Ah Luo knew that she was in trouble, if Liu Jue caught her, it would be weird if he didn’t take revenge. When she returned to the banquet, she cried about a headache. Eldest Mistress, Qing Lei, and Qing Fei were in high spirits. Suddenly seeing Qing Luo spoiling the fun, Eldest Mistress’ face fell, “You were alright just now, how come you have a headache?”
Ah Luo spoke in a frail voice, “I’m afraid it was the wind blowing in the forest. Eldest Madam, when will we be leaving?”
The Eldest Mistress hated iron for not becoming steel and glared at her, “The evening meal has yet to commence, the princess has not yet spoken, and the Crown Prince is interested in your eldest sister. Are you intentionally trying to harm your sisters?”
Ah Luo sighed, she turned a blind eye when she helped them; they were all daughters of concubines, so why were they being treated in such different ways? Who cared about the brothel, her beautiful mother had entered the Li residence purely and cleanly when she was 16-years-old. They were all this afraid because she was endowed with both beauty and intelligence, and used to be famous in Feng City? She felt that they each had their own charms and really couldn’t understand no matter how she thought about it. A loud hum sounded from her mouth.
Qing Lei whispered into Eldest Mistress’ ear. After thinking for a moment, Eldest Mistress said to Qing Luo, “There are still four hours until the dinner banquet. The carriage will send you home first before coming back to retrieve us.”
Ah Luo looked at Qing Lei doubtfully and Qing Lei blinked at her. Ah Luo thought, could it be because she had saved her from trouble by playing the zither, so Eldest Sister was finally willing to treat her a little better? Qing Fei remained silent. Ah Luo glanced at her, seeing that she looked like a young girl in love. She thought about how she must leave and avoid trouble with Liu Jue, and let Juan’er lead her away.
After two steps, Ah Luo turned back at the same moment that Eldest Mistress opened her mouth, “When you go back, there is no need to mention having attended the Peach Blossom Banquet.” Ah Luo was pleased with this sentence, and added, “If the princess knew that the Third Miss of the Li Family came but didn’t pay her respects, it would be very discourteous. Now that Ah Luo is unwell and needs to leave early, it would be even more impolite.”
Eldest Mistress nodded approvingly.
Ah Luo kept watch and didn’t see anyone take notice of her, so she felt at ease as she climbed into the carriage. She once again urged Juan’er, “You must never tell anyone what happened today! Otherwise, it will be a great disaster. Understand?” Her voice became cold.
Juan’er shivered, feeling that although Third Miss’ tone was harsh, she still meant well. If it became known that it was Third Miss and not Eldest Miss who played the zither today, not only would the Li residence suffer great shame, but it would be a sign of great disrespect to the princess and Crown Prince. She nodded hastily, “Rest assured Third Miss, Juan’er understands how serious this is and will never speak even half a word.”
Ah Luo sighed in relief and let the driver send them home.
Back at the residence, Seventh Mistress had always been waiting by the door. This was the first time that Qing Luo had left her side. She felt anxious.
From afar, Ah Luo caught sight of Seventh Mistress looking out and her heart warmed. She called out with a smile, “I’m back, mother!”
Seventh Mistress’ eyes shone, then she looked at the time and frowned, “San’er, why did you come back before the dinner banquet? You returned alone?”
Ah Luo shouted, “Can we talk while eating? I’m very hungry.”
Seventh Mistress smiled while shaking her head, then instructed Madam Zhang to serve the dishes. She said to Qing Luo, “I already knew you wouldn’t have enough to eat out there. Come, eat with mother.”
Ah Luo felt tired from today and was really hungry. She thought that the plain congee and side dishes at home were the best and said, “There were only light snacks at the princess’ banquet and I dared not eat too much. Eldest Mistress also said it was unrefined. The dinner banquet was lavish, but I didn’t dare eat it.”
Seventh Mistress asked, “Why didn’t you dare eat it?”
Ah Luo was afraid of making her worry, so she didn’t dare to tell her that she had offended the Young Master of An Qing Palace. She thought for a while, then told her about playing the zither for Qing Lei. Seeing Seventh Mistress’ face pale, she comforted her, “There were only the five of us inside the pavilion. If we don’t say anything, nobody else would know.”
Seventh Mistress burst into tears, “San’er, you’re in great trouble! That girl, Juan’er, would never be able to open her mouth.”
Ah Luo was startled, “If we don’t say anything, why would we be in trouble? Eldest Mistress isn’t so ruthless, is she? Juan’er has promised to never speak even half a word.”
