Chapter 53: Meeting the Empress (Two Updates in One)

 

 Chapter 53: Meeting the Empress (Two Updates in One)

The reply arrived quickly in Yao Xia's hands.

When the female servant handed her the letter, she was on her way with her elder brother Yao Gui to pay respects to the matriarch, Old Madam Yao. She did not open it immediately.

    

Upon arriving at the matriarch's courtyard, they found Pei Shi and their mother, Zeng shi, already seated in the hall, along with their cousin Yao Ran.

 

Pei Shi, who was sitting at the lower side of Old Madam Yao, turned her head slightly and cast a cold glance at the late-arriving siblings.

 

Yao Xia and Yao Gui instinctively wanted to retract their necks and kept their heads down as they entered the hall to pay their respects.

The atmosphere in the hall was oddly tense and eerily quiet. Yao Xia stole a glance at her mother, Zeng shi, only to see her eyes slightly reddened and her lips pursed, as if she were holding back tears.

When she looked over at Pei Shi, her expression was as cold and stern as usual, but there was also a hint of suppressed anger in her brows and eyes, as if she were about to explode any moment.

What happened?  

Yao Xia felt anxious but dared not ask.

"What does Ah Xia have in her hands?" At this moment, Old Madam Yao's smiling voice broke the silence. "Whose letter is it from this time?"

Yao Xia knew her grandmother was teasing her to lighten the mood, so she pretended not to notice the tension, putting on a smile as she stepped forward. "Grandmother, it’s a reply from the eldest daughter of the Chang family."

Such a carefree and cheerful person like her was best suited for easing family tensions, truly an indispensable asset in the household. With this awareness, the young girl always did her utmost to alleviate the atmosphere at home.

However, this time, she failed to notice that Pei Shi's expression darkened with added gloom the moment she heard "eldest daughter of the Chang family."

Pei Shi's gaze fell on the letter in Yao Xia's hand.

"From the Chang family?" Old Madam Yao asked kindly, "Is that the Chang family girl you’ve been mentioning over the past ten days from Xingning Lane?"

"Exactly!" 

"Your second sister is not just mentioning it." Yao Gui sighed, "She dreams of becoming a family with the Chang family girl, so they can meet often, and she’d trade a son for a daughter from the Chang family."

"Brother, dream on! Even if you wanted to exchange, the Chang family probably wouldn't want you! Who would be willing to make such a losing deal?" 

"Is my second sister insulting my looks in a roundabout way? Mother, you decide!" 

Watching her lively children, Zeng shi couldn’t help but cover her mouth and smile, scolding, "Alright, what nonsense are you all saying?"

Pei Shi, sitting aside, was tightening her clasped hands in silence.

"However, the eldest daughter of the Chang family is unwell and has been recuperating at home for these days. I wrote to invite her out several times but was unable to achieve my wish," Yao Xia said as she smiled and began to open the letter. "Now that I have received a reply, perhaps she can go out and move about."

Old Pei Shi tapped her granddaughter’s forehead and smiled. "You wouldn’t want to miss a single girl in the capital. If you were born a boy, wouldn’t that be a disaster?"

"Grandmother, you don’t understand. If I were a boy, those beautiful elder sisters wouldn’t pay any attention to me!" Yao Xia said with a sigh of relief, "Fortunately, I am a girl!"

Old Pei Shi, Zeng shi, and Yao Gui all laughed at this.

Only Pei Shi remained cold-faced, her gaze fixed straight ahead, as if isolating herself from all the merriment.

Yao Ran quietly observed her mother, feeling a mix of emotions as she pursed her lips.

In her mother’s eyes, Yao Xia’s lively personality was an eccentricity, and her playful remarks were seen as undignified.

Since childhood, her mother disapproved of her getting too close to Yao Xia. Growing up under her mother’s discipline, she could only watch from a distance as the lively and amusing Yao Xia became closer to their grandmother. Even though their grandmother was fair and never favored one over the other, often praising her for being knowledgeable and composed, saying they each had their strengths, she knew there was a difference between being liked and not.

