“Get out of the way, if someone gets hit, I won’t be responsible!” the young man in the lead shouted from afar before even reaching the city gate. His voice was clear and bold, full of youthful arrogance.
“Young Master, please slow down! The Yongding Marquis’s entourage is ahead, don’t run into them!” the guards inspecting at the gate shouted anxiously. Inwardly, the officer could only lament his terrible luck. Of all days, this had to happen during his shift. The Yongding Marquis’s convoy was still at the gate, and there were women inside the carriages. If this young master reckless riding startled their horses, what would he do? Both sides were nobles, he couldn’t afford to offend either.
“Hyaa—”
Hearing this, the young man reined in his horse and bowed toward Chu Changbai. “So it’s Uncle. I didn’t know you were returning to the capital today.”
Chu Changbai smiled. “It’s been many years, you are even more impressive than before. How is your grandmother?”
“She is well,” the youth replied. “She misses you greatly and often speaks of you.”
“It’s my fault,” Chu Changbai said with a faint sadness in his eyes. “I should pay her a visit and apologize properly someday.” Since childhood, his stepmother had never favored him. Only his aunt had truly cared for him. Though there were reasons for their long separation, guilt still lingered in his heart.
Inside the carriage, Chu Muqing listened and immediately guessed the young masn’s identity, Gu Yanci, young master of the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion . The old madam of the Duke of Zhenguo household and the old madam of the Yongding Marquis’s household were biological sisters. The Duke’s old madam was the eldest daughter of the Wang family of Huzhou, the Yongding Marquis’s old madam was the second daughter. Though they were sisters, their temperaments were vastly different.
In her previous life, Chu Muqing had only met the Duke’s old madam once, on her wedding day. The elderly lady had held her hand and said earnestly, “Though we haven’t interacted much, I can tell you are kind-hearted. This marriage cannot be changed now, but how you live afterward is something you can still decide. You are the legitimate eldest daughter of Marquis Yongding , your status is noble. After marriage, you needn’t go out of your way to please others. Just fulfill your duties, your mother-in-law will not be able to make things too difficult for you. Child, no matter what happens, the Marquis’s household will stand behind you.” At the time, the old madam likely did not know she had already become an abandoned daughter of the house.
Unfortunately, Chu Muqing ultimately failed to live up to the old lady’s good intentions in her previous life. The next time she heard news of the Duke’s household, the old madam had passed away, and the young master had inherited the title. Later, that very young Duke raised troops in rebellion, was defeated, and died. The women of the inner courtyards, not understanding the complexities behind such matters, only sighed regretfully when speaking of it. They said the young master had once been an idle, unruly heir, but suddenly reformed, achieved top honors in the imperial examinations, and for a time shone brilliantly, no one knew why he ultimately chose that path. He was only twenty when he died.
She carefully lifted the corner of the carriage curtain and looked over. The young master wore a dark brocade robe, its collar and sleeves embroidered with silver clouds. A matching silver-patterned belt hung at his waist, along with a white jade pendant. He spoke with spirited confidence, truly a striking figure.
If, in this lifetime, he could succeed… wouldn’t that be wonderful?
“Children always like excitement,” Second Madam said gently with a smile. “Don’t worry. Once your second uncle finishes talking, we’ll head back.”
Chu Muqing lowered the curtain and nodded. “I understand, Aunt.”
By then, Chu Changbai and the young master had finished their conversation. After exchanging farewells, the young master and the other young men rode away. Chu Changbai gave the order, and the convoy slowly headed toward the Yongding Marquis’s residence.
After passing through the bustling streets, they arrived at the Yongding Marquis’s residence.
As Chu Muqing stepped down from the carriage, she saw a woman and a young girl standing at the gate, speaking warmly with Chu Changbai. The woman leading them wore a deep-blue dress embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns. A gold hairpin shaped like a cloud phoenix adorned her hair, graceful and dignified. She was the primary wife of Marquis of Yongding and Chu Muqing’s stepmother.
Smiling, she said to the Second Madam, “Sister-in-law, it’s been a long time. You look younger every time I see you.” Then she turned to the boy beside her. “And Jin’an has grown so much.”
Second Madam replied quickly, “Sister-in-law, you flatter me. You’re the truly elegant one. Standing next to you, I feel ten years older. Jin’an, greet your aunt.”
Chu Jin’an bowed politely. “Greetings, Aunt.”
