Cheng Si-niang muttered to herself, “Uh-oh,” hastily nodded in agreement to deflect the topic, but Cheng Liu-niang still chuckled.
“You’re just eight years old. What kind of looks could you possibly have?” she said.
Cheng Qi-niang pursed her lips and glanced at her.
“I’m prettier than you. Everyone says so,” she retorted.
“Who says that? You actually believe those flattering words people tell children?” Cheng Liu-niang replied with a cheerful laugh.
Cheng Si-lang couldn’t stand it anymore and quickly excused himself. The sisters were preoccupied with their pressing matters and didn’t pay him any attention.
Stepping outside, Cheng Si-lang let out a sigh of relief. Inside, he could hear the girls chattering and the room starting to get noisy.
Shaking his head, he walked through the garden toward another part of the residence, smiling to himself.
He had known for a while that a new sister had arrived—or rather, not entirely new, as he vaguely recalled her from before. In the winter, the chubby and naive little girl lying in bed emitted an unpleasant smell. Peeking around the nursemaid, he caught the girl glaring at him with eyes full of white sputum, which scared him off.
Cheng Si-lang shook his head, trying to shake off this long-forgotten memory.
Laughter erupted from above, catching Cheng Si-lang off guard momentarily. It wasn’t something he needed to avoid; his sisters often frequented this garden area for leisure.
However, at this time, the girls were gathered together, engaging in banter—it must have been the maids passing by.
Cheng Si-lang glanced up casually and noticed a fleeting figure on a nearby rocky hill.
She was dressed in a vermilion jacket and skirt, her hair styled elegantly in a cloud-shaped bun, and had a petite figure.
As the path curved, the scenery suddenly cleared, revealing a maid of about fifteen or sixteen standing on the rocks. She was smiling gently as she reached out to playfully pull on a hanging willow branch, her smile radiant and charming.
The mischievous maid amused Cheng Si-lang, causing a faint smile to tug at his lips. Whose maid was her? He hadn’t seen her before.
His gaze lingered on the maid, prompting him to slow his steps. She pulled down a strand of willow and swiftly knelt down. Cheng Si-lang let out a quiet “ah,” realizing she wasn’t alone; another girl appeared alongside her as she moved aside.
Cheng Si-lang glanced casually and was instantly captivated as if fireworks had burst before his eyes.
Her jet-black hair flowed freely, framing her eyebrows that met elegantly, slender smoke-like eyebrows, deep, profound eyes, a high and straight nose, subtly puckered lips, a slender neck. She wore a plain black robe with narrow sleeves and a wide collar that draped down, shimmering in the dappled sunlight.
In that moment, Cheng Si-lang could no longer see the vibrant figure in vermilion he had noticed earlier; his attention was fixed solely on this girl, dressed in the purest simplicity.
Having once thought that colorful displays were most dazzling, he now understood that true brilliance could lie in the absence of color.
He stood frozen in place, then caught her gaze as it shifted towards him. She looked back at him calmly, her expression devoid of emotion, just silently observing.
Cheng Si-lang had never experienced such a gaze before—intense and dark like the night, deep like a tranquil pool.
“Hey, who are you?”
The maid’s voice broke the silence, and the figure dressed in vermilion abruptly blocked his view, bringing Cheng Si-lang back to his senses.
Feeling his feet almost float, Cheng hurriedly quickened his pace and moved forward.
Behind him, the girl’s inquiries persisted.
“Who is he? He startled me. Why isn’t he speaking? Miss…”
Was he a guest?
Cheng Si-lang hurriedly walked out of the inner courtyard, still feeling flushed all over. He settled down at a table and quickly drank a bowl of brewed tea, finally calming his nerves.
“Si-lang, where did you go?” someone approached and asked. Before they could finish, they noticed Cheng Si-lang’s flushed face and exclaimed, “What’s wrong? Why are you blushing like that?”
“I… just saw a beauty,” Cheng Si-lang murmured quietly.
The person chuckled. “Seeing a beauty at home isn’t unusual for you,” he laughed, sitting down nearby. “Among our sisters at home, can you honestly say they’re not beauties?”
Cheng Si-lang snapped out of his daze and recognized the person sitting there.
“Brother,” he greeted respectfully.
“Did she leave you speechless?” Cheng San-lang* laughed. “The sisters aren’t here, so you don’t have to pretend anymore.”
Cheng Si-lang shook his head, hesitating to speak.
