How Did the Female Lead in the Angst Novel Become My Ex-Wife’s Sister? - Chapter 9

“The Yin-Yang Double Carp Pendant… that should be the personal property of the Princess Regent,” Shen Zhao murmured, standing by the study window as the night deepened. She spoke to a silhouette hidden in the shadows. “It seems that useless waste truly has established a connection with her.”

“Master, do you require me to eliminate her?” the shadow asked in a low, cold female voice, her tone devoid of emotion.

“No need,” Shen Zhao replied, her gaze lingering on the dark courtyard as she pondered. “Once we have purged the Princess Regent’s faction, that useless creature will meet her natural end. But until then…” She lowered her eyes, her voice dropping to a glacial chill as she commanded the shadow, “Watch her closely. Find out exactly where that jade pendant came from. If the Princess’s faction makes a move, report back to me immediately.”

“As you command!”

Silence reclaimed the room, but the shadow did not depart at once. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, “And regarding the Cen woman… what are your intentions?”

“We shall see. I still have uses for the Cen girl.”

This year marked Shen Zhao’s fifth in the imperial bureaucracy. She had long since grown dissatisfied with the mere rank of Vice Magistrate of the Court of Judicial Review; she needed the influence of Cen Xianyue’s father, Minister Cen, to ensure her smooth promotion and finally don the scarlet robes she so coveted. This was a cold calculation she had made long ago. Even if Cen Xianyue harbored true affection for her, Shen Zhao could not afford a single moment of soft-heartedness.

The shadow was clearly dissatisfied with the answer, her eyes fixed on Shen Zhao. Sensing the silent judgment, Shen Zhao sighed. “You know well that my heart belongs only to your Senior Sister. She is the one you should be asking, not me.”

The shadow remained quiet for a beat. “Senior Sister has just returned to the capital. Please find the time to see her.”

“I know.”

With those final words, the shadow flickered and vanished into the night.

*****

Moonlight gleamed off the snowy eaves, and the sound of the night watchman’s clapper startled the stillness. Near the side courtyard entrance, Yunxiu stood with her hands cupped to her mouth, huffing warm air.

After waiting for nearly fifteen minutes, footsteps finally echoed from within. Yunxiu craned her neck, but as Cen Xianyue drew closer, she saw that her mistress’s eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

“Miss, you—” Yunxiu’s temper flared instantly. “Did that ungrateful wretch provoke you again? I knew she couldn’t change her stripes! How hateful! Let me go and teach her a lesson!”

Yunxiu was young and lacked a filter; her mind was full of harsh words, but one look from Xianyue forced her to swallow them. She grumbled petulantly, “Oh, my Lady, why do you bother? For a commoner like her, you could just give her a sum of money, and she’d remember your kindness better.”

“I do not seek her gratitude,” Xianyue said softly.

They reached the inner courtyard. Standing on the veranda, Xianyue gazed at the horizon, watching the clouds churn over the peaks of the Purple Gold Mountain like silk ribbons hanging from the sky. After a long silence, she lowered her voice. “Yunxiu, when we get back to the room, go and…”

Before she could finish, a shooting star streaked across the Xuanyuan constellation.

Xianyue steadied her resolve and continued, “Find that half-crescent jade pendant. Tomorrow, I must go see someone.”

“…Yes.”

****

The following day, after leaving the Shuxue Pavilion in the south of the city, Cen Xianyue ordered her driver to head straight for the Zoumadeng Tea House.

The line of customers stretched from the shop floor all the way into the street. Xianyue lifted a corner of the carriage curtain; the air was thick with the chatter of people discussing how to solve the puzzle. The crowd crept forward like ants drawn to honey toward the bustling storefront. The market was so lively that even the neighboring shops were seeing a boost in business.

To maintain order, the miserly Qin Yufeng had actually hired two brawny men today to prevent anyone from causing trouble. The main hall was a cacophony of noise, with Qin Yufeng shouting herself hoarse at the center of the throng. Xianyue entered gracefully, caught Yufeng’s eye with a subtle smile, and lifted her skirts to head up to the third floor.

