The weather lately had been unpredictable, leaving everyone quite bewildered. Just yesterday, it had been a beautiful day, yet today, wind and rain began to howl before dawn.
“It looks like this rain won’t be stopping anytime soon,” Li Wanran remarked, sitting on the daybed and leaning to watch the rainy landscape outside. The rain fell incessantly, fine and dense, and the scent of damp earth in the air naturally brought a sense of quietude to the room.
Beside her, Banxia, who was embroidering a handkerchief, said regretfully, “We were planning to go out for some fresh air today, but who knew it would rain?”
Li Wanran’s ankle had finally fully recovered the previous day; it was no longer painful or swollen. After being cooped up in the room for over half a month, she had discussed going out for a stroll with Banxia, but fate had other plans.
“The feeling of staying in by choice is quite different from being forced to,” Li Wanran sighed, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain. Previously, she had chosen not to go out, so she hadn’t minded being indoors for two months. She could always find ways to amuse herself with Banxia and the others. Now, however, she had been confined to this small courtyard because her injury prevented her from moving. Despite the constant company of Yinzhen and her servants, the thought occasionally crossed her mind that life was becoming rather dull.
After wallowing in a moment of minor melancholy, she shook off those stray thoughts and walked to the desk to continue practicing her painting. As she lifted the brush, she paused. Looking at her works, which were starting to take proper shape, she decided to increase the difficulty for herself today.
She looked up and told Banxia to fetch the ivory carvings of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals that Concubine Song had sent earlier. She intended to paint all twelve.
Once the items were brought, the two arranged the lifelike carvings neatly on the desk to serve as references. Banxia stood by the desk grinding ink, her head tilted as she looked at the figures with amazement. “These zodiac animals aren’t just carved to look real; even holding them feels incredibly smooth and warm.”
Li Wanran stared intently at the rabbit zodiac, memorizing its structure before slowly rendering it onto the paper. At the same time, she didn’t forget to reply, “When the weather clears, pick out a nice gift to send to Concubine Song. Since she sent such a fine gift, we cannot show no appreciation in return.”
Banxia stopped her movements and nodded. “You are right, Mistress.”
As the stack of finished paintings beside Li Wanran grew, the sound of the rain outside finally ceased. Radiant sunlight pierced through the clouds, and the small birds that had hidden away from the rain reappeared on the branches, chirping toward the sun.
Banxia looked out the window where the dark clouds were dispersing and said happily, “Look, Mistress, the sky has cleared!”
Li Wanran set down her brush, rubbed her wrist, and walked to the window. Opening it, she found not a trace of rain remained. In a much better mood, she returned to the desk to finish the final strokes of her painting.
Just as Li Wanran and Banxia were about to tidy up the desk, Lady Yi arrived. Li Wanran smiled and stepped forward to greet her. “The rain has only just stopped; how did you manage to get here so quickly?”
“I’ve made a nightgown for you these past few days, Sister Li. I intended to bring it today, but the rain delayed me,” Lady Yi said, signaling her maid Jinxing to hand the nightgown on the tray to Banxia. “As soon as the rain eased, I came over with it.”
Li Wanran looked at the nightgown for a moment, then took Lady Yi’s hand and smiled. “This is too much trouble. It’s truly kind of you to put so much heart into this for me.”
She began to think about what she should give Lady Yi in return; she couldn’t just take someone’s gift for nothing. Li Wanran always believed that relationships required a mutual exchange to last. After a while, she walked a circle around Lady Yi. Ignoring the other woman’s confused look, she clapped her hands and laughed. “I received several bolts of excellent fabric recently, but I wasn’t fond of the colors and was worrying about what to do with them. Seeing you just now, I realized those colors would suit you perfectly. Take them back with you when you leave later.”
Lady Yi hurriedly replied, “How could I accept that?” She didn’t believe Li Gege’s claim that she didn’t like the colors; she assumed it was just a graceful excuse to avoid making Lady Yi feel uncomfortable.
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It’s just a few bolts of cloth meant to be worn.” After speaking in a tone that brooked no refusal, Li Wanran pulled Lady Yi to the desk to see her newly finished zodiac drawings. “You’ve come at the perfect time. Tell me, how do they look?”
Lady Yi turned her attention to the paintings. She leaned down and praised with a smile, “They look charming and innocent. It’s only been a few days, but your skill has improved significantly, Sister Li.”
Though pleased by the praise, Li Wanran remained modest. “Not at all. You’ll make me blush if you keep praising me like that.” However, the unstoppable smile at the corner of her lips made her words quite unconvincing.
Lady Yi casually picked up one of the zodiac figures neatly arranged on the desk. She compared it to the drawing, a hint of confusion in her eyes. “I feel as though I’ve seen these somewhere before, but I can’t quite place them.”
Li Wanran leaned in and explained, “These were a gift from Concubine Song. I only had Banxia bring them out today. Perhaps you saw them at her place before?”
