Cheng Liu-niang yanked Cheng Qi-niang out of the nursemaid’s arms.
“What exactly did you see? What did she do?” she demanded sharply.
By now, they had already retreated outside the courtyard gate, still shaken.
“But that doesn’t make sense… When we entered earlier and saw her at Aunt’s place, she didn’t seem scary at all?” Cheng Si-niang said, pressing a hand to her chest.
If anything, she was quite beautiful…
“Could it be that she’s just pretending in front of others? When no one’s around, she’s like what Liu-niang saw—eyes like this, mouth like this…” Cheng Wu-niang gestured fearfully.
The others were reminded of the last time the foolish girl had entered the household and secretly gone to see Cheng Liu-niang—just as she had described.
All eyes turned to Cheng Qi-niang.
“Speak!” Cheng Liu-niang shook Cheng Qi-niang, urging her.
Cheng Qi-niang, still trembling slightly, stammered, “She… she sleeps with her eyes open.”
Everyone present froze.
Sleeps with her eyes open…
How horrifying…
Cheng Liu-niang stamped her foot and shoved Qi-niang lightly.
“Are you stupid?” she snapped. “If her eyes are open, then she wasn’t sleeping!”
…Huh?
Oh—right!
The realization dawned on everyone at once. They felt a mix of annoyance, amusement, and an inexplicable embarrassment.
“You’re really something, how can you be so timid!” Cheng Si-niang and Cheng Wu-niang couldn’t help but complain.
“Timid?” Cheng Liu-niang was even more blunt, snorting as she said, “Not timid – just stupid! Well, she is your sister after all.”
Cheng Qi-niang pouted, her face full of grievance.
“But… but the maid said she was sleeping…” she argued.
“Sleeping isn’t the same as being dead. Can’t someone wake up?” Cheng Liu-niang retorted, poking Cheng Qi-niang’s forehead with her finger. “If she woke up with her eyes closed, that would actually be scary, don’t you think?”
Cheng Qi-niang covered her head where she’d been poked.
“Ouch! Stop poking me!” she cried out.
Cheng Liu-niang glanced toward the courtyard gate, then pushed Cheng Qi-niang aside.
“Move, move. You’re completely useless,” she said, taking a deep breath to compose herself. She straightened her clothes and stepped forward resolutely.
Cheng Qi-niang followed reluctantly, still pouting. After a moment’s hesitation, Cheng Si-niang and Cheng Wu-niang quickly hurried after them.
The door was already ajar, and a maid walked by carrying a tray.
Cheng Liu-niang stepped inside, glancing around before her gaze settled on the woman seated by the low table near the window.
A girl about her own age sat upright, her floral-patterned skirt draping over her legs and feet, her long, loose hair blending with the dark satin overrobe as it cascaded to the floor. Slender, pale fingers accepted a cup of water from the maid. Hearing the commotion, she lifted her head slightly—her gaze composed, yet with an air of casual ease.
Cheng Si-niang, Wu-niang, and Qi-niang shuffled in after one another. Eyes met, and an odd silence settled over the room.
This was unmistakably her own chamber—nothing had changed. Just this morning, she had embroidered a handkerchief here; the needlework frame still lay on the table by the window, untouched. Yet suddenly, everything felt foreign, as if she had stepped into someone else’s home.
Cheng Qi-niang took a step forward, as if to assert her ownership of the room, and pointed at the low table.
“Hey, you—you’re only allowed to rest here temporarily. Don’t touch my things,” she said.
Cheng Jiao-niang glanced at her, her gaze steady and direct.
“Alright,” she replied, setting down the water bowl. Her eyes swept over the four young girls standing in the room as she gestured gracefully. “Please, sit.”
Almost reflexively, Cheng Liu-niang and the others instinctively dipped into a curtsey and began to lower themselves onto the seats—only to freeze halfway through the motion as realization struck.
This was absurd! They were the true daughters of this household, the ones who had lived here for years. How could this outsider—who hadn’t even been here a full day—suddenly act as if she were the hostess?
“Have you really… recovered?” Cheng Liu-niang straightened her robes and sat up properly, eyeing Cheng Jiao-niang intently.
Cheng Qi-niang thrust out her fingers. “How many is this?” she demanded.
Before Cheng Jiao-niang could answer, Cheng Liu-niang smacked her hand down. “Aunt already tested her,” she muttered under her breath.
Cheng Jiao-niang merely smiled faintly at their discourtesy.
“I recovered before I returned last time,” she said. “Otherwise, do you really think a simpleton could have traveled alone from Bing-zhou to Jiang-zhou?”
If anyone believed a fool could manage such a feat—they would be the true fool.
Cheng Liu-niang nodded, then suddenly caught herself.
“That’s just because your maid had the money to hire escorts,” she retorted, glancing at the maid Ban Qin standing nearby.
