How Did the Female Lead in the Angst Novel Become My Ex-Wife’s Sister? - Chapter 10

Regarding the matter of the jade pendant, Pei Linlang had managed to unearth some clues.

According to Qin Yufeng, the jade was indeed of an imperial style. Judging by the craftsmanship, it was highly likely to be a royal piece. The current Emperor was frail and sickly, with no heirs to speak of. “Royal” essentially meant the Emperor, the Princess Regent, or perhaps one of the many female favorites surrounding the Princess Regent.

At the table in the main hall, Cen Xianyue maintained her usual stoic expression. It seemed she was still reluctant about the whole affair. She asked, “Who do you think it belongs to? His Majesty, or Her Highness the Princess Regent?”

“I don’t know, but I hope it’s just a favorite of the Princess.”

“Why?”

“I’ve heard that this Princess Regent…”

Qin Yufeng’s original words had been: “That Princess isn’t just arrogant and domineering; she’s notoriously debauched. When the Empress Dowager passed away, her wails were so piercing that she literally cracked her forehead open on the stones of the Golden Hall. Blood and tears stained half her mourning banner. Every official in court praised her supreme filial piety. But what happened next?”

“Her own brother had been on the throne for barely three days when the imperial kitchen caught a small eunuch trembling as he shook cinnabar powder into the Emperor’s sobering soup. Before the slave was executed, his screams could be heard all the way down Vermilion Bird Street: ‘Princess Regent, spare me! You said… you said His Majesty was weak and needed cinnabar to replenish his vital energy…'”

Pei Linlang didn’t have a strong memory of the Princess Regent’s character in the original novel, only that the lady’s end was quite tragic after a failed rebellion. Getting tangled up with a character like that was a guaranteed recipe for disaster.

Linlang felt a lump in her throat. “I’m not sure how to put it, but she doesn’t sound like someone easy to deal with.”

Cen Xianyue didn’t rush to refute her. She slowly poured tea into a cup, murmuring softly through the rising steam, “Yet I have heard that the Princess once tested medicine for the late Emperor, to the point where her hair turned white in three days.”

She took a sip of the tea to cleanse her palate. Seeing Linlang dazed, she gestured for Nanny Zhang to bring over the soup the kitchen had prepared.

Nanny Zhang was clearly unwilling, but a mistress’s command was absolute. She twisted her handkerchief with a scowl and finally left to fetch it.

Once the nanny was gone, Xianyue turned back to Linlang. “Xunzi once said, ‘A rolling marble stops in a bowl; a rumor stops at the wise.’ Marketplace gossip is merely the idle chatter of people seeking petty thrills. Linlang, do not simply echo what others say.”

“Yes, Sister…”

Initially, Linlang thought Xianyue was trying to stop her because of the Princess’s scandals. Now it seemed that wasn’t the case. From her tone, she almost seemed to admire the woman. Had Cen Xianyue opened her “third eye” and realized the Princess was merely a loser in a power struggle? No, that was impossible.

Still, if it was the Princess Regent, that was actually better. At least Linlang wouldn’t have to worry about whether she could get into the Luofuchun Banquet.

Lost in these chaotic thoughts, Linlang didn’t realize how much time had passed until she finished her soup. “Where’s Brother-in-law? Not coming back tonight?”

“Most likely out at another social engagement. You needn’t worry; it happens often,” Xianyue said plainly.

Xianyue remained as still as deep water, her eyes downcast as if she were perfectly accustomed to this.

And why wouldn’t she be? In the book, Shen Zhao treated this home like a guest house for the past two years, rarely even returning on her days off. While the heroine looked fine on the surface, she was actually just numbing herself. She told herself that this was the life of an official, that staying home all day would mean having no future.

She convinced herself she didn’t care and had grown used to it. But in the original plot, when she found out Shen Zhao had given her heart to another woman, it broke her.

Wait, what was that woman’s name? Linlang couldn’t remember, but she knew that later on, Shen Zhao would do anything for her…

The story was supposed to start right around the time that woman returned to the capital. There was an 80% chance Shen Zhao was out seeing her “true love” tonight. How disgusting.

But then again, should she tell Xianyue? It would break her heart. Or would Xianyue simply refuse to believe her? After all, Shen Zhao was the husband she lived with every day, while Linlang was just a troublesome “cousin” from the past. There was no comparison.

Linlang bit her chopsticks, gnawing on a piece of savory white radish from the bottom of her bowl while staring at Xianyue in conflict. She really didn’t want to see Xianyue sad, but “short-term pain is better than long-term suffering.”

“I bet Brother-in-law is out drinking at some flower house,” Linlang said carefully, forcing a teasing tone. “Sister, you really ought to keep a closer eye on her. Brother-in-law is a catch in the capital now; plenty of women are scrambling for a piece of her.”

“Even if she’s upright, I’ve heard she had a childhood sweetheart…” She was about to launch into a full-blown rumor-mongering session.

But her sister didn’t give her the chance. Before she could finish, Xianyue’s face visibly clouded over. Her hand, holding her chopsticks, went still. Once Linlang fell silent, Xianyue spoke with a voice even colder than before.

“Nanny Zhang only has eyes for these hollow, scandalous things because she is old and can see nothing else. Linlang, you are still young. Do you also only have room for such things in your eyes?”

“No, Sister, I…”

Xianyue ignored her and went back to her meal.

