Four Delicate Offenders – CH 008

Chapter 8. Elder Brother.

With just this one sentence, a familiar warmth was conveyed, and Yunpan knew that her cousin Mei liked her.

It seemed that her maternal family was far more caring than her father’s relatives. The Jiang family also had two aunts, but those aunts had not married any high-ranking officials; their interactions were limited to important matters. Whenever they visited the Marquis’s Mansion, they left with carts full of luggage, and even when they saw their niece, they were not particularly warm, exchanging only a few casual words like ordinary relatives. Therefore, Yunpan did not like them.

As for Meifen, Yunpan had heard her aunt tell her mother that Meifen had nearly drowned as a child, and after being rescued, she had always been timid. Over the years, she had not liked making friends and was very honest. As her aunt put it, “She has absolutely no decisiveness of her own.”

Well-protected daughters of wealthy families generally had smooth lives; even if they were simple-minded and timid, it was all tolerable.

Lady Ming, holding Yunpan and Meifen’s hands together, said, “It would have been better if you had come sooner. Now that you are here, your older sister has company. The two sisters can study music, Weiqi, calligraphy, and painting together, making her days in her chambers less boring.”

Meifen was filled with curiosity about Yunpan. She carefully observed her and felt that this younger sister had a determined light in her eyes, her dark pupils so bright and beautiful. Sometimes she was too timid to look people in the eye openly, but this younger sister was different. She had the courage that she lacked. With her arrival, it was as if she had regained half of her courage.

She gently stroked her sister’s hand; her sister’s hand was delicate and soft, and she felt relieved. “Si Si has not suffered too much at home.”

Lady Ming smiled. “In any case, she is still the legitimate daughter of a noble family; that woman would not dare to openly make things difficult for her.”

Meifen was a very kind person. Having become somewhat acquainted with Yunpan, she considerately advised her, “Once you are here, make yourself at home. Tell me what you like to eat or play; do not be shy.”

Yunpan felt relieved and took Meifen’s hand, saying, “I am afraid my visit will cause you trouble, Elder Sister.”

Meifen smiled and said, “Not at all, I am so happy you’ve come. There are plenty of maids and servants in the house; how much trouble can you cause by yourself?” Then, she asked her mother for her opinion, “Mother, I’d like Si Si to live closer to my courtyard.”

Lady Ming agreed, “Yipengxue is closest to your Zilan Garden, so arrange for your sister to live there. It will be convenient for you to visit her.”

Meifen had no sisters from the same mother, and Yunpan, Xuepan, and Yupan were not close either. Both of them had grown up in loneliness. Suddenly, her cousin ​​from her mother’s side arrived, and they were like the closest siblings.

Seeing that they got along so well, Lady Ming was naturally pleased. Understanding that Yunpan had traveled all night to reach the capital, she ordered a servant to carefully tidy up Yipengxue. She then instructed Yunpan, “Have your elder sister take you to familiarize yourself with the courtyard. Have your things brought in and rest. Once you’ve rested enough, I will assign some servants to serve you alongside the maid you brought. Your uncle and brother will not be back for a while; we cannot expect them at noon. Let’s wait until tonight, when the family can have a meal together, so you can see your uncle.”

Yunpan agreed. Now that everyone was settled, she began to worry about the trivial matters behind her. “What about my father…?”

Lady Ming reassured her, pressing down on her hand. “You do not need to worry about it. Your uncle and I will discuss it; we have our reasons.”

Yunpan breathed a sigh of relief. Since her mother’s passing last year, she had always felt alone and helpless. Now, finally here, she was no longer alone.

Meifen tugged at her sleeve and said, “Si Si, let’s go.”

Yunpan bowed respectfully to her aunt, then took Qin-Dan and followed Meifen.

Lady Ming watched their retreating figures and sighed deeply.

The old Nanny Yao served tea, fanning herself as she said, “Madam was always worried about the young lady, afraid she would suffer with that muddle-headed father. Now it’s all right; she can rest assured having her by her side.”

