Lan Xin was the youngest daughter of Lady Qin, the mistress of the Lan Mansion. She was at the age for marriage discussions. She was dressed in a soft pink phoenix-tail skirt embroidered with scattered flowers. Her face was as fair as powdered, her voice as crisp as jade, and she was as charming as a delicate flower.
She was having a detailed conversation with Lady Qin, but her eyes were wandering around.
Unexpectedly, she met Lan Miao's eyes at a glance.
Lan Miao nodded and smiled. She glanced at her and then shifted her gaze indifferently.
Lan Miao understood what was going on.
But since they had met, she had to say hello.
Thinking so, she slightly curtsied to the Elder Lady Wen in front of her. "Mother-in-law, I saw some people from the Lan family up ahead. I'll go and have a few words with them. Please sit here with my sister-in-law for a while."
Hearing that people from the Lan Mansion had also come, the Elder Lady Wen's expression changed. Suppression, disdain, and coldness converged into a complex look on her face. "Go ahead, but don't go too far."
Lan Miao nodded slightly.
She lifted the hem of her skirt and walked gracefully along the path. The slender petals of the chrysanthemums brushed against the corner of her skirt, filling the air with a faint fragrance.
Lan Miao walked up to a place a few steps away from Lady Qin and slowly saluted.
"Mother is well. Hello, Sister Xin."
Her movements were so gentle and natural that no one could find any fault with them. The young ladies and ladies around were all amazed when they saw her.
Lady Qin was dressed in a green and gold-embroidered pleated skirt. Her hair was coiled up high, and the green jade earrings glistened in the sunlight. As Lan Miao greeted her, Lady Qin turned her head, and the earrings swayed accordingly.
Lan Miao saw something familiar and smiled knowingly.
Lady Qin replied calmly, "Not bad. You've become even more outstanding." She signaled Lan Xin with her eyes. "Lan Xin, come and greet your second elder sister."
Only then did Lan Xin turn around and look at Lan Miao seriously.
The long snow-blue silk skirt embroidered with scattered flowers looked ethereal on Lan Miao, no matter how simple the style was. Her hair was pulled to one side with a jade hairpin, and her elegant temperament lived up to her name.
A faint trace of jealous annoyance flashed in Lan Xin's eyes.
It was not strong but quite obvious.
"Hello, Second Elder Sister." Her voice changed, and she smiled faintly at the corner of her mouth. Her voice was gentle and pleasant. "However, I should address you as the First Lady Wen now."
This was hitting Lan Miao's sore spot.
The eldest master of the Wen family had passed away early. She was reminding Lan Miao of her status as a widow.
Lan Miao was not sad.
Girls of Lan Xin's age were most prone to emotional fluctuations, but not everyone had to understand her mood.
Lan Miao lowered her eyes and smiled faintly. "Sister is as intelligent as her name suggests. You will surely marry into a wonderful family in the future. Your future will definitely be better than mine. Sister would like to congratulate you in advance."
"You..."
Lan Xin blushed with anger but had nothing to say.
With just one sentence, Lan Miao had put her in a difficult position.
The Marquis Mansion was a duke's family. The only families better than the Marquis Mansion were the dukes or the royal family. Many noble ladies and young ladies were present, most of them sizing up each other's daughters. Once this remark was made, anyone who wanted to consider Lan Xin would have to weigh their own status and back off.
Lady Qin frowned, and a glint of sharpness was hidden in her gentle eyes.
"She's stupid and doesn't know how to speak. Naturally, she can't compare with you who have been dealing with people in the jade carving and business. I heard that the Empress Dowager appreciates you very much."
"I can't say I'm appreciated. It's just that the Empress Dowager is kind-hearted."
Lan Miao nodded and smiled.
After a few exchanges of words, Lady Qin had distanced Lan Xin from the situation.
The two then chatted briefly about family matters. Lan Miao noticed that the time was up and said she was going back to attend to the Elder Lady Wen. Lady Qin was eager for her to leave, lest she overshadow Lan Xin's brilliance.
"You may go."
Seeing Lan Miao turn around and leave, Lan Xin lowered her small face. She was still unconvinced and wanted to say something to Lan Miao, but was stopped by Lady Qin's look.
Lan Xin was annoyed and leaned close to Lady Qin, speaking in a very low voice.
"Mother, she's a jinx. She not only killed her own mother but also her husband. How dare a widow point fingers at me? How can she still come to such a grand occasion knowing she's a widow? Isn't the Empress Dowager bothered by her bad luck?"
