How Did the Female Lead in the Angst Novel Become My Ex-Wife’s Sister? - Chapter 20

Great Cold had passed, and the New Year was only a few days away.

As the year wound down, the ministries were swamped with work, and the inner manor was no different. Cen Xianyue had to manage everything, both inside and out. Worried that Yunxiu wouldn’t be able to handle it all alone, she assigned another maid to look after Linlang. In reality, the extra help was barely needed; Xianyue still found excuses to run back every other moment, looking as though she wished she could just stand guard over her around the clock.

Linlang knew she wanted to stay, but Xianyue was still the primary mistress of the Shen household. When Shen Zhao returned from her shift in the evening, Xianyue had to go.

What were those familiar words she said before leaving?

“I’ll be right back. Linlang, stay on your stomach and wait for me, okay?”

The snow began to fall again. Linlang lay flat on her bed, staring longingly out the window toward the direction where Xianyue had vanished. A row of eaves, a blanket of snow—everything looked so orderly and clean.

She’d never thought much of snow before, but now that her movement was restricted, suddenly everything seemed fascinating and fresh.

How long will it fall? Will it ever stop?

“Xiao He, how long has it been?” she asked the maid waiting by her side.

This was the girl Xianyue had given her. Fearing that Linlang might be bullied by the servants again, Xianyue had intentionally picked one who was a bit timid.

Xiao He—a name that meant “Little Lotus,” a flower of summer. When would summer finally get here?

“In response to the Young Miss, it has only been the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn.”

About half an hour.

Only half an hour?

The time for Shen Zhao’s return to Jinan was fast approaching. Linlang suspected that Shen Zhao would almost certainly ask Xianyue to go with her. Originally, Linlang thought that by sabotaging the plot, Shen Zhao would drop the idea entirely, but it didn’t seem to be the case. Shen Zhao had stopped by to see her this morning before leaving, or rather, she came to see Xianyue and happened to check on her. At the time, Shen Zhao looked like she had something on her mind, glancing at Xianyue repeatedly with words caught in her throat. But because Xianyue was busy fussing over Linlang, she never got the chance.

Now that she was off duty, it was only natural for her to call the wife to her presence.

Linlang was starting to find Shen Zhao baffling. Why? Did she actually have feelings for Xianyue all along, and the plot was just an excuse?

Would Xianyue say yes? No, she wouldn’t. Linlang was still “injured,” and Xianyue was too good a person to just leave her behind.

But what if? She had given her a new maid, after all; maybe that was her way of preparing for the trip south.

A seed of doubt sprouted in Linlang’s mind.

I hate “what ifs.”

“Forget it. I’ll just sleep.”

She turned her head toward the wall and closed her eyes.

She couldn’t sleep.

After tossing and turning for a while, she sat up. “No, I have to go see for myself.”

She slid off the bed, shuffled into her shoes, and hobbled toward the door, sticking her backside out awkwardly with every step.

Just as she reached the door, Xianyue arrived. Seeing her up, Xianyue hurried to support her and lead her back inside. “Didn’t I tell you to wait? Why are you up already?”

“I was bored without you, Sister. I just wanted to move around a bit.”

“They say it takes a hundred days to heal bone and muscle. You can move around in a hundred days.”

That was a bit of an exaggeration, and Linlang knew she wasn’t being literal, but she couldn’t help acting spoiled. “A hundred days? That’s too long! It’ll be nearly summer by then!”

“How could it be summer already?” Xianyue chided gently.

Back in the room, Pei Linlang lay flat on the bed again. Propping her chin up, she watched Cen Xianyue first close the door, then call for the maid to add more charcoal to the brazier, before hurrying back to tuck in the corners of her quilt. Xianyue’s head was lowered, strands of hair falling softly against the side of her face.

Xianyue picked up a bowl she had placed on the stand when she entered, stirring it spoon by spoon. A cloud of warm steam rose before her eyes, making everything look hazy and ethereal.

“Where did you go just now, Sister? What took you so long?”

“I made you something to eat.” She held up a spoonful for Linlang to see. Oh, they were longans—huge ones. Longan and red date soup, judging by the sweet, comforting aroma.

“But won’t dinner be served soon?”

“It doesn’t matter. I need to fatten you up over this New Year season.”

Hearing that, Linlang figured Xianyue probably wasn’t leaving. But then again, who knew? Maybe she’d change her mind at the last second. Ugh, so annoying. I hate Shen Zhao.

On her first day back to “womanhood,” Linlang was still wearing men’s clothes and hadn’t changed her hairstyle. She was nursing an injury; she was too lazy to fuss with it, and Xianyue wouldn’t let her anyway.

Strangely, the Cen Manor must have heard something, because they actually sent someone to check on her. Around dinnertime, Cen Juexing sent over some supplies, claiming they were to “replenish” her health. Yunxiu mentioned it while delivering dinner, saying her mistress had carefully put the items away to be stewed later.

The “supplements” were really just silver ear fungus, black sesame pills, and angelica root. Yunxiu had grumbled under her breath, cursing those “stingy old farts” for having the nerve to send such scraps, while calling the Second Young Miss brainless for not even checking the contents before sending them.

Linlang guessed that Madam Cen and her nannies had probably remembered her over dinner and tossed some leftover odds and ends from the warehouse her way. Getting beaten on her first day as the Princess’s protégé, and as a woman, no less, was quite the scandal. They were likely having a good laugh at her expense.

