Four Seasons Brocade – CH 007

Chapter 7 ☆、 Common Troubles Connect Sisters

The next day, Ah Wu went to Yuxiu Pavilion as usual. Fourth Young Lady Rong and Fifth Young Lady Rong were already there, waiting for Teacher Bai.

“Oh, Fourth Sister’s bracelet is so beautiful!” Ah Wu pointed to a jade bracelet on Fourth Young Lady Rong’s wrist. The color was warm, and the quality was quite good, much better than the bracelets Fourth Young Lady Rong had worn before. It did not seem like the work of her harsh second aunt.

“It was given to me yesterday by the Duchess of Jin,” Fourth Young Lady Rong said with some pride, extending her wrist to Ah Wu for a closer look. In this family, she could only find something to be proud of in front of Ah Wu.

Ah Wu indeed looked at her with envy. Fourth Young Lady Rong then began to talk at length about the Duchess of Jin’s virtues, how kind and approachable she was, how elegant she was, and how much she liked her.

Ah Wu knew the Duchess of Jin, Madam Liu, very well. The Duke of Jin was highly favored by the current Emperor, and his wife was an extremely popular woman. Almost everyone in the capital liked her; even the notoriously difficult-to-get-along-with Imperial Princess was on very good terms with her.

Fourth Young Lady Rong then recounted the stories of the noblewomen she had met, belittling those who looked down on her as a concubine’s daughter, and casually remarked, “Luckily, Sixth Sister, you did not go.”

Ah Wu listened with one ear and the other; she knew far better than Fourth Young Lady Rong about the appearances and temperaments of the noblewomen in the capital. At the end, Fourth Young Lady Rong remarked, “It’s a pity the Duchess of Jin left so early; otherwise, she would definitely have kept me company.”

“Why did she leave so early?” Ah Wu asked casually.

“I heard that Princess Kangning of the Imperial Princess’s Mansion has passed away. The Imperial Princess has been depressed and has not been feeling well lately. The Duchess of Jin left early to visit her.”

Ah Wu thought to herself, “Well, that Duchess of Jin is cunning. She’s impatient with these people and uses the Imperial Princess’s name instead.” Ah Wu had not expected to hear what she wanted to know from Fourth Young Lady Rong; at least her admiration of that ordinary bracelet with her eyes closed was not in vain.

Princess Kangning’s passing brought a sense of relief to Ah Wu. She could not quite describe the feeling, but she absolutely did not want another soul to replace her in the Imperial Princess’s presence—that was her mother. She just did not know how sad the Princess must be now; the Princess’s love for Ah Wu was ingrained.

Fourth Young Lady Rong was about to boast about what she had seen and heard when Teacher Bai arrived, so she had to stop.

Ah Wu disliked Teacher Bai’s lessons, but she perked up during Teacher Gu’s zither lessons. Originally, she planned to just coast through her studies, but after yesterday’s events, Ah Wu decided to make an effort to stand out and hopefully get a chance to leave the manor in the future. Otherwise, remaining unremarkable would only make her less noticeable.

Therefore, Ah Wu listened exceptionally attentively in class today. She could already play the piece of “Autumn Melody of the Han Palace,” taught by Teacher Gu, much better than Fourth Young Lady Rong’s and Fifth Young Lady Rong’s hesitant attempts. However, she could not expect to achieve such a feat overnight, lest she surprise everyone; Ah Wu had simply accelerated her progress slightly.

In the afternoon’s calligraphy and painting lessons, Ah Wu’s calligraphy was excellent, earning praise from the teacher. As for chess, Fifth Young Lady Rong remained the best, and Fourth Young Lady Rong was still the most skilled at needlework. The three sisters each had their strengths and got along fairly well.

