Xiao Binyue's words made Chuntao draw a sharp breath.
Xiao Binyue walked over to the dressing table, opened the box of pearl cream that Xiao Peixue had sent, and gently lifted some with a silver hairpin—a strange cyan tint was clearly visible beneath the cream.
"This..."
"It looks like a sterility-inducing drug," Xiao Binyue said calmly. "I smell musk and safflower. If she uses this for three months, she'll never be able to conceive a child in this lifetime."
Chuntao turned pale with fright. "Fourth Miss, she..."
"She doesn't have the brains for this," Xiao Binyue closed the lid. "Zhao Qianrou gave it to her. But there might be more than just this!"
Meanwhile, in Xiao Yuyao's courtyard.
"Clang—"
The crisp sound of a mutton-fat jade bracelet shattering into three pieces on the floor startled the sparrows roosting under the eaves. The sharpest shard spun and slid to the threshold, gleaming with a chilling, cold light in the sunlight.
Xiao Yuyao's skirt, embroidered with golden peonies, swept across the floor covered in broken jade, the twelve-paneled Xiang skirt dragging a faint, scratchy sound across the blue-brick floor. Her nails, stained with balsam juice, dug deeply into her palms, and a single drop of bright red blood rolled down between her fingers, landing squarely on the jade bracelet fragment.
"Bitch! Low-born concubine-born spawn!"
She violently grabbed the tangled-peony bronze mirror from the dressing table, the gilded frame leaving deep dents in her palm. The mirror reflected a pretty yet distorted face—her meticulously drawn distant-mountain eyebrows slanted upward into her temples, her originally affectionate almond eyes were bloodshot, and her lips were bitten deep with teeth marks.
"As the legitimate daughter of the Minister's Estate, I'm actually being outperformed by a concubine's daughter!"
"Elder Sister, be careful not to hurt your hands." Xiao Yuhuan bent down to pick up the largest piece of broken jade, her fingertip gently brushing against the sharp edge, instantly seeping a thin line of blood. She held up her blood-stained fingertip to the sunlight to examine it, then suddenly let out a low laugh. "Such fine Hotan jade, it'd be a waste even to give it to a sweeping maid."
A draft swept past the window, rustling the pages of the *Lessons for Women* on the desk. Xiao Yuyao suddenly grabbed her younger sister's chin, her blood-stained nails sinking into the snow-white flesh: "Are you happy? Do you think the Crown Prince rewarding her is a slap to my face?"
"It hurts..." Tears welled up in Xiao Yuhuan's eyes, yet she put on an even sweeter smile. "Elder Sister should be choking Fourth Sister's neck." She deliberately paused; in her heart, she hated Xiao Peixue just as intensely, but she didn't forget to fan the flames.
"After all, the Crown Prince talked with Fourth Sister for quite a while today!"
"Ah!" Xiao Yuyao's crazed scream startled the crows outside the window into flapping away. She grabbed a celadon teacup and fiercely hurled it at her sister. Xiao Yuhuan nimbly sidestepped, and amidst the crisp sound of the teacup shattering against the wall came her smiling whisper: "Perhaps the Crown Prince really does view Fourth Sister with special favor! However..."
"However what?" Xiao Yuyao now wished she could strangle Xiao Peixue on the spot.
Seeing that the time was right, Xiao Yuhuan leaned in slightly, her voice like a venomous snake darting its tongue: "Elder Sister, what do you think would happen if Fourth Sister accidentally had her face ruined? Would the Crown Prince still spare her a second glance then? Just like Second Sister..."
Xiao Yuyao narrowed her eyes. At the thought of Xiao Binyue's face covered in red rashes, a cold, sinister smile curled her lips: "You're right. That face of hers... truly shouldn't be kept!"
Xiao Yuhuan's voice dropped to a devilish whisper: "Then that depends on Elder Sister's methods..."
Just past the hour of Xu, an unfamiliar-looking little maid secretly handed a small celadon bottle to Xing'er, the maid by Xiao Yuyao's side. Xiao Yuyao's fingertips traced back and forth over the small celadon bottle, the candlelight making the three small characters "Yurong Powder" on the bottle gleam intermittently. She abruptly pulled out the cork and leaned in; there was a strange, sweet scent, like spoiled osmanthus mixed with the smell of rust.
Xiao Yuhuan took the porcelain bottle and tilted out a small amount, brownish-red powder falling in a flurry from the bottle's mouth and blooming into dark spots on the blue-brick floor.
"Cuinong!" Xiao Yuyao suddenly raised her voice and called out.
