In the afternoon, the sunny sky suddenly turned overcast, and fine rain fell. The leaves of the sycamore trees in the yard were blown down by the wind and stuck wetly to the ground, telling people with their silent decadence that real autumn has come.
The servants were busy pasting window paper and replacing thick door curtains, helping their masters keep the cold out of the house as quickly as possible in the chilly autumn wind.
The masters only need to put on warm and gorgeous autumn clothes, recite a few lines of poetry in the drizzle to express their sorrow, and do not need to worry about the coming cold.
Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, Xie Nanjia was worried about Zhao Lanzhi in the school, so she found a thick dress and a hooded cloak from the clothes that Nanny Li had hung out to dry a few days ago, and held an oil umbrella to send them to Zhao Lanzhi.
In order to allow the young ladies from the three mansions to concentrate on their studies, the school was set up in a secluded courtyard in the northeast corner of the mansion, and no idle people were allowed to disturb them on a daily basis.
Xie Nanjia walked all the way there, her shoes and trouser legs were all wet. When she arrived at the place, she saw that the maids of other young ladies had also brought her warm clothes.
Although the teacher was strict, he did not dare to let these young ladies suffer from the cold, so he stopped teaching and asked them to go to the inner room to change clothes.
The young ladies never forget to compare with each other at all times and in all places. Even if they just need to add a piece of clothing temporarily, they will secretly compete to see whose is more beautiful and more expensive.
Zhao Lanzhi knew that her clothes were not as good as those of her other sisters, so she took Xie Nanjia and Su He to the innermost corner to change clothes.
Even so, some people were unwilling to let her go. After she changed her clothes, Zhao Lanshu was the first to notice her and shouted in a shrill voice, "Fourth sister, what antique are you wearing? This old-fashioned style is not even worn by the maids in my yard."
"That's right, let alone the cleaning maids, even the servants in my yard don't wear them." The third lady, Zhao Lanyun, also echoed.
Although she and the Fourth Young Miss were both concubines, because the Third Aunt was good at currying favor, both mother and daughter were more respected in front of Qin, so her relationship with the Second Young Miss was relatively close.
Zhao Lanzhi was just a little girl after all. She felt embarrassed when her two sisters ridiculed her in public and her face turned red with shame.
Su He had a bad temper and was about to lose her temper on the spot. Xie Nanjia secretly pulled her back and signaled her to calm down, lest she lose control and escalate a simple quarrel into a fight.
Fifth Miss Zhao Lanxin was young and simple-minded. She did not understand what her sisters meant and asked in confusion: "Second sister, third sister, don't you know that the styles of clothes worn by servants are different from ours?"
The young ladies from the East and West Palaces who were watching the fun all covered their mouths and laughed.
Zhao Lanshu rolled her eyes at her and said, "If you don't understand, just shut up!"
Zhao Lanxin shrank back in fear, and her maid quickly pulled her aside.
Zhao Lanzhi blushed and walked out without saying a word. Zhao Lanyun reached out to stop her: "Fourth sister, Second sister is asking you a question. You have been learning etiquette from the teacher for so long, how come you haven't even learned the respect for elders and juniors?"
All the sisters in the room smiled contemptuously, waiting to see how Zhao Lanzhi would respond.
Seeing that Su He was about to lose control again, Xie Nanjia had no choice but to pull her behind him and stepped forward: "Miss San is also learning etiquette from the teacher. Haven't you heard the sage say that if you judge a person by his words, you will miss Zai Yu, and if you judge a person by his appearance, you will miss Zi Yu. You and Miss Second and Miss Fourth are of the same origin, but you insulted Miss Second and Miss Fourth just because she doesn't have fancy clothes. Is this what the teacher taught you?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire inner room became silent in an instant.
The young ladies were shocked for a moment because they didn't expect that a maid could quote classics to mock others.
Zhao Lanshu was furious. She always hated people saying that she and Zhao Lanzhi were of the same root. Because of Zhao Lanzhi, she was punished by her father to kneel in the ancestral hall twice. Now even the maids around Zhao Lanzhi dared to ignore her and openly ridiculed her in public, humiliating her. How could she tolerate this
"Skylark, smash this bitch's mouth for me!" she ordered through gritted teeth.
Yunque received the order, stepped forward, rolled up his sleeves and was ready to teach Xie Nanjia a lesson.
Xie Nanjia's face darkened, his eyes narrowed, and he said sternly: "Just try to touch me!"
