was only because her mother Feng Zhaoxi had grudgingly left it for her, hoping she'd do more work.
A pair of hands that had spent years doing embroidery, soaked in cold water for all those days—though the time wasn't long, she hadn't suffered such hardship in years, and her skin had naturally become rough and chapped.
Hungry, miserable, and sleep-deprived—of course Lin Cui couldn't bear to let go of that meal.
Therefore, when Yang Tieniang stopped her from taking another bowl, she felt a flicker of resentment in her heart—not toward Grandmother Yang Tieniang, but toward her own mother Feng Zhaoxi, her younger sister-in-law Yin Niang, and the long-tongued Granny Zhang next door.
From the bottom of her heart, she felt that her own mother had shown her far too little warmth, and that her sister-in-law Yin Niang, relying on having given birth to Yao-ge'er and being pregnant again, looked down on her and threw her weight around, egging the whole family on to bully her.
But most hateful of all was Granny Zhang next door.
If not for Granny Zhang pulling her aside that day and talking about kerchiefs, handkerchiefs, and a few hundred coppers, she wouldn't have been so pent up with anger that she struck Meisheng, then gone to stir up trouble with Cao Sanqiao, only to be beaten by Cao Sanqiao and sent back to her natal home by her uncle and grandmother!
After eating the soup noodles, no one in the household made things difficult for her. She mulled over these thoughts, her heart like a rabbit trapped in her chest, waiting anxiously for Zhu Yongwen to return.
She never even thought about the fact that she hadn't yet seen Meisheng!
But with a full stomach and a comfortable environment, no matter how much unease weighed on her heart, sleep came easily.
By the time Zhu Yongwen returned from the tavern and was called aside by Yang Tieniang for a talk, then came back to the eastern room of the east wing, Lin Cui had long since fallen fast asleep on the bedding.
Fortunately, the weather was growing warmer by now, so there was no fear of her catching cold.
Zhu Yongwen looked at the sleeping Lin Cui but did not wake her. He simply pulled the quilt over her and sat down at the edge of the bed.
To be honest, he did have feelings for Lin Cui, but he also felt for his daughter. These past half month, no one from the Lin family had come calling, and he'd harbored his own complaints.
Two days ago, he'd originally wanted to go bring Lin Cui back himself, but seeing the smile on his mother's face, he'd forcibly suppressed that notion and waited instead for the Lin family to come to him.
Who would have thought—not only did no one from the Lin family come, but she'd gone and run back on her own, and in such a sorry state at that.
When Yang Tieniang told him about it, he could hardly believe it—in over ten years of marriage, Lin Cui had never once wolfed down food so ravenously, oblivious to hunger or satiety.
To say he didn't feel heartache would be a lie.
No lamp was lit in the room. By the exceptionally bright moonlight, Zhu Yongwen looked at Lin Cui's face, which had clearly grown thinner, and let out a silent sigh.
Tomorrow, I'll have a good talk with her… I hope this time she can truly understand that Meisheng is their only hope for their remaining years, and that she can't rely on the Lin family.
Zhu Yongwen took a deep look at Lin Cui, then quietly undressed and lay down.
Fusheng didn't know exactly what her uncle Zhu Yongwen had said to her aunt, but at least in the past two days, Lin Cui seemed like a different person.
At the very least… in these two days, Fusheng hadn't once seen Lin Cui with red-rimmed eyes.
The children in the household, including Meisheng who had returned before the Dragon Boat Festival, all found this quite remarkable.
During their nightly chats among the sisters, Meisheng also said that her mother seemed to have changed quite a bit—she told her to study diligently under Madam Yan, and when she embroidered on her own, she smiled far more than before.
Except when Lady He gave her days off, Fusheng usually spent her days at Lady He's place during the daytime.
Fusheng couldn't quite tell how much Lin Cui had actually changed, but since her eldest sister said so, she figured it must be true.
On the fifth day of the fifth month, the Bathing Orchid Festival arrived. Fusheng rose early as usual, in a very good mood, and even the look she gave Junsheng while supervising his studies was much gentler.
This startled Junsheng so much that he memorized his lessons even faster.
Originally, Lady He was supposed to give her the day off for the festival. But this year, too many people had ordered zongzi and sweet rice balls from Lady He. After two consecutive days of rushing to finish, there was still a portion left undone.
Zongzi and sweet rice balls were extremely easy to make. Though Fusheng was young, she had a mature mind underneath—she learned and did everything quickly—so Lady He simply had her join in the work.
The dragon boat races in Wenzhou City ran from the third to the sixth day of the month, with the grandest spectacle at noon. Today being the festival day itself, it was naturally even more lively.
Lady He had taken an order for refreshments at the dragon boat race venue, and the unfinished portion was exactly that order.
So she asked Fusheng to help, and once they finished, she could go along to deliver them and even get the perk of standing at the best viewing spot with the race organizers to watch the competition.
After discussing this with Yang Tieniang, the day's plan was set—Fusheng wouldn't go out to play with her sisters today, but would return in the evening and join them to see the water lanterns of the Bathing Orchid Festival at night.
The sisters discussed it among themselves and promised to bring gifts back for Cao Sanqiao, who couldn't easily go out, after seeing the lanterns at night. Only then did Fusheng hurry to Lady He's house to make the zongzi and sweet rice balls she'd been working on for two days.
