Chapter 13

 

Chapter 13: Testing the Waters

 

Lan Yunjin had just stepped into the inner courtyard when she saw the little boys swarming around Pei Ye.

Her first instinct was to turn back yet since she was already here, leaving without a word would only look suspicious.

What struck her as odd was that normally, under Fifth Young Master Wei’s lead, these boys spent their days waving sticks and pretending at swords, so restless that even their grandmother called them a pack of mischievous monkeys. They could hardly stay indoors for a moment.

But Pei Ye had only arrived yesterday. No matter how bold or unruly the boys were, they should not have been so quick to cozy up to him.

Wei Wulang’s sharp eyes spotted her at once. He waved eagerly. “Auntie!”

Lan Yunjin smiled and nodded, taking only two measured steps forward. “Wulang, have you eaten yet?”

“I overslept with Liulang, so we only just ate,” Wei Lin answered, standing stiff and proper. He grinned wide, revealing two pairs of sharp tiger teeth.

Madam Zhang often said Wulang resembled his uncle when grown he’ll be brave and hot-tempered.

Pei Ye still hadn’t unraveled the knot in his chest. He slowly turned toward Lan Yunjin, his fingers unconsciously crumpling the sheet of paper in his hand.

Since Yunying was here, why not ask her directly?

The little boys, oblivious to his change in mood, clamored on. “Uncle, you’ve been staring forever. Can you teach us how to write?”

Pei Ye blinked himself back to the moment. He carefully rolled up the sheet and handed it back to Wei Wulang. “Uncle has already taken a good look.”

He smiled and asked, “But tell me, was this really written by your aunt?”

Lan Yunjin’s brow twitched. Before she could respond, her hand clenched stiff inside her sleeve.

Paper… handwriting…

Could it be done by Wei Jun and her mother again who are her nemeses?

That piece of paper was the copy Wei Jun had asked her for in the study two days ago. To guide the girl, she had written a sample of regular script for her to practice.

Wei Lin, bursting with pride in his aunt, thought Pei Ye was doubting her. He puffed up his chest.
“Uncle, of course it’s hers! Hardly anyone in the household can write. Now that Aunt is here, hers is by far the best!”

He squinted challengingly. “You’re not saying you can’t write as well as that, are you?”

Pei Ye lowered his gaze. “I only meant that these characters are neat, delicate… I’ve never before seen such fine writing. It made me wonder, that’s all.”

Wei Lin half-understood, half-did not.

At last, Pei Ye glanced at Lan Yunjin. “Elder Sister.”

“I came to find my younger sister,” she answered evenly. “Is she not here?”

“She’s gone to Qionghua Court.”

Pei Ye’s hand fell on Wei Lin’s shoulder. “Go wait inside for me. I have brush, ink, paper, and inkstone in my room.”

“Uncle’s really going to teach us to write!”

“Uncle, hurry then! Don’t make us wait too long.”

Laughing, the boys hopped into the side chamber.

Lan Yunjin stayed where she was. One way or another, this confrontation was inevitable. Best to meet it with composure.

She refused to play passive and spoke first. “Wulang and the others are mischievous. I must apologize for troubling my brother-in-law.”

Pei Ye’s expression did not change; his eyes remained lowered. Even with doubt gnawing at him, he did not dare meet her gaze. “They call me Uncle, and wish to learn from me. It is no trouble at all.”

Lan Yunjin said nothing.

She had not forgotten Pei Ye’s relic—the scroll in his study written in seal script, so hauntingly similar to her sister’s handwriting.

If Pei Ye had no questions, he would have already returned to the boys.

“Unless my brother-in-law has business…”

Politeness observed, she was ready to excuse herself.

“I do have a question.” His eyes, cautious, finally lifted toward her cheek. “Just now I saw Elder Sister’s handwriting. Do you also favor regular script?”

Lan Yunjin held her breath. “I do not.”

She had known from the moment she walked in that she would not be able to slip away easily. Fortunately, she had prepared herself.

Pei Ye faltered, startled by her blunt denial. He had expected something else.

She calmly brushed her damp palm against her sleeve. After decades under the same roof, she knew the kind of man Pei Ye was.

He looked visibly disappointed.

So he had sensed something. Why else would he ask?

But a single denial was not enough to kill his suspicions.

“What script, then, does Elder Sister prefer?”