Yun Que stood there in a daze under her cold gaze, holding his hand high in the air, not daring to bring it down.
"You're rebelling!" Miss Zhao Lanya, who had been silent all this time, stood up and ordered the maid beside her in a deep voice: "Haitang, go teach her some manners!"
Even though it was their own sister who was at fault today, as legitimate daughters, if they couldn't even control a maid, wouldn't people laugh at them if this were made public
When everyone saw that the eldest lady had left, they all fell silent and watched Haitang walk towards Xie Nanjia with wide eyes.
Zhao Lanzhi and Su He stepped forward at the same time and wanted to protect Xie Nanjia, but were stopped by Xie Nanjia with his eyes.
"Sister Haitang." Xie Nanjia said calmly, "I have to go to deliver midnight snacks to the Marquis tonight, and tomorrow morning I have to accompany Madam to entertain Minister An's wife. If I have a wound on my face and offend the Marquis and the Minister's wife, and the Marquis asks for accountability, I will tell them everything that happened today without leaving out a word. If I implicate any of you, don't blame me for not warning you in advance."
"… "
Haitang was startled and subconsciously took two steps back, then turned to look at Zhao Lanya.
Skylark also quietly retreated a little, no longer daring to be arrogant.
Zhao Lanya had forgotten that Xiu'er also had the responsibility of making midnight snacks for her father. When she was reminded of this, she felt quite caught in a dilemma.
What my father hates most is the quarrel between legitimate and illegitimate children. If he knew that my sister and I had teamed up to bully Zhao Lanzhi, he would definitely be furious. My sister had just come out of the ancestral hall not long ago. If she angered my father again, it would probably be more than just kneeling in the ancestral hall.
Her mother was bent on making friends with the Shangshu's wife. If she and her sister got into trouble at this critical juncture, they could not expect their mother to excuse them. Perhaps their mother would even punish them personally.
Thinking of this, she could only signal Haitang to leave and come back to deal with it later.
Zhao Lanshu didn't think so. She had been domineering since she was a child, and never considered the consequences when she got impulsive. Seeing her sister being intimidated, she was immediately furious. She rolled up her sleeves and rushed to Xie Nanjia: "You are afraid of her, but I am not. No matter who she wants to complain to, she has to let me vent my anger first!"
"Hey! What is the second young lady doing?" someone at the door said with a chuckle.
Everyone looked over and found that the person coming was Nianci, the eldest maidservant beside the old lady.
Although Nianci was just a maid, she had more prestige than the illegitimate girls in the mansion because the old lady valued her so much. As soon as she came in, all the masters and maids in the room greeted her one after another, and even the eldest lady would follow suit and say "Hello, Aunt Nianci."
The second young lady was angry. Although she did not say hello to Nianci, she did not dare to attack Xie Nanjia again.
Nianci returned the greetings to everyone, then took off the package on her arm and handed it to Xie Nanjia. She spoke in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft for everyone to hear: "The old lady saw that the weather was getting colder and was worried that the fourth young lady didn't have warm clothes, so she asked me to send a few pieces for the fourth young lady to wear. Since you have already sent them, take these pieces back first and keep them for the fourth young lady to wear as replacements!"
After hearing this, the young ladies all looked at each other in bewilderment, and each of them wondered in their hearts, didn't Zhao Lanzhi just take care of grandma for a few days, but grandma actually cared about her so much that she sent Nianci to personally deliver clothes. If I had known this would happen, I would have gone to take care of her too.
Zhao Lanzhi was so excited that tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted to bow to Nianci on the spot, but Nianci stopped her and said with a smile, "Fourth Miss, please don't embarrass me. When you get out of school, go and kowtow to the old lady in person!"
Zhao Lanzhi wiped her tears and said, "Thank you very much, auntie. Please tell grandma that I will go to pay my respects to her after school."
Nianci nodded and patted her hands: "Miss Fourth, please go to class at ease. The old lady asked me to tell you that a beautiful woman without moral integrity is like a golden hairpin on a pig's head. A woman with a pure heart is better than all the jewels in the world."
"… "
There was no fool in the room. Everyone could tell that these words were mocking the eldest, second and third young ladies. The old lady didn't have clairvoyance, so how could she know what had happened here? It was obvious that Nianci herself saw their argument outside and used the old lady's name to criticize the three young ladies.