Lan Xin bit her lip, her face gloomy. Her face was like a piece of white paper stained with ink, overshadowed by turbid emotions.
Lady Qin gave her a disdainful look.
"You must never say such things in front of others. Since the Empress Dowager has appointed her as a jade carver, it means she doesn't mind her status as a widow. Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet. If you talk nonsense, you'll be ruining the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration."
"Is it really that serious...?"
Lan Xin was aggrieved. Why didn't even her mother side with her?
"Raise your head. Don't let others affect your future. The master doesn't care about her anymore. What else do you have to worry about?" Lady Qin was frustrated with her and could only remind Lan Xin a few more times.
Lan Xin held back her surging emotions and nodded slightly.
Lady Qin was a very capable mistress. She was skilled in her methods but not a bad person.
Lan Miao's mother, Ye Zhao, was a noble concubine in the mansion. She had a very good relationship with Lan Cengui when they were young. They were childhood sweethearts. However, Ye Zhao was in poor health and had a low family background, so she married Lan Cengui as a concubine.
Ye Zhao was law-abiding. Since Lan Cengui had given Lady Qin enough face as the mistress, she naturally wouldn't do anything excessive. After Ye Zhao fell ill and passed away, Lady Qin even offered to take Lan Miao under her care.
Lan Miao remembered that after her mother's death, Lady Qin had also smiled kindly and encouraged her to engage in jade carving and business. However, at that time, she didn't know it was such an alluring trap.
A cold wind blew, and Lan Miao's mind became clearer.
From afar, she saw the Elder Lady Wen and Lady You standing in front of the banyan tree, surrounded by many people. Their expressions were pleasant, and Lady You's expression was even exuberant.
Lan Miao walked over slowly. Since there were too many people in front of them, she wanted to go around the banyan tree. Unexpectedly, she happened to overhear their conversation.
"Elder Lady Wen, your eldest daughter-in-law is really amazing. Her jade carving skills have caught the Empress Dowager's eye. I'm sure she's a filial daughter-in-law in the mansion, right?"
"Filial? What a joke!"
The elder lady spoke in her usual tone. "She's just a merchant who is only interested in money. She's never been filial to me. Her morning and evening greetings are just for show. How can she be a daughter from a good family?"
"But I heard that Lan Cengui, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, has very strict family rules. Their daughters shouldn't be like this, right?"
The mistress of the Xu family in Luojing was puzzled.
"Her concubine mother was killed by her. Not satisfied with that, she came and killed my son and husband. I don't blame her. As long as she can be obedient, that's fine." When she said the latter half of the sentence, the elder lady even shed a couple of tears emotionally.
Lady You quickly supported the elder lady and played along. "Mother, don't be sad. You still have me as your daughter-in-law. Our third master has excellent character. He will surely marry a wonderful daughter-in-law to be filial to you in the future."
Out of courtesy, others had to offer some words of comfort.
Lan Miao behind the tree was struck like by lightning.
It was as if something extremely disgusting had licked her heart. She didn't feel pain, but anger welled up, filling her nostrils and making it hard for her to breathe.
She took two steps back and calmly looked around.
In the pavilion not far away, the newly brewed tea was boiling, steaming with white heat. Lan Miao walked over to the stove, used the spare tea set beside it to pour a cup of hot tea, and asked a maid to bring a lacquered tea tray.
Then, she carried the tea tray and walked quietly towards the elder lady.
In front of everyone, she performed the most standard salute.
"Mother-in-law, this is the Wuyi tea you usually like to drink. Please have some tea."
Lan Miao knelt down on one knee and held the tea tray up to the level of her eyebrows. Her attitude was perfectly respectful, which attracted the attention of the people around. They looked at the Elder Lady Wen in confusion.
The Elder Lady Wen was also startled by her sudden appearance.
She quickly gave a look to Lady You.
Lady You understood and took the tea tray from Lan Miao with a smile. "Oh, Sister-in-law, why are you being so polite? I'll serve Mother. You can get up quickly."
"Thank you."
Lan Miao got up. She watched as Lady You carried the tea tray towards the elder lady. She slowly moved her feet and also approached Lady You. At the same time, under the cover of the people around, she gently stepped on the corner of Lady You's skirt.
As soon as Lady You took a step.
She suddenly felt unsteady on her feet. The tea tray in her hand immediately flew out of her grasp, and the boiling hot tea on the tray splashed down like a sudden rain.
It happened to splash on the Elder Lady Wen in front of her.