Chapter 8: Chapter Eight

At the Gu residence, the servants bustled about, carrying the freshly steamed pastries onto the silk‑covered table for the arriving official wives of the household to taste.

Madam Gu wore a camellia‑flower silk brocade skirt, her upper garment a woven gold‑blue coat lined with fox fur, and she wore a new ruby hairpin; she looked radiant and youthful. She was escorted by the maid Ya Fang to fetch Li Jiao, her beloved granddaughter.

Madam Gu had only two daughters: the legitimate elder daughter ran off with a servant and bore Xie Junling, a child of dubious parentage; the younger daughter Gu Xiaoyun, however, followed her wishes and married into the prestigious Li family of Tongzhou, but she struggled to bear a child, and after giving birth to Li Jiao she lost too much blood and crossed the threshold of death.

Three years later, the Li family took another primary wife. Madam Gu, feeling sorry that her granddaughter had no marriage plans, brought her back to Jingdu, claiming she wanted to personally arrange the marriage rites for the granddaughter. In truth, she saw that Li Jiao, though young, already had a reputation as a talented girl and was strikingly beautiful; she was the legitimate daughter of the former wife. Now the mother had died, the stepmother had given birth to a son, making her position awkward and inevitably difficult.

Madam Gu wanted to win her over, to mend the bond between the maternal grandmother and granddaughter, making her understand that only by relying on the Gu family could she attain wealth and honor, and thus marry into a household that could benefit the Gu clan. In this way, after her marriage, she could also contribute to the Gu family's affairs.

Madam Gu even considered sending Li Jiao to the palace, but the current emperor's mind is not so easy to read. Moreover, the emperor already has eight or nine princes; how could Li Jiao hope to compete for favor? A woman's affection can never compare to having a prince as a consort.

Even if Li Jiao bore a prince, the other imperial brothers were already older; how could she compete? Madam Gu feared overreaching and waited for a while. Later, hearing that the current emperor rarely intervened in the harem and even seemed to suppress the daughters of powerful court officials, her thoughts gradually waned.

Later, upon learning about Xie Junling's affairs, she looked down on him and was greatly angered by Madam Gu's marriage proposal. Yet, when she finally understood, that bastard still dared to refuse!

He doesn't even consider what he is; if it weren't for his being favored, he wouldn't dare to covet the Gu family's bloodline!

Madam Gu's thoughts fluttered; she felt Li Jiao's marriage prospects were truly delayed. Today's fragrance appraisal gathering was also organized for Li Jiao, and she intended to lead this granddaughter to probe the other ladies' backgrounds, seeking a golden match that could also bring support to the Gu residence.

She just entered Li Jiao's room, and Li Jiao, holding her hundred‑flower skirt, hurried over: "Maternal grandmother, why have you come in person?"

She was dressed charmingly today, a vivid peony pinned in her hair; not gaudy at all, but adding a touch of national beauty. A girl so lovely, could she still fail to capture a man's heart? Madam Gu silently regretted not sending this granddaughter to the palace.

Madam Gu patted her hand and laughed: "Dressed like this looks best; those dainty pear‑flower or apricot‑flower outfits are too modest—nothing feels as comfortable as bold reds and purples."

"Grandmother is right," Li Jiao pursed her lips and forced a smile, though she thought otherwise. If it weren't to please her grandmother, she wouldn't dress daily like a flamboyant flower butterfly.

Li Jiao, thinking of Madam Gu's recent suggestion to send her to the palace, felt angry; the current emperor was now as old as her father, and she refused to serve such a person! Instead, the earlier Xie Junling, who wore a flower crown and paraded through the streets, was the man she truly liked—a gentleman of breezy moonlight, the very man she sought for life.

She had previously coaxed Ya Fang into saying that she intended to betroth her to Xie Junling, even mentioning that she would eliminate Xie Junling's rustic wife. For this, she blushed in shame several nights, waiting for Xie Junling to send a matchmaker to propose. Yet, only a few days later, that rustic wife returned!

When she again probed Madam Gu's tone, the latter no longer mentioned Xie Junling at all, even telling her not to bring up the outside man, thereby stripping Li's legitimate daughter of her status.

What a rustic wife, she could even persuade Xie Junling to reject the marriage! Li Jiao felt a sour pang and wanted to see at the fragrance appraisal who this lady was like, and whether she was prettier than herself.

Madam Gu naturally was unaware that Li Jiao had set her sights on Lu Bao'er; she merely came to escort Li Jiao to attend, giving her some confidence so that those ladies could deliberate whether to ally with the Gu family.

On the other side, at the fragrance appraisal that day, the old nanny selected a chrysanthemum‑pattern brocade coat and skirt for Lu Bao'er, and draped over her a cloak embroidered with crane motifs and lined with snow‑white rabbit fur.

Usually Lu Bao'er, being young, dressed very plainly; now she dressed in a more aristocratic style, wearing a delicate pearl hairpin, looking presentable though not as grand as a high‑society lady, with a hint of refined elegance—a truly beautiful maiden.

The old nanny had once served in the palace and seen the world, thus now qualified to give Lu Bao'er a few pointers. Liu Xiang, who grew up in a low‑born household, was stunned by Lu Bao'er's luxurious attire, stammering: "Madam, this outfit… is truly beautiful."

Lu Bao'er gave a faint smile, handed a piece of pastry to Liu Xiang, and said, "I love hearing that, the cake is for you."

The old nanny felt helpless about Lu Bao'er's overly familiar behavior with the servants; while not inherently bad, the principal wife must maintain some authority to keep the household in order.

She thought again; perhaps Xie Junling prized exactly this natural coquettishness, which could be considered a good fate, needing no forced change.

Lu Bao'er rode the family carriage toward the Gu residence at a swift pace, assuming that once she arrived, she would simply greet the ladies, then sit at the far end to drink tea and wine before returning home.

But the carriage was stopped outside the Gu house, and the servants handed out invitations one by one before she could be admitted.

She felt a bit bored; with nothing to do, she even thought of Xie Junling. She wondered whether he had returned from the Hanlin Academy, whether he missed her. Lu Bao'er shivered; Xie Junling certainly would not miss her, perhaps he had already retired early and instructed others not to let her disturb his sleep.

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