Chapter 14

 

Chapter 14: Going Deeper

 

The maids in the courtyard had already finished the laundry, and the side chambers were swept spotless.

When Lan Yunjin returned to Qionghua Court, Wei Xiao had already left. The maidservant said young master has left word that he would not be dining in the mansion that day.

In the mansion, if a daughter-in-law did not join her mother-in-law or the matriarch for a meal, then she had to send her maid to the small kitchen to inform the cooks of what she wished to eat seperately.

Madam Zhang was thoughtful. Knowing how rare it was for the two sisters to reunite, she guessed they might not wish to dine with the other young ladies of the household.

So she sent a maid from her own rooms with a message that there was no need for Yunjin to come pay respects that day.

Golden daylight pressed against the paper windows, as though it might pierce through, filling the room with a gentle brightness.

Though only half a day had passed, Lan Yunjin’s forehead was damp with sweat. She loosened her collar and dabbed her neck again and again with her handkerchief.

Her body felt hot, but her heart was chilled to the marrow.

Lan Yunying, too, regretted having caused trouble earlier, dragging her younger sister into it.

“Brother-in-law asked me what kind of sachets my elder sister liked. I didn’t think much of it, and I just… told him.”

She was trying to make amends, but trouble always seemed to come from her mouth. Now she could only hope Wei Xiao harbored no suspicions.

Outside in the outer room, Yuchan and Guiyuan were cracking melon seeds one by one, their crisp pa-ta sounds echoing through the stillness.

Lan Yunjin twisted the handkerchief in her fingers. After a moment, she smiled lightly. “It’s not such a serious matter. Don’t brood over it.”

She spoke so, but in her heart she blamed Wei Xiao entirely.

What was he, a hound with a nose that sharp?

Her wardrobe was filled with her elder sister’s clothes, carrying only the faint scent of jasmine.

But back in her maiden chamber, all her bedding had long been perfumed daily by Guiyuan with fragrant incense.

No matter how skillful she was, how could she ever change the scent that clung to her, as if fused into her body?

Lan Yunying mulled it over and said, “Still, if brother-in-law is thoughtful enough to give you a sachet that just shows his care for you.”

“Yes.” Lan Yunjin bit her lip. “It does take some effort on his part.”

She had thought that, upon arriving at the General’s Mansion, no one would know the sisters, much less suspect the exchange of identities between her and her elder sister.

But now matters had come to this. She could only wait and see how Wei Xiao would treat her or test her just as Pei Ye once had.

In her past life, Lan Yunjin had seldom faced such impossible dilemmas.

Pei Ye had been absorbed in his studies, while she managed the inner household alongside her mother-in-law.

After her mother-in-law’s death, Pei Ye’s brothers each set up separate households. That division of family property gave rise to disputes among the sisters-in-law, each struggling to secure something for themselves.

Pei Ye never involved himself in domestic trifles. Lan Yunjin always kept to the principle of peace above all.

But that time, when Pei Ye returned from duty, still in his official robe, without even changing, he went straight to his brother’s quarters after hearing the steward’s report.

That very night, Madam Xu of the second branch came weeping to Lan Yunjin, crying that Pei Ye doesn’t care about his brothers.

He refused to grant them any share of the inheritance, and worse, he wanted to remove the second and third branches from the ancestral register.

Madam Xu wept until her heart seemed torn apart, begging Yunjin to plead with Pei Ye on their behalf.

In the end, Lan Yunjin had not helped her. After all, it was Pei Ye’s family matter. For an outsider like her to interfere would only make things more awkward.

And now, Tomorrow, Du Zhen would come to the General’s Mansion. Her handwriting had already been seen by Pei Ye. Wei Xiao, too, was not someone who could be easily deceived.

She was caught within the game itself. These affairs were not something she could wash her hands of.

And not only herself but her elder sister was also entangled.

Lan Yunjin set down her handkerchief and asked softly, “Sister, have you practiced your calligraphy lately?”

Lan Yunying shook her head.

“I used to teach the little girls in the study. Among them, Jun-niang was the most mischievous and proud, she reminded me so much of you back when we were in our maiden chamber together.”

Lan Yunjin told her about her meeting with Pei Ye.

Lan Yunying was stunned, then frightened. Thankfully, the prescription she had written earlier had been in her younger sister’s handwriting.

But it was a disaster!

Pei Ye had already seen that prescription. He now held a sample of her sister’s script. If he compared the two… wouldn’t everything be exposed?

Lan Yunying stood up in fear.

“Elder Sister,” Lan Yunjin said, “let’s take our midday meal here in Qionghua Court. I don’t think brother-in-law is one to make empty promises. Since he agreed to teach Fifth Brother his letters, he’ll surely be earnest about it.”

“There are maids watching over him in the study. Just send Guiyuan to tell them you won’t be returning for the meal.”

What mattered now was to ask about her elder sister’s time at the poetry gatherings in Luoyang.

----

The little boys had said they wanted to learn to write. But children’s enthusiasm rose quickly and faded just as fast.

