How Did the Female Lead in the Angst Novel Become My Ex-Wife’s Sister? - Chapter 3

Night had fallen completely, and the Cen Manor was bathed in the warm glow of lanterns.

Pei Linlang ducked under the eaves of a remote corridor and carefully opened the letter. The paper was slightly yellowed but well-preserved. Unfolding it, she saw neat, elegant rows of “Zanhua” style calligraphy.

She slowed her pace, reading with intense focus. When she finished, her brow furrowed, then slowly smoothed out. Her eyes sharpened. She tucked the letter away and sprinted toward the main garden.

In the garden, Cen Xianyue was walking with Madam Cen and Cen Juexing.

To welcome the Scum Alpha, the area had been exquisitely decorated with various palace lanterns. Against the unthawed snow, the warm light reflected off the white ground, creating a scene like a celestial palace. Unfortunately, the guest of honor was absent, and Madam Cen, who had arranged it all, looked like she was ready to explode.

“So after all that, the reason you were in such a hurry to come back was for that Pei Linlang brat?” Peeking over a wall, Linlang heard Madam Cen’s sharp, shrill voice. Her tone was a perfect, more mature echo of Juexing’s.

“Linlang grew up under your roof, Mother. How can you speak of her like that?” a calm, melodic voice replied. It was the heroine, Cen Xianyue. “Besides, I told you I was worried. I haven’t heard a word about her for so long. What is the harm in me coming to see for myself?”

“What is the harm?” Madam Cen’s voice rose an octave. “Go outside and listen to the filth they’re saying about you! They say the Master doesn’t care for you at all, that after two years of marriage, the ceremony remains unfinished. And now you come home alone, how am I supposed to hold my head up?”

Her words were measured but incredibly venomous.

It made sense; Madam Cen wasn’t Xianyue’s biological mother. She was the second wife, the sister of the original wife. Xianyue called her “Mother,” but by blood, she was an aunt. And because she was a “successor wife” from a lesser branch of the family, her connection was even more tenuous.

Cen Juexing was being useless as well. She followed along, calling out “Sister, Sister” as if she adored Xianyue, but now she didn’t have the courage to squeak. She just looked at Xianyue like a frightened turtle.

The surrounding maids kept their heads down, silent. Linlang worried about how a sheltered lady like Xianyue would handle such humiliation. She pushed aside some branches to get a better look at her.

To her surprise, Cen Xianyue didn’t look distressed at all.

She simply stood there, her head slightly bowed, her moon-white robes giving her an air of detached elegance. This “independence” was far different from the fragile woman Linlang had imagined.

“If Mother knows the talk outside is nonsense, why bring such foul words into our home? I understand the family’s wishes, and it isn’t that I didn’t want him to come. He is simply buried in official business today and could not get away.”

Madam Cen snorted.

Cen Xianyue continued, “Mother also knows that Linlang’s mother passed away not long ago. She is sensitive by nature and hasn’t gotten along with Juexing for years. Regarding this, I have given it much thought. I came today specifically to take her—”

Before she could finish, the sound of frantic footsteps echoed from the corner of the courtyard, accompanied by a howl: “A ghost! I’ve seen a ghost! A ghost!”

The terror in the voice startled everyone. Looking closer, a figure with matted, messy hair and disheveled clothes stumbled into view. The shape was so grotesque and frightening that the crowd instinctively recoiled.

The dark shadow darted left and right, nearly crashing into Madam Cen before a fierce old nanny blocked the path. “Which little wretch is playing tricks and disturbing the Madam’s walk? I’ll—” The nanny grabbed the person’s arm and yanked back the hair. She gasped. “Young Master Pei?”

“It’s you again!” After keeping her head down all night, Cen Juexing finally found her backbone. She tugged on Madam Cen’s sleeve, pointing a finger at Linlang with the borrowed bravado of a bully. “Mother, look at her! She made fools of me and my servants, and she still has the nerve to come back!”

Madam Cen could never bear to see her darling daughter upset. Her face immediately darkened, lengthening like a donkey’s as she donned the cold, haughty air of a matriarch. “Juexing told me everything that happened today. Pei Linlang, you were barely four or five when you entered this manor with your mother. We’ve shared many years of sentiment. Even after your mother passed, the Master allowed you to keep eating our bread. Such kindness, and yet you turn around and bully Juexing? This is a total inversion of the natural order. Nanny, take this ungrateful wretch to the woodshed!”