But that was human nature.

If given a choice, she would also wish to stay with Yao Xia, easygoing and carefree.

On the contrary, who would want to be around someone so restrained and dreary that they left others speechless?

She never blamed her mother—she used to think it was understandable, given her mother grew up under strict etiquette education, being a bit stubborn and having a suppressed temperament.

But now, it was more than just being stubborn and repressed…

Ever since returning from the flower gathering hosted by the Marquise of Zheng, her mother had become increasingly difficult to get along with, her whole demeanor sinking into gloom.

Yao Ran understood that this was related to her mother’s wish to arrange her marriage to the Wei family but not receiving the enthusiastic or 'surprisingly' positive response from the Marquise of Zheng. It was also connected to the origin of the letter in Yao Xia’s hands…

Yao Ran glanced over and saw that Yao Xia had already unfolded the letter, first exclaiming with joy, "The eldest daughter of the Chang family is indeed much better!"

But soon, she looked a bit disappointed: "However, the eldest daughter said she will accompany General Chang to Dayun Temple for a blessing tomorrow… I’ll have to wait until she returns before I can see her."

Yao Gui chuckled, "Then why not go to Dayun Temple with her?"

"Right!" Yao Xia hurriedly grabbed Old Pei Shi's arm, "Grandmother, take me along!"

In previous years, at this time, the sage would go to Dayun Temple for blessings, and all officials of the third rank and above were required to accompany her, and their families were also allowed to go along to observe fasting and copy scriptures in the temple as a sign of sincerity.

Yao Yi was a third-rank minister, and Old Pei Shi had a title as a matriarch. Out of sincere devotion, she had attended each year.

"This blessing ceremony lasts a full seven days. You’ve never been before; can you stand it?" Old Madam Yao asked with a smile. "If you behave inappropriately or cause a fuss wanting to return after two days, you would bring shame and punishment upon yourself if word reaches the sage."

"Grandmother, rest assured. I will definitely behave!" Yao Xia quickly raised her hand as a vow, assuring her.

With the eldest daughter of the Chang family present, even if it were seven days, she could stay!

"Will cousin go too?" Yao Xia asked brightly.

Yao Ran instinctively replied, "I won't go. I still have the family instructions to copy."

Yao Xia sighed inwardly.

Cousin was being punished to copy family instructions by Pei Shi again?

Mother often said that if such a sensible and outstanding cousin were her daughter, she would kneel three hundred times before the Bodhisattva every day until the Bodhisattva took pity on her and made her stop.

But even such a cousin never seemed to finish her copying and was always punished.

Yet Yao Xia could only silently resent the injustice for Yao Ran; she dared not say a word in front of Pei Shi.

At that moment, Pei Shi looked at her daughter and said, "You can copy it after returning from Dayun Temple; it won't be too late."

Yao Ran was taken aback.

Pei Shi then turned to Old Pei Shi and calmly said, "I initially planned to go with my mother to pray for the sage's blessings at Dayun Temple, so let’s take Ah Xia and Ran Er along as well."

Old Pei Shi nodded with a smile, "Alright."

Although she didn’t know what had gotten into the eldest daughter-in-law to suddenly want to join the occasion, she had no reason to refuse.

But Yao Ran felt a chill run down her spine, her mind a chaotic mess.

Her mother did not believe in Buddhism and had never participated in blessing ceremonies over the years. Why was she suddenly acting out of character this time?

Yao Ran’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as she looked at the letter in Yao Xia’s hands, momentarily unable to hear anything else.

…

"Mother... Did you cry before my brother and I left? Did you have a fight with Pei Shi?" After leaving Old Pei Shi’s place and returning to Zeng shi’s courtyard, Yao Xia quietly asked.

"How could I dare to argue with her? I just sat there, letting her ridicule and berate me," Zeng shi sighed only when there was a servant in the room.

"What was it about?"

Zeng shi said, "It was about Ding Er..." 

"You mean our little brother?" Yao Xia blinked: "Did he cause trouble for Pei Shi?"

