Yan Changying’s marriage was arranged by Lady Yao’s mother, Grand Princess Taihe, and was set with Pei Yu, the Heir Apparent of the Song Guogong Mansion.
Although the Yan Family were wealthy households in Jiangnan, and the Mistress of the Household was the daughter of a Grand Princess, their status was still worlds apart from that of the Song Guogong Mansion. The reason this marriage alliance could be formed was twofold: first, the Grand Princess and the Old Madam of the Duke’s mansion were close friends since their youth and had long intended to unite their families through marriage. Second, Yan Changfeng’s father, Yan Chuanxing, had once saved the life of the Duke of Song. To repay this life-saving favor, the Duke of Song reserved the position of the family’s principal wife for a Daughter of the Yan Family.
The position of principal wife in the Song Guogong Mansion was an immense gesture of sincerity. If the Yan Family were to reject the marriage for such an unusual reason, it would inevitably damage the goodwill between the two families. It would be unseemly if, instead of forming an alliance, they ended up fostering enmity.
Moreover, on the Grand Princess’s side, Yan Changying was the well-bred young lady she had personally cultivated, destined to marry into a prominent family in Beidu and become the Mistress of the Household.
This matter must be traced back to Lady Yao.
Back then, Lady Yao was infatuated with Yan Chuanxing’s carefree, roguish charm and stubbornly married beneath her station. The Grand Princess opposed it to no avail and could only acquiesce to her daughter’s wishes. However, she would not allow the next generation to continue marrying into families of lower status. Thus, she forced Lady Yao to promise that when her children were born, their marriages would be decided by her, with no more marrying down, and at least one must marry into Beidu.
Lady Yao had only two daughters in her lifetime. From the moment the two girls were born, the Grand Princess sent palace governesses to guide them in everything from dressing and dining to etiquette and manners, meticulously shaping them into well-bred young ladies, all to pave the way for them to become Mistresses of the Household in the future.
Yet, though both girls were taught the same way, the results were worlds apart.
The Eldest Sister was gentle, virtuous, and refined, with looks and demeanor no less impressive than the young ladies of Beidu. The Second Miss, however, took after her father—naturally unconstrained, carefree, and casual, disdainful of the trivialities of deep-seated traditions. Despite the strictest teachings, she stubbornly grew into a free-spirited tree.
Seeing that the second daughter was “a hopeless case,” the Grand Princess gave up on marrying her into Beidu and focused all her efforts on paving the way for Yan Changying.
Paving the way in the circles of the nobility in Beidu was no overnight task. Yan Changying was the result of nearly two decades of the Grand Princess’s meticulous cultivation. Even if it were just an uncertain dream now, even if she were ill or disabled, she would still be pushed into a prominent family in Beidu.
Given these two reasons, Yan Changying’s marriage to Pei Shizi was destined not to be easily abandoned.
As Yan Changfeng pondered the difficulties involved, a thought suddenly occurred to her. She asked, “Mother, as I recall, the Pei Family never specified which of our family’s daughters it had to be, did they?”
Upon hearing this, Lady Yao was first taken aback, then quickly grasped the meaning behind her words, her expression turning alarmed. “What are you trying to say? Don’t tell me you intend to replace…”
“I was just asking,” Yan Changfeng replied. At this moment, she had no intention of discussing the outcome of this matter. She knew her mother couldn’t make a decision based on a dream alone; she was merely reminding her that there was another way to resolve this.
In truth, as far as she was concerned, a marriage was no big deal. If her Eldest Sister couldn’t marry and there was truly no way to refuse, it wouldn’t matter if she took her place. In fact, she was curious to see just what kind of person this Pei Shizi was, to have frightened her Eldest Sister so badly.
But in the eyes of society, a woman who substitutes in a marriage would face gossip, be looked down upon, and might even be scorned by her in-laws.
"Don't you dare entertain those wild ideas!" Lady Yao absolutely could not allow her daughter to take her sister's place in marriage. "I think your eldest sister's condition came on strangely, and perhaps it will pass quickly. Let's wait until she recovers before discussing anything further."
Yan Changfeng didn't argue further, only saying, "I think you should first write to Maternal Grandmother to inquire about Pei Shizi's character—that's what truly matters. If his reputation is poor, Maternal Grandmother wouldn't have reason to harm her own granddaughter."
Lady Yao thought this made sense and immediately began writing the letter.
The carrier pigeons raised by the Yan Family could send letters to Beidu and back in at most two days.
The following afternoon, Yan Changfeng simultaneously received letters from her maternal grandmother and the secret outpost in Wuzhou Prefecture.
Worried about her father, she first opened the letter from the secret outpost. After reading just a few words, a chill ran down her spine.
This was an emergency report. It stated that the secret outposts in Yizhou Prefecture and Qingzhou Prefecture had suddenly lost contact. Acting on their own initiative, they had already dispatched people to investigate.
These two outposts were closest to the location where her father might have encountered bandits. As she had suspected—this was about cutting off her father's support first!
Yan Changfeng was frantic with anxiety, hating that she was too far away to help.
But soon, she forced herself to calm down and ponder who had such great capability to mobilize bandits to harm the Head of the Yan Family.
