Chapter Nine: Bad Intentions

Translator: 247reader

TLC: Tygris

Attending everything would make her too conspicuous. At most, she would go to two events, and it would be best to only go to one.

Lady Yan had given her five invitations. The poetry meeting hosted by the Yongyi Marquise could be discarded.

That Third Miss Xu, whom she had met at the Yong’an Marquis’ Mansion that day, was from the Yongyi Marquis Mansion. She’d had a bad relationship with her second elder sister, and now her relationship with Chu Yi wasn’t good either. Besides, at a poetry meeting, she might have to write poems.

Chu Yi had attended school for a year here. At the beginning, she was afraid that others would find her out, so she had studied very hard.

She knew all that she needed to know; in fact, she had memorized many more poems than others. But with Chu Jin as precedent, she didn’t know what degree of talent was appropriate to show. She wouldn’t attend this poetry meeting.

The rest were possibilities, but what surprised Chu Yi the most was that there were invitations from Princess Zhaoyang and the wife of Prince Chen.

The Duke Chu Mansion had once boasted an imperial concubine, Duke Chu’s aunt. If Chu Yi saw her, she would have to call her “Great Aunt”. Now, she was an elderly dowager consort, retired to another palace.

Dowager Consort Chu had no sons or daughters. Princess Zhaoyang was the daughter of Concubine Chu’s bosom friend in the palace. Though they were not blood relatives, they were closer than mother and daughter.

If she went there, nothing untoward would occur. Princess Zhaoyang would probably protect the younger generation of the Chu family. But as a princess, her guests must be the great ladies and noble daughters of the capital. Chu Yi didn’t know anyone yet, so it wouldn’t be a good idea to attend.

The invitation from Princess Consort Chen was the strangest. Chu Yi still remembered that back then, Prince Chen had insisted on marrying no one other than Chu Jin. Yet, during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, he had married the eldest daughter of the Minister of Personnel, Lord Qin. It had been only half a year since the wedding.

Noble families had to maintain friendly relations, at least on the surface. Chu Yi knew that the Duke Chu Mansion would not offend a prince over Chu Jin, but she had not expected Lady Yan to actually give her this invitation.

She was Chu Jin’s younger sister. What good intentions could Princess Consort Chen have in inviting a girl from the Duke Chu Mansion over?

How could Lady Yan not know?

Chu Yi’s heart sank somewhat. She chose the invitation to the apricot blossom banquet. “The apricot blossoms have been blooming beautifully lately, and we daughters in the mansion can’t get enough of them. Besides, this date is coming up soon, so I’ll attend this one first.”

The dates of the five banquets didn’t overlap. The apricot blossom banquet was the first one, tomorrow, the second day of the second month, and Princess Consort Chen’s invitation was the furthest away, at the end of the second month.

Lady Yan’s expression remained unchanged. “Pick which ones you want to go to. You should bring the remaining invitations back as well.”

Chu Yi pondered. Since Lady Yan had given her these invitations, it meant that she could go to any and all of them. The one that Lady Yan most wanted her to attend was probably Princess Consort Chen’s flower-viewing banquet.

She feared she’d have to go out again at the end of the month.

Since this was her first time attending such a banquet, she decided to choose the simplest one. Duke Ying and Duke Chu had similar social standing, and with Lady Lin there, she didn’t think anything would go wrong.

After a few more words, Chu Yi said her farewells, leaving Lady Yan staring out the window in a daze.

The weather was warming, and Lady Yan had also changed into spring clothes. But her mind was burdened with worries, and she had eaten little over the recent days, so she now seemed somewhat frail.

Nanny Chen laid a thin cloak across her legs.

Finally regaining her senses, Lady Yan asked, “Has the Third Miss gone back?”

Nanny Chen nodded and said, “I escorted the Third Miss to the door.”

Lady Yan said, “She is a cautious one.”

She didn’t think that Chu Yi had made a random choice. She originally had predicted that Chu Yi would choose Princess Zhaoyang’s invitation, but, unexpectedly, she had selected the apricot blossom banquet, which was the safest choice.

The two families had similar statuses, and with Lady Lin accompanying her, the Duke Chu Mansion would not have to suffer a loss.

Nanny Chen said, “Princess Consort Chen’s flower viewing banquet is at the end of the month, so there’s no rush. Since the invitation has come, what’s wrong with the Third Miss openly attending?”

Lady Yan sighed. “There was such a big uproar back then. How could she have any good intentions in sending an invitation to the Duke Chu Mansion?”

This was the second time. The last time, Chu Ying had been “ill” and used this as an excuse to avoid going, but it couldn’t be avoided forever.

