How Did the Female Lead in the Angst Novel Become My Ex-Wife’s Sister? - Chapter 6

Pei Linlang arrived at the door of the western side room. Inside, Yunxiu was ordering servants to set out hot water. “That old hag… I hope she meets a bad end. Bringing one extra bowl of soup was like asking for her life. Miss, hurry and drink this to warm up.”

Linlang knocked and entered, addressing Xianyue as “Eldest Sister” again. Xianyue looked up and signaled to Yunxiu.

Though clearly reluctant, Yunxiu moved toward Linlang and handed her the bowl of chicken soup originally intended for Xianyue. “Drink it while it’s hot, Second Young Master,” she muttered.

Linlang tried to decline, but Xianyue cut her off: “If she tells you to drink it, drink it.” Linlang could only accept.

She sat on the large window-side kang bed, separated from Xianyue by a small tea table. A branch of winter plum blossomed in a vase on the table. The side room was small but exquisitely arranged, with matching wood tones and a collection of porcelain, palace lanterns, and screens that gave the space a refined air. Xianyue wasn’t one for luxury; she preferred spending her leisure time on needlework. Even the blanket over Linlang’s knees was adorned with Xianyue’s intricate embroidery.

After finishing the soup, Linlang gauged Xianyue’s expression. Her face was cold, her eyes downcast. She still seemed upset.

Linlang rose and bowed. “I have been leaving early and returning late these past two days, causing you worry. My heart is filled with regret; I hope you can forgive me, Sister.”

Her head was bowed, but was she truly regretful? She wasn’t sure, but the social niceties had to be observed.

She felt Xianyue’s gaze on her. Finally, a soft sigh. “It’s fine. It’s enough that you’re back.” She ordered Yunxiu to bring Linlang a hand-warmer. “It was my fault for not looking after you properly.”

Linlang took the warmer and smiled. “How can you say that? I’m already so grateful you’ve overlooked the past. And…” She gave a mysterious smile. “Don’t worry about me. I think I’ve found a way to make a living. When the time is right, I’ll move out so I won’t continue to be a burden.”

The expression on Xianyue’s face shifted slightly.

Before Linlang could continue, a servant entered carrying the thick fox-fur cloak. He bowed respectfully. “The Master ordered me to return this to the Madam.”

Yunxiu took the cloak. Xianyue rubbed her temples. “I didn’t realize you were in such a hurry to leave,” she said quietly.

Linlang assumed she was simply worried about her being too hasty. “Thank you for your concern, Sister. Just as you worry for me, I worry for you. If I may say… waiting for Brother-in-law is a task for the servants. There’s no need to exhaust yourself.”

Xianyue let out a short, mocking laugh.

Linlang looked up, sensing the atmosphere in the room had turned strange. Not just Xianyue, but even Yunxiu was staring at her with wide eyes.

I guess Shen Zhao really is the ‘reverse scale’ of this gentle heroine, Linlang thought. She quickly paid her respects and excused herself.

As she walked away, the door behind her was slammed shut with a heavy thud by Yunxiu. She could hear the maid’s muffled, angry voice from inside, while Xianyue remained silent.

That silence was suffocating.

Inside, Yunxiu eventually ran out of steam and fell silent. She looked at her mistress’s unreadable face and carefully poured a fresh cup of tea. “Miss, since you didn’t get the soup, have some tea. It’s the Silver-thread Pu-erh from the south—very precious.”

Xianyue said nothing, staring blankly into space.

“Miss?” Yunxiu whispered.

“It’s nothing.” Xianyue sighed and took a distracted sip. “I’m fine. It’s late; go to bed.”

“Yes…”

Yunxiu ordered hot water for her mistress’s wash, but when she returned, she saw Xianyue had picked up her embroidery again. “Miss, working on your needlework at this hour will ruin your eyes.”

“It’s fine, just for a moment. Just help me take down my hair and jewelry; don’t mind me.”

Her mistress was always like this. Whenever her heart was troubled, she would lose herself in patterns. There was a time she had embroidered day and night. To save her eyes, Yunxiu had been forced to light the room as bright as day. Eventually, Xianyue stopped doing it at night out of guilt for the servants’ lack of sleep, but she still couldn’t rest. She would lie awake until dawn and then resume her work.

This had all started after she married. Before, when she was with that Pei person, she would occasionally go out. Since coming to the Shen Estate, it was as if her spirit had slowly withered away within these high walls.

And so, the finished pieces piled up: quilts and blankets. Even the servants all carried sachets she had made. There were so many that they eventually had to start selling them off to outsiders.

Even the most devastating tragedies are eventually dulled by the passage of time. After two long years, the Eldest Miss had finally begun to set down her needlework until the afternoon before last.

When that meddling nanny from the Cen Manor arrived, prattling on about “sisters” and the affairs of Pei Linlang, everything reverted to the way it used to be. Yunxiu remembered vividly how restless her mistress had been that night. She said nothing, but her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Even as she sat on the edge of the kang, the tea in her cup rippled with her tremors. Only by picking up her needlework again was she able to find a semblance of peace.

What is she so afraid of? Yunxiu wondered bitterly. Is she afraid that the woman named Pei really died? It would be better if she had!

Then came yesterday morning, when that Pei person had simply vanished without a word.

In the biting chill of the winter dawn, the snow fell in fits and starts. Xianyue had leaned against the doorframe, gazing at the leaden sky for a long time before turning to ask, “When will this snow stop?”

