Chapter Thirty-Six: Provocation

  As soon as they left the Lianxiang Institute, Chen Bing and Chen Hu immediately kept a distance from Su Wan'er, while Chen Tai remained calm and composed as usual. Although Chen Lan was assigned by her grandmother to take Su Wan'er on a tour of the mansion, she had already been wary of Su Wan'er's sycophantic nature and did not want to get too close to her. However, despite being treated coldly by others, Su Wan'er seemed completely unaffected and chattered enthusiastically about her journey to the capital.

  "...On that day, there were at least one or two hundred ships docked at the Tianjin wharf, which looked magnificent. At this time of year, it was said that the most ships returning from Korea and Japan had arrived, and since my brother was a candidate for the imperial examination in the capital, the owner of the ship we were staying on even gave our grandmother a box of four high-quality ginseng roots!"

  "In those small towns, the first and fifteenth of every month are market days. People from all around come to sell things on these two days, and some skilled artisans also sell their handmade trinkets at the market. Look, this is a silk thread-made qilin ornament I bought when I passed by. My grandmother said that even Baibao Pavilion in Beijing may not have such craftsmanship, and I managed to collect many good things..."

  "In Yangzhou, there is no curfew at night, and every evening, there are many pleasure boats on the Slender West Lake. My family once chartered a boat to tour the lake, and the lotus flower lanterns floating on the water were truly beautiful. There's a rumor that our great ancestor emperor had an encounter with Empress Zhao Mu on this very Slender West Lake, so every evening, countless people come to release lanterns here, which is said to be very efficacious..."

  Chen Lan watched with a cold eye as Su Wan'er recounted her experiences in an exaggerated manner, gradually drawing the attention of the crowd. She couldn't help but admire Su's cleverness. After all, Su had the experience of her past life to rely on. Chen Bing and her sisters, no matter how cunning they were, were still young and inexperienced. They had never seen the outside world beyond their own manor and relatives' homes. Moreover, Su Wan'er seemed to have an endless supply of small trinkets to give away, from fashionable hairpins to intricately carved stone seals. It was clear that she had prepared them in advance. Even Chen Yu, who was normally aloof, would occasionally exchange a few words with Su Wan'er, and the atmosphere became more lively.

  Zining Residence, Cuiliu Residence, Fangfei Hall, Jinyou Pavilion... these proper residences were not places that could be visited with outsiders. Therefore, Chen Lan took a group of people to the rear garden instead. Since Old Master Hou, Chen Yong, had spent very little time at home in recent years, the rear garden had not been well maintained, and apart from the small Jade Creek created by diverting water from Shichahai Lake, there were only three or four buildings such as towers and pavilions.

  It was winter at the time, and the garden was desolate, with only a few plum blossoms still in bloom. Seeing this, Su Wan'er couldn't help but enthusiastically tell them about the varieties of plum blossoms again, and flatteringly praised the four Chen sisters. In the end, they entered the Listening to the Wind Pavilion to rest, where Chen Lan personally handed her a cup of tea, saying with a smile: "This is six An tea brewed with this year's snow water, elder sister, take a sip and taste it."

  Chen Bing, who was standing aside, suddenly remembered that the Su family had been wanting to form an alliance with the Hou family through marriage. Her tone turned sarcastic as she said with a hint of a smile, "Yes, Elder Sister Wan should also have a sip to moisten her throat."

  One voice calling her "older sister", Su Wan'er suddenly remembered the scene in which she called Chen Lan "sister" at the Great Protector Temple, and the four words "run your throat" made her quite embarrassed. However, since childhood, the situation at home has been getting worse and worse, and she has heard more heart-piercing words than this, so she just gritted her teeth and endured it, only fiercely pinching a handful of handkerchief to get through it. Seeing Chen Bing asking for a bowl of silver ear soup, and then going to one side to warm himself by holding a hand warmer, Chen Tai borrowed an excuse to take Chen Lan out, and she was able to carefully examine the silent Chen Yun opposite her.

  Those gold and silver embroidered clothes were nothing, but the patterns on those accessories really caught her heart. The yellow necklace had a cat's eye stone pendant, the cloves stuffed into her ears seemed to be top-quality southern pearls, the plum blossom hairpin on her head was made of gold beads strung together one by one, delicate and intricate. And that sable fur muffler she had only seen in her grandmother's trunk, when she wanted to touch it, she was scolded severely. Thinking about the little jewelry she had accumulated over the years with great difficulty, even the pair of golden hairpins left by her mother were taken away by her grandmother today, she couldn't help but clench her fists, the sharp fingernails dug into her palm, and that pain calmed her down.

  In Grandma's eyes, there was only Brother; had she ever considered herself? Only the old lady of the Hou Mansion was not easy to deal with. Grandma might not necessarily have the upper hand. If she could help, her own marriage might still have some hope! Otherwise, for the sake of Brother becoming a scholar, what couldn't Grandma do? Just like the xiucai and juren of those years...

