The late spring rain fell like a curtain. A gust of wind lifted one corner of the Xiangfei bamboo screen in Tinglan Courtyard, revealing the disarray inside. Jiang Rou grabbed the copied manuscript of *Lessons for Women* from the desk and hurled it against the wall. As the rice paper scattered, the ink characters for "humility" and "prudence" were blurred into smudged clumps by the infiltrating rain.
"On what grounds!" She kicked over a porcelain stool. Her jade bracelet struck a stone pillar, leaving a hairline crack. "It was just a few words of gossip! How could Father ground me for three months!"
Biyue huddled in the corner, her body still bearing the lash marks from when she had nearly been sold off yesterday. "Please, Miss, calm your anger. The Madame just sent someone to say—"
"Shut up!" Jiang Rou snatched a pearl hairpin from the vanity and flung it at her. "If Mother hadn't taught me to 'advance by retreating,' I would never have ended up in this wretched state!" The hairpin grazed Biyue’s temple and pinned itself into the wooden wall, its dangling tassels still trembling.
Soft footsteps sounded outside the window. Madame Li’s personal nanny pulled back the curtain, a half-rolled slip of gold-threaded paper tucked in her sleeve. "Second Miss, the Madame says the Marquis has gone to the Suburban Military Camp, and the household affairs are currently being managed by the Eldest Miss."
Jiang Rou spun around, hope igniting in her eyes. "Mother means..."
"The Empress Dowager's birthday is approaching," the nanny lowered her voice, her fingertip tracing the script on the paper. "The Crown Prince’s banquet invitations have been delivered to each manor. The Madame asks if you... still remember the *Heart Sutra* you copied at Yunluo Temple last year?"
Jiang Rou’s pupils contracted. Last year, she had feigned copying the sutra, but in reality, she had traced the calligraphy for the Crown Prince’s aide, earning a compliment for her "virtuous nature." Now that the nanny brought it up, she clearly intended for her to repeat the ruse.
"But I am grounded..."
"The Madame says," the nanny withdrew a bronze token from her sleeve, "this is the 'Morning and Evening Greeting' pass the Marquis bestowed upon her the year before last. With this, you may enter and exit any courtyard. Three days from now, at the first sign of dawn, you need only wait at the side gate..."
Before she could finish, a report came from outside: "Eldest Miss is here."
Jiang Rou stiffened and exchanged a glance with the nanny. The nanny swiftly shoved the token and the paper into the vanity and retreated behind a screen, bowing her head.
When Jiang Wan stepped into the room, she found Jiang Rou kneeling on the floor, gathering the torn pages of *Lessons for Women*. With her dark hair loose over her shoulders, she truly did look the part of a "pitiful, fragile flower."
"What is Sister doing?" She gestured for Wanqing to set down the food box. "Father asked me to bring you some refreshments. Why are you in such a state?"
Jiang Rou bit her lip, saying nothing, her fingers gripping the torn pages tightly. Last night, she had heard from Madame Li that Jiang Wan had pleaded for her before the Marquis, reducing her three-month confinement to half a month. This wasn't pleading—it was clearly building her own image as a "virtuous sister" in front of their father!
"Thank you for your concern, Sister," she pulled out a smile that looked worse than tears. "But since I must copy *Lessons for Women*, I’m afraid I have no appetite for snacks."
Jiang Wan scanned the mottled ink on the wall, her gaze landing on the corner of gold-threaded paper peeking out from the edge of the vanity. "If you are in low spirits, Sister, you might do well to read the chapter on 'Harmony and Gentleness' in *Lessons for Women*. You must remember: only when sisters are harmonious can the household find peace."
Jiang Rou’s fingernails nearly dug into her palms. This was a blatant warning! She was about to retort, but she saw Jiang Wan turn toward the screen. Her heart skipped a beat.
"The ink plum blossoms on this screen are quite elegant," Jiang Wan said, her fingers brushing the edge of the screen. "They have a touch more noble refinement than the wisteria and birds on the one in my room."
Behind the screen, the nanny held her breath, her back soaked in cold sweat. She was hiding the copy of the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet invitation Madame Li had given Jiang Rou. If it were discovered...