Seeing such a beauty—if only he could keep her all to himself, what a stroke of luck that would be.
“Brother, is there something you needed to discuss with me?” he chuckled, steering the conversation elsewhere.
“Just now I heard someone mention that Lady Dong will be attending a poetry gathering at Ink Pavilion. I came to invite you specifically because I know how much you admire her,” Cheng San-lang smiled, taking Cheng Si-lang’s hand and leading him outside.
However, Cheng Si-lang’s interest waned, and he hesitated to move forward.
Once, Lady Dong had been the sole beauty in his eyes. But after glimpsing that girl earlier, he couldn’t see anyone else as beautiful in the world.
“Thank you, brother, but I’m not feeling up to going today,” he replied.
Cheng San-lang was quite taken aback. Cheng Si-lang, who had always admired the talented and beautiful Lady Dong, was now unexpectedly refusing to go?
“Did you truly lay eyes on a beauty?” he asked in astonishment.
Upon inquiring with a servant after he had stepped out, he learned that Cheng Si-lang had just visited his younger sisters.
“Sixth Miss and Seventh Miss got into another squabble,” the servant said with a smirk, relaying the gossip he had heard. “It was because Seventh Miss was teased by Sixth Miss about her looks.”
Liu-niang and Qi-niang always fought and argued, and the family had grown accustomed to it.
Cheng San-lang laughed heartily.
“So that’s why! He was scared off by the beauties’ quarrel, no wonder he looked so downcast,” he said with relief. “I thought he had really been enchanted by some beauty!”
Ban Qin helped Cheng Jiao-niang down from the rocky slope, casually placing the fishing rod by the rocks. It couldn’t really be called a fishing rod anymore since it had no hooks at all.
“Miss, who was that person?” Ban Qin asked again, while handing over a veil to Cheng Jiao-niang to wear.
From the artificial mountain to the courtyard, although not far, Cheng Jiao-niang found the sunlight along that stretch of road a bit unbearable.
She asked in such a way that it seemed she hadn’t considered herself being the one who saw that person with her mistress, or who returned to this family together with her mistress. In fact, if one count it, after returning to the Cheng family, she spent even more time outside the door than her mistress did.
To her, it seemed there was nothing her mistress didn’t know in this world.
And her mistress did not disappoint her.
“He’s coming from that direction,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, slowly raising her hand to point. “Around fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in casual clothes, so he’s not a stranger. He looks relaxed and easy-going, not like a servant. On our side of the family, there isn’t a son that age, so he must be the young master from First Madam’s side.”
Ban Qin nodded in understanding, murmuring softly.
“You know so much,” she chuckled.
Cheng Jiao-niang glanced at her and pursed her lips.
“You,” she reached out and gently tapped Ban Qin’s forehead, “if you think about it with this, you can figure it out too.”
Ban Qin giggled.
“As long as Miss thinks, I don’t need to,” she replied.
“Can I think for you, for a lifetime?” Cheng Jiao-niang asked.
“Miss, I will follow you for a lifetime. Please don’t let me go,” Ban Qin exclaimed.
As they spoke, they walked through the courtyard. Seated on the threshold was a young maid, about fourteen or fifteen years old, playing with stones. Upon hearing their conversation, she let out a derisive snort.
“With that foolish demeanor, no one else would want you. Fools sticking with fools will end up spinsters for life!” she remarked boldly, without any concern for who might overhear.
“You’re the foolish one,” Ban Qin shot back. “My mistress is the smartest person in the world!”
“The smart one, Zhao Da-niang took the day off today and I forgot to bring the rice and vegetables. Figure out your own dinner,” the young maid said, tossing aside the stones and trotting off.
Before Ban Qin could even speak, the young maid disappeared into the sight.
“Miss, this is too unfair. We should go tell Master,” she said.
“No need,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied, walking towards the house. “To know but not inquire, if we go report it, it would be to invite humiliation upon ourselves.”
Ban Qin seemed to understand vaguely and followed along.
“So, we just let it go?” she asked. “There’s nothing we can do?”
“Well,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, “you never know.”
Huh? What did that mean?
Ban Qin was even more confused, but as long as Miss understood, it was fine. She wouldn’t worry about it. Instead, she should think about things she could think about.
“Miss, what would you like to eat tonight? We still got wheat beans…” she continued, counting on her fingers.
Translator’s Note:
*San-lang (三郎)：San (三) in Chinese means “three”, so this is the third son of the family.