Whether it was attending the apricot blossom banquet hosted by the wife of Prince Ying’s heir or seeing Chu Yi, at such a young age, standing out in place of the two elder sisters who were meant to be the ones taking care of her, Lady Yan felt a little reluctance and pity.

If Chu Jin and Chu Ying hadn’t gotten into trouble, Chu Yi’s marriage could have been discussed easily, and she could have been married out smoothly.

–

When Chu Yi returned to Yixia Pavilion, it was already dark.

She recalled Lady Yan’s instructions: to learn more about how to conduct herself and deal with others, and to ask Lady Lin whenever she didn’t understand something.

As a child of the Duke Chu Mansion, if she didn’t want to end up like Chu Ying, this was the only way forward.

The next day, Chu Yi began to prepare the clothes and jewelry for the apricot blossom banquet. Chu Yi named the new maid sent over by the main courtyard Xiazhi. ^[1]夏芷, the characters for “summer” and “fragrant plants.”  She was very talented at combing hair and could read and write, so she was quite satisfactory.

Last time, she had worn the pearl headpiece, so this time she could only wear the jade one. Her clothes shouldn’t stand out too much, so Chu Yi chose the turquoise set.

After making her choices, the next day, she dressed up and went to meet Lady Lin.

Nowadays, Lady Lin felt that Chu Yi was beautiful, so any color would suit her. Cherry pink was charming, while turquoise, a refreshing color, combined with jade jewelry, gave her a look of elegance and tranquility.

This time, Lady Lin didn’t compliment her. After all, she couldn’t just continuously speak praises. She simply smiled and patted Chu Yi’s hand. “We’ll leave in a bit. This is only a flower and scenery appreciation gathering; just treat it as an ordinary, relaxing activity.”

Chu Yi nodded. “If there’s anything I don’t understand, I’ll have to trouble Elder Sister-in-law for some pointers.”

Lady Lin said, “Don’t worry, I’m here.”

Chu Yi had a humble attitude, so Lady Lin wanted to protect her. She was her elder sister-in-law, and if Chu Yi did well, it was of course to her benefit.

The Duke Chu Mansion’s carriage slowly left the residence and headed towards the Duke Ying Mansion’s villa in the south of the city.

It had only been a dozen or so days since she had last gone out, but the scenery outside had changed greatly. The willow trees had turned into a mass of green, the flowers and plants on the street were lush, and the people walking on the street were wearing spring clothes. Looking at the scenery made one feel light-hearted.

Chu Yi opened the window a little, and as she looked out, began to smile.

Lady Lin glanced at her and said, “See, getting out and about more often will improve your mood.”

Chu Yi looked shy. “Sister-in-law is right.”

While listening to the noise and tumult outside along the way, they arrived at Duke Ying’s villa in the morning at three ke past Si shi. ^[2]Roughly 9:45 AM

Some of the people there were people whom she had met at the first birthday banquet for the heir at the Yong’an Marquis’ Mansion. Chu Yi remembered these people and could recognize who they were without a reminder from Lady Lin.

After meeting with two groups of people, she finally saw Lady Ning, the wife of Duke Ying’s heir.

As the host of the banquet, Lady Ning was quite busy today.

She and Lady Lin were about the same age, and had even met at the heir’s birthday banquet. In short, they were quite familiar with each other. Seeing them from afar, she came over and greeted them warmly. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you for so long, and finally, Wanqing, you’re here.”

Lady Lin said, “I knew you’d be happy that I came.”

“This is your Third Younger Sister, right?” Lady Ning’s gaze was unobtrusive. She glanced at Chu Yi twice and then scolded Lady Lin, “Wanqing, your Third Younger Sister is here. Who will still have the heart to look at apricot blossoms? Everyone will come here to see the beauty.”

Chu Yi’s best strategy nowadays was to lower her head and act shy. “Elder Sister-in-law, you didn’t tell me before we came here that the banquet host gave such eloquent compliments.”

The smile in Lady Ning’s eyes deepened. “I’m clearly speaking the truth. All right, all right, let’s go in and enjoy the flowers. I’m not bragging, but all the other apricot blossoms in the capital combined aren’t as beautiful as those in our gardens.”

Chu Yi followed Lady Lin step by step, not wandering or looking around randomly. When they arrived at the garden, pink and white was everywhere to be seen. She was surprised to find that Lady Ning was so popular – such a crowd of people were attending the apricot blossom banquet.

However, the apricot blossoms here were indeed different from those in the Duke Chu Mansion. They were taller and bigger. Many people were gathered around an extremely thick tree with tightly clustered flowers.

Lady Lin knew a lot of people, so she had to stop and chat from time to time. Seeing Chu Yi following her obediently, her heart softened. “Walk around by yourself. Come find me if you need anything.”

