The moment she stepped into the Jiaofang¹, her eyes suddenly opened up.

The winding water, with pavilions and towers arranged in a picturesque order, featured a pathway where flowers and trees grew lush, swaying in the wind.

Wen Mingtang followed the maid across the bluestone bridge. What she could see was a calm lake. Lotus leaves were swaying on the lake’s surface, and hibiscus could be seen everywhere. There was also a lotus boat in the middle, and a dancer in a dance skirt was practicing dance on the boat.

There was indeed a unique elegance to this scene, and Wen Mingtang couldn’t help but take a few more glances in the direction of the lake.

The maid who was leading the way turned back and glanced at her sideways: “What are you looking at? Why don’t you hurry up?”

Wen Mingtang looked away and said calmly: “It’s very beautiful!”

“It’s not something you can look at too much!” The maid looked at her. She frowned again and urged, “Why don’t you walk quickly?”

Wen Mingtang nodded and followed.

Naturally, the number one beauty of the Jiofang did not need to live with the singers and dancers nearby but had a separate small building of her own.

When they entered the building, the maid who led the way visibly breathed a sigh of relief. She was lucky that she didn’t meet anyone along the way.

She turned to look at Wen Mingtang and said, “Let’s go! Miss Xiu is waiting for you on the road!”

Wen Mingtang said “Oh” and followed the maid upstairs. As soon as she stepped into the house, a voice rang out.

“Why do you look like this?”

The voice merged with the one in the memory, but it had an indescribable worldly style than the one in the memory.

Wen Mingtang looked at her feet. The cinnabar red eighteen-pleat skirt bloomed on the carpet. It was bright and beautiful, but no matter how gorgeous it was, it could not compare with the person wearing the skirt. She raised her eyelids looked at Wen Mingtang and signed her to come over.

Without the obstruction of the veiled hat that day, that colorful face appeared in sight.

Wen Mingtang looked at the exaggerated peony hairpins that couldn’t suppress the gorgeous color, and sighed slightly: she really grew into a blooming peony flower.

She sighed at Wen Xiutang’s magnificent appearance, and that “peony flower”, oh no, it was Wen Xiutang. But she frowned, looked at Wen Mingtang, and repeated what she had just said: “Why do you look like this?”

Wen Mingtang was about to speak, but suddenly noticed a gaze that could not be ignored looking at her. When she glanced out of the corner of her eye, she saw the fan girl standing next to Wen Xiutang. She was looking at Wen Mingtang unabashedly at this time, noticing that she did not avoid Wen Mingtang’s return gaze, continued to look at her carefully, and then shook her head invisibly.

Wen Mingtang retracted her gaze from the fanning maid, turned to Wen Xiutang in the middle, touched her face, and said, “I’ve always looked like this! Two eyes, one nose, and one mouth.”

Wen Xiutang: “…”

Who is talking about does not have two eyes, one nose, and one mouth?

After a moment of silence, she didn’t say anything more about what Wen Mingtang “looks like”, but a trace of happiness flashed in her eyes, and she turned to say: “If I hadn’t suddenly wanted to eat at Su Shan that day, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have known that you were out of the palace.”

Wen Mingtang recalled the moment when her maids surrounded her, and as she was about to leave, she turned to look back at him. Nodding, she said, “It’s just a coincidence. I always felt a sense of familiarity, as if she was my Ajie². I just thought my Ajie had been removed from her position, and I thought she was no longer around…”

As soon as these words were spoken, Wen Xiutang furrowed her brows again. She looked at Wen Mingtang, who was dressed in coarse robes and spoke in a somewhat unconventional manner, and without any hesitation, she interrupted her, saying, “I’m doing well, there’s nothing wrong.”

Which decent person would be happy to be told that she was “dead”?

This clan girl was quite well-behaved when she was a child, but after being released from the Yeting³ for a few years, she really became just like those low-level palace maids who were out of tune.

Wen Mingtang said “Oh”, looked at Wen Xiutang, and asked with concern: “How did Ajie get out of the palace?”

“I was lucky, the master of Jiaofang passed by and chose me.” Wen Xiutang said with a twinkle in her eyes.

