REM • CH010

# Chapter 10

Having successfully struck a nerve in Yang Shi’s heart, Shen Xinyan set down her teacup with a satisfied smile after taking a small sip, only to see the Great Princess emerge from behind a standing screen with a beaming face, supported by a young woman in purple robes.

Shen Xinyan glanced at the girl and recognized her at once as Fang Shi’s legitimate younger sister, Fang Bibi, the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Pingliang. Judging by the Great Princess’s manner, it came as no surprise that she doted upon Fang Bibi as much as she had in her previous life.

Though Fang Bibi was born the legitimate daughter of a marquis household, her fate had not been kind. With a sister more than ten years her elder, she should have been raised with every indulgence. Yet a decade and more ago, the Marquis of Pingliang had angered the current emperor and been exiled to serve as a provincial official. The honored marquis was thus ignominiously cast out of the capital, and the Pingliang Marquis household became the subject of ridicule throughout the city.

Fang Bibi, still young, had followed her parents out of the capital. Now at sixteen, she had only recently been sent back to the capital by her parents, entrusted to her eldest sister Fang Shi, with the hope of leveraging the Duke Ying household’s influence to secure a good marriage.

Fang Shi herself had fared better in comparison. She had already entered the Duke Ying household before the Pingliang family’s fall, and her position within the household was already secure. The Great Princess, Wei Chenglin’s wife, was a magnanimous woman. Moreover, she and Fang Shi’s mother had been intimate confidantes in their youth, so she had not treated Fang Shi coldly due to her natal family’s troubles. If anything, she showed her even greater pity and trust.

After the three sisters-in-law had paid their respects and greeted the Great Princess in turn, Yang Shi’s expression showed no sign of her earlier displeasure. She stepped forward with a smile and took Fang Bibi’s hand: “What a pretty girl! I have heard rumors of a celestial maiden newly arrived in our household, but never had the chance to see her until now. Looking at you, your beauty and bearing truly do you credit as Elder Sister-in-law’s sister. No wonder Mother dotes on you so.”

Shen Xinyan had to suppress a laugh. Yang Shi’s tongue was truly a marvel—every word carried hidden meaning. Had one not been acquainted with her ways, one might have been utterly taken in by her sincere tone.

Listen to her: “a celestial maiden newly arrived,” yet as the mistress of the house, she herself had “never had the chance to see her until now.” Was that not an oblique suggestion that this Miss Fang lacked proper manners?

And then: “your beauty and bearing truly do you credit as Elder Sister-in-law’s sister”—the subtle mockery woven through those words would be apparent to anyone who knew where she stood regarding Fang Shi.

Yet every syllable sounded like pure praise, leaving no room for fault.

Fang Shi naturally caught the implication and felt a flash of displeasure, but she could hardly voice it and could only pretend ignorance.

The Great Princess raised her eyes and cast a glance toward Yang Shi, taking in her warmly affectionate smile, and for some reason felt a sudden headache coming on.

Fang Bibi was no fool and could sense that Yang Shi’s friendliness was not quite as genuine as it appeared. She felt a pang of hurt, yet remembering her position as a dependent in another’s household, she swallowed that hurt and, under Fang Shi’s guidance, made proper courtesies to both Shen Xinyan and Yang Shi.

Shen Xinyan casually removed the jade bracelet from her wrist as a greeting gift, while Yang Shi unpinned a gold hairpin from her own hair and gave it to Fang Bibi. Both gifts were proper and correct, neither overly warm nor discourteous.

Yet to Fang Bibi, these greeting gifts seemed rather modest. Especially compared to the jewelry and ornaments the Great Princess and Fang Shi had just given her.

“Thank you, Madam!” Though not entirely pleased, being the legitimate daughter of a marquis household, she still thanked them both with proper grace.

“We shall introduce you to those young monkeys another day,” the Great Princess said with a laugh, gently patting the back of Fang Bibi’s hand in an affectionate manner.

“Aunt is too modest. I have heard Mother mention that the Duke Ying household’s legitimate eldest grandson is exceptionally clever and outstanding, most like the Duke himself. I had not imagined I would not have the chance to see him today,” Fang Bibi said in a voice soft and gentle enough to inspire goodwill.

Hearing her mention his most outstanding grandson, the Great Princess laughed heartily: “That Chenglin boy is too clever for his own good, always trying to act the adult. Of my grandsons, he is the one who sets my mind most at ease.”

Fang Bibi smiled along, yet a glimmer of barely concealed worry flickered in her eyes as she cast a subtle glance at Fang Shi, whose smile had stiffened for a moment.

It seemed, just as her mother had said, that this Chenglin held a higher place in both the Duke’s and Great Princess’s hearts than her own legitimate younger brother Qi.

“Mother, you must not show favoritism! Chenglin is certainly a considerate child, but my Zhao and Yue both keep their duty to respect grandmother in their hearts. Just yesterday, Yue set aside his favorite lotus-seed cake, saying he wanted to save it for grandmother to eat!” Yang Shi chimed in cheerfully.

『TL Note ♡︎』Zhao and Yue (钊哥儿、越哥儿) are the two sons born to Yang Shi. “Gege’r” (哥儿) is a term of affection for young boys in classical Chinese families.

“They are all considerate children, all considerate! But you must not indulge Yue with sweets anymore, lest his teeth trouble him again as they did last time,” the Great Princess said with an even brighter smile, though she instructed with concern, remembering how Yue had once suffered so from a toothache that he could neither eat nor sleep.

