Chapter 3Last night, a sudden torrential rain had struck, hammering against the window lattices like iron mallets, with thunderclaps resounding and the wind sweeping through the fields. By dawn, the downpour had subsided to a light drizzle. Outside, the rain was thick and misty, and the canna lilies beside the festooned gate particularly gleamed with an oily sheen. Only by savoring this scene slowly could one perceive the gentle, refreshing quality of the breeze.Yaoniang took a deep breath, feeling utterly refreshed.Just then, a pretty maidservant walked in from outside, voicing her disapproval: "Wuniangzi, you've only just recovered from your illness. Please don't catch a draft. If you come down with another chill, you'll have to drink that bitter medicine."The maidservant was fifteen or sixteen years old. Her name was Yinrong, and she had originally served by Mrs. Yu's side before being dispatched to attend to Yaoniang.Yaoniang smiled and said, "I know, Sister Yinrong. Don't blame Baiying and Baizhi—it was I who wanted to see outside."Baiying and Baizhi had both been purchased from outside. It was said that before entering the household, they had spent a year learning proper etiquette from the human traffickers. Had Yaoniang's return not been so urgent, they would have carefully selected servants from among the household-born ones instead."Once you're fully recovered, Miss, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to look around. When we go to the capital in the future, our Luo family has a grand five-courtyard mansion there, complete with pavilions, towers, terraces, verandas, and galleries—everything one could want." Yinrong spoke with evident pride.The Luo family had been officials for generations, and the estate built over several generations was naturally extraordinary.These past few days, Yinrong had been teaching Yaoniang to speak the official language. Yaoniang deliberately hastened her own emergence into society, so she learned much faster than expected. Yinrong didn't know the reason behind this, only feeling that the Fifth Miss, as the true legitimate daughter, indeed learned things far more quickly.Without mastering the official language, she couldn't communicate with the household members. Moreover, her skin was still slightly dark and bore cold-sweat scars. Mrs. Yu's intention was for Yaoniang to recuperate for a while before appearing before others.Otherwise, if the servants saw their mistress in such a state, it would seem the true legitimate daughter was inferior to the false one.As they were conversing, a young woman walked in from outside. She was slender and charming, dressed in a green robe with a high collar, her silver-white embroidered shoes slightly dampened by the rain outside.Yaoniang quickly rose and called out, "Elder Sister-in-Law."This was Mrs. Fan, wife of Luo Jingxi, the eldest son of the senior branch. Mrs. Fan came from a scholarly family in Gaoping; her father was a jinshi degree holder and a fellow graduate of the same year as Yaoniang's father, Luo Zhizheng. She treated Yaoniang with great consideration, visiting three times a day.Yaoniang actually couldn't remember Mrs. Fan clearly anymore, because from her impressions, Mrs. Fan had died the following year, and a year after that, her eldest brother Luo Jingxi had remarried someone else.The Luo family's daughters were ranked according to clan order, while the sons were ranked within each branch. Luo Jingxi was the eldest son of the senior branch, so Yaoniang and the others all called him Eldest Brother.Mrs. Fan smiled and said, "I've come to bring you some ginseng soup, Fifth Sister. Ginseng soup is excellent for nourishing your constitution and strengthening your vital energy. I've also brought a few kinds of candied fruits—if you find your mouth tasteless, you may have one or two, but don't eat too many, or they'll produce phlegm."Mrs. Fan, though slender, appeared perfectly healthy—how could she suddenly die the following year?It was precisely because of Mrs. Fan's death that the household held a funeral, during which her younger brother Jinghao, while being held by his wet nurse and playing by the lake, had tragically fallen in and drowned.Yaoniang expressed her thanks: "It's raining outside, Sister-in-Law. You need only send a maidservant to deliver it. Though I enjoy your company, I cannot bear to have you brave the wind and rain."Mrs. Fan was inwardly surprised—this Fifth Sister had already mastered the official language so well in just a few days. How clever she was! But she didn't show it on her face, and stayed to drink the ginseng soup with Yaoniang.Pinching her nose, Yaoniang gulped down the ginseng soup. Mrs. Fan then patted Yaoniang's head and said, "Little Yaoniang must grow up safe and sound!"These words inexplicably made Yaoniang's nose tingle with emotion. In her previous life, she couldn't remember what had become of Mrs. Fan. In this life, having been reborn, aside from Mrs. Yu, Mrs. Fan was the one who treated her best.After the rain cleared and the sky brightened, during the evening meal, Mrs. Yu arrived with a small boy. He carried a wind lantern, with long, thick eyelashes, big grape-like eyes, and skin as fair as milk—utterly adorable."Yaoniang, your little brother