Chapter 8 Yaoniang once again appeared before everyone with a new face, and the crowd was utterly astonished, murmuring among themselves that this was truly the master and mistress's own flesh and blood.Yaoniang felt not the slightest pride or smugness at such remarks; instead, she found that most people in this world judged by appearances. When she voiced this to Mrs. Yu, Luo Zhi happened to be dozing on the couch nearby.Mrs. Yu smiled and said, "Yes, the love of beauty is universal—that's only natural. Look at how the Son of Heaven selects the top scholar; he too chooses the more handsome candidate. But not everyone with a handsome face can become the top scholar."This was a novel point, and Yaoniang found it deeply agreeable. Only when one reached a certain height could so-called beauty add the finishing touch; otherwise, it was all for naught.Take Mrs. Yu, for instance—had she not been the daughter of an official, but merely a village girl or a girl from a modest household, she would hardly have passed the Luo family's scrutiny.Yaoniang turned seven during the journey, and she did not begrudge showing a hint of cleverness. She nodded and said, "Mother speaks truly. Then when I return this time, am I to begin my studies as well?"Just as Mrs. Yu was about to speak, Luo Zhi said calmly, "Our Luo family has passed down poetry and books through the generations. We do not require you to become a gifted lady, but you must at least recognize a few characters. Your elder sisters have already achieved much in their studies—especially your third sister, whose literary fame has reached the capital. A short poem she composed at age nine drew praise from all. You should take her as your model."Indeed, Luo Jingrou's scholarship was excellent, and Shiyu was no slouch either. In her past life, she too had loved reading, but after becoming obsessed with storybooks, she often dozed off during the day. Whenever she resolved to quit the storybooks, Luo Jingrou would quietly slip into her chamber with talk of the latest tale, and unable to resist temptation, she would end up doing her lessons while sneaking glances at the book.Yet even so, she remembered that her poetry and prose had been quite good. But once, when she attended a poetry gathering and took first place, no one rejoiced for her—instead, Shifang had rescued a stray cat, and everyone was busy discussing how to raise it.Puzzled, she took the question to Luo Jingrou, who could only say awkwardly, "Fifth sister, that's why I always told you to lose some weight—it was for your own good."Only then did she understand: people were drawn to Shifang because she was sweet and adorable, while she herself was utterly unremarkable.Now, she wouldn't think much of it, but at the time it had been a heavy blow—so much so that she felt such poetry gatherings were mere vanity, and she never attended another, nor bothered to put effort into such pursuits. When Luo Zhizheng said she was unlearned and unfit for refined company, she only grew more convinced that they were biased.Otherwise, why did no one criticize Shifang, whose studies were equally poor? She also recalled Luo Jingrou mentioning that their father regretted exchanging the daughters back, advising her to be more obedient so as not to make things difficult for Mrs. Yu, who doted on her—and even gifting her a set of hair ornaments as a reward.Now, thinking back, if scholarship truly mattered so little, why had Luo Jingrou used it to build her own reputation?"Father speaks rightly—I will study diligently," Yaoniang said with a demure smile.Word of this somehow reached Luo Jingrou, who specially sent over an annotated copy of the Thousand Character Classic, saying, "Fifth sister, since you're to begin your studies, this one of mine is the best to use."Mrs. Yu said from the side, "Fifth miss, won't you thank your third sister?"She still had to put on a show of courtesy, and afterward, Luo Jingrou even taught her how to make decorative knots. Yaoniang appeared delighted throughout, even going so far as to send Mrs. Yu away: "Mother, let Third Sister and I play with the puppets—you go look after Little Brother."Mrs. Yu assumed the sisters simply wanted to play without her hovering about, so she rose and left.Luo Jingrou thought to herself that with her stepmother gone, she could now make her move.Yaoniang, of course, knew exactly what kind of person Luo Jingrou was. The woman always spoke with calculated persuasion—nine truths laced with one lie. You couldn't call her wrong; even if you laid her words out plainly, nothing seemed amiss.For instance, right now she said, "Fifth Sister, you're still