Following behind, Yun Qingyi assumed the young woman in plain clothes would head toward the side hall to retrieve a change of clothes from her family’s servants.
After all, noble ladies often changed outfits for different occasions. Wearing three or five sets of clothes in a single day was nothing unusual.
To Yun Qingyi’s surprise, however, the girl walked instead to a well in the garden. She borrowed a basin of clean water from one of the household matrons and carefully used her handkerchief to wipe the soup stains from her dress.
Back at the banquet, Yun Qingyi had already sensed something was amiss.
The young woman’s attire was completely out of place.
Each family occupied its own table, and she had been seated in the place of honor, clearly indicating she was the legitimate eldest daughter of her household. Yet her plain hemp dress was worlds apart from the luxurious silks and exquisite embroidery worn by the other noble ladies.
Even the younger girl in green, who had addressed her as “Sister,” wore far finer clothing.
Recalling how the younger sister had immediately taken the seat of honor after the older girl left, Yun Qingyi quickly pieced things together.
The Lu family was likely one of those melodramatic households where the favored concubine overshadowed the legal wife.
By the time Yun Qingyi finished observing from a distance, the young woman had cleaned her dress and turned toward the side hall instead of returning to the banquet.
“Miss, please wait.”
The girl looked to be around fifteen years old. Yun Qingyi called out, intending to help her.
“Are you speaking to me, Sister? I think I saw you at the banquet earlier. I’m afraid you’ve witnessed an embarrassing scene.”
The young woman lowered her eyes, trying to hide her awkwardness.
“I’m Yun Qingyi, Third Miss of the Yun family. My father is the Minister of Revenue. May I ask your name?”
“So you’re Sister Yun. I’m Lu Zhiyao, the eldest daughter of the Lu family. My father is the Minister of Rites.”
Once introductions were made, the atmosphere became more relaxed.
“Conversations inside are terribly dull,” Yun Qingyi said with a smile. “You don’t seem to enjoy them either. Why don’t we take a walk together instead?”
She guided Lu Zhiyao toward the side hall and called over Shuiling, who was waiting by the carriage.
“Bring me a change of clothes.”
Turning back to Lu Zhiyao, she said gently, “Were you in such a hurry this morning that you forgot to bring a spare outfit? If you don’t mind, please borrow this one for now.”
The dress was a soft goose-yellow color. One glance at the fabric and embroidery made it obvious that it was expensive.
Lu Zhiyao immediately declined.
“I couldn’t possibly. I have no way to repay such kindness.”
After several rounds of polite refusal, she finally admitted quietly:
“At home, I’m only allowed to wear coarse cloth. This hemp dress is the only presentable outfit I own.”
Yun Qingyi had already suspected as much.
The younger sister in green had deliberately spilled soup on her because she knew exactly how humiliating the situation would be.
“In that case,” Yun Qingyi said, “I’ve never worn this dress. Consider it a gift to commemorate our first meeting.”
Then she added, unable to hide her disbelief:
“You and your younger sister are both daughters of a minister. How could your family treat you so differently?”
Lu Zhiyao fell silent. Biting her lip, she avoided the question.
“Father instructed me to bring my sister today. He hoped I could guide her and keep her in line. Yet I embarrassed myself first. I no longer have the face to return to the banquet.”
Looking at her, Yun Qingyi could tell she had spent years being suppressed and ignored within her family.
In her previous life, Yun Qingyi had firmly believed in one principle:
Don’t develop a savior complex. Respect other people’s choices.
But this was an ancient world. Women lived under far more constraints.
She was willing to offer guidance once.
If Lu Zhiyao remained unwilling to help herself, then at least Yun Qingyi would have no regrets.
“Since you were entrusted with your father’s orders, you should return even more,” she said gently but firmly.
“Your sister was already behaving inappropriately while you were present. If you leave now and she causes further embarrassment, the family’s reputation will suffer. As the elder sister, you would be blamed for failing in your duties.”
Though her voice was soft, there was an undeniable authority in her words.
Without waiting for a response, she instructed Shuiling to help Lu Zhiyao change clothes. Then she selected several matching pieces of jewelry from her own collection and personally dressed her up.
Holding a bronze mirror before her, she watched Lu Zhiyao stare at her reflection in astonishment.
“Is this really me?”
Her voice trembled with emotion.
Seeing the uncertainty still lingering in her eyes, Yun Qingyi decided to help her a little more.
As they approached the banquet area, the younger sister in green had left her seat and was chatting animatedly with the other young ladies.
