Di Daughter's Strategy - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Luoyun Pavilion

As soon as Luo Qian entered the room, she heard a commotion outside. Luo Qian’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and she heard the voices of Luo Ying and Qingling pushing and shoving outside the door:

“Luo Qian, get out here!”

“You can’t go in, Fifth Miss!”

“Get out of the way, you wretched servant!”

“Fifth Miss…”

Luo Ying’s eyes were red with anger. She had always been clever and favored by her father since childhood. This was the first time she had suffered such a great setback, and it was all because of her elder sister, whom she had never looked up to. She couldn’t calm down, and at this moment, she regretted not smashing those things on Luo Qian’s body yesterday.

The door suddenly opened from the inside, and everyone outside stopped. Luo Ying regained her composure and became even more embarrassed and angry: “Luo Qian, how dare you! You’re actually accusing me to Mother!”

Luo Qian looked at her calmly: “It seems like Fifth Sister hasn’t learned her lesson today.”

Luo Ying laughed angrily: “Lesson? Luo Qian, I’ve been calling you Eldest Sister all this time, and you’re putting on airs? Don’t forget, you’re not alone; you have Concubine Qing behind you. If you frame me like this, aren’t you afraid I’ll cause trouble for Concubine Qing?”

Luo Qian’s expression turned cold, and her voice instantly cooled down: “Concubine Qing is also your Concubine mother, Fifth Sister should show some respect.”

“Concubine mother? Eldest Sister must be crazy! A concubine is just a servant; you’re telling me to respect her?”

Luo Ying would never swallow her anger. Her gaze swept over Luo Qian, and she sneered: “Luo Qian, we’ll see about this!”
Luo Qian’s icy gaze fell on Luo Ying’s back, but her hands in her sleeves clenched involuntarily. She wanted to stop being bullied, but her mother couldn’t stand up for herself, making her cautious with every step.

She turned and walked into the room, sitting on the kang, wanting to drink some tea to calm down. However, the tea tasted extremely bitter, just like her mood at the moment, with a hint of fatigue.

She thought of her past life, where she heard that her mother had passed away due to illness in the palace, but she never got to see her mother’s last face.
She remembered later, the maidservant by her mother’s side cried and told her that her mother didn’t die from illness, but she believed the words of the Prince and thought the maidservant was betraying her.

Luo Qian sipped the tea, her eyes welling up with tears. The more she remembered, the more hatred she felt. In her past life, she believed the words of a villain and ended up with no one trustworthy by her side, pitiful and laughable.

Although it was scorching hot in the summer, she felt a chill run down her spine in this room, just like in the cold palace, the coolness seeping into her bones.

The hesitant voice of Biyu awakened her: “Miss, the tea has cooled down, should I get you a new cup?”

Luo Qian lowered her eyes, regaining her calm demeanor: “It’s fine, you can go down first.”

The summer sun beat down, and even with ice blocks in the room, it was sweltering.

On the soft couch, Luo Yi’er lay half-reclined, propped up by a pillow, her eyes cast down at her palm. She saw that her index finger was adorned with a red string, and beneath it hung a jade pendant made of white nephrite.
The window was half-open, and she leaned against the windowsill.
The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves and shone down, casting a soft, dark light on her profile. It was as if she was shrouded in a thin layer of mist, making it impossible to discern what she was thinking.

Linglong stepped in quietly and saw this scene. She paused, and just then, the person by the window reacted. She put away the jade pendant in her palm and looked out the window, her soft voice drifting over: “What’s the matter?”

“Fifth Miss almost got into a fight with the eldest miss when she got back.” Linglong recounted everything that had happened at Luoyun Pavilion, especially Luo Ying’s words about Concubine Qing.

Luo Yi’er chuckled softly, with an inexplicable undertone: “Fifth Sister is still so naive.” However, she was also curious about what Luo Qian would do if Luo Ying really made things difficult for Concubine Qing.

Linglong lowered her head and hesitated before mentioning another matter: “Miss, Qingling sent a message saying she’s been getting less and less favor from the eldest miss. She wants to know what to do next.”

Luo Yi’er’s movements paused, and her beautiful eyes looked at Linglong softly, yet made Linglong feel a chill run down her spine. Then she heard Luo Yi’er’s voice, which seemed to contain a smile: “As the eldest miss’s servant, she naturally needs to behave like one. It’s only natural that a loyal servant would feel wronged and seek help when she’s treated coldly. It’s not surprising that she’d come to me for help.”

She turned her head to look at Linglong, her voice becoming even softer, seemingly filled with pity: “Linglong is too soft-hearted.”

Linglong shivered, lowering her head and bowing slightly, trying to steady her voice: “This servant knows her mistake.”

Luo Yi’er withdrew her gaze and casually toyed with the jade pendant on the table. Finally, she asked in a mild tone: “Do you know what to do?”

“I know,” she replied with an indifferent expression, softly uttering four words: “Use things to their fullest potential.”

Luo Yi’er’s eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled slightly. Just as Linglong breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the matter was over, a soft voice echoed in the room: “Don’t make a habit of it.”

Linglong’s expression turned solemn: “Yes.”

The room was silent for a long time before the voice of a maidservant came from outside: “Miss, lunch has arrived.”