young, so you should rest more during the day. Look, you've been out of the sun, and your skin has turned so fair—even fairer than mine."Yaoniang shook her head. "How could I dare compare myself to Third Sister?""Why can't you compare? We're sisters—we're all the same. Now that you're back, you should think of yourself as a Luo. Forget those unpleasant things from before." Luo Jingrou spoke with great sincerity, as if she truly had Yaoniang's best interests at heart.If this had been the old Yaoniang, she would have thought the woman kind. Now she only wanted to laugh—she was curious to see where the "one lie among nine truths" would slip out this time.So Yaoniang feigned gratitude. "Thank you for the kind words, Third Sister. Father says you're the most learned, and he told me to learn from you."Luo Jingrou demurely replied, "What are you saying, Sister? You're still young, and you picked up the official language so quickly. Once you start studying in earnest, you'll surely surpass me tenfold. But if there's anything you don't understand, don't hesitate to ask me."After a few more exchanges of mutual flattery, Luo Jingrou glanced out the window and remarked, "In less than half a month, we'll be heading to the capital. Look at this boat, Sister. Speaking of which, when we escorted Father's coffin back to Gaoping, it was Xin'er and I who traveled by boat together. Xin'er was such a little troublemaker—she pestered Father into taking her up on deck every day to feel the wind. You wouldn't believe it, but I heard Father held her in his arms every single day; his arms were shaking from it.""Xin'er?""Oh, I'm sorry, I misspoke. Xin'er is that girl from the Zhong family, but back then we didn't know, and we truly thought she was my sister. Please don't take offense." Luo Jingrou wore a look of embarrassment.But Yaoniang deliberately played the wounded party. "Father has never held me."Hearing this, Luo Jingrou knew her bait had been taken. She pretended to console her. "You've only just come back—Father isn't familiar with you yet. Just be sweet-tongued in daily life, learn to act coy like Xin'er, and Father will naturally come to adore you.""Good advice, Third Sister—truly words of gold and jade." Yaoniang's face was a mask of gratitude.…At midday, Mrs. Yu invited Luo Jingrou to stay for lunch, and the three of them ate together in lively spirits.Mrs. Yu thought to herself that she must have been overthinking things that day. Jingrou was a girl she had watched grow up, always a decent child who showed her stepmother great respect. Even if she only put on a pleasant front with Yaoniang, that was good enough.They weren't born of the same mother and rarely spent time together anyway—as long as everyone kept up appearances, that would do.Little did she know that Yaoniang had no intention of telling Mrs. Yu any of this. Especially now that she knew Mrs. Yu was far from the simple woman she appeared to be. Instead, she hugged Mrs. Yu and asked, "Mother, today Third Sister mentioned Xin'er to me. She said Father dotes on Xin'er very much—is that true?"“Well…” Mrs. Yu had originally assumed that Shi Xin was her own daughter, so of course she was doted on, and Luo Zhizheng indeed cherished her—she was his own daughter after all!But she comforted Yaoniang, saying, “I’m sorry, at that time I didn’t yet know you were suffering in the Zhong family.”“It’s fine, it’s fine. Sister also said that Father holds Xin’er every day, until his arms are sore, and he loves how Xin’er acts cute and speaks sweetly. Mother, but I don’t like acting cute…” Yaoniang said, then glanced at Mrs. Yu’s face.Hearing this, Mrs. Yu felt something was off by the end. She frowned and said, “Perhaps your third sister doesn’t know the full story. At that time, we were returning to the hometown for mourning—where would there be time to hold a child and go to the deck to enjoy the wind? Besides, there were many wet nurses and maids in the household, and I never heard of such a thing. Moreover, Yaoniang, your father absolutely detests others acting cute, and also speaking in reduplicated words. Xin’er once used reduplicated words and was scolded by your father.”“Mother, why do you think Third Sister would say such things to me? I know that the swapping of me and the Zhong girl was something no one wanted, but she clearly did this deliberately to make me offend Father and incur his displeasure. What if Father ends up hating me in the future?” Yaoniang deliberately showed a look of fear.Because she knew very well that if she didn’t make it sound serious, no one would notice that Luo Jingrou had a problem.

The Second Wife’s Daughter