After the Ghost Festival, the sky was like a furnace, the oppressive heat making it hard to breathe. The large-leaved emerald trees seemed to be covered in cicadas, their incessant chirping stirring up a restless irritation for no apparent reason.Beside the hanging-flower gate grew several canna lilies, their crimson blossoms resembling gorgeous women—beautiful to the point of being almost too dazzling. Yet no one was admiring that splendor at the moment. Everyone's attention was directed instead toward the dozen or so pots of orchids in Baoxia Hall. The orchids placed before the gauze window seemed to infuse the entire room with their fragrance—elegant and subtle—and in an instant, one's restless heart would settle.Xiao Jiang-shi sat in Baoxia Hall at this moment, inhaling the orchid's scent and savoring Yunnan green tea, her earlier agitation swept clean away.She was a very young married woman, her glossy hair combed into a smooth bun, adorned with a gold filigree phoenix hairpin holding four large, lustrous pearls that gleamed brilliantly. She was blessed with a pair of naturally alluring peach-blossom eyes, their gaze shimmering with charm. Her thin lips curved slightly upward, as if she wished to ask something, but in the end, she held her tongue.Before long, a young married woman emerged from the inner chamber. She wore a silver hairpin and plain attire, with only a pair of silver-gilt earrings inlaid with kingfisher feathers and studded with pearls adding a finishing touch.If Xiao Jiang-shi was as radiant as peach and plum blossoms, this woman's countenance was equally refined. Her eyelids drooped slightly, and her apricot-shaped eyes revealed gentleness—a different kind of soft beauty.Seeing her emerge, Xiao Jiang-shi rose to her feet and called out, "Aunt."It turned out this young married woman was the eldest madam of the Gaoping Luo clan, Mrs. Yu. As a second wife, she was quite young, yet her seniority in the family hierarchy was high. Mrs. Yu smiled warmly and said, "Thank you for coming to see Yaoniang. She has already recovered greatly."Xiao Jiang-shi knew this aunt of hers was somewhat soft and indecisive, and she usually held her in slight contempt. Still, she pitied her misfortune—her own daughter had been swapped away, and while the other family's daughter enjoyed wealth and honor in the Luo household, her real daughter had grown up in the countryside, often beaten and scolded. Fortunately, heaven had eyes, and now the child had been returned to her rightful place."Aunt, let me go in and see how Yaoniang is doing. The matriarch is terribly worried." Xiao Jiang-shi sighed slightly, putting on a very concerned expression.Mrs. Yu had no choice but to lead her into the inner chamber. The room was furnished with huanghuali wood furniture, and in the main room stood a large screen of glass reflecting crabapple blossoms. Behind the screen was a ebony daybed, beside which sat a Ge-ware vase with crackled glaze.Xiao Jiang-shi looked at the girl lying on the ebony daybed—thin, dark, and frail, appearing to be about six years old. She was resting with her eyes closed. Leaning in for a closer look, Xiao Jiang-shi noticed white patches on her face, like scars from cold sweats. She lifted her gaze to the begonia in the Ge-ware vase—short, small red blossoms dotted with little fuzzy balls, looking thin, frail, and pitiful.This child was just like the begonia in that vase. Xiao Jiang-shi was a mother herself, and in her heart, she cursed the Zhong family hundreds of times over."Aunt, this Zhong family has committed such a sin. We cannot simply let this go." Xiao Jiang-shi said with displeasure.Mrs. Yu knew that Xiao Jiang-shi's father had recently been promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief, and was at the height of his power. Dealing with a mere county magistrate's deputy would be far too easy for him.But Mrs. Yu shook her head. "The woman from the Zhong family who swapped the children has already drowned herself in the lake. Madam Zhong also came to our door in person, kowtowing and apologizing. Moreover, I've asked the other daughters of the Zhong family—it's the same for them. They were raised in the countryside, and while one could say they were treated harshly, it's not exactly abuse either."If the child had been treated differently from the others, one could say the Zhong family was in the wrong. But the Zhong family treated all their daughters the same way.Xiao Jiang-shi let out a cold snort. "Aunt is simply too good-natured. If it were in my hands, hmph."Yaoniang vaguely heard people talking. She slowly opened her eyes and suddenly sat up. She realized her stomach was completely empty, with a burning sensation in her chest, and her hands and feet had shrunk.What was going on?The maidservant crouching by the daybed saw Yaoniang's eyes open and shouted in surprise, "Eldest Madam, Second Madam of the Law Branch, our young miss is awake! Our young miss has woken up!"Mrs. Yu, who had been talking with Xiao Jiang-shi, rushed in immediately. In her dazed state, Yaoniang was pulled into someone's embrace. She looked up—it was clearly her mother, Mrs. Yu.A Mrs. Yu who was still very young…Five towering archways honoring successful imperial examination candidates stood at the entrance of the Gaoping Luo residence. Whoever passed by, they had to dismount from their horse or sedan chair as a sign of respect.Two