Time flowed by like water. Ah Wu’s studies improved steadily; she became the teachers’ most valued student in both music and calligraphy. Sometimes, when the Old Master inquired about his grandchildren’s studies, the teacher would mention Ah Wu, and the Old Master would stroke his beard and nod. He could not rely much on his sons; he only hoped his grandsons would be successful. As for his granddaughters, their excellent studies would make marriage easier, and they could help the household in the future.

For the past six months, Ah Wu had not left the manor at all. Lady Cui’s social engagements were far too few, a stark contrast to the frequent gatherings with the Imperial Princess every three days and large banquets every five days.

Lady Cui grew up in Qingzhou and had few close friends in the capital. She was reluctant to attend social events at home, and no one expected her to go. As for social events from Third Master Rong’s side, they were even rarer. Third Master Rong usually entertained his fellow scholars, naturally, without his family. He was only a minor scholar; when he first passed the exam, some people valued him and invited him to banquets, but now, after failing three times, they had lost all interest in attending to his family, and naturally, no one invited him and his wife anymore.

Therefore, Ah Wu completely gave up on his studies and focused entirely on her education. The Rong family had gone to great lengths for Fifth Young Lady Rong, who was now gaining some fame. The First Madam had pulled strings everywhere to find excellent tutors, and Fourth Young Lady Rong and Ah Wu were fortunate to be able to learn from them.

At the end of summer, they changed tutors for chess and calligraphy, and also hired a renowned scholar to teach. Although there was a difference between men and women, the old teacher was over seventy years old, so the strict separation between men and women was somewhat relaxed. The Old Master, through connections, invited the retired palace maid, Nanny Qu, to teach etiquette. In the past six months, Fifth Young Lady Rong had begun to make a name for herself among the noble ladies of the capital; it was likely that as she grew older, the title of one of the “Twin Beauties of the Capital” would still belong to her.

Although Ah Wu was proud, she dared not be arrogant in front of the old teacher and diligently followed his instructions.

One day during Teacher Bai’s lesson, Fifth Young Lady Rong seemed somewhat distracted, and although Teacher Bai frequently frowned, she did not notice. After class, Teacher Bai kept her behind, while Ah Wu went to Tinglan Isle with Fourth Young Lady Rong.

“Fourth Sister, what’s wrong with Fifth Sister today?” Ah Wu could not help but be curious. After all, they were sisters and had spent so much time together; although Fifth Young Lady Rong was a bit arrogant, her character was not bad.

Fourth Young Lady Rong’s eyes darted around, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. Then she lowered her head and whispered to Ah Wu, “Did you know that Eldest Sister came back yesterday?”

Ah Wu shook her head. This fourth sister was incredibly clever; she knew a thing or two about everything happening in the manor.

Fourth Young Lady Rong had an “I knew it” look on her face, but there was no one else around to gossip about, so she could only confide in her younger sister, “Eldest Sister came back crying, saying that her husband had taken another concubine.”

Ah Wu was skeptical. It was perfectly normal for a man to take a concubine. Why would the wife come home crying? It was petty. She’d be better off keeping the concubine under control.

“Just for that?” Ah Wu asked, looking completely bewildered.

“I heard she’s a concubine. The moment she entered the house, Brother-in-law slapped Eldest Sister for that harlot. Now he will not even step into Eldest Sister’s room; he stays in that concubine’s.”

Ah Wu blushed, her mouth agape in astonishment as she looked at Fourth Young Lady Rong. How could she know such private matters? This fourth sister was truly audacious! Telling such things to her younger sister, who was so young—was she not ashamed? How did her second aunt raise her children?

“How could you say such things, Fourth Sister?” Ah Wu, a bit traditional and old-fashioned, could not help but lecture her.

Fourth Young Lady Rong scoffed, clearly unconvinced. “Are you even listening?”

Ah Wu thought for a moment, then nodded, thinking she’d just forget about such filth when she got back.

Fourth Young Lady Rong sighed deeply, with an air of maturity. “How do you think Brother-in-law dared to bully Eldest Sister like that?”

