CHAPTER 2: Dove Occupying a Magpie’s Nest

“Zhang Momo?”

Zhang Momo recovered quickly. She realized she was once again thinking about the matter of when the Fifth Young Lady returned to the residence and was lost in it. Zhang Momo concealed her thoughts and with a smile on her face, spoke to the young lady in front of her carefully, “Fourth Young Lady, you have arrived!”

“Yes. I could not sleep at night and thus woke up earlier to greet Mother.”

“Fourth Young Lady is really filial.” Zhang Momo smiled and voices in the room praised Chu Jinmiao for her filial piety repeatedly. Zhang Momo smiled as she listened to the audience complimenting but her heart was thinking, if one were to compare coming early, who would be able to beat Fifth Young Lady? She had already gone in for quite a while. However, Zhang Momo would not say such words openly.

With the maids’ help, Chu Jinyao took off her cloak. Her cloak was specially ordered by Madam Zhao as it used golden brocade on the outside and had the best cotton in it. It was made very wide, covering basically everything but the calf, like a large jacket. On the top, the collar was made to stand-up, with a pair of gold inlaid rubies as buttons while the cuffs and neckline were lined with rabbit fur. Chu Jinmiao was originally slender and thin and with this dressing, she looked even more fragile, like the frail beauty that was in vogue now.

Chu Jinmiao’s brows were very light, and lips very thin. She looked a little dull and not as good looking as the other sisters. Ever since Chu Jinmiao realized that she looked inferior to her sisters, even the Shu-born daughters, she had lashed out secretly. And from then onwards, worked hard on dressing herself and headed towards the direction of looking thin and weak. Now, with the wave of Imperial examinations, literary scholars admired beauties who were restrained, graceful and so delicate that they are scarcely strong enough to even bear the trifling weight of the clothes. Many females also dressed up to look particularly weak and even wear makeup that seemed teary. Even though Chu Jinmiao did not have facial features as good as the rest of the sisters, in terms of temperament and dressing, she was popular with the brothers.

Currently, in the Marquis Residence, it was Marquis Changxing, Chu Jing, that was the head of the household. Old Madam was still alive and held the overall power of managing the household. With the presence of Old Madam, the brothers naturally could not divide the family properties and live apart. There were three households in the Marquis Residence. The Eldest Household was Marquis Changxing’s and his wife was Madam Zhao. The Second Household was Second Master Chu Duan’s, and Second Madam was Madam Yan. The Third Household was Third Master Chu Zhang’s, and Third Madam was Madam Qian. Marquis Changxing and Second Master were Di-born, while the Third Household was from a Shu line and was not liked by Old Madam. The Eldest Household had inherited the title and was naturally the most outstanding one among the brothers. Even the female members of the Eldest Household had higher expenses than other households, only second to Old Madam.

Marquis Changxing had a total of four sons and five daughters. Among them, only the Eldest Young Lady, Second Young Master, and Fourth Young Lady were Di-born. This was considered few. In the beginning, when Marquis Changxing brought a young lady back and said that she was his daughter, everyone in the residence jumped in shock.

A sobbing Madam Zhao refused to admit to it and clung to Chu Jinmiao, not allowing anyone to send her away. Old Madam later came over and also felt difficult to accept it when she saw the dark, thin and uncouth Chu Jinyao. Old Madam spoke with Marquis Changxing behind closed doors for a long time and upon coming out, Old Madam Chu said, “Those years ago, due to the chaos, there were some mistakes in the family lineage. Since the lost young lady was brought back, then we will raise her. It is not like our family is unable to raise a young lady. Jinmiao can just continue to stay at home. For the one that just returned, she will be ranked behind Jinmiao and become our Fifth Young Lady.”

Old Madam Chu called the shots and acknowledged Chu Jinyao but at the same time also protected Chu Jinmiao and did not let Marquis Changxing send her away. A female’s heart is always softer than a male’s. After genuinely treating her like a real daughter for thirteen years, not to mention Madam Zhao, even Old Madam Chu could not bear to part with her. When Marquis Changxing saw his wife, Mother, and previous daughter, Chu Jinmiao, standing at the side crying pitifully, the fury that he harbored during the journey back had long disappeared. His heart was softened by the crying and he no longer insisted on sending Chu Jinmiao away.

 

Anyways, it was not that Marquis Changxing could not afford that dowry. It was just raising one more young lady. No one cared about this.

With an inexplicable appearance of a female, and she even became Fifth Young Lady, all the Young Ladies behind were pushed back by one position. This kind of matter was a surprising and strange thing in any family. Chu Jinyao made such a big change when she just came back. Moreover, she was dark and thin, looking like a person from the countryside with one glance, making others fall over to take a look. The Young Ladies who had their positions rearranged were already unhappy and now to be sisters with a person from the countryside, the Young Ladies of the Marquis Residence disliked Chu Jinyao even more.

