The next day, Sixth Master Pei sent Sheniang a wolf-hair brush, explaining that it had been packed away in his luggage the day before and hadn't been convenient to retrieve. Sheniang knew this was likely just an excuse, but she accepted it happily nonetheless.
She remembered that in her past life, when she had vied for her parents' affection, she would argue her case to demand fairness, yet she always felt her parents were partial to others. So she had vowed that in the future, she would love herself first and foremost.
But after she truly became the Regent's Consort and then Empress in her previous life, even the eldest branch of the family—once estranged from her—had come to kowtow before her, terrified she might find fault with them. The Pei family genealogy even included a separate entry for her. Thus, she had learned from very early on that one need not worry too much about others—first take care of oneself in all matters.
Her current fight for visible fairness was for the sake of her own standing. As for whether her parents truly held the scales evenly in their hearts, she no longer cared. A gentleman judges by deeds, not by intentions.
Since tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival, there were no classes at the academy today. Madam Yu was bringing Liniang and Sheniang to pay their respects to Old Madam Pei, but just as they stepped out, they saw Fifth Madame emerging with Yiniang, who had just returned home.
With that, the two groups merged into one. The adults walked ahead while the young ladies lined up side by side. Yiniang, seeing the two young ladies of the sixth branch, slowly recalled their names. Mama Chang had mentioned that Liniang was said to be naturally beautiful, hence the character "Li" (beauty) in her name. As for Sheniang, it was said that when her mother gave birth to her, she nearly died in childbirth. When faced with the question of saving the mother or the child, Madam Yu naturally wanted to preserve herself. Fortunately, in the end, all had turned out well, so she was named "She" (to give up).
Yet looking at this Sheniang, though young in years, her bearing and appearance were of the first rank. Her features were not as striking as her elder sister's, but she had finely arched brows and lovely eyes.
"Two younger sisters, how do you usually pass your time?" Yiniang asked with a smile.
Liniang replied, "Usually just reading, nothing much else. Oh, Third Sister, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, we can study together."
Sheniang, standing nearby, thought that Liniang indeed appeared very warm and sincere—that was what set her apart from herself. Liniang always seemed a bit dazed and absent-minded, which put people at ease.
As for herself, she was always in a fighting stance, trying hard to look like someone not to be trifled with. This saved her a lot of trouble, but it did make her seem rather unapproachable.
But should she learn to be like that? No—one's personality is hard to change, and she didn't want to end up as some awkward imitation. She could simply appreciate such a temperament from afar. Just as she had been rivals with Consort Guan and Noble Consort Liu in her past life, that didn't stop her from recognizing their strengths.
Yiniang had initially thought that among the two sisters, Sheniang would be the better one to befriend—first, because she was younger, and second, because she seemed more sensible and obedient. But walking along, she discovered that Sheniang rarely spoke and regarded people with a scrutinizing gaze, making her hard to approach. Liniang, by contrast, seemed to have no scheming nature at all.
At the Mid-Autumn Festival, her elder brother Pei Ji returned home, and the sixth branch celebrated as if it were New Year's. This was the first time Sheniang had seen her brother since her rebirth. The tall, mighty brother she remembered was now just a young lad, sitting below their mother's seat, speaking in a gentle manner.
"Brother~" Sheniang felt a sudden wave of nervousness, like a villager approaching her hometown after years away.
Pei Ji turned his head and saw his little sister hiding behind the door. His heart instantly softened: "Sheniang, why don't you come over?"
"I was afraid you wouldn't recognize me anymore." Only then did Sheniang walk over with a grin.
Pei Ji gave her a gentle knock on the head with his knuckles: "Nonsense. At the Dragon Boat Festival, I brought you back some buttered conch pastries. Have you forgotten?"
"I suppose that does ring a bell." Sheniang scratched the back of her head.
Pei Ji then looked at Liniang: "How's your qin playing? You say your reading is passable, but you could never play the qin well."
"I play beautifully now." Liniang feigned confidence.
Everyone around them laughed, and Nanny Chen wore a helpless expression: "My young miss, please don't say such things."
A beauty with a small flaw is easier for people to approach, after all.
Then Liniang pleaded with Madam Yu: "Mother, I want to raise a Fulin dog. Won't you buy one for me?"
Madam Yu was about to agree when she glanced at Sheniang: "Would you like one too?"
