Chapter 166
Chapter 166
“Second Miss, our people have learned that the Star Maiden is currently a guest of the Xiao Family.”
As soon as Zhou Wanting’s nanny received the report, she hurried in from outside and delivered it in a low voice.
Zhou Wanting was delighted.
“Is that true? Hurry and help me get ready. I need to see Father.”
Her nanny and maids worked quickly but methodically, applying her makeup and changing her into clothes suitable for going out. Only then did they support her as she made her way toward the front courtyard.
“Did you confirm it? Is my father in the front courtyard now?”
Her nanny answered with certainty, “Yes. The family head just met with the stewards from the various properties. He is in the study in the front courtyard now.”
Zhou Wanting quickened her pace. She had just passed through a moon gate when a calico cat suddenly darted out and startled her.
Her nanny hurried forward and shooed it away. “Where did this beast come from? How dare it leap out and frighten people in broad daylight?”
The cat sat squarely in the middle of the path without the slightest intention of leaving.
Zhou Wanting had important business and could not be bothered to quarrel with an animal. She simply went around it and prepared to leave.
“Oh my, Second Older Sister, what an impressive display of authority. Anyone who didn’t know better might think you were the young mistress of our Zhou Family.”
A girl in a pink dress emerged from the garden nearby. She had a round face, almond-shaped eyes, and an attractive appearance. It was a pity that her temperament was so overbearing.
“Fifth Younger Sister, is this your cat?”
Zhou Wanyi stepped forward and crouched down, calling to the animal several times. At the sight of its owner, the cat turned and ran over, rubbing affectionately against her palm.
“Everyone in the Zhou Family knows this cat belongs to me. Oh, but I forgot. Second Older Sister has married out, so you are no longer part of our family. If you aren’t a member of the Zhou Family anymore, why haven’t you gone back to your husband’s home? Could you tell me why, Second Older Sister? They say a married daughter is water poured out. Have you forgotten your place?”
Zhou Wanting flushed at Zhou Wanyi’s barrage of insults.
She had been staying with the Zhou Family for several days, yet no one from her husband’s family had come looking for her. She was stubborn by nature and unwilling to swallow her pride and return on her own.
Qi Sihai had committed incest with his sister-in-law and driven someone to death. There was no telling how chaotic the Lushan Qi Family was now. As the lady of the household, Zhou Wanting ought to be there managing its domestic affairs, but she wanted no part of that mess.
That was why she had hidden at her maiden home for a few quiet days.
Her eldest sister-in-law had not said anything, yet her unmarried fifth younger sister had already taken issue with her presence.
Zhou Wanting could not help wondering whether the girl was someone else’s pawn, sent to convey an unspoken message.
She drew a deep breath. She could not leave now, nor could she afford to.
She owned estates from her dowry and could have stayed at one of them to clear her head, but war raged outside and the roads were unsafe. The Zhou Family could offer her protection.
For the sake of her own life, she would have to cling to her maiden family. At least her father’s concubine and her older brother were here for her to rely on.
“Fifth Younger Sister, by my count, you will come of age in a few months. You will marry soon enough. Do you mean to say you will never return to your maiden home afterward?”
Zhou Wanyi lifted her rounded chin proudly.
“Hmph. I’m nothing like you. How can a concubine-born daughter compare to a legitimate daughter like me? I will certainly marry into the Capital, and then I will never return to this savage place.”
Zhou Wanting could not help frowning. She had returned to the Zhou Family only a few days earlier and knew little about what had happened in the household. She had spent the entire time in her own courtyard and had not wandered around the residence.
Zhou Wanyi’s words did not sound like an idle boast she had invented on the spot.
Someone must have mentioned such a marriage before, or she would not be flaunting it now.
But what good would marrying into the Capital do once she left the Zhou Family’s protection?
The Northern Frontier might be desolate, but the Zhou Family had been rooted here for a century. No one in the region dared touch one of its children. The Capital, however, was entirely different.
No one there would care about the Zhou Family.