“You flatter me, Young Miss,” Ban Qin replied with a polite bow and a smile.
Clearly unwilling to waste words on the matter, Cheng Jiao-niang didn’t respond. Instead, she picked up a comb and began smoothing her hair. Ban Qin hurried over to help coil it into a simple updo.
Watching the mistress and maid move with such ease, the sisters sitting in the hall grew oddly restless.
“How do you prove a fool isn’t a fool?” Cheng Liu-niang muttered under her breath.
Cheng Si-niang and Wu-niang exchanged awkward glances.
“Does it even need proof?” they whispered back, stealing another look at Cheng Jiao-niang. With her hair now elegantly swept up, her forehead appeared even more luminous, her dark eyes gleaming. She wore no ornaments, yet her presence seemed to radiate—if someone like this were a fool, then perhaps every lady in the world would gladly be one…
“Her appearance has nothing to do with whether she’s a fool or not—it’s all thanks to her parents,” Cheng Liu-niang said with a dismissive sniff, tilting her chin toward Cheng Qi-niang. “Take Qi-niang here. If she’s plain, it’s hardly her fault, is it?”
“Who says I’m plain?!” Cheng Qi-niang shrieked.
“I’m just giving an example.”
“Then why don’t you use yourself as the example?”
“You are plain, you ridiculous child—must you argue over everything?”
Cheng Qi-niang burst into noisy tears, drawing a flurry of maids into the room to console her.
Amid the chaos, Cheng Jiao-niang and her maid remained unperturbed—calmly finishing her hair, slipping off her overrobe, and donning an outer gown as if the commotion were mere background noise.
“Enough, enough—stop this nonsense!” Cheng Liu-niang said, nudging Cheng Qi-niang aside. “She’s leaving, she’s leaving.”
The group looked up to see Cheng Jiao-niang walking past them.
“Hey—” Cheng Liu-niang called out.
Cheng Jiao-niang paused and turned, her gaze cool and slightly imperious.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Where… where are you going?” Cheng Liu-niang demanded.
“I’m going to see the master of this household,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.
The master of this household?
“First Master Cheng,” Ban Qin clarified from the side.
Cheng Jiao-niang gave a slight nod and strode out without another word.
It wasn’t until Cheng Jiao-niang had left the room that Cheng Liu-niang and the others snapped out of their daze and scrambled to their feet.
“Mark my words—she’s still a fool. There’s something off about her,” Cheng Liu-niang declared.
Cheng Si-niang and Wu-niang nodded, eyes fixed on the retreating figure outside. “Whether she’s a fool or not, she’s definitely… unusual,” they murmured.
“But she’s pretty,” Cheng Qi-niang interjected, wiping her tears. “Having a sister like that would make us the envy of everyone when we go out!”
No sooner had she spoken than Second Madam Cheng’s voice rang from the doorway:
“What’s all this? Jiao-niang, why are you—? Qi-niang! Did you disturb your sister’s rest again? How many times must I tell you? You’ll be punished for this!”
Cheng Qi-niang’s face fell instantly.
“I hate having a sister!” she shrieked, stamping her foot.
Second Madam Cheng grabbed hold of Cheng Jiao-niang’s sleeve.
“Where are you going?” she asked, startled.
“To see First Master Cheng,” Jiao-niang replied.
“There’s no need to rush. Rest tonight—tomorrow, you can meet both the Old Madam and the First Master together,” Second Madam Cheng said with a practiced smile.
“I need to ask him for something.”
Ask for… something?
Second Madam Cheng’s eyes gleamed, her grip tightening imperceptibly.
So the Zhou family didn’t send her back without an agenda…
Clever, very clever. No wonder they’d taken her away so quietly—trained her, polished her up, and now presented her like some dazzling trophy.
But if she was no longer a fool, her words would carry weight. And that changed everything. No longer would the Chengs dictate terms unchecked.
“Jiao-niang, come with me first—there’s something I need to tell you,” Second Madam Cheng said with a cordial smile.
Cheng Jiao-niang studied her.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Jiao-niang, though I’m only your stepmother, my intentions toward you have always been nothing but kind…”
Cheng Jiao-niang and Ban Qin both stared at her.
“You… have always… been kind to me?” Cheng Jiao-niang repeated slowly.
Though unnerved by their scrutiny, Second Madam Cheng’s expression remained flawless. She sighed delicately, dabbing the corner of her eye with a handkerchief.
“I know you don’t believe me,” she murmured. “After all, I’m just your stepmother…”
Cheng Jiao-niang nodded, cutting her off.
“I believe you.”
…What? Second Madam Cheng blinked, caught off guard. She looked up sharply.
Cheng Jiao-niang met her gaze with a faint smile.
“Of course it’s true,” she said. “If you believe it, then so do I.”