insisted on giving you a gift," Mrs. Yu said cheerfully.The little boy looked at Yaoniang curiously, without the slightest trace of disdain. Instead, he held out the wind lantern, gazing at her with his big, watery eyes.Yaoniang took the lantern he held up, accepted it with both hands, and then took his hand, saying, "Thank you, little brother."Jinghao was a bit shy and quickly hid behind Mrs. Yu. Seeing Yaoniang hold the lantern carefully in her hands, cherishing it, Mrs. Yu felt gratified. She sat down and said, "I told him it was raining, but when your little brother heard about you, he insisted on coming to see you. And now that he's actually here, he's gone shy."Just as Mrs. Yu finished speaking, Jinghao began to cough. Yaoniang handed the wind lantern to Yinrong, walked over, and gently patted his back. Her fingers found several acupoints on his back, and suddenly, Jinghao coughed up the phlegm from his throat.The phlegm was yellow—a sign of heat syndrome.An idea immediately formed in Yaoniang's mind. "Mother, I don't have any serious illness. Why not let little brother sleep here in my room? That way, you won't have to tire yourself traveling back and forth."As she spoke, she squeezed Jinghao's hand, and his little hand squeezed hers back in return. She then took the handkerchief in her hand and folded it into a little mouse. After it was folded, Jinghao stared at it with his big, round eyes, clearly wanting it but too shy to ask.Yaoniang placed it in his hand. "Sister gives this to you."Jinghao shyly held it and played with it, looking very pleased.Mrs. Yu, who was nearby, had once inquired and learned that Yaoniang had a very hard time in the Zhong household. Mrs. Zhong had given birth to five daughters but could never produce a son, and after the fifth daughter, her health had been damaged. Mrs. Zhong's situation was dire—not only could she no longer bear children, but she also had to use her savings to take in concubines for her husband.Fortunately, after taking in a concubine, three sons were born. It was said those three sons wore brocade robes, spent money lavishly, and were all raised under Mrs. Zhong's care. But of the five daughters from before, two had been drowned, and the remaining three were raised in the countryside—including Yaoniang, who had been kept there all along, going hungry from meal to meal and even nearly being sent away as a child bride.Mrs. Yu thought to herself that poor children matured early. Children among the common folk had to mind younger siblings, carry them, and even tend the fire and wash clothes—they had to do everything."Yaoniang likes her little brother, so let the two of you stay together." Mrs. Yu's heart softened, and she agreed.Yaoniang knew that having her own mother around made all the difference. Although Mrs. Yu was a second wife and had no say in the men's affairs of the household, she did manage the affairs of the eldest branch and the clan.Letting Jinghao rest here, Mrs. Yu had worried the child might not be accustomed to it, but she was quite surprised to see that Yaoniang even knew how to soothe her little brother to sleep.Yaoniang then took Mrs. Yu's hand and said, "Mother, when I was at the Zhong household, there was a time I coughed very badly, and no one in the family fetched medicine for me. So I cut a few slices of white radish and boiled them in water to drink. After three days, I was cured. Mother, little brother coughs this badly—if the medicine doesn't work, we could try this folk remedy."She had originally planned to say such things only after she had performed better over the coming days, but seeing how badly Jinghao was coughing, Yaoniang spoke up first.She thought that as a child, her words might not be heeded by Mrs. Yu, and she had even considered that if Mrs. Yu wouldn't listen, she would have Baiying and Baizhi secretly ask the kitchen to send some over.Little did she expect Mrs. Yu to smile and say, "Since Yaoniang says so, Mother will ask the physician tomorrow. If there's no conflict, we'll have Jinghao try it." She then laughed and said to Erzhen beside her, "Yaoniang is still a child herself, but she's quick to learn proper speech and speaks very sensibly."Unexpectedly, Mrs. Yu trusted her so quickly. Yaoniang suddenly felt that she was already very fortunate.In her previous life, she had been troubled by the fact that Luo Jingrou had fattened her up, and she had spent years feeling inferior as the ugliest among the Luo daughters. She rarely paid attention to how those around her treated her, often wallowing in self-pity and thinking herself pitiful.But in truth, she was really quite blessed. After being brought back, others might have been distant at first—just as children raised by their grandmothers often feel a rift when brought back to their parents—yet her mother had accepted her so quickly, and her little brother was also very good to her.That night, Jinghao and Yaoniang slept together. One was three or four, the other barely six, so there was no concern about the separation of boys and girls.Everyone had expected Jinghao to cry, but surprisingly, he slept soundly. Even when he coughed in the night, Yaoniang patiently patted his back and, using whatever was at hand, wove a grasshopper from the grass outside