The night colors encroach, clad in frost. There are few footprints on the streets.
The usually bustling Shengjing has settled into silence early. Inside the pear garden, the brilliant light of the fire crackles and snaps.
Shen Hua, surrounded by a brazier, awarded each person a gold ingot.
"Who would have thought, that little girl is the daughter of the infamous Eldest Young Master Cui."
Shen Hua was indifferent but still made an inquiry.
"Is the Eldest Young Master Cui very famous?"
"The Eldest Young Master Cui is able to debate in front of the emperor and fight bravely against enemies in war. Before getting married, perhaps all the girls in the world were falling over themselves for him. They say the second son of the Cui family is incomparable like jade, and Marquis Cui lives up to his reputation. Like father like daughter, the Commandery Princess is rare to find, which shows that the Eldest Young Master certainly won’t fall short compared to Marquis Cui by the slightest bit."
As she spoke, she let out a slight sigh.
"Yet when it came to choosing a spouse, he married a woman of no fame. Everyone was shocked. Madam might not know, but the Eldest Young Master passed away before the little princess was even born. Growing up without a Daddy, the little princess is indeed quite pitiable."
Shen Hua picked up the wine that had been heated, arrogantly lifted her pinky finger, and blew on it.
Taking a few sips of the drink.
"It’s no wonder the entire household dotes on this little ghost."
She lowered her eyelids: "She deserves to be indulged."
What’s the harm in being a bit spoiled? After all, how many girls are entitled to be spoiled.
As long as her character isn’t bad, someone like Cui Yun, how would he bear to ruin the daughter left behind by his brother.
In one aspect, he and Shen Zhi are so very similar. It’s merely that in inconsequential matters, he wishes to make the little girl’s life better, even better still.
The flickering firelight waving, Shen Hua ponders. She drinks down the medicine in its entirety. Thinking about the little ghost’s spoiled demeanor, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Seeing the tiredness between Shen Hua’s brows, Yicui hurriedly suggests, "If Madam is tired, why not rest a while? Your servants will stay up for the new year vigil to ensure your whole life is safe and smooth."
But Shen Hua knits her brows.
She pauses, her voice gradually fading away. In the end, it is silent.
This emotion comes on strong but fades quickly. She doesn’t pay it too much mind, standing up to walk slowly towards the house.
After washing up, she lies on the exceedingly soft bed, holding tight to the rabbit doll left by her biological mother, burying her head in it as usual, for a good night’s sleep.
And the usually quiet alleyway becomes unusually bustling and noisy with the advent of dawn’s first ray of light sweeping across the land.
The large pear garden cannot be disturbed by any noise, however loud, while Shen Hua sleeps soundly. By the time she wakes up and sits down in the small courtyard, she hears someone knocking on the door urgently.
Yicui quickly approaches.
It is Sister-in-law Wang. Her face is grave.
"Last night, Sister-in-law Yan passed away."
Yicui has no connection with Sister-in-law Yan, but having heard the rumors, she harbors a scorn for this woman whose relations with her father-in-law were ambiguously improper.
Still, it is a human life lost.
Sister-in-law Wang frowns, "The Yan family has already hung up mourning banners outside their house, to die on such a day is truly taboo."
"Madam is pregnant, better not go out today to avoid running into bad omens."
Shen Hua is slightly stunned.
She had almost forgotten that she is a pitiable woman who had lost her husband.
As Sister-in-law Wang speaks, she cannot resist sighing and gossiping a bit.
"Although her conduct wasn’t virtuous, she was always polite to people she met. Who could have expected that she would be gone in a single night."
"When she first married into the Yan family, she was always smiling at everyone, who would have thought she couldn’t live a good life. Usually, there was no sign of serious illness, but in my opinion, she couldn’t bear the shame and chose not to live. Yan Xiong is also to be pitied, saddled with such a wife, yet he still managed to arrange her funeral properly."
This morning, she was still weeping, Sister-in-law Wang had encountered her.
And Father Yan looked as though he had lost his soul.
Shen Hua had no time for others’ affairs; she wouldn’t get involved.
The servants around her, despite looking down upon Sister-in-law Yan’s actions, were well-mannered and refrained from passing judgment.
Having experienced life’s ups and downs, Nanny Cheng always pondered deeply when confronted with problems. After Sister-in-law Wang left,
"Madam, there might be more to this matter. Sister-in-law Yan showed no signs of seeking death yesterday."
Everyone says Yan Xiong is an honest man, but that’s not entirely the case.
Forget about fulfilling both loyalty and righteousness; he could not bring himself to do anything against his biological father.
Even the most honest of men have their pride, unable to tolerate their partners becoming involved with other men. Let alone when this man is their father.
Yet, bizarrely, Yan Xiong’s only outlet was to vent when drunk, resorting to beating. Once sober, he would buy medicine for Sister-in-law Yan’s injuries.
Shen Hua’s voice was calm, carrying a sense of depth and steadiness uncharacteristic for her age.
"Sister-in-law Yan has stayed in the red-light district. There, people either become desensitized to life and death, demeaning themselves and getting swept along with the flow after being accustomed to selling their bodies, or they hold onto their beliefs and maintain their chastity, waiting for a brighter day."
Although Shen Hua didn’t know which category Sister-in-law Yan fell into,
No matter what, neither type would seek death without reason.
They had survived even the toughest times, hadn’t they?
Hearing Shen Hua’s assured tone, Ningzhu was shocked: "Madam, how do you know she came from the brothel lanes?"
However, as soon as these words came out, they were rebuked by Nanny Cheng.
"Mind your own business."
It wasn’t for no reason; indeed, a proper lady from a respectable family would strictly avoid such topics.
Regardless of the veracity of Shen Hua’s words, or whether she actually knew anything, servants should be cautious in their speech and even proactive in discouragement, let alone ask further.
In Fengzhou, Madam was acquainted with the exceptionally talented prostitute Sheng’er. Although Nanny Cheng didn’t approve, Shen Hua preferred not to mention it, so she didn’t inquire further.
To ask is to err further.
Ningzhu quickly held her tongue and lowered her head.
"It’s not worth bothering about."
Shen Hua truly didn’t care.
"In Shengjing, the preeminent place among pleasure quarters is Yanguifang. Women there live with the same luxury as ladies in the inner chambers, are well-versed in poetry and literature, with skin smooth as cream and graceful figures."
"Compared to other brothels, Yanguifang cultivates taste." Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽
Which man wouldn’t yearn for such a place? Having savored the company of such prostitutes, how could one be content with ordinary rouge and common makeup elsewhere?
A flicker of haziness crossed Shen Hua’s gaze.
She let out a long breath.
Her expression was as subdued as it could be, with no trace of emotion in her voice.
"The girls in Yanguifang have a vivid plum blossom mark branded on their wrists from the day they enter the establishment."
That day, Sister-in-law Yan’s sleeve slid up inadvertently, and Shen Hua saw it. Under the scars, the familiar yet nightmarish plum blossom.
Indeed, how could it not be a nightmare?
It was a past she was unwilling to revisit.
In her previous life, after falling out with Shen Qu, he had specifically found someone to teach her manners.
Manners, not exactly; it was more about matters of the bed.
Shen Qu intended to prepare Shen Hua, his stepsister, to be sent to the bed of the Prefect, who should have been her maternal grandfather.
And the person he had found was a nanny from Yanguifang.
"Madam, you’re not feeling well, but in my eyes, that is actually very good. Men, you see, they like women frail as willows."
"You, just follow me with trust, and don’t play tricks. I’ve had many girls who resented me as countless as ox hair, but having served many men, they all relied on their skills to taste sweetness, and they all ended up thanking me."