Leaving the Hall of Benevolence, the first thing Prince Jing did was take a deep breath. Prince Yu, who had hurried after him, found this quite peculiar and circled around to peer directly into Prince Jing’s face.
“How strange! Seventh Brother is actually blushing and acting all shy over a young lady.”
How could Prince Yu possibly know that Prince Jing had nearly suffocated himself in the throne room just to force his face to flush red?
Reborn into this life, he did not want to watch innocent young ladies die because of him. If someone truly intended to harm any woman who might become the Princess Consort Jing, then let that money-grubbing and murderous Lu Huiyi face this conspiracy head-on in place of his former fiancée.
Prince Jing let out a soft sigh of relief, hoping this act could fool the group of people before him.
If it failed, he would just have to put on a few more acts.
Lu Huiyi had spent a full month resting on her sickbed. When she finally emerged to see people again, it was already early October, and with her grandfather’s birthday drawing steadily closer, the pine and crane embroidery was finally completed and taken out of the estate by Chuntao to be mounted.
It was said that on that day, the Fourth Master and Lu Zhenyi each received thirty heavy cane strikes, their shrieks of agony ringing across the heavens as they lay flat on their beds recovering for over half a month before healing.
Lu Huiyi had been recuperating the entire time, and over in the fourth branch, aside from her sixth brother and sister-in-law, no one had come over to check on her, leaving her with no way of knowing whether the rumors were true.
She did, however, learn that the Fourth Master had continuously requested leave and only returned to his official duties earlier in the month.
Additionally, the negligent Madam Zhang and concubine Auntie Yuan, who had incited the young ladies into bad habits, were placed under confinement. Madam Zhang rarely went out anyway, holing up in the small Buddhist shrine every day, but Old Lady Kou ordered people to block the path leading from Plum Garden to the shrine, strictly forbidding Madam Zhang from going there ever again.
Life in the fourth branch was thoroughly miserable for everyone involved.
“Grandmother.”
Lately, Old Master Lu and Lu Huiyi were constantly playing Go in the Hall of Heart’s Ease, which had piqued Old Lady Kou’s interest as well. Lu Huiyi had just dug up a newly recorded Go manual from the depths of the estate’s archives, one she remembered existing from her past life, and ran all the way over to present it to Old Lady Kou.
As luck would have it, there were guests in the Hall of Heart’s Ease.
“So Grandmother is receiving guests. This granddaughter will take her leave first.”
“Huiniang, this is your Eldest Aunt’s maternal sister-in-law.” Old Lady Kou spoke up, calling Lu Huiyi to a halt.
This noble lady was the wife of Minister Xu and the mother of Xu Wuniang. Her surname was Xia, and she was also the paternal aunt of Xia Sanniang.
Lu Huiyi smoothly stayed behind, flashing a standard smile: “So it is the maternal aunt from the Xu family. It has been many years. This junior is Huiniang of the fourth branch, ranked twelfth.”
Maternal Aunt Xu did not display the confused expression Lu Huiyi had anticipated; instead, she acknowledged her with absolute certainty.
“Twelfth Young Mistress? Of course I know who you are.”
“Me?” Now it was Old Lady Kou and Lu Huiyi’s turn to look puzzled.
Maternal Aunt Xu was quite pleased with their current expressions and leisurely explained the purpose of her visit.
“I heard all about how Twelfth Young Mistress shone brilliantly at Noble Consort Wei’s palace banquet.”
Hearing this, Lu Huiyi grew even more perplexed. If the pushing and shoving between her and Prince Jing at the Chrysanthemum and Crab Banquet had leaked out, she certainly did not expect the rumors to paint her in a positive light.
However, in her past life around the end of this very year, shortly after her grandfather’s birthday banquet, Maternal Aunt Xu, who had come to visit relatives bringing Second Young Master Xu and Xu Wuniang along, did indeed seem to pay a visit and see her once.
Could it be that she was here for the exact same matter this time around?
“I have already looked over the poems Twelfth Young Mistress composed at the banquet. They were truly exceptional.”
As it turned out, Maternal Aunt Xu was referring to the poetry Lu Huiyi had recited later in the banquet, rather than her earlier ungraceful behavior.