Seventh Mistress sighed, “There is a saying that you can’t deceive heaven and earth. Now Eldest Mistress knows, your Eldest Sister and Second Sister knows, Juan’er knows, you and I know, how will the Master not know once they return? Will Third and Fourth Mistress not know? Qing Lei and her mother wouldn’t dare to speak about it. Master and Eldest Mistress would never reveal this. Yet what about Qing Fei and her mother? I have long been unable to become used to the way Third Mistress uses her daughter to gain the Master’s favour. This matter, the consequences, what can we do?”
Ah Luo froze, “Mother, at that time, my first consideration was that Qing Lei seemed pitiful, secondly, I was afraid that the Li Family would be disgraced.”
Seventh Mistress thought for a moment and said, “Now that it’s come to this, we can only see what the Master intends to do.”
Ah Luo thought, how could she think about how serious this would be at that time? It seemed like she still lacked experience. In ancient times like this, little things could cause great disrespect to someone of a higher social standing which would lead to beheading. The socialist legal system really was better! Cheating in a university entrance exam there meant you would no longer be able to take the exam, but cheating here meant putting your life on the line. She hadn’t thought deeply about this, having been bound by four walls and isolated from society for six years. She was like a frog at the bottom of a well, sitting and observing the sky with her limited view. The difference between here and the modern times lay in the criminal law system and the privileges of social classes. She suddenly lost almost all of her confidence, she could only let other people punish as they wished.
Seventh Mistress saw Ah Luo’s complexion turn grey and comforted her, “Fortunately, your father is the Right Minister. If the matter becomes known, we can say your Eldest Sister had a sudden illness; you are still young, so you played the zither out of affection for your sister, and secondly because you were afraid that the family would be disgraced.”
Ah Luo said quietly, “What about Juan’er? Will she be alright?”
Seventh Mistress was afraid that Qing Luo would feel emotionally entangled, “Mother is used to thinking of the worst outcome for everything, maybe nothing will happen.”
Ah Luo said softly, “I never knew how powerful the aristocratic families were in Feng City. If they wanted a girl that someone wouldn’t give up, would they snatch her? If they found someone displeasing to the eye, would they simply kill them?”
Seventh Mistress patted Ah Luo’s shoulder and sighed, “If an unknown person snatches in secret, who can speak up clearly? Back then, your mother…” Ah Luo looked at Seventh Mistress in surprise, “What happened back then?”
Seventh Mistress looked at the begonia in the courtyard, the moonlight casting the begonia’s shadow on the ground, mottled and swaying slightly just like her voice as she felt a loneliness in her heart, “Back then, your mother was the most popular girl in the brothel. I met a customer and we fell in love, he promised to bid on me and buy me out at the auction, and to spend the rest of our lives together. In the end, he came to bid but was violently killed that night. When I woke up, I was already the seventh mistress in the Xiang residence. To this day, I still don’t know who the enemy is. Your father pampered me for some time, but lost interest when he saw that I gave him the cold shoulder. Like this, I have been in this courtyard for 14 years.”
Hearing this, Ah Luo felt miserable. She suddenly remembered the gold and silver she took from Liu Jue and quickly brought them out to give to Seventh Mistress, “Can we leave? Will this money be enough for us to live on?”
Seventh Mistress stared at the silver notes in astonishment, “San’er, where did you get this from? How come you have so many silver notes?”
Ah Luo was forced to tell the whole story of how she had provoked Liu Jue. Seventh Mistress’ face paled more and more as she listened, and when she heard of how Ah Luo tied Liu Jue to a tree with his own robe then took his silver, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Ah Luo was so frightened that she patted and pinched her face, feeling so regretful that she wanted to die. Nothing would have happened if she hadn’t left the residence today. If she hadn’t taken pity on Qing Lei, she wouldn’t have played and it wouldn’t have been any of her business if the Li Family or Li Qing Lei had lost face. Furthermore, it would have been fine if she hadn’t offended Liu Jue. Yet, what use was it to regret all of this now?
It took a while for Seventh Mistress to wake up. Seeing Ah Luo watching her anxiously, she pulled Ah Luo close and cried loudly, “San’er, what should we do about this?”
Ah Luo thought for a moment then said to Seventh Mistress, “Mother, the Young Master of the An Qing Palace doesn’t know who I am. Nobody at the banquet today knows that the Third Miss of the Li Family was there today, I was disguised as a maid the entire time. I think that even after father finds out about this matter, he wouldn’t let anything stop his plan to marry Qing Lei off to the Crown Prince and will do everything he can to stop this matter from spreading. Qing Fei and one of the five noble sons, Cheng Si Yue, spoke together very happily today. If the Li Family has a scandal, it would be difficult to say if the top scholar would pull away or not. As for me, I still have a plan, I’m just afraid I won’t be able to protect Juan’er. I felt something was wrong when I warned her today and I should have told her to run away at that moment.”