Chu Jinmiao took off her cloak, revealing a wide-sleeved flower coat. It was a blue satin dress that had gold embroidered flowers and bird patterns that were two Inch large. Zhang Momo and the rest who were used to seeing luxury were all silently stunned. Not including the headwear, what was the value that the Fourth Young Lady was worth? The Fourth Young Lady had almost a different outfit every day but even so, Madam Zhao still mentioned that there were not enough clothes and called people to the residence to purchase fabrics to make clothes for the Eldest Young Lady and Fourth Young Lady.

Zhang Momo recalled the clothes that Chu Jinyao wore when she entered the room. One feared that it was not even one-tenth of the value of Fourth Young Lady’s. The genuine Young Lady lived like this. One heard that she did rough labor from a young age and had corns on her hands. Zhang Momo sighed. In all fairness, she also felt that the Fifth Young Lady was pitiful but what use was there? The Fourth Young Lady was the one that grew up like the pearl on one’s hands. She was accustomed to the wealth of Marquis Residence and the luxuriousness that oozed out was due to her being soaked in golden nectar. To compare with such an individual, Fifth Young Lady was suddenly rendered as nothing.

Chu Jinmiao took off her cumbersome outer clothes and was as relaxed as she was in her own room. She went straight to the Western room, calling out as she walked, “Mother, I have arrived…”

As soon as Chu Jinmiao arrived, she saw Chu Jinyao standing at the side. Chu Jinyao had long heard that Chu Jinmiao had entered and upon seeing Chu Jinmiao, Chu Jinyao turned and smiled sweetly.

“Fourth Sister, you have arrived,” Chu Jinyao said unaccustomed. She had seen the other young ladies greet like this but she was not sure if she had learnt correctly. Since Chu Jinyao returned to her biological family, she really wanted to get along well with her parents and sisters. Even though this person had taken her position and was a fake young lady, Chu Jinyao wanted to get along well with her. Who could blame her for the matter? One could only be angry with Father Su and Mother Su for being selfish, evil, and befuddled. However, Chu Jinmiao, Chu Jinyao, Marquis Changxing, Madam Zhao, and the rest were unaware of it, so what fault did they have? Even though Chu Jinyao grew up in the village, she was sensible from young and felt that she could not just keep on complaining about it, else her relatives would distance themselves from her. People would always exchange a sincere heart for another and it worked when one talked well.

Chu Jinmiao did not show the smile Chu Jinyao was expecting. Chu Jinmiao contained her expression and replied indifferently, “I see.” After saying that, Chu Jinmiao quickly said, “Who is your older sister”

Even though Chu Jinmiao’s voice was not loud, she did not deliberately lower it. The maids around, including Chu Jinyao herself, had heard it. Chu Jinyao immediately felt embarrassed but the maid following Chu Jinmiao revealed a mischievous smile. When no one was noticing, she secretly exchanged looks with the maid she had a good relationship with and moved her eyes to look at this so-called ‘Fifth Young Lady’, a sparrow that just flew back from the mountain village.

Chu Jinyao had heard that in large households, one would wake up early to greet one’s parents and elders. She dared to make a mistake and got ready very early. Fortunately, she was used to getting up to pick firewood, as such it was not at all difficult for her to wake up early. However, she was overwhelmed by the special treatment. She only needed to wear a dress but there were so many people waiting on her.

Getting up early was easy but Chu Jinyao was stumped on what she needed to do at Madam Zhao’s. The village previously did not have such particularities. Upon waking up, she would head to the courtyard to sweep and fetch water. When Older Sister Su Hui was not married, tasks concerning the courtyard and kitchens were all completed by them. When Father Su and Mother Su woke up, they would be able to see a clean yard and warm food.

Afterwards, Father Su would farm and at times Mother Su would head together with him. After the parents left, Chu Jinyao would return to wake up her Younger Brother Su Sheng by knocking on the door. Su Sheng was the only son in the house and was considered more valuable than daughters like them.

So, Chu Jinyao really did not know what needed to be done when she greeted her parents. The Marquis Residence did not require her to sweep or wash clothes, thus Chu Jinyao stood in Madam Zhao’s room at a loss. Madam Zhao was surrounded by a swarm of maids, some maids were handing the servants clothes, some were wiping Madam Zhao’s hands, and some were carefully styling her hair. The people around Madam Zhao were filled up and even if Chu Jinyao wanted to go up, she could not get in at all.

Now that Chu Jinmiao said this in front of everyone, it was obvious she did not want to be Chu Jinyao’s older sister and did not think that Chu Jinyao was her younger sister at all. Chu Jinyao was stunned for a while, whereas Chu Jinmiao went past her and walked briskly towards Madam Zhao.