Their fifth daughter had always been spoiled by Madam Zhou. She was the youngest daughter born to Madam Zhou and the family head late in their lives, and they treasured her like the apple of their eye.
With a mind like hers, though, she would likely be devoured without leaving so much as a scrap once she married into the Capital.
Zhou Wanting could not be bothered to spar with this fool. She gave Zhou Wanyi a cool glance.
“Then I wish you a wealthy and distinguished husband, Fifth Younger Sister. Our little backwater truly is beneath you. May you get exactly what you wish for.”
The corners of Zhou Wanting’s lips curved slightly, though she silently added another line: may you get exactly the beating you are asking for.
A fool like this was practically begging to be struck every day.
Not a trace of anger showed on Zhou Wanting’s face as she walked calmly past Zhou Wanyi.
Zhou Wanyi felt as though she had punched a wad of cotton. She had humiliated Zhou Wanting so thoroughly, yet the woman had not become angry. Then why did Zhou Wanyi feel as if something were lodged painfully in her chest?
She glared at Zhou Wanting’s retreating back and stamped her foot.
“What are you so smug about? Tomorrow, I’ll have Eldest Sister-in-Law throw you out. Hmph!”
Zhou Wanting treated the encounter as nothing more than a minor interruption and continued straight toward the study in the front courtyard.
“Second Miss, the family head has a rule that women of the household may not enter the study without permission. Please forgive me.”
A young servant stopped Zhou Wanting outside the door.
She had no intention of forcing her way inside.
“Then go announce me. Tell him I have important news for Father concerning the Star Maiden.”
The servant turned, pushed open the door, and went inside. Before long, he emerged again.
“The family head asks that Second Miss wait in the reception room next door.”
Zhou Wanting nodded and led her attendants into the adjoining reception room.
She did not notice a figure furtively following behind her.
Zhou Sheng arrived soon afterward.
“Wanting, do you have news of the Star Maiden?”
Zhou Sheng had been overwhelmed with problems these past few days.
All of Great Xia was in turmoil. Though the Northern Frontier lay far from the battlefields, it had not escaped the repercussions.
The Yanchi Zhou Family controlled the salt ponds of the Northern Frontier. It looked glorious to outsiders, but only Zhou Sheng, the family head, understood that the Zhou Family was dancing on the edge of a blade.
Wolves surrounded them on every side, ready to drag them down at the slightest misstep. People treated the Zhou Family respectfully in public, but behind closed doors, there was no telling how many were scheming to carve away a piece of its wealth.
The Zhou Family had once possessed a powerful backer in the Capital. Now that backer had fallen, the family urgently needed to secure a marriage alliance there.
They needed a new patron. But Zhou Sheng was a wily old fox who knew better than anyone that one should never put all one’s eggs in the same basket.
Even as he pursued a marriage alliance in the Capital, he also had to keep the family’s footing secure in the Northern Frontier. That required good relations with the region’s other powers.
If he could establish a connection with the Star Maiden, his position in the Northern Frontier would become much more stable.
The only question was whether she was truly as powerful as the rumors claimed.
Zhou Sheng had gathered a great deal of information about the Star Maiden.
Some claimed she could move mountains and overturn seas. Others said she could foresee the future or command the clouds and rain. The stories made her sound like a true deity, but Zhou Sheng believed none of them.
He wanted to witness the Star Maiden’s power with his own eyes and decide whether she could truly become the Zhou Family’s protector.
Zhou Sheng knew he could not be the only one with that thought.
The other great families were likely watching as well. In chaotic times, finding a powerful backer could ensure a family’s survival and stability for another century. That was the responsibility borne by every family head.
The moment Zhou Wanting saw her father, she rose and bowed, her expression brimming with excitement.
“Father, your daughter has discovered the Star Maiden’s whereabouts. She is currently with the Baishui Xiao Family. My people also learned that she used her power there. She foresaw that the Xiao Family’s grain would be moved and killed the family’s traitor on the spot. The Xiao Family is now reaching an agreement with her. It appears they intend to pledge themselves to the Star Maiden.”