Dinner was still served for Xianyue and Shen Zhao in the main hall. Linlang had tried several times to get Xianyue to stay in the annex, but Xianyue refused, saying her family never had the custom of dining in the inner chambers. Linlang could only wait for her, eyes wide with anticipation.

Growing anxious again, she sent Xiao He to the front yard to scout for news.

Xiao He returned a moment later, reporting with robotic precision exactly what the Madame and the Master had eaten, what the Madame liked, and what the Master preferred…

“Stop, stop, stop! Who told you to talk about the food? What about their conversation? The dialogue!”

“Oh, the dialogue,” Xiao He thought for a moment. “In response to the Young Miss, I didn’t hear clearly. Something about the New Year, I think…”

“Did Shen Zhao only just bring it up? Talk about dragging your feet. She’s keeping me on edge all day.”

“I can’t just sit here and wait for death!” Linlang climbed out of bed again, hobbling toward the door with her backside sticking out.

Facing the icy, snowy world outside, Linlang began to let her imagination run wild. She figured Shen Zhao must be hesitating because the plot had been disrupted; she was probably stammering, unsure if she should even ask Xianyue to go.

And Xianyue? She could likely guess what Shen Zhao wanted to say. She had been looking forward to this. What would she be thinking? She must be itching to go.

The two of them would lock eyes, a moment of mutual “affection,” and then…

“Ouch!”

Linlang was hurrying down the steps past the moon gate, her mind elsewhere, when her foot hit a patch of ice. She slipped and landed flat on her back, or rather, her rear, with her limbs flailing.

“Young Miss!”

“My butt! Xiao He! My butt is dying!”

*****

Sure enough, Cen Xianyue was angry again.

Actually, her anger from the night before hadn’t fully dissipated; it was just that Linlang had been so exhausted she fell asleep while the medicine was being applied. This morning, Xianyue had been too busy coaxing her to stay mad.

But today, Linlang had done nothing but eat and sleep. Now, she was wide awake and restless.

She peeked at Xianyue. Xianyue sat by the bed with a cold gaze, reapplying medicine to Linlang’s bruised backside. Linlang had even forgotten to be embarrassed; she just felt that Xianyue’s sharp glances were making her increasingly fidgety.

“This medicine is so cool and refreshing, quite comfortable actually…” she started, trying to break the silence. “Sister, Cen Juexing actually gave this to me secretly last night.”

“I know. You two have been fighting since you were children; the family always kept this on hand.”

“Oh…”

“…”

Xianyue’s eyes seemed hollow, fixed only on the injury. The bruising was terrifyingly dark—no blood, just a mess of purple and blue, swollen into a little hill on the plain of her skin.

Even in this state, Linlang’s head was still filled with “The Mission.” She thought about what Xiao He had whispered before Xianyue rushed over: “When I went there, the Madame was packing. She’s likely preparing for the trip south. Young Miss, your fall was so perfectly timed!”

“Absolutely! The Madame was so worried she sent the Second Young Miss home without even finishing dinner!”

Cen Juexing might have come to explain things to her sister, but what about Xianyue? Was she still mad about last night, or was she truly just panicked about the fall?

Linlang started to feel anxious, which turned into a sour mood. She thought that maybe she should just let Xianyue go; otherwise, keeping her here would just be filled with regret and longing. It was so irritating.

She looked at Xianyue, truly not knowing what to say.

“Sister, don’t stay mad at Cen Juexing because of me. You two are real sisters, tied by blood. What am I to you, anyway?”

She must have said something wrong. She didn’t mean it, but her mouth was out of control, because Xianyue’s face changed instantly.

Her movements froze. She lifted her lashes to look at Linlang, her pupils trembling slightly.

“What are you?” she repeated. “What do you think you are to me?”

“I… I don’t know…” Linlang looked away guiltily, unsure how to fix this.

“Don’t know? Hmph. Are you trying to say you’re nothing? Well, then I am the one who is truly nothing!”

She was genuinely furious. Her fingertips were shaking, her eyes staring straight ahead as the rims turned red. Yet, she didn’t even stand up; despite the trembling, she continued to apply the medicine.

This was the first time Linlang had seen her this angry. She had always thought Xianyue was a “soft persimmon,” a gentle soul who loved everyone and held a heart of forgiveness even for enemies. Who knew she could flare up like this?

Linlang knew her words were inappropriate, but she hadn’t realized they would warrant such a reaction. What’s wrong with Xianyue? What triggered this?

“Since you ‘don’t know,’ then stop taking the fall for me on your own. You can just consider yourself a guest in a relative’s house, someone a relative has to look after because of your mother’s dying wish. If that’s the case, what is all this you’re doing now?”

Her words were sharp, laced with thorns.

Technically, the words shouldn’t have hurt Linlang. She felt that was the truth of the situation. Repaying a debt, as it should be. She wasn’t even a real relative. But hearing it from Xianyue’s mouth made her heart ache.

“Sister…”

Xianyue sniffed, ignoring her.

“Sister, I was wrong…”

Xianyue’s eyes grew redder.

“I mean it.”

Finally, a tear escaped, a hot drop sliding down Xianyue’s cheek and landing right in the small of Linlang’s back.

Xianyue capped the small porcelain jar and reached up to wipe the mist from her eyes. “Don’t call me Sister anymore. I’m no sister of yours.” Her voice was thick with unshed tears.

“Don’t say that. What if I take you seriously?”

Xianyue gave her a look filled with resentment and grievance. “Go ahead and take it seriously then. Since when have you not taken it seriously?”

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