This immediately sparked Lady Yi’s memory. Her expression turned strange as she looked at the carving in her hand. “You’re right. I have indeed seen them at Concubine Song’s.”
Since the items originally belonged to Song, wasn’t it normal for Lady Yi to have seen them there? Why was her expression so odd? Li Wanran and Banxia exchanged a confused glance. Just as Li Wanran was about to press for details, Lady Yi placed the ox zodiac back in its spot. Looking at the set, she spoke slowly.
“These were given to Concubine Song by the Fourth Prince when she was about to give birth.”
To be precise, they were intended for the little princess in her womb. At the time, this zodiac set had been placed with other children’s toys. That day, Lady Zhang had dragged Lady Yi to see Concubine Song, and they happened to encounter Su Peisheng delivering the rewards. That was why she found them familiar.
Li Wanran: “…”
Hearing this, her mind was filled with question marks, yet she didn’t know what to say. What on earth was Concubine Song thinking? Giving her own daughter’s belongings to a romantic rival didn’t seem like something a normal person would do. Was this some strange case of “I treat you as a colleague, but you treat me as your daughter (not)?” Li Wanran was momentarily repulsed by the thought, her face wrinkling in disgust.
Seeing her shock, Lady Yi pointed at the carvings and analyzed deeply, “If Concubine Song has an objective in giving these to you, it must involve the Fourth Prince. As long as the Prince sees this zodiac set, he might think of her and her deceased daughter.”
Li Wanran rubbed her temples, adding with a complicated expression, “I can’t think of any other reason.” Surviving in such a place, she couldn’t help but interpret Concubine Song’s actions with the utmost cynicism.
Lady Yi didn’t speak, but her expression clearly matched Li Wanran’s suspicion.
“Banxia, lock this zodiac set away. I don’t want to see them again.” Originally, Li Wanran wanted to send them back to Song, but upon second thought, she felt that might be too confrontational. In the end, out of sight, out of mind was the best policy.
Banxia promptly found a box, placed all the carvings inside, and took them to the storehouse. Seeing this, Lady Yi added a reconsidered thought: “Perhaps we are overthinking it. It’s possible Concubine Song just thought they were cute and sent them to you.”
Li Wanran looked speechless. “Regardless of the reason, I don’t want to see them.” No matter how she looked at it, this incident made her uncomfortable. It reminded her of why she had entered Yinzhen’s back courtyard in the first place, making her feel even more unsettled.
Not wanting to waste more time on this, she led Lady Yi to the daybed to ask for advice on embroidery stitches. After all, skills are never a burden, and having an embroidery expert right in front of her seemed like a missed opportunity if she didn’t ask for guidance.
Lady Yi said no more and picked up a needle and thread to demonstrate for Li Wanran. They hadn’t been studying for half a day when, unexpectedly, Lady Zhang came to visit—ostensibly to apologize and check on her “illness.”
Li Wanran looked at her fully healed foot, her lips twitching. How long has it been…
Upon entering and seeing Lady Yi there, Lady Zhang paused for a moment before quickening her pace. She stood before Li Wanran and performed a complete curtsy. “Greetings, Lady Li.” She then turned to Lady Yi and said insincerely, “I didn’t expect Sister Yi to be here as well. Am I disturbing you?”
Looking at the handkerchief she had only managed a few stitches on, Li Wanran paused and looked at Lady Zhang with total sincerity. “To be honest, yes, you are disturbing us.”
Lady Zhang’s eyes widened as she froze, unsure of how to respond. She hadn’t expected Li Wanran to be so direct, without even a pretense of politeness. While they both knew they didn’t want to see each other, they usually maintained the facade of being “sisters.” Such bluntness made it impossible for her to continue her act.
Lady Yi also looked at Li Wanran in surprise. Seeing the instant change in Lady Zhang’s face, she quickly lowered her head and used her handkerchief to hide a smile.
“Is that so?” Lady Zhang finally managed to say dryly. She took a deep breath, trying to force a smile, which only made her expression more wooden. “I came today to apologize to Lady Li. I have felt truly restless and guilty about accidentally causing your sprain.”
She turned and took a white jade bracelet inlaid with gold and gems from her maid Sumei, handing it to Li Wanran with a look of visible pain. “Let this bracelet be my apology. I hope Lady Li does not find it beneath her.”
This bracelet had been given to her by Concubine Song not long ago, and Lady Zhang had only worn it twice. If not for the Fourth Prince, she would never have parted with it. These past few days, she had been ruminating in her room on how to deal with Li Wanran. While copying the Palace Rules, she had suddenly realized why the Prince had punished her. Thus, this visit was a performance for the Fourth Prince, intended to show her remorse so he would no longer blame her.
Li Wanran was about to decline, but seeing Lady Zhang’s look of extreme reluctance, a sense of mischief rose in her.
“How could I? Such a beautiful bracelet, I…” She reached out playfully to take the bracelet, but it seemed stuck in Lady Zhang’s grip; it wouldn’t move at first. Li Wanran raised an eyebrow, exerted some force to pull the bracelet from Lady Zhang’s hand, and then continued with a smile, “I like it very much.”