Luo Yi’er put the jade pendant into a pouch and locked it in a box on the dressing table. Then she walked out from behind the screen. Linglong stood by, serving her as she ate. After the meal, she seemed to suddenly remember something and turned her head to instruct:

“Send someone to Luoyun Pavilion and remind Eldest Sister not to forget about the beauty Flower feast in three days.” Since things had already escalated, she might as well add fuel to the fire. It was just a matter of saying a few words.

A maidservant bowed and exited. Linglong supported Luo Yi’er as she stood up, expressing concern: “Miss hasn’t been eating much these past few days.”

Luo Yi’er shook her head, and a hint of fatigue seemed to flicker in her eyes: “The weather is hot and bothersome, and I don’t have much appetite.”

Linglong sighed and didn’t press the matter further.

At this moment, hurried footsteps came from outside. A woman wearing pink clothing and sporting two small buns rushed in, bowing: “Miss.”

Luo Yi’er smiled and asked: “Why are you in such a hurry?”
The woman in pink clothing, also known as Hongdou, pouted and grumbled angrily: “Miss, the one from the South Garden caused a scene again today!”

“What’s going on?”

Hongdou elaborated on the story, explaining that Concubine Su had been in the mansion for two years without getting pregnant. Today, she invited a doctor from outside to examine her, and it turned out that her body had some issues that made it difficult for her to conceive. With her irritable temper, she naturally burst into tears and caused a commotion, turning everything upside down.

The Marquis had just finished official business and returned home when he was summoned to the South Garden. Concubine Su was crying and complaining, claiming that Madam Chu had ruined her life.

Hongdou snorted softly and grumbled discontentedly: “She’s only taking advantage of our Madam’s good temper. In any other household, a concubine wouldn’t be allowed to behave so freely. And yet she’s still not satisfied.”

As she continued to speak, Linglong’s brow furrowed, and she kept signaling to Hongdou with her eyes. Hongdou finally noticed that Luo Yi’er’s expression was light and subtle, so she lowered her head and stopped talking.

Luo Yi’er’s smile faded slightly, and she carelessly tossed the jade ornament she was playing with onto the table. She asked in an indifferent tone: “Where is Father now?”

“The Marquis is still in the South Garden,” Hongdou replied, pausing before adding: “Madam is also there.”

Luo Yi’er didn’t say anything else, lowering her head to toy with the jade ornament on the table. Accidentally, the ornament slipped from her hand and fell to the ground, making a crisp sound as it shattered into pieces. She suppressed the emotions in her eyes and instructed flatly:

“Clean it up.”

Hongdou bent down and retreated. After a while, several maidservants entered with their heads bowed, crouching down to pick up the fragments.
Due to the atmosphere in the room, they dared not make a single sound as they moved.

After the maidservants left, Linglong hesitantly spoke up: “Should we go over?”

Luo Yi’er heard this and glanced at her, raising an eyebrow in a subtle smile: “Go where? To the South Garden? She’s just a concubine, after all. Does she deserve that much attention?”

In the Ming dynasty, the legitimate wife was valued over the concubines, and concubines were merely servants. For a master to visit a servant would be a significant loss of face. This was also why Luo Yi’er was so angry. If Concubine Su hadn’t caused such a commotion, why would Madam Chu have to go to the South Garden herself?

It was worth noting that even when Concubine Su was most favored, Madam Chu hadn’t set foot in the South Garden once in two years.

Sensing her anger, Linglong was startled and lowered her head, whispering: “How about going to Madam’s place?”

Luo Yi’er looked down, smoothing her clothes, and gazed at her pale, jade-like fingers: “Concubine Su alone can’t cause much trouble.”

As she finished speaking, a faint smile returned to her face. She walked towards the soft couch with Linglong’s support. Suddenly, the sound of cicadas echoed outside. She paused and looked out, smiling: “These servants are becoming more and more useless.”

Her voice carried a hint of coolness as she glanced at the servants outside through the window. It was unclear whether they had missed two cicadas or simply weren’t paying attention.

Linglong knew that her mistress was in a bad mood and didn’t defend the servants. Instead, she focused on serving her attentive.

When Luo Yi’er lay down on the soft couch and closed her eyes to rest, Linglong gently bowed and stepped out.

As soon as she stepped out, she saw Hongdou looking pitiful by the door. Linglong couldn’t help but smile and pulled Hongdou’s sleeve, leading her out of the courtyard.
Only then did she speak up: “When will you change your temper? No matter how bad Concubine Su is, it’s not our place to comment. You were speaking freely in front of Miss, and you were lucky to get away with it today. If any master hears you, you’ll be in trouble.”

Hongdou hung her head, wrapping her arms around Linglong’s, and swayed, coaxing her: “Thanks to you, sister. If you hadn’t reminded me, I would have made another mistake.”

Linglong shook her head: “Miss is someone who values rules so much. I’m not sure how she tolerates you.”

Hongdou smiled with her eyes narrowed, lowering her head as if she hadn’t heard Linglong’s words.

Linglong’s gaze lingered on Hongdou’s head for a moment before she looked away and nudged her: “Alright, you watch the courtyard, and I’ll stand guard by the gate.”

“Okay,” Hongdou replied, watching Linglong turn and leave before she smiled slightly and walked over to stand under a tree’s shade.