Shen Ling had been tracing the edge of the stone bench with her fingers, watching a single pale pink petal drift across the pond, when the stillness of the courtyard fractured.
Familiar footsteps, measured, deliberate, approached from beyond the moon gate.
She didn't need to turn to know who the unwanted visitor is. What trouble does my sister want to stir up this time? Last time Roulan accused me of stealing her favorite jade hairpin. Luckily, when I was sitting in the tree I witnessed sister number three laughing telling sister number five she had found it in the grass. Besides Roulan, I really can't remember their names.
Her older sister enters like she belongs to a different world entirely, bringing with her the faint rustle of silk and the subtle scent of expensive perfume. At sixteen, Shen Roulan is radiant in the way the main household demands, poised, flawless, impossible to ignore. With a striking beauty, not thoroughly natural but enhanced by makeup techniques and careful grooming.
She carries herself with an air of untouchable arrogance finely honed through years of her mother's careful guidance. She excels in all of the four arts and is considered perfect in every way.
Her lavender dress shimmers in soft layers of embroidered fabric accentuating her curvaceous body. Obviously newly made, every stitch expertly depicting a sea of peonies across the sleeves and bodice. Golden hairpins adorned with tiny rubies catch the light as she moves, each step precise, each gesture practiced under the watchful eye of her mother.
For a moment, the courtyard itself seems to shrink around her presence.
Behind her, four maids follow silently, heads bowed, Two of the maids arms are filled with folded garments of fine fabric far richer than anything that had ever belonged in this quiet place.
Only then did Shen Ling look down at herself.
Her light blue dress is plain, soft from repeated wear, its color faded into something indistinct. Her ink black hair, parted into two small buns tied with simple blue ribbons, neat but unremarkable, done by her own hands.
The contrast between them is almost blinding. Well...life definitely isn't fair
Her sister’s gaze sweeps over the courtyard first, as if confirming it had not changed, before finally settling on Ling. There is no warmth in her eyes,only appraisal, sharp and fleeting.
A slight motion of her fingers and two maids step forward at once, lowering their heads further as they present the clothes.
“Give her the clothes,” she says lightly, though the tone carried expectation rather than kindness.
The folded silks are placed into Shen Ling’s arms, cool, smooth, unfamiliar.
Her sister takes a step closer then, her ornaments chiming softly with the movement. Up close, her beauty is even more striking, but so is the icy glare in her eyes.
“Shen Ling,” her voice lowering just enough to sharpen the words, “you’d better not embarrass me tonight. Or I will make your life a living hell.”
A brief pause, measured, intentional.“Don’t let me see you appear before Jiang Ye.”
The name lingers in the air, heavier than the rest.
Shen Ling’s fingers tightens slightly around the fabric, the softness a stark contrast to the weight settling in her chest. She did not ask who he is. She did not need to. The famous young general, her sister’s fiance.
The courtyard, which had always felt like her entire world, suddenly feels like something smaller, something she is easily dragged out of, whether she wishes it or not. Forced to watch up close, the world that she doesn't belong in although she is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis.
Looking at the clothes far too good for the wretched girl both she and her mother consider an eyesore, Shen Roulan sneers, as she bends to meet Shen Ling's eyes “No, thank you?”
Shen Ling wants to say, Why should I thank you? Why should I be treated any less than you? A concubine’s daughter who became legitimate after my mother’s death…I still have my doubts as to whether your mother murdered my mother in order to rise to the main wife.
Deciding it isn’t worth the trouble she replies with a sweet smile “Thank you dear sister and I will remember your words.”
Her sister straightens her back with her head held high, already turning as if the matter were settled. “Good. You know your place.”
Shen Roulan adds to the maids without looking back.“Make sure she looks presentable.”
The maids bow quickly. “Yes, Miss.”
And just like that, quiet returns to the peaceful courtyard.
Shen Roulan returns to her own luxurious courtyard and complains to her mother, “ Why does the eyesore have to come?!”
Her mother answers as she caresses her daughter's cheek, “Your father said everyone must be present at the engagement banquet. Don't worry I will make sure she is placed in the back and unnoticeable. Tomorrow she will be sent to the countryside and if I have my way, only to return to be used to advance the Marquis through a political marriage. I hate the way she looks exactly like that bitch!”
Her daughter frowns pacing once across the the luxurious room, the soft chime of her gold and ruby ornaments betraying her agitation. “She’ll ruin everything just by standing there.”
A faint, almost amused exhale leaves her mother as she finally lifts her gaze.
“Don’t worry, I will see to it that she is placed in the back. Somewhere unnoticeable.”
That seems to ease the tension slightly, though not entirely.
“Most people won’t even realize she’s there.”
Her mother continues, “And tomorrow,” her tone lowering just enough to carry malicious intent, “She will be sent to the countryside manor.”
Her daughter stops pacing and smiles at her mother,“Tomorrow?”
A flicker of satisfaction slips into her voice. "I won’t have to worry about her embarrassing me at the Flower Banquet."
Her mother nods once, slow and certain.“If I have my way,” she added, her composure tightening ever so slightly, I will make sure after her coming of age ceremony she is matched with the worst one of the debauched officials! ”
For the first time, a sharper edge cut through her calm. Her fingers curl faintly against the armrest, the only outward sign of something deeper beneath the surface.
“I hate the way she looks,” she said, her voice no longer neutral. “Exactly like that slut.”
The courtyard fell quiet again, but this silence was heavy with resentment..
Memory of that woman’s fox like beauty seducing the Marquis every day as though he was possessed makes her want to kill Shen Ling.
Shen Roulan hurries back into her bedroom in a blur of silk and irritation. The elegance of the room, showed her status in the eyes of the Marquis. Here, everything gleamed—polished stone, carefully arranged flowers, servants waiting at a distance for the slightest gesture.
Shen Roulan doesn’t bother to lower her voice as she sweeps the items on a nearby table onto the floor. “I hate her! No matter how I provoke her she remains compliant so I have no reason to punish her!”