She then had Banxia bring a chair for Lady Zhang. After all, the woman was already there; she couldn’t exactly chase her out with a broom. After sitting, Lady Zhang continued to gaze longingly at the bracelet Li Wanran had placed on the table.
After a moment, she couldn’t resist stinging Lady Yi to vent her frustration. “Before I came, I intended to ask Sister Yi to join me, but when I went to find her, she was out. I didn’t realize Sister Yi was already here with Lady Li.”
Speaking of Lady Yi, Lady Zhang was full of resentment. A “pitiful creature” who used to follow her around now dared to ignore her after finding a new benefactor; seven out of ten times Zhang looked for her, she was “busy.” Lady Zhang snorted inwardly, deeply dissatisfied. She wanted to see how long Lady Li could remain proud; she was waiting for the day she could kick her while she was down.
Lady Yi smiled faintly. “That was quite unfortunate.”
“I don’t think so at all. My foot has just healed, and both of you have come to see me. How can you say it’s unfortunate?” Li Wanran said slowly, watching Lady Zhang’s face change color.
Lady Zhang froze, looking at Li Wanran’s foot. Suddenly, the chair beneath her felt as if it were covered in needles. She had picked the wrong time to come; had she known, she would have come two days earlier to avoid this embarrassment. Ultimately, she blamed Li Wanran. Of all the times to heal, she had to heal exactly when Zhang visited, just to make things difficult for her.
Her brain kept signaling for her to leave, but remembering her objective, she gritted her teeth and decided to play dumb. She wouldn’t budge. The probability of seeing the Fourth Prince was highest here. She couldn’t leave easily; she would stay even if she had to overstay her welcome just to see him.
Lady Zhang struggled to control her expression, offering a forced smile. “Yes, quite a coincidence.”
Seeing this, Li Wanran lost interest in the superficial pleasantries. It was quite boring. She picked up her teacup and asked directly, “Is there anything else?”
Lady Zhang should have understood the signal to leave, but she chose to ignore it. She continued to play dumb, turning the conversation to the handkerchief on the low table that Li Wanran had barely started. Li Wanran was truly stunned by her behavior. She looked at Lady Yi, who returned a bitter, helpless smile.
The two had thought Lady Zhang wouldn’t stay long, but unexpectedly, she remained from the morning until it was nearly time for the evening meal, sitting firmly in her seat. Just as Li Wanran was about to lose her patience and “evict” her, a eunuch from the front courtyard arrived to collect her “homework.”
It had to be said that Yinzhen was a very responsible teacher. Every two days, he assigned Li Wanran homework and then corrected it personally. He would point out her mistakes and wouldn’t stop until she had learned the lesson. When he visited her, he would check the work in the study. If he couldn’t come, he would send someone to fetch it, correct it, and send it back, though that was rare.
Li Wanran was slightly surprised and personally handed over her work. She was about to ask about Yinzhen when someone else beat her to it.
“Eunuch, why didn’t the Fourth Prince come… to see Lady Li?”
Lady Zhang finally abandoned her chair. She stepped quickly to the young eunuch, looking more concerned about why the Prince hadn’t come than Li Wanran herself. The eunuch looked at the staring Lady Zhang with a flash of surprise, then turned back to Li Wanran and replied respectfully, “Concubine Song sent someone to invite the Fourth Prince away.”
Lady Zhang froze on the spot, her eyes full of bewilderment as she instinctively took two steps back. Was God playing a joke on her? She was the only one who hadn’t visited Concubine Song today, and the Fourth Prince had gone there instead? If she had known…
Lady Zhang was now filled with regret, not even noticing when the eunuch left. It took several calls from Li Wanran to bring her back to her senses. Knowing the Prince was with someone else, she didn’t want to stay with Li Wanran for a single second longer. Without a word, she performed a hurried salutation and rushed away as if a wild beast were chasing her.
After Lady Zhang left, Lady Yi also took her leave. Before she left, Li Wanran made sure to press the bolts of fabric into Jinxing’s hands for them to take away. Ultimately, Li Wanran could not comfortably enjoy the kindness of others without returning it; she did not want to be in anyone’s debt.
“Mistress, should I put this bracelet away for you, or put it in the storehouse?” Banxia asked, holding the bracelet Lady Zhang had given.
Li Wanran frowned at the bracelet for a long while. “No need. You take it and wear it.”
Banxia looked at the bracelet with some excitement but hesitated. “This…”
“Don’t ‘this’ or ‘that.’ I said it’s yours, so it’s yours. Whatever you do with it is up to you,” Li Wanran waved her hand. She had no desire to use anything belonging to Lady Zhang; she had only accepted it to annoy her. Seeing Li Wanran’s resolve, Banxia took the bracelet and went back to her room to put it away happily. To be honest, she quite liked the style of the bracelet.