local gentry wearing ingot-patterned robes happened to be riding past these archways. Both consciously dismounted, and one asked, "Whose household is this? How come there are so many examination archways?"The other man laughed. "Brother, you've come to Gaoping from out of town, so you wouldn't know that ours is the foremost prestigious family here—the Luo clan. The Luo family rose to prominence when their ancestor Luo Xian served as Director of the Imperial Academy. He had two sons: the eldest, Luo Shizhao, earned the top rank in the imperial examination and served as Minister of Justice in Nanjing until retirement; the second, Luo Shizhao, passed as a second-rank jinshi and served as Commissioner of the Office of Transmission until retirement. Both brothers have since passed away.""Because the eldest branch's Luo Shizhao had only one son, Luo Zhizheng, who passed the imperial examination in the twenty-third year of the Wanjia reign as a second-rank jinshi with distinction, while Luo Shizhao had two sons—the eldest was a yinsheng (a student admitted by hereditary privilege), and the second passed the examination in the thirty-third year of Wanjia and now serves as the chief steward of Prince Heng's household. Count them, Yuanwai Wang—that's five examination archways."Yuanwai Wang looked on with envy. "So it's their household. Truly a family steeped in scholarship from top to bottom."Yuanwai Li shook his head. "That's not necessarily so. I've heard that the eldest master of the main branch has three sons. The eldest son was born to the late first wife, the daughter of Marquis Yanping, née Wang. He's not much of a scholar and has already married, now managing family affairs at home. The second son is said to be somewhat accomplished, but he's born of a concubine. The youngest, born to the current second wife, Mrs. Yu, is still quite young—too early to tell whether he'll amount to anything. However, while the Luo family has been in mourning at home, a rather curious affair has come to light."Yuanwai Wang showed interest. "And what curious affair might that be?"Yuanwai Li said, "This requires starting from the beginning. After the eldest master passed the imperial examinations, he served as a Shujishi Scholar in the Hanlin Academy. After completing his probationary period, he was assigned to the Ministry of Revenue for observation, and later became a Director. Because he supported the eldest prince in the matter of establishing the heir apparent, he was demoted to serve as a county magistrate in central Fujian. As it happened, the first madam, Mrs. Yu, was pregnant at the time, and coincidentally, the wife of the county deputy magistrate, Mrs. Zhong, was also pregnant. Fujian has long been plagued by wokou raids, and when the raids came, both Madam Luo and Madam Zhong were about to give birth. Both ladies were sent up to the mountains, and in the chaos, the two infants were swapped. Fortunately, the woman who had swapped the children for the Zhong family, in a drunken slip of the tongue, was reported to the authorities. The magistrate handling the case happened to be a student of the eldest master, and so the children were returned to their rightful families—the Luo girl to the Luo family, and the Zhong girl to the Zhong family."Yuanwai Wang sighed with emotion. "The Luo family is a distinguished official clan, surely far beyond what the Zhong family could compare to. Now that the children have been returned to their proper homes, it's a fine outcome." He knew that the eldest master of the Luo family had been a Director of the Bureau of Receptions in the Ministry of Rites before entering mourning, and after the mourning period ended, he would likely be promoted even further. Meanwhile, County Deputy Magistrate Zhong had risen from a clerical position and would struggle even to become a county magistrate.Since the woman who had swapped the two families' daughters had already hanged herself, the Luo family could hardly blame the Zhong family.Although Yaoniang had been reborn into her six-year-old self, she was no longer the little girl she had truly been at six in her previous life—the one who couldn't understand the Gaoping dialect, couldn't understand Mandarin, and was too timid to express herself.After she called out "Mother," Mrs. Yu felt a bit closer to her.Although Mrs. Yu was soft-hearted by nature, when many people suggested keeping the Zhong girl to raise as well, it was this good-natured woman who firmly insisted on only taking back her own daughter, refusing to raise the Zhong girl.In the past, after Yaoniang had grown up, she too had felt that Mrs. Yu was overly weak, but it was this very weak woman who had truly kept her in her heart.On the table were several bowls of plain congee and small dishes. Seeing Yaoniang steal a glance at her, Mrs. Yu couldn't help but smile and personally ladled out a bowl of long-life congee for her. This long-life congee was a nourishing porridge made from peanuts, glutinous rice, and rice—the best thing for someone in delicate health like Yaoniang."Thank you, Mother." Yaoniang ate the congee slowly, chewing carefully.Mrs. Yu was delighted and said, "No need to thank me—it's only right. Do you understand Mandarin?" She breathed a sigh of relief, because when the child had first been sent back, she couldn't understand anything at all.Yaoniang nodded. "I understand a little." She knew that after