Chapter Fifteen: The Clash

The sun hung high in the sky like a great golden platter. Summer brought no wind, only the incessant chorus of cicadas.

A young maid in a brown short robe, her hair parted into two playful buns, helped another girl alight from the carriage. The girl was no more than fourteen or fifteen, the age of budding youth, yet she wore a faded gray nun’s robe, the fabric so loose it made her appear all the more delicate. Her long black hair was half-pinned with a wooden hairpin, the rest flowing freely down her back like a waterfall, accentuating the rosy flush of her lips and the whiteness of her teeth. Her eyes resembled a fawn’s in the forest—gentle and pure, strikingly beautiful.

Upon her wrist was only a string of wooden prayer beads. On her feet, the simplest gray cloth shoes. She pressed her palms together and lowered her eyes, her long lashes casting shadows on snow-pale skin and black hair, so that those who looked upon her could not help but hold their breath for a moment.

She seemed a mayfly born at dawn—beautiful, fragile, and so unblemished by the world’s dangers, as though she were a maiden at the side of Guanyin, pure as a blank page.

Though June was windless, the instant she stepped from the carriage, a sense of coolness and comfort flowed through the air around her. Her features were less exquisite and striking than Jiang Youyao’s, yet there was something innately spiritual about her, as though she had grown up amidst the mountains and temples, untouched by worldly desires. Each step she took was as clear and gentle as an evening breeze.

The little maid led her to the entrance of the Jiang residence. The girl paused, bowed slightly, and spoke in a voice as soft and gentle as her appearance: “Jiang Li, unfilial though I am, greets Father and Mother.”

At her words, the townsfolk gathered nearby seemed to awaken from a trance and stared at her in a daze. Suddenly, someone exclaimed, “Second Miss Jiang looks so much like the Grand Scholar!”

Jiang Li’s lashes fluttered imperceptibly, and her lips pressed into a slight line, making her seem all the more docile.

Jiang Yuanbo gazed at his daughter with a complex expression. After seven years apart, the change in Jiang Li was so great he could scarcely recognize the willful, fiery girl he once knew. He had always thought her temperament resembled Ye Zhenzhen’s—blunt and unyielding, never one to bow her head. Hearing the crowd’s words, he suddenly realized that, grown up, Jiang Li resembled himself more than Jiang Youyao ever had.

Jiang Youyao had inherited Ji Shuran’s beauty—delicate and fine as porcelain—while Jiang Li was a pear blossom grown deep in the mountains, reserved and noble, with the bearing of a scholar, even if that bearing was but a mask.

Perhaps the sudden return of his absent daughter had stirred some paternal instinct within him, or perhaps her resemblance to himself made him feel closer to her. In any case, Jiang Yuanbo’s heart softened. He reached out to steady her as she bowed and said gently, “It’s good that you’re back. Come inside, your grandmother and the others are waiting for you.”

At his words, Ji Shuran’s smile faltered for an instant, then became more genuine as she took Jiang Li’s hand and said with a laugh, “At last, you have returned.”

Jiang Youyao blinked and suddenly said, “Second Sister, why are you still wearing those temple robes when returning home? Didn’t Mother have Nanny Sun make you new clothes? If you dress so simply, people might think Mother has mistreated you.”

At this, the crowd fell silent. Ji Shuran quickly chided her, “Youyao, don’t talk nonsense!” She turned to pat Jiang Li’s hand soothingly. “Your sister doesn’t mean any harm, don’t take it to heart.”

Jiang Li saw all of this—the crowd’s scrutiny, Ji Shuran’s apologetic comfort, Jiang Youyao’s barely concealed smugness, and Jiang Yuanbo’s changing expression.

What a grand performance this was. She hadn’t even entered through the gate, yet they’d already struck the first blow. How should she respond? Clearly, she had new clothes but chose to wear a nun’s robe—what could that mean? Was she displeased with Ji Shuran and thus refused to wear what she’d prepared, or was she trying to show the public that the Prime Minister’s household had neglected her? In Jiang Yuanbo’s eyes, it was clear: Jiang Li was disregarding the family, harboring resentment.