“Indeed.” Lady Ming suddenly burst into tears. “When I see her, I think of Yueyin. Before my mother passed away, she asked me to help her. I never imagined that she would die so young, never seeing her own daughter leave home. Poor thing, besides me, her aunt, who else can she rely on? Youzhou suffered such a great disaster; I heard that thousands of houses collapsed, but the Founding Marquis’s Mansion is still standing, and yet she herself is homeless. She traveled all night yesterday to get to the capital… What noble lady has ever suffered such hardship!”

Nanny Yao, originally a dowry maid from the Grand Princess’s residence, knew everything that had happened back then. She comforted her, saying, “The young lady, at least, has someone to rely on. Compared to those who have nowhere to turn, she is already much more fortunate.”

Lady Ming wiped away her tears and said, “The child trusts me, so I will just do my best. You should personally take care of her later; no one else can be as attentive.”

Nanny Yao agreed. Just as they finished speaking, a maidservant came in from the outer corridor, saying that the Master had returned.

Lady Ming stood up and went to the front courtyard to greet him. A carriage was already waiting at the gate. The Duke of Shu’s back ailment had flared up again today; he rubbed and massaged it as he walked in from outside the gate.

“Go fetch some hot water,” Lady Ming instructed the maidservant standing by, then stepped forward to help the Duke of Shu. “Lie down and apply a hot towel to your back. We will serve dinner later.”

Duke of Shu’s back injury was a lingering ailment from his battlefield days. Standing for long periods caused him excruciating pain, making even walking difficult. He finally managed to move into the inner room and lie down on the daybed. The hot towel on his back provided some relief, and he said with his eyes closed, “There was an earthquake in Youzhou. The court is currently allocating funds and provisions for disaster relief, and they are so busy that they cannot keep up. The Emperor knew I could not stand for long, so he specially offered me a seat, but I dared not sit. I stood for two whole hours.”

Lady Ming pressed the hot towel against his back, rubbing it, and sighed, “When the court is in chaos, even the home is in turmoil…”

The Duke of Shu sensed something was wrong and turned around. “What is it?”

Lady Ming recounted the whole story, concluding with a spitting rebuke of Jiang Heng, “How long can a daughter stay at home? She will eventually marry. If it were me, I’d only have a year or two left, and I’d be too busy cherishing her. But him, he indulges his concubine’s humiliation! Does he even deserve to be a father?”

The Duke of Shu was also surprised. “Such a thing happened? That wicked woman is something else; she’s got the Founding Marquis’s Mansion under her thumb?”

It was infuriating to think about it. To marry her, Jiang Heng had sworn to treat Yueyin well for life, but once she entered the household, he gained power and prestige and then immediately took Liu-niang as his concubine. A man’s words were ultimately unreliable; no matter how close a daughter was, she could not compare to the person who warmed his bed!

“I am thinking, we must get justice for Si Si; we cannot let Liu-niang get away with this,” Lady Ming said through gritted teeth. “I will send someone to Jiang Heng later to ask him how he plans to handle this.”

But Duke of Shu said there was no rush. “If you send word, Jiang Heng will definitely come to take her away. If he keeps Si Si and that woman in the same garden, how will Si Si survive?”

Lady Ming retorted angrily, “He still has the nerve to come and take the child?”

“So what? They are father and daughter; can you force them to have the child stay?”

With that said, Lady Ming was utterly disheartened. She stopped rubbing his back and sat to the side, panting. “Then tell me, what should we do? I do not want the child to go back. Even if she marries, her father should provide a generous dowry, and she should leave from our mansion.”

Seeing no hope of a happy ending, the Duke of Shu struggled to sit up. “In my opinion, we should keep quiet and let that concubine continue her charade. Later, I will personally confront Jiang Heng and see how they handle things. If Jiang Heng does not offer an explanation, let him consider his daughter dead. He has no right to interfere in the aftermath.”

Hearing her husband’s words, Lady Ming finally felt reassured. Calming down and considering it carefully, she realized this was indeed the right thing to do. If they refused to hold a funeral and then turned around and accused Si Si of abandoning her family and running away, they would have no way to defend themselves.

Since that was the case, they would wait to see what the Marquis’s Mansion would do. If Jiang Heng discovered that the dead woman was not his legitimate daughter, then he was at least a decent father. If he just listened to whatever Liu-niang said, then a foolish man did not deserve to be a father. From now on, Si Si would stay in the Duke’s Mansion peacefully, treating her like another daughter.

