Chapter 7: A Solution

Translator: 247reader

TLC: Tygris

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Chu Yi took a quick glance. Who did she see, standing a few dozen steps away, but Chu Xin? She was dressed in moon-white, and the hem of her dress was embroidered with pink and purple lilacs. There were cloud patterns embroidered on her collar, and the sash around her waist was orange-yellow, embroidered with a diamond pattern.

A few days ago, when the maid in the embroidery room had taken her measurements, Chu Yi had said that her favorite color was moon white, her favorite patterns were cloud and diamond patterns, and she also liked the color lilac.

It wasn’t that Chu Yi was naturally suspicious, but it was hard for her not to form suspicions about this spring outfit, which had been sewn completely according to her preferences.

But before she could take a second look, Chu Xin came over and bowed with a smile. “Third Elder Sister is out, too. The garden has been very beautiful recently, especially the apricot blossoms. Look, they’re so pink and white.”

Chu Xin reached out and touched the apricot blossoms. Her fingertips were dyed, ^[1]Nail dye and polish have been used in China for thousands of years. Commonly, flowers were added to the polish to dye the nails a deeper pink. and in comparison, the apricot blossoms were indeed white.

Chu Yi remembered that her relationship with Chu Xin was not very close. This was because she seldom went out. At most, they would greet each other when they met, and apart from that, there had only been those few times when Chu Xin flaunted new things in front of her.

Those included jewelry and delicacies.

Today, it looked as though she was here to show off.

However, the current soul in Chu Yi’s body was already twenty years old, so she wouldn’t be put out by such bragging.

She didn’t know if this dress was hers. What if Chu Xin had similar tastes? It would be bad if there were a misunderstanding.

With a smile, she said, “Yes, very nice indeed. Fourth Younger Sister, please take your time to look at them. I am about to go and pay my respects to Mother, so I won’t accompany you any longer.”

Chu Xin had originally wanted Chu Yi to recognize the situation herself and then furiously argue with her. But, having already put on the clothes, she couldn’t take them off.

She hadn’t expected Chu Yi to be such a fool, unable to recognize anything.

Chu Xin took a small step forward and said, “Don’t be in such a hurry to leave, Third Elder Sister. It’s getting warmer now. Why haven’t you changed into your spring clothes yet? I put mine on as soon as they were made.”

Chu Yi had simply removed a few layers of clothing, and still wore the same winter jacket with white rabbit fur at the neck. Although it was winter clothing, she was not overheated.

Chu Yi was now certain that the outfit Chu Xin currently wore was the one which the embroidery room had made for her.

She said, “I don’t feel that warm. Fourth Younger Sister, take your time to look around. I’m going to the main courtyard now.”

When Chu Xin heard that she was going to the main courtyard, she felt angry and frightened. She hadn’t thought that Chu Yi would go and complain to their di mother, but then, thinking again, she was not afraid of being complained about. She had only taken the wrong clothes; it wasn’t a big deal.

But Chu Yi had never considered going to the main courtyard to complain.

Firstly, as the older sister, she was Chu Jin’s elder. If Lady Yan thought that taking a piece of clothing was a trivial matter, and that the elder sister should give in to her younger sister, then if she complained, it would make her look greedy.

Secondly, it wasn’t a major affair. It would be embarrassing if she couldn’t handle such a small matter herself and had to trouble her di mother.

Lady Yan valued her for the sake of the Duke’s Mansion. Chu Yi could not let Lady Yan think that she was a person who couldn’t handle such a small issue. She couldn’t become the second Chu Ying.

It was true that Chu Yi preferred to avoid the spotlight, but she couldn’t allow others to step on her head and bully her.

Once she had paid her respects in the main courtyard, she went to Concubine Zhao’s residence.

If a daughter was ignorant, her mother would discipline her.

In Chu Yi’s impression, the concubines in the mansion were essentially “a fairly matched flag and drum”. ^[2]Qígǔ xiāngdāng (旗鼓相当) means to be evenly matched in strength or skill.

They all had children, but Concubine Zheng had the most children. She had the Third Young Master, the Fifth Miss, and the Fourth Young Master.

Concubine Zhao and Concubine Xu each had a son and a daughter. Concubine Xu had entered the mansion more recently, and the Sixth Miss was only six years old. The Fifth Young Master, Chu Yuanfeng, was two years old this year. Because he was so young, he didn’t even have to pay morning and evening respects.

In the Duke’s Mansion, she had never seen a concubine who was overly ostentatious and favored.

Duke Chu was a decisive man with great authority. Every time Chu Yi went to pay her respects, Concubine Zhao and the others would lower their heads. At the end of every month, at the family dinner, the three of them would stand while serving the dishes, and would not even sit down unless Lady Yan allowed it.

Chu Yi’s concubine mother had been gone for a long time. Chu Xin was probably so hostile towards her because she was looking for someone easy to bully.

