Chapter 18

It was early April, with a lush greenery outside the window and birds chirping loudly. A few bright rays of light shone through the carved wooden window, and wisps of smoke rose from the Bo Shan stove.

Inside the room, the sound of pages being flipped could be heard. A young girl in a goose-yellow jacket sat on a high-backed chair, leaning over the table. Her soft, tender face was pressed against the table, the flesh squished, and her rosy lips pouted lightly.

She dragged out the last syllable in complaint, “So annoying, I don’t want to look at this anymore.”

Ran Dong placed a cup of hot tea by Sang Yao’s hand and looked at the pile of accounts in front of her. She softly persuaded, “The master trusts you to manage these two shops. You mustn’t disappoint him.”

Sang Yao sat up again, reluctantly continuing to look through the accounts. She felt she might not be cut out for business; these daily accounts made her dizzy.

Seeing Sang Yao’s expression, Ran Dong smiled and said, “Miss, you can consider this as getting familiar in advance. When you get married and become the mistress of the house, you’ll need to know these things. The expenses of the rear courtyard, the master’s and miss’s daily necessities, the servants’ monthly wages… even if you don’t know how to calculate, you must understand the accounts to have an idea.”

Sang Yao frowned, feeling the weight of responsibility. Though she had never been a mistress, she found the prospect daunting.

To be dignified and considerate, to serve her husband, to manage the family’s external affairs, to discipline the servants, to assist in the rear courtyard affairs, and to understand various accounts. Even if she only became a wife and not a mistress, she would still need to know these things.

Ran Dong, perhaps remembering something, lamented, “But, Miss, if you really become His Highness’s concubine, you won’t have to worry about all these things.”

Sang Yao held the account book, her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. “Why are you talking about him again?”

Unaware of any anomaly, Ran Dong continued, “Miss, don’t underestimate being a concubine. His Highness the Fifth Prince has been virtuous and has only had one concubine in the two years since his marriage. If you go, you won’t have to deal with other people, and there won’t be as much intrigue.”

With a smile, Ran Dong continued, “Knowing His Highness, even if you go, he probably won’t mistreat you. At least, you’ll probably get a title. As long as you bear children for His Highness, you’ll be worry-free.”

Sang Yao swallowed, silent for a moment before saying, “…Then I’ll choose to look at the accounts.”

But Ran Dong’s words made her feel uneasy. These past few days, she had been feeling suppressed, uninterested in anything, and now, this made her even more uncomfortable.

She understood in her heart that although she said it didn’t matter who she married, she still resisted deep down.

Just then, urgent footsteps could be heard outside the door. After a few knocks, someone hurriedly said, “Miss, His Highness the Fifth Prince’s people are here.”

Sang Yao’s wolf-hair brush paused in her hand, her mind blank.

Ran Dong, however, looked pleasantly surprised and whispered, “Miss, go and have a look!”

Sang Yao was led to the front hall, where six eunuchs stood in a row, each holding a sizable sandalwood box. Not far away, many of the same generation who liked to watch the excitement had also arrived from the mansion.

It was the little eunuch who had given Sang Yao the red jade in the palace last time. When he saw Sang Yao approaching, he stood up leisurely and bowed to her, then smiled and said, “Miss, we meet again.”

Sang Yao felt confused by the situation.

But she had a premonition, unable to articulate her feelings at the moment, just feeling a bit flustered and melancholic.

The little eunuch continued to smile, “These are all gifts from His Highness to you.”

Sang Yao asked, “What gifts?”

“It’s the last time you picked up His Highness’s jade pendant in the Qie Garden and returned it to His Highness at the palace gate.”

Sang Yao looked puzzled. She had never picked up any jade pendant, so why didn’t she understand what he was talking about?

“But I didn’t—”

The little eunuch interrupted her without changing his expression, implying, “Miss, don’t you remember? His Highness has always cared about you.”

Sang Yao choked back her words and didn’t continue.

She understood now, these gifts were just a pretext.

By sending such a grand gift to the Sang Mansion today, he was undoubtedly confirming the recent rumors.

Even though Sang Yao didn’t know how these rumors had spread, and even before the Thousand-Year Banquet, Sang Yinyue had come to tell her.

Affairs of love between men and women don’t need to be spelled out so clearly. If she accepted today, it would be a subtle response.

There were many people looking at her now, some envious, some jealous.

Even Ran Dong’s face was filled with joy.

She had occasionally sensed her father’s and sister’s helplessness when facing irresistible things, but most of the time, they had protected her well. The biggest annoyance she had encountered in these ten years was probably just that she looked fleshier than others.

And now, she seemed to empathize with that helplessness.

The Sang family was indeed wealthy, but also fragile.

Sang Yao lowered her head, just like last time, and said softly, “Then please thank His Highness for me.”

The little eunuch nodded in satisfaction, “Rest assured, Miss.”

He leaned close to Sang Yao, smiling, and whispered softly, “Miss, just prepare yourself well.”

Sang Yao curled the corners of her mouth, making herself look pleased as well.