Jiang Li smiled faintly, her gaze purer than Ji Shuran’s as she spoke: “Mother’s kindness, I am well aware of. The clothes Nanny Sun brought were made of the finest silk, with intricate embroidery and inlaid with jewels and jade—truly delightful to behold.”

Ji Shuran felt a sudden pang of unease at the look in Jiang Li’s eyes and wanted to interrupt her, but before she could speak, Jiang Youyao interjected, “Since you liked them, why didn’t you wear them?”

“It must be that Li is used to simplicity after years in the temple and can’t adjust yet,” Ji Shuran hastily said, instinctively cutting Jiang Li off before she could say more.

Jiang Li shook her head. “How could that be? I am a girl, and what girl doesn’t love beautiful clothes? It’s just…” She sighed with regret. “It has been seven years since I’ve returned, and in all that time, I’ve rarely corresponded with Mother. So, when Mother made the clothes, not a single piece fit me.”

Not a single piece fit!

An uproar broke out among the onlookers. Seven years away was one thing, but if there was little communication, perhaps there was none at all. Otherwise, how could a mother not know her daughter’s measurements? It could only be that for seven years, she had no idea how her daughter had grown.

How heartless! No matter the grievances, that was her own flesh and blood.

The murmuring now fell on Jiang Yuanbo, whose face remained impassive though he fumed inwardly. Ji Shuran, alarmed, glanced at Nanny Sun—how had such an important detail escaped her notice? Had she known, she would never have let Jiang Li set such a trap.

Nanny Sun, too, was frustrated. When she’d brought the clothes, Jiang Li had simply said she didn’t like them, and Nanny Sun hadn’t pressed the matter, thinking Jiang Li was merely being stubborn and that it would play into Ji Shuran’s hands. She hadn’t expected this—Jiang Li had laid a snare from the start, waiting for her mistress and the third miss to stumble into it.

Jiang Li found it amusing—she hadn’t set out to dig a pit for anyone; things had simply unfolded that way. It was a test: if the third miss and Ji Shuran were truly shrewd, they’d walk right into it; if they were honest, there would be peace. She had only just returned, yet already their natures were laid bare: Ji Shuran was not as gentle as she appeared, and the third miss was openly hostile.

As for her so-called father, Jiang Li was not his real daughter, so she felt no disappointment in his actions. If the true second miss of the Jiang family were here, she would have been heartbroken long ago.

No matter. The Jiang family was one of the most eminent in the capital—a powerful household was rarely without its storms. Since this was so, she could only meet whatever came her way.

But now, she was neither the doomed second miss nor the wronged Xue Fangfei. As Jiang Li, she feared nothing.

If you harm me, who’s to say I cannot harm you?

Jiang Li smiled at Ji Shuran and said, “Although Mother’s clothes did not fit, her intentions were sincere, and I will not forget them. Still, after seven years in the temple, I know not to let things go to waste. Since I cannot wear the clothes, they should not simply sit idle with me.” She suddenly turned to Jiang Youyao.

Ji Shuran’s heart skipped a beat as Jiang Li continued, “I noticed that the clothes Mother had made are just the right size for Third Sister. Why not give them all to her? Now that I think about it, the style and colors suit her perfectly—she would look lovely in them.”

Ji Shuran’s face turned pale.

The final straw that would break the camel’s back! By tomorrow, the whole capital would be whispering of how the new lady of the Jiang family treated her stepdaughter and her own daughter—showing clear favoritism at a single glance. The moment Jiang Li returned, she had shattered the reputation Ji Shuran had spent years cultivating.

What a formidable Second Miss Jiang!

— — — End of chapter notes — — —
For the first time, Pear faced off with them, ha ha ha ha ha!