The eastern wing had only two long desks.

The little young masters sat or crouched facing each other, sprawled across the tables, clumsily trying to lift their brushes with stiff fingers.

Pei Ye leaned over them, one by one, guiding their grips.

Wei Lin yawned again and again. “Uncle, I’m a little tired…”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to master it today?” Pei Ye chuckled, stroking the boy’s head. “Come on, writing is not something you can give up halfway.”

There were not many heirs in the Duke’s Mansion. His mother loved children dearly and often urged him, pressed him, to carry on the Pei family line.

At the thought, Pei Ye drew his hand back.

Children truly were clever and endearing, innocent to the core. Their bright, shining eyes gazed at you so earnestly, tugging at your heartstrings.

Even if they spoke the most unreasonable words, you could not bring yourself to feel annoyed.

Wei Lin, with his round head and plump cheeks, bore more than a passing resemblance to Wei Xiao.

“Uncle,” he whispered, “Jun-niang gets pear-syrup candies whenever she practices her reading and calligraphy. Do you have pear-syrup candies too?”

Pei Ye lowered his gaze at him, and heaviness stirred in his chest. He answered bluntly, “No.”

If Yunying were ever to bear him a child whether boy or girl what would that child look like?

He quickly cut the thought short. Why torment himself with such fancies?

Seeing his master troubled, Wenbo untied a bundle and brought out a box of preserved fruits.

The little boys clapped their hands in delight, tossed aside their brushes, and within moments had devoured the sweets clean.

Before long, it was time for the midday meal. Fifth Young Master Wei’s maid came to fetch him back to his quarters.

At that moment, a maid from Qionghua Court also arrived with word. Since Pei Ye did not appear, it was Wenbo who stepped outside to answer her.

Inside, Pei Ye was searching through a bamboo scroll for a prescription. His cough had been cured by those very ingredients, so Wenbo had kept the formula.

Pei Ye sat at the desk with the prescription in hand and sheets of Xuan paper the boys had used lay quietly beside him.

…

That night, the moon was bright, though stars were sparse.

Lan Yunying had braced herself, thinking Pei Ye would test her as he had tested her sister.

Yet he acted as though nothing were amiss, calmly studying by the window while Wenbo grounded ink and handed him his brush.

She dared not let her guard down. But if he said nothing, how was she to respond?

The lamp flame flickered weakly. Leaning back in her chair, her left hand propped against her cheek, Lan Yunying found her gaze drifting toward his back.

Suddenly Wenbo turned his head, smiling at her. “Madam, are you sleepy? If you are, you should rest first.”

Lan Yunying smiled faintly. “I’m not sleepy. I had new tea with my sister earlier today so now I can’t fall asleep at all.”

Wenbo faltered for a moment, and then said, “In a few days, you and my master will be attending a banquet in the Imperial City. As his steward, I won’t be able to accompany him. Madam, I must trouble you to look after him in my stead.”

“Looking after him is no trouble,” Lan Yunying replied.

In the end, Wenbo turned to Guiyuan, reminding her not to overindulge at the banquet.

Guiyuan’s temper flared at once, her ears flushing red. “Do you take me for some servant from a petty household, dazzled by every spread and greedy at every table?”

Wenbo stammered, “That wasn’t my intention at all.”

His own face reddened, and shyly he said, “I only meant it as a jest—I never wished to offend you.”

Guiyuan stared at him as though she had seen a ghost.

Just then, a maid entered with a basin for washing up.

Lan Yunying thought to herself: the closer they drew to the critical moment, the less she could afford to show any flaw.

If suspicion rested only on handwriting, but no further proof was found, then even if Pei Ye doubted her and her sister, he would not openly accuse her.

So she must act as he did; unconcerned, unflustered and not betray herself, lest he probe deeper into the truth of their exchanged identities.

Guiyuan helped her Madam wash up.

Pei Ye seemed to be waiting for Lan Yunying to settle into bed, before ordering Wenbo to clear the study desk.

But Wenbo’s expression was troubled.

Earlier that day, his young master had studied both the prescription and the Xuan paper, and then asked him: which one was written by Lady Yunying?

His master’s obsession was so much that Wenbo had dared only to plead dull eyes, claiming he could not tell.

Both samples were in xiaokai script. The prescription bore the hand of a beginner, while the other carried the steady weight of long practice—skill that could not be achieved in just a year or two.

His young master had said: Lady Yunying is not skilled in xiaokai then how could she have written such practiced characters?

Wenbo was baffled. If his master’s reasoning were correct that the prescription was truly written by Lady Yunying then the one who had been wed to him these past days was not Lady Yunjin.

The thought was utterly inconceivable.

Pei Ye stood at the window, staring into the thin moonlight. “Wenbo, go at dawn to Qionghua Court and invite General Wei here for tea, if he has the time.”

“…Yes,” Wenbo answered slowly.

His master was frail of body. Wenbo feared that if this suspicion of his proved false, it might wound him more deeply, making it all the harder for him to let go.

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