Her personal maid, keeping watch outside the door, immediately pushed it open: "What are your orders, Miss?"
Xiao Yuyao tossed the porcelain bottle into her arms: "Didn't Fourth Sister say the other day that she liked my box of rose rouge? Take it to her right away, and tell her..." A cold smile curled her lips, "that I am specially congratulating her on winning the Crown Prince's favor!"
Cuinong's hands trembled as she took the sachet. As Xiao Yuyao's personal maid, she knew all too well what such an errand meant. It was she who had slipped poison into Second Sister's tea a year ago, and it was she who had meddled with Fourth Sister's embroidered handkerchief a few months ago.
"This servant..." Her throat tightened. "If Fourth Sister grows suspicious..."
"Idol!" Xiao Yuyao snatched the silver scissors from the dressing table and threw them to the ground. "Can't you mix it into her rouge? Do you really think she'll remember the scent of every single box of rouge?"
Cuinong plunked to her knees, her forehead pressed against the cold brick floor. A drop of sweat slid down her temple, mixing with a trace of seeping blood to stain the blue bricks a dark red. "This servant will go at once."
As Cuinong retreated, Xiao Yuhuan let out a sudden "Oh." She bent down to pick up a ruby earring from the floor, turning it over in the candlelight: "Isn't this the thing the Crown Prince rewarded Fourth Sister with this morning? Why is it in Elder Sister's room?"
Xiao Yuyao's expression changed abruptly. She had gone to Xiao Peixue's courtyard specifically at noon under the pretext of appreciation, and had forcefully demanded it from Xiao Peixue.
"Put that down!" She snatched out to grab it, but Xiao Yuhuan nimbly retreated to the window, making a motion to throw it out. As the sisters tussled, the silver hook of the earring suddenly scratched the back of Xiao Yuyao's hand, and a drop of blood splattered onto the moon-white window gauze, looking precisely the color of Yurong Powder.
Xiao Yuhuan instantly froze. Looking at the gruesome wound on the back of her eldest sister's hand, she suddenly realized she had gone too far. Sure enough, Xiao Yuyao's gaze had already changed; what rolled within it was no longer anger directed at Xiao Peixue, but something far more dangerous.
"Good younger sister." Xiao Yuyao used her blood-stained hand to caress Xiao Yuhuan's cheek, the warm blood trickling down the young maiden's smooth skin. "You talked entirely too much today."
As Cuinong carried the rouge box through the covered walkway, the surrounding quiet was unsettling. She instinctively touched the patterns on the rouge box; the amount of Yurong Powder inside was enough to ruin ten faces. The evening wind blew through the bamboo grove, rustling in a way that vaguely sounded like countless women weeping.
Xiao Peixue's courtyard was already lit. Through the gauze windows, Xiao Peixue could be seen combing her hair before the mirror, and Xiao Binyue—for reasons unknown, she had grown close to Xiao Peixue—was currently keeping her company and chatting with her.
Cuinong had originally wanted to turn back, but on second thought, perhaps Second Sister was here to curry favor with Fourth Sister as well! She took a deep breath and deliberately stepped on a dry twig.
"Who is it?" Xiao Binyue alerted.
Cuinong plastered on a smile and pushed the door open: "Fourth Sister hasn't rested yet? Second Sister is here too! Eldest Miss asked me to deliver some rouge." She placed the carved lacquer box on the dressing table, her peripheral vision sweeping over Xiao Peixue's existing rouge—it was a small celadon box that was already scraping bottom.
Sure enough, Xiao Peixue showed an expression of pleasant surprise and complacency. "Elder Sister is too polite." She opened the lacquer box; inside was brightly colored rose rouge with a rich, fragrant scent.
Xiao Binyue, however, frowned. "This scent..."
"It's a new formula," Cuinong explained hastily. "South Sea pearl powder has been added, making it the best for nourishing the skin." She picked up the small celadon box as if absentmindedly. "This old one is all empty anyway, so this servant might as well help you dispose of it."
Xiao Peixue nodded along, but Xiao Binyue began examining the new rouge.
Cuinong's heart hammered like a drum. Watching Xiao Binyue lean in to sniff the rouge closely, cold sweat had already soaked through her back.
Xiao Binyue raised her head, glanced lightly at her, and spoke softly: "The night dew is heavy. You should head back and be careful not to catch a cold."
Cuinong turned the corner of the veranda, and only after completely leaving Xiao Peixue's courtyard did she realize her undergarment was soaked through.