Linlang felt more wronged than a martyr, but a second later, she felt a spark of hope. This at least proved her sister wasn’t just a blind pushover. She had a temper. The angrier she was now, the more likely she would be to leave once she discovered Shen Zhao’s infidelity.

In the book, they never divorced because the affair was never dragged into the light. Linlang planned to not only expose it one day but also to make it the talk of the town, unmasking Shen Zhao’s hypocrisy and giving the two of them zero chance of reconciliation.

Thinking this, Linlang gave a loud, cheerful “Yes!” and began to shovel food into her mouth. She shot Xianyue a goofy, simple smile, but as she looked up, she accidentally locked eyes with Yunxiu, who was standing to the side.

The little maid looked absolutely livid, practically shredding her handkerchief with her teeth.

Sensing trouble, Linlang finished her meal and bolted back toward her courtyard, but the maid was faster. Just like last time, Yunxiu cornered her in a dark nook of the side yard.

Linlang panted, holding her side. “Auntie Yunxiu, what did I do to provoke you this time?”

In the heavy night dew, Yunxiu leaned in with a face like a vengeful demon. “Save the ‘Auntie’ talk! Don’t think a few sweet words will make me let you off. Trying to get close to me won’t work!”

“I didn’t—”

“Stop acting innocent, it’s nauseating. I actually thought you had amnesia, but it seems a leopard can’t change its spots. I know what you’re trying to do. Ha! You’re trying to drive a wedge between my Lady and the Master, aren’t you?”

She actually knows?

Linlang was stunned. Was she being that obvious? If even a young maid could see it, Xianyue definitely knew. Would Xianyue’s stubbornness make her cling to Shen Zhao even tighter out of spite? Crap… it might.

While Linlang was busy reflecting, Yunxiu continued: “You’re still obsessed with my Lady, aren’t you? You want to break them up so you can take the Master’s place! Pei Linlang, I know my Lady is beautiful and kind, but a pheasant doesn’t belong with a phoenix. Look in a mirror—you don’t deserve her!”

“?”

“Wait, Auntie Yunxiu, I really—”

“Don’t bother explaining! It’s the same old tired tricks. Can’t you come up with something new? You used to love this act—using that innocent face to deceive my Lady! Now that her life is finally looking up, I won’t let you ruin it again!”

“I’m telling you, my Lady and the Master were a match made in heaven. If you, a scrawny little eunuch-looking thing, try to break them up again, I’ll never forgive you!”

Linlang stood there, dumbfounded, unable to get a single word in. Her chest felt tight. Only after Yunxiu stomped away did she snap out of her trance.

Her “predecessor” was truly something else. That person had spent years acting like a menace, flirting with the heroine, bullying the maids, making a mess of everything—only to jump into a frozen lake and run away, leaving Linlang to deal with the wreckage. Now she was either being cursed at or treated like a creep. What kind of mess was this?

*****

Back in the western-side room, Yunxiu was preparing a speech, fearing her mistress might actually be swayed by that Pei person’s instigations.

She approached Cen Xianyue, who was currently removing her makeup and combing her hair. Through the bronze mirror, Xianyue’s eyes didn’t stray. “Did you go off to bully her again?”

Her voice was so cold it was almost unbearable.

Yunxiu panicked instantly, stammering, “I… I didn’t… Miss, I wouldn’t dare bully her…”

In the past, that person was a master at filing complaints. The moment anything went wrong, she’d go straight to Xianyue’s ear. Both Yunxiu and the Second Miss Cen had suffered plenty because of it. Now that the person had amnesia, Yunxiu’s “bullying” was really just…

She lowered her head, only to see a pair of hands handing her the comb. Her eyes brightened slightly as she took it and began to carefully comb her mistress’s hair. She had followed Xianyue since she was twelve; for all these years, she had been the one to comb this hair, even on Xianyue’s wedding day.

In other families, a mother would perform this ritual, reciting traditional blessings like, “With the first stroke, may you be bound until the end; with the second, may you grow old together in harmony.” They had none of that.

Back then, the Master had not yet come into her own. Though she had earned her credentials, her rank was far from impressive. The Cen household was a chorus of vitriol, claiming their Lady was lowly and lacked self-respect. How could a Minister’s daughter degrade herself so thoroughly for such a person?

Yunxiu had been angry with her mistress too, but when she thought of the alternative, that wretch Pei Linlang—she felt the marriage was a decent enough match.

The Master… she didn’t love the Lady. Anyone could see that. Yunxiu felt the sting of it, the resentment of it, but the two of them lived in peaceful indifference. The days were, at the very least, bearable. And now that the Master had gained the Emperor’s favor, surely everything would improve.

“Miss,” Yunxiu said tentatively, “I only feel that her intentions are impure. I feel that she… Miss, you know the Master isn’t one to frequent pleasure houses. Her heart is set only on her achievements; why would she ever…”

“Yunxiu, I am asking if you bullied her.”

Those eyes turned toward her.

Yunxiu didn’t dare argue further. She hesitated, finally squeezing out a single sentence: “Yes… this servant knows her mistake.”

“Yunxiu, she is my sister, which makes her your master as well. Even if you dislike her, this constant antagonism is wrong. If this happens again, I will have no choice but to find another maid to stay by my side.”

“Miss, don’t! This servant truly won’t do it again!” Yunxiu knelt, looking up at Cen Xianyue. Under the lamplight, Xianyue remained silent, only placing a helpless, gentle hand atop the girl’s head.

Yunxiu was reminded of the day of the wedding. Her mistress had looked at her with that exact same expression.

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