her rebirth, she didn't dare reveal herself—if she suddenly understood Mandarin overnight, people might suspect she was some kind of monster.Mrs. Yu was about to say something when a girl of eleven or twelve appeared at the doorway. She wore her hair in twin buns and a plain lake-blue embroidered jacket. Though her clothing was simple, her bearing was impeccable—she entered and first performed a proper bow with a greeting.Then she smiled and said, "Mother, why not let me teach little sister?"This was the first time Yaoniang had seen Luo Jingrou since her rebirth. She was the posthumous daughter of her father Luo Zhizheng's first wife, née Wang, and had grown up in the household of her maternal grandfather, Marquis Yanping. Before she had even turned ten, she was already known as a little lady of great beauty and refinement.Although Mrs. Yu had not spent much time with this stepdaughter, she knew that Jingrou had always been respectful toward her, with flawless conduct and bearing. Moreover, the Marquis of Yanping's household had even sent four instructress matrons to attend to Luo Jingrou year-round. Since Jingrou was offering of her own accord, Mrs. Yu was somewhat tempted.But Yaoniang clutched Mrs. Yu's sleeve and said, "Mother, I want you to teach me.""Well…" Mrs. Yu looked at Luo Jingrou with some embarrassment.Luo Jingrou then took a plate of pastries from the tray behind her and said, "Dear little sister, these are fish-paste square cakes I made myself. They're made from minced fish—light in flavor and not at all fishy. They're perfect for young children."With that, she no longer pressed the matter of teaching Yaoniang, made a bow, and left.Yaoniang breathed a sigh of relief. In her previous life, Luo Jingrou had also been very kind to her, granting her every request. When she liked reading storybooks, Luo Jingrou had sent her an entire chest of them. Even from the very beginning, Luo Jingrou had sent her pastries—three plates every day. She became addicted to them, and it was only when Mrs. Yu saw that her teeth had rotted from all the sweets that she made her stop.At that time, she had only been seven or eight, still young, and had thrown tantrums over it. It was also Luo Jingrou who secretly sent people at night with pastries and flatbreads to satisfy her cravings. It was during that period that she began to gain weight—by the time she was ten, she was already a full size larger than other girls her age. Eventually, it reached the point where she couldn't lose weight even if she tried. Whenever she tried to eat less at a meal, Luo Jingrou would say that a girl ought to be slender, yet she never stopped piling roast duck, roast chicken, and rich dishes onto her plate.By the time she was fourteen, her thighs, chest, and even her buttocks were covered in stretch marks—as if her flesh had burst through her skin.This had made her deeply self-conscious.So much so that later, when she once lost weight, she discovered that her own appearance was even more beautiful than that of her half-sister Shiyu, who was hailed as the number one beauty in Gaoping.But she was still too young now, and couldn't afford to provoke Luo Jingrou. Besides, she glanced at Mrs. Yu—her position was rather awkward too.Her father Luo Zhizheng's first wife came from a marquis household of distinguished status, while Mrs. Yu's father was of humble origins. He had barely climbed his way into the Censorate to become a Supervising Secretary in the Office of Scrutiny for Personnel, a leader among remonstrance officials, only to offend the Grand Secretary and the Minister of Personnel. He was then exiled to serve as an Administration Vice Commissioner in Sichuan, and died in a strange land en route to his post.To make matters worse, Mrs. Yu's elder brother passed away less than a year later, leaving only Mrs. Yu's mother to eke out a living with a young granddaughter, relying on Mrs. Yu's support on a daily basis.Moreover, her son Jinghao had only begun to speak at the age of two, and now at four, having been exposed to a draft while observing mourning rites, he suffered from a persistent cough and was not in good health. She also had a daughter—that was her—who was sickly as well. Mrs. Yu had to run back and forth caring for both, burning herself out like a candle.After the meal, Mrs. Yu carried her to the bed and softly hummed a lullaby.Yaoniang clenched her little fist. Heaven had granted her a second life, and she would protect her mother and younger brother well.But for now, she was still young and could do little. Even speaking a few extra words of the official tongue might give her away and have her treated as an oddity. So she could only lie low. Refusing Luo Jingrou was the first step; the second step was to nurse her own health back to strength, then take good care of her brother.Having once served as a wet nurse in her previous life, she had rich experience with children. She had even often pored over medical texts and consulted the household physician. If not for that, how could she have raised the frail Heir of Prince Zhou to adulthood? And without the Heir of Prince Zhou, she would never have been ennobled as a First-Class Lady!Yaoniang wanted to think more, but unfortunately, Mrs. Yu's skill at lulling children to sleep was second to none. Her eyelids grew too heavy to keep open, and she drifted into drowsiness.
Chapter 2
The Second Wife’s Daughter