On the thirteenth day of the First Lunar Month, the day before the Lantern Festival began. The Lantern Festival would last for three days, until the sixteenth day of the First Lunar Month, the end of the Lantern Show.

Early that morning, Feng Nian, Yin Zheng’s personal maid, was summoned by the Yin Residence’s steward. She was told that Madam Yin had ordered new clothes for the young ladies and masters of the residence, specially made for the Lantern Festival, and she was to collect them quickly.

Feng Nian went happily but returned with a face full of resentment, holding the newly made clothes. However, the clothes were completely soaked, and a faint fishy smell could be detected nearby.

“Miss!” Feng Nian exclaimed as she entered the room, “That Yin Huan is so wicked! She said she wanted to see the embroidery patterns, but in a blink of an eye, she threw the clothes into a bucket of fish water in the back kitchen. Then she started crying, making it seem like I was bullying her!”

Yin Zheng was doing her hair and makeup. Guo Jie, the maidservant doing her hair, was known for her cold demeanor. Hearing this, she turned to glance at the ruined clothes in Feng Nian’s hands and frowned, “She said she wanted to see them, and you just gave them to her?”

Feng Nian felt wronged, “Yin Huan is from the Fourth Miss’s side, and she has always been polite to our Miss. I said I was taking the clothes to the back kitchen early, and others laughed at our courtyard for having no one, but she offered to accompany me. How could I have known she was so malicious?”

Hearing this, it did sound like Feng Nian had misunderstood Yin Huan. Even Guo Jie couldn’t help but ask, “Could it have been an accident?”

“Impossible.” Feng Nian was very certain, “The bucket was originally covered, and there was no one else around. It could only have been her intentionally opening the lid and throwing the clothes in.”

Guo Jie knew that Feng Nian had a good memory and wouldn’t forget anyone or anything she had seen. So, she no longer questioned it and silently added the seemingly kind Yin Huan to the list in her mind to avoid being tricked in the future.

A soft sound was heard as Yin Zheng put down the small porcelain jar of Kouzhi/Rouge.

The porcelain jar was round and exquisite, its glazed surface shimmering with a cold light. It should have been exceptionally eye-catching, but its radiance was stolen by the hand holding it.

It was a very beautiful hand, able to encircle the entire wrist with one grasp. The back of the hand revealed the faint blue of blood vessels due to the fair skin. The fingers were slender, and the neatly trimmed nails had a beautiful shape. There were no unsightly scars, let alone the calluses that should have been present from writing for a long time. It was soft and delicate, even more so than the porcelain jar.

Feng Nian and Guo Jie looked at Yin Zheng at the same time, seeing her slightly tilt her head. Her tone was peaceful, her voice like a clear spring in the mountains, clear and slightly cool:

“Take the clothes to wash them.”

Hearing Yin Zheng’s instructions, Feng Nian knew that their mild-tempered Miss was going to swallow her anger again, and she was very unhappy, “Miss! They bully you like this. You should complain to Old Madam and let her seek justice for you!”

Yin Zheng’s birth mother was a “Hu” Concubine taken in by Yin Residence’s Old Master, and she had passed away the year Yin Zheng was born. Therefore, Yin Zheng had been taken to be raised by the Old Madam since she was a child, and she was the Old Madam’s most beloved granddaughter.

However, Yin Zheng was not incited. Instead, she helplessly comforted her maidservant, “It’s just a piece of clothing, it’s nothing serious.”

Feng Nian was disappointed, “It’s because your temper is too good that they dare to bully you.”

Yin Zheng pretended not to hear and asked her, “Where’s my breakfast?”

Feng Nian’s anger was like a raging fire meeting ice, and it immediately dissipated. She lowered her head, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, “It was spilled.”

Feng Nian’s temperament was not as gentle as Yin Zheng’s, nor as cold as Guo Jie’s. Discovering that Yin Huan had deliberately thrown the clothes into the bucket, she certainly wouldn’t let it go. However, Yin Huan was a maidservant of the Fourth Miss, and the Fourth Miss was born to the Madam in charge, so the people in the back kitchen naturally helped Yin Huan and stood in front of her.

Feng Nian couldn’t bear it and started pushing and shoving with them, knocking over the food box containing the breakfast.

Yin Zheng wouldn’t complain to Old Madam about a piece of clothing, and naturally, she wouldn’t blame her maidservant for defending her because of a meal. She told Feng Nian to wash the clothes and prepared to go to Old Madam’s later to pay her respects and get a free breakfast.