“Rest assured, Mother. I keep watch. He is allowed only two pieces a day, not a single one more,” Yang Shi said, ever eager to please. She promptly launched into more amusing stories about the children, drawing even more delighted laughter from the Great Princess.

Shen Xinyan was genuinely amazed. Looking at how Yang Shi operated—what did it matter that she was a secondary son’s wife? She still had the Great Princess eating out of her hand, far surpassing what Shen Xinyan herself had managed in her previous life!

After the Great Princess and Yang Shi had joked around for a while and chatted about family matters with Fang Shi and Shen Xinyan, she turned to Shen Xinyan and said: “Your cousin here has been away from the capital so many years that she has grown distant from all our relatives. The Hundred Flowers Banquet at Prince Kang’s residence is in two days. Why don’t you and your sister-in-law take her along? It will be good for the girl to see the world.”

This reference to “sister-in-law” meant Shen Xinyan and Yang Shi. Though Fang Shi was the wife of the eldest son, she was after all a widow and not suited to such occasions.

Shen Xinyan was somewhat surprised. In her previous life, she had taken Fang Bibi to the banquet alone, not expecting that this time Yang Shi would be included. Yet for her purposes, one more or one less mattered little. She nodded and said: “As Mother wishes. This daughter-in-law accepts.”

Yang Shi’s eyes darted about for just a moment before understanding dawned on her. The Great Princess’s intentions were becoming clear.

“If that is the case, Elder Sister-in-law should bring out all her finest treasures and dress Miss Fang beautifully for the banquet,” Yang Shi said with a smile.

“Elder Sister-in-law’s things are fine, but perhaps not suited to such a young lady. Why not have the proprietor of Linglongge bring the newest jewelry and ornaments, and let Miss Fang choose what she likes? Would that not be better?” Shen Xinyan suggested brightly.

“That is exactly right! Why don’t we also have the proprietor of Nichang Pavilion bring some gowns, so Miss Fang can pick a few?” Yang Shi’s face lit up as she eagerly chimed in.

On the surface, they were only selecting clothes and jewelry for Fang Bibi. But any fool knew that such an opportunity would not benefit her alone. Whoever had a hand in arranging such a thing would naturally claim their share. Only an idiot would pass up such a bargain.

Yang Shi was no fool, and with Shen Xinyan having started this promising venture, she had no intention of falling behind. With some witty remarks and clever prompting, she managed to get the Great Princess to agree to the whole arrangement.

Fang Shi’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. She knew full well that this would cost them dearly. Even though the expense came from the common funds, was not the common treasury her money? Her money was essentially bleeding out.

She cast a glance at Shen Xinyan, whose face bore that perpetually gentle, warm smile, and found her teeth nearly itching with irritation.

What had gotten into this Shen Shi recently? Why did everything she did leave Fang Shi feeling aggrieved?

Shen Xinyan caught her gaze, turned back, and gave her a soft, affectionate smile. The gesture only frustrated Fang Shi further, nearly stealing her breath away.

“There’s no time like the present,” Shen Xinyan unexpectedly added. “Why don’t we send someone now to speak with the proprietors of both Linglongge and Nichang Pavilion, asking them to bring their finest wares as quickly as possible? We would not want them all to be bought up by other households.”

“You are absolutely right, Second Sister-in-law! Elder Sister-in-law, why don’t I send Meiying and Lanying from my household to handle this? It will keep those two lazy girls from dawdling at home all day,” Yang Shi said, slapping her knee as she cheerfully took charge of the matter.

“That is not nec—” Fang Shi began to politely decline, but Yang Shi gave her no chance to finish, immediately calling out to Meiying and Lanying to go fetch the two proprietors.

Watching Meiying and Lanying dash off in a blur, Fang Shi was so vexed she nearly wrung her handkerchief to shreds. All she could manage was a forced smile: “Then I am grateful to Third Sister-in-law.”

“No trouble at all, no trouble! We are all family, after all!” Yang Shi, having secured her advantage, beamed a smile so bright it nearly blinded poor Fang Shi.

Shen Xinyan quickly buried her nose in her teacup to hide the smile threatening to break free at the corners of her mouth.

Truly, there was no one like the Third Madam when it came to never missing an opportunity for gain!

The Great Princess observed the three sisters-in-law engaged in their back-and-forth exchanges with a knowing smile, offering no comment. From her perspective, occasionally purchasing some jewelry or ornaments for the women of the household was nothing. She had no idea that Fang Shi had come to view everything in the common treasury as belonging to the first branch of the family, and that parting with such a sum felt to her like cutting flesh.

Had the money been spent solely on her younger sister, it would have been different. She genuinely loved this sister more than a decade her junior. But now it would be spent on the other two branches as well…

She drew a deep breath, attempting to push down her displeasure, but ultimately remained unhappy. After chatting awhile longer with the Great Princess, she rose and excused herself.

Shen Xinyan did not linger long either.

Back in her chambers, as Chunliu helped her change out of her clothes, she asked in confusion: “Madam, you truly mean to take that Miss Fang to Prince Kang’s residence?”

“Of course it is true. I have already promised Mother. How could it possibly be false?” Shen Xinyan reclined on her daybed, looking entirely at ease.

Chunliu nodded, seeing the logic in that.

“Madam, the Young Master has come,” Xiahe’s delighted voice called from outside.

Shen Xinyan quickly sat up straight, and shortly after, Wei Chenglin entered with increasingly measured and steady steps.

After paying his respects, he asked directly: “Has Mother recently dismissed some people from Father’s quarters?”

Shen Xinyan was surprised, but did not hide the truth: “That is indeed the case. Surely those shameless creatures have not made their way to you?”