She would be happy if Chu Yi were to walk around more and make some friends.

Chu Yi nodded, but didn’t go to where the crowd was. Instead, she chose a spot with fewer people, underneath a tree, where she could quietly observe.

After watching for a while, Chu Yi saw, out of the corner of her eye, a few people walking towards her. She didn’t want to attract trouble and thought about changing to a different tree. But just as she turned around, someone called out, “Third Miss Chu!”

At least they hadn’t called the wrong name this time.

Chu Yi turned, looking at the group of three with a puzzled expression. “I wonder which elder sister called me just now.”

A girl in pink stepped forward, glanced at Chu Yi, and then said, “I heard from Third Elder Sister Xu that the third daughter of the Chu family has begun to attend banquets. I didn’t believe it at first, but now I truly do.”

“Third” and “Xu” had to mean Xu Shuran.

Hearing this, Chu Yi found it a little funny. Was she not supposed to go out or something?

Every time she left home, she was treated like a performing monkey. Given Third Miss Xu’s personality, after the loss she had suffered at her hands, she wouldn’t say anything good to others.

It was nothing more than “Chu Ying is already like that, and the girl from the Chu family still has the courage to come out and embarrass herself.”

Chu Yi said, “Hearing is false, seeing is believing. My elder sister and I have similar personalities. I don’t believe in gossip and rumors; I only believe what I see with my own eyes.”

The girl in pink was from the Duke Ying Mansion. The two daughters of the Chu family were very famous. Chu Jin’s matter had alarmed the entire city, and Chu Ying’s lazy personality was just as famous.

Actually, she hadn’t come to watch the fun; it was Lady Ning who had asked her to come take a look.

However, Chu Yi had spoken very cleverly, as if she were trying to deepen their relationship. But if it was thought about more carefully, it seemed to be a reminder not to believe Xu Shuran’s words. If considered even more deeply, it seemed that she was saying that the gossip about Chu Jin and Chu Ying was not to be completely believed.

If it were her elder sister who had caused such a ruckus, she would have been too embarrassed to go out. But Chu Yi was neither humble nor arrogant, and this calm demeanor inevitably made Zhao Huizhi feel well-disposed towards her.

She smiled and said, “It’s fate indeed. I’m from the Duke Ying Mansion. I saw my sister-in-law talking to your Eldest Young Madam, ^[3]Dà niángzǐ (大娘子) is how outsiders would refer to Lady Lin, as the wife of the Eldest Young Master. and you were alone, so I came to see you, in case we were failing to host you properly.”

Zhao Huizhi glanced at the two girls on her left and right. “This is the Fourth Miss from the Yongkang Marquis’ Mansion, and this is the Fifth Miss from the Dingyuan Marquis’ Mansion.”

The Second Miss of the Duke Ying Mansion.

Chu Yi nodded in greeting, “Greetings to Elder Sisters.”

Among the three, it seemed that Zhao Huizi was the leader. They called Chu Yi “Meimei” ^[4]妹妹, younger sister.  When it’s being used this way, as a nickname among friends rather than a title, I’m using “meimei” and “jiejie” (elder sister) untranslated. and offered friendly compliments.

Chu Yi was indeed young. Most girls in the capital came out to attend banquets when they were fourteen or fifteen years old, for the additional purpose of arranging marriages. There were truly few people like Chu Yi.

Zhao Huizhi was sixteen years old, and now she really wanted to take care of Chu Yi. “Look at that tree, the thickest one. It has the best view. I’ll take you there.”

The reason that Chu Yi hadn’t gone was that she didn’t want to cause trouble, but since Zhao Huizhi had spoken, it was hard to refuse. She nodded and said, “Jiejie, you hit the nail on the head. I was just thinking about going to take a look.” ^[5]Technically, Chu Yi calls her Er Jiejie (二姐姐), “Second Elder Sister”; Zhao Huizhi is the second-eldest in the group.

Zhao Huizhi said, “Let’s go.”

Apricot trees bloomed before sprouting leaves. This tree had many branches, and bunches of snow-white flowers were clustered along them. From a distance, it resembled a giant parasol, while gazing up from under the tree, it looked like a pink and white cloud.

Chu Yi followed behind Zhao Huizhi. As she approached the tree, she once again saw three girls coming over. They smiled and said several words to Zhao Huizhi.

Chu Yi stood on the side for a while. One girl seemed to suddenly notice Chu Yi standing there. She brought a handkerchief up to cover her lips and said, “Which family is this girl from? I’ve never seen her before.”

“Qin-meimei, this is Third Miss Chu.”

Chu Yi remembered that she had seen on an invitation two days ago that the wife of Prince Chen was surnamed Qin. Could she be Princess Consort Chen’s younger sister?

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