Mama Hu accepted it from Lu Huiyi’s hands and presented it respectfully to Madam Zhang.
Mama Hu also said, “This servant finds it somewhat familiar as well. It looks like the new hair ornament Minor Concubine Xiao wore on her head during the New Year festival.”
Wanqing accompanied a smiling face and said, “Please forgive me, Madam. This servant saw that the hair clasp on the concubine’s head looked lovely, so I privately went to the shop to have a pair of similar ones made, thinking that this servant could also use them when I leave the boudoir in a couple of years.”
Lu Huiyi opened the long folded ledger and read aloud: “On the twenty-third day of the second month of the twenty-ninth year of Jianping, a pair of coral and peony pearl hairpins; on the twentieth day of the fifth month, a pure gold hairpin inlaid with jade; on the twenty-third day of the ninth month, a pair of scroll-patterned gold arm rings and a blue-jade phoenix-patterned hairpin.”
Wanqing’s face turned ashen. Lu Huiyi sat on the small hibiscus-carved chair below Madam Zhang, gently patted away the nonexistent dust on her knees, and relentlessly pursued: “In just the past year alone, the hair ornaments you sent to the pawnshop were more numerous than those in the trousseau of me, the twelfth young lady of the Lu family. I would like to ask this elder sister how you managed to accumulate so many hair ornaments?”
With Madam Zhang’s permission, Mama Hu stepped forward and dealt Wanqing a fierce slap across the face: “You daring servant, how brave of you to steal the master’s jewelry and take it out to sell!”
Wanqing shook her head blindly, tears streaming down her face: “This servant didn’t! This servant never pawned these jewels, and certainly never stole.”
“Oh? Do you mean to say that the pawnshop manager is lying to the Lu family? Qingzhu has already invited the manager here. He is waiting at the second gate right now, ready to be called at any moment. Why don’t we simply go together to Grandmother’s place and sort this out clearly?”
The old matriarch could not tolerate any sand in her eyes. Once made a public spectacle, Wanqing would likely be convicted of theft and sent in shackles to the yamen. As an abandoned pawn, how could Minor Concubine Xiao possibly protect her in front of Grandmother?
“I’ll talk, I’ll tell everything. These were all rewards from Minor Concubine Xiao. This servant was simply blinded by greed.”
“Why would Minor Concubine Xiao reward you for no reason?”
Wanqing raised her head and glanced at Madam Zhang: “Caiping, who serves beside Madam Xiao, kept asking me about Madam’s daily routines and whereabouts. After back and forth, this servant also accepted a few rewards.”
Now that Wanqing had confessed, how to deal with her was Madam Zhang’s affair. Since this was a person from her mother’s courtyard, Lu Huiyi could interrogate her, but she could not interfere with the final verdict.
Lu Zhenyi could dispose of the people in Minor Concubine Xiao’s courtyard, but Lu Huiyi’s relationship with her mother was not all that close.
Abruptly, Lu Huiyi thought of how, after her mother passed away in her previous life, Minor Concubine Xiao became her mother. Strangely enough, her life underwent no changes whatsoever before and after.
The way Lady Xiao treated Lu Zhenyi, and the way the Princess of Xing treated her own children, seemed somewhat different from how her mother treated her.
Lu Huiyi did not know how to describe this subtle difference. Perhaps her mother had an aloof temperament and disliked interacting with others.
In this world, the relationships between people have never had a fixed formula. Other mothers and daughters are one way, while she and her mother are another, which is entirely normal.
Lu Huiyi sat in silence, her mind wandering across the heavens and the earth, yet her spine remained straight throughout.
Madam Zhang did not notice Lu Huiyi’s abnormality. She looked at Wanqing, harboring no particular emotion over the betrayal. What was done was done; as long as the truth was brought to light, that was enough.
Whether Wanqing had committed theft in the past or betrayed her master, as long as she performed her duties well in Plum Garden, it would suffice. However, now that she had been exposed by Lu Huiyi, no matter how indifferent Madam Zhang felt, Plum Garden could no longer keep her.
“I can see that you are quite loyal to Lady Xiao. Since you have done so many things for her, I shall display great kindness and ask her whether she wants you over there.”