As Chu Jinmiao walked nearer, all the maids and servants gave way to Chu Jinmiao and greeted her while speaking auspicious words. When Madam Zhao saw Chu Jinmiao walking over, she smiled at her from the bronze mirror, “You are here again to create trouble.”

“How is daughter creating trouble? I am obviously being filial to Mother.” As Chu Jinmiao spoke, she took out the hairpin from a box on Madam Zhao’s dressing table with familiarity and gestured, “Mother should wear this today as it matches with the bright red dress.”

The woman that was combing the hair teased, “Fourth Young Lady is the best at dressing up. With the Fourth Young Lady’s gems of wisdom, we, who are styling Madam’s hair, can no longer show our skills.”

Chu Jinmiao smiled and chatted with Madam Zhao amid laughter. Chu Jinyao was standing not far away and suddenly felt that she was particularly redundant.

Watching Chu Jinmiao’s familiarity with arranging the jewelry, it was obvious she was accustomed to it since young but Chu Jinyao did not even recognise the bottles and boxes on the dressing table.

Chu Jinyao lowered her head and looked at her hands. Ever since she could remember, she was already helping her family with housework and the other girls in the village were all like this. Chu Jinyao had never thought before that there would be a group of people in this world that would live a life that she could never even think about. However, could this be blamed on her? If it were possible, she hoped that she was not wrongly carried away those years ago and grew up in the Marquis Residence safely, becoming a qualified Young Lady of the Marquis Residence.

Actually, Chu Jinyao was not living well these few days. Even though her living environment had turned upside down, allowing her to see things that she could never even think about, she was not happy. She could feel that everyone in the Residence of Marquis Changxing, from Madam Zhao, Chu Jinmiao, the aunties, and sisters, all the way down to the maids and servants, actually discriminated against her. She was really incompatible with the wealthy and glorious Residence of Marquis Changxing.

Every day when Chu Jinyao went to bed, she would wait till the maid on night vigil fell asleep and cry secretly under her blanket. There were even people serving young ladies of big households when they were sleeping and Chu Jinyao did not want to cry in front of others as it was not good. So, she could only secretly hide and feel aggrieved. When she left, Older Sister Su Hui had caught up and given her a bag of clothes. Chu Jinyao knew that Older Sister feared that she would suffer in the other family and tried her best to give the best things to her. However, upon arriving at the Residence of Marquis Changxing, Chu Jinyao discovered that even the servants that swept the floors of the residence would not wear such grey cotton dresses. But in the village, it was only during festivals did they bear to wear these types of dresses.

When Chu Jinyao arrived, someone changed her clothes and naturally Older Sister’s cotton dress could not be taken out. What’s more, when Shan Cha saw it, she almost threw it away. Chu Jinyao quickly snatched it back and hid it by her side on the bed. When it was dead at night, she would secretly take it out and cry while holding the clothes.

Chu Jinyao now finally knew why Father Su and Mother Su treated her like that. They always did not have a good expression and looking at Elder Sister Su Hui’s behavior, she obviously knew about it too. However, her heart couldn’t help but soften and often helped her secretly behind Father Su’s and Mother Su’s backs.

After Chu Jinyao finished crying at night, she woke up the next day in high spirits again. Even though everyone did not like her now, if a relative suddenly appeared in the Su family and stayed, the sisters would often talk secretly about it. This was human nature. Chu Jinyao told herself along the way that as long as she looked and learnt well, treated Madam Zhao sincerely and got along with Chu Jinmiao, they would see the good in her.

However, when Chu Jinyao now saw Madam Zhao and Chu Jinmiao choosing jewelry affectionately, while she stood at the side being incomparably unnecessary, Chu Jinyao suddenly doubted her self-confidence.

Could she really assimilate with this mother and daughter?

Just as Chu Jinyao was feeling awkward, the young maid by the door greeted the approaching person like a silver bell, “Eldest Young Lady has arrived. Greetings to the Eldest Young Lady.”

A soft and pleasant voice spoke, like a gently flowing water, “Is Mother inside?”

“Yes. The Fourth Young Lady and Fifth Young Lady are also inside.”

There was a pause outside the room before gentle sounds of footsteps approached. The maid in the Western room opened the curtain up. The light shone as a gentle-looking female with a dignified temperament appeared in front of everyone.

“Eldest Young Lady.”

The Eldest Young Lady, Chu Jinxian, nodded and greeted Madam Zhao before standing at the side to wait for Madam Zhao to dress up. Chu Jinyao followed everyone and greeted Chu Jinxian, “Greetings to Eldest Sister.”