“It will stop in a moment,” Yunxiu had replied.

But Xianyue didn’t seem to hear her. Her fingernails pressed into the grooves of the wooden doorframe as she murmured vacantly, “Yunxiu, I fear this snow will never stop.”

Yunxiu didn’t understand the hidden meaning, but hearing it made her heart ache.

“Miss, come inside and rest, lest you catch a chill.” She had draped a cloak over Xianyue’s shoulders. Xianyue looked back at her and smiled weakly. “I’m fine, truly. I’m just worried that she’s being bullied again, and in some corner I don’t know about…”

“I’m fine.”

She wasn’t fine at all! But as she was the mistress, Yunxiu couldn’t say more.

*****

After removing the hairpins and jewelry one by one, Yunxiu began to comb through Xianyue’s hair. Xianyue was still guiding her needle; under the dim yellow lamplight, her eyes were clouded with a lingering, somber obsession.

Yunxiu snapped back to the present and finally saw what was in her mistress’s hands. “Miss, this is…”

“I want to make her a suit of clothes.”

Yunxiu cried out in frustration, “You already gave her one!”

“In this weather, one is hardly enough.” Xianyue paused her stitching, lost in thought. “Find some time to go out and pick a cloak for me. Something lightweight. She likes to run about; she won’t want to wear something too heavy.”

“Fine,” Yunxiu grumbled. “But I am not going to lie and say it’s one of the Master’s old robes ever again!”

Xianyue simply offered a faint smile.

******

The next morning, Yunxiu was sent by Xianyue to call Linlang for breakfast. She secretly decided that if the woman tried to leave without a word again, she would give her a piece of her mind.

This time, however, Linlang hadn’t left. In fact, they ran into each other halfway. Linlang was clearly heading toward the main courtyard. When she saw the maid, she greeted her warmly: “Good morning, Sister Yunxiu. Is Eldest Sister up yet?”

Yunxiu glared at her. “Obviously!”

Linlang was baffled by the hostility but didn’t take offense. She knew she had been in the wrong yesterday; she had been a loner in her previous life and was used to coming and going as she pleased. It was only after she had already left the house that she realized she should have paid her respects to Xianyue first.

“Was Sister Yunxiu coming specifically to find me for breakfast?” Linlang teased, offering an olive branch.

Yunxiu didn’t take it. If anything, she looked even angrier. “Who would come specifically for you! I just… I just didn’t want your lack of manners to insult my Lady’s kindness!”

Linlang chuckled sheepishly. “Yes, yes…”

Inside the main hall, heavy curtains blocked the draft, and a brazier made the room cozy and warm. Shen Zhao was nowhere to be seen. Linlang lifted the curtain and peeked around. “Has Brother-in-law already left?”

“Of course! The Master is very busy. You think everyone is as idle as you?”

This girl is a literal firecracker, Linlang thought.

She walked over to the table and formally greeted Xianyue. Xianyue looked up, gave Yunxiu a subtle, warning glance, and replied, “Your brother-in-law has to rise at the hour of the Tiger (4:00 AM) to attend the morning court. I usually rise at that time as well.”

Hearing this, Linlang felt a surge of sympathy. “Sister, that’s far too much work. You’re not the one going to court, so why not sleep in a bit longer?”

“What are you talking about!” Yunxiu wanted to snap that her mistress couldn’t sleep because she was worried about you, not because of the Master! But Xianyue cut her off with a sharp look, forcing her into silence.

Yunxiu sat at the far end of the table near the door, while Linlang sat near Xianyue, though she purposefully left an empty chair between them. Linlang didn’t mean anything by it; she just felt awkward crowding the heroine when the table was so large.

Yunxiu, however, was convinced Linlang was doing it specifically to hurt Xianyue’s feelings, just as she always had in the past.

“It isn’t like this every day. Between your brother-in-law and me…” Xianyue started, her slender fingers gripping her chopsticks as she hesitated.

“I understand,” Linlang interrupted, her voice tinged with indignation. “Sister, loving yourself is what matters most. Tomorrow, you should sleep in. Brother-in-law is a grown man; I’m sure he can take care of himself!”

It was hard to tell if Xianyue actually took the advice to heart, but a soft, genuine smile finally touched her pale face. “Thank you. I will.”

Linlang felt her own mood brighten. Between mouthfuls of porridge, she told Xianyue about her talk with Qin Yufeng. How they were going to collaborate and how confident she was that she could make money.

Xianyue went still for a moment and gave two slow nods. Her expression was hard to read, much like last night. Linlang understood her concerns, but she didn’t want to sound like a broken record, so she just offered a reassuring smile.

As the sun began to rise higher, Linlang stood to take her leave. She promised Xianyue she would be back before dark. As she walked through the hall and turned back to look, she saw Xianyue still standing at the door, watching her like a worried mother or a devoted wife.

Linlang realized that for the past two years, this was likely how Xianyue had watched Shen Zhao leave and return.

She waved enthusiastically at Xianyue, mentally reinforcing her vow: I am definitely going to rescue this heroine from this miserable life!

****

Note:

Kang –  (Chinese: 炕; pinyin: kàng) is a traditional heated platform, 2 meters or more long, used for general living, working, entertaining, and sleeping in the northern part of China, where the winter climate is cold. 

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