Wanqing was filled with anxiety and trepidation. Madam Zhang’s voice was as still as an ancient well, making it impossible to tell whether she was mocking her or speaking sincerely. She repeatedly kowtowed heavily, begging Madam Zhang to forgive her.
Madam Zhang waved her hand, and Mama Hu motioned to several maids at the doorway to drag Wanqing away, personally escorting her to Lady Xiao’s quarters.
With this matter concluded, Lu Huiyi also stood up to take her leave.
“Seeing that Mother is showing signs of fatigue and it is inconvenient to disturb her further, this daughter will also take her leave.”
After Wanqing was dragged away, Madam Zhang’s spirit was low. She rested her elbow on the armrest, her fingertips gently massaging her forehead.
Madam Zhang raised her head to look directly at Lu Huiyi, nodding: “Go back. I am exhausted and need to lie down for a while.”
Lu Huiyi stood up, bowed to Madam Zhang, and turned away.
Chuntao had been standing quietly behind Lu Huiyi as if she did not exist. Only now, as everyone dispersed one by one, did she step out from the shadows.
Clearly, her young lady had become decisive and much more cheerful overnight. How could her relationship with Madam Zhang become even more strained? Were they truly biological mother and daughter? Chuntao could not understand.
Lu Huiyi walked out of Plum Garden and looked up at the sky. Today the sky was overcast, the autumn wind was desolate, and red silk was already hung all around the Lu residence.
By tomorrow, when her elder brother was wed, it would be a clear, sunny day.
These sordid matters within the Fourth Household had to be dealt with as swiftly as possible. She still had many things to do and could not allow the Lu family to slide all the way down.
Lu Huiyi closed her eyes. She, too, felt her body sinking heavily downward as exhaustion crept over her heart.
“Miss.” Chuntao, afraid of seeing her display such a fragile appearance, supported her with utmost care.
“Call Qingzhu back,” Lu Huiyi instructed.
The next day, the Lu residence was alive with the sound of gongs and drums, and Lu Qizheng had gone to the Shu family early in the morning.
The bride was the daughter of the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate of the fourth official rank. The courtyard assigned to Lu Qizheng and Lady Shu was named Cuizhu Pavilion, located behind Plum Garden and Drunken Spring Study, and on the eastern side of the Begonia Courtyard where Lu Huiyi lived.
With the Sixth Brother getting married, Lu Zhenyi, as his younger sister, was also released from the ancestral hall. She finally saw her mother, Minor Concubine Xiao, and upon hearing about the events of the previous night, anxiously asked her how her health was and what on earth had happened.
Lu Huiyi felt an inexplicable wave of joy, nurtured by the celebratory atmosphere of the day. Such a wonderful landscape. When looking back at this year fourteen years later, there would remain only the sentiment of at the time, I only thought it was ordinary. Truly, how wondrous fate was, that she still had the chance to return before everything happened.
Hearing Lu Zhenyi inquire after Minor Concubine Xiao, Lu Huiyi still wore a joyful expression on her face as she considerately replied, “Zhenyi need not worry. Lady Physician Wang’s medical skills are superb, and besides, the croton beans the concubine consumed were purchased by herself, saving the doctor time in diagnosing the cause of the illness. She has long since recovered her health.”
“I was talking to my mother. Who asked you to run your mouth? Such an upstart showing off!”
Lu Huiyi kindly reminded her, “Sister, you just came out of the ancestral hall. Surely you don’t want to go back and kneel there again. Today is the great and auspicious day of the Sixth Sister-in-law entering the household. Smile a bit more happily.”
Lu Zhenyi followed Lu Huiyi’s gaze and saw that Grandmother and Third Aunt in the room had indeed noticed the commotion here and were looking over. Lu Zhenyi had no choice but to swallow her anger, take an unnatural step back, and distance herself from Lu Huiyi.
This twelfth sister of hers had been acting utterly bizarre lately. Since she couldn’t afford to provoke her, couldn’t she at least hide from her?
Although Third Aunt, Madam Qiao, was merely a merchant’s daughter, her methods of managing the household were swift and decisive, earning her deep respect from the old matriarch and Third Master.