Sheniang quickly shook her head. "No need for me. I'm afraid of getting hydrophobia." She had once been bitten through the skin by Madam Huo's little dog. Madam Huo had a nanny examine it, who said there was no bleeding, so they only applied some ointment. But she had lived in fear ever since, and it took over twenty years before she finally let it go.
"What is hydrophobia?" Liniang asked with wide eyes.
"It might be inappropriate for me to say this, but hydrophobia is rabies. Just as some people keep parrots and might catch psittacosis and lose their lives. Anyway, you go ahead and keep one—just don't bring it into my room." Sheniang didn't interfere with others keeping dogs or pets, but she herself was somewhat afraid of such animals.
Liniang pouted: "Dogs are so cute, and Fulin dogs are especially small and dainty. How could anyone not like dogs?"
Sheniang simply didn't respond to her words, remaining silent.
It was Madam Yu who noticed the awkwardness and said, "Since it's Mid-Autumn Festival today, let's head to the garden first."
From her perspective, her younger daughter's temperament wasn't the most agreeable, but what she said wasn't wrong either. If anything, her elder daughter was too oblivious, speaking without regard for whether others were pleased.
Sheniang didn't think Liniang was truly foolish, because Liniang had good relations with everyone in the household—no matter how she carried on, she rarely drew criticism, and her studies were passable as well. That showed she wasn't dull-witted; truly stupid people would have been despised.
The Mid-Autumn Festival turned out quite pleasant. Second Aunt Madam Lu had arranged for a theatrical troupe and acrobatics, making it quite lively.
However, after the festival, Madam Lu fell ill, and Old Madam Pei handed the household management to the eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Meng. Madam Meng was actually less capable at managing household affairs than Madam Lu. Though Madam Lu was often harsh with the servants, at least things were kept in order.
That said, Madam Meng did have a helper in Meng Jilan. Word had it that she alone handled the daily meals for every household branch, managed everyday expenses, and oversaw the night patrols—thorough in every regard, earning unanimous praise.
Who managed the household mattered little to Sheniang at present, since it meant the adults bore the burden, and every trivial matter had to be brought to whoever was in charge.
But soon enough, flaws began to show. Meng Jilan, after all, wasn't a legitimate mistress of the house and didn't dare discipline the long-serving old servants too harshly. This led to rampant gambling, and it got so bad that the side gates to the garden and main courtyard weren't even opened in time, prompting the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth branches to band together and file complaints.
Fortunately, Old Madam Pei was fair-minded and planned to hand the management to Madam Huo, but Madam Huo hastily waved her hands, saying she was barely literate. So Madam Cao took over the reins instead.
Sheniang's room was adjacent to the Fifth Branch's quarters, and the Fifth Branch began to stir with activity. Unlike Madam Meng, who delegated everything to her niece and concerned herself with nothing, Madam Cao was brimming with energy.
Word had it that the eldest madam was quite angry and summoned Meng Jilan for a scolding. Meng Jilan felt deeply wronged and couldn't hold back, defending herself by saying those old women had been paying lip service all along, and she was merely following established precedent.
Madam Meng knew it wasn't her niece's fault, so when the invitation from the Marquis of Xin'an's household arrived, she had one sent to Meng Jilan as well, by way of compensation.
Three young ladies from the Pei family attended—Second Miss, Third Miss, and Meng Jilan—all escorted by Madam Meng. Sheniang didn't mind in the least. She figured the youngest among them was nearly thirteen, and the outing was surely meant for matchmaking purposes, so she stayed in her room stringing jasmine flowers with Nanny Xia.
Meanwhile, Liniang complained to Nanny Chen: "Honestly, why do they all get to go while we're left at home?"
Nanny Chen smiled and said, "Don't say such things in front of the madam, or she'll say you're being unreasonable. There will be plenty more opportunities like this. Your father is a proper jinshi graduate through the imperial examinations—how could anyone else compare?"
"Nanny, please don't say such things." In truth, Liniang hadn't been well-liked before, and it was only after heeding Nanny Chen's advice that she'd gotten ahead in everything, but she didn't follow Nanny Chen's words in all matters.
Nanny Chen immediately said, "This servant misspoke."
"Hmm, I'll write an essay first. The women in our family all excel at writing, so I can't fall behind." Liniang said.
Nanny Chen said, "Very well, that's good. This servant will make you a cup of jasmine and rose infusion."
