Liang Chen Mei Jin

The maid lifted the bamboo bead curtain, and a slender figure stepped inside.

Gu Lan wore a pale pink embroidered jacket with auspicious patterns, her hair neatly tied in a Round Bun. A pair of green crystal earrings dangled by her ears, accentuating her snow-white cheeks. Her frail health lent her a delicate, sickly beauty, her eyes brimming with sorrowful spring mist. The sight of her struck Gu Lian with a pang of shock.

Compared to Gu Lan, Yao Wenxiu’s two Bedroom servant girls were nothing—mere willow branches in the wind.

Gu Lian stared coldly at Gu Lan and said in a low voice, "You… finally decided to show up!"

Gu Lan stepped forward and curtsied gracefully, murmuring, "This humble one has come to pay respects… and to atone for my sins."

Gu Lian sneered. "What do you mean by that? What sins? So you do know you’ve wronged me… You’re filthy through and through. None of the fourth branch is any good. To think I once spoke up for you in front of Grandmother—I must have been blind!"

The old nurse grew anxious. Yao Wenxiu was still inside. Why was Gu Lian saying such things? Even if she hated Gu Lan, she should wait until Yao Wenxiu had left!

She tugged at Gu Lian’s sleeve. Gu Lian bit her lip, thinking of how the man who had been intimate with her last night had also touched Gu Lan… Waves of hatred surged within her, making it hard to control her words. With effort, she managed to say, "Forget it. You may leave now. There will be plenty of time for you to pay your respects tomorrow."

But Gu Lan frowned slightly, her eyes reddening as she began to sob. "Madam, it’s all my fault. I had no choice… We are sisters in the Gu family. Surely you can understand my plight…" When she lifted her head, her face was streaked with tears.

At her words, two unfamiliar maids in the room pricked up their ears.

This Concubine Lan, who had entered the household on the same day as the new wife and was also her sister, was already peculiar enough. Now she was about to reveal even more secrets?

Sisters sharing a husband—one as the wife, the other as the concubine—was truly a curious affair.

Gu Lian hissed under her breath, "You… shut your mouth. Who knows what ‘plight’ you’re talking about…" Remembering the new maids and nurses in the room, she swallowed the words, After doing something so shameless, how dare you speak of a plight? She gestured for the nurse to hand Gu Lan the gilded plum blossom hairpin she had prepared earlier, intending to send her away.

Just then, the Lattice Window of the washroom slid open.

Yao Wenxiu stepped out, a maid following behind to adjust his collar. Yao Wenxiu waved her hand away. "Enough. I’m not going out to meet anyone. You may leave."

Yilan smiled. "As you wish, Master."

She gathered her things and retreated with a bow.

Only then did Yao Wenxiu notice Gu Lan. His eyes brightened slightly, but seeing her sickly appearance, he hurried over with concern. By the time he reached her, his tone had returned to indifference. "What brings you here?"

Gu Lan lifted her tear-streaked face. "This humble one came to pay respects to the Third Madam. I was just about to leave."

Yao Wenxiu nodded. "Hmm. Why didn’t you bring a maid with you?"Gu Lan replied, "I have a maidservant who came with me as part of my dowry. I left her in the room to tend the fire and heat water." Yao Wenxiu lived in a three-section compound, and the side path near the antechamber led to the back house where she resided. Having entered the family in such an improper manner, the Yao family naturally preferred to turn a blind eye. Madam Yao acted as if she didn't exist, not even assigning her a single cleaning maid. The only dowry attendant was a young maidservant who had just begun wearing her hair up... Yesterday, seeing how shabby the secondary room of the back house was, she had to clean it herself.

Yao Wenxiu felt a pang of sympathy. After two months apart, Gu Lan appeared even more frail and delicate.

To think she only had one maidservant as dowry—the Gu family truly didn't value her. Was it because of their past indiscretions that they would treat their own young lady this way?

He turned to Gu Lian and said, "Having just one maidservant is unacceptable. Lian'er, assign two more maids to attend to her."

Gu Lian, already displeased at seeing them converse, couldn't contain herself upon hearing this: "Third Young Master, no matter what, we can't possibly..." The matron beside her nearly broke into a cold sweat and quickly tugged at Gu Lian's sleeve.

Gu Lian didn't understand what she had said wrong. Why should she assign maids to serve Gu Lan? She simply refused!

The matron serving her was her wet nurse, who had been with her since childhood. When the matron gave advice, there was always reason behind it. Gu Lian could only force a smile: "Then this humble wife will see if there are any suitable ones tomorrow."

Yao Wenxiu had been worried she might refuse, so he sighed in relief upon hearing her response: "Good, I'm glad you agreed."

Gu Lan curtsied again in gratitude, her tears flowing even more freely: "Thank you for your kindness, Third Young Madam. I feared you might still hold a grudge against me."

Gu Lian didn't want to acknowledge her, so the matron interjected: "Without a maidservant accompanying you, Concubine, it wouldn't be safe to return too late. You should head back now while there's still some light. Seeing you look unwell, Third Young Madam is being considerate by excusing you from service here."

Yao Wenxiu nodded: "Indeed, without an attendant, you shouldn't linger."

Only then did Gu Lan withdraw.

As newlyweds, Gu Lian and Yao Wenxiu naturally spent their nights in passionate embraces. Youthful energy knew no restraint, and by the next morning when Gu Lian awoke, daylight had already broken. Yao Wenxiu, exhausted, slept with his head nestled against her shoulder.