Madam Qiao knew that the two sisters of the Fourth Household had always been at odds. The three foolish elders, the Fourth Master, Madam Zhang, and Lady Xiao, did not care for family affairs and even allowed the two sisters to fight among themselves in the same household. Madam Qiao held this in contempt, yet found it awkward to intervene in the domestic affairs of the Fourth Household. It was only because today was the grand wedding of her sixth nephew, and she could not afford to lose face in front of the guests, that she stepped out intending to curb any potential quarrel between Hui Niang and Zhenyi.
As Madam Qiao walked over and saw the two sisters acting quite harmoniously today, her surprise registered plainly on her face for a fraction of a second.
Was kneeling in the ancestral hall taking effect, were they showing consideration for Lu Qizheng’s wedding, or had the two maidens finally grown up and acquired some common sense?
Madam Qiao stopped guessing at these tedious disputes between young girls and asked with a smile, “Why haven’t Hui Niang and Zhenyi gone inside?”
Lu Huiyi smiled and linked her arm through Lu Zhenyi’s: “I arrived late, and my sister and mother deliberately waited for me so we could go in together.”
Lu Zhenyi cast a peculiar look at Lu Huiyi. What medicine was she selling in her gourd? Third Aunt was clearly afraid they would behave improperly in front of outsiders. Zhenyi was no fool; she put up no struggle and allowed Lu Huiyi to link arms with her as they walked into the room.
Madam Qiao did not believe Lu Huiyi’s words, assuming she had finally grown up and learned to put on a show of sisterly harmony in front of outsiders.
The Lu family’s gardens were planted with all varieties of spring flowers and autumn chrysanthemums, purely to ensure that a full landscape of blooming splendor could be seen at any time of the year.
It was currently the season of hibiscus. The autumn wind swept up flower leaves that had inadvertently withered beneath the crisp, magnificent blossoms, causing them to fall at Lu Huiyi’s feet and be crushed into mud.
Lu Huiyi suddenly turned her head and saw the shattered, withered leaves embedded in the soil.
Lu Zhenyi impatiently asked in a low voice, “What is wrong with you again?”
Lu Huiyi shook her head: “Nothing. It’s just that what others say is true. Why is my sister so lacking in patience?”
Lu Zhenyi had a mind to ask who these others were, but in the end, she gritted her teeth and warned herself inwardly that it was all just Lu Huiyi’s nonsense and nobody in the world actually talked about her that way.
Those words had originally come from the mouth of Lu Zhenyi’s own biological mother, spoken after her marriage when she was repeatedly defeated by her husband’s female cousin.
As the saying goes, the heavenly dao runs in a full cycle. Minor Concubine Xiao had enjoyed twenty years of glory; how could she ever have imagined that her own daughter would suffer the exact same grievances as Madam Zhang?
Trapped in the Fourth Household for many days, Lu Huiyi finally saw the various elders of the Lu family today. They were still alive in this world, bustling with festive cheer as they attended the wedding of their younger generation.
“Grandmother.” Lu Huiyi and Lu Zhenyi stepped forward to offer their greetings.
The old matriarch was from the Kou family, whose paternal family had served as generals for generations. Her parents and brothers had all passed away early, leaving only a cousin stationed at the Shunzhou military garrison in the north. Distant cousin Kou had settled in Shunzhou for many years, losing contact with Old Madam Kou long ago. The group of Lu family members before her eyes represented the old matriarch’s very last remaining kin.
Old Madam Kou was advanced in age; her vision was blurred and her mind somewhat muddled. At this moment, she grasped Lu Huiyi’s hand and said, “Ningning, you are finally willing to come and see Mother.”
Ningning? Who was this person?
Lu Huiyi was stunned. Having lived two lifetimes, she had never heard this name before.
Everyone else froze in place as well. Only Senior Concubine Xiao’s expression changed drastically. Being the first to react, she hurried to Old Madam Kou’s side.
“Mistress, will you take another close look? This is Hui Niang from the Fourth Household.” Senior Concubine Xiao felt a twinge of pity, yet hardened her heart to speak up. “Miss Ning passed away fourteen years ago.”
Old Madam Kou snapped out of her trance: “Ah, it’s Hui Niang. I am getting muddle-headed indeed, how could I have forgotten even this. How is your health recovering after your fall into the water?”
Lu Huiyi swallowed her confusion and answered gently, “Grandmother, rest assured, your granddaughter is quite well.”
Old Madam Kou then asked Lu Zhenyi, “Zhenyi, do you know your mistake?”