Lu Huiyi ran over stumbling and scrambling, desperate to enter the Begonia Courtyard, and it was Qingzhu who stopped her.
Chuntao, Lu Huiyi, and Qingzhu, all covered in grime from escaping, hugged one another and wailed bitterly.
Lu Huiyi cried out loud, shouting between her sobs, “Let me in! The birthday gift I prepared for Grandfather is still inside. Seeing it burned by fire with my own eyes is worse than letting me be burned to death.”
As she reached the peak of her act, Lu Huiyi stamped her feet and made as if to jump up and cause a scene.
Chuntao shook Lu Huiyi’s shoulders frantically. “Bah, bah, bah! My young lady, you must never say such unlucky things again.”
Madam Zhang and Mother Hu were both left dumbfounded, not knowing what expression to wear. This was because the fire in the Begonia Courtyard had not been a major one; when they rushed over just moments earlier, there had barely been a puff of thick smoke, and after their noisy commotion, not even a single spark could be seen now.
Madam Zhang immediately realized that Lu Huiyi was once again looking to stir up trouble for someone. However, having spent years uninvolved in household matters, her thoughts were in a muddle, and she had no idea how to take charge or manage the household.
When Lu Zhenyi came running out, she was still holding the fire starter she had failed to throw away. Panic-stricken to the point where her jaw hung slack, knowing she had botched things and terrified of punishment, her frightened eyes collided with those of junior concubine Yuan.
Junior concubine Yuan felt a deep mixture of exasperation and disappointment. Flicking her handkerchief with a cold snort, she felt too stifled and unwilling to look at this only daughter anymore. After a moment, she still strode forward to wipe away the ash on Lu Zhenyi’s face and hands. Finding that her wiping only made it dirtier, junior concubine Yuan simply decided she wanted to take Lu Zhenyi and leave.
Lu Huiyi stepped forward to block the two of them, insisting on having Chuntao and Qingzhu escort them and their maidservants over to the Yangxin Studio.
What kind of nonsense was this? Why did this young lady feel the need to disturb the Old Madam over the slightest ripple of trouble? Perhaps because Madam Zhang and junior concubine Yuan had not personally intervened last month yet still got implicated, they found themselves thinking alike at this moment.
That was how the two of them thought, and that was how they spoke it aloud.
Hugging Qingzhu, Lu Huiyi hid her face and sneered repeatedly. Anyone unaware would have thought she had committed some monstrous crime, causing these two women, who had looked down on each other for half a lifetime, to form an alliance right here and now.
While things were in a chaotic mess with a crowd of madams and young ladies forming an impenetrable wall of onlookers, and everyone was in an anxious deadlock, Madam Shu shouted out in a loud, clear voice.
“A pack of unruly servants! How dare you make trouble here and harass Mother, Concubine Yuan, and the two younger sisters? Step up and take them all away.”
Madam Shu’s words gave face to the madams and misses while providing a pretext for the servants she brought along to separate the chaotic, entangling crowd.
Everyone looked toward Madam Shu’s direction and was surprised to see that she had also brought Madam Qu and Old Nanny Kou along.
Old Nanny Kou had stayed by Old Madam Kou’s side ever since the latter was still unwed, later following her to the Lu family as a dowry maid. She married a Lu-surnamed valet who served beside the Old Master; that valet’s ancestors had worked for the Lu family, and today he was the grand steward of the Lu household, respectfully addressed as Steward Lu.
Thus, within the Lu residence, Nanny Kou acted as Old Madam Kou’s voice, and all the junior members respected her as half a mistress.
While the new bride, Sixth Young Madam Shu, might not yet command full authority on her own, she was backed by Madam Qu, the highest-ranking mistress in the household’s inner quarters under Old Madam Kou, alongside Nanny Kou, who represented Old Madam Kou herself. No matter how unconvinced anyone might feel, they all settled down quietly at that moment.
“What the two elders said is quite right. Grandmother is advanced in years; there is no need to disturb her old self. Since Second Aunt and Nanny Kou are both here to witness this today, let us sort this out clearly right here and now. That way, we avoid harboring hidden resentments despite being family, which could lead to harming our own flesh and blood outside and making a laughingstock of ourselves to outsiders.”
With just a few words, Madam Shu quelled the disturbance. The moment her voice fell, observant servants stepped into the room and fetched numerous chairs.
The various masters and mistresses of the Lu family, along with Nanny Kou, all took their seats, with Madam Qu, Madam Shu, Nanny Kou, and several others sitting opposite one another.