She had only one elder brother and a younger brother, Yao Ding, who was only five years old.

"He did cause trouble, but it wasn't because he was being naughty." Zeng shi said helplessly, "Previously, the old lady summoned me and your father to discuss whether we would like to adopt Ding Er into the eldest branch..." 

Yao Xia widened her eyes: "Adopt my little brother to Uncle and Pei Shi?" 

"Otherwise? Your Uncle and Pei Shi have three daughters, and they want a son for the eldest branch to inherit. Your Uncle doesn't want to take on the extra burden, but Pei Shi is so fierce. If we don’t agree, she will put on a sad face as if we are the heartless ones."

Yao Xia frowned tightly. 

She was indeed aware that Uncle Yao's eldest son had died, and Pei Shi had repeatedly mentioned wanting to adopt a boy as an heir. Yet, Yao Ding was too young to understand the meaning behind this matter. 

If he were taken away to be raised by someone else, she could hardly imagine what that would feel like for him. 

"But Mother, why don’t we just refuse? Isn’t it better to stay as we are?" 

"But it isn't just that simple," Zeng shi sighed, "The Yao family has too many branches. Your grandmother's family has already started discussing it. If we refuse, it might bring down the matriarch's reputation... This is why I cried in front of them today."

Yao Xia opened her mouth but couldn’t find the right words to comfort her mother.

Finally, she could only softly say, "Mother, what if we did adopt Ding Er to Uncle and Pei Shi? He could be raised with them, but we could still visit often. Wouldn’t that be good?"

"You don’t understand!" Zeng shi shook her head and sighed. "It may seem easy, but if Ding Er gets adopted, we will become distant relatives. Over time, it will be as if we never knew each other!"

Yao Xia didn’t know how to console her mother, but she felt that if things went on like this, it would end badly.

The family’s big brother had died, and their family had been separated into two distinct branches. Now Pei Shi wanted to adopt a son to consolidate her power, so what did that leave for them?

She wondered how her little brother was faring. In a few years, when he grew older, would he resent his family for abandoning him?

Yao Xia suddenly realized that they couldn’t let this happen! 

"You know what, Mother? How about this? I will make a fuss, and I will not go to Dayun Temple! I will insist on being with Ding Er to prove that he will not go to Uncle and Pei Shi!" 

Zeng shi’s eyes widened, a little taken aback, but then she smiled softly and said, "Ah Xia, my dear daughter, you’re not going to force your way in there with a rebellious spirit, are you? Besides, it's not good for you either. If you truly care for your little brother, you should let him go. You must also understand the bigger picture."

"But… But Pei Shi is too unreasonable! She is taking advantage of our family’s situation!" Yao Xia protested. 

"Your Pei Shi is unreasonable, yes, but she is still your uncle’s wife and a member of the family," Zeng shi replied, holding her daughter’s shoulders gently. "You need to be patient. We just need to endure this difficult time. Everything will pass eventually." 

Yao Xia’s face fell in resignation, feeling her mother's words were irrefutable. 

However, she was still unwilling to give up entirely.

The more she pondered, the more determined she became to make sure her little brother would not be taken away! 

She thought that when they went to Dayun Temple tomorrow, she would seek out the Chang family’s eldest daughter and talk with her about it. If the eldest daughter liked her little brother, she could mention the idea of adopting him; then they might be able to maintain their connection, even if he moved over there! 

She quickly left the room. 

Afterward, the servant who heard everything reported it to Pei Shi.

“Madam,” she said, “Miss Ah Xia just spoke up to protect the young master in the courtyard.”

Pei Shi’s gaze shifted toward the girl, not knowing whether to laugh or scold. But there was a sense of satisfaction in her heart as she imagined Yao Xia’s determination.

Yao Xia was an immature girl, but she possessed the boldness of youth and was full of aspirations. Even if Pei Shi scolded her in the future, she would have no choice but to accept her rebuke, and her heart would not feel so troubled.

If everything played out as she wanted, how much could she gain from this? 

Still, it was strange how this new development made her feel refreshed.  

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