Chapter 59: Bewitching Yet Exhausting
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Chapter 59: Bewitching Yet Exhausting
"Ah, Miss Chang?" The woman spoke with a hint of surprise and delight.
Chang Suining looked over and saw that it was indeed Duan Shi, the wife of Marquis Zheng.
"Madam Wei." Chang Suining sighed inwardly and greeted her.
Duan Shi smiled and said, "What a coincidence! I didn’t expect Miss Chang to be here to observe the omens as well."
"Greetings, Madam." Yao Xia also stepped forward to pay her respects and couldn’t help but ask, "Has Sister Wei not come?"
"She? She doesn’t have the patience for such things; she can’t compare to you all," Duan Shi replied, casually glancing at Chang Suining, her tone equally casual. "But my useless son has indeed come."
The maidservant beside Duan Shi felt quite complicated upon hearing this. The casualness with which her lady mentioned her son was like someone saying, "What a nice day!" and Duan Shi replied in surprise, "Really? You knew my unbetrothed son was here?"
After all, no one had even asked about that! Thankfully, she had been with her lady for many years and had developed a thick skin, so she wasn’t too embarrassed.
Fortunately, Miss Chang responded calmly, nodding, "Sir Wei is a vital minister of the court; he should accompany the Holy Emperor."
The holy emperor would pray for seven days, but he couldn’t entirely set aside matters of state. It was like escaping to the mountains for summer vacation; no emperor would foolishly think he could just relax—otherwise, after months of heat, when the weather turned cool, the empire and throne would surely cool down too.
In short, it was just a temporary change of venue for handling state affairs.
Duan Shi sighed and said, "I haven’t seen him all day."
She didn’t elaborate further but took Chang Suining and Yao Xia by the hands, saying, "Come, let’s go look over there…"
While the divine elephant was indeed captivating, it lost its interest after a while. Many of the gathered officials and their wives had seen much of the world, so it wasn’t long before they began to chat and disperse as dusk approached.
Duan Shi invited Chang Suining and Yao Xia to join her for some vegetarian dishes and to copy some scriptures, saying it would be nice to have company.
Though she genuinely extended her invitation, Chang Suining attempted to politely decline but was unsuccessful and had to follow along—of course, subconsciously, she was only half-heartedly resisting. If she truly didn’t want to go, it would be of no use to insist otherwise.
If she had nothing else to do, she would still prefer to be with Duan Shi and listen to her chatter.
After enjoying a simple vegetarian meal with Duan Shi, Chang Suining and Yao Xia found that a maidservant had prepared paper and pens.
…
On another side, Yao Ran was also copying scriptures with Pie shi.
At that moment, Pie shi’s accompanying maid entered and bowed to salute.
"I heard that the eldest young master has returned from observing the omens. The old Madam instructed the madam to rest early and not to copy too late, so as not to overexert herself."
Pie shi didn’t look up, sitting upright at the small table, holding the brush and saying, "Now that we’re here, what’s there to fear about overexertion?"
"Has the second sister returned?" Yao Ran instinctively asked.
Pie shi slightly turned her head, looking at her displeased.
Yao Ran realized her slip of the tongue; her mother had always disapproved of her being too close to her second sister… so she hurriedly lowered her head and continued copying.
The accompanying maid, seemingly recalling something, answered her question dutifully while her gaze was fixed on Pie shi: "The second young lady hasn’t returned yet. It is said she is invited by Duan Shi to copy scriptures with Miss Chang."
Pie shi paused, and ink smeared across the paper, ruining an entire sheet.
She let out a cold laugh and dropped the brush: "That shallow-eyed Duan shi really thinks so little of herself."
Clearly, her daughter Ran had the best background, temperament, and talent, yet Duan Shi pretended not to notice and instead favored that little wretch and even the foolish Yao Xia!