This was half true and half false. She had lived well since she was a child. How had she ever suffered like that? After entering Yeting, the group of palace maids were jealous of her appearance and sent her to pour night incense. Then, a man who was passing by at that time took her out of the palace.

Glancing down at her painted nails, Wen Xiutang looked at Wen Mingtang in front of her and asked, “Where did you go after you left the palace?”

Wen Mingtang said, “I am working as a cook in the public kitchen of Dali Temple.”

Wen Xiutang frowned again after hearing this, and said: “What’s so good about being a cook? What’s more, it’s still in a place like Dali Temple. Come out and come to my place. If you really want to be a cook, you might as well take care of three meals a day for me!”

The girl on the opposite side, upon hearing this, pinched the hem of her clothes, looking reluctant and unwilling, “I… don’t really want to. They provide food and accommodation there…”

Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by Wen Xiutang. She glanced sideways at Wen Mingtang, and said: “Will I miss your food and accommodation here?” After saying this, Wen Xiutang didn’t wait for her to speak, and said, “You can quit this job when you go back and come to me!”

Upon hearing this, Wen Mingtang lowered her eyes, fell silent for a moment, and then said, “Our Wen family’s ancestral teachings state that unless absolutely necessary, why choose to enter the Jiofang?”

Upon hearing this sentence, Wen Xiutang’s face immediately darkened, and she looked at Wen Mingtang with a heavy gaze: “What do you mean?”

Wen Mingtang shook her head and said: “Ajie, I have my own reasons, I know. But I am doing well in the public kitchen of Dali Temple and I don’t want to leave.”

Wen Xiutang sneered with a stern face, her eyes flashed, and said: “That’s it! It’s up to you!” She glanced at her and said, “Next time if something happens, I will ask someone to look for you. You can go back first!”

Wen Mingtang responded with a casual “Oh” and didn’t linger. She just said, “Knowing that Elder Sister is fine, I can rest assured!” Afterward, she followed the maidservant who was leading the way and left the door.

As soon as she exited the back door of the classroom, there was a strong sound of the door closing behind him.

Hearing a “bang” sound behind him, Wen Mingtang looked back to hear the music coming out of the Jiofang, touched her nose, and walked forward.

Not long after Wen Mingtang left, an uninvited guest came to Wen Xiutang’s small building.

The visitor was wearing a gorgeous robe and golden crown, and a fair complexion. He entered the door and said, “Was that old man Wen Xuance’s daughter who came to see you today?”

Initially, Wen Xiutang, who hadn’t even stood up when facing Wen Mingtang, immediately stood up upon the arrival of the newcomer. She stepped forward, extending her hand to proactively remove the cloak from him, and said softly, “You’re here. I’ll help you with that.”

The visitor said “Oh” and asked her: “How is her life?”

His tone slightly lifted, as if he had become somewhat intrigued. Before the troubles befell the Wen family, everyone talked about how the Wen Misses would surely become famous in the capital once they grew up. With Wen Xiutang’s looks, there had been long-standing curiosity about Wen Mingtang’s appearance.

Wen Xiutang said: “I don’t know how she became like that now.”

The person, upon hearing this, turned to look at the maidservant fanning at the side and asked, “Is she not looking good anymore?”

The maidservant said, “Compared to ordinary people, she’s still pretty, but when compared to Miss Xiutang, she’s more graceful and elegant like an willow.”

The phrase “graceful and elegant” immediately dispelled the newcomer’s interest. He seemed somewhat disappointed, sighed, then waved his hand, saying, “I was originally thinking that if she blossomed as nicely as Xiutang, I would bring her in and make a pair of sisters with Xiutang! If that old man Wen Xuance knew from the underworld, he would have to be angered again! Now that things have gone awry, I’m not pleased to inconvenience myself. Find someone and send her on her way!”

(End of Chapter)

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Footnote

1. A place of music, basically a high-end Brothel where courtesans’ entertained people.
2. A cordial way of saying my elder sister
3. Lateral Courts in the imperial palace (housing concubines and administrative offices