Seeing the Fourth Branch now indeed managed by a newly wedded bride, Madam Qu felt it rather strange. Observing that everyone in the Fourth Branch acted as though this was how things ought to be, she simply sat down in silence.
Come to think of it, in her past life when Madam Shu began managing the household around this time, Lu Huiyi had also found it strange. However, she was not one given to meddling, and no one cared whether she spoke up or not, so she simply accepted it. In this present life, conversely, she felt that Madam Shu should have been put in charge of household management long ago.
When Madam Shu asked about the sequence of events, Hanxiao, the personal head maid by Lu Zhenyi’s side, stepped forward, first curtsying to introduce her name and state which young lady she served, before recounting the course of events sentence by sentence.
“Our young lady was all alone in the Yangxin Studio. Having not seen her mother for many days, she missed her terribly. The moment she recovered from her illness and received the doctor’s permission to leave her bed, she ran straight over to pay her respects to Madam. Then she remembered that when several of our maids previously came to the Begonia Courtyard to pack our Miss Hui’s luggage, we left behind a birthday gift personally crafted by our young lady, which was meant to be presented to the Old Master during his birthday in the twelfth lunar month. Therefore, our young lady went to see Madam and sent me back to retrieve the items.”
“What kind of talk is that from you, Chuntao? That is hardly how it looked. This old servant saw your young lady heading straight for the Begonia Courtyard with no intention of entering the Plum Garden whatsoever. If this old servant has a word to say, it is clearly Miss Hui who is deliberately trying to frame Miss Zhen.”
“Mother Hu, our mistress explicitly stated that Chuntao and Hanxiao were to sort the facts out clearly. Since when did you have the right to speak?” Dan’e, Madam Shu’s personal maid, had been watching Madam Shu’s expression. The moment Madam Shu frowned slightly, Dan’e spoke up in a sharp, stern voice.
Mother Hu was left speechless, and junior concubine Yuan also glared at her with dissatisfied glances, signaling her to step back first.
Mother Hu’s words had ultimately served to remind Hanxiao, who promptly continued, “That is right! Zhenniang had just lit that painting when Chuntao rushed in shouting at the top of her lungs about the Begonia Courtyard catching fire, claiming Zhenniang committed arson.”
Madam Qu, who had been sitting quietly like a decorative ornament all this while, finally raised her head. Unable to hold back her amusement, she covered her lips with her handkerchief and chuckled softly.
In Madam Shu’s view, Lu Huiyi likely did have the intention to use this opportunity to suppress Lu Zhenyi, but unless Lu Zhenyi had intentional designs to commit arson and harm others, Lu Huiyi could hardly force the blame upon her. Looking enlightened, Madam Shu delivered her verdict, “Oh, so that is how it was. If it truly was Zhenniang who caused the fire, then there is nothing left to argue about.”
Panicking, Lu Zhenyi stood up, pushed Hanxiao aside, and stepped forward herself to argue, “Hanxiao got it wrong! Um, I merely heard that Elder Sister cared deeply about that birthday gift and wanted to go take a look at what kind of treasure it was. It was just that the room was far too dim and I could not see clearly, so I struck a light with a fire starter and accidentally ignited the scroll.”
Since Lu Zhenyi refused to let her servants speak on her behalf and insisted on stepping forward herself regardless of her dignity, Lu Huiyi naturally stepped out as well to strip away Lu Zhenyi’s last shred of precarious pride.
“Younger sister’s words are laughable. The sun was shining brightly right in the afternoon just now. My painting was placed right beside the window; there is no reason why anyone could not see clearly and needed to light a lamp.”
As the two young ladies argued, Qingzhu had quietly withdrawn and returned with a tray. She took out the charred remains of the Pine and Crane painting paper, reduced to mere scraps inside the Begonia Courtyard, placed them onto the tray, and presented them to Lu Huiyi.
Overwhelmed with grief, Lu Huiyi swayed as if she might collapse, not daring to touch the remnants on the tray.
She turned around swiftly and bowed deeply to Madam Qu and Madam Shu. “I beg Second Aunt and Sixth Sister-in-law to uphold justice for me. My painstaking hard work has been destroyed, and I do not covet any compensation; I solely wish for the mastermind behind this to receive the punishment she deserves.”
Seeing that she could no longer shake off the blame, junior concubine Yuan had no choice but to wipe her tears and plead for mercy. However, Madam Shu was not the Fourth Master; she would not be swayed by a flood of tears.