"If you like it, Sister, just take it," Jiang Rou forced herself to remain calm. "While I am grounded, I intend to devote myself to the Buddhist scriptures. This screen is too flashy; I don't need it."
When Jiang Wan turned back, a scrap of the gold-threaded paper was already in her sleeve. She smiled faintly. "I accept your sentiment, Sister, but Father says that one should not change the furnishings while under confinement. Wanqing, let's go."
Not until the footsteps faded into the rain did Jiang Rou collapse onto the floor, cold sweat beading on her forehead. "Did she... did she discover anything?"
The nanny emerged from behind the screen, her face ashen. "Fortunately, the Eldest Miss didn't look closely, otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?" Jiang Rou suddenly gave a shrill laugh, grabbing a teacup from the desk and hurling it against the wall. "She thinks that by grounding me for half a month, she can rest easy? On the day of the Crown Prince's banquet, I will show her what the 'true face' of a 'virtuous sister' really is!"
The rain grew heavier. Jiang Wan walked across the Nine-Turn Bridge, holding an oil-paper umbrella, her fingers tracing the scrap of gold-threaded paper in her sleeve. Although the words "Crown Prince's Banquet" had been torn off, the ink marks were still clearly discernible.
"Miss," Wanqing leaned in, lowering her voice. "That nanny in the Second Miss's room was acting suspiciously. Do you think they are plotting something?"
"What could they possibly plot?" Jiang Wan folded the scrap and tucked it into her sleeve. "It is nothing more than wanting to use the Crown Prince’s banquet to turn the tables. Do you remember, in my past life, that was where I was framed for an affair with a scholar?"
Wanqing trembled. That year, Jiang Wan had worn a newly made pomegranate-red dress, only to be accused by someone of having the twin lotus embroidered on her skirt as a token of a "secret engagement" while she served tea to the Crown Prince.
"Tomorrow, go to the silk shop in the south of the city," a cold light flickered in Jiang Wan's eyes. "Tell them I want to order a formal gown for the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet. As for the color... make it lake blue with silver thread."
Wanqing paused, puzzled. "Lake blue is the color the Second Miss usually wears. Why would you..."
"Because someone wants me to wear red." Jiang Wan interrupted her, the ribs of her umbrella pressing a faint red mark into her palm. "In my past life, the red dress I wore to the Crown Prince’s banquet was sent by Madame Li. Now that she is using the same old trick, I will not do as she wishes."
Returning to Qinghe Courtyard, Jiang Wan had just sat at her desk when a servant arrived with a note from the Marquis, stamped with the approval: "The legitimate daughter may accompany me to the banquet." She traced the characters for "legitimate daughter" and suddenly let out a soft laugh.
"Wanqing," she opened the inkstone and dipped her brush to write the characters for "Qinghe." "Go and invite Nanny Zhou. I have some matters of 'dignity' to discuss with her."
Wanqing departed to carry out the order. Jiang Wan gazed at the rain outside, her thoughts drifting far away. After she had disgraced herself at the banquet in her past life, Jiang Rou had "thoughtfully" brought her a soothing soup, which had been spiked with a sedative. When she woke, she was already lying in a ruined temple on the outskirts of the city, with a man’s green scholar’s robe laid out beside her...
"In this life, I will upend every move you make, board and all," she whispered to herself. The final stroke of the character "He" landed heavily, splashing a drop of ink onto the rice paper like a drop of blood in a cold pool.
Inside Tinglan Courtyard, Jiang Rou stood before a bronze mirror, pinning a solid gold step-shaker into her hair. The reflection was identical to the portrait Madame Li had sent over last night. In the painting, the woman wore red robes, a jade pin slanted at her temple—the very image of the "startlingly beautiful vision" the Crown Prince had once praised.
"Jiang Wan," she curved her lips at the mirror. "Whether you wear red or green on the day of the Crown Prince's banquet, you are destined to be nothing more than a stepping stone for me."
A thunderclap exploded outside the window; raindrops clattered against the glazed tiles like hail. Jiang Wan set down her wolf-hair brush and sealed the paper with the "Qinghe" characters inside an envelope, pressing the vermilion seal of the "Dingbei Marquis Manor’s Legitimate Daughter" onto the flap.
She had already laid the first move of this game.