It seemed that this matter had been subtly settled.

After the group left, Sang Yao was exhausted from dealing with a pile of people coming to ask her questions. She excused herself, saying she wasn’t feeling well, and went back to her room.

Ran Dong had originally been extremely pleased, as her young miss had found a good place to settle. Although she was only a concubine, she couldn’t resist the Fifth Prince, who was currently in the limelight.

But Sang Yao didn’t seem well. Walking beside her, Ran Dong asked softly, “Miss, are you not satisfied?”

Sang Yao replied truthfully, “I am satisfied.”

She was not young anymore; it was time for her to talk about marriage.

Lu Ting was handsome and knowledgeable. When she entered the door, she could still whisper in his ear to take care of her father. Although she wasn’t very smart, she could see a kind of cunning in Lu Ting and knew she couldn’t offend him easily.

She had nothing to be dissatisfied about.

It was just not as happy as she had expected.

Sang Yao stayed indoors all afternoon. She didn’t even look at the things Lu Ting had sent. She had them neatly packed by Ran Dong and stacked in the storage room.

She slept drowsily for a while, seemingly had a dream, but couldn’t remember what it was about.

When Sang Yin came back in the evening, Sang Yao hesitated for a moment, then went to the study to find her father.

When she arrived, Sang Yin was sitting at the table drinking tea. Seeing her, he put down his teacup and said, “Why the frown? Smile a little.”

Sang Yao couldn’t force a smile. She said in a low voice, “Father, do you know what happened this afternoon?”

Sang Yin made a sound of agreement and said, “Isn’t this a good thing? Yao Yao, you should get married.”

Sang Yao didn’t know how to respond at all. She couldn’t refuse, she was just very unhappy, but she didn’t know how to express her emotions.

Sang Yao shook her head.

“Then there’s nothing more to say. His Highness is handsome, isn’t that the kind of appearance you girls like?”

Nonsense.

She thought rebelliously, girls her age all liked the kind of appearance Xie Yun had.

“I have had several interactions with His Highness in these few days. His demeanor and speech are quite proper, and he has different opinions on current affairs.”

He sighed and said, “Yao Yao, if you have someone you like, it’s fine. If you don’t, even if it’s not His Highness, it will be someone else.”

So he wanted to choose the best for Sang Yao.

Sang Yao remained silent for a while, then asked, “So, am I about to leave the mansion?”

Sang Yin pondered for a moment and said, “In about a month.”

Sang Yao didn’t say anything more and walked away gloomily.

In the past few days, Sang Yao had stayed in her room without going out. She lacked interest in everything she did. Ran Dong suggested that since there was a troupe from Shu Prefecture coming soon, known for their exquisite singing skills, and since there was nothing else to do, they might as well go and have a look.

Sang Yao didn’t want to go at first, but later, unable to bear Ran Dong’s worry, she agreed to go out.

There was nothing much to say about this trip. The people on stage were singing and chattering, and Sang Yao listened expressionlessly.

It wasn’t until they were returning to the city that Ran Dong asked, “Miss, I heard that the crabapple flowers on Dangyu Street are in full bloom. Should we go and take a look?”

There were two roads in front of them that led home, Dangyu Street and the one Sang Yao usually took, Qingfeng Lane.

Sang Yao leaned against the carriage, looked outside for a moment, and after a while of silence, whispered, “Then let’s go to Dangyu Street.”

The carriage moved slowly, and on both sides of the street were dense crabapple flowers. In the bright springtime, the tender pink petals danced in the wind, falling gently to the ground, like a scene from another world.

The tiny petals floated gently to the majestic vermilion gate, giving the solemn plaque of the Xie family a gentle touch.

Dangyu Street was only home to this one family, the prestigious Xie family.

Sang Yao looked over and saw the open gate of the Xie family, sporadically with people coming and going, all dressed unusually.

She inexplicably thought of Xie Yun. Yesterday, her father had said that if it wasn’t Lu Ting, it would be someone else. If that were the case, then Xie Yun seemed better than Lu Ting.

Although Xie Yun was not gentle to her, had a bad temper, was very arrogant, and even pretended to be indifferent, at least Xie Yun was more handsome.

And she liked him more.

But Xie Yun had never shown any affection for her, and she had no choice.

She was thinking too much.

Anyway, she didn’t like either of them, so it didn’t really matter.

Suddenly, a voice asked, “Miss, are you looking at Young Master Xie?”

Sang Yao immediately became alert. She sat up straight, quickly pulled the curtain, and asked cautiously, “Is Xie Yun outside?”

Impossible, he wasn’t here at all.

Could it be that she didn’t see him?

Oh no, would Xie Yun think she had come all this way just to see him?

That stinky man always overthought things!

She quickly added, “Of course I’m not looking at him. Why would I be looking at him?”

Sang Yao said, “No, I just happened to look towards their gate.”

Ran Dong looked at Sang Yao’s overreaction, her expression strange. She added, “Miss, I’m talking about the third young master of the Xie family standing at the door now.”

“Not Mr. Xie.”