the window.Jinghao liked the grass grasshopper even more than the handkerchief mouse, and he even hugged it as he slept.Baiying said admiringly, "Wuniangzi, you really know how to handle things.""Yes, Wuniangzi's complexion has recovered so much, and the cold-sore scars have faded considerably too. Perhaps within a month, our Wuniangzi will be able to go out and meet everyone." Baizhi didn't even mention that the lice in Yaoniang's hair had also been cleaned out.Yaoniang, who had been weaving a grass dragonfly, paused. During her time recuperating here, she generally didn't receive outside visitors—only Luo Jingrou had come by once, and the other sisters…Thinking of this, she suddenly remembered that she had been called Yaoniang at the Zhong household and had never changed her name. But the Luo girls all belonged to the "Shi" generation. Except for Luo Jingrou, who, as the eldest daughter of the eldest branch, was given the "Jing" generation like the men of the family as a special privilege, Yaoniang's formal name was Luo Shiwei. But in daily life, everyone addressed each other by birth order.Still, it would be some days before she met with her sisters. In the meantime, she needed to cure her little brother's cough.As for Mrs. Yu, after consulting the physician, he said that drinking white radish water would not conflict with the medicine. So she had the kitchen prepare white radish water. In less than three short days, Jinghao's cough truly stopped, and moreover, his throat was no longer swollen or painful.Mrs. Yu had only tried it on a whim, trusting her daughter out of instinct. She never imagined it would actually work, and she was overjoyed.She immediately told the news to Luo Zhizheng, the eldest master of the eldest branch. Because they were observing mourning for his mother, the couple slept in separate rooms and were not together.Luo Zhizheng was thirty-eight this year, very tall in stature but lean in build, with a handsome and heroic appearance. He was holding a brush and painting. In his youth, he had studied under a famous master, specializing in calligraphy and painting, and was himself a well-known authority in the field.Mrs. Yu knew that he disliked being disturbed while painting, so she stood there quietly.A man like this—had she not happened to be staying at the same temple as her mother-in-law for prayer and saved the older woman's life, she would never have married into the Luo family. At the time, her husband had been utterly unwilling, believing she could not shoulder the responsibilities of a matriarch. Even after she entered the household, her husband frequently reproached her. Fortunately, she endured the humiliation and finally managed to secure her footing.Luo Zhizheng finished the final stroke and noticed a figure in the distance. Lifting his gaze, he saw it was Mrs. Yu.He walked over, pulled her onto his lap, and asked, "Why are you only coming now? I sent word days ago for you to come."Mrs. Yu smiled. "Yaoniang just returned, and she's not in good health. Jinghao also has a cough. I happened to come to tell you—Yaoniang taught me a folk remedy that cured Jinghao's cough. It really stopped it.""As for the Zhong family, I've already instructed my fellow officials to give them a mild warning. He just became a county magistrate, but I'm afraid his official career has reached its end." Luo Zhizheng dismissed a man's position as casually as if commenting on the fine weather.Mrs. Yu stammered, "Wasn't it said that the woman who swapped the babies had already drowned herself?""Hmph, that was a servant of the Zhong family. A switch like that could never have been done on a servant's own initiative without the master's orders. It's people like you, simple-minded, who are too easily fooled." Luo Zhizheng was furious.Mrs. Yu hung her head, not daring to say anything more.Just then, crushed ice was delivered from outside. Luo Zhizheng brought it in, poured curdled milk over it, and topped it with cherries, peaches, and apricots.Mrs. Yu came over on her own before Luo Zhizheng even called for her.Luo Zhizheng said crossly, "You come running the moment you see food. When I call you on ordinary days, you don't move."He always spoke in this tone, and Mrs. Yu had long grown accustomed to it. She smiled cautiously and finished the cup of "snow mountain" that Luo Zhizheng had specially made. When it came to making delicacies, her husband was even better at it than she was—especially at making snow mountain.Others held that a gentleman stays far from the kitchen, yet the proud Luo Zhizheng would make this for her. Mrs. Yu was as delighted as a mouse sneaking a sip of sesame oil.Her expression caught Luo Zhizheng's eye. He knew that beneath her plain attire was a figure of striking allure, and his heart stirred…Before long, Mrs. Yu emerged from the room, her cheeks slightly flushed. She still wore that simple, dull expression, but at the corner, she couldn't help but curl her lips into a faint smile.She might not have Xiao Jiang-shi's family background, but avenging her daughter was still within her power.The Zhong family had swapped her daughter away, causing the girl to suffer for years—they couldn't just find someone to take the blame and call it settled.

The Second Wife’s Daughter