She would never dare to “mistakenly take” a different daughter’s clothes.

This was Chu Yi’s first time coming to Concubine Zhao’s courtyard. Chu Yuanhao was already seventeen years old. While she didn’t know Concubine Zhao’s age, she estimated that she was in her thirties.

She appeared gentle and pretty. Upon seeing Chu Yi, she immediately instructed a maid to make tea.

Once they were both seated, Concubine Zhao asked in confusion, “Why has the Third Miss taken the time to come here?”

Chu Yi said, “I have something to say, of course, but it’s nothing serious. I didn’t want to trouble Mother, so I took the liberty of coming to see you.”

A hint of confusion appeared on Concubine Zhao’s face. “Third Miss, just speak frankly.”

Chu Yi replied, “Since Concubine has said so, I will speak frankly. The household has been busy over the past few days making spring clothes, and Fourth Younger Sister’s maid might have taken the wrong ones. She took the moon-white and turquoise ones embroidered with diamond and lilac patterns that I asked the embroidery room to make. My sister and I are of similar stature, so it’s understandable that she took the wrong ones. But this is the first time I’ve had clothes made according to my preferences, and I’m not happy to let Fourth Younger Sister take them for no reason.”

Concubine Zhao’s expression changed slightly. How could she have taken the wrong clothes? Chu Xin usually wore bright colors. It was impossible for her to not know the clothes were not hers by looking at the color; this was obviously intentional.

She curled her lips and said, “Third Miss, Chu Xin has worn the clothes, and returning them will inevitably make you feel uncomfortable. So, please wait for two more days, and then I will definitely send clothes to you.”

What else could she do? She could only ask the maids in the embroidery room to remake them, and if there was any material missing, she could buy it with her own money.

Concubine Zhao couldn’t say she was grateful to Chu Yi, but she was glad that Chu Yi hadn’t reported the matter to Madam. It would be bad for everyone if Madam was brought in.

How could Chu Xin have been so stupid? A few sets of clothes weren’t worth this trouble.

Chu Yi smiled and said, “It’s not a big deal. Apologies for bothering you.”

Chu Yi bid farewell without drinking the tea. Concubine Zhao personally saw her off.

It was just a matter of waiting a few more days, and Chu Yi was capable of waiting. The clothes were still her clothes. As long as she liked them, it didn’t matter whether Chu Xin had worn them or not.

Chu Yi wasn’t sure what arrangements had been made, but the next day, the steward of the embroidery room, alongside a maid, brought four sets of clothes to her.

There were cherry pink, amber, and rouge-colored. The one at the bottom was not as easily seen, but just by looking at these colors, Chu Yi guessed that these clothes had originally been made for Chu Xin.

Lady Yan had instructed that the embroidery room must not let Chu Yi be without spring clothes to wear.

Manager Qian apologized with a smile. “Third Miss, this maid has just entered the embroidery room and didn’t know better. She took the wrong clothes. Yesterday, Concubine Zhao came over, and the dresses are quickly being remade. They will be delivered to you the day after tomorrow at the latest.”

“These clothes are for you to wear for now. The patterns are still your preferred lilacs and water chestnuts.”

The steward reached out to slap the maid on the head. “What are you standing there for? Why don’t you apologize to Third Miss?”

Chu Yi was a small girl, sitting in the main chair, still wearing clothes covered with warm rabbit fur. After the maid kowtowed and apologized, she smiled and said, “No one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Just fine her two months’ salary to teach her a lesson.”

The little maid didn’t look very old, and her still-red eyes were as swollen as walnuts. Upon hearing this, she kowtowed twice. “Thank you, Third Miss! Thank you, Third Miss!”

Chu Yi said, “Steward, thank you for taking the trouble to come here.”

Nanny Li went to see off the guests. Only then did she realize that they’d received the wrong clothes from the embroidery room, but the matter had already been resolved.

It wasn’t a large matter, and bringing it to Madam would have been an exaggeration. If the Fourth Miss simply said that she had taken the wrong items, she might even have returned the already-worn clothes. How disgusting would that have been?

Chu Yi looked through the clothes carefully. The colors were nice and the materials were of good quality. She didn’t particularly like plain and unadorned colors, but in this situation, she had to wear them.

Now, in an instant, she had four extra sets of clothes. It remained to be seen if Chu Xin would dare to snatch her clothes again.

She would not be changing into these clothes today.

Chu Yi instructed, “I don’t like the scent of this incense. Fumigate them with the one I usually use. After you’re done, put them in the cabinet.”

She planned to wear these clothes when paying respects tomorrow morning.

–

The next morning, she chose the cherry-pink dress, which wasn’t too eye-catching.

The Chu family had good looks, and according to Nanny Li, Chu Yi’s concubine-mother had been stunningly beautiful. A daughter born to Duke Chu and Concubine Yu would naturally be more beautiful still.

After changing clothes and looking in the mirror, Chu Yi thought to herself, no wonder Chu Xin usually prefers bright colors. This color really improves one’s complexion.

