Chapter 123: Oriole and Swallow (Part 2)

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Updated: 2013-07-30
Lian Yue had never heard that voice. She knew it was not the woman who had just spoken, so she turned toward the sound. The woman stood at the far edge of the crowd in a long dark-indigo brocade gown. Tiny white plum blossoms were embroidered along the hem, and a white brocade sash tightened around her delicate waist, a waist too slender for one hand to encircle. She had twisted her jet-black hair into a neat knot and fixed it with a single white jade plum-shaped pin. It was simple, yet clear, fresh, and elegant.

Her words were proper and easy on the ear, but that did not mean Lian Yue liked her. The Nanping Prince’s residence was large, yet not so huge that every rumor had to travel for half a day.

Besides, this was the first outing of the princess consort since her long illness. As soon as Elder Sister had merely moved, these women already knew of it; Lian Yue understood their thoughts clearly.

Each of them was of flower-and-jade age, sent to the Nanping Prince’s household in hope of ascending like a phoenix, only to find themselves as if entering a convent. So they burned with jealousy of Elder Sister, but dared not show it. Elder Sister herself was dignified and virtuous, handling everything well and never giving them room to criticize.

At last they had found such a rare chance. No one knew who proposed it, but they had clearly arranged this accidental encounter to claim a small advantage in words.

But they did not know Lian Yue’s temper; that profit was not so easy to seize.

Yet when one woman offered even a little goodwill, Lian Yue was in no mood to strike. Ignoring the blue-robed woman’s stunned expression, she stepped straight up, took her hand, and asked gently, “Little Yue enjoys talking with clever people. May I know how you prefer to be called, sister?”

The blue-robed woman, no stranger to society, quickly recovered herself. While thinking over Lian Yue’s motive, she answered pleasantly, “Tao Xinhua. ‘Tao’ for joy intoxicating the heart, ‘Xin’ for flourishing, ‘Hua’ for splendor. I’m no elder sister—just call me Xinhua.”

Lian Yue’s smile did not fade. “How formal you are,” she said lightly. “I will still call you Sister Tao.”

Tao Xinhua ignored Zhong Yufei’s warning glance and said sweetly, “I hardly deserve such a favor.”

“How could it be otherwise?” Lian Yue replied, watching the others’ faces as she spoke. As she had hoped, the moment she showed affection toward one, one with little poise became restless. Their looks at Tao Xinhua shifted into contempt, envy, and annoyance. The rear court was, truly, lively enough.

That was precisely why she had done it: to watch their masks slip. In the crowd she noticed one woman who seemed different. Her eyes never changed, as though she were merely an observer of a play.

Her beauty was not as voluptuous as Zhong Yufei’s, nor as refined as Tao Xinhua’s. She wore a pear-white long dress. Her inky hair was tied with a matching ribbon into a knot, an unnameable style Lian Yue could not place, and she had no ornament at all. So she stood quietly at the end of the crowd, easy to overlook.

And yet it was exactly such a person who caught Lian Yue’s attention most.

Lian Yue had long believed that Elder Sister’s miscarriage had something to do with these women. She had intended, at first, to inquire carefully through Xiang Ju by Elder Sister’s side before deciding what to do. Instead, they had found her first.

That quiet woman seemed to have noticed something; she turned her eyes toward Lian Yue, only to see Lian Yue warmly holding Tao Xinhua’s hand and looking directly at them.

“ Sister Tao, this is my first time at the Nanping Prince’s residence. I never expected so many beautiful women. Would you introduce them to me?”

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To be set aside by Lian Yue finally infuriated Zhong Yufei. Even as a side consort—albeit one long unloved—it was no right that a woman without rank like Tao Xinhua should make the introductions.

Yufei had come at someone else’s urging. She had gained no advantage yet, and now had to wait for an inferior concubine to present herself. How could she stand it?

With a sharp “Hm,” she swept away her sleeves and left without a greeting. Yuan Ruoqing shot Yaoyao a hard look and followed at once. Then a girl in pale ochre and pink, after a brief hesitation, also left.

Those four together looked to Lian Yue almost like one flower.