After Feng Nian went out, Guo Jie continued to comb Yin Zheng’s hair, carefully examining it after it was done: the hairstyle was perfect, and the hairpins and ornaments matched today’s clothing very well. The only flaw was the Rouge that Yin Zheng had applied herself, which forcibly detracted from her delicate and charming face, revealing a sense of incongruous maturity.

If this maturity could make Yin Zheng appear dignified and poised, it would have been fine, but there was neither dignity nor poise, only making people feel rigid and dull.

Guo Jie quietly sighed. Her Miss was good at everything, but she didn’t know how to do makeup, and she especially liked to do it herself, unable to be stopped.

After Yin Zheng tidied herself up, she took Guo Jie to pay respects to her grandmother, Old Madam Yin.

Although the Old Madam was old, because she came from a Military Family, she had practiced some martial arts since she was young. Therefore, she had a strong body and didn’t have problems with sleeping less or not being able to eat. When Yin Zheng arrived, the Old Madam was having breakfast, a table full of sumptuous food, making Yin Zheng only a pair of chopsticks away from getting a free meal.

After getting a free meal, Yin Zheng went to pay respects to her Di Mu, Madam Yin.

Madam Yin, nearly forty years old, was elegant and graceful. It was said that she was one of the famous talented women in Yongdu before her marriage. After her marriage, she was still addicted to poetry. Although she was in charge of The wife of someone, the person truly in charge was her trusted Mama Liu.

After Yin Zheng paid her respects to Madam Yin, she returned to her courtyard, picked up her Yao Qin, and went to her Female Instructor’s class.

Attending the class with Yin Zheng was also Madam Yin’s biological daughter, the Fourth Miss Yin Muxue.

Unlike Yin Zheng, who only brought Guo Jie, Yin Muxue was followed by two main maidservants, two second-class maidservants, and a whole group of people, making a grand and lively entrance.

The Female Instructor frowned her beautiful eyebrows. Only after the two second-class maidservants had arranged the table for Yin Muxue to place her qin and retreated did she slightly suppress her displeasure and begin teaching them.

Yin Muxue didn’t like to pluck the strings and make music, so she fled quickly after class. Yin Zheng, on the other hand, stayed for a moment to ask the Female Instructor a few questions.

Guo Jie was called to fetch water for the Female Instructor to boil tea, leaving only Yin Zheng and the Female Instructor in the room.

The Female Instructor sat beside Yin Zheng, raising her hand to stroke the surface of the Yao Qin. From afar, it looked like she was correcting Yin Zheng’s fingering errors, but in reality, she was saying, “The goods have all landed. They can be prepared in the next two days.”

Yin Zheng imitated the Female Instructor’s movements, plucking the strings. Mixed in with the melodious music was her soft reply, “Thank you for your hard work.”

The Female Instructor lowered her head slightly, inadvertently revealing a hint of respect.

…

The next day, the fourteenth day of the First Lunar Month, the first day that Yongdu lifted the curfew.

Early that morning, the streets and alleys of various residences became lively.

When Yin Zheng went to Old Madam’s to pay her respects, Madam Yin was also there, saving Yin Zheng the trouble of making another trip.

Because of the festival, the instructors who usually taught them had been given a three-day vacation. Yin Zheng didn’t have to go to class, so she planned to stay with Old Madam to pass the time. However, she didn’t expect Madam Yin to say to Old Madam before leaving, “I see that Zheng’er is not too young. She should learn to manage the household. It just so happens that the residence is very busy these two days. Mother, why not lend Zheng’er to me to help me out.”

The Old Madam had a martial nature and had only raised two sons. She was always worried that her carelessness would delay Yin Zheng. Hearing Madam Yin say this, she didn’t feel that there was anything wrong, so she let Yin Zheng go with Madam Yin.

Yin Zheng, who was taken away, felt strange. After all, the affairs of the residence were handled by Mama Liu, and Madam Yin was the most idle. How would she think of asking her to help?

Sure enough, Madam Yin stopped and looked at Mama Liu, who nodded and said to Yin Zheng, “Second Miss, come with me.”

Yin Zheng didn’t ask any more questions, bid farewell to Madam Yin, and followed Mama Liu away.

Mama Liu took Yin Zheng to the Small Buddhist Hall, where Buddhist scriptures, writing brushes, ink, and paper had already been placed.

Mama Liu raised her head, the contempt in her eyes undisguised, and said to Yin Zheng, “Helping with the household is just something to say to Old Madam. But Second Miss is indeed not young. Going out to stroll during the Lantern Festival again will inevitably lead to some accidents. It’s better to stay at home and copy Buddhist scriptures to pray for Old Madam’s blessings, which can also be considered fulfilling your filial piety.”