If one were to ask what difference there was between today's work and the previous two days'?
There was some, indeed.
At the very least, today's zongzi and sweet rice balls were far more exquisite than those made in the previous two days. The zongzi were strung with five-colored cords and little bells, the sweet rice balls were made in five colors, and Lady He had even made "victory flag" style Bathing Orchid Festival cakes.
Fusheng observed that the Bathing Orchid Festival cakes were made much like the victory cakes, except filled with a paste made from pickled perilla, calamus, and green plums. They should taste fresh and fragrant with a hint of sweet-sour and medicinal aroma.
These were all made according to the requirements of the steward who had placed the order—the steward had said at the time that flavor didn't need to be exceptional, but they had to look beautiful, as they would all be handed out, and they couldn't let Vice Prefect Wu, who was hosting this year's dragon boat race, lose face.
Last year's dragon boat race was hosted by Prefect Yang and was extremely lively, earning great praise from the people.
This year, Vice Prefect Wu, who had been entrenched in Wenzhou for seven years, was organizing it—of course he wanted to outdo the previous year!
According to Qingnu, Vice Prefect Wu had not only commissioned one pastry shop for the Dragon Boat race refreshments. He was worried that a single shop might not produce goods fine and beautiful enough, so he had split the orders among several.
By the time everything was prepared, there was still an hour before the liveliest part of midday.
Perhaps fearing that Lady He might not have enough hands and might drop the ordered goods, Steward Bai of the Wu household arrived with the items and maidservants to pick them up.
"Lady He, young ladies, a blessed Dragon Boat Festival to you all!"
The steward who came was the same one from before—surnamed Bai, lean and wiry, with a fine beard, dressed in elegant, muted colors that gave him a somewhat immortal, otherworldly air. He was a smooth operator, smiling three parts of a smile upon meeting anyone. Upon seeing Lady He and the others, he immediately bowed with well-wishes, his voice brimming with cheer.
Lady He had been ready to head out, having only arranged for delivery, not pickup. A flicker of surprise crossed her face when she saw the Wu household steward.
But she quickly masked it.
"Steward Bai, a blessed Dragon Boat Festival to you! The Vice Prefect truly keeps the matter of sharing joy with the people close to his heart—it's only a few steps away, yet he sent you all the way here to collect the goods…"
Her flattering words were honeyed indeed, and the smile on Steward Bai's face grew even wider.
As he raised his hand to direct the maidservants in moving the items, he also gestured toward three small sedan chairs parked at the rear.
"My master ordered the freshest pastries, causing Lady He to rise early and work hard on a festival day. It wouldn't be right to have you and the young ladies toiling all morning and then having to walk all the way to Danxi Pool to watch the dragon boats. These sedan chairs were hired from outside by the mistress—rather simple, I'm afraid. I hope you won't mind."
Danxi Pool was the great lake within Wenzhou city that connected the Jade River and the West River. Every year, the dragon boat races were held there, and it offered the best viewing spots.
And the sedan chairs hired from outside? Lady He could understand that too.
Though for a cook like her, if a household sent sedan chairs to fetch her, the minimum would be a mid-grade sedan from a sedan shop, but with the city so lively today, not every official family could afford to keep sedan bearers.
She figured the sedan shop's chairs had long been rented out. For Lady Gao of the Wu household to have managed to hire these three was already a great show of consideration.
"Please convey my thanks to the master and the mistress for their kindness."
After expressing her gratitude, she only needed to wait for the Wu maidservants to finish loading the goods before they could set off.
Fusheng and Yinxing couldn't help with much, so they had already obediently stood to the side, waiting to depart.
Earlier, after finishing her work, Lady He had had Meimei dress them up, even changing them into new clothes.
They wore gauze blouses patterned with mugwort tigers, paired with pleated skirts embroidered with flowers and butterflies. Their double-loop hair buns were tied with colorful cords, hung with little bells, and adorned with pomegranate blossoms. Five-colored longevity threads were bound around their right wrists, and mugwort sachets hung from their waists.
If not for the different colors of their clothing and the great difference in their features, they might have passed for sisters.
The two were thoroughly delighted by their new look!
Yinxing even invited Fusheng to go "street sweeping" together that evening.
She said that with all the excitement today, after the crowds dispersed at night, they were sure to find plenty of good things.
Fusheng had never experienced street sweeping since arriving, and she was quite curious.
The two huddled together, utterly joyful.
It would have been even more joyful if not for the occasional glances Yuniang cast their way.
Yes, that's right—Yuniang was among the people Steward Bai had brought, and Fusheng had spotted her long ago.
She wore the clothing of a low-ranking maidservant of the Wu household: a short jacket of coarse blue cloth paired with dark trousers. Since it was a festival day, she had tied a silver-red long sash around her waist and pinned a silver flower in her hair.
She was dressed much better than when she had been at home—at least there were no patches on her clothes.
She had also put on a little weight, no longer as thin as before.
Ever since she entered, she had kept her head lowered, as if afraid of being seen by Lady He and the others.
But once she stepped into the courtyard and caught sight of Fusheng and Yinxing, she couldn't seem to stop her eyes from darting over again and again.
It would have been hard for anyone not to notice!
Just then, she lingered a moment too long, and the other young maidservant beside her took note.
The maidservant was quite displeased with her companion's slacking off, so she gave her a tug:
"Lingjiao, what are you looking at?"