Having been raised as the legitimate eldest daughter of the Pei family, Pie shi considered herself superior even among her sisters, and was accustomed to being pampered. The various misfortunes she had faced since marrying into the Yao family, and the peculiar looks from her half-sisters who had married better than her whenever she returned to her maternal home…
Now, even someone like Duan Shi dared to humiliate her and had set her eyes on that little wretch. Pie shi closed her eyes, the fire in her heart only growing fiercer.
Yao Ran wanted to offer comfort but didn’t know where to start, feeling a bit guilty—if she could earn Duan Shi’s favor, her mother wouldn’t be so angry, right? Yet, she felt conflicted…
Throughout her life, no matter how well she did, her mother would be disappointed and scold her or belittle her. And if she performed well, her mother would only coldly remark, "If only you had done this earlier; why suffer punishment?" or, in moments of rage, say, "If you were a son, I wouldn't have to push you so hard."
Thinking of these things, Yao Ran continued to copy scriptures in silence.
No matter what she did, she was still the culprit in her mother’s eyes, the one responsible for her biological mother’s inability to bear children—the root of all misfortunes—while her father bore equal blame.
After the maid had finished speaking, she didn’t leave or do anything else but stood silently in place.
Pie shi opened her eyes to look at the maid, who remained silent for a moment.
Pie shi glanced at her daughter: "It’s getting late; go back and rest, and don’t delay tomorrow's prayer ceremony."
"I’m not tired yet." Even so, Yao Ran instinctively paused her brush. However, after a moment’s hesitation, she eventually said, "Mother, you’ve not been well recently, and I worry about you. I wish to attend to you first before resting."
Pie shi frowned slightly: "There are servants here; you don’t need to wait on me. Don’t make me waste my breath."
Yao Ran tightened her grip on her hands resting on her lap, the years of accumulated fear preventing her from saying more; she could only reply, "Yes," stand up, bow, and leave.
Once the door was closed, Pie shi looked towards the maid.
Yao Ran deliberately walked slowly, paying close attention to any sounds from the room behind her, but she couldn’t hear anything.
She could only quicken her pace and return to the meditation room adjacent to Pie shi's. Through the wall, she listened closely.
However, the adjacent room was unusually quiet, as if there was not a single sound.
Yao Ran felt slightly relieved but could not relax her tightly clenched fingers.
…
On Duan Shi's side, Chang Suining and Yao Xia had each finished copying a scripture.
As they were about to start on a second piece, Chang Suining suddenly had a jolt of realization—since becoming A Li, whether it was her previous letter to Zhou Ding or the one she wrote to Yao Xia, she had deliberately imitated A Li’s handwriting. Although it couldn’t be said to be an exact match, it was at least eighty percent similar.
Due to some unique experiences, she was quite adept at altering and imitating others' handwriting.
For instance, the scripture she had just copied used A Li's handwriting—this would become her most habitual style.
But since "restarting" her life, there had only been one occasion where she had used her true handwriting…
That was in Hezhou, in Zhoujia Village, when she first woke up, unable to distinguish night from day and unaware of her own identity. Her mind was clouded, and many of her actions were driven purely by instinct, lacking caution—just a chaotic flurry of activity.
At that time, when she had the couple confess their crimes, the confession notes she had written were in her own handwriting.
And those confession notes had been given to Wei Shuyi.
This matter, while not overly significant, could be either trivial or serious—
Especially since Wei Shuyi was very astute, always keen on probing her, and she didn’t want to leave room for potential trouble in the future. She should provide a reasonable explanation as soon as possible to cut off any possible issues.
"Do you need a break?" Seeing that she had stopped writing, Duan Shi asked with a smile.
Yao Xia was just about to nod when she heard Chang Suining say, "Thank you, Madam. I'm not tired yet."
Seeing her resume copying scriptures, Yao Xia almost sighed aloud—how could such a beautiful elder sister from the Chang family be so diligent? How could someone so mesmerizing be so exhausting? It truly left one unable to resist—on two levels.
One layer meant that Yao Xia had no choice but to continue copying.
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