Ah Wu remained silent, lost in thought. It was unbelievable how badly the Duke of Anguo’s mansion had fallen. But then again, everyone in the capital was shrewd; they’d long seen through the fact that the Duke of Anguo’s mansion was now just a shell, and some people did not even bother with public respect anymore.

The Duke of Anguo was now old and had only three sons. His eldest son, the Duke of Anguo’s heir, held a sinecure in the Ministry of Revenue; his second son was idle and only knew how to take concubines and have sons—he already had four sons, three of whom were illegitimate; his third son, Ah Wu’s father, was slightly better off, but he had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations and had little hope of advancement. The whole family seemed useless. If it were not for the fact that the Duke of Anguo fought alongside the Emperor in his early years and still held some favor in the Emperor’s eyes, the Duke’s Mansion would have collapsed long ago.

“Is this what’s troubling Fifth Sister?” Ah Wu asked softly.

Fourth Young Lady Rong sighed. Now, sharing a similar plight, they were both in the same boat, and she felt a sisterly affection for Ah Wu. “Sixth Sister,” she said, “we still have to rely on ourselves from now on. You have to be careful and not be so careless. Like Eldest Sister, she married into a seemingly good family, but who knows what it’s really like behind closed doors? She comes home crying, but what can her family do?” Even a legitimate daughter like Rong Jin was like this; if it were her and Sixth Sister, they would be even more pitiful.

Ah Wu stared at Fourth Young Lady Rong, somewhat dazed. She had not expected her to say such things, and she forgot about Fourth Young Lady Rong’s usual pettiness.

In fact, Fourth Young Lady Rong’s words had been a wake-up call for Ah Wu, making her truly understand her current status and position. She was no longer the Princess Kangning. The Princess Kangning had nothing to worry about—no worries about marriage and certainly no worries about being mistreated by her husband’s family. Well, of course, she was also worried about getting married. Back then, she was frail and sickly; a woman unable to bear children would not be easily married, even by wealthy and powerful families.

Ah Wu knew she was weak, so she had not considered marriage. She only had a slight liking for that talented Scholar Tang, but later let it go. With her proud nature, how could she be willing to suffer mistreatment in her husband’s family because of illness? Otherwise, with the Princess’s power, getting married would not have been difficult for Ah Wu.

But now, as Rong Xuan, marriage was something she really needed to consider. And once she considered it, Ah Wu was stunned—her future was bleak. Marrying up was out of the question, but even marrying down would not guarantee a worry-free future. The Duke of Anguo’s mansion sounded impressive, but it was just an empty shell, and now it could not even maintain its paper tiger facade.

Unexpectedly, Rong Jin’s tearful complaints at home had such a profound impact on her growing younger sisters. Fifth Young Lady Rong also changed her previously arrogant and aloof demeanor, becoming increasingly adept at navigating the social circles of young ladies in the capital, and her reputation for talent gradually grew.

Fourth Young Lady Rong also became more diligent in her studies. Although not as outstanding as Fifth Young Lady Rong, she was still considered exceptional compared to others, and she increasingly tried to please Fifth Young Lady Rong.

As the year drew to a close, Lady Cui suddenly announced that she would be taking Ah Wu out.

Early that morning, Lady Cui dressed Ah Wu in her finest clothes and went with her to inform the Old Madam of their upcoming trip.

It turned out that Lady Cui’s father, Cui Zhixing, the prefect of Qingzhou, had completed his three-year term of office and was coming to the capital to report on his duties and await reassignment from the Ministry of Personnel. Lady Cui felt it was her duty to see her father in the capital.

The Cui family owned a three-courtyard house near the Donglu Gate in the Shangjing, where Cui Zhixing would stay. Accompanying him were Lady Cui’s eldest brother and his two sons.

Ah Wu followed Lady Cui into the house, greeted her maternal grandfather and maternal uncle, and then exchanged greetings with her two cousins.