Gu Lian felt both anxious and sweetly content, though she also noticed discomfort below... Not wanting to disturb him, she called for the matron to help her dress.

The matron brought up the matter of the maidservants: "...Last night frightened this old servant to death. You mustn't refuse to give the concubine attendants." Gu Lian frowned, "I wanted to ask why, Matron? Must I really make things convenient for her?"

As she combed Gu Lian's hair, the matron explained: "Had you refused outright, Third Young Master would have lost face. Moreover, refusal would make you appear narrow-minded and lacking magnanimity. If we select two of our own maids to send over, their bodies may serve the concubine, but their loyalty remains with us. They can also keep watch on the concubine's daily activities..."When the nanny said this, Gu Lian also found it quite reasonable. She nodded in agreement, "Then let's do as you say. You personally select two maids to send over." Before her marriage, her mother had told her to listen to the nanny in everything, that Gu Lan was scheming, and she needed to be on guard. Gu Lian felt she couldn’t let her guard down, lest she be fooled again by that shameless creature.

...Jinchao was still asleep. Third Master Chen had just returned from his morning exercises and slipped under the covers to catch her hand.

Gu Jinzhao was scalded by the warm hand and unwillingly pulled away, turning over to face the inside of the bed.

Third Master Chen didn’t give up. He raised his knee onto the wormwood-stuffed mattress, his hand sneaking back under the covers to catch hers again.

Jinchao was fully awake now, catching a faint scent of sweat in the morning sunlight. Her hand was still held between his large ones, and before she could fully register it, Third Master leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Finally got you up. I’ll go bathe first."

Gu Jinzhao opened her eyes and saw the sun already high outside the window. She called Qingpu in to do her hair and said softly, "Today’s timing is completely off. Why didn’t you wake me earlier..." It must already be past mid-morning. Since her marriage, she had never slept this late. She had just returned from Daxing—how could she not go to pay respects to Madam Chen?

Qingpu hurriedly replied, "This servant was going to wake you after Third Master left, but he sent me to steam egg custard for you. Caifu went to deliver the compartmented box of sweets to the Fourth Miss, and none of the other maids or matrons dared to wake you..."

Jinchao rubbed her forehead. She had returned very late last night, and Third Master had kept her up with his antics... No wonder she had slept so deeply. Normally, even if the maids didn’t wake her, she would rise by 8 a.m. on her own.

By the time she finished washing up, the egg custard was brought in, and she ate it in small bites.

Third Master Chen had already changed into his straight robe and came out. Seeing her eating the custard, he asked, "Is it good? I had Qingpu add milk to it."

Jinchao nodded and asked, "Would you like some?"

Third Master Chen shook his head. "No, you go ahead. I still need to go to the Ministry of Revenue." After a pause, he added, "I’ve already spoken to Mother. You can go pay your respects in the afternoon—she won’t say anything."

Gu Jinzhao nodded, then noticed his sash was tied poorly. She stood to adjust it for him and looked up at him.

She rarely met Third Master Chen’s gaze so directly, staring straight into his eyes. Only then did she realize how exceptionally gentle and composed they were when looking at her. She had seldom looked closely enough to notice that his gaze toward her had always been different—she had no reason to fear him. Because when facing her, he was truly at his softest and most harmless...

Unconsciously softening her voice, she said, "Then come back early."

Chen Yanyun looked at her for a long moment before murmuring, "Jinchao, sometimes... I can’t entirely control myself." Especially when it came to her—he was more prone to care or anger. "But... since I married you, I will cherish and trust you. You don’t need to fear me or tread so carefully."

Was he trying to talk about Ye Xian...? Jinchao wondered.

Cherishing and trust—these were precisely the most important things.

But before she could respond, Chen Yanyun stepped out of the room, where Chen Yi and his attendants were waiting.

Jinchao stood dazed for a while before gathering her things to go pay respects to Madam Chen.Madam Chen was chatting with her grandchildren, including Chen Xuanan. Among them, only Chen Xuanan was the eldest, but he was still young enough not to require avoiding propriety. Madam Chen invited Jinchao to sit beside her and said, "While you were away, Xi Jie'er missed you terribly. I also longed for your return, and now you're finally back."

Jinchao instructed Qingpu to unpack the pastries they had brought back from Daxing. She had specifically brought walnut cakes for Madam Chen. "...Since we happened to visit Daxing, I brought these back for you. Please try them and see how they taste." The maids served them on porcelain plates, and everyone took some to eat.

The cakes were sweet but not cloying, with a fragrant walnut aroma. Madam Chen enjoyed them very much and asked if there were more.

Jinchao smiled and nodded, "Of course, there's enough to distribute several boxes to each household."

Madam Chen was pleased. "...Good thing you brought plenty. Send a few extra boxes to your third nephew's wife—she's pregnant and particularly fond of pastries."

Jinchao replied, "I've already sent them over. I specially prepared an eight-compartmented box for her."

After tasting the cakes, Chen Xuanan asked, "Aunt, do you have any more of these pastries? I'd like to send some to Ninth Young Master."

Gu Jinzhao noticed the slight hesitation in Chen Xuanan's eyes and guessed he was still worried about the incident from the other day, fearing she might reveal his bullying of Chen Xuanyue to others. He was clearly probing. She replied, "There's enough for everyone, and Ninth Young Master won't be left out..."

Chen Xuanan relaxed and soon broke into a smile.