The First Madam smiled even more warmly. Then she turned her head as if only just noticing Chu Muqing, reached out to clasp her hand, and said with a slightly choked voice, “This must be Muqing. In the blink of an eye you’ve grown so much. All these years you never returned to visit, your mother has truly missed you.”
Chu Muqing sneered inwardly. It was the same in her previous life. Back then, she foolishly believed her stepmother genuinely cared for her and had even been moved to tears by such words. She hadn’t realized that the gate of the Marquis’s residence, crowded and full of prying eyes, was exactly the place her stepmother wanted this scene to occur. Soon afterward, rumors spread that she was unfilial. If she wasn’t unfilial, why had she never returned home for so many years? Before she even set foot inside, the Madam was already trying to brand her as unfilial. Truly impressive.
“Mother, it’s not that I was unwilling to return,” Chu Muqing replied softly. “But all these years no one from the Marquis’s household ever came to fetch me, and I never received any letters either. I thought Father and Mother didn’t want me back and feared that if I returned on my own, you would be displeased. If that affected your health, wouldn’t that have been a terrible mistake?” It was only an act, but she could act too.
Everyone present heard clearly. It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to return, rather, the Yongding Marquis’s household had never intended to bring her back. If they truly had, how could they have ignored her all these years? And since the Madam was her stepmother, it made sense she might dislike the daughter of the original wife.
The First Madam’s smile stiffened. She had assumed that after being raised for years in a remote place like Hezhou, this girl would be utterly lacking in refinement. She hadn’t expected her to have some wit, just a few sentences and she had already made the First Madam suffer a hidden loss.
Though hatred surged in her heart, she still held Chu Muqing’s hand and spoke with gentle reproach. “Child, you must have been overthinking. How could your father and I ever dislike you?” Then she turned her head and beckoned behind her. “Shuran, come greet your elder sister.”
Chu Muqing had noticed Chu Shuran the moment she stepped down from the carriage. Shuran wore a misty aquamarine dress embroidered with double-butterfly cloud motifs. Only a single white-jade plum-blossom hairpin adorned her hair. With ink-black hair like clouds and features as delicate as a painting, every gesture was graceful and refined. She walked forward slowly, step by elegant step.
“Greetings, Eldest Sister,” Chu Shuran said softly. “I only knew you were resting to recover from illness in Hezhou. Now I finally get to see you. If there’s anything you need in the household from now on, you may always come to me.”
If one didn’t know how vicious she truly was inside, they would surely be deceived into thinking she was like a celestial maiden.
Chu Muqing parted her cherry lips and answered gently, “Thank you, Second Sister.”
Chu Shuran, for her part, had been studying Chu Muqing as well. Before seeing her, she’d assumed this elder sister, raised among merchants, would arrive bedecked in gold and jewels, gaudy from head to toe. Instead, Chu Muqing wore only a pearl-and-jade hair ornament and a light lavender gauze dress. Her attire was simple, yet carried a noble elegance completely unlike what Shuran had imagined.
“Look at me, how careless,” the Madam said with a laugh. “Let’s not keep standing here at the gate. Let’s go in quickly.” She glanced at the Second Master, then spoke warmly to him and his wife. “Come, Second brother, second sister-in-law. Let’s head inside first. Have the younger ones follow. We’ll greet Mother first, then go to dinner. The house has already prepared a welcoming banquet.”
In her previous life, the moment Chu Muqing entered the Yongding Marquis’s residence, she’d been dazzled by its extravagance. Wealth accumulated over generations made this estate unlike any ordinary household. Painted beams, carved pillars, rock gardens, sparkling lakes, every step revealed a new scene. On the way to the Old Madam’s courtyard, she couldn’t help looking everywhere, her heart filled with fascination, so this was truly her home. She hadn’t realized that this behavior made the masters despise her, and even the servants secretly mocked her as small-minded and rustic.
In this life, she kept her gaze straight ahead, quietly following behind her elders. Even the jeweled tassels on her hairpin didn’t sway. Her bearing was in no way inferior to Chu Shuran’s. Passing servants even felt that the eldest young lady resembled a noble lady from the imperial palace.
Once the masters had gone far ahead, the servants finally relaxed, and a few maidservants whispered among themselves.
“Did you see? That was the Eldest Miss. She’s so beautiful.”
“Yes, yes. I always thought the Second Miss was already extremely pretty, but I didn’t expect the Eldest Miss to be even more stunning.”