Quietly, Yun Qingyi took a blood peach from her food box. She squeezed the fruit until its crimson juice stained a piece of cotton gauze, then used a small slingshot to send it flying with just the right amount of force.
The red stain landed squarely on the green dress.
“Oh my, Zhiyao—you…”
“No way! Did you lose track of the date?”
The surrounding girls gasped in alarm.
Lu Zhiyaing’s face flushed with anger and embarrassment. She slapped her maid sharply.
“What are you standing there for? Bring me another dress at once!”
Watching the chaos unfold, Yun Qingyi turned to Lu Zhiyao.
“Go on. Take back what’s yours.”
After thanking her, Lu Zhiyao circled around and returned to the banquet.
Yun Qingyi remained behind, intending to observe the results before returning herself.
Just as she was congratulating herself on teaching the troublemaker a lesson, a deep voice behind her startled her.
“Don’t you think that was a bit excessive?”
Startled, she turned around.
A man dressed in black slowly rose from behind the bushes.
He wore dark robes, his long hair cascading over his shoulders. His profile was handsome and refined, while his eyes held a hint of amusement.
“How long have you been eavesdropping, sir?”
“I was here before you two left the banquet.”
He smiled slightly.
“And I wasn’t eavesdropping. I was listening openly. You can’t blame me for that. You should blame yourselves for speaking so loudly.”
Since he had heard everything, that simplified matters.
“If you’ve heard the entire story, then you should know who the truly unreasonable person was.”
Yun Qingyi met his gaze calmly.
“This is a matter between women. It would be best if you didn’t interfere.”
As she spoke, she took a plate of flower pastries from her food box.
“You’ve been away from the banquet for quite some time, sir. You must be hungry. Please accept these flower pastries.”
It was, quite plainly, hush money.
Once you’ve eaten my pastries, you can’t expose me.
The man in black understood immediately.
“In that case, I shall gratefully accept.”
Only then did Yun Qingyi finally relax.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhiyao had already resumed her seat.
Seeing her elder sister return dressed elegantly, Lu Zhiyaing became even more furious. Her own embarrassment only intensified.
“Lu Zhiyao, whose clothes did you steal? How shameless!”
For her, it didn’t matter if she had embarrassed herself.
As long as her sister suffered an even greater humiliation, she could redirect everyone’s attention and regain the upper hand.
Within the Lu household, everyone knew how poorly Lu Zhiyao was treated.
But outsiders didn’t.
That was precisely her opportunity.
“My dear sister, what are you talking about?”
Lu Zhiyao’s voice was calm and composed.
“I left home in a hurry this morning and forgot to change clothes. I simply went to put on another outfit.”
She swept her gaze around the gathering.
“Since all the young ladies are here, perhaps someone can tell me whose clothes I’m supposedly wearing.”
Her confidence made her words entirely convincing.
No one believed she had borrowed someone else’s dress.
“It’s true that today’s outfit is finer than yours,” she continued evenly.
“As the legitimate eldest daughter of the Lu family, I follow our family’s teachings of frugality and simplicity. I usually dress plainly at home, but surely you don’t think I own only one set of clothes suitable for going out.”
Her expression remained composed.
“How did a simple change of clothes become ‘theft’ in your eyes?”
Then, with a pointed glance at the red stain on her sister’s dress, she added:
“As for you, Sister, perhaps you should take advantage of this moment and change before everyone notices.”
Her words struck directly at Lu Zhiyaing’s sore spot.
Though unwilling, she could only leave in humiliation and return the seat of honor to her elder sister.
Seeing that Lu Zhiyao had regained control of the situation, Yun Qingyi bade farewell to the man in black and returned to the banquet.
Sipping tea leisurely, she resumed listening to the endless gossip around her.
The noble ladies had already stopped discussing Marquis Zhenyuan and the Fifth Prince.
Their attention had shifted entirely to Lu Zhiyaing’s unfortunate mishap.
People’s fascination with gossip never lasted more than a few moments.
One scandal was quickly replaced by another.
In such a small social circle, today’s spectator could easily become tomorrow’s subject of gossip.
It was all terribly dull.
Yun Qingyi found herself thinking that perhaps her mother had been right to avoid these tedious gatherings.
The more she thought about it, the more unbearable the banquet became.
Her eyes drifted repeatedly toward the bushes outside.
The man in black had chosen an excellent hiding place.
It truly was perfect for escaping the noise and finding a moment of peace.