“Little sister, please do not mind them,” said one. “They are usually like this. They did not intend anything against you.”

Lian Yue, understanding, said, “I know. You need not force yourselves. If you fear offending that side consort, you may leave as well. I would not mind.”

While speaking, she kept one eye on the woman at the back. As soon as her words ended, that woman said, “If Miss Yue says so, then I will take my leave.” She then added, “You Yuwei.”

Lian Yue quietly wrote the name in her mind and asked the three who remained, “Will this cause you any trouble?”

“Not at all,” one replied first, with deference. “We are idle now, so let us stay and enjoy the flowers with you.”

Another, unwilling to be outdone, added, “Yes, indeed. We have heard of you as heavenly in beauty. Seeing you today, it is surely no exaggeration.”

The type of person Lian Yue liked least were this kind. Before she had even said a word, they were already calling her “little sister.” Their voices reminded her of a whole crowd back home. Still, for now she had use for them; some kinds of news are easiest to learn from such mouths.

“I wonder how I should address the two of you?”

“Yan Tong.”

“Fan Shuineng.”

“Then I’ll call you Sister Yan and Sister Fan.”

Lian Yue found comfort in the sweetness of her own voice at that. These were women of the Yue family, the princess consort’s sisters; it was no small thing for them to call her sister.

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If she could choose, Lian Yue would prefer not to call them so familiarly. Between the two, Tao Xinhua had looked more like a proper lady of a great house.

“By the way, three sisters,” Lian Yue continued, “were none of you accompanied by attendants?” She had noticed this contrast for some time. One person may go without a servant; seven of them, no attendants, is another matter.

On our side, Zi Zhu had gone ahead to prepare Elder Sister’s room first, so no one followed us. Yet this is the Nanping Prince’s residence; it is not a place that cannot afford attendants. If this were spread around, people outside might think the Nanping princess consort was harsh in the extreme.

Since her last comment, Yaoyao had quietly returned to stand behind Lian Yue. Though she loved to egg on mischief, when Lian Yue took Tao Xinhua’s hand she understood there was purpose in it. Meng Chuchen had warned her on the way that there was another matter at hand today. She had promised to make as little trouble as possible and to shine only when Lian Yue needed her.

As soon as Lian Yue had finished asking, Yan Tong and Fan Shuineng both looked resentful, and even Tao Xinhua’s face held a trace of embarrassment. This made Lian Yue more confused—could this really be about Elder Sister?

“Did little Yue ask something she should not have?” Always playing cute and obedient seemed harmless. And Lian Yue, for all her sweetness, was already that herself.

Last time Yan Tong had spoken first; this time Fan Shuineng would not be behind. “There is really nothing unsayable,” she said. “It is mainly that Zhong Yufei. She relies on being a higher-ranked side consort than us. Every time she invites us out, she comes without maids. Whenever one of us brings a maid, she finds all sorts of reasons to catch our faults. After this repeated many times, we came to fear bringing maids.”

“Indeed, it is all deliberate,” said the other. “With no maids, she begins giving us orders. To speak plainly, she treats us like maids.”

The result startled Lian Yue a little. She had not expected this. Her old thought of Tao Xinhua as all beauty and little mind was not without cause at all. “So, is that truly so, Sister Tao?”

“It is not as severe as they make it sound,” Tao Xinhua replied, still keeping Lian Yue’s hand in hers. “Perhaps Sister Zhong only feels that with attendants around, all the sisters feel constrained. As for everything else, our status is naturally lower than hers; what we do is natural.” She chose her words with care. The girl with the neighborly, smiling face before her was certainly not simple. The slap she had just given Yuan Ruoqing was no empty gesture.

Once the words were out, contempt and mockery appeared in Yan Tong’s and Fan Shuineng’s eyes. If not for Lian Yue’s presence, they surely would have answered with a sharp retort.

In their minds, Fan Shuineng had always been a two-faced woman. But to Lian Yue, Tao Xinhua’s words did not sound any softer than the two others’ resentful complaints. The tone was soothing, yet the meaning beneath it was not.