Shortly after, tea and pastries were served.

Xianyue didn’t touch them. She simply sat in the quiet space, reflecting on the words spoken by the noblewoman she had just met.

“Xianyue, ‘An innocent man gets into trouble because of his wealth.’ Even if I do not employ her, do you truly think you can protect her for a lifetime?”

The words had been spoken leisurely, but every syllable hit like a hammer.

When she snapped out of her trance, Qin Yufeng was sitting across from her. Yufeng placed the object, the “Magic Square,” on the table, panting slightly but grinning. “It’s rare to see you come looking for me. I thought you planned to stay indoors for the rest of your life.”

Xianyue smiled faintly, picking up the cube and turning it over in her hands. “I would like to hide forever if I could.”

“Heartless woman! How could you just leave me behind like that?” Yufeng teased.

The sun was out today, its golden rays melting the snow from previous days, yet the air felt even colder. A biting wind howled outside. Qin Yufeng rested her chin on her hand and looked out the window, remembering that the last time she saw Xianyue, it had been a similarly freezing day. Two or three years had passed like drifting clouds; they had been so young and spirited once, and now she was thirty. Time truly spares no one.

“Yufeng.”

Xianyue’s soft call pulled her back. Yufeng looked over and saw that Xianyue hadn’t looked up. “You shouldn’t have helped her,” Xianyue said. “And you certainly shouldn’t have given her that jade pendant.”

Her voice was elegant and melodious, yet it carried a distinct chill.

A shiver ran down Yufeng’s spine. She sat up straight and offered a helpless gesture of surrender. “What else could I do? I don’t exactly like her arrogant attitude, but you didn’t see her when she came to me. She looked so pitiful. And as for that pendant…” Yufeng sighed. “If I weren’t forced by circumstance, who would want to see her succeed? I don’t even know if this shop will still be mine by then. Besides, you won’t tell me what happened two years ago, so how am I supposed to know what’s dangerous?”

Yufeng turned her gaze back to the window. Down in the crowd, she spotted a handsome, youthful face approaching, Pei Linlang. Appreciation flickered in her eyes. “But you have to admit, that ‘sister’ of yours still has a brilliant mind. Hey, Xianyue, what if…”

Before Yufeng could finish her thought, the seat across from her was empty. Only the Magic Square remained on the table.

Yufeng gasped and picked it up. Every one of the six sides was perfectly solved!

******

Pei Linlang arrived at the shop later that day, hoping to fish for more information about the jade pendant.

She should have been happy about her luck, but the “cold water” Xianyue had thrown on her last night had left her in a complicated mood. She felt like she had done something wrong, leaving her heart heavy and unsettled.

She sat at a table, resting her chin on her hand while idly playing with a stack of porcelain cups. “Where’s your boss?” she asked the waiter.

The waiter, busy clearing a table, pointed upstairs.

Qin Yufeng was just coming down. “Oh, if it isn’t Master Pei.” She walked behind the counter and picked up a brush to add a stroke to the board hanging high on the wall.

The board recorded the number of successful challenges. From bottom to top, it tracked one side, two sides… up to six sides. Currently, only one person has managed two sides. But Qin Yufeng had just added a stroke to the “Six Sides” category.

Linlang practically bolted out of her chair. “Someone solved it? Are you sure?”

Qin Yufeng tilted her chin up, looking smug. “Seems your little toy isn’t all that impressive after all.”

Solving a Rubik’s Cube isn’t inherently hard once you know the algorithms. Linlang had been obsessed with them as a child and could still remember the formulas. But how could an ancient person solve it without knowing the logic?

“I haven’t even prepared the prize yet! Where are they? Still upstairs?”

“Just left.”

“Then I’ll—”

“Just give the prize to me when it’s ready.”

Linlang sat back down, her mind a blank. She had promised a “mysterious grand prize” for anyone who solved all six sides, originally intending it to be a mechanical watch. But she never actually expected anyone to finish it, so she hadn’t bothered to start the tedious process of making one.