Pei Linlang immediately threw herself into the role of a terrified victim, kneeling and sobbing for mercy. “Madam, spare me! I could never forget the kindness of the Master and Madam, but… Madam, I was truly forced into this!”

She widened her eyes in terror, looking up at them with a trembling chin. “That courtyard is haunted! Every attempt I made to escape was because I was so scared! Madam! Last night, I saw my mother! And… and a ghost in a pink dress hanging from a beam! Her tongue was hanging out this far!”

She described it with such vividness that her entire body began to shake.

While she covered her face and sobbed, she peeked through the gaps in her fingers to gauge their reactions. Sure enough, Madam Cen and the Nanny turned pale. They stood there, exchanging looks while trying and failing to remain composed.

Beside them, Cen Juexing was oblivious, still stomping her feet. “Pei Linlang, I have to admit, your stories are getting better and better! Mother, hurry up and…” She tugged on the sleeve again. When it didn’t move, she nudged her again. “Mother?”

On the other side of Madam Cen, the female lead, Cen Xianyue, remained motionless. Her flower-like face showed no panic, no fear. She simply fixed her gaze on Linlang, her emotions unreadable.

Madam Cen had no time for her dim-witted daughter. Her eyes bulged as she asked in a tight, strained voice, “Pei Linlang, speak clearly! What pink dress? What ghost?”

“I… I don’t know… I don’t know…” Linlang shook her head frantically.

The Nanny, losing her patience, moved forward to squeeze Linlang’s waist, a classic precursor to a more painful interrogation.

Linlang braced herself, ready to wail like a banshee.

But before she could start, a figure stepped forward gracefully, shielding her.

“Mother, please calm yourself. I believe Linlang is simply frightened out of her wits,” Cen Xianyue said, her voice smooth and unhurried.

She turned and helped Linlang up, asking softly, “Linlang, did that woman in pink have a small beauty mark near her cheek?”

A delicate fragrance wafted over, and Linlang found herself caught in Xianyue’s gaze.

Cen Xianyue was undeniably beautiful, but “beautiful” felt too mundane a word. There was something else in her eyes, something that tugged at Linlang’s heart.

Is this a remnant of the original owner’s memory? Linlang felt a sudden flutter in her chest, a surge of inexplicable emotion. It took her a moment to stammer out a reply: “Y-yes…”

“Then there is no mistake.” Cen Xianyue turned and gave a small nod to Madam Cen. “Mother, I believe what Linlang saw was the recently departed Concubine Pei, and… Concubine Han, who hung herself in that remote courtyard twenty years ago.”

Cen Juexing looked incredulous, glaring at Linlang. “That’s impossible! Sister, Pei Linlang is crazy! She’s clearly just making this up to avoid punishment!”

She wasn’t wrong, but no one was listening to her.

Madam Cen exchanged several more panicked looks with the Nanny. Seeing this, Cen Xianyue continued: “Concubine Han passed long before Linlang arrived; she couldn’t possibly have known about her. But that isn’t the issue. Concubine Han died alone without children, so her attachments are few.”

“Concubine Pei, however, is different. She raised a son to adulthood; her lingering attachments must be strong. It’s natural she would return to check on him. Seeing Linlang living so miserably, it’s no wonder she might return as a vengeful spirit…”

“Cen Xianyue!” Madam Cen snapped, her voice sharp with fear.

Xianyue’s words had clearly struck a nerve. Madam Cen’s hands were clenched so tight her knuckles were white.

She believed it.

She had to. Concubine Han was a character who only appeared in memories in the original novel, and among the younger generation, only Cen Xianyue had seen her—because she was the one who had discovered the body. This backstory was what gave Xianyue her melancholic aura and served as a plot device for her romance with Shen Zhao.

But reality was proving different from the novel. Even facing Madam Cen’s visible terror, Xianyue remained calm, her eyes downcast, as serene as a lotus in a pond. She showed none of the fragility or fear described in the book.

The Nanny whispered something into Madam Cen’s ear. After a pause, Cen Xianyue spoke again: “Mother, why don’t I take Linlang with me? Concubine Pei and I shared some sentiment. If she knows Linlang is under my care, perhaps she can find peace and move on to her next life.”