Although DaQing was easy going, it still emphasized Parents first. It was still a shameful thing for young women to privately meet with men outside. Therefore, Mama Liu’s words were very harsh, almost pointing at Yin Zheng’s nose and saying that this was to prevent her from using the festival to go out and engage in inappropriate relationships.

But Yin Zheng was able to pretend that she didn’t understand, sincerely saying, “Madam is still the most thoughtful.”

However, the more obedient Yin Zheng was, the more Mama Liu guarded against her. In order to prevent the two maidservants, Feng Nian and Guo Jie, from messing things up, Mama Liu also called them away to do other work, leaving only Yin Zheng alone in the Small Buddhist Hall.

Yin Zheng accepted it all and quietly began to copy the Buddhist scriptures. Her lonely figure looked particularly pitiful. But Yin Zheng never told anyone that she actually liked copying books because she didn’t have to think about anything when copying books, and her mind would be very quiet.

So, Yin Zheng spent the first day of the Lantern Festival alone in the Small Buddhist Hall.

At noon, servants brought food. Before Yin Zheng began to eat, she also lit incense for the Buddha statue enshrined in the Buddhist hall, which could be considered as finding someone to accompany her for the meal.

In the afternoon, Yin Zheng continued to copy Buddhist scriptures. When the last stroke was finished, the sun outside the window was like blood, dyeing a large area of the sky red.

Yin Zheng put down her pen with lingering interest, leaned slightly against the window, and looked up at the scenery outside the window.

Yin Zheng had half “Hu” blood in her veins. Although her face was still more inclined to that of a Central Plains person, with soft and beautiful features, a closer look would reveal that Yin Zheng’s eyes were deep blue.

However, Yin Zheng often lowered her eyes, and her long eyelashes cast shadows, making those deep blue eyes even more intense. It was difficult to see their unique color. Only when she looked up at the sky like now would those eyes that had been hidden all along reveal an unspeakable beauty.

Yin Zheng supported her chin with one hand, a weary look on her face, not at all like the Second Miss of the Yin Residence, who never got angry in the eyes of others. She was more like a sleepy snow leopard, beautiful but with a dangerous aura, making people afraid to approach.

As the moon rose and the sun set, when Yin Zheng walked out of the Small Buddhist Hall, beautiful lanterns had already been hung under the eaves everywhere. She stepped on the light cast by the lanterns, rubbing her sore fingers, and walked towards her courtyard. For Yin Zheng, copying books was like drinking alcohol, although it could relieve temporary worries and steal a moment of leisure, drinking too much alcohol would cause a headache, and writing too many words would cause sore hands, neither of which should be overdone.

Moreover, tomorrow would be the fifteenth, and after tomorrow, Yongdu would probably never have such a lively festival celebration again…

Yin Zheng pondered, and then calculated the time. At a fork in the road, she turned and walked in another direction.

Before long, a burst of laughter came from ahead.

Yin Zheng raised her eyes and saw a maidservant holding a lantern walking towards her not far away. Behind the maidservant were the Fourth Miss of the Yin family, Yin Muxue, and the eldest young master of the Yin family, Yin Che. Further behind were several maidservants from Yin Muxue’s courtyard.

They seemed to have just returned from outside, carrying many things in their hands, and their faces were full of joyful smiles.

“Second Sister?” When Yin Muxue saw her, the joy on her face disappeared without a trace, and there was a faint hint of disgust. The small flower lantern she was carrying in her hand also stopped swaying.

“Little Sister.” Yin Zheng greeted her, then looked at Yin Che, “Eldest Brother.”

Yin Che first nodded, said “Mm,” and then felt that he was being too cold, so he tried to find something to say, asking her, “Did you go out to see the lanterns today?”

Yin Zheng smiled and shook her head, “Madam asked me to help her, so I couldn’t get away.”

After speaking, Yin Zheng also glanced at Yin Muxue.

Yin Muxue felt uncomfortable being looked at by this smiling gaze, always feeling that Yin Zheng was showing off that she could help the family, unlike her, who would only play outside. So, she rolled her eyes, and an idea came to her mind. She said to Yin Zheng, “Then you can’t just stay at home all the time. It just so happens that I’ve invited the eldest daughter of the Wu family tomorrow. Why don’t you accompany me?”

Yin Zheng hesitated, “But Madam’s side…”

Yin Muxue patted her chest and guaranteed, “It doesn’t matter. I’ll go talk to Mother, and she will definitely agree.”

Yin Zheng then reluctantly agreed, “Alright then.”