Zhou Sheng’s eyes were as deep as an ancient well, revealing nothing of his thoughts.
Zhou Wanting stood where she was, waiting for her father’s next instruction.
After thinking for a long while, Zhou Sheng finally looked up. “Is this information reliable?”
For him, pledging himself to the Star Maiden also carried risks. If Prince Cheng’s people learned that he was trying to play both sides, Prince Cheng would inevitably settle accounts with him.
Nor was Zhou Sheng alone. He suspected that some of the other great families had secretly pledged themselves to Prince Cheng as well. Zhou Sheng had yet to accept the terms Prince Cheng offered. Prince Cheng’s reach clearly did not extend far enough into the Northern Frontier for the moment. Otherwise, a family like his might already have faced a purge.
“Wanting, I remember that you have met Miss Xiao several times. I heard she also returned to her maiden home recently. Send a calling card to the Xiao Family at once. We will prepare and depart. You will visit the Xiao Family under the pretext of calling on a close friend.”
Zhou Wanting was puzzled. Was she, a married daughter, supposed to handle a matter of such importance? Would she be representing the Lushan Qi Family or the Zhou Family?
Zhou Sheng spoke again before she could ask. “I will disguise myself as one of your guards and accompany you. When the time is right, I will reveal myself. Prince Cheng has spies inside the Zhou residence. You understand what I mean, don’t you?”
A chill ran down Zhou Wanting’s spine.
There were Prince Cheng’s spies in the residence? If her father knew about them, why had he not removed them?
Zhou Wanting did not dare question Zhou Sheng’s decision. She inclined her head, bowed, and withdrew. Then she returned to her courtyard to write the calling card.
After Zhou Wanting left, a young maid emerged from beside the artificial hill beyond the moon gate and hurried toward the main courtyard.
After parting from Zhou Wanting, Zhou Wanyi had ordered a maid to follow her.
She had noticed that Zhou Wanting was heading toward the front courtyard, where their father’s quarters were located, so she sent the maid to see what Zhou Wanting intended to do.
Zhou Wanyi had always felt there was more to Zhou Wanting’s return from the Lushan Qi Family.
She herself had gone to her mother’s courtyard.
The maid hurried inside and glanced anxiously at Zhou Wanyi, who was nestled against Madam Zhou and acting spoiled.
Zhou Wanyi sat up from her mother’s arms and dismissed every other servant in the room.
Only then did she say, “Speak. Mother is not an outsider.”
Madam Zhou had no idea what her daughter was doing. She looked at the maid in confusion.
The maid finally spoke. “Miss, I just heard Second Miss say that she had found the Star Maiden. Master told her to visit the Xiao Family, and he intends to accompany her. Do you think Second Miss might be plotting something else?”
Zhou Wanyi slapped the low table beside the heated platform and shot to her feet.
“I knew that little vixen was just like her mother! She never had good intentions. Why else would she suddenly come back to stay? She must be plotting something. Is she trying to claim some great achievement for herself?”
Madam Zhou frowned. “Wanyi, do not make trouble. You must not interfere in your father’s affairs. And you, wretched maid, how dare you eavesdrop in the front courtyard? If the family head discovers this, even several heads would not be enough to save your life.”
Zhou Wanyi could not stand how meek and yielding her mother always was. Madam Zhou never fought for anything, allowing one concubine-born son or daughter after another to fill the rear courtyard.
“Mother… is Second Sister’s return something to be proud of?”
“Do not speak nonsense. Have you forgotten everything I taught you about sisters standing together?
“Your father personally allowed your second sister to remain here. There must be circumstances we do not know. As women, we should tend to our own duties and manage our households properly. You had better behave yourself.
“You will come of age in a few days, and it is time to settle your marriage. Do not stir up trouble at a moment like this and anger your father.”
Zhou Wanyi pouted. Though resentment still simmered inside her, she said nothing more.
She returned to her own courtyard in a foul mood. With her head lowered, she walked too quickly and collided with a maid.