Chapter 12: Peace Through Submission
The people in the room exchanged glances. Some covered their mouths and chuckled, while others waited to see the show.
Fu Shi chuckled, “Your Sixth Sister grew up in such a filthy place, how could she know needlework? Please don’t make things difficult for her.”
Xue Yueying said, “Then when Sixth Sister marries, she’ll need to embroider her wedding dress. What’s to be done about that?”
Fu Shi let out a mocking snort, her teacup clinking crisply.
A concubine is not the same as a principal wife. Two feet of red silk and a small sedan chair are enough to send her off. Why would she need a wedding dress?
This was mocking Xue Liu.
The young ladies in the room looked at each other.
Xue Sui smiled faintly, as if she didn’t understand their expressions, “If Fourth Miss isn’t afraid of having nightmares from sleeping under the wedding quilt I embroidered, then send someone to Li Xiang Courtyard to fetch it.”
Xue Yueying hadn’t expected her to actually agree, “You know needlework?”
Xue Sui merely smiled and said nothing.
She knew more than just needlework.
Her three masters each possessed extraordinary skills. She had mastered all ten arts of the Old Mausoleum Swamp.
But perhaps out of guilt, in the days since her return, no one except Xue Ji had inquired about her experiences over the past ten years.
Xue Yueying found it unbelievable, “Embroidering mandarin ducks on a wedding quilt is not like patching up a tattered garment. Sixth Sister, you shouldn’t be so boastful…”
Xue Sui said, “I suppose embroidering mandarin ducks is no different from embroidering skulls. What’s so difficult about that?”
Embroidering skulls? Everyone exchanged bewildered glances.
An eerie silence fell over the room.
Xue Yuechen shot Xue Yueying a cold glance.
“You’re so meddlesome. Aren’t there enough pastries on the table to shut your mouth?”
Xue Yueying quickly bowed and apologized, “Eldest Sister, please forgive me. Younger Sister’s mouth ran away with her. Sixth Sister, please don’t take it to heart…”
Xue Sui smiled faintly, “Fourth Miss, it’s more important to control your belly than your mouth. If you can’t fit into your wedding dress when the date arrives, being visibly pregnant will be a disgrace to the Xue family.”
Xue Yueying’s vision went black.
How vicious of Xue Liu to expose her secrets in front of everyone.
Seeing all eyes in the room turn to scrutinize her, Xue Yueying’s face turned green with anger.
“You’re talking nonsense! Sixth Sister, I didn’t say you were impure even though you consorted with those filthy people in the Old Mausoleum Swamp, yet you dare to slander my purity?”
Xue Sui: “Even while in the Old Mausoleum Swamp, I knew propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame. Fourth Miss, pampered in the Minister’s Mansion, yet you don’t know that premarital relations and conceiving a child is called fornication?”
Xue Yueying was overcome with shame, “You, you… you’re slandering my reputation with your bare words…”
Xue Sui calmly removed an ancient, simple wooden bracelet from her wrist.
“This is a divine artifact from the Old Mausoleum Swamp, called the Lingxi Bracelet. If a pregnant woman touches it, it will emit a humming sound. Fourth Miss, are you willing to try?”
Xue Yueying: “Who doesn’t know that the Old Mausoleum Swamp is full of trickery and deception?”
Xue Sui smiled, put the ordinary bracelet back on, and looked at Xue Yuechen indifferently.
“Fourth Miss has a restless heart and excessive internal heat. Be careful not to disturb your fetal qi. Princess Consort, why not summon the mansion’s physician to check Fourth Miss’s pulse?”
Xue Yueying: “No! Eldest Sister, don’t listen to her. She wants to marry Gu Lang but can’t, so she’s framing me…”
Xue Sui smiled and looked at her belly, “How could I possibly do that?”
Xue Yueying was both ashamed and angry, her face flushed, but she couldn’t speak.
Everyone in their hearts understood.
No matter how much Xue Liu wanted to harm her, she couldn’t possibly make her pregnant. Her repeated refusals meant she was truly with child.
Fourth Miss Xue had always presented herself as “pure and chaste,” always displaying proper maidenly demeanor, and often quoting moral teachings to admonish her younger sisters. Who would have thought she had already crossed the line with Gu Wulang and was now pregnant?
With so many young ladies present, each one was so embarrassed they dared not make a sound.
Old Madam Cui saw that Fu Shi remained indifferent and clearly knew about it beforehand, which made her somewhat annoyed.
“All of you, shut up! How can a young lady’s reputation be slandered? Sisters fighting amongst themselves, what kind of reputation will that bring?”
Nothing was more important than the reputation of the Xue Mansion.
It didn’t matter what Old Madam Cui thought of Fourth Miss Xue, but defending her was defending the Xue family’s honor.
“No more quarreling!”
She subtly changed the subject, smiling and beckoning to Xue Sui.
