Chapter 6
Chapter 6
I had reached the age of thirteen, and I often accompanied Mother alongside Third Sister, Yunzhu, as we moved between the various banquets and feasts of the great noble houses.
Recently, I noticed that Third Sister, who usually favored the most simple and elegant attire, had begun putting more thought into her appearance for these gatherings.
Her white jade hairpins were replaced by gilded dangling ones, and her pearl ear studs were swapped for kingfisher feathers and teardrop beads.
At a summer lotus-viewing banquet, she wore a plum blossom hairpin in her hair, which stood out remarkably.
Under the shade of the willows, the gathered scholars and talents sat among the guests.
During a game of ‘Flying Flower’ poetry commands, Assistant Censor Mei of the Censorate composed a poem in seven steps, winning thunderous applause from the entire assembly.
I saw Third Sister’s hand, holding a fan, tremble slightly. Though she tried her best to hide it, she could not suppress the adoration in her eyes.
Nor did I miss the fleeting, burning gaze Assistant Censor Mei cast her way while drinking.
On the carriage ride back to the manor, Mother lightly tapped her fingertips against the window frame and suddenly asked, “Is that plum blossom hairpin newly made?”
Third Sister lowered her head and murmured an affirmative, but the tips of her ears turned a faint red.
I caught the almost imperceptible furrow in Mother’s brow. That night, she went to Father’s study.
Within half a year, Father had arranged a marriage for Third Sister.
The Fan Family had been noble and prestigious for generations. The current head of the house served as a Hanlin Academy Reader-in-waiting; it was a perfect match for a family of poets and scholars.
Mother took Third Sister’s hand and slid a pair of emerald bracelets onto her wrists.
“You love books most of all. The Fan Family has a collection of ten thousand volumes. In the future, reading by the lamp with your husband will be quite elegant, won’t it?”
Third Sister knelt on the white jade floor tiles. When her forehead touched the ground, the silver plum blossom hairpin in her hair swayed slightly.
When she rose, her body wavered. I stepped forward to support her, only to feel her nails digging into her own palms.
Mother took a brand-new golden phoenix hairpin from the jewelry box and replaced the plum blossom pin in Third Sister’s hair.
“This hairpin is old; it’s time to change it.”
Second Sister lowered her eyes, watching as Mother casually gifted the old pin to a servant.
Faced with Mother’s warning, Third Sister timidly whispered her obedience.
Yet, as she turned to leave, she accidentally caught her foot on the threshold and stumbled.
The wedding was set for the following autumn, but Third Sister fell ill for an entire season.
The scent of medicine lingered in Tingxue Pavilion all day long. Precious medicinal ingredients were sent in like a flowing stream, yet they could not dissolve the sorrow etched between her brows.
When I went to pay my respects, Mother was gazing at the falling parasol tree leaves outside the window, her voice carrying a rare trace of exhaustion.
“Go and talk to Yunzhu.”
“If she… truly cannot pull through, then send her to the West Suburb Villa to recover.”
I saw the flicker of pity in Mother’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by resolve.
It was the last bit of maternal kindness, and also the final test.
I did not have the maidservants announce me and went straight into Third Sister’s Tingxue Pavilion.
Pushing open the door, I found Third Sister draped in a plain outer robe, staring blankly at a scroll.
On the painting, the willow shade was like mist, and a figure in green robes stood facing the wind.
Though it was only a view of his back, it possessed an unmistakable air of noble character.
It was Chief Censor Mei, who had recited poetry by the Qu River that day.
“Third Sister…” I called out softly.
She hurriedly rolled up the scroll, a flash of panic crossing her pale face.
Looking at her gaunt features, I said with pity, “If you keep being sick like this, how can you bear the harm you’re doing to yourself?”
Third Sister suddenly laughed, a sound like crushed ice falling onto a jade plate.
“In the hearts of those people, delaying a wedding date is the greatest sin of all.”
‘Those people’ she spoke of were, naturally, Father and Mother.
I did not answer her directly, only saying, “I heard that Lord Mei is soon to marry Princess Anle.”
The scroll clattered to the floor. Third Sister forced a cold sneer.
“What do the affairs of the imperial court have to do with a woman of the inner chambers like me?”
I picked up the scroll. “Do you know why Father did not betroth you to the Mei family?”
“It’s nothing more than despising the Mei family’s humble origins, thinking they aren’t worthy of a daughter from the Chancellor’s Mansion.”
“We daughters are nothing more than goods to be sold for a price. What does it matter who we marry?”
Third Sister tilted her head back, looking like the noble scholars in history books who walked gallantly toward their deaths.
“Go back and report this: if I live until my wedding day, I will naturally not disgrace the name of the Kong Clan.”
I sighed. “You are wrong.”
“It is precisely because Father knows Chief Censor Mei is a pillar of the state that he could not allow this marriage.”
“Chief Censor Mei serves in the Censorate, while Father is the Grand Councilor. If we were to form a marriage alliance with a close official of the Son of Heaven, what would the one above think?”
“The Imperial Consort has just given birth to a young prince. Countless eyes are watching the Kong Clan. A single misstep would mean eternal damnation.”
Third Sister suddenly began to cough violently.
“You… cough… your eyes are full of calculations. Is there room for even a shred of true feeling?”
“Calculations?” I sneered.
“Do you think Father’s position as Grand Councilor was obtained through fawning and flattery?”
“When the Yellow River breached its banks last year, Father donated half of the family fortune for disaster relief. This spring, when the northern borders suffered a drought, Father braved all opposition to open the granaries.”
I took a step closer.
“If he were not skilled in calculation, a million refugees would have starved to death. If he were not adept at weighing power, the three hundred and seventy members of the Kong Clan would be dead today!”
Third Sister’s tears fell like broken strings of pearls. She choked out, “If Heaven allowed me to choose again, I would rather cast aside this life of luxury to be an ordinary woman in coarse clothes and a thorn hairpin, living on simple tea and plain rice with the one I love, growing old in peace.”
Upon hearing this, I sneered, my voice becoming inadvertently sharp.
“The life of commoners you speak of-do you mean being a market woman, arguing until you’re red in the face over three copper coins? Or being a peasant woman in the fields, watching your children starve to death because of a single drought?”
“The ginseng soup you drink every day, the hashima cream you use-which of these luxuries was not preserved by Father through these very ‘calculations’? Without them, you would likely struggle to even maintain a life of simple tea and plain rice!”
Third Sister stumbled back, her spine hitting the cold wall.
I reached up to wipe her tears, only to find that I was also weeping.
“You and I were born with the brand of the Kong Clan. Our love, even our lives, are as light as goose feathers compared to the three hundred lives of our family.”
Third Sister slowly slid down to sit on the floor. The pearl hairpin fell from her hair, making a crisp clinking sound against the blue bricks.
I knelt down and gently embraced her trembling shoulders.
We wept in each other’s arms, yet we both knew clearly in our hearts-
This grief was a lament for a life that had long been orchestrated for us.
But it was also a moment of gratitude for the protection afforded by being born into a family of such wealth and status.