Seent Mistress took Ah Luo’s hand and said, “San’er, Juan’er can’t escape. Runaway slaves who are caught have a worse fate, they are usually beaten to death.” Ah Luo’s heart wrenched, feeling helpless. Crying wouldn’t solve the problem. She secretly made remain modest and calm when she acted in the future. She had to be more careful.
At this moment, Xiao Yu came to report that Eldest Mistress, Qing Lei, and Qing Fei had returned. She said that the Master had requested Seventh Mistress and Third Miss to go over. Ah Luo looked at Seventh Mistress and said, “Mother, you must pretend not to know anything, it wouldn’t be good if even one more person knows.”
Seventh Mistress began to cry again, “San’er, you are only 12 years old, how can I make you face these things alone?”
Ah Luo cried for her sake, “I can pretend to be ignorant and naive because I’m still young, they won’t be as wary. If you know about it, they will be on guard and it will be more dangerous. You should just say that I came home and said I had a headache, then went to sleep and had only just woken up.”
When they entered the hall, only Li Xiang and Eldest Mistress were present. Seventh Mistress brought Ah Luo over to greet them respectfully. Li Xiang sighed and said, “Yu Tang, it pains me that you hid this from me. I found it strange that you used to be a famous talented beauty of Feng City, so how could you not have taught your daughter well?”
Ah Luo was just about to speak out when Seventh Mistress answered first, “Master, it was I who forbid Ah Luo from revealing her talents. I wanted her to amaze the world with a single act one day.”
Eldest Mistress walked up and slapped Seventh Mistress across her face, “Wretched woman! Talk about amazing the world, Ah Luo sure surprised the heavens today!”
Putting a hand on her cheek, Seventh Mistress laughed, “Only allowing the other daughters to find a good household, why can’t my daughter do the same?” Seventh Mistress turned around with a smile then using her eyes, she signalled at an angry Qing Luo, prohibiting her from moving.
Ah Luo’s legs weakened and she knelt down, “It is I who was wrong, I shouldn’t have helped Eldest Sister play the zither today!”
Li Xiang, who was watching with a cool detached demeanor, burst into laughter and said, “Who said you were wrong? If you hadn’t played the song, how could the Crown Prince have been interested in Qing Lei, Ah Luo, you made a vital contribution!” He stretched out his hands to lift up Qing Luo, embracing and petting her head as he said, “Father is just angry at your mother for concealing this, Father is actually very happy. It turns out that my Ah Luo has both charm and talent too!”
The hairs on Ah Luo’s back stood up one by one and she felt goosebumps all over. Finally, she lifted up her head and looked at Li Xiang with teary eyes, saying, “Mother was only thinking for Ah Luo, don’t blame her anymore father. Besides, Ah Luo can only play the zither and has yet to learn even a part of the calligraphy and poetry from mother. If it makes Father happy, Ah Luo wants to learn them from my mother one by one.” Ah Luo’s tone was extremely soft.
Li Xiang stared at the glinting tears in her eyes and said with a chuckle, “You really are Father’s good daughter. You mustn’t continue to listen to your mother and keep secrets from your father in the future. Yu Tang, Ah Luo is just like you when you first came here. Very good!”
Eldest Mistress took this opportunity and said, “I fear that the princess and Crown Prince will blame us. Old Seven, Ah Luo acted to prevent our Xiang Family from being embarrassed at the banquet, Ah Lei couldn’t play the zither at that time. It may have been a good thing, but what should we do if this matter becomes known?”
Seventh Mistress said, “Ah Luo will never touch the zither again in her life, in any case, nobody knows that she can play. It will be fine for her to choose other skills to learn at random.”
Li Xiang nodded, “Very well. It is enough to have Qing Lei play the zither. Qing Fei is good at calligraphy, so Ah Luo, you will learn poetry from your mother.”
Ah Luo saw that Li Xiang’s gaze had been lingering on her own hands all this time and she felt such extreme dread in her heart that she cried out, “Ah Luo will also play the flute! Mother says I have talent for music theory and was just saying that she will teach me.”
Li Xiang’s eyes finally softened, “Alright, will learn poetry, will play the flute, also good.”
In the end, Ah Luo was helping Seventh Mistress out of the hall when they heard Li Xiang speak coldly, “Yu Tang, teach Ah Luo properly. She is young and there are a lot of things she doesn’t understand, but you do.”
Seventh Mistress agreed in a low voice.
They returned to Begonia Garden. Ah Luo’s tears fell. Whether it had been in the modern or ancient era, she had never felt such deep-seated fear. Even when she had travelled across time to a different world and become someone else, she had never felt this indescribable fear. If she hadn’t said that she would play the flute, would her hands have been crippled by Li Xiang? She had been instinctively frightened. Ah Luo told herself to think again, was there any other way to change this passive situation?
