The Yu family were considered rising stars of recent years. In the previous generation, the elder Master Yu had only reached the position of Langzhong of the Tuntian Department, a standard fifth-rank post. However, his eldest son had achieved the rank of Tanhua in the imperial examinations and, within a few years, had surpassed his father’s position. Now, just past fifty, he was already the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a standard third-rank official.
The second son was slightly less distinguished, following in his father’s footsteps; in his forties, he served as a Langzhong in the Ministry of Works.
The eldest Master Yu had three daughters and one son. All three daughters were as beautiful as flowers or the moon. The eldest daughter had married into an Earl’s Residence and become a Countess, while the youngest daughter—one of a pair of fraternal twins—had entered the palace and become Consort Zhaoyuan, a junior third-rank consort. Only the second daughter had a different fate. She had married the legitimate second son of a Marquis’s Residence, but within five years, her husband had passed away. Left a widow, she was sent back to her maiden home by her in-laws.
Yu Yihe was this second daughter whose husband had died.
She still remembered the look on her parents’ faces when she was first sent back by the Wei family. At that time, her father was the Grand Minister of the Imperial Stud, a standard fourth-rank official. He had not yet been transferred to the Ministry of Personnel and did not hold much real power. Consequently, though his expression was grim, he did not dare to protest and kept his rage bottled up inside.
Only after the messengers had left did he smash an entire set of tea cups, shouting in a fury, “This Wei family is too much! They would even cast away their own blood!”
The loud crash woke the three-month-old daughter in her arms. Only then did the elder Yu fall silent and look at her with a complex gaze.
In the end, he hadn’t said anything harsh to her. He simply told her to stay home with the child, recover well, and not worry, for the Yu family could afford to feed two more mouths. At that time, Yu Yihe’s heart had finally settled, and she enjoyed a period of peace.
Although the servants gossiped and mocked her behind her back for being a widow, Yu Yihe was, after all, a legitimate daughter of the house. She possessed a certain inner confidence and was not afraid, regardless of how many rumors circulated in the residence. That was until the news arrived that Yu Zhaoyuan was coming home for a visit, and Madam Yu came to her room.
Her mother’s face was filled with worry, and she seemed to hesitate. “He’er…”
Yu Yihe, not yet knowing what was happening, said with a light smile, “Mother, if there is something on your mind, please speak.”
Later, the smile on her lips faded. It turned out there were whispers in the residence saying that a widow like her brought bad luck, and they feared she would hinder her younger sister’s auspicious visit.
“Mother knows you feel slighted, but she is your biological sister. She rose to the rank of Imperial Consort within three years of entering the palace and is extremely favored. Her momentum is rising like a dragon… Just take Ningning out for a while. Treat it as a summer retreat and come back in two months.”
How could Yu Yihe refuse her mother’s plea? Her heart sank; so it was still like this.
With an elder sister and a younger sister around, she would always have to yield.
“Very well,” she answered softly.
To make Yu Yihe feel better, Madam Yu personally prepared her travel supplies and even selected a Golden calf carriage for her transport. Unlike a bumpy horse carriage, the ox-drawn carriage was slow and steady; to any observer, it looked like a noble lady heading out on an excursion.
Yu Yihe had thought so too at the time, until three months passed without any carriage arriving to bring her back. She couldn’t help but send a letter, but ten days later, only a parcel arrived.
Inside was a letter and a hundred taels of silver.
Calling it a letter was generous; it was merely a single page with a few short sentences, telling her to focus on her quiet cultivation at the temple to earn a good reputation, and that they would fetch her for the New Year.
Yu Yihe knew that her former mother-in-law at the Marquis’s Residence loved to gossip and that she had likely gained the reputation of being a “husband-curser.” She didn’t care for herself, but looking at her daughter who was just learning to toddle, she knew she had to think of the child’s future.
Thus, Yu Yihe stayed at the temple obediently. She never expected that this stay would last three years, and her anticipation slowly turned into despondency. Even though her life was frugal, she did not dare to ask for her dowry, nor did she have the face to do so. Those things were given by her parents, and since she hadn’t remarried, they naturally reverted to the Yu family.
