Xingyu’s voice was soft and gentle, tinged with the clear brightness of youth.
Almost instinctively, Cui Yaoning turned to look at her and saw a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old Xingyu, her hair arranged in twin buns, her expression lively and animated.
Cui Yaoning froze.
Xingyu was her chief maid, normally composed and meticulous. She had never looked so openly delighted before.
And the zither
Memories long buried, memories she had forced herself not to revisit, surged back into her mind.
Xingyu and Tao Shuang had both been personally selected for her by her grandmother. They were about the same age as she was. Before they assumed important duties, her head maid had been Baoqin, her mother’s former attendant. Baoqin was steady and dependable. Xingyu had been trained by Cui Yaoning herself, molded carefully to inherit Baoqin’s temperament.
The year Cui Yaoning came of age, a maid in the manor accused Baoqin of attempting to seduce the Second Master. When Grandmother learned of it, she was furious and immediately ordered Baoqin punished.
Cui Yaoning refused to believe Baoqin capable of such a thing and stepped forward to plead for her. At once, her Second Aunt covered her face and wept loudly, accusing her of being heartless. “Do you truly believe your own uncle would behave so shamelessly?” she cried.
Though Cui Yaoning had harbored such suspicions, she could not admit them aloud.
That day, her grandmother had looked at her with deep disappointment.
Unwilling to let Cui Yaoning be caught in the middle and placed in a difficult position, Baoqin rushed forward and smashed her head against a pillar to prove her innocence.
Her death had been horrific, blood staining the ground a vivid red.
Even after waking at noon, Cui Yaoning would dream of it at night. Again and again she would think, if only she had not insisted on going to the second branch of the family that day to deliver the hairpin to her Sixth Sister, Baoqin might never have encountered her Second Uncle.
Cui Yaoning stood there, lost in thought for a long while.
As they were speaking, the curtain to the inner chamber was lifted. A girl of seventeen or eighteen entered carrying a copper basin. She had an oval face and willow-shaped brows. Smiling, she teased, “Look at our young lady, still half asleep.”
Baoqin.
Seventeen or eighteen years old. Pretty. Alive.
What… was happening?
And those words she had just heard, Chang’an… the Old Madam has returned…
Those events had clearly taken place the year she came of age.
An unbelievable thought slowly formed in Cui Yaoning’s mind.
Could it be… could it be that she had actually…
Baoqin set the copper basin upon its stand and approached with a smile. “Miss, shall I help you rise?”
Cui Yaoning nodded, her emotions in turmoil.
As Baoqin assisted her in dressing, their hands brushed. Feeling the warmth of living skin against the back of her hand, Cui Yaoning felt as though an enormous weight had lifted from her chest.
She closed her eyes and tears spilled forth uncontrollably.
It was not a dream.
She truly had returned to the year she turned fifteen, the year of her coming-of-age ceremony.
At this time, she was not yet fifteen. She was not yet betrothed to Pei Yu. Her brother had not yet married. Nothing had happened.
It was not too late.
It was not too late.
Father. Mother. Elder Brother and Sister-in-law. Elder Sister. The Crown Prince, her brother-in-law. The hundreds of lives within the Cui clan…
Just thinking of those names made her legs weaken with pain. She could scarcely imagine the terror and despair her family must have felt when they were arrested and imprisoned, punishments they never should have endured.
It’s all right. There is still time.
Cui Yaoning repeated this to herself over and over.
In this lifetime, she would never allow tragedy to repeat itself.
Whoever dared to frame the Crown Prince or harm the Cui family, she would uncover them, and she would make them pay.
After washing and dressing, Cui Yaoning brought Baoqin and Xingyu with her to the front courtyard.
The first lunar month had just passed, and the festive lanterns in the manor had yet to be taken down. They hung beneath the eaves, their bright red silk glowing cheerfully. A heavy snowfall a few days earlier had left a thin blanket of white over the grounds, making the crimson lanterns stand out even more vividly against the winter landscape.
Along the way, maids and servants bowed respectfully as she passed.
Everyone in the household knew that the Ninth Miss of the main branch was the most cherished daughter of the Cui family. The Master, the Madam, and even the Old Madam doted on her without restraint.
And Ninth Miss had never disappointed their affection.
