Chapter 4

Chapter 4

On my third return visit to my maiden home, Jiang Shaoling came with me.

There were many womenfolk in the rear courtyard, so it was not exactly convenient. I told him to wait for me in the front hall, but though he was simple-minded, he grew timid in an unfamiliar place. He refused to go anywhere and would only cling to my side.

We were still at an impasse when my legitimate elder sister saw us.

My elder sister was named Lin Xue. She was the daughter the principal wife had raised in the palm of her hand, taught music, chess, calligraphy, and painting by famous masters since childhood. She was the moon in the sky, snow among the trees. There had never been any point comparing myself to her, yet she had never liked me.

Today, she wore a white dress, its hem layered like drifts of floating snow. She was as beautiful as a fairy descended from heaven, though the words that came out of her mouth were far less lovely.

She said, “In broad daylight, I saw a man and woman tugging at each other from all the way over there. I thought some ill-bred people had wandered in. So it was you! Then I suppose this gentleman beside you must be my dear brother-in-law. He truly is… a fine-looking man.”

The little maid beside her covered her mouth and giggled.

“Second Miss was so set on climbing to a higher branch, but she never managed it. She eagerly delivered meals to Young Master Song for five whole years, only to marry a fool in the end. If it were me… I might as well hang myself with a strip of white silk and be done with it, rather than make myself a laughingstock for nothing.”

Lin Xue put on a stern face and scolded the maid.

“Impudent! Second Miss is now the eldest young madam of the Jiang Family. Look at what she is wearing-she is nothing like she used to be. Is she someone you can slander at will? If you keep running your mouth, beware that Second Miss might take a firewood cleaver to you!”

Jiang Shaoling suddenly sprang forward, planted his hands on his hips, and said indignantly, “Bad people!”

His sudden outburst frightened my elder sister and the maids so badly their faces paled.

It was my first time seeing Jiang Shaoling angry, and I did not know if he understood his own strength. Afraid he would cause trouble, I stepped in front of him at once and blocked him behind me. Then I called Lin Xue coldly, “Elder Sister.

“As for what happened to Mother, and what happened to me, everyone knows in their hearts where justice lies. I will not argue with you over every last matter. My reputation cannot possibly get any worse, but Elder Sister is a truly excellent young lady. The Jiang Family opens its doors to guests from all directions. If word were to leak out that Elder Sister has such a loose tongue, I fear it might delay Elder Sister’s marriage prospects.”

I said this because I had noticed a new string of Buddhist prayer beads around Lin Xue’s wrist.

She had never believed in Buddhism before. A noble young lady like her had never needed to lift a finger, nor did she have anything to worry about.

What she wanted to pray for was, in all likelihood, nothing more than a good marriage.

Sure enough, Lin Xue shut her mouth. She glared at me, then left with the little maid.

The principal wife had raised her too well. She was proud, impatient, fierce in appearance but weak at heart. She had never tasted the bitterness of the world, nor had she seen how the principal wife punished people. She only knew that the entire world ought to revolve around her.

We had come back on a convenient day. The household had already arranged for a theatrical troupe to perform.

The performer playing the female role was Wen Xiaorong, newly popular in the capital’s circles. It was said he was extremely difficult to book; if one wanted him to perform at one’s home, the appointment would be months away.

He stepped onto the stage in crimson robes with flowing water sleeves, his voice like languid swallows and tender orioles. With every turn of his eyes, half pouting and half furious, he embodied all the grace and charm in the world.

Jiang Shaoling was busy fiddling with the tea and snacks on the table. He had no interest in the singsong performance onstage and only raised his head for a glance when everyone clapped and cheered.

By chance, with that one glance, he saw the noble consort onstage lift a cup to her lips in drunkenness, then lightly pinch her orchid fingers and pluck a pink flower from beside her temple.

I had only accompanied Mother back to drink a bowl of medicine. By the time I returned, a crowd had gathered in the flower hall. Every face looked strange, as if they wanted to laugh but did not dare.

I had a bad feeling. Hurriedly, I pushed through the sea of dark heads.

Sure enough, standing blankly in the middle of the crowd was Jiang Shaoling.

There was a flower on his head, and his fingers were curved in an orchid pose. Under everyone’s stares, he had actually dressed himself up as the “noble consort” and was about to offer tea to my father.

Perhaps he sensed something strange in the atmosphere around him, for he shrank back a little. Every movement revealed his helpless confusion.

A child was the first to lose control and laughed. “Why are you dressed like a woman?”

Amid the roar of laughter, my father lost all face. He slammed the table and shouted angrily at Jiang Shaoling, “Outrageous!”

My father flung his sleeve and left. The principal wife’s expression was ugly as well. After all, she had been the one to decide on this marriage. She had not expected it to displease my father.

My face darkened. I walked up to Jiang Shaoling, plucked the ridiculous flower from his hair, and threw it away.

Jiang Shaoling foolishly let me do it.

He asked clumsily, “What… did I… do wrong?”

He rarely spoke in such complete sentences. With the slightest movement, a ring of red slowly seeped around his eyes.

My hand, suspended in midair, stilled. Softly, I said, “You did nothing wrong.”

Jiang Shaoling suddenly burst into tears.

He cried so loudly. Tears and snot ran down together, the corners of his mouth drooping uncontrollably. He looked ugly, unsightly.

The fool had been wronged.

Jiang Shaoling cried miserably. I wiped his face for him, getting tears all over my hands. Left with no other choice, I finally took a candied date from my robe. It was the snack he loved on ordinary days.

The wetness soaked through the oiled paper around the candied date, and the sugar syrup melted. Half the date went into his mouth, while the other half stuck at the corner of his lips in a gooey thread, only to be washed away by another rush of tears.

There were still relatives and friends sitting there to watch the spectacle. I swept my cold gaze around the room, untied my thin outer cloak, and pulled it down over Jiang Shaoling’s head, shielding him from those malicious stares.

Through the cloak, I asked him, “The sugar melted a little. Is it still sweet?”

Bean-sized tears fell from beneath the cloak, striking the floor and stirring up dust. After a long while, the person under it answered in a muffled voice, “Sweet.”

Then that was good.

I took his hand, tightened my grip, and pulled him to his feet.

“I’ll take you home.”