Linlang, who had been dazed, stiffened at those words. She looked up and locked eyes with Cen Xianyue.

The next moment, Xianyue reached out and grasped her wrist. “Linlang, what do you think?”

The night was freezing, but Xianyue’s palm felt like it was burning.

Pei Linlang stared at her for a long time before finally nodding.

Cen Xianyue had exceptionally clear eyes. Even a simple look made Linlang feel like she was the only person in her world, like Xianyue could see right through her.

Perhaps she understood everything. Perhaps she saw through the clumsy little tricks, but she was willing to play along anyway.

******

The carriage rocked as it pulled away from the Cen Manor.

As the night deepened, the streets grew silent, and the interior of the carriage followed suit.

Since boarding, Cen Xianyue hadn’t uttered a single word. She sat with her eyes closed, as if lost in thought, or perhaps just following the silent habits of a refined lady. She was wrapped in a layer of cold detachment.

Linlang watched her, thinking back to the letter.

Xianyue had written: “I have never felt anything for you but the bond of sisters. When we shared a bed as children, it was out of pity for your frailty; when our fingers touched in our youth, it was mere playfulness. If I crossed a line, it was my failure to keep a proper distance, leading you to misunderstand. I feel deep regret. I beg you not to continue this obsession, lest you ruin the marriage between me and the Master of the Shen family…”

If she had written such a definitive letter, why had she saved her tonight? Why had she offered to take her away?

Perhaps noticing Linlang’s confused gaze, Cen Xianyue spoke softly. “Before Concubine Pei passed, she entrusted you to me, begging me to look after you.”

Her voice was cold now, completely different from before.

Linlang blinked, then let out a breath of relief, nodding. “I see…”

She looked down at her lap, her fingers twisting and untwisting the fabric of her sleeve. As long as Xianyue didn’t harbor a grudge against the original owner’s past behavior, she could work with this.

After a moment of silence, Cen Xianyue spoke again. “I heard… you fell into the water a few days ago?”

Her phrasing was incredibly cautious. But she sat with her hands folded neatly on her knees, staring straight ahead like a statue of Buddha, showing none of the tension her words implied.

Linlang considered for a moment. “I believe so.”

Xianyue’s hands gave a sudden twitch, as if she wanted to reach out but forced herself to stay still.

“…They say you have ‘Soul-Loss Syndrome.’ Is that also true?”

It might have been her imagination, but Linlang thought she heard a tremor in her voice.

She looked over in confusion. Cen Xianyue was staring at her with a strange, unblinking intensity that made Linlang’s heart race. Flustered, she looked away, bowing her head in a show of respect.

“In response to the Eldest Miss: Linlang has indeed forgotten many things, especially… regarding you.” In truth, she had vague memories of Juexing and Madam Cen, but absolutely nothing regarding Cen Xianyue.

“I apologize for my rudeness earlier. Cen Juexing was pushing me too far, and I had no other choice…” She stole a glance at Xianyue. Seeing her face remain unchanged, Linlang pushed forward with her prepared speech. “Regarding the past, Linlang must also apologize deeply to the Eldest Miss.”

“I met with Shopkeeper Qin this afternoon and learned that I did many foolish things in the past,” she said, her voice dropping lower. “I hope the Eldest Miss can be magnanimous and forget what happened. Please, don’t hold it against me.”

Pei Linlang kept her head bowed in a show of sincerity.

Amidst the long silence that followed, Cen Xianyue looked at her with a lost, hollow expression.

Finally, she said: “Linlang, that is the first time you have ever called me ‘Eldest Miss.'”

That was the last thing Cen Xianyue said to her before they reached the Shen Manor.

Linlang looked up at her, puzzled. In the shadows, Xianyue seemed to possess a fragility that hadn’t been there even when they were discussing ghosts.

Linlang didn’t quite understand. She thought Xianyue would be happy to hear those words, so why did she look so heartbroken?

Or had her brush with death simply earned her a deep well of the heroine’s pity?

Whatever. The goal was achieved.

Despite a few small surprises, the plot seemed to be back on track. It was a lucky break in a string of misfortunes.

As the carriage wheels rumbled on, Cen Xianyue stopped looking at her, and Linlang turned her gaze to the world passing by outside the window.

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