She stood up, averted her gaze from junior concubine Yuan, took Lu Huiyi’s hand to seat her down, and left Lu Zhenyi standing aside ignored. Coldly, she said, “The country has its laws and the family has its rules. If everyone could simply cry and make a fuss to escape punishment after doing wrong, then no matter how large a family clan is, it would fall apart.”
Lu Huiyi obediently took her seat, whereupon Madam Shu turned toward Lu Zhenyi and stated, “As it happens, the Old Madam is heading to Jueyun Peak in three days. Zhenniang might as well join her on the mountain and spend a period of time in quiet cultivation to shed this restless temperament of hers.”
Lu Zhenyi opened her mouth to refuse on the spot, but Madam Shu gripped her hand and applied covert pressure, adding remarks about how wonderful the mountain environment was and how this was entirely out of the Old Madam’s kindness.
Since Madam Shu had invoked the Old Madam, no one dared to raise any objections. Turning back, she asked Lu Huiyi if she had any further grievances.
Lu Huiyi stood up and made a deep, formal bow to Madam Shu. “Thank you for your concern, Sixth Sister-in-law. After all, Zhenniang and I are sisters; I did not intentionally persecute a sibling, but rather feared her behavior would remain undisciplined after her future marriage. Now that Sixth Sister-in-law is here to keep her in check, I imagine that after spending two months in quiet cultivation on the mountain, Zhenniang will return much more sensible.”
“Two months? Who do you think you are? You hateful wretch!”
Lu Zhenyi shrieked out loud. Junior concubine Yuan clamped a hand over her mouth, whispering urgently into her ear, “Mother will go talk to your father and bring you back before the Old Master’s birthday banquet in the twelfth lunar month. This woman surnamed Shu is merely trying to make an example of you right now to establish her authority. Good Zhenniang, let us endure this for now and not bicker with her.”
With that, the matter came to a temporary close. Lu Huiyi, Qingzhu, and Chuntao cradled the scroll reduced to ashes, taking heavy steps as they walked back from the Fourth Branch to the Yangxin Studio. The scene was as tragic and solemn as a funeral procession.
Along the way, the maidservants and old hags who had long caught wind of the Fourth Branch’s dispute had dropped their chores to come watch the spectacle. Thanks to them, the story that the Fourteenth Young Lady had burned her grandfather’s birthday gift and forced her legitimate elder sister out of the Fourth Branch spread far and wide, becoming the talk of the town.
Early that morning, Lu Huiyi had sent a visiting card to the Marquis of Guangping’s estate, stating that she had fully recovered, missed Shouyang dearly, and was deeply grateful for her numerous visits during her illness, wishing to call upon Shouyang the following day.
At this moment, Lu Huiyi received a reply. Shouyang first inquired after her health, expressing deep concern and an eager desire to see her dear friend soon, though she also worried whether Lu Huiyi’s health was truly up to going out and urged her not to overexert herself. Finally, Shouyang noted that she had already prepared fine delicacies and was quietly awaiting Lu Huiyi’s arrival.
Lu Huiyi did not prepare any gold, silver, or jade treasures to bring along; instead, she took a small chest specifically to pack books.
Over the past month, her grandmother and two aunts had worried she would be bored during her illness and, knowing her fondness for reading, had gathered many books to send her. From classics, history, philosophies, and collections to street novels, astronomy, geography, medical codes, laws, and painting manuals, she had browsed widely, though she mastered none.
Precisely because of this, she and Shouyang had grown close amid the long, desolate lives of cloistered young ladies; Shouyang loved reading strange and peculiar books. The items Lu Huiyi packed up now were all titles she had already read and knew for certain were sufficiently interesting.
While Qingzhu was helping her pack the chest, Chuntao rushed breathlessly into the room, lifting the cloth curtain to burst into the inner chamber.
“Young lady! I just heard from outside that the Fourth Master went to beg the Old Madam to show mercy for Zhenniang, but the Old Madam was furious. She said junior concubine Yuan was the one who corrupted the master and Zhenniang, turning the household upside down and leaving no peace. The Old Madam is playing for keeps this time; disregarding First Concubine Dayuan’s face, she is having junior concubine Yuan expelled from the estate. By now, junior concubine Yuan should already be sent off to the suburban estate. Judging by the family atmosphere, the servants whispered that junior concubine Yuan won’t even be able to return before the first month of the new year.”