Maternal Aunt Xu looked at Lu Huiyi with satisfaction, her gaze so blatant it was as if she wanted to strip away her skin.
“Huiniang and Second Cousin Xu haven’t seen each other in quite a few years either. I wonder if you still remember him.”
Lu Huiyi cast her gaze toward Old Lady Kou. With Maternal Aunt Xu’s words, the real purpose of her visit had been made clear.
During that visit in her past life, Maternal Aunt Xu had indeed brought up the idea of a match, but before the marriage proposal could reach that definitive stage, disaster struck the Lu family, leading both sides to tacitly drop the subject.
When it came to Second Young Master Xu, Xu Huan, she certainly remembered him well. As the cousin of Prince Xing and a core pillar of the Prince Xing faction, Lu Huiyi had interacted with him extensively. As for discussing marriage with him, Lu Huiyi shook her head inwardly.
Just as they were talking, Madam Qiao entered with a hearty laugh.
“If it isn’t Madam Xu? It seems I am late.”
Looking at Madam Qiao, no one could possibly tell that she had just been over in the second branch complaining to Madam Qu about how clingy and troublesome this woman surnamed Xia was, just like that Madam Xu from the first branch.
Truly, people who are not of the same family do not enter the same household.
When Madam Qiao received the servants’ message and stood up to come over, she had originally intended to drag Madam Qu along to the Hall of Heart’s Ease.
Madam Qu had openly scoffed, waving her hand as she said, “The Old Matriarch only sent someone to call you, she didn’t say I had to go. I am not going to entertain that woman surnamed Xia.”
No young lady in a noble household should be subjected to sudden visits solely for people to size her up at will. Thanks to Madam Qiao’s timely interruption, Lu Huiyi casually found an excuse to slip away from the Hall of Heart’s Ease. Making her way through winding paths toward the fourth branch, Qingzhu couldn’t help voicing her curiosity: “My lady, why must you return to the fourth branch?”
Lu Huiyi stood beneath the courtyard wall. The paths around Qingfeng Lake were winding, and walking from here to the fourth branch was quite a distance. In truth, however, this secluded cottage right by the water was none other than Lu Zhenyi’s residence, the Tower of Approaching Moon.
“The birthday gift I prepared for Grandfather was left behind in my room and I forgot to bring it along. This is a treasured piece that took me more than half a year of painstaking effort to create. If Grandfather sees it, he will surely value me all the more, so I must come fetch it myself.”
Mistress and maid stood conversing leisurely in the middle of the pavilion, displaying an unhurried composure.
Lu Huiyi raised her eyes once again to look at the flying eaves and bracket sets beneath the roof of the Tower of Approaching Moon, calculating the time in her head.
To be honest, Qingzhu remained half-skeptical of Lu Huiyi’s scheming. After all, they were all biological sisters living under the same roof, so why couldn’t things be discussed properly? Surely minor Auntie Yuan and Lu Zhenyi wouldn’t be as malicious as Lu Huiyi surmised.
Being an experienced and professionally minded senior maidservant, Qingzhu buried this shred of doubt deep in her heart and played her assigned role in Lu Huiyi’s script. She was the Twelfth Young Mistress’s personal maid, and her entire livelihood was bound together with hers; acting out a little play for her mistress wasn’t going to cost her a pound of flesh.
As they walked past the path ahead and bypassed the Drunk Spring Studio, they heard the tearful wails of minor Auntie Yuan drawing closer, watching as Auntie Yuan came running all the way out of the house in tears.
Qingzhu could no longer conceal her astonishment and subconsciously looked toward Lu Huiyi.
Lu Huiyi had anticipated this scene long ago. Had she not orchestrated the script herself, Qingzhu would never have guessed what minor Auntie Yuan and Lu Zhenyi were up to.
Stumbling out the door, Auntie Yuan kept looking back while weeping, as if some ghost were chasing her from inside the house, and ran straight toward Lu Huiyi’s direction.
Qingzhu stepped forward to block her path, preventing Auntie Yuan from actually colliding with Lu Huiyi.
However, when Lu Huiyi instinctively raised her hands to defend herself, Auntie Yuan caught sight of the pair of gold filigree floral-patterned bracelets adorning Lu Huiyi’s delicate, slender wrists.