Even before reaching marriageable age, she possessed a beauty both delicate and radiant. Her name had already spread throughout Luoyang. One could only imagine how breathtaking she would be once she officially came of age.
Such beauty seemed worthy of gathering all the rarest treasures under heaven for her delight.
When Cui Yaoning entered the main hall, it was already filled with people.
Old Madam Cui was devoutly Buddhist. Upon hearing that Master Famiao, the abbot of Prajna Temple in Chang’an, was a renowned Buddhist master, she had traveled there specifically to seek his teachings. She stayed for over half a month. Now that she had returned, the entire household had assembled to greet her as a display of filial piety.
The first person Cui Yaoning saw upon entering was her father, Cui Yu.
He sat in the seat of honor on the left. Beside him was her mother, Madam Wang. Next came her eldest brother, Cui Zhan; her second brother, Cui Wen (born of Concubine Hu); and her fourth brother, Cui Hong (born of Concubine Lin).
The second branch sat on the right.
Her Second Uncle, Cui Li, and Second Aunt Wei were there, along with Third Brother Cui Hao, born to Second Aunt, and Fifth Brother Cui Ming, born to Concubine Pei.
As for the daughters, aside from herself, all the girls of the main wife’s line had already married. In the second branch, only Sixth Sister Cui Xiuxiu was currently seeking a match, while Seventh Sister Cui Xuan and Eighth Sister Cui Wan, had just reached marriageable age.
In her previous life, Cui Yaoning had been especially fond of Sixth Sister.
Sixth Sister’s mother was a daughter of a concubine from the second branch of the Hedong Pei family. The Old Madam had arranged for her to marry into the second branch of the Cui family as a concubine. By relation, she was Pei Yu’s aunt.
Concubine Pei was favored and had borne children, yet she was neither arrogant nor coquettish. The Old Madam liked her very much and treated her kindly, even allowing her to return to visit her natal family from time to time.
Because of this connection, Pei Yu had frequently visited the Cui residence in his youth.
At first, Cui Yaoning had felt nothing special about Pei Yu. He was simply a cousin who came to visit.
It was Sixth Sister who often mentioned him in her ear, over and over, until curiosity took root.
In time, she came to see that Pei Yu truly was remarkable.
He studied diligently, yet he was no dull bookworm. He could paint, pluck peach blossoms from the orchards, and prepare thoughtful, unconventional birthday gifts for her.
Whenever he traveled, he sent her letter after letter describing the landscapes he encountered. His writing was vivid and eloquent; through his words, she felt as though she journeyed alongside him.
Cui Yaoning had believed her feelings for Pei Yu were not a fleeting infatuation.
They had grown quietly and gradually, an imperceptible influence that deepened over time.
Her thoughts then turned to Sixth Sister.
Cui Xiuxiu had always been gentle and considerate, hardly daring to raise her voice at home. Yet she was unusually attentive regarding Cui Yaoning’s relationship with Pei Yu. Whenever she and Pei Yu quarreled, Sixth Sister would come over and coax her in subtle ways.
Cui Yaoning had once laughed at her, teasing, “Aren’t you afraid that Brother Ming will be jealous if he finds out? You treat your cousin with more care than your own brother.”
Sixth Sister had only smiled, replying that it was because Ninth Sister was so wonderful that she hoped Pei Yu would marry her soon.
Back then, Cui Yaoning had been too embarrassed to say more.
In her previous life, she had not thought deeply about it. But now, having stepped outside the haze of her affection for Pei Yu, she could faintly perceive certain undercurrents.
Perhaps Sixth Sister had not wanted her to marry too high.
Pei Yu had been the eldest son of the second branch of the Duke of Zhenguo’s residence. For other noble ladies, such a match would have been more than sufficient. But for her, it had been slightly beneath her status.
If it not for the death of the main branch’s eldest son shortly after their engagement and for the dynasty’s rule that the main branch could not be left without an heir, allowing adoption from a collateral line, the title of Duke of Zhenguo would never have fallen to Pei Yu.
Cui Yaoning gathered her thoughts and stepped forward to greet the elders one by one with proper bows.
Second Madam Wei looked up at her niece entering and forced a smile. “Has the sun risen in the west today? This is the first time our Jiuniang has risen so early. Didn’t you usually wait until Mother had finished her meal before coming to greet her?”