  "Fourth sister, just now when I saw you, I thought you were a person walking out of a painting. " She smiled and winked at Chen Hu with shining eyes, then glanced at the others who had excused themselves to leave, "I see they all keep their distance from you, is it because of your birth status?"

  Chen Huan originally thought that dressing up today was the biggest mistake, and now hearing this, she felt even more ashamed and angry, unable to help but coldly laugh: "What's wrong with being born out of wedlock? Daughters born out of wedlock can also have glory and wealth!"

  "I was wrong just now, Fourth Sister is absolutely right." Su Wan'er nodded repeatedly, but soon showed a disappointed expression. "However, when it comes to marriage, families that don't distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children are rare. Sometimes they encounter some ruthless mothers or elders who treat the marriage of an illegitimate daughter as a bargaining chip, either to curry favor with their superiors, or to escape punishment, or to get more betrothal gifts..." She started talking about the old family stories she had heard on her journey, and seeing Chen Hu's face getting paler and paler, she finally sighed. "In short, there are many foolish people in this world, who knows that among illegitimate children, there are also clever ones like Fourth Sister?"

  She saw Chen Huan over there, lost in thought with a handkerchief around his neck, so she didn't say anything else. She smiled and stood up to see Chen Lan holding a hand warmer entering the door. She hurriedly went forward to greet him and smiled: "That day after we siblings returned from the Great Protection Temple, our grandmother severely scolded my older brother. My brother was extremely remorseful. Originally, he said that today would be the day to come together with Third Sister and Young Master Chen to apologize, but later because his schoolwork was too tight and the imperial examination was near, he didn't come together with them. Please forgive him, Third Sister."

  Something happened several times to apologize, Chen Lan's heart was sarcastic, and he smiled that it was already a past event. He thought Su Wan'er would retreat as before, but unexpectedly the other party followed her closely, still calling her "sister" affectionately and talking to herself.

  "That day at the Temple of Protecting the Country, I met my sister and it was like we had known each other before. Later, when I learned about her situation from our grandmother, I felt even more so. We have similar experiences, I also lost my parents since childhood, only having an older brother, and was raised by our grandmother with great difficulty, which is also a way to understand the coldness and warmth of human relationships. In this world, it's really unfair for us women, men can rely on imperial examinations or military achievements to make a name for themselves, while women are born well but must marry well, otherwise they will suffer for their whole lives. I think my sister should also have a deep understanding of this, after all, marriage is not under our control, if the elders are kind then it's fine, but if not..."

  Su Wan'er let out a deep sigh, looking pitiful and lovely. Chen Lan gazed at her with interest, thinking that the so-called "perfect match" was probably just like this. Looking over at Chen Huang, who was sitting by the round table in a daze, she could easily guess what Su Wan'er had just said to him. With a thought, she smiled slightly at Su Wan'er, who was looking at her.

  "My sister said that it's just the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. Since there are elders above, marriage is not something that juniors should think about. As long as juniors show respect and obedience, seniors will naturally show love and care, and won't joke about lifelong matters."

  As they spoke, Chen Lan had already noticed that outside the window, which was covered with a thick layer of Korean paper, there seemed to be someone lurking in the shadows. So she intentionally said this sentence, and seeing Su Wan'er look embarrassed, she didn't bother to say anything else and nodded before turning away. When she arrived at the back house, she saw Hong Luo chatting with several other maids, and after a moment's thought, she didn't go in.

  She had just asked Chen Xiao about the past, and it turned out that she was asking her about the jewelry box sent by Zheng Mama that day. She mentioned a few things casually and asked Chen Xiao again, although the other party's answer was not entirely truthful, but compared to Chen Xiao, what she got was still more abundant. However, when Chen Xiao asked her again about the encounter with Weiguo Gongzi at Huguo Temple that day, she felt something was off.

  Is Sanfang's Lu Niangniang trying to get Chen Yu and the Crown Prince of Weiguo married? If that's really the case, the current status of the Chen family might not be enough, even if Second Uncle Chen Jiu's title hasn't been taken away. A concubine daughter from the third house marrying the Crown Prince of Weiguo would still be considered extremely mismatched by people at the time.

  Putting aside these other things, Zhu Shi had Zheng Mama send a box of jewelry to Chen Yu, which definitely wasn't done with the intention of having the third house and the Weiguo Palace form an alliance. It seems that Old Lady might have already made two sets of plans.

  Sisters and Su Wan'er returned to the Lianxiang Institute from the backyard, but as soon as they entered the main room, they received a stunning message that left them speechless. It was Zhu Shi who said that she wanted Su Wan'er to stay at home for a few days. Faced with this sudden situation, Chen Lan looked at her coldly and saw that Su Wan'er herself was also full of astonishment, while Chen Shi couldn't hide her regret. Suddenly, there were several guesses in her mind.

  At the time when two old ladies were competing, Zhu's chess was still one move higher! The next day was the Lantern Festival, and after returning home, she had to prepare well.

  P.S: Wishing everyone a happy new year, there will be an extra update today ^_^