The dazzling, magnificent brilliance of the gold bracelets nearly blinded Auntie Yuan, and being pushed back a few steps by Qingzhu allowed her to get a clear look at Lu Huiyi.
Having spent just a month by Old Lady Kou’s side, she had undergone a complete transformation. Her withered, skinny frame and split, yellowish hair ends were entirely gone. Having discarded plain hairpins and thin dresses, she was now radiant with gold from head to toe, her skin glowing with a lustrous sheen. Though still slender, her flesh finally seemed to fill out beneath her skin.
Having dressed up nicely for her palace visit previously, Lu Huiyi was already blossoming with beauty. Watching her now, Auntie Yuan nearly crunched her teeth in bitter hatred, knowing full well that such a young lady was destined for extraordinary heights.
A smile hung on Lu Huiyi’s lips, yet Auntie Yuan felt no warmth from it, making her retreat involuntarily.
“Who is Auntie crying and making a scene for this time? Using the same old tricks every single time lacks any creativity whatsoever.”
Auntie Yuan shot her a sideways glance, straightened her neck, and brushed non-existent dust off the front of her gown.
“Twelfth Young Mistress wouldn’t understand. A trick doesn’t need to be new as long as it gets the job done.”
Lu Huiyi nodded sagely and remarked, “Pity that this time, it probably won’t be enough.”
Uncomprehending, Auntie Yuan watched as Lu Huiyi walked past her and headed straight for Begonia Courtyard.
Auntie Yuan’s trusted personal maid standing behind her frantically signaled with her eyes. Receiving the cue, Auntie Yuan hurried forward again to grab Lu Huiyi, attempting to block her path.
“What is all this noise and fuss about?” Mother Hu scolded sharply.
Hearing the commotion outside, Madam Zhang, who had been reciting scriptures in the small Buddhist shrine, emerged with a rounded belly, supporting herself on Mother Hu’s arm.
“Mother, you have misunderstood,” Lu Huiyi stepped forward with a smile, taking Madam Zhang’s arm and speaking first. “Auntie tripped because her footing was unstable, and I was just helping her up.”
Catching sight of the irrepressible radiance glowing all over Lu Huiyi now, Madam Zhang found the image of that woman who had once captivated the entire capital stirring relentlessly in her mind. The more she thought of her, the more irritating she found the daughter standing before her.
Without a change in expression, Madam Zhang withdrew her arm from Lu Huiyi’s grip, eyeing her and minor Auntie Yuan askance. “Aren’t you supposed to be cozying up to the Old Lady in the Hall of Heart’s Ease? What are you back here for?”
In an instant, Lu Huiyi’s expression shifted. With a pale, ashen face, she stammered, “Grandmother took pity on your daughter for almost being tortured to death. In Mother’s eyes, is that me cozying up to Grandmother?”
Pulling her servants back to watch the show from a distance, Auntie Yuan silently thanked the heavens for this transparent, heartless mother.
Madam Zhang looked at her as if she were a complete stranger and stated bluntly, “I am your mother, yet you aren’t close to me at all, while acting so filial toward a grandmother who ignored you for over a dozen years.”
Lu Huiyi wished she could turn deaf and avoid hearing those words.
She glanced at her mother’s visibly rounded belly. If not for her, this child would no longer exist, and her mother would still be bedridden at this very moment.
To receive such accusations in return?
Trembling, Lu Huiyi managed to rein in her loss of composure: “Mother, ask your own conscience if you have ever cared about your daughter for even a single moment? In my opinion, your daughter should have just drowned in that lake on that day, so as to make Mother happy.”
“You!” Madam Zhang’s eyes widened in shock as she jerked her head up, staring incredulously at this daughter, unable to believe she dared talk back.
Looking at this face she hadn’t seen in fourteen years, a terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Lu Huiyi’s mind.
She didn’t seem to resemble her mother, her maternal uncle, or her cousins in appearance or temperament.
Nor did she seem to resemble her father very much either.
Lu Huiyi had no time to ponder further, because at that very moment, billows of thick smoke rose from the fourth branch. Inside Begonia Courtyard, Chuntao shrieked at the top of her lungs: “Help! Begonia Courtyard is on fire! Young Mistress Zhen has set a fire!”