At dinner, Sheniang had finished stringing the jasmine bracelet and wore it on her wrist. When she raised her hand, a fragrant scent wafted over. A female official from Jiangnan had once taught them how to make these, using silk ribbons, which made them even prettier.
"Mother, do you think it's pretty? I spent a whole shichen stringing it!" Sheniang lifted her wrist.
Madam Yu caught sight of it at once and immediately praised, "My little girl is so clever with her hands—it's truly beautiful."
"Does Mother like it? If you do, I can give it to you." After all, the jasmine would wilt within another shichen anyway, and Sheniang could see her mother seemed quite taken with it.
"You really want to give it to Mother?" Madam Yu teased her daughter.
Sheniang nodded: "Yes, but only if you truly like it. Don't just accept it to pass it along to someone else—otherwise, I won't give you anything in the future."
Every time she gave something to her mother, if her sister wanted it, her mother would hand it over, or sometimes her mother would keep it aside for her sister. When she was young in her past life, she hadn't known how to voice such frustrations, but now she could finally express them.
Madam Yu couldn't help but laugh: "You child—once you give something to someone, you can't dictate how they dispose of it."
"That's not how it works. If you didn't want it, I wouldn't have given it in the first place." Sheniang raised an eyebrow.
Sixth Master Pei, sitting nearby, saw his daughter like this and quickly said, "Sheniang, how are you speaking to your mother?"
"Mother, I misspoke for a moment. Please don't mind it." She was no longer the Empress now—she had to say what needed saying, and concede when concession was due.
Nanny Chen, standing behind Liniang to attend her, thought to herself that Fifth Miss had suddenly become so sharp-tongued. Before, she would only throw tantrums, but never like this.
Madam Yu naturally wouldn't hold a grudge against her daughter. A moment later, when she saw Sheniang slip off her jasmine bracelet and rise specifically to put it on her, her heart melted completely.
Even at night when she slept, she couldn't bear to take off the jasmine flower bracelet.
As for the three young ladies who had attended the Floating Wine Cup Banquet together, all of them had returned in defeat. Yueniang felt somewhat indignant, while Yiniang, who had believed her poetry to be exceptionally good, found herself at the bottom of the rankings. If even the legitimate young ladies of the Pei family fared so poorly, there was no need to mention Meng Jilan.
Yueniang said, "I see it clearly now—we were all just there to be background. It looks fair on the surface, but in reality, they had already arranged who would win."
"So the one who took first place must be the young lady from the Xin'an Marquis Manor?" Sheniang guessed.
Yueniang asked in surprise, "How did you know?"
"Do you even need to think about it?" Sheniang thought it was obvious. Even in the imperial examinations, sons of officials could pull strings; such things were common everywhere.
But she knew that Yueniang's grievance wasn't about her poetry being unfairly judged—it was that she, as a relative by marriage of the Xin'an Marquis Manor and the granddaughter of the Vice Minister of Rites, should have rightfully had a place among the winners.
Yiniang had wanted to make a grand showing, but she hadn't even gotten the chance to sit at the main table.
…
In the ninth month, Sheniang's father finally obtained a post as Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, meaning he would serve as an official in the capital. Madam Yu's joy went without saying, and even the sisters Liniang and Sheniang were delighted.
At the academy, Yiniang, who had returned from her hometown, studied alongside them. However, Sheniang noticed that Yiniang was well-versed in both poetry and prose, her talent not even inferior to girls of the same age like Meng Jilan and Yueniang, which puzzled her somewhat.
Yueniang was also puzzled and brought it up with Madam Lu: "Mother, you said Third Sister was raised in a nunnery from a young age and lived a hard life there—how could she know so many characters? And she's also skilled at playing the qin and chess."
Due to her poor health, Madam Lu had relinquished control of the household. By the time she recovered, the authority had already fallen into the hands of the Fifth Branch. The servants who once flattered her had long since defected to Madam Cao, who was also changing all the old rules and had her people beaten with boards. Madam Lu was just worrying about how to win back control of the household—her daughter's words reminded her of something.
This Third Girl seemed to have ambition, managing to learn so many skills even in a nunnery. Speaking of which, the death anniversary of the original Fifth Sister-in-law was coming up soon. Madam Cao hated it most when anyone mentioned that she was a second wife, so she almost never brought up the first wife.
Madam Lu could indeed use this as a reminder.