Yu Yihe had long since realized that the Yu family viewed her as a burden, and being able to live peacefully like this was already a good situation. But in the middle of the night, she couldn’t help but think—think of the grievances she had suffered since childhood, think of whether the Yu family was truly so strapped for cash, and think of whether her entire life was meant to be spent this way.
No… it shouldn’t be like this, and it couldn’t be like this.
Yu Yihe stroked her daughter’s head. For Ningning’s sake, she had to find a way to change this situation. If they remained a solitary widow and orphan, Ningning’s marriage prospects would be even more difficult when she grew up. She could not let her daughter taste the same bitterness she had endured.
Meanwhile, Vice Minister Yu had finished his official duties and returned to the main room of the small courtyard.
While Madam Yu helped him out of his official robes, she said in a low voice, “He’er has been brought to the garden. She’s staying in the west wing. You should see her tomorrow.”
Vice Minister Yu pondered for a long while. “Let’s forget what you mentioned before. If Consort Zhaoyuan really cannot conceive, we’ll just wait three years and send Fen’er from the second brother’s family into the palace.”
Madam Yu’s hand paused as she unfastened his belt. Her eyes flickered with disagreement. “Master, a group of new concubines entered the palace last year, and this year a Chun Gui Consort has already emerged. If we wait another two years and two more newcomers stand out, I fear our Fu’er will have no place left to stand.”
In the palace, the new replaced the old. The fact that Yu Zhaoyuan could not wait two years was indeed the main reason, but there was another.
A niece from another branch was, after all, not her own child. Madam Yu did not believe her niece would be of one mind with her youngest daughter, nor did she want to hand over this glory to the second branch for nothing.
“Therefore, our He’er is more reliable. She has had a child before; she is fertile.”
“But would the Emperor want a… what if we offend His Majesty!”
Vice Minister Yu felt the plan devised by his wife and youngest daughter was preposterous, yet his wife’s words made it impossible for him to dismiss the idea entirely.
“We are just trying. We’ll bring He’er before him so he can see her. It’s not a forced sale. If he has no interest, then so be it. How could he be angry with us?”
Madam Yu pointed her finger upward, referring to the one who could not be easily named.
“Besides, so what if she is a widow? Looking back several generations, many emperors had a particular fondness for married women. With our daughter’s looks, she may well have a chance to compete.”
Vice Minister Yu lay down to sleep after being tended to. As he settled into the bedding, he suddenly said, “We’ll see after I meet her tomorrow.”
In Yu Yihe’s memory, her father had always been busy with his career. Aside from occasionally checking on his youngest son’s studies, he was not very close to his children. This meeting was just like any other; it lasted barely fifteen minutes before Vice Minister Yu left for his duties.
She did not know that after leaving the west wing, her parents exchanged a look. The high-ranking father slowly nodded to Madam Yu.
Life in Qiqing Garden was much better than on the mountain. Madam Yu would take her to Cuihan Hall to see Consort Zhaoyuan every few days. Within a week, Yu Yihe received new clothes for herself and Ningning.
Touching the silky fabric, the gentle woman lowered her gaze. A moment later, she instructed Qingshuang to watch over her daughter during her nap, changed into the plain skirt she had arrived in, and walked out of the courtyard holding an oil-paper umbrella.
A maid from her mother’s side had just come to deliver a message: once the light rain stopped, Madam Yu would take her to Cuihan Hall for a visit. Even if Yu Yihe felt resentment, she knew she had to maintain good relations with her mother and younger sister. She was not alone; she had to consider her daughter. Having received favors from others, even if she had nothing of value, she had to repay them in some way to maintain that bond.
She remembered that her younger sister was particularly fond of lotuses, especially the fragrance of lotuses after rain; her sister would go to admire them even if it meant braving the rain. Thinking of this, the woman in the green skirt stepped into the drizzling rain, holding her oil-paper umbrella.
Qiqing Garden naturally had a lotus pond, though it was somewhat far from Cuihan Hall. Fortunately, the rain was not heavy. By the time Yu Yihe reached the pond, only the hem of her skirt was slightly damp.
The scent of lotuses and leaves in the rain was refreshing. Looking at the lotuses and their leaves—some nearly five feet tall and large enough to hide a person—Yu Yihe smiled slightly. She began to look for a perfect lotus along the bank, unaware that in a small pavilion about thirty or forty feet away, hidden by the lush lotus leaves, someone was watching her.