“Sixth Sister, come, sit beside your Eldest Sister and get acquainted.”
After standing for so long, she was finally invited to sit.
Xue Sui smiled in response, walked past Xue Yueying, and sat down beside Xue Yuechen.
On the wooden table were several bound books, which Xue Yuechen had brought back for the young masters of the household.
Xue Sui glanced at them unconsciously, and Xue Yuechen noticed.
She asked, “Does Sixth Sister know how to read?”
Xue Sui replied, “I know a few characters.”
Xue Yuechen smiled, “That’s perfect. I was just telling Mother that you’re of age and should have a proper name. Take a look, are there any characters you like?”
Xue Sui: “Thank you, Princess Consort. I have a name.”
Saying this, she dipped her fingertip in tea and wrote a character.
“Sui…”
Xue Yuechen’s brow furrowed slightly, then she smiled warmly again.
“A good name. Sui means peace, and those who are near Sui will find peace.”
It suited her perfectly, to ward off disaster and ensure her safety.
Xue Sui saw through her thoughts, “My childhood name is Ping An.”
Xue Yuechen’s face lit up, smiling brilliantly and generously. Under everyone’s gaze, she took out a deed and spread it on the table.
“Come and see, do you recognize this?”
The deed read: “A prosperous shop located at Number Eight, Block A, West Third Street, Pingkang Ward, purchased for one thousand five hundred guan. Payment received and goods delivered.”
Xue Sui lowered her eyes, “I recognize the amount. This is a sales contract.”
Xue Yuechen’s eyes twinkled with a smile as she pushed the deed towards Xue Sui.
“This is a small token from your Eldest Sister, consider it a supplement to your dowry.”
Fu Shi was startled, unable to suppress the gloom in her eyes.
For a dancer’s daughter to become a concubine to Prince Duan was already elevating her. What was there to feel wronged about, to need a dowry supplement? Fu Shi was furious, suspecting her eldest daughter had lost her mind.
The young ladies in the room also looked displeased.
The gifts Eldest Sister gave them were all feminine items.
While cosmetics and fine silks were valuable, how could they compare to a prosperous shop?
The sisters were all resentful in their hearts.
Ninth Miss pouted and complained.
“Eldest Sister is biased…”
Xue Yuechen smiled and chided her, “When you marry, Eldest Sister won’t treat you poorly either.”
Fu Shi’s expression grew even more unpleasant.
Seeing this, Old Madam Cui’s prayer beads spun faster. “We are all sisters, do not be jealous. The Xue family cannot be written with two different characters. You should be more affectionate and live in harmony.”
“Yes,” the sisters chimed in unison, “We will listen to Old Ancestor.”
Third Madam Qian Shi had been observing for a long time, her lips pursed so tightly they were almost flat.
She couldn’t stand the First Branch, acting like a saint while being a harlot. She clearly mistreated her concubine’s daughter but acted as if she were bestowing great kindness.
“Old Madam, the Xue family has been a scholarly household for generations, a distinguished family. Even a concubine’s daughter should not be made a concubine. Sending Sixth Miss to Prince Duan’s Mansion is not a good look…”
The atmosphere was broken by Third Madam’s words.
Fu Shi’s face was unsightly, and Xue Yuechen’s composure faltered.
Old Madam Cui almost couldn’t catch her breath, “You’re the only troublemaker!”
The old master of the Xue family had three sons.
Xue Qingzhi, relying on his father’s influence, rose to the position of Minister of Justice and had established himself in the Imperial Court.
Xue Qinglian, born of a concubine, entered officialdom through the imperial examinations and served as a fifth-rank Left Division Director. He was posted to Jiangzhou with his two sons and their families.
The third son, Xue Qingxiu, was the least promising. With no hope of passing the imperial examinations and no ability to be recommended, he remained idle. Every day, one could hear Third Madam Qian Shi’s loud exclamations from the Third Branch’s courtyard.
Yet, this dissolute and prodigal son was born of the same mother as Xue Qingzhi.
Old Madam Cui doted on her youngest son, and no matter how displeased she was, she could do nothing about him.
Qian Shi’s temperament was like Xue Qingxiu’s; she never spoke with restraint. Wherever the First Branch was uncomfortable, she would strike, never showing any deference.
“Old Madam, your daughter-in-law is also thinking of the Xue family’s reputation. Those who know will praise Eldest Sister-in-law for her kindness in finding a wealthy match for her concubine’s daughter. Those who don’t know might think Eldest Sister-in-law couldn’t tolerate her concubine’s daughter and deliberately humiliated her.”
The Old Madam coughed lightly, glared at Qian Shi, and then asked Xue Sui with a gentle expression.
“Prince Duan has upright character and is deeply favored by His Majesty. For Sixth Sister to go to the Prince’s Mansion, she will be a good concubine. Will you be wronged?”