Chu Jinxian nodded lightly and retracted her gaze before standing by Chu Jinyao’s side. It was only upon seeing Chu Jinxian that Chu Jinyao realized what a young lady of a high-born household was like in stories. No matter what Chu Jinxian did, it was all soft and gentle. She was soft-spoken, like a talent among beauties. Even though Chu Jinxian treated Chu Jinyao indifferently, Chu Jinyao did not care as she treated everyone the same.

Moreover, Chu Jinxian stood by her when she came in, and thus Chu Jinyao was very relieved that she did not need to stand alone anymore. In Chu Jinyao’s heart, she was not surprised by the praises that everyone showered Eldest Young Lady with. Her mannerism was that of an Eldest Sister and just the way she casually helped Chu Jinyao out of a fix, Chu Jinyao felt touched as she had never been on the receiving end of any kindness before.

However, Chu Jinyao discovered that Chu Jinxian was not that close to Madam Zhao. At least, she would not act in a spoiled manner like Chu Jinmiao. Of course, Chu Jinxian was unable to act spoiled but the reason was more related to her being raised by Old Madam’s side since young.

With Chu Jinxian’s company, Chu Jinyao did not feel that time was difficult to pass. Slowly, the few Shu daughters arrived and everyone stood silently at the side. When Madam Zhao was preparing, one could only hear the laughter from Chu Jinmiao and Madam Zhao. After Madam Zhao had dressed up, the servants had set up breakfast. Marquis Changxing would not come over to Madam Zhao’s to eat and due to Second Young Master’s weak health, he ate by himself all these years. Thus, only the female members of the family ate together. Marquis Changxing’s concubines assumed their positions to serve Madam Zhao dishes and Madam Zhao let them pick a few dishes before speaking, “All right, you are all people with sons and daughters. There is no need to wait on me, withdraw to eat your meal.”

The concubines withdrew after that. Even though the concubines gave birth to sons and daughters, they were not qualified to eat at the table. These concubines were actually considered treated well. Only with children at their side, would Madam Zhao give them dignity. Those Tongfangs (lower ranked concubines) without children, had to stand behind the legal wife as the established rule and serve Madam Zhao and the young ladies till they were done before leaving.

Chu Jinyao’s eyes spun as she saw the beautiful concubines, each of whom was attractive in their own way, and sighed in her heart. It was indeed that big households were indeed different.

After eating, Madam Zhao brought the daughters over to Old Madam Chu for greetings. Old Madam Chu was an awe-inspiring person, with a slightly square jaw and deep wrinkles. At first glance, she looked like a very powerful person. This was very different from those old women that Chu Jinyao saw in the villages. She dared not be negligent and followed the rest of the young ladies to greet Old Madam Chu respectfully.

Old Madam Chu wore a forehead protector and looked low-spirited. She did not want to deal with these granddaughters, thus she said, “A few days ago, the weaving house in the South sent another batch of brocades. They are bright colors which are suitable for young ladies. Each one of you can pick one and make clothes. When Aunt (Father’s sister) returns, you all will be able to meet the guests presentably.”

The Aunt that Old Madam Chu spoke of was Chu Zhu. She was Old Madam Chu’s only Di-born daughter and was married to the Residence of Prince Huailing of Second Rank’s Second Household as the official wife. Her Sister-in-law was Prince Huailing’s Second son’s Consort. To be married to the Prince Residence from a Marquis lineage, it was considered to have married up. So, when Chu Zhu returned to her parental family, it would be done grandly. A married daughter was like spilled water, thus when Aunt returned, they would be served as guests. Chu Zhu married well so the nieces, like Chu Jinyao, would need to specially make new clothes when meeting Aunt.

Which young girl does not like new clothes? Moreover, these were the brocades from the South. They were all tributes and rarely seen outside. Even though the Residence of Marquis Changxing was a Marquis Residence, they were only able to gain a few bolts a year. In the past, these would end up in the Eldest Household’s hands, to make clothes for the Eldest Young Lady and Fourth Young Lady. The rest of the Young Ladies only had those corners. Now Grandmother mentioned that everyone would have a bolt each, these young ladies were very happy.

A group of delicate females went to the partitioned room to pick fabrics. Although Chu Jinyao did not know what brocade was, based on the expression of others, she knew it must be a good item that was hard to come by and thus followed along.

Chu Jinyao felt that it was inconceivable. Previously at home, it was difficult to buy a bolt of cloth in a year and their clothes were all worn by Su Hui before it was her turn. At this moment it was not the New Year or any festival but they could just make clothes with a word and they even had a bolt of brocade each.

Chu Jinyao had no personal wealth since young, thus she had calculated what she could do with the rest of the cloth.

Chu Jinyao was after all a girl and was incessantly excited to be able to choose her clothes according to her preferences. Chu Jinyao, who was immersed in joy, did not notice that a few red flakes had disappeared from the jade pendant that had never left her side.