“I prefer seal script,” she replied evenly. “But Jun-niang and the others are still young. It’s better they copy simpler forms. My regular script is hardly refined. Forgive me for letting you see it.”

The explanation was flawless and covering all bases, even justifying why she had written in regular script at all.

Pei Ye could make no sense of it.

Her answer was too smooth, too deliberate. Against it, his probing sounded like the foolish ramblings of a man grasping at shadows.

“…Elder Sister is too modest,” he muttered.

With no excuse to linger, he excused himself and turned back to the eager boys.

----

Qionghua Court

Lan Yunying paused at the round moon gate before stepping inside.

Within the courtyard, the little maids were busy at their chores like washing laundry, spreading tea leaves to dry, and chatting over their stools.

The little maid in a gray-blue jacket was bending over to set down a bamboo basket of tea leaves. Catching sight of the newcomer, she smiled. “Young Madam, you’ve returned from teaching.”

Lan Yunying didn’t answer right away. Instead, Guiyuan spoke up. “Isn’t Young Madam in her own chamber?”

The maid beside the first nudged her in the arm. “You’ve mistaken her—this is Young Madam’s younger sister.”

The first girl flushed with embarrassment. Hastily setting down the basket, she came forward to apologize. “Forgive me, my lady, for my ignorance.”

Lan Yunying took no offense. Smiling, she said, “It’s nothing. My sister and I have often been mistaken for one another.”

The maids and attendants in this courtyard had all been chosen by Momo Zhou. Under her strict guidance, none of them dared show the slightest disrespect to their Madames.

They promptly set aside their tasks and came to greet Lan Yunying.

She took in the scene with quiet satisfaction. With such well-trained servants at her sister’s disposal, many worries could be spared.

The courtyard gleamed, swept spotless, as the golden sun chased away lingering dampness.

The weather in Chang’an changed quickly and that day it had suddenly turned hot.

Lan Yunying had thought to wait here only a moment, but unexpectedly Wei Xiao emerged from the chamber.

After training, he always needed to bathe. Just now, hearing commotion from inside, he had hesitated, wondering if he ought to face his wife’s younger sister.

“Brother-in-law,” Lan Yunying greeted him without the least coyness, smiling sweetly. “I came to speak with my elder sister.”

Wei Xiao inclined his head, deliberately keeping a courteous distance.

Yet amid the scent of laundry soap in the courtyard lingered another fragrance he knew all too well that is his wife’s citrus fragrance.

Wei Xiao’s glance swept, half-unthinking, over Lan Yunying. Her attire was styled differently from his wife’s, so he did not bother to look closely at her face.

That night, when he had leafed through Lady Lan’s marriage records, he’d seen it written that she preferred jasmine.

Yet when she lay beside him, stripped of her robes, only a faint trace of jasmine clung to her. Her body’s true fragrance was citrus.

Each night, wrapped in that scent, he felt less and less inclined to return to camp. The rough old veterans and the careless soldiers all reeked of their own unwashed odors.

Curiosity stirred within him and he asked, “Your sister likes wearing scented sachets. I want to gift her one, but I don’t understand such things. What does she like best?”

Lan Yunying blinked, surprised, then smiled. “My sister likes jasmine and lilac.”

Wei Xiao’s gaze sharpened. “And citrus? Does she like that?”

Lan Yunying thought for a moment. “No. She does not.”

Off to the side, Guiyuan was secretly impressed. This fourth son-in-law turned out to be a careful, considerate general.

Wei Xiao frowned. If his wife disliked citrus, then why did she smell so much of it?

He pressed further. “Why not?”

Lan Yunying hesitated. Her sister had warned her yesterday that Wei Xiao was not a man to be fobbed off with vague words.

Seeing her lady at a loss, Guiyuan gathered her courage to answer for her. “General may not know, but when Fourth Young Lady was young, she once ate an unripe orange and was violently ill. Ever since then she cannot bear the taste or smell.”

Wei Xiao mused aloud. “…I had thought she liked citrus.”

“General is truly thoughtful,” Guiyuan said quickly. “But just as my lady said, Fourth Young Lady prefers jasmine and lilac.”

Guiyuan thought, what a coincidence, of all the scents, the general had asked after citrus.

She added with a smile, “Whereas my own lady does love citrus. All her clothes and bedding are perfumed with it…”

Lan Yunying gave a pointed cough, cutting her off. “Do not chatter so freely before my brother-in-law.”

Guiyuan pressed her lips tight and swallowed the rest of her words.

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