Anyway, you could never have too many relatives, so Lady Ming was very happy. She started preparing for the evening banquet in the afternoon and even went to check on Yipengxue courtyard.

When she arrived, the two young ladies were resting in one room. She looked at one, then at the other, lingered for a moment, and then quietly withdrew from the inner room.

“Is the young lady resting here without saying anything?” she asked the maid standing outside the door.

Ever since Meifen was frightened as a child, she developed a bad habit: she was particular about her room and bed and never wanted to sleep anywhere outside her courtyard. This worried her mother greatly, as her daughter was getting older, and her betrothed would eventually have to get married. They were a very prominent noble family. Although they were not in a hurry, you could not keep your daughter here forever.

The maidservant curtsied and replied to Madam, “The young lady chose to stay. She was quite restless before, unable to sleep. Young Lady Yun kept her company and talked for a while, and gradually, there was no more movement inside.”

Lady Ming was comforted. With Si Si’s arrival, it seemed everything had changed. Meifen was not so withdrawn with her company anymore; perhaps with time, even her ‘habit’ would be cured. She then instructed that they be well cared for and that someone be sent to invite them for a meal when the time came.

The sun gradually slanted downwards, shining on the eastern courtyard wall.

The bamboo blinds under the eaves rustled in the wind, and the light curtains on both sides of the railing billowed as if inflated. Two orioles perched on the crabapple tree, chatting animatedly, their lively conversation waking the girl sleeping in her boudoir.

Yunpan opened her eyes hazily, looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, and for a moment could not remember where she was. After she came to her senses, she turned her head and saw Meifen lying on the chaise longue, and then she remembered that she was at her aunt’s house.

Meifen had probably been awake for a while, but she did not make a sound, lying quietly on the couch, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. She glanced at Yunpan and saw her sit up, then turned and smiled, “You are awake?”

Yunpan hummed in response, then touched her forehead sheepishly, “I traveled all night; I am so tired.”

Meifen said it was alright, “We are home; you can sleep however you want. Besides, you did not sleep long; I thought you’d sleep until sunset.”

But she was at someone else’s house; she could not just sleep so freely. She sat up to find her shoes. Qin-Dan came in from outside, knelt on the footstool, and helped her put them on. Yunpan looked down at her face. “Did you doze off for a while?”

Qin-Dan smiled. “After the young ladies went to bed, I lay down on the painting table in the outer room. I slept very well, for over an hour.”

Meifen’s maid also came to help her get out of bed. She moved closer and sat with Yunpan, nodding softly. She said gently, “It’s almost time. Let’s get ready and go to the front hall. Father and Elder Brother should be back by now.”

Yunpan agreed. After Qin-Dan styled her hair, the maid who was helping her change brought in several sets of clothes, saying they were all prepared by Madam for the young lady. She asked the young lady to take a look and choose one for today.

Yunpan preferred simpler colors, choosing a pine-green half-sleeved robe and tying it with a sandalwood-colored embroidered sash. Meifen looked her up and down, smiling, and said, “What a striking look!” This made Yunpan blush.

Meifen knew she was embarrassed, and it was her first formal meeting with her uncle and cousin, so she took her hand and led her to the front hall.

The Duke’s Mansion was even more magnificent than the Marquis’s Mansion; after all, different ranks meant different levels of residence. The wooden corridors alone stretched for a long, continuous stretch, and the walls of the nearby courtyards were adorned with intricately patterned windows, each step revealing a different design. Through the openwork lattices, one could glimpse the scenery beyond the walls.

Meifen was quite comfortable in her own home. Seeing Yunpan looking around, she said, “That’s a small garden over there, with several courtyards where Father’s concubine and my two half-siblings live. I will take you there for a stroll tomorrow when we are free.”

Yunpan nodded and pulled Meifen by the sleeve, walking a short distance when she suddenly heard Meifen call out, “Elder Brother!”

Yunpan stopped and looked over. Standing before the moon gate was a young man in a sky-blue robe, tall and handsome. Hearing Meifen’s greeting, he turned around. His clear blue robe accentuated his fair face and gentle eyes; his appearance was like tender willow leaves falling into shimmering water, possessing a power to melt away the ice of spring.