She sighed. Maybe I’ll just buy something expensive and pass it off.

“You’re here every other day but I never see you doing real work,” Yufeng teased. “What are you here for today? If it’s just for free tea, we’re all out.”

“Oh, about that…” Linlang stammered.

******

Night fell, and Shen Zhao had still not returned.

The estate was preparing for sleep, yet there was no sign of her. It wasn’t her first time being late, but she usually made it back before the second watch. Now, the night watchman was already announcing the time, and the gate remained silent.

Nanny Zhang was more anxious than anyone. She paced under the eaves, muttering, “I bet the Master was dragged out for drinks by her colleagues. If she catches some… illness from those places, what will we do?”

She looked back and saw her mistress, Cen Xianyue, calmly embroidering under the red palace lanterns. This only made the nanny angrier. “Madam, you are truly steady. That is your man we’re talking about.”

“Nanny, please remain calm. The Master is not that sort of person,” Xianyue said smoothly, her needle moving with effortless grace.

Nanny Zhang stamped her foot. “Madam! Did your mother never teach you how to manage your man? Hmph, no wonder the Master finds you dull and prefers the study to your bed!” She turned her back and snapped at two maids to go guard the gate.

Xianyue froze for a moment. Her mother had passed when she was only six or seven; she indeed hadn’t taught her. And as for the current Mrs. Cen, she certainly wouldn’t have helped.

Xianyue had a mild temperament, but Yunxiu couldn’t stomach it. Just as she was about to snap back, Xianyue stopped her.

“Miss!”

“It is no matter.”

Yunxiu stamped her foot in frustration. Ever since her Lady had married into this house, she had been like this, allowing even the servants to walk over her without a word. It was infuriating. “I think we need to bring an older maid from your family to stay with us, Miss,” Yunxiu grumbled. “You must tell Mrs. Cen about this, or how can we go on like this?”

Nanny Zhang’s ears were sharp. She raised her voice again. “Indeed! How can we go on? It’s the fifteenth of the last month of the year, and we don’t expect the Madam to care for us, but it’s hardly fair to bring a ‘tag-along’ here to burden us all.”

“You old hag! What did you say?!” Yunxiu exploded.

Once again, Xianyue stopped her. She looked up with a small smile. “Nanny, your words are quite baseless. Linlang’s room was prepared by my Yunxiu; did that trouble you? Linlang’s food and expenses are paid for from my personal funds; did that trouble you? On the contrary, Nanny…”

Cen Xianyue slowly lifted her lashes, her eyes reflecting the cool, deep stillness of the night. Her voice remained soft, yet carried an undeniable edge.

“Over this past year, Nanny, you have received quite a few extra tips from me. It would hardly be proper for me to sit down and calculate every single one of them, wouldn’t you agree?”

A heavy silence followed. The old woman’s bravado vanished instantly, replaced by a flustered, sycophantic smile. She turned around slowly, chuckling nervously. “Madam, you overstate the matter. I only spoke those private words because I consider you one of our own. Why take such a jest so seriously?”

Pei Linlang burst into the courtyard at that exact moment with a face flushed with excitement, but the joy was frozen on her face as she sensed the lingering tension. She slowed her pace and moved toward Xianyue. “Sister, what happened?”

“It is nothing.”

The night air was biting, a mixture of winter rain and stray snowflakes falling intermittently. Beneath the clear light of the palace lantern hanging from the eaves, Xianyue noticed that Linlang, standing in the shimmering dampness of the courtyard, had her collar crumpled which was likely from her hurried journey. She set down her embroidery and stepped forward to straighten it. It was a natural, almost instinctive gesture.

But Linlang, startled by the sudden intimacy, reflexively took a step back.

Shadows from the trees swayed around them. Xianyue’s pale hand froze in mid-air. She blinked, stunned for a moment, but eventually let her hand fall and offered a faint, effortless smile. “And you? You look radiant. What happy news do you bring?”

Linlang lowered her head respectfully. “It is… barely a happy occasion, I suppose…”

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