The three young ladies could not go to the old lady in person to verify, so they could only suffer in silence and were extremely angry towards Zhao Lanzhi and Xie Nanjia.
Su He finally felt proud. After Nian Ci left, she excitedly opened the package in public and took out the clothes inside one by one.
The clothes that the old lady specially sent were naturally made of the finest materials and the best workmanship. Each piece was the latest style, outshining all the other ladies in the room.
Su He said proudly, "Miss, this time no one will say your clothes are for a servant girl."
Zhao Lanshu and Zhao Lanyun both gouged their eyes out at her.
Zhao Lanzhi scolded, "You just like to show off. Fold it up quickly and tell Xiu'er to take it back and keep it well."
Just at this moment, the master's maid came to urge the young ladies to go to the front for class. Xie Nanjia stepped forward to help Su He fold and pack her clothes, and then went back holding an umbrella.
The drizzle continued until dusk. The temperature dropped as it got later. After dinner, people went to bed early.
After the night fell silent, several tightly wrapped black figures, carrying offerings and walking through the mud, came together to Yaoyue Residence, where the Crown Prince's wife had lived before her death.
Lvliu opened the door lock, led people into the yard, and locked the door from the inside.
The yard was pitch black. It had been raining for half a day, and the bluestone pavement underfoot was extremely slippery. The waist-high dead grass was wet from the rain, and would soak people's clothes if touched. The cold wind whimpered as it rolled through the treetops and eaves, making the wind chimes jingle like soul-stirring bells.
The aunts all huddled together and shivered, not knowing whether they were cold or frightened.
Green Willow whispered, "Don't just stand there, hurry up!"
So a few people found a place without grass, squatted down, laid out the offerings they brought, and lit incense paper.
In the firelight, Lvliu took the lead and knelt on the ground, praying to the prince's wife: "Miss, I am Lvliu. I know that you died unjustly and died unwillingly, but every wrong has its perpetrator, and even if you want to take revenge, don't hurt innocent people. The concubines are all kind people, and they have never been disrespectful to you on weekdays, so please let them go!"
Several concubines followed suit and kowtowed, trembling in agreement: "Yes, Madam, we servants all respect you. Go find whoever harmed you and let us innocent servants go!"
Lvliu said again: "Miss, I also want to avenge you, but I really can't find out who your enemy is. If you are still alive, please give me a hint, and I will avenge you even if I risk my life!"
It was quiet all around. Several concubines listened to Lvliu's prayer with bated breath. Suddenly, a crow flew by, flapping its wings and making a terrifying cry, which frightened them to death.
Green Willow was still crawling on the ground, calling out to the Crown Prince's wife: "Miss, Miss, please show your spirit. If there is anyone among us who wants to harm you, please blow the fire in front of her to the west..."
The wind was blowing from the west tonight, and the flames in front of the four people were all leaning to the east. Before Lvliu finished speaking, one of the fires suddenly leaned to the west.
“Ahh…” The aunts screamed in fear and huddled together, but they soon came to their senses and pushed one of them away, shouting in a trembling voice, “Go away, go away, you are the murderer!”
The person they pushed away was Aunt Hong, and the flames leaning to the west were the pile of incense paper that Aunt Hong had lit.
Aunt Hong was so frightened that she kept saying, "It's not me, it's not me, it's just a coincidence..."
No one believed her. There were five fires lined up side by side, and hers was in the middle. Why were the others burning in the same direction, but hers was burning against the wind
Except for Lvliu, the other concubines kept their distance from her for fear of being implicated by her.
Lvliu spoke for Aunt Hong: "Maybe it's just a coincidence. I'll talk to the young lady about it."
Then he knelt on the ground and kowtowed, muttering, "Miss, human life is of paramount importance, and it cannot be taken lightly. If it is really Aunt Hong, you should show up and put out her fire. If not..."
Before he could finish his words, the fire set by Aunt Hong shook violently a few times in the wind, and then went out amid the screams of several aunts.
Aunt Hong could no longer bear it and collapsed to the ground, clutching her clothes.
"Madam, please spare my life. I didn't mean to kill you. I just hated you for killing my child and wanted you to feel the pain of losing your child. So I put some medicine in the soup you drank while you were asleep. But it's not a medicine that can harm people! Madam, please understand!"
A gust of cold wind blew, extinguishing the remaining fires. The yard became pitch dark again, and a woman's mournful laughter sounded overhead.
Aunt Hong screamed in horror, fell to the ground and fainted.
(End of this chapter)