Clothes make the man, and gold makes the Buddha. ^[3]Rén kào yī zhuāng fú kào jīn zhuāng (人靠衣装佛靠金装) is another Chinese proverb: people rely on fine clothes just as a sacred statue is made magnificent by its gold gilding. Dressed like this, she was even more head-turning than on the day she had gone to the Yong’an Marquis Mansion.

Nanny Li was about to comb Chu Yi’s hair. “Miss is so pretty, and would look good no matter what you wear.”

Chu Yi said, “Keep my hair simple, without any elaborate decorations. I’m merely going to pay respects.”

Nanny Li sighed and, with great concentration, began to comb Chu Yi’s hair.

–

Today, the first to arrive was once again Lady Lin. When Lady Lin saw Chu Yi, her eyes lit up. “I’ve never seen Third Younger Sister wear such a color. How lovely.”

Chu Yi, pretending to be embarassed, said, “I was still feeling awkward, but hearing Sister-in-law’s words brings me comfort.”

With a smile, Lady Lin said, “It looks very nice, don’t worry. You’re young, you should wear things like this more.”

Chu Yi lowered her head and said, with embarrassment, “I’ll listen to Sister-in-law.”

Lady Lin felt that Chu Yi looked lively like this. She held Chu Yi’s hand, probably because she had felt close to Chu Yi during the visit to the Yong’an Marquis’ Mansion.

As the two sisters-in-law talked, others arrived: Concubine Zhao and Chu Xin.

Lady Lin was dazed. Is that the Fourth Miss? Why is she wearing such plain clothes today?

On that day, when Chu Yi had gone to find Concubine Zhao, as soon as Concubine Zhao had seen her off, she had immediately gone to the embroidery room, given twenty taels of silver, and asked the embroidery room maids to remake the four sets of spring clothing.

Although Concubine Zhao was not in charge of household affairs, she had her own people. She gave some instructions and asked them to speed up the process of making the clothes for Chu Xin, and to finish them quickly so as not to delay Chu Yi from wearing them.

After doing all this, she had gone back to settle the score with Chu Xin.

What had angered Concubine Zhao was that she had just told Chu Xin not to be willful and endanger Chu Yuanhao’s marriage. But right afterwards, Chu Xin had done such a ridiculous thing, completely ignoring her words.

At that moment, Chu Xin had indeed been scared. Chu Yi had not told their di mother, but came instead to complain to her concubine-mother. Her concubine-mother was afraid of trouble and would definitely blame her.

Chu Xin could only insist, “Why are you blaming me, Concubine-mother? It was the maid who took them by mistake! I even thought they were ugly!”

Chu Xin, this daughter of hers, was her flesh and blood. How could Concubine Zhao not know her temperament?

Even if the wrong things had been taken, they could be returned. Didn’t Chu Xin know what color and clothes she liked?

Hadn’t she dressed up and shown off today just so the Third Miss would see?

Concubine Zhao suddenly thought of the Eldest Miss, who was locked up in the household temple. The Eldest Miss had a strong personality. Chu Xin was somewhat similar to her eldest sister in character, but she was young and brainless. She looked quite stupid with all this rushing around.

What was there to do about this?

Concubine Zhao had to teach Chu Xin a lesson. “I’ve already asked the embroidery department to remake the Third Miss’ clothes. You can only wear these few outfits. Don’t even think about getting new ones.”

Chu Xin’s monthly allowance was the same as Chu Yi’s, but she had a small kitchen in her courtyard. She was young and acquisitive, and she liked beautiful jewelry, so she hadn’t saved much money over the years.

She had Concubine Zhao’s financial support, so she had no worries. But Concubine Zhao had said that she would not make clothes for her, so she could only wear these.

Chu Xin didn’t want to wear these things. She had originally wanted to annoy Chu Yi and then send them back so that she could wear new clothes. But now, she had no choice.

Over the past few days, Chu Xin had worn last year’s spring clothes, which were a little too small. Today, she had gritted her teeth and donned the new clothes, but then saw Chu Yi wearing her favorite cherry pink.

Lady Lin only now realized that her third and fourth younger sisters seemed to have exchanged their clothes. She looked at Chu Yi, who lowered her head and smiled, as gentle and quiet as a lamb.

Flame filled Chu Xin’s eyes. If one wore plain colors, one had to pay attention to one’s words and deeds, otherwise the simplicity would make one seem restless and the elegant temperament would be lost.

Lady Lin remembered that her third younger sister looked very good in this color.

Concubine Zhao tugged at Chu Xin, and Chu Xin bowed to Lady Lin and Chu Yi.

Lady Lin stood up as well, saying, “Fourth Younger Sister is here. It will soon be time to pay respects.”

Not long after, Lady Yan emerged. At first glance, she even thought that Chu Xin and Chu Yi were sitting in the wrong seats.

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