Half an hour later, she tucked away her maternal grandmother's letter and returned home, heading first to her eldest sister's courtyard as usual.
These past two days, her eldest sister's condition had fluctuated. When Yan Changfeng was present, she remained relatively normal—able to eat, drink, and converse with others—but the topic of marriage could not be mentioned. Yesterday, when Lady Yao merely mentioned their maternal grandmother in Beidu in front of her, she began screaming.
When Yan Changfeng wasn't there, she would shut herself in her room alone. She didn't reject the Wet Nurse or Lady Yao entering her room, but she would always cry upon seeing them. Fearing she would cry herself sick, Lady Yao and the Wet Nurse tried to avoid entering as much as possible.
"Second Miss, you've come." The Wet Nurse was guarding outside the room and approached Yan Changfeng upon seeing her, updating her on the eldest young lady's condition. "Just now, Yaoniang came by, and the eldest young lady had another fit of screaming."
Over the past two days, Yan Changfeng had deliberately instructed people to create the illusion that the eldest young lady was seriously ill and in poor condition, to test Yaoniang.
Based on what her eldest sister had said—assuming it was true—Yaoniang not only schemed for the family fortune but also collaborated with Pei Yu to take the lives of the two sisters. If so, Yaoniang would certainly be very concerned about the eldest sister's survival.
If possible, Yan Changfeng guessed that Yaoniang would prefer the eldest sister to die before marrying into the Pei family. After all, once the eldest sister became the Wife of the Heir, she would be much harder to manipulate.
"Did she say anything?"
The Wet Nurse replied, "She mainly asked about the illness. As you instructed, I told her the eldest young lady was overwhelmed with anxiety about soon going to Beidu, had nightmares, and was frightened. She said it was due to evil spirits and that someone knowledgeable should be called to perform exorcisms. I deferred the matter to you and Madam, so she went to Madam's courtyard."
Yan Changfeng nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you for your care, Wet Nurse. I'll come back later to see eldest sister."
She hurried to Lady Yao's room and indeed heard Yaoniang discussing evil spirits and souls.
"I'm afraid she's been possessed by evil spirits. The eldest young lady is unmarried and still considered a child. Her birth chart is weak and cannot suppress evil forces. If left unattended, it may damage her spirit and even her life. You must take this seriously, Madam."
"Yaoniang speaks sense." Yan Changfeng agreed as soon as she entered the room.
The graceful woman sitting below Madam immediately stood up and bowed to the young lady. "Second Miss, you've returned."
"Ah, Yaoniang, please have a seat." Yan Changfeng had always been easygoing and never stood on ceremony with anyone. "I thought what you said earlier made a lot of sense. Do you have any way to resolve this?"
"I don’t have any solution, I just happened to hear about something." Yaoniang perched lightly on the edge of her chair as she spoke. "A while ago, I had tea with the Concubine of the Zhang family and heard that their young master had been possessed by an evil spirit. Medicine and treatments were useless, but then a blind Taoist priest came to the estate, gave him two pills, performed a ritual, and he recovered within days."
In these times, most women believed in such things. Under normal circumstances, Lady Yao would have eagerly agreed upon hearing this, but now she was already convinced it was divine guidance, so she wasn’t very enthusiastic.
Yan Changfeng, who usually didn’t believe in such matters, was instead quite intrigued. "If he’s that capable, we should invite him to take a look at Eldest Sister, don’t you think so, Mother?"
Lady Yao didn’t know what she was up to, but she knew her second daughter always had her reasons, so she played along and agreed. "That’s true. Tomorrow, Yaoniang, you can invite that Taoist priest to come and take a look. Whether it works or not, it’ll give us some peace of mind."
Yaoniang stood up and replied, "Ah, since Madam and Second Miss trust me, I’ll naturally do my best. It’s getting late, so I’ll take my leave now."
"Yaoniang, don’t rush off." Yan Changfeng sat on the couch, looking up at Yaoniang from below, just catching her lowered eyes. "I just received word from my Maternal Grandmother regarding Eldest Sister’s marriage. Since we’re all family, why don’t you stay and listen?"
Yaoniang lowered her eyes obediently and sat back down in the armchair.
Yan Changfeng took a moment to observe her carefully. She had rarely paid much attention to Yaoniang before, but now, looking closely, she realized the woman was quite pleasing to the eye. She had delicate features, a slender waist, willow-like shoulders, and a soft, almost boneless grace. She carried the strong charm of a woman from the Jiangnan region, with just the right touch of allure.
Such a figure… Yan Changfeng couldn’t help but recall Yaoniang’s background.
Yaoniang was a refugee Yan Chuanxing had rescued while traveling. Seeing that she had no one to rely on, he brought her back to the estate. Originally, he intended for her to be a maid, but Lady Yao, having no sons of her own and seeing how well-behaved she was, decided on her husband’s behalf to take her in as a concubine.
Most refugees came from humble backgrounds, and women who had worked hard from a young age rarely maintained such a delicate and graceful posture. Even if her family had doted on her and spared her from heavy labor, it would have been extremely difficult to cultivate such refined mannerisms.
Of course, this alone didn’t prove Yaoniang was hiding something.
Yan Changfeng